April 20, 2024 • 52 mins
John dives into his best of from the week that was with his breakdown of the top WR's in next weeks draft (4:30), who he thinks the best pass rushers are and where they would best fit in the NFL (17:27), what the Patriots and Giants should do on draft day (39:11), and how Bill Belichick was made for TV (50:34).
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (01:28):
Happy Weekend, everybody, John Middlecoff here three and out podcasts.
That is what you are listening to. This is the
best of where we combine some of the top things
that we talked about this week, put it together a
little weekend podcast for your listening pleasure. And this week
I did a wide receiver breakdown of the top three
(01:51):
guys Marvin Harrison, Malik Neighbors, Roma Doonza and also on
the pass rushers, Dallas Turner, Revalbama, lot Too, lat Too
of UCLA, and Jared Verse of Florida State. I mean,
all six guys, three wide receivers probably going give or
take in the top ten. All the pass rushers will
(02:14):
surely be gone by I mean that group, I would
say somewhere between sixteen to nineteen. So these are six
of the top you know, twenty players in the draft.
And Belichick because he has a hot button topic, him
and Crafter at each other's throats through the media, and
(02:34):
I kind of dove in why I think he needs
to go to to do something specific in TV to
help change the discourse around the hoodie. So that will
be the show for the weekend, and obviously we'll be
back next week full draft coverage Field Yates. I think
to start the week on Monday. We will have a
(02:55):
mock draft on Wednesday, and then wall to wall draft
coverage Thursday Friday. We're not breaking down six round picks,
but on Thursday and Friday we will have a lot
of content flying on the podcast feed as well as
the YouTube feed, so keep an eye and a lookout
for that. But before we dive into some football, got
(03:17):
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(04:00):
wide receiver scouting report for the top three guys. Obviously
there are other wide receivers and we will dive into
them once they're getting drafted. But we play the hits
here like we're not out thinking the room. Marvin Harrison,
Melik Neighbors, and Romadoonze For me, and I say this
all the time when it comes to the draft, if
you're drafting really high, there is no guarantee. There just isn't.
(04:22):
There is no such thing as a high floor. We
see guys fail all the time. Great athletes, average athletes,
the tryhard. We've seen every type of player not live
up to the billing and be quote unquote a bust
or underwhelming that is drafted in the top ten. So
to me, I never have a problem with someone stepping
(04:42):
in the batter's box and swinging the for a home run.
So why for me, Malik Neighbors is the best wide
receiver prospect in this draft. He has the best opportunity,
if everything goes right, to be a superstar. Now, there
are some questions. Lot of teams I don't know all
the details. They're off the field questions.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
I'll put it at that.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
Nothing crazy, but stuff that concerns teams, the type stuff
that media is like, oh, this is not fair bullshit.
When I'm drafting a guy high and I have any
question marks about the person, it's okay to be leary.
It's okay to be like, eh, don't feel great. Right.
You don't always know about this stuff, but they exist.
(05:25):
So assuming that he's gonna be okay, be a good worker,
be a good guy, not get in any trouble.
Speaker 3 (05:33):
To me, he's the best prospect.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
You get a guy that's six feet tall, two hundred
pounds and runs as fast as he does. But we've
seen that player before. Guys that run for threes and
then they can't play in the NFL. This guy has
elite ball skills. This guy's ability to track the ball
in the air. Just watch some of his YouTube highlights.
One skill that is very underrated in the NFL as
a wide receiver is shooting your hands up last second.
(05:59):
Why because when you are going up against a good
defensive back, the moment you start putting your hands up,
he reacts. They're very instinctive that way. But if you
don't break stride till the last possible second. It's what
Randy Moss did at the highest level we've ever seen.
And you're that fast, the dB is a huge, huge disadvantage,
and he does this at a pretty elite level. Now,
(06:21):
there are some physical question marks with him. Play strength,
I think sometimes off the line of scrimmage, and he's
gonna get more press corners as he gets the NFL, bigger,
stronger guys, you know, can he get off the line?
Can he separate you know, using his power, which some
people would say he doesn't have that much of. But
in terms of high end speed, route running ability and
(06:43):
ability to move the needle down the field, Like I mean,
I don't want to say he's an A plus, but
it's really really high end and there are some question marks,
but I'm just talking strictly as a prospect. He easily
has the highest ceiling of the sponge. So to me,
he's is the number one guy and obviously a guy
that's been near the top of any draft board since
(07:04):
he played that Rose Bowl as a true freshman. Remember,
Marvin Harrison did not start. They had a Lave, they
had Garrett Wilson, they had Jackson Smith like he was
the fourth or fifth wide receiver on the team. Now,
granted he was eighteen years old and until those guys
opted out in the Rose Bowl and he played, I'm
pretty sure he had three touchdowns in that game. In
(07:25):
the next two years he dominated. Now, as I've said,
we don't have any testing numbers, we know he's sixty three,
two hundred and ten pounds. That the lineage he comes from.
I mean, his dad's one of the great wide receivers
the last twenty five years. He is a fantastic prospect.
I mean he does everything well. He's big, he can
run every route, catch the ball in traffic. I'd say
(07:47):
the one thing is he's super dynamic with the ball
in his hands. You know, he's not exactly like Debo
or Jabar Chase. But in terms of getting open, which
is the most important thing, I think it's borderline impossible.
And listen, I'm gonna contradict myself a little.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
Bit for this guy not to be good because these.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
Type players translate well in the NFL. DeVante, Adams, Keenan Allen.
I'm not saying they're all similar players. The ability to
get open whenever you have to that matters. So to me,
Marvin Harrison is the safest of these guys. We've seen
him at a super high level for a long period
of time, and he does everything well. Usually those guys
(08:26):
play well in the NFL. Now, all these guys, because
of their position, they're very, very dependent on two people,
the quarterback and the offensive coordinator. So whoever is scheming
your offense and throwing you the ball. We saw Larry
Fitzgerald for a lot of years with shitty coaches and
shitty quarterbacks. It's he's at a disadvantage. We saw Randy
(08:48):
Mosco to Oakland disaster, traded to New England, greatest wide
receiver of all time. So where you go matters in
some of these teams that were mocking them to Could
the Cardinals get one of these guys Kyler Murray, I
think the guy would be good. Could the Chargers take
one of these guys justin Herbert, they would be really good.
(09:09):
Even if the Bears are able to get one of
these guys, Caleb Williams, assuming he's just solid, they should
be good, especially because he's got two other wide receivers
to play with. You tell me the Giants take Neighbors
or Harrison. I could see him having an underwhelming year,
not because they're not talented, because who's fucking throwing you
the football?
Speaker 3 (09:28):
To me, the most.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
Intriguing of this group though, and I would have him
third after watching three of them, would be Roma Doones eight.
But I don't think there's a big gap. I don't
think there's a big gap at all. Like Harrison, he's big,
six three two and twelve pounds. I remember when I
was at the combine, one of my buddies, who's a
wide receiver coach on a team who definitely would be
(09:49):
in the mix if they could to take one of
these guys, had just interviewed him that day in their
interview room, and he fucking loved him. He's like he
walks in the room. You just you underestimate his size,
right cause you watch him on film or you just
watch his YouTube highlights. He's big, but he doesn't look massive.
(10:10):
He's like I felt like he was really really big
and he dominated this year. He had eighty one catches,
fifteen hundred yards and thirteen touchdowns. I mean punked people constantly.
There's a clip of him returning a punt to the
house against cal So, I think a lot of people
would say, well, he's not quite the athlete of these
other two guys. He ran a four four four four five,
(10:34):
and he has punk returned in his past. His ability
in contested areas is elite. I mean awesome mosson guys
back shoulder throws. But he played with you know, an
NFL quarterback, so you put them. Like I said, if
the Giants were to draft him, it could be a struggle. Now,
(10:54):
one thing with him a lot like Harrison, is red zone.
When you're six foot three, you have an advantage in
the red zone because you're gonna go up against some corners.
Even if you're a big corner. I got you by
a couple inches, and there are gonna be some corners
that are five eleven. So if I'm a big time athlete,
and this is what Neighbors has while he's shorter, he
jumps forty two inches. So all these guys can get
(11:17):
high in the air. You don't have to make a
perfect pass, you just put it into their vicinity. So
why tight ends are so valued because their catch radius
is so big because of their size. So I think
Rome is a big time prospect. I do think when
the dust settles, he'll end up being the third wide receiver,
and there's a pretty good chance, Like I'm wrong, Marvin
(11:38):
goes first. But like all these guys, if they go
to the right spot, should be high end wide receivers.
Should be guys, no doubt about it, get second contracts
from their team and their production at the highest level.
Sometimes it scares me with a wide receiver when they're
coming from I would say middling programs or questionable competition,
(12:01):
like we have seen all these guys under the brightest
lights LSU. Think about who they play in that division. Obviously,
Marvin at Ohio State in Rome these last two years,
Washington's lost like two games. They played everybody, and I
mean two of the better teams. Obviously Michigan was the
best team. He played Oregon twice this year and he
(12:23):
destroyed them, I mean destroyed them, and they always have
good defensive back. So I think these three guys, this
is a pretty special class because you're getting blue chip
guys from blue chip programs that dominated for years. Like
there aren't really questions, like it's not like these none
of these guys are one year wonders. Now.
Speaker 3 (12:45):
Malik By Farhead his best.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
Year this year. He had eighty nine catches, sixteen hun
and fourteen touchdowns, but his quarterback was a lot better.
Let's face it. One of the questions with Jayden Daniels
is like, hey, you watch them in twenty twenty two.
It's he wasn't going to be a top one hundred
pick and then he starts playing like a top five player.
You're gonna be better. Rome has been much better over
(13:07):
a two year span, and same thing with Malik Neighbors.
I mean two years ago, my Milieu Neighbor or excuse me,
Marvin Harrison's playing with CJ. Stroud, who's arguably a top
five quarterback in the NFL. Rome's had Michael Pennix for
two years. So these three guys cream of the crop,
very very fascinated to watch, you know, kind of how
(13:29):
it breaks from them and if you were in these
guys shoes, like if you're one of their agents or
kind of on their quote unquote team, where you go
matter so much in the NFL, who your offensive coordinator is,
who your quarterback. And luckily, because of the way this
draft is, some teams that need wide receivers high.
Speaker 3 (13:47):
That already have quarterbacks.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
We can nitpick Kyler Murray. He's way better than over
half the league. Justin Herbert, we can argue whether he's
a top five quarterback, he's a lock top eight quarterback.
And with Harby, I think we all agree he's going
to be better. So you want to go to one
of those spots badly, or the Bears to decide to
not go D line or I don't know what tight
(14:12):
end or whatever and take you. You want to go
to Chicago, which is crazy to say. You never would
have said that for years. Usually in a draft, no
matter how many good quarterbacks and how many good offensive
(14:33):
either wide receivers or tackles are in it, we see
several defensive linemens, specifically defensive ends go really high. I
would say most drafts have a pass rusher going in
the top five. Several have multiple. There's a chance in
this draft that there is not one pass rusher that
(14:53):
goes and if that does play out that way, that's insane,
but it's also reflective the group. Now part of it
is if four quarterbacks go one, you know, in the
top five, that pushes guys down. But still, if a
high end pass rusher is on the board. Usually they
trump every other position, including tackle. You could make the
(15:16):
argument that they are equal like quarterbacks number one and
then like two A and two B are either offensive
tackle or pass rusher or pass rusher offensive tackle. But
there's a good chance that like two or three offensive
tackles go in the top ten and not one pass rusher.
Now Atlanta is the wild card. They have not had
a good pass rusher since Jonathan Abra. Their defense as
(15:39):
a front four has just not been very good. Beside
Grady Jarrett right, they have had no edge pressure In
any time that you force a need in a draft
beside quarterback, especially when a guy probably shouldn't get drafted
in that spot, it can get a little dicey. Historically,
(16:00):
sometimes with these pass rushers, guys get drafted with limited production.
Think about last year the Raiders. I think Tyree Wilson
from Texas Tech. A couple of years ago, the dude
Trent Balkey took number one overall over Aiden Hutchinson, all
on measurables, and we're going to teach him how to play.
(16:20):
Those picks are always really risky because you go his
ceiling is much higher than Aiden Hutchinson. It's like Yeah,
just take Aiden Hudgson. He's going to be a really
good player. But I understand it because you get around
these guys. Anyone that's ever been around an NFL defensive lineman,
especially a high end guy, and I've been lucky enough
to be on the sideline at a lot of games,
(16:41):
it is when you see the big blue chip bodies,
You're like, there just aren't many human beings like this
walking around. I remember the Bengals in their heyday with
Marvin Lewis, their defensive line was huge. When I was
with the Eagles and we played the Giants every year,
their defensive line was massive. They didn't do small people right.
Speaker 3 (17:03):
It was just like big blue chippers.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
And hell, when I was with the Eagles, they took
Jpp and it was a big projection. By last year
in the league, ziggyansa whose career got derailed by injuries,
but it was a big projection. But the physical attributes
were elite. You just don't find many guys that size,
with that strength, with that athleticism. So there's a fine balance,
and I say it all the time in a draft,
(17:27):
you have to balance like how good the guy is
now and how good the guy is going to be
in three years, and that's where a lot of pressure
comes on coaching staffs, a lot of pressures on the
scheme that you run. Right.
Speaker 3 (17:37):
It's like with any young person.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
If I hire a guy at twenty two, hopefully when
he's twenty five, he's going to be a lot more
valuable to my company or in his role. You know,
over the course of time, with experience, with reps, with teaching,
and it's part of life. So it's a very, very
you know, difficult balance to strike. When you get a
(18:02):
Nick Bosa or a Miles Garrett, they're kind of no brainers.
You go, this guy's gonna be fucking good. Like this guy,
he could play any team in the league and he's
gonna be a high end player. That those guys are,
I would say few and far between. Most guys in
a draft room are not Marvin Harrison, like, not many
(18:22):
flaws gonna be a good player. Most guys you have
long discussions about in this group, Dallas Turner, Jared Vers,
Latou Latu is one of those groups. Let's start with
Dallas Turner. You know, in a draft room, when you're
discussing a player, you talk about everything his background where
he comes from his role with the team in terms
(18:43):
of team captain leadership. This guy was a blue chip
five star player. He started immediately at Alabama. That is
not easy to do, obviously, and he was overshadowed his
first couple of years by Will Anderson, who the Texans
traded a first round pick to trade up for now.
I don't know if Will Anderson's ever going to be
(19:03):
a Hall of Famer, but he's going to be on
that team for a decade.
Speaker 3 (19:07):
He is a really, really good player.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
And the knock on Dallas Turner is he is an
elite athlete, not a good athlete, an elite athlete. He's
six foot three, two hundred and fifty pounds. He ran
a four to four six. There are wide receivers in
this draft that did not run that. His vertical leap
was over forty inches, that is remarkable. His broad jump,
(19:33):
his standing broad jumps where you stand on two feet
and just jump as far as you can landing on
two feet, was ten feet seven inches, which I'd say
anything over ten for a defensive lineman is eye opening.
So his athletic measurables are elite, like, they just don't
(19:54):
get any better than that. Here's the problem talking to
people in the NFL is like, listen, no one disputes
he is a speed rusher. Power is not his thing.
He's not bull rushing guys. He's not great against the run.
And I've always said this, like, listen, if you are
an elite speed rusher, I can live with some average
(20:15):
run play gets shoved around a little bit, but I
don't love taking that guy in the top ten. Jim
Washburn one of the famous defensive line coaches and how
actually it was Howard mutt Rip who passed away several
years ago in a motorcycle accident. Many people consider him
the best, if not the best, one of the best,
right there with Dante Scardinikia offensive line coaches of all time.
(20:39):
I'll never forget being in his office around draft time
and he had the thought of, like when you watch
a power player, whether it's a guard, whether it's a
defensive tackle. Because we talk about like you can improve
your strength in the NFL, He's like, your strength is
kind of your strength. You can improve like your bench
numbers with Tom or squat an extra hundred pounds over
(21:03):
the course of the next five years, but your play
strength in his experience and by the time I met
him music seventy years old and been around football forever,
it doesn't really change. I've always thought that, so when
you go this guy can improve his strength, I would
never go off that your strength is kind of your strength.
Khalil Mack was strong as hell at twenty two years old.
(21:26):
He's strong now, right. You usually don't see guys as
defensive linemen that aren't strong get really powerful. D fod
is a good example. I know his career was derailed
with injuries, but speed pass rusher was never strong, never
got strong. So the thing with Dallas Turner speed rusher
(21:47):
strength the major issue. And as a speed rusher, to
be quote unquote drafted in the top ten. His production's good. Right,
two of his three years he had to combine twenty sacks,
so he gets to the quarterback because Jim Washburn's thing was,
I don't like projecting sacks or projecting pressures. You either
(22:07):
know how to get around and to the quarterback or
you don't.
Speaker 3 (22:11):
Once you get to.
Speaker 1 (22:12):
The pros, most guys aren't like no sacks in college
and then all of a sudden become double digit sack
guys in college or in the pros. So this guy
has been around the quarterback a lot. Here's the problem.
When you talk to people that have really evaluated him,
it's like he should have had like seventeen sacks. Something's
(22:33):
just missing a little bit. He gets close, turns the
corner and just doesn't get home. And for a guy
with these athletic attributes, you think he would have set
a sack record, especially playing on that unit, but he didn't.
And even last year, if I want to go, well,
he was overshadowed by will Anderson. Well we all agreed
Will Anderson was the best defensive player in the country.
(22:55):
You would think it would make it a little easier
for you. So I think there are there are no
one argues this guy's not a good prospect, not a
top twenty fifteen prospect. I think once you start talking
eight to the Atlanta Falcons, people go, it's pretty risky.
Now you know where I stand. You get in the
batter's box, high in the draft, and you swing for
(23:17):
the fences, right, And this is not one of those
guys like last year the Raiders taking Tyree Wilson the
seventh overall when his production wasn't really there. And it
was all in the athletic attributes. That's risky, doesn't mean
he's not going to turn out to be a good player,
but you're betting on a lot of unknown Like you
know this guy can turn the corner, but can he
(23:39):
ever be like a high end Pro Bowl guy. I
know a lot of people that don't think he can.
I just know when I look at these numbers and
you look at his production, you go it's a risk
worth taking. So a lot of people are mocking Dallas
Turner to the Falcons who are in desperate need of
any sort of edge rush. And I don't think it'd
be a crazy pick. But am I taking him much
(24:03):
higher upside than say Jared Verse. I would especially team
captain Alabama high end guy. The one thing when you
get the high end focus guys to Alabama, like they
ain't fucking around like Will Anderson serious is a heart attack.
So every ounce of talent they have they maximize. And
this guy has talent jumping out in spades four four
(24:27):
six forty in's vertical. He's two hundred and fifty pounds,
but his strength is you can't expect that to change
because the reality is is not going to change. My
strength is always going to be something he deals with.
It's twenty twenty four. If this was nineteen eighty eight
and every team was running the ball thirty five times
a game, yeah, it'd be a problem. Teams pass non stop.
(24:51):
It's a passing leak, and a lot of teams pass
it a shitload. So you're not facing Kyle Shanahan every week.
So I I think that has to play into the equation.
And I would say that the mock and everyone put
it into Atlanta, you would have to imagine that he
is in play there first. An interesting guy because in
these draft rooms, like I said, you talk about their background,
(25:13):
and in the transfer portal days, a lot of guys
moved teams, and like a guy goes from Fresno State
to Oregon, right or Boise State to Oklahoma.
Speaker 3 (25:22):
Happens all the time.
Speaker 1 (25:23):
Now you go, you know, a little under recruited, grew
into his body, things changed, and this is a guy
that put on a bunch of weight, changed positions and whatever.
Transferred to Florida State, which has been one of the
better programs in the country the last two years. I
mean this year to when their quarterback went down, they
were going to the playoffs. I mean they were not
just one of the best teams in the country, they
(25:43):
were one of the best defense in the country, and
this guy was their best player. The concerning part is
anytime you come like kind of out of nowhere, it's
just there is something to be said about guys that
are blue chippers now that that can also lead you astray.
Some guys get draft in the second round and they've
never been good in college just because well, five star
(26:04):
recruit underwhelming. But he has all the physical characteristics. So
I'm not saying that's the end all be all. Starts
at a small school, goes to Florida, say and dominates,
I mean dominates. So you go, Okay, whatever weird situation,
Albany Division ten school, whatever he is. You know, he's
(26:25):
sixty three two hundred and sixty ish pounds and texting
and around. I was like, you know, is this kind
of like Brandon Graham? Is that because he's a power
rusher Dallas Turner speed off the edge, right, I beat you.
I'd bend, I get to the corner and you can't
keep up with my speed. This guy much more in
the mold of bull rush. You shove your ass back
(26:47):
into the quarterback, which power guys are a little riskier
because not all power translates, but when it does, Clowney
Mac like, strength is strength, and this guy's a powerful player.
The one comp I kind of got from a couple
people was much closer to like a Rashaan Gary, a
cave On Thibodeau, right, not bendy, a little stiffer, but
(27:10):
the power is gonna work, high end character guy, hard worker.
You feel good about those type guys like Cavon's a
good example. He's a good player, He's a starting, really
good starter. Is he ever gonna be some blue chip
pro bowler? Like I don't know, best case scenario makes
(27:31):
a couple and I know.
Speaker 3 (27:32):
People like Pro Bowl? What does that even?
Speaker 1 (27:34):
You know what I mean?
Speaker 3 (27:34):
Like a really really high end player. Maybe this year because.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
His talent around him is better, we'll see a lot
of pressure on him. This guy's not viewed as a
top ten pick. But if I get Rashaan Gary or
Caveon Thibideau, to me this guy, would you rather have
Dallas Turner and take the risk at eight or get
this guy at like pick sixteen?
Speaker 3 (27:54):
And I think this.
Speaker 1 (27:56):
Guy is one of the more intriguing prospects in the
NFL because all the teams in the teams go, that's
pretty good value there. Right, If I get Rashaan Gary
at picks sixteen, like, that's a really good pick. And
here's what I say this all the time too, I'm like,
I'm a hypocrite because who are we comparing them all to?
Like good players? Some guys just what if he's saw
(28:17):
themon Thomas, what if he's Cleveland Ferrell. Right, that's the
hard part about these type guys.
Speaker 3 (28:23):
They're athletic. He's a good athlete. He ran a four
or five.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
But the power game that tryhard is that's doing him
a disservice by saying that. But plays with a lot
of effort and power can be tough. When those guys pop,
it really pops. But when it doesn't really pop, you
just get a solid player. Now, the good thing is,
and we say this all the time about non quarterbacks,
(28:47):
even if he never becomes a pro bowler, he still
plays twenty five thirty snaps a game, so he can
become a winning player, which he definitely was in college.
But I think this guy is clearly viewed as a
guy in the middle teens. Now, I think a guy
viewed pretty consistently as the best pass rusher is the
(29:09):
guy from UCLA lat Tou Latu. Here's the problem. There
is a massive medical red flag on the guy. He
started at the University of Washington and had a neck
injury and for a brief second medically retired. Then he
got surgery. He was cleared, and he played at UCLA
and the last two years he had twenty three sacks.
(29:31):
He was arguably the most productive pass rusher in all
of Power five and he was the PAC twelve Defensive
Player of the Year. And he's kind of got it all.
Lance Zerlin, who I trust, who's evaluated these guys for decades,
compared him to TJ. Watt the power of the speed,
the technique, like that's one of his things. He's a technician.
(29:53):
He's just a natural pass rusher. He's one of those
guys Jim Washburn would say, this guy is fucking born
to get to the quarterback and he knows how to
do it, and he's proven it. The problem is when
you have a huge medical red flag, fair or not,
because you go well, he's not only been cleared, he's
been productive and played the last couple of years. And
here's the thing about UCLA. You go, well, Chip Kelly,
(30:15):
they're an offensive team. Their offense sucked last year. They've
been a defensive team, especially last year. Anthony Lynn's son,
who was their defensive coordinator, got hired at USC because
he's a really good defensive coordinator. And this wasn't just
the best defensive player. This guy was arguably the best
defensive player in the country. I just know that that
(30:36):
medical red flag scares you. But we talked to Mayock
about this a couple of weeks ago. Anytime a guy
has been injured and had serious injuries, Michael Pennix, you go, Okay,
he's got medical issues. But then once you go a
couple of years and don't miss games and show your durability,
are you then a medical red flag? And this is
(30:58):
where the doctors get involved, right, because they give their
opinions in gms and coaches. They don't have medical degrees, right,
they have coaching and personnel degrees.
Speaker 3 (31:08):
That's what they do for a living.
Speaker 1 (31:10):
So when these guys come in, go god, you know,
there's a fifty to fifty chance that thing comes back
to fruition. And we got a problem, especially in the trenches.
The game is a lot softer now right in terms
of guys going across the middle. The big hits are
out of the game. The trenches is the one area
(31:31):
where it is still very violent and very physical and
where you're still able to get after it, and obviously
you use your head and collide a lot more than
other places on the field. Now on an island on
the edge, I would say is a little less violent
on a consistent basis than detackles, guards and centers where
they're so close to each other, but it's still something
(31:53):
that isn't avoidable. Now he's six ' five, two hundred
and sixty pounds. This guy is the tallest of the
three and then the most productive. And Unlike Verse, who
was a transfer from a smaller school, this guy went
to Washington under Chris Peterson at the time, which was
a high end program.
Speaker 3 (32:14):
So I don't know.
Speaker 1 (32:15):
I wouldn't call him Dallas Turner blue chip, but he
was a high end prospect. I think most people agree.
If the medical didn't exist, if there weren't any questions
on the neck, he would be the eighth overall pick.
The Atlanta Falcons would pick him and you could argue
there's a fifty to fifty chance they pick him at eight,
(32:35):
just take the risk if their doctors sign off on it.
So there is no Miles Garrett, Khalil Mack or Nick
Bosa in this class, but there are very, very intriguing
prospects at this spot, which if you hit on this
guy becomes one hundred million dollar player. So I understand,
(32:57):
I'm okay with guys that aren't great against the run.
Speaker 3 (33:01):
I pay you to sack the quarterback.
Speaker 1 (33:03):
Would I like you to be able to kind of
anchor down, of course, But if I view you as
a guy like could he could Dallas Turner end up
being a thirteen to fourteen sack guy. I'm taking that risk,
especially because medically he's a lot clearer than lat.
Speaker 3 (33:18):
Too lat Too.
Speaker 1 (33:19):
But if you tell me a lot too and my
doctor's like, yeah, we think everything's good now, I might
take him, And I don't think anyone whoever takes him.
If he somehow falls in the draft and someone gets
him in like the early twenties because of the medical
red flags and teams are scared off, it could turn
out to be one of the best picks in the draft.
I saw a lot of scouting reports say, listen, other
(33:41):
guys are going to go higher in this guy. This
guy's the best pass rusher in the draft, just like
Michael Pennix. If Michael Pennix was twenty one years old
and had never been injured, he'd be a top five pick.
But when you're older and you've been hurt, it rightfully.
Speaker 3 (33:55):
So scarce seems.
Speaker 1 (33:56):
But sometimes then guys are durable in the pros and
you don't have issues, right, And then guys that have
been durable in college get to the pros and they
get injured again. So no one knows, right, So if
you prove durability over your last couple of years, I
would lean that, like, I would take the chance the
guy is gonna be durable in the pros. But that's
(34:20):
not usually how it works. And I would imagine LAT
two falls a little bit and whoever gets him, Like,
if this guy falls to the late teens, there's gonna
be a team with seven eight nine wins kind of
in that range that's gonna feel very very good about
their draft pick. One thing that has, you know, following
(34:45):
these top teams and the messaging coming out of them
that's been pretty interesting is the Bears never wavered. Right,
My mom could have told you they were taking Caleb
Williams three months ago. Some people still like, I go
with Justin Fields, make it work, give him a chance,
and the Bears like, yeah, we're sending him to the
(35:05):
Steelers for a six round pick. See you. And the conversation,
even for those little radicals that wanted Fields to somehow survive,
we're completely muted and we all agreed like everyone knows,
so we don't even talk about that much. There's nothing
to talk about. Honestly. The only conversation with the Bears
is what they're gonna do with the ninth pick. But
the messaging coming out, they don't even need the message.
(35:28):
Caleb's taken one visit and it was to Chicago. I mean,
he's gonna be a Chicago Bear now once you get
to two. Adam Peters, I don't want to say has
been as a steadfast in terms of like the Bears
left no doubt, but he has definitely let it be
known like, yeah, we're not really open for business. We
feel pretty confident at this pick. Now, we don't exactly
(35:50):
know who he's gonna pick. Most people and the betting
odds would say Jayden Daniels. I wouldn't bet my life's
savings on it. But when people ask me, and when
I ask people Jane Daniel, Jade Daniels, everyone says Jade Daniels.
So I think it's fair to assume Jayden Daniels. I
wouldn't like fall out of my chair if another name
pops up next Thursday. But they're gonna pick a quarterback, right,
(36:12):
we know that. We just don't know exactly one hundred
cent sure who is gonna be. But the other teams
have not been like that, Elliott Wolf said today, longtime
executive doesn't even have the GM title. Not quite sure
what the crafts are doing, honestly, not quite sure. Just
name the guy the fucking GM. I don't care if
it's like, well, he actually has all the duties, have
(36:32):
the balls to name him the GM. I don't understand.
Separate from all the stuff with Bill and the production company.
Why are you guys being so weird with this? You
have a first time head coach. Just make Elliot Wolf
the GM. Are you like giving him a year trial run?
He said, we're open for business. And then it kind
of hit me today if I'm the Crafts Jonathan Bob
(36:55):
and I am getting destroyed locally. I mean I have
heard everywhere I look on the internet, Boston people. I
played golf with a guy like three weeks ago from Boston.
Every One I've talked to or listened to say he's
getting crushed because it's clear, like listen, time to break
up whatever. You don't need to like piss on the
(37:16):
guy's grave. You why are you trying to get all that?
Why are you doing this? Well, what's the easiest way
to make that negativity kind of be silenced? Because if
they trade back, it's like, oh, they added two first
round picks and they got all these players. No one
will care. No one gives a shit when you draft
an offensive lineman until that guy becomes a star offensive lineman.
(37:37):
But you take a quarterback, you take Drake may or
you take JJ McCarthy with a third overall pick. We
stop talking about how cheap the Crafts are, how shitty
they've handled this situation, how just what egomaniac and control
freaks they've become since Bill left. We just start talking
about how good is JJ McCarthy or Drake may or
(37:58):
Jayden Daniel is going to be on their team takes
all the oxygen out of that conversation. So even if
Elliott Wolf wanted to trade back one, he has no
equity with the franchise in terms of you know, he's
never made a pick before for them too, he's not
even technically the general manager. In three. If you're of
the crafts, like, take whoever you like the most of
(38:18):
that position right there, we want you to do that.
Bill might say, yeah, we're not doing that, and Bill
would have traded back. Bill would have done whatever he
wanted to do. Elliott Wolf can't. He just won't be
allowed to. So even if the front office and the
coaching staff was like, you know, given our roster, like
let's take a deep breath, I don't even think it
(38:39):
will be an option because the ownership will never allow
it because it's the easiest way to have everyone stop
talking about how poorly they've handled everything. The Giants, you know.
Rich Eisen said, I see all his clips on YouTube.
He's got I think he's got a radio show, TV show,
not exactly sure what it is, but I follow this
(39:00):
stuff on YouTube. And one thing he said, like less
than a week, maybe a couple days after the combine.
Obviously he's there for a week calling it with DJ.
Is that. One of the main buzz scuttle butt he
had heard is how much the Giants had buyer's remorse
on Daniel Jones, which everyone's like, yeah, no shit, and
(39:23):
Joe Shane the day at the press conference was basically
asked about that and he said none of it was true. Now,
before I dive into my thoughts on this, I understand
where he's sitting, regardless how you actually feel, even like
you know, I never actually wanted to sign this contract.
I was forced to buy the ownership. We were lukewarm
(39:44):
on the guy even Dayball, like we would have been
cool with letting him test free agency. John Marra forceus.
On my hand, he can't say that even if he
was on board with the signing and was like, listen,
short term deal, eighty million dollars sounds a lot to
ninety nine point nine percent of people world. Couple of years.
Move on, No, biggie, we don't really like him anymore.
(40:05):
We'll find another quarterback we plan on trading up in
this draft. He can't say that either, so he's in
a position where he can't really tell the truth. But
let me tell the truth for him, They one hundred
percent ownership coach GM have buyer's remorse if they could
do it over, under no circumstances would they assign that contract.
(40:27):
I'm actually confident enough they wouldn't have signed him to
do any contract. They would have just let him walk.
Information changes. You can love your wife or love your girlfriend,
and then all of a sudden you found out she
cheated on you with three different men changes the equation.
You're in business with a partner, you're all making a
(40:47):
lot of money, you're getting paid, and then you find
out he's stealing. Your opinion of that individual changes. With
more information, we think differently. Like listen, they were bullish
on Daniel Jones first year, win some games, and now
he's also injured. Like obviously you don't know he's going
to be injured, but sitting here today he had a
(41:08):
torn ACL played like shit. Torn ACL makes a lot
of money. Pretty bad combination. So this notion that they
don't have buyer's remorse is just a bold face lie.
It's just impossible for that not to be true. And
there's nothing wrong. We all make poor decisions, all of us.
I know, I own a stock right now, it's an
(41:30):
ETF cling the Energy ETF. I've invested well over one
hundred grand into it right now. When I open up
my account it says about forty thousand dollars now. Ultimately,
big picture, I still believe in the space. But do
I regret investing my money into that stock?
Speaker 3 (41:50):
Of course I do.
Speaker 1 (41:52):
I would much rather have put it into Netflix or
put it into just anything else. But that even if
I like still and I have more belief in that
situation than I'm sure the giants do. But why do I?
I believed in it two years ago, when it was
working and going up. Things change. I never understand people
(42:14):
who are so beholden to the way they thought a
year ago, three years ago, eight years ago. It's like
it's twenty twenty four, April eighteenth, I'm recording this. We
have the information up to this point. You might feel
some way right now, well, April eighteenth, twenty twenty seven.
If things dramatically change about whatever you're thinking about, You're
(42:34):
probably not gonna think that way anymore. I hope you wouldn't,
cause if you still did, you'd probably have some issues.
You know, people ask me all the time, like what
are your career goals? Do you want to be on television?
I don't know. I mean, is you two bigger in
television right now? I'd say for most people I know
it is. You know, things change at dramatic speeds. I
(42:58):
don't know. I'm going to do whatever I have to do.
I'm willing to do whatever it takes. Wherever things are going,
that's where you go. I saw a lot of people
when I first got into radio, is around so many
of these newspaper guys. I saw a guy recently on
X it was like, the best advice for anyone in
sports media still is to start at a newspaper. Unless
(43:21):
I'm not into like talking shit on Twitter as much anymore,
I don't care. That's it was the dumbest thing I'd
ever read, Like, this guy's actually putting this out there. Yeah,
if this was two thousand and one, maybe that's pretty
good advice. It's twenty twenty four. That'd be the last
thing I would advise to any young person, unless it's
like the Wall Street Journal, Do not fucking do that.
(43:43):
So signing quarterbacks is complicated, Signing the great quarterbacks is
relatively easy, even though it's complicated, because of the amount
of money, as in like Lamar Jackson, we all knew
he was good and it was still complicated. Right, Patrick
Mahomes was pretty easy, Josh Allen is pretty easy. Even
the Herbert thing, like there's pressure for him to be
a consistent top five quarterback. Trevor Lawrence has not been
(44:06):
paid yet, Like, we need to see a little more
before we give you one hundred and eighty two hundred
million dollars. It's a big financial decision, so eighty million
dollars is not two hundred million dollars. But you could
argue after fifteen touchdowns and even deserve eighty million dollars.
But there is no way to spin it. They have
buyer's remorse and there's nothing wrong with that. Another reason
(44:35):
I can't wait till Thursday is Belichick will be on
with McAfee. And I said this when Belichick didn't get
the Atlanta Falcons job, that I think Belichick won the
perception of him, let's face it, being a dictator, tough
to work with, and let's face it, a lot. I
don't necessarily agree with this because I think we all
(44:57):
can be this way. Asshole, a miserable curmudgeon, and listen.
Some of it's definitely probably true, but that he just
sucks and he's not a head coach in the NFL. Now,
maybe it's that he's seventy three years old, Maybe that
he had to be the GM. I don't know, but
it is nuts when you just look at the coaching
picture that Bill Belichick isn't there. He's been in the
(45:18):
league since nineteen seventy five. Like I'm sorry, he kind
of knows what he's doing. It's why I'm shorting the Patriots.
I think they are going to be a debacle. The
next couple of years could be wrong. But if I
had to place one strong bet, I feel the strongest
on that, and I'd probably bet on Harbaugh and the
Chargers being successful. Right, even everyone betting on the Bears,
(45:39):
I wouldn't feel great about it. Their history would show
it's still pretty risky. But I think you saw if
you go, and I would recommend this because the Belichick
we got forever in the press conferences when he was
wearing a hoodie New England Patriot or his classic like
kind of blue button up and he said nothing and
he was most mostly pretty awful in those press conferences Besides,
(46:02):
when he'd randomly get asked about a special team player,
or he'd go on some long, you know, diatribe about
how the winless whatever team he was playing in December
actually has a lot of talent and everyone would make
fun of him. He has a big personality. And I've
been you know, no people that have not only worked there,
that have played there, and they're like the guy that
(46:23):
you see off camera dealing with us is a lot
different than the guy that you just see in the
fifteen minute snippets of the press conferences. It's why I
was a big believer in the easiest way to change
his perception. Now, maybe he's a lock to get a
job next year. Maybe he's not. I mean, he just
had his birthdays. He's got to be seventy four next year.
(46:43):
I mean, that's I'm sorry. Even though coaches are definitely
younger than the majority of like seventy four year olds,
just because they spend most of their time around younger people,
there's a vibe like Pete Carroll's the same age. They
don't feel that old when you hear them talk. But
I probably not a shit. You win is to find
a way on the Amazon broadcast. He is too good
(47:04):
to be on pregame shows. That's a waste. Reality is
I'm not watching that, and neither are most owners. Why
their team is at a game, but there are two
games that every owner watches, every owner beside the two
playing in the game. That's Thursday night and Monday night.
Even Sunday night. A lot of the league is traveling
back and not able to watch the game, but every
(47:28):
owner and every decision maker is at home on Thursday
night and Monday night. Well, Monday night's set. They gave
one hundred and fifty million dollars to buckan Akman. That
was the right move, but Thursday night, let's face it
is not. I've said forever Kirk Kirk Street's the stud
love him on college football. I don't think he's that great.
Him and now don't have great chemistry. If I was Amazon,
(47:49):
I would be all over Belichick and try to get
him involved in that broadcast. And I also think Bill,
like if you watch him on mcafeet like, he's kind
of a different guy. Now, I'm not saying he's mister
LUs See Goosey. He's not mister politician there, but he's
very easy to watch and his depth of knowledge is insane.
Matt Ruhle, who listen. We can say what we want
(48:12):
about Matt Rules, the NFL coach. It was a debacle.
He's a good college coach. He is. I would imagine
Nebraska in the next couple of years it's going to
be much more competitive. Are they ever going to be
a playoff team? I don't know, but they are much
more likely to win eight to nine games in the
near future than they are to be some shit team
in which they've been. Matt Rule said that he had
Bill come to their operation and spend.
Speaker 3 (48:34):
A day with the coaches.
Speaker 1 (48:35):
He said, I don't know if he was in the
front of the room, back of the room when he
was talking. I don't know if he was talking to
the entire group or just the defense that Matt Rule said.
Speaker 3 (48:43):
He was embarrassed.
Speaker 1 (48:45):
I was embarrassed that I'm a head coach and I
don't know a tenth of what this guy is talking about.
That's how crazy, how much this guy knows. The only
way for Bill to give that to the ownership is
to put it on display. And I just hope it
doesn't seem like it's gonna happen. But I think that
(49:07):
would have been the move. There was another story that
came out today. I think there was a long like
one of those classic big Jay Wickersham does a really
good job, like the ESPN guys. Basically one of the
lines about Belichick and the hiring process and how he
didn't get the Atlanta job and how it kind of
ended in New England is that Bob and definitely Jonathan
(49:27):
Craft bad mouthed them to Arthur Smith. Now, listen, anytimes
things end in football, in any business with rich, big
ego guys, it's going to be ugly. I've defended Bill
like I understand Robert Craft. You can have any opinion
you want. You figured out a way to start from nothing,
(49:50):
make money, buy the team, and you hired Belichick. Jonathan
Craft inherited this entire life. Which I'm not one of
those people that like looks down on people just because
they're born into a situation. Right. I've known a lot
of people born in situations that are very capable. Right,
I've known a lot of people not born in the
situations that aren't capable to fucking walk a dog cross
(50:12):
the street. So where you're born, like I, successful people
can come from all walks of life. Peyton Manning was
born rich. Steph Curry was born rich. Like listen, there
are gonna be a lot of owners that you know,
take over in the NFL that are impressive, guys that
their fathers made the money, and then there are gonna
be guys that are kind of clowns. I don't blame
(50:34):
Belichick for not respecting that guy. I'm not a big
Jonathan Craft guy. Just from reading things about him, watching
the documentary that felt, you know, his dad's eighty plus
years old, it does feel a little bit like Jonathan
Craft has a bandet against Belichick, and one of the
things that said in there is he basically bad mouth
Belichick to Arthur Smith to essentially not hire the guy.
(50:58):
I would say this Patriot dynasty and their wealth, a
large percentage of their name power has come from the
success of the football team, which we know they had
absolutely nothing to do with. They've even admitted we never
told Bill what to do, even with Brady the one
time they kind of like got to you gotta trade
(51:19):
Jimmy Garoppolo, but they ended up a couple years later
letting Brady walk. Anyway, they gave this guy Carte Blanche
to be in full control, and he made that family
name not only very famous, not only very successful, but
an NFL champ with Tom over and over and over again.
So if I'm Bill like, and it's obviously just based
(51:42):
on his coaching history, he can be very spiteful. He
can be very petty. I would hate those guys, specifically
the kid I already didn't respect him. I would have
a vandetta and revenge of doing everything possible to get
back in the league so I could play that guy again.
Because the Patriots, I think the other day tweeted out
Happy Birthday, Bill. It's like, guys, you guys are trying
(52:03):
a little too larger the volume. M
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Speaker 1 (01:28):
Happy Weekend, everybody, John Middlecoff here three and out podcasts.
That is what you are listening to. This is the
best of where we combine some of the top things
that we talked about this week, put it together a
little weekend podcast for your listening pleasure. And this week
I did a wide receiver breakdown of the top three
(01:51):
guys Marvin Harrison, Malik Neighbors, Roma Doonza and also on
the pass rushers, Dallas Turner, Revalbama, lot Too, lat Too
of UCLA, and Jared Verse of Florida State. I mean,
all six guys, three wide receivers probably going give or
take in the top ten. All the pass rushers will
(02:14):
surely be gone by I mean that group, I would
say somewhere between sixteen to nineteen. So these are six
of the top you know, twenty players in the draft.
And Belichick because he has a hot button topic, him
and Crafter at each other's throats through the media, and
(02:34):
I kind of dove in why I think he needs
to go to to do something specific in TV to
help change the discourse around the hoodie. So that will
be the show for the weekend, and obviously we'll be
back next week full draft coverage Field Yates. I think
to start the week on Monday. We will have a
(02:55):
mock draft on Wednesday, and then wall to wall draft
coverage Thursday Friday. We're not breaking down six round picks,
but on Thursday and Friday we will have a lot
of content flying on the podcast feed as well as
the YouTube feed, so keep an eye and a lookout
for that. But before we dive into some football, got
(03:17):
to tell you about my close personal friends at game Time.
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(04:00):
wide receiver scouting report for the top three guys. Obviously
there are other wide receivers and we will dive into
them once they're getting drafted. But we play the hits
here like we're not out thinking the room. Marvin Harrison,
Melik Neighbors, and Romadoonze For me, and I say this
all the time when it comes to the draft, if
you're drafting really high, there is no guarantee. There just isn't.
(04:22):
There is no such thing as a high floor. We
see guys fail all the time. Great athletes, average athletes,
the tryhard. We've seen every type of player not live
up to the billing and be quote unquote a bust
or underwhelming that is drafted in the top ten. So
to me, I never have a problem with someone stepping
(04:42):
in the batter's box and swinging the for a home run.
So why for me, Malik Neighbors is the best wide
receiver prospect in this draft. He has the best opportunity,
if everything goes right, to be a superstar. Now, there
are some questions. Lot of teams I don't know all
the details. They're off the field questions.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
I'll put it at that.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
Nothing crazy, but stuff that concerns teams, the type stuff
that media is like, oh, this is not fair bullshit.
When I'm drafting a guy high and I have any
question marks about the person, it's okay to be leary.
It's okay to be like, eh, don't feel great. Right.
You don't always know about this stuff, but they exist.
(05:25):
So assuming that he's gonna be okay, be a good worker,
be a good guy, not get in any trouble.
Speaker 3 (05:33):
To me, he's the best prospect.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
You get a guy that's six feet tall, two hundred
pounds and runs as fast as he does. But we've
seen that player before. Guys that run for threes and
then they can't play in the NFL. This guy has
elite ball skills. This guy's ability to track the ball
in the air. Just watch some of his YouTube highlights.
One skill that is very underrated in the NFL as
a wide receiver is shooting your hands up last second.
(05:59):
Why because when you are going up against a good
defensive back, the moment you start putting your hands up,
he reacts. They're very instinctive that way. But if you
don't break stride till the last possible second. It's what
Randy Moss did at the highest level we've ever seen.
And you're that fast, the dB is a huge, huge disadvantage,
and he does this at a pretty elite level. Now,
(06:21):
there are some physical question marks with him. Play strength,
I think sometimes off the line of scrimmage, and he's
gonna get more press corners as he gets the NFL, bigger,
stronger guys, you know, can he get off the line?
Can he separate you know, using his power, which some
people would say he doesn't have that much of. But
in terms of high end speed, route running ability and
(06:43):
ability to move the needle down the field, Like I mean,
I don't want to say he's an A plus, but
it's really really high end and there are some question marks,
but I'm just talking strictly as a prospect. He easily
has the highest ceiling of the sponge. So to me,
he's is the number one guy and obviously a guy
that's been near the top of any draft board since
(07:04):
he played that Rose Bowl as a true freshman. Remember,
Marvin Harrison did not start. They had a Lave, they
had Garrett Wilson, they had Jackson Smith like he was
the fourth or fifth wide receiver on the team. Now,
granted he was eighteen years old and until those guys
opted out in the Rose Bowl and he played, I'm
pretty sure he had three touchdowns in that game. In
(07:25):
the next two years he dominated. Now, as I've said,
we don't have any testing numbers, we know he's sixty three,
two hundred and ten pounds. That the lineage he comes from.
I mean, his dad's one of the great wide receivers
the last twenty five years. He is a fantastic prospect.
I mean he does everything well. He's big, he can
run every route, catch the ball in traffic. I'd say
(07:47):
the one thing is he's super dynamic with the ball
in his hands. You know, he's not exactly like Debo
or Jabar Chase. But in terms of getting open, which
is the most important thing, I think it's borderline impossible.
And listen, I'm gonna contradict myself a little.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
Bit for this guy not to be good because these.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
Type players translate well in the NFL. DeVante, Adams, Keenan Allen.
I'm not saying they're all similar players. The ability to
get open whenever you have to that matters. So to me,
Marvin Harrison is the safest of these guys. We've seen
him at a super high level for a long period
of time, and he does everything well. Usually those guys
(08:26):
play well in the NFL. Now, all these guys, because
of their position, they're very, very dependent on two people,
the quarterback and the offensive coordinator. So whoever is scheming
your offense and throwing you the ball. We saw Larry
Fitzgerald for a lot of years with shitty coaches and
shitty quarterbacks. It's he's at a disadvantage. We saw Randy
(08:48):
Mosco to Oakland disaster, traded to New England, greatest wide
receiver of all time. So where you go matters in
some of these teams that were mocking them to Could
the Cardinals get one of these guys Kyler Murray, I
think the guy would be good. Could the Chargers take
one of these guys justin Herbert, they would be really good.
(09:09):
Even if the Bears are able to get one of
these guys, Caleb Williams, assuming he's just solid, they should
be good, especially because he's got two other wide receivers
to play with. You tell me the Giants take Neighbors
or Harrison. I could see him having an underwhelming year,
not because they're not talented, because who's fucking throwing you
the football?
Speaker 3 (09:28):
To me, the most.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
Intriguing of this group though, and I would have him
third after watching three of them, would be Roma Doones eight.
But I don't think there's a big gap. I don't
think there's a big gap at all. Like Harrison, he's big,
six three two and twelve pounds. I remember when I
was at the combine, one of my buddies, who's a
wide receiver coach on a team who definitely would be
(09:49):
in the mix if they could to take one of
these guys, had just interviewed him that day in their
interview room, and he fucking loved him. He's like he
walks in the room. You just you underestimate his size,
right cause you watch him on film or you just
watch his YouTube highlights. He's big, but he doesn't look massive.
(10:10):
He's like I felt like he was really really big
and he dominated this year. He had eighty one catches,
fifteen hundred yards and thirteen touchdowns. I mean punked people constantly.
There's a clip of him returning a punt to the
house against cal So, I think a lot of people
would say, well, he's not quite the athlete of these
other two guys. He ran a four four four four five,
(10:34):
and he has punk returned in his past. His ability
in contested areas is elite. I mean awesome mosson guys
back shoulder throws. But he played with you know, an
NFL quarterback, so you put them. Like I said, if
the Giants were to draft him, it could be a struggle. Now,
(10:54):
one thing with him a lot like Harrison, is red zone.
When you're six foot three, you have an advantage in
the red zone because you're gonna go up against some corners.
Even if you're a big corner. I got you by
a couple inches, and there are gonna be some corners
that are five eleven. So if I'm a big time athlete,
and this is what Neighbors has while he's shorter, he
jumps forty two inches. So all these guys can get
(11:17):
high in the air. You don't have to make a
perfect pass, you just put it into their vicinity. So
why tight ends are so valued because their catch radius
is so big because of their size. So I think
Rome is a big time prospect. I do think when
the dust settles, he'll end up being the third wide receiver,
and there's a pretty good chance, Like I'm wrong, Marvin
(11:38):
goes first. But like all these guys, if they go
to the right spot, should be high end wide receivers.
Should be guys, no doubt about it, get second contracts
from their team and their production at the highest level.
Sometimes it scares me with a wide receiver when they're
coming from I would say middling programs or questionable competition,
(12:01):
like we have seen all these guys under the brightest
lights LSU. Think about who they play in that division. Obviously,
Marvin at Ohio State in Rome these last two years,
Washington's lost like two games. They played everybody, and I
mean two of the better teams. Obviously Michigan was the
best team. He played Oregon twice this year and he
(12:23):
destroyed them, I mean destroyed them, and they always have
good defensive back. So I think these three guys, this
is a pretty special class because you're getting blue chip
guys from blue chip programs that dominated for years. Like
there aren't really questions, like it's not like these none
of these guys are one year wonders. Now.
Speaker 3 (12:45):
Malik By Farhead his best.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
Year this year. He had eighty nine catches, sixteen hun
and fourteen touchdowns, but his quarterback was a lot better.
Let's face it. One of the questions with Jayden Daniels
is like, hey, you watch them in twenty twenty two.
It's he wasn't going to be a top one hundred
pick and then he starts playing like a top five player.
You're gonna be better. Rome has been much better over
(13:07):
a two year span, and same thing with Malik Neighbors.
I mean two years ago, my Milieu Neighbor or excuse me,
Marvin Harrison's playing with CJ. Stroud, who's arguably a top
five quarterback in the NFL. Rome's had Michael Pennix for
two years. So these three guys cream of the crop,
very very fascinated to watch, you know, kind of how
(13:29):
it breaks from them and if you were in these
guys shoes, like if you're one of their agents or
kind of on their quote unquote team, where you go
matter so much in the NFL, who your offensive coordinator is,
who your quarterback. And luckily, because of the way this
draft is, some teams that need wide receivers high.
Speaker 3 (13:47):
That already have quarterbacks.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
We can nitpick Kyler Murray. He's way better than over
half the league. Justin Herbert, we can argue whether he's
a top five quarterback, he's a lock top eight quarterback.
And with Harby, I think we all agree he's going
to be better. So you want to go to one
of those spots badly, or the Bears to decide to
not go D line or I don't know what tight
(14:12):
end or whatever and take you. You want to go
to Chicago, which is crazy to say. You never would
have said that for years. Usually in a draft, no
matter how many good quarterbacks and how many good offensive
(14:33):
either wide receivers or tackles are in it, we see
several defensive linemens, specifically defensive ends go really high. I
would say most drafts have a pass rusher going in
the top five. Several have multiple. There's a chance in
this draft that there is not one pass rusher that
(14:53):
goes and if that does play out that way, that's insane,
but it's also reflective the group. Now part of it
is if four quarterbacks go one, you know, in the
top five, that pushes guys down. But still, if a
high end pass rusher is on the board. Usually they
trump every other position, including tackle. You could make the
(15:16):
argument that they are equal like quarterbacks number one and
then like two A and two B are either offensive
tackle or pass rusher or pass rusher offensive tackle. But
there's a good chance that like two or three offensive
tackles go in the top ten and not one pass rusher.
Now Atlanta is the wild card. They have not had
a good pass rusher since Jonathan Abra. Their defense as
(15:39):
a front four has just not been very good. Beside
Grady Jarrett right, they have had no edge pressure In
any time that you force a need in a draft
beside quarterback, especially when a guy probably shouldn't get drafted
in that spot, it can get a little dicey. Historically,
(16:00):
sometimes with these pass rushers, guys get drafted with limited production.
Think about last year the Raiders. I think Tyree Wilson
from Texas Tech. A couple of years ago, the dude
Trent Balkey took number one overall over Aiden Hutchinson, all
on measurables, and we're going to teach him how to play.
(16:20):
Those picks are always really risky because you go his
ceiling is much higher than Aiden Hutchinson. It's like Yeah,
just take Aiden Hudgson. He's going to be a really
good player. But I understand it because you get around
these guys. Anyone that's ever been around an NFL defensive lineman,
especially a high end guy, and I've been lucky enough
to be on the sideline at a lot of games,
(16:41):
it is when you see the big blue chip bodies,
You're like, there just aren't many human beings like this
walking around. I remember the Bengals in their heyday with
Marvin Lewis, their defensive line was huge. When I was
with the Eagles and we played the Giants every year,
their defensive line was massive. They didn't do small people right.
Speaker 3 (17:03):
It was just like big blue chippers.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
And hell, when I was with the Eagles, they took
Jpp and it was a big projection. By last year
in the league, ziggyansa whose career got derailed by injuries,
but it was a big projection. But the physical attributes
were elite. You just don't find many guys that size,
with that strength, with that athleticism. So there's a fine balance,
and I say it all the time in a draft,
(17:27):
you have to balance like how good the guy is
now and how good the guy is going to be
in three years, and that's where a lot of pressure
comes on coaching staffs, a lot of pressures on the
scheme that you run. Right.
Speaker 3 (17:37):
It's like with any young person.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
If I hire a guy at twenty two, hopefully when
he's twenty five, he's going to be a lot more
valuable to my company or in his role. You know,
over the course of time, with experience, with reps, with teaching,
and it's part of life. So it's a very, very
you know, difficult balance to strike. When you get a
(18:02):
Nick Bosa or a Miles Garrett, they're kind of no brainers.
You go, this guy's gonna be fucking good. Like this guy,
he could play any team in the league and he's
gonna be a high end player. That those guys are,
I would say few and far between. Most guys in
a draft room are not Marvin Harrison, like, not many
(18:22):
flaws gonna be a good player. Most guys you have
long discussions about in this group, Dallas Turner, Jared Vers,
Latou Latu is one of those groups. Let's start with
Dallas Turner. You know, in a draft room, when you're
discussing a player, you talk about everything his background where
he comes from his role with the team in terms
(18:43):
of team captain leadership. This guy was a blue chip
five star player. He started immediately at Alabama. That is
not easy to do, obviously, and he was overshadowed his
first couple of years by Will Anderson, who the Texans
traded a first round pick to trade up for now.
I don't know if Will Anderson's ever going to be
(19:03):
a Hall of Famer, but he's going to be on
that team for a decade.
Speaker 3 (19:07):
He is a really, really good player.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
And the knock on Dallas Turner is he is an
elite athlete, not a good athlete, an elite athlete. He's
six foot three, two hundred and fifty pounds. He ran
a four to four six. There are wide receivers in
this draft that did not run that. His vertical leap
was over forty inches, that is remarkable. His broad jump,
(19:33):
his standing broad jumps where you stand on two feet
and just jump as far as you can landing on
two feet, was ten feet seven inches, which I'd say
anything over ten for a defensive lineman is eye opening.
So his athletic measurables are elite, like, they just don't
(19:54):
get any better than that. Here's the problem talking to
people in the NFL is like, listen, no one disputes
he is a speed rusher. Power is not his thing.
He's not bull rushing guys. He's not great against the run.
And I've always said this, like, listen, if you are
an elite speed rusher, I can live with some average
(20:15):
run play gets shoved around a little bit, but I
don't love taking that guy in the top ten. Jim
Washburn one of the famous defensive line coaches and how
actually it was Howard mutt Rip who passed away several
years ago in a motorcycle accident. Many people consider him
the best, if not the best, one of the best,
right there with Dante Scardinikia offensive line coaches of all time.
(20:39):
I'll never forget being in his office around draft time
and he had the thought of, like when you watch
a power player, whether it's a guard, whether it's a
defensive tackle. Because we talk about like you can improve
your strength in the NFL, He's like, your strength is
kind of your strength. You can improve like your bench
numbers with Tom or squat an extra hundred pounds over
(21:03):
the course of the next five years, but your play
strength in his experience and by the time I met
him music seventy years old and been around football forever,
it doesn't really change. I've always thought that, so when
you go this guy can improve his strength, I would
never go off that your strength is kind of your strength.
Khalil Mack was strong as hell at twenty two years old.
(21:26):
He's strong now, right. You usually don't see guys as
defensive linemen that aren't strong get really powerful. D fod
is a good example. I know his career was derailed
with injuries, but speed pass rusher was never strong, never
got strong. So the thing with Dallas Turner speed rusher
(21:47):
strength the major issue. And as a speed rusher, to
be quote unquote drafted in the top ten. His production's good. Right,
two of his three years he had to combine twenty sacks,
so he gets to the quarterback because Jim Washburn's thing was,
I don't like projecting sacks or projecting pressures. You either
(22:07):
know how to get around and to the quarterback or
you don't.
Speaker 3 (22:11):
Once you get to.
Speaker 1 (22:12):
The pros, most guys aren't like no sacks in college
and then all of a sudden become double digit sack
guys in college or in the pros. So this guy
has been around the quarterback a lot. Here's the problem.
When you talk to people that have really evaluated him,
it's like he should have had like seventeen sacks. Something's
(22:33):
just missing a little bit. He gets close, turns the
corner and just doesn't get home. And for a guy
with these athletic attributes, you think he would have set
a sack record, especially playing on that unit, but he didn't.
And even last year, if I want to go, well,
he was overshadowed by will Anderson. Well we all agreed
Will Anderson was the best defensive player in the country.
(22:55):
You would think it would make it a little easier
for you. So I think there are there are no
one argues this guy's not a good prospect, not a
top twenty fifteen prospect. I think once you start talking
eight to the Atlanta Falcons, people go, it's pretty risky.
Now you know where I stand. You get in the
batter's box, high in the draft, and you swing for
(23:17):
the fences, right, And this is not one of those
guys like last year the Raiders taking Tyree Wilson the
seventh overall when his production wasn't really there. And it
was all in the athletic attributes. That's risky, doesn't mean
he's not going to turn out to be a good player,
but you're betting on a lot of unknown Like you
know this guy can turn the corner, but can he
(23:39):
ever be like a high end Pro Bowl guy. I
know a lot of people that don't think he can.
I just know when I look at these numbers and
you look at his production, you go it's a risk
worth taking. So a lot of people are mocking Dallas
Turner to the Falcons who are in desperate need of
any sort of edge rush. And I don't think it'd
be a crazy pick. But am I taking him much
(24:03):
higher upside than say Jared Verse. I would especially team
captain Alabama high end guy. The one thing when you
get the high end focus guys to Alabama, like they
ain't fucking around like Will Anderson serious is a heart attack.
So every ounce of talent they have they maximize. And
this guy has talent jumping out in spades four four
(24:27):
six forty in's vertical. He's two hundred and fifty pounds,
but his strength is you can't expect that to change
because the reality is is not going to change. My
strength is always going to be something he deals with.
It's twenty twenty four. If this was nineteen eighty eight
and every team was running the ball thirty five times
a game, yeah, it'd be a problem. Teams pass non stop.
(24:51):
It's a passing leak, and a lot of teams pass
it a shitload. So you're not facing Kyle Shanahan every week.
So I I think that has to play into the equation.
And I would say that the mock and everyone put
it into Atlanta, you would have to imagine that he
is in play there first. An interesting guy because in
these draft rooms, like I said, you talk about their background,
(25:13):
and in the transfer portal days, a lot of guys
moved teams, and like a guy goes from Fresno State
to Oregon, right or Boise State to Oklahoma.
Speaker 3 (25:22):
Happens all the time.
Speaker 1 (25:23):
Now you go, you know, a little under recruited, grew
into his body, things changed, and this is a guy
that put on a bunch of weight, changed positions and whatever.
Transferred to Florida State, which has been one of the
better programs in the country the last two years. I
mean this year to when their quarterback went down, they
were going to the playoffs. I mean they were not
just one of the best teams in the country, they
(25:43):
were one of the best defense in the country, and
this guy was their best player. The concerning part is
anytime you come like kind of out of nowhere, it's
just there is something to be said about guys that
are blue chippers now that that can also lead you astray.
Some guys get draft in the second round and they've
never been good in college just because well, five star
(26:04):
recruit underwhelming. But he has all the physical characteristics. So
I'm not saying that's the end all be all. Starts
at a small school, goes to Florida, say and dominates,
I mean dominates. So you go, Okay, whatever weird situation,
Albany Division ten school, whatever he is. You know, he's
(26:25):
sixty three two hundred and sixty ish pounds and texting
and around. I was like, you know, is this kind
of like Brandon Graham? Is that because he's a power
rusher Dallas Turner speed off the edge, right, I beat you.
I'd bend, I get to the corner and you can't
keep up with my speed. This guy much more in
the mold of bull rush. You shove your ass back
(26:47):
into the quarterback, which power guys are a little riskier
because not all power translates, but when it does, Clowney
Mac like, strength is strength, and this guy's a powerful player.
The one comp I kind of got from a couple
people was much closer to like a Rashaan Gary, a
cave On Thibodeau, right, not bendy, a little stiffer, but
(27:10):
the power is gonna work, high end character guy, hard worker.
You feel good about those type guys like Cavon's a
good example. He's a good player, He's a starting, really
good starter. Is he ever gonna be some blue chip
pro bowler? Like I don't know, best case scenario makes
(27:31):
a couple and I know.
Speaker 3 (27:32):
People like Pro Bowl? What does that even?
Speaker 1 (27:34):
You know what I mean?
Speaker 3 (27:34):
Like a really really high end player. Maybe this year because.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
His talent around him is better, we'll see a lot
of pressure on him. This guy's not viewed as a
top ten pick. But if I get Rashaan Gary or
Caveon Thibideau, to me this guy, would you rather have
Dallas Turner and take the risk at eight or get
this guy at like pick sixteen?
Speaker 3 (27:54):
And I think this.
Speaker 1 (27:56):
Guy is one of the more intriguing prospects in the
NFL because all the teams in the teams go, that's
pretty good value there. Right, If I get Rashaan Gary
at picks sixteen, like, that's a really good pick. And
here's what I say this all the time too, I'm like,
I'm a hypocrite because who are we comparing them all to?
Like good players? Some guys just what if he's saw
(28:17):
themon Thomas, what if he's Cleveland Ferrell. Right, that's the
hard part about these type guys.
Speaker 3 (28:23):
They're athletic. He's a good athlete. He ran a four
or five.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
But the power game that tryhard is that's doing him
a disservice by saying that. But plays with a lot
of effort and power can be tough. When those guys pop,
it really pops. But when it doesn't really pop, you
just get a solid player. Now, the good thing is,
and we say this all the time about non quarterbacks,
(28:47):
even if he never becomes a pro bowler, he still
plays twenty five thirty snaps a game, so he can
become a winning player, which he definitely was in college.
But I think this guy is clearly viewed as a
guy in the middle teens. Now, I think a guy
viewed pretty consistently as the best pass rusher is the
(29:09):
guy from UCLA lat Tou Latu. Here's the problem. There
is a massive medical red flag on the guy. He
started at the University of Washington and had a neck
injury and for a brief second medically retired. Then he
got surgery. He was cleared, and he played at UCLA
and the last two years he had twenty three sacks.
(29:31):
He was arguably the most productive pass rusher in all
of Power five and he was the PAC twelve Defensive
Player of the Year. And he's kind of got it all.
Lance Zerlin, who I trust, who's evaluated these guys for decades,
compared him to TJ. Watt the power of the speed,
the technique, like that's one of his things. He's a technician.
(29:53):
He's just a natural pass rusher. He's one of those
guys Jim Washburn would say, this guy is fucking born
to get to the quarterback and he knows how to
do it, and he's proven it. The problem is when
you have a huge medical red flag, fair or not,
because you go well, he's not only been cleared, he's
been productive and played the last couple of years. And
here's the thing about UCLA. You go, well, Chip Kelly,
(30:15):
they're an offensive team. Their offense sucked last year. They've
been a defensive team, especially last year. Anthony Lynn's son,
who was their defensive coordinator, got hired at USC because
he's a really good defensive coordinator. And this wasn't just
the best defensive player. This guy was arguably the best
defensive player in the country. I just know that that
(30:36):
medical red flag scares you. But we talked to Mayock
about this a couple of weeks ago. Anytime a guy
has been injured and had serious injuries, Michael Pennix, you go, Okay,
he's got medical issues. But then once you go a
couple of years and don't miss games and show your durability,
are you then a medical red flag? And this is
(30:58):
where the doctors get involved, right, because they give their
opinions in gms and coaches. They don't have medical degrees, right,
they have coaching and personnel degrees.
Speaker 3 (31:08):
That's what they do for a living.
Speaker 1 (31:10):
So when these guys come in, go god, you know,
there's a fifty to fifty chance that thing comes back
to fruition. And we got a problem, especially in the trenches.
The game is a lot softer now right in terms
of guys going across the middle. The big hits are
out of the game. The trenches is the one area
(31:31):
where it is still very violent and very physical and
where you're still able to get after it, and obviously
you use your head and collide a lot more than
other places on the field. Now on an island on
the edge, I would say is a little less violent
on a consistent basis than detackles, guards and centers where
they're so close to each other, but it's still something
(31:53):
that isn't avoidable. Now he's six ' five, two hundred
and sixty pounds. This guy is the tallest of the
three and then the most productive. And Unlike Verse, who
was a transfer from a smaller school, this guy went
to Washington under Chris Peterson at the time, which was
a high end program.
Speaker 3 (32:14):
So I don't know.
Speaker 1 (32:15):
I wouldn't call him Dallas Turner blue chip, but he
was a high end prospect. I think most people agree.
If the medical didn't exist, if there weren't any questions
on the neck, he would be the eighth overall pick.
The Atlanta Falcons would pick him and you could argue
there's a fifty to fifty chance they pick him at eight,
(32:35):
just take the risk if their doctors sign off on it.
So there is no Miles Garrett, Khalil Mack or Nick
Bosa in this class, but there are very, very intriguing
prospects at this spot, which if you hit on this
guy becomes one hundred million dollar player. So I understand,
(32:57):
I'm okay with guys that aren't great against the run.
Speaker 3 (33:01):
I pay you to sack the quarterback.
Speaker 1 (33:03):
Would I like you to be able to kind of
anchor down, of course, But if I view you as
a guy like could he could Dallas Turner end up
being a thirteen to fourteen sack guy. I'm taking that risk,
especially because medically he's a lot clearer than lat.
Speaker 3 (33:18):
Too lat Too.
Speaker 1 (33:19):
But if you tell me a lot too and my
doctor's like, yeah, we think everything's good now, I might
take him, And I don't think anyone whoever takes him.
If he somehow falls in the draft and someone gets
him in like the early twenties because of the medical
red flags and teams are scared off, it could turn
out to be one of the best picks in the draft.
I saw a lot of scouting reports say, listen, other
(33:41):
guys are going to go higher in this guy. This
guy's the best pass rusher in the draft, just like
Michael Pennix. If Michael Pennix was twenty one years old
and had never been injured, he'd be a top five pick.
But when you're older and you've been hurt, it rightfully.
Speaker 3 (33:55):
So scarce seems.
Speaker 1 (33:56):
But sometimes then guys are durable in the pros and
you don't have issues, right, And then guys that have
been durable in college get to the pros and they
get injured again. So no one knows, right, So if
you prove durability over your last couple of years, I
would lean that, like, I would take the chance the
guy is gonna be durable in the pros. But that's
(34:20):
not usually how it works. And I would imagine LAT
two falls a little bit and whoever gets him, Like,
if this guy falls to the late teens, there's gonna
be a team with seven eight nine wins kind of
in that range that's gonna feel very very good about
their draft pick. One thing that has, you know, following
(34:45):
these top teams and the messaging coming out of them
that's been pretty interesting is the Bears never wavered. Right,
My mom could have told you they were taking Caleb
Williams three months ago. Some people still like, I go
with Justin Fields, make it work, give him a chance,
and the Bears like, yeah, we're sending him to the
(35:05):
Steelers for a six round pick. See you. And the conversation,
even for those little radicals that wanted Fields to somehow survive,
we're completely muted and we all agreed like everyone knows,
so we don't even talk about that much. There's nothing
to talk about. Honestly. The only conversation with the Bears
is what they're gonna do with the ninth pick. But
the messaging coming out, they don't even need the message.
(35:28):
Caleb's taken one visit and it was to Chicago. I mean,
he's gonna be a Chicago Bear now once you get
to two. Adam Peters, I don't want to say has
been as a steadfast in terms of like the Bears
left no doubt, but he has definitely let it be
known like, yeah, we're not really open for business. We
feel pretty confident at this pick. Now, we don't exactly
(35:50):
know who he's gonna pick. Most people and the betting
odds would say Jayden Daniels. I wouldn't bet my life's
savings on it. But when people ask me, and when
I ask people Jane Daniel, Jade Daniels, everyone says Jade Daniels.
So I think it's fair to assume Jayden Daniels. I
wouldn't like fall out of my chair if another name
pops up next Thursday. But they're gonna pick a quarterback, right,
(36:12):
we know that. We just don't know exactly one hundred
cent sure who is gonna be. But the other teams
have not been like that, Elliott Wolf said today, longtime
executive doesn't even have the GM title. Not quite sure
what the crafts are doing, honestly, not quite sure. Just
name the guy the fucking GM. I don't care if
it's like, well, he actually has all the duties, have
(36:32):
the balls to name him the GM. I don't understand.
Separate from all the stuff with Bill and the production company.
Why are you guys being so weird with this? You
have a first time head coach. Just make Elliot Wolf
the GM. Are you like giving him a year trial run?
He said, we're open for business. And then it kind
of hit me today if I'm the Crafts Jonathan Bob
(36:55):
and I am getting destroyed locally. I mean I have
heard everywhere I look on the internet, Boston people. I
played golf with a guy like three weeks ago from Boston.
Every One I've talked to or listened to say he's
getting crushed because it's clear, like listen, time to break
up whatever. You don't need to like piss on the
(37:16):
guy's grave. You why are you trying to get all that?
Why are you doing this? Well, what's the easiest way
to make that negativity kind of be silenced? Because if
they trade back, it's like, oh, they added two first
round picks and they got all these players. No one
will care. No one gives a shit when you draft
an offensive lineman until that guy becomes a star offensive lineman.
(37:37):
But you take a quarterback, you take Drake may or
you take JJ McCarthy with a third overall pick. We
stop talking about how cheap the Crafts are, how shitty
they've handled this situation, how just what egomaniac and control
freaks they've become since Bill left. We just start talking
about how good is JJ McCarthy or Drake may or
(37:58):
Jayden Daniel is going to be on their team takes
all the oxygen out of that conversation. So even if
Elliott Wolf wanted to trade back one, he has no
equity with the franchise in terms of you know, he's
never made a pick before for them too, he's not
even technically the general manager. In three. If you're of
the crafts, like, take whoever you like the most of
(38:18):
that position right there, we want you to do that.
Bill might say, yeah, we're not doing that, and Bill
would have traded back. Bill would have done whatever he
wanted to do. Elliott Wolf can't. He just won't be
allowed to. So even if the front office and the
coaching staff was like, you know, given our roster, like
let's take a deep breath, I don't even think it
(38:39):
will be an option because the ownership will never allow
it because it's the easiest way to have everyone stop
talking about how poorly they've handled everything. The Giants, you know.
Rich Eisen said, I see all his clips on YouTube.
He's got I think he's got a radio show, TV show,
not exactly sure what it is, but I follow this
(39:00):
stuff on YouTube. And one thing he said, like less
than a week, maybe a couple days after the combine.
Obviously he's there for a week calling it with DJ.
Is that. One of the main buzz scuttle butt he
had heard is how much the Giants had buyer's remorse
on Daniel Jones, which everyone's like, yeah, no shit, and
(39:23):
Joe Shane the day at the press conference was basically
asked about that and he said none of it was true. Now,
before I dive into my thoughts on this, I understand
where he's sitting, regardless how you actually feel, even like
you know, I never actually wanted to sign this contract.
I was forced to buy the ownership. We were lukewarm
(39:44):
on the guy even Dayball, like we would have been
cool with letting him test free agency. John Marra forceus.
On my hand, he can't say that even if he
was on board with the signing and was like, listen,
short term deal, eighty million dollars sounds a lot to
ninety nine point nine percent of people world. Couple of years.
Move on, No, biggie, we don't really like him anymore.
(40:05):
We'll find another quarterback we plan on trading up in
this draft. He can't say that either, so he's in
a position where he can't really tell the truth. But
let me tell the truth for him, They one hundred
percent ownership coach GM have buyer's remorse if they could
do it over, under no circumstances would they assign that contract.
(40:27):
I'm actually confident enough they wouldn't have signed him to
do any contract. They would have just let him walk.
Information changes. You can love your wife or love your girlfriend,
and then all of a sudden you found out she
cheated on you with three different men changes the equation.
You're in business with a partner, you're all making a
(40:47):
lot of money, you're getting paid, and then you find
out he's stealing. Your opinion of that individual changes. With
more information, we think differently. Like listen, they were bullish
on Daniel Jones first year, win some games, and now
he's also injured. Like obviously you don't know he's going
to be injured, but sitting here today he had a
(41:08):
torn ACL played like shit. Torn ACL makes a lot
of money. Pretty bad combination. So this notion that they
don't have buyer's remorse is just a bold face lie.
It's just impossible for that not to be true. And
there's nothing wrong. We all make poor decisions, all of us.
I know, I own a stock right now, it's an
(41:30):
ETF cling the Energy ETF. I've invested well over one
hundred grand into it right now. When I open up
my account it says about forty thousand dollars now. Ultimately,
big picture, I still believe in the space. But do
I regret investing my money into that stock?
Speaker 3 (41:50):
Of course I do.
Speaker 1 (41:52):
I would much rather have put it into Netflix or
put it into just anything else. But that even if
I like still and I have more belief in that
situation than I'm sure the giants do. But why do I?
I believed in it two years ago, when it was
working and going up. Things change. I never understand people
(42:14):
who are so beholden to the way they thought a
year ago, three years ago, eight years ago. It's like
it's twenty twenty four, April eighteenth, I'm recording this. We
have the information up to this point. You might feel
some way right now, well, April eighteenth, twenty twenty seven.
If things dramatically change about whatever you're thinking about, You're
(42:34):
probably not gonna think that way anymore. I hope you wouldn't,
cause if you still did, you'd probably have some issues.
You know, people ask me all the time, like what
are your career goals? Do you want to be on television?
I don't know. I mean, is you two bigger in
television right now? I'd say for most people I know
it is. You know, things change at dramatic speeds. I
(42:58):
don't know. I'm going to do whatever I have to do.
I'm willing to do whatever it takes. Wherever things are going,
that's where you go. I saw a lot of people
when I first got into radio, is around so many
of these newspaper guys. I saw a guy recently on
X it was like, the best advice for anyone in
sports media still is to start at a newspaper. Unless
(43:21):
I'm not into like talking shit on Twitter as much anymore,
I don't care. That's it was the dumbest thing I'd
ever read, Like, this guy's actually putting this out there. Yeah,
if this was two thousand and one, maybe that's pretty
good advice. It's twenty twenty four. That'd be the last
thing I would advise to any young person, unless it's
like the Wall Street Journal, Do not fucking do that.
(43:43):
So signing quarterbacks is complicated, Signing the great quarterbacks is
relatively easy, even though it's complicated, because of the amount
of money, as in like Lamar Jackson, we all knew
he was good and it was still complicated. Right, Patrick
Mahomes was pretty easy, Josh Allen is pretty easy. Even
the Herbert thing, like there's pressure for him to be
a consistent top five quarterback. Trevor Lawrence has not been
(44:06):
paid yet, Like, we need to see a little more
before we give you one hundred and eighty two hundred
million dollars. It's a big financial decision, so eighty million
dollars is not two hundred million dollars. But you could
argue after fifteen touchdowns and even deserve eighty million dollars.
But there is no way to spin it. They have
buyer's remorse and there's nothing wrong with that. Another reason
(44:35):
I can't wait till Thursday is Belichick will be on
with McAfee. And I said this when Belichick didn't get
the Atlanta Falcons job, that I think Belichick won the
perception of him, let's face it, being a dictator, tough
to work with, and let's face it, a lot. I
don't necessarily agree with this because I think we all
(44:57):
can be this way. Asshole, a miserable curmudgeon, and listen.
Some of it's definitely probably true, but that he just
sucks and he's not a head coach in the NFL. Now,
maybe it's that he's seventy three years old, Maybe that
he had to be the GM. I don't know, but
it is nuts when you just look at the coaching
picture that Bill Belichick isn't there. He's been in the
(45:18):
league since nineteen seventy five. Like I'm sorry, he kind
of knows what he's doing. It's why I'm shorting the Patriots.
I think they are going to be a debacle. The
next couple of years could be wrong. But if I
had to place one strong bet, I feel the strongest
on that, and I'd probably bet on Harbaugh and the
Chargers being successful. Right, even everyone betting on the Bears,
(45:39):
I wouldn't feel great about it. Their history would show
it's still pretty risky. But I think you saw if
you go, and I would recommend this because the Belichick
we got forever in the press conferences when he was
wearing a hoodie New England Patriot or his classic like
kind of blue button up and he said nothing and
he was most mostly pretty awful in those press conferences Besides,
(46:02):
when he'd randomly get asked about a special team player,
or he'd go on some long, you know, diatribe about
how the winless whatever team he was playing in December
actually has a lot of talent and everyone would make
fun of him. He has a big personality. And I've
been you know, no people that have not only worked there,
that have played there, and they're like the guy that
(46:23):
you see off camera dealing with us is a lot
different than the guy that you just see in the
fifteen minute snippets of the press conferences. It's why I
was a big believer in the easiest way to change
his perception. Now, maybe he's a lock to get a
job next year. Maybe he's not. I mean, he just
had his birthdays. He's got to be seventy four next year.
(46:43):
I mean, that's I'm sorry. Even though coaches are definitely
younger than the majority of like seventy four year olds,
just because they spend most of their time around younger people,
there's a vibe like Pete Carroll's the same age. They
don't feel that old when you hear them talk. But
I probably not a shit. You win is to find
a way on the Amazon broadcast. He is too good
(47:04):
to be on pregame shows. That's a waste. Reality is
I'm not watching that, and neither are most owners. Why
their team is at a game, but there are two
games that every owner watches, every owner beside the two
playing in the game. That's Thursday night and Monday night.
Even Sunday night. A lot of the league is traveling
back and not able to watch the game, but every
(47:28):
owner and every decision maker is at home on Thursday
night and Monday night. Well, Monday night's set. They gave
one hundred and fifty million dollars to buckan Akman. That
was the right move, but Thursday night, let's face it
is not. I've said forever Kirk Kirk Street's the stud
love him on college football. I don't think he's that great.
Him and now don't have great chemistry. If I was Amazon,
(47:49):
I would be all over Belichick and try to get
him involved in that broadcast. And I also think Bill,
like if you watch him on mcafeet like, he's kind
of a different guy. Now, I'm not saying he's mister
LUs See Goosey. He's not mister politician there, but he's
very easy to watch and his depth of knowledge is insane.
Matt Ruhle, who listen. We can say what we want
(48:12):
about Matt Rules, the NFL coach. It was a debacle.
He's a good college coach. He is. I would imagine
Nebraska in the next couple of years it's going to
be much more competitive. Are they ever going to be
a playoff team? I don't know, but they are much
more likely to win eight to nine games in the
near future than they are to be some shit team
in which they've been. Matt Rule said that he had
Bill come to their operation and spend.
Speaker 3 (48:34):
A day with the coaches.
Speaker 1 (48:35):
He said, I don't know if he was in the
front of the room, back of the room when he
was talking. I don't know if he was talking to
the entire group or just the defense that Matt Rule said.
Speaker 3 (48:43):
He was embarrassed.
Speaker 1 (48:45):
I was embarrassed that I'm a head coach and I
don't know a tenth of what this guy is talking about.
That's how crazy, how much this guy knows. The only
way for Bill to give that to the ownership is
to put it on display. And I just hope it
doesn't seem like it's gonna happen. But I think that
(49:07):
would have been the move. There was another story that
came out today. I think there was a long like
one of those classic big Jay Wickersham does a really
good job, like the ESPN guys. Basically one of the
lines about Belichick and the hiring process and how he
didn't get the Atlanta job and how it kind of
ended in New England is that Bob and definitely Jonathan
(49:27):
Craft bad mouthed them to Arthur Smith. Now, listen, anytimes
things end in football, in any business with rich, big
ego guys, it's going to be ugly. I've defended Bill
like I understand Robert Craft. You can have any opinion
you want. You figured out a way to start from nothing,
(49:50):
make money, buy the team, and you hired Belichick. Jonathan
Craft inherited this entire life. Which I'm not one of
those people that like looks down on people just because
they're born into a situation. Right. I've known a lot
of people born in situations that are very capable. Right,
I've known a lot of people not born in the
situations that aren't capable to fucking walk a dog cross
(50:12):
the street. So where you're born, like I, successful people
can come from all walks of life. Peyton Manning was
born rich. Steph Curry was born rich. Like listen, there
are gonna be a lot of owners that you know,
take over in the NFL that are impressive, guys that
their fathers made the money, and then there are gonna
be guys that are kind of clowns. I don't blame
(50:34):
Belichick for not respecting that guy. I'm not a big
Jonathan Craft guy. Just from reading things about him, watching
the documentary that felt, you know, his dad's eighty plus
years old, it does feel a little bit like Jonathan
Craft has a bandet against Belichick, and one of the
things that said in there is he basically bad mouth
Belichick to Arthur Smith to essentially not hire the guy.
(50:58):
I would say this Patriot dynasty and their wealth, a
large percentage of their name power has come from the
success of the football team, which we know they had
absolutely nothing to do with. They've even admitted we never
told Bill what to do, even with Brady the one
time they kind of like got to you gotta trade
(51:19):
Jimmy Garoppolo, but they ended up a couple years later
letting Brady walk. Anyway, they gave this guy Carte Blanche
to be in full control, and he made that family
name not only very famous, not only very successful, but
an NFL champ with Tom over and over and over again.
So if I'm Bill like, and it's obviously just based
(51:42):
on his coaching history, he can be very spiteful. He
can be very petty. I would hate those guys, specifically
the kid I already didn't respect him. I would have
a vandetta and revenge of doing everything possible to get
back in the league so I could play that guy again.
Because the Patriots, I think the other day tweeted out
Happy Birthday, Bill. It's like, guys, you guys are trying
(52:03):
a little too larger the volume. M
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