Draft Season | Pre-Combine Mock Draft

John Schmeelk and Tony Pauline take a look at what the first round of the NFL draft could look like based on teams' needs and the top talent in the draft. 00:00 - Picks 1-8 17:07 - Picks 9-16 28:56 - Picks 17-24 36:56 - Picks 25-31 48:15 - Mock draft recap

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
It is now officially over. This is draft season. John Schmulk,
Tony Pauline with you, thank you so much for being
with us, and we're getting ready for the NFL Combine
that takes place next week in Indianapolis. We'll have a
combined previous show coming up next week, but a big
program today, Tony Pauline his pre combine. You can see

(00:26):
he's pumped up. Look at him. It's his pre combine.
Mock draft coming your way today, Tony. We're gonna go
through thirty one picks. Remember there are no thirty two
picks in the first round because of Miami's tempering charges,
they had a first round pick taken away from them.
So a lot of fun stuff going on today, Tony,
as we get a kind of our pre combined look
at at what does draft may look like. Yeah it is,

(00:48):
and I mean Miami that that pick really cost them
custom significantly because they could have gotten one of the
good running backs in the field the need. So you
know it's gonna be interesting. Uh My mock is a
lot different from others. You'll see. I'm minus highs on
the quarterbacks, as we've spoken about. So let's get to
it all right, so let's set the stage of what
you're doing here first. Is this what you would do

(01:09):
or is this predictive? A little bit of both. Its
probably more so at this point time what I would do,
as you'll find out, as opposed to what's being predicted.
I mean, how can you predict what's gonna go what's
gonna happen now? I mean, you don't have to combine.
We don't have free agency. You don't see who what
teams sign, which free agents, what the team's lost free agents.

(01:30):
You don't know which running backs you're gonna be cut.
So it's really kind of tough at this point in
time really to do either. But I think I kind
of geared towards more what I would do and as
well as a little bit of what I'm hearing. Thank you,
And I think you hit it out of the park, Tony,
because I think at this point, you know, fans that
look at these moths and say, oh, my team's gonna
draft this guy when we haven't even had free agency yet,

(01:52):
so you don't even really know what team needs are
going to be. I think it's a little bit silly.
So I'm happy that you did it this way because
I think it's kind of more where what's the ballpark
these prospects could get picked that who you like? And
then as we get closer and free agency passes, we
can get more serious about what you're hearing, what teams
want to do and placing guys. Second question before we start,

(02:14):
will you'll be making any trades in this mock draft?
I never made trades, you know, it's I mean, that's
really the hypothetical, whole hypotheticals. The only time I've done
trades is when I get some inside information. I've hit
on a couple, but I just boom, go right down
the line and uh, you know, not worry about compensation
and things like that. So now, okay, and just generally speaking,

(02:35):
what was the toughest part of putting this mock draft
together for you? I hate to say it, but it's
kind of easy. It was. This one one was kind
of easy. I usually fret over these things in the
first round. First round mock takes like three hours. I
was boom, I went right through it, so you know,
it wasn't. The Giants pick was a little bit, Uh,
what what was I going to do here? Zay Flowers?

(02:57):
What was I going to do? With him. So I mean,
there was really no, It wasn't really I like, sometimes
you do a model and you get to one pick
and forty five minutes later you still can't figure out
what the hell passed, not that you know what's going on.
Didn't have that happen this time? All right, good stop,
All right, let's get moving here and we'll we'll go

(03:17):
through pick by pick. We won't spend a ton of
time on every pick, obviously, but we'll go through all
of them, and then I have some thematic questions at
the end and kind of patterns that that came out
as we went through the mock. All right, so first
pick overall Chicago Bears. Jalen Carter added, Georgia. You're a
little caption there, Tony. The Bears can use help all
over the field, but taking the best player available as
the best strategy at this point. I guess my question

(03:38):
for you is how close for you is Will Anderson
to Jalen Carter as the top player in this draft?
I mean they're very close. My system, my scouting, my
grading system is a three digit system, and there he's
basically three one hundreds of a point off Will Anderson
from Jalen Carter, So they're right there, neck and neck.
I mean, I guess the big question is will this

(04:00):
trick be will this pick be traded? I just don't
see a big market for teams wanting to move up
to get one of these quarterbacks. That's why I went
with Chicago taking Jalen Carter, who needs help, who need
help all over the defensive line. Yeah, I would think, Tony,
that the Bears want to walk away from this draft
with one of those two guys. So let's say if
the trade does happen here, I would imagine they're probably

(04:22):
not gonna want to move further down than four, unless
they want to make multiple moves, like go down from
one to two or one to four and then you know,
make a move again with a team like the Panthers
or something like that who are looking for a quarterback
and move down twice. But if they want to get
the elite defensive player, which I got to imagine at
some point you do it to get those guys, I
think you kind of have to stay in the top
four here and the other the other side of that

(04:44):
conversation is if they want to move down, they want
to move down, well, someone has to want to move up. Okay,
and again, in my opinion, none of these quarterbacks are
worth moving up. You know, you saw the Jets in
twenty nineteen move up three spots and add at Baker Mayfield,
Sam Donald, Josh Allen, and Josh Rosen, who's highly rated
at the time. I just don't know that any team's
gonna really want to move up to secure one of

(05:05):
these quarterbacks. Yeah, and I think that's gonna gonna be
the theme that we're gonna talk about here a lot
over the course of the you know, two months leading
up to the draft here, and we'll see what teams
end up doing. And you had the first quarterback going
off the board with the second overall pick to the
Houston Texans, selecting Bryce Young. Bryce Young is the most
NFL ready quarterback in this year's draft, but the Texans
better be able to protect him. That's your caption here.

(05:26):
And look, if you watch the tape, Bryce Young's the
best quarterback. And I think we talked about this on
last week's show. The measurements of the combine will be
huge for him, and I think the only question is
whether or not the Texans want to risk a team
like the Colts jumping ahead of them with the Bears, Right,
does it make sense for them to just move a
Day two pick to move up one spot with the
Bears to make sure they get their guy. I think

(05:48):
that's gonna be an interesting thing to watch over the
next few weeks. Yeah, not only is Bryce Young the
best quarterback, he's the most NFL ready quarterback. I mean,
he's a guy who in September, you know, you can
put him behind center and he's gonna do the best
job for you. In my opinion, he's gonna have the
at least amount of risk, you know, doesn't have the
great upside. Like you said, we want to see what
his measurements are. In my opinion, the Texans, which is

(06:10):
just be just as happy to sit there. And if
they don't Breakshaw's gone, maybe they go well Anderson because
they also need pass rushers. Yeah, and look, I'll do
will be talked about Bryce Young a lot, So I'll
just say this, he's just such a natural at the position,
Like he just looks like he belongs. Like everything he does.
I'm not gonna say it looks easy, but it looks
like he just knows what he's doing. And It's rare,

(06:34):
frankly Tony to see a college quarterback be that natural
at that difficult of a position. He's a joy to watch.
And as I've said on this program, as we talked
about during the season, he always delivers. For Alabama, he
always delivers. The Tennessee game, which they lost, he got
his team down in position to kick the field goal
to tie the game. And then you know, at the

(06:54):
end the LSU game, he got his team into the
end zone, but he lost because LSU scored on a
point conversion. He always delivers. He sees what's going on.
I mean, you could tell by watching the film that
he knows what's gonna happen before anybody else knows what's
gonna happen, and before it actually does happen. The problem
with him is is he gonna be six foot tall.

(07:15):
Is he gonna be one hundred and ninety pounds, you know?
Is he gonna have Matt Jones type arm strength? So
those are gonna be the question, Those are gonna be
the red flags. Those are gonna be things to keep
an eye out for him. With Bryce Young, yeah, no
question about it. And look, I'll just say this too.
You know this wasn't an Alabama team that had the
best offensive one in the SEC, that had the best
receivers in the SEC. I'm not gonna say he did

(07:35):
a lot with less because it's still Alabama. Let's not
go nuts. But this wasn't like the Matt Jones team
from two years ago. He's got a bunch of first
round picks around them either. Yeah, but he did a
lot though. I mean they lost the Tennessee game and
a last minute field goal, and they lost the LSU
game because of a two point conversion the defense couldn't stop.
So it wasn't Bryce Jones fault. I mean he moved

(07:56):
them up and down and that Tennessee game, Yeah, he
got beaten up, he got pound and that's and that's
the concern for me is I saw the beating that
he took in that NC game and you multiply that
by ten, which is what the beating he's gonna take
in the on Sunday, and that's going to be a concern. Yeah,
Arizona car on those at number three, Tony really sit
and pick, wait for the best guy to come to

(08:18):
you type of scenario for them. They select Will Anderson,
the edge player out of Alabama, perfect replacement for J. J. Watt,
an incredible prospect. Let's go to number four Indianapolis Colts.
They got CJ. Stroud out of Ohio State. Shan Steitchen
hopes he can develop another dynamic young passer. How tough
was it a decision for you here? Stroud or Levis?
Was that easy for you? And again we could talk

(08:40):
about whether or not the Colts might want to move
up here. If they're happy, they just sit and pick.
Very easy for me because I have CJ. Stroud much
higher rated than than Will Levis Compared to other people.
I think CJ. Stroud, You know, I don't when I
watch Will Levis. I like Will Levis, but Will Levis
never had those moments like CJA Stroud against Georgia in
a semi final game. Will Levis never had those moments

(09:02):
like we saw CJ. Stroud against Utah and last year's Roseball.
And my hopes is that with Stiken there as a
new coach, he'll be able to extract that out of CJ.
Stroud on a daily basis. As we thought about on
this podcast in the past. I mean, I just think
he was over coached and if he needs the right
hand to really extract the best out of him, and

(09:22):
he could potentially be the best quarterback out of his
drift if he's coached correctly and if he receives proper
he's able to develop. Now let's be predictive here for
a second. We know Chris Ballor loves traits right, and
there's no one more traitsy than Will Levis. And I'll
throw Anthony Richardson in there too if you want. But
I think he's you know, not nearly as developed. Do

(09:42):
you think he might lean Levis here? Or do you
think he would eventually end up on Stroud? Oh? I
mean TJ. Stroud's got all the traits as we know.
He's a phenomenal vertical passer. So you say, okay, well,
Will Levis has got a slightly better arm than c J. Stroud,
But CJ. Stroud has enough arm strength. I mean, as
we saw in that Georgia game, people and properly said

(10:03):
that c J. Stroud was not a mobile quarterback. We
saw he is mobile when they let him run. I
mean he's now less mobile. And say Will Levis, who
you know, puts his head down and barrels up the field.
So I don't know that there's a huge enough difference
in the traits between except for maybe the height and
the stature between c. J. Stroud and Will Levis, that
you're gonna lean towards Will Levis, who also needs a

(10:26):
ton of work on his game. All right, let's go
on number five. If you're Tony and this is almost
in some ways where the draft starts, then you figure
two quarterbacks early, the two top defenders. We kind of
know how what that's gonna look like. But now, who's
the next best non quarterback? And the Seahawks picking at five,
this is the pick they got from the Broncos and
the Russell Wilson trade, you have him selecting Miles Murphy,

(10:48):
the edge player out of Clemson. I'll read your little
caption here. Murphy has the athleticism, the standover tackle, and
pass rushing ability sorely needed to Seattle. Was this a
tough one for you? Did you consider Tyree Wilson, who
you have going a little bit later. We'll get to
him in a second. You know how tough was it
to kind of get to that next non quarterback after
Anderson and Carter off the board? Well? No, when I

(11:10):
looked at my board, it was very easy because what
Miles Murphy happens to be the third graded player on
my board, So it was basically a fit with the
best player available for a team that has had success,
you know, developing pass rushers, athletic pass rushes like Miles Murphy.
So it really wasn't all that that's difficult. They need
an edge rusher. Miles Murphy is a edge rusher. He's

(11:32):
gotta get a little bit bigger. He's got it's stronger,
do a better job against the run. But it was
a good fit according to my board. Yeah, he didn't
have a ton of production tone, So how much is
he a developmental guy? And you already mentioned some of
the places where you think he needs to get better,
But in a normal draft year, is he a top
five level talent or are you pushing him up a

(11:53):
little bit just because of what this class looks like? Yeah,
I'm not. No, I'm not worried about the production only
because it's a Georgia types situation at clemsonware they have
so many front line players on that defensive line. They
rotate him in it out, and when you get rotated
rotating out, you get a guy like you know Walker
where you only have six sacks. How many people say, oh,
you only have six sacks. But when you watch the film,

(12:13):
he's constantly getting pressure up the film, He's constantly penetrating
the line of scrimmage. And that's what I've seen with
michaels work in the past two years. Fair enough, all right,
let's go to pick number six, the Detroit Lions. They
got this from the Rams and the Matthew Stafford trade.
If for the lines, they probably called the Jared goth trade.
To be quite honest with you, they's like Joey Porter
cornerback at a Penn State. This pick could be a

(12:35):
defensive tackle. You have Porter fields they significant need and
has tremendous upside. That's what you wrote, easy for you
as him as the top corner Or is this something
you went back and forth on a little bit because
you do have a bunch of corners going in the
first round. Yeah, I mean, I think the corner mark,
the corner ranking will basically be filled out through the combine.

(12:56):
How these guys test, how these guys looked, how is
their backpedal? But right now, when I looked at Joey Porter,
I think he's got more upside than any of these guys.
He hasn't been as consistent as Devin Weatherspoon, but he's
faster and he's more explosive than Devon Weatherspoon. I think
he's less of a downfield concerned with the speed with
Devin Weatherspoon when I looked at some of the other guys,

(13:18):
I just think that over the past three years, Joey
Porter has shown me more flashes and more ability in
that entire body of work then say Christian Gonzalez of
Oregon or Camp Smith, which is why he's right now.
Raiders might number one cornerback pussy. I mean he is
a physical, nasty cornerback. I mean he does not back

(13:39):
down to anybody, plays a lot like his old man.
He always plays through the whistle. Yeah, look, I think
you feel two great needs with that. Seahawks pect they
need a defensive lineman for sure. They really haven't had
a guy since Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril left, which
is a long time ago, right, and now the Lions. Look,
I think they still hope Jeffrey o'cod is gonna work out,
but we'll see. I think that's a tough spot they're

(14:01):
gonna have to make a decision on his fifth year
option coming up too at some point soon. I think,
by is it this offseason or next offseason? Have to
double check that I'll remember at the top of my head.
But yeah, they definitely need help defensively, so I think
you feel a really good need. Their tone all right,
Lost Vegas Raiders pick number seven, you have them selecting
Paris Johnson, offensive tackle of Ohio State. He seems to
be the consensus top offensive tackle here, and you're right,

(14:23):
Alexi the word Alex Leatherwood, he is not. And you
reference that because they selected Alice Leatherwood in the first
round a couple of years ago and then they cut them.
Johnson is a triffic prospect. He checks all the boxes.
Unlike recent Raiders picks, comes with high character. Did you
consider quarterback here at all, Tony, be honest with you.

(14:43):
I did. Nine. Obviously they got to do something at
quarterback if they're not sold on Jared Stidham. But you know,
it doesn't matter who's back there behind the offensive line
when you have no offensive line or when you have
offensive line. That's his chorus a Swiss cheese. You know
it doesn't matter. Paris Johnson. I'm glad. You know, I
haven't really paid attention, but I'm glad to hear that.
You know, people are coming to the consensus that he's

(15:06):
the number one tackle because he's got the size, he's
got the athleticism. Played guard, then he played left tackle,
showed some flashes at left tackle. I'm just hearing great
things about his character. I'm hearing he's a real good guy.
He's a trustworthy person. His teammates really like him. A
lot saw him here, and a lot of the good
things about Paris Johnson, which is a great thing to hear,

(15:26):
and you know, it fits the need with some sort
of character up, you know, a character, positive character person
which the Raiders haven't had the longest time. All Right,
next picked number at Atlanta Falcons, you have them selecting
Pete Scarronski and a little cop out here Tony ol
Offensive live and out of Northwestern. You're right, his next

(15:49):
level position will be determined during the combine measurements, specifically
the length of his arms, and we've talked about this.
I think you think they might even be under thirty
two right or somewhere in that area. Presently, I see
him filling the right tackle spot for Atlanta. But look,
they want to run the football. You know, Atlanta had
Kyle Pitts, they had the big wide receiver they selected
last year out of USC Drake London, and they still

(16:10):
don't throw the ball. They still ran in a million times.
So you know, Scarronsky, whether a guard or a tackle,
it seems to really fit into what Arthur Smith wants
to do there. Yeah, and truth be told, Scronsky is
the number one player on my guardboard. I don't even
know how my tackle board, and it's it's you know,
is his ari's arm is gonna be thirty three inches?
I mean, I'm I'm told. The rumor is it's not.
He's not gonna be six foot four, you know, which

(16:33):
means that you can forget about him at left tackles.
He's not gonna be a left tackle. He's gonna be
maybe a right tackle. He's gonna be a guard. Atlanta
can use Boat, especially a right tackle. This was a
little bit of a tough pick. I'm not as high
as on Scarronsky as others. I like him, but I'm
just not convinced he's gonna be a left tackle. And
I put a premium on left tackles. But I thought
it was a real good player based on my board,

(16:55):
and it also fit in need. I think it's a
very safe pick. Look, and you know, if you have
to punch him in the guard with his physicality smarts,
I think he'll be fine. So I agree. I think
this is they're pretty safe pick for the faut because
if fits what they want to do. Carolina Panthers Tone
number nine, Tyree Wilson, edge player out of Texas Tech.
I'll read the description. Any quarterback is a reach at
this point and no more of a short thing than

(17:17):
Hendon Hooker and around two or Aidan O'Connell in around three.
Wilson is incredibly athletic and can't be using a variety
of roles. He played inside, he played outside, very long player,
good motor, but again I think he is a little
bit raw too, so this is gonna take a little
bit of development. Yeah. Absolutely, And this is where I
start to diverge from other people. Everyone's hell bent that

(17:38):
the Carolina Panthers are gonna take a quarterback like they
were last year and last year's year. If they thought
they were gonna take a quarterback, I just don't see
it with the first year coach, with a general manager
who has to hit on this pack, and I think
they after quarterback, their next number one need is edge rusher,
and Wilson fits that need. And he's a real good player.

(17:58):
Like you said, there's gonna be bumps in the road,
but he's very athletic. I mean, he's a superman that
you can stand over tackle. I'm come out of a
three point stance the top of his film, his best
film is really exciting. But he's gonna need more work
on his game. But that's okay. I mean, with the
ninth pick of the draft, with that amount of upside
as a potential to impact defensive player, I mean everything

(18:20):
checked off here. I know Carol Ann Panther fans probably
aren't too happy that I didn't have him taken the quarterback.
We'll see Ellos quarterbacks the pan out down the road. Yeah,
you can book end them with Brian Burns. There are
two different type of players. Burned the smaller, edgy guy,
and you know Wilson's a little bit bigger. So I
think that's a nice little combination of those two guys
as well. All right, let's go to the Eagles in
number ten, which is ridiculous. They were just in the

(18:42):
Super Bowl. They have the tenth overall pick in the draft.
They got this from the Saints. I believe this is
when the Saints traded up last year correct to get
a Lava in the first round. If I'm not mistakes,
it was it a lie. I believe. I know they
did trade up to get a love, So it's gotta
be it. It must have been a Lava. Yeah, And
you over them selecting Devin Witherspoon cornerback out a Littleinois.

(19:04):
Witherspoon is tough, smart and polish as well as a
terrific fit for the Eagles. And you know, I think
this works too, Tony, because if they do change their
philosophy on defense here with Gannon leaving to be a
head coach, they play a little bit more pressed man
Witherspoon can fit there. James Bradbury's probably not gonna come
back in free agency. Darius Slay is a little bit older.

(19:24):
Who knows how much longer he's gonna play. You know,
Harry Roseman likes to plan ahead, right. They drafted Cam
Jurgen's last year anticipating Jason Kelsey will eventually retire. This
is to me is them again he planning for now
at Bridberry, leaving, but trying to prepare for life with
that Darius Slay as well. And it's a need, I
mean if if fits a need. And he is a

(19:44):
Eagles type of defensive back. He's smart, he is tough,
he is nasty. You know. The only question on Devin Weatherspoon,
and hopefully we'll find out about it in a week
in half, is his forty time. He's not a doesn't
have the elite speed, but he plays with great instincts.
He does a great jobs himself to defend passes. Again,
it checked a lot of boxes filled. The need could

(20:04):
have gone Christian Gonzalez here, but I just like Devin
Weatherspoon because I think of all the top cornerbacks, he's
the most polished, he's the most NFL. Ready, you're gonna
have your lapses with Devin Witherspoon, then you will with
Joey Potter or Camp Smith or Christian Gonzalez. All right,
let's get to pick number eleven, the Tennessee Titans, Tony selecting.
Now we get a little spicy Jalen High at the speeds,

(20:27):
the wide receiver out of Tennessee. You're right, a top
offensive lineman would be the pickup one is available. Agree
with you one hundred percent. By the way, their offensive
line has kind of fallen apart a little bit. Otherwise High,
it fills the need for speed at receiver. You know
they already got Traylon Burks here was kind of the
bigger guy. He's got speed two, but again more of
a run after catch. But you know type of player,
you know, High will stretch the field here, Tony, I agree.

(20:49):
I think they'd like to repair that offensive line if
they could. But why Hiatt instead of some of the
other wide receivers as the first one off the board. Well,
because they need a speed receiver, because he's gonna work
perfectly with trail On Burks. I mean, you put trail
On Burks on one side, you put High on the
other side. What is the safety you're gonna do? Is
he gonna shade over to protect against the bigger Burks
or is he gonna take a few steps back to

(21:11):
protect against the homeworn hitting speed of Jalen Hide. And
that is what Jalen Hyatt has. When you watch the film,
Jalen Hyatt plays fast. I mean he has got a
burst that he turns on his step and he is gone,
and he catches the ball very well downfield at full speed.
He needs to expand his route tree. He's not the
biggest guy in the world, but you're gonna gonna be
struggled to play press coverage against Jalen High because if

(21:34):
High gets half a step on a defender, he's gone.
If scronskys there, I think that's the pick. Any other
offensive lineman would be a massive reach at this point
in time. You know, if there is the potential for
a trade down, it's probably in this area for a
team that wants to move up to get a receiver
or to get a cornerback. But you know, without making

(21:56):
any trades, which I don't like to do, looking at
the need, looking at who is available. You look at
all the top receivers. Jalen Hyatt is the best vertical threat.
He is the truest home run hitter of the of
the group. All right, I'm gonna jump ahead now and
then we'll get back to the picks in between. Because
you say you think an offensive line will be a
huge reach. Here, you're Roderick Jones the left tackle from
Georgia going sixteen to the Commanders. Why not a guy

(22:19):
like Jones since you have him going only five picks later. Yeah,
because I think Jalen high. Because all the other players
are higher rated on my board, I think that you know,
whether it be Jalen high high, it's rated rated higher
than Roderick Jones, Quintin Johnson's rated to hire them, Roderick Jones, Jackson,
Nick Nijibb is rated to higher than Jones. Roderick Jones.

(22:40):
I like Roderick Jones, but I still think that eleven's
a little bit too early. And I do believe that
even though I kind of went off my board to
get Jalen Hudd, I still think you've got to remain
true to your board. And if Jalen Hyatt turns out
to be a crystal lovey type and everybody was down
on a lobby at this point in time of a
year ago, you're gonna look back on and say, hips

(23:00):
the guy we should have had all right picked number twelve, Houston,
Texans via the Cleveland Brown. This is the Deshaun Watson trade.
Thanks like Christian Gonzalez cornerback out of Oregon. I doubt
the Texans reach for an offensive lineman at this spot. Tony,
So Gonzalez is your third quarnerback off the board. You
know you mentioned all the tools there. Any consideration are
getting another wide receiver because he considering you just selected

(23:23):
your quarterback of the future and Bryce Young to give
them a little bit help. No, because I think there'll
be some decent wide outs later on. There'll also be
some good cornerbacks later on. I would have liked to
put an offensive lineman here. I would have also liked
an edge rusher here if one was available, because I think,
as I said earlier, if Houston loses out on Bryce Young,
they'll probably go with Will Anderson because of the need there.

(23:44):
But really, when I looked at it, I thought, again,
need fit best player available, or within a few spots
of the best player available offensive lineman receiver, I mean,
would receive you gonna take Johnson f TCU. I think
that would be a major, major gamble at this point
in time. We got Gonzalez fit the need and was

(24:04):
really at the top of my board at that point
in time. All right, let's go and pick number thirteen
the New York Jets. Tony Brian Branch, safety slash kind
of slot guy out of Alabama. You're right, Scronsky or
Paris Johnson will be the pick if available. That seems
to be the trend here where it's like we really
want an offensive tackle, but there aren't a lot of
guys to pick in this draft. But I expect both
to be gone. Otherwise, the Jets haven't needed safety, and

(24:25):
Branch is a great center fielder, a safety with cornerback
type ball skills. The Jets have needed a true center
fielder for decades now, I mean a real ball hawking
center fielder they haven't had. And really I rate Brian
Branch higher than most. I have him as a top
ten player on my board. You watch Bryan Branch, he
was a better player in two thousand and twenty two

(24:45):
that he wasn't two twenty one. Great ball skills, great range,
you're a prototypical center fielder that goes sideline to sideline.
With these, you can play him over, you can line
him up over the slot receiver and he's gonna do
a real good job for you. He's also a tough,
physical guy who willingly defends the run. Not a real
stout sort of safety, but he willingly defends the run.

(25:07):
I think he'd be perfect for solid system and again,
if fits a need. I mean the Jets don't have
a lot of needs on defense. A ball hawking free
safety is one of them, and I think Branch fits
that perfectly. He's one of the best ball hawking free
safeties I've seen in the draft in a long, long time.
All Right, they picked back to back with the Patriots.
At number fourteen, they select a wide receiver or this

(25:28):
early Jackson Smith and Jigba wide receiver out of Ohio State.
Smith and Jigba is a good value here you write
the bigger question, can the Patriots finally develop a receiver
they select early in the draft and Europe before Alex Leatherward.
He is not, I will say, nikkil Harry, Jackson Smith
and Jigba is not. We can go a long, a
long list of top one hundred receivers that the Patriots

(25:51):
have taken a top one hundred the past ten fifteen years.
A lot of them haven't panned out. You know, the
Patriots do a good job at cornerback, They've done a
great job at quarterback. Receiver has seem to be the
been the Achilles heel of that team when it comes
to early picks, Smith and Jiba is polished. I mean,
you go back to the two twenty one film. Good
pass catcher, catches the ball with his hands away from
his frame, good rounte runner finds ways to get get free.

(26:15):
That's really what mac Jones needs. I mean, you don't
need a vertical threat, because Mac Jones really is not
a vertical quarterback. You need a guy who can run
underneath routs, who can separate, who can find the open
spot in the field. That's what Smith Nick Gibber was.
It does well well. He did well in two thou
twenty one. Obviously didn't play last year because it's a
third degree hamstring strain. I think that that fits a
need with a real good player that will be able

(26:37):
to as a plug and play type of prospect from
day one. And we'll see if the Patriots bring back
Jakobe Meyers, their top receiver who's a free agent, and
we'll see if they bring him back into the mix
to pair with this player. In your mock pick fifteen,
the Packers Michael Mayer out of Notre Dame. You're right,
there's no right tackle we're taking at this point and
Brian Branch doesn't make it this far. May Or was

(26:58):
that an easy decision be in the first tight end
off the board, and the Packers generally do not pick
playmakers in round one, so your thoughts there, Yeah, well,
I don't know that Mayor's a playmaker. Was in an
easy pick. I wanted to consider Will Levis here what
we really have to wait and see what Aaron Rodgers
is going to do. But after that, I mean it
was offensive line or tight end. I mean they've needed

(27:20):
pass catchers for ages. Usually watch Packer fans every draft day.
They're pulling their hair out of their head and they're
looking like me because their team passes up pass catchers,
receivers or whatever. Hey Watson worked out last year in
the middle round. See he turned out pretty pretty good exactly,
But but still that they've got a big nit and
Mayor is that sort of bad weather sort of tight end.

(27:41):
You know we say Mortheast football, well you know Middle
America football, if you will. He's not a great playmaker
down the field, but he's a terrific pass catcher. He's
outstanding blocker. As we said time and time again, Mayor's
the type of guy that twenty five years ago. Is
probably a top tend pick because he does so many
things well, fits a need, good player, very polished. I

(28:01):
don't see a lot of downside risk in Mayor's games.
He doesn't run a four to six. He's not gonna,
you know, screen thirty yards down the field and beat
the safeties in a foot race. But he does everything
very very well. Shades of Mark Chamorra perhaps back in
the day. You know, they are certainly a more highly
rated prospect than Chamorro was coming out number sixteen Washington Commanders.

(28:23):
We mentioned this earlier. Roderick Jones at a Georgia You're right,
cornerback is a serious consideration, but Jones fills in need
a left tackle, which they do have, and as a
terrific prospect with outside You want to give me a
little thumbnail on Jones, all right, very athletic zone blocking prospect,
terrific footwork. It's gotta get a little bit stronger. He's
a younger guy. Got improves run blocking. But that's a
very easy thing to or that should be an easy

(28:44):
thing to do, or at least it's easier than to
teach him the footwork and the past blocking skills or
the ability to get down the field and block in motion.
Sam how is probably gonna be the starting quarterback. You
better protect him and keep him up right seventeen Pittsburgh
Steelers Brian brez At a clem in the defensive tackle.
You're right, regardless of how good a player Cam Hayward is,
he's closer to the end of his career than the beginning.

(29:06):
We see him all on all the media. He's already
getting in his post media career ready to go. You
one hundred percent right about that. Why does Brisset fall, Well,
there's a run of quarterback early on, and if he
gets back to his playing form of twenty twenty one,
and I'm sure he will. Again your words that this
will be the steel of the draft. And I wonder, too, Tony,
if the Steelers would have been maybe in the market
for an offensive lineman here, if one was there, but

(29:27):
none are on the board in your mock here gonna
be on the lines of scrimmage. You know, when you
do the mock chill, or at least when I do
the mock draft, you go through it and all of
a sudden you see one guy that's still there at
the top of you like, oh my god, and it
was today. I considered him for Detroit, but Detroit has
a screaming need at the cornerback position. I think this
is a great fit. Brise is a terrific player. People

(29:48):
look down on him for the twenty twenty two seasons,
and that's really wrong. With the kidney affection he had,
the fact that his sister, younger sister passed away with
the brain cancer. He gets, he gets back to four
the form that he's showed in twenty twenty one. You know,
and the Steelers do a great job developing defensive lineman.
This just fit in so many ways. I pick eighteen

(30:09):
de Troy Lines with their second pick of the first round.
Here Tony, they go tight end. Remember they traded T J. Hawkinson,
so they replace him with Luke Musgrave, the very tools
eat tight end of Oregon State had a nice Senior Bowl.
You're right, there are a lot of teams who like
Musgrave more than Meyer. He's a downfield or mayor he's
a downfield weapon at the tight end position. Did you
think wide receiver here or maybe two? Because I also

(30:29):
thought maybe since they traded Hawkinson, does Detroit and I
value the tight end position as much. This is kind
of something I was I've been kind of debating on
my end. Well, I think the tight end position, a
good tight end is going to help Jared Goff receiver
was a consideration, but Musgrave is moving up jaft forwards.
As he told you at the Senior Bowl, you know,
he wasn't one hundred percent. You know you want to
repeat that story. He just wanted to play football. That

(30:51):
tells you something about a guy like that. When you
see all these people who are not going to the
Senior Bowl because they want to trade and they went.
Musgrave went to the Senior Bowl. He wasn't one hundred percent.
And he's a guy who hopefully he's fully and ready
to go at the combine. I think people are gonna
be talking about him as tight end number one when
the combine's over. Yeah, I think that will score points
with teams. The fact that he came back from that

(31:13):
injury ad earlier in the year, the knee injury, and
he basically came back and trained to play in the
Senior Bowl, and he admitted there was gonna be ruston
There was a little bit of rust with him catching
the football. But yeah, I think people will love that attitude.
Pick nineteen the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Tom Brady retires, you
have them replacing him with Will Levis quarterback. I got
a Kentucky Levis needs a lot of work, but has
tremendous upside. You right, I mean that's it. I don't

(31:36):
see Will Levis as a top ten pick. He could
go top ten. I think there's a lot of risk
in his game. He's got great the physical skills, the size,
the arm strength, needs a lot of work on his reads,
needs to learn learn to go through his progressions, needs
to improve his accuracy, which is why I am concerned
if any team takes him in the top ten. This
makes a lot of sense. I mean, I don't know

(31:57):
that they believe in Kyle Trask moving forward. If they do,
they're not gonna take Well Levis. You sign a veteran
quarterback in free agency, you know, to mentor Will Levis
and you take it from there. By the way, folks,
you can't see this entire draft on Pro Football Network,
that's where it got published. You'll go check it out, Tony.
Imagine you have a link through your Twitter account. If

(32:18):
you want an easy link there, do you have this
the link up on your Twitter feed. It will be up.
I didn't see. I didn't see that they tweeted it out,
but I've been crazy busy writing reports. The best couple
of days. It will be. I'm sure it's somewhere. Just
go find it, folks. It'll be there, all right. Let's
go to pick number twenty, the Seahawks with their second
pick in the first round. This is their own pick,
much like the line just had their own pick two
selections ago. You're the going wide receiver and an interesting one,

(32:41):
Quentin Johnson, the big receiver out of TCU. You're right,
the Seattle organization knows how to develop receivers where they're
not messing around. You wind up him in DK Metcalf
the Tyler Lockett inside. That is a pretty formable wide
receiving corps. You know, they needed a center. Gave him
their edge rusher with their first pick. They needed a center.
I think any centers a reach here inside linebacker. Maybe

(33:02):
Trent Simpson, but I think I think he's then reach.
I think Quintin Johnson. You know, they know how to
develop receivers. They always get the most out of receivers.
Quintin Johnson. If you coached him, coach him correctly, and
you develop him, you could have a potentially great receiver
on your hands. As we've spoken about in the in
the past here, you know, he makes a lot of
highlight reel films. He can dominate games. He's big, he's

(33:23):
fast and explosive. He runs bad routes. He's not always
catching the ball with his hands. He lets the ball
get inside of his body. I think that this is
a good fit because Seattle knows how to coach receivers,
and receiver maybe isn't a high high on their their list.
But you know what, if you give Gino Smith another
weapon to throw the ball to, assuming Gino Smith agrees

(33:44):
to contract terms with the Seattle Seahawks, you're gonna make
them that much more effective. You canna help that offense. Yeah,
almost a ten percent drop rate for Johnson this year,
which is a problem to your point. All right, Next,
pick another wide receiver, the Los Angeles Charger. It's like
Jordan Addison wide receiver to you, sc You're right, the
Chargers need to load up on weapons for Justin Herbert
Enter Addison, and boy, is there a better person for

(34:06):
him to learn the NFL trade from then Keenan Allen.
You know, that's kind of a comparison for me. Right,
both guys there are technicians. They're route runners. You know,
they're not gonna run four threes, but they can separate
and run past people. So to me, I think this
is the great Keenan Allen replacement at some point. But
in the meantime he plays inside or outside, Alan moves
into the slot. That's scary with Justin Herbert NFL ready,

(34:30):
I mean, he's got to get a little bit stronger.
He may have some problems with press coverage at the
next level. But a guy, as you said, runs great routes.
I think he's a plug and play type guy. I
think he would be productive as a rookie. And the
sooner you can get a pass catcher on the field
for Justin Herbert to throw the ball to, the better
you're gonna make Justin Herbert so again fit in need
with a real good player. All Right, here we go.
I'm gonna package these next three picks in a pod

(34:52):
for you, Tony, and then you can kind of take
one each one because we have three straight cornerbacks off
the board here. Talk about it. You have the Ravens
twenty two selecting Cam Smith. You have the cornerback out
of South Carolina, the Vikings taking cornerback Dj Turner at
A Michigan, and then you have the Jaguars are twenty
four selecting cornerback Deante Banks at A Maryland. These are

(35:13):
cornerbacks four, five, and six off the board in the
first round for you, all right, Yeah, I mean it's
the Ravens are always looking receiver every year, but Camp
Smith was the highest rated player on my board at
this point in time, and they needed a cornerback, and
they do an exceptional job developing cornerbacks. Smith has got sized,
he's got got speed, He's got to learn to do
a better job making plays with his back to the

(35:34):
ball stop face guarding. Ravens have had success developing those
types of quarterback. I said that, I said it with
the with the Vikings. I like Dj Turner more than
the most. I think he's a polished cornerback after Devin Weatherspoon,
probably the most polished cornerback. Scars ball skills are concern
of all top cornerbacks in this year's draft. Size may
be an issue, but he can shut down the opponent

(35:57):
He's feisty, and he knows how to play the ball.
Deontay Banks is a guy who's ever improving. He's moving
up draft boards. You talked to NFL people, They have
a solid first round grade on him. I think he's
gonna blow up at the Combine. I think he's a
guy who could get under four three and maybe running
the high four twos at six foot twelve. You watch
his game. He showed tremendous flashes last year. Another guy

(36:18):
who's got to be more consistent getting his head back around.
Jacksonville needs a big, physical corner That's what Deontay Banks is.
I would have maybe liked some more playmakers or an
offensive lineman for Jacksonville, but this really fits a need
with a good player who with Deonte Banks. There may
be some bumps in the road early on, but if
they're able to properly develop them extract the best out

(36:40):
of him. I think Banks is gonna be a phenomenal
cornerback down the road. Yeah, I look for I'm gonna
do a deep dive into the cornerbacks this week before
we get to the Combine next week. I look forward
to watching all these guys and again that's six cornerbacks
from Tony in the first round. We'll talk about that
when we get to the end. All right, pick number
twenty five the New York Football Giants, Tony. You of
them selecting John Michael Schmidt's center at a Minnesota. Tell

(37:04):
the fans about him, Well, you know, I wanted I
was thinking about Zay Flowers here, But as I said
in my write up, the Giants are about to make
big investments in Daniel Jones and sat Quon Barkley, and
in a couple of weeks, they're not gonna have a
center on their roster unless they signed one of these guys.
And John Michael Schmidt's is the best center in the draft.
He was terrific a couple of three seasons at Minnesota.

(37:26):
He was phenomenal during three years during three days of
practice as a Senior Bowl. So this is not a
pick to fit a need. This pick fits a need
with a real good player. He stout. He's got an
NFL build. I wrote on Twitter, I just love the
way he quarterbacked that offensive line during Senior Bowl. You

(37:46):
could see him making the calls, making sure his teammates
knew what was going on. He was a real leader.
In the offensive line now shown has had success or
when he was with Buffalo, Buffalo had success signing centers
in free agency. We'll have to see what happens there,
but I think, you know, if you're gonna pour all
kinds of money to Daniel Jones and say Kwon Barkley,

(38:07):
you better be able to protect Jones. You better be
able to open holes for our sat Quon Barkley. I
don't see a player on the Giants roster at the
center position who can do that. Right now. I think
Schmidtz is gonna be a terrific center in the in
the league. It was right within the players that were
at the top of my board. I think he's going
to be a first round pick. Giant fans will probably

(38:30):
boo hoo this pick, you know when it's made, because
they're probably gonna want Zay Flowers. But if you can't
protect your quarterback, you know, the quarterback can't throw the
ball as a Flowers and John Michael schmidts he is
a real good center, a real smart, tough center who's
got an NFL body. So this was a pick that
I thought, like I said, checked a lot of boxes.

(38:52):
You mentioned the gags, John Flociano, both centers, both free agents.
Ben Brettison traditionally a guard, he did a little bit
of center last year, so you're right there was a
hole there, Tony. You mentioned Za Flowers and again he
mentioned what like five nine and a half in Vegas.
They already have on the Robinson right at five nine
pretty much, and he's coming back off a knee injury.
Who else were you thinking about at this pick for

(39:14):
the Giants besides the wide receiver and the interior offensive lineman. Well,
I mean, cornerback would have been a consideration, but I
already have six cornerbacks off the board, so I think
any cornerback at this point, you know, Eli Ricks is
a bit of a reach. Everyone else at the cornerback
spot would have been a bit of a reach. We're
not as highly rated as Keiley Ringo. I wouldn't take

(39:36):
them here. Garrett Williams of Syracuse is not a first
round pick. They're good players down the road, but I
just think there's too much risk to take any of
those guys in round one. So really, the way it
worked out with all the top cornerbacks already off my
board and concerns about the center position with the Giants
just made the most sense. All right, one more follow up,
As I know there's a lot of Giant fans watching,

(39:56):
and he thought about either an off ball linebacker the
Giants could use them, mike linebacker, and any thought maybe
about a receiving tight end. If you can't get the receiver,
maybe a weapon to tight end receiver was definitely a consideration.
And I like Tuck the Craft. We'll talk about later on,
but I thought that Tuck the Craft was a bit
of a reach compared to Schmidts, and I thought that

(40:17):
center was a greater need. As far as the linebackers,
I mean again, I don't have Trent and Simpson or
any of those guys, or Sanders from Arkansas for that matter,
where it is highly as Schmidtz. All right, there we go.
All right, let's go on to the Dallas Cowboys at
twenty six. Remember the last time the Cowboys and Giants
picked back to back. Get that big Davanta Smith trained

(40:37):
with Dallas and Philly kind of swapping around the Giants
and get Davonta Smith. There you have them going a
little off the board here. Tony Keshawn Boute at LSU,
we've talked about him a lot on the show. I'll
read your little caption here. I went off the board
for this one. It was a battle between Boote and Flowers.
But Boutet is a better fit for Dallas and could
be the best receiver to come out of the draft

(40:58):
two years down the road. And look, they like to
use Ceedee Lamb in the slot. So I get why
you wouldn't go Flowers here. To be honest with you,
you know, I wanted a cornerback. But going back to
what I said about the Johnts, all the top cornerbacks
are off the draft. So it was Zay Flowers a Boote.
Boode I think is a better fit, and I think
Booty is We've talked. We talked about this last week.
He is sort of the unknown in the draft at

(41:19):
the receiver position. He was a guy who looked phenomenal
at times in two twenty one, had a slow start
to two twenty two, really picked it up at the
end of the season. Initially said he he's going back
to LSU, then decided to enter the draft. You talk
about trades, Boody's got all those trades. I mean, he
has a lot of upside and I keep going back
to the fact that you know, one thing we know

(41:40):
about LSU receivers are they are much better in the
NFL than they are in college, and there aren't good
receivers on the college level, so there's something to be
said for that. So when I looked at his size,
I looked at his upside. I like Zay Flowers, but
I think Zay Flowers is what he is, a smaller
slot guy that you got to keep up press covered bridge.

(42:00):
He told us at the seat at the Shrine game,
He's gonna run in the fourth three. So I don't
see a four three receiver on the field. It's not
that I dislike Zay Flowers. It's just I think that
there are other traits that are more highly coveted at
the senior ball at the during the draft, and I
think Boody's got those traits. Buffalo Bills Bijean Robinson the
twenty seventh overall pick, running back out of Texas. Any

(42:22):
offensive line would be a reach. At this point, you
write Robinson immediately upgrades the entire offense and makes life
easier for Josh Allen I easily. I mean, look, you
talk about grade like this is a no brainer right. Yeah,
I mean there are a lot of people thought that
the Bills were gonna take threees Hall last year in
the first round. They passed him up to Jets got him.
They got a good cornerback. They just got a great
running back, Bijean Robinson. I think he's the seventh rated

(42:43):
player on my board. You take him here at twenty seven,
it's great value. He is a terrific running back. I
don't know that he's gonna test all that well at
the combine because he doesn't look like a great tester.
But if you want a great running back who's also,
by the way, a phenomenal receiver out of the backfield,
I mean you watching they line him up in the
slow they line him up up in the flanks, and
he is a great receiver out of the backfield. I mean,

(43:04):
you immediately improve your offense, and you immediately make Josh
Allen that much more lethal. Twenty eight Cincinnati Bengals Tucker Craft,
tight end out of South Dakota State. You're right right
about this point. Many are saying Tucker who? But he
will be a household name after the combine. The Bengals
did lose cg Uzoma last year they rolled with Hayden Hurst.

(43:24):
This year he was fine, but boy, another weapon for
Joe Burrow. You're just giving him all sorts of people
to throw the ball too. Tone cornerback was a consideration. Obviously,
offensive line was a situation. It was a consideration. I'd
like to get a left tackle lif but there's no
left tackles. He Tucker Craft. I mean, you watch him.
He plays the tight end position like he's a receiver,

(43:45):
although he's a big ti ending I mean he's not
a small tight end. He's a guy. He gets down
the field, he catches the ball naturally. He's got a
lot of natural pass catching skills. He's a confident guy,
to the point where people think he's a little bit
cocky or arrogant, but that's okay. He does a good
job when he's has to walk on the line of
scrimmage or out to out on the second level. He's
been a good player for two years. Missed the middle

(44:05):
part of this year with an ankle injury. Went down
with that ankle injury early in the Iowa game. Came
back to help South Dakota State during their they're running
in the playoffs. That says something about him, just a
real good, unknown sort of tight end prospect that I
think once the combine starts and once he starts getting
national coverage, people are gonna be like, oh yeah, okay,

(44:27):
we like this guy. So I think he's gonna I
think he's worth going in the first round. That's why
I have here. I think he's a good fit. Let's
see what happens the next couple of days. Oh sorry,
week and a half in Indianapolis. All right, now, we
got the New Orleans Saints. They get this pick and
a round the boat way. I believe it was this
the Sean Payton thing that they got this back for
the Saints. I think it was right. This is what

(44:49):
they got for compensation in some weird round the bat way,
if I'm not mistaken. They select Mazie Smith defensive tackle
out of Michigan Tony. The Saints have a crying need
for defensive tackle. Smith has been a terrific player in
the past. New season, we'll be a combined hero very soon.
You've got your two favorites in here Craft and Mazie
smith Man. Good for you, you know, listen, let's go

(45:09):
back to I think it was one of the first
shows we did right with Bruce Feldman, where Lizzie Smith
was the number one player on his free players and
what Bruce DULs is. Mozzi Smith, at three hundred twenty
pounds has run the three cone in under seven seconds.
That's a good time for a defensive back. This is
three twenty pound defensive lineman. And when you watch him
on film, as I've said, you know, people talked about

(45:31):
David Najabu, they talked about Aiden Hutchinson, Mike Morris this
year and a lot They're able to do a lot
of those things because Mozzi Smith controls the middle of
the line of scrimmage. I watched the TCU game again,
the semi final playoff game against TCU yesterday, and I
mean he hammered Steve a Villa earlier in that game.
He was getting the better of Steve a Via earlier

(45:51):
in a game. And a Villa is a big, strong
power gaapper and and Smith was knocking him back off
the line of scrimmage. I have a personal affection from
Mozzi Smith. I know there are a lot of people
who don't think that highly of them, but I talk
to somebody last week and they said, yeah, if he
doesn't go first round. He's gonna go early second round.
So this made a lot of sense with the Saints
need at defensive tackle. All right. Now we get to

(46:12):
the Eagles. This is their own pick and their second
pick in the first round. They's like Jamir Gibbs, running
back out of Alabama. Two running backs in the first round.
You're right, the old purpose back to fill out the
Eagles offense. He'll help Jalen Hurts as a ball carry,
a pass catcher, and blocker, and you hit a tone.
He's again another really good receiver and they're probably not
gonna bring Miles Sander's back in for agency, so there

(46:32):
is a hole there, and I mean it's the next
need after cornerback, right, so the rich just get richer.
Jamir Gibbs is you know, we talk about b Jean
Robinson justifiably so as one of the best prospects in
this chef, never mind the best running back. But you
watch Jamir Gibbs and his tape is also outstanding and
probably not as good as an exterior runner, but he
powers through the inside, he breaks tackles, he shows some

(46:55):
sejordiarea quickness, terrific pass catcher out of the backfield. I
mean it was good at Georgia, just really elevated his
game last year for the Alabama Crimson Tide, and it
really showed a lot of next level ability. And you know,
if I'm the Philadelphia Eagles fan, I'm not. And I
come out of this draft with Devin Witherspoon and Jamire Gibbs,

(47:15):
I'm over the moon, all right. Final pick Kansas City
Chiefs Tony bj Ojilari edge out of LSU. You thought
about Zai Flowers here, but you also thought about Duan Jones.
But if Frank Clark likely to be a cap casualty
and the Chiefs affection for smaller one gap pass rushers,
Ojilari fits like a glove. I personally like Ojilari better

(47:36):
as a three four USL linebacker. But when you look
at the way the Chiefs used their defensive ends one
gap defensive ends, and you look at the film of Ojilari,
he's incredibly athletic. He's fast, he gets up the field,
he causes a lot of disruption. He also shows the
ability to play off the line in space, which is
added value. But I think as he gets bigger and
he gets stronger, he'll be able to handle those those

(47:57):
duties as a defensive end in the four man online better.
A lot of upside, A lot to like about Ojulari.
And again, you know, they took the kid from Purdue
last year and at the end of the first round
they got some good returns from him. Karl Oft sort
of the same type of play Oslari. I think Ojalari
is a little bit better. So you're getting good value here,
all right. So here's the rundown, Tony. I went position

(48:18):
by position. You have three quarterbacks, five wide receivers, two
running backs, three tight ends, four offensive lineman, two tackles
Scronsky will see and then the one center and John
Michael Schmidtz. Going the defense, you have three defensive tackles,
four edges slash defensive ends, no linebackers in the class

(48:42):
one safety and six corners. That gets you the thirty
one players. I'm going to ask you this, who were
the guys that you couldn't get in When you finish
and you're like, oh, this is not good. I need
to get these guys in here. Surprisingly none. That's why
I said, do you ask me the start, how easy
was this or how difficult it wasn't? I mean, I

(49:04):
ja Flowers, would he be a guy? Yeah, But I
mean I had Dave Flowers in consideration for the Giants,
for the Cowboys, for the Chiefs, but I thought there
were better players there that fit greater needs. And I
explain that, you know, am I writeup? So yeah, Zay Flowers.
I like Jack Campbell more than most. Some people think

(49:26):
Kean White of Georgia of Georgia texts going to be
a first round pick. I like Nolan Smith. I liked
him as a definite first round there coming into the year,
but he hurt the pectoral, he hurt his peck and
miss uh the last last month of the year, although
he really played injured throughout the year, so there was
really I mean a lot of people like Drew Sanders,
but we talked about it last last show. I don't

(49:48):
think Dress Sanders is first round talent. Some people say
Lucas van Ness. I don't know, younger guy, very raw.
I went back and I watched Vaness last week. Tone
he's just a straight ahead sure at this point he
played defensive tackle more than he played defensive end. So
for me, that's just a huge projection. Yeah, I mean
Eli Ris Eli Ris when he's on the field, he

(50:11):
looks phenomenal. He's played twenty four games in three years.
I think he started five games for Alabama. So while
there's great upside with Eli Ricks, there's a lot of downside,
a lot of downside risk. A lot of people like
a Cyrus Torrents in the first round. I just don't
know where that type of guard fits in the middle
of round one or the end of round one. So really,

(50:33):
you know, I was, like I said, I was, I
was surprised I was able to get through this so
quickly the way I stress over the stupid mock drafts. Tony,
We're on the same page. He went, I had a
list of guys that I thought I would consider potential snubs,
and you listen almost all of them your answer, So
I want to throw a couple more attitude that I
have done that you didn't mentions. I know some fans

(50:54):
will probably be questions about it. Anthony Richardson, We've talked
about him a lot. Super Raw. You know, does not
have first round tape, but he has first round traits.
We know what you think about him, but when do
you think an NFL team is going to pull a
trigger on him? You know, I think with that second
Seattle pick, that could be a good place for him
if they signed Geno Smith to a short term contract,

(51:16):
because I think Geno Smith would be a perfect mentor
for Anthony Richardson. And if you have Geno Smith start
for the next another year, you don't need Anthony Richardson.
I think that's got to be a consideration at that
point in time. I mean, any place house with the
Buccaneers take Anthony Richardson. Well, the Buccaneers take Anthony Richardson,

(51:37):
You're probably expecting him to start early in his rookie
career ricky season, which I think would be a massive mistake.
If the Ravens lose Lamar Jackson, would date take Anthony Richardson,
I don't think so. That doesn't seem their style. Although
they took Lamar Jackson in the bottom third of round one,
they had a lot of success with him. You know,

(51:57):
I listen, I just had a I have a lot
of concerns about Anthony Richardson being selected in the round
one a round one, and I don't I firmly believe
that quarterbacks have been overdrafted the past fifteen years. I
was a static to see what happened last year. We'll
see what happens. All right. I'm gonna throw a guy
that I love, and I know I'll have him higher

(52:18):
than you do. But you had three tight ends go
in the first round, and one of them was not
Dalton Kincaid. And I wonder, tone if you get to
the end of the first round here and wide receivers
are gone that a team wants and they need a weapon,
and they see Kincaid, who really is not a blocker, right,
this is basically a move tight end that's gonna play
in the slot. He's a big He's basically a big

(52:39):
wide receiver. Do you think he could slip into the
back end of the round one? Well, a couple of things.
I mean, they use them as a move tightenman. Dalton
Kinkaid is six six and a half two and forty
five pounds. It's probably gonna be able to put on
him tho ten pounds. Now I'm thinking about the Kincaid
is Let's go back to when we had Jim Naggie
on this program. Naggie said that Kincaid is injured and
he may not even be able to work out the draft. Okay,

(53:02):
So I don't know, you know, maybe a team takes
him later on. And let's also not forget Kim Kai
did very well this year, but he wasn't even starting
tight end for Utah coming into the season. It was
Brian quif Kim Kade watched his game take off when
he when he stepped in the line. I person think
Kinka has been playing more in the past couple of years,

(53:22):
and he's a guy that doesn't have a lot of
production a large party of work, say the way Tucker
Craft and Michael Mayer or or or the Luke Luke
Musgrave of work and State has. So there's concerned there
were Kinkaid, especially with the injury. When is he gonna
be healthy? Are we gonna get to see him test?
There was really no consideration on my part to book

(53:43):
Kinkade around one you mentioned key on why you know,
I'd like to see for those kinds of athletic, freakish
defensive lineman. He's like two and JD pounds right, but
he moves really well, like he was fine in mobile
at the Senior Bowl, but he was not the dominant fours.
I wanted to see him be in those one on
one drills and The thing about White is he shows

(54:05):
flashes even on film. He shows flashes where he takes
over games, but he disappears for long stretches, and that
is a concern. That's what we saw a mobile. I mean,
he wasn't dominant. He showed great play, he showed great
ability on certain plays, but he wasn't, say, like the
kid from Northwestern who couldn't be stopped at any singled down,
or even the way Cannubton, of which Constent dominated the

(54:27):
first two days of practice. That's what key on White is.
That's why I don't have him in the first round.
All Right, here's a guy I don't think we've mentioned
on this show yet, But who was it? Did mil
kiper have him in this top fifteen on one of
his mock drafts, Klijah Cancy, the undersized defensive tackle out
of Pittsburgh County Now the easy, lazy, oh undersized defensive

(54:50):
tackle from Pittsburgh. This guy must be Aaron Donald. And
we get a lot of that conversation and you're shaking
your head because that's obviously ridiculous. But your thoughts on
Cancy and is he even in the neighborhood of a
first round pick for you not on my board. I mean, listen,
I'm the size you talk about Aaron Donald. Aaron Donald
went to the Senior Bowl and dominated the Senior Bowl
and by the way, dominated Zack Martin at the Senior Poll.

(55:13):
Every day. He could not be stopped, could not be stopped.
Kancy didn't have that ability. I like Kncy, but I
like him as a one gap defensive tackle. Is he
gonna be six foot tall? Is he gonna be two
ninety pounds? He does not show. The one thing that
Aaron Donald showed during sea during a Senior Bowl practice
was power. He you know, he shocked everybody how powerful

(55:36):
and how strong he was. People didn't think that. I
didn't think that about the Aaron Donald. Cancy never had
that opportunity. And Kency doesn't look very strong on film.
He looks like a one gap, penetrating first step lineman
who makes a lot of plays because he's able, looks
like his opposition. He's not bullrushing over or handling opposing

(55:58):
offensive linman the way Aaron Donald did Apples and oranges.
I like Cancy, but I think he's a scheme specific,
three technique lineman. And while he could have a successful
NFL career. There's not just a huge opportunity or there's
a lot of attraction or there's a big market for
that type of guy when it comes to the NFL Draft.
And again, everybody, you can go check out this full
mock draft on Pro Football Network where Tony put his

(56:20):
mock draft out. We will both be in Mobile for
the Combine next week. Before we go out there, we
are going to record a Combine preview episode in which
we take questions from fans. So I'm gonna put a
tweet out there and you guys can reply to do it.
I'll put Tony on it too, he can retweet it.
You guys are sending all your questions. So we'll do
our Combine preview. It'll probably air on Monday next week.
We'll record it over the course of at the end

(56:43):
of this week and we'll get that up for you
and then we'll rock and roll and we'll have a
good time with it and we'll get ready for the
Combine next week. And then we'll have Tony on Big
Blue Kickoff Live next week and then we'll do a
Combine and review after it's over and we get back
from Indianapolis early the following week. We'll try to get
that up on the Monday after the combine and get
that recorded rather quickly if we can. If we can't,

(57:04):
we'll get it up on Tuesday or Wednesday, like we
usually do. We thank Tony Pauline for joining us. I'm
John Schmilk. We will see you next time. This is
draft season.