April 12, 2023 • 30 mins
The NFL Now Podcast begins with news on Bryce Young and other QBs doing their pre-draft visits.
Host, Andrew Siciliano, is joined by James Palmer & Brian Baldinger for a discussion on Broncos & Chiefs draft needs. Packers GM, Mark Murphy, on Aaron Rodgers trade. Plus, an interview with Emmanuel Forbes.
The NFL Now Podcast is part of the NFL Podcast Network.
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
NFL Now is a production of the NFL in partnership
with iHeartRadio. Are the Colts in the Lamar Jackson business?
Coming up on this Wednesday edition of NFL Now, We'll
(00:25):
tell you with Shane Steiken just said moments ago, Welcome
to the show from our newsroom in Los Angeles. My
name is ANDREWS Ciciliano. We're presented today by Ike. Also
coming up Emmanuel Forbes from Mississippi State, one of the
best corners in the draft. We start this hour with
one of the best quarterbacks in the draft, and that
would be Bryce Young, who on Tuesday was in Carolina
(00:48):
to meet with Josh McCown and Frank Reich and the
Panthers they hold the first overall pick in the draft.
His frequent flyer mild tour continues today. If Bryce Young
meets with the Panthers on Tuesday, it only makes sense
that he moves on Dick Houston to meet with the Texans.
(01:08):
Ian Rappaport is our NFL network inside or all of
this Ian with people grumbling that maybe the Texans don't
take a quarterback at number two and just throw our
whole draft at all. The mock drafts out the window,
but for now they're meeting with the quarterbacks, including this one. Well,
if the Texans did in fact end up not taking
the quarterback at two, they would certainly ruin everyone's mock
(01:30):
draft and they would be unable to get the coveted
thirty one for thirty one usually thirty two, but obviously
the Dolphins would have them this year. So yeah, that'll
ruin some mock drafts. I would say this, there's no
other position that is as important as the quarterback. The
Texans know they got to get it right. They know
they have to find the right guy to be the
quarterback at the future, and they're going through the process
(01:51):
now to see if one of those guys is in
the draft. Likely it is, but it's the draft and
we will never know until that name is called. So yeah,
as you mentioned Bryce Young visiting the Carolina Panthers yesterday,
visiting the Houston Texans today, they're going to do their
due diligence visits at all of that, and they actually
have done some already, but Levis already some others. They're
(02:15):
going to do that in all the top quarterbacks in
the draft and then get to draft week and know
if the Carolina Panthers take CJ. Strout or if they
take Bryce Young, how are the Texans going to pursue
part of the process for sure, certainly not the only
in person visit for the Houston Texans, but a very
important one as well. Listen, it's interesting etan with these
(02:35):
quarterback visits because let's say the top four guys are
all meeting with the top ten teams, but we also
have a group of teams lower in the first round
of the nineteen in the twenties, let's say, or the
Bucks at nineteen that are also a meeting with the quarterbacks,
hoping one of them gets there. Like the Bucks and
Will Levis. Yeah, that's an interesting meeting going on today.
(02:56):
The Bucks having a top thirty visit for Kentucky quarterback
Will Levis. He's also visiting the Atlanta Focus tomorrow. That
makes sense. They're in the top ten, Desmond ridden in
as their starter right now. The Bucks could be potentially
plotting a potential move up, potential potential. They could be
plotting a move up from number eighteen to wherever they
(03:16):
feel like they need to get to if will Levis
slides a little bit to them, or they could be
plotting a much bigger move up into the top ten.
There's nothing more important than getting your quarterback, nothing more
important than getting your quarterback in the future. The Bucks
know this as well as anyone. They had Tom Brady
for years led them to his Super Bowl. If they
believe will Levis is the guy, it could be a
(03:37):
short jump, it could be a big jump into the
top ten. They now become a team to watch for
when it comes to the quarterback position. All right, so
they're nineteen, right ahead of them. The Lions, who have
a quarterback, who have Jared Goff, are sitting there at eighteen.
Granted they're also on the top ten Detroits at six.
Which quarterback are they meeting with? The Lions are meeting
today with Hendon Hooker, the Tennessee quarterback who's become a
(04:00):
little bit of a darling in this draft. Obviously coming
off a torn acl sounds like his health is doing
really well. An a plus leader, and there's a lot
to like it. I would be at this point, Andrew's
surprised if he is not a first round pick. And
it's not just the Detroit Lions, you're interested among the
other teams that Hendon Hooker schedule to meet with the
(04:22):
Tampa Bay Buccaneers that we were just talking about that
is likely going to be tomorrow. And then the Las
Vegas Raiders, who have number seven, also have number thirty eight,
So potentially if it's for Hooker, there would be a
team to trade up into the back end of the
first round and take their quarterback. Interesting, Hendon Hooker getting
a lot of visits here remains to be seen if
(04:44):
we have four or five quarterbacks taken night number one.
Thank you in Rapp Report, our NFL Network Insider the
culture sitting here at four Shane Steikin of the podium
moments to go listen to this. As you just addressed
you guys asking a lot of time zero in on
these quarterbacks in this draft. There is outside a lot
(05:04):
of the has been a lot mores about what other
options you might look at you, Lamar Jackson brothers. Is
it fair say you're more focused on the draft than
any other possibilities? Right? Yeah, We're focus on the draft,
and I'm a focus on the guys that are in
the building right now. That's that's that's where we're at
right Ian's still here. Um. That was Shane Styke in
moments ago. Yeah, I was trying to say goodbye, just
(05:24):
got lost in my head where we were in the rundown. Hi, Ian,
glad you're here trying to make sense what Shane Styken
said because the reporter kind of gave him an out.
Hey do you want Lamar Jackson or or do you
just want I'm talking about the draft. Yeah, I noticed that.
I wasn't really gonna say anything, but yeah, not maybe
in the Hall of Fame of questions for coaches, but
he's tried. The message was, yeah, it is what it is.
(05:46):
The message is still pretty clear for Shane Steke and
the look. He could say what he wants. He could
have said, we're focused on Mars. The reality is they
have not yet made a move for Lamar Jackson, and
the actions speak a lot louder than his words, although
his words are we are focused on the draft. Remember
they had the number four overall pick. They're taking a
look at all the quarterbacks. Presumably that is another prime
(06:08):
quarterback location, so that is one important factor. Then they
focused on the players in their building, and they finally
do have some players in their building doing off season conditioning.
That is what Stike and meant anyway, the actions are
louder because you've got to think that if they were
going to make a move for Lamar Jackson, they would
have done it already. They would have done it when
they had salary cap space, they would have done it
(06:28):
earlier in the office seasons. So there's some certainty going
forward into the draft. I'm not saying it's impossible. I'm
just saying it's looking more and more likely that Lamar
Jackson is going to be the quarterback for the Ravens
in some form or fashion, in some form of contract
for the twenty twenty three seasons. You know what they
could also do hypothetically here is take something other than
a quarterback. Let's say a defensive player at four, and
(06:52):
then after the draft or even Friday, right, go sign
Lamar Jackson, do an offer sheet, and then they're not
giving up four. Then they're giving up the picks in
twenty four and twenty five. Well but then, okay, but
then that's true. But then let's say the Ravens match
and then they just don't have a quarterback, right, and
then I have a quarterback, but they do have Gardner
Minshew and his fantastic fan one way or the other.
(07:13):
Thank you, Idan Rappaport. Actually I am saying goodbye now,
at least for this segment. Thank you, sir. All right,
say goodbye because we go to den and look at
the Broncos. We hit the roster reset button on them.
Last season twenty twenty two was one to forget for
the Broncos. They hope this year is one to remember.
With their brand new head coach Sean Payton, who was
able to get in the building yesterday and talk to
(07:34):
his team and set a path towards Week one, and
brand new head coach get to talk to the team
without a lot of draft capital here to put pieces around.
Russell Wilson, James Palmer is in Denver. Brian Baldinger joins
us as well. Baldy, great to have you here, James,
had you do this. They're not picking until sixty seven
(07:59):
here and then sixty eight back to back picks, but
they're gonna have to wait a while. They are gonna
have to wait. They only have five picks total. And
it has been a conversation in that building of my
understanding for some time now as they're going through their
draft preparation, how do we add more draft picks. Now,
a lot of people believe that it would have been
trading one of their top wide receivers in Courtland Suttner
Jerry Judy and collecting some draft capital in return. Now,
(08:21):
Sean Payton at the owner's meeting said that was not
going to happen. He's not trading either one. We'll see
if anybody wows them between now and the draft that
something could still happen to add some draft capital. They
can still just move back in some capacity and still
add some picks in that manner as well. But you
look at what they did in free agency early on.
Those were the musts really that they needed to fill
(08:42):
in Sean Payton's mind, and that was going out and
getting Mike McGlinchey and Ben Power's physical guys. On the
offensive line, Baldy was a big need and must that
they wanted to have, And they really are still looking
at that offensive line now in the draft, specifically at
the center position. They Lloyd Cushionberry is there now, but
I wouldn't be surprised if they found a center in
the third, fourth round that they really like. The other
(09:03):
two positions Baldy they're really looking at and have had
guys in on visits cornerback to add some depth there.
Most teams say you can't have enough corners. They need
some help there, and then edge rusher. They've had an
inability to stay healthy there, specifically with Randy Gregory, a
big free agent that they brought in this past season.
Baron Browning has a lot of ability and has had
flashes at times. Nick Mendo a year ago they picked
(09:24):
in the second round. But getting to the quarterback up
front their front seven is definitely something that they're focused
on quite a bit right now, Baldi in those draft meetings.
But when you're picking them, talking about the trenches, you
don't know who's volunteer the trenches. James and so I
think the additions of McGlinchey and Powers, I mean you
hope that you could plug and play those guys and
you improve the offensive line. I mean it all starts
(09:45):
up front. But then you know, to get Javonte back,
to get Tim Patrick back, that helps a great deal.
You talk about the center position, this is a good
draft for centers, and you might find a Ricky Stromberg.
I'm not going to throw every center's name out there,
but you might find some of these guys in the
third round, and if they could do that and strike
gold and up depth position, that might that might be
(10:08):
a good Day's a good second day for the Denver
Broncos if they can do that. Because I think the
way that Sean Payton likes to run the ball, the
way he likes to protect his quarterback, it's going to
start up front. And that process started in free agency.
And they're not the only team with only five picks.
For example, the Vikings have only five, the Ravens have
only five. Eric to Costa, for example, on the podium
(10:31):
last week, said his goal in Baltimore is to get
more than five picks somehow, and I'm sure they're thinking
the same thing there in Denver. The Chiefs are in
a really cool position here. James was transition to them.
They are picking at thirty one, which means when they
make that selection at home, they can get all the
Chiefs fans cheering. Obviously, they won the Lombardi here as well.
(10:54):
It's not the only way though they reset this roster.
Give me a Kansas City offseason perspective as they transition
here to try to win it again, and they have
double the picks that the Denver Broncos have They have
ten selections and all in this draft, and we saw
what they did with all of their rookies and the
roles that they played in this last Super Bowl run
that they had. But I do think what we have
seen once again the formula that is in place in
(11:17):
Kansas City, and Baldy's gonna love this because we're talking
offensive line again. Protecting Patrick Mahomes is what they do
and that's where they spend their money and where they
spend their draft capital. You saw with Creed Humphrey and
Tray Smith, the two probably biggest free agent signings that
they have made at the very beginning of free agency.
With Brett Beach running the show. There is Joe Tuoney
who came in and they brought him in a free
(11:39):
agency and he's changed that offensive line. And now they
do it with Juwan Taylor who is going to step
in and Andy Reid believes knows this system, knows the
terminology should hit the ground running. They look at the
wide receiver position more towards the draft. Can they go
get a Jalen Eyatt to be the speedster to go
along with Sky Moore and Knarius Tony, who they believe
Tony should Baldy be their number one. They think they
(12:00):
can do so many different things with him. And then
Skymore takes another jump. But what we're seeing in the
way things are built in Kansas City is if you
protect Patrick Mahomes, he will make plays. And that's where
the Chiefs are going to continue to make investments. Baldi
that and you know they look at the holes and
the roster. So you lose Zeus Orlando Brown junior via
(12:20):
free agency to Cincinnati. You go get Juwan Taylor, who
was a priced free agent for a lot of teams,
has been a right tackle in Jacksville. Yes, they want
him to play him at left tackle. See how that goes.
But they bring back Lucas Niang, who was a third
round pick has started for the Chiefs, and you solidify
the wall. And then you know you go and say, okay,
we're not going to bring Frank Clark back at least
(12:41):
right now. We'll go get Charles a Meta who who
just keeps getting better and better. You kind of go
to San Francisco rebuild yourself. Then you go hit the
free agent market, and that's what Charles has done. And
so I look at those two holes and they've plugged him,
and now you go, Okay, ten picks in the draft.
Now we can go add talent and young talent to
our roster and we'll see, you know, I mean Isaiah
(13:02):
Pacheco didn't start the season, but he finished the season.
We saw all the depth in the secondary year ago
that they drafted four guys into secondary all played a
prominent role in the road to winning the Super Bowl.
So I feel like you're in great shape to go
out and you know, do the proverbial go get the
best guys regardless of the position, because I feel like
(13:22):
the major holes have been plugged in free agency and
it's pretty clean here the picking end of the first
round thirty one, and the second round sixty three, and
the third round there at ninety five, that is ended
the third round before all those compensatory picks. They had one,
but it eventually went to New York in the de
Vegas all part of the Darren Waller trade. Thank you,
James Palmer, Thank you Brian Balding, you appreciate you. Coming
(13:44):
up next, what about Aaron Rodgers. We're fifteen days away.
Do we have an answer? Unlikely, but we'll tell you
what Mark Murphy said yesterday while waiting for a bus,
fifteen is away from the draft. Here, fifteen days away
(14:07):
from what we hope will be some kind of conclusion
to this Aaron Rodgers story, but the deal still is
not done. Mark Murphy is the Packers team president. Yesterday,
he met with the media while standing in front of
a bus before getting on said bus for a five
day tour around Wisconsin. Is the ball essentially in their court?
(14:28):
You've said this is what we want either ABC or
D and you're you're kind of waiting for them to Yeah.
I can't really get into that. I mean, you know,
I know Brian and Joe have been talking, and are
you expecting a lot of questions about this during this
tour and how do you plan on handling those? I
do anticipate question questions, and I anticipate saying that there
(14:52):
is no update it is. It is interesting, you know,
fifteen years ago or in similar situation, do you need
a deal to get done before the draft or are
you guys okay going into the summer if that's what
it takes. I know, again, that's something you know Brian
is working on, and now I've been actively involved, and yeah,
(15:19):
there's really nothing. What lessons did you take from that
experience on your first tailgate tour in your first year
in charge that you can apply now as you're dealing
with this. Well, I'm really glad that Aaron Rodgers turned
out to be such a good quarterback, and I'm hopeful
that Jordan Love turns out to be a similar quarterback.
(15:40):
Waiting for Mark Murphy to say, there's nothing to see here,
please disperse, There's nothing to see here. So, as luck
would have it, today, Brian Baldinger is in Florim Park.
He is in the Jets building doing you know, some
content for for Jets Socials and the Jets website. Judy
was there last week. They're both with me live from
(16:00):
the Tri State area, right, Baldy? Have you seen you're there?
Have you have you seen Aaron Rodgers? Are they printing jerseys?
Can you smell Ayahuascas? Anything going on? The only twelve
jersey I see in this chess facility is Joe Namis.
I haven't seen Aaron Rodgers. Nobody else has no ghost
(16:20):
helicopters flying over top, nothing like that, but everybody is
anticipating his arrival. Okay, nothing to see Judy. Nothing to
report other than you know, Joe Douglas grabbing a mic
in some radio event over the weekend. Is there anything
going on there that would suggest this is going to happen?
Like now, look, let's not dismiss the Joe Douglas saying
(16:42):
he's going to be here. That's the most definitive thing
anybody has said throughout this whole process. So I'm going
with Joe Douglas saying he's going to be here. No,
there is nothing new to report. They are trying to
work out a deal. Again. I go back to the
fact that we were told this was meant when we
were in Arizona at and talking two weeks ago. We
(17:03):
were told closer to the draft, so you know, put
your feet up and get comfortable, and that's where we are.
It doesn't mean anything is wrong. It just means they're
trying to figure it out. Brian Goudcust at that meeting
in Arizona said they did not necessarily have to have
the thirteenth overall pick, which is the Jets first rounder.
So that was a little bit something, but there's no
(17:25):
reason to think that there is a problem here. And
in the meantime that Jets have gone about their business,
you know, putting pieces in place so that everything is
ready to go when Aaron Rodgers gets here. Obviously, Alan
Lazard has come Micole Hartman has come around. And the
next question I think as we head into the draft,
as we get ready for the draft, is where do
they go in the draft and will they address the
(17:46):
offensive line? Because I think that's probably the next big
question right tackle. If you assume that you know McKay
Beckton is going to fight for the job with Dwayne
Brown at left tackle, what do they do at right tackle?
And to me, if one of those top tackles is
still on the board when they pick, assuming that they're
going to pick at thirteen, I think the big question
is do they go in that direction? And as you
(18:09):
have raised Andrew, do they try to pick up another
wide receiver between now and the draft? Yeah, and the
McKay beckton fifth year option deadline is coming up, all
those guys from that twenty twenty draft coming up in
less than three weeks now, right after the draft. Baldi,
from where you sit, what do you think of the
roster right now? Well, I think it's you know, greatly
(18:30):
improved from a year ago at this time before, they
drafted Breece Hall and Sauce Gardner and Jermaine Johnson and
you know, really struck gold in a lot of different areas.
And you know they've they've added some pieces this offseason,
obviously bringing in a Chuck Clark, you know, at safety,
it's a real need position for them. I think they've
gotten better there. You know, they've got the forty and
(18:52):
forty third picks as well. One of those was in
the trade for with Elijah Moore to Cleveland, so they've
got added another second round pick. So you know, they
got three of the top forty three picks in this draft.
And I think they've they feel like, you know, talent wise,
adding McCole and adding Al Lazard along with you know,
(19:13):
Garrett Wilson and the other guys they have here, that
Y're in pretty good shape. I mean, I think tight
end is a position of need. It's a great draft
for tight ends no matter where you want to go.
It's a good draft for offensive tackles. It's a deep
draft for edge rushers, and so there's plenty of opportunities
to continue to build and add to this roster and
the defense that finished the season, ranked in the top
(19:35):
ten in the league. Judy, let's get back to the
quarterback thing. We were talking Zach Wilson last hour. You
have a good piece right now at NFL dot Com
about kind of the limbo that he is in. Are
we overlooking the Tim Boyle move? And I say that
with not an ounce of sarcasm. Yeah, it's an interesting
wrinkle here because Zach Wilson. They have made very clear
(19:56):
that Zach Wilson is going to be the backup quarterback.
But Tim Boyle was signed, and part of the reason
he was signed is he's got great familiar charity with
this offense. He is close to Aaron Rodgers. He is
close to Nathaniel Hackett. He's known Nathaniel Hackett, I think
since he was in high school. Boyle was in high school,
not Hackett, So he knows this offense. And if we
(20:18):
assume that Aaron Rodgers is maybe not going to be
on the field at least in the early part of OTA's,
Boyle can run the offense and that's going to be
really important. Again, they have said Zach Wilson is going
to be the backup, not Tim Boyle. But you've got
to assume that he's going to at least push Wilson,
and the other thing that he can do is he
(20:39):
can sort of be the bridge between Aaron Rodgers and
Nate Hackett and the other players and sort of explain
how they want the offense to look. I don't think
they want Boyle to have to play at all. I
don't think they want to have Wilson play for that matter.
But I do think that that adds an interesting dynamic
to the quarterback room, which already is going to have
(21:00):
an interesting dynamic because Zach Wilson is going to be
sitting in there with, as we talked about last hour,
his quarterbacking idol, Aaron Rodgers exactly. Tim Boyle did start
three games for the Lions a couple of years ago.
Brian Baldinger is live in Flora Park. Baldy, I know
there's a like to go out the door there and
turn right. There's a kitchen right around the corner. If
by chance you bumped Aaron Rodgers in the kitchen reheating
(21:21):
lunch or maybe making some tea, let us know, please,
I'll take a selfie and Santia Andrew put it up
on the air. Everybody should follow Baldy on all the
social platforms. He is the world's most interesting former offensive lineman.
Thank you Baldy, Thank you Judy. Let's get to Rhet
Lewis's mock draft. We had fun with this yesterday, Bryce
Young Wan CJ. Stroud to I mean Bejean Robinson at
(21:46):
ten was certainly a fun one. You know. Rhett slept
here yesterday. He didn't leave the building. I believe he
hosted six different shows, including Path to the Draft. Hello,
fellow draft enthusiast, welcome back here inside the studio a
Path to the Draft alongside my friends and NFL scouts Stanel,
(22:06):
Jeremiah and Bucky brooksign Rett Lewis, And it's that time
of year, guys where we're kind of talking about these
mop drafts and we're starting to hear some new names
into the conversation. It certainly feels like towards the end
of the first round twenty five through thirty one in
this year's draft, it could be some real wildcards in there.
Let's start with some names that we're hearing getting some
of that buzz that could find their way into the
(22:27):
first round that maybe haven't been talked about a whole
bunch DJ's they're a player like that that fits a
bill for you. Yeah. For me, I'm gonna go to
TCU and I'm gonna go to Steve A. Villa, who's
an interior offensive lineman who's played guard. He's played center
in the past as well, which teams have gone back
in time and looked at his center snaps, which are excellent.
He's somebody that is a plug and play starter. He
matches up and whatever scheme you want to do. You
(22:49):
want to be an outside zone team, he can really move.
You want to be a gap scheme and come downhill
and mall people, he gives you that as well. So
that's one when you start looking at team specific needs
there at the end of the first round, those are
good rosters. This is a plug and play guy right there. Bucky,
you got one yea have about Joe Teman from Wisconsin
being a center that could come in and deliver immediate
(23:10):
results right away. This is a guy that is solid
at the point of attack, you know pedigree coming from Wisconsin,
he understands how to play the game. Did you see
him leading around the corner, does a great job of
playing with his neighbors, meaning he understand how to use
body up when he's compromised. This is a solid player,
a smart player wants to be a plug and play
starter from day one. Oh, let's double down on the Badgers,
(23:32):
shall we. Bucky Brooks stay right there in Madison in
the Big Ten and talk interior defensive lineman Keanu Benton,
guy who've had a really nice week down the Senior
Bowl Inmobile and really felt like he came out of
a shelf this year for the Badgers on the interior
of that defensive line was coached really well, found some
real nice production on the inside of the interesting story.
(23:54):
This was a guy that you know, not only did
he not necessarily play get ready to play college football,
he almost didn't go to college at all, and now
could be finding himself into the back end of the
first round. Is one of those wild card picks. That's
why I love kind of trying to forecast where these
guys are gonna end up. And there's so much that
can happen towards the back end. This is kind of
what are we calling this cold strange territory. Now I
(24:15):
would happen after you did, Keanu Betton. You might say
it's gonna be an excellent adventure. But that's neither there.
There you go all right, speed, I don't know we'll
get there, okay, but be sure to join us for
much more conversations just like this, all the way up
to the draft weekday, six pm Eastern time, right here
on path to the draft. Honestly surprised DJ didn't say
(24:36):
the new john Wick trailer is dropping Keanu there, No, okay,
just saying more Tom foolery and hijinks coming up. Coming up.
That guy who is mister pick six, we're gonna get
to know Emmanuel Forbes. He has set to join us
the Mississippi State corner. If you don't know, you should know,
and you will know. Next Emmanue is picked off the
(25:09):
Amanuel form at a perfect rate by four farms. Get
another picks. The house is career picks. This draft has
everything for you if you want to corner. Each of
(25:31):
these guys does something a little bit differently. But we
look at Bucky Brooks list, and by the way, DJ's
list is pretty much the same. Emmanuel Forbes is on
that list. He has a very particular set of skills.
If you want a guy to intercept the quarterback and
run it back for a touchdown. Emmanual Forbes is your
guy who joins us now to just found out that Emmanuel, Hey,
there is a Dodgers fan, which is interesting from Grenada, Mississippi.
(25:53):
But Emmanuel Forbes, nobody has had more pick sixes than
this guy here in the history of FBS football, six
his college career. Emmanuel, why are you so good at
the pick six? Just looking like, take the ball away
(26:13):
and take from a receiver background, so I don't like
to get tackled if I'm gonna try to go score.
You're being modest man. You had six in Mississippi State.
You had eight in high school, which is just absurd.
They are also like return touchdowns as well on special teams.
It's more than Emmanuel. You just don't want to get tackled.
A lot of guys say that you're good at not
(26:35):
getting tackled. Yeah, and that's all from being a wide receiver.
Deserve Well, you know what, you have something in common
with Trayvon Diggs and you retweeted this. You know Treyvon Diggs,
the Cowboys corner he put on Twitter during the season.
It's a real skill to get interceptions. Anyone can squat
(26:57):
a ball. How much pride do you take, Emmanuel in
being the king of the pick six? Oh, I'll take
a lot, right, And I just felt like enough I
can get my hands on it. But if I can
bring it off, I can pick any day. So well,
anytime I'm close enough to get my hands on I'm
going for the pick one hundred percent. Yea fourteen career
interceptions of Mississippi State. Six of those fourteen, nearly half
(27:19):
of those fourteen you took back for an interception. Again,
no one of the history of FBS Division one football
has done that. But Emanuel, look, it's the draft season.
You go on a lot of these meetings, you go
to the combine um, you hear people say, they say,
we're concerned about your weight. Emmanuel, what do you weigh
right now? Of my protol was once everyone okay, and
(27:40):
I was there around one. Right now, I'm mound like
one seventy four and want saving sever Okay, last year
you played it like one sixty five, one sixty six. No,
I'll start to see it off once seventy three. Okay.
Are people trying to put weight on you? Do they
want you to have like eight meals a day? What
are they saying when you go on these visits. Oh yeah,
that of course I need to be heavier to play
(28:01):
the NFL once all about me, I have both Ryan
with the head rocking day, so I want to be
at least round on eighty one eighty five for the season.
What are you doing to put on weight? This stuff
and like eating lifting waists a lot. So I're trying
to stay healthy and just put on the right way. Honestly.
With the Dodger hat here, you should come to LA
and just do nothing. But but Dodger dogs. I know
(28:23):
you're getting a lot of meetings here. You recently went
to Foxborough to meet with the Patriots. Did you sit
down with Bill Belichick? Idea? Now? What was that? Like?
I was good, It went good. The whole meeting went good.
I got good information from them. Just talked to him
about a little bit about balls, uh and went really well.
Intimidating at all? Oh no, he's like a real bad guy.
(28:46):
So it's like on TV saves like serious. But did
he have a hoodie with cut off sleeves on off? Please?
So what's next? Cincinnati? Yeah? I got Cincinnati tomorrow. Okay,
how many more of these things we got two weeks
to go. I think slanting tomorrow. Then I gotta go
(29:06):
to Detroit and would be my final one. Nice, I
want to put a picture up here on the screen.
You decided to play in the ball game, Emanuel. You
weren't going to do it first, I think, but you
wanted to honor your head coach, Mike Leach. Here's a
sign here obviously that's the name of his book. What
did it mean to play in that ball game to
honor him? And what will it mean to do that
(29:27):
at the next level. Leaks in a bowl game, who
played in Tapa and it was unexpected passing. So I
just see me and Lorissa. Guy just need that we
should play in a ball game for him and give
him that left that he needed firmly going all the
fame Emanual Leach, Emanuel for his bigger part and playing
there for Mike Leach says that you'd be making a
(29:49):
big mistake if you pass on him because of any
concerns about his weight. Just turn on the tape and
watch him go into the end zone. Emmanuel. Great to
have you on, Good luck to you, safe travels. Can't
wait to see where you're go in a couple of weeks. Yes,
NFL Now is a production of the NFL in partnership
(30:11):
with iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
NFL Now is a production of the NFL in partnership
with iHeartRadio. Are the Colts in the Lamar Jackson business?
Coming up on this Wednesday edition of NFL Now, We'll
(00:25):
tell you with Shane Steiken just said moments ago, Welcome
to the show from our newsroom in Los Angeles. My
name is ANDREWS Ciciliano. We're presented today by Ike. Also
coming up Emmanuel Forbes from Mississippi State, one of the
best corners in the draft. We start this hour with
one of the best quarterbacks in the draft, and that
would be Bryce Young, who on Tuesday was in Carolina
(00:48):
to meet with Josh McCown and Frank Reich and the
Panthers they hold the first overall pick in the draft.
His frequent flyer mild tour continues today. If Bryce Young
meets with the Panthers on Tuesday, it only makes sense
that he moves on Dick Houston to meet with the Texans.
(01:08):
Ian Rappaport is our NFL network inside or all of
this Ian with people grumbling that maybe the Texans don't
take a quarterback at number two and just throw our
whole draft at all. The mock drafts out the window,
but for now they're meeting with the quarterbacks, including this one. Well,
if the Texans did in fact end up not taking
the quarterback at two, they would certainly ruin everyone's mock
(01:30):
draft and they would be unable to get the coveted
thirty one for thirty one usually thirty two, but obviously
the Dolphins would have them this year. So yeah, that'll
ruin some mock drafts. I would say this, there's no
other position that is as important as the quarterback. The
Texans know they got to get it right. They know
they have to find the right guy to be the
quarterback at the future, and they're going through the process
(01:51):
now to see if one of those guys is in
the draft. Likely it is, but it's the draft and
we will never know until that name is called. So yeah,
as you mentioned Bryce Young visiting the Carolina Panthers yesterday,
visiting the Houston Texans today, they're going to do their
due diligence visits at all of that, and they actually
have done some already, but Levis already some others. They're
(02:15):
going to do that in all the top quarterbacks in
the draft and then get to draft week and know
if the Carolina Panthers take CJ. Strout or if they
take Bryce Young, how are the Texans going to pursue
part of the process for sure, certainly not the only
in person visit for the Houston Texans, but a very
important one as well. Listen, it's interesting etan with these
(02:35):
quarterback visits because let's say the top four guys are
all meeting with the top ten teams, but we also
have a group of teams lower in the first round
of the nineteen in the twenties, let's say, or the
Bucks at nineteen that are also a meeting with the quarterbacks,
hoping one of them gets there. Like the Bucks and
Will Levis. Yeah, that's an interesting meeting going on today.
(02:56):
The Bucks having a top thirty visit for Kentucky quarterback
Will Levis. He's also visiting the Atlanta Focus tomorrow. That
makes sense. They're in the top ten, Desmond ridden in
as their starter right now. The Bucks could be potentially
plotting a potential move up, potential potential. They could be
plotting a move up from number eighteen to wherever they
(03:16):
feel like they need to get to if will Levis
slides a little bit to them, or they could be
plotting a much bigger move up into the top ten.
There's nothing more important than getting your quarterback, nothing more
important than getting your quarterback in the future. The Bucks
know this as well as anyone. They had Tom Brady
for years led them to his Super Bowl. If they
believe will Levis is the guy, it could be a
(03:37):
short jump, it could be a big jump into the
top ten. They now become a team to watch for
when it comes to the quarterback position. All right, so
they're nineteen, right ahead of them. The Lions, who have
a quarterback, who have Jared Goff, are sitting there at eighteen.
Granted they're also on the top ten Detroits at six.
Which quarterback are they meeting with? The Lions are meeting
today with Hendon Hooker, the Tennessee quarterback who's become a
(04:00):
little bit of a darling in this draft. Obviously coming
off a torn acl sounds like his health is doing
really well. An a plus leader, and there's a lot
to like it. I would be at this point, Andrew's
surprised if he is not a first round pick. And
it's not just the Detroit Lions, you're interested among the
other teams that Hendon Hooker schedule to meet with the
(04:22):
Tampa Bay Buccaneers that we were just talking about that
is likely going to be tomorrow. And then the Las
Vegas Raiders, who have number seven, also have number thirty eight,
So potentially if it's for Hooker, there would be a
team to trade up into the back end of the
first round and take their quarterback. Interesting, Hendon Hooker getting
a lot of visits here remains to be seen if
(04:44):
we have four or five quarterbacks taken night number one.
Thank you in Rapp Report, our NFL Network Insider the
culture sitting here at four Shane Steikin of the podium
moments to go listen to this. As you just addressed
you guys asking a lot of time zero in on
these quarterbacks in this draft. There is outside a lot
(05:04):
of the has been a lot mores about what other
options you might look at you, Lamar Jackson brothers. Is
it fair say you're more focused on the draft than
any other possibilities? Right? Yeah, We're focus on the draft,
and I'm a focus on the guys that are in
the building right now. That's that's that's where we're at
right Ian's still here. Um. That was Shane Styke in
moments ago. Yeah, I was trying to say goodbye, just
(05:24):
got lost in my head where we were in the rundown. Hi, Ian,
glad you're here trying to make sense what Shane Styken
said because the reporter kind of gave him an out.
Hey do you want Lamar Jackson or or do you
just want I'm talking about the draft. Yeah, I noticed that.
I wasn't really gonna say anything, but yeah, not maybe
in the Hall of Fame of questions for coaches, but
he's tried. The message was, yeah, it is what it is.
(05:46):
The message is still pretty clear for Shane Steke and
the look. He could say what he wants. He could
have said, we're focused on Mars. The reality is they
have not yet made a move for Lamar Jackson, and
the actions speak a lot louder than his words, although
his words are we are focused on the draft. Remember
they had the number four overall pick. They're taking a
look at all the quarterbacks. Presumably that is another prime
(06:08):
quarterback location, so that is one important factor. Then they
focused on the players in their building, and they finally
do have some players in their building doing off season conditioning.
That is what Stike and meant anyway, the actions are
louder because you've got to think that if they were
going to make a move for Lamar Jackson, they would
have done it already. They would have done it when
they had salary cap space, they would have done it
(06:28):
earlier in the office seasons. So there's some certainty going
forward into the draft. I'm not saying it's impossible. I'm
just saying it's looking more and more likely that Lamar
Jackson is going to be the quarterback for the Ravens
in some form or fashion, in some form of contract
for the twenty twenty three seasons. You know what they
could also do hypothetically here is take something other than
a quarterback. Let's say a defensive player at four, and
(06:52):
then after the draft or even Friday, right, go sign
Lamar Jackson, do an offer sheet, and then they're not
giving up four. Then they're giving up the picks in
twenty four and twenty five. Well but then, okay, but
then that's true. But then let's say the Ravens match
and then they just don't have a quarterback, right, and
then I have a quarterback, but they do have Gardner
Minshew and his fantastic fan one way or the other.
(07:13):
Thank you, Idan Rappaport. Actually I am saying goodbye now,
at least for this segment. Thank you, sir. All right,
say goodbye because we go to den and look at
the Broncos. We hit the roster reset button on them.
Last season twenty twenty two was one to forget for
the Broncos. They hope this year is one to remember.
With their brand new head coach Sean Payton, who was
able to get in the building yesterday and talk to
(07:34):
his team and set a path towards Week one, and
brand new head coach get to talk to the team
without a lot of draft capital here to put pieces around.
Russell Wilson, James Palmer is in Denver. Brian Baldinger joins
us as well. Baldy, great to have you here, James,
had you do this. They're not picking until sixty seven
(07:59):
here and then sixty eight back to back picks, but
they're gonna have to wait a while. They are gonna
have to wait. They only have five picks total. And
it has been a conversation in that building of my
understanding for some time now as they're going through their
draft preparation, how do we add more draft picks. Now,
a lot of people believe that it would have been
trading one of their top wide receivers in Courtland Suttner
Jerry Judy and collecting some draft capital in return. Now,
(08:21):
Sean Payton at the owner's meeting said that was not
going to happen. He's not trading either one. We'll see
if anybody wows them between now and the draft that
something could still happen to add some draft capital. They
can still just move back in some capacity and still
add some picks in that manner as well. But you
look at what they did in free agency early on.
Those were the musts really that they needed to fill
(08:42):
in Sean Payton's mind, and that was going out and
getting Mike McGlinchey and Ben Power's physical guys. On the
offensive line, Baldy was a big need and must that
they wanted to have, And they really are still looking
at that offensive line now in the draft, specifically at
the center position. They Lloyd Cushionberry is there now, but
I wouldn't be surprised if they found a center in
the third, fourth round that they really like. The other
(09:03):
two positions Baldy they're really looking at and have had
guys in on visits cornerback to add some depth there.
Most teams say you can't have enough corners. They need
some help there, and then edge rusher. They've had an
inability to stay healthy there, specifically with Randy Gregory, a
big free agent that they brought in this past season.
Baron Browning has a lot of ability and has had
flashes at times. Nick Mendo a year ago they picked
(09:24):
in the second round. But getting to the quarterback up
front their front seven is definitely something that they're focused
on quite a bit right now, Baldi in those draft meetings.
But when you're picking them, talking about the trenches, you
don't know who's volunteer the trenches. James and so I
think the additions of McGlinchey and Powers, I mean you
hope that you could plug and play those guys and
you improve the offensive line. I mean it all starts
(09:45):
up front. But then you know, to get Javonte back,
to get Tim Patrick back, that helps a great deal.
You talk about the center position, this is a good
draft for centers, and you might find a Ricky Stromberg.
I'm not going to throw every center's name out there,
but you might find some of these guys in the
third round, and if they could do that and strike
gold and up depth position, that might that might be
(10:08):
a good Day's a good second day for the Denver
Broncos if they can do that. Because I think the
way that Sean Payton likes to run the ball, the
way he likes to protect his quarterback, it's going to
start up front. And that process started in free agency.
And they're not the only team with only five picks.
For example, the Vikings have only five, the Ravens have
only five. Eric to Costa, for example, on the podium
(10:31):
last week, said his goal in Baltimore is to get
more than five picks somehow, and I'm sure they're thinking
the same thing there in Denver. The Chiefs are in
a really cool position here. James was transition to them.
They are picking at thirty one, which means when they
make that selection at home, they can get all the
Chiefs fans cheering. Obviously, they won the Lombardi here as well.
(10:54):
It's not the only way though they reset this roster.
Give me a Kansas City offseason perspective as they transition
here to try to win it again, and they have
double the picks that the Denver Broncos have They have
ten selections and all in this draft, and we saw
what they did with all of their rookies and the
roles that they played in this last Super Bowl run
that they had. But I do think what we have
seen once again the formula that is in place in
(11:17):
Kansas City, and Baldy's gonna love this because we're talking
offensive line again. Protecting Patrick Mahomes is what they do
and that's where they spend their money and where they
spend their draft capital. You saw with Creed Humphrey and
Tray Smith, the two probably biggest free agent signings that
they have made at the very beginning of free agency.
With Brett Beach running the show. There is Joe Tuoney
who came in and they brought him in a free
(11:39):
agency and he's changed that offensive line. And now they
do it with Juwan Taylor who is going to step
in and Andy Reid believes knows this system, knows the
terminology should hit the ground running. They look at the
wide receiver position more towards the draft. Can they go
get a Jalen Eyatt to be the speedster to go
along with Sky Moore and Knarius Tony, who they believe
Tony should Baldy be their number one. They think they
(12:00):
can do so many different things with him. And then
Skymore takes another jump. But what we're seeing in the
way things are built in Kansas City is if you
protect Patrick Mahomes, he will make plays. And that's where
the Chiefs are going to continue to make investments. Baldi
that and you know they look at the holes and
the roster. So you lose Zeus Orlando Brown junior via
(12:20):
free agency to Cincinnati. You go get Juwan Taylor, who
was a priced free agent for a lot of teams,
has been a right tackle in Jacksville. Yes, they want
him to play him at left tackle. See how that goes.
But they bring back Lucas Niang, who was a third
round pick has started for the Chiefs, and you solidify
the wall. And then you know you go and say, okay,
we're not going to bring Frank Clark back at least
(12:41):
right now. We'll go get Charles a Meta who who
just keeps getting better and better. You kind of go
to San Francisco rebuild yourself. Then you go hit the
free agent market, and that's what Charles has done. And
so I look at those two holes and they've plugged him,
and now you go, Okay, ten picks in the draft.
Now we can go add talent and young talent to
our roster and we'll see, you know, I mean Isaiah
(13:02):
Pacheco didn't start the season, but he finished the season.
We saw all the depth in the secondary year ago
that they drafted four guys into secondary all played a
prominent role in the road to winning the Super Bowl.
So I feel like you're in great shape to go
out and you know, do the proverbial go get the
best guys regardless of the position, because I feel like
(13:22):
the major holes have been plugged in free agency and
it's pretty clean here the picking end of the first
round thirty one, and the second round sixty three, and
the third round there at ninety five, that is ended
the third round before all those compensatory picks. They had one,
but it eventually went to New York in the de
Vegas all part of the Darren Waller trade. Thank you,
James Palmer, Thank you Brian Balding, you appreciate you. Coming
(13:44):
up next, what about Aaron Rodgers. We're fifteen days away.
Do we have an answer? Unlikely, but we'll tell you
what Mark Murphy said yesterday while waiting for a bus,
fifteen is away from the draft. Here, fifteen days away
(14:07):
from what we hope will be some kind of conclusion
to this Aaron Rodgers story, but the deal still is
not done. Mark Murphy is the Packers team president. Yesterday,
he met with the media while standing in front of
a bus before getting on said bus for a five
day tour around Wisconsin. Is the ball essentially in their court?
(14:28):
You've said this is what we want either ABC or
D and you're you're kind of waiting for them to Yeah.
I can't really get into that. I mean, you know,
I know Brian and Joe have been talking, and are
you expecting a lot of questions about this during this
tour and how do you plan on handling those? I
do anticipate question questions, and I anticipate saying that there
(14:52):
is no update it is. It is interesting, you know,
fifteen years ago or in similar situation, do you need
a deal to get done before the draft or are
you guys okay going into the summer if that's what
it takes. I know, again, that's something you know Brian
is working on, and now I've been actively involved, and yeah,
(15:19):
there's really nothing. What lessons did you take from that
experience on your first tailgate tour in your first year
in charge that you can apply now as you're dealing
with this. Well, I'm really glad that Aaron Rodgers turned
out to be such a good quarterback, and I'm hopeful
that Jordan Love turns out to be a similar quarterback.
(15:40):
Waiting for Mark Murphy to say, there's nothing to see here,
please disperse, There's nothing to see here. So, as luck
would have it, today, Brian Baldinger is in Florim Park.
He is in the Jets building doing you know, some
content for for Jets Socials and the Jets website. Judy
was there last week. They're both with me live from
(16:00):
the Tri State area, right, Baldy? Have you seen you're there?
Have you have you seen Aaron Rodgers? Are they printing jerseys?
Can you smell Ayahuascas? Anything going on? The only twelve
jersey I see in this chess facility is Joe Namis.
I haven't seen Aaron Rodgers. Nobody else has no ghost
(16:20):
helicopters flying over top, nothing like that, but everybody is
anticipating his arrival. Okay, nothing to see Judy. Nothing to
report other than you know, Joe Douglas grabbing a mic
in some radio event over the weekend. Is there anything
going on there that would suggest this is going to happen?
Like now, look, let's not dismiss the Joe Douglas saying
(16:42):
he's going to be here. That's the most definitive thing
anybody has said throughout this whole process. So I'm going
with Joe Douglas saying he's going to be here. No,
there is nothing new to report. They are trying to
work out a deal. Again. I go back to the
fact that we were told this was meant when we
were in Arizona at and talking two weeks ago. We
(17:03):
were told closer to the draft, so you know, put
your feet up and get comfortable, and that's where we are.
It doesn't mean anything is wrong. It just means they're
trying to figure it out. Brian Goudcust at that meeting
in Arizona said they did not necessarily have to have
the thirteenth overall pick, which is the Jets first rounder.
So that was a little bit something, but there's no
(17:25):
reason to think that there is a problem here. And
in the meantime that Jets have gone about their business,
you know, putting pieces in place so that everything is
ready to go when Aaron Rodgers gets here. Obviously, Alan
Lazard has come Micole Hartman has come around. And the
next question I think as we head into the draft,
as we get ready for the draft, is where do
they go in the draft and will they address the
(17:46):
offensive line? Because I think that's probably the next big
question right tackle. If you assume that you know McKay
Beckton is going to fight for the job with Dwayne
Brown at left tackle, what do they do at right tackle?
And to me, if one of those top tackles is
still on the board when they pick, assuming that they're
going to pick at thirteen, I think the big question
is do they go in that direction? And as you
(18:09):
have raised Andrew, do they try to pick up another
wide receiver between now and the draft? Yeah, and the
McKay beckton fifth year option deadline is coming up, all
those guys from that twenty twenty draft coming up in
less than three weeks now, right after the draft. Baldi,
from where you sit, what do you think of the
roster right now? Well, I think it's you know, greatly
(18:30):
improved from a year ago at this time before, they
drafted Breece Hall and Sauce Gardner and Jermaine Johnson and
you know, really struck gold in a lot of different areas.
And you know they've they've added some pieces this offseason,
obviously bringing in a Chuck Clark, you know, at safety,
it's a real need position for them. I think they've
gotten better there. You know, they've got the forty and
(18:52):
forty third picks as well. One of those was in
the trade for with Elijah Moore to Cleveland, so they've
got added another second round pick. So you know, they
got three of the top forty three picks in this draft.
And I think they've they feel like, you know, talent wise,
adding McCole and adding Al Lazard along with you know,
(19:13):
Garrett Wilson and the other guys they have here, that
Y're in pretty good shape. I mean, I think tight
end is a position of need. It's a great draft
for tight ends no matter where you want to go.
It's a good draft for offensive tackles. It's a deep
draft for edge rushers, and so there's plenty of opportunities
to continue to build and add to this roster and
the defense that finished the season, ranked in the top
(19:35):
ten in the league. Judy, let's get back to the
quarterback thing. We were talking Zach Wilson last hour. You
have a good piece right now at NFL dot Com
about kind of the limbo that he is in. Are
we overlooking the Tim Boyle move? And I say that
with not an ounce of sarcasm. Yeah, it's an interesting
wrinkle here because Zach Wilson. They have made very clear
(19:56):
that Zach Wilson is going to be the backup quarterback.
But Tim Boyle was signed, and part of the reason
he was signed is he's got great familiar charity with
this offense. He is close to Aaron Rodgers. He is
close to Nathaniel Hackett. He's known Nathaniel Hackett, I think
since he was in high school. Boyle was in high school,
not Hackett, So he knows this offense. And if we
(20:18):
assume that Aaron Rodgers is maybe not going to be
on the field at least in the early part of OTA's,
Boyle can run the offense and that's going to be
really important. Again, they have said Zach Wilson is going
to be the backup, not Tim Boyle. But you've got
to assume that he's going to at least push Wilson,
and the other thing that he can do is he
(20:39):
can sort of be the bridge between Aaron Rodgers and
Nate Hackett and the other players and sort of explain
how they want the offense to look. I don't think
they want Boyle to have to play at all. I
don't think they want to have Wilson play for that matter.
But I do think that that adds an interesting dynamic
to the quarterback room, which already is going to have
(21:00):
an interesting dynamic because Zach Wilson is going to be
sitting in there with, as we talked about last hour,
his quarterbacking idol, Aaron Rodgers exactly. Tim Boyle did start
three games for the Lions a couple of years ago.
Brian Baldinger is live in Flora Park. Baldy, I know
there's a like to go out the door there and
turn right. There's a kitchen right around the corner. If
by chance you bumped Aaron Rodgers in the kitchen reheating
(21:21):
lunch or maybe making some tea, let us know, please,
I'll take a selfie and Santia Andrew put it up
on the air. Everybody should follow Baldy on all the
social platforms. He is the world's most interesting former offensive lineman.
Thank you Baldy, Thank you Judy. Let's get to Rhet
Lewis's mock draft. We had fun with this yesterday, Bryce
Young Wan CJ. Stroud to I mean Bejean Robinson at
(21:46):
ten was certainly a fun one. You know. Rhett slept
here yesterday. He didn't leave the building. I believe he
hosted six different shows, including Path to the Draft. Hello,
fellow draft enthusiast, welcome back here inside the studio a
Path to the Draft alongside my friends and NFL scouts Stanel,
(22:06):
Jeremiah and Bucky brooksign Rett Lewis, And it's that time
of year, guys where we're kind of talking about these
mop drafts and we're starting to hear some new names
into the conversation. It certainly feels like towards the end
of the first round twenty five through thirty one in
this year's draft, it could be some real wildcards in there.
Let's start with some names that we're hearing getting some
of that buzz that could find their way into the
(22:27):
first round that maybe haven't been talked about a whole
bunch DJ's they're a player like that that fits a
bill for you. Yeah. For me, I'm gonna go to
TCU and I'm gonna go to Steve A. Villa, who's
an interior offensive lineman who's played guard. He's played center
in the past as well, which teams have gone back
in time and looked at his center snaps, which are excellent.
He's somebody that is a plug and play starter. He
matches up and whatever scheme you want to do. You
(22:49):
want to be an outside zone team, he can really move.
You want to be a gap scheme and come downhill
and mall people, he gives you that as well. So
that's one when you start looking at team specific needs
there at the end of the first round, those are
good rosters. This is a plug and play guy right there. Bucky,
you got one yea have about Joe Teman from Wisconsin
being a center that could come in and deliver immediate
(23:10):
results right away. This is a guy that is solid
at the point of attack, you know pedigree coming from Wisconsin,
he understands how to play the game. Did you see
him leading around the corner, does a great job of
playing with his neighbors, meaning he understand how to use
body up when he's compromised. This is a solid player,
a smart player wants to be a plug and play
starter from day one. Oh, let's double down on the Badgers,
(23:32):
shall we. Bucky Brooks stay right there in Madison in
the Big Ten and talk interior defensive lineman Keanu Benton,
guy who've had a really nice week down the Senior
Bowl Inmobile and really felt like he came out of
a shelf this year for the Badgers on the interior
of that defensive line was coached really well, found some
real nice production on the inside of the interesting story.
(23:54):
This was a guy that you know, not only did
he not necessarily play get ready to play college football,
he almost didn't go to college at all, and now
could be finding himself into the back end of the
first round. Is one of those wild card picks. That's
why I love kind of trying to forecast where these
guys are gonna end up. And there's so much that
can happen towards the back end. This is kind of
what are we calling this cold strange territory. Now I
(24:15):
would happen after you did, Keanu Betton. You might say
it's gonna be an excellent adventure. But that's neither there.
There you go all right, speed, I don't know we'll
get there, okay, but be sure to join us for
much more conversations just like this, all the way up
to the draft weekday, six pm Eastern time, right here
on path to the draft. Honestly surprised DJ didn't say
(24:36):
the new john Wick trailer is dropping Keanu there, No, okay,
just saying more Tom foolery and hijinks coming up. Coming up.
That guy who is mister pick six, we're gonna get
to know Emmanuel Forbes. He has set to join us
the Mississippi State corner. If you don't know, you should know,
and you will know. Next Emmanue is picked off the
(25:09):
Amanuel form at a perfect rate by four farms. Get
another picks. The house is career picks. This draft has
everything for you if you want to corner. Each of
(25:31):
these guys does something a little bit differently. But we
look at Bucky Brooks list, and by the way, DJ's
list is pretty much the same. Emmanuel Forbes is on
that list. He has a very particular set of skills.
If you want a guy to intercept the quarterback and
run it back for a touchdown. Emmanual Forbes is your
guy who joins us now to just found out that Emmanuel, Hey,
there is a Dodgers fan, which is interesting from Grenada, Mississippi.
(25:53):
But Emmanuel Forbes, nobody has had more pick sixes than
this guy here in the history of FBS football, six
his college career. Emmanuel, why are you so good at
the pick six? Just looking like, take the ball away
(26:13):
and take from a receiver background, so I don't like
to get tackled if I'm gonna try to go score.
You're being modest man. You had six in Mississippi State.
You had eight in high school, which is just absurd.
They are also like return touchdowns as well on special teams.
It's more than Emmanuel. You just don't want to get tackled.
A lot of guys say that you're good at not
(26:35):
getting tackled. Yeah, and that's all from being a wide receiver.
Deserve Well, you know what, you have something in common
with Trayvon Diggs and you retweeted this. You know Treyvon Diggs,
the Cowboys corner he put on Twitter during the season.
It's a real skill to get interceptions. Anyone can squat
(26:57):
a ball. How much pride do you take, Emmanuel in
being the king of the pick six? Oh, I'll take
a lot, right, And I just felt like enough I
can get my hands on it. But if I can
bring it off, I can pick any day. So well,
anytime I'm close enough to get my hands on I'm
going for the pick one hundred percent. Yea fourteen career
interceptions of Mississippi State. Six of those fourteen, nearly half
(27:19):
of those fourteen you took back for an interception. Again,
no one of the history of FBS Division one football
has done that. But Emanuel, look, it's the draft season.
You go on a lot of these meetings, you go
to the combine um, you hear people say, they say,
we're concerned about your weight. Emmanuel, what do you weigh
right now? Of my protol was once everyone okay, and
(27:40):
I was there around one. Right now, I'm mound like
one seventy four and want saving sever Okay, last year
you played it like one sixty five, one sixty six. No,
I'll start to see it off once seventy three. Okay.
Are people trying to put weight on you? Do they
want you to have like eight meals a day? What
are they saying when you go on these visits. Oh yeah,
that of course I need to be heavier to play
(28:01):
the NFL once all about me, I have both Ryan
with the head rocking day, so I want to be
at least round on eighty one eighty five for the season.
What are you doing to put on weight? This stuff
and like eating lifting waists a lot. So I're trying
to stay healthy and just put on the right way. Honestly.
With the Dodger hat here, you should come to LA
and just do nothing. But but Dodger dogs. I know
(28:23):
you're getting a lot of meetings here. You recently went
to Foxborough to meet with the Patriots. Did you sit
down with Bill Belichick? Idea? Now? What was that? Like?
I was good, It went good. The whole meeting went good.
I got good information from them. Just talked to him
about a little bit about balls, uh and went really well.
Intimidating at all? Oh no, he's like a real bad guy.
(28:46):
So it's like on TV saves like serious. But did
he have a hoodie with cut off sleeves on off? Please?
So what's next? Cincinnati? Yeah? I got Cincinnati tomorrow. Okay,
how many more of these things we got two weeks
to go. I think slanting tomorrow. Then I gotta go
(29:06):
to Detroit and would be my final one. Nice, I
want to put a picture up here on the screen.
You decided to play in the ball game, Emanuel. You
weren't going to do it first, I think, but you
wanted to honor your head coach, Mike Leach. Here's a
sign here obviously that's the name of his book. What
did it mean to play in that ball game to
honor him? And what will it mean to do that
(29:27):
at the next level. Leaks in a bowl game, who
played in Tapa and it was unexpected passing. So I
just see me and Lorissa. Guy just need that we
should play in a ball game for him and give
him that left that he needed firmly going all the
fame Emanual Leach, Emanuel for his bigger part and playing
there for Mike Leach says that you'd be making a
(29:49):
big mistake if you pass on him because of any
concerns about his weight. Just turn on the tape and
watch him go into the end zone. Emmanuel. Great to
have you on, Good luck to you, safe travels. Can't
wait to see where you're go in a couple of weeks. Yes,
NFL Now is a production of the NFL in partnership
(30:11):
with iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Hosts And Creators
Patrick Claybon
Rhett Lewis
Steve Wyche
Andrew Siciliano
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