April 29, 2025 • 37 mins
Team insiders Ryan Mink and Garrett Downing share their notes from a film session with Director of College Scouting Andrew Raphael and Assistant Director of College Scouting Joey Cleary on all 11 Ravens 2025 NFL Draft picks.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome into the Lounge presented by DraftKings. I'm Ryan Mink
here with Garrett Downing, and we are fresh off a
film session with Ravens scouts Andrew Raphael and Joey Cleary
which they broke down the Ravens twenty twenty five draft
class from start to finish, talked about what they saw
on film as they were evaluating these prospects. So we're
(00:24):
going to relate to you the information that we glean
from that film session, as well as any other kind
of follow up thoughts from this year's draft.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Yeah, I think it's just interesting to hear from them
kind of the process you see it through the lens
that they're looking at it both in terms of what
they saw from the players and then also how they
think they could fit the Ravens, what the Ravens need
and how these players would fit it. And I thought
it was really insightful. And Andrew and Joey do a
great job, and so it was just good to walk
through that process with them. So Malachi Starks is where
(00:54):
we start the conversation, of course, and I think the
like the obvious things with him are things that we
all all talked about he's a natural athlete. He's got
great ball skills when the ball's in the air. But
something that I did think that was that stood out
to me in hearing from them beyond the obvious, was
also the point that they made that uh, he he
(01:16):
wasn't hesitant to come up and defend the run either,
like we see the highlight reel interceptions and that's where
we'll focus on, and that's what you really ideally want
in a perfect world from a safety, but also not
hesitant to be a physical player either.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
Yeah, I think there that was one of the questions
coming out of the draft, and coach Saban uh talked
about you know, he had some questions about Malachi in
that regard and and his tackling, and you know, it's
it's interesting to hear obviously, uh A very he knows
what he's looking at. Yeah, Nick Saban, right, But the
(01:48):
Alabama Georgia game maybe wasn't Malachi's best game in Terns
in terms of hit of his tackling, but the Ravens
saw consistently throughout tape when you look at all of
Malachi's games, very consistent tackler, certainly no hesitation, Yeah, willing
to come up and hit and generally did a very
(02:09):
good job in that regard. Now they also think that
his strength is playing You know, he's a very versatile player.
He can do it all, and that's what the Ravens
scouts said, But his strength is playing free safety. Being
able to show that speed, that range, those ball skills.
That's really when he's at his best, even though he
can do everything.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Yeah, and it sounded like, based on the way George's
defense was constructed last year, that Georgia may have used
him even more in that free safety role. But he
was so good at being versatile and coming down and
playing in the slide and being a nickel and playing
all these different roles that they needed him to do
all those things. It's like, it's a similar conversation that
we've had with Kyle Hilton, where it's just going to
say the same thing. It's like, we love you doing
(02:52):
all these things, but if we want to put you
in an ideal situation, what does that look like? And
so I think that the Ravens really feel like and
we certainly had this conversation after the Ravens drifted him
on Thursday, but this only reinforced it that Zach Gore
and the defensive coaches are going to have a lot
of fun in finding how to construct this defense and
the flexibility that having Malachi in the mix, what that
(03:15):
gives to these defensive coaches.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
So I'll get my father in law a shout out here.
He's an avid listener of the Lounge, and he asked me,
you know, how does Malachi slip all the way to
twenty seven? You know, he sounds so great, you know,
you guys talk him up and he sounds awesome. How
does he get to twenty seven? And my you know,
big time program had good production all those things. And
my answer to him was, you know, from a pure
(03:39):
athletic testing standpoint, Malachi didn't blow people away at the combine, right,
but when you watch the tape, you certainly see the
range that he has, and I think that it's position specific.
Of course, you always want the fast you want everybody
to run a four to three that you draft, right,
But I think it's more important for a cornerback, specifically
(04:02):
an outside corner, to be able to run like Nate
Wiggins runs and be able to run with the fastest
wide receivers. When you got to be hip to hip,
you're on an island one on one, where at safety
it's more about angles, reading the play like reaction. You know,
there's just instincts. There's a lot more factors in play
where you don't have to be you know. Now, Malachi,
(04:24):
let's not get it twisted. Here had a he's fast like,
he had a good time. It wasn't like crazy, but
he had a good time. And but if you have
that much better instincts, or you have that much better
film study, you're smarter. You see where the ball's going
or where's or ahead of time, you know where it's
supposed to go if you break on that a half
(04:45):
a second earlier. Okay, now you're a four to three guy. Yeah,
you know what I mean. So it's not quite as
important as safety. I think more of these other intangibles
that we heard, you know, Joey and Andrew Rafael talk
about today, is you know, the you see his instincts,
you see his and you even see his ability to
run hip with him with with some of these faster
(05:06):
wide receivers. You know, they talk about him chasing down
Matthew Golden, who is one of the fastest wide receivers
in this year's draft, you know, going up against some
of these these top drafted wide receivers and running with
them down the field making plays.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
That was the thing that stood out to me. Also,
it's like you look at him and they've they showed
some plays of Malachi running step for step with guys
who are either either guy drafted this year or or
are already in the NFL because they came out previously.
In the clips were from a year or two ago.
So he has I'm really not worried honestly at all
about his athletic testing, like at all, not even remotely.
(05:44):
I think also to the question of how does he fall.
The other piece of it is, and I think this
is the biggest one. It's the positional value. Safety is
not valued as highly as quarterback, cornerback, wide receiver pass.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
That's the biggest one.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
That's the reason.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
I mean he was the safety drafted and he went
at twenty seven. Yeah, it's just safeties aren't Yeah, it's
highly valued, and.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
So basically it's positional value. And then even if you
are a team that values the position, do you have
a need there? And so I think it took a
little while for the need to match the player in
the position, and so that's how he ends up falling
to the Ravens. And that's often times how really good
teams stay good. And look at Kyle Hamilton. Now he
(06:25):
wasn't twenty seven, but he was fourteen, and just getting
to that point, I think a lot of the teams
that the drafted ahead are thinking, man, it would have
been nice to have Kyle Hamilton right now.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Right, this'll tell you the depth in which the Ravens scouts.
Look at the film. Okay, so Malachi starts pro day, right,
he's going through the ball drills where they're they're thrown out,
and he's making interceptions on air or whatever, and he
makes a great sideline catch, toe tapping catch right along
the sideline. And then, for whatever reason, Georgia had like
(06:53):
a rope, you know, a few yards off the sideline,
and Malachi makes the interception, dragons the toes and then
jumps over the rope, the high rope.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
It's a football field slash obstacle course exactly.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
And you know the Ravens guy's like, look at that,
Look at him clear the rope. You know, other guys
they ran right through that rope, you know, they tripped
and fell. Not Mack guy. You know, he was able
to clear that. So it was just kind of funny, Like, man,
they watch everything, they watch everything to the end of
the tape. How do he was the guy hustle? How
does he do this? Like that was a fun little example.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Yeah. So moving on to Mike Green, obviously super productive player,
Seventeen sacks last year led college football, and the thing
that kept coming up on him was was his motor.
And he's a guy that and when you look at
some of the best pass rushers in the NFL, motor
is something that I think is probably like maybe a
(07:45):
little bit it's hard to quantify, but it's incredibly important.
Like TJ. Watt has that, Max Crosby has that. There's
plenty of like the top end pass rushers who had
this relentless motor. And the Ravens certainly feel like Mike
Green as that as well as a guy that, like,
even if he doesn't win initially, the players never over
for him.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
Yeah, and they as an example of that, they specifically
pointed to the viral moment at the Senior Bowl in
which he was going one on one, I guess against
Josh Conner Lee junior who was a first round pick
of the Chiefs, and uh, Mike Green just ran through him,
I mean put him on his backside, which was impressive enough.
That's that's the part.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
That a viral class the part of a viral.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
But then also like after showing you know he's fired up,
he sprints back to get in line for the next rep,
you know, like and and even coaches at Marshall talking
about how you know he runs in and out of drills.
I mean, this guy like never is is loafing out there.
Just everything is at full speed. And the Ravens scouts
(08:49):
saw that. Joey Cleary said he spent extra time kind
of after a practice just in the background and noticed
his hustle in practice, even late in practice, and uh
so that was really cool. And then I think it's also.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
Just recalling Josh Connerley Commanders Commanders.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
I'm sorry, I said, he wins Cheve's Commanders.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
I think the other thing that that really stood out
too is the polish to his game, which is notable
considering he is coming from Marshall. Usually you don't see
that kind of level of polish with a smaller school athlete.
But the bevy of moves that he can pool. You know.
I mean, he's got this spin move, he's got the
the arm over, he's he's got a chop. He's got
(09:30):
a lot of different moves. Now imagine also when he
gets with Chuck Smith. You know what kind of shine
you can put on there. And uh, you know, the athleticism,
the rare athleticism, the bend and flatten and come underneath.
Just he just has it all. You know, he's got
good polish, he's got great athleticism, You've got the motor.
From a player perspective, he checks all the boxes.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
Yeah, and he's he had some really good games against
bigger competition. He had a big sack against Ohio State
early in the year against Will Howard, and of course
the High State went on to win the national championship
last year. And so he is a disruptive player and
showed up in some bigger games, even though week in
and week out at Marshall he wasn't going up against
the biggest competition. But he did have some of his
(10:14):
strong games. Another really strong game against Virginia Tech. So, yeah,
the the mixture of pass rush moves that he has
at his ability is really really dynamic for a young player.
And so it's like the power, the spin, the what
I watch him like, I see a guy that could
(10:34):
just finish at the quarterback. Like he's able to get
to the quarterback and get the quarterback down.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
Yeah, which is you don't get you don't leave the
nation in sacks with seventeen if he can't finish.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
Like he just has a he has a great feel
for like getting to the quarterback and bringing the quarterback down,
and like that is something that's again it's hard to
really quantify, and it's like not a it's not a
specific skill. What's not one skill like the forty yard dashes.
Guy's really fast. It's not like it's a totally clear testing,
but he has a good ability to mirror the quarterback
(11:05):
and bring him down once he gets there.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
I think one of the bigger questions about Mike Green
is what is his ability as a run stopper. And
you know, he's known certainly for getting sacked, but will
he be a three down linebacker and be able to
stand up against the run and set that edge? And
the Ravens feel like he can do that. You know,
he that wasn't necessarily what he shined at in college,
(11:27):
but they feel like he has the traits to be
a good run defender. The power in his hands, he
sets it, can set a good base, he can redirect,
he's certainly willing. You know, this goes to the motor.
The effort is there, and with more coaching, he'll obviously
get better at that. And the Ravens do see him
as it was like a no question, Yeah, he's a
three down line outside linebacker.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
The other thing, too, is that can be something that
develops over time. Like the Ravens have a da feel
way to have Kyle van Nout too, who can both
play on early downs as well.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
So Tavis Robinson Thompson of course.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
So like even if even if right away year one
he's not a three down linebacker, he can develop into
that and I think he clearly has the ability to
do it.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
Trell Suggs came into this league and was kind of
early on in his career is go get the quarterback,
and he did it well and uh, you know his
Rookie of the Year and so I think that that
could be a similar role to Mike Green as a rookie. Hey,
let's keep working with Chuck Smith and let him go
get quarterbacks as he develops the rest of his game.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
Yeah, I could see that too. So then in the
third round is Emery Jones, the offensive lineman out of LSU,
and uh, look, this is somebody who the Ravens think
he played. He played right tackle at LSU. He has
the ability to be a swing tackle or kick into guard,
and I think that it was It's just interesting in
hearing how the coaches evaluate and they're trying to project. Okay,
(12:52):
how does he project at the next level. Is he
a tackle? Is he a guard? If he is moving
to guard? What are the things that you're looking looking for.
It's athleticism, but it's also intelligence and having the ability
to understand what's going on in front of you. And
so the Ravens felt like he had all those things
and could really be a Again, he could project at guard,
(13:13):
and I think he most likely projects at guard long term,
but he can still play tackle on the right side,
and so they like his ability to slide his side
if they want to do that.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
Well, they already had a good guard Garrett in Delhi. Yeah,
they had a good left guard, so they didn't need
him at left guard. But they said that a lot
of people at LSU feel like he'll be an outstanding
guard at the NFL level. And what stood up to
me is just the dog, you know.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
I mean that was honestly kind of a common theme clip,
that was.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
A common theme among a bunch of these guys. Yeah,
and but what Emery Jones. Certainly you just see him
burying guys at the end of the play and talking
his talk, and he's he's about that life. You know.
One of the clips was even in the Senior Bowl game,
which you know, the practices are kind of the highlight
of the Senior Bowl, and he's still in the game
(14:04):
blocking guys fifteen yards down the field and trying to
throw them at the end of the play. And you
know that that kind of effort, that tenacity, that attitude
resonates with the Ravens and their scouts.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Yeah, young player too. He just turned twenty one years
old and so certainly plenty of room to grow physically
and just overall in his game. So I think this
is just a This is a classic, like really good
a player from a big time program who has ideal
size and physical traits that is still a little bit
(14:36):
rang considering he's only twenty one years old and could
step in. He's going to compete. I mean he can
compete right away at left guard.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
You know who he reminds me a little bit of
is collecchi assemle oh okay, who is a college tackle.
Yeah dog, Yeah, that big bass, strong, powerful, like like
to get after you. Yeah, that's what I kind of
see from memory.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
I think that's probably I like that comp. I like
that company. And collecchi played both tackle positions in college
and the pros left tackle, amrit tackle, and then guard
as well.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
It was really the best guard.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
He was best suited at guard, but he played. He
ended up playing swing tackle over the course of his career,
and so if that's how it goes for Emory, that
would be a pretty a pretty good career for sure.
So I like that comp. Next up, Teddy Buchannan, the
linebacker out of col and man, this guy just seems
like really really fluid and smart at diagnosing plays at
the line and then once he once he assesses what's
(15:27):
happening in front of him, great closing speed.
Speaker 1 (15:29):
Yeah, athleticism, relentlessness. To me, plays like a Raven's kind
of guy, plays like a raven kind of guy. You know,
I think that you just he's got that long hair
and it looks like he's playing with it on fire,
you know. I mean, you see it, and it is
remarkable about a haircut though, So you got a haircut now,
and you won't be able to notice that out there
(15:49):
on the field of Many camp this weekend. That was
when they were showing the clips. You're like, oh, there
he is. Yeah, they got the long hair. But certainly
one thing that stood out to me is, yeah, his
diagnosed his skills, which is really notable considering that he
was a high school quarterback. He was a quarterback really
throughout much of his youth football career, which is probably
(16:09):
why he didn't end up getting more highly recruited and
started at UC Davis, which also led to him being
a little bit less noticed potentially, you know. And then
he really had this one breakout year at Cal in
his final season, and so part of it is you're like,
(16:30):
where did that come from? You know what I mean?
And I think that his quarterback background helped him in
terms of being a good linebacker because he could see
things and diagnosed and he knows what an offense is
doing and then he has athleticism and the clothes on it.
But it also kind of hurt him in terms of
maybe what pushed him down the board a little bit.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
Yeah, well he wasn't like he didn't come out of
high school. It was this big time recruit. He was like,
if we were having this conversation a year ago, nobody
around the NFL and the were this building most likely
would be like, man, we think Teddy Buchanan a year
from now is going to be a breakout player.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
He was even high on Cow's list in terms of
these the guys to watch that are coming out in
this year's draft. I mean he was a new transfer
into the school. But yeah, then he just blew up. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
So it's like coming from the small school and then
transferring up to cal and then having a big breakout season.
He just kind of slipped through the cracks, and the
Ravens end up feeling like they get like this really
good player in the middle rounds, who who has this
untapped potential and can bring something to this defense. To me,
it seems like the right away with him, the way
(17:37):
that like he has his physical style, evenow some clips
of him like folding up offensive linemen on pulling blocks
and so like he doesn't shy away from contact. I
think that, like at a minimum, with him as a rookie,
he's going to be an impact player on special teams. Yeah,
and then he's going to challenge trent simpsor for a
starting job. And I think that, like I think that
as we're sitting here today, I think that Trenton is
(17:59):
certainly the favorite to that job, but Teddy's gonna push
him for it. And I don't think it's a lock.
I think that it's one of those made the best
man win situations.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
Yeah, yeah, I totally agree with that. I think Teddy
Buchanan it's gonna be one of those. He was a
fast riser, I think it seemed in the pre draft process,
and it's gonna be fun to see him keep that trajectory. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
All right. Carson Vincent, my guy, the Ravens end up
taking him in the fifth round. Offensive lineman out of
Alabama A and M. Developmental tackle, big guy, six seven,
three twenty and it's kind of funny one of the
players they showed of him. They're going up Alabama A
and M, but going up against Auburn and they're down
seventy three to three in the fourth quarter and so
kind of a rough, rough score situation. They're overall for
(18:42):
Alabama A and M in that game, but a point.
And this is just I mean, to be honest, this
is the kind of thing that shows you, like the
depth of which scouts are looking at everything, like you
would think that in the down seventy points situation like
that just skip this tape here.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
Well, yeah, it's a small school guy going against a
big time programs, so that that's the gold.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
Yeah, And even in that situation, like he's playing hard
late in the game and winning some reps late in
that game down seventy points, and I think that that's
that tells you a little bit about the type of
person beyond just the physical traits that he has and
the ravens like that.
Speaker 1 (19:19):
To me, a lot of the scouting report on Carson
Vincent that we got today was about the person and
the makeup he's He has the prototypical size, the measurables,
you know, heightweight, speed, length, reach, all those things, they're
all there. And the feet, the athleticism, it's there. But
(19:40):
why they really liked him even though you know you
turn on that Auburn tape, and not all of it
is is pretty. You know when you have a small
school guy going against a big time program like that,
and you know there's some things that need to be
worked out, but the person in terms of how passionate
he is about the game, and you know he is.
(20:00):
He after he makes a good block, he's telling that
guy that he blocked, how how good it was, and
the desire to be really good. I think that you
look for traits in these middle to late rounds, and
certainly he checks all the boxes from a physical and
then and then you say, man, this guy wants it
(20:20):
right and and that really stood out to them on tape.
Speaker 2 (20:24):
Well, you mentioned with Emery Jones the rep at the
Senior Bowl during the game. There's also kind of a
viral ish rep for Carson Vincent at the Senior Bowl.
It was the end of practice. A lot a lot
of Senior Bowl reps here, Mike Green, Emory Jones, Carson Vincent.
The Ravens value that Senior Bowl and uh but but Vincent.
It's a basically at the end of a practice and
(20:46):
with the whole team watch and they call out one
v one and it was Vincent vs. Mar Stewart, who
the Bengals took in the first round.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
Pastor Mark Stewart was having an awesome uh.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
Yeah, and then had a great combine. Yeah, and so
Vincent and he wins that rep. And then he kind
of got in Stewart's face a little bit and then
his side of the ball went crazy. And so like
you saw the passion, you saw the energy, and like
like that competitiveness. It came up with a lot of
these guys, like a little bit of trash talk clearly
means something to them. That was the case to Vincent,
(21:18):
that was the case with Emery Jones. Like these guys,
they've got a little bit of an attitude, and that's
what you like from an offensive lineman.
Speaker 1 (21:26):
Okay, so you liked my comp earlier with Cleccio, similar.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
You got for Vincence.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
The attitude reminded me a little bit of Orlando Brown. Well,
and the body and the attitude reminded me a little now.
Orlando Brown played at Oklahoma, Okay, so he was he
came in and obviously his father was an NFL player.
He had he was destined to play tackle in the NFL.
Vincent's small school guy and all that stuff like he
(21:52):
needs more refinement, right, Yeah, but from an attitude perspective
and body reminded me of that.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
Yeah, I think that there's similarities there. I do think that.
I think they are. The Orlando round comp is just
tough because he was I don't know, you're not saying
they're going to be the same player. But Orlando was
a guy that like he was Taylor ready. He was
Taylor made for the NFL. He was ready to go,
and he from childhood. Then he dropped the third round,
had no business following to the third round, but basically
(22:23):
had a really had a horrible combine right right, and
then that dropped him to the third round, and the
Ravens took him and said, well, you know, no problem
with the combine issue, will take you in the third round.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
It worked out.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
But so a little bit different in that sense where
like Vincent has the size, similar ish size, even the
Orlando is just such a big guy, yea a big
new he is he is, but but but Vincent's at
like three twenty where Orlando's wore like three forty. He's
just even wider. So again I think the comp is
I get it, and like the attitude I see that.
(22:54):
Like when he was kind of giving him the head
nod and the finger point, I was like, I've seen that,
I've seen from Orlando. Yeah, so I get that. I
get that comparison, all right. Next up is milalkone, cornerback
out of Western Michigan, and Raves just feel like this
guy really good a wearing, his good instincts. He's has
(23:14):
good ball skills. They feel like he has a good
feel for finding the ball. And like when you're when
you're drafting corners late in the process, really if you're
drafting any position late in the process, and they took
two in the sixth round, like you're looking for traits
and he has good feed, he has good size, ball skills,
he's tough. So like you have all of those, you
have a lot to work with with with BK, with
kone and the Ravens like the potential that he has.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
Yeah, just cool with the ball in the air, and
that's not a trait that all cornerbacks have when that
ball is up there, are you are you freaking out?
Are you turn your head and looking back? And and
BK certainly does that also notable that you know, they
feel like he does have some slot versatility. It's certainly
not what he does a lot of, but played some
in the slot.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
Next is Tyler Loop kicker out of airs. And I
know you were grinding the kicker tape leaning up to
the draft, just watching all the kicker tape, but with Loop,
like the thing that that when you look at some
of the film in all honesty with him, is like
his his motion just looks natural, like it looks fluid.
Speaker 1 (24:18):
Well, I think it's more so. The interesting part here
is that Tyler Loops his field goal percentage went down
each season, so obviously not ideal what you want to see,
but really more than results, the emphasis for the raven
is on the process and what he what his mechanics
are in kicking the ball, and what they saw from
(24:40):
Tyler Loop was the most consistent mechanics of this kicker class.
Like every kick looks the same with you know, your
plant relationship, relations to the ball, with your swing like
Randy and Randy has talked about this. Randy Brown, who's
the Ravens kicking specialist. Yeah, uh, and he was. This
was his assignment, right, it was go find the best kicker,
(25:03):
the guy you like that you want us to draft.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
He was really driving the driving the bus.
Speaker 1 (25:06):
He was driving it. And uh so, what he always
talks about is that kicking is like golfing in a way,
and you just want to have the smoothest swing. If
you have a really smooth swing, you're most likely gonna
get really good results. If if your swing is inconsistent,
well then it's really hard if something starts going wrong
to fix it because you don't have a consistent baseline.
(25:28):
If you have this consistent swing, not just swing, but
approach to the ball, all of those follow through, all
those the mechanics of kicking. The more that can just
it is automatic, it replicates itself every single time, the
more likely you are to have consistent results. Yeah, and
that's what they saw from Tyler.
Speaker 2 (25:48):
Luke and and we mentioned this in our recap podcast
immediately after the draft that he talked about kind of
being and the Ravens talked about this too, him being
a little bit of a kicking nerd and having a
like a swing like a swing coach and golf He
used that comparison. And he is a guy that gets
into the details and the weeds of kicking, and so
that to me kind of helps explain the mechanics, like
(26:10):
very mechanically sound. Yeah, and so the Ravens feel like
they got a really good kicker.
Speaker 1 (26:14):
And another thing when I talk about field goal percentage
in college that the Ravens scouts point out was that,
you know, you have to take that with a bit
of a grain of salt. Was it a good snap holder?
You know, you don't have premiere long snappers and holders
like you do in the NFL, where the operation matters
a lot. Also, all right, what are the circumstances of
(26:36):
each kick? Right? How many of those were fifty plus
yard whatever? Yeah? Right, So it's really more than production necessarily,
it's about process. Yep.
Speaker 2 (26:47):
Next is Lejonte Wester out of Colorado wide receiver and
return man. Competitive Again, he also has some of that
same attitude that we're talking about with the offensive lineman
Florida guy. And so think he's gonna get along well
man with Lamar and like he's going to be right
at home. But to be honest with Zay, like we
look at some of the highlights, the quickness and the
(27:08):
shiftiness that he has reminds me of Save Flowers. Yeah, exactly,
is that joystick kind of ability?
Speaker 1 (27:13):
Exactly? I feel like he could be a good kind
of zay back up, you know, get the A lot
of what he did at Colorado was get the ball
in his hands early, quickly in space and let him
go to work. Because when he's in space, he's a
tough guy. And what's notable is I think you certainly
after he was drafted, you hear the joystick ability, the moves,
(27:34):
the shiftiness and open space, the speed and all those things.
But it's the toughness that really stood out to the
Ravens scouts and even to Willy Taggert who coached le
Chante back at Florida Atlantic, and Willy Taggert was coaching
there and Willy loved him, said, this dude's a dog.
You don't usually hear that about five nine one seventy guys. Right,
(27:56):
Just this guy's physical and he's a dog, like can
take a hit, not a right of anything. He has
all the attributes that you want, you know, not just
as wide receiver, but especially as a returner. Right, talk
about fear of position. That can strike fear in your
heart when you're looking up at that ball, you exactly
like so being fearless in that position, Smooth catching, fielding,
(28:17):
the ball.
Speaker 2 (28:17):
That's I liked having a return guy who you can
put back there and you can just trust them to
catch it cleanly.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
That that was not a feeling that you had at
all times last year for the Ravens just put too
many balls on the ground late in the season, and
so yeah, just having that comfort, that's a job that's
probably number one. Yeah, you catch the ball and you
secure the ball first, whatever yards you get after that
as a bonus.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
John Harblaugh said that last year, like the first job
is punt catcher, the second is punt returner exactly.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
And so on film, Lagone really catches the ball cleanly
and looks very at ease and natural doing that. So
I'm really excited about him. I like that pick.
Speaker 2 (28:57):
He was super productive in college, like Monster production. Over
the course of his career, came up with some big
catches and big moments, and then he has that shiftiness.
I think the immediate impact for him is, say he's
going to be the raven starting return man this year,
and then I think that the opportunity is going to
be there for him to carve out a role for
himself on offense over the course of his career, and
I think that he could end up being a nice
(29:18):
piece use on some of those jet sweeps and different roles.
Like I think he could be a nice creative weapon
for Todd Monkin and this offense.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
We when college football fans probably remember the play that
Colorado won on they beat Baylor.
Speaker 2 (29:30):
Nor Sanders roll left.
Speaker 1 (29:31):
I'm sure Sander's role left throwing a bomb to the
end zone to win in the final seconds. And Lejonte
was the wide receiver on that play who made an
incredible catch, fighting through contact and diving in the end
zone to make that grab. So clutch, yeah, clutch dog,
Yeah for sure.
Speaker 2 (29:48):
All right, let's go a quick break. When we come back,
we'll round out the rest of this draft class and
give you some closing thoughts. You're listening to the Lounge podcast.
We're coming to you from the Sea Keek Studio. We
also want to mention our partners at Draft Kings Sportsbook.
They are an official sport spending partner of the Baltimore
Ravens Draft King Sportsbook. The Crown is yours. So next
defensive lineman and Nis Peebles out of Virginia Tech. Smaller
(30:09):
defensive lineman, but he has this ability to get into
the backfield, incredibly quick off the ball, and he's six
foot two hundred and ninety pounds, so like when you're
thinking about a defensive tackle that's undersized, but he actually
like it's not just quickness, which he has yet that
quickness is excellent, but he also has he uses his
(30:32):
smaller stature to his advantage with leverage and he has
he still has.
Speaker 1 (30:36):
Power, lower body power, lower.
Speaker 2 (30:38):
Body power, so like he's a smaller guy and then
uses that to his advantage. We've seen that with offensive
lineman and defensive lineman over the years. If you can
use that leverage to your advantage, then being shorter is
it doesn't actually hurt you, And it seems like that's
the case with Peoples.
Speaker 1 (30:53):
Yeah, multiple clips against big time players, A big old,
three hundred and forty pound guard out of Miami. He's
going to be early pick in future drafts, and Ania's
really kind of standing up and standing firm against him,
even taking on double teams, and so yeah, that's the
question is you know this guy's gonna be able to
(31:13):
shoot gaps, Which, hey, if that's that's your trick in
the bag, that's a good trick to have. But also
I think that he has the ability and the power
to also offer more than just a situational pass rusher,
which is probably what it'll be as a rookie. You know,
if he's getting defensive snaps, that'll probably be in that role.
But I think that I really think this could be
(31:35):
a late round steal for the Ravens.
Speaker 2 (31:37):
Yeah, I agree with you. I just think that he
has like the tools, and it's he falls because he's
a smaller defensive lineman. Yeah, And like that's that's kind
of a similar theme with some of these these final picks.
So John tay Westerns five nine one seventy Peoples is
a smaller defensive lineman. And next up is cornerback Robert
(31:57):
Longerbeam who's five to ten, And so if he's a
little bit taller, how early does he go? If he's
six to one running a four to three like he does,
how early does he go?
Speaker 1 (32:06):
Uh?
Speaker 2 (32:07):
Is it day two? Maybe? But like I think that
that's kind of a theme. And when you're drafting these
guys in the late rounds, again, you're looking for traits
and the and the potential to develop into something special
and be a late round steel. And so I think
all these guys have that that potential and does it happen,
We'll see.
Speaker 1 (32:26):
So that's note, by the way, who his name is Fub,
That's what he likes to be called. F Ub. Fubb
can do the worm. Did you see this?
Speaker 2 (32:36):
I haven't seen that clip from the Senior Bowl another
Senior bow highlight viral moment.
Speaker 1 (32:40):
Right trying to distract the kicker to miss a field
goal when he's just doing the worm right across the
line of scrimmage, right down the line scres impressive.
Speaker 2 (32:48):
Reminds me a little bit of Brandon Williams.
Speaker 1 (32:49):
Oh the handstands walking on his hands exactly exactly that
another great cop.
Speaker 2 (32:55):
Yeah, very different player, but the dance moves the worm handstand.
So there you go. Longer Beam. I mentioned him like,
he's got great speed, sticky in coverage, and I think
he moves well. And so this is just another guy
that the Ravens feel like has has potential along with
(33:16):
b K to be a late round steal. And I mean,
the tricky thing is that the Ravens have eleven draft picks.
DaCosta even said before the draft it's not likely at
eleven draft picks end up making the fifty three man roster.
They could be in a situation where it's either or
so those two guys are competing for a final roster
spot and then you'll just see who ends up winning
(33:37):
the job.
Speaker 1 (33:38):
Yeah, again, traits, you're looking for trades late and longer.
Beam just moves like an NFL corner. You know, this guy,
the short shuttle is forty time, as you mentioned, like
he just has some very good athleticism.
Speaker 2 (33:51):
And then lastly it closed it out Garrett Dellingser, offensive
guard from LSU. It's just kind of the forgotten man
on a really talented LSU offensive line. Will Campbell is
a top five pick and then Emery Jones we already
covered him as a third round pick. So like the
tackles take all the attention on that LSU offensive line,
and but Dellinger is he's he's a guy that really
(34:12):
good guard. The Ravens feel like he fits their scheme,
which I think is important. Like that's part of the
process here that I talked about earlier, that the scouts
are looking for player assessment and then how do they
fit what we do well?
Speaker 1 (34:25):
I think, Yeah, the Ravens running wise, do a little
bit of everything, but specifically big wide zone you know,
stretch zone teams, He's not going to be the best
fit for that. He is more of a power blocker
and the Ravens they get down with some power blocking
and a maller, you know. I mean, he's a good size,
strong again attitude. You want to watch him finish in plays,
(34:48):
just just burying guys at the end of plays and yeah,
just a big, strong, violent blocker.
Speaker 2 (34:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (34:56):
So he can't have too many of those. And part
of the reason I think that he slid. You know,
he had an injury last season that cost him a
number of games. He got sick at the combine, you know,
like again, like you mentioned, part of a very good
LSU offensive line, you just kind of gets overlooked and
the Ravens again feel like they got a late round,
seventh round steel.
Speaker 2 (35:14):
Yeah. So that's all eleven draft picks there and the
film breakdown and what we learned from that. The last
thing I want to close up with here. We got
this question from Justin Landy to the lounge at Ravens
at Ravenson NFL dot Net says, Hey, guys, I'm a
long time listener emailing for the first time because I
had to share the story with you and the rest
of the flock. When my wife and I told our
(35:36):
two year old son that the draft was happening, he thought,
we said the giraft, and he called the draft the giraft.
The entire three days that was already funny, but then
it got really weird on Thursday night when the broadcast
cut to the Ravens draft rum after the Malachi Starks
pick and there was, for no apparent reason, a giraffe
in the background. My wife and I noticed it at
the same time. He busted out laughing. So I have
(35:57):
to ask, what is the deal with the giraffe? Well,
he explained it. Well, here justin did there is a
large stuffed animal draft that's in the draft room. And
Takasa explain this what you want to share the story?
Speaker 1 (36:10):
Yeah, so basically this was a gift or whatever, a
toy from what Eric to Cossa's kids back in the day.
And then you know, as parents ourselves, you know these
some toys go out of style, they end up collecting
dust in some corner somewhere. And so Eric Tokasa saw
the draft just sitting around. He said, you know what,
I'm going to bring this in to prove a point,
(36:31):
And the point that he wants to prove is that hey,
if you like a guy, stick your neck out, stand
up tall and stick your neck out and advocate for
your guy, like strong opinions are welcomed here. Yeah, and
so that the giraffe is a reminder of that mentality.
Speaker 2 (36:49):
Yeah, so it is. There is an actual reason that
it's in the draft room. It's a constant reminder of
that fact. But it is a pretty funny thing. Whenever
it pops up on TV.
Speaker 1 (36:57):
He should just rename it the diraft instead of the
dah It's the draft.
Speaker 2 (37:01):
I love it. I love it so as always, you
can email us at the lounge at Ravens dot NFL
dot net. Thank you so much for listening, and we
will be back with you again later this week.
Welcome into the Lounge presented by DraftKings. I'm Ryan Mink
here with Garrett Downing, and we are fresh off a
film session with Ravens scouts Andrew Raphael and Joey Cleary
which they broke down the Ravens twenty twenty five draft
class from start to finish, talked about what they saw
on film as they were evaluating these prospects. So we're
(00:24):
going to relate to you the information that we glean
from that film session, as well as any other kind
of follow up thoughts from this year's draft.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Yeah, I think it's just interesting to hear from them
kind of the process you see it through the lens
that they're looking at it both in terms of what
they saw from the players and then also how they
think they could fit the Ravens, what the Ravens need
and how these players would fit it. And I thought
it was really insightful. And Andrew and Joey do a
great job, and so it was just good to walk
through that process with them. So Malachi Starks is where
(00:54):
we start the conversation, of course, and I think the
like the obvious things with him are things that we
all all talked about he's a natural athlete. He's got
great ball skills when the ball's in the air. But
something that I did think that was that stood out
to me in hearing from them beyond the obvious, was
also the point that they made that uh, he he
(01:16):
wasn't hesitant to come up and defend the run either,
like we see the highlight reel interceptions and that's where
we'll focus on, and that's what you really ideally want
in a perfect world from a safety, but also not
hesitant to be a physical player either.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
Yeah, I think there that was one of the questions
coming out of the draft, and coach Saban uh talked
about you know, he had some questions about Malachi in
that regard and and his tackling, and you know, it's
it's interesting to hear obviously, uh A very he knows
what he's looking at. Yeah, Nick Saban, right, But the
(01:48):
Alabama Georgia game maybe wasn't Malachi's best game in Terns
in terms of hit of his tackling, but the Ravens
saw consistently throughout tape when you look at all of
Malachi's games, very consistent tackler, certainly no hesitation, Yeah, willing
to come up and hit and generally did a very
(02:09):
good job in that regard. Now they also think that
his strength is playing You know, he's a very versatile player.
He can do it all, and that's what the Ravens
scouts said, But his strength is playing free safety. Being
able to show that speed, that range, those ball skills.
That's really when he's at his best, even though he
can do everything.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Yeah, and it sounded like, based on the way George's
defense was constructed last year, that Georgia may have used
him even more in that free safety role. But he
was so good at being versatile and coming down and
playing in the slide and being a nickel and playing
all these different roles that they needed him to do
all those things. It's like, it's a similar conversation that
we've had with Kyle Hilton, where it's just going to
say the same thing. It's like, we love you doing
(02:52):
all these things, but if we want to put you
in an ideal situation, what does that look like? And
so I think that the Ravens really feel like and
we certainly had this conversation after the Ravens drifted him
on Thursday, but this only reinforced it that Zach Gore
and the defensive coaches are going to have a lot
of fun in finding how to construct this defense and
the flexibility that having Malachi in the mix, what that
(03:15):
gives to these defensive coaches.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
So I'll get my father in law a shout out here.
He's an avid listener of the Lounge, and he asked me,
you know, how does Malachi slip all the way to
twenty seven? You know, he sounds so great, you know,
you guys talk him up and he sounds awesome. How
does he get to twenty seven? And my you know,
big time program had good production all those things. And
my answer to him was, you know, from a pure
(03:39):
athletic testing standpoint, Malachi didn't blow people away at the combine, right,
but when you watch the tape, you certainly see the
range that he has, and I think that it's position specific.
Of course, you always want the fast you want everybody
to run a four to three that you draft, right,
But I think it's more important for a cornerback, specifically
(04:02):
an outside corner, to be able to run like Nate
Wiggins runs and be able to run with the fastest
wide receivers. When you got to be hip to hip,
you're on an island one on one, where at safety
it's more about angles, reading the play like reaction. You know,
there's just instincts. There's a lot more factors in play
where you don't have to be you know. Now, Malachi,
(04:24):
let's not get it twisted. Here had a he's fast like,
he had a good time. It wasn't like crazy, but
he had a good time. And but if you have
that much better instincts, or you have that much better
film study, you're smarter. You see where the ball's going
or where's or ahead of time, you know where it's
supposed to go if you break on that a half
(04:45):
a second earlier. Okay, now you're a four to three guy. Yeah,
you know what I mean. So it's not quite as
important as safety. I think more of these other intangibles
that we heard, you know, Joey and Andrew Rafael talk
about today, is you know, the you see his instincts,
you see his and you even see his ability to
run hip with him with with some of these faster
(05:06):
wide receivers. You know, they talk about him chasing down
Matthew Golden, who is one of the fastest wide receivers
in this year's draft, you know, going up against some
of these these top drafted wide receivers and running with
them down the field making plays.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
That was the thing that stood out to me. Also,
it's like you look at him and they've they showed
some plays of Malachi running step for step with guys
who are either either guy drafted this year or or
are already in the NFL because they came out previously.
In the clips were from a year or two ago.
So he has I'm really not worried honestly at all
about his athletic testing, like at all, not even remotely.
(05:44):
I think also to the question of how does he fall.
The other piece of it is, and I think this
is the biggest one. It's the positional value. Safety is
not valued as highly as quarterback, cornerback, wide receiver pass.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
That's the biggest one.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
That's the reason.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
I mean he was the safety drafted and he went
at twenty seven. Yeah, it's just safeties aren't Yeah, it's
highly valued, and.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
So basically it's positional value. And then even if you
are a team that values the position, do you have
a need there? And so I think it took a
little while for the need to match the player in
the position, and so that's how he ends up falling
to the Ravens. And that's often times how really good
teams stay good. And look at Kyle Hamilton. Now he
(06:25):
wasn't twenty seven, but he was fourteen, and just getting
to that point, I think a lot of the teams
that the drafted ahead are thinking, man, it would have
been nice to have Kyle Hamilton right now.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Right, this'll tell you the depth in which the Ravens scouts.
Look at the film. Okay, so Malachi starts pro day, right,
he's going through the ball drills where they're they're thrown out,
and he's making interceptions on air or whatever, and he
makes a great sideline catch, toe tapping catch right along
the sideline. And then, for whatever reason, Georgia had like
(06:53):
a rope, you know, a few yards off the sideline,
and Malachi makes the interception, dragons the toes and then
jumps over the rope, the high rope.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
It's a football field slash obstacle course exactly.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
And you know the Ravens guy's like, look at that,
Look at him clear the rope. You know, other guys
they ran right through that rope, you know, they tripped
and fell. Not Mack guy. You know, he was able
to clear that. So it was just kind of funny, Like, man,
they watch everything, they watch everything to the end of
the tape. How do he was the guy hustle? How
does he do this? Like that was a fun little example.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Yeah. So moving on to Mike Green, obviously super productive player,
Seventeen sacks last year led college football, and the thing
that kept coming up on him was was his motor.
And he's a guy that and when you look at
some of the best pass rushers in the NFL, motor
is something that I think is probably like maybe a
(07:45):
little bit it's hard to quantify, but it's incredibly important.
Like TJ. Watt has that, Max Crosby has that. There's
plenty of like the top end pass rushers who had
this relentless motor. And the Ravens certainly feel like Mike
Green as that as well as a guy that, like,
even if he doesn't win initially, the players never over
for him.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
Yeah, and they as an example of that, they specifically
pointed to the viral moment at the Senior Bowl in
which he was going one on one, I guess against
Josh Conner Lee junior who was a first round pick
of the Chiefs, and uh, Mike Green just ran through him,
I mean put him on his backside, which was impressive enough.
That's that's the part.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
That a viral class the part of a viral.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
But then also like after showing you know he's fired up,
he sprints back to get in line for the next rep,
you know, like and and even coaches at Marshall talking
about how you know he runs in and out of drills.
I mean, this guy like never is is loafing out there.
Just everything is at full speed. And the Ravens scouts
(08:49):
saw that. Joey Cleary said he spent extra time kind
of after a practice just in the background and noticed
his hustle in practice, even late in practice, and uh
so that was really cool. And then I think it's also.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
Just recalling Josh Connerley Commanders Commanders.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
I'm sorry, I said, he wins Cheve's Commanders.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
I think the other thing that that really stood out
too is the polish to his game, which is notable
considering he is coming from Marshall. Usually you don't see
that kind of level of polish with a smaller school athlete.
But the bevy of moves that he can pool. You know.
I mean, he's got this spin move, he's got the
the arm over, he's he's got a chop. He's got
(09:30):
a lot of different moves. Now imagine also when he
gets with Chuck Smith. You know what kind of shine
you can put on there. And uh, you know, the athleticism,
the rare athleticism, the bend and flatten and come underneath.
Just he just has it all. You know, he's got
good polish, he's got great athleticism, You've got the motor.
From a player perspective, he checks all the boxes.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
Yeah, and he's he had some really good games against
bigger competition. He had a big sack against Ohio State
early in the year against Will Howard, and of course
the High State went on to win the national championship
last year. And so he is a disruptive player and
showed up in some bigger games, even though week in
and week out at Marshall he wasn't going up against
the biggest competition. But he did have some of his
(10:14):
strong games. Another really strong game against Virginia Tech. So, yeah,
the the mixture of pass rush moves that he has
at his ability is really really dynamic for a young player.
And so it's like the power, the spin, the what
I watch him like, I see a guy that could
(10:34):
just finish at the quarterback. Like he's able to get
to the quarterback and get the quarterback down.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
Yeah, which is you don't get you don't leave the
nation in sacks with seventeen if he can't finish.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
Like he just has a he has a great feel
for like getting to the quarterback and bringing the quarterback down,
and like that is something that's again it's hard to
really quantify, and it's like not a it's not a
specific skill. What's not one skill like the forty yard dashes.
Guy's really fast. It's not like it's a totally clear testing,
but he has a good ability to mirror the quarterback
(11:05):
and bring him down once he gets there.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
I think one of the bigger questions about Mike Green
is what is his ability as a run stopper. And
you know, he's known certainly for getting sacked, but will
he be a three down linebacker and be able to
stand up against the run and set that edge? And
the Ravens feel like he can do that. You know,
he that wasn't necessarily what he shined at in college,
(11:27):
but they feel like he has the traits to be
a good run defender. The power in his hands, he
sets it, can set a good base, he can redirect,
he's certainly willing. You know, this goes to the motor.
The effort is there, and with more coaching, he'll obviously
get better at that. And the Ravens do see him
as it was like a no question, Yeah, he's a
three down line outside linebacker.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
The other thing, too, is that can be something that
develops over time. Like the Ravens have a da feel
way to have Kyle van Nout too, who can both
play on early downs as well.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
So Tavis Robinson Thompson of course.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
So like even if even if right away year one
he's not a three down linebacker, he can develop into
that and I think he clearly has the ability to
do it.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
Trell Suggs came into this league and was kind of
early on in his career is go get the quarterback,
and he did it well and uh, you know his
Rookie of the Year and so I think that that
could be a similar role to Mike Green as a rookie. Hey,
let's keep working with Chuck Smith and let him go
get quarterbacks as he develops the rest of his game.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
Yeah, I could see that too. So then in the
third round is Emery Jones, the offensive lineman out of LSU,
and uh, look, this is somebody who the Ravens think
he played. He played right tackle at LSU. He has
the ability to be a swing tackle or kick into guard,
and I think that it was It's just interesting in
hearing how the coaches evaluate and they're trying to project. Okay,
(12:52):
how does he project at the next level. Is he
a tackle? Is he a guard? If he is moving
to guard? What are the things that you're looking looking for.
It's athleticism, but it's also intelligence and having the ability
to understand what's going on in front of you. And
so the Ravens felt like he had all those things
and could really be a Again, he could project at guard,
(13:13):
and I think he most likely projects at guard long term,
but he can still play tackle on the right side,
and so they like his ability to slide his side
if they want to do that.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
Well, they already had a good guard Garrett in Delhi. Yeah,
they had a good left guard, so they didn't need
him at left guard. But they said that a lot
of people at LSU feel like he'll be an outstanding
guard at the NFL level. And what stood up to
me is just the dog, you know.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
I mean that was honestly kind of a common theme clip,
that was.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
A common theme among a bunch of these guys. Yeah,
and but what Emery Jones. Certainly you just see him
burying guys at the end of the play and talking
his talk, and he's he's about that life. You know.
One of the clips was even in the Senior Bowl game,
which you know, the practices are kind of the highlight
of the Senior Bowl, and he's still in the game
(14:04):
blocking guys fifteen yards down the field and trying to
throw them at the end of the play. And you
know that that kind of effort, that tenacity, that attitude
resonates with the Ravens and their scouts.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Yeah, young player too. He just turned twenty one years
old and so certainly plenty of room to grow physically
and just overall in his game. So I think this
is just a This is a classic, like really good
a player from a big time program who has ideal
size and physical traits that is still a little bit
(14:36):
rang considering he's only twenty one years old and could
step in. He's going to compete. I mean he can
compete right away at left guard.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
You know who he reminds me a little bit of
is collecchi assemle oh okay, who is a college tackle.
Yeah dog, Yeah, that big bass, strong, powerful, like like
to get after you. Yeah, that's what I kind of
see from memory.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
I think that's probably I like that comp. I like
that company. And collecchi played both tackle positions in college
and the pros left tackle, amrit tackle, and then guard
as well.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
It was really the best guard.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
He was best suited at guard, but he played. He
ended up playing swing tackle over the course of his career,
and so if that's how it goes for Emory, that
would be a pretty a pretty good career for sure.
So I like that comp. Next up, Teddy Buchannan, the
linebacker out of col and man, this guy just seems
like really really fluid and smart at diagnosing plays at
the line and then once he once he assesses what's
(15:27):
happening in front of him, great closing speed.
Speaker 1 (15:29):
Yeah, athleticism, relentlessness. To me, plays like a Raven's kind
of guy, plays like a raven kind of guy. You know,
I think that you just he's got that long hair
and it looks like he's playing with it on fire,
you know. I mean, you see it, and it is
remarkable about a haircut though, So you got a haircut now,
and you won't be able to notice that out there
(15:49):
on the field of Many camp this weekend. That was
when they were showing the clips. You're like, oh, there
he is. Yeah, they got the long hair. But certainly
one thing that stood out to me is, yeah, his
diagnosed his skills, which is really notable considering that he
was a high school quarterback. He was a quarterback really
throughout much of his youth football career, which is probably
(16:09):
why he didn't end up getting more highly recruited and
started at UC Davis, which also led to him being
a little bit less noticed potentially, you know. And then
he really had this one breakout year at Cal in
his final season, and so part of it is you're like,
(16:30):
where did that come from? You know what I mean?
And I think that his quarterback background helped him in
terms of being a good linebacker because he could see
things and diagnosed and he knows what an offense is
doing and then he has athleticism and the clothes on it.
But it also kind of hurt him in terms of
maybe what pushed him down the board a little bit.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
Yeah, well he wasn't like he didn't come out of
high school. It was this big time recruit. He was like,
if we were having this conversation a year ago, nobody
around the NFL and the were this building most likely
would be like, man, we think Teddy Buchanan a year
from now is going to be a breakout player.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
He was even high on Cow's list in terms of
these the guys to watch that are coming out in
this year's draft. I mean he was a new transfer
into the school. But yeah, then he just blew up. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
So it's like coming from the small school and then
transferring up to cal and then having a big breakout season.
He just kind of slipped through the cracks, and the
Ravens end up feeling like they get like this really
good player in the middle rounds, who who has this
untapped potential and can bring something to this defense. To me,
it seems like the right away with him, the way
(17:37):
that like he has his physical style, evenow some clips
of him like folding up offensive linemen on pulling blocks
and so like he doesn't shy away from contact. I
think that, like at a minimum, with him as a rookie,
he's going to be an impact player on special teams. Yeah,
and then he's going to challenge trent simpsor for a
starting job. And I think that, like I think that
as we're sitting here today, I think that Trenton is
(17:59):
certainly the favorite to that job, but Teddy's gonna push
him for it. And I don't think it's a lock.
I think that it's one of those made the best
man win situations.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
Yeah, yeah, I totally agree with that. I think Teddy
Buchanan it's gonna be one of those. He was a
fast riser, I think it seemed in the pre draft process,
and it's gonna be fun to see him keep that trajectory. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
All right. Carson Vincent, my guy, the Ravens end up
taking him in the fifth round. Offensive lineman out of
Alabama A and M. Developmental tackle, big guy, six seven,
three twenty and it's kind of funny one of the
players they showed of him. They're going up Alabama A
and M, but going up against Auburn and they're down
seventy three to three in the fourth quarter and so
kind of a rough, rough score situation. They're overall for
(18:42):
Alabama A and M in that game, but a point.
And this is just I mean, to be honest, this
is the kind of thing that shows you, like the
depth of which scouts are looking at everything, like you
would think that in the down seventy points situation like
that just skip this tape here.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
Well, yeah, it's a small school guy going against a
big time programs, so that that's the gold.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
Yeah, And even in that situation, like he's playing hard
late in the game and winning some reps late in
that game down seventy points, and I think that that's
that tells you a little bit about the type of
person beyond just the physical traits that he has and
the ravens like that.
Speaker 1 (19:19):
To me, a lot of the scouting report on Carson
Vincent that we got today was about the person and
the makeup he's He has the prototypical size, the measurables,
you know, heightweight, speed, length, reach, all those things, they're
all there. And the feet, the athleticism, it's there. But
(19:40):
why they really liked him even though you know you
turn on that Auburn tape, and not all of it
is is pretty. You know when you have a small
school guy going against a big time program like that,
and you know there's some things that need to be
worked out, but the person in terms of how passionate
he is about the game, and you know he is.
(20:00):
He after he makes a good block, he's telling that
guy that he blocked, how how good it was, and
the desire to be really good. I think that you
look for traits in these middle to late rounds, and
certainly he checks all the boxes from a physical and
then and then you say, man, this guy wants it
(20:20):
right and and that really stood out to them on tape.
Speaker 2 (20:24):
Well, you mentioned with Emery Jones the rep at the
Senior Bowl during the game. There's also kind of a
viral ish rep for Carson Vincent at the Senior Bowl.
It was the end of practice. A lot a lot
of Senior Bowl reps here, Mike Green, Emory Jones, Carson Vincent.
The Ravens value that Senior Bowl and uh but but Vincent.
It's a basically at the end of a practice and
(20:46):
with the whole team watch and they call out one
v one and it was Vincent vs. Mar Stewart, who
the Bengals took in the first round.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
Pastor Mark Stewart was having an awesome uh.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
Yeah, and then had a great combine. Yeah, and so
Vincent and he wins that rep. And then he kind
of got in Stewart's face a little bit and then
his side of the ball went crazy. And so like
you saw the passion, you saw the energy, and like
like that competitiveness. It came up with a lot of
these guys, like a little bit of trash talk clearly
means something to them. That was the case to Vincent,
(21:18):
that was the case with Emery Jones. Like these guys,
they've got a little bit of an attitude, and that's
what you like from an offensive lineman.
Speaker 1 (21:26):
Okay, so you liked my comp earlier with Cleccio, similar.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
You got for Vincence.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
The attitude reminded me a little bit of Orlando Brown. Well,
and the body and the attitude reminded me a little now.
Orlando Brown played at Oklahoma, Okay, so he was he
came in and obviously his father was an NFL player.
He had he was destined to play tackle in the NFL.
Vincent's small school guy and all that stuff like he
(21:52):
needs more refinement, right, Yeah, but from an attitude perspective
and body reminded me of that.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
Yeah, I think that there's similarities there. I do think that.
I think they are. The Orlando round comp is just
tough because he was I don't know, you're not saying
they're going to be the same player. But Orlando was
a guy that like he was Taylor ready. He was
Taylor made for the NFL. He was ready to go,
and he from childhood. Then he dropped the third round,
had no business following to the third round, but basically
(22:23):
had a really had a horrible combine right right, and
then that dropped him to the third round, and the
Ravens took him and said, well, you know, no problem
with the combine issue, will take you in the third round.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
It worked out.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
But so a little bit different in that sense where
like Vincent has the size, similar ish size, even the
Orlando is just such a big guy, yea a big
new he is he is, but but but Vincent's at
like three twenty where Orlando's wore like three forty. He's
just even wider. So again I think the comp is
I get it, and like the attitude I see that.
(22:54):
Like when he was kind of giving him the head
nod and the finger point, I was like, I've seen that,
I've seen from Orlando. Yeah, so I get that. I
get that comparison, all right. Next up is milalkone, cornerback
out of Western Michigan, and Raves just feel like this
guy really good a wearing, his good instincts. He's has
(23:14):
good ball skills. They feel like he has a good
feel for finding the ball. And like when you're when
you're drafting corners late in the process, really if you're
drafting any position late in the process, and they took
two in the sixth round, like you're looking for traits
and he has good feed, he has good size, ball skills,
he's tough. So like you have all of those, you
have a lot to work with with with BK, with
kone and the Ravens like the potential that he has.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
Yeah, just cool with the ball in the air, and
that's not a trait that all cornerbacks have when that
ball is up there, are you are you freaking out?
Are you turn your head and looking back? And and
BK certainly does that also notable that you know, they
feel like he does have some slot versatility. It's certainly
not what he does a lot of, but played some
in the slot.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
Next is Tyler Loop kicker out of airs. And I
know you were grinding the kicker tape leaning up to
the draft, just watching all the kicker tape, but with Loop,
like the thing that that when you look at some
of the film in all honesty with him, is like
his his motion just looks natural, like it looks fluid.
Speaker 1 (24:18):
Well, I think it's more so. The interesting part here
is that Tyler Loops his field goal percentage went down
each season, so obviously not ideal what you want to see,
but really more than results, the emphasis for the raven
is on the process and what he what his mechanics
are in kicking the ball, and what they saw from
(24:40):
Tyler Loop was the most consistent mechanics of this kicker class.
Like every kick looks the same with you know, your
plant relationship, relations to the ball, with your swing like
Randy and Randy has talked about this. Randy Brown, who's
the Ravens kicking specialist. Yeah, uh, and he was. This
was his assignment, right, it was go find the best kicker,
(25:03):
the guy you like that you want us to draft.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
He was really driving the driving the bus.
Speaker 1 (25:06):
He was driving it. And uh so, what he always
talks about is that kicking is like golfing in a way,
and you just want to have the smoothest swing. If
you have a really smooth swing, you're most likely gonna
get really good results. If if your swing is inconsistent,
well then it's really hard if something starts going wrong
to fix it because you don't have a consistent baseline.
(25:28):
If you have this consistent swing, not just swing, but
approach to the ball, all of those follow through, all
those the mechanics of kicking. The more that can just
it is automatic, it replicates itself every single time, the
more likely you are to have consistent results. Yeah, and
that's what they saw from Tyler.
Speaker 2 (25:48):
Luke and and we mentioned this in our recap podcast
immediately after the draft that he talked about kind of
being and the Ravens talked about this too, him being
a little bit of a kicking nerd and having a
like a swing like a swing coach and golf He
used that comparison. And he is a guy that gets
into the details and the weeds of kicking, and so
that to me kind of helps explain the mechanics, like
(26:10):
very mechanically sound. Yeah, and so the Ravens feel like
they got a really good kicker.
Speaker 1 (26:14):
And another thing when I talk about field goal percentage
in college that the Ravens scouts point out was that,
you know, you have to take that with a bit
of a grain of salt. Was it a good snap holder?
You know, you don't have premiere long snappers and holders
like you do in the NFL, where the operation matters
a lot. Also, all right, what are the circumstances of
(26:36):
each kick? Right? How many of those were fifty plus
yard whatever? Yeah? Right, So it's really more than production necessarily,
it's about process. Yep.
Speaker 2 (26:47):
Next is Lejonte Wester out of Colorado wide receiver and
return man. Competitive Again, he also has some of that
same attitude that we're talking about with the offensive lineman
Florida guy. And so think he's gonna get along well
man with Lamar and like he's going to be right
at home. But to be honest with Zay, like we
look at some of the highlights, the quickness and the
(27:08):
shiftiness that he has reminds me of Save Flowers. Yeah, exactly,
is that joystick kind of ability?
Speaker 1 (27:13):
Exactly? I feel like he could be a good kind
of zay back up, you know, get the A lot
of what he did at Colorado was get the ball
in his hands early, quickly in space and let him
go to work. Because when he's in space, he's a
tough guy. And what's notable is I think you certainly
after he was drafted, you hear the joystick ability, the moves,
(27:34):
the shiftiness and open space, the speed and all those things.
But it's the toughness that really stood out to the
Ravens scouts and even to Willy Taggert who coached le
Chante back at Florida Atlantic, and Willy Taggert was coaching
there and Willy loved him, said, this dude's a dog.
You don't usually hear that about five nine one seventy guys. Right,
(27:56):
Just this guy's physical and he's a dog, like can
take a hit, not a right of anything. He has
all the attributes that you want, you know, not just
as wide receiver, but especially as a returner. Right, talk
about fear of position. That can strike fear in your
heart when you're looking up at that ball, you exactly
like so being fearless in that position, Smooth catching, fielding,
(28:17):
the ball.
Speaker 2 (28:17):
That's I liked having a return guy who you can
put back there and you can just trust them to
catch it cleanly.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
That that was not a feeling that you had at
all times last year for the Ravens just put too
many balls on the ground late in the season, and
so yeah, just having that comfort, that's a job that's
probably number one. Yeah, you catch the ball and you
secure the ball first, whatever yards you get after that
as a bonus.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
John Harblaugh said that last year, like the first job
is punt catcher, the second is punt returner exactly.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
And so on film, Lagone really catches the ball cleanly
and looks very at ease and natural doing that. So
I'm really excited about him. I like that pick.
Speaker 2 (28:57):
He was super productive in college, like Monster production. Over
the course of his career, came up with some big
catches and big moments, and then he has that shiftiness.
I think the immediate impact for him is, say he's
going to be the raven starting return man this year,
and then I think that the opportunity is going to
be there for him to carve out a role for
himself on offense over the course of his career, and
I think that he could end up being a nice
(29:18):
piece use on some of those jet sweeps and different roles.
Like I think he could be a nice creative weapon
for Todd Monkin and this offense.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
We when college football fans probably remember the play that
Colorado won on they beat Baylor.
Speaker 2 (29:30):
Nor Sanders roll left.
Speaker 1 (29:31):
I'm sure Sander's role left throwing a bomb to the
end zone to win in the final seconds. And Lejonte
was the wide receiver on that play who made an
incredible catch, fighting through contact and diving in the end
zone to make that grab. So clutch, yeah, clutch dog,
Yeah for sure.
Speaker 2 (29:48):
All right, let's go a quick break. When we come back,
we'll round out the rest of this draft class and
give you some closing thoughts. You're listening to the Lounge podcast.
We're coming to you from the Sea Keek Studio. We
also want to mention our partners at Draft Kings Sportsbook.
They are an official sport spending partner of the Baltimore
Ravens Draft King Sportsbook. The Crown is yours. So next
defensive lineman and Nis Peebles out of Virginia Tech. Smaller
(30:09):
defensive lineman, but he has this ability to get into
the backfield, incredibly quick off the ball, and he's six
foot two hundred and ninety pounds, so like when you're
thinking about a defensive tackle that's undersized, but he actually
like it's not just quickness, which he has yet that
quickness is excellent, but he also has he uses his
(30:32):
smaller stature to his advantage with leverage and he has
he still has.
Speaker 1 (30:36):
Power, lower body power, lower.
Speaker 2 (30:38):
Body power, so like he's a smaller guy and then
uses that to his advantage. We've seen that with offensive
lineman and defensive lineman over the years. If you can
use that leverage to your advantage, then being shorter is
it doesn't actually hurt you, And it seems like that's
the case with Peoples.
Speaker 1 (30:53):
Yeah, multiple clips against big time players, A big old,
three hundred and forty pound guard out of Miami. He's
going to be early pick in future drafts, and Ania's
really kind of standing up and standing firm against him,
even taking on double teams, and so yeah, that's the
question is you know this guy's gonna be able to
(31:13):
shoot gaps, Which, hey, if that's that's your trick in
the bag, that's a good trick to have. But also
I think that he has the ability and the power
to also offer more than just a situational pass rusher,
which is probably what it'll be as a rookie. You know,
if he's getting defensive snaps, that'll probably be in that role.
But I think that I really think this could be
(31:35):
a late round steal for the Ravens.
Speaker 2 (31:37):
Yeah, I agree with you. I just think that he
has like the tools, and it's he falls because he's
a smaller defensive lineman. Yeah, And like that's that's kind
of a similar theme with some of these these final picks.
So John tay Westerns five nine one seventy Peoples is
a smaller defensive lineman. And next up is cornerback Robert
(31:57):
Longerbeam who's five to ten, And so if he's a
little bit taller, how early does he go? If he's
six to one running a four to three like he does,
how early does he go?
Speaker 1 (32:06):
Uh?
Speaker 2 (32:07):
Is it day two? Maybe? But like I think that
that's kind of a theme. And when you're drafting these
guys in the late rounds, again, you're looking for traits
and the and the potential to develop into something special
and be a late round steel. And so I think
all these guys have that that potential and does it happen,
We'll see.
Speaker 1 (32:26):
So that's note, by the way, who his name is Fub,
That's what he likes to be called. F Ub. Fubb
can do the worm. Did you see this?
Speaker 2 (32:36):
I haven't seen that clip from the Senior Bowl another
Senior bow highlight viral moment.
Speaker 1 (32:40):
Right trying to distract the kicker to miss a field
goal when he's just doing the worm right across the
line of scrimmage, right down the line scres impressive.
Speaker 2 (32:48):
Reminds me a little bit of Brandon Williams.
Speaker 1 (32:49):
Oh the handstands walking on his hands exactly exactly that
another great cop.
Speaker 2 (32:55):
Yeah, very different player, but the dance moves the worm handstand.
So there you go. Longer Beam. I mentioned him like,
he's got great speed, sticky in coverage, and I think
he moves well. And so this is just another guy
that the Ravens feel like has has potential along with
(33:16):
b K to be a late round steal. And I mean,
the tricky thing is that the Ravens have eleven draft picks.
DaCosta even said before the draft it's not likely at
eleven draft picks end up making the fifty three man roster.
They could be in a situation where it's either or
so those two guys are competing for a final roster
spot and then you'll just see who ends up winning
(33:37):
the job.
Speaker 1 (33:38):
Yeah, again, traits, you're looking for trades late and longer.
Beam just moves like an NFL corner. You know, this guy,
the short shuttle is forty time, as you mentioned, like
he just has some very good athleticism.
Speaker 2 (33:51):
And then lastly it closed it out Garrett Dellingser, offensive
guard from LSU. It's just kind of the forgotten man
on a really talented LSU offensive line. Will Campbell is
a top five pick and then Emery Jones we already
covered him as a third round pick. So like the
tackles take all the attention on that LSU offensive line,
and but Dellinger is he's he's a guy that really
(34:12):
good guard. The Ravens feel like he fits their scheme,
which I think is important. Like that's part of the
process here that I talked about earlier, that the scouts
are looking for player assessment and then how do they
fit what we do well?
Speaker 1 (34:25):
I think, Yeah, the Ravens running wise, do a little
bit of everything, but specifically big wide zone you know,
stretch zone teams, He's not going to be the best
fit for that. He is more of a power blocker
and the Ravens they get down with some power blocking
and a maller, you know. I mean, he's a good size,
strong again attitude. You want to watch him finish in plays,
(34:48):
just just burying guys at the end of plays and yeah,
just a big, strong, violent blocker.
Speaker 2 (34:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (34:56):
So he can't have too many of those. And part
of the reason I think that he slid. You know,
he had an injury last season that cost him a
number of games. He got sick at the combine, you know,
like again, like you mentioned, part of a very good
LSU offensive line, you just kind of gets overlooked and
the Ravens again feel like they got a late round,
seventh round steel.
Speaker 2 (35:14):
Yeah. So that's all eleven draft picks there and the
film breakdown and what we learned from that. The last
thing I want to close up with here. We got
this question from Justin Landy to the lounge at Ravens
at Ravenson NFL dot Net says, Hey, guys, I'm a
long time listener emailing for the first time because I
had to share the story with you and the rest
of the flock. When my wife and I told our
(35:36):
two year old son that the draft was happening, he thought,
we said the giraft, and he called the draft the giraft.
The entire three days that was already funny, but then
it got really weird on Thursday night when the broadcast
cut to the Ravens draft rum after the Malachi Starks
pick and there was, for no apparent reason, a giraffe
in the background. My wife and I noticed it at
the same time. He busted out laughing. So I have
(35:57):
to ask, what is the deal with the giraffe? Well,
he explained it. Well, here justin did there is a
large stuffed animal draft that's in the draft room. And
Takasa explain this what you want to share the story?
Speaker 1 (36:10):
Yeah, so basically this was a gift or whatever, a
toy from what Eric to Cossa's kids back in the day.
And then you know, as parents ourselves, you know these
some toys go out of style, they end up collecting
dust in some corner somewhere. And so Eric Tokasa saw
the draft just sitting around. He said, you know what,
I'm going to bring this in to prove a point,
(36:31):
And the point that he wants to prove is that hey,
if you like a guy, stick your neck out, stand
up tall and stick your neck out and advocate for
your guy, like strong opinions are welcomed here. Yeah, and
so that the giraffe is a reminder of that mentality.
Speaker 2 (36:49):
Yeah, so it is. There is an actual reason that
it's in the draft room. It's a constant reminder of
that fact. But it is a pretty funny thing. Whenever
it pops up on TV.
Speaker 1 (36:57):
He should just rename it the diraft instead of the
dah It's the draft.
Speaker 2 (37:01):
I love it. I love it so as always, you
can email us at the lounge at Ravens dot NFL
dot net. Thank you so much for listening, and we
will be back with you again later this week.
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