The Ringer NFL Show - 'GM Street’ — Top 10 Offensive and Defensive Prospects With Mike Lombardi (Ep. 100)

Episode Date: April 20, 2017

The Ringer's Mike Lombardi and Tate Frazier break down the top 10 NFL draft prospects on each side of the ball (02:00), Dalvin Cook's sliding stock (34:00), the 'Monday Night Football' schedule (35:30), and T.J. Watt ranking higher than J.J. Watt (37:00). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The NBA playoffs are here, and we have you covered with the Ringer NBA show hosted by Chris Vernon. Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, all through the postseason, you can hear the Ringer's NBA experts, media members, coaches, players, breaking down all of the action. Make sure you subscribe to the Ringer NBA show on Apple Podcast, SoundCloud, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. GM Street, I'm Tate Frazier, and across from me today, Mike Lombardi, how are you? I'm great, Tate, a week to go, draft. We'll finally get this over with going. Yeah, we got a lot of stuff going on. The NFL draft is right around the corner.

We're officially a week away from the start of the NFL draft. A lot of people were talking about all the big off-season topics across the board in the NFL. A lot of people are talking about the White House visit yesterday. There's tons of storylines out in the NFL world, but we're here to talk about draft stuff today. Yep, absolutely. And what we're going to do, we're going to frame this. This is like Mike Lombardi is going to offer up his 20 best players. They're going to be 10 offense players, 10 defensive players.

10 defensive players and we're going to run through all these guys and we're going to call up the 21 answers to your problems, not the 21 questions, the 21 answers. First up, we're going to do number 10s on the defensive side of the ball because defense wins championships Mike Lombardi. First

up, Ruben Foster, inside linebacker, Alabama Crimson Tide. What do you like about Ruben Foster and why is he one of the guys you want to see in the NFL for quite some time? It's hard to find middle linebackers that can play three downs. Okay, so starting with that. And I'd never ever want to hear any more about being third down because first down is a passing down as well.

So, you know, my big thing is anytime you can put a formation on the field that takes a player off, the player's value goes way down. And Foster can stay on the field. Foster's problem isn't when he plays football. Foster's problem is durability and some of the red flags that have come up in his career. I mean, he's got some background issues to people at Alabama. There's some high praises from some people. There's some that don't sing his praises.

but for the reality here is he brings a really an NFL game. He can play three downs. He can rush the pass or he can play in coverage. He's got range to make tackles. Something that I don't think you see often in middle linebackers. And this is a golden rule I've always shared is when your Mike linebacker slow, your defense is slow. And so when you get a Mike linebacker that can run,

that's why Keekly's so effective and that's why Carolina's team speed on defense looks so good because they're Mike so fast. And it also helps you, Tate, in the red zone. When you're really good at Mike linebacker, your red zone defense is much better because he can cover ground. So I like Foster. I would give Foster a C grade in terms of in our grading system, which eventually will come up on the ringer. I wrote about the grading system and the Patriots use now, which was started back in Cleveland. The C grade is you really need to be careful on the character.

You've got to make sure the first rule of scouting is this. Learn more about the player before you get them than after you get them. And with Ruben Foster's case, you better make sure you know what you're getting. Yep, gotcha. Number 10 on offense, Mike Williams, wide receiver, Clemson. Mike Williams had an incredible run last year, was probably the most electric player on the field in the National Championship game, just as far as like offensive side of the football, he could do amazing things,

backshorter catches. He looks like he could be a star wide receiver. What do you see from Mike Williams? Well, you know, the hard thing about doing receivers is you can't see him against press covers. But what I like about Mike Williams is Parcells had a great line one time talking about Mark Barbaro. He said, you know, even when he's covered, he's open. Big guys can be open when they're covered.

And Mike Williams has shown that. He's not going to win with his quickness and his lateral speed or his vertical speed down the field. He's got like that Treadwell style of play, although Treadwell doesn't really demonstrate it this year at the Vikings, but he can make his catch radius is huge. And I think if for the right team, and he can't, he's not a number one receiver. This is the biggest misnomer Tate in football is all these one receivers. There's about five number one receivers in the league. That's about it.

You know, it's a little bit like the point guard era in an NBA. You know, there's so many of them and then everybody else is a good player. This kid's, I think Williams in the right situation, could be number two. But really, I think he's most effective would be an inside slot receiver where he can use his size. He can block in the run game. And then he can go down the field and make those jump, what I call jump ball catches. He's a jump ball receiver. He's always covered, but he'll come down with the ball.

Yeah, he's there for the fades. For people that don't like fades, Mike Williams makes those things happen. Next up, we have number nine. We're back on the defensive side of the football. Derek Barnett, Butch Jones, would be proud, the Tennessee volunteer himself, What do you think of Barnett? Does you remember a TV show called Gomer Pyle? I do not.

No. Gomer Pyle was about this guy. Butch Jones looks just like the Sergeant Carter in Gomer Pyle. Every time I see him, he looks like Sergeant Carter. He had the crew cut, and he would be boss and Gomer Pile all around. Anyway, I think there's always a draft where there's a guy that doesn't test very well, but plays really well. Yeah. Tirel Suggs when he came out.

Two years ago, it was Trey Flowers at Arkansas, and we drafted him in. New England in the fourth round. This is a kind of kid. He doesn't test well, but all he does is make plays. I mean, he broke Reggie White's sack record. He's second in the team to second in Tennessee history to Leonard White in terms of tackles behind the line of scrimmage, and he's only a junior. He's got the ability to rush.

He plays competitive, and he knows how to play. Ignore the testing numbers. I think Barnett's going to be a really good pro. Yep. Number nine, we're going back to the offensive side of the football. This is fun. Pat Mahomes, or Patrick Mahomes. I love how all the quarterbacks are trying to make themselves sound more to

Because if you don't have that, then you sound like a bus. That's why I call myself Michael. Yeah, exactly. Michael Lombardi sounds like a bus. He's a barber from New Jersey. So Pat Mahomes, he's kind of jumping up draft boards. You have him number nine. It's the only other quarterback.

Oh, actually, he's behind two other quarterbacks on your list. I got three quarterbacks in my top. Yeah, can you imagine that? Look, I think Mahomes is coming on to people. I hate the Texas Tech. I like Cliff Clingsbury a lot as a coach. I don't like the Texas Tech offense. It's a seven-on-seven passing game.

The protections are really. bad. They have no real run game. The burden of responsibility lies on the quarterback. But I think Mahomes is talent in terms of his personality, his arm strength, and the intangibles that I wrote about a couple weeks ago, I think he has him. I think Mahomes is a developmental player in this sense. I think next year he red shirts, and then the year after, I think he becomes a starter in the NFL. And I think he's going to be good enough to carry. He's got a little bit of Jimmy Garapolo in style the way he plays. He's good enough athlete. He can move. He can do some things. I think he would be a perfect guy of Kyle Shanahan's offense in terms of the West Coast, the outside zone run with the

West Coast combination. I like Mahomes. I think he's got the right fit for the right team. It seems like he's one of those guys Mahom where he can rely on his running for the first few years to kind of get him in a position where he can actually develop. Look, what people don't understand is, and I hate this term. This is, I'm going to, one of the day, we're going to do a podcast of all the things I hate. This term, and he runs a pro offense.

That thing at Texas Tech is so far from a pro offense. It's beyond even comprehensive. I mean, it's just, it's a seven-on-seven passing league that you see in Florida for the high schoolers. That's what it is. I love Cliff, but that's what it is. It's basically running like four verticals. That's what they're playing like a Madden football game. Nobody knows it.

Yeah, it's Madden football. It's exactly what it is. It's Madden football. Next up, back on defensive side, Adderay Jackson. Oh, this is my favorite guy in the draft. I love this guy. From USC, the Trojan. Just a true athlete, honestly, a great defensive back prospect.

You love this guy. You believe in him. What do you see from Jackson that really stands out to you? I see rare quickness. I see rare instincts. I see rare balance and I see rare speed. And I see somebody who can make plays for a defensive player, Tate, on four downs. Okay, that's a hard thing to do.

Some guys can make plays as an offensive player on four downs. But this guy can make plays as a defensive player on four downs. Trust me, after week six of the season, we're going to be doing a podcast. And he's going to be starting for some NFL team. And quarterbacks ain't going to throw the ball over it that way because he's got that ability to make plays on the ball. And I hate this crap. Another one of the pepies is, you know, he jumps routes or he guesses. So you tell me a great corner who didn't jump and guess.

Rod Woodson, when he played at Pittsburgh, the first thing you'd always do is double move, Rob Woodson because he was going to jump around, but you'd ever did it twice to him. Same thing with Jackson. Jackson's smart. He plays in balance, which is critical for corners. I love this guy. This guy, to me, I don't understand how he's not in the – if Desmond Truffon, who I loved coming out in college, this guy's a better Truffon player.

Wow. Next up, number eight, on the offensive side of the football, David Joku, a great name. I'm glad you said it. Yeah, a great tight end for the Miami Hurricanes. I really like Joku. I watch him a lot in the ACC. I think he's going to be a really good player. I like that you have him on this list.

But what is it besides Joku obviously can catch the ball? I think he can block pretty well too, right? Do you believe that he can go into that? Well, I think he's going to have to learn how to block. He's a get-in-the-way blocker. So to me, I put him as an F. I think he's a really good F. And that means he's the guy who lines up behind the line of scrimmage in the two tight-end formations.

I don't think he's going to be able to handle defensive ends in the league right away. But eventually he can. This guy's from the great state at the Garden State of New Jersey, so you've got to love a little bit more there. And the fact he was the national state high jump champion. That's incredible. He's an athlete. He's a huge athlete.

He's got hops like my man from the Milwaukee Bucks, who I've fallen in love with. He's got those kind of hops. I'm not saying his name, but he's got those kind of hops. And the reality is he can make place. He can challenge the middle of the field. And I think that's why he's going to be a really good pro down the line. It's going to take a little bit of time. He's not going to come in and just dominate right away.

but he's a mismatch guy. It's hard to find a guy that you can put on them that you feel like to me, I break receivers down, counting the tight ends as centers, small forwards, power forwards, point guards, and off guards. This guy would be a great power forward receiver in your receiving court. Yeah, and he runs a 4-6, so he's not a slow at all. Yeah, huge chance. Next up, number seven, back on the defensive side,

Marshawn Latimore, a guy from Ohio State that a lot of people have been talking about recently. What do you see from Latimore? When I see the name Latimore, I immediately think of Marcus. Lattimore, so I just... What a tragic. Yeah, I know. So that's tough, so I'm pulling for Martian Lottimore just for the namesake.

You know, other than durability, this guy's got the complete package. He's got some hamstring issues that keep creeping up all the time and keeps them off the field. But he's another guy. Now, he's what I call a small forward corner. He can play the outside quadrant of the field. He makes plays on the balls. Ball skills are great.

He's got great balance. I think he can go and take the small forward receiver away from the game. He's got great feet. He can turn. He has no wasted motion, and he's got great instincts. I think he's the best corner in the draft. My man Jackson's close to him. The only reason I haven't put Jackson ahead of him is Jackson's not 190 pounds.

He's not big enough. People worry about that as I would. But Lattimore's got that kind of skill to make plays on the ball, and he's athletic enough to take away the – not that he's going to take away Antonio Brown, but those are the kind of receivers he can match up on. Yeah, guys in the slot that are quick. Or on the outside. He's going to be better on the outside than he's going to be on the inside

because the guys on the outside, their athleticism and their boss ball-making ability down the field, I think he can handle it. a six-foot corner that can run. Number seven, Mitchell Trubisky, the quarterback from North Carolina. Trubisky has added the Mitchell, used to be Mitch, now Mitchell. Bruce Ariens actually came out today and said that, yeah, he doesn't believe in the experience that Trubisky has had just playing 13 games in North Carolina. You have him ranked number seventh.

What do you see in Trubisky that you really think where he has the upside to be a good NFL player? You know, I'm with Bruce. I worry about him, but I think you're going to have to take somebody who's going to take a chance on him and you're going to have to manage him. Do I think he's the franchise quarterback? No. Do I think he's going to start in year one?

That would be another no. But I think potentially down the road, once you learn more about him and what you can do around him, remember, quarterbacks are like baseball stadiums. You've got to build your team around them. And Trubisky, I think, would have to have a really good run game. He's going to have some of those jump ball receivers that can make plays. But I put him here because I think there's too much talent to overlook them. I think he's got at a position that most teams need.

But I'm like Arias. I worry about why. I worry about why it hasn't happened, why it took so long. But, you know, people I talk to the league come back to me and say, well, you know, Aaron Rogers only started 16 games of cow. Okay, that's a great point. So maybe I'm being too hard on them. I don't want to be the picker scout who just picks on them not playing. So I backed away and said, okay, fine, there is enough talent here.

But the thing that sticks to me, Tate, is every time he plays against good teams and he gets behind in a game, his numbers don't rally. That's what I get. That's what I worry about. But I like Tribisky. I don't love Trubisky. Yeah, that makes sense. Next up, number six, Jamal Adams. Defensive Specialist, defensive back for LSU.

Sort of reminds me of Eric Reed, if you remember Eric Reed, who also went downshed. Better tackler, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's what he reminds me of. He can tackle better than Eric Reed. He's more physical than Eric Reed. I think he'll play better closer to the box. I think in today's game, you know, he's a big hitter.

You know, the defenseless rule in the middle of the field kind of has taken that away. But I like Adams. I wish he could cover the slot receivers. I wish he could be an adjustment backer in a nickel scheme. I worry about him on the third level. defense, but I like his toughness, I like his temperament, I like his athleticism. I like a lot about this player. I think he'll come in, he'll start from day one, and he'll help your secondary tremendously.

And the much maligned offensive line this year, a lot of people have talked about it. You've talked about it specifically on this podcast about how you feel about the position in general. The first offensive lineman on the board, number six, Ryan Ramzick, offensive guard out of Wisconsin. Yeah, he played tackle, but he's a guard. You know, he's a kid who transferred from these guys that transfer, which is a good thing. transfer from the Division III schools up to Division I. So he went from La Crosse.

It's a natural progression. It's great. And he showed he could do it. And he's going to have to overcome the injury. But I think he could be a really good guard. He's kind of in the Zach Martin term the way he went at Notre Dame. I think that's the kind of player. This guy could potentially be, I think he's got toughness.

He's got size. He can maul you a little bit. He can run block. I think he starts for a team midway through his rookie season or perhaps a second. He said, I don't think he's a day one starter, perhaps because of the interest. But I think he's a guard. I don't think he's a tackle. Yeah, and there's a lot of rumors swirling around

that the Eagles may be looking at him for number 14. I think, keep your eye on that. I think teams are going to do this, Tate. I think teams are going to say, if we don't get a lineman now, when are we going to get one? Yep. And so even though I only have two in my top 10, there might be more guys.

Far Slamp might go. There might be other guys go because if you pass a guy, teams will say, well, then we've got no chance to get him in the second. So that could move because the law of supply and demand. Remember we studied that in college? Yep. That affects the offensive line. Number five.

Solomon Thomas out of Stanford, Solomon Thomas. North Carolina played them in the Hyundai Sun Bowl. Solomon Thomas took over that entire game. People haven't watched that game. He is a fierce guy on the defensive line. He makes a lot of plays. He disrupts a lot of things. I think Solomon Thomas is a guy that's going to be a real player.

And obviously, you do too. I like Solomon. I think he's kind of a player that can do a lot of things, and he does one, and his versatility makes him very effective. He can play on the defensive end on first down and set the edge for your defense. And then when he goes inside, he's got to be a nickel rush or inside. That's where he's going to work at his game. He's a little bit tight. He's got to be

able to use that quickness. He's had one of the best 10 times. When you go through the NFL Combine numbers, especially for defensive linemen, you want to look at the 10 time and see what they get off. He gets off the ball really well. And forget the 40 time as much as what his 10 time was. His 10 time was outstanding. I think it was in the 16-1-160. That's great. And so he's got to be able to do that. I think the team that drafts him has to be a four-man line team. He can't play in a 34. He's not a five technique. He's not a nose. He's somewhere between a base end as an outside end, and he comes in and plays nickel tackle, and I love his temperament,

I love his debt. I love the kind of player he is and how important football is to him. Does he remind you a little bit of Aaron Donald? Yeah, he does. You know, he's kind of in the same build. Aaron Donald's not a big man. Yeah. But Aaron Donald-so quick off the ball.

Right, and Aaron, but Aaron Donald was a little better as a pass rusher coming out. I think that's what you hope this guy can become. Yep. Number five, going back to offensive, Cam Robinson. Another offensive lineman. Wow, we're really moving up in the world from Alabama. Cam Robinson's probably viewed as the top of him. alignment in the draft.

You know, I think it goes back and forth. The shoulders worry, yeah. Everybody in Alabama seems to have shoulder injuries. Why, I don't know. I mean, Jonathan Allen, who we'll talk about later, has shoulders. This kid has two – has shoulders problems. Work on that pad level, Nick Saban. Yeah, you've got to work on the pad level.

That's right. I like this kid. I think he's going to be better suited to play guard, maybe you're even right-tackle. The other thing I think about this is another pet peeve of mine. There's no such thing as a right-and-left tackle. Both tackles have to block the edge and handle it. So I think he's a guard. He's long.

He's athletic. He can run. Al Davis drilled this into me. Offensive linemen that are going to be top have to be able to run. They can't be five, four guys. Their foot speed shows up. I think this kid can run. I think he's got enough.

He's blocked three years at a high level of competition. Somebody's going to get a starting guard, starting right tackle in this situation. Number four, Hassan Riddick outside linebacker out of Temple. Big deal for Temple getting in the top five here. You know, I think this is a sleeper guy. I think a lot of people in the league really like him. Is this a Philly bias? Not what I'm seeing this.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, not at all. I kept, I kept tasty cake out of it. It's a, I think this kid's, it's hard to find linebackers that can play in a 34 defense that can rush the passer and play in space. Hard to do. Most of these guys that do it, can't, when they get in space, they look like Herman Munster running around back there. They can't move.

They're off balance. They can't change directions. And good offensive coordinators put them in position to where they're not rushing. To me, Riddick can run. rush and he can drop in coverage. He can also play Sam linebacker. If you, like say Seattle wanted to draft him, he would be the ideal Sam backer for them. He would be a better Bruce Irvin for them because he can rush and he can play lineback.

Irvin could really only rush. They trained him to be a linebacker. Yep. So I think he could be a really good Sam. I think he's got the great temperament. Plus he went down to the senior bow and I thought he really played well when he shined down there in that game. I think this guy's a day one starter for a team at a position that's hard to find.

Every team in college football has guys that can go forward. Very few teams have the guys that can go forward and go back. Riddick's one of those guys that go forward and go back. Great. Number four on the offensive side of the football, your guy, your favorite quarterback. I'm the president of the fan club. The number one guy for Deshawn Watson, the quarterback out of Clemson, the national championship quarterback. I don't think you could ever get over what he did to Alabama.

A lot of people can't. Deshawn Watson has been torn apart because we've seen him on the national stage for so long that everyone wants to talk about and nitpick everything. People talk about his interceptions. People talk about his arm strength, whatever it is. Regardless, Deshaun Watson seems to be a winner, and you're buying into that. I'm completely into Deshaun Watson. This whole notion that you can't draft him too early, look, he can change the culture in your building, like Derek Carr did at the Oakland Raiders.

If your quarterback can go into your building and change the culture and have guys buy in and believe in them, which is huge, which is tremendously over, it's understated around the league, Watson can do that. Plus, he can play. Now, I think you've got to build the right team around Watson. and you need jumpball receivers with them. You need big receivers with huge wingspan around them. But I think this guy's got all the intangibles to be a really good player starting out.

If I'm the Houston Texans, I think he fits perfectly what they do. I'm the president of the fan club. I got no problem in it. I think it's a well-learned honor. I think that's really nice. He hasn't given me the job, though. I'm applying for it. It's you and Davos-Weney that are fighting for that spot.

Number three on defense, Malik Hooker coming out of Ohio State, another guy in the backfield that can make plays. seen him a lot of at Ohio State. He seems like a very athletic guy. A lot of upside. He was very upset with Lewis Riddick recently. So he's like, you know, getting mad at the pundit. So he's, he's speaking back to the world about people commenting on his game already. Well, look, I mean, when you play a lot of football, you're going to miss some tackles. That goes without saying. I mean, show me a safety that doesn't miss tackles. I mean, Earl Thomas misses tackles. I mean, we have Earl Thomas on as the greatest safety that's ever played the game, and he's a great player. But he misses tackles. So I could show the Super Bowl we missed

tackles when we played him. So Hooker, to me, is more of a modern-day safety. He checks boxes, okay? He's long, he's athletic, he's instinctive. He can make plays on the ball. He can play in the middle of the field. He can play down low. He can play on two levels. And the fact that he's not this monstrous hitter that he's going to blow it, you can't be one anymore in the NFL. You can't. I mean, the rules prohibit you from having the guy in the middle. The Ronnie Lotz are an extinct position now. And so to me, Hooker represents a more modern-day safety that can play and shows range. true free safety. That's why I have them there. So a lot of people were doing the comparison. I think

what he got upset about was people were saying that Jamal Adams out of LSU, who you mentioned earlier, who's seventh on your list, was better than him at safety. So they were getting in this argument. I think they made the comparison that it was like Taylor Mays and Earl Thomas. Yeah. But I don't think that's, I don't think both those guys look like they're real

NFL players. No, no slight to Taylor Mays. But Taylor Mays is really a linebacker. He's got to play in the box. And Adams can play high. I think Adams is a really good zone player. We didn't talk about this when we mentioned them, but to me, where Adam success is he's always breaking on the ball before it leaves the quarterback's hands. He's got great zone awareness. Hooker does as well. I just think hooker's more of a modern-day safety in terms of you need a guy that can play and

show range and cover the field without creating a problem by him having, you know, the defenseless rules showing up. And I think that's what you need today in the safety. I think you need a playmaker back there, and I think he's one of them. Number three on offense, the man that Toby Gerhardt is so jealous of. He does not know what to do with himself. Number three, Christian McCaffrey, the running back from Stanford. McCaffrey took no private workouts with anyone. He said that it wasn't worth it. We debunked the whole thing that it did matter.

So Christian McCaffrey is banking on himself, expecting to get a shot in the NFL. You haven't ranked as number three. What do you see from McAfry that he really believed that he's going to be a game changer on the field? He can do a lot of things. He's versatile. First of all, if he couldn't play in the slot, he wouldn't be this high. Because the number one thing he's going to have to do in pro. football show he can pass protect. So if he's in the backfield, he's got to be able to at least

block somebody because then if he can't block anybody, everybody knows when he's in the game. He's either getting the ball in the screen or he's going out in the pass because he's not blocking. So then he becomes one dimensional. He becomes a play. It becomes like a Tavon-Alson type of. Yeah. And so you can't have that. So by lining up in the slot and using his quickness, he becomes more effective. If his game can improve to where he can pass-protect, then all of a sudden, instead of running plays for McCaffrey, you can. can run an offense for McCaffrey.

That's what you have to get to. And that's what I think he can eventually get become. That's why I like him. I think he's got the toughness. He's got the temperament. He played in his pro style of offense in terms of the running game, the power play. So I think he does know how to do that. I think in the right role, in the right situation, he's just not a utility player.

I think he can play forward. And that's why I have him so high. I love his quickness. I love his competitiveness. I love his hands. And he can make plays on four downs. He's got the returnability, plus he can play on all three downs. So he's a four-down player.

like four down players. Do you think that he can be a Darren Sprouls, but maybe even more impactful? That's what he has to aspire to become as Sprouls. He's just got to be able to get in the way. He's got to be able to pass-protect, whether he cut blocks or just get in the way. Because if you can't do that, then when he's in the game, the defensive coordinators are too good. They'll just, they'll know what you're doing. And then all of a sudden, like what they do with Tavon, Austin, you're running a play for Tavon.

You're just not running your offense. And when you have that, you really become stagnant. Yep. Number two, Jonathan Allen, defensive tackle out of Alabama. A lot of people have talked about him. He's a star. He's got a lot of potential. What do you see from him just being able to dominate on the interior?

You know, last year, Belichick and I went down to Alabama, and we were going through all his prospects. And then after the workout, we went over to Sabin's house, and we had dinner. And we started talking about some of the players and some of the guys that didn't come out. And some of the guys that did come out. What did you guys have for dinner? Quick sidebar. We had – they made chicken.

They made chicken. They had pie. It was pretty good. Nick didn't do any of the cooking. Oh, of course. Nick didn't do any of the cooking. It was good, though. It was really good.

And so what we talked about is really, and I think this is the most important thing about Alan, he can rush from the inside as a big guy. Hard to find those guys. When you ask about the other guys that have come out in Alabama, Sabin would say, well, they're good, but this guy can rush on all downs. And I think that's where Alan gets the advantage. Again, if his medical's clear, he should be the second defensive player taking off the board. He's by far that good.

I don't care about his workout. He's got a really good burst to get off the football. maybe his vertical jump isn't as good as people want it to be. But when you watch him play in the highest level of competition, he's had 28 sacks inside against some really good players, he can transition, which is the hardest thing to do for defensive linemen, especially tackles, is when you think it's run to transfer in a pass rush, you have to have quick feet, and you've got to be able to do that,

and Alan can do that really well. So, you know, to me, that's why I have him so. I think he's a can't-miss player. He can play a three-threat. He's like Gerald McCoy. He can play on a three-technic. He's a big man. He's athletic.

I like him. To me, it all comes down to his medical. Yep. Number two on offense, Leonard Fournett, a guy that people have been talking about, it seems like, four or five years at this point, finally going into the NFL draft. It looks like he's climbing up draft boards. I've seen him go as high as number two on some people's draft boards.

Yeah, you know, I saw that too. And I got to think, does anybody remember that Kyle Shanahan drafts running backs in the fifth and sixth round? You know, like that Mike Shanahan's never taken a bad. Like, they always find a guy in the fifth or six round. The Alfred Morris. Terrell Davis. Alfred Morris, I mean, you know, Mike Bell. I mean, they always find some guy that comes in and gains 1,000 yards for him.

So to think they're going to spend it on Fortnite, I don't think so. But look, I think Fortnet has had a disadvantage playing in the 9-on-7 offense at LSU. I think people now can see that he's got perhaps a chance. He's not a great pass protector, but he's got good enough hands that if he can become more of a space bluer, if he can use that big body. And I've said this on the podcast before. Buddy Ryan talks about, you know, there's a place in football for the little man. it's just not in front of the big man.

This is a big man. And if you get him in space against those little men, he can do a lot of damage. And I think that's why people are starting to believe in him. It's going to come down. The same thing for McAfriy. It comes down for Fournett. Got to be able to pass-protect. If he can do that, he can be a dominant player.

He's going to be a better, you know, all-around player than, say, Adrian Peterson, who just needs the ball in his hands. And I think Fournette can, and that'll help his durability, too, to get him out of that inside tackle stuff and taking the pound. I like the guy a lot. And now, we finally made it here. Top, yeah, the top two spots. It's like a murder.

What is that? It's like, what's that show, Ryan Seacrest? It's American Idol. Yeah, yeah, yeah, we finally did it. What happened to that show? Is it off now? I think so. I gave up after Taylor Hicks won.

I was like, if this guy can win that, it really doesn't matter. Yeah. Do you remember who Taylor Hicks are you two? Yeah, I do remember the gray hair. He's probably playing in some bar in Birmingham right now. Yeah. Randy Jackson, he tried to hold on for as long as he could. I think once Randy left, America gave up.

Number one, Miles Garrett at Texas A&M, the guy that is pretty much the presumptive number one pick in the draft, or at least the top town in the draft. We've talked about Miles Garrett a little bit here, but when you just think big picture on Miles Garrett, I mean, is he heads and shoulders above anyone else as far as talent in this drafts? He's a trailer player. So, like, when you go to the movies and you watch those trailers for the upcoming movies,

and you say, that movie looks really good. And then when you go see the movie, you realize that's the only good part of the movie. Yep. Okay, so that's kind of what Miles Garrett's trailer is really good. You can put his 28 sacks or 16 of them against non-conference opponents, only 12 in the conference. So you can make a hell of a tape.

for him, and he's got great skill. He's got unique ability. He's big. He's long. He's athletic. It really comes down to how much he loves football and what his motor is. If he does that, the sky's the limit. I mean, he's clearly the best talented player in the draft by no doubt. He'd be the highest, he's probably the highest rated player on every draft board in the NFL. But whether that motor consistently goes, that's going to be the only question. And the coach has got to get that out of him.

And he's got to believe in it. And I think that that's the challenge. Look, the guy comes in the Southeast Conference, and he, does away with Clowny's freshman rookie record for Sacks. That says a lot about how good he is. And I think maybe he got bored with it. Maybe it just wasn't as much a challenge.

And you're hoping that he'll turn it back on. If he does, wow. Yeah. Could be one of those things where Hugh Jackson really gets him in there and possibly something good happens to Cleveland. You know, I think Greg Williams are the right kind of guy. It'll be the right system for him because it's defensive line friendly. He'll be able to come off the ball.

He'll be able to run up the field. I think, and look, the Browns are 30th in the league in Sacks. They need somebody who can put some pressure on. on the quarterback, and Garrett's the right fit for him. Finally, we made it. Offense, number one, O.J. Howard, tied in out of Alabama. We all remember him from the National Championship game where he had an amazing performance.

I think it was like, what, 223 yards, something ridiculous like that. O.J. Howard looks like a physical specimen himself. You haven't ranked as a number one guy on the offensive board. What do you see from O.J. Howard? And are you basically just looking at this guy as a wide receiver, tied-in, hybrid, six-foot-six, unstoppable type of thing. Look, it's hard to find Y's. There's a lot of guys that can play F.

The David Reed's in the NFL. Those are F's, okay? It's hard to find on the line Y's. Rob Gruncowski, Martellus Bennett. Those are hard guys to find. Eric Ebrons. Yeah, I mean, they're hard to find. So, Ebron's an F.

Okay, he's an F. Don't try to sneak him in here. He's not an F. He don't want to block. Tate, he wouldn't block you. I know. That's why I didn't put him out there. It's just too fun.

No, he wouldn't block you. Are you kidding me? So I like, I think Wise are like the night. in the chess board. And the chess board ranks their pieces, the knights, the third ranked pieces in terms of the value. But where knights do the most damages in the middle of the field, where tight ends do the most damages in the middle of the field, and they're versatile. And so when you can line up in 12 personnel, which is one back and two tight ends, and you can

ultimately become a 13 team, or you can become an 11 team where you have three receivers because you can take the second tight end and flex them out. The defense now has to decide, do we stay a nickel or do we go to base? they stay base, it becomes a problem. So you can be versatile without having a substitute. That's the key to football. That's the key to basketball. Where basketball moves their players around, one guy's playing point, and he moves to off guard. And you can move pieces without substituting, then you become a really talented team.

And when you have a guy like Howard, you become really talented because he's the why, and he allows you to move everything around. He makes the other players better. And that's why he can play on the line. He can block. He can make plays in the middle of field. I think it's a no-brainer. I think he's the best offensive weapon that you can utilize.

And if teams know how to utilize tight ends, which the Patriots obviously do, and Carolina has done in the past, I think they can become hugely valuable. And I think Howard's really good because he can play on the line. That's the key. All these other tight ends in the draft, the Mississippi kids, those guys, they're more Fs. Fs are going to be more common. It's the guy that can block and protect against a nine technique or blocking the run game against the tough Sam linebacker.

Howard can do that. Yeah, a lot of people, and this is, Probably a lot of Carolina Panthers people, but have said that he's like the perfect counterpart. You know, you have... He would be perfect for him. You have a two-tide-in system. It's sort of like the 20th and Patriots the way that they would set it up. And then you never substitute.

See, you don't substitute. It's a little bit like when the Bulls were great, they had Jordan and Pippin. And then you would try to substitute when they move Jordan from point to off or move Pippin from small to power. And then you're trying to match up to it. You have to substitute. They don't. So as soon as you substitute, they shift the... round. It's like Rubik's Q. You never catch up to them.

Yeah. You're always one step behind. You're always one step behind. So that's the key. That's what the Patriots are trying to do with 12 personnel. They're trying to be versatile without substituting. That's what they want to be. And if you can get that, that's hard to do because oftentimes what happens is you sit there and say, well, I'd rather have a third

receiver on the field than this backup tight end. Good point. So then they become an 11 team. But when you can get a guy like Reed or you can get a guy that can make plays in the slot, then you go to this 12 thing, all of a sudden you can really do a lot of damage. Yeah, that all checks out. Those are our 20 answers.

We said we were going to give you 21 answers. This is just my one guy, my one answer that I think a team can really take a shot on this guy. Wide receiver out of LSU, a five-star guy coming out. Really didn't get quite a shot because there was just Brandon Harris, and the whole LSU quarterback situation was a mess. But Malachi Dupree is a guy that I really like Lombardi. Am I right and thinking that? I watched LSU all year, and then my son was at Louisville this year,

and they played him in a bowl game. And I remember tweeting out that LSU has some. some unique, talented players on offense. And Dupree was one of them. I mean, Al Davis would love the kid because he's a state triple jump champion. When you're a triple jump champion, that means you can really run. Forget what your time was. You can really run.

That's verified. And it's not win-aided. So, you know, I think he's a raw player. I think he's going to have to learn. Everybody at LSU and the receiving and on offense has got to learn a new language because what they were running at LSU, that 9-on-7 offense is really bad. And some of those kids paid a price for it because they weren't exposed to a a really good offense.

I mean, it's just a fact. I mean, you can argue with, you know, Ed Orsirond is not going to be happy with me, but the reality of it is, it's a bad offense. It's not a modern-day offense. And so I think these guys pay a price. But that's why the receiver board's so hard to do, because if you don't do receivers from one to 400 of them,

and there's more of them than anything, these guys in the fourth and fifth round could end up being better than guys you pick in the second because they'll develop into being a better player. So you have to know all the receivers. I like this kid. My sleeper is a kid named Aaron Jones from U-TEP. a running back. I think he's a kid that came out two years ago when I was doing him. I thought

he was going to, two years ago, I thought he was a really good player. And then all of a sudden, he got a knee injury. But this kid reminds me a little, he's got some Curtis Martin. He does it. His 40 time isn't great. He's got some Curtis Martin style in his running. He's really effective with the ball. He can do a lot of things he can catch. Playing at UTEP against level competition. I think this guy's a really good sleeper player. There's my sleeper. There's 22 players for you. Yeah, it's 22. So we promised 21. We offered up. 22. There you go. It's just generosity. That's here at GM Street. That's basically what the G stands for. And now we're going to wrap this thing up. Word on the street, the segment where we

throw out news stories and try to figure out what's going on. A lot of stuff going on. Yeah, a lot of stuff going on. First thing up, word on the street. Kirk Cousins comes out and says he wants to be wanted. He wants to play somewhere where he's wanted. Kirk Cousins, can someone just want him finally? You know, there's a great scene in the Sopranos where big pussy's in a car with the FBI agent and the and he hands him over all the stack of money. And the FBI agent says to him, he says, you know, Puss, you got to understand, you know, I'm your best friend. And Pussy says to him, you know what, my best friend's in that envelope. He's Ben Franklin.

He's in that envelope. Well, you know what? Kirk Cousins, your best friend is the money they're paying you. Yeah. That's the, they're showing you to love. Just take the money, just like Pussy. He understands where the love comes from. The love's from Ben Franklin.

There it is. Take the coin. Don't be stupid. I get so tired. Dude, you want us to send him a card? Yeah. He just wants people to love it. I mean, come on.

I love Kirk Cousins, but grow up. Come on. You're getting 24 freaking million dollars. Just accept it. What more do you need to be loved? Yeah, get a beach house. Enjoy it. Yeah.

Live your life. Exactly. You can do it, Kirk. I promise. Next up, Dalvin Cook, running back out of Florida State. Sliding into the second round, Dowland Cook. He's taking a slide. Yeah.

What's that about? I think injury's a factor. I think character's a factor. I think, you know, look, as I said earlier on the podcast, the first rule of scouting, learn more about them before you get them. I think this is one of the situations. I know everybody at Florida State saying, no, he's a really good. There's some issues that you've got to deal with and you've got to understand.

You've got to say to yourself, is this worth bringing him in? And there's a lot of good backs in the draft. So, you know, he went from being head of Fournette to now he's behind McCafferty and maybe even sliding down. So, you know, I think the medical has a lot to do with it as well. See, medical, when these mocks come out, they don't have the medical grades in them. So they don't really, like Allen's got a medical. And some teams have other players on a medical, you know, like John Ross, the wide receiver from Wisconsin, Washington. His medical is atrocious by some.

teams. Now, maybe some other teams, it's not. But when he starts slipping on draft day, it's more because of the medical than because all of a sudden he's not a good player. So it's not always character, is what you're saying. Yeah, exactly. Next up, the NFL schedule is been tinkered around. There's some thoughts. There's some little things that have been jumped out there, maybe what the Thanksgiving game would be. But the main thing that we have coming out is that Monday night football, they want it to be better. They won't be better Monday night football games.

It used to be the best games. I mean, now it's the worst games. I mean, do you think we're going to see Blake Bortles on Monday night again? I mean, I don't want to have to deal with that. I hope they do give ESPN pays the most money. They should give them the better games. I mean, at least give them one or two good games a year. It's so hard to, and I think what happens with the schedule is they give ESPN some of these games where the team that they thought was going to be good doesn't end up as well.

So they end up in the season, and they got these really dud-tine of games. Meanwhile, NBC's flexing out of their bad games and getting good games. So I would like Monday night to be much better. I was encouraged today, though, Tate, that Thanksgiving, we're going to have a lot. little pumpkin cheesecake because my man Ben McAdoo's Giants will be playing the Redskins allegedly. I don't know if this will be true, but that's always good. I think we should have Ben McAdoo on Thanksgiving Day for everybody to enjoy and watch him call.

I could just see it right now. Yeah, it's just comedy. It's high comedy. It would be great. I love it. Next up, the NFL, there's an NFL scout that came out, Lombardi. I don't know if you've seen this. No, I haven't.

T.J. Watt, younger brother of J.J. Watt, gave him a higher grade than J.J. Watt coming out of the draft. You know, I don't know if that's, you know, I did JJ Watt coming out. The J.J. Watt in Houston and the J.J. Watt at Wisconsin are two different players. Yes. Okay. Like, he wasn't, like, I'll defend the scouting. I'm not in love with T.J. Watt.

But I will say this. I think J.J. Watt improved his game when he went to Houston. That dynamic, explosive, just take the game over, wasn't always on the Wisconsin tape. I'm not saying anything. It wasn't always on the Wisconsin Cape. I could see that. I wouldn't agree with this. but I could see the point.

And final note for today's GM Street, Aaron Hernandez, obviously that situation came out yesterday, a tragic situation, a tragic story for a guy that seemed to have so much problems and upside once upon a time in football at Florida and then obviously early on with the Patriots. Hate hearing that news.

Are there any thoughts that you have just on that, you know, I'll never understand his life. I mean, when I would be around the Patriots and watched him, I never saw a player with better quickness, I never saw a player with hands and can do things. Remember,

backfielty, round the ball. It's really a tragic. I think Belichick talked about this in a CNBC interview. He called it a tragedy. And it's true. But when you take a step back in my profession or my former profession in terms of evaluating players, character becomes so important. And I think what you learned from the Hernandez thing, and we've learned it all through our careers, is sometimes the people that are on the campus that are telling you about the players are not always telling you what they know or perhaps they don't even know. And you have to dig deeper. Last week when I spoke to Florida, I told those players down there, that the reality of it is, is their coaches are told to tell you nothing but positive things about

their players. That's their job. You have to accept that as an NFL scout. It's a car salesman industry. You've got to accept it because that's what they have to do. It helps their program. But as an NFL scout, you've got to dig deeper. And I think that's where, you know, we all missed on the character of players. And when you look at some of the situations, the character of this kid and what he was involved with in high school and then in college and then obviously at the Patriots, it's really tragic. And he had a chance to, you know, in the wire where You know, those kids have a chance to either go down the right road or the wrong road, and some of them go down the right road.

Well, Hernandez had that chance to go down the right road. He just couldn't leave it alone. And it almost is reminiscent of how bad things get when you just can't get your background out of your life. Yeah. Sometimes it's better to take the road less traveled. But this has been another edition of GM Street. I really enjoyed the 20 players. I'm glad that we offered two more.

We got a little extra in there. Yeah, that's what we're here for. We will be back next week. The draft is next week. We'll have all types of draft coverage. Lombardi will be doing all things Ringer-related on the NFL side. You'll probably have some separate interviews.

You'll probably be on with Robert Mays, but we'll also be back for at least two episodes. Yeah, two episodes of GM Street next week. We'll keep you informed. We'll keep you up to date, and we'll keep you all things drafts. Talk you next week.