0:02

Eagles Entertainment.

0:07

With the Kent pick in the NFL

0:09

Draft the Philadelphia Eagle

0:11

Swect.

0:12

You're listening to the Journey to the Draft podcast.

0:17

Welcome to the Journey the Draft Podcast. I'm your host

0:19

Fran Duffy, and we continue our divisional

0:21

recaps with our final episode of

0:23

our divisional recaps of the twenty twenty

0:25

three NFL Draft. We're gonna start things off

0:27

with Draft Buzz where Ben Fennell and I we're gonna

0:29

get into the AFC and NFC

0:32

North, so we're gonna cover all four teams in the NFC

0:34

North, then three of the four teams in the AFC

0:36

side to wrap up our twenty twenty three

0:39

NFL Draft recaps. We're also gonna catch up

0:41

with Alex Cazora with the Blueprint.

0:43

We're gonna cover the Pittsburgh Steelers. There everything

0:45

that Omar Khan, the general manager did in his

0:48

first year running the draft for the Pittsburgh

0:50

Steelers out in the western part of

0:52

the state. Really appreciate the time from Alex

0:54

here this week on the podcast. As

0:56

always, make sure you head on over to Apple Podcast. Leave

0:58

us a rating, leave us a review of You've Got a Question, Leave

1:00

it there in the comment box. We will answer it here

1:03

at an upcoming episode. We're not that far away

1:05

from turning our attention to twenty twenty four, so make

1:07

sure you stay subscribed right here on the

1:09

Journey of the Draft Podcast. That said, let's get

1:11

into the Draft Buzz. It's time to catch up with Ben Fenel.

1:16

Now it's time for Draft Buzz.

1:20

All right now, time for Draft Buzz as that welcome in Ben

1:22

Fennel here to talk through the teams in the

1:24

NFC and AFC North. We're gonna do seven

1:26

of those eight teams again. We're gonna wait for the Pittsburgh Steelers

1:29

until our blueprint segment. Let's start in

1:31

the NFC, where Ben, we are going to go with

1:33

a team that surprised a lot of people in the first

1:35

round of this draft, and that is the Detroit

1:38

Lions. Their general manager Brad Holmes,

1:40

their head coach Dan Campbell. They make two first

1:42

round picks after a trade back from number

1:44

six overall, they get running back Jamiir Gibbs,

1:46

the running back from Alabama, and then Iowa

1:48

linebacker Jack Campbell. Ben,

1:50

in your mind, if you could pick one both,

1:52

either one doesn't matter to me. Why were they the picks

1:55

When you look at Gibbs, you look at Campbell, well.

1:57

I think adding more offensive firepower to Ben

1:59

Johnson's and you know, it is kind of the offseason

2:01

goal here, you know, I think they have a really good establishment

2:04

with the old line, trying to figure out the backfield,

2:06

bringing in David Montgomery. So you kind

2:09

of knew that the relationship with swept in the Lions

2:11

is kind of fracturing, was you know, kind of riding

2:13

its course at the end there. So finding

2:15

a dual threat weapon to

2:18

add to the offense like a Jamier Gibbs

2:20

was a priority this offseason. I think it's important

2:22

to call him a weapon, not just a running

2:24

back. This is the guy that's going to be flexed out into

2:27

the slot, split out wide, certainly

2:29

doing a lot of his work out of the backfield. But this

2:31

guy is an offensive weapon that they drafted

2:34

with the twelfth overall pick. So don't put

2:36

so much of a positional label on

2:38

Jamire Gibbs because he is a special,

2:40

special player, not only as a route

2:42

runner with the ball in his hands. I think he's going to

2:44

be a really exciting addition to this offense

2:47

that is pretty well built in the trenches

2:49

and has some presence on the outside in

2:51

Jamison Williams and a Monroe Saint Brown,

2:54

and you know, bringing in a David Montgomery

2:56

you have that physical back. I think adding

2:58

a Jamier Gibbs fits perfectly into

3:00

that kind of eclectic mold

3:02

of playmakers for the offense.

3:04

Would take us a rewind. It was just over a

3:06

month ago as we're recording this when the pick

3:08

happened. You're in the truck at the draft

3:10

in Kansas City. Were you shocked that Gibbs

3:12

went as high as he did because he wasn't really being talked

3:14

about as going that high in the first round.

3:16

It was more like, oh, like in the back end late twenties,

3:19

in the thirties, maybe in the round two even

3:21

Were you shocked that he went in the top fifteen?

3:23

You know, I think once the lines traded out of the top

3:26

ten, I think anything was in play for

3:28

that team. But it was certainly a team you couldn't

3:30

particularly figure out what they were looking

3:32

for, what the landing spot was. A lot of people

3:34

had projected corner early on if

3:36

they had sit there in the middle of the top

3:38

ten, But you know, trading back, I think it

3:41

was kind of an open season, so we

3:43

were a little bit surprised, especially at the time

3:45

them sitting with DeAndre Swift and David

3:47

Montgomery in the backfield. The add Jumior

3:50

Gibbs suddenly feels very crowded

3:52

and a little unnecessary. But you let,

3:54

obviously the dust settle with the roster

3:56

and Swift situation. Now suddenly

3:59

Montgomery Gibbs are a great kind of thunder

4:01

and lightning combination, and it makes sense

4:03

the further remove we get from it.

4:05

All right, let's go through the rest of these picks here. So

4:07

they hit Gibbs and Campbell in round one. They

4:09

took Draft in the second round, Sam Laporta,

4:11

the tight end from Iowa, Brian Branch

4:14

the safety from Alabama, and then Tennessee

4:16

quarterback Hendon Hooker there, as

4:18

well as Broderick Martin, the defensive tackle

4:20

from Western Kentucky. I believe the first

4:23

non combine invite selected

4:25

in the draft. And then you go into Day three a

4:27

couple selections there, Kolby Sarsdal, the

4:29

tackle from William and Mary and Antoine

4:31

Green the wide receiver from North Carolina.

4:34

So biggest surprise. I think a lot of people

4:36

would be surprised by Gibbs going as high Jack

4:38

Campbell, who he's the guy that you and I both

4:40

loved. It really depends at the end of the day, like

4:43

what do you think Campbell's ceiling is? If

4:45

he was worthy of what was it? Twenty overall

4:47

to Detroit. I love Jack Campbell, so to

4:49

me, like I'm looking at that, like, yeah, like that. I think that's a great pick

4:52

by the Lions. But what was the biggest surprise for

4:54

you when you look at it?

4:55

I mean, throw it. Throw a dart at their draft board

4:57

and there's a conversation from yeah, Gibbs

4:59

twelfth overall, I mean Sam Laporta

5:01

going over Michael Mayer. Yes, that was a big

5:03

conversation, which is obviously one we were

5:05

kind of alluding to as the process led

5:07

up to the draft there that they really weren't that far

5:10

apart as prospects, and then Jack

5:12

Campbell not only the linebacker going in

5:14

round one, but the Lions taking

5:16

a linebacker in round one, which they brought

5:18

back alex anzelone and they have the

5:20

darling Malcolm Rodriguez kind of

5:22

felt settle that Mike and will linebacker,

5:25

So adding a Jack Campbell to that mix. It's

5:27

a little bit of guessing as far as where he projects,

5:30

you know, moving forward, and who the odd man out

5:32

is. But this is a team that is okay

5:34

with drafting a year away or drafting

5:37

for the future. As we saw last year, they traded

5:39

up for an injured Jamison Williams

5:42

and now they're sitting here laughing that they have this offensive

5:44

firepower. I know Jamison's dealing with the suspension

5:47

and things like that, but I think planning for the

5:49

future is something that Brad Holmes

5:51

and this team are more than okay to doing. So a

5:54

lot of these players don't look right at week

5:56

one and say where am I playing Campbell? Where does

5:58

Gibbs fit in? You know, where does to

6:00

play? I think this team takes a very long

6:02

view approach and it's really refreshing to see

6:05

for me.

6:05

I would say the biggest surprise was Brian Branch

6:07

falling to where he did.

6:08

Right. That's another one.

6:10

Yeah, I mean the fact he went forty five

6:12

like Ben that is wild and

6:14

I get it like he was He's a smaller safety.

6:16

He didn't test out of this world, right.

6:18

So and fran this is a team that spent money on the

6:20

secondary they's brought an Emmanuel Moseley and CJ.

6:22

Gartner Johnson and Cameron Sutton,

6:24

and then all of a sudden they're sitting there at the board and saying,

6:27

oh, Brian Branch is available, should we take him?

6:29

Sure? Where does Brian Branch play this year? Same

6:32

thing we're just talking about. I have no idea,

6:34

but I just love the long view approach to this whole

6:36

roster.

6:37

Yeah, I was shocked that Branch fell

6:39

as far as he did. To be honest, he was a guy that we

6:41

would talk about as a top ten or top fifteen

6:43

football player in this class. And again

6:46

I get the vibes of taking a smaller

6:48

safety who didn't test well. I just think, like, three years

6:50

from now, we're gonna be like, man like, how

6:52

did Branch? What a steal for the Detroit Lions

6:54

a Day three early impact player. I went through the two

6:56

guys Antoine Green, especially with

6:58

the James and Williams suspension, I wonder

7:00

if there's a pathway to him making this team.

7:02

Ben just obviously he will need to go and have a good

7:04

camp as a late Day three selection, but he's a

7:06

speeds throughout in North Carolina. He's a speed

7:09

merchant. That's what he was throughout the majority of his

7:11

career. He was a low volume, high

7:13

impact player used down the field, and we

7:16

were watching him as a sophomore down there in Chapel

7:18

Hill. I'll be interest to see if he's able to make this roster.

7:20

Tell me you watched the william and Mary tackle, and I

7:22

will call you a stone face knocker.

7:24

I don't believe I did, but I remember

7:27

Anton Green taking a back seat to like Dads

7:29

Newsome and Dianmi Brown when they were

7:32

just throwing shots left and right. All of a sudden,

7:34

Green was like, where are my targets? And Sam Howell,

7:36

you know, finally threw it to him late in his

7:38

career there. But even if Jamison Williams

7:40

was fully ready to go and didn't

7:43

have the question marks, I see four receivers

7:45

set to make the roster and a manra Marvin

7:48

Jones who they brought back, Josh Reynolds and Jamison.

7:50

I don't see any reason why Antoine Green can't

7:53

beat out a Khaliff Raymond or a Trinity

7:55

Benson or one of those fifth or six

7:57

receivers in the pecking order. This guy's going to

7:59

play special teams. He blocks his butt

8:02

off. He's a great vertical threat, he's

8:04

mature. I really think he's gonna make this team

8:06

and contribute one way or the other, no

8:08

matter what Jamison status is. I think

8:10

as a track background too. So this kick and run,

8:13

Yep.

8:13

He can roll, no question about it. Let's

8:15

move on to our next team here as we now

8:17

take a look at the Chicago Bears, a team that

8:19

previously had the number one pick. They

8:22

trade down in March and end

8:24

up with the number nine pick. Then they trade down again with

8:26

the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles move up, they take Jalen

8:28

Carter, The Bears sit there and they take right

8:31

tackle Darnell Wright from the University of

8:33

Tennessee. Then what were your thoughts

8:35

there on Darnell Right ending up at Chicago. Why was

8:37

he the pick?

8:38

Well, certainly, you know, securing the offensive line

8:40

in front of Justin Fields is a major priority

8:42

in that right tackle spot didn't

8:45

really have a whole lot of talent competition, you

8:47

know, incumbent starter. They need to find someone.

8:49

So I'm glad they were able to trade out of one and

8:51

still get which I'm sure they're stepping

8:53

up to the podium saying the best tackle

8:55

in this draft, which I think Darnell Right

8:58

is certainly in that conversation. I think the card goals

9:00

and Paris Johnson may have a little bit of a

9:02

challenge to that. But I think he fits Chicago.

9:05

I think he's going to just fit that mean,

9:07

nasty demeanor, that Ryan Pace and that

9:09

whole organization want to you know, kind

9:11

of embody. And this guy played outside

9:13

at Tennessee, played in some slop games.

9:15

I just think he fits into that Midwestern

9:18

style. And believe me, the Chicago

9:20

Bears, they're not going to be running the up tempo air raid.

9:22

They're not going to be running one hundred plays a game. Think

9:24

Darnell Right, he's going to be a better pro than

9:27

he ever was on Saturdays because of the

9:29

style that's going to fit his type of

9:31

game. Slow things down, let him be

9:33

a maller. He is ready to plug and play

9:35

at right tackle today. The Bears got a

9:37

good.

9:37

One to me. One big thing that they like to

9:39

talk about, you know, just going back and watching those press conferences,

9:42

was his ability to recover his balance.

9:44

You know a lot of things. Hey, we talk about a tackles

9:47

feet and a tackles strength and power,

9:49

and things like that. They talked about just his billy Yeah,

9:51

like even if a guy gets into his chest and gets

9:53

some one step back into the backfield, his ability

9:55

to kind of reset that anchor, his ability to recover,

9:57

He's never on the ground. That was a recurring

9:59

theme when listening to them talk about Darnell

10:01

Wright in that front office. The biggest

10:03

surprise going through the rest of these picks here

10:05

when you look at Chicago, I'll i'll me just buzz

10:08

through the picks really quick. Here they didn't have their own

10:10

second round pick after trading for Chase

10:12

Claypool from the Pittsburgh Steelers,

10:14

but they still had three Day two selections.

10:16

They select Florida defensive tackle Javon

10:18

Dexter, a guy that I was a big fan of

10:20

in the process, Tyreek Stevenson, the corner

10:22

from Miami, Zach Pickens, the defensive

10:25

tackle from South Carolina. So three

10:27

out of the four picks there from the SEC for

10:29

the Chicago Bears, and then a handful of selections

10:31

here on Day three. I'll buzz through them real quick.

10:34

Texas running back Rashawn Johnson, Cincinnati

10:36

speed receiver Tyler Scott, Oregon

10:38

linebacker Noah Seuell, Minnesota

10:40

corner Terrell Smith, Kennesaw State

10:43

defensive lineman Travis Bell, Stanford

10:45

safety Kendall Williamson. So

10:48

I'll go back to that initial question. There ben the biggest

10:50

surprise when you look at this draft.

10:52

I think the double dipping on Day two at defensive

10:54

tackle. And it's funny they took both

10:56

Dexter and Pickens. And I talked

10:58

to an area scout I think two or three weeks before

11:00

the draft, just gets the landscape on some positions,

11:03

particularly defensive tackle. He felt

11:05

there was a little bit of a drop off after Benton,

11:07

and that's kind of the way things played out. Both

11:09

Pickens and Dexter, by this area scout

11:12

were called lottery picks, and these

11:14

were lottery ticket picks, and that

11:17

these guys have all the tools, all

11:19

the ability, all the size, all the athleticism

11:21

to be not only NFL players but stars

11:25

in the NFL. Now, obviously

11:27

they played and consistent on Saturdays

11:29

and had some dysfunction with their scheme and

11:31

their supporting casts, but I think you would

11:33

be in full Green Spran Dexter, Pickens.

11:36

They're playing the SEC. They both have flashed

11:38

first round ability. They have flashed

11:41

that real impact ability. They

11:43

just didn't do it consistently, and I can absolutely

11:45

see why they would want to take picks on

11:47

these guys on Day two. And believe

11:50

me, they're hoping just one of them cashes

11:52

in because there's a path that both them Starting

11:55

this year. There isn't a whole lot of depth

11:57

or competition in front of them. They need to

11:59

get better against the run, particularly down

12:01

the middle. They improved the linebackers, the TJ.

12:03

Edwards, Tremaine Edmonds, the d tackles.

12:05

There's a lot of pressure on them. I could see Dexter

12:08

and Pickens both playing a lot this year, but

12:10

they're just hoping one of those guys and

12:12

turn into a star for him.

12:13

Yeah, it was a little high for me. For

12:16

Pickens, I wasn't big on him, but I really loved the

12:18

first two selections there on Day two. I love

12:20

Dexter where they got him. I really like Tyreek Stevenson

12:22

as well. Some people kind of bristled then

12:24

taking a corner as high after they took

12:26

a couple of DB's high in last year's draft,

12:29

but I think they really would would have liked to get

12:31

Kyler Gordon full time into the slot and I think

12:33

that might be something we see here from Chicago.

12:36

You know, fran I would bristle for certain schemes,

12:38

but you know, eber Fluss is going to play a lot of Cover

12:40

two. He's going to play a lot of cloud corners. I

12:43

think Tyrek Stevenson is one of the best Cover two

12:45

corners in the class. So if they

12:47

had taken him even earlier eber Fluss's

12:49

scheme, it made a lot of sense now that you're playing a

12:51

lot of Cover one and Pressman. Yeah,

12:53

maybe not. I just think he fits the Bears

12:56

and what they want to do.

12:57

All right, Well, let's get to the next question here. The day

12:59

three early impact for me looking at Tyler Scott

13:01

like, there's plenty of opportunity

13:03

for him to carve out a role here in this receiving

13:05

corps. Obviously he's got a skill set that similar

13:08

to Darnell Mooney, who I believe is entering a contract

13:10

here anyway. But Tyler Scott where they got

13:12

him in the middle of day three, I think that was great

13:14

value. It's gonna be a nice pickup, I think

13:16

for the Chicago Bears.

13:17

Yeah, I'm right there with you, and I was a little surprised to see

13:20

him fall around for this teammate getting drafted

13:22

above him. I think Trey Tucker went earlier than.

13:24

Trey Tucker went to the Raiders in Rown three. That was

13:26

surprising. That's how I went ahead of Scott.

13:28

Yeah, but Tyler Scott was a guy A lot of people

13:30

at comps to Darnell Mooney. So that's a nice

13:32

fit there and certainly a guy I can see getting

13:34

on the field and not just being on the field, contributing

13:37

early and often.

13:38

Yeah, Roshawan Johnson, the running back from Texas they

13:40

took before Tyler Scott, and I think he can

13:42

come in and it wouldn't shock me if he ended up with

13:44

a nice little role in that backfield as well. They

13:46

lose David Montgomery. That made some additions

13:49

there as well. In that backfield they foreman

13:52

from Carolina, But yeah, it would not

13:54

shock me at all. A for Shawn Johnson ended

13:56

up with a bigger share of carriers than people think

13:59

one big picture. I don't know if you had anything there

14:01

for Chicago, but they consistently kind of hammer

14:03

home. This is a trade based operation. Character

14:06

does matter, but they kept hammering home big,

14:08

long fast. That's something that they definitely

14:11

want to continue to add top end talent into

14:13

that organization, just trying to find as many blue Ship players

14:15

as possible. I don't know if you had any thoughts overall,

14:18

just kind of looking at that class from the Chicago no.

14:20

I'm right there with you, and even looking at some of those

14:22

like later picks, the Noahsooles of the world,

14:24

and the way Dexter came out of high school

14:26

and his height, weight, speed and his basketball

14:29

background, even Tyreek Stevenson being a five

14:31

star former Georgia and back. You

14:33

know, these guys have had some dysfunctioning inconsistency

14:36

in their college career. Like you said, high

14:38

level players, high level traits, good

14:40

players to take bets on.

14:42

Let's go to the Green Bay Packers, a team that you know,

14:44

I know you're always watching pretty closely. Here their

14:46

top choice after trading up with the Jets

14:48

and the Aaron Rodgers deal. They take Iowa

14:50

defensive lineman Lucas van Ness.

14:53

Why did van Ness end up staying in the Midwest?

14:55

Well, certainly positional value is really

14:57

important to this Packers team. Good to Kun

15:00

and Lafloor, They're almost always going to go after

15:02

the trenches. In round one, whether O line,

15:04

edge, rusher, corner, one of those premier

15:06

positions, so he kind of knew where they were going.

15:09

And don't forget we had to replace I know,

15:11

Jeron Reid up front, replace Dean

15:13

Lowry up front, some guys that are getting

15:15

a little bit older on the back end, you know, like

15:17

a Preston Smith and some players

15:19

like that. So there was a need to retool

15:21

the defensive line and get more impact players.

15:24

So there's snaps to be had. I

15:26

think finding a young, exciting inside

15:29

outside, versatile player like Van Ness

15:31

was important to this team and for all intents

15:33

fan, he just fits that Packer style

15:36

you know Iowa. You know, he's really

15:38

tough, he wants to go right through you. You want to call him

15:40

that corn fed type of guy. He just

15:42

fits like a Packers pick you. Now, maybe

15:44

not the Brian Bulaga Iowa, but

15:46

certainly in Iowa. On the defensive side will fit

15:48

right in as well.

15:49

He definitely felt like a Packers pick that defense

15:52

they've got what is that? I mean they got to be close to double digits

15:54

first round picks on that side of the ball. Now right in playing

15:57

in that too deep, I would think that's gonna be pretty high expecs

16:00

on that unit.

16:01

Yeah, absolutely, and no'll forget you know, Devonte Wyatt

16:03

didn't play a lot as a rookie last year. He was

16:05

a first round pick. A lot of the attention on kway

16:07

Walker, the other first round pick. They're

16:09

going to need both those sophomores to take huge

16:11

leaps in combination with a guy

16:13

like van Ness coming and performing

16:16

right away, which you draft a guy in the top fifteen,

16:18

there's an expectation for him to have an

16:20

impact. So a lot of pressure on this Packer's

16:22

defense. That kept Joe Barry despite

16:25

all that talent from last year,

16:27

and Heyday's coming up for Rashaan

16:30

Gary too, So this team has a lot going on

16:32

as far as their transition. We're all talking about Jordan

16:34

Love and the offense. I'll forget about this defense.

16:36

There's a lot to.

16:37

Talk about Rashan Gary, JayR

16:39

Alexander Darnell Savage

16:41

a first round pick, Canny Clark a first round pick,

16:43

A lot of blue chip talent there on that side

16:46

of the ball. When you look at that the Packers haul

16:48

overall, I want to ask you about the biggest

16:50

surprise, but real quick for our listeners. I'll just roll

16:52

through their picks here in this draft.

16:54

They take Van Ness in the first round. They come back

16:56

with three Day two selections. Luke Muskgrave

16:59

the tight end from Morgan's Date, Jayden Reed,

17:01

the senior receiver from Michigan State, and then

17:03

another tight end there in Tucker Craft, the tight

17:05

end from South Dakota State. So three state

17:07

schools getting some love there from Green Bay on

17:09

Day two, and then on Day three, I got

17:11

a handful of picks here. Colby wood In the defensive

17:13

lineman from Auburn, a very versatile player. Sean

17:16

Clifford, the quarterback from Penn State. Dontavian

17:18

Wicks, wide receiver from Virginia, Carl

17:21

Brooks the defensive tackle from Bowling Green

17:23

Anders, Carlson the kicker from Auburn,

17:25

Carrington Valentine, a corner who declared

17:28

early for the draft from Kentucky. Lou Nichols

17:30

is the running back from Central Michigan, Anthony

17:33

Johnson, a decorated player, a safety

17:35

from Iowa State, and then the final one,

17:37

Grant Dubo's the wide receiver from

17:39

Charlotte. So laying out all of those

17:41

picks there, Ben, we're talking on close to double digit selections

17:43

here for the Packers in this draft, biggest surprise

17:46

when you look at the hall overall.

17:47

Well, wasn't a surprise with a double dip on tight

17:50

ends. I think there was a clear need and intent to

17:52

address that position. Not bringing back Mercedes

17:54

Lewis, letting Tanyan go to Chicago and

17:56

free agency that y and you

17:59

tight end and forfense very important,

18:01

so not so much a surprise. I think they did

18:03

get put on high alert when Sam Laporta

18:05

went before Michael Meyer and there was that early

18:07

run. They knew they had to go get guys. But

18:10

the biggest surprise to me was seeing Jayden

18:12

Reid go fiftieth overall. Yeah, guy

18:14

had a huge crush on but I didn't see

18:16

a lot of pecking orders that had him go over

18:18

jail and high att the Blitnakoff winner over

18:21

a Josh Downs, who is an exciting

18:23

gadget player. Even guys like Marvin Mims

18:25

and Tank Dell got a little bit more steam

18:27

late in the process. I love Jayden Reid.

18:30

I had him as a Day two player. I just

18:32

did not see him going fiftieth overall.

18:34

But I'm excited he ended up being a Packer,

18:36

and I expect him to be an impact player

18:38

right away.

18:39

So what's your sense on why he was the pick over

18:41

those other guys.

18:42

I just think he fits the Packers

18:44

style of wanting a three level threat from

18:47

the Big ten. He's played outdoors, he has

18:49

a toughness to him, He's a competitive

18:51

player. He tested really well, he showed

18:53

up at the Senior Bowl, was really competitive,

18:56

and nearly every facet down there. I

18:58

just think he was a urging

19:00

more complete player than some of those other guys

19:02

I had listed from the Hyatts, the Dells, the Mims,

19:05

the Downs, which we all know kind of their highs

19:07

and lows and their treats and what their issues

19:09

are and this thing. Once you started looking

19:11

at the landscape receiver, he was

19:13

a safer pick in there, and not only safer,

19:16

was more exciting and had a lot more impact

19:19

potential in my opinion. So he was a guy

19:21

that kind of flirted just a little under the radar

19:23

and that next wave of receivers, not knowing

19:25

where he stood with the you know, Rashid

19:28

rices of the world, and you know that next

19:30

kind of tier. But fiftieth overall

19:32

was right on the money on my board. And I

19:34

had him as a fringe fifty top fifty player

19:37

through most of the process, so I just wasn't sure

19:39

if a team is going to pull the trigger that early.

19:41

Yeah, they talked to him a lot that they do this

19:43

consistently whenever they talk about receiver with this profile,

19:45

but receivers with returnability. That's

19:47

been like going back to like when Ron Wolf was there,

19:50

That's something that they always kind of, you know, give a little

19:52

of a bump to just because of what that player can do,

19:54

not special teams wise, but yards after catch

19:56

wise, Like, Yeah, this is a guy that has the ability to be a playmaker.

19:59

He's got that kick return in more notably the

20:01

punt return experience, and that's something Jaden

20:03

Reid has done at a high level throughout his career, both

20:05

at Michigan State and also at Western Michigan

20:07

earlier in his career. I guess double dipping

20:09

a tight end. On Day two, they took Musgrave

20:12

and then they came back and too Kraft. They said, basically

20:14

like they had a really high grade on Craft and so they

20:16

came in and they've lost a bunch of

20:18

guys in free agency. Marcedes Lewis, I believe still

20:20

unsigned. They lose Tanya into Chicago, so

20:22

clearly some holes there in that position room.

20:24

But it'll be interesting to see how all of those guys kind

20:26

of fitting together. It wouldn't shock me if Craft ended up

20:29

making more of an impact early on

20:31

as opposed to Musgrave.

20:32

Yeah, I think Craft's going to fill into that Mercedes

20:35

Lewis role, have his hand in the turf a little bit more,

20:37

block a little bit more. He's closer to that

20:39

two hundred and sixty pound why tight

20:41

end. I think Musgrave has that seems

20:43

stretch ability, that vertical element, the pass

20:46

game element. It's going to fill into that Robert

20:48

Tunyan role. So neither of them are a peer

20:50

one for one replacing those incumbent

20:52

guys, but just trying to figure out where they

20:54

kind of line. But don't forget Musgrave.

20:56

Obviously from that Oregon State offense, he blocked

20:59

a lot as well.

21:00

He did go through Day three early impact

21:02

players. For me, I'm gonna go with that first one all day three.

21:04

Kobe woulden't yep, Ben I swear

21:06

I said this to you in like February or January,

21:09

was the time when I had just gotten done rewatching Kobe

21:11

Wooden because I watched him in the summer off of his red

21:13

shirt sophomore tape and then watched him again as a

21:15

rechert junior, and you know, again it was like post

21:17

Senior Bowl, pre Combine. I was like, Kobe Woulden

21:20

just kind of like feels like a Packers defensive line and

21:22

they've they've drafted guys like, you know, the Montravius

21:24

Adams of the world. That he was another guy from Auburn,

21:26

but like he had that same kind of like versatile skill

21:28

set, and I was like, he just feels like that would be a good fit

21:30

there in Green Bay, and lo and behold, he ends up there

21:32

with the Packers.

21:33

He was a guy that flashes a true freshman at Auburn,

21:36

and I was like, whoa, this guy's gonna be a first round pick.

21:38

I think I was watching to Kobe MacLean

21:40

or somebody Smoke Monday, somebody behind

21:42

him, and just kept looking at number twenty five. But

21:44

then the next year he'd be a stand up outside

21:47

linebacker. And then the next year he's like a one tech

21:49

and in any game he could find him playing up

21:51

and down the line, very much like Carl Brooks,

21:53

who they took, you know at a bowling green who a

21:55

lot of people wanted to go to the combine kind of

21:57

an awkward three hundred pound defensive end

21:59

that play up and down the line. Both those

22:01

guys I think can have some early impact. But

22:03

my vote Anthony Johnson, Junior, Iowa

22:06

State. I think this guy's gonna eventually

22:08

be a starter. Could be day

22:10

one, week one taking over that Adrian

22:12

Amos roll. This kid's tough, excellent

22:15

top down instincts in that cover four

22:17

kind of quarter scheme where you're playing the run first,

22:20

good play id good tackling, really

22:22

really tough. Then he played corner early

22:24

on, so he has some instincts with the ball in the air.

22:26

But this kid is fearless, and I don't

22:29

think people are realizing the turnover

22:31

at safety with this Packers team. I think Savage

22:33

is eventually on his way out despite

22:35

them picking up the fifty year option. Like I

22:37

had mentioned, Adrian Amos not back with

22:39

the team this year. Rudy Ford they did

22:42

bring back. There's some snaps to be had

22:44

in some dust to kind of settle on the

22:46

back end. So I can absolutely see Anthony

22:48

Johnson Jr. Taking that spot very

22:50

early.

22:51

In his Packers' career, Johnson Junior

22:53

has a very similar kind of profile

22:55

or different players with similar kind of profile to read blanket

22:57

ship and then he's like all four or five years

23:00

harder, posted a ton of production. He's played a

23:02

ton of football for Iowa State. Let's

23:04

now get to our next category here with the

23:06

Green Bay Packers. Just a big picture, I think all

23:08

the takeaways from looking at this draft

23:10

Hall ben.

23:11

No, I think you know, they took a lot of players

23:13

in their neck of the woods, as I like to say.

23:15

They took the South Dakota State tight

23:18

end, they took the receiver from Michigan State, the safety

23:20

from Iowa State, the d lineman from

23:22

Iowa. A lot of their early draft capital

23:25

was those Midwest type of players, which

23:27

I think is important. You know, you want

23:29

guys that are comfortable in the cold, comfortable

23:31

outdoors. You know they're gonna get weather up

23:34

in Green Bay and Chicago and enjoyed

23:36

the comfortable domes in Minnesota and Detroit.

23:38

But Midwest guys are important

23:40

to those types of clubs. And I always go back to

23:43

teams like the Steelers and Mike Tomlin

23:45

telling us the story of deciding between Eddie

23:47

Lacy and Le'Veon Bell. And Eddie Lacy

23:49

had never played a game under sixty degrees, never

23:52

played a game above the Mason Dixon line. Le'Veon

23:54

was a slopper in a mutter out there in Michigan

23:57

State. So that type of stuff matters, and I

23:59

think the Packers took a lot of Packers

24:01

types of picks in my opinion this draft.

24:04

Let's go now to one of the Packers' biggest rivals

24:06

here in the Minnesota Vikings. They didn't pick until

24:08

a little bit later in the first round, obviously

24:10

making the playoffs there for Minnesota,

24:12

but top choice wide receiver Jordan

24:15

Addison, and he was one of the more mocked players

24:17

to the Minnesota Vikings throughout the process. It

24:19

was right in the middle of that wide receiver run there

24:21

in the twenties Ben and they end up with the

24:23

former Bullet Nakoff winner there in Addison.

24:26

Why do you think he was the pick there by Kevin O'Connell

24:28

and the Minnesota Vikings.

24:30

I think the Vikings were one of the more exciting teams

24:32

to try to project, and they had a bit of an

24:34

identity crisis through the media and

24:37

not knowing where they were going with their top pick.

24:39

They going quarterback and looking, you know, to the Kirk

24:41

Cousins of the future. They finally going to get cornerback

24:43

right on the other side of the ball. Oh yeah,

24:46

Adam Deelan's gone. It'd be great to get a running mate

24:48

with Justin Jefferson, make one last run

24:50

on the backside of Kirk Cousins. Deal. I

24:52

had no idea where this team is going, but Jordan

24:55

Addison absolutely fits what they needed

24:57

to compliment Justin Jefferson to replace

24:59

that Adam dealen roll, to give Kirk

25:02

Cousins a weapon, I think on three

25:04

levels of the defense, because Addison's a guy

25:06

can separate underneath, and he knows how

25:08

to work double moves and win down the field as

25:10

well. One of the more prolific deep ball

25:12

receivers I've ever studied coming out

25:14

of Saturday. So he might not get

25:17

every pass over the top, but he's going to

25:19

be able to stretch the defense, stretch the field,

25:21

keep safeties back, make everybody's life

25:23

easier, particularly Justin Jefferson.

25:25

Yeah, and I think that's you know, that's something that they talked about

25:28

in the post draft press conference. Listening to both Kevin O'Connell

25:30

the head coach, and then Quaysia doofa Mensa. Actually

25:33

one of my favorite favorite general managers to listen to in a

25:35

press conference, who's now in his second year there

25:37

in Minneapolis.

25:38

Very well spoken.

25:39

I really enjoy listening to him. One thing they talked

25:41

to a lot about a lot with Addison

25:43

and all the receivers they said that they brought in was

25:45

they, look, you know, Jefferson's going to get a lot of attention.

25:47

We really wanted to put a priority on finding

25:50

guys that can win one on one, and that was one

25:52

of the things about having Adam Field, and he was such a

25:54

technician of his ability to win in the route

25:56

like that. That was a beneficial part of him being

25:58

in the offense. He's obviously got older, he

26:00

leaves in free agency, goes to the Carolina

26:03

Panthers. So finding somebody that could line

26:05

up opposite Jefferson alongside

26:07

TJ. Hockinson, that could win one on one,

26:09

just do that. Literally, just go beat your one on

26:11

one. And that's something they get here in Addison. I

26:13

would say one of the sharper route runners from these

26:16

blue trip receivers at the top of the draft and they

26:18

get a guy that comes in and fits that role

26:20

early. I think that made a lot of sense, and.

26:22

That was the end of the receiver run you had, lack

26:24

of better words, where four in a row went in the middle

26:27

of round one. Do you think the Vikings

26:29

panicked a little bit when they saw Smith

26:31

and Jigbo, then Quinton Johnson, then Zave

26:33

Flowers, Shoot, we better go get

26:35

a receiver. Now do you think Addison was a

26:38

constellation prize or do you think they walked

26:40

away with the guy that fits on the best?

26:43

From what I had heard pre draft was that Addison

26:45

was a guy that they were in on as opposed to

26:48

like a Quintin Johnson or Jay Flowers.

26:50

But you know, I think that when you look at some of the

26:52

other stuff that you were hearing about Minnesota, where

26:54

we'll say like mid April, rather was that they

26:56

were talking about them making a move up for a quarterback

26:58

that went out the window, right, And so there were

27:01

a lot of other things that had been talked about them.

27:03

Some people talked a lot about them with corner

27:05

they chose to wait there. And we're going to get to that here

27:07

in a second. But I think when you add in a guy

27:09

like Addison. I don't think that they viewed it

27:11

as a constellation prize. I think that was a guy that they

27:13

definitely had earmarked as a possible selection

27:15

for them.

27:16

Yeah. Just fun to kind of analyze it in reverse

27:18

there and a CEO they wanted receiver. Is that

27:20

the receiver they wanted or do they have to end up with Addison

27:23

I think ends up being the perfect compliment to that

27:25

team.

27:26

Yeah, and that'll certainly be one. I think when you look

27:28

at these wide receivers as rookies, those four

27:30

guys right in a row, honestly many it wouldn't

27:32

shock me if Adison's the most productive of that

27:34

foursome there in year one when

27:36

it's all none not over the course of their career. But

27:38

you talk about like Roll and the early impact

27:41

potential, I think that Addison has a nice

27:43

little pathway there to some early numbers.

27:45

Let's go to the rest of these picks here. They did not have

27:47

a second round of Minnesota after the TJ. Hockinson

27:49

trade with Detroit last fall. So Mackai

27:51

Blackman, the corner from USC they get him

27:54

in round three, and then just four picks

27:56

there on Day three in the draft, they

27:58

take a couple of LSU Tigers. Jay Ward, the

28:00

safety from LSU defensive back, played

28:02

corner, played nickel and played safety. Jacquelin

28:04

Roy, the defensive tackle from LSU.

28:06

By the way, they talked afterwards about

28:09

Deronte Jones, the assistant there with Minnesota

28:11

was a defensive coach with LSU previously,

28:14

so very close connections there with both of the LSU

28:16

players. They get byu quarterback

28:18

Jaron Hall very late in the draft, and then Dwayne

28:21

McBride, the running back from UAB in

28:23

the final round as well. So Ben biggest

28:25

surprise when you look at the Vikings draft class,

28:28

I.

28:28

Think in a vacuum just seeing Makai

28:30

Blackman go that early. Me too. I

28:32

liked him as a Day three option. I thought, you know,

28:34

a little undersized, but speedy, competitive,

28:37

probably transitioned to nickel, and looking

28:39

at the roster of the Vikings just didn't seem to fit

28:41

their style of corner. You know, they have some big guys

28:43

out there and a keel of evans they took

28:45

last year at a Missouri. They brought in Joan

28:48

Williams from a New England, who we all know is two

28:50

hundred and ten pounds and six to two. Andrew

28:52

Booth is obviously getting back there in his

28:54

second year. They've guys like Tay Gowen. Just

28:56

didn't feel like mkay Blackman was the Vikings

28:59

style of defensive back. But he's

29:01

a really feisty kid. And the only thing I have

29:03

negative on Blackman just a size,

29:06

you know, barely one hundred and eighty pounds. Got beasted

29:08

a lot in the red zone some one on one situations.

29:11

But he's a guy I know that a lot of NFL scouts

29:13

are very high on. He tested really

29:15

well in his best days. Might be ahead of him,

29:17

and you got to compete with Byron Murphy that they

29:19

brought into play, that nickel and

29:21

Jay Ward that they took around later,

29:24

who is a great nickel as well from LSU

29:26

So a bit of a puzzling kind of pieces

29:29

to put together in the DBS of Minnesota.

29:31

Don't forget Lewis Seene, you know who blew up

29:33

his ankle last year, first round pick. I

29:35

don't entirely know how this defensive back room

29:37

is going to fall, you know, into place for

29:39

Week one, but there's some interesting talent all

29:41

over it.

29:42

You made a point I was going to make a little bit later about like big

29:44

picture takeaways in that this is a team

29:46

that lack of size is not going to be a turnoff

29:49

point for Minnesota. And Jordan Addison very

29:51

very light, Makai Blackman, you mentioned very very

29:53

light, jay Ward, he's on the leaner side,

29:55

Jaron Hall and undersized quarterback. So a

29:58

bunch of guys they took just in this clas that

30:00

would be described as undersized

30:03

by their different position metrics.

30:04

I mean, I think they're going to try to roll up Brian Smoa

30:06

as Mike Linsover, you know for next

30:08

year's you know, two hundred and twenty five pounds, so

30:11

some interesting you know roster fill

30:14

out there.

30:14

Yeah, Day three early impact you mentioned jay

30:16

Ward. That was a guy that I felt like he could play

30:18

the most snaps from those Day three picks.

30:21

Yeah, Frank, give me Jacquelin Roy. This guy

30:23

is going to take over that Dalvin Tomlinson one

30:25

tech role. I don't know if he's got a lot of juice

30:27

to get after the passer. But Jack and Roy played

30:29

some good football at LSU. And seeing

30:32

you know, Harrison Phillips in front of them, Kiris

30:34

Tonga in front of them, not a whole lot

30:36

of competition and maybe getting a starting spot at

30:38

defensive tackle. So Jacqueline Roy,

30:40

I think he's going to get some good snaps this year.

30:42

One big picture takeaway, actually I got two big picture

30:44

takeaways that I want to throw in there. Outside of the

30:46

size thing, one thing that came up a lot

30:49

was versatility. Guys that can do a lot of

30:51

different things inside outside, you know, regardless

30:54

of what position the guys played, And that was something

30:56

that they hit on a lot last year as well

30:58

after the draft, and so it definitely feel like versatility

31:00

is important to Adolpha Mensa and

31:03

to Kevin O'Connell. And also they mentioned for

31:05

Brian Floor as as well, the versatility on that

31:07

side of the ball. And then also a number of times been and this

31:09

is interesting, and Kevin O'Connell talked a lot about this, and

31:12

Quasiadofamensa Menson mentioned this

31:14

when it came to Jordan Addison and said, this

31:16

is something that Kevin O'Connell kept saying over and over,

31:19

was that they liked natural players, guys

31:21

with an it factor, like they kind of like that

31:23

hidden element that likes it's not

31:26

easy to quantify, Like they talked about

31:28

that a lot. I just thought that was kind of interesting, you know, especially

31:31

I think people kind of look at Adolpha Mensa

31:33

coming from, you know, with his background previously

31:35

with Cleveland San Francisco and saying

31:38

like, oh, well, you know, everything's like analytically

31:40

focused. Honestly, man, Like, when I look

31:42

at these two drafts for the last two years,

31:44

I don't think this is like a team that at

31:46

least operates from the draft from like an analytically

31:49

forward headspace. Like I don't think that that's the

31:51

way that they look at this.

31:52

Yeah, it's a really interesting roster to look at,

31:54

and heading into twenty twenty three, this is

31:56

probably one of the more sturdy rosters

31:58

from the previous season as far as the turnover,

32:00

and you had mentioned not a lot of draft picks. They

32:03

didn't have a second round pick. I had to go right

32:05

to that third round pick and Blackman and kind

32:07

of a changing at the guard with Eric Kendricks at linebacker.

32:10

But a lot of this team is the same. The old line is

32:12

the same, the backfields the same, you know, replacing

32:14

Addison in for feeling, I think a lot of people

32:16

want to know what this team's intent was to

32:19

compete in their long term view. I

32:21

don't know if they have a long term view for him. So a

32:23

lot of those analytics driven picks are kind

32:26

of long term approaches and agreed

32:28

with you. I don't know if I see that throughout the roster. And

32:31

it's they're an exciting team because I don't

32:33

entirely know what their intent and their

32:35

self scouting views are in their team, and

32:37

they might not even know either. So this Vikings

32:40

team, he knows he's going to compete. Do they have enough

32:42

juice to finally get over the hill. I think it's a big

32:44

question.

32:45

All right, So we've now done all of the NFC

32:47

teams from the draft bend. We're almost that we

32:49

get we could see the top of the mountain

32:51

here. Let's go down to the AFC North Baltimore

32:54

Ravens. A lot of news surrounding

32:56

Baltimore leading up to the draft, all offseason

32:59

and on Draft dead Lamar Jackson. The

33:01

coverage for the Ravens leading into the draft

33:03

was tough, so much the reporting around them how to

33:05

do it with the quarterback and his contract. So I

33:07

would say though, that one player that got connected

33:09

to them often was Zay Flowers and

33:11

that he ends up being the pick there of the wide receiver from

33:14

Boston College. The whispers through the grapevine

33:16

where that Baltimore really really liked Zay Flowers

33:18

throughout the process kind of got that the wind

33:20

of that over the course of like February, March and into

33:22

April, and he ends up in Baltimore. Why do you

33:24

think that they had their eyes set on Zay Flowers.

33:27

Well, adding more creative weapons you

33:29

know, around them are and diversifying the

33:31

offense was certainly a priority,

33:34

and particularly that receiver room. I think we

33:36

all knew where Shot Bateman was going to be back former

33:38

first round pick two years ago, but adding

33:41

Odell Beckham and Zay Flowers and Nelson

33:43

Aguilar need to get more dangerous, more

33:45

threatening at the receiver spot. And not

33:47

only getting those guys for it, you got to use them. So

33:49

I think it's going to take you know, not only the grocery

33:52

shopping, but the chefs to make the meal and then

33:54

you know, start plating, and I think you're

33:56

still going to have that run game, Lamar Jackson

33:58

element, the big offensive line, the power

34:01

run game, the read option stuff with more

34:03

threats on the outside and more easy

34:05

options for Lamar like just getting

34:07

the ball in Zay Flower's hands, whether

34:09

that's screens or end a rounds or quick game,

34:12

but he can also win down the field. Now

34:14

having receivers that opponents need

34:16

to consider, safeties need to

34:18

identify pre snap, Jess is

34:20

going to make Lamar's life a little bit easier.

34:23

And easy offense is the

34:25

name of the game across the NFL. Find

34:27

ways, multiple ways to attack

34:29

your opponent, and the Ravens just got a

34:31

little bit one dimensional with how they were attacking.

34:34

So I think adding some threats to the receiver room,

34:37

starting with Jay Flowers, is part of their

34:39

offseason goal, and they certainly hit that.

34:41

The philosophical change there is going to be fascinating

34:43

to watch and just like how it's executed

34:46

here this year, and a ton of respect for

34:48

Lamar Jackson and for Todd Munkin and you Odell

34:50

Beckham Junior, and you get Rashad Bateman, a player

34:52

you and I both love. He's coming back from

34:54

the list. Frank, you add in Zay Flowers,

34:56

You've got all of these pieces. Mark Andrews

34:58

still there. It's gonna be fast to see how this

35:00

all comes together. But it really looks like it's gearing

35:02

up to a big philosophical shift, and.

35:04

We need some clarity on Lamar. There's

35:07

a bit of a chicken in the egg argument with

35:09

the Greg Roman and Lamar Jackson in using

35:11

receivers. Are they not using them because

35:13

he wasn't a fishing at him? Or were they not using

35:16

him because Greg Roman and Lamar didn't

35:18

believe in that. So there's a lot of conversation

35:20

about their offensive design and

35:23

philosophies. Well, it's a new start with

35:25

Todd Munkin, and I think with these receiving

35:27

threats, the writings on the wall for them

35:29

then make this work and the show

35:31

that hey, we can push the ball down the field,

35:33

we can push the ball outside of the numbers, we can

35:36

get receivers involved, and the excuses

35:38

are kind of drying up here. So I'm excited for a

35:41

new chapter of Lamar Jackson in this Ravens

35:43

offense, no doubt.

35:44

So, like I said, it's gonna be one of the more interesting things to

35:46

follow here early on in this twenty

35:48

twenty three NFL season. Let's look at the rest of these

35:50

picks here. For the Baltimore Ravens, you

35:52

get linebacker Trenton Simpson out of Clemson.

35:55

He's the only Day two selection there for

35:57

the Ravens, they traded their second round pick for Rokwan

35:59

Smith, so they take Simpson in round three after

36:01

getting Rokwon there in round two. Four

36:04

Day three selections here Tavius Robinson, a

36:06

defensive end from ole Miss Kyu Blue

36:08

Kelly at the corner from Stanford there on

36:11

Day three, sala Almave Laulu

36:13

from Oregon the oversized offensive

36:15

tackle, and then Andrew Voorhees, the guard from

36:18

usc who actually tore his ACL

36:20

at the combine so he fell to the final round

36:22

of the draft due to that injury. But ben biggest

36:24

surprise when you look at the Baltimore Ravens draft class,

36:27

Yeah, it's.

36:27

Probably the pegging order of the way linebackers

36:29

fell. And I think for a long time we saw Trenton

36:32

Simpson maybe in the top fifteens

36:34

or some of the process, a lot of Round one love.

36:36

I think we started to give the positional value

36:39

its course and moved him to Day two, but

36:41

nobody expected him falling the eighty sixth

36:43

overall and seeing a guy like Jack Campbell

36:46

go nearly seventy spots ahead

36:48

of Trenton Simpson. So I think just the linebacking

36:50

pegging order and the positional value

36:53

of linebacking moving forward is fun

36:55

to kind of diagnose. And is Jack

36:57

Campbell the outlier? Is what Brad Holmes

36:59

did the outlier? Or is you

37:01

know where Trenton Simpson fell really the more

37:03

appropriate spot of the draft for off ball linebackers.

37:06

So it's fun to dissect kind of in

37:08

the rearview.

37:09

Yeah, that was a surprise for me to him falling all the way

37:11

down to eighty six overall. I was also surprised

37:13

that they didn't take a corner earlier in the draft. They

37:15

had been sniffing around a lot of the top corners on the market

37:17

from the pro side of things during the offseason, so

37:20

it shocked me that they did not go that direction early

37:22

in this draft. That said, my pick

37:25

for the early day three Impacts was the corner that

37:27

they gotten the third day, and that was Kyu Blue Kelly,

37:29

the kid from Stanford. You and I both liked him. My

37:31

kind of corners, just like instinctive tough. Didn't

37:33

have like the most scheme versatility in my

37:35

opinion, but you're looking for like an outside corner

37:38

that's got instincts, He's got some ball skills, I

37:40

like Kyu Blue Kelly.

37:41

Yeah, and they love their dying personnel. So

37:44

I could see him maybe having a role on the inside,

37:46

which he did some safety nickel stuff you

37:48

know at times at Stanford. But I don't see

37:50

if there's any reason why he can't go compete with Rock

37:52

your Sin, Jalen Armor Davis and

37:55

say, let's see who the best man is at that spot

37:57

opposite Marlon Humphrey. So I think

37:59

he can can compete to be a starter right

38:01

away, but if not, just be a subpackage

38:04

player and a special teamer, which I think he's

38:06

more than capable of doing as tons of athleticism

38:09

he's played all over the Stanford defense. Just

38:11

feels like a Ravens pick again, another

38:13

guy. I don't know where he's gonna play. Just

38:15

get better, improve your depth on the back

38:17

end. That's what you do with those Day three

38:19

picks, those fifth round picks. Taybook

38:21

Kailey, I think is a really good grab for them.

38:23

Let's go down to the Cincinnati Bengals,

38:25

their top choice in this draft. They picked very

38:28

late in Round one, Miles Murphy,

38:30

the defensive end from Clemson,

38:33

and the Bengals been had not drafted

38:35

a defensive lineman in the first round since two thousand

38:37

and one, so it had been a long time since they addressed

38:40

it. That was actually one of the big takeaways into having conversations

38:42

with guys like Joe Goodberry over the years, was

38:44

like, yeah, you know, Cincinnati, they've always feel like they

38:47

can wait on defensive line. They've had so much

38:49

success finding guys in the middle rounds

38:51

and you look through I mean the proofs in the pudding there. They

38:53

have had a lot of success taking defensive

38:55

line in round three, round four, round five and

38:57

turning them into solid to really good

39:00

NFL starters. And you guys like Geno Atkins, like, there

39:02

are a bunch of the guys in the pipeline there, but

39:04

they go and they get Miles Murphy here out of Clemson here

39:06

in twenty twenty three.

39:07

Yeah, And I think, you know, any contending team like

39:09

the Bengals expect to be again in twenty twenty

39:11

three, adding past rushing threats,

39:14

adding defensive lineman is going

39:16

to be a good thing and a safe bet. And I think

39:19

Miles Murphy again, a player that was mock

39:21

consistently in the top ten now sliding

39:23

to the back end of round one, really good

39:25

value. Miles Murphy did nothing the past

39:27

four or five months for his stock to drop.

39:30

It just other guys leap brogged him. So

39:32

I think he's a really good pick there late

39:34

round one and had a premium

39:36

position and a spot that the Bengals can

39:38

certainly need and use, you know, chase

39:40

around those AFC quarterbacks. So they

39:43

like what they have in Trey Hendrickson. Sam Hubbard

39:45

is a really good player on the other side, Fran, but

39:47

two defensive ends isn't enough. We

39:49

know Joseph Asaiah to play a lot. We know Cam

39:52

Sample gets out there. Adding a Miles Murphy

39:54

is a legit second defensive end

39:57

to Trey Hendrix and those other guys.

39:59

Adding high level talent like that to the defensive

40:01

line, you just know lou Ana Rooma has got

40:03

to be really excited to grab him where they

40:05

did.

40:06

I'm assuming you did not watch the post

40:08

draft press conferences like I did for the Bengals,

40:11

but that was that was one of the things they had out

40:13

a lot was when you look around the AFC,

40:15

you look at the quarterback landscape, you can never

40:17

have enough pass rushers or corners, and honestly,

40:20

it was something that carried them into Day two because they continue

40:22

to add to the defensive side of the football in this draft,

40:25

because when you look at what they did on day two, after

40:27

taking Miles Murphy in round one, they come back,

40:29

they take the corner from Michigan Dj Turner

40:31

in round two. They take Alabama safety

40:33

Jordan Battle in round three. On

40:35

Day three, they go with Purdue wide receiver

40:38

Charlie Jones highly productive year in his sixty

40:40

year in college. Illinois running back Chase

40:42

Brown looks like he's in line to maybe be the number

40:44

two back there as a rookie, Andre

40:46

Yoshavas the speed receiver from Princeton,

40:49

Brad Robbins, a big footed punter

40:51

from Michigan, and then dj Ivy,

40:54

the toolsy corner from the University

40:56

of Miami. So then when you look at the

40:58

hall overall for since the biggest

41:00

surprise from this whole draft class.

41:02

Probably of them double dipping at defensive back

41:04

on day two, taking DJ Turner

41:06

in round two and then Jordan Battle in round

41:08

three for a back end that I

41:11

thought went into the draft very settled.

41:13

They were asked about this from a media standpoint,

41:15

like, especially with the Battle pick, I think the Turner

41:17

pick didn't take their media core by surprise,

41:19

but Jordan Binley were like, yeah, like why take a safety

41:22

here?

41:22

And not to mention, Jordan Battle wasn't getting a lot

41:24

of Day two love for most scouts and evaluators.

41:27

Who's kind of a settled Day three pick, So it's

41:29

a bit of a reach on Battle to a position.

41:31

A lot of people didn't feel like the Bengals needed,

41:34

yes major turnover with

41:36

losing Von Bell, Jesse Bates,

41:38

Eli Apples has gone in free agency, but don't

41:40

forget they spent some good coin on Nick Scott

41:43

bringing him in from the Rams. Twenty twenty

41:45

two first rounder Dax Hill was pretty much put

41:47

on ice last year. Cam Taylor, Britt

41:49

and a woozy they're going to be the corners. They still

41:51

Mike Hilton at the nickel Suddenly,

41:53

DJ Turner and Jordan Battle really don't have

41:56

spots heading into the season. But

41:58

that's always been the Bengals formula, well, particularly

42:00

on defense. They don't need to thrust

42:03

these young players into the lineup right away, you

42:05

know, whether it's going back to you know, Dax

42:07

Hill last year or a guy like William Jackson

42:10

before that, and players before that, they

42:12

don't always want to throw those young defensive players

42:15

right into the fire. Lou Ana Romo likes

42:17

Vets back there. He likes guys he could

42:19

trust. So if you don't see a lot of DJ Turner

42:21

Jordan battle this year, that's okay.

42:24

This Bengals team takes kind of a long view

42:26

approach, and we all know this season

42:28

is a battle of attrition. You're gonna need some depth

42:30

at some point. It's nice to have some high

42:33

level depth. But biggest surprise Fran was

42:35

probably the double dip there at defensive back.

42:37

Ben I've talked with people that have worked

42:39

for the Bengals in the past and they've basically

42:42

told me, like we would go into a draft and say, hey,

42:44

I don't know how that's going to play out, guys, but we're taking a wide

42:46

receiver in round one. We're taking an offensive

42:49

tackle in round two, We're taking a corner

42:51

in round three, we're taking a linebacker around

42:53

four. Like literally, like, this is the shopping list. This is what we're

42:55

doing, and this is the area of the draft that we're gonna address it. I

42:57

don't know who the players are, but that's what we're doing.

42:59

This is a different operation now. The way that they

43:01

are going about it, they're focusing on primary

43:04

positions early. They're not drafting for like

43:06

dire need right now. To your point, they are happy

43:08

drafting a year out understanding, like yeah,

43:10

like if this guy sits year one, like

43:13

that's okay, you know, Chdobia Woozie, Like, yeah,

43:15

he's blocking DJ Turner right now,

43:17

but he's going on a contract year. DJ Turner

43:19

can step in and be a starter in twenty twenty four.

43:21

Like having those conversations. Same thing with Miles

43:23

Murphy. Like I think when you look at a lot of these

43:26

picks, it's with the future in mind. It's not

43:28

just about right now. And they always

43:30

like hammer like it's best player available, best player

43:32

available, best player available. Character

43:34

I think means more to this team than it has in

43:36

the past. So I think you kind of have to

43:38

throw some stuff out when you're talking about the Bengals

43:41

and what they're doing now in the draft Day

43:43

three early impact, who's the guy that stands out to you?

43:46

Well, not a whole lot of guys to choose from here enough

43:48

it would be a you know, maybe Charlie Jones

43:50

compete with Trent Taylor and Trenton Irwin

43:53

that you know, squeeze into that fourth fifth receiver

43:55

spot, or andre Ashavasa

43:57

being just a different type of presence, maybe

43:59

a long strier that could win down the field.

44:02

But I gotta go with your pick here, fran Chase

44:04

Brown. Yeah, which I don't see a whole lot of

44:06

trouble for him in that backfield and getting

44:09

some snaps. Might have to beat out Chris Evans

44:11

a little bit for that third down scatback

44:13

role.

44:13

But they did give a lot of love after

44:16

that pick to and really like after

44:18

the draft as well to Travon Williams, and it

44:20

seemed like that he was a guy that they've got high hopes

44:22

for.

44:22

You know, I love Travon at Texas A and M.

44:24

He's been in the league for four or five years.

44:26

I was just gonna say, I almost forgot he's still on their roster.

44:28

I'm not sure if you went through some injuries or obviously

44:31

the player Joe Mixon and then some ajp Ryan

44:34

didn't warrant another running back getting touches,

44:36

so he had some pretty good talent in front of him.

44:38

With p Ryan now off in free agency,

44:41

Chase Brown's a fifth round pick. I could see

44:43

a nice little, uh you know, kind of competition

44:45

in that backfield. I like Chris Evans too out

44:47

of Michigan. Some really talented players

44:49

back there behind Joe Mixon. But you know, they're

44:51

gonna want multiple backs back there. You're gonna

44:53

want some diversifying roles coming

44:56

out of the backfield for Joe Burrow. So I

44:58

hope Chase Brown can maybe get some snap and

45:00

maybe he has the Day three early impact.

45:02

Yeah, I think that for all the reasons you said that he

45:04

was my pick for that reason, I think that he can come

45:06

in there. There's a pathway to him being the

45:09

guy behind Joe Mixon and we'll see what

45:11

that means for him.

45:12

Is Jonah Williams still in this team.

45:13

Yeah, he's the right tackle. There be a right tackle,

45:15

and it looks like.

45:16

We Lyle Collins is an expensive backup.

45:18

I think the plan would be that he's going to be a guard the

45:20

offensive line if everybody that's on

45:23

the roster stays in the roster, and like that's the deal.

45:25

It kind of came together nice. Well, you know, it's

45:27

not a top five offensive line.

45:29

I like Jackson Carmen at guard. I like Lyle

45:31

Collins at guard, but then they have Cordo Vols and

45:33

Alex Kappa who are kind of like lighter guards.

45:35

I think they have a little bit of like an identity crisis

45:38

with their types of offensive linemen. But there's

45:40

a lot of talent. I just don't know where they're gonna plug

45:42

and play at the moment.

45:43

Well, we talked about some of the big picture stuff

45:45

with Cincinnati. It's a fun team

45:47

to go through, and I enjoy listening to

45:49

their coaches and to Duke Tobin after

45:52

the drafts just kind of going through with this entire

45:54

class.

45:54

They brought in Cody Ford to Orlando brown

45:57

Man. They got some big uglies up there. They got some massive

45:59

players.

46:00

Well, Ben, we've got our final team and as a team

46:02

that had I think maybe the fewest amount

46:04

of draft choices in the entire draft this year, that's the Cleveland

46:07

Browns. Their top pick was not made until the

46:09

third round, and that's Tennessee wide receiver Cedric

46:11

Tillman. They've made a lot of picks Day two

46:14

and they traded at wide receiver.

46:16

They traded for Elijah Moore this offseason, a

46:18

former Day two pick. Did they go back to that? Well

46:20

here and they take Cedric Tilman from Tennessee. Why do you think

46:23

he was the choice here for the Browns.

46:25

They had to take somebody.

46:27

Yeah, right, I had to take somebody. Why not tell

46:29

them that? Now?

46:30

Tell me it was an interesting player. I think right

46:32

in that late day three was where he

46:34

was kind of going to be projected a really interesting

46:36

height, weight, speed player, a guy going down the field

46:38

with really good size and special teams

46:41

upside. And I think them trying

46:43

to find some bigger players in that

46:45

receiver room to pair with the Elijah

46:48

MORI had mentioned, with the Amari Cooper, you

46:50

know, Donovan Peoples, Jones, and it's adding a little

46:52

bit more of a physical presence to that receiver

46:54

room. I think Cedric Tillman really kind

46:56

of checks that box for him.

46:58

Yeah, I think it made a lot of sense. They spent

47:00

a high pick last year at that position

47:03

on the kid from Purdue whose name

47:05

is David Bell.

47:06

David Bell.

47:06

I think to me, like David Bell versus Centa

47:09

Tilman. I think they're a different class of prospect.

47:11

They went and got some speed too. You mentioned Elijah

47:13

moretrade. Don't forget they brought in Marquise Goodwin.

47:16

Track background kid, You know, kind of on

47:18

the backside of his career. Anthony Schwartz,

47:20

third round pick out of Auburn a few years earlier.

47:22

They have some Jaquem brandt Is on that team,

47:25

so they have some serious speed. Now

47:27

we just need to get a little bigger, a little more physical

47:29

at some spots. And I think that's a centric Tillman

47:31

pick.

47:32

All right, Well, let's go through the rest of their selections here.

47:34

So Day two, right after the Tilman

47:37

pick, they take siaki Eka, the defensive tackle

47:39

from Baylor. Then you get Dwan Jones,

47:41

the right tackle from Ohio State there in

47:43

the fourth round of the draft, followed up by Isaiah

47:46

Maguire, the defensive end from Missouri Ucla,

47:48

quarterback Doriyan Thompson Robinson Northwestern

47:51

corner Cameron Mitchell, Ohio State

47:53

center Luke Whipler rounds out their

47:55

haul here in the NFL Draft. So been

47:58

biggest surprise when you look at the even

48:00

brown from the draft.

48:01

Probably the two middle picks there and

48:03

siaki Ika and Dwan Jones, two guys

48:05

that they have the seamstress of the Browns are really

48:07

going to have to work some overtime fitting those

48:10

three hundred and fifty pound frames into their jersey.

48:12

So I think they're really good players. I

48:14

just couldn't figure out where in the draft in the

48:16

NFL covet at them. And I'm not entirely

48:19

sure. You know, Ika's third round

48:21

Dwan Jones fourth round. One team took them

48:23

there, I'm not sure that's the consensus view

48:25

across the league. So trying to sort these

48:27

types of players out for future drafts.

48:30

I know we're kind of reflecting back on the Browns

48:32

and their picks, but a lot of this is free

48:34

evaluators moving forward to and

48:36

the way the league views these players. And Ika,

48:38

who is a brick of a nose tackle with

48:41

not a lot of pass rush upside, and Dwan Jones

48:43

absolutely massive. I really Thoughtdwan

48:46

was going to be more of a second round pick and I

48:48

thought Iko is going to be more of a Day three pick,

48:50

and they could both kind of flip. So trying

48:52

to recalibrate how the league feels

48:54

about these types of players for my own

48:56

knowledge is an interesting exercise.

48:59

Do you recall who the new defensive coordinators in

49:01

Cleveland off the top of my head? No is

49:03

Jim Schwartz.

49:04

Oh interesting, Okay, I

49:07

thought he was just like an advisor role. I didn't

49:09

think that was an official title.

49:10

To know he was in Tennessee as like the you know, senior

49:12

defensive assistant or whatever the title was, but got

49:14

hired this off seasons the DC in

49:16

Cleveland. I had apparently on the call

49:19

with Siaki Eka. He told him like, you're

49:21

not a dump truck anymore. You're a ferrari or something

49:23

like that, like basically, hey, we're gon We're gonna ask you to just like

49:26

pen yours back and go for Eca. That's

49:28

gonna be interesting for a guy that big, that's gonna be that'll

49:30

be interesting to watch day three and he's

49:32

surprised standouts. I mean, you mentioned Dwan Jones being surprised

49:34

that he goes there that early. I kind of think Isaah

49:36

MacGuire, like that's a sneaky name man

49:39

to keep an eye like he could be a starter here as a

49:41

rookie. That wouldn't shock me, dude.

49:43

I loved Isaiah McGuire's tape. I think round

49:45

four is right where he should have landed. I think

49:47

he's going to be a you know, a

49:50

backup defensive end, impact player,

49:52

just very much the way I liked Isaiah Thomas at Oklahoma

49:55

the previous year, who was able to get on the field

49:57

quite a bit last year. They have some interesting

49:59

players on the d line. Isaiah Maguire

50:01

is really exciting. I also like Cam Mitchell.

50:04

I thought he was a really feisty cornerback

50:06

at a Northwestern. He's going to go join his former

50:08

teammate Greg Newsom. Maybe not have a

50:10

spot for this season, but I don't see there's

50:12

any reason why he can't compete to be somebody's

50:14

backup, whether it's Denzel Award, whether it's

50:16

Newsoen, whether it's Emerson, and

50:18

just be a good special teamer. I like Cameron

50:20

Mitchell. I think he was a good fifth round pick.

50:22

Any takeaways here, Ben, When you look at the Cleveland

50:25

Browns in this draft.

50:27

I mean this draft was a little interesting to evaluate.

50:29

Without the first or second round picks. You kind

50:31

of have to weigh what they got

50:33

for those, which is always an interesting

50:36

exercise. And these types of teams

50:38

are fun to evaluate that don't have the draft

50:41

capital to make impacts for next season and

50:43

just seeing what they do with their late picks.

50:45

One big thing, I mean, this is a team that definitely

50:47

prioritizes guys from like the higher level

50:50

of competition, and they've said, like, oh, that's not an eliminator.

50:52

That's true. They made twenty four draft choices

50:55

coming into this year. Every one of their picks this year

50:57

a Power five, but the twenty four picks before

50:59

this, twenty of them were from Power

51:01

five. So they've drafted four guys and was

51:03

now three or four years with Andrew Berry that

51:06

came from the Group of five. Of those

51:08

four guys, though, Ben, they were either guys

51:10

that were like super productive, like

51:12

a Harrison Bryant who won the Mackie Awards

51:14

the top tight end college football that year coming out of FAU,

51:17

or they were Power five transfers Alex

51:19

Wright, James Hudson, and Jerome

51:21

Ford, all of those guys coming from from Power

51:23

five schools before ending up in the Group of five.

51:26

I thought you would enjoy that little nugget.

51:27

Well, they signed like five Ohio State players, so I'm

51:29

not sure if they scouted outside the Ohio Valley

51:32

this class, but Ohio State's a good place to start.

51:34

Yeah right, Luke Whippler and Dwan Jones

51:36

and those guys.

51:37

Have fun Yeah, exactly right. Well, Ben, we

51:39

went through I guess you did twenty eight teams

51:42

here in the in the last few weeks, so I

51:44

know you're happy to put the twenty twenty three to bed. You were,

51:46

You probably watched like one hundred and twenty five

51:48

players so far for twenty twenty four.

51:50

I had one hundred and twenty five watched in April.

51:53

You could always start way too early

51:56

for the next year's draft, but look, we're

51:58

not that far away. Like we're this towards

52:00

the end of the day on May thirty first, which means that we're

52:03

only what like a few weeks away from me, you

52:05

and Dane starting our twenty twenty four previews.

52:07

So buckle up. I hope you're grinding through some

52:09

tape on some players. We'll be talking about the next draft

52:11

here in a few weeks. Thanks for joining us here on the journy of

52:13

the Draft podcast.

52:16

All thirty two teams are always under

52:18

construction. How are they being built? Let's

52:20

check out the blueprint?

52:24

All right?

52:24

Please this week to be joined on the blueprint by Alex

52:27

Kuzora. You could find his work over at Steelers

52:29

Depot, follow him on Twitter for as long as

52:31

Twitter exists at Alex Underscore Kazora,

52:34

Alex thanks so much for joining us here on the Journey of the Draft

52:36

podcast.

52:36

Thanks Rand, glad to be here.

52:38

So let's talk through the Steelers selections

52:40

here in the draft and they trade up, they trade

52:42

up ahead of the Jets and they select Georgia

52:44

left tackle Broderick Jones from

52:46

the University of Georgia. Take us through the why

52:48

why was he the pick? Here?

52:50

The young I believe Richard sophomore or true junior

52:52

from the Bulldogs. Yeah, I think it was a

52:54

couple of reasons. A the scarcity

52:56

of tackle. I think after him, there was Anton

52:59

Harrison, Pittsburgh's showed some interest in him,

53:01

but beyond that, there was a big falloff I think

53:03

in the strength attackles, particularly left

53:05

tackles, and so I think for Pittsburgh that had needs

53:08

at corner left tackle were kind of their two spots.

53:10

This cornerback class was so deep they knew

53:13

they could probably wait on that and get somebody.

53:15

And of course loan Behold, Joey Porter junior

53:17

is sitting there at pick thirty two, a guy they probably would

53:19

have taken at seventeen.

53:20

So it all kind of worked out well.

53:21

I mean, it's the first time Pittsburgh has taken an offensive

53:23

tackle in round one since nineteen ninety

53:26

six. It was the long position. Kevin Colbert

53:28

never drafted in his tenure, in part because Pittsburgh

53:30

was picking usually in the twenties and late teens, and

53:32

some of the top blue ship left tackle prospects

53:34

are no longer there. But I think to the player himself,

53:37

Jones, the athleticism, I think the

53:39

multiple clay in his game where he can become a

53:41

really good tackle. Just a one year starter, full

53:44

time guy at Georgia was attracted at

53:46

Pittsburgh. They want to beef up the trench. You should

53:48

bring in Andy Widel as assistant GM.

53:50

And what they did in Philadelphia building up that O

53:52

line, that D line that carries over to Pittsburgh.

53:55

And while was a Pittsburgh guy, his first NFL

53:57

draft was nineteen ninety eight when he's an intern with

53:59

the Pittsburgh's in their first selection was Alan

54:01

Fanica, and so that kind of sets the tone

54:03

for those big, physical offensive linement

54:05

upfront. So Pittsburgh's vision this year, Fran

54:08

is to play that bully ball, that really strong offensive

54:10

line, defensive line in twelve time of possession,

54:12

run the ball effectively. You need a good tackle

54:15

to do that to protect Kenny Pickett as well, and

54:17

so all those reasons make Broderick Jones

54:19

to pick at fourteen.

54:21

Well, I've said this see in the past, that you do such

54:23

a great job of not just chronicling what

54:25

the Steelers are doing, like from like reported

54:27

interests and like pro day visits and like those

54:29

kinds of things, but also just kind of getting a

54:31

sense of who are the types of players that

54:33

fit the mold of what Pittsburgh has targeted in

54:35

the past. So I'm going to kind of pepper some of these questions

54:37

in with you as we go through some of these selections.

54:40

I thought it was notable listening to Mike Tomlin

54:42

after the Broderick Jones selection. He was asked

54:44

about I believe it was like Brodick Jones like leadership

54:47

as a young player, and he said, look, he's a young

54:49

junior, he's a third year player. I don't

54:51

really care necessarily about like the off

54:53

field, because he's going to grow as a human

54:56

being. We're talking about the ceiling here. And

54:58

I thought it was interesting kind of juxtaposed that

55:00

against what he said about Kenny Pickett a

55:02

year ago, and Pickett was a fifth year senior

55:04

coming out of the University of Pittsburgh, and they were

55:07

like, well, what we like most about Kenny was his high floor,

55:09

like literally going the complete opposite.

55:11

I don't know if that was something that kind of struck a chord

55:13

with you as well, or do you think that they kind of look at that almost

55:16

kind of differently. It's like, hey, like, if this guy's a senior,

55:18

like, this is what we want to see. If this guy's an

55:20

underclassman or a third year player, this is

55:23

what we want to say.

55:24

Sure, I think the circumstances are different. What

55:26

you expect from a third year junior, one

55:28

year starter on a great Georgia team is different

55:30

than what you expect from a quarterback, a fifth year guy,

55:32

you know, leading that pitt Panthers program. And so

55:34

I think expectations are different, and that's totally

55:37

fine. I mean, you know, if Jones could become a leader at some

55:39

point, that's great. But you don't need your left tack

55:41

would necessarily be your leader of the team. He needs

55:43

your quarterback to be a leader of a team. In Pittsburgh's

55:45

offense was the youngest offense in football last year.

55:47

See better have some guys that can stop up and take

55:49

on those veteran leadership roles in pittsburghsill line. If

55:51

you had some veterans and Isaac say Malu

55:54

and Mason Cole and James stein will so there are

55:56

leaders on that offensive line already, you don't need

55:58

necessarily a rookie to come in and be that kind

56:00

of guy. Was really about finding who's going to be the best

56:03

left tackle left tackle of our future. And

56:05

that's why, you know, the leadership matters less in

56:07

the tape, and the upside from an on field

56:09

perspective matters more so.

56:11

Mike Tomlin fielding a lot of questions. Obviously

56:13

he's been there for forever. But Omar Khan, who

56:15

also has been there forever, this was his first draft

56:17

as general manager, So I'm interested to kind

56:20

of get your thoughts on some of the big differences between

56:22

what you saw from Omar Kahn versus Kevin

56:24

Colbert, who had been the GM for a long time before

56:26

that. But as we go through this, just looking at

56:28

these day two selections here by the Steelers, three

56:30

in total. Joey Porter Junior, who was actually

56:33

the most mocked player to the Steelers,

56:35

and a lot of the sharp mock drafts out of Penn State.

56:37

He goes to them at number thirty three overall Wisconsin

56:40

defensive tackle Keanu Benton and then Georgia

56:42

tight end Darnell Washington. Your

56:44

thoughts here on the day two selections.

56:46

For the Pittsburgh Steelers, a really strong

56:48

haul overall nings that did not expect to

56:50

be there necessarily. Porter I thought be a first

56:53

round type of guy. To get him at thirty two Pittsburgh,

56:55

we know more. Con said they got eight or nine offers

56:58

to trade out of that pick. As you sit there that for selection,

57:00

we got the quarterback still there, will Levis Hendon Hooker.

57:03

Pittsburgh could have easily traded out, but Con

57:05

and Tomlin essentially said we would have traded

57:07

out of that pick had Porter not been

57:09

there. And so he's there. The family ties

57:11

that's big in Pittsburgh. If you have a dad to play in the NFL,

57:14

Pittsburgh's gonna want to target you because they love the

57:16

bloodlines there, and of course order being a

57:18

Steeler, being that long press, physical

57:20

corner, they really want to be able to disrupt

57:22

the timing of some of these routes, you know, disruption

57:24

more chase off the line. If DeAndre Hopkins gets

57:26

in the AFC North, they want to disrupt that timming

57:28

that's going to allow DJ Watt Alex Heismith's came

57:30

over to get after the quarterback even easier.

57:33

And so those are the type of corners that they're going

57:35

after Benton later in the second round

57:37

of Pittsburgh Steelers type. It's so hard to find

57:39

that defensive lineman that's six three, three

57:41

hundred pounds thirty three plus insur arms. You just

57:43

don't see a lot of those guys. They're getting smaller, they're getting

57:45

quicker, and so Benton has that size,

57:48

he's got the pedigree Wisconsin defense

57:50

similar to Pittsburgh, and so there's an easier projection

57:52

in terms of the system and the style of

57:55

defense that Benton's coming out of. And then

57:57

for Washington to be there, pick ninety three Pittsburgh

57:59

trades they go from eighty to ninety three,

58:01

still get Washington. Apparently some medical concerns.

58:04

They're about the knees. But you know, the best

58:06

blocker in this class, inline kind of guy. A

58:08

lot of these tight ends they struggle blocking because they were big

58:10

flex stand up tight ends in college. That's

58:12

not Washington. He's an inline guy. He takes pride

58:15

and blocking again. Pittsburgh, they want to be physical, they

58:17

want to be big, they want to run the ball effectively.

58:19

They run a lot of twelve personnel this year with Washington

58:22

and Pat Friarmouth, and so I think big

58:24

physical athletes, that's who these

58:26

three guys are.

58:28

The other big thing just looking at all four of these players,

58:30

all four reportedly we're top thirty visits

58:33

from the Pittsburgh Steelers. Mike Tomlin and Omar

58:35

Khan at the Pro Day, at the Georgia Pro Day. So there

58:37

for Broderick Jones and Darnell Washington.

58:40

That has been a recurring theme over the years.

58:42

Right, if you can just kind of turn the light on

58:44

that for our listeners. If Mike Tomlin goes

58:46

to a pro day, if Omar Cohn's at the pro day,

58:49

that's typically a sign of legitimate

58:51

interest there. Whereas like smoke screen, that's

58:53

not necessarily a thing there with Pittsburgh.

58:55

Yeah, there's no smoke screens. There's no games in

58:57

Pittsburgh.

58:57

And good on them, because the draft is hard enough, tougher

59:00

on yourself by trying to play these games and trying to hide

59:02

who you like and so yeah, every single first

59:04

round pick the Pittsburgh's drafted since twenty

59:07

ten have had either Mike Tomlin or

59:09

the GM Kevin Colbert or Omar Kahn at

59:11

their pro day in Tomlin and Kahn

59:13

like the rest of the NFL to be fair, but they were at Edgeorgia

59:16

Prode So very clear correlation there.

59:18

Let's go to the day three picks here, just three guys here

59:20

this year, Nick Herbig, you talk about the football

59:22

blood lines. They love the football families. Nick

59:25

Herbig joining his brother Nate, the former Eagle. They're

59:27

in Pittsburgh. He's out of Wisconsin. Corey

59:29

Trice, the oversized corner from Purdue,

59:31

and then Spencer Anderson, the offensive

59:34

lineman from Maryland. Any general takeaways

59:36

just from that trio of players there, Alex.

59:38

Yeah, some versatility and the blood lines you mentioned.

59:40

I think you know they're going to start Herbig as

59:42

an outside guy, as an edge guy like he was at Wisconsin.

59:45

I have reservations there just given the size

59:47

profile. I mean six two is fine,

59:49

two forty. He's kind of a thinner guy in the lack

59:51

of length. Typically in Pittsburgh, the shorter

59:54

edge rushers and now James Harrison and Lamar Woodley.

59:57

They were stocky guys. They weren't necessarily really

59:59

the longest guys, but they were be stocky. Herbig not

1:00:01

really that type of guy. So Canny hold up on the edge,

1:00:03

a bit of a concerner, but good athletes should be a core

1:00:05

special teamer out of the gate. Trice

1:00:07

is a guy that fell and again medical concerns

1:00:09

there, some acl issues, ankle issues,

1:00:11

but really good value there. In the seventh round,

1:00:13

I thought he might go back to safety. He started

1:00:16

his Purdue career at safety, then moved to the corner.

1:00:18

I don't know if the long speed is quite there. I

1:00:20

think maybe he's going to be a best fit as a sub packaged

1:00:23

type guy. Maybe match him on some tight ends. I

1:00:25

don't know if he's going to stick at corner, but Pittsburgh will

1:00:27

try him there to begin with. And then Spencer Anderson

1:00:29

versatility. He's played all five positions. He's

1:00:31

got some size, not ideal length, but really

1:00:33

good feed. I thought against Ohio States some of what he could

1:00:35

do in past protection, mirroring getting out

1:00:38

in space. I thought there was some athleticism

1:00:40

there, and so Pittsburgh really focusing on building

1:00:42

their offensive line depth because they got

1:00:44

real lucky last year for Ran, all five starters

1:00:46

played in all seventeen games. The only

1:00:49

team that can say that that's not gonna happen again in twenty

1:00:51

twenty three, someone will get hurt and so you better insulate

1:00:53

yourself with depth, getting Ate herbig, we

1:00:55

dress Spencer Anderson, That's what those guys are here

1:00:57

for.

1:00:58

So Alex, like I said, you do a great job

1:01:00

of kind of chronicling this over at Steelers depot.

1:01:03

But for our listeners that are not familiar

1:01:05

with that, what are some of the big takeaways when you look

1:01:07

at the Steelers, their history of the players

1:01:09

they target, the draft. You're putting together a

1:01:11

mock draft next year it comes to Steelers. What are

1:01:13

some things to keep in mind there when drafting

1:01:15

for Mike Tomlin and Omar Khan.

1:01:17

Yeah, as we mentioned in terms of kind of we call it the blues

1:01:19

clues over here, the signs of what to

1:01:22

look for the PRODA interests follow Where Mike

1:01:24

Tomlin Omar Khan go. That's going to tell you first

1:01:26

round guys. Follow positional coaches. That usually

1:01:28

tells you more second round guys. That's where Joey

1:01:30

Porter, they had a positional coach there with

1:01:32

Nick Kurbig. They had positional coach at the Wisconsin

1:01:34

prode and so those are usually the telltal signs

1:01:37

said they like athletes, you know, Kevin Colbert,

1:01:39

I think after missing on Joe Arvers Jones Ember

1:01:41

when they when Jarvis Jones fell to them, Kevin

1:01:43

Colbert said, we're happy he ran for nine because he

1:01:45

fell to us, and we found out pretty quickly why he

1:01:47

fell to them.

1:01:48

Run into four.

1:01:48

Nine just thought it good enough athlete, and so they kind of course

1:01:50

corrected. You went with some of the hyper athlete

1:01:53

type of guys who watch for guys that are, you know, good

1:01:55

Ris numbers and things like that, and

1:01:57

then clean character. They really don't touch guys

1:01:59

that have a lot off field concerns, guys that don't come

1:02:01

with a lot of baggage. That's kind of been their mantra

1:02:04

the last five or ten years. So I would just

1:02:06

say athleticism, character. Follow

1:02:08

those pro days, you can create a pretty short

1:02:10

list who Pittsburgh is checking out.

1:02:13

Your workspeaks for itself.

1:02:14

Man.

1:02:14

I remember actually there was the morning of

1:02:16

Day two of the draft, you did like a short

1:02:18

list. It was five six players something like

1:02:21

that of here who the Steelers likely are on target

1:02:23

Joey Porter Junior account of Bent two of the names

1:02:26

that were on that list, and so it's

1:02:28

certainly not a surprise that they ended up

1:02:30

in the Black and gold. Alex, thanks so much for joining

1:02:32

us here on the Journey of the Draft podcast, and we'll talk

1:02:34

to again soon.

1:02:35

Thank you, Frand I appreciate it all.

1:02:38

Right, So great stuff there from Alex. Appreciate

1:02:40

his time. Great work over at the Steelers Depot,

1:02:42

A very viable resource if you're following

1:02:44

the Pittsburgh Steelers and what they could be doing schematically

1:02:47

and then also philosophically when it comes to the NFL

1:02:49

Draft. Really appreciate you guys sticking with us

1:02:52

here as we wrap up now our twenty twenty

1:02:54

three recaps for the NFL Draft. Like

1:02:56

I said at the top of the show, we are not too far away

1:02:58

from turning our attention to twenty twenty four,

1:03:00

and so if you want to make sure you were getting

1:03:02

ready for college football season, who the

1:03:05

top players are going to be. We're going to start our conference

1:03:07

previews here right in the thick of summer myself,

1:03:09

Ben Fennel, Dane Brugler. That's the plan, hoping

1:03:12

to stick to it. We'll be back here in the coming weeks.

1:03:14

I'm sure we might have a little bit of content here and there until

1:03:16

those previews start, but stay tuned right

1:03:18

here on the Journey of the Draft podcast