0:02

Eagles Entertainment were

0:07

fifteen pick in the NFL Draft to

0:10

Philadelphia Eagles swect. You're

0:12

listening to the Journey to the Draft podcast.

0:15

Welcome to the Journey the Draft Podcast, presented

0:17

by Life Brand. I'm your host Fran Duffy, and Pro Day

0:19

season is upon us as the pre draft

0:21

process wears on. Just a quick reminder

0:24

for Combine recaps every other podcast right

0:26

now. This week, they're doing one big roundup

0:28

podcast episode, just kind of looking back at all

0:30

the big performers. But what I would

0:32

say is go back. We're not doing a big Combine recap.

0:35

Just go back and listen to our daily recaps.

0:38

Myself, Gabriella di Giovanni. We had

0:40

Dame Brugler, we had Great Cosell,

0:42

we had Charles Davis, we had Cynthia

0:45

Freeland from NFL Network. We had some great guests

0:47

last week out in Indianapolis. We tried to keep the

0:49

episodes a little bit shorter, a little bit more compact,

0:51

really dive in position by position all

0:53

of the top performers from the NFL

0:56

Scout and Combine last week in Indianapolis.

0:58

So we're not going to do a whole big recap. Just go

1:00

back and listen to our daily reports who stood off from

1:02

athletic testing. We always prioritize who

1:04

did well in the positional workouts as

1:06

well, because we know who ran

1:08

the four three, who jumped out of the gym, but who

1:11

looked good in the ball drills and in the bag drills and

1:13

all the positions specific stuff. We're gonna get into

1:15

that every single one of those episodes. To

1:17

go back into the feed, you can go listen to all of the

1:19

other daily Combine recaps. I promise

1:21

it will be worth your time if you have not already.

1:24

That said, let's get into today's episode

1:26

because we've got Pick six with Greg co Sell.

1:28

We're gonna do two positions with Greg running back

1:30

and tight end right at the top of the show. Six

1:32

players that Greg has done on film and

1:34

a few of that he's really really impressed with. We'll get into

1:36

that with Greg here in a little bit. After that, we've

1:39

got Saturday Scouting with Ben Fennel, where

1:41

we've got five from the Combine that have really

1:43

stood out to him. Five players that performed

1:45

out Indian Apples because we didn't get a chance to talk with Ben

1:47

out in India. And then we've got Dame Bruger's mock

1:49

draft. We're gonna break down. We'll talk a little bit of linebackers

1:52

with Ben as well. So make sure you

1:54

before we get into the rest of the show, make

1:56

sure you're head on over to Apple Podcasts. Leave us

1:58

a rating, leave us a review. If you've got questions

2:01

mock draft position rankings, you want us to break down whatever

2:03

it is, hit us there in Apple podcast We

2:05

will get to it here in an upcoming episode that

2:07

said, let's get into a Pick six. Let's chat

2:09

with Greg co Sell about some backs and tight ends.

2:14

Now it's time for Pick six. All

2:19

right, time to kick things off here with Greg co Sell

2:21

for Pick six, the senior producer from NFL

2:23

Films. You can follow him on Twitter at Greg co Sell

2:26

and Greg We're gonna do two positions today, three

2:28

players at each. We're gonna start at running

2:30

back, where I first want to ask you about sec

2:33

star guy that was a really big part

2:35

of Georgie's National championship run, Kenny

2:37

Macintosh. I thought this guy had a really good

2:40

workout on I guess that was Sunday

2:42

at the National Scouting Combine. Greg, But

2:44

it's just going to get your thoughts and see what you saw from him

2:46

on film. Yeah,

2:48

you know what's funny, I thought that the best

2:51

part of him on film was his receiving ability.

2:55

You know. The thing about Georgia backs, as you know,

2:57

and we've seen this in recent years, is they get

2:59

so many big time four star and five

3:01

star backs that rarely debacks

3:03

get you know, two hundred and fifty, two hundred and seventy carries

3:06

in a single season for the Bulldog, So

3:09

you know, he was not a guy that

3:11

I think. He ended his career with two hundred and seventy

3:13

nine carries. He had seventy six receptions.

3:18

You know. I think the

3:20

location of versatility within the formation

3:23

that he brings to an offense is really

3:25

what his best trade is. He can

3:27

line up in the backfield, he can detach from

3:29

the formation, he can run routes at

3:31

all three levels of the defense,

3:34

and we know that that kind of back is certainly

3:36

in demand. He's a matchup weapon in

3:38

the passing game, and I

3:40

think his willingness as a pass protector,

3:43

you know, is also a big factor

3:46

in what he is. I think

3:48

that as a runner, I wouldn't

3:50

call him a special back. As a runner, Frian, I

3:52

don't know what you thought. I think that he does

3:54

have a sense of pace and tempo in both

3:56

the zone and gap scheme run games. He does

3:59

have shore area first, he can change,

4:03

you know, speeds through the hall. I wouldn't

4:05

call him a physical runner, but

4:07

he will absolutely find a place in the NFL

4:10

because he's a natural receiver. He can

4:12

be a big factor in the past game, and

4:14

he's got enough running traits

4:16

that you can line him up and give him the ball on occasion.

4:19

I think you and I see him exactly

4:22

the same way. I think that he's one of these guys

4:24

that there's a bunch of these guys in this tier every

4:26

single year, and certainly here this spring,

4:28

where you know, depending on what

4:30

the opportunity is, he's gonna be like

4:33

a you know, he could be a number one back, like he's got

4:35

the skill set to be a three down player, or he could

4:37

be a three down backup long tirely. I think

4:39

either way, depending on what team he goes to situation,

4:42

he's got that kind of skill set. And I think when

4:44

you talk about his willingness as a blocker,

4:46

how confident he is as a pass catcher, he doesn't put

4:49

a ball in the ground the last two years in the receiving

4:51

game. Looked really good in those drills on

4:53

Sunday as well. Um, this is guy that's been a

4:55

productive pass catcher over the course of his career. You

4:57

go back and even in big games. There was the a

5:00

playoff game he caught the touchdown on that little wide

5:02

receiver screen. He's moved around the formation.

5:04

Like you said, he's got a smoothness

5:06

to him. You know. Even just kind of going through the positional workout

5:09

this past weekend, you kind of saw you He's

5:11

not gonna blow you away with his

5:13

big time speed. He's not like that kind of guy.

5:15

But he there is a smoothness and a fluidity

5:18

to him. You talked about, like the pace and tempo he

5:20

has as a runner. I think he's

5:22

got solid vision and feel. Overall. He's

5:25

got the ability to make people miss in a number of different

5:27

ways. He's just he doesn't have like that a

5:29

trait that makes you go like, oh okay, like this is what

5:31

he can hang his hat on to be like a plus plus

5:33

starter in the NFL. But I really like

5:36

Kenny McIntosh. Yeah, No,

5:38

he's going to play in the league for sure, ye,

5:40

and as you said, it will become team specific,

5:43

scheme specific. The one thing we

5:45

do know is he's not gonna get eighteen to twenty two carries

5:48

a week. He's not that kind of back. He's

5:50

just over two hundred pounds, you know. So

5:52

you'd like to see him add a little bit of body armor there,

5:54

get a little bit bigger, a little bit stronger from that standpoint.

5:57

But yeah, the skill set is certainly intrigued,

6:00

and I do like Kenny McIntosh. Now

6:02

let's get to another one here. This guy's interesting,

6:04

Greg. I'm interested to get your thoughts here on Syracuse

6:06

running back Sean Tucker. A true junior,

6:09

he was an All American as a sophomore. The

6:11

numbers dropped a little bit here this year. He went

6:13

from like just under fifteen hundred yards to just over

6:16

a thousand yards. So, you know, while he's

6:18

still reached the end zone a bunch was not quite

6:20

as productive here in twenty twenty two. But

6:22

I want to get your thoughts here on Tucker five nine,

6:24

two oh seven. He's a little bit of a bowling ball and

6:26

he's got a little bit of juice to him as well. Yeah,

6:29

I mean he's solidly built. He's a compact

6:31

downhill runner. He's got burst, he's

6:33

got a strong lower half. You

6:36

know, I think he works well in confined space.

6:39

I think that you know, he's got patience,

6:41

vision, he understands the fluidity

6:44

of gaps. You know. I think there's a refinement

6:46

to the way he runs. I think

6:48

he can make sharp, decisive cuts.

6:50

You get him to the second and third level. He's kind

6:52

of a slasher and a darter. He's got

6:54

that low center of gravity, as you said,

6:57

given that he's five nine, and I think

6:59

that helps him fit with power. He ran

7:01

through tackles, good contact balance,

7:04

excellent receiver as well. You

7:06

know, the back who came to my mind watching

7:08

Tucker was Austin echol Or the way he

7:10

was used with the Chargers. I

7:12

don't see Tucker is, you know, a true

7:15

foundation back in the sense that he's going

7:17

to get twenty carries a game. But

7:19

Echolor is the Charger's

7:21

feature back, and he gets two hundred carries.

7:23

You know, those backs back

7:26

like that does not get two hundred and eighty. But

7:28

that's that's the player he most reminded

7:31

me of when I watched his tape. Interesting,

7:33

Yeah, I could I could definitely see that a

7:35

little bit different from a body type stamp up. But another

7:37

guy, Um, this is a little bit of a throwback for some of

7:39

our listeners. Another guy he kind of reminded me

7:42

of too, was Michael Turner. When Michael Turner was

7:44

a Northern Illinois. Um, you know this again,

7:46

we're kind of going back away is because he turned into a little

7:48

bit of a different back as he lost a little bit

7:50

of juice. But Michael Turner was the burner

7:52

Turner when he was coming out of NIU. Greg and this

7:55

kid, Sean Tucker. I mean, he runs the sixty

7:57

meter at Syracuse. He's got an outstanding

7:59

track background. We didn't get a chance to see him run

8:01

in Indianapolis, but he does have a little

8:03

bit of jew He's not a like a wiggle and

8:05

shake guy. I mean no, no, a

8:08

contact balance guy. You mentioned like that darting

8:10

run style. Everything is kind of in uh, you

8:12

know, short linear burst movements. But

8:14

I think when you look at Tucker, there's definitely an

8:16

NFL skill set there. No. And it's

8:18

funny you say that because I said that he was

8:21

a little straight line in linear likely the result

8:23

of his sprinter background. Very

8:25

often sprinters are not as loose

8:27

hip as you'd ideally like because

8:30

their training is different than training for football,

8:33

and that's why he's not naturally shifty

8:35

or elusive. But he's sort of a darter.

8:38

But he's a very good receiver and

8:41

he does have burst, so you know,

8:43

again he's going to play in the league as well.

8:45

In some ways, he's similar to Macintosh

8:47

in the sense that he'll probably be team

8:49

in scheme specific as well. Yeah,

8:52

one guy that certainly will be viewed this way,

8:54

and I'm interested to get your thoughts on this player as well, and

8:56

that's UAB running back Dwayne McBride.

8:58

This guy has been crazy productive as a runner

9:00

these last couple of years, thirty two touchdowns

9:03

the last two seasons, but only five catches.

9:05

He's been a non factor as a pass

9:07

catcher. But this guy was an All American this year. And

9:09

if you look at all of like the efficiency metrics,

9:12

like all the yards after contact

9:14

and you know, miss tackles forced and all

9:16

of those numbers speak very very highly

9:19

of Dwayne McBride. I think the film backs that up.

9:21

He's a strong runner, um tackles,

9:23

Tacklers can bounce off him at times. I'm

9:26

interesting kind of get your thoughts though on McBride,

9:28

the UAB junior. You

9:31

know, I liked his tape. I mean, to me, he

9:33

had the look and feel of a professional runner

9:35

fran He's got size, he's

9:37

got patience, he's got vision, he's got

9:39

short area burst, he's got great

9:41

balance both in terms of body control and

9:43

contact balance, and he's got play

9:46

strength and he finished, and

9:48

he's got extensive experience both in the zone

9:50

and get scheme run games. The

9:53

question is because you

9:56

know, he was a volume runner in college

9:58

obviously, and he had no impact

10:00

as a receiver whatsoever. So

10:02

what does that mean when you get him to the next level.

10:05

Will a team see him as, Oh, okay,

10:07

he's he's our foundation back, He's

10:09

the guy we're going to give the ball to, you know,

10:11

fifteen, eighteen, twenty times a week.

10:15

You know, I don't think he's exactly

10:18

this kind of runner, although I think there are similarities.

10:20

But I thought a lot because I love this kid

10:23

coming out and when he's playing in the league, he's been very

10:25

good. He made me think of Eliza

10:27

Mitchell when he came out of Louisiana. Interesting.

10:30

You know, he was a sixth round pick in the

10:32

twenty twenty NFL Draft. We

10:35

know what he's done when he's gotten a chance to play for the

10:37

Niners when he's been healthy. But

10:40

I really like the way he runs. I think

10:42

his balance, as I said, both

10:44

body control and contact balance

10:47

is pretty high level and he just looks

10:49

like an NFL back. I think the

10:51

other big one that's going to be kind of a you

10:53

know, I talked about the lack of pass game usage,

10:55

but the ball security will be an issue as well.

10:57

Nine fumbles in two years, Yeah,

11:00

another number for the kind of back he is, Like, he has

11:02

to be able to be a he has to be able to protect the

11:04

football, and that'll be a one I'm sure

11:06

teams will be worried about here going in through the product.

11:08

Yeah, because he's a traffic runner, and when you run

11:10

in traffic and confined space, you have

11:13

to protect the football. Yeah. You put the ball

11:15

in the ground five times this year as a junior, four

11:17

times last year as a sophomore, and was

11:19

basically a bit player as a freshman, so didn't

11:21

put the ball in the ground that year. But he's

11:23

got to improve his ball security and then kind of proved

11:26

the teams over the course of workouts as well that

11:28

he has some pass game chops. So there's

11:31

the three running backs. Let's now get into a different

11:33

position. What we have not hit on yet so

11:35

far in this segment with you, Greg,

11:37

and that's gonna be the tight end spot. I want to talk

11:39

to you. I'm not a player that I had as my

11:41

number one tight end coming into the season, and it

11:43

feels like he had a giant year

11:45

this year. Is an All American, was extremely productive

11:48

for Utah. And that's Dalton kincaide.

11:50

I want to get your thoughts on kikaide a

11:52

guy. I thought I had a lot of similarities to former Eagle

11:55

zach Ertz last summer. What are your thoughts

11:57

on kincaid and how he projects the NFL. Yeah,

12:00

I watched him last year with his twenty

12:02

twenty one tape and I watched him this year with

12:04

his twenty twenty two tape, and I really

12:06

really like kincaid. Um. He's

12:08

multidimensional, he's multi positional,

12:10

he can line up all over the formation. He's

12:13

a weapon at all three levels. I

12:15

mean, he's smooth, he's athletic, he's a

12:17

strider. He's got the speed

12:19

to run the vertical seam. Um, he's

12:21

got body control, he's got great hands

12:23

to make tough contested catches. Um.

12:26

I thought his burst off the line of scrimmage

12:28

and his lateral quickness to separate at the top

12:31

of his routestem were really, really

12:33

good. Um. You know, I'm

12:36

not gonna sit here. And it's funny you mentioned arts.

12:38

I think he's a more explosive mover. Then he's got

12:40

a little bit more zoo straight line. Yes. Yeah,

12:45

the question I had was and

12:47

and and may he may be that guy? And

12:50

you know, you know how it is when you mentioned a

12:52

guy's name up. Obviously,

12:55

Travis Kelcey's going to be a first ballot Hall of Famer.

12:57

He's arguably the best receiving tight end we've

12:59

ever scene. Arguably, Ye, can

13:02

Kincaid be deployed in

13:05

a way that's similar to Kelsey? You know, I'm

13:07

talking about deployment, not the exact

13:09

I'm not making an apples to apples comparison

13:11

of exact traits. Um, But

13:14

I think if a team sees him as being able

13:16

to be deployed that way, and I'm

13:19

not sure he couldn't be based on his overall

13:21

traits, and skill set, then he is

13:23

really a valuable asset in a passing

13:25

game. Yeah, he's one of those guys that I don't think

13:27

it's gonna be a liability as a blocker. Like you

13:29

put him out there and he's gonna lose slow, he's gonna

13:31

win some matchups, he's not. He's gonna probably gonna lose

13:33

more than he wins one on one, but he does

13:35

enough for you. That's that's why I viewed him

13:37

as a three down guy coming into the coming

13:40

into the season. And I agree with you in terms

13:42

of like the way that he can be used in the function

13:44

of an in the structure of an offense, all

13:46

the different places that he can line up and

13:48

win. Yeah, Like there's no reason why a

13:50

team can't. Now, it just comes down to opportunity, right,

13:52

And to your point, Um, this is a guy

13:54

that's got he's got some route running chops, he's

13:57

got the ability to to be a really

13:59

reliable receiver. I mean just almost never

14:01

puts the ball on the ground. Actually got

14:03

even like looking at like PFF's numbers, just like shocking

14:06

drop percentage, Like one point six percent

14:08

of his past of his targets hit the ground.

14:10

That's like that is a wild, wild number.

14:12

Um, he's been incredibly productive. He was, he

14:15

was really productive at his first stop at San

14:17

Diego University of San Diego. Then he transfers

14:19

up to Utah these last couple of years and has over

14:21

one hundred catches these last two season, sixteen

14:23

touchdowns the last two years. So he

14:25

and he and he caught through contact. He made

14:28

a lot of tough catches. That's what's funny

14:30

because the next guy we're gonna talk about is Michael Mayer,

14:32

who even still like is in most mock drafts.

14:35

Um, you know, I've seen him. He's probously

14:37

the most popular pick for the Green Bay Packers. What are

14:39

they sixteen overall? So that gives you a sense of where

14:41

people think Mayor could go off the board. Um,

14:44

you know, Mayor is just about the same size as

14:46

Kincaide. He's an inch taller, but there

14:48

are only a couple of pounds separating. Kincaide's

14:50

a little bit longer. I think Kinkaid is certainly

14:52

more athletic. Um, It's it's

14:54

really interesting kind of juxtaposing those two players.

14:58

Yeah, and and you know some would argue, I'm

15:00

sure that Mayor is is a little more complete.

15:03

Um, you know, he's not a great blocker,

15:05

but I think you'd probably say he's a better blocker blocker.

15:08

Yeah, he's another guy that I think can

15:10

work all three levels. I wouldn't call Mayor

15:13

explosive, you know, I think Kinkaid

15:15

has a little more juice. But

15:17

but I think Mayor is comfortable striding

15:19

out and accelerating. Another

15:21

guy that catches pretty much everything

15:24

really really good hands,

15:26

no doubt. Yeah, but I thought he did show

15:28

some subtlety in detail at the top of his route

15:31

stems to create separation. Um.

15:33

You know I think, Um, you know, his play

15:36

speed is good. I mean I think

15:38

he ran a four to seven at the combine

15:40

if I'm not mistaken. Yeah,

15:43

And I think you know not that he plays

15:45

at four four Obviously he's a tight end, But

15:48

I think he plays fast. You know, you

15:50

don't feel like he's he's

15:52

you know, a measured mover. You feel like

15:54

he's got a little a little juice to it. You

15:56

wouldn't say he's twitchy or explosive, but

15:58

he's got a little more juice to it. Um, I

16:01

think Mayor is a good prospect. The question

16:03

is you know is he I'm

16:05

not sure he's exactly Kincaid in exactly

16:08

the way he can be deployed. Yeah, I

16:11

think with Kincaid, you can move him to the slot,

16:13

you can move him as an exposo receiver and feel

16:15

like, hey, this guy's gonna win. Mayor

16:17

might win on some of those occasions, but I don't think he's

16:19

gonna win as consistently out

16:21

in space as Kincaid. But you could

16:23

put Mayor in line with his hand on dirt and feel like

16:25

he can compete a little bit better, a little

16:27

bit longer against defensive ends

16:30

and linebackers than what Kincaid can do. So I think

16:32

it does ultimately come down to what

16:34

you want at the position. But I think the

16:36

look, you know, at the end of the day, Kincaid's

16:38

just got a little bit more from a from a pass

16:40

catching standpoint, and we know the value that brings to NFL

16:42

offenses in twenty twenty three. Yeah,

16:45

I would agree with that. All right, let's

16:47

go to the last one. And this is actually a guy I

16:49

still have not gotten to Cucker Craft from

16:51

South Dakota State, who had a great workout

16:54

this weekend out in Indianapolis. I want

16:56

to get your thoughts here on the red shirt

16:58

junior tight end he had the twenty twenties season

17:00

mostly off. I want to get your thoughts here on Craft,

17:02

Dame Brugler favorite as well. I

17:04

really liked. I didn't know anything about him

17:07

other than he's from the same school as Dallas Goddard,

17:10

But I did not know much

17:12

about him at all until

17:14

I saw the workout. Obviously we were sitting

17:16

together in the Dome. I

17:19

think he's one of the best and most complete tight end

17:21

prospects in this draft class. He's

17:23

got athleticism, he's got receiving traits.

17:25

Wait till you see him block. I mean, this kid

17:28

is super competitive as a

17:30

blocker. I mean, and he executes.

17:32

I mean he blocks guys for five minutes. You

17:35

know. Again, you get into the FCS stuff,

17:37

and some guys will knock him down for that. I

17:40

think that he's a really high

17:42

level prospect. Now some

17:45

will compare him to Goddard because the same school.

17:47

I think Goddard it is a slightly

17:50

better athlete than Craft, And obviously

17:52

we know Dallas Goddard with Eagles is a very very

17:54

good athlete. But I

17:57

think that Craft is really,

17:59

really a good prospect.

18:02

He was outstanding getting into his routes

18:04

from attached and flex alignment. He generated

18:07

speed quickly. He's very fluid,

18:09

He's got easy stride length, He's smooth

18:12

transitioning from receiver to runner. He's

18:15

really competitive run after catch. I

18:18

didn't think there was much not to like about

18:20

this guy at all. Ye Oh, Greg,

18:22

I will say, I'm pretty sure Dane had him as

18:24

a top fifty guy coming into the year, and

18:28

I don't think that there's been a lot that would change he

18:30

had, So I know he was funny you say that. It's

18:32

funny you say that, and you know, obviously

18:35

we spend time with Dane at the combine. But

18:37

in my last transition line, I said, I believe

18:39

Kraft will be a top fifty pick in the draft,

18:41

and it would not surprise me if he went higher. There

18:44

we go, Yeah to

18:46

me, I think you look at Kraft from what

18:48

I know and from how you just described him. I mean, that's

18:50

the kind of skills that you're looking for as a three

18:52

down player, an athletic player

18:54

who can be a plus in the

18:57

run game like that. Those are not those Those

18:59

guys don't grow on trees. Then,

19:01

and Craft I mean, he's been an extremely productive

19:03

pass catcher, and if you pair that with the blocking,

19:06

that's a profile you can attach to. Yeah. I

19:08

mean, I know you said you haven't gotten to him yet, but you

19:10

will, I'm sure, y, Yeah, of course when

19:12

you do, you'll see what I'm talking about.

19:14

I mean, this guy's you're

19:16

gonna love the way he plays. He's high effort,

19:19

high energy. And watch him block. I

19:21

mean, you know, you look, we can

19:24

get into detail about technique and fundamentals

19:27

and hand place them in a foot placement. I'm

19:29

certainly not gonna sit here and say I'm an expert in that

19:31

area. But this guy is

19:34

really willing to block, and he doesn't

19:37

stop. I mean, you know, and it's

19:39

not like he's nasty in the sense that you go, man,

19:41

this guy is nasty. He just doesn't stop,

19:43

you know, and he was really kind of

19:45

fun to watch. Yeah. That's

19:48

the thing is when you talk with tight end coaches, with running

19:50

back coaches, wide receiver coaches, you're watching

19:52

these guys at the college level, and they're gonna

19:54

be asked to block more when you get to the NFL.

19:56

How do you project that if they didn't do it often

19:58

in college it's the number one thing I'm looking for

20:00

as guys that want to do it. And if if guys

20:02

are they want to do it, well, then you

20:05

know that's gonna be a little bit of a concern moving

20:07

to the NFL. You know, that's a little bit more of a projection.

20:09

But if a guy shows that he can do it and

20:11

then he comes in, what did he measure in at uh,

20:14

Tucker Craft? He came in? Yeah,

20:18

I mean that's so you have that size with

20:20

that athleticism and that one too. Like again, that's

20:22

a that's a winning combination. And

20:25

in college he did line up at boundary X.

20:27

He ran vertical routes, He made

20:29

tough, contested catches with body control

20:31

in his hands, really good hands. Um,

20:33

you know, I was I started watching

20:35

this guy and you know, you and I have talked about

20:37

certain guys we start watching and we start really

20:40

enjoying watching them, you know, and um,

20:42

and he was one of those guys you stay late

20:44

just to watch them one more game, right, Like it's a you know,

20:46

oh that's the way it becomes. You know, you just start watching

20:48

plays because you know what they're He's fun

20:51

to watch. Yeah, Well, uh, Greg,

20:53

I'm glad we were able to talk through Tucker Craft

20:55

and a couple of these weather tight ends. Three running

20:57

backs in the books as well. We'll be back

20:59

with you next week right here on the Journey

21:01

to the Draft podcast presented by Life Brand.

21:03

Right now we've got Draft Buzz. Let's talk through

21:05

some combine and some linebackers.

21:08

Here another bock draft with Ben Fennel.

21:13

Now it's time for Draft Buzz.

21:18

All right, Joining us here for Draft Buzz my friend

21:20

Ben Fennel here on the Journey of the Draft podcast presented

21:22

by life Brand and Ben Real. Quickly, before

21:24

we dive into some linebacker talk, I want to kind of take

21:27

a look back to last week at the Combine.

21:29

You were there obviously every single day for all

21:31

the action. I want to get your thoughts on just

21:34

five players who either surprised you or

21:36

just blew you away with their workout. It could

21:38

be the athletic testing portion or the position work

21:40

or both. Really take it however you want. We'll

21:42

kind of speed through these, but we'll go one by one. Who's

21:44

the first guy that comes off top of your mind. I

21:47

think it's got to be Iowa linebacker Jack Campbell,

21:49

who I thought tested extremely well, I thought

21:51

he looked really good in his workout, and his

21:53

measurables are really impressive. They're pretty much

21:56

locked step of the Layton vander eshow was a mid first

21:58

round pick, you know, five six years ago out

22:00

of Boise State, and I see a very similar

22:02

type of player. He checked a lot of boxes

22:04

with his testing. I think some people thought

22:07

he was gonna leave you wanting more, but

22:09

I thought on film he showed more than

22:11

enough athleticism and he was just checking boxes

22:14

out in Indie. As far as equating

22:16

that to his athletic testing, he's a really

22:18

good player. I don't know if he's a high end

22:20

linebacker, but I could see this guy playing for ten

22:22

years with like a you know, a Day two

22:25

type of draft capital. Yeah, you and I remember

22:27

the exact day like you and I watched him.

22:29

It was the day of Eagles open practice. I

22:31

think the financial field last summer who

22:33

came in early were you know, let's let's watch a little

22:35

Jack Campbell, And I think when you look at

22:37

him, the one question we had athletically was like, all

22:40

right, what is that long speed? You don't look like? Because everything

22:42

else looked pretty good and all those other tests

22:44

were top notch, and the forty yard

22:46

dash came into four six five, which was like fine, like

22:48

checking the box there, but all those other numbers

22:50

were outstanding. I totally agree with you who's

22:52

number two. It's gonna be Christian Zalez,

22:55

who I thought was going to test very similar to a Patrick

22:57

certain and possibly there were some buzz

22:59

that he was on a top some of cur Tan's numbers. And

23:01

he did across the board, the broad, the vertical,

23:03

the forty all better than Patrick Surtan

23:05

the second probably ten pounds later. I heard

23:08

he shed some weight to do these tests, but he looked

23:10

pretty good and smooth in his drills, really loose,

23:12

hips, had some he did some drops

23:14

here and there. You know, his ball skills come and go. He's a

23:16

corner out there. But I thought his testing really

23:19

checked boxes, and I think he seems to be the

23:21

premier candidate and prospect

23:23

for an alpha shutdown press corner. Yeah,

23:25

he was a guy that you know, it was just good to see not

23:27

just the athletics testing like you mentioned, but to

23:30

see that athleticism carry over. And that's something

23:32

that Ella and I always tried to hit on. Last week,

23:34

like, all right, who were the guys that tested well, but then

23:36

having that carry over to the position drills,

23:38

now we're now we're really cooking. And I thought Gonzales

23:41

was one of those guys who's number three ply twenty years

23:43

old, though he turned twenty one in June. He's just a

23:45

really impressive player. It's a good point. That's a really good point.

23:47

Who's number three. It's gotta

23:49

be Nolan Smith. And while he didn't do a lot of the field

23:52

drills, he's early testing with the jumps

23:54

in the forty really blew people away. And I

23:56

think that was kind of a run the forty

23:59

and run right out, the type of

24:01

shutdown the workout. He really impressed

24:03

me with his explosiveness and the jumps, the broad

24:05

of article both elite and then that forty

24:07

time at you know, sixty three two hundred and

24:09

thirty five pounds. He's an impressive player.

24:12

He's a strong player, he's technically sound, he's

24:14

disciplined. He's played a lot of high level football

24:16

for the University of Georgia. It's just a matter

24:18

of if you can handle a two hundred and thirty

24:20

five pound two forty pound defensive end,

24:22

which won't be for everybody. Probably not a

24:25

four three base end, but probably an odd front

24:27

type of end that he can get some sub rushing out of.

24:29

But he checked a lot of boxes with those first few

24:31

drills, and I didn't really need to see anything

24:33

else. You know, he has a lot of film out there at Georgia, and

24:35

he checks all the boxes on the tape. That's the thing is you're

24:37

betting on him being a little bit of an outlier,

24:40

obviously with the size, but I mean you look right here in the NFC

24:42

East, there are a couple of smaller defensive ends that have

24:44

been terrorizing quarterbacks the last couple of years. A

24:46

Son Reddick and Michael Parsons, obviously with Dallas

24:49

Cowboys, two guys that I mean. Parsons came into the

24:51

league as a linebacker, as an offball guy, was

24:53

not viewed as a strict pass rusher,

24:55

and has developed into the you know, maybe

24:57

the premier pass rusher in the NFL

25:00

who's number four could be DJ

25:02

Turner. I think was a little bit lost

25:04

in this cornerback class. There's some really intriguing

25:07

talent at the top, and trying to figure out where to

25:09

have a Witherspoon Goes and Ringo and

25:11

Emmanuel Forbes, and we know it's a good

25:13

corner class. I just felt like DJ Turner was kind

25:15

of lost in the sauce there. Now. He doesn't

25:17

have the length profile these other guys, probably

25:19

a nickel at the next level, but to come

25:21

out and run a four two six forty with a one

25:24

four seven split, huge jumps.

25:26

He's a really good player. He's got a really good film.

25:28

He's competitive, he's feisty. I'm not willing

25:30

to say he can't play on the outside, but

25:33

he's more than likely probably a nickel at

25:35

the next level. But he really impressed me. And he's a

25:37

guy that is probably on the fringe of a

25:39

lot of people's top fifty, but the NFL

25:41

is very, very high on I think this guy shuts

25:44

down top flight receivers and he

25:46

didn't get targeted a ton this year, but when you watch him

25:48

away from the ball, you kind of see

25:50

why he really blankets people. And if

25:52

you want a press corner that's just sticky and velcro

25:54

and coverage, that's DJ Turner, just not

25:56

the size and length profile you might cove it. Yeah,

25:59

he's the guy that you know. I was disappointed

26:01

we didn't get to see him go through the position workout.

26:03

You know when I watched him on film and you've been on

26:05

him early, like you were on him like late

26:08

last spring, early last summer, and you know, I

26:10

remember, you know, just because you talk

26:12

about the movement skills and the ease of movement just

26:14

pops off film. Almos kind of reminds me of like what

26:16

CJ. Henderson was like at Florida, where it's like elite

26:18

straight line and an elite lateral movement. That's

26:20

DJ Turner probably the best athlete in this

26:23

corner group last week. He's not gonna be for everybody,

26:25

But like you know, the Titans, Silk Roger McCreary

26:27

and you know those types of teams, I think they're really gonna

26:29

like Believe me, I didn't see one hundred and seventy

26:31

eight pound Corner out there on tape in the Big ten.

26:33

I thought he was a little bit bigger. But you certainly

26:35

see the speediness and the lower half explosiveness

26:38

and the way he sticks the hips of receivers

26:40

and get in that of brakes and mirroring. He checks

26:42

a lot of boxes that I don't see. The size given

26:45

a lot of problems, but my last guy here in this

26:47

five pack, it's gotta be Taija Spears

26:49

out of two lane who. I think a lot of

26:51

people are kind of confused on where to peg him,

26:53

and I think the evaluation is easy,

26:56

but what is the valuation and what type of draft

26:58

capital would get it? Spears

27:00

type of running back who. I think

27:03

it's a top five running back in this class and a lot

27:05

of people might have him just behind Bijeon and Jamir

27:07

Gibbs, and I think that's more than appropriate.

27:09

I think someone's going to take him on early day two, maybe

27:12

one of the first picks in round two there

27:14

in that kind of thirty two to forty

27:16

range. He's a really impressive player now.

27:18

He just keeps checking all the boxes that he looks like

27:20

an Aaron Jones type of player at five to nine,

27:23

just over two hundred pounds. Explosive, loose,

27:25

creative, He's a really good route runner,

27:27

catch the ball well. He's a really fun player

27:30

to watch on tape. I can't get enough of this kid. He's

27:32

really really fun to watch. He's infectious

27:34

both on and off the field. I just don't know

27:36

where the NFL values him and where someone's

27:38

gonna pull the trigger on him. We have the conversation about

27:40

running back value and that whole deal. But

27:43

he's a really good player. I could see him going to a

27:45

playoff contending team and being a contributor

27:47

right away. Yeah, we're gonna be doing the running

27:50

backs next week here on the show, and I'm

27:52

excited to see just how all three of us, you, Dane

27:54

and I. I'll kind of talk about Taja

27:56

Spears. He's a fun player. I know you're a fan. You

27:59

know. I've talked about some of the traits that really

28:01

stand out to me, not just like the breakaway speed,

28:03

but just a spatial awareness and his

28:06

vision when he gets up to the second and third level really

28:08

really impressive. I'm a fan of Taj Spears

28:10

as well. That's said before we get

28:12

too far down the rabbit hole of the running back

28:14

talk for next week, Dane and I. Earlier

28:17

this week we did our linebacker preview episode, so

28:19

I really want to quickly hit on that group with you and

28:21

just again kind of a speed round here. Who

28:23

is just your favorite to study on film, Not the guy

28:25

who's the best or who's the top of your board, or

28:27

who you think is gonna get drafted earliest, but just

28:30

the guy that you just had the most fun watching, that's

28:33

gotta be Jack Campbell, you know. And I just feel

28:35

like his processing, his play ID, his you

28:37

know, block recognition, his football

28:39

IQ you see it and feel it on

28:42

tape, and his communication pre snap and

28:44

just the anticipation of action. That's

28:46

you know, NFL linebacker player right there. You could tell

28:48

this guy's a film rat during the week and he's

28:51

a step ahead of the offensive action. And

28:53

that's not an accident. It's the guy that studies really well

28:55

and translate that to the field. He's tough,

28:57

he plays off blocks exceptionally well. He

29:00

is what a linebacker is in the NFL. Maybe

29:02

he doesn't have that wow, you

29:04

know, holy crap type of speed and that elite

29:07

four three, you know type of ability,

29:10

but that's not what any in the NFL to play Michael Little

29:12

linebacker. So Jack Campbell his tape, it's

29:14

a lot of fun to watch, and it's kind of old school

29:16

NFL linebacking, and that's okay, reminds

29:18

me a lot of the way, you know, TG Edwards played at Wisconsin

29:21

and I think the Philadelphia I was just sitting here laughing,

29:23

you know, up to the last three or four years of him at

29:25

linebacker. For me, I'm gonna go with God's

29:27

complete opposite body type, you know, from maybe the biggest

29:29

linebacker in this draft to one of the smallest. And Ivan

29:32

Paced junior at Cincinnati. I talked about

29:34

him with Dane the other day and made

29:36

the comparison to Shack Griffin. I think he's that kind

29:38

of a player. He's kind of like a undersize

29:40

kind of run around you can help you with your past rush

29:43

package, play on special teams. That's kind of

29:45

how if you pace. But man, he's just so

29:47

much fun to study like and the projection

29:49

gets tough, but that is a really fun one

29:52

to watch when you just plug that

29:54

tape in. So Ivan Paced junior from Cincinnati would

29:56

be my vote. How Speaking of which, when

29:58

you talk about like Day three and pace, I think it is probably

30:00

we're looking as a Day three kind of prospect. When

30:03

you're looking at the Day three guys, who has the best

30:05

chance to be an impact starter in your mind, because you know we get

30:07

it at this position, especially every year. Yeah,

30:09

you know, this is a tough one because it's a little bit of admitting

30:12

a guy's gonna fall to Day three as well. Which

30:14

means he has some deficiencies or some

30:16

positional value that's going to take a back seat to

30:18

other guys. But I think Dan Henley

30:20

is writing that fourth round, fifth round type

30:23

of range that's really going to compete when he

30:25

gets in camp. I think you could play all three linebacker

30:27

spots, can do some sub package roles,

30:29

whether it's blitzing or maybe some underneath

30:32

zones. He turns and runs exceptionally well as

30:34

well, being a former receiver at Nevada.

30:36

Thought he checked a lot of boxes with his testing.

30:38

Four or five, four forty and a thirty five inch

30:40

verticals pretty solid for a two hundred and thirty pound

30:43

kid as a thirty three inch arms reminds

30:45

me a lot of Wesley Woodyard if you remember him

30:47

from your fears back out of the University of Kentucky

30:49

and the Broncos. Just has those like wide hips

30:51

and long arms, but not the tallest

30:54

type of linebacker, but really tough off blocks

30:56

and really smooth athlete. I thought Dan looked

30:59

really good in his drills. He checked all the boxes

31:01

I needed. Testing wise, I just don't know if

31:03

he has any particular trait or excitement

31:06

to take him on Day two He's a guy that's

31:08

gonna go on around four round five and just give

31:10

your defensive coordinator and your position coach fits

31:13

about having to not play this guy. I think he's

31:15

really going to compete and give your

31:17

team some tough decisions about, you

31:19

know, whether he's going to be a starter or not. Yeah,

31:21

for me, it would be the guy that I talked about the other day, and

31:23

so I won't go too deep here, but Dorian Williams from

31:25

Too Lane, you know, he's my guy

31:28

in there when we talked about like potential day three

31:30

starter, and I stand by that. I think that

31:32

he is a guy that can be a three down player. Just

31:34

even going back through and buzzing through his film just

31:37

yesterday, and this is a guy that is a

31:39

ton of fun to watch. He's big, he's long,

31:42

he's got outstanding closing speed.

31:44

You see that you believe to make sideline to sideline

31:46

plays. He's a fun player, kind of similar to Henley,

31:48

where it wouldn't shock me if he were one ended up on

31:50

the back end of day two. But if either one

31:52

falls to Day three, I think that the team could potentially

31:55

Dorian and that eight inch wingspan. It's just

31:57

ridiculous man. He is a overwhelming

31:59

blitzer. At the Senior Bowl, nobody could slow him

32:01

down when he was coming forward as really good range.

32:04

He's interesting prospect too. He's just over six

32:06

feet tall, but again, long arms and

32:08

broad shoulders, gets from A to B in a hurry,

32:11

checks a lot of boxes. Again, I just don't

32:13

know if anyone's gonna covet him on day two, but

32:15

he's a guy that people are sprinting up on day

32:17

three to go get him in around four or five. All right,

32:19

favorite linebacker team fit for

32:22

the guys at the top of the draft. So you look at you like

32:24

your top five linebackers, you know, top six,

32:26

seven, whatever it is, Which fit

32:28

do you love for one of them? Well,

32:30

the first thing I think you have to sort through. You know who's gonna

32:32

need some linebackers. You know, it could be the Vikings them

32:35

getting rid of Kendricks, you know, the Steelers

32:37

probably looking for their linebackers of the future. The

32:39

Giants could obviously use some upgrades

32:41

here in Philadelphia. We've seen you know, Kaiser

32:43

White and TJ. Edwards, but

32:45

I think Trent and Simpson to New York Giants would

32:48

be a really good fit. You know, considering all the

32:50

man coverage that Wink lights to play out there,

32:52

considering all the blitzing from the second

32:54

and third levels, I just feel like Simpson is that athletic

32:57

linebacker that you don't have to take off the

32:59

field. And I know Wink loves his Diamond

33:01

Dollar packages and getting speed and man coverage

33:03

guys out there. Well, Trent, and Simpson's a

33:05

little bit of a different cat as far as being an

33:08

off ball linebacker. He has really good man covered

33:10

skills, really good range, really good

33:12

explosiveness. The fact that he ran, you

33:14

know, in the four fours and his size is really impressive.

33:17

I just feel like that's the type of linebacker they're looking

33:19

for out there in New York. And what I also like about

33:21

that fit too, is that if it's not like clicking

33:23

right away, like in base downs, where you won't to be

33:26

able to play in the box from a stacked roll and like

33:28

kind of process through stuff, you might be able to say,

33:30

hey, you know what when we go into sub like he is

33:32

our dimebacker and now that's like all right, Like things are

33:34

a little bit more crystallized there where it's all right, like you're

33:36

a man and man on the back. You're gonna be a blitzer, you know

33:38

what I mean, Like, I feel like that might kind of help

33:41

him his first really role may just be spy the quarterback

33:43

on third down. That's your guy, you know, stay

33:45

with him type of thing and could fall into you

33:47

know, seven eight nine sacks doing that type of role on

33:50

third down. He's done that at Clemson. For

33:52

me, I'm gonna go Noble School to the

33:54

New England Patriots because watching Fummer

33:56

even I remember like thinking like that, like this guy looks

33:58

just like your next Patriots

34:00

second round pick um. You know. And I think when you

34:02

talk about like he's more of a throwback in

34:04

terms of his size playing off the ball as

34:06

a stacked player. But then when he can do you

34:08

know, coming down as a defensive vent, you'd

34:10

think back to like Dante high Tower and whatever,

34:13

all the things that high Tower did for Bill Belichick.

34:15

I think that Sewell can do all of those same things.

34:18

Um. You know, initially, I think Sewell was talked last

34:20

summer is like a top fifteen type pick.

34:22

I think clearly that's not going to happen. But I

34:24

think you start getting into round two, round three,

34:26

I think you can start find that kind of specialized fit

34:28

for him, and a defense like New Englands I think would make

34:30

a lot of sense. Yeah. Absolutely, I

34:32

think that's been kind of a designer pick, and

34:34

that's certainly, you know, the type of linebacker

34:37

Belichick and those types of recruiters

34:40

and evaluators have coveted,

34:42

you know, throughout the years. All right, well, let's get to our mock draft

34:44

round up here, and we teased it earlier this week,

34:46

we are going to break down Dane Brugler's

34:48

mock draft over at the Athletic. But by the way, like I

34:51

actually almost thought bet about doing like a dueling

34:53

mock draft segment because we saw mock drafts

34:55

come out on I think it was Tuesday from

34:58

Dane Brugler, Todd McShay, and Lancz air

35:00

Line. Just a bunch of mock draft content out

35:02

there for those who are so inclined. But let's

35:04

go through Danes here. The top five picks he's

35:07

got. The Indianapolis Colts trading up to number

35:09

one to select Ohio State quarterback CJ.

35:11

Stroud. Bryce Young, the quarterback from Alabama,

35:13

goes off the board at number two to the Houston Texans

35:16

at number three, the Arizona Cardinals stay put

35:18

in select edge rusher Will Anderson from Alabama.

35:20

The Carolina Panthers trade up to number

35:22

four to take Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson,

35:25

and the Seattle Seahawks stay put and take

35:27

defensive tackle Jalen Carter from Georgia

35:30

at number five. So, Ben, we're

35:32

starting to see who the trade

35:34

winds are definitely screaming right

35:36

now. It seems like Chicago almost

35:39

certainly going to be moving out of that number one spot

35:41

here. It's the Colts that move up Chicago.

35:44

Well, I thought that this was actually notable here too. Ben.

35:46

In two of those three mock drafts, both in Danes

35:48

mock draft and in Todd's mock draft, the

35:50

Bears trade down not once but twice in

35:53

those mocks. I think that's kind of notable as well. I wonder if that's

35:55

something that was picked up out on the mean

35:57

streets of Indianapolis. Yeah,

36:00

I could definitely see that happening. As the

36:02

Bears are not one piece or two pieces

36:04

away from competing, you need a lot of help. You

36:06

need to improve and flip that roster, so

36:08

you need to attack it with numbers and quantity.

36:11

So a double trade doown. I could absolutely

36:13

see happening. But with the Cults moving up

36:15

to one, that means it's there picking the

36:17

litter yep. And I think everybody wants to know, you

36:20

know, Shane Steiken, he's a guy that's coach Philip Rivers,

36:22

Justin Herbert and Jalen Hurts. What

36:24

type of quarterback does he want? You know, I have

36:26

a really tough time obviously three completely different

36:29

quarterbacks there, and I just have a really tough time

36:31

figuring out what he covets for

36:33

his scheme. Most obviously CJ. Stroud,

36:35

it's my quarterback one. I think he would fit in any system.

36:38

I think one of the big kind of peeling

36:40

the layers back to these new coaches or what

36:43

do they want for their systems. Yeah,

36:44

he was spoke of the podium on I

36:46

woant to say it was Wednesday in Indianapolis, and

36:49

just talked about you know, the thing about that

36:51

is like all those guys had the intangible, So who

36:53

were the guys that stand out from that end of

36:55

it? You know, I think that's always an important

36:57

part of the equation. I like Stroud in Caroline

37:00

with reich and and Anthony Richardson which

37:02

I can just bring over the Eagles playbook

37:04

and Nika working all the QB runs stuff,

37:07

the vertical shot stuff on the outside. We'll

37:09

see if they have man coverage beating receivers to throw

37:11

them too or not. But we'll save

37:13

that QB talk for another day. Yeah, no question. Well, let's

37:16

get into who the Eagles select here, because the Eagles

37:18

actually trade down in this mock draft

37:20

from Dane Brugler. He trades them down from number

37:22

ten to number fourteen. The Patriots move

37:25

up. I believe they took Peter Scronsky. So

37:27

the Eagles at number fourteen, they pick

37:29

up an extra third rounder and a fifth rounder

37:31

next year, and they take Illinois corner

37:34

Devin Witherspoon. Here's the or they take.

37:36

I'm sorry, I don't know why I have that written down. They take

37:38

Texas running back be Jean Robinson

37:40

here in this mock draft from Dane.

37:43

And here is the blur up here from Dane. Talking

37:45

to league folks Indianapolis, it was almost

37:47

unanimous, no one sees the Eagles

37:49

drafting and running back at number ten. However, several

37:52

mentioned the possibility they trade back and how

37:54

it would make the running back idea more

37:56

palatable for general manager Howie Roseman.

37:58

Last year, Philadelphia use the number thirteen pick

38:00

on he knows tackle Jordan Davis, a position

38:02

many believe can be found outside of the first round.

38:04

The Eagles saw the value because of Davis's

38:07

unique talent. This could be a similar situation.

38:09

The value of a running back this early in the draft

38:12

is a disputed topic, but a talent like Robinson

38:14

alters the equation. So, ben Um,

38:16

you know, since since the offseason

38:18

has begun, I've been tracking a lot of these mock drafts

38:20

and just getting a sense of all, right, who do the big

38:23

names in draft media think that the

38:25

Eagles are taking? Other teams around the Eagles,

38:27

who are they taking? Bijan has become the

38:29

most popular choice from the from big

38:31

draft media with this first first round

38:34

pick. Um, and we'll see, I mean, obviously he is

38:36

a potential game changer at the

38:38

running back position. Yeah, I would have no problem

38:40

taking Bijon in the top ten with the tenth

38:42

pick. Trade down to the fourteenth pick. You

38:45

want to get him at one forty four? Great? I

38:47

think Bijan Robinson's a heck of a prospect.

38:49

NFL Made Ready to play Contributor

38:53

and now it's just your pure philosophies on

38:55

your team need your competitiveness and your

38:57

positional value. But if you're a team like the

39:00

off the Eagles without some extra draft capital

39:02

and reading contend again next year. They

39:04

seem to be a power back away from having another

39:07

really elite roster. So obviously free

39:09

agency still needs to come and go

39:11

in the dust will settle a little bit there.

39:13

But Bijon, in this scheme, that's

39:15

an exciting proposition and one that I

39:17

would have no problem with the fourteenth overall

39:19

pick. And that's the thing too, is that typically a running

39:22

back going high in the draft, they're going to a bad team,

39:24

right and so their prime years are going towards

39:26

a rebuilding squad. That would not be the

39:28

case obviously here in Philadelphia. Let's

39:31

go to three guys that went off the board just before

39:33

and three that went off the board right after. So who's

39:35

like, you know in this range? At number eleven, the Tennessee

39:38

Titans selecting Ohio State left tackle Paris

39:40

Johnson. At twelve, the Houston Texans

39:42

taking Georgia pass rusher Nolan Smith,

39:44

and the Jets at number thirteen taking

39:46

Georgia left tackle Broderick Jones.

39:49

At number fifteen, the Green Bay Packers selecting Alabama

39:51

defensive back Brian Branch. Dan

39:54

has him slotted as a nickel corner. There at sixteen

39:56

the Washington Commanders taking Illinois corner

39:58

Devin Witherspoon, And at seventeen, the Pittsburgh

40:01

Steelers select Penn State corner Joey

40:03

Porter Junior. So, bet, as

40:06

we sit here now in the second

40:08

week of March, which of these picks are

40:10

you writing in penn instead of pencil? Which one do you feel

40:12

best about? Well? I like the Brian Branch

40:14

are the Green Bay Packers pick there? And I know they're

40:17

you know, obviously forecasting maybe having some extra

40:19

draft capital if they trade Aaron Rodgers. There's

40:21

a chance that the Jets kicked that can down the road,

40:24

as they're a team that's ready to contend. But Brian

40:26

branch is a Packers team that maybe

40:29

looking to revamp the nicol the shrunk safety

40:31

and the free safety. And one offseason they picked up

40:33

Darnold Savage's option. We'll see where

40:35

that. Obviously a relationship goes hasn't lived

40:37

quite up to the first round pick

40:39

that they had hoped years ago, but

40:42

Brian branch is a guy I think him play six

40:44

defensive back spots for you. One of the smartest

40:46

players in this draft. And you know, don't get

40:49

so concerned with that high

40:51

four or five four to six speed. He's a guy

40:53

that plays so much faster because of his football

40:55

IQ, his instincts, his intelligence.

40:57

He's a guy I think is gonna make a lot of plays on Sundays.

41:00

Yeah, for me, it would be Roderick Jones, the left tackle

41:02

from Georgia going to the New York Jets. Just feels

41:04

like that has been a match that a lot of

41:06

people have been making. But to your point,

41:08

a potential Aaron Rodgers trade probably throws

41:11

that pick in the garbage can anyway, So something

41:13

to keep an eye on here in the I don't know what the

41:15

Jets feel about their offensive line situation, right,

41:17

you just keep the rowing offensive lineman at this thing.

41:20

You know, it was Mika back then back or is he

41:22

not? As Dayne Brown back? Is he not? Is very

41:24

Tucker going to kick out to the outside or not?

41:26

George fan Back, who they played a lot of money last

41:28

year. They weren't. It wasn't for lack

41:30

of trying it. Some injuries and some tough situations

41:33

last year. They obviously need to revamp that old line

41:35

a little bit, but they still have some

41:37

guys in the henhouse there that I think can still

41:39

play all right. Well. Speaking of offensive lineman, let's

41:42

move to the eagles second pick here in the first round, at number

41:44

thirty overall. Dane has them selecting Tennessee

41:46

tackle Darnell Right. Here's

41:48

the blur from Dane. The Eagles are going to draft a

41:51

trench player with one of their first rounders. Right. Most

41:53

would assume that move upfront would come on defense,

41:55

but don't rule out an offensive lineman. If the fit

41:58

is right. Right would be able to step right in

42:00

and compete for a start for starting reps of guard

42:02

while also being the long term answer at tackle.

42:05

He checks a lot of boxes for what Philadelphia covets

42:07

at the position. Tennessee offensive tackle Darrel

42:09

Right ran a five five zero

42:12

one second forty yard dash at

42:14

three hundred and thirty three pounds, the third facet

42:16

among the fastest among offensive lineman

42:18

winging at least three hundred and thirty pounds at

42:20

the combine since two thousand and three. It was an impressive

42:23

time, and he had a great position to work out as well. Ben.

42:25

That's that's my editorial. Not

42:27

done that, Dames, but just you your thoughts on right

42:29

here. I mean at this point, like is he even there at number

42:32

thirty? It feels like there's been a lot of the buzz been pointing

42:34

to him going higher than this, and maybe even significantly

42:36

higher. I think a lot of these tackles are

42:38

gonna get bumped up, whether Darnell Right,

42:41

Anton Harrison, Dwan Jones. I

42:43

think it drops off a cliff after the first

42:45

six seven tackles. Teams

42:48

that need needs some starter, you know,

42:50

tackle capital, and I think they're all gonna get bumped

42:52

up over the potential

42:54

linebackers, over the tight ends that it's

42:56

a much deeper day two class, potentially over

42:59

the running back actual Jamir Gibbs, potentially

43:01

over some of the receivers you know, like Quentin

43:03

Johnston and Josh Downs and guys like that. You're

43:06

gonna finding themselves on day two. If

43:08

you need a tackle, do not wait, because if

43:10

you think you go snag one on day two, they're gonna be dried

43:13

up and you're gonna be wishing you plucked one,

43:15

either in the first round or a free agency. Yeah, it's

43:17

a he's a good player at Daniel Jeremiah

43:19

had just tweeted out earlier this week he said, you know,

43:22

every step of the process, Darnell Right is checked

43:24

the box. He had great film this year as a senior

43:26

shutdown Will Anderson. He goes to the Senior Bowl, has

43:28

a great week in Mobile, goes to the Combine, does

43:30

a great job there. So just over the

43:32

hours seems to be pointing up there on Darnell

43:35

Right, the tackle from Tennessee. Here

43:37

are the six players that went before and after that

43:40

pick. At twenty six, the Dallas Cowboys selecting

43:42

tight end Dalton Kincaide from Utah. At

43:44

twenty seven, the Buffalo Bill selecting Arkansas

43:46

linebacker Drew Sanders. Your boy, Anton

43:49

Harrison, the tackle from Oklahoma. He goes off the

43:51

board of twenty eight to the Cincinnati Bengals.

43:53

The New Orleans Saints at twenty nine take Clemson

43:55

defensive lineman Brian Brezie. And then at thirty

43:58

one the Kansas City Chiefs selecting du Lan

44:00

Jones, the right tackle from Ohio State.

44:02

So, Ben, I ask you, of those six picks,

44:05

which one made you kind of go, oh, yeah, you could

44:07

definitely see that player team fit. Well,

44:10

let's go right to the AFC Championship game because

44:12

there are two teams with franchise quarterbacks

44:14

and the Bengals and Chiefs tons of weapons

44:17

ready to compete. Again, do not

44:19

neglect those big uglies in front. You

44:21

know, the Chiefs completely revamped all five after

44:23

twenty twenty and that Super Bowl. These are

44:25

teams that are willing to commit to the offensive

44:28

line year in and year out. Cincinnati

44:30

replaced four out of the five last year, still

44:33

had a rough season, still had to play a lot of backups,

44:35

Still are looking for you long term starters.

44:37

So if you have teams

44:39

and franchise quarterbacks and weapons

44:42

and ready to contend, do not neglect

44:44

that offensive line. I think smart teams and smart

44:46

roster building teams like the Bengals and the Chiefs, they're

44:49

gonna keep going back to that. Well, and for all the reasons

44:51

I just mentioned about those tackle

44:53

prospects maybe drying up on day two, well,

44:56

it's looking like the Chiefs and Orlando Brown, are you know

44:58

do for a breakup? Cincinnati's not you happy

45:00

with Lyle Collins out there at right tackle. These

45:02

are contending AFC Championship teams.

45:05

They need some offensive linemen. So I can absolutely

45:07

see Anton Harrison going to the Bengals, Dwan

45:09

Jones going to the Chiefs, or for all I care,

45:11

flip bum and mishmash them. You know. Yeah, for

45:14

me, I looked at Kincaid going

45:16

to the Cowboys at twenty six and I was like, oh, you know what,

45:18

I hadn't really thought of that, because everybody

45:20

seems to be mocking you know, wide receiver

45:22

running back up popular one for the Cowboys corner.

45:25

We've seen linebacker Drew Sanders there. We've

45:27

seen some defensive linemen. So you go all across

45:29

the board. But this is a team obviously that needs playmakers.

45:32

And if you're not in love with any of the receivers

45:34

that fall at to that point in twenty six, why

45:37

not go for Dalton Kincaid? Right? I think that that makes

45:39

a lot of sense. You know that they've got their their

45:41

number one tight end is going into free agency. They

45:44

franchise tagged him last year. You know, do they decide

45:46

They obviously did not decide to do that again. So you might

45:48

go into the saying, all right, well let's get Kincaid. I mean, go

45:50

apples for apples and replacement, and he could be a

45:52

big time weapon here for Dak Prescott.

45:55

So I liked the Kincaid fit there from Dame

45:57

Bruegler. Now, real quick, before

45:59

we get to before he close us up your favorite

46:02

offensive or defensive lineman team fit

46:04

in this mock draft. You look at the trenches either

46:07

side of the ball, which one kind of caught your eyes, like, Oh, I

46:09

really like this fit in this mock draft.

46:12

Well, I think it's the Houston Texans taking Nolan

46:14

Smith at twelve overall, and I

46:16

think he's that level of prospect. I think he could

46:19

sneak into the top ten and for

46:21

all tents and purposes, that Houston line

46:23

it's a blank slate. So I love seeing a CEO

46:26

type of prospect in Nolan Smith, which is what I

46:28

call him. I think he's a culture changer, a team

46:30

changer, a locker room changer, a guy you

46:32

can sell on the field and off the field. And

46:35

to walk away with a draft of Bryce Young and Nolan

46:37

Smith to the Houston Texans, those

46:39

are two picks that turn your team around, your roster,

46:42

around, your philosophy, around the field of your team

46:44

around. So I think Nolan Smith's a heck of a

46:46

prospect. It's one of the higher,

46:48

you know, mockings I've seen twelfth overall. Can I say

46:51

that, I just you know, the popular pick for

46:53

the Texans at twelve has been one of the wide

46:55

receivers, you know, whether it's you know, whether it's

46:57

Quintin Johnson or Addison or whoever

46:59

it is, right, I really would be shocked.

47:01

I think if they went wide receiver at twelve. You know, they

47:03

said this multiple times last year that in

47:06

that draft that they are a meat potatoes

47:08

team in terms of how they want to build it. And Nick's Casario

47:10

comes from New England. We know that that's you

47:12

know, that's the way they want to build this franchise.

47:14

So, yeah, you're gonna take the quarterback high. But

47:17

to me, like I'm thinking offensive for defensive

47:19

line here at number twelve. They shocked everybody

47:21

when they went Kenyan Green in the middle of Round

47:24

one a year ago. It would not shock me if it's

47:26

a Nolan Smith, If this is Lucas van

47:28

Ness, if this is a tackle right like, it

47:30

would not shock me if that's the direction that this

47:33

team went. And so I looked at Nolan Smith, I

47:35

was like, Yeah, this one really does make a lot of sense.

47:37

I do love that one a lot, and I don't know if there's any receivers

47:39

worth that spot, you know, I think if you start

47:41

considering some guys, I can find you some options

47:44

on day two exactly. I don't think there are a whole lot of

47:46

Nolan Smith's on day two, So I think you have to

47:48

kind of weigh the positional depth and that edge

47:50

group is going to dry up quick. The Texans have

47:52

plenty of ammunition for sure in this draft.

47:55

I also love the Klaja Canci pick at number eighteen

47:57

to Detroit and you may you know you talk. Hey,

48:00

Brad Holmes was in LA when they took Aaron Donald,

48:02

so he's seen the undersized d tackle of

48:05

clothes that that makes a lot of sense to me. But just

48:07

even just looking at the way that the lines

48:09

are built, the kinds of players that they have selected in

48:11

the past, cancy I think fits.

48:14

He checks a lot of boxes there for that team.

48:16

So I really liked that fit as well. Bed

48:18

before we cut, you loose just a name or two or

48:20

three that Dane left out of this mock

48:22

draft. I know you're always well, that's one of the first things you

48:25

look at with this mock draft. Yeah, here are the thirty one

48:27

guys that went. But who are some of the names

48:29

that were not in this piece? Yeah, And

48:31

with the thrusting up of some tackles there in the back

48:33

end like Darnell Right, Anton Harrison, Dwan

48:35

Jones, like I said, that means some guys are gonna get pushed

48:38

out. I think Ringo has kind of been a candidate

48:40

to be pushed out, as Dane has him here

48:42

off his first round mock. But the receivers

48:44

Joe Hiatt, Quinton Johnson, Josh down

48:46

So I think we're all first round worthy

48:49

receiver, especially on the back end, They're all

48:51

going to be available on day two, Quintin Johnson. And that also

48:53

means Trenton Simpsons falling to day

48:55

two, a Jamir Gibbs will be a premier,

48:57

you know, a dual threat running back early on

49:00

day two. So some really good players are gonna

49:02

find themselves, uh, you know, hanging on till

49:05

Friday. If a lot of these tackles go on the back end,

49:07

it's a really good point. Some good names there obviously

49:09

once you get into day two. As always

49:11

will Ben, thanks very much once again for joining us

49:13

here on the Journey of the Draft podcast presented by

49:15

life Brand. We will be back next week

49:18

here I mentioned earlier, we're gonna be doing a running back

49:20

preview myself, Dame Brugler. We've got a

49:22

full slate of action coming at you next week right

49:24

here on the Journey of the Draft Podcast presented by life

49:26

Brand.