It's Episode 12 of the Draft Preview Podcast as Host Ethan Greenberg and Dane Brugler talk about the wide receiver prospects in the upcoming NFL Draft. They start at the top of Brugler's rankings with Ohio State's Garrett Wilson (5:00) and the difference in his teammate Chris Olave (6:00). They head out west to talk about USC's Drake London (7:25), followed by the injury concerns of Alabama's Jameson Williams (12:30). They wrap up the first round receiver talk with Arkansas WR Treylon Burks (16:30). The guys shift the focus to some second-round options in Georgia's George Pickens (21:30) and finish up with some Day 3 prospects in SMU's Danny Gray (25:10) and UCLA's Kyle Phillips (26:10).
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
The New York Jet and are now on the board. Okay,
Jeff Durrell read this in New York has been one
of the greatest questions. Zack Smith Avenue ran that one
right now the New York Jet Fleck. Welcome to another
edition of NFL Draft Preview. Ethan Greenberg back in the saddle,
Dane Bruglers always we're really inching up to the draft, Dane.
(00:23):
Now that the Beast is in the world right, Like,
what is your day to day like right now compared
to what it was a couple of weeks ago. Uh, well,
now it's a lot of talking about the Beast and
everything that's in there, um and which which is you know,
a lot of fun kind of sharing everything just uh,
not just my opinion about what I think about the player,
but um, you know, it's fun for people to learn
(00:44):
more about each one of these guys, their background, uh,
you know, some of the interesting testing data from pro days,
things like that. So I get messages every single day like, oh,
I thought I knew everything about Garrett Wilson until I
read oh he had Division one best Schoball scholarship out
of high school. And so I received messages like that
every day and that's a lot of fun um and
(01:05):
then just you know, being able to talk about these guys.
And but I am getting to the point where, Okay,
I'm excited to start talking about how these guys fit
and not just trying to predict where they're going to fit. Yeah,
that makes a ton of sense before we talk about
the wide receivers. I'm glad you mentioned Garrett Wilson. Definitely
be talking about him. But I'm just curious your favorite
nugget from the your beast is what? And also do
(01:28):
you have any uh what was your favorite? I guess
would be saying I remember raw sushi was one that
we often talked about. What was your favorite saying there?
And do you have like what was the coolest fact
that you came across? Uh? Well, I'm I'm a twin
dad now, as you know, and I thought it was
pretty cool, uh, learning about all the twins. And it's
actually a triplet in there in this drife class as well.
(01:50):
Grant calcata Is is a triplet. But there's there's like
four or five twins and it's really interesting just to
kind of uh, you know, is there an older one younger,
one boy girl? Uh? You got a guy Alexion McCullum
at a sad Houston State who is a big time tester.
His twin brother who's a safety, also in this class,
(02:11):
and he tested pretty well at his pro day, which
you know you would you would expect being uh being
twins like that. So it is interesting learning the four
or five six that the number of guys in here
that are actually twins, and the in the one triplet
um at the one saying, uh, you know, I think
there are there's a few in there that I think
her fawn like Ikakwanu. I wrote in his Strength that
(02:36):
his controlled violence that he plays with anywhere else would
be a felony except the football field. Uh that's one
um Tyson Anderson Ago. Yeah, he's got a really extensive
special team's resume, and I said in the in His
Strength that it was longer than any lines at the
roller coasters at Cedar Point, trying to connect you know,
(02:56):
Toledo's close to Sandusky with the Cedar Point and so, uh,
you know I did a couple of those, uh you know,
try that fun with it for a few of these
guys in their reports. Absolutely I remember two of them
stick out to me from prior years, not raw sushi.
One was about Spencer Brown. He said that his uh,
his frame was that of a wide oak door. I
loved that one. The other one was a New York Jet. Actually,
(03:19):
Bryce Huff, he went undrafted out of Memphis, said he
was a ball of butcher knives, and so far, you know,
he has been that even though the production isn't maybe
necessarily what you thought it might have been, but he's
been a very productive player for the Jets. Went on
the field. All right, That was enough about the beast.
I'm sure we'll be referencing it throughout the course of
this podcast podcast to come, let's dive into wide receivers.
(03:40):
You mentioned Garrett Wilson, So he's your top wide receiver.
You have one, two, three, four, five first round grades
in terms of wide receivers. Garrett Wilson is at the
top of them. Why is he that your top rated
wide receiver? And how do you separate somebody like him
from Crystal Lave? What do they both offer on the field? Yeah,
and actually I think that the best way to talk
(04:01):
about these receivers is probably in tiers um and I
think for me, Garrett Wilson Jamison Williams, Drake London. Those
are my top three in that number one tier of
receivers and Wilson's at the top. And really it just
comes down to what he does before and after the
catch in terms of getting open, creating separation. Uh. He
does that very well now and you feel like he's
(04:24):
going to get better and better as a route runner
as he continues to develop. Not the biggest guy six
ft three, but the way he plays through contact, the
body control, Uh, so he can make contested catches, he
can make plays over defensive backs. Uh. He plays so
well through contact, and that's so key in the NFL
(04:44):
where these passing windows are so small. Uh. You know,
you have to be able to compensate in some way.
Some guys can do it with your strength, your size.
Garrett Wilson does it with focus and just this really
unique body control that he has. And I referenced earlier
just the basketball background, and that's that really shows um
and you expect that from maybe a guy like Drake London,
(05:05):
but with Garrett Wilson, I think that's a it's a
very understated part of his game. So the elite body
controlled the ball skills and when it all comes down
to it getting open before and after the catch. To me,
that's the big difference between him and especially guy like
Crystal Love a chrysal. Love is a very smooth player,
a very seasoned route runner, doesn't very doesn't give you
much after the catch, and you do worry about the
(05:27):
physicality aspect of things where Wilson's gonna play through contact
where a Love a you just don't necessarily see that
all the time. Now, Love is a very good player,
and you know there are strength of his game that
you think match up very well with what you're looking
for in the first round. But I think why I
prefer Wilson is just the ability after the catch and
the physicality at the catch point. Wilson ran a four
(05:50):
three eight forty in Indianapolis three nine. The speed between
those two guys outstanding, But do you think that that's
indicative of their play? And what I mean by that
is like, do you think Garrett Wilson when you're watching
him on film shows the four three hped more than
a Lave Because I feel like the book on those
two guys that Olave plays maybe a little faster at times.
(06:10):
In Wilson, Yeah, I think it'd be fair. I mean,
if you ask twenty people before the combine, who's gonna
rest run a faster forty Garrett Wilson or Crystal Lava,
I would say at least nineteen, if not all, twenty
would have told you O. Love probably has the edge
in terms of just pure straight line speed. UM. But
I don't think that uh in any way does that
(06:32):
you know, am I trying to say that Garrett Wilson
is slow or you know, does not have speed himself,
because he certainly does. And I think that it really
opened some eyes when he ran that fast of the combine. Uh,
And it showed that, you know, because of how he
was used. A Lava was more of that deep threat
in how to state offense, where Wilson consistently made plays
(06:53):
at every level of the field. Uh. Didn't make as
many deep plays as maybe Olave did, but short in
immediate catch and run type of plays. That's where you
really see that speed. Uh, not just the speed, but
the athleticism to decelerate on command to his release package,
that twitch that he plays with. You see the full
(07:15):
athleticism with with Garrett Wilson, with him as a route runner.
All right, Well, let's talk about Drake London. You mentioned
the basketball background. There's a very big component to Drake
London's game that feels like it stems directly from basketball
played for the Trojans first season or two. And with London,
he obviously has great size. He's six ft three and
I'm just trying to project a little bit here. When
(07:35):
you look at the Jets at ten, that's a popular
pick for a wide receiver to be taken off the
board and a lot of it. A lot of the
mock drafts have Drake London at number ten because of
his size, and you think about how he fits in
with what the Jets have already in terms of their
size with Elijah Moore, Braxon Barrios, Corey Davis. How important
was Drake London's pro day in terms of his evaluation
(07:57):
and and what do you make of the story line
that maybe Drake London isn't great at separating in terms
of his play overall? Yeah, I mean this is a
long range e uh player and you know all the
basketball clisches uh they fit, you know, playing above the rim,
boxing out defenders. He does that at a high level.
(08:18):
And so it's no surprise that he was a high
level basketball player. And and something that I think it's
intriguing with him is he's always been a two sport
athlete his entire life up until this past year. So
now that he can focus just on wide receiver, just
on the football related uh conditioning and training throughout the year,
how does that make him an even better player on
(08:41):
on game days. That That's something that I'm really interested
to find out With Drake London. I do think the
vertical separation is a question mark. He is not a
a Blazer. That's not That's a big difference between him
and you hear the Mike Evans comparison a lot. The
big difference is Mike Evans is a lot faster with
Drake London. You worry about that, the lack of vertical
accept uh separation. And you know he did chose not
(09:03):
to run the forty at his pro day. It was
great to see him out there running rolets, catching football
coming off an injury uh like he did with a
broken ankle. Great to see him back out there choosing
not to run the forty, saying my tape speaks for itself.
The translation is I'm just not that fast in the
forty and that's okay. I don't think anybody watches Drake
London's film and says, oh, this guy is a burner.
(09:23):
This is why we need to get him. No, it's
it's because of his ability to win at the catchpoint. Uh.
He does have flexibility, uh in his routes, I think
I do you do see him create pockets of separation
because he's not a he's a very tall player, but
he does have some sync to to uh the way
he sets up his cut, so he does have a
little bit of fluidity to his adjustments on the football.
(09:45):
So he's not just a big stiff guy out there.
This is a basketball athlete and you see that with
the way he goes after the football. So it's Drake
London is a very talented player. I think he's in
a lot of ways. You can look at him as
a traditional x I. He could be a big slot.
There's a lot of ways you could use Drake London
as being, uh, you know, someone that's gonna help you
(10:06):
move the chains and put points on the board. And
that's why he belongs in that top tier in my
opinion of the top receivers this year, I feel like
a lot of people who are listening to this, are
watching this might be like you just said, he doesn't
separate at the top of the routes. That's a red
flag for me just as a receiver because you need
to separate, whereas Garrett Wilson that's not the case. So
I know, you just laid at the reasons why you
(10:27):
think Drake London will be a good pro. But like,
what is the one thing that Drake London, like you
hang your hat on that. You're like, you know what,
that's why Drake London, if there was one thing, is
gonna be a good pro compared to some of these
other guys. Uh. It just to clarifyer is a little bit.
It's it's more of the vertical separation than anything else,
because there he will have some stock routes where he
(10:49):
can create some uh these these windows to work with.
It's more just that straight line speed getting deep. That's
where you see the lack of separation show the most.
I think when you look at Drink London, the ultimate
respect that you can give their wide receiver is when
you know where the football is going. Everybody in the stadium,
everybody's watching the game, they know where the football is
(11:11):
going going, and the defense can't they stay, can't do
anything about it. That is something that when you're watching
USC last year, that that's what you thought about. Everyone
knows where that ball is going, and the defense really
had no answer. Drink London average fifteen targets per game
last year. And I mean his his production if he
did not get hurt midway through the year, I think
it's Halloween weekend. If he had not gotten hurt, his
(11:34):
final season production would have been just astronomical. So um,
I think the fact that he can win at the catchpoint.
He's a bully, his focus, the ball skills are outstanding.
You just you trust him. He's a dependable player. Um,
And so I think all those things if you're looking
for you look at the Eagles and what they're looking for.
Maybe with Jalen Hurts Uh certainly the Jets with a
(11:55):
young quarterback looking to give him more of a possession threat.
But a guy that gives to a big catch radius,
that someone that can you know, you don't have to
be pinpoint accurate. He's gonna go get the football. It
makes a lot of sense. And so I think if
you're the Jets and Drake London ends up being the
pick there at number ten. You're feeling a lot better
about the development of your sophomore quarterback going into year two.
(12:18):
All right, how about Jamison Williams. I mean, we you
talked about Drake London not running the forty. We would
have loved to see what Jamison Williams would have run
in the forty our dash and you think about what
he did at Alabama and I'm just curious, Like when
when we were talking about Henry Ruggs a couple of
years ago, You're like, he's more than just a receiver.
I assume that's the same case for Williams. So what
(12:39):
does he offer outside of speed? Yeah, I mean you
hit on the high notes. He mean's a track sprinter.
He would have ran somewhere in the low four threes. Um.
I think that's that very very realistic based off of
watching him on film. UM. But this is not just
a track athlete out there. The way that he runs
his routes. Uh. He understands how to set up defenders,
(13:00):
whether it could be a double move. Uh. I mean
he can break off those ninety degree cuts on on
on digs, on outs. Um. And you know be able
to not lose that momentum, not lose that speed, uh
with with his footwork, so more than just the track
athlete out there, not the most natural hands catcher, but
makes natural justice on the football. Body control is there. Uh,
(13:24):
he has lengths so you can pull down throws, and
just the explosive ability to uh when he's out there,
he changes the defense. He changes how coverage is going
to look, regardless of he's going to get the target
or not. So, I mean, you you look at Alabama
last year. One of my favorite stats, as in the
entire Draft guide is of Alabama's eleven longest plays last season,
(13:48):
Jamison Williams was responsible for ten of them, which just
tells you how explosive this guy is when the ball
is in his hands. Um, and it's just it scares
the defense when he's out there. So uh that that
and then that changes how as an offense you're going
to attack the defense. He just he can do a
lot of things whether or not he's getting the ball
or not. So I think with Jamison Williams, a lot
(14:09):
of a lot of fans, not even Jets fans, just
fans in general that you're like, well, all right, with
Jamison Williams. If you have two first round picks, maybe
you could afford to use one on a guy like
Jamison Williams not knowing exactly when he'll be ready to
return to the field. Recently there was an interview where
he said his goal is to be ready by training camp.
He heard his or towards a c L in the
(14:29):
National Championship Game, which was around the new year. So
that would be a very quick recovery. But for the
Jets in particular where they're trying to build a culture,
the things are headed in the right direction. With the
tenth overall pick. Is that too rich for Jamison Williams
not knowing when he'd be ready to make an impact
on the field for your second year quarterback? Is there
(14:51):
a risk involves certainly, um, But I think you have
to trust the doctors, You trust your evaluation. If you
think Jamison Williams would be the most impactful, if you said,
just all, every receiver is available there at ten, no
receivers have been drafted yet. If you grade Jamison Williams
as being healthy, Jamison Williams as being the most impactful
receiver in this draft for your team and the doctors
(15:14):
give you two thumbs up and say, hey, you know
the knee is progressing well. Uh, you know, they can
give you a timeline say probably somewhere mid season he's
going to be uh you know, be be able to
get back out there and be close under percent you
draft him, I mean because it's not like if he
misses the first half of the season, it's not like
(15:34):
that's really going to change much for your long term Uh,
you know, outlook on this team. Ideally, yes, you have
your receiver in in minicamp and then training camp and
you know, developing that chemistry with the quarterback in the offense.
But again, it's a it's a long term play. You know,
the the Jets that they've they've got the long term
vision here and it's not just about what are you
(15:56):
gonna do for us right away. So if they view
Jamison Williams is being the most impactful guy of this group,
uh you know that that that's the direction they need
to go. What if you draft to, say, Garrett Wilson,
who's just you know, you say, your second highest graded player.
He injured his hamstring and he misses the first two
months of the season. All of a sudden. It would
have been the same as if you had Jamison Williams.
So draft the highest graded player. Uh, even as long
(16:19):
as the doctors signed off that that's a big variable,
big part of this. As long as the doctors are
on board, I think you move forward Jamison Williams. That's
a great argument right there. Let's talk about trailing Burke's
as your last first round graded wide receiver. Feel like
a lot of the comparisons right now, particularly in the
Jets Twitter world. He's like, well, he could be your
(16:39):
Deebo Samuel, He's bigger. You could do a lot of reverses.
I understand that there's only one Deebo Samuel who exists
on this planet. But in terms of trailing Burks, you
see the size six to four or five five forty,
not blazing speed, But what does he offer not in
that role? Like what is he offered strictly as a
wide receiver that makes him a first round caliber prospect.
(17:03):
There's definitely projection involved with trailing Burke's because of the
way Arkansas used him in their offense. I mean, basically
he was the offense at Arkansas. He was the most
talented player in the field and smartly. The Arkansas offense
did whatever they could to get the ball in his hands.
Sometimes that meant manufacturing touches by putting him in the backfield,
keeping him in the slot, quick hitters, I mean, just
(17:24):
doing all these things to get him the football and
get him going. Nobody in the SEC had more plays
of twenty plus yards last season than Trail and Burkes. Uh,
And I think that it wasn't just uh, you know,
these screens and these dump offs and and you know,
him trying to create with the ball in his hands.
He certainly did that quite a bit. But even on
deep throws. I mean he he had eighteen targets of
(17:47):
at least twenty yards down the field last season, zero drops.
So this is a player that has, I think all
the ability to be a true X, all the ability
to be a three level playmaker for your offense, but
he's never really faced pressed before. Uh. You know, his
route running needs to expand, and just in terms if
you're gonna be a true ex receiver. So there's a
(18:08):
lot of things that with him that are projection based
and not necessarily that you can put on tape and say, yeah,
he could definitely do this or definitely do that. So
I think with Traylor Burk's it's it's excited. You get
excited when you think about what he is and what
he could be. But there is a little bit more
of a level of risk with him and that's something
that not every team in the top twenty is going
(18:29):
to be on board with that type of risk. So
those are your first round receivers. Is there one match
for what the Jets specifically have in their wide receiver
room Corey Davis, Elijah More, Braxton Barrios among those in
the room, Zach Wilson entering year two? Is there one
fit you like more than another? Obviously we know that
(18:50):
Garrett Wilson is in that top tier and he's at
the top of that top tier for you, So is
that the is your instinct just to say, well, he's
the best one in my opinion? Jets looking for receiver,
Possibly that's the match or is there a next layer
where you're like, maybe you like the size of Drake
London a little more than Garrett Wilson, therefore you think
he's a bigger fit. You like Jamison Williams speed. In
terms of the offense that Mike Lafour runs like, what,
(19:14):
what's your mind? What's going through your mind as you
try to make a comparison or a projection for the
Jets Here, I think I can make an easy argument
for why Drake London would be uh maybe the the
ideal fit there. Um. I also think I could make
an argument for Jamison Williams. But for me personally, I'm
going with the guy that I created as the best
(19:35):
receiver in this draft, and that's Garrett Wilson. Um. I
think you know, is still a young player, still growing,
still developing, and you know you're excited about what he
can mean for your offense. He wish you were a
little bit bigger. You wish he had a little more
size to him. There's no question about that. But he
plays so big and and the final line of his
report and this is something after watching uh, you know,
(19:55):
I probably watched eleven of his game tapes last year.
Watching all these games tape, something that kept coming back
to me, kept coming back to me. He makes a
playbook come alive. I mean he really is uh. He
he makes that offense go, and I mean that Ohio
State offense is just uh spoiled with talent and a
lot of guys going back, it's gonna be more of
the same next year. But Garrett Wilson, especially when he
(20:18):
was out there, just it seemed like something big was
about to happen with his ability. So I'm sticking with
Garrett Wilson as being that ideal fit. But again, I
think that you could make the argument for Drake London
or even Jamis ci Williams and why they should be
the pick as well. I think we're talking about splitting
hairs in more preference than you know, pure uh, you know,
fact why one player is better than the other. Here,
(20:41):
It'll be very interesting to see what happens as the
board shakes out. Do you think before we move on
to day two and day three, do you think that
there will be a receiver off the board by the
time the Jets elect at ten? Or you think that
if the Jets wanted to go in that direction, they'd
have their pick of the letter. I said, it's about
uh and you look at the Falcons at eight, Um,
you know you could see a team uh, you know,
(21:03):
maybe trading up a few spots. So right now I
would say it's fifty fifty, But um, there's that's still
a pretty good chance that the Jets will have their
choice of you know, whichever receiver they want there at
number ten. Alright, moving on to day two, of the
Jets have picks thirty five and thirty eight. We've talked
about John Dobson before as a potential option for the Jets. Specifically.
You love his catch radius, even though it made sound
(21:25):
counterintuitive despite his size. I wanted to ask you about
someone who has great size, George Pickens. You have a
second round grade on him. He is six three. How
do you evaluate somebody like George Pickens, who played at
the end of this past season but missed the majority
of his final season at Georgia, knowing the raw traits
(21:46):
that he possesses, and knowing that the draft is about
traits as opposed to production for specific players. Now it
warms my heart to hear you say that trade server production.
That's that's what it is. That's that's all we're getting.
We're getting, we're learning. Uh. You know, it's Pickens in
(22:07):
a lot of ways that Derek Stingley of the offense
this year. You know, he had that amazing two as
a nineteen season as a true freshman, led George in
receiving Um, you know, it just had a really an
exciting breakout first year for the Bulldogs. You you got
really excited about what this guy is going to be. Uh,
you know, his second year is a little up and down,
(22:27):
and then this past year five catches. Uh you know,
basically missed the entire year because of that a c
L that he had at this time last year. So
there is definitely some some risk involved here and that's
why he's has a second round grade from me and
not a first round grade. But this guy has all
the makings of a number one wide receiver, big graceful athlete, uh,
(22:48):
you know, being like you mentioned the side six three
two pounds, but he runs a four four. Um. You
love the ball tracking skills, you love the fifty fifty balls, Uh,
he doesn't. He's so competitive up and down the field
with or without the football. I like I mentioned with
Christal Lave not being that big time after the catch
type of guy. That's something that we have to mention
(23:09):
with George Pickens as well. He was not a big
producer in terms of yak yak plays and that that's
a part of his game. But he is he has
all the ingredients to grow into an ex receiver if
continues to develop his route running and he continues to
return to that pre injury form, So, uh, Pickens, I
would not be surprised if he's not gonna that late
(23:30):
first because the abilities there, the talents there. It's all
about a team's appetite for risk and where they feel
comfortable taking a guy like like George Pickens. But I
also wouldn't be surprised if he's there in the early
second round. And maybe that's a direction the Jets look
if they don't go receiver with one of those first
two first round picks in top ten. All right, I
want to move on. I want to wrap up the
(23:52):
receiver talk, in particular with the Day three guy. Feels
like there's always somebody on Day three who a lot
of evaluators are like, you know what, I really like,
this guy is a prospect, but he's not a round one,
round two, or round three guy. He ends up going
in rounds four through seven. He ends up being pretty
productive as a player. Like one guy I'm thinking about
is as a recent fourth round pick to be a
(24:15):
relatively productive player for their team is Gabriel Davis with
the Bills. I don't remember what you thought of Gabriel
Davis when he was drafted, But I know that he
was drafted in the fourth round, obviously had a big
playoff game, big season for the Buffalo Bills. Who's a
guy that you think could be drafted on Day three
this year? You like his traits and you're saying, you
know what, in a couple of years, maybe this guy
(24:35):
does develop into a starting role or a significant role
for his team. Yeah, And I will say that I
do think the strength of this wide receiver class is
the first three rounds. I do think there's a little
bit of a drop off once you get to Day three.
It's not like I think, you know, and in some years,
wide receiver will stretch a little bit more where you
know in Day three you feel good about the death
(24:57):
and there's good there will be good players at the
receiver position draft at Day three, But I don't think
it stretches the depth overall as much as some of
these other positions, especially passed rusher and a few others.
But there are a few players that I like on
Day three, Danny Gray from SMU being one of those guys.
If there's a Darnell Moody in this class who the
Bears drafted day three uh two years ago and you
(25:18):
know turned out to be a starter, starting level uh
player for them. Danny Gray could be that type of
a type of guy this year. He has outstanding speed
four three speed. Uh. You love when you watch his tape.
He's making plays at every level of the field, so
he could be a catch and run guy. He can
win over the top track the football. You wish you
were a better finisher. Too many drops uh that that
(25:40):
you know really kind of uh, you know, frustrate you
when you watch this film. But when you can fly
like that, you've got that playmaking potential. Uh. And a
guy that's still learning, still still developing. I think that
you know, you feel like you're you're getting good value
there on day three with a guy like Danny Gray.
That makes sense if you're looking for more of a
quicker than fast lot option. Kyle Phillips out of u
(26:02):
c l A five eleven uh l U c l
A and received each of the last three years. Not
a burner by any means in the forty, but his
short area quickness is so so twitched twitched up with
the way his routes are. The footworkers are outstanding. If
you're looking for that underneath target, Kyle Phillips could be
that guy. What about if I stripped the position out
(26:25):
of the equation here? So to paint the picture. Last year,
the Jets drafted Michael Carter in the fourth round, the
running back out of U n C. By an early
point of the season, he was pretty much the team
starting running back, although they have a by committee approach.
So who are players? And I feel like the book
around Michael Carter was like, you know, he was a
very good player. He's gonna be a very good pro.
It'll be interesting to see where it goes, what kind
(26:47):
of production the hole have, especially given his size, ends
up being a very good player for the Jets, one
of their better players on offense in two thousand twenty one. So,
all that being said, who are some guys on Day three,
regardless of position offense or defens that you think could
be drafted and by an early point in their career
they could be seeing some valuable reps and could be
(27:07):
starting for their team as a rookie. Uh well, I
think why or the running back position this year is
so deep on Day three where you know we're gonna
see two running backs come off the board quick with
Breese Hall and Kenneth Walker. Maybe one or two could
sneak into Day two as well. But Day three, um,
we're gonna see so many of these guys fly off
(27:28):
the board, And because there's just such a volume of
running backs, it's inevitable there will be guys that are
six seventh round picks, maybe even p f A s
that in the right situation they will outplay where they
are drafted or signed as undrafted free agents. So, without
just saying a specific running back, I think the running
backs just in general this year, because it's so deep
(27:49):
on that third day, would not be surprised at all
if you have a few sleepers that end up being
productive this fall. In the NFL at corner, I think
it's there's a position where again it's just stop watch position.
A lot of guys that impressed that maybe weren't at
the Combine or weren't at some of these high profile
All Star games. One of those guys that comes to
minds durn Bland at a Fresno State six ft hundred
(28:10):
ninety seven pounds, ran in the mid four fours at
his pro day. When you have a guy that's long,
he's thirty two inch arms, it's fast for mid four
four speed and really really tough. That that that hits
a lot of boxes what you're looking for. So durn Bland,
Um at a Fresno State late rounds p f A
could be one of those guys that surprises and ends
up being uh maybe a little bit more and we
(28:32):
thought um and then at on the offensive line, I
think that uh at a San Diego State Zach Thomas.
You know, most people know about his brother Cameron Thomas,
the defensive end, probably gonna be a third round pick.
His brother Zach Thomas, who was a left tackle, really
athletic player, was a sub five second UH performer in
the forty yard dash. I like him best inside of guard.
(28:54):
But I think that you have something there where he's
gonna come in maybe be a sixth offensive lineman for you,
and then if he gets a chance to start because
of injury, he might not give that job back. So
I think Zach Thomas in the later rounds could be
end up being a sleeper as well. All right, well
you mentioned the word sleeper, So who are some of
like your favorite sleepers regardless of position. I'm thinking about
(29:17):
guys that we talked about last year. I remember specifically
you mentioning Jacob Harris Day three guys similar to what
we were just discussing. But they're like your guys not
necessarily doesn't need to be a deep position if they're
just guys that you're like, you know what, I really
think that this guy has a path in the NFL. Yeah,
I mean I always I think every year there's guys
like this, uh safety Percy Butler from Louisiana, UM fourth
(29:40):
three player, uh four three speed and you love the
special team's background. He's got that uh that that pedigree
that's going to keep him on a roster for a
long time. Um. You know, like I said, a wide receiver,
you know, maybe Tanner Conner from Idaho States, big time
track guy. He played track and he actually got a
(30:01):
track scholarship uh Titaho State first, and then he kind
of walked into the football office and said, hey, I
can I can play football too. They brought him on
and uh, you know, he's kind of blossom from there,
still coming along as a route runner. But we're talking
about a guy at six three to six and he
runs in the four fours. Uh, teams are gonna have
their eye on that. So I mean Tanner Conner fits
the bill. I think that makes a lot of sense. Um.
(30:24):
You know, every year there's ed dressers that I think
kind of pop and you think, okay, maybe not the
most refined player, but get him in the right situation,
he might have something here. One guy that fits that
is James Houston from Jackson State who was at Florida
for I think four years and never really could carve
out a starting job. Transfers to Jackson State first final
(30:45):
year and the production was just off the charts with
this guy tested really well. He's a little bit of
a tweener in terms of where you're playing him, as
he strictly an edge guy. Is he going to be
able to stand up and play off the ball at all?
So I think the big question with him is just
fit and the exact position that he's going to play.
But you watch the tape with with how we played
at Jackson State. You look at the production last year alone,
(31:08):
he has seven forced fumbles, uh twenty four and a
half tackles for a loss. So there's a lots of
like about the length, the heavy hands, the pursuit. So
James Houston and one of those guys that keep an
eye on in the later rounds. That is a great
way to wrap up this episode of NFL Draft Preview.
We are one week away from the NFL Draft. It's
(31:29):
almost here. Dane. Thanks a lot. We'll talk to you
next week, all right. Thanks to Athan
The New York Jet and are now on the board. Okay,
Jeff Durrell read this in New York has been one
of the greatest questions. Zack Smith Avenue ran that one
right now the New York Jet Fleck. Welcome to another
edition of NFL Draft Preview. Ethan Greenberg back in the saddle,
Dane Bruglers always we're really inching up to the draft, Dane.
(00:23):
Now that the Beast is in the world right, Like,
what is your day to day like right now compared
to what it was a couple of weeks ago. Uh, well,
now it's a lot of talking about the Beast and
everything that's in there, um and which which is you know,
a lot of fun kind of sharing everything just uh,
not just my opinion about what I think about the player,
but um, you know, it's fun for people to learn
(00:44):
more about each one of these guys, their background, uh,
you know, some of the interesting testing data from pro days,
things like that. So I get messages every single day like, oh,
I thought I knew everything about Garrett Wilson until I
read oh he had Division one best Schoball scholarship out
of high school. And so I received messages like that
every day and that's a lot of fun um and
(01:05):
then just you know, being able to talk about these guys.
And but I am getting to the point where, Okay,
I'm excited to start talking about how these guys fit
and not just trying to predict where they're going to fit. Yeah,
that makes a ton of sense before we talk about
the wide receivers. I'm glad you mentioned Garrett Wilson. Definitely
be talking about him. But I'm just curious your favorite
nugget from the your beast is what? And also do
(01:28):
you have any uh what was your favorite? I guess
would be saying I remember raw sushi was one that
we often talked about. What was your favorite saying there?
And do you have like what was the coolest fact
that you came across? Uh? Well, I'm I'm a twin
dad now, as you know, and I thought it was
pretty cool, uh, learning about all the twins. And it's
actually a triplet in there in this drife class as well.
(01:50):
Grant calcata Is is a triplet. But there's there's like
four or five twins and it's really interesting just to
kind of uh, you know, is there an older one younger,
one boy girl? Uh? You got a guy Alexion McCullum
at a sad Houston State who is a big time tester.
His twin brother who's a safety, also in this class,
(02:11):
and he tested pretty well at his pro day, which
you know you would you would expect being uh being
twins like that. So it is interesting learning the four
or five six that the number of guys in here
that are actually twins, and the in the one triplet
um at the one saying, uh, you know, I think
there are there's a few in there that I think
her fawn like Ikakwanu. I wrote in his Strength that
(02:36):
his controlled violence that he plays with anywhere else would
be a felony except the football field. Uh that's one
um Tyson Anderson Ago. Yeah, he's got a really extensive
special team's resume, and I said in the in His
Strength that it was longer than any lines at the
roller coasters at Cedar Point, trying to connect you know,
(02:56):
Toledo's close to Sandusky with the Cedar Point and so, uh,
you know I did a couple of those, uh you know,
try that fun with it for a few of these
guys in their reports. Absolutely I remember two of them
stick out to me from prior years, not raw sushi.
One was about Spencer Brown. He said that his uh,
his frame was that of a wide oak door. I
loved that one. The other one was a New York Jet. Actually,
(03:19):
Bryce Huff, he went undrafted out of Memphis, said he
was a ball of butcher knives, and so far, you know,
he has been that even though the production isn't maybe
necessarily what you thought it might have been, but he's
been a very productive player for the Jets. Went on
the field. All right, That was enough about the beast.
I'm sure we'll be referencing it throughout the course of
this podcast podcast to come, let's dive into wide receivers.
(03:40):
You mentioned Garrett Wilson, So he's your top wide receiver.
You have one, two, three, four, five first round grades
in terms of wide receivers. Garrett Wilson is at the
top of them. Why is he that your top rated
wide receiver? And how do you separate somebody like him
from Crystal Lave? What do they both offer on the field? Yeah,
and actually I think that the best way to talk
(04:01):
about these receivers is probably in tiers um and I
think for me, Garrett Wilson Jamison Williams, Drake London. Those
are my top three in that number one tier of
receivers and Wilson's at the top. And really it just
comes down to what he does before and after the
catch in terms of getting open, creating separation. Uh. He
does that very well now and you feel like he's
(04:24):
going to get better and better as a route runner
as he continues to develop. Not the biggest guy six
ft three, but the way he plays through contact, the
body control, Uh, so he can make contested catches, he
can make plays over defensive backs. Uh. He plays so
well through contact, and that's so key in the NFL
(04:44):
where these passing windows are so small. Uh. You know,
you have to be able to compensate in some way.
Some guys can do it with your strength, your size.
Garrett Wilson does it with focus and just this really
unique body control that he has. And I referenced earlier
just the basketball background, and that's that really shows um
and you expect that from maybe a guy like Drake London,
(05:05):
but with Garrett Wilson, I think that's a it's a
very understated part of his game. So the elite body
controlled the ball skills and when it all comes down
to it getting open before and after the catch. To me,
that's the big difference between him and especially guy like
Crystal Love a chrysal. Love is a very smooth player,
a very seasoned route runner, doesn't very doesn't give you
much after the catch, and you do worry about the
(05:27):
physicality aspect of things where Wilson's gonna play through contact
where a Love a you just don't necessarily see that
all the time. Now, Love is a very good player,
and you know there are strength of his game that
you think match up very well with what you're looking
for in the first round. But I think why I
prefer Wilson is just the ability after the catch and
the physicality at the catch point. Wilson ran a four
(05:50):
three eight forty in Indianapolis three nine. The speed between
those two guys outstanding, But do you think that that's
indicative of their play? And what I mean by that
is like, do you think Garrett Wilson when you're watching
him on film shows the four three hped more than
a Lave Because I feel like the book on those
two guys that Olave plays maybe a little faster at times.
(06:10):
In Wilson, Yeah, I think it'd be fair. I mean,
if you ask twenty people before the combine, who's gonna
rest run a faster forty Garrett Wilson or Crystal Lava,
I would say at least nineteen, if not all, twenty
would have told you O. Love probably has the edge
in terms of just pure straight line speed. UM. But
I don't think that uh in any way does that
(06:32):
you know, am I trying to say that Garrett Wilson
is slow or you know, does not have speed himself,
because he certainly does. And I think that it really
opened some eyes when he ran that fast of the combine. Uh,
And it showed that, you know, because of how he
was used. A Lava was more of that deep threat
in how to state offense, where Wilson consistently made plays
(06:53):
at every level of the field. Uh. Didn't make as
many deep plays as maybe Olave did, but short in
immediate catch and run type of plays. That's where you
really see that speed. Uh, not just the speed, but
the athleticism to decelerate on command to his release package,
that twitch that he plays with. You see the full
(07:15):
athleticism with with Garrett Wilson, with him as a route runner.
All right, Well, let's talk about Drake London. You mentioned
the basketball background. There's a very big component to Drake
London's game that feels like it stems directly from basketball
played for the Trojans first season or two. And with London,
he obviously has great size. He's six ft three and
I'm just trying to project a little bit here. When
(07:35):
you look at the Jets at ten, that's a popular
pick for a wide receiver to be taken off the
board and a lot of it. A lot of the
mock drafts have Drake London at number ten because of
his size, and you think about how he fits in
with what the Jets have already in terms of their
size with Elijah Moore, Braxon Barrios, Corey Davis. How important
was Drake London's pro day in terms of his evaluation
(07:57):
and and what do you make of the story line
that maybe Drake London isn't great at separating in terms
of his play overall? Yeah, I mean this is a
long range e uh player and you know all the
basketball clisches uh they fit, you know, playing above the rim,
boxing out defenders. He does that at a high level.
(08:18):
And so it's no surprise that he was a high
level basketball player. And and something that I think it's
intriguing with him is he's always been a two sport
athlete his entire life up until this past year. So
now that he can focus just on wide receiver, just
on the football related uh conditioning and training throughout the year,
how does that make him an even better player on
(08:41):
on game days. That That's something that I'm really interested
to find out With Drake London. I do think the
vertical separation is a question mark. He is not a
a Blazer. That's not That's a big difference between him
and you hear the Mike Evans comparison a lot. The
big difference is Mike Evans is a lot faster with
Drake London. You worry about that, the lack of vertical
accept uh separation. And you know he did chose not
(09:03):
to run the forty at his pro day. It was
great to see him out there running rolets, catching football
coming off an injury uh like he did with a
broken ankle. Great to see him back out there choosing
not to run the forty, saying my tape speaks for itself.
The translation is I'm just not that fast in the
forty and that's okay. I don't think anybody watches Drake
London's film and says, oh, this guy is a burner.
(09:23):
This is why we need to get him. No, it's
it's because of his ability to win at the catchpoint. Uh.
He does have flexibility, uh in his routes, I think
I do you do see him create pockets of separation
because he's not a he's a very tall player, but
he does have some sync to to uh the way
he sets up his cut, so he does have a
little bit of fluidity to his adjustments on the football.
(09:45):
So he's not just a big stiff guy out there.
This is a basketball athlete and you see that with
the way he goes after the football. So it's Drake
London is a very talented player. I think he's in
a lot of ways. You can look at him as
a traditional x I. He could be a big slot.
There's a lot of ways you could use Drake London
as being, uh, you know, someone that's gonna help you
(10:06):
move the chains and put points on the board. And
that's why he belongs in that top tier in my
opinion of the top receivers this year, I feel like
a lot of people who are listening to this, are
watching this might be like you just said, he doesn't
separate at the top of the routes. That's a red
flag for me just as a receiver because you need
to separate, whereas Garrett Wilson that's not the case. So
I know, you just laid at the reasons why you
(10:27):
think Drake London will be a good pro. But like,
what is the one thing that Drake London, like you
hang your hat on that. You're like, you know what,
that's why Drake London, if there was one thing, is
gonna be a good pro compared to some of these
other guys. Uh. It just to clarifyer is a little bit.
It's it's more of the vertical separation than anything else,
because there he will have some stock routes where he
(10:49):
can create some uh these these windows to work with.
It's more just that straight line speed getting deep. That's
where you see the lack of separation show the most.
I think when you look at Drink London, the ultimate
respect that you can give their wide receiver is when
you know where the football is going. Everybody in the stadium,
everybody's watching the game, they know where the football is
(11:11):
going going, and the defense can't they stay, can't do
anything about it. That is something that when you're watching
USC last year, that that's what you thought about. Everyone
knows where that ball is going, and the defense really
had no answer. Drink London average fifteen targets per game
last year. And I mean his his production if he
did not get hurt midway through the year, I think
it's Halloween weekend. If he had not gotten hurt, his
(11:34):
final season production would have been just astronomical. So um,
I think the fact that he can win at the catchpoint.
He's a bully, his focus, the ball skills are outstanding.
You just you trust him. He's a dependable player. Um,
And so I think all those things if you're looking
for you look at the Eagles and what they're looking for.
Maybe with Jalen Hurts Uh certainly the Jets with a
(11:55):
young quarterback looking to give him more of a possession threat.
But a guy that gives to a big catch radius,
that someone that can you know, you don't have to
be pinpoint accurate. He's gonna go get the football. It
makes a lot of sense. And so I think if
you're the Jets and Drake London ends up being the
pick there at number ten. You're feeling a lot better
about the development of your sophomore quarterback going into year two.
(12:18):
All right, how about Jamison Williams. I mean, we you
talked about Drake London not running the forty. We would
have loved to see what Jamison Williams would have run
in the forty our dash and you think about what
he did at Alabama and I'm just curious, Like when
when we were talking about Henry Ruggs a couple of
years ago, You're like, he's more than just a receiver.
I assume that's the same case for Williams. So what
(12:39):
does he offer outside of speed? Yeah, I mean you
hit on the high notes. He mean's a track sprinter.
He would have ran somewhere in the low four threes. Um.
I think that's that very very realistic based off of
watching him on film. UM. But this is not just
a track athlete out there. The way that he runs
his routes. Uh. He understands how to set up defenders,
(13:00):
whether it could be a double move. Uh. I mean
he can break off those ninety degree cuts on on
on digs, on outs. Um. And you know be able
to not lose that momentum, not lose that speed, uh
with with his footwork, so more than just the track
athlete out there, not the most natural hands catcher, but
makes natural justice on the football. Body control is there. Uh,
(13:24):
he has lengths so you can pull down throws, and
just the explosive ability to uh when he's out there,
he changes the defense. He changes how coverage is going
to look, regardless of he's going to get the target
or not. So, I mean, you you look at Alabama
last year. One of my favorite stats, as in the
entire Draft guide is of Alabama's eleven longest plays last season,
(13:48):
Jamison Williams was responsible for ten of them, which just
tells you how explosive this guy is when the ball
is in his hands. Um, and it's just it scares
the defense when he's out there. So uh that that
and then that changes how as an offense you're going
to attack the defense. He just he can do a
lot of things whether or not he's getting the ball
or not. So I think with Jamison Williams, a lot
(14:09):
of a lot of fans, not even Jets fans, just
fans in general that you're like, well, all right, with
Jamison Williams. If you have two first round picks, maybe
you could afford to use one on a guy like
Jamison Williams not knowing exactly when he'll be ready to
return to the field. Recently there was an interview where
he said his goal is to be ready by training camp.
He heard his or towards a c L in the
(14:29):
National Championship Game, which was around the new year. So
that would be a very quick recovery. But for the
Jets in particular where they're trying to build a culture,
the things are headed in the right direction. With the
tenth overall pick. Is that too rich for Jamison Williams
not knowing when he'd be ready to make an impact
on the field for your second year quarterback? Is there
(14:51):
a risk involves certainly, um, But I think you have
to trust the doctors, You trust your evaluation. If you
think Jamison Williams would be the most impactful, if you said,
just all, every receiver is available there at ten, no
receivers have been drafted yet. If you grade Jamison Williams
as being healthy, Jamison Williams as being the most impactful
receiver in this draft for your team and the doctors
(15:14):
give you two thumbs up and say, hey, you know
the knee is progressing well. Uh, you know, they can
give you a timeline say probably somewhere mid season he's
going to be uh you know, be be able to
get back out there and be close under percent you
draft him, I mean because it's not like if he
misses the first half of the season, it's not like
(15:34):
that's really going to change much for your long term Uh,
you know, outlook on this team. Ideally, yes, you have
your receiver in in minicamp and then training camp and
you know, developing that chemistry with the quarterback in the offense.
But again, it's a it's a long term play. You know,
the the Jets that they've they've got the long term
vision here and it's not just about what are you
(15:56):
gonna do for us right away. So if they view
Jamison Williams is being the most impactful guy of this group,
uh you know that that that's the direction they need
to go. What if you draft to, say, Garrett Wilson,
who's just you know, you say, your second highest graded player.
He injured his hamstring and he misses the first two
months of the season. All of a sudden. It would
have been the same as if you had Jamison Williams.
So draft the highest graded player. Uh, even as long
(16:19):
as the doctors signed off that that's a big variable,
big part of this. As long as the doctors are
on board, I think you move forward Jamison Williams. That's
a great argument right there. Let's talk about trailing Burke's
as your last first round graded wide receiver. Feel like
a lot of the comparisons right now, particularly in the
Jets Twitter world. He's like, well, he could be your
(16:39):
Deebo Samuel, He's bigger. You could do a lot of reverses.
I understand that there's only one Deebo Samuel who exists
on this planet. But in terms of trailing Burks, you
see the size six to four or five five forty,
not blazing speed, But what does he offer not in
that role? Like what is he offered strictly as a
wide receiver that makes him a first round caliber prospect.
(17:03):
There's definitely projection involved with trailing Burke's because of the
way Arkansas used him in their offense. I mean, basically
he was the offense at Arkansas. He was the most
talented player in the field and smartly. The Arkansas offense
did whatever they could to get the ball in his hands.
Sometimes that meant manufacturing touches by putting him in the backfield,
keeping him in the slot, quick hitters, I mean, just
(17:24):
doing all these things to get him the football and
get him going. Nobody in the SEC had more plays
of twenty plus yards last season than Trail and Burkes. Uh,
And I think that it wasn't just uh, you know,
these screens and these dump offs and and you know,
him trying to create with the ball in his hands.
He certainly did that quite a bit. But even on
deep throws. I mean he he had eighteen targets of
(17:47):
at least twenty yards down the field last season, zero drops.
So this is a player that has, I think all
the ability to be a true X, all the ability
to be a three level playmaker for your offense, but
he's never really faced pressed before. Uh. You know, his
route running needs to expand, and just in terms if
you're gonna be a true ex receiver. So there's a
(18:08):
lot of things that with him that are projection based
and not necessarily that you can put on tape and say, yeah,
he could definitely do this or definitely do that. So
I think with Traylor Burk's it's it's excited. You get
excited when you think about what he is and what
he could be. But there is a little bit more
of a level of risk with him and that's something
that not every team in the top twenty is going
(18:29):
to be on board with that type of risk. So
those are your first round receivers. Is there one match
for what the Jets specifically have in their wide receiver
room Corey Davis, Elijah More, Braxton Barrios among those in
the room, Zach Wilson entering year two? Is there one
fit you like more than another? Obviously we know that
(18:50):
Garrett Wilson is in that top tier and he's at
the top of that top tier for you, So is
that the is your instinct just to say, well, he's
the best one in my opinion? Jets looking for receiver,
Possibly that's the match or is there a next layer
where you're like, maybe you like the size of Drake
London a little more than Garrett Wilson, therefore you think
he's a bigger fit. You like Jamison Williams speed. In
terms of the offense that Mike Lafour runs like, what,
(19:14):
what's your mind? What's going through your mind as you
try to make a comparison or a projection for the
Jets Here, I think I can make an easy argument
for why Drake London would be uh maybe the the
ideal fit there. Um. I also think I could make
an argument for Jamison Williams. But for me personally, I'm
going with the guy that I created as the best
(19:35):
receiver in this draft, and that's Garrett Wilson. Um. I
think you know, is still a young player, still growing,
still developing, and you know you're excited about what he
can mean for your offense. He wish you were a
little bit bigger. You wish he had a little more
size to him. There's no question about that. But he
plays so big and and the final line of his
report and this is something after watching uh, you know,
(19:55):
I probably watched eleven of his game tapes last year.
Watching all these games tape, something that kept coming back
to me, kept coming back to me. He makes a
playbook come alive. I mean he really is uh. He
he makes that offense go, and I mean that Ohio
State offense is just uh spoiled with talent and a
lot of guys going back, it's gonna be more of
the same next year. But Garrett Wilson, especially when he
(20:18):
was out there, just it seemed like something big was
about to happen with his ability. So I'm sticking with
Garrett Wilson as being that ideal fit. But again, I
think that you could make the argument for Drake London
or even Jamis ci Williams and why they should be
the pick as well. I think we're talking about splitting
hairs in more preference than you know, pure uh, you know,
fact why one player is better than the other. Here,
(20:41):
It'll be very interesting to see what happens as the
board shakes out. Do you think before we move on
to day two and day three, do you think that
there will be a receiver off the board by the
time the Jets elect at ten? Or you think that
if the Jets wanted to go in that direction, they'd
have their pick of the letter. I said, it's about
uh and you look at the Falcons at eight, Um,
you know you could see a team uh, you know,
(21:03):
maybe trading up a few spots. So right now I
would say it's fifty fifty, But um, there's that's still
a pretty good chance that the Jets will have their
choice of you know, whichever receiver they want there at
number ten. Alright, moving on to day two, of the
Jets have picks thirty five and thirty eight. We've talked
about John Dobson before as a potential option for the Jets. Specifically.
You love his catch radius, even though it made sound
(21:25):
counterintuitive despite his size. I wanted to ask you about
someone who has great size, George Pickens. You have a
second round grade on him. He is six three. How
do you evaluate somebody like George Pickens, who played at
the end of this past season but missed the majority
of his final season at Georgia, knowing the raw traits
(21:46):
that he possesses, and knowing that the draft is about
traits as opposed to production for specific players. Now it
warms my heart to hear you say that trade server production.
That's that's what it is. That's that's all we're getting.
We're getting, we're learning. Uh. You know, it's Pickens in
(22:07):
a lot of ways that Derek Stingley of the offense
this year. You know, he had that amazing two as
a nineteen season as a true freshman, led George in
receiving Um, you know, it just had a really an
exciting breakout first year for the Bulldogs. You you got
really excited about what this guy is going to be. Uh,
you know, his second year is a little up and down,
(22:27):
and then this past year five catches. Uh you know,
basically missed the entire year because of that a c
L that he had at this time last year. So
there is definitely some some risk involved here and that's
why he's has a second round grade from me and
not a first round grade. But this guy has all
the makings of a number one wide receiver, big graceful athlete, uh,
(22:48):
you know, being like you mentioned the side six three
two pounds, but he runs a four four. Um. You
love the ball tracking skills, you love the fifty fifty balls, Uh,
he doesn't. He's so competitive up and down the field
with or without the football. I like I mentioned with
Christal Lave not being that big time after the catch
type of guy. That's something that we have to mention
(23:09):
with George Pickens as well. He was not a big
producer in terms of yak yak plays and that that's
a part of his game. But he is he has
all the ingredients to grow into an ex receiver if
continues to develop his route running and he continues to
return to that pre injury form, So, uh, Pickens, I
would not be surprised if he's not gonna that late
(23:30):
first because the abilities there, the talents there. It's all
about a team's appetite for risk and where they feel
comfortable taking a guy like like George Pickens. But I
also wouldn't be surprised if he's there in the early
second round. And maybe that's a direction the Jets look
if they don't go receiver with one of those first
two first round picks in top ten. All right, I
want to move on. I want to wrap up the
(23:52):
receiver talk, in particular with the Day three guy. Feels
like there's always somebody on Day three who a lot
of evaluators are like, you know what, I really like,
this guy is a prospect, but he's not a round one,
round two, or round three guy. He ends up going
in rounds four through seven. He ends up being pretty
productive as a player. Like one guy I'm thinking about
is as a recent fourth round pick to be a
(24:15):
relatively productive player for their team is Gabriel Davis with
the Bills. I don't remember what you thought of Gabriel
Davis when he was drafted, But I know that he
was drafted in the fourth round, obviously had a big
playoff game, big season for the Buffalo Bills. Who's a
guy that you think could be drafted on Day three
this year? You like his traits and you're saying, you
know what, in a couple of years, maybe this guy
(24:35):
does develop into a starting role or a significant role
for his team. Yeah, And I will say that I
do think the strength of this wide receiver class is
the first three rounds. I do think there's a little
bit of a drop off once you get to Day three.
It's not like I think, you know, and in some years,
wide receiver will stretch a little bit more where you
know in Day three you feel good about the death
(24:57):
and there's good there will be good players at the
receiver position draft at Day three, But I don't think
it stretches the depth overall as much as some of
these other positions, especially passed rusher and a few others.
But there are a few players that I like on
Day three, Danny Gray from SMU being one of those guys.
If there's a Darnell Moody in this class who the
Bears drafted day three uh two years ago and you
(25:18):
know turned out to be a starter, starting level uh
player for them. Danny Gray could be that type of
a type of guy this year. He has outstanding speed
four three speed. Uh. You love when you watch his tape.
He's making plays at every level of the field, so
he could be a catch and run guy. He can
win over the top track the football. You wish you
were a better finisher. Too many drops uh that that
(25:40):
you know really kind of uh, you know, frustrate you
when you watch this film. But when you can fly
like that, you've got that playmaking potential. Uh. And a
guy that's still learning, still still developing. I think that
you know, you feel like you're you're getting good value
there on day three with a guy like Danny Gray.
That makes sense if you're looking for more of a
quicker than fast lot option. Kyle Phillips out of u
(26:02):
c l A five eleven uh l U c l
A and received each of the last three years. Not
a burner by any means in the forty, but his
short area quickness is so so twitched twitched up with
the way his routes are. The footworkers are outstanding. If
you're looking for that underneath target, Kyle Phillips could be
that guy. What about if I stripped the position out
(26:25):
of the equation here? So to paint the picture. Last year,
the Jets drafted Michael Carter in the fourth round, the
running back out of U n C. By an early
point of the season, he was pretty much the team
starting running back, although they have a by committee approach.
So who are players? And I feel like the book
around Michael Carter was like, you know, he was a
very good player. He's gonna be a very good pro.
It'll be interesting to see where it goes, what kind
(26:47):
of production the hole have, especially given his size, ends
up being a very good player for the Jets, one
of their better players on offense in two thousand twenty one. So,
all that being said, who are some guys on Day three,
regardless of position offense or defens that you think could
be drafted and by an early point in their career
they could be seeing some valuable reps and could be
(27:07):
starting for their team as a rookie. Uh well, I
think why or the running back position this year is
so deep on Day three where you know we're gonna
see two running backs come off the board quick with
Breese Hall and Kenneth Walker. Maybe one or two could
sneak into Day two as well. But Day three, um,
we're gonna see so many of these guys fly off
(27:28):
the board, And because there's just such a volume of
running backs, it's inevitable there will be guys that are
six seventh round picks, maybe even p f A s
that in the right situation they will outplay where they
are drafted or signed as undrafted free agents. So, without
just saying a specific running back, I think the running
backs just in general this year, because it's so deep
(27:49):
on that third day, would not be surprised at all
if you have a few sleepers that end up being
productive this fall. In the NFL at corner, I think
it's there's a position where again it's just stop watch position.
A lot of guys that impressed that maybe weren't at
the Combine or weren't at some of these high profile
All Star games. One of those guys that comes to
minds durn Bland at a Fresno State six ft hundred
(28:10):
ninety seven pounds, ran in the mid four fours at
his pro day. When you have a guy that's long,
he's thirty two inch arms, it's fast for mid four
four speed and really really tough. That that that hits
a lot of boxes what you're looking for. So durn Bland,
Um at a Fresno State late rounds p f A
could be one of those guys that surprises and ends
up being uh maybe a little bit more and we
(28:32):
thought um and then at on the offensive line, I
think that uh at a San Diego State Zach Thomas.
You know, most people know about his brother Cameron Thomas,
the defensive end, probably gonna be a third round pick.
His brother Zach Thomas, who was a left tackle, really
athletic player, was a sub five second UH performer in
the forty yard dash. I like him best inside of guard.
(28:54):
But I think that you have something there where he's
gonna come in maybe be a sixth offensive lineman for you,
and then if he gets a chance to start because
of injury, he might not give that job back. So
I think Zach Thomas in the later rounds could be
end up being a sleeper as well. All right, well
you mentioned the word sleeper, So who are some of
like your favorite sleepers regardless of position. I'm thinking about
(29:17):
guys that we talked about last year. I remember specifically
you mentioning Jacob Harris Day three guys similar to what
we were just discussing. But they're like your guys not
necessarily doesn't need to be a deep position if they're
just guys that you're like, you know what, I really
think that this guy has a path in the NFL. Yeah,
I mean I always I think every year there's guys
like this, uh safety Percy Butler from Louisiana, UM fourth
(29:40):
three player, uh four three speed and you love the
special team's background. He's got that uh that that pedigree
that's going to keep him on a roster for a
long time. Um. You know, like I said, a wide receiver,
you know, maybe Tanner Conner from Idaho States, big time
track guy. He played track and he actually got a
(30:01):
track scholarship uh Titaho State first, and then he kind
of walked into the football office and said, hey, I
can I can play football too. They brought him on
and uh, you know, he's kind of blossom from there,
still coming along as a route runner. But we're talking
about a guy at six three to six and he
runs in the four fours. Uh, teams are gonna have
their eye on that. So I mean Tanner Conner fits
the bill. I think that makes a lot of sense. Um.
(30:24):
You know, every year there's ed dressers that I think
kind of pop and you think, okay, maybe not the
most refined player, but get him in the right situation,
he might have something here. One guy that fits that
is James Houston from Jackson State who was at Florida
for I think four years and never really could carve
out a starting job. Transfers to Jackson State first final
(30:45):
year and the production was just off the charts with
this guy tested really well. He's a little bit of
a tweener in terms of where you're playing him, as
he strictly an edge guy. Is he going to be
able to stand up and play off the ball at all?
So I think the big question with him is just
fit and the exact position that he's going to play.
But you watch the tape with with how we played
at Jackson State. You look at the production last year alone,
(31:08):
he has seven forced fumbles, uh twenty four and a
half tackles for a loss. So there's a lots of
like about the length, the heavy hands, the pursuit. So
James Houston and one of those guys that keep an
eye on in the later rounds. That is a great
way to wrap up this episode of NFL Draft Preview.
We are one week away from the NFL Draft. It's
(31:29):
almost here. Dane. Thanks a lot. We'll talk to you
next week, all right. Thanks to Athan
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