April 14, 2022 • 34 mins
It's Episode 11 of the Draft Preview Podcast as fill-in Host Eric Allen and Dane Brugler talk about the release of Dane's draft guide, "The Beast" (2:00). They shift the focus to cornerbacks as Dane gives his perspective on how many could be drafted in the first round (3:05). Dane then dishes on Cincinnati's Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner (4:30), LSU's Derek Stingley (14:35) and Washington's Trent McDuffie and Kyler Gordon (17:40). They also discuss the son of former Jets safety Abe Elam, Florida's Kaiir Elam (21:45), the scheme fit of Clemson CB Andrew Booth (23:40) and the production of Auburn's Roger McCreary (25:55). Lastly, they break down a pair of speedy prospects in Houston's Marcus Jones (27:35) and USTA's Tariq Woolen (29:15).
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
The New York get are now on the board. Jeff
Darrell read this in New York has been one of
the greatest questions. Jack s Fifth Avenue ran that one
right now, the New York Get Fleck. Welcome to another
episode of the NFL Draft Preview. I'm Eric Allen, joined
(00:21):
by the Athletics Dane Brogler. Dane, we got some good news,
we got some bad news. It's the same bit of
news Ethan Greenberg stone in Hawaii. The good news is Ethan, right,
I mean, that's yeah, that's not a bad place to
be right now this time of yere Oh my god,
we're so jealous. Um, but springs around the corner. Hope
(00:44):
is eternal. Especially for the Jets fourth and tenth elections.
In this draft, four picks in the top thirty eight,
I think this fan base is really wrapped up for
what is going to be a fascinating draft, don't you think, Oh,
there's no question. I mean, this is a This is
a pivotal draft for a lot of teams, and Jets
being one of them. When you have to top ten picks,
(01:07):
and especially with uh, you know the current state of
this roster. You have a quarterback coming into a sophomore
year in the NFL. You've got uh, you know, head
coaching general manager that uh you know, this is this
is where you really need to build that roster and
get some core pieces to what you're building, both with
your culture, both with the on field product. So this
is this is a pivotal draft for for this franchise. Uh.
(01:30):
And so it's gonna be fascinating that they can go
in so many different directions. UH, one of them being
the position we'll talk about today, and that's corner. Oh man,
you set it up perfectly. First off, I wanted to
ask if you've got any rest over the weekend. The
Beast is out. Your draft guide, the Labor of Love
is uh tremendous read. And if you are into the
(01:51):
two thousand two NFL draft, as everybody in Jets Nation is,
this is a must. Yeah. No, the feedback has been
just tremendous. Three thousand words. Uh, And I try to
be very concise. It's not something I try to be worthy,
but I feel like the NFL draft at all, zero
percent chance you'll be disappointed. Uh. Testing data at the
(02:12):
athletic testing data for se players are in there. No
other draft guide has that, I promise four reports, just
a lot of background info that helps paint a picture.
Uh you know where these guys, uh you know are
coming from, where they're headed, that type of deal. So
it's something that very very proud of. And uh, the
feedback has been spen so much, it's so awesome. It's
(02:34):
so fun to hear from everybody. So hopefully people check
it out. All you need your Athletic subscription and it's
automatically included with that subscription. All right, we salute you.
If you're looking at the guide right now, go to
page two hundred because that's where we're at. We are
at the cornerbacks. I want to start with this. How
many corners do you think should be taken in the
(02:56):
first round? And ultimately how many cornerbacks do you think
we'll be taking in the first round? Um? Should I
think it? It's you're probably looking at three to four.
UM will probably looking at three to four as well.
The interesting thing will be with some of these guys,
you know, three guys we're gonna see definitely in the
first round with a mod Sauce Gardener from Cincinnati, Trent
(03:19):
McDuffie from Washington, and then Derek Stingley from l s
U and whichever order it ends up being, all three
of those players should be off the board somewhere in
the top twenty picks. Then in the last ten to
twelve picks of the first round, do we see another
corner get in there? And if we do, which one,
maybe we see two more get in there. That's very possible.
I think Andrew Booth from Clemson is a really talented player,
(03:41):
but he's dealing with injuries right now, has not been
able to work out this pre draft process because of
multiple surgeries hernia surgery, uh, you know, working his way
back from that. That's enough that could push him into
the second round, even though I think most teams view
him as a first round talent. Uh. And then you've
got guys like kier Elam from Florida, big physical corner,
ran A four three. There's a lot of things that
(04:03):
like you like about him translating to the next level.
Kyler Gordon from Washington is probably more of a second
round graded player, but corners it's one of those premium positions.
So I don't think it'd be surprising at all if
maybe he gets pushed up a little bit into the
back half around one. So we're gonna see three corners
in the first round top twenty. It's just how many
(04:23):
do we see in those final ten of twelve picks
that definitely could see one or two more in this
two thousand draft class. Is a mod sauce gardener worthy
of a top five selection. I think you can easily
make that argument. Um six two and three quarters a
hundred and ninety pounds. Uh. He did. He did one
drill UH this entire pre draft process at the combine
(04:45):
and then at his pro day. UH, didn't do the
three cone, didn't do any jumps, just to just the
forty year adapt and he ran a four or four one,
which is pretty impressive at that size. Uh. The confidence
level that he plays with is tremendous. Uh. There's a
lot to like about just what he put on film
and the fact that teams didn't go after him. Uh,
(05:05):
And that kind of made it difficult at first when
you're evaluating him, because you didn't see a lot of
those one on one matchups. You didn't see him go
up against some of these top tier receivers, and so
it's a little bit of a slow burn. And then
by the time you get through all this tape, you're
just you're like, okay, well, you know, why, what's not
to like about this guy? So you know it's a
little long legged and there are times where he'll get
out of control a little bit, But I mean we're
(05:25):
nit picking at that point. Mod Gardner one of the
better players in this draft and a guy you can
forecast coming into your locker room. Uh, you know immediately
uh making an impact. I was talking to someone that
uh it trains with a Mod Gardener and he was saying,
how you know, there's a couple of corners altogether, uh
working out and the cornerback room was very quiet. You know,
(05:47):
they're just doing their workouts things like that. Uh. Mod
Gardner was a week or two late because Cincinnati played
so deep into into the playoffs into the season this
past year, so he was a week or too late
going to training one upon Gardner showed up. It's like
the temperature in the room just skyrocketed every all of
a sudden. It's energetic. Everyone's uh, you know, getting on
(06:08):
each other and having fun. And that that's kind of
how what he does and that's his personality, that's how
he plays that. That's how he carries himself, and I
think a lot of teams will look at that as
a as a as a positive for what he could
bring to the locker room. So Mad Guarter would not
be surprised if he ends up being a top five
pick in this draft. How does a guy go from
being the number A hundred and sixty three cornerback and
(06:29):
the two thousand nineteen recruiting class to one of the
top players selected in the draft? Yeah, when this is
a perfect uh you know, way to you know, kind
of flex the muscles of the draft guy, because that's
you know, the background info kind of tells you, uh
tells you that story. Uh you know, he's he's a
guy that was a smaller player early in his high
(06:50):
school years five eight hundred and forty pounds as a
freshman and sophomore, so he was late to move up
the varsity. Didn't move up the varsity until his junior year,
and he was really mostly a received either at that point.
It wasn't until halfway through the year when a teammate
broke his jaw that they moved in the corner. And
then as a senior that's really when he became this
go to two way player, uh you know, led his
(07:11):
uh led us high school Martin Luther King High School
in Detroit, led him to the D three state championship
there and all of a sudden, uh you know, maud Gardner,
it's like a team, just a college programs to starting
to realize this guy's pretty legit, and a few uh
you know, uh Power five teams looked at him. But
he really liked the opportunity at Cincinnati what they were
(07:32):
they were telling him, and the opportunity to play right away,
uh in in in in that defense, and so he
went to became a Bearcat with Luke Fickle and the
rest is history. Three year starter had at least three
interceptions each of the last three years, turned himself into
a first round pick. Can you talk about how teams
did start avoiding him, like you have some great numbers
(07:54):
in terms of the targets last year where at the
college level you don't see that too whaw been, but
he was getting It was almost like it was dereal
rivas treatment on the college level, That's exactly it. And
you know, talking to coaches, uh that went up against Cincinnati,
it's kind of picked your poison because Kobe Bryant on
(08:15):
the other side, a pretty good corner himself. When the
Jim Thorpe Award this past year, and I think teams
going after Bryant, Uh, that's what really won him the award,
because Bryant stepped up to the plate and uh, you
know answered in a big way. But opponents, uh, they
just stayed stayed away from him because they thought, you know, well, well,
you know, pick our poison, all right, we'll go with
the We'll go with Bryant, the lesser talented of the two. Uh.
(08:36):
And it ended up with Gardner seeing only eleven percent
of the targets this past year in one did not
allow a single touchdown over his career. We're talking about
over coverage snaps, which is just a tremendous, tremendous stat
that you're just not gonna see very often. Um So
consensus all American did it on tape. You know he's
(08:58):
he's a sticky, bump and run guy. But you also think, okay,
he could play some zone, he could play man. Uh.
You know, Cincinnati, they haven't produced a first round pick
uh in over forty years. But a good chance that
changes here in a few weeks. Robert Sale always says
about his cornerbacks, Hey, can you take a man on
(09:18):
third down? Can you play man to man on third down?
And this guy fits that description, doesn't he He does,
There's no question. And I think that's Robert Sala and
their coaching staff. They're really going to like sauce Gardner.
I think the biggest thing for the Jets will be
maybe just philosophical. If we're looking at the number four
or pick, and let's just say for argument's sake, that
(09:40):
sauce Gardner is not gonna make it a tent, you know,
whether he goes seven to the Giants or nine to Seahawks.
Uh So, if the Jets want him, they have to
take at number four. But say there's a really talented
pass rusher as available, the coaching staff, the general manager,
Joe Douglas. It comes down the philosophy. What's more valuable
to them another pass rusher to the mix, adding a
(10:02):
talented corner And that's something where in the past, I think,
you know, the history would tell us that maybe they
would lean pass rusher. But this draft, with the way
things shake out, could they maybe buck that trend and
go with the long, speedy, shutdown corner I think a
guy like Sauce Gardner is really gonna make him think
about it. It's all connected here. Do you think as
(10:26):
the draft approaches now in two weeks, do you think
we're gonna see that mini run on? I just I
know there's gonna be a lot of I just taking
into this draft. We've been talking about that for months.
But from one through three, do you think we're gonna
see a run on adges early? I think there's a
very good chance that we'll see two and the first
three picks, um, whether you Travon Walker, Aidan Hudginson, those
(10:48):
two players, I think there's a very good chance that
one will be the first overall pick, likely Aidan Hutchinson,
but don't count Travon Walker as a as a sneaky
dark horse to be that top pick. And then the
Lions at two, and it's Texas at three. I think
that there's a good chance that whoever doesn't go one
will end up going two or three. And then you
know the Jets are sitting there at four looking at Okay,
(11:08):
Cavon Tibodeaux. You know what he could mean to our defense?
Uh if they want to go that direction? Um and
so it's there's plenty of options here with the Jets,
and where where do they want to address? How high grades?
Because really, when you're picking top ten, it's less about
need and more about let's just get the best player.
And so you know the Jets on their draft board,
(11:29):
who's higher, who who's stacked on top of one another?
When you talk about Cavon Thibodeaux or Sauce Gardener or
Jermaine Johnson or some of these other players, Uh, it's
something that that it's almost a good problem to have
because these are all googly good players that should help
the Jets. Uh Jets roster immediately. Do you envision any
scenario You talked about it a little bit before you
(11:50):
alluded to it, but do you envision any scenario where
he does get the ten Gardner I'd be pretty surprised. Um.
I think there's too many land mines between four and
ten and where he could potentially go. I think the Giants,
uh picking at five and seven have having two bites
at the apple there. I think that that that's what
something they'd really like to do. And I also think
(12:11):
we have the factor in that once if he did
get past say seven, Um, there's gonna be teams wanted
to get out of there. Caroline at six, Atlanta at
a Seattle at nine. They'd all love to trade back
a few spots. And meanwhile, there are some teams and
the teens that would, you know, maybe look to jump
up into the top ten to get a Sauce Gardner.
So I think the likelihood is very low that Gardner
(12:34):
would get to ten. Not im possible, it's certainly possible,
but I think the chances are pretty low that he
would make it that far. The way you talk about
this guy, he's all about the bright lights, right, Like
this guy would be a perfect fit in New York.
The personality, there's no doubt about it. I mean, he
he really uh you know, that's the sauce nickname is
(12:56):
something that was given to him back in peewee football
by his youth coach when he's six years old. Uh,
just because you know, he had the sauce, and it's
something that has really defined him and he loves it.
He embraces it. Uh. It's something that uh, you know,
I think you're exactly right going to a market like
New York. Uh, and he would eat it up and
it wouldn't be too big for him. Sometimes we know,
(13:17):
you know, the bright lights, the big stage that can
eat up some players and they're just they're not equipped
to handle both the football side and off the field.
Sauce Gardener is not that guy. He he would more
than be ready, uh to handle both both sides. And
I think you do a pretty good job of both. Yeah.
I think it's a fascinating dynamic this year because you
(13:38):
have each New York team with a pair of top
ten picks, So that means four of those top ten
picks are owned by New York teams if they don't
get out, So a lot of these guys that we're
talking about could be either or either they wind up
wearing green and white or big blue, no doubt. And
I think that you look at a guy like cave
(14:00):
On Thibodeau, who uh you know, we know is uh,
you know, he the off field stuff in terms of
his brand, in terms of you know, he wants to uh,
you know, be more than just football. And you know
that's that's fine as long as you're taking care of
your responsibilities on the football field. But a place like
New York would certainly help him do that. And so
(14:21):
that's an interesting fit whether it would be with the
Jets or with the Giants. And there are a few
of those players. Uh, so it's uh, we're gonna be
really interesting with the top ten. When you have four
players potentially headed in New York. That's just an interesting dynamic. Uh.
You know, you just don't see very often when Derek
Stangley is healthy and available. What does he bring to
the table. Yeah, I mean we could go back to
(14:44):
that freshman All American season had in two as in
nineteen and I mean he was lights out. We talked
about how uh you know, teams stayed away from Sauce
Gardner went towards the other side. That's how it was.
And as a nineteen teams stayed away from one side.
They went after the freshman. Know Derek Stingley did was
answer in a big way and put himself on the
NFL map. He had over twenty passes defended that year,
(15:06):
six interceptions. Um. I don't think we have any questions
about Derek Stingley and what he did into as nineteen,
the questions are okay the past two years did he
regress as a player? Uh? The durability is something that
teams are gonna factor in and not just the durability,
but is this a guy that's gonna be willing to
play through injuries. Um, that's something that teams will really
(15:26):
uh you know, talk to Stingly about and try to
get to the bottom of it. Talked to his college coaches,
uh and figure out. Okay, does see how the toughness
that you need to play NFL football that uh, you know,
a simple injuries not gonna knock you out. So with
a guy like Derek Stingley, he did have the foot
surgery this past year and talking to him, he said
it was the first surgery in his life. So this
(15:47):
isn't a guy that's been hurt, you know, constantly over
his career, but it is something that teams are are
looking at. And uh, it was good that Derek was
able to get back onto the field first Pro day,
just to show that he's you know, moving around. Okay
ran in a low four fours in a forty yard dash,
which pretty good time at you know, a guy that's
over six ft a hundred ninety pounds jumped really well,
(16:07):
had under seven seconds in the three cone. So with
Derek Stingley, uh, you know, it's it's easy to uh
look at you know, some of the concerns based off
of you know, he missed more games the last two
years than he played. That's obviously not ideal. But when
you focus on the talent and what he could be
in the NFL, that gets you excited and why there's
still a chance he goes top ten. Yeah. That ball
(16:29):
production of freshman year was off the charts, and that
is at l s U, in the top conference in
the country. Stingley's got good bloodlines, doesn't he. He certainly does.
I mean his dad played football mostly uh, you know,
on the uh you know, semipro side arena leagues. But
his grandfather, Darryl, he was a former first round pick
(16:51):
out of per Due, played for the New England Patriots. Uh.
And you know there's a sad story with him. You know,
took a hit. He's a wide receiver, took a hit
in a preseason game. Uh and you know, became a
quadriplegic because of a nick injury. So uh, you know it.
But it's something that uh, you know Derek uh and
his dad, Uh, they don't run from you know, they
still embrace football as kind of they're they're driving force
(17:14):
and what they what they really enjoy. So, uh, he
comes from a football family. It's what he's dreamed of
doing his entire life, and uh, you know, pretty soon
here he's gonna have a chance to do it at
the highest level. UNS You in Washington, I would say,
are the two schools in the country who could refer
to themselves as DBU. What can you say about the
two Husky prospects that probably are going to find themselves
(17:39):
here in their name called and rounds one and possibly too. Yeah,
and I'd probably throw Ohio State in there. Those three
t those three programs, they it's pretty impressive what they've done,
especially lately. But Washington, you almost have to put them
at the top. With the defensive backs they've produced. It's
it's really impressive. This year could have two first round
picks at corner. Try McDuffie's one of my favorite players
(18:01):
in this draft. He's actually my number two corner behind Sauce,
and it really stems from just how bright he is
as a as a coverage player. Talking to trent Um,
you know, and going through coverages with him and hearing
him break down every responsibility of every single player on
the defense, how he communicates, how he based off of
(18:22):
tells on the offense. How that's going to change things.
How okay, this receiver's in motion. Okay, we all of
a sudden, I'm going from uh, you know this this
cover three look to uh, you know press man look
and and all these different things. So Trent's intelligence, I
think is something that really sets him apart. Really impressed me.
Also tested well, another guy low four fours in the
(18:43):
forty yard dash. The jumps were great. Not the biggest guy,
and that's the biggest knock on him. Uh, five eleven
but under thirty in arms. Uh, that's something that will
be be a problem for a lot of teams that
really value length at the cornerback position. But Trent mcduffy
is an awesome player. That's why we're talking about him
as a twenty pick. Can play any coverage that you want,
really good one defender, UM, a really smart player. Like
(19:06):
I said, so, the athleticism, the football i Q, his
ability to play different techniques, that's something that's going to
shoot him to the top two of a lot of
draft boards. And then his teammate Kyler Gordon, who maybe
you know is not as technically proficient, but a guy
that has uh, you know, an interesting background in martial
(19:27):
arts and dancing, uh is really it really kind of
developed his athleticism at a young age and it shows
he had a three cone that was six six seven,
which is a remarkable remarkable anything under seven seconds is outstanding.
If you're getting under six seven, that is a remarkable time.
He also had under four seconds in a short shuttle,
which is which is terrific. Um. He's still kind of
(19:49):
you know, blossoming at the position in terms of his awareness,
in terms of his instincts, but you feel like you're
maybe buying low on Kyler Gordon and thinking, Okay, the
guy that he's going to turn into throughout his rookie
contract is what gets us excited. And that's why Gordon
late one, early two probably where he comes off the board,
do you have McDuffie and stingly close and do you
(20:11):
voulte McDuffie ahead in this situation, in this circumstance because
of the durability availability in college, that's certainly a factor, um,
you know, and it's one of those things where you
wish McDuffie was longer um with how he played, but
you know Stingley had. Stingley's arms are one inch exactly
(20:32):
one inch longer than Trent mcduffee. So it's like, okay,
is that one inch? Is that enough? Because with McDuffie,
you love everything else, Like I said, you love the
football smarts, Uh, you love the you know, the football
character that he plays with, really fluid player speed is there.
Uh you know, teams stayed away from him because they
know going against Trent McDuffie is you know, not something
(20:55):
that's gonna end with a positive result more often than not.
So um, I think with McDuffie, I leaned towards him
over Stingley. And I do think that if we're talking
about let's just flip flop Derek Stingley's she has a
nineteen season and one season, so he had this All
American uh season as a junior. All of a sudden,
(21:16):
Stingley's he might be the top corner in this draft
over Sauce Gardener. Even because that that one year was
so amazing that that gets you excited, but because it
was back into the nineteen it gives you, you know
a little bit of a pause and it makes you, uh,
you know, doubt creeps into your mind a little bit. Um,
But I do have them rated pretty closely. I just
(21:38):
I do give Trent McDuffie the edge, even though he
doesn't have the size factor. Alright, So Jessmans might remember
abe Elam he played for the Green and White. Now
his son is a kid who could be drafted, maybe
late in the first early in the second. Kier elm
he this scout a report. When I was reading The Beast, Dan,
(21:59):
I was thinking and about Stingley a little bit, because
you saw that production early on in his career and
it might have tailed off a little bit. Yeah, and
I think he's a player that ran better than a
lot of people thought. He was in the four threes
with this forty yard dash, which is pretty impressive for
a guy that six one and a half ninety pounds UM.
Also under seven seconds in the three cones, so you
(22:22):
see that the movements there. Um. He this past year,
I think that whole Florida defense maybe it was just
not not what you wanted, especially when you've got teams
like Samford scoring points all over you. Um, you know
it just it was not a good situation for that
Florida defense. He also missed three games because of a
minor knee injury. So with with Kyer Elum, and that's
(22:44):
why we're talking about him more as a second round
pick who might get into the first. But when you
have a guy with those measurables, a guy that's six
one and a half, has that type of speed, has
that type of physicality, reminds me a little bit of
Carlton Davis when he's coming out of Auburn. A guy
wants to get physical, he wants to smother you and press.
Uh that that's just that, that's his mindset. That's how
(23:05):
he plays. Very physical player. So I think that with
with Kyra Elam, teams are gonna trust the traits even
though that you know, the senior year, especially the production
only one interception, Uh, not a lot of on ball
production there. So uh, you know, I think teams are
gonna trust the traits with Elam, and I think in
the back half around one, there's plenty of teams that
(23:26):
need a corner. Talking about the Bengals, the Chiefs, uh,
certainly a few others that could use help in the secondary,
Kyra Elam is going to look pretty appealing for them
at that point. So Andrew Booth out of climbs in
fourteen Career PDS five Interceptions, you write that you think
that he's about suited for a man Hevy scheme to
(23:48):
two questions here, what do you think about Booth prospects
on the next level and also who kind of also
fits that mold in terms of these guys are better
suited for man heavy teams. Well, I think, you know,
starting with that second question, first, Sauce Gardner immediately stands
out because you know, I think Derek Stingley as well,
(24:08):
Both those guys uh really proved themselves in man. That's
where I think they're most comfortable. Uh. Kyra Elam I
think as well. I think he as a press corner,
a guy that again likes to get physical, and he's
not you know, he's not playing I thought when he
was playing off coverage, that's where maybe he struggled just
a little bit in terms of his twitch. But but
(24:30):
you get him up playing nose the nose, getting playing press,
that's where I think Kyer Elam shines. And then with Booth,
I think that, like like I said earlier, the durability
factor of the health factor, that's something that's gonna hurt
him a little bit here, But if not for that,
we'll be talking a lot more about Andrew Booth as
a first round pick because there's so much to like
about his athleticism, his ball skills, his aggressiveness. Um, there's
(24:53):
a little bit of I think, you know, volatility there
with with with Booth because especially when he asked to
play in zone or has to play off carverage, but
when he's able to just play man, say hey, go
cover that guy, he can do it, and he does
in a big way. Finds the football extremely well, very disruptive. UM.
And when it comes down to it, you want your
(25:15):
corners to be fluid and you want them to be
able to go find a football. That's what Andrew Buck does.
He is that type of athlete. He has the quickness,
he's got that long gate to him so he can
close and make plays, and that he also has a
real knack for finding the football. He looks like a
wide receiver. He does wide receiver like things at the
catch point in terms of locating, adjusting, going up and
(25:38):
attacking the football. So these things I think are gonna
really appeal to a lot of different teams, especially those
that run man heavy schemes. All right, let's go rapid
fire on a couple of guys. Roger McCreary from Auburn.
What I like that you pointed out is that guy
had the production, but he played in two totally different
systems he did. You know, he was I mean press man.
(26:01):
That's I think that's where he's most comfortable. Um and
he played that most of his uh college career, and
he played it mostly as a senior as well, But
when Derrick Mason came in as a defensive coordinator kind
of introduced him more to zone coverages. And you know,
Roger McCreary at the Senior Bowl as well played a
little more zone. So he's still getting used to zone
and getting comfortable there. He's definitely more comfortable as a
(26:24):
as a press man player. The biggest thing with Roger
McCreary is another guy that's does not very long. We
talked about Tret mccuffee not falling just shy of thirty
inch arms. Uh McCreary is under nine inch arms. He
was when he ate in seven eighths, and that's gonna
be a problem for a lot of teams, especially when
uh Ary is a four five athlete. That's something that, uh,
(26:48):
you just don't see a lot of early around corners
that are short armed and don't have that top end speed.
We don't see those guys go early. But Roger McCreary
watching him in the SEC and we just throw on
the Alabama tape on the iron ball and watch him
cover those Alabama receivers. I mean, this is a guy
that knows how. He's aggressive, he knows how to cover,
he understands leverage. Uh, and he's tough and physical. So
(27:10):
Roger McCreary, Uh, maybe he's best in the slot where
you can use you know, that toughness that he brings
to the field. But all I know is get him
on my team. He's a guy that I think you
have a good idea of what you're getting with him,
even though some of the shortcomings will give some teams
pause and could see him fall potentially at the top fifty,
maybe even out of the top sixty in terms of
(27:32):
nickel corners. Where does Marcus Jones out of Houston rank
and forty two career pds, ten in or sceptions last
season eighteen pds and five interceptions day, Marcus Jones is
awesome man. He's so much fun to watch, uh, and
you know, the play speed, the twitch that he plays with,
the hit flip um and he's got a receiver background,
(27:54):
so he knows that how to go after the football.
And you you you mentioned the ball production. It's something
that's throws up routinely on his tape. And you know,
the biggest thing with Marcus Jones is gonna be this
kind of feels like a reoccurrent theme here, but the durability.
He had UH surgery on both of the shoulders, not
just one side, both shoulders. Told me he's been dealing
(28:16):
with those injuries for quite a while now decided now
is the time to get it done. But it kept
him out of the Senior Bowl, kept him out of
the combine, was not being able to work out prior
to the draft. I think he's not gonna be cleared
until after the draft. And that's something that for a
guy that's not very big. He's five eight hundred and
seventy five pounds, so another guy that's under twenty nine
(28:38):
inch arms, you worry about the size, but there's no
question about the toughness um. And then the return value
on special teams nine return touchdowns in his career six
kickoff returns, three punt returns. Uh. That's just an extra
dynamic that makes him maybe it's just a little bit
more valuable when talking about drafting Marcus Jones. So this
is one of those picks that will depend on what
(29:00):
the doctors say with the shoulders. As long as the
doctors give it two thumbs up, he Marcus Jones belongs
somewhere on day two as that slot corner and impact returnment.
About Wooden, if you want speed, this is your guy. Yeah,
I mean this is a this is a unicorn, a
true unicorn. How many guys out there are six four
(29:21):
two oh five uh and run a four to six uh?
And and our playing corner and it just it's rare,
very very rare. And with Woolen, we have the factor
into that he made that transition from receiver uh to
corner really in the midst of a pandemic. Uh. He
was receiver most of his life. Uh. That's that's that
was his focus goes to U T S A UM
(29:42):
and he has some bigger offers. Baylor went after him,
h a few others, but you know, he committed to
YouTube U T S a state loyal to that goes there,
and he was a receiver. He had you know, like
twenty four catches over his first three years as a backup.
And then and just as nineteen towards the end of
the year, they has some injuries, needed someone to step
up a corner. They moved Trek Woolen over to that
(30:04):
side of the ball, and they coaches decided to keep
him there. And so for the past two years, in
the midst of a pandemic, he's making that transition and
so still noticeably raw in a few areas technically speaking,
in terms of uh, just you know, reading his keys
and understanding routes and and things like that. But again
six four two oh five, almost thirty four at charms
(30:25):
and a guy that has the speed and not just
a speed, but he had a forty two weeks for
respectable numbers from the board in all athletic all these
athletic testing numbers. So with Woollen, you're getting a guy
that you're thinking about the future. You're thinking about what
he's going to grow into. Even though first year, second
year it might be a little bumpy, but Woolen the
(30:48):
potentials off the charts. Uh. Speaking of potential, how about
let's stay in Texas and talk about Ziam McCollum out
of sam Houston State. He had the numbers in the
College A game. I know, he didn't face the top
end competition. It's gonna be interesting watching his transition, right,
no question. We have to remember that Sam Houston State.
(31:09):
They won the FCS national title in UH in spring
of this past year, and Zion McCollum was a big
part of that with what he did on defense. UH.
And he was playing next to his twin Tristan, who's
also in this draft class UH and tested pretty well
as as a safety where McCullum's more of that corner.
And talk about ball production. Nobody in this draft has
better ball production than Zion McCullum, A a five year
(31:32):
starter at the FCS level, fifty four passes defended, thirteen interceptions. UH.
McCollum has a lot to offer with his size, he's
six to two hundred UM. And then another guy ran
a four three three uh in the fourty yard dash. UH.
The three cone eight, I mean, that's that's that's kind
of a mind blowing number. UH. And then it jumps
(31:53):
w O standing thirty nine and a half inch in
the verse eleven foot broad unbelievable numbers. But you know,
he just does not have the tape against the high
level talent weekend week out. So that's where the big,
big concern is with him. But when you have numbers
like this, both in the statuet and with your athletic testing,
you're going to go high. And I think there's a
(32:14):
good chance we see Zian McCullum go somewhere on Day two.
A team is gonna take a chance on those measurables
and say, you know, well, and he's a good, great
kid to the football character off the charts. Um, there's
gonna be a learning curve, but we're gonna bet on
those traits and see what he turns out to be
for us. Oh wow, So you got him in the
second round, probably probably more third round. But I still
(32:36):
I mean, I think he's gonna go more third round
than you know fall at a Day three I don't
think he'll will be talking about him as being best
available when Day three kicks off. I got you. Wow. Listen,
the Jets got some decisions to make during a good
position here as the draft approaches. This Sauce Gardner the
(32:57):
guy could he be the guy at number four. We'll
find out relatively soon. Remember Dane last year, he got
some value on Day three, right with the pickups of
Brandon Nichols, who started a lot of ball games for you.
And the Jets are really high on their nickel and
that's Michael Carter. Yeah. And I think this draft, and
especially when we factor in the Senior Bowl, Uh, some
(33:19):
of the guys they coached down there, Damari mathis from Pitt, uh.
You know, they they had some success so in the
secondary uh and pit last year. And I think with
mathis you know, five eleven, not the biggest guy, but
tested really well and you know, watching him in in
that defense, I think it's it's something that will translate
well to the NFL in terms of its toughness, in
(33:41):
terms of the speed that he plays with. Damari mathis uh,
you know can be. I think he's really good in zone,
but he can also play in man um So you know,
one of those guys at the Jets coached in the
Senior Bowl that if matthis were to get to uh,
say the fourth round, which I great him as a
third round pick, but say he got to the fourth round,
which is possible, I think the Jets. That's someone that
Jets could be interested in. Good stuff, Dann. We'll catch
(34:04):
up with you next week ally looking forward to it.
Thanks Ar.
The New York get are now on the board. Jeff
Darrell read this in New York has been one of
the greatest questions. Jack s Fifth Avenue ran that one
right now, the New York Get Fleck. Welcome to another
episode of the NFL Draft Preview. I'm Eric Allen, joined
(00:21):
by the Athletics Dane Brogler. Dane, we got some good news,
we got some bad news. It's the same bit of
news Ethan Greenberg stone in Hawaii. The good news is Ethan, right,
I mean, that's yeah, that's not a bad place to
be right now this time of yere Oh my god,
we're so jealous. Um, but springs around the corner. Hope
(00:44):
is eternal. Especially for the Jets fourth and tenth elections.
In this draft, four picks in the top thirty eight,
I think this fan base is really wrapped up for
what is going to be a fascinating draft, don't you think, Oh,
there's no question. I mean, this is a This is
a pivotal draft for a lot of teams, and Jets
being one of them. When you have to top ten picks,
(01:07):
and especially with uh, you know the current state of
this roster. You have a quarterback coming into a sophomore
year in the NFL. You've got uh, you know, head
coaching general manager that uh you know, this is this
is where you really need to build that roster and
get some core pieces to what you're building, both with
your culture, both with the on field product. So this
is this is a pivotal draft for for this franchise. Uh.
(01:30):
And so it's gonna be fascinating that they can go
in so many different directions. UH, one of them being
the position we'll talk about today, and that's corner. Oh man,
you set it up perfectly. First off, I wanted to
ask if you've got any rest over the weekend. The
Beast is out. Your draft guide, the Labor of Love
is uh tremendous read. And if you are into the
(01:51):
two thousand two NFL draft, as everybody in Jets Nation is,
this is a must. Yeah. No, the feedback has been
just tremendous. Three thousand words. Uh, And I try to
be very concise. It's not something I try to be worthy,
but I feel like the NFL draft at all, zero
percent chance you'll be disappointed. Uh. Testing data at the
(02:12):
athletic testing data for se players are in there. No
other draft guide has that, I promise four reports, just
a lot of background info that helps paint a picture.
Uh you know where these guys, uh you know are
coming from, where they're headed, that type of deal. So
it's something that very very proud of. And uh, the
feedback has been spen so much, it's so awesome. It's
(02:34):
so fun to hear from everybody. So hopefully people check
it out. All you need your Athletic subscription and it's
automatically included with that subscription. All right, we salute you.
If you're looking at the guide right now, go to
page two hundred because that's where we're at. We are
at the cornerbacks. I want to start with this. How
many corners do you think should be taken in the
(02:56):
first round? And ultimately how many cornerbacks do you think
we'll be taking in the first round? Um? Should I
think it? It's you're probably looking at three to four.
UM will probably looking at three to four as well.
The interesting thing will be with some of these guys,
you know, three guys we're gonna see definitely in the
first round with a mod Sauce Gardener from Cincinnati, Trent
(03:19):
McDuffie from Washington, and then Derek Stingley from l s
U and whichever order it ends up being, all three
of those players should be off the board somewhere in
the top twenty picks. Then in the last ten to
twelve picks of the first round, do we see another
corner get in there? And if we do, which one,
maybe we see two more get in there. That's very possible.
I think Andrew Booth from Clemson is a really talented player,
(03:41):
but he's dealing with injuries right now, has not been
able to work out this pre draft process because of
multiple surgeries hernia surgery, uh, you know, working his way
back from that. That's enough that could push him into
the second round, even though I think most teams view
him as a first round talent. Uh. And then you've
got guys like kier Elam from Florida, big physical corner,
ran A four three. There's a lot of things that
(04:03):
like you like about him translating to the next level.
Kyler Gordon from Washington is probably more of a second
round graded player, but corners it's one of those premium positions.
So I don't think it'd be surprising at all if
maybe he gets pushed up a little bit into the
back half around one. So we're gonna see three corners
in the first round top twenty. It's just how many
(04:23):
do we see in those final ten of twelve picks
that definitely could see one or two more in this
two thousand draft class. Is a mod sauce gardener worthy
of a top five selection. I think you can easily
make that argument. Um six two and three quarters a
hundred and ninety pounds. Uh. He did. He did one
drill UH this entire pre draft process at the combine
(04:45):
and then at his pro day. UH, didn't do the
three cone, didn't do any jumps, just to just the
forty year adapt and he ran a four or four one,
which is pretty impressive at that size. Uh. The confidence
level that he plays with is tremendous. Uh. There's a
lot to like about just what he put on film
and the fact that teams didn't go after him. Uh,
(05:05):
And that kind of made it difficult at first when
you're evaluating him, because you didn't see a lot of
those one on one matchups. You didn't see him go
up against some of these top tier receivers, and so
it's a little bit of a slow burn. And then
by the time you get through all this tape, you're
just you're like, okay, well, you know, why, what's not
to like about this guy? So you know it's a
little long legged and there are times where he'll get
out of control a little bit, But I mean we're
(05:25):
nit picking at that point. Mod Gardner one of the
better players in this draft and a guy you can
forecast coming into your locker room. Uh, you know immediately
uh making an impact. I was talking to someone that
uh it trains with a Mod Gardener and he was saying,
how you know, there's a couple of corners altogether, uh
working out and the cornerback room was very quiet. You know,
(05:47):
they're just doing their workouts things like that. Uh. Mod
Gardner was a week or two late because Cincinnati played
so deep into into the playoffs into the season this
past year, so he was a week or too late
going to training one upon Gardner showed up. It's like
the temperature in the room just skyrocketed every all of
a sudden. It's energetic. Everyone's uh, you know, getting on
(06:08):
each other and having fun. And that that's kind of
how what he does and that's his personality, that's how
he plays that. That's how he carries himself, and I
think a lot of teams will look at that as
a as a as a positive for what he could
bring to the locker room. So Mad Guarter would not
be surprised if he ends up being a top five
pick in this draft. How does a guy go from
being the number A hundred and sixty three cornerback and
(06:29):
the two thousand nineteen recruiting class to one of the
top players selected in the draft? Yeah, when this is
a perfect uh you know, way to you know, kind
of flex the muscles of the draft guy, because that's
you know, the background info kind of tells you, uh
tells you that story. Uh you know, he's he's a
guy that was a smaller player early in his high
(06:50):
school years five eight hundred and forty pounds as a
freshman and sophomore, so he was late to move up
the varsity. Didn't move up the varsity until his junior year,
and he was really mostly a received either at that point.
It wasn't until halfway through the year when a teammate
broke his jaw that they moved in the corner. And
then as a senior that's really when he became this
go to two way player, uh you know, led his
(07:11):
uh led us high school Martin Luther King High School
in Detroit, led him to the D three state championship
there and all of a sudden, uh you know, maud Gardner,
it's like a team, just a college programs to starting
to realize this guy's pretty legit, and a few uh
you know, uh Power five teams looked at him. But
he really liked the opportunity at Cincinnati what they were
(07:32):
they were telling him, and the opportunity to play right away,
uh in in in in that defense, and so he
went to became a Bearcat with Luke Fickle and the
rest is history. Three year starter had at least three
interceptions each of the last three years, turned himself into
a first round pick. Can you talk about how teams
did start avoiding him, like you have some great numbers
(07:54):
in terms of the targets last year where at the
college level you don't see that too whaw been, but
he was getting It was almost like it was dereal
rivas treatment on the college level, That's exactly it. And
you know, talking to coaches, uh that went up against Cincinnati,
it's kind of picked your poison because Kobe Bryant on
(08:15):
the other side, a pretty good corner himself. When the
Jim Thorpe Award this past year, and I think teams
going after Bryant, Uh, that's what really won him the award,
because Bryant stepped up to the plate and uh, you
know answered in a big way. But opponents, uh, they
just stayed stayed away from him because they thought, you know, well, well,
you know, pick our poison, all right, we'll go with
the We'll go with Bryant, the lesser talented of the two. Uh.
(08:36):
And it ended up with Gardner seeing only eleven percent
of the targets this past year in one did not
allow a single touchdown over his career. We're talking about
over coverage snaps, which is just a tremendous, tremendous stat
that you're just not gonna see very often. Um So
consensus all American did it on tape. You know he's
(08:58):
he's a sticky, bump and run guy. But you also think, okay,
he could play some zone, he could play man. Uh.
You know, Cincinnati, they haven't produced a first round pick
uh in over forty years. But a good chance that
changes here in a few weeks. Robert Sale always says
about his cornerbacks, Hey, can you take a man on
(09:18):
third down? Can you play man to man on third down?
And this guy fits that description, doesn't he He does,
There's no question. And I think that's Robert Sala and
their coaching staff. They're really going to like sauce Gardner.
I think the biggest thing for the Jets will be
maybe just philosophical. If we're looking at the number four
or pick, and let's just say for argument's sake, that
(09:40):
sauce Gardner is not gonna make it a tent, you know,
whether he goes seven to the Giants or nine to Seahawks.
Uh So, if the Jets want him, they have to
take at number four. But say there's a really talented
pass rusher as available, the coaching staff, the general manager,
Joe Douglas. It comes down the philosophy. What's more valuable
to them another pass rusher to the mix, adding a
(10:02):
talented corner And that's something where in the past, I think,
you know, the history would tell us that maybe they
would lean pass rusher. But this draft, with the way
things shake out, could they maybe buck that trend and
go with the long, speedy, shutdown corner I think a
guy like Sauce Gardner is really gonna make him think
about it. It's all connected here. Do you think as
(10:26):
the draft approaches now in two weeks, do you think
we're gonna see that mini run on? I just I
know there's gonna be a lot of I just taking
into this draft. We've been talking about that for months.
But from one through three, do you think we're gonna
see a run on adges early? I think there's a
very good chance that we'll see two and the first
three picks, um, whether you Travon Walker, Aidan Hudginson, those
(10:48):
two players, I think there's a very good chance that
one will be the first overall pick, likely Aidan Hutchinson,
but don't count Travon Walker as a as a sneaky
dark horse to be that top pick. And then the
Lions at two, and it's Texas at three. I think
that there's a good chance that whoever doesn't go one
will end up going two or three. And then you
know the Jets are sitting there at four looking at Okay,
(11:08):
Cavon Tibodeaux. You know what he could mean to our defense?
Uh if they want to go that direction? Um and
so it's there's plenty of options here with the Jets,
and where where do they want to address? How high grades?
Because really, when you're picking top ten, it's less about
need and more about let's just get the best player.
And so you know the Jets on their draft board,
(11:29):
who's higher, who who's stacked on top of one another?
When you talk about Cavon Thibodeaux or Sauce Gardener or
Jermaine Johnson or some of these other players, Uh, it's
something that that it's almost a good problem to have
because these are all googly good players that should help
the Jets. Uh Jets roster immediately. Do you envision any
scenario You talked about it a little bit before you
(11:50):
alluded to it, but do you envision any scenario where
he does get the ten Gardner I'd be pretty surprised. Um.
I think there's too many land mines between four and
ten and where he could potentially go. I think the Giants,
uh picking at five and seven have having two bites
at the apple there. I think that that that's what
something they'd really like to do. And I also think
(12:11):
we have the factor in that once if he did
get past say seven, Um, there's gonna be teams wanted
to get out of there. Caroline at six, Atlanta at
a Seattle at nine. They'd all love to trade back
a few spots. And meanwhile, there are some teams and
the teens that would, you know, maybe look to jump
up into the top ten to get a Sauce Gardner.
So I think the likelihood is very low that Gardner
(12:34):
would get to ten. Not im possible, it's certainly possible,
but I think the chances are pretty low that he
would make it that far. The way you talk about
this guy, he's all about the bright lights, right, Like
this guy would be a perfect fit in New York.
The personality, there's no doubt about it. I mean, he
he really uh you know, that's the sauce nickname is
(12:56):
something that was given to him back in peewee football
by his youth coach when he's six years old. Uh,
just because you know, he had the sauce, and it's
something that has really defined him and he loves it.
He embraces it. Uh. It's something that uh, you know,
I think you're exactly right going to a market like
New York. Uh, and he would eat it up and
it wouldn't be too big for him. Sometimes we know,
(13:17):
you know, the bright lights, the big stage that can
eat up some players and they're just they're not equipped
to handle both the football side and off the field.
Sauce Gardener is not that guy. He he would more
than be ready, uh to handle both both sides. And
I think you do a pretty good job of both. Yeah.
I think it's a fascinating dynamic this year because you
(13:38):
have each New York team with a pair of top
ten picks, So that means four of those top ten
picks are owned by New York teams if they don't
get out, So a lot of these guys that we're
talking about could be either or either they wind up
wearing green and white or big blue, no doubt. And
I think that you look at a guy like cave
(14:00):
On Thibodeau, who uh you know, we know is uh,
you know, he the off field stuff in terms of
his brand, in terms of you know, he wants to uh,
you know, be more than just football. And you know
that's that's fine as long as you're taking care of
your responsibilities on the football field. But a place like
New York would certainly help him do that. And so
(14:21):
that's an interesting fit whether it would be with the
Jets or with the Giants. And there are a few
of those players. Uh, so it's uh, we're gonna be
really interesting with the top ten. When you have four
players potentially headed in New York. That's just an interesting dynamic. Uh.
You know, you just don't see very often when Derek
Stangley is healthy and available. What does he bring to
the table. Yeah, I mean we could go back to
(14:44):
that freshman All American season had in two as in
nineteen and I mean he was lights out. We talked
about how uh you know, teams stayed away from Sauce
Gardner went towards the other side. That's how it was.
And as a nineteen teams stayed away from one side.
They went after the freshman. Know Derek Stingley did was
answer in a big way and put himself on the
NFL map. He had over twenty passes defended that year,
(15:06):
six interceptions. Um. I don't think we have any questions
about Derek Stingley and what he did into as nineteen,
the questions are okay the past two years did he
regress as a player? Uh? The durability is something that
teams are gonna factor in and not just the durability,
but is this a guy that's gonna be willing to
play through injuries. Um, that's something that teams will really
(15:26):
uh you know, talk to Stingly about and try to
get to the bottom of it. Talked to his college coaches,
uh and figure out. Okay, does see how the toughness
that you need to play NFL football that uh, you know,
a simple injuries not gonna knock you out. So with
a guy like Derek Stingley, he did have the foot
surgery this past year and talking to him, he said
it was the first surgery in his life. So this
(15:47):
isn't a guy that's been hurt, you know, constantly over
his career, but it is something that teams are are
looking at. And uh, it was good that Derek was
able to get back onto the field first Pro day,
just to show that he's you know, moving around. Okay
ran in a low four fours in a forty yard dash,
which pretty good time at you know, a guy that's
over six ft a hundred ninety pounds jumped really well,
(16:07):
had under seven seconds in the three cone. So with
Derek Stingley, uh, you know, it's it's easy to uh
look at you know, some of the concerns based off
of you know, he missed more games the last two
years than he played. That's obviously not ideal. But when
you focus on the talent and what he could be
in the NFL, that gets you excited and why there's
still a chance he goes top ten. Yeah. That ball
(16:29):
production of freshman year was off the charts, and that
is at l s U, in the top conference in
the country. Stingley's got good bloodlines, doesn't he. He certainly does.
I mean his dad played football mostly uh, you know,
on the uh you know, semipro side arena leagues. But
his grandfather, Darryl, he was a former first round pick
(16:51):
out of per Due, played for the New England Patriots. Uh.
And you know there's a sad story with him. You know,
took a hit. He's a wide receiver, took a hit
in a preseason game. Uh and you know, became a
quadriplegic because of a nick injury. So uh, you know it.
But it's something that uh, you know Derek uh and
his dad, Uh, they don't run from you know, they
still embrace football as kind of they're they're driving force
(17:14):
and what they what they really enjoy. So, uh, he
comes from a football family. It's what he's dreamed of
doing his entire life, and uh, you know, pretty soon
here he's gonna have a chance to do it at
the highest level. UNS You in Washington, I would say,
are the two schools in the country who could refer
to themselves as DBU. What can you say about the
two Husky prospects that probably are going to find themselves
(17:39):
here in their name called and rounds one and possibly too. Yeah,
and I'd probably throw Ohio State in there. Those three
t those three programs, they it's pretty impressive what they've done,
especially lately. But Washington, you almost have to put them
at the top. With the defensive backs they've produced. It's
it's really impressive. This year could have two first round
picks at corner. Try McDuffie's one of my favorite players
(18:01):
in this draft. He's actually my number two corner behind Sauce,
and it really stems from just how bright he is
as a as a coverage player. Talking to trent Um,
you know, and going through coverages with him and hearing
him break down every responsibility of every single player on
the defense, how he communicates, how he based off of
(18:22):
tells on the offense. How that's going to change things.
How okay, this receiver's in motion. Okay, we all of
a sudden, I'm going from uh, you know this this
cover three look to uh, you know press man look
and and all these different things. So Trent's intelligence, I
think is something that really sets him apart. Really impressed me.
Also tested well, another guy low four fours in the
(18:43):
forty yard dash. The jumps were great. Not the biggest guy,
and that's the biggest knock on him. Uh, five eleven
but under thirty in arms. Uh, that's something that will
be be a problem for a lot of teams that
really value length at the cornerback position. But Trent mcduffy
is an awesome player. That's why we're talking about him
as a twenty pick. Can play any coverage that you want,
really good one defender, UM, a really smart player. Like
(19:06):
I said, so, the athleticism, the football i Q, his
ability to play different techniques, that's something that's going to
shoot him to the top two of a lot of
draft boards. And then his teammate Kyler Gordon, who maybe
you know is not as technically proficient, but a guy
that has uh, you know, an interesting background in martial
(19:27):
arts and dancing, uh is really it really kind of
developed his athleticism at a young age and it shows
he had a three cone that was six six seven,
which is a remarkable remarkable anything under seven seconds is outstanding.
If you're getting under six seven, that is a remarkable time.
He also had under four seconds in a short shuttle,
which is which is terrific. Um. He's still kind of
(19:49):
you know, blossoming at the position in terms of his awareness,
in terms of his instincts, but you feel like you're
maybe buying low on Kyler Gordon and thinking, Okay, the
guy that he's going to turn into throughout his rookie
contract is what gets us excited. And that's why Gordon
late one, early two probably where he comes off the board,
do you have McDuffie and stingly close and do you
(20:11):
voulte McDuffie ahead in this situation, in this circumstance because
of the durability availability in college, that's certainly a factor, um,
you know, and it's one of those things where you
wish McDuffie was longer um with how he played, but
you know Stingley had. Stingley's arms are one inch exactly
(20:32):
one inch longer than Trent mcduffee. So it's like, okay,
is that one inch? Is that enough? Because with McDuffie,
you love everything else, Like I said, you love the
football smarts, Uh, you love the you know, the football
character that he plays with, really fluid player speed is there.
Uh you know, teams stayed away from him because they
know going against Trent McDuffie is you know, not something
(20:55):
that's gonna end with a positive result more often than not.
So um, I think with McDuffie, I leaned towards him
over Stingley. And I do think that if we're talking
about let's just flip flop Derek Stingley's she has a
nineteen season and one season, so he had this All
American uh season as a junior. All of a sudden,
(21:16):
Stingley's he might be the top corner in this draft
over Sauce Gardener. Even because that that one year was
so amazing that that gets you excited, but because it
was back into the nineteen it gives you, you know
a little bit of a pause and it makes you, uh,
you know, doubt creeps into your mind a little bit. Um,
But I do have them rated pretty closely. I just
(21:38):
I do give Trent McDuffie the edge, even though he
doesn't have the size factor. Alright, So Jessmans might remember
abe Elam he played for the Green and White. Now
his son is a kid who could be drafted, maybe
late in the first early in the second. Kier elm
he this scout a report. When I was reading The Beast, Dan,
(21:59):
I was thinking and about Stingley a little bit, because
you saw that production early on in his career and
it might have tailed off a little bit. Yeah, and
I think he's a player that ran better than a
lot of people thought. He was in the four threes
with this forty yard dash, which is pretty impressive for
a guy that six one and a half ninety pounds UM.
Also under seven seconds in the three cones, so you
(22:22):
see that the movements there. Um. He this past year,
I think that whole Florida defense maybe it was just
not not what you wanted, especially when you've got teams
like Samford scoring points all over you. Um, you know
it just it was not a good situation for that
Florida defense. He also missed three games because of a
minor knee injury. So with with Kyer Elum, and that's
(22:44):
why we're talking about him more as a second round
pick who might get into the first. But when you
have a guy with those measurables, a guy that's six
one and a half, has that type of speed, has
that type of physicality, reminds me a little bit of
Carlton Davis when he's coming out of Auburn. A guy
wants to get physical, he wants to smother you and press.
Uh that that's just that, that's his mindset. That's how
(23:05):
he plays. Very physical player. So I think that with
with Kyra Elam, teams are gonna trust the traits even
though that you know, the senior year, especially the production
only one interception, Uh, not a lot of on ball
production there. So uh, you know, I think teams are
gonna trust the traits with Elam, and I think in
the back half around one, there's plenty of teams that
(23:26):
need a corner. Talking about the Bengals, the Chiefs, uh,
certainly a few others that could use help in the secondary,
Kyra Elam is going to look pretty appealing for them
at that point. So Andrew Booth out of climbs in
fourteen Career PDS five Interceptions, you write that you think
that he's about suited for a man Hevy scheme to
(23:48):
two questions here, what do you think about Booth prospects
on the next level and also who kind of also
fits that mold in terms of these guys are better
suited for man heavy teams. Well, I think, you know,
starting with that second question, first, Sauce Gardner immediately stands
out because you know, I think Derek Stingley as well,
(24:08):
Both those guys uh really proved themselves in man. That's
where I think they're most comfortable. Uh. Kyra Elam I
think as well. I think he as a press corner,
a guy that again likes to get physical, and he's
not you know, he's not playing I thought when he
was playing off coverage, that's where maybe he struggled just
a little bit in terms of his twitch. But but
(24:30):
you get him up playing nose the nose, getting playing press,
that's where I think Kyer Elam shines. And then with Booth,
I think that, like like I said earlier, the durability
factor of the health factor, that's something that's gonna hurt
him a little bit here, But if not for that,
we'll be talking a lot more about Andrew Booth as
a first round pick because there's so much to like
about his athleticism, his ball skills, his aggressiveness. Um, there's
(24:53):
a little bit of I think, you know, volatility there
with with with Booth because especially when he asked to
play in zone or has to play off carverage, but
when he's able to just play man, say hey, go
cover that guy, he can do it, and he does
in a big way. Finds the football extremely well, very disruptive. UM.
And when it comes down to it, you want your
(25:15):
corners to be fluid and you want them to be
able to go find a football. That's what Andrew Buck does.
He is that type of athlete. He has the quickness,
he's got that long gate to him so he can
close and make plays, and that he also has a
real knack for finding the football. He looks like a
wide receiver. He does wide receiver like things at the
catch point in terms of locating, adjusting, going up and
(25:38):
attacking the football. So these things I think are gonna
really appeal to a lot of different teams, especially those
that run man heavy schemes. All right, let's go rapid
fire on a couple of guys. Roger McCreary from Auburn.
What I like that you pointed out is that guy
had the production, but he played in two totally different
systems he did. You know, he was I mean press man.
(26:01):
That's I think that's where he's most comfortable. Um and
he played that most of his uh college career, and
he played it mostly as a senior as well, But
when Derrick Mason came in as a defensive coordinator kind
of introduced him more to zone coverages. And you know,
Roger McCreary at the Senior Bowl as well played a
little more zone. So he's still getting used to zone
and getting comfortable there. He's definitely more comfortable as a
(26:24):
as a press man player. The biggest thing with Roger
McCreary is another guy that's does not very long. We
talked about Tret mccuffee not falling just shy of thirty
inch arms. Uh McCreary is under nine inch arms. He
was when he ate in seven eighths, and that's gonna
be a problem for a lot of teams, especially when
uh Ary is a four five athlete. That's something that, uh,
(26:48):
you just don't see a lot of early around corners
that are short armed and don't have that top end speed.
We don't see those guys go early. But Roger McCreary
watching him in the SEC and we just throw on
the Alabama tape on the iron ball and watch him
cover those Alabama receivers. I mean, this is a guy
that knows how. He's aggressive, he knows how to cover,
he understands leverage. Uh, and he's tough and physical. So
(27:10):
Roger McCreary, Uh, maybe he's best in the slot where
you can use you know, that toughness that he brings
to the field. But all I know is get him
on my team. He's a guy that I think you
have a good idea of what you're getting with him,
even though some of the shortcomings will give some teams
pause and could see him fall potentially at the top fifty,
maybe even out of the top sixty in terms of
(27:32):
nickel corners. Where does Marcus Jones out of Houston rank
and forty two career pds, ten in or sceptions last
season eighteen pds and five interceptions day, Marcus Jones is
awesome man. He's so much fun to watch, uh, and
you know, the play speed, the twitch that he plays with,
the hit flip um and he's got a receiver background,
(27:54):
so he knows that how to go after the football.
And you you you mentioned the ball production. It's something
that's throws up routinely on his tape. And you know,
the biggest thing with Marcus Jones is gonna be this
kind of feels like a reoccurrent theme here, but the durability.
He had UH surgery on both of the shoulders, not
just one side, both shoulders. Told me he's been dealing
(28:16):
with those injuries for quite a while now decided now
is the time to get it done. But it kept
him out of the Senior Bowl, kept him out of
the combine, was not being able to work out prior
to the draft. I think he's not gonna be cleared
until after the draft. And that's something that for a
guy that's not very big. He's five eight hundred and
seventy five pounds, so another guy that's under twenty nine
(28:38):
inch arms, you worry about the size, but there's no
question about the toughness um. And then the return value
on special teams nine return touchdowns in his career six
kickoff returns, three punt returns. Uh. That's just an extra
dynamic that makes him maybe it's just a little bit
more valuable when talking about drafting Marcus Jones. So this
is one of those picks that will depend on what
(29:00):
the doctors say with the shoulders. As long as the
doctors give it two thumbs up, he Marcus Jones belongs
somewhere on day two as that slot corner and impact returnment.
About Wooden, if you want speed, this is your guy. Yeah,
I mean this is a this is a unicorn, a
true unicorn. How many guys out there are six four
(29:21):
two oh five uh and run a four to six uh?
And and our playing corner and it just it's rare,
very very rare. And with Woolen, we have the factor
into that he made that transition from receiver uh to
corner really in the midst of a pandemic. Uh. He
was receiver most of his life. Uh. That's that's that
was his focus goes to U T S A UM
(29:42):
and he has some bigger offers. Baylor went after him,
h a few others, but you know, he committed to
YouTube U T S a state loyal to that goes there,
and he was a receiver. He had you know, like
twenty four catches over his first three years as a backup.
And then and just as nineteen towards the end of
the year, they has some injuries, needed someone to step
up a corner. They moved Trek Woolen over to that
(30:04):
side of the ball, and they coaches decided to keep
him there. And so for the past two years, in
the midst of a pandemic, he's making that transition and
so still noticeably raw in a few areas technically speaking,
in terms of uh, just you know, reading his keys
and understanding routes and and things like that. But again
six four two oh five, almost thirty four at charms
(30:25):
and a guy that has the speed and not just
a speed, but he had a forty two weeks for
respectable numbers from the board in all athletic all these
athletic testing numbers. So with Woollen, you're getting a guy
that you're thinking about the future. You're thinking about what
he's going to grow into. Even though first year, second
year it might be a little bumpy, but Woolen the
(30:48):
potentials off the charts. Uh. Speaking of potential, how about
let's stay in Texas and talk about Ziam McCollum out
of sam Houston State. He had the numbers in the
College A game. I know, he didn't face the top
end competition. It's gonna be interesting watching his transition, right,
no question. We have to remember that Sam Houston State.
(31:09):
They won the FCS national title in UH in spring
of this past year, and Zion McCollum was a big
part of that with what he did on defense. UH.
And he was playing next to his twin Tristan, who's
also in this draft class UH and tested pretty well
as as a safety where McCullum's more of that corner.
And talk about ball production. Nobody in this draft has
better ball production than Zion McCullum, A a five year
(31:32):
starter at the FCS level, fifty four passes defended, thirteen interceptions. UH.
McCollum has a lot to offer with his size, he's
six to two hundred UM. And then another guy ran
a four three three uh in the fourty yard dash. UH.
The three cone eight, I mean, that's that's that's kind
of a mind blowing number. UH. And then it jumps
(31:53):
w O standing thirty nine and a half inch in
the verse eleven foot broad unbelievable numbers. But you know,
he just does not have the tape against the high
level talent weekend week out. So that's where the big,
big concern is with him. But when you have numbers
like this, both in the statuet and with your athletic testing,
you're going to go high. And I think there's a
(32:14):
good chance we see Zian McCullum go somewhere on Day two.
A team is gonna take a chance on those measurables
and say, you know, well, and he's a good, great
kid to the football character off the charts. Um, there's
gonna be a learning curve, but we're gonna bet on
those traits and see what he turns out to be
for us. Oh wow, So you got him in the
second round, probably probably more third round. But I still
(32:36):
I mean, I think he's gonna go more third round
than you know fall at a Day three I don't
think he'll will be talking about him as being best
available when Day three kicks off. I got you. Wow. Listen,
the Jets got some decisions to make during a good
position here as the draft approaches. This Sauce Gardner the
(32:57):
guy could he be the guy at number four. We'll
find out relatively soon. Remember Dane last year, he got
some value on Day three, right with the pickups of
Brandon Nichols, who started a lot of ball games for you.
And the Jets are really high on their nickel and
that's Michael Carter. Yeah. And I think this draft, and
especially when we factor in the Senior Bowl, Uh, some
(33:19):
of the guys they coached down there, Damari mathis from Pitt, uh.
You know, they they had some success so in the
secondary uh and pit last year. And I think with
mathis you know, five eleven, not the biggest guy, but
tested really well and you know, watching him in in
that defense, I think it's it's something that will translate
well to the NFL in terms of its toughness, in
(33:41):
terms of the speed that he plays with. Damari mathis uh,
you know can be. I think he's really good in zone,
but he can also play in man um So you know,
one of those guys at the Jets coached in the
Senior Bowl that if matthis were to get to uh,
say the fourth round, which I great him as a
third round pick, but say he got to the fourth round,
which is possible, I think the Jets. That's someone that
Jets could be interested in. Good stuff, Dann. We'll catch
(34:04):
up with you next week ally looking forward to it.
Thanks Ar.
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