April 27, 2025 • 42 mins
Will McFadden and Tori McElhaney put the final touches on an exciting 2025 NFL draft by the Atlanta Falcons. They share their thoughts and analysis on each move the Falcons made, each draft pick joining the team, and what more Atlanta needs to do moving forward to put together the best possible roster by fall. To finish, they take a look around the NFC South and how the Saints, Panthers, and Bucs stack up against the new look Atlanta Falcons.
0:00 - Intro
0:30 - Day 3 Recap
2:45 - Full draft class review
18:50 - Favorite draft picks
26:24 - Remaining roster moves
30:10 - Looking around the NFC South
41:25 - Falcons ranked 1st in draft value
42:10 - Outro
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Falcons fans. What's up. We are here to introduce you
to the Atlanta Falcons twenty twenty five rookie draft class.
Tory mclaney here with me and Tory. The Falcons have
wrapped up Day three of the NFL Draft. They made
two selections.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Today, it's it's been a long weekend. It's been an
exciting weekend. The defense feels like it's in a very
different place. But let's start before we kind of get
into the entirety of the class and also maybe take
a quick look around the division in kind of our
wrap up two draft weekend. What do you think of
Day three?
Speaker 2 (00:35):
I was very interested in Day three. I think that
it's actually it was actually a very productive day for Atlanta,
specifically because of pick onein eighteen, Billy Bowen Junior. Yeah,
I truly was not. I mean, I'm in the same
camp as I think what ARIA scouts are saying, what
(00:57):
Jeff Albrick was saying. I don't think think anyone truly
thought that he was going I don't think anyone thought
that Bowman was going to be there at eight when eighteen.
That was the prevailing theme of that pick was that
they were shocked that he was going to be there.
I mean, I I the video which I think people
(01:19):
can see this on our social channels, the video of
Jeff Olbrick not in the war room but the room
next door banging on the wall when this pick came
through because he was so excited about it. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
I just I think that.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
He again he is so We've said this, I think
on every podcast, but like the energy from Olbrick has
been so palpable this week.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
And well, if you're a defensive coordinator and you just
got four potential starters ye that have kind of the
ceiling of being full time starters for your defense very
early on in their careers, you do feel pretty good
about it. I think that we said it on day one.
We said it again last night when we were talking
about Xavier Watts. This is a team, an organization that
(02:04):
just took a major step forward defensively because of the
picks made. And then of course there's Jack Nelson kind
of to round out the group. I think that was
a very safe, solid pick. You go out and you
get an offensive line. When you build up along the
offensive line, you can always, always, always, always use offensive lineman.
There's never a time when you don't need one. So
(02:25):
I think collectively Day three was a little bit surprising
because of Billy Bowman Junior, and then the Jack Nelson
pick makes a lot of sense. I just I think
when I look at this draft class in totality, this
is I think has the potential to be one of
Terry font knows best.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
I agree, and it is his smallest. It ties for
the fewest number of picks in Falcon's history with that
two thousand and six draft class, which our guy DJ
Shockley was part of, but it will be I think
an impactful one. And that was kind of the theme
leading into it. Was Terry Fondo, you know, sitting there
on Wednesday, saying, yeah, we only have five picks, and
(03:06):
who knows I load more or not. But like, regardless
of how many picks you have, you have to hit
on the players that you take, and you need to
get impact players, and that was their goal and time
will tell ultimately, Like we're in reactive mode, but like
we got await a couple of years to really evaluate
a draft class, and I think though we will look
(03:26):
back on it feeling the same way that we do now,
which is Okay, you went and got some really proven
high level SEC pass rushers to come in here and
you know, together kind of take on as James Pierce
called it, a mission. Yeah, and then you added two
guys on the back end, one of whom will truly
be in kind of the back end with the safety
(03:48):
and Billy sorry not Billy Bowman, say you're w Yeah,
and then Billy Bowman will be the kind of nickel
like inside competing with the Alford Clark Phillips like that
type of role. So and Billy Bowman. It's interesting because
I agree, like I didn't expect him to be there
either in the fourth round. He's actually a player. When
we were doing our Day two like best available prospects, Yeah,
(04:08):
that I put down and I.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
Put him down.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
I did you put him out?
Speaker 3 (04:11):
I put him down?
Speaker 1 (04:12):
Okay, well I thought about putting him down. I may
have then put him down again for Day three or
I wrote about but yeah, yeah, he was saying I
seriously considered as well. But yeah, I wrote Jalen Reid,
So I think I debated between both of those guys.
You were smart enough to go with the Billy Bowman.
I went the wrong direction, but yeah, he so then
when I saw him for the Day three one. I
was like, do I even dare, Like, what's going on here?
(04:34):
So if him being available it at first blush is
like they doubled up on edge and then they doubled
up on safety, But that's not it's how you're using
it exactly.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Also like okay, doubling up on edge. When you're talking
about doubling up on edge with Jalen Walker and James
Pierce Junior, it's like, okay, kind of yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
Sort of, but it's not the same as like ezeraku
and and James Pearce right exactly.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
They're different mechanics, different type of players in different builds,
different ways that they're going to play. Even though Jeff
Oulbrick did say today we had a media availability with
Jeff Ulbrick and he kind of reiterated what he told
me earlier in the week where he's like, you know,
I really want Jalen Walker to be able to focus
on like one thing, really finding him a home specifically
(05:20):
as an edge rusher. And I think like that was
very evident in his press conference today to kind of
be like, look, yes he can do all these things,
but they do feel like they're in a good spot
with Kaden Ellis. They do feel like they're in a
good spot with Divine Diablo Troy Anderson, So that inside
linebacker group is an okay spot. Being able to bring
(05:42):
Jalen Walker up from here to here, and I know
if you're listening, you're like, where is she going? But
to take him up a level in terms of his
pass rush is only going to pay dividends moving forward
when you potentially could get him moving around and doing
more things in the versatile style of which we've known
him to be the last year at Georgia. So he's
(06:03):
a completely different player than what James Pearce Junior is.
James Piers Junior is a guy who's gonna come off
the edge and literally go do one thing. Go get
the quarterback, beat your guy, beat your guy, then get
the quarterback, whatever comes first.
Speaker 3 (06:15):
Honestly, he's probably beat your guy and then get the quarterback.
But that's the deal.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
And then with Xavier Watts and with Billy Bowman Jr.
Xavier Watts is somebody who is going to be kind
of this like almost like mirror to Jesse Bates in
a way. And obviously his player comp is Jesse Bates.
He says, he's marveling. He's he's taking his game and
(06:41):
mimicking it with Jesse Bates. And that's something you said
all the time throughout the pre draft process. So that's
his role, that's his niche. And then Billy Bowman junr
I was talking to Jerry Gray today, you were talking
to tarn was talking to Jeff all Brick this morning,
and both of them confirmed, They're like, we're moving him
to nickel. They're like, we're going to see what he's
most comfortable in. We're gonna kind of see. And he's
(07:03):
done a little bit of everything for Oklahoma. He's been
a four year starter there in the box, in the slot,
nickel safety, like field safety, Like he's done just about
everything at the position. But they really really valued him
at nickel for one his speed, his toughness, and I
think that is where he could really hone in find
(07:23):
a niche. And I think that's something that was a
theme for these picks, especially these four defensive guys, is
there is a very specific role that this coaching staff
wants to carve out for each of them to go
and be successful.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
Yeah, and that's important and I think Honestly, if anybody
hasn't yet, go listen to Jeff ulbricks press conference today, Like, yeah,
go listen to everything. Go check out all the great
video content that when you were saying from here to here,
and even though again this is an audio medium unless
you're watching on our YouTube channel, I was like, if
anybody's seen Terry Fonteau over the last three days, they
know exactly what you were doing, because.
Speaker 3 (07:57):
Yeah, this is this is this movie, he lives in this.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Yeah. But Olbrick is very I think intense and mindful
of exactly how he wants to use these guys. And
when you have a player and I wrote about this
a little bit today on Saturday as we record about
Jalen Walker and kind of a player who he has
watched closely, who he has a relationship with in Micah Parsons.
(08:21):
And I know that is a weighted comparison to make,
and I'm not even necessarily making the comparison because they
are different players. But in kind of talking about that,
Olbrick said, yeah, versatility can be a superpower, but it
can also be your kryptonite a little bit. And one
of my favorite players as a prospect in like draft
history is Isaiah Simmons coming out of Clemson. Unfortunately, his
(08:43):
career just didn't turn out the way that I thought
it was going to. And when you have somebody who
can do a little bit of everything you do, kind
of get that like jack of all trades, master of none,
that can be a version of your story. So I
think it's exactly the right approach for the Falcons to say, yeah,
you can do all of that, and that's great that
we know one day we can build you out in
(09:05):
some of these other skill trees. But to start, we
got to kind of focus you in on year one.
Here's what we're really going to have you work on.
And the benefit in the luxury of having a guy
like the Divine Diablo and ktan Ellis and Troy Anderson
and even honestly like Leonard Floyd, Braylan Trice, Arenold eb Katie,
the guys that they do have all over the place
will allow them to maybe more specifically narrow in Jalen's role.
(09:28):
So I think that even though there is some redundancy
on paper when you look at the positions these guys play,
no they've added, for true kind of like pieces to
this defense that should have a role day won.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
Yeah, I agree, and I think it's really interesting if
we're just talking about like drafting strategy.
Speaker 3 (09:45):
And I'll probably write this.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
In a column as we're recapping this specific draft class.
But something that I was just thinking off the top
of my head is the surprise of what this draft was.
And I think the Falcons are a really interesting case
study in how the draft ultimately fell and being pleasantly
surprised by what you had and not so obviously, it's
(10:08):
no secret they did not think that Jalen Walker was
going to be there at number fifteen, right, Yeah, they
didn't think he was going to be there. I think
James Pierce Junior was their guy through and through. They
wanted him, they liked him.
Speaker 3 (10:18):
He's a jeff.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
Oldbrig type of player, and they fell in love with
him and the way his play style. But when you're
sitting there at fifteen and you're looking dead in the
eyes of Jayleen Walker.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
They've been listening to you just literally raft season, being like,
he's not getting past Carolina. Guys, I don't know what
you're thinking, Just go ahead and take Jaylen Walker made.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
Me feel better that they also were as shocked as
I was that he fell to fifteen, and so he
falls to fifteen and they're staring at him.
Speaker 3 (10:44):
They're like, we can't, you can't, you can't.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
Pass this up.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
You gotta go get him, and they go get them
and they make do, and then they move up and
get James for junior. But then fast forward it's Xavier Watts.
You're like, no way, this guy's getting out of he's
the third best safety on the Like he's not. He's
literally not falling out of the second round. There's no way.
And then there they are, and it's like, we can
(11:09):
move up and we can grab him, and you give up,
you know, a few picks here and there, you give
a future fifth and you move up to ninety six
and you get Xavier Watts, and then fast forward again
Billy Bowman junior. No, Jeff Olbergler said, no way, he's
gonna be there at one eighteen, not a chance.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
All of a sudden, he's there. You gotta get him.
Speaker 2 (11:26):
And I think that that, to me, was indicative of
this entire drack class and how it really was a
very random class and how it fell and how teams
are valuing certain position groups, and it was very fascinating,
but also in that in the randomness of it, in.
Speaker 3 (11:43):
The like holy cow, like Jalen Walker's there, let's get him.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
Like even in that there is this idea of aggression
by Terry Fono in the front office. They wanted James
christ Jr. They went up and got him. They wanted
Xavier Watts. And even though they're like, oh, he's falling,
he's falling, we're gonna have a chance of getting him,
they didn't think that they would. He would fall to
one on one, so they move up to ninety six
to get him. So like there is this almost like.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
It's like a game within a game.
Speaker 3 (12:10):
A game within a game of aggressive in a random.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
Choosing your spots, it's picking, yeah, picking your moments. All right.
I don't have the ability to go all in all
the time, so I got to pick my hands and
fold here and then say all right, this is the
card we're going to play, right And they I think
they did that really well this weekend.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
I do too, And I think that that's why this
was such a fun draft, Like for me personally, I
think last year, I think having to play this role
of like explaining to people why the Michael Pennocks pick
a number eight, and that kind of was the dominant
conversation of last year, and then last year's draft class
not panning out, I think the way people wanted to
(12:49):
in their rookie years. You're not seeing a lot of
them on the field when you were they were hurt,
and you don't get to see Brayln Trice at all,
and Ricca Roro is kind of going through an AKL
thing like there you don't really see Brandon Dorless at all,
and Michael Pennix you don't see until the last three
games of the season. So last year's draft class was
a lot of just like you're just trying to to
get to the point of wanting to feed in optimism
(13:12):
and hope about it as a team employee to kind
of to the fan base. If I'm just being completely honest,
but this long like.
Speaker 1 (13:19):
You and I like to put ourselves in their shoes,
like I think actually we like to be like, okay,
so what is the way, Like let me, I'm right,
I'll work with you here, I can get where you're at.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
I'm gonna question it a little bit like and I'm
going to ask some questions and I'm gonna kind of
be like, well, I don't really understand this.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
But it's not like always blind optimism, right, Sometimes we
are like, okay, well, like let's let's put ourselves in
the shoes and like walk through it and game it
out and okay, the strategy there. So yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
But my point in saying that is the feeling I
have sitting down and talking about this draft class in
comparison to last year. It feels nine and to day
in terms of I think the ability to get guys
who can go and be playing as day one, and
that is what you needed, especially defensively. I think it
(14:05):
was a big thing that I even said on a
podcast not too long ago. It's like, you need starters
like you need at You only have five picks. You
gotta get a lot of stars. And I said this
at the top of the pod. I really think that
there's a good opportunity that in either this year or
next year for the five or starting for this team.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
I mean, I think you're mentioning last year's class and
kind of the the year one like developmental year we'll
call it for some players, but with the player like
Braylon Trice whose year kind of ended before it even started.
There's a big chance that we get out there in
August September and this Falcons defense has a ton of
new faces on it, Like, yeah, that's the expectation, right, Yeah,
(14:44):
So it's almost going to be like you have two
draft classes in one. You get a guy like Brayln
Trice back Boom, he's a new addition in there. You
get Ruker Roro and Brandon Dorles like playing more snaps,
having a bigger role right out of the gate, and
really seeing the vision for what they will be and
how they want to deploy them. That's going to be
just adding into this draft class. So yeah, it's going
(15:06):
to be a very unique feel for this upcoming season
just because of kind of like the combination of those
two factors, and then again just the real heavy approach
on defense, but an approach that is tailored specifically to
what Raheem Morris, what Jeff Ulbrick want to do. And
you and I have talked on the background kind of
like about the ping pong nature of almost the Falcons
(15:29):
defense under a bunch of different defensive coordinators who have
different philosophies and things like that. So I really do
like the fact that the Falcons over these last two
years have been like, let's not make this a longer
process that it needs to be. Let's go ahead and
get a bunch of guys who fit exactly what we're
looking for and shorten this window of time to turn
this around and turn it over a little bit. And
(15:51):
so they should have a lot of the skills and
qualities and traits that they need to have this defense
function in the way they envision and that excites me
more than anything.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
Yeah, because you need this defense if you believe that
everything you've done for this offense, all the money you've
pumped into it, all the first round picks that you've
pumped into it, those first round picks, their rookie deals
are running out. And Kyle Pitts is on his fifth
year option. We literally were talking about Drake London and
the Falcons potentially picking up his fifth year option today. Like,
but Jean Robinson a couple of years left on his
(16:22):
Like Michael PENICKX, Yes, Like you're in year two with him.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
Don't make my start thinking about the end of Michael
Pennocks's deal.
Speaker 3 (16:28):
It just got him.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
I know, I'm sorry, but that's the reality of what
we're living in and I think like, if you feel
you know you have a good offensive line, they've been
working together a long time, like Darnelle Mooney, you have
a really solid place where your offense is, especially with
the carryover of having Zach Robinson going into year two,
with Michael Penicks and with all of these guys.
Speaker 3 (16:49):
So I say all of that to say the.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
Time was more than I to look at the defense
like it was. It was time if you were being
serious and that you feel really good and you feel
really strongly about your offense, you've got to go get
a defense to compliment it. Because that was something that
Jeff Olbrick and I were talking about the other days.
He's like, I do feel so confident in this offense
being able to be a high powered, high functioning and
(17:12):
scoring a lot of points.
Speaker 3 (17:14):
And that's the.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
Thing is like, if we're having the same conversation last year,
there was a time with this defense that I was like,
if Atlanta is not scoring thirty five or yeah, if
they're not in the upper thirties, they are probably going
to lose. And you needed to get to the point
where you didn't rely so heavily on that and them
(17:37):
being able to do that, and I think like it
was very very obvious from go that they were going
to get players that were exactly what to your point
what Jeff Oulbrick, Terry Fano, Raheem Morris. They kept saying
over and over and over in every interview, we want
to go get impact players. We want to go get
impact players. We want to go get impact And it
got to the point where that word was just like
(17:58):
ping ponging in my brain impact.
Speaker 3 (18:00):
Impact.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
And I am sitting here now looking at this group,
I said, I was like, I don't think there was
a safety in college football the last two years that
was as impactful as an exavier. Wise, h, I don't
know if last year there was a even Georgia defender
that was as impactful in that defense as Jalen Walker.
You went out and you got impactful players, and now's
(18:22):
the time now moving forward, it's like, how impactful can
they be early on because you're going to need them.
Speaker 1 (18:27):
To be you absolutely will again. I think that it's
it is a great class, even though it's a smaller
class right now on paper. I love kind of the
names that Atlanta added. I'm excited to see what they
look like on the field and how it all comes together.
But I want to ask you two more questions about
this class in particular, and then we'll wrap up by
kind of taking a look around the division and see
how the NFC South has changed over the course of
(18:49):
this weekend. But first, do you have kind of a favorite?
Just pick not necessarily, like we love all of our children, right, so,
like I like this guy more than this guy, but
just was there either hey, just when it happened. It
was a surprise and the best way for me, or
I really attached to this guy in the pre draft process.
What stands out to you from this class?
Speaker 3 (19:10):
It's it's Xavier Watts.
Speaker 2 (19:12):
I feel kind of silly by not saying either Jaalen
Walker or James Pierce Junior, because it was I know,
I do love both of them. I can let yeah,
But I think everybody can talk about those first round guys,
and everybody has talked about those first round guys.
Speaker 3 (19:26):
I think that Xavier.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
Watts is going to be exceptionally impactful if he becomes
the player that I think he has the capabilities to
be and who's on an upward trajectory after only playing
this position for two years, Like I have big expectations
for someone like Xavier Watts, and I think the value
of him at as a number ninety six overall pick
(19:49):
is I mean value is high.
Speaker 3 (19:51):
I think ceiling is high.
Speaker 2 (19:52):
And I'm if you listen to our podcast breaking down
that pick, I was as excited as I have been
in this podcast.
Speaker 1 (19:59):
To do you have for the thumbnail used, he must
have been just floating in the air.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
It was just like my ponytail was just like straight up.
I was so I hope they don't clip that and
make that the thumbnail.
Speaker 1 (20:12):
It don't do that.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
But I I truly he was just he was the
type of player that I fell in love with in
the pre draft process, not that I didn't with Jaylen Walker.
You knew, like I kept saying, I'm not even going
to entertain the thought of Jalen Walker because I don't
think he's gonna be there, like and then he was,
and it's like, oh wow, that's fun, Like that's great.
And then to meet Jalen Walker and to meet James
christ Junior and to get into their heads and hear
(20:35):
their stories is fantastic. But Xavier Watch the player is
the one that I personally gravitated towards the most out
of this group in what he could be if he's
partnering with Jesse Bates.
Speaker 1 (20:48):
You love a ball hawk, I do, of course. That
would Actually, that would be a fun episode. Like what
are the types of players if we were going to
power rank, if you could have any archetype, Yeah, the
player like a gunslinger versus just like a scap.
Speaker 3 (21:00):
That would be fine. I would love it.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
I'm a very traditional though I do think I am
way more traditional than I am not.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
Okay, it's fair, but I'll go with Jalen Walker. It
kind of obvious, feels like, and I have high hopes
for James Pearce. I have high hopes for everybody. It's
more the kind of characteristics, the leadership traits, like being
able to talk to him in that press conference when
he was introduced to the Atlanta media. It's very clear
how thoughtfully is how smart of just kind of like
(21:26):
composed all of those things. And I was just thinking about,
you know, in the same offseason that you part ways
with Grady Jarrett, who has forever been kind of like
viewed as the leader, the central figure.
Speaker 3 (21:39):
The heart and soul of the defense.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
Yeah, the statesman of this Atlanta Falcons defense, You kind
of have a void there, right, and Jesse Bates incredible
leader in his own right of defensive team captain, like
I would expect him to step in there, right, Leonard
Floyd probably as well as like the connection of Raheem Morris,
things like that. I think, yeah, they'll all emerge to
leadership naturally takes kind of like it falls as it does.
(22:02):
But I think it is important that you drafted a
player who is universally like Kirby Smart, all of his
Georgia teammates a school of alphas. Yeah, honestly, the University
of Georgia is and.
Speaker 3 (22:12):
As too alphas ourselves exactly.
Speaker 1 (22:14):
And Jalen Walker is the alpha of alphas, right at
least according to everything I've read, everything I've heard. But
sitting there in that first press conference, I was like,
all right, I get it. I get it. So if
he's even, you know, three quarters of as good on
the field as I expect him to be, I'll be thrilled.
But like the leadership qualities, I just can't wait to
continue to talk to him to see how he grows
(22:35):
and matures as a player, because that's one of the
fun parts of this job is seeing a fresh face
Grady Jarrett in your one and then kind of talking
to him in your seven ye and you did the
whole decade like peace on him, and I'm sure that
was a lot of reflecting for you as well. And
it's just cool to see these guys grow and change, mature.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
And like, well you think about Ajtrell coming out of here,
Yeah too, I remember, and I won't say names, but
I remember one time being like, I was talking to
a friend of mine who covered AJ at Clemson and
and they were like, he doesn't really talk.
Speaker 3 (23:05):
All that much. He's not really a big talker.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
And now seeing how AJ has blossomed into a he
still is not a huge talker, but he's so confident
in himself and you trust and he has such a
like presence about him, and he's kind of become so
comfortable in his own skin and so confident in his
own skin that even when I did a podcast with
him recently and thinking back, because he was the very
(23:31):
very first podcast guest that I did for Falcons and
Focus like at the Stadium, it wasn't it was just
kind of the original idea that we had and he
was the first one I remember even then thinking back
on like he's now been in the podcast chair with
me three times and who he was, Like even this
is even in like year two or year three that
(23:51):
he was here, but now going into like his contract
extension and having him talk about his career, I mean,
that's there's something validating in that. And it's also not
just validating, but it's I think the human experience not
to get philosophical on this, but the human experience of
like people changing, people grow, and who people are in
their first year in the league when they're drinking water
(24:12):
out of a fire hydrant in their rookies and they'd
never stop and it's just all the time, non stop,
is not who they're going to be down the road,
and they're going to grow and change and evolve, and
give them the chance to give them the chance to
get better, give them the chance to make their mistakes
and grow from those. And I think like that's something
that if these players have the opportunity to be starters
(24:35):
very early on, they're not going to be one hundred
percent all the time.
Speaker 3 (24:37):
No player is.
Speaker 2 (24:39):
But I feel really good about where they could be
and honestly, where.
Speaker 3 (24:42):
They may even be seven or eight games in too.
You know, you don't know. Right now, we're in.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
The very early stages of evaluating these players. We haven't
even seen them in a Falcons uniform yet. We haven't
even seen them on the practice field yet. Even though
I can look at James Friers Junior and be.
Speaker 3 (24:57):
Like, you're a tall dude, Like you're huge, how do.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
You run a four four seven? But like, we haven't
seen them yet, we don't know what the vision is.
We can hear Jeff uhlerbrig talk about what he would
like to do with these guys. Maybe that changes, maybe
that evolves very early on.
Speaker 3 (25:13):
We don't know.
Speaker 2 (25:14):
I think ultimately there is optimism about this draft class
and the impact they can make.
Speaker 1 (25:22):
Yeah. I like your perspective there, though, because we are
viewing them like it's so easy to forget that when
when Jayalen Walker and James Pearce walked in this facility
like bright wide eyes, like oh my god, I've just
gone through the craziest period of my life. This is
my dream coming to and we're all sitting here being like, yeah,
but how versatile can you really be? Are you biting
(25:44):
off too much before you can do one thing? Or
should you do. And like now they're nick picking and
doing all this and they're just like, you know, mini
camps a little while away, right, I just got selected,
I got my new job, my family's here. So it's like,
it's a great kind of let's keep perspective. Let's let's
not put the cart before the horse. They'll get out
there on the field, we'll see how they grow mature,
(26:05):
we'll see the rules they'll change.
Speaker 3 (26:06):
And I'm excited about it.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
Yeah, they're not. They're not stuck in in cement right now,
and they're not a finished product at all. But there's
so much exciting about their game and the possibility of
what they could become. So let me ask you, after
the draft, free agency, you know, the waves have come
and gone. There will be a small mini wave, as
there usually is after free agency, But what else is
(26:27):
left for the Falcons to do with their roster?
Speaker 3 (26:30):
So I think that one a is Kirk Cousins.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
He's going to continue to be the elephant in the
room until he's not and whatever that means. And I
think that seeing how the quarterback market shook out from
the draft is going to make some other dominoes across
the league fall I think that there is going to
be some quarterback movement, some quarterback conversations, probably in the
next week or two, especially when you get closer to
(26:55):
that June one cut off date.
Speaker 3 (26:57):
So that's one A, and'll.
Speaker 1 (27:00):
Be we'll be keeping track of that monitoring in so Yeah, Kirk.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
Cousins watch is it's gonna be again. It's gonna be
a thing until it's not a thing. So that's one A.
I do think just kind of looking at the scope
of what the Falcons need, I do want to see
them bring in a little competition for Ryan Noozle at center.
I know I've said this a couple times over the
podcast the last couple of days. I didn't think it
was absolutely necessary that they drafted a center, but let's
(27:26):
see kind of some guys that they get off the
UDFA market that bring in and who can kind of
push Ryan Newsal a little bit. It's like, you need
you need someone in there. You can't just kind of
give the guy no no player, whether it's Drake London,
Jon Robinson, Michael Pennix, like you gotta have a little
bit of that pushing.
Speaker 1 (27:45):
Yeah, how single coach wants to create competition right, right?
Speaker 3 (27:48):
That's that's what you do this for. So I would
really like to see them go.
Speaker 2 (27:53):
And maybe that's a veteran somewhere that may still be
out and about roaming around, or someone off of a
practice squad. So cinner is kind of a little bit
of a question mark.
Speaker 3 (28:02):
Dot dot dot for me.
Speaker 2 (28:04):
I also think that if there are some big time
D tackles out there, you know, if there are some
big body D tackles that are coming off of the
they're still on the free agency market or their UDFA.
Speaker 1 (28:15):
Who's this year's Eddie Goldman?
Speaker 2 (28:17):
Right? Yeah, Who's who's this big body defensive lineman that
can come in and eat up space in the middle
and be a rotational player if and when needed.
Speaker 3 (28:25):
Those are the two areas. Again.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
It's funny the guys like right across from each other.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
Literally is right in the middle of that of the
line of scrimmage is where I'm looking in terms of
this this roster.
Speaker 1 (28:35):
You want a package deal? Yeah, I think makes a
lot of sense. And it's kind of as Day three
was going along and everybody was like who should we
still take, Like who's on the board, I was kind
of defaulting to some of those same things. Because when
you're looking at the roster, you're like, all right, if
I was going to pick and choose and plug you
know here, here, and here, the one I will say
in addition to those two would be wide receiver. Right. Yeah,
it was kind of the other spot that I thought
(28:56):
the Falcons could could maybe target in the seventh round.
There there were some interesting players, but they chose not
to of the positions though, like center, a big more
run stuffing tackle, and a third slash fourth receiver. Those
you can find those. Yes, I think the Falcons will
be able to add those as the summer takes along,
(29:17):
Spring turns into summer or whatever. So yeah, if those
are your kind of needs coming out of the draft.
Speaker 3 (29:23):
I'll take it.
Speaker 1 (29:24):
You're you're sitting pretty pretty I'll take.
Speaker 2 (29:26):
It, especially considering how many defensive needs we have talked about.
Speaker 1 (29:31):
O crazy howver again gotten here from where they were
in the off season.
Speaker 3 (29:36):
Yeah, very beginning of the off season.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
Because remember I think I even said a podcast very
early on and we kind of you kind of gave
me a look. I remember this because I was like,
you know, there may be seven or eight starters of
the Falcons are looking to get like defensively, and I
think I said maybe I said six or seven, not.
Speaker 3 (29:51):
Seven or eight.
Speaker 2 (29:52):
And here we are now at the end of the draft,
and it's like, there's to your point, there's gonna be
a lot of new faces and a lot of new
rotations and a lot of new groupings, and I'm very
excited to see kind of what everything pans out to be.
Speaker 1 (30:09):
Cool. Well, let's go ahead and wrap up today's podcast
with a quick look around the division. The Panthers made
seven picks. I believe the first round pick Ted McMillan,
out wide receiver, a bit of a surprise for everybody.
But then they did double up on the defense side
of the ball with a pair of edges, Nick Schurtzen
and Princely Uman Milan. There you go, I maybe I
(30:31):
don't know, do you stick the landing judges? Okay, it was.
They also got a you know, our George boy Trevor ETN,
Lathan Ransom out of Ohio State, Cam Jackson defensive tackle
out of Florida, Mitch Levin's out of Notre Dame tight end,
and then they wrapped it up in the sixth round
with Jimmy Horn junior of Colorado. Any of those picks,
(30:52):
like really stand out to you for what Carolina did.
Speaker 2 (30:55):
I mean, Carolina pumps so much into their defense during
free a free agency, so I was even though I
kept giving them Jalen Walker, I understand the Tet McMillan pick,
and I understand the Trevor ETN pick, and I the
Travis Sorry whichever one Trevor sorry. I'm like I literally
(31:16):
went I was like, that's not right, and then I
was like, no, that is right, It is right.
Speaker 3 (31:20):
I was second guessing myself, but.
Speaker 2 (31:21):
I understood the strategy behind that, and I understood after
all of it was said and done, why they valued
Tet McMillan so highly, because they had they pumped their
free agency resources into that defense. A lot of free
agency resources into that defense. That defense I think has
fundamentally changed. Yes, so you needed someone who can move
(31:42):
the needle for you offensively, and I think they went
out and got the guy.
Speaker 1 (31:46):
Yeah. It's interesting to me that he was comped so
often too Drake Lennon during the pre draft process, and
it's like the Panthers have just watched Drake London just
tear them up and like do great things for the
last three years and they were like, we'll take one
of those. Please. What's that table over there? Eating? Man
looks good? Can I get one of those? Yeah? Yeah?
So and also his size if your quarterback is smaller,
you know, Drew Brees had a lot of tall, wide receivers.
(32:08):
I'm sure that that helps, you know, just being able
to lob it up there. So that is what the
Panthers did. Are you feeling better or worse about the
Panthers at this point? Are the same? I feel feel worse.
Speaker 2 (32:18):
Honestly, I feel I just feel like the Panthers have
really are really going to take a step in and
be more competitive in twenty twenty five because I really
liked the the the Bobby Brown, the third yeah pick
up extending J C. Horn like they went and got
to think a pair of ed Rusher or another Oh
to shn Wharton. Yep, there are some guys that some
(32:41):
dudes that I think they got for their defense that
I again I think is gonna move the needle for them.
Speaker 1 (32:47):
I agree. They were one of the fun kind of
like stories late in the year, right, So it would
be all right if the Panthers kind of do well. Right,
So let's have them take a step forward and the
Bucks and the Saints can just stay at the bottom
new era. Speaking of this, Saints though, they made let's
see what we have eight selections, starting with Kelvin Banks Junior,
the offensive tackle in the first round of pick number nine.
(33:09):
What were your thoughts when they went offensive tackle?
Speaker 2 (33:11):
I did give I drafted them. I mocked a couple
of offensive tackles to them because I did know that
was in need for them. They were in need of
a starting tackle more often than not. I went defense though,
I even like cornerback. I went linebacker with them. I
went edge rusher with them. So to see that they
were valuing offensive tackle that need I think so highly,
(33:34):
was very interesting. What's more interesting about the Saints.
Speaker 1 (33:38):
Though second round pick is their second round pick, Yeak
Tyler Tyler Shuck out of Louisville quarterback. Everybody you know,
when the Derek Carr kind of reports started coming out,
the Saints were talked about as a shadoor team. Maybe
they didn't do it in the first round. They waited
until the second round. What do you think about Tyler Shuck?
Speaker 2 (33:55):
I I'm so interested to see what shakes out with
the quarterback situation with the Saints, Like, it's that quarterback
room is fascinating. You can kind of joke about how
some quarterback rooms, like you can talk about the Browns
who did get sor Sanders and they got Joe Flacco
and they got Kenny Pickett.
Speaker 1 (34:15):
Or like the Seahawks, you know, yeah, Sea Hawks, we
came out before they traded Sam Howell back to the Viking, right.
Speaker 2 (34:20):
Yeah, yeah, Like there are some interesting like groupings of
quarterbacks across the league, and the Saints are one of
the weirder ones. And what happens if Derek Carr isn't
one hundred percent in twenty twenty five? Who are you
gonna run out there? Like do you do you run
out Taylor? Do you run out Spencer Rattler?
Speaker 3 (34:38):
Like, yeah, I don't know, And.
Speaker 2 (34:42):
I'm glad I don't have to make any decisions on
that because that that whole situation seems really kind of
up the creek without a paddle. It's like nice, that's
that's kind of how I feel about it, that quarterback situation.
Speaker 1 (34:56):
Well, they've they've gotten out of the creek, they've found
their banks, and now they can move forward with the
offensive line. You're looking at me like I was ready
to just end this.
Speaker 3 (35:06):
I was going back.
Speaker 2 (35:07):
And forth between like just booing on the spot or
like throwing my computer.
Speaker 3 (35:12):
It went back and forth. I didn't either. I kept
it together.
Speaker 1 (35:14):
This is a very regular occurrence. So I am totally
normal and cool with this, and we'll take it in shred.
Moving on, Vernon Broughton, the defensive tackle out of Texas
with the third round pick. Jonas Sanker, safety out of Virginia.
Another third round pick for them, Danny Streutzman, Oklahoma linebacker.
A lot of Oklahoma defenders kind of in this cycle,
(35:35):
Notre Dame, like good, good, solid, like big school defensive players.
I always like to see that. Quincy Riley cornerback out
of Louisville, Devin Neil running back Kansas, Malachy Mataveo, Yep,
pretty sure I nailed that one. Yep, tight end UCLA
and Fidel Diggs wrapping it up in the seventh round.
The Edge out of Syracuse, who was somebody like I
(35:55):
kind of kept looking at just going through the mock
drafts in the seventh round for the Falcons. So did
the Saints move the needle in any way for you?
With kind of their offensive tackle selection in the first round.
Speaker 2 (36:06):
No, no, no, because I think they have bigger issues
than offensive tackle. I think they have bigger fish to fry,
and I don't know what's gonna happen with them.
Speaker 3 (36:14):
So the needle didn't.
Speaker 2 (36:15):
I mean, I can say that it got like worse,
like you know, like I can't say that it dipped,
but I don't think it moved.
Speaker 3 (36:21):
For me at all.
Speaker 1 (36:22):
Yeah, I gotcha. I feel the exact same way. So
moving on to Tampa Bay, who won the NFC South
last year, they went with Amikagbuka in the first round
of again a kind of a surprise. I watched a
receiver pick for the Bucks. He's somebody who's constantly kind
of comped to Chris Godwin. Right, so now you got
just a couple of them.
Speaker 2 (36:43):
Hey, you know they're kind of just trying to outscore
people at this point, you know, like they're just like,
we feel good about Baker, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin. Now
now you have a third option, which, like, at.
Speaker 1 (36:54):
That's a good third receiver.
Speaker 3 (36:56):
He is, the fact that.
Speaker 2 (36:57):
Your third receiver is a number well, but also the
number nineteen overall first round pick is kind of like bananas.
But like when you have Mike Green or Mike Green.
When you have Mike Evans and then you have Chris
Godwin out there, it's kind of like, well, dang, Like.
Speaker 1 (37:14):
Yeah, but I'm looking, didn't they draft last year McMillan
out of Washington? Did they? So don't they have I'm
trying to the internet here. We have body all the weekend.
Speaker 2 (37:27):
That is one thing that is we've all been working
so hard. There's so many people in Flowery Branch that
the Wi Fi is like.
Speaker 1 (37:36):
All right, but I got their roster pulled up. Let's
see wide receiver. Yeah, Jalen McMillan. They drafted them right
last year, so they are just like draft picks, draft picks,
draft picks at wide receiver. Yeah, you know, you can't
blame them, but it feels like there's a logjam a
little bit.
Speaker 3 (37:51):
It does well.
Speaker 2 (37:52):
It's like with the same conversation that you always have
with the Falcons when you have coll Pits, Drake London,
but John Robinson, Tyler Algier, Darnelle Mooney, like, you have
so many offensive weapons, how can you possibly make all
of them happy?
Speaker 3 (38:03):
How can you possibly get the ball in all of
their hands? And the truth is you can't. The truth is,
it's like you have to hope that like.
Speaker 2 (38:11):
Egos don't stand in the way, because then there's like
if they do, then then you got guys being pissed
that they're not getting the ball and they're not, you know,
potentially gonna get paid their next contract. But I think,
like that's not been a problem here in Atlanta. It'll
be interesting to see kind of what happens with the
Bucks moving forward. They're a lethal offense, though they have
(38:32):
been I think for a while. Ever since Baker Mayfield
has really dug his heels down in that offense, they've
been really good and they're hard to stop. I think
they just got harder to stop. But I don't know
if they did anything to shure up like certain positions
future Like that was the big thing with me, is
why I kept going to hide Campbell to them linebacker
(38:53):
Ount of Alabama at nineteen. It was because Levonte David
is not getting any younger.
Speaker 1 (39:00):
He's been not getting any younger for like seven years, right,
And I.
Speaker 2 (39:03):
Think at a certain point you got to start thinking about, Okay,
like what is the the kind of second wave of
your defense look like? And what does it look like
when some of these guys who are aging are aging out,
and what do you do next? So I think it's
it's interesting, it's an interesting strategy, and we'll kind of
see where those holes are for the bucks.
Speaker 1 (39:22):
Yeah, but it's kind of like, what was that space
for improvement? If you are already A, if you're already minus, Like, yeah,
you go to an A is like a small jump
as already C plus to a B plus.
Speaker 2 (39:31):
Right, when you already have Mike Evans, when you already
have Chris Gonw when you already have like million, what's.
Speaker 1 (39:35):
The opportunity costs for another position to get better? Right,
to make an incremental gain for a fourth receiver? Ye, yeah,
that's I'm with you on that. It's interesting. But they
Kate Oughten too, right, And plus Baker Mayfield noted dual
threat quarterback. He's got to get his touches, got to
design some bootlegs for him. They they went defense. So
the next four picks doubled up at corner Benjamin Morrison
(39:57):
out of Notre Dame. A lot of people, you know,
some mocked him to the Falcons, tied him to the Falcons.
Kansas State cornerback Jacob Parrish was their third round pick,
and then they went edge with David Walker from Central
Arkansas or no, I'm not even gonna try to say
how the the like Irish LA a lot of international fans. Yeah, yeah,
but it was it was like an Arkansas in there.
(40:19):
And then Elijah Roberts out of SMU, another edge defender,
before they wrapped it up with Oregon wide receiver Tes
Johnson in the seventh round. Who was I know, he's tiny.
He was one of my favorite players at the Senior Bowl,
but he lit it up at the Senior Bowl. Yeah,
so two wide receivers. I like both of them there
their corners. I do like Benjamin Morrison. David Walker somebody
(40:41):
I looked at, but he makes sense for them. Not
so much Atlanta because like he could be a fourth
or fifth pass rusher and more of a designated like
go get them kind of guy. But out of everybody
aside from Atlanta, the other NFC South teams, I kind
of liked the Bucks draft.
Speaker 3 (40:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (40:59):
Well, to me, it's the most interesting, it's the most intriguing.
It's the one that I'm most curious about. And I
think that I said the Saints didn't really move the
needle for me, I said, the Panthers, you know, kind
of maybe did a little bit the Bucks. I do
think according to how some of these second third round pick,
the day two picks kind of pan out for them,
(41:19):
I think will be very interesting to see something that
I want to bring up though, before we hop off,
as Warren Sharp just tweeted the best value twenty twenty
five NFL draft classes, Atlanta Falcons came in at number one.
Speaker 1 (41:32):
Let's go.
Speaker 2 (41:33):
So, I think, how about that and by a pretty
significant margin, I'm looking at most valuable based on that.
Speaker 1 (41:41):
Goes to your point though, they let the draft come
to them right right, And we're always saying that about
teams like the Eagles and the Steelers and the raven
and it's like, hey, look at us, Yeah, who would
have thought?
Speaker 2 (41:52):
Yeah, in terms of like values versus reaches, Atlanta is
way on the value side number one.
Speaker 1 (41:57):
In fact, top two hundred and fifty picks, Falcons had
five of them. That means a lot of value. Nailed
nailed all their their picks.
Speaker 2 (42:06):
And it's what they to your earlier point and what
you wrote about earlier this week, it's what they had
to do.
Speaker 1 (42:11):
Yep. So that's a great place I think to wrap
up this podcast, wrapping up the twenty twenty five NFL
Draft for the Atlanta Falcons. So thank you so much
for joining me for each of these. Tory, thank you
to Jared, our producer for all of these. He's been
pulling some late nighters, early mornings to make sure that
we get that out there. But I am Will McFadden
for Tory mclaney. Thank you guys for following along all
(42:33):
draft weekends. Stay tuned for some more excellent coverage, But
until then, take care
Speaker 3 (42:38):
And we're going to go get some sleep.
Falcons fans. What's up. We are here to introduce you
to the Atlanta Falcons twenty twenty five rookie draft class.
Tory mclaney here with me and Tory. The Falcons have
wrapped up Day three of the NFL Draft. They made
two selections.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Today, it's it's been a long weekend. It's been an
exciting weekend. The defense feels like it's in a very
different place. But let's start before we kind of get
into the entirety of the class and also maybe take
a quick look around the division in kind of our
wrap up two draft weekend. What do you think of
Day three?
Speaker 2 (00:35):
I was very interested in Day three. I think that
it's actually it was actually a very productive day for Atlanta,
specifically because of pick onein eighteen, Billy Bowen Junior. Yeah,
I truly was not. I mean, I'm in the same
camp as I think what ARIA scouts are saying, what
(00:57):
Jeff Albrick was saying. I don't think think anyone truly
thought that he was going I don't think anyone thought
that Bowman was going to be there at eight when eighteen.
That was the prevailing theme of that pick was that
they were shocked that he was going to be there.
I mean, I I the video which I think people
(01:19):
can see this on our social channels, the video of
Jeff Olbrick not in the war room but the room
next door banging on the wall when this pick came
through because he was so excited about it. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
I just I think that.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
He again he is so We've said this, I think
on every podcast, but like the energy from Olbrick has
been so palpable this week.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
And well, if you're a defensive coordinator and you just
got four potential starters ye that have kind of the
ceiling of being full time starters for your defense very
early on in their careers, you do feel pretty good
about it. I think that we said it on day one.
We said it again last night when we were talking
about Xavier Watts. This is a team, an organization that
(02:04):
just took a major step forward defensively because of the
picks made. And then of course there's Jack Nelson kind
of to round out the group. I think that was
a very safe, solid pick. You go out and you
get an offensive line. When you build up along the
offensive line, you can always, always, always, always use offensive lineman.
There's never a time when you don't need one. So
(02:25):
I think collectively Day three was a little bit surprising
because of Billy Bowman Junior, and then the Jack Nelson
pick makes a lot of sense. I just I think
when I look at this draft class in totality, this
is I think has the potential to be one of
Terry font knows best.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
I agree, and it is his smallest. It ties for
the fewest number of picks in Falcon's history with that
two thousand and six draft class, which our guy DJ
Shockley was part of, but it will be I think
an impactful one. And that was kind of the theme
leading into it. Was Terry Fondo, you know, sitting there
on Wednesday, saying, yeah, we only have five picks, and
(03:06):
who knows I load more or not. But like, regardless
of how many picks you have, you have to hit
on the players that you take, and you need to
get impact players, and that was their goal and time
will tell ultimately, Like we're in reactive mode, but like
we got await a couple of years to really evaluate
a draft class, and I think though we will look
(03:26):
back on it feeling the same way that we do now,
which is Okay, you went and got some really proven
high level SEC pass rushers to come in here and
you know, together kind of take on as James Pierce
called it, a mission. Yeah, and then you added two
guys on the back end, one of whom will truly
be in kind of the back end with the safety
(03:48):
and Billy sorry not Billy Bowman, say you're w Yeah,
and then Billy Bowman will be the kind of nickel
like inside competing with the Alford Clark Phillips like that
type of role. So and Billy Bowman. It's interesting because
I agree, like I didn't expect him to be there
either in the fourth round. He's actually a player. When
we were doing our Day two like best available prospects, Yeah,
(04:08):
that I put down and I.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
Put him down.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
I did you put him out?
Speaker 3 (04:11):
I put him down?
Speaker 1 (04:12):
Okay, well I thought about putting him down. I may
have then put him down again for Day three or
I wrote about but yeah, yeah, he was saying I
seriously considered as well. But yeah, I wrote Jalen Reid,
So I think I debated between both of those guys.
You were smart enough to go with the Billy Bowman.
I went the wrong direction, but yeah, he so then
when I saw him for the Day three one. I
was like, do I even dare, Like, what's going on here?
(04:34):
So if him being available it at first blush is
like they doubled up on edge and then they doubled
up on safety, But that's not it's how you're using
it exactly.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Also like okay, doubling up on edge. When you're talking
about doubling up on edge with Jalen Walker and James
Pierce Junior, it's like, okay, kind of yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
Sort of, but it's not the same as like ezeraku
and and James Pearce right exactly.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
They're different mechanics, different type of players in different builds,
different ways that they're going to play. Even though Jeff
Oulbrick did say today we had a media availability with
Jeff Ulbrick and he kind of reiterated what he told
me earlier in the week where he's like, you know,
I really want Jalen Walker to be able to focus
on like one thing, really finding him a home specifically
(05:20):
as an edge rusher. And I think like that was
very evident in his press conference today to kind of
be like, look, yes he can do all these things,
but they do feel like they're in a good spot
with Kaden Ellis. They do feel like they're in a
good spot with Divine Diablo Troy Anderson, So that inside
linebacker group is an okay spot. Being able to bring
(05:42):
Jalen Walker up from here to here, and I know
if you're listening, you're like, where is she going? But
to take him up a level in terms of his
pass rush is only going to pay dividends moving forward
when you potentially could get him moving around and doing
more things in the versatile style of which we've known
him to be the last year at Georgia. So he's
(06:03):
a completely different player than what James Pearce Junior is.
James Piers Junior is a guy who's gonna come off
the edge and literally go do one thing. Go get
the quarterback, beat your guy, beat your guy, then get
the quarterback, whatever comes first.
Speaker 3 (06:15):
Honestly, he's probably beat your guy and then get the quarterback.
But that's the deal.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
And then with Xavier Watts and with Billy Bowman Jr.
Xavier Watts is somebody who is going to be kind
of this like almost like mirror to Jesse Bates in
a way. And obviously his player comp is Jesse Bates.
He says, he's marveling. He's he's taking his game and
(06:41):
mimicking it with Jesse Bates. And that's something you said
all the time throughout the pre draft process. So that's
his role, that's his niche. And then Billy Bowman junr
I was talking to Jerry Gray today, you were talking
to tarn was talking to Jeff all Brick this morning,
and both of them confirmed, They're like, we're moving him
to nickel. They're like, we're going to see what he's
most comfortable in. We're gonna kind of see. And he's
(07:03):
done a little bit of everything for Oklahoma. He's been
a four year starter there in the box, in the slot,
nickel safety, like field safety, Like he's done just about
everything at the position. But they really really valued him
at nickel for one his speed, his toughness, and I
think that is where he could really hone in find
(07:23):
a niche. And I think that's something that was a
theme for these picks, especially these four defensive guys, is
there is a very specific role that this coaching staff
wants to carve out for each of them to go
and be successful.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
Yeah, and that's important and I think Honestly, if anybody
hasn't yet, go listen to Jeff ulbricks press conference today, Like, yeah,
go listen to everything. Go check out all the great
video content that when you were saying from here to here,
and even though again this is an audio medium unless
you're watching on our YouTube channel, I was like, if
anybody's seen Terry Fonteau over the last three days, they
know exactly what you were doing, because.
Speaker 3 (07:57):
Yeah, this is this is this movie, he lives in this.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Yeah. But Olbrick is very I think intense and mindful
of exactly how he wants to use these guys. And
when you have a player and I wrote about this
a little bit today on Saturday as we record about
Jalen Walker and kind of a player who he has
watched closely, who he has a relationship with in Micah Parsons.
(08:21):
And I know that is a weighted comparison to make,
and I'm not even necessarily making the comparison because they
are different players. But in kind of talking about that,
Olbrick said, yeah, versatility can be a superpower, but it
can also be your kryptonite a little bit. And one
of my favorite players as a prospect in like draft
history is Isaiah Simmons coming out of Clemson. Unfortunately, his
(08:43):
career just didn't turn out the way that I thought
it was going to. And when you have somebody who
can do a little bit of everything you do, kind
of get that like jack of all trades, master of none,
that can be a version of your story. So I
think it's exactly the right approach for the Falcons to say, yeah,
you can do all of that, and that's great that
we know one day we can build you out in
(09:05):
some of these other skill trees. But to start, we
got to kind of focus you in on year one.
Here's what we're really going to have you work on.
And the benefit in the luxury of having a guy
like the Divine Diablo and ktan Ellis and Troy Anderson
and even honestly like Leonard Floyd, Braylan Trice, Arenold eb Katie,
the guys that they do have all over the place
will allow them to maybe more specifically narrow in Jalen's role.
(09:28):
So I think that even though there is some redundancy
on paper when you look at the positions these guys play,
no they've added, for true kind of like pieces to
this defense that should have a role day won.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
Yeah, I agree, and I think it's really interesting if
we're just talking about like drafting strategy.
Speaker 3 (09:45):
And I'll probably write this.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
In a column as we're recapping this specific draft class.
But something that I was just thinking off the top
of my head is the surprise of what this draft was.
And I think the Falcons are a really interesting case
study in how the draft ultimately fell and being pleasantly
surprised by what you had and not so obviously, it's
(10:08):
no secret they did not think that Jalen Walker was
going to be there at number fifteen, right, Yeah, they
didn't think he was going to be there. I think
James Pierce Junior was their guy through and through. They
wanted him, they liked him.
Speaker 3 (10:18):
He's a jeff.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
Oldbrig type of player, and they fell in love with
him and the way his play style. But when you're
sitting there at fifteen and you're looking dead in the
eyes of Jayleen Walker.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
They've been listening to you just literally raft season, being like,
he's not getting past Carolina. Guys, I don't know what
you're thinking, Just go ahead and take Jaylen Walker made.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
Me feel better that they also were as shocked as
I was that he fell to fifteen, and so he
falls to fifteen and they're staring at him.
Speaker 3 (10:44):
They're like, we can't, you can't, you can't.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
Pass this up.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
You gotta go get him, and they go get them
and they make do, and then they move up and
get James for junior. But then fast forward it's Xavier Watts.
You're like, no way, this guy's getting out of he's
the third best safety on the Like he's not. He's
literally not falling out of the second round. There's no way.
And then there they are, and it's like, we can
(11:09):
move up and we can grab him, and you give up,
you know, a few picks here and there, you give
a future fifth and you move up to ninety six
and you get Xavier Watts, and then fast forward again
Billy Bowman junior. No, Jeff Olbergler said, no way, he's
gonna be there at one eighteen, not a chance.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
All of a sudden, he's there. You gotta get him.
Speaker 2 (11:26):
And I think that that, to me, was indicative of
this entire drack class and how it really was a
very random class and how it fell and how teams
are valuing certain position groups, and it was very fascinating,
but also in that in the randomness of it, in.
Speaker 3 (11:43):
The like holy cow, like Jalen Walker's there, let's get him.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
Like even in that there is this idea of aggression
by Terry Fono in the front office. They wanted James
christ Jr. They went up and got him. They wanted
Xavier Watts. And even though they're like, oh, he's falling,
he's falling, we're gonna have a chance of getting him,
they didn't think that they would. He would fall to
one on one, so they move up to ninety six
to get him. So like there is this almost like.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
It's like a game within a game.
Speaker 3 (12:10):
A game within a game of aggressive in a random.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
Choosing your spots, it's picking, yeah, picking your moments. All right.
I don't have the ability to go all in all
the time, so I got to pick my hands and
fold here and then say all right, this is the
card we're going to play, right And they I think
they did that really well this weekend.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
I do too, And I think that that's why this
was such a fun draft, Like for me personally, I
think last year, I think having to play this role
of like explaining to people why the Michael Pennocks pick
a number eight, and that kind of was the dominant
conversation of last year, and then last year's draft class
not panning out, I think the way people wanted to
(12:49):
in their rookie years. You're not seeing a lot of
them on the field when you were they were hurt,
and you don't get to see Brayln Trice at all,
and Ricca Roro is kind of going through an AKL
thing like there you don't really see Brandon Dorless at all,
and Michael Pennix you don't see until the last three
games of the season. So last year's draft class was
a lot of just like you're just trying to to
get to the point of wanting to feed in optimism
(13:12):
and hope about it as a team employee to kind
of to the fan base. If I'm just being completely honest,
but this long like.
Speaker 1 (13:19):
You and I like to put ourselves in their shoes,
like I think actually we like to be like, okay,
so what is the way, Like let me, I'm right,
I'll work with you here, I can get where you're at.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
I'm gonna question it a little bit like and I'm
going to ask some questions and I'm gonna kind of
be like, well, I don't really understand this.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
But it's not like always blind optimism, right, Sometimes we
are like, okay, well, like let's let's put ourselves in
the shoes and like walk through it and game it
out and okay, the strategy there. So yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
But my point in saying that is the feeling I
have sitting down and talking about this draft class in
comparison to last year. It feels nine and to day
in terms of I think the ability to get guys
who can go and be playing as day one, and
that is what you needed, especially defensively. I think it
(14:05):
was a big thing that I even said on a
podcast not too long ago. It's like, you need starters
like you need at You only have five picks. You
gotta get a lot of stars. And I said this
at the top of the pod. I really think that
there's a good opportunity that in either this year or
next year for the five or starting for this team.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
I mean, I think you're mentioning last year's class and
kind of the the year one like developmental year we'll
call it for some players, but with the player like
Braylon Trice whose year kind of ended before it even started.
There's a big chance that we get out there in
August September and this Falcons defense has a ton of
new faces on it, Like, yeah, that's the expectation, right, Yeah,
(14:44):
So it's almost going to be like you have two
draft classes in one. You get a guy like Brayln
Trice back Boom, he's a new addition in there. You
get Ruker Roro and Brandon Dorles like playing more snaps,
having a bigger role right out of the gate, and
really seeing the vision for what they will be and
how they want to deploy them. That's going to be
just adding into this draft class. So yeah, it's going
(15:06):
to be a very unique feel for this upcoming season
just because of kind of like the combination of those
two factors, and then again just the real heavy approach
on defense, but an approach that is tailored specifically to
what Raheem Morris, what Jeff Ulbrick want to do. And
you and I have talked on the background kind of
like about the ping pong nature of almost the Falcons
(15:29):
defense under a bunch of different defensive coordinators who have
different philosophies and things like that. So I really do
like the fact that the Falcons over these last two
years have been like, let's not make this a longer
process that it needs to be. Let's go ahead and
get a bunch of guys who fit exactly what we're
looking for and shorten this window of time to turn
this around and turn it over a little bit. And
(15:51):
so they should have a lot of the skills and
qualities and traits that they need to have this defense
function in the way they envision and that excites me
more than anything.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
Yeah, because you need this defense if you believe that
everything you've done for this offense, all the money you've
pumped into it, all the first round picks that you've
pumped into it, those first round picks, their rookie deals
are running out. And Kyle Pitts is on his fifth
year option. We literally were talking about Drake London and
the Falcons potentially picking up his fifth year option today. Like,
but Jean Robinson a couple of years left on his
(16:22):
Like Michael PENICKX, Yes, Like you're in year two with him.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
Don't make my start thinking about the end of Michael
Pennocks's deal.
Speaker 3 (16:28):
It just got him.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
I know, I'm sorry, but that's the reality of what
we're living in and I think like, if you feel
you know you have a good offensive line, they've been
working together a long time, like Darnelle Mooney, you have
a really solid place where your offense is, especially with
the carryover of having Zach Robinson going into year two,
with Michael Penicks and with all of these guys.
Speaker 3 (16:49):
So I say all of that to say the.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
Time was more than I to look at the defense
like it was. It was time if you were being
serious and that you feel really good and you feel
really strongly about your offense, you've got to go get
a defense to compliment it. Because that was something that
Jeff Olbrick and I were talking about the other days.
He's like, I do feel so confident in this offense
being able to be a high powered, high functioning and
(17:12):
scoring a lot of points.
Speaker 3 (17:14):
And that's the.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
Thing is like, if we're having the same conversation last year,
there was a time with this defense that I was like,
if Atlanta is not scoring thirty five or yeah, if
they're not in the upper thirties, they are probably going
to lose. And you needed to get to the point
where you didn't rely so heavily on that and them
(17:37):
being able to do that, and I think like it
was very very obvious from go that they were going
to get players that were exactly what to your point
what Jeff Oulbrick, Terry Fano, Raheem Morris. They kept saying
over and over and over in every interview, we want
to go get impact players. We want to go get
impact players. We want to go get impact And it
got to the point where that word was just like
(17:58):
ping ponging in my brain impact.
Speaker 3 (18:00):
Impact.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
And I am sitting here now looking at this group,
I said, I was like, I don't think there was
a safety in college football the last two years that
was as impactful as an exavier. Wise, h, I don't
know if last year there was a even Georgia defender
that was as impactful in that defense as Jalen Walker.
You went out and you got impactful players, and now's
(18:22):
the time now moving forward, it's like, how impactful can
they be early on because you're going to need them.
Speaker 1 (18:27):
To be you absolutely will again. I think that it's
it is a great class, even though it's a smaller
class right now on paper. I love kind of the
names that Atlanta added. I'm excited to see what they
look like on the field and how it all comes together.
But I want to ask you two more questions about
this class in particular, and then we'll wrap up by
kind of taking a look around the division and see
how the NFC South has changed over the course of
(18:49):
this weekend. But first, do you have kind of a favorite?
Just pick not necessarily, like we love all of our children, right, so,
like I like this guy more than this guy, but
just was there either hey, just when it happened. It
was a surprise and the best way for me, or
I really attached to this guy in the pre draft process.
What stands out to you from this class?
Speaker 3 (19:10):
It's it's Xavier Watts.
Speaker 2 (19:12):
I feel kind of silly by not saying either Jaalen
Walker or James Pierce Junior, because it was I know,
I do love both of them. I can let yeah,
But I think everybody can talk about those first round guys,
and everybody has talked about those first round guys.
Speaker 3 (19:26):
I think that Xavier.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
Watts is going to be exceptionally impactful if he becomes
the player that I think he has the capabilities to
be and who's on an upward trajectory after only playing
this position for two years, Like I have big expectations
for someone like Xavier Watts, and I think the value
of him at as a number ninety six overall pick
(19:49):
is I mean value is high.
Speaker 3 (19:51):
I think ceiling is high.
Speaker 2 (19:52):
And I'm if you listen to our podcast breaking down
that pick, I was as excited as I have been
in this podcast.
Speaker 1 (19:59):
To do you have for the thumbnail used, he must
have been just floating in the air.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
It was just like my ponytail was just like straight up.
I was so I hope they don't clip that and
make that the thumbnail.
Speaker 1 (20:12):
It don't do that.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
But I I truly he was just he was the
type of player that I fell in love with in
the pre draft process, not that I didn't with Jaylen Walker.
You knew, like I kept saying, I'm not even going
to entertain the thought of Jalen Walker because I don't
think he's gonna be there, like and then he was,
and it's like, oh wow, that's fun, Like that's great.
And then to meet Jalen Walker and to meet James
christ Junior and to get into their heads and hear
(20:35):
their stories is fantastic. But Xavier Watch the player is
the one that I personally gravitated towards the most out
of this group in what he could be if he's
partnering with Jesse Bates.
Speaker 1 (20:48):
You love a ball hawk, I do, of course. That
would Actually, that would be a fun episode. Like what
are the types of players if we were going to
power rank, if you could have any archetype, Yeah, the
player like a gunslinger versus just like a scap.
Speaker 3 (21:00):
That would be fine. I would love it.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
I'm a very traditional though I do think I am
way more traditional than I am not.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
Okay, it's fair, but I'll go with Jalen Walker. It
kind of obvious, feels like, and I have high hopes
for James Pearce. I have high hopes for everybody. It's
more the kind of characteristics, the leadership traits, like being
able to talk to him in that press conference when
he was introduced to the Atlanta media. It's very clear
how thoughtfully is how smart of just kind of like
(21:26):
composed all of those things. And I was just thinking about,
you know, in the same offseason that you part ways
with Grady Jarrett, who has forever been kind of like
viewed as the leader, the central figure.
Speaker 3 (21:39):
The heart and soul of the defense.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
Yeah, the statesman of this Atlanta Falcons defense, You kind
of have a void there, right, and Jesse Bates incredible
leader in his own right of defensive team captain, like
I would expect him to step in there, right, Leonard
Floyd probably as well as like the connection of Raheem Morris,
things like that. I think, yeah, they'll all emerge to
leadership naturally takes kind of like it falls as it does.
(22:02):
But I think it is important that you drafted a
player who is universally like Kirby Smart, all of his
Georgia teammates a school of alphas. Yeah, honestly, the University
of Georgia is and.
Speaker 3 (22:12):
As too alphas ourselves exactly.
Speaker 1 (22:14):
And Jalen Walker is the alpha of alphas, right at
least according to everything I've read, everything I've heard. But
sitting there in that first press conference, I was like,
all right, I get it. I get it. So if
he's even, you know, three quarters of as good on
the field as I expect him to be, I'll be thrilled.
But like the leadership qualities, I just can't wait to
continue to talk to him to see how he grows
(22:35):
and matures as a player, because that's one of the
fun parts of this job is seeing a fresh face
Grady Jarrett in your one and then kind of talking
to him in your seven ye and you did the
whole decade like peace on him, and I'm sure that
was a lot of reflecting for you as well. And
it's just cool to see these guys grow and change, mature.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
And like, well you think about Ajtrell coming out of here,
Yeah too, I remember, and I won't say names, but
I remember one time being like, I was talking to
a friend of mine who covered AJ at Clemson and
and they were like, he doesn't really talk.
Speaker 3 (23:05):
All that much. He's not really a big talker.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
And now seeing how AJ has blossomed into a he
still is not a huge talker, but he's so confident
in himself and you trust and he has such a
like presence about him, and he's kind of become so
comfortable in his own skin and so confident in his
own skin that even when I did a podcast with
him recently and thinking back, because he was the very
(23:31):
very first podcast guest that I did for Falcons and
Focus like at the Stadium, it wasn't it was just
kind of the original idea that we had and he
was the first one I remember even then thinking back
on like he's now been in the podcast chair with
me three times and who he was, Like even this
is even in like year two or year three that
(23:51):
he was here, but now going into like his contract
extension and having him talk about his career, I mean,
that's there's something validating in that. And it's also not
just validating, but it's I think the human experience not
to get philosophical on this, but the human experience of
like people changing, people grow, and who people are in
their first year in the league when they're drinking water
(24:12):
out of a fire hydrant in their rookies and they'd
never stop and it's just all the time, non stop,
is not who they're going to be down the road,
and they're going to grow and change and evolve, and
give them the chance to give them the chance to
get better, give them the chance to make their mistakes
and grow from those. And I think like that's something
that if these players have the opportunity to be starters
(24:35):
very early on, they're not going to be one hundred
percent all the time.
Speaker 3 (24:37):
No player is.
Speaker 2 (24:39):
But I feel really good about where they could be
and honestly, where.
Speaker 3 (24:42):
They may even be seven or eight games in too.
You know, you don't know. Right now, we're in.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
The very early stages of evaluating these players. We haven't
even seen them in a Falcons uniform yet. We haven't
even seen them on the practice field yet. Even though
I can look at James Friers Junior and be.
Speaker 3 (24:57):
Like, you're a tall dude, Like you're huge, how do.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
You run a four four seven? But like, we haven't
seen them yet, we don't know what the vision is.
We can hear Jeff uhlerbrig talk about what he would
like to do with these guys. Maybe that changes, maybe
that evolves very early on.
Speaker 3 (25:13):
We don't know.
Speaker 2 (25:14):
I think ultimately there is optimism about this draft class
and the impact they can make.
Speaker 1 (25:22):
Yeah. I like your perspective there, though, because we are
viewing them like it's so easy to forget that when
when Jayalen Walker and James Pearce walked in this facility
like bright wide eyes, like oh my god, I've just
gone through the craziest period of my life. This is
my dream coming to and we're all sitting here being like, yeah,
but how versatile can you really be? Are you biting
(25:44):
off too much before you can do one thing? Or
should you do. And like now they're nick picking and
doing all this and they're just like, you know, mini
camps a little while away, right, I just got selected,
I got my new job, my family's here. So it's like,
it's a great kind of let's keep perspective. Let's let's
not put the cart before the horse. They'll get out
there on the field, we'll see how they grow mature,
(26:05):
we'll see the rules they'll change.
Speaker 3 (26:06):
And I'm excited about it.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
Yeah, they're not. They're not stuck in in cement right now,
and they're not a finished product at all. But there's
so much exciting about their game and the possibility of
what they could become. So let me ask you, after
the draft, free agency, you know, the waves have come
and gone. There will be a small mini wave, as
there usually is after free agency, But what else is
(26:27):
left for the Falcons to do with their roster?
Speaker 3 (26:30):
So I think that one a is Kirk Cousins.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
He's going to continue to be the elephant in the
room until he's not and whatever that means. And I
think that seeing how the quarterback market shook out from
the draft is going to make some other dominoes across
the league fall I think that there is going to
be some quarterback movement, some quarterback conversations, probably in the
next week or two, especially when you get closer to
(26:55):
that June one cut off date.
Speaker 3 (26:57):
So that's one A, and'll.
Speaker 1 (27:00):
Be we'll be keeping track of that monitoring in so Yeah, Kirk.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
Cousins watch is it's gonna be again. It's gonna be
a thing until it's not a thing. So that's one A.
I do think just kind of looking at the scope
of what the Falcons need, I do want to see
them bring in a little competition for Ryan Noozle at center.
I know I've said this a couple times over the
podcast the last couple of days. I didn't think it
was absolutely necessary that they drafted a center, but let's
(27:26):
see kind of some guys that they get off the
UDFA market that bring in and who can kind of
push Ryan Newsal a little bit. It's like, you need
you need someone in there. You can't just kind of
give the guy no no player, whether it's Drake London,
Jon Robinson, Michael Pennix, like you gotta have a little
bit of that pushing.
Speaker 1 (27:45):
Yeah, how single coach wants to create competition right, right?
Speaker 3 (27:48):
That's that's what you do this for. So I would
really like to see them go.
Speaker 2 (27:53):
And maybe that's a veteran somewhere that may still be
out and about roaming around, or someone off of a
practice squad. So cinner is kind of a little bit
of a question mark.
Speaker 3 (28:02):
Dot dot dot for me.
Speaker 2 (28:04):
I also think that if there are some big time
D tackles out there, you know, if there are some
big body D tackles that are coming off of the
they're still on the free agency market or their UDFA.
Speaker 1 (28:15):
Who's this year's Eddie Goldman?
Speaker 2 (28:17):
Right? Yeah, Who's who's this big body defensive lineman that
can come in and eat up space in the middle
and be a rotational player if and when needed.
Speaker 3 (28:25):
Those are the two areas. Again.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
It's funny the guys like right across from each other.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
Literally is right in the middle of that of the
line of scrimmage is where I'm looking in terms of
this this roster.
Speaker 1 (28:35):
You want a package deal? Yeah, I think makes a
lot of sense. And it's kind of as Day three
was going along and everybody was like who should we
still take, Like who's on the board, I was kind
of defaulting to some of those same things. Because when
you're looking at the roster, you're like, all right, if
I was going to pick and choose and plug you
know here, here, and here, the one I will say
in addition to those two would be wide receiver. Right. Yeah,
it was kind of the other spot that I thought
(28:56):
the Falcons could could maybe target in the seventh round.
There there were some interesting players, but they chose not
to of the positions though, like center, a big more
run stuffing tackle, and a third slash fourth receiver. Those
you can find those. Yes, I think the Falcons will
be able to add those as the summer takes along,
(29:17):
Spring turns into summer or whatever. So yeah, if those
are your kind of needs coming out of the draft.
Speaker 3 (29:23):
I'll take it.
Speaker 1 (29:24):
You're you're sitting pretty pretty I'll take.
Speaker 2 (29:26):
It, especially considering how many defensive needs we have talked about.
Speaker 1 (29:31):
O crazy howver again gotten here from where they were
in the off season.
Speaker 3 (29:36):
Yeah, very beginning of the off season.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
Because remember I think I even said a podcast very
early on and we kind of you kind of gave
me a look. I remember this because I was like,
you know, there may be seven or eight starters of
the Falcons are looking to get like defensively, and I
think I said maybe I said six or seven, not.
Speaker 3 (29:51):
Seven or eight.
Speaker 2 (29:52):
And here we are now at the end of the draft,
and it's like, there's to your point, there's gonna be
a lot of new faces and a lot of new
rotations and a lot of new groupings, and I'm very
excited to see kind of what everything pans out to be.
Speaker 1 (30:09):
Cool. Well, let's go ahead and wrap up today's podcast
with a quick look around the division. The Panthers made
seven picks. I believe the first round pick Ted McMillan,
out wide receiver, a bit of a surprise for everybody.
But then they did double up on the defense side
of the ball with a pair of edges, Nick Schurtzen
and Princely Uman Milan. There you go, I maybe I
(30:31):
don't know, do you stick the landing judges? Okay, it was.
They also got a you know, our George boy Trevor ETN,
Lathan Ransom out of Ohio State, Cam Jackson defensive tackle
out of Florida, Mitch Levin's out of Notre Dame tight end,
and then they wrapped it up in the sixth round
with Jimmy Horn junior of Colorado. Any of those picks,
(30:52):
like really stand out to you for what Carolina did.
Speaker 2 (30:55):
I mean, Carolina pumps so much into their defense during
free a free agency, so I was even though I
kept giving them Jalen Walker, I understand the Tet McMillan pick,
and I understand the Trevor ETN pick, and I the
Travis Sorry whichever one Trevor sorry. I'm like I literally
(31:16):
went I was like, that's not right, and then I
was like, no, that is right, It is right.
Speaker 3 (31:20):
I was second guessing myself, but.
Speaker 2 (31:21):
I understood the strategy behind that, and I understood after
all of it was said and done, why they valued
Tet McMillan so highly, because they had they pumped their
free agency resources into that defense. A lot of free
agency resources into that defense. That defense I think has
fundamentally changed. Yes, so you needed someone who can move
(31:42):
the needle for you offensively, and I think they went
out and got the guy.
Speaker 1 (31:46):
Yeah. It's interesting to me that he was comped so
often too Drake Lennon during the pre draft process, and
it's like the Panthers have just watched Drake London just
tear them up and like do great things for the
last three years and they were like, we'll take one
of those. Please. What's that table over there? Eating? Man
looks good? Can I get one of those? Yeah? Yeah?
So and also his size if your quarterback is smaller,
you know, Drew Brees had a lot of tall, wide receivers.
(32:08):
I'm sure that that helps, you know, just being able
to lob it up there. So that is what the
Panthers did. Are you feeling better or worse about the
Panthers at this point? Are the same? I feel feel worse.
Speaker 2 (32:18):
Honestly, I feel I just feel like the Panthers have
really are really going to take a step in and
be more competitive in twenty twenty five because I really
liked the the the Bobby Brown, the third yeah pick
up extending J C. Horn like they went and got
to think a pair of ed Rusher or another Oh
to shn Wharton. Yep, there are some guys that some
(32:41):
dudes that I think they got for their defense that
I again I think is gonna move the needle for them.
Speaker 1 (32:47):
I agree. They were one of the fun kind of
like stories late in the year, right, So it would
be all right if the Panthers kind of do well. Right,
So let's have them take a step forward and the
Bucks and the Saints can just stay at the bottom
new era. Speaking of this, Saints though, they made let's
see what we have eight selections, starting with Kelvin Banks Junior,
the offensive tackle in the first round of pick number nine.
(33:09):
What were your thoughts when they went offensive tackle?
Speaker 2 (33:11):
I did give I drafted them. I mocked a couple
of offensive tackles to them because I did know that
was in need for them. They were in need of
a starting tackle more often than not. I went defense though,
I even like cornerback. I went linebacker with them. I
went edge rusher with them. So to see that they
were valuing offensive tackle that need I think so highly,
(33:34):
was very interesting. What's more interesting about the Saints.
Speaker 1 (33:38):
Though second round pick is their second round pick, Yeak
Tyler Tyler Shuck out of Louisville quarterback. Everybody you know,
when the Derek Carr kind of reports started coming out,
the Saints were talked about as a shadoor team. Maybe
they didn't do it in the first round. They waited
until the second round. What do you think about Tyler Shuck?
Speaker 2 (33:55):
I I'm so interested to see what shakes out with
the quarterback situation with the Saints, Like, it's that quarterback
room is fascinating. You can kind of joke about how
some quarterback rooms, like you can talk about the Browns
who did get sor Sanders and they got Joe Flacco
and they got Kenny Pickett.
Speaker 1 (34:15):
Or like the Seahawks, you know, yeah, Sea Hawks, we
came out before they traded Sam Howell back to the Viking, right.
Speaker 2 (34:20):
Yeah, yeah, Like there are some interesting like groupings of
quarterbacks across the league, and the Saints are one of
the weirder ones. And what happens if Derek Carr isn't
one hundred percent in twenty twenty five? Who are you
gonna run out there? Like do you do you run
out Taylor? Do you run out Spencer Rattler?
Speaker 3 (34:38):
Like, yeah, I don't know, And.
Speaker 2 (34:42):
I'm glad I don't have to make any decisions on
that because that that whole situation seems really kind of
up the creek without a paddle. It's like nice, that's
that's kind of how I feel about it, that quarterback situation.
Speaker 1 (34:56):
Well, they've they've gotten out of the creek, they've found
their banks, and now they can move forward with the
offensive line. You're looking at me like I was ready
to just end this.
Speaker 3 (35:06):
I was going back.
Speaker 2 (35:07):
And forth between like just booing on the spot or
like throwing my computer.
Speaker 3 (35:12):
It went back and forth. I didn't either. I kept
it together.
Speaker 1 (35:14):
This is a very regular occurrence. So I am totally
normal and cool with this, and we'll take it in shred.
Moving on, Vernon Broughton, the defensive tackle out of Texas
with the third round pick. Jonas Sanker, safety out of Virginia.
Another third round pick for them, Danny Streutzman, Oklahoma linebacker.
A lot of Oklahoma defenders kind of in this cycle,
(35:35):
Notre Dame, like good, good, solid, like big school defensive players.
I always like to see that. Quincy Riley cornerback out
of Louisville, Devin Neil running back Kansas, Malachy Mataveo, Yep,
pretty sure I nailed that one. Yep, tight end UCLA
and Fidel Diggs wrapping it up in the seventh round.
The Edge out of Syracuse, who was somebody like I
(35:55):
kind of kept looking at just going through the mock
drafts in the seventh round for the Falcons. So did
the Saints move the needle in any way for you?
With kind of their offensive tackle selection in the first round.
Speaker 2 (36:06):
No, no, no, because I think they have bigger issues
than offensive tackle. I think they have bigger fish to fry,
and I don't know what's gonna happen with them.
Speaker 3 (36:14):
So the needle didn't.
Speaker 2 (36:15):
I mean, I can say that it got like worse,
like you know, like I can't say that it dipped,
but I don't think it moved.
Speaker 3 (36:21):
For me at all.
Speaker 1 (36:22):
Yeah, I gotcha. I feel the exact same way. So
moving on to Tampa Bay, who won the NFC South
last year, they went with Amikagbuka in the first round
of again a kind of a surprise. I watched a
receiver pick for the Bucks. He's somebody who's constantly kind
of comped to Chris Godwin. Right, so now you got
just a couple of them.
Speaker 2 (36:43):
Hey, you know they're kind of just trying to outscore
people at this point, you know, like they're just like,
we feel good about Baker, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin. Now
now you have a third option, which, like, at.
Speaker 1 (36:54):
That's a good third receiver.
Speaker 3 (36:56):
He is, the fact that.
Speaker 2 (36:57):
Your third receiver is a number well, but also the
number nineteen overall first round pick is kind of like bananas.
But like when you have Mike Green or Mike Green.
When you have Mike Evans and then you have Chris
Godwin out there, it's kind of like, well, dang, Like.
Speaker 1 (37:14):
Yeah, but I'm looking, didn't they draft last year McMillan
out of Washington? Did they? So don't they have I'm
trying to the internet here. We have body all the weekend.
Speaker 2 (37:27):
That is one thing that is we've all been working
so hard. There's so many people in Flowery Branch that
the Wi Fi is like.
Speaker 1 (37:36):
All right, but I got their roster pulled up. Let's
see wide receiver. Yeah, Jalen McMillan. They drafted them right
last year, so they are just like draft picks, draft picks,
draft picks at wide receiver. Yeah, you know, you can't
blame them, but it feels like there's a logjam a
little bit.
Speaker 3 (37:51):
It does well.
Speaker 2 (37:52):
It's like with the same conversation that you always have
with the Falcons when you have coll Pits, Drake London,
but John Robinson, Tyler Algier, Darnelle Mooney, like, you have
so many offensive weapons, how can you possibly make all
of them happy?
Speaker 3 (38:03):
How can you possibly get the ball in all of
their hands? And the truth is you can't. The truth is,
it's like you have to hope that like.
Speaker 2 (38:11):
Egos don't stand in the way, because then there's like
if they do, then then you got guys being pissed
that they're not getting the ball and they're not, you know,
potentially gonna get paid their next contract. But I think,
like that's not been a problem here in Atlanta. It'll
be interesting to see kind of what happens with the
Bucks moving forward. They're a lethal offense, though they have
(38:32):
been I think for a while. Ever since Baker Mayfield
has really dug his heels down in that offense, they've
been really good and they're hard to stop. I think
they just got harder to stop. But I don't know
if they did anything to shure up like certain positions
future Like that was the big thing with me, is
why I kept going to hide Campbell to them linebacker
(38:53):
Ount of Alabama at nineteen. It was because Levonte David
is not getting any younger.
Speaker 1 (39:00):
He's been not getting any younger for like seven years, right,
And I.
Speaker 2 (39:03):
Think at a certain point you got to start thinking about, Okay,
like what is the the kind of second wave of
your defense look like? And what does it look like
when some of these guys who are aging are aging out,
and what do you do next? So I think it's
it's interesting, it's an interesting strategy, and we'll kind of
see where those holes are for the bucks.
Speaker 1 (39:22):
Yeah, but it's kind of like, what was that space
for improvement? If you are already A, if you're already minus, Like, yeah,
you go to an A is like a small jump
as already C plus to a B plus.
Speaker 2 (39:31):
Right, when you already have Mike Evans, when you already
have Chris Gonw when you already have like million, what's.
Speaker 1 (39:35):
The opportunity costs for another position to get better? Right,
to make an incremental gain for a fourth receiver? Ye, yeah,
that's I'm with you on that. It's interesting. But they
Kate Oughten too, right, And plus Baker Mayfield noted dual
threat quarterback. He's got to get his touches, got to
design some bootlegs for him. They they went defense. So
the next four picks doubled up at corner Benjamin Morrison
(39:57):
out of Notre Dame. A lot of people, you know,
some mocked him to the Falcons, tied him to the Falcons.
Kansas State cornerback Jacob Parrish was their third round pick,
and then they went edge with David Walker from Central
Arkansas or no, I'm not even gonna try to say
how the the like Irish LA a lot of international fans. Yeah, yeah,
but it was it was like an Arkansas in there.
(40:19):
And then Elijah Roberts out of SMU, another edge defender,
before they wrapped it up with Oregon wide receiver Tes
Johnson in the seventh round. Who was I know, he's tiny.
He was one of my favorite players at the Senior Bowl,
but he lit it up at the Senior Bowl. Yeah,
so two wide receivers. I like both of them there
their corners. I do like Benjamin Morrison. David Walker somebody
(40:41):
I looked at, but he makes sense for them. Not
so much Atlanta because like he could be a fourth
or fifth pass rusher and more of a designated like
go get them kind of guy. But out of everybody
aside from Atlanta, the other NFC South teams, I kind
of liked the Bucks draft.
Speaker 3 (40:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (40:59):
Well, to me, it's the most interesting, it's the most intriguing.
It's the one that I'm most curious about. And I
think that I said the Saints didn't really move the
needle for me, I said, the Panthers, you know, kind
of maybe did a little bit the Bucks. I do
think according to how some of these second third round pick,
the day two picks kind of pan out for them,
(41:19):
I think will be very interesting to see something that
I want to bring up though, before we hop off,
as Warren Sharp just tweeted the best value twenty twenty
five NFL draft classes, Atlanta Falcons came in at number one.
Speaker 1 (41:32):
Let's go.
Speaker 2 (41:33):
So, I think, how about that and by a pretty
significant margin, I'm looking at most valuable based on that.
Speaker 1 (41:41):
Goes to your point though, they let the draft come
to them right right, And we're always saying that about
teams like the Eagles and the Steelers and the raven
and it's like, hey, look at us, Yeah, who would
have thought?
Speaker 2 (41:52):
Yeah, in terms of like values versus reaches, Atlanta is
way on the value side number one.
Speaker 1 (41:57):
In fact, top two hundred and fifty picks, Falcons had
five of them. That means a lot of value. Nailed
nailed all their their picks.
Speaker 2 (42:06):
And it's what they to your earlier point and what
you wrote about earlier this week, it's what they had
to do.
Speaker 1 (42:11):
Yep. So that's a great place I think to wrap
up this podcast, wrapping up the twenty twenty five NFL
Draft for the Atlanta Falcons. So thank you so much
for joining me for each of these. Tory, thank you
to Jared, our producer for all of these. He's been
pulling some late nighters, early mornings to make sure that
we get that out there. But I am Will McFadden
for Tory mclaney. Thank you guys for following along all
(42:33):
draft weekends. Stay tuned for some more excellent coverage, But
until then, take care
Speaker 3 (42:38):
And we're going to go get some sleep.
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