June 5, 2025 • 16 mins
Assistant General Manager Brandon speaks to the media after practice on Thursday at Quest Diagnostics Training Center.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Obviously every scenes into this exciting and different.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
This year is this whole lead up to the draft
with you know, another three pick and the quarterbacks dooming out? There?
Was it even more you know, spicy or exciting or
interesting for you when you guys.
Speaker 3 (00:15):
No, I wouldn't say it's more spicy.
Speaker 4 (00:17):
When you look at the draft process, we want to
attack it by one.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
We had a.
Speaker 4 (00:21):
Quarterback process, but all and we also have to look
at what's the best player available. And we're happy that
we landed with Abdul. We had two years of watching
great tape with him, see him play off the ball
but also the rusher, and then getting together with Shane
and Daves and figuring out how can you be multiple
in our defense and you know, help our rush because
that was a big emphasis rush, coverage, versatility, you know,
creating turnovers.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
So he helped solve that.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
You've talked about that. You've talked about that in the past.
Speaker 5 (00:46):
The idea of making sure the scouting staff, you know,
personnel staff, and the coaching staff are all on the
same page, so you know, if you're considering drafting.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
A player, what will they do with that player?
Speaker 5 (00:58):
How important was it with with that duel because he
possesses such a diverse.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Game that you want to see how.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
He's going to be used in your system. Yeah, a
good question. Ark.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
So when you look at Abdul's versatility, you know that
he can affect the quarterback multiple positions, and that was
the biggest thing. When you have Burns KT ab Dul,
how can you get you know, our best players in
our front set and aligned and on the field as
much as possible to help affect the quarterback. And I
think you know, when you look at his early tape
at Penn State, you can see him playing from stacked alignment.
When you have a premium athlete like a duel, he
(01:29):
can rush from a stack linebacker position, or he can
rush you know, over a guard or the same thing
with Burns gives you the versatility to flip flop and
with Kt to create the best matchup on a week
to week basis. So the ability to be multiple was,
you know, really advantageous for us in terms of evaluating
a dual actually seeing true application of it.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
You know, it's not a hypothetical projection. We've seen it.
You graduate a quarterback process.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
I was just wondering, what's your contributions to that process.
How do you look at it like what was what
was your you know part in that?
Speaker 4 (02:00):
Yeah, do you want to say it's it was a
comprehensive and like arduous process where you kind of look
at the coaching staff and the scouts. We're on it
on two different timelines. When you look at the quarterbacks
from the scouting perspective, we have two years of a
book of business of seeing these guys live where the
coaches get to the off season they're playing catch up
for us. And then we have the touch points of
(02:20):
the All Star games as well as the private workouts,
the thirty visits, you know, combine and then when you
have the process, you know, the culbination as you kind.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
Of build this funnel.
Speaker 4 (02:30):
As you get later later in the spring, you get
to watch tape together, figure out what best fits, what
are the non negotiables and understand you know, what's going
to play at a premium in the system and what
can be emphasized based on Dave's vision. So the collaborative process,
like I said, it's long. This is our you know,
second year in a row doing a deep dive into it,
and you know, we're happy that Jackson's a guy and
(02:51):
the way that we came away with it.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
At what point, at what point did you did you
process with Jackson? At what point did you kind of
say that that guy could work for us?
Speaker 3 (03:00):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (03:00):
I think when you when you look at these players,
I say like they are their walking resume. So every
benchmark matters and contributes to know how they would fit
for us. So obviously, you know, you have your two
years of tape with Jackson, and then you know, you
get to the Senior Bowl. We're lucky enough to have
coaches that were involved in coaching there. But the cool
part is when we got to Senior Bowl, we get
to sit down with other players and you talk to
(03:22):
them about, hey, if you have one guy you want
to bring to the NFL with you. Jackson was a
common theme that came about, and it was players from
different sides of the ball, so different sides of the ball, demographics.
He's got kind of that every man feel, which was
really unique.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
And when you get.
Speaker 4 (03:36):
Through the spring process and we do our you know,
aptitude testing and as well as our private workout, private dinners,
he was guy who checked all the boxes for us.
And we're happy, we're able to get them.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
There was a conversations with Old Miss players or guys.
Speaker 4 (03:48):
Mobile, guys at Mobile, you know, guys who at Mobile,
guys who played against him during the regular season, Guys
that were on the same team with them at Mobile
but not at Ole Miss. And then when we get
to your private workout and you have you know, all
your skill guys show up for you at a private workout,
it shows how they think about you as a teammate.
When you go to the Pro day and you know
he's cheering on Walter Nolan on the bench press and
(04:10):
he's there early when he's not even doing the lifting
portion of the workout. The guy see what kind of
equity he builds up with them, and he's got that
moxie where guys like to be around him. They're glad,
they gravitate towards him, and they see that he puts
the work in. So it was a glove fit for us.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
Brandon.
Speaker 6 (04:25):
Every year, Brandon, every year at the draft, you hear
somebody say, like, I thought this team, this team told
me they were going to draft me, and they didn't
draft me. How difficult is the fine line to walk
between showing a player love telling him you're interested in
him and not leading him on to believe he's your
guy that you're going.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
To pack for sure.
Speaker 4 (04:44):
Like when you look at when you get to the
combine or early in the process, it's you're still in
the fact finding part, right, you have a good feel
or you should have a good feel for what the
player is on the field, how he could fit into
your system from a just a skill set standpoint. But
then as you have these call it off season benchmarks,
you figure out the intangibles and you're you're negligent if
(05:06):
you make that decision on a player before you go
through the full uh you know, kitchen sync process with him.
So it's you know, how can he process? You know
what's the work ethic that he puts in, you know
what are his outside of football interests? You know what
drives him? What's the support system like? All those things
(05:26):
contribute to really what's his floor, what's his ceiling? Like
when you look at the at the end of the day,
we're looking at the draft, there's a lot of risk
analysis that goes on, and then you factor in the
medical component. So you find some of that medical component
stuff later on, which allows you to either creates you
an opportunity for a player, or it makes it more
risky than not to take the player.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
You were talking about risk analysis.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
What was the calculation with Jackson?
Speaker 4 (05:46):
Like, you're sitting at three, you know you can get
him at three, and then obviously you take up to
because everything he said he does, and just not knowing
if Jackson's is gonna make it to wherever you end up,
you know, getting them. Yeah, well, I think when you
look at when you take, you know, a little land
he was. You know, for us, the talent was a
no brainer. You look at opportunity costs, right, what are
you what are you giving up potentially for the player
(06:08):
you're taking. And we with the help from NASA, which
is our analytics crew that weffectually call the NASA and
take our area scouts who they hear the word on
the street. You know, scouts talk and you hear from
other buildings where guys may be on the board, and
there's so much dead time in the spring before the draft,
(06:28):
you start to hear where guys potentially may fall. And
as we get all this information from agents all third
party sources, we figure, okay, what's our best opportunity to strike?
And we knew, you know, once we got into the twenties,
there's going to be an opportunity for Jackson. It was
going to be a hey, what striking point? And then
what would be the conversation we'd have to give up, you.
Speaker 5 (06:46):
Know how but you know you and Joe work closely
together now to this point, so in that point you're
in the draft room. We got to see it after
the fact when the team released the video of Joe
and just can see the like, you know, I don't
know how I would describe it, but the emotions of
when do we pull the trigger, when do we know
it's the right opportunity, and then the relief when it
(07:07):
finally hits from someone who is in there, but also
just kind of how to watch it transpire. What did
that feel like to know that here's a quarterback and
we know how important they are that you guys like,
but you just don't know until you know when you
pull that trigger.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
The first thing art.
Speaker 4 (07:27):
I have to give my pass off for Joe for
how systematic and streamline our processes was where nothing happened
that we were surprised about. You know, leading up to
the draft, we have these strategy sessions where we go
through hypothetical scenarios. If we take a player early, if
we trade back back into one, what does that look like?
Speaker 3 (07:45):
And it's almost like you no different than practicing.
Speaker 4 (07:47):
You take those reps so when game day comes on
draft day, you're ready for whatever. There's no curveball surprise
or you're caught flat footed. So I think when you
get into the twenties, we knew there's going to be
striking opportunities and potential deals that could have been done
with multiple clubs, and we're happy that, you know, we're
able to keep pick sixty five and get Darris Alexander later.
And these are some of those scenarios we work through.
(08:10):
So just for it to come to fruition seeing that
sigh relief from Joe. Everything that we you know, planned
for doesn't always go according to plan, but this one
planned out the way that we did said hey, we
may be in this position, what does it look like?
And for the way that came together, we're really happy.
Speaker 7 (08:26):
Brandon, You've been a part of the evaluation process of
a lot of players. Evan Deal is a guy who
this organization looked at and said he's a he's a
right tech you know, he's an offensive tackle and now
he's making a position change from a developmental and and
you know, a guy who looks at these guys and
tried to project, why can he be a good guard
in the NFL?
Speaker 4 (08:45):
Yeah, I think when you look at the job description
in our system for the guard, you know, can he
create movement at the line of scrimmage and he can
keep the interior firm and pass protection. We've seen Evan
do it before. We need flashes to be consistent and
he's been fully bought in with the move and just
knowing that, you know, leaning on your strength, there's not
(09:07):
that many men they're as big as he is inside
at guard and playing with better balance and calm and
James have been working with him throughout this spring and
Evan's putting in his work, so you know, we're excited
to see what he shows when the past come on
in training camp, but excited to see that he has
the physical tools and skill set to transition inside. We've
just seen us he consistently, he was he was, He's
obviously looks like a prototype tackle.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
Does that six seven hurt him at guard or you know,
can he use that? You know, he's not many six
seven guards, So how does that translate?
Speaker 4 (09:36):
Yeah, and he's shorter than sixty seven. But I get
what you're saying. He's a he's a big man. But
I think when you look at the prototype size, you
can look out throughout the lean you know, league, you
can look at offensive lines like Baltimore, et cetera. There
are guys that you know, some of the guys in
Philly that are larger than typical prototype. But it's you know,
what's the job description and the technique. You know, if
(09:58):
you're if you're asking him to pull out space and
a lot of redirecting at the second level, that is
not his game. But he is a power broker. These
guys that can create movement. He's a guy that can
absorb power and anchor in past protection. And you know,
we just have to keep improving the technique and working
on his hand usage and his balance.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
And James and Krma committed to that.
Speaker 8 (10:16):
We haven't met Evan Barnes and jam Likewise, what Darius
and Camp's got it. I'm just curious. You mentioned getting
two years of tape on Jackson and Abdual. I'm curious,
what's the process when you look at a guy like
Darius who's at a mid major school. If you say,
and then it's got to having really one big year.
What's the kind of the process of evaluating them and
seeing kind of how they can fit with maybe less film,
(10:37):
I guess.
Speaker 3 (10:38):
Yeah, So this is really the moment. It's the tips.
Speaker 4 (10:41):
It hats off to our area Scouts because it's the
early identification, like they do a lot of the unseen work.
When you look at Dariulus Alexander, you look at brendan prophet,
identifying him early at Toledo when we see him play
against Pittsburgh and he's own drops and has the interception
and finding out the background that he once was an
offensive liignment, that he had coordinator changes, that he became
a father really early, a lot of the hidden work
(11:04):
that he's done in obstacles that he's overcome and come
on the right side him come showing up at Mobile
wasn't the first time we're getting exposure to him. So
it created an early you know, touch point and checkpoint.
And when you look at Scott, same thing. You know,
we we were hearing things about Scott when he's at
Sack State and you look at our area Scouts, Hannah Brunette,
you know, Jeremy. All those those two were really the
(11:27):
driving force in terms of identifying Scott early and not
just you know the highlights and the broken tackles that
you see, but the unseen stuff at practicing. Hey, he's
got some some things in the past games that are untapped.
And then you watch the call It Texas game and
you see him utilizing the past game a little bit more.
Speaker 3 (11:43):
And when we go.
Speaker 4 (11:44):
Through the process with him, you know, we weren't worried
about forty times or all those other things because we
had so many touch points and live looks in practice
that he wasn't a guy that popped on the scene late.
You know, we took him through the fall. We got
to see him live and we're happy. And that's the
things where preached for our scouts early identification. You know,
scout with your eyes, now with your ears and both
(12:05):
you know, both know the the scouts on the West
Coast and brunn and Profit with the tweedo work and
a long as our other scouts. They did a really
good job in the It's part of our you know,
our core values that you know, Dennis Hickey driving the
scouting process on the College side in terms of overseeing
a lot of the calendar work of how we divide
up the labor of going to schools early, then the
amount of looks each school gets, amount of live looks
(12:26):
each school gets. So there's a method to the imagine.
It's just it's a lot of unseen work that goes
on in the fall.
Speaker 6 (12:31):
And Russell Wilson's body of works speaks for itself in
the league. But what convinced you all that at this
point in his career could be a good fit.
Speaker 1 (12:37):
For what you're trying to do here.
Speaker 4 (12:39):
Yeah, well, Russell's he's been a guy that when you
look at what he's done from Seattle to Pittsburgh, it
was a mesh and fit for our scheme. You know,
we knew we needed to push the ball down the
field a lot more. And uh, you guys have seen
it in practice. That's an ability and knack that is
unique for us. And now you look at the leadership
(13:00):
component when you see what Russ has done since he's
got here. Within the first two weeks, he's bringing Jalen
Hygat out to LA and they're working out privately, or
he's getting all the skill guys together down in Atlanta
earlier this week, scheduling the dinner with the O line
and running backs like that type of leadership component because
you remember, our new place has been really young throughout
our time here, and him having that veteran leadership on
(13:24):
the offensive side as well as having the ability to
compliment what they want to get done from the quarterback position.
Speaker 3 (13:30):
It was a really good fit.
Speaker 6 (13:32):
Chenisi brought back ninety one percent of your let's call
it a contributors. Guys played thirty percent or more of
offensive teams, of which is a really high number for
a team that won three games. Most teams would think you'd,
you know, reset the roster. Why did you do that?
Is that a faith in the guys you have that
they didn't play to their to their peak?
Speaker 1 (13:52):
Is that a side of youth?
Speaker 6 (13:54):
Like what do you see as bringing back so much
of a team that only won three games?
Speaker 4 (13:58):
So that's the last thing that you mentioned, signed of youth.
That was the big big thing when you talking about
that ninety one percent. Think we only have you know,
six players left in the roster from when we got
here in twenty twenty two. But look how young the
nucleus is. So there are strategic additions in terms of
the A free agency. You know, you look at the secondary.
We had had one of the youngest secondaries in the league,
(14:19):
and you drop off, you know, Javon Holland, where we
loved his character even coming back at an Oregon and
knowing the job he did down in Miami. And then
you look at Paulson Adebo, a guy who wasn't for
injury would have been amongst the league leaders in interceptions
last year. I'm having a strong character work that coming
out of you know, Stanford. So you look at two
guys that can help shape the secondary, and then you
look at the veteran pieces that we added on, you know,
(14:41):
the defensive line and in the front seven, so whether
it's Ghoston or Ledbetter or Roy Robinson Harris, the guys
that have skins on the wall that can help complement
our young group. And then obviously redoing the quarterback room
with having both Russ and Jamis experience was was paramount.
So I think, you know, when you look at our youth,
you know that is our nucleus, but help supplementing it
with leadership and versatility and guys that can help supplement
(15:04):
not just in age, in leadership, standpoint, but a versatility
and skill set standpoint?
Speaker 3 (15:08):
What really important for us?
Speaker 6 (15:09):
You mentioned it forty our dash before and not worrying
so much about scats forty times. How much has having
in game GPS times and acceleration percon how much has
that contributed to the scouting process and evaluation process.
Speaker 4 (15:24):
So when you look at GPS data, you know, the
NNGS data, all the game dame metrics, it's all a
tool and our process, Like I mentioned NASA before, our
analytics department, Joe does a phenomenal job of including them
not only in the draft process but in free agency.
And you know, we can extrapolate certain metrics of hey,
(15:46):
does it correlate with the scouting report. You know when
our pro director Chris Rozzetti or any of our pro
scouts has a report on a guy in free agency
and you say, hey, you know he has you know,
third level speed and he can pull away or he
can do you know, he has sideline sideline speed and
you can close and and uh and you know cut
off backside. Does the data come you know it is
(16:07):
it contradictory or you know, is it giving it evidence
and support? So you know, when you look at the
data in itself, we're always finding ways to really call
it poke holes and have checks and balances in our processes.
So it's a supplemental tool and we're going to continue
to do it. We're going to continue to implement AI,
which we've talked about earlier this week, and they're all
(16:27):
things where if you're not taking advantage of all those tools,
there's another team who is, and you're being negligent. And
Joe's been really great in terms of opening the lines
of communication and being collaborative when we get to you know,
the chance to add different sources and tools help us
make decisions.
Obviously every scenes into this exciting and different.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
This year is this whole lead up to the draft
with you know, another three pick and the quarterbacks dooming out? There?
Was it even more you know, spicy or exciting or
interesting for you when you guys.
Speaker 3 (00:15):
No, I wouldn't say it's more spicy.
Speaker 4 (00:17):
When you look at the draft process, we want to
attack it by one.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
We had a.
Speaker 4 (00:21):
Quarterback process, but all and we also have to look
at what's the best player available. And we're happy that
we landed with Abdul. We had two years of watching
great tape with him, see him play off the ball
but also the rusher, and then getting together with Shane
and Daves and figuring out how can you be multiple
in our defense and you know, help our rush because
that was a big emphasis rush, coverage, versatility, you know,
creating turnovers.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
So he helped solve that.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
You've talked about that. You've talked about that in the past.
Speaker 5 (00:46):
The idea of making sure the scouting staff, you know,
personnel staff, and the coaching staff are all on the
same page, so you know, if you're considering drafting.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
A player, what will they do with that player?
Speaker 5 (00:58):
How important was it with with that duel because he
possesses such a diverse.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Game that you want to see how.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
He's going to be used in your system. Yeah, a
good question. Ark.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
So when you look at Abdul's versatility, you know that
he can affect the quarterback multiple positions, and that was
the biggest thing. When you have Burns KT ab Dul,
how can you get you know, our best players in
our front set and aligned and on the field as
much as possible to help affect the quarterback. And I
think you know, when you look at his early tape
at Penn State, you can see him playing from stacked alignment.
When you have a premium athlete like a duel, he
(01:29):
can rush from a stack linebacker position, or he can
rush you know, over a guard or the same thing
with Burns gives you the versatility to flip flop and
with Kt to create the best matchup on a week
to week basis. So the ability to be multiple was,
you know, really advantageous for us in terms of evaluating
a dual actually seeing true application of it.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
You know, it's not a hypothetical projection. We've seen it.
You graduate a quarterback process.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
I was just wondering, what's your contributions to that process.
How do you look at it like what was what
was your you know part in that?
Speaker 4 (02:00):
Yeah, do you want to say it's it was a
comprehensive and like arduous process where you kind of look
at the coaching staff and the scouts. We're on it
on two different timelines. When you look at the quarterbacks
from the scouting perspective, we have two years of a
book of business of seeing these guys live where the
coaches get to the off season they're playing catch up
for us. And then we have the touch points of
(02:20):
the All Star games as well as the private workouts,
the thirty visits, you know, combine and then when you
have the process, you know, the culbination as you kind.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
Of build this funnel.
Speaker 4 (02:30):
As you get later later in the spring, you get
to watch tape together, figure out what best fits, what
are the non negotiables and understand you know, what's going
to play at a premium in the system and what
can be emphasized based on Dave's vision. So the collaborative process,
like I said, it's long. This is our you know,
second year in a row doing a deep dive into it,
and you know, we're happy that Jackson's a guy and
(02:51):
the way that we came away with it.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
At what point, at what point did you did you
process with Jackson? At what point did you kind of
say that that guy could work for us?
Speaker 3 (03:00):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (03:00):
I think when you when you look at these players,
I say like they are their walking resume. So every
benchmark matters and contributes to know how they would fit
for us. So obviously, you know, you have your two
years of tape with Jackson, and then you know, you
get to the Senior Bowl. We're lucky enough to have
coaches that were involved in coaching there. But the cool
part is when we got to Senior Bowl, we get
to sit down with other players and you talk to
(03:22):
them about, hey, if you have one guy you want
to bring to the NFL with you. Jackson was a
common theme that came about, and it was players from
different sides of the ball, so different sides of the ball, demographics.
He's got kind of that every man feel, which was
really unique.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
And when you get.
Speaker 4 (03:36):
Through the spring process and we do our you know,
aptitude testing and as well as our private workout, private dinners,
he was guy who checked all the boxes for us.
And we're happy, we're able to get them.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
There was a conversations with Old Miss players or guys.
Speaker 4 (03:48):
Mobile, guys at Mobile, you know, guys who at Mobile,
guys who played against him during the regular season, Guys
that were on the same team with them at Mobile
but not at Ole Miss. And then when we get
to your private workout and you have you know, all
your skill guys show up for you at a private workout,
it shows how they think about you as a teammate.
When you go to the Pro day and you know
he's cheering on Walter Nolan on the bench press and
(04:10):
he's there early when he's not even doing the lifting
portion of the workout. The guy see what kind of
equity he builds up with them, and he's got that
moxie where guys like to be around him. They're glad,
they gravitate towards him, and they see that he puts
the work in. So it was a glove fit for us.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
Brandon.
Speaker 6 (04:25):
Every year, Brandon, every year at the draft, you hear
somebody say, like, I thought this team, this team told
me they were going to draft me, and they didn't
draft me. How difficult is the fine line to walk
between showing a player love telling him you're interested in
him and not leading him on to believe he's your
guy that you're going.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
To pack for sure.
Speaker 4 (04:44):
Like when you look at when you get to the
combine or early in the process, it's you're still in
the fact finding part, right, you have a good feel
or you should have a good feel for what the
player is on the field, how he could fit into
your system from a just a skill set standpoint. But
then as you have these call it off season benchmarks,
you figure out the intangibles and you're you're negligent if
(05:06):
you make that decision on a player before you go
through the full uh you know, kitchen sync process with him.
So it's you know, how can he process? You know
what's the work ethic that he puts in, you know
what are his outside of football interests? You know what
drives him? What's the support system like? All those things
(05:26):
contribute to really what's his floor, what's his ceiling? Like
when you look at the at the end of the day,
we're looking at the draft, there's a lot of risk
analysis that goes on, and then you factor in the
medical component. So you find some of that medical component
stuff later on, which allows you to either creates you
an opportunity for a player, or it makes it more
risky than not to take the player.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
You were talking about risk analysis.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
What was the calculation with Jackson?
Speaker 4 (05:46):
Like, you're sitting at three, you know you can get
him at three, and then obviously you take up to
because everything he said he does, and just not knowing
if Jackson's is gonna make it to wherever you end up,
you know, getting them. Yeah, well, I think when you
look at when you take, you know, a little land
he was. You know, for us, the talent was a
no brainer. You look at opportunity costs, right, what are
you what are you giving up potentially for the player
(06:08):
you're taking. And we with the help from NASA, which
is our analytics crew that weffectually call the NASA and
take our area scouts who they hear the word on
the street. You know, scouts talk and you hear from
other buildings where guys may be on the board, and
there's so much dead time in the spring before the draft,
(06:28):
you start to hear where guys potentially may fall. And
as we get all this information from agents all third
party sources, we figure, okay, what's our best opportunity to strike?
And we knew, you know, once we got into the twenties,
there's going to be an opportunity for Jackson. It was
going to be a hey, what striking point? And then
what would be the conversation we'd have to give up, you.
Speaker 5 (06:46):
Know how but you know you and Joe work closely
together now to this point, so in that point you're
in the draft room. We got to see it after
the fact when the team released the video of Joe
and just can see the like, you know, I don't
know how I would describe it, but the emotions of
when do we pull the trigger, when do we know
it's the right opportunity, and then the relief when it
(07:07):
finally hits from someone who is in there, but also
just kind of how to watch it transpire. What did
that feel like to know that here's a quarterback and
we know how important they are that you guys like,
but you just don't know until you know when you
pull that trigger.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
The first thing art.
Speaker 4 (07:27):
I have to give my pass off for Joe for
how systematic and streamline our processes was where nothing happened
that we were surprised about. You know, leading up to
the draft, we have these strategy sessions where we go
through hypothetical scenarios. If we take a player early, if
we trade back back into one, what does that look like?
Speaker 3 (07:45):
And it's almost like you no different than practicing.
Speaker 4 (07:47):
You take those reps so when game day comes on
draft day, you're ready for whatever. There's no curveball surprise
or you're caught flat footed. So I think when you
get into the twenties, we knew there's going to be
striking opportunities and potential deals that could have been done
with multiple clubs, and we're happy that, you know, we're
able to keep pick sixty five and get Darris Alexander later.
And these are some of those scenarios we work through.
(08:10):
So just for it to come to fruition seeing that
sigh relief from Joe. Everything that we you know, planned
for doesn't always go according to plan, but this one
planned out the way that we did said hey, we
may be in this position, what does it look like?
And for the way that came together, we're really happy.
Speaker 7 (08:26):
Brandon, You've been a part of the evaluation process of
a lot of players. Evan Deal is a guy who
this organization looked at and said he's a he's a
right tech you know, he's an offensive tackle and now
he's making a position change from a developmental and and
you know, a guy who looks at these guys and
tried to project, why can he be a good guard
in the NFL?
Speaker 4 (08:45):
Yeah, I think when you look at the job description
in our system for the guard, you know, can he
create movement at the line of scrimmage and he can
keep the interior firm and pass protection. We've seen Evan
do it before. We need flashes to be consistent and
he's been fully bought in with the move and just
knowing that, you know, leaning on your strength, there's not
(09:07):
that many men they're as big as he is inside
at guard and playing with better balance and calm and
James have been working with him throughout this spring and
Evan's putting in his work, so you know, we're excited
to see what he shows when the past come on
in training camp, but excited to see that he has
the physical tools and skill set to transition inside. We've
just seen us he consistently, he was he was, He's
obviously looks like a prototype tackle.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
Does that six seven hurt him at guard or you know,
can he use that? You know, he's not many six
seven guards, So how does that translate?
Speaker 4 (09:36):
Yeah, and he's shorter than sixty seven. But I get
what you're saying. He's a he's a big man. But
I think when you look at the prototype size, you
can look out throughout the lean you know, league, you
can look at offensive lines like Baltimore, et cetera. There
are guys that you know, some of the guys in
Philly that are larger than typical prototype. But it's you know,
what's the job description and the technique. You know, if
(09:58):
you're if you're asking him to pull out space and
a lot of redirecting at the second level, that is
not his game. But he is a power broker. These
guys that can create movement. He's a guy that can
absorb power and anchor in past protection. And you know,
we just have to keep improving the technique and working
on his hand usage and his balance.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
And James and Krma committed to that.
Speaker 8 (10:16):
We haven't met Evan Barnes and jam Likewise, what Darius
and Camp's got it. I'm just curious. You mentioned getting
two years of tape on Jackson and Abdual. I'm curious,
what's the process when you look at a guy like
Darius who's at a mid major school. If you say,
and then it's got to having really one big year.
What's the kind of the process of evaluating them and
seeing kind of how they can fit with maybe less film,
(10:37):
I guess.
Speaker 3 (10:38):
Yeah, So this is really the moment. It's the tips.
Speaker 4 (10:41):
It hats off to our area Scouts because it's the
early identification, like they do a lot of the unseen work.
When you look at Dariulus Alexander, you look at brendan prophet,
identifying him early at Toledo when we see him play
against Pittsburgh and he's own drops and has the interception
and finding out the background that he once was an
offensive liignment, that he had coordinator changes, that he became
a father really early, a lot of the hidden work
(11:04):
that he's done in obstacles that he's overcome and come
on the right side him come showing up at Mobile
wasn't the first time we're getting exposure to him. So
it created an early you know, touch point and checkpoint.
And when you look at Scott, same thing. You know,
we we were hearing things about Scott when he's at
Sack State and you look at our area Scouts, Hannah Brunette,
you know, Jeremy. All those those two were really the
(11:27):
driving force in terms of identifying Scott early and not
just you know the highlights and the broken tackles that
you see, but the unseen stuff at practicing. Hey, he's
got some some things in the past games that are untapped.
And then you watch the call It Texas game and
you see him utilizing the past game a little bit more.
Speaker 3 (11:43):
And when we go.
Speaker 4 (11:44):
Through the process with him, you know, we weren't worried
about forty times or all those other things because we
had so many touch points and live looks in practice
that he wasn't a guy that popped on the scene late.
You know, we took him through the fall. We got
to see him live and we're happy. And that's the
things where preached for our scouts early identification. You know,
scout with your eyes, now with your ears and both
(12:05):
you know, both know the the scouts on the West
Coast and brunn and Profit with the tweedo work and
a long as our other scouts. They did a really
good job in the It's part of our you know,
our core values that you know, Dennis Hickey driving the
scouting process on the College side in terms of overseeing
a lot of the calendar work of how we divide
up the labor of going to schools early, then the
amount of looks each school gets, amount of live looks
(12:26):
each school gets. So there's a method to the imagine.
It's just it's a lot of unseen work that goes
on in the fall.
Speaker 6 (12:31):
And Russell Wilson's body of works speaks for itself in
the league. But what convinced you all that at this
point in his career could be a good fit.
Speaker 1 (12:37):
For what you're trying to do here.
Speaker 4 (12:39):
Yeah, well, Russell's he's been a guy that when you
look at what he's done from Seattle to Pittsburgh, it
was a mesh and fit for our scheme. You know,
we knew we needed to push the ball down the
field a lot more. And uh, you guys have seen
it in practice. That's an ability and knack that is
unique for us. And now you look at the leadership
(13:00):
component when you see what Russ has done since he's
got here. Within the first two weeks, he's bringing Jalen
Hygat out to LA and they're working out privately, or
he's getting all the skill guys together down in Atlanta
earlier this week, scheduling the dinner with the O line
and running backs like that type of leadership component because
you remember, our new place has been really young throughout
our time here, and him having that veteran leadership on
(13:24):
the offensive side as well as having the ability to
compliment what they want to get done from the quarterback position.
Speaker 3 (13:30):
It was a really good fit.
Speaker 6 (13:32):
Chenisi brought back ninety one percent of your let's call
it a contributors. Guys played thirty percent or more of
offensive teams, of which is a really high number for
a team that won three games. Most teams would think you'd,
you know, reset the roster. Why did you do that?
Is that a faith in the guys you have that
they didn't play to their to their peak?
Speaker 1 (13:52):
Is that a side of youth?
Speaker 6 (13:54):
Like what do you see as bringing back so much
of a team that only won three games?
Speaker 4 (13:58):
So that's the last thing that you mentioned, signed of youth.
That was the big big thing when you talking about
that ninety one percent. Think we only have you know,
six players left in the roster from when we got
here in twenty twenty two. But look how young the
nucleus is. So there are strategic additions in terms of
the A free agency. You know, you look at the secondary.
We had had one of the youngest secondaries in the league,
(14:19):
and you drop off, you know, Javon Holland, where we
loved his character even coming back at an Oregon and
knowing the job he did down in Miami. And then
you look at Paulson Adebo, a guy who wasn't for
injury would have been amongst the league leaders in interceptions
last year. I'm having a strong character work that coming
out of you know, Stanford. So you look at two
guys that can help shape the secondary, and then you
look at the veteran pieces that we added on, you know,
(14:41):
the defensive line and in the front seven, so whether
it's Ghoston or Ledbetter or Roy Robinson Harris, the guys
that have skins on the wall that can help complement
our young group. And then obviously redoing the quarterback room
with having both Russ and Jamis experience was was paramount.
So I think, you know, when you look at our youth,
you know that is our nucleus, but help supplementing it
with leadership and versatility and guys that can help supplement
(15:04):
not just in age, in leadership, standpoint, but a versatility
and skill set standpoint?
Speaker 3 (15:08):
What really important for us?
Speaker 6 (15:09):
You mentioned it forty our dash before and not worrying
so much about scats forty times. How much has having
in game GPS times and acceleration percon how much has
that contributed to the scouting process and evaluation process.
Speaker 4 (15:24):
So when you look at GPS data, you know, the
NNGS data, all the game dame metrics, it's all a
tool and our process, Like I mentioned NASA before, our
analytics department, Joe does a phenomenal job of including them
not only in the draft process but in free agency.
And you know, we can extrapolate certain metrics of hey,
(15:46):
does it correlate with the scouting report. You know when
our pro director Chris Rozzetti or any of our pro
scouts has a report on a guy in free agency
and you say, hey, you know he has you know,
third level speed and he can pull away or he
can do you know, he has sideline sideline speed and
you can close and and uh and you know cut
off backside. Does the data come you know it is
(16:07):
it contradictory or you know, is it giving it evidence
and support? So you know, when you look at the
data in itself, we're always finding ways to really call
it poke holes and have checks and balances in our processes.
So it's a supplemental tool and we're going to continue
to do it. We're going to continue to implement AI,
which we've talked about earlier this week, and they're all
(16:27):
things where if you're not taking advantage of all those tools,
there's another team who is, and you're being negligent. And
Joe's been really great in terms of opening the lines
of communication and being collaborative when we get to you know,
the chance to add different sources and tools help us
make decisions.
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