April 17, 2024 • 50 mins
John dives into the top pass rushers in the NFL draft by breaking down the top three, where he thinks they might get drafted and where they would be a good fit. John also discusses the Patriots and should it be foregone conclusion that they are going to draft a QB when they have so many other needs as well.
Lastly, John answers your questions for this episode's mailbag segment.
5:17 - Pass rushers in the draft
9:21 - Dallas Turner
15:57 - Jared Verse
19:52 - Laiatu Latu
27:01 - The Patriots stink
34:30 - Mailbag
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Speaker 1 (01:28):
What is going on, everybody? John middlecop three and Out podcasts.
How are we doing little midweek football podcast here? I
want to do a little scattering report on the top
three pass rushers Dallas Turner from Alabama, Jared Verse from
Florida State, Go Knowles, and the Latto lat Too from UCLA,
who were widely viewed as the best three edge rushers.
(01:50):
Typically we get a pass rusher in the top five,
feels like there's a fifty to fifty chance none of
these guys go in the top ten. I wanted to
dive into those players as well as are we sure
in New England taking a quarterback? And if they did
trade back? Is that the craziest thing? What if you
think big picture and just kind of reset your franchise
with some players, given that you could argue they have
one of the worst, if not the worst roster in
(02:11):
all of the NFL. And the Middlecoff mailbag at John
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code John save twenty dollars a checkout. Usually in a draft,
no matter how many good quarterbacks and how many good
offensive either wide receivers or tackles are in it, we
see several defensive linemens, specifically defensive ends go really high.
(04:01):
I would say most drafts have a pass rusher going
in the top five. Several have multiple. There's a chance
in this draft that there is not one pass rusher
that goes And if that does play out that way,
that's insane, but it's also reflective of the group. Now,
part of it is if four quarterbacks go one, you know,
(04:24):
in the top five, that pushes guys down. But still,
if a high end pass rusher is on the board,
usually they trump every other position, including tackle. You could
make the argument that they are equal. Like quarterbacks number
one and then like two A and two B are
either offensive tackle or pass rusher, or pass rusher offensive tackle,
(04:45):
but there's a good chance that like two or three
offensive tackles go in the top ten and not one
pass rusher. Now Atlanta is the wild card. They have
not had a good pass rusher since Jonathan Abra. Their
defense as a front four, it's just not been very good.
Beside Grady Jared right, they have had no edge pressure.
(05:06):
In anytime that you force a need in a draft
beside quarterback, especially when a guy probably shouldn't get drafted
in that spot, it can get a little dicey, and
historically sometimes with these pass rushers, guys get drafted with
limited production. Think about last year the Raiders. I think
(05:28):
Tyree Wilson from Texas Tech. A couple of years ago,
the dude Trent Balkey took number one overall over Aiden Hutchinson,
all on measurables, and we're going to teach him how
to play. Those picks are always really risky because you
go his ceiling is much higher than Aiden Hutchinson. It's like, yeah,
just take Aiden Hutchinson. He's going to be a really
(05:48):
good player. But I understand it because you get around
these guys, anyone that's ever been around an NFL defensive lineman,
especially a high end guy, and I've been lucky enough
to be on the sideline at a lot of games.
It is when you see the big blue chip bodies,
You're like, there just aren't many human beings like this
walking around. I remember the Bengals in their heyday with
(06:10):
Marvin Lewis, their defensive line was huge. When I was
with the Eagles and we'd played the Giants every year,
their defensive line was massive. They didn't do small people right.
It was like big blue chippers. And hell, when I
was with the Eagles, they took Jpp and it was
a big projection my last year in the league, ziggiyansa
(06:32):
whose career got derailed by injuries, but it was a
big projection. But the physical attributes were elite. You just
don't find many guys that size, with that strength, with
that athleticism. So there's a fine balance, and I say
it all the time in a draft, you have to
balance like how good the guy is now and how
good the guy is going to be in three years.
And that's where a lot of pressure comes on coaching staffs,
(06:53):
a lot of pressures on the scheme that you run. Right.
It's like with any young person. If I hire a
guy at twenty two, hopefully when he's twenty five, he's
gonna be a lot more valuable to my company or
in his role, you know, over the course of time,
with experience, with reps, with teaching, and that's part of life.
(07:15):
So it's a very, very you know, difficult balance to strike.
When you get a Nick Bosa or a Miles Garrett,
they're kind of no brainers. You go, this guy's gonna
be fucking good. Like this guy, he could play any
team in the league and he's gonna be a high
end player. That those guys are, I would say few
(07:36):
and far between. Most guys in a draft room are
not Marvin Harrison, like, not many flaws gonna be a
good player. Most guys you have long discussions about. In
this group, Dallas Turner, Jared Vers, Latto, Lattu is one
of those groups. Let's start with Dallas Turner. You know,
in a draft room, when you're discussing a player, you
(07:57):
talk about everything his background, where it comes from, his
role with the team, in terms of team captain leadership.
This guy was a blue chip five star player. He
started immediately at Alabama. That is not easy to do, obviously,
and he was overshadowed his first couple of years by
Will Anderson, who the Texans traded a first round pick
(08:20):
to trade up for now. I don't know if Will
Anderson's ever going to be a Hall of Famer, but
he's going to be on that team for a decade.
He is a really, really good player. And the knock
on Dallas Turner is he is an elite athlete, not
a good athlete, an elite athlete. He's six foot three
two and fifty pounds. He ran a four to four six.
(08:41):
There are wide receivers in this draft that did not
run that. His vertical leap was over forty inches, that
is remarkable. His broad jump, his standing broad jumps where
you stand on two feet and just jump as far
as you can landing on two feet, was ten feet
seven inches, which I'd say anything over ten for a
(09:05):
defensive lineman is eye opening. So his athletic measurables are elite, like,
they just don't get any better than that. Here's the problem.
Talking to people in the NFL is like, listen, no
one disputes he is a speed rusher, power is not
his thing. He's not bull rushing guys. He's not great
(09:27):
against the run. And I've always said this, like, listen,
if you are an elite speed rusher, I can live
with some average run play, get shoved around a little bit,
but I don't love taking that guy in the top ten.
Jim Washburn one of the famous defensive line coaches and
how I actually it was Howard mutt Rip who passed
(09:48):
away several years ago on a motorcycle accident. Many people
consider him the best, if not the best, one of
the best, right there with Dante skarnikia offensive line coaches
of all time. I'll never forget be in his office
around draft time and he had the thought of like
when you watch a power player, whether it's a guard,
whether it's a defensive tackle. Because we talk about like
(10:09):
you can improve your strength in the NFL, He's like,
your strength is kind of your strength. You can improve
like your bench numbers with time or squat an extra
hundred pounds over the course of the next five years,
but your play strength. In his experience, and by the
time I met him, he's like seventy years old and
(10:30):
been around football forever. It's it doesn't really change. I've
always thought that, so when you go this guy can
improve his strength, I would never go off that your
strength is kind of your strength. Khalil Mack was strong
as hell at twenty two years old. He's strong now, right.
You usually don't see guys as defensive linemen that aren't
(10:50):
strong get really powerful. D Ford is a good example,
and I know his career was derailed with injuries, but
speed pass rusher was never strong, never got strong. So
the thing with Dallas Turner speed rusher strength the major issue.
And as a speed rusher, to be quote unquote, drafted
(11:11):
in the top ten. His production's good. Right, two of
his three years he had to combine twenty sacks. So
he gets to the quarterback because Jim Washburn's thing was,
I don't like projecting sacks or projecting pressures. You either
know how to get around and to the quarterback or
you don't. Once you get to the pros, most guys
(11:33):
aren't like no sacks in college and then all of
a sudden become double digit sack guys in college or
in the pros. So this guy has been around the
quarterback a lot. Here's the problem. When you talk to
people that have really evaluated him. It's like he should
have had like seventeen sacks. Something's just missing a little bit.
(11:54):
He gets close, turns the corner and just doesn't get home.
And for a guy with these athletic attributes, you think
he would have like set a sack record, especially playing
on that unit, but he didn't. And even last year,
if I want to go, well, he was overshadowed by
will Anderson. Well we all agreed Will Anderson was the
best defensive player in the country. You would think it
(12:15):
would make it a little easier for you. So I
think there are no one argues this guy's not a
good prospect, not a top twenty fifteen prospect. I think
once you start talking eight to the Atlanta Falcons, people go,
it's pretty risky. Now you know where I stand. You
get in the batter's box, high in the draft, and
(12:36):
you swing for the fences, right, And this is not
one of those guys like last year the Raiders taking
Tyree Wilson the seventh overall when his production wasn't really
there and it was all in the athletic attributes. That's risky,
doesn't mean he's not going to turn out to be
a good player, but you're betting on a lot of
unknown like you are. You know this guy can turn
(12:57):
the corner, but can he ever be like a high
pro Bowl guy. I know a lot of people that
don't think he can. I just know when I look
at these numbers and you look at his production, you
go it's a risk worth taking. So a lot of
people are mocking Dallas Turner to the Falcons who are
in desperate need of any sort of edge rush. And
(13:17):
I don't think it'd be a crazy pick, risky one.
But am I taking him much higher upside than say
Jared Verse. I would especially team captain Alabama high end guy.
The one thing when you get the high end focus
guys to Alabama, like they ain't fucking around like Will
Anderson serious is a heart attack. So every ounce of
(13:39):
talent they have they maximize. And this guy has talent
jumping out in spades four four six forty in's vertical.
He's two hundred and fifty pounds. But his strength is
you can't expect that to change because the reality is
it's not going to change. Like strength is always going
to be something he deals with. It's twenty twenty four
(14:02):
if This was nineteen eighty eight and every team was
running the ball thirty five times a game. Yeah, it'd
be a problem. Teams pass NonStop. It's a passing league
and a lot of teams pass it a shitload. So
you're not facing Kyle Shanahan every week. So I think
that has to play into the equation. And I would
(14:22):
say that the mock and everyone put it into Atlanta,
you would have to imagine that he is in play
there versu an interesting guy because in these draft rooms,
like I said, you talk about their background, and in
the transfer portal days, a lot of guys moved teams,
and like a guy goes from Fresno State to Oregon,
right or Boise State to Oklahoma. Happens all the time
(14:43):
now and you go, you know, a little underrecruited, grew
into his body, things changed, and this is a guy
that put on a bunch of weight, changed positions and whatever.
Transferred to Florida State, which has been one of the
better programs in the country the last two years. I
mean this year till when their quarterback went down, they
were going to the playoffs. I mean they were not
just one of the best teams in the country, they
(15:03):
were one of the best defense in the country and
this guy was their best player. The concerning part is
anytime you come like kind of out of nowhere, it's
just there is something to be said about guys that
are blue chippers now that that can also lead you astray.
Some guys get drafted in the second round and they've
never been good in college just because well, five star
(15:23):
recruit underwhelming. But he has all the physical characteristics. So
I'm not saying that's the end all be all. Starts
at a small school, goes to Florida, say and dominates,
I mean dominates, So you go, Okay, whatever weird situation,
Albany Division ten school, whatever he is. You know, he's
(15:45):
sixty three two hundred and sixty ish pounds and texting
and round. I was like, you know, is this kind
of like Brandon Graham? Is that because he's a power
rusher Dallas Turner speed off the edge, right, I beat you,
I'd bend, I get to the corner and you can't
keep up with my speed. This guy much more in
the mold of bull rush. You shove your ass back
(16:06):
into the quarterback, which power guys are a little riskier
because not all power translates, but when it does, Clowney
mac like strength is strength, and this guy's a powerful player.
The one comp I kind of got from a couple
of people was much closer to like a Rashawn Gary,
a cave On Thibodeaux, right, not bendy, a little stiffer,
(16:30):
but the power is gonna work, high end character guy,
hard worker. You feel good about those type guys Like
Caveon's a good example. He's a good player, He's a starting,
really good starter. Is he ever gonna be some blue
chip pro bowler? Like I don't know, best case scenario
(16:50):
makes a couple and I know people like Pro Bowl,
what is that even? You know what I mean? Like
a really really high end player maybe this year because
his talent around him is better. A lot of pressure
on them. This guy's not viewed as a top ten pick.
But if I get Rashawn Gary or Caveon Thibodeau, to
me this guy, would you rather have Dallas Turner and
take the risk at eight or get this guy at
(17:12):
like pick sixteen? And I think this guy is one
of the more intriguing prospects in the NFL because all
the teams in the teams go, that's pretty good value there, Right.
If I get Rashawn Gary at pick sixteen, like, that's
a really good pick. And here's what I say this
all the time too, I'm like, I'm a hypocrite because
(17:32):
who are we comparing them all to? Like good players?
Some guys just what if he's Slomon Thomas, what if
he's Cleveland Ferrell. Right, that's the hard part about these
type guys. They're athletic. He's a good athlete, he ran
a four or five. But the power game that tryhard
is that's doing him a disservice by saying that. But
(17:55):
plays with a lot of effort and power can be tough.
When those guys pop, it really pops. But when it
doesn't really pop, you just get a solid player. Now,
the good thing is, and we say this all the
time about non quarterbacks, even if he never becomes a
pro bowler, he still plays twenty five to thirty snaps
a game, so he can become a winning player, which
he definitely was in college. But I think this guy
(18:17):
is clearly viewed as a guy in the mid teens. Now,
I think a guy viewed pretty consistently as the best
pass rusher is the guy from UCLA, lat tou Latsu.
Here's the problem. There is a massive medical red flag
on the guy. He started at the University of Washington
(18:38):
and had a neck injury and for a brief second
medically retired. Then he got surgery. He was cleared, and
he played at UCLA and the last two years he
had twenty three sacks. He was arguably the most productive
pass rusher in all of Power five and he was
the PAC twelve Defensive Player of the Year. And he's
(18:58):
kind of got it all. Lance Zerline, who I trust,
who's evaluated these guys for decades, compared him to TJ.
Watt the power of the speed, the technique, like that's
one of his things. He's a technician. He's just a
natural pass rusher. He's one of those guys Jim Washburn
would say, this guy is fucking born to get to
(19:19):
the quarterback and he knows how to do it and
he's proven it. The problem is when you have a
huge medical red flag, fair or not, because you go, well,
he's not only been cleared, he's been productive and played
the last couple of years. And here's the thing about UCLA.
You go, well, Chip Kelly, they're an offensive team. Their
offense sucked last year. They've been a defensive team. Especially
(19:40):
last year. Anthony Lynn's son, who was their defensive coordinator,
got hired at USC because he's a really good defensive coordinator.
And this wasn't just the best defensive player. This guy
was arguably the best defensive player in the country. I
just know that that medical red flag scares you. But
this is we talked to about this a couple weeks ago.
(20:03):
Anytime a guy's been injured and had serious injuries, Michael Pennox,
you go, Okay, he's got medical issues. But then once
you go a couple of years and don't miss games
and show your durability, are you then a medical red flag?
And this is where the doctors get involved, right, because
they give their opinions in gms and coaches they don't
(20:23):
have medical degrees, right, they have coaching and personnel degrees.
That's what they do for a living. So when these
guys come in and go, god, you know, there's a
fifty to fifty chance that thing comes back to fruition.
And we got a problem, especially in the trenches. The
game is a lot softer now, right in terms of
(20:45):
guys going across the middle, the big hits are out
of the game. The trenches is the one area where
it is still very violent and very physical and where
you're still able to get after it, and obviously you
use your head and collide a lot more than other
places on the field. Now, on an island on the edge,
I would say it's a little less violent on a
(21:06):
consistent basis than detackles, guards and centers, or they're so
close to each other, but it's still something that isn't avoidable.
Now he's six ' five, two hundred and sixty pounds.
This guy is the tallest of the three and then
the most productive. And unlike Verse, who was a transfer
(21:26):
from a smaller school, this guy went to Washington under
Chris Peterson at the time, which was a high end program.
So I don't know. I wouldn't call him Dallas Turner
blue chip, but he was a high end prospect. I
think most people agree. If the medical didn't exist, if
there weren't any questions on the neck, he would be
(21:47):
the eighth overall pick. The Atlanta Falcons would pick him,
and you could argue there's a fifty to fifty chance
they pick him at eight. Just take the risk if
their doctors sign off on it. So there is no
Miles Garrett, Khalil Mack or Nick Bosa in this class,
but there are very, very intriguing prospects at this spot,
(22:09):
which if you hit on, this guy becomes one hundred
million dollar player. So I understand. I'm okay with guys
that aren't great against the run. I pay you to
sack the quarterback. Would I like you to be able
to kind of anchor down, of course, But if I
view you as a guy like could he could Dallas
(22:31):
Turner end up being a thirteen fourteen sack guy. I'm
taking that risk, especially because medically he's a lot clearer
than a lot too lat too. But if you tell
me a lot too and my doctor's like, yeah, we
think everything's good now, I might take him, and I
don't think anyone whoever takes him. If he somehow falls
in the draft and someone gets him in like the
early twenties because of the medical red flags and teams
(22:53):
are scared off, it could turn out to be one
of the best picks in the draft. I saw a
lot of scouting reports say listen, other guys are going
to go hiring this guy this guy's the best pass
rusher in the draft, just like Michael Pennix. If Michael
Penix was twenty one years old and had never been injured,
he'd be a top five pick. But when you're older
and you've been hurt, it rightfully, so Scar steams. But
(23:16):
sometimes then guys are durable in the pros and you
don't have issues, right, And then guys that have been
durable in college get to the pros and they get
injured again. So no one knows, right, So if you
prove durability over your last couple of years, I would
lean that, Like, I would take the chance the guy
is going to be durable in the pros. But that's
(23:39):
not usually how it works. And I would imagine a
lot too falls a little bit and whoever gets him, Like,
if this guy falls to the late teens, there's gonna
be a team with seven, eight nine wins kind of
in that range that's gonna feel very very good about
their draft pick. One thing that I think is universally
(24:03):
accepted right now in the NFL is the Patriots really
suck and their rosters really terrible, and most people just go, well,
they're going to take a quarterback I think we all
agree it's a pretty good quarterback class right. Obviously, Caleb
big time prospect, but Jaden's really good. Drake May in
any given draft, even with some of his flaws, is
(24:23):
a top ten player. And JJ McCarthy I have comped
to Alex Smith right with a better army. Alex Smith
went number one in a draft with Aaron Rodgers Alex Smith.
If you get Alex Smith, you take that guy in
the top five. So I feel pretty confident that for
the quarterbacks are going to go in the top five.
Maybe Arizona gets stuck and they end up taking Marvin
Harrison to just get Kyler Murray a guy because they
(24:46):
got an extra pick in the first round, and then
maybe the Chargers trade back or vice versa. Maybe the
Cardinals trade back and all quarterbacks go top four. But
this is a good quarterback draft. The Bears are obviously
very equipped to in at a quarterback right, good offensive line, weapons,
good defense. You could argue it's one of the best
landing spots for a top pick of my life. Usually
(25:08):
a top overall pick, Matt Stafford goes to a team
that didn't win a game. Peyton Manning went to the
Colts who were dogshit. Trevor Lawrence went to Urban Meyer
and the Jags right Andrew luck was somewhat unique because
they had the number one pick because Peyton Manning had
hurt his neck, but they had been to the playoffs
for a decade straight and had a ton of high
end players. But most times you go to a really
(25:29):
bright young i mean an awful team. Kyler Murray Caleb
gets to go to a good spot, but Jayden Daniels
also gets to go to a good spot. They got
some pieces skill wise, they got a ton of picks
to add offensive linemen. They need to get a defense,
but just in terms of what's around him, he has
(25:50):
an experienced offensive play caller, not really my style, but
Cliff's called enough plays on Sundays now that you can't
really argue that's not normal. Usually these guys go to
shit teams, right, And that's what the New England Patriots
are Historically. The New England Patriots, with the skill they
have on their team, is a team that drafts number
(26:10):
one overall. Here's the thing. They don't have a general manager.
The Crafts refuse to name one. They have Drod Mayo,
who was a really good player, team captain level, got
high end. Guy has been an assistant coach for less
than half a decade. So you get in a situation
where you go to a team that's awful. It's almost
(26:30):
set up to fail. I saw it once upon a
time with Alex Smith. I mean it happens all the time.
Is it crazy that if New England's like, you know what,
let's trade back, load up the team and just figure
this out as time goes? What is the rush? Because
Drake May? If we assume Jayden Daniels is going to
(26:52):
go number two overall the betting market says says that
Coward said he's heard that everyone thinks that are you
in position to take Drake May, who is a legit project?
With all the needs you have? Now you can go.
Are you gonna have the opportunity to ever be in
this spot again? I would say decent chance. Yeah, I
(27:14):
would say if I was a betting man, I would
be stunned if the Patriots weren't drafting in the top
five in twenty twenty five. I would bet fucking ten
thousand dollars right now on that. I don't think you
can gamble on that, but I feel really strongly about
that they are going to suck. Now, I've said that
before and been wrong, but I feel pretty confident on
(27:36):
this one. So because ultimately, like last year, I thought
the Rams were gonna suck and the Bucks were gonna suck. Well,
the Rams had a bunch of high end players and
Stafford was healthy. The Bucks entire team full of Pro
Bowl guys from the previous Tom Brady regime still there,
and Baker played well and they won whatever, nine games,
(27:56):
ten games, whatever, I want a playoff game, but they
have high end players. How many Patriots would start on
the Bucks? How many Patriots would start on the ramps?
Guy's wrong because I bet on Stafford's health against it
and I didn't think Baker was any good. Turns out,
Bakers still got a little in the tank. I don't
see that with the Patriots at all. If I'm the Patriots,
(28:16):
I would definitely entertain trading back. Now, obviously the ownership
plays a role in this. Maybe he wants some hope
because hope is powerful. Heard Colin talking about that the
most powerful part about the NFL draft is hope that
this guy can become a high end player. And when
you do hit on the guy. It can change your franchise.
I just don't know if they're equipped to do that.
And honestly, if you get a spot where you can
(28:38):
add first round picks, second round picks, that might be
the move because if Jaden's off, to me, McCarthy makes
no sense there. He's much more as everyone And I've
said Alex Smith, if you're Alex Smith, you have to
be in a spot with a good team. When Alex
was on good teams, he was fine. When you put
him on the bad Niner teams, it was a disaster.
(28:59):
You put JJ McCarthy on the Patriots, I don't think
they're winning a game. You put them on the Vikings
in one he doesn't have to play against a red
shirt that year. Like it makes some sense. You put
them on the Giants. I'm out. I don't like it.
So your fit batters. So much is out of your
control as a quarterback. Who your play caller is, who
your receivers are, who your offensive line is. I don't
(29:21):
feel good about any of that. Patriots offensive coordinator Alex
Sandpelt was just fired by the Browns. Their offensive line
is hideous, their skill guy's best player is probably Kendrick Bourne,
who's like the fourth wide receiver on the Niners four
years ago. I like Kendrick Bourne, but got issues, so
I would entertain again. I would like I would try
(29:42):
to get a hole, Like I wouldn't just trade back
a pick to not take quarterback. But if you could
move back like five spots get a hole, I think
that's probably the move. Okay, Middlecoff mail back time. You
(30:03):
guys know the drill, very very easy to get involved
at John Middlecoff at John Middlecoff is the Instagram fire
in those dms. Get your questions answered on the show.
We'll start with Tyler as more NFL teams who are
up for a new stadium opt to build multi billion
dollar indoor stadiums, of course, to host a Super Bowl.
(30:25):
Do you think Godell fears the NFL will eventually have
an arena football league feel to it, losing its tradition
of being a sport played outdoors. It seems like every
turn I, every time I turn around, a new team
is building a dump. I fear in fifteen to thirty
years there will be no outdoor stadiums. Football and baseball
(30:45):
deserves to be played outdoors. Well that's a good question.
What the wait and see on Is Buffalo's new stadium
going to be indoors? Chicago, you know, is something to monitor.
I would say lambeau Field's never going away. That's outdoors.
I would say MetLife was built, is not going away.
(31:07):
That has two teams that's not going outdoors or not
going indoors. Foxboro not going And then you just kind
of go around the country. The West coast teams. You know,
Seattle that's here to stay, Niners here to stay. Some
of the Southern teams. I guess Atlanta's in a dome,
Dallas in a dome. Yeah, I mean it's I like
(31:31):
outdoor football. I'm with you. But think about some of
the AFC North Baltimore outdoors, Pittsburgh outdoors, Philly outdoors, Washington.
I would imagine if you know that he just hired
some consultant from DC to help them build a new stadiums.
Hopefully they keep that outdoors. I think it's a point
of difference. It's something you should want to keep. So yeah,
(31:52):
some of these new stadiums for sure. Right, Raiders are
a good example. Raiders played outdoors now they're indoors. Chargers
played out now they're indoors. Saint Louis was already indoors,
so they're indoors again. But I don't disagree with you.
I like outdoor stadiums. I fear being the arena league. No,
but I also wonder too. Think about this. Put yourself.
(32:17):
Let's say me and you ran a team and we
were going to build a new stadium and we were
in a cold weather city. Well, if I have a dome,
I can get Taylor Swift to come. I can get
the Rolling Stones to come, I can get George Strait
to come, I can get whoever post Malone. Much harder
to do a concert in snowstorm and freezing cold. Right,
(32:40):
So there is This is a business, you know, at
the end of the day, this is about making money.
So I get it. I'm with you. I do not
want to see domes everywhere, but I do get it
from their standpoint. What's up, John, the players in this
upcoming draft should the Ravens select that you think wouldn
tribute right away and make the team a clear Super
(33:03):
Bowl contender. They pick thirty sixty two ninety three in
the first three rounds, specifically wanting to know what players
could they take well, I don't have my big board
out here, but let's think about the Ravens right now.
They who they lose. They lost the linebacker. Well, there's
(33:24):
not a linebacker going in the first round, so I
could definitely see now they have guys coming up. Here's
the thing with Baltimore. It is hard for younger players
on a team that is equipped, like they let a
lot of guys walk in free agency because they usually
have backups who are pretty good. So you could always
go corner, right, Humphreys been banged up and getting a
(33:45):
little older. Safety plays good, defensive line is good. You
could always go with a defensive lineman, could always go
with an offensive lineman. Have a quarterback, could always draft
a running back in the middle rounds wide receiver. They've
invested in that position pretty heavily, right, Zay Flowers. They
drafted Bateman a couple of years ago in the first round.
(34:05):
They still got Mark Andrews. They got that other dude
who's pretty good, Lively likely Lively, So I would imagine
they you can never have enough defensive lineman. You know,
the linebackers, they always prioritize that position, and defensive back.
I would imagine they go defense would be my gut.
And you know, I guess they signed Derrick Henry, but
(34:27):
that's probably a one year thing. Specific players. You probably
need to like listen to Dane Brugler for that. But
those would be the positions that kind of jump out
to me when I think about them. They're gonna be good.
I mean they should. You'd put them right behind the
Chiefs as the team that should be right back in
the AFC Championship. To me, the Ravens are going to
(34:51):
be a super Bowl contender when Lamar has really good
playoff games against Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen, like he
is going to have to play a high end against
another top five quarterback. You're not in the Super Bowl
right now because you lost to a team that scored
seventeen points. Not all his fault. Your offensive coordinator was bad,
(35:11):
Your roster's always good. Comes down to your quarterback play.
When your quarterback play has been good and he got hot,
you won a Super Bowl a decade ago with Flacco
a little over now, you know what I mean? Like
you didn't win the Super Bowl last year because Lamar
had a bad game against the Chiefs. Was I'm not
blaming him completely. But that was not the Lamar that
we saw throughout the season. That was not that Lamar
(35:34):
we saw play the Niners on Christmas Eve. That was
not that Lamar we saw in the second half against
the Texans. Here's the problem. The Texans team wasn't nearly
as good as the Chiefs, and Lamar kind of freaked
and just wasn't good. So he if he plays well,
regardless who you draft, you can win a super Bowl, period,
point blank in a story. But he's gonna to play
(35:56):
well for three weeks. He basically played well in your
two play games for a half. He's a fifty million
dollar player, rightfully so several times, multiple time MVP, and
one of the more fun players we've ever seen in
the NFL, and all that stuff's great. Like Josh Allen
is not one advanced far enough in the playoffs. It
(36:17):
hasn't been his fault. His defense has screwed him multiple times.
Your defense kind of came to play. They scored seven,
they did not score a point in the second half.
That one's on Lamar in the OC, and to me,
that's gonna be the thing next year. Lamar in the
OC in the big moments, you're gonna be in the
playoffs if he's healthy, that's a lock. As a Lions fan,
(36:43):
our GM Brad Holmes has said he will draft the
best player available over anat What do you think of
this as a strategy and do you believe the best
teams employed this in their draft room. I think it's
an easy thing to say, take the best player on
the board, but you also have to be realistic, right Like,
(37:05):
if the best player on the board is a running back, like,
you wouldn't take a running back if you're the Lions.
If the best player on the board is a tight end,
you wouldn't take a tight end. So there is a
balance to it. If the best player on the board
is an offensive lineman and you already have a good
starter there, that's where you're like, okay, you do that anyway.
(37:27):
If the best player on the board is a pass rusher,
I think where you get into trouble is dB for example,
obviously the Lions defensive backfield. I know they invested into
it this offseason, but still I would say a place
of need and emphasis for that team to take the
next step if there is not a corner worth taking,
(37:49):
and you take a corner because you're like, we really
need a corner. That's where you get in trouble. So
I think that's what he's talking about. But there is
you're not going to take a player who is redundant
on your own team, especially if you have a young player,
and you guys have a lot of good young players
in a lot of different positions. So like, would you
take a wide receiver in the first round, I'd go,
probably not what you need. You got Saint Brown, you
(38:12):
got Jameson Williams, you got Laporta. You know, I would
say D Lineman or dB and luckily in that spot
where you guys are drafting, probably should be a player.
But I would say that's kind of the universal comment
for most gms, and they they kind of, I don't
want to say they're saying it tongue in cheek, or
they're saying it because that's the thing you're supposed to say.
(38:34):
But it's the easy thing to say. And then you
get in the position and sometimes you feel it's just
especially when you're drafting at the end of the rounds,
you go this player. For example, let's say you love
a dB. It's like most teams have them in the
middle of the second round. Well, if you're Brat Holmes,
you go, well, we don't pick again for a while,
(38:56):
so this guy's never going to be there when we
pick next. And we love this player. Ideally we'd like
to draft in ten spots later, but we don't have
the fortieth pick. We pick twenty ninth or thirtieth or
whatever your pick. Who else, Raven, you're probably picking twenty ninth,
you know what I mean. So I think most gms
(39:16):
say that they do believe that, but you also have
to put it in practice because you're not going to
take a player who you already have. Question regarding GM
decision makers perspective versus a fan perspective, you rarely see
anyone ever purchase an offensive lineman's jersey as opposed to
other skill positions, let alone right after the draft. Let's
(39:40):
use wide receiver as an example when drafting alignment. Though
admittingly very essential, it can be seen as a boring pick.
True unless it's a top one or two with their position.
I personally would rather have drafted a first round wide
receiver and watch him bust than a first round lineman
and watch him bust. Does that logic play any role
(40:03):
in drafting a player as in, there going to be
more pressure as a GM that if you go for
a quote unquote less attractive position and miss, then you
are going to be on the hot seat sooner than
the assumption there is a need for both and you
have them graded not too far apart. Well, let's use
tackle as an example. Let's say you're picking in the
twenties and they are still like this draft. For you know,
(40:27):
coming up there are good tackles in the draft, you
would go, well, it's much easier to get a wide
receiver in the next couple of rounds. All these tackles
are not going to be there when we pick again
at pick fifty five. So yeah, it's quote unquote not
as sexy. They don't give a shit about Jersey sales.
And when you draft a player, the reality is you
(40:48):
don't think he's going to bust. You're drafting him because
you think he's going to be good, So I you
basically choose to be optimistic. Max Holmas said this the
other day on coming into Sunday at the Masters. He's like,
I keep telling myself whenever I think something bad's gonna happen,
when I'm sitting around waiting, you know, at night or
(41:10):
in the morning, before I have to go to the course,
I force myself to think, well, what if something good happens,
what if it goes well? I mean there have been
studies that optimistic people are dramatically more accessible successful than
pessimistic people, which makes sense. I mean, we've all been
around negative people. Now there's a difference. Like I'm not
saying successful rich people can't be negative, because all of
(41:31):
us can fucking be pouty. It's human nature. But when
you're making big decisions, and I would say this would
go across any industry, I think you have to be
kind of cautiously optimistic. If you're pessimistic or negative, like, ah,
this could bust. Of course, any player can bust. Any
player cannot be good. But it is it's harder to
(41:55):
find offensive tackles than it is wide receivers. It's just this.
Most good offen tackles are drafted higher than good wide receivers.
We have seen all over the NFL second third rounders
be really good players at the wide receiver position. Most
of the high end tackles are not. Jordan Malatta from
Australia to be a multiple contract guy. They're usually drafted high.
(42:17):
Think about some of the good young ones, Pina Sewell,
Thomas Worse. I mean, they're usually first, definitely high, top
twenty picks. So offensive linemen are just more important a
good one. The edges are the tackles. So if I
have the tackle and a wide receiver grated the same
(42:39):
and I need both positions, I'm taking the tackle every
single time. And like you said, like the wide receiver
could suck, the tackle could suck, and if the wide
receiver sucks, we talk about it more because, like you said,
people buy the jerseys. But the importance of the line
is just more important. Plus it is harder to slow
(43:00):
down all these good defensive linemen in the league. So yeah,
I totally agree it's a boring pick. There's no doubt
about it, especially like wait, he took an offensive tackle
pick twenty two. But if that guy is a ten
year starter, you get a lot more credit than finding
the wide receiver. And most guys are not going to
be justin Jefferson to pick twenty two. But I know
(43:22):
what you're saying. Been a Giants fan all my life. Well,
if you're of a certain age, you've seen a bunch
of Super bowls. I think we need a quarterback. Daniel
Jones is obviously not the answer. Do you think this
draft is going to be the one for the history books.
All of the quarterbacks feel like first round picks based
on quarterback inflation. I listened to Peter Schrager who put
(43:43):
out his mock draft on a podcast. He had the
Giants trading up with the Cardinals to get JJ McCarthy
at pick four. And I've said over and over, obviously
taking a position player, specifically a wide receiver in theory
makes sense. You don't have playmakers. But if you tell
me they draft one of the wide receivers and Daniel
(44:05):
Jones is your quarterback, I don't think that guy's gonna
have a good rookie year. So if you like JJ McCarthy,
it is much easier to get from six to four.
Then it is even from Minnesota to get from eleven
to four. Because if you're Arizona, I trade back a
couple spots, maybe I add a second or third round pick,
and I still get Marvin Harrison, or I still get
(44:25):
the wide receiver I want Roma Doonsay or Malik Neighbors.
That's the easiest thing to do if you're Arizona. We
already did a big trade back last year to accumulate
another pick. That's the other thing. They have two first
round picks, so if the Giants want to get aggressive,
they are in green light position to trade up and
get probably JJ McCarthy. I guess the Patriots could dig
(44:48):
JJ McCarty, and also the Patriots could trade back and
someone could trade up and get j J McCarthy. But
you guys are in position as a Giants fan to
take quarterback. There is no disputing that, and John Marrow
went on record saying I gave them the thumbs up,
go get it if you like them. Now, if I'm
day Ball, I want a player because if I let's say,
(45:10):
let's use JJ McCarthy, I take JJ McCarthy, he's probably
got start in Week one, and if he does have
to play, decent chances. We're kind of struggling. And I've
been Daniel Jones after we'd two and five, Well, if
we end up going I don't know, six and eleven
or seven and ten, am I getting fired? Like John?
(45:30):
They're not. They fired back to back coaches after two seasons.
What would give John Mara hesitation if you have two
awful years to keep day Ball around. So if I'm Dayball,
there's a little job preservation of what do I have
to do to win? Now? I want to say win,
(45:50):
I don't mean the Super Bowl. I just mean compete.
So I wonder if internally now him and Shane are
really close. Joe Shane the GM right, they were a
package deal come from Buffalo. But I bet it's a
complicated conversation. Not we all know they need a quarterback.
But like Joe, Shane's probably going to get a second coach,
is stay Ball getting a fourth year if this year
(46:11):
doesn't go well? That's where I think it's really complicated.
So I don't know. I think the Giants. I think
the Giants and the Patriots are two great wild cards.
I think the Patriots could easily trade back, and I
think the Giants could easily trade forward. I also think
that Patriots could just stay and take a quarterback and
the Giants could just stay and take a position player,
specifically a wide receiver. I have a degree in an
(46:32):
emphasis in human resources and would love nothing more than
to work in the NFL league office or a team.
Do these entities have hr departments, and if so, what
would be my best way to get my foot in
the door. Before my mom passed away, she was an
HR and love football because it brought my family together
every weekend. So it'd be a dream combined a career
if possible. It's a good question. Yeah, I mean I
(46:54):
would imagine any company with a certain amount of people
has an HR department. In the NFL, teams one hundred
percent have HR departments. I don't exactly know how to
get a hold of every team's HR department, but they are.
What I would recommend is go to LinkedIn, type in
wherever you live, or all thirty two NFL teams type
(47:16):
in their human resource director, connect with them and send
them a DM through LinkedIn that or find them on
Instagram and then DM them that way. That would be
my approach on that. But yeah, all these NFL teams
one thousand percent have HR departments. Even when a football
like a coach gets fired or GM gets fired, you
(47:37):
know that there's a process of the HR. Like in
any company, you said HR person like, hey we need
a meeting, you know you're fucked. As a Steelers fan,
I generally feel like this is our final year with
coach Tomlin. If you were in charge of the Steelers draft,
what would you do? What positions do you feel they
need to make a run to the super Bowl. This
(47:58):
is hard because I don't think they're any closer than
they've been. They have some really high end defensive players.
Pickens is an interesting guy. Obviously they traded Deontay Johnson.
You know, Nage had best. I thought he played his
best year as a pro. Obviously, Warren's a good little player.
(48:18):
I think it's hard because there's a lot of emphasis
take a wide receiver, and they easily could, but they've
had a lot of success not taking wide receivers in
the first round and getting excellent players later. So you
can never have enough defensive lineman, you know, get another
young corner to go along with Joey Porter junior or
the second I'd be a little stunned if they took
(48:40):
a wide receiver in the first round. That's not really
their their mo it's just and maybe I'd have to
look through all their drafts, but it feels like most
of their wide receivers a hit on or not top
thirty picks. So I thought they should have moved on
from Tom and last year, Like I said, it's time
for a new start. Sometimes you just need a restart.
(49:01):
Not every breakup is acrimonious like some awful divorce. So
I'm like, yeah, we just time to go our separate ways.
That's what I thought. Now this year is gonna be
much more polarizing because you add Russell Wilson, you had
Justin Fields. Well, if you have the same outcome as
last year, it's gonna feel even worse because like, oh yeah,
of course fucking didn't go anywhere with Mason Rudolph or
(49:23):
can he Pickett? No shit, this one's gonna feel fair
or not, like your high end and your ceiling should
be a little higher, and I just I don't know
if it is. So I think the Steelers are in
a little trouble now. They're not gonna be terrible, but
I kind of view them as the same, you know,
kind of range. They've been in nine ten wins in
(49:44):
a one and done playoff team. I would expect Justin
Fields to be their starting quarterback by the middle of October.
That's one prediction. I feel pretty strongly that we're gonna
see Justin Fields much sooner than later. The volume
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Speaker 1 (01:28):
What is going on, everybody? John middlecop three and Out podcasts.
How are we doing little midweek football podcast here? I
want to do a little scattering report on the top
three pass rushers Dallas Turner from Alabama, Jared Verse from
Florida State, Go Knowles, and the Latto lat Too from UCLA,
who were widely viewed as the best three edge rushers.
(01:50):
Typically we get a pass rusher in the top five,
feels like there's a fifty to fifty chance none of
these guys go in the top ten. I wanted to
dive into those players as well as are we sure
in New England taking a quarterback? And if they did
trade back? Is that the craziest thing? What if you
think big picture and just kind of reset your franchise
with some players, given that you could argue they have
one of the worst, if not the worst roster in
(02:11):
all of the NFL. And the Middlecoff mailbag at John
Middlecoff is the Instagram fire into those dms at John
Middlecoff Instagram fire in those dms and get your question
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Friday in a couple of years, Addie Fugazi's Fugezy Fugazi.
(02:32):
You see fire in my dms. Hit me up with them.
Got some good ones lately and other than that. If
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three and out. We have a YouTube page. All of
our content is up there as well, and you guys
know where to find me here every day because that's
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Cannot recommend them enough. Download the Game Time app promo
code John save twenty dollars a checkout. Usually in a draft,
no matter how many good quarterbacks and how many good
offensive either wide receivers or tackles are in it, we
see several defensive linemens, specifically defensive ends go really high.
(04:01):
I would say most drafts have a pass rusher going
in the top five. Several have multiple. There's a chance
in this draft that there is not one pass rusher
that goes And if that does play out that way,
that's insane, but it's also reflective of the group. Now,
part of it is if four quarterbacks go one, you know,
(04:24):
in the top five, that pushes guys down. But still,
if a high end pass rusher is on the board,
usually they trump every other position, including tackle. You could
make the argument that they are equal. Like quarterbacks number
one and then like two A and two B are
either offensive tackle or pass rusher, or pass rusher offensive tackle,
(04:45):
but there's a good chance that like two or three
offensive tackles go in the top ten and not one
pass rusher. Now Atlanta is the wild card. They have
not had a good pass rusher since Jonathan Abra. Their
defense as a front four, it's just not been very good.
Beside Grady Jared right, they have had no edge pressure.
(05:06):
In anytime that you force a need in a draft
beside quarterback, especially when a guy probably shouldn't get drafted
in that spot, it can get a little dicey, and
historically sometimes with these pass rushers, guys get drafted with
limited production. Think about last year the Raiders. I think
(05:28):
Tyree Wilson from Texas Tech. A couple of years ago,
the dude Trent Balkey took number one overall over Aiden Hutchinson,
all on measurables, and we're going to teach him how
to play. Those picks are always really risky because you
go his ceiling is much higher than Aiden Hutchinson. It's like, yeah,
just take Aiden Hutchinson. He's going to be a really
(05:48):
good player. But I understand it because you get around
these guys, anyone that's ever been around an NFL defensive lineman,
especially a high end guy, and I've been lucky enough
to be on the sideline at a lot of games.
It is when you see the big blue chip bodies,
You're like, there just aren't many human beings like this
walking around. I remember the Bengals in their heyday with
(06:10):
Marvin Lewis, their defensive line was huge. When I was
with the Eagles and we'd played the Giants every year,
their defensive line was massive. They didn't do small people right.
It was like big blue chippers. And hell, when I
was with the Eagles, they took Jpp and it was
a big projection my last year in the league, ziggiyansa
(06:32):
whose career got derailed by injuries, but it was a
big projection. But the physical attributes were elite. You just
don't find many guys that size, with that strength, with
that athleticism. So there's a fine balance, and I say
it all the time in a draft, you have to
balance like how good the guy is now and how
good the guy is going to be in three years.
And that's where a lot of pressure comes on coaching staffs,
(06:53):
a lot of pressures on the scheme that you run. Right.
It's like with any young person. If I hire a
guy at twenty two, hopefully when he's twenty five, he's
gonna be a lot more valuable to my company or
in his role, you know, over the course of time,
with experience, with reps, with teaching, and that's part of life.
(07:15):
So it's a very, very you know, difficult balance to strike.
When you get a Nick Bosa or a Miles Garrett,
they're kind of no brainers. You go, this guy's gonna
be fucking good. Like this guy, he could play any
team in the league and he's gonna be a high
end player. That those guys are, I would say few
(07:36):
and far between. Most guys in a draft room are
not Marvin Harrison, like, not many flaws gonna be a
good player. Most guys you have long discussions about. In
this group, Dallas Turner, Jared Vers, Latto, Lattu is one
of those groups. Let's start with Dallas Turner. You know,
in a draft room, when you're discussing a player, you
(07:57):
talk about everything his background, where it comes from, his
role with the team, in terms of team captain leadership.
This guy was a blue chip five star player. He
started immediately at Alabama. That is not easy to do, obviously,
and he was overshadowed his first couple of years by
Will Anderson, who the Texans traded a first round pick
(08:20):
to trade up for now. I don't know if Will
Anderson's ever going to be a Hall of Famer, but
he's going to be on that team for a decade.
He is a really, really good player. And the knock
on Dallas Turner is he is an elite athlete, not
a good athlete, an elite athlete. He's six foot three
two and fifty pounds. He ran a four to four six.
(08:41):
There are wide receivers in this draft that did not
run that. His vertical leap was over forty inches, that
is remarkable. His broad jump, his standing broad jumps where
you stand on two feet and just jump as far
as you can landing on two feet, was ten feet
seven inches, which I'd say anything over ten for a
(09:05):
defensive lineman is eye opening. So his athletic measurables are elite, like,
they just don't get any better than that. Here's the problem.
Talking to people in the NFL is like, listen, no
one disputes he is a speed rusher, power is not
his thing. He's not bull rushing guys. He's not great
(09:27):
against the run. And I've always said this, like, listen,
if you are an elite speed rusher, I can live
with some average run play, get shoved around a little bit,
but I don't love taking that guy in the top ten.
Jim Washburn one of the famous defensive line coaches and
how I actually it was Howard mutt Rip who passed
(09:48):
away several years ago on a motorcycle accident. Many people
consider him the best, if not the best, one of
the best, right there with Dante skarnikia offensive line coaches
of all time. I'll never forget be in his office
around draft time and he had the thought of like
when you watch a power player, whether it's a guard,
whether it's a defensive tackle. Because we talk about like
(10:09):
you can improve your strength in the NFL, He's like,
your strength is kind of your strength. You can improve
like your bench numbers with time or squat an extra
hundred pounds over the course of the next five years,
but your play strength. In his experience, and by the
time I met him, he's like seventy years old and
(10:30):
been around football forever. It's it doesn't really change. I've
always thought that, so when you go this guy can
improve his strength, I would never go off that your
strength is kind of your strength. Khalil Mack was strong
as hell at twenty two years old. He's strong now, right.
You usually don't see guys as defensive linemen that aren't
(10:50):
strong get really powerful. D Ford is a good example,
and I know his career was derailed with injuries, but
speed pass rusher was never strong, never got strong. So
the thing with Dallas Turner speed rusher strength the major issue.
And as a speed rusher, to be quote unquote, drafted
(11:11):
in the top ten. His production's good. Right, two of
his three years he had to combine twenty sacks. So
he gets to the quarterback because Jim Washburn's thing was,
I don't like projecting sacks or projecting pressures. You either
know how to get around and to the quarterback or
you don't. Once you get to the pros, most guys
(11:33):
aren't like no sacks in college and then all of
a sudden become double digit sack guys in college or
in the pros. So this guy has been around the
quarterback a lot. Here's the problem. When you talk to
people that have really evaluated him. It's like he should
have had like seventeen sacks. Something's just missing a little bit.
(11:54):
He gets close, turns the corner and just doesn't get home.
And for a guy with these athletic attributes, you think
he would have like set a sack record, especially playing
on that unit, but he didn't. And even last year,
if I want to go, well, he was overshadowed by
will Anderson. Well we all agreed Will Anderson was the
best defensive player in the country. You would think it
(12:15):
would make it a little easier for you. So I
think there are no one argues this guy's not a
good prospect, not a top twenty fifteen prospect. I think
once you start talking eight to the Atlanta Falcons, people go,
it's pretty risky. Now you know where I stand. You
get in the batter's box, high in the draft, and
(12:36):
you swing for the fences, right, And this is not
one of those guys like last year the Raiders taking
Tyree Wilson the seventh overall when his production wasn't really
there and it was all in the athletic attributes. That's risky,
doesn't mean he's not going to turn out to be
a good player, but you're betting on a lot of
unknown like you are. You know this guy can turn
(12:57):
the corner, but can he ever be like a high
pro Bowl guy. I know a lot of people that
don't think he can. I just know when I look
at these numbers and you look at his production, you
go it's a risk worth taking. So a lot of
people are mocking Dallas Turner to the Falcons who are
in desperate need of any sort of edge rush. And
(13:17):
I don't think it'd be a crazy pick, risky one.
But am I taking him much higher upside than say
Jared Verse. I would especially team captain Alabama high end guy.
The one thing when you get the high end focus
guys to Alabama, like they ain't fucking around like Will
Anderson serious is a heart attack. So every ounce of
(13:39):
talent they have they maximize. And this guy has talent
jumping out in spades four four six forty in's vertical.
He's two hundred and fifty pounds. But his strength is
you can't expect that to change because the reality is
it's not going to change. Like strength is always going
to be something he deals with. It's twenty twenty four
(14:02):
if This was nineteen eighty eight and every team was
running the ball thirty five times a game. Yeah, it'd
be a problem. Teams pass NonStop. It's a passing league
and a lot of teams pass it a shitload. So
you're not facing Kyle Shanahan every week. So I think
that has to play into the equation. And I would
(14:22):
say that the mock and everyone put it into Atlanta,
you would have to imagine that he is in play
there versu an interesting guy because in these draft rooms,
like I said, you talk about their background, and in
the transfer portal days, a lot of guys moved teams,
and like a guy goes from Fresno State to Oregon,
right or Boise State to Oklahoma. Happens all the time
(14:43):
now and you go, you know, a little underrecruited, grew
into his body, things changed, and this is a guy
that put on a bunch of weight, changed positions and whatever.
Transferred to Florida State, which has been one of the
better programs in the country the last two years. I
mean this year till when their quarterback went down, they
were going to the playoffs. I mean they were not
just one of the best teams in the country, they
(15:03):
were one of the best defense in the country and
this guy was their best player. The concerning part is
anytime you come like kind of out of nowhere, it's
just there is something to be said about guys that
are blue chippers now that that can also lead you astray.
Some guys get drafted in the second round and they've
never been good in college just because well, five star
(15:23):
recruit underwhelming. But he has all the physical characteristics. So
I'm not saying that's the end all be all. Starts
at a small school, goes to Florida, say and dominates,
I mean dominates, So you go, Okay, whatever weird situation,
Albany Division ten school, whatever he is. You know, he's
(15:45):
sixty three two hundred and sixty ish pounds and texting
and round. I was like, you know, is this kind
of like Brandon Graham? Is that because he's a power
rusher Dallas Turner speed off the edge, right, I beat you,
I'd bend, I get to the corner and you can't
keep up with my speed. This guy much more in
the mold of bull rush. You shove your ass back
(16:06):
into the quarterback, which power guys are a little riskier
because not all power translates, but when it does, Clowney
mac like strength is strength, and this guy's a powerful player.
The one comp I kind of got from a couple
of people was much closer to like a Rashawn Gary,
a cave On Thibodeaux, right, not bendy, a little stiffer,
(16:30):
but the power is gonna work, high end character guy,
hard worker. You feel good about those type guys Like
Caveon's a good example. He's a good player, He's a starting,
really good starter. Is he ever gonna be some blue
chip pro bowler? Like I don't know, best case scenario
(16:50):
makes a couple and I know people like Pro Bowl,
what is that even? You know what I mean? Like
a really really high end player maybe this year because
his talent around him is better. A lot of pressure
on them. This guy's not viewed as a top ten pick.
But if I get Rashawn Gary or Caveon Thibodeau, to
me this guy, would you rather have Dallas Turner and
take the risk at eight or get this guy at
(17:12):
like pick sixteen? And I think this guy is one
of the more intriguing prospects in the NFL because all
the teams in the teams go, that's pretty good value there, Right.
If I get Rashawn Gary at pick sixteen, like, that's
a really good pick. And here's what I say this
all the time too, I'm like, I'm a hypocrite because
(17:32):
who are we comparing them all to? Like good players?
Some guys just what if he's Slomon Thomas, what if
he's Cleveland Ferrell. Right, that's the hard part about these
type guys. They're athletic. He's a good athlete, he ran
a four or five. But the power game that tryhard
is that's doing him a disservice by saying that. But
(17:55):
plays with a lot of effort and power can be tough.
When those guys pop, it really pops. But when it
doesn't really pop, you just get a solid player. Now,
the good thing is, and we say this all the
time about non quarterbacks, even if he never becomes a
pro bowler, he still plays twenty five to thirty snaps
a game, so he can become a winning player, which
he definitely was in college. But I think this guy
(18:17):
is clearly viewed as a guy in the mid teens. Now,
I think a guy viewed pretty consistently as the best
pass rusher is the guy from UCLA, lat tou Latsu.
Here's the problem. There is a massive medical red flag
on the guy. He started at the University of Washington
(18:38):
and had a neck injury and for a brief second
medically retired. Then he got surgery. He was cleared, and
he played at UCLA and the last two years he
had twenty three sacks. He was arguably the most productive
pass rusher in all of Power five and he was
the PAC twelve Defensive Player of the Year. And he's
(18:58):
kind of got it all. Lance Zerline, who I trust,
who's evaluated these guys for decades, compared him to TJ.
Watt the power of the speed, the technique, like that's
one of his things. He's a technician. He's just a
natural pass rusher. He's one of those guys Jim Washburn
would say, this guy is fucking born to get to
(19:19):
the quarterback and he knows how to do it and
he's proven it. The problem is when you have a
huge medical red flag, fair or not, because you go, well,
he's not only been cleared, he's been productive and played
the last couple of years. And here's the thing about UCLA.
You go, well, Chip Kelly, they're an offensive team. Their
offense sucked last year. They've been a defensive team. Especially
(19:40):
last year. Anthony Lynn's son, who was their defensive coordinator,
got hired at USC because he's a really good defensive coordinator.
And this wasn't just the best defensive player. This guy
was arguably the best defensive player in the country. I
just know that that medical red flag scares you. But
this is we talked to about this a couple weeks ago.
(20:03):
Anytime a guy's been injured and had serious injuries, Michael Pennox,
you go, Okay, he's got medical issues. But then once
you go a couple of years and don't miss games
and show your durability, are you then a medical red flag?
And this is where the doctors get involved, right, because
they give their opinions in gms and coaches they don't
(20:23):
have medical degrees, right, they have coaching and personnel degrees.
That's what they do for a living. So when these
guys come in and go, god, you know, there's a
fifty to fifty chance that thing comes back to fruition.
And we got a problem, especially in the trenches. The
game is a lot softer now, right in terms of
(20:45):
guys going across the middle, the big hits are out
of the game. The trenches is the one area where
it is still very violent and very physical and where
you're still able to get after it, and obviously you
use your head and collide a lot more than other
places on the field. Now, on an island on the edge,
I would say it's a little less violent on a
(21:06):
consistent basis than detackles, guards and centers, or they're so
close to each other, but it's still something that isn't avoidable.
Now he's six ' five, two hundred and sixty pounds.
This guy is the tallest of the three and then
the most productive. And unlike Verse, who was a transfer
(21:26):
from a smaller school, this guy went to Washington under
Chris Peterson at the time, which was a high end program.
So I don't know. I wouldn't call him Dallas Turner
blue chip, but he was a high end prospect. I
think most people agree. If the medical didn't exist, if
there weren't any questions on the neck, he would be
(21:47):
the eighth overall pick. The Atlanta Falcons would pick him,
and you could argue there's a fifty to fifty chance
they pick him at eight. Just take the risk if
their doctors sign off on it. So there is no
Miles Garrett, Khalil Mack or Nick Bosa in this class,
but there are very, very intriguing prospects at this spot,
(22:09):
which if you hit on, this guy becomes one hundred
million dollar player. So I understand. I'm okay with guys
that aren't great against the run. I pay you to
sack the quarterback. Would I like you to be able
to kind of anchor down, of course, But if I
view you as a guy like could he could Dallas
(22:31):
Turner end up being a thirteen fourteen sack guy. I'm
taking that risk, especially because medically he's a lot clearer
than a lot too lat too. But if you tell
me a lot too and my doctor's like, yeah, we
think everything's good now, I might take him, and I
don't think anyone whoever takes him. If he somehow falls
in the draft and someone gets him in like the
early twenties because of the medical red flags and teams
(22:53):
are scared off, it could turn out to be one
of the best picks in the draft. I saw a
lot of scouting reports say listen, other guys are going
to go hiring this guy this guy's the best pass
rusher in the draft, just like Michael Pennix. If Michael
Penix was twenty one years old and had never been injured,
he'd be a top five pick. But when you're older
and you've been hurt, it rightfully, so Scar steams. But
(23:16):
sometimes then guys are durable in the pros and you
don't have issues, right, And then guys that have been
durable in college get to the pros and they get
injured again. So no one knows, right, So if you
prove durability over your last couple of years, I would
lean that, Like, I would take the chance the guy
is going to be durable in the pros. But that's
(23:39):
not usually how it works. And I would imagine a
lot too falls a little bit and whoever gets him, Like,
if this guy falls to the late teens, there's gonna
be a team with seven, eight nine wins kind of
in that range that's gonna feel very very good about
their draft pick. One thing that I think is universally
(24:03):
accepted right now in the NFL is the Patriots really
suck and their rosters really terrible, and most people just go, well,
they're going to take a quarterback I think we all
agree it's a pretty good quarterback class right. Obviously, Caleb
big time prospect, but Jaden's really good. Drake May in
any given draft, even with some of his flaws, is
(24:23):
a top ten player. And JJ McCarthy I have comped
to Alex Smith right with a better army. Alex Smith
went number one in a draft with Aaron Rodgers Alex Smith.
If you get Alex Smith, you take that guy in
the top five. So I feel pretty confident that for
the quarterbacks are going to go in the top five.
Maybe Arizona gets stuck and they end up taking Marvin
Harrison to just get Kyler Murray a guy because they
(24:46):
got an extra pick in the first round, and then
maybe the Chargers trade back or vice versa. Maybe the
Cardinals trade back and all quarterbacks go top four. But
this is a good quarterback draft. The Bears are obviously
very equipped to in at a quarterback right, good offensive line, weapons,
good defense. You could argue it's one of the best
landing spots for a top pick of my life. Usually
(25:08):
a top overall pick, Matt Stafford goes to a team
that didn't win a game. Peyton Manning went to the
Colts who were dogshit. Trevor Lawrence went to Urban Meyer
and the Jags right Andrew luck was somewhat unique because
they had the number one pick because Peyton Manning had
hurt his neck, but they had been to the playoffs
for a decade straight and had a ton of high
end players. But most times you go to a really
(25:29):
bright young i mean an awful team. Kyler Murray Caleb
gets to go to a good spot, but Jayden Daniels
also gets to go to a good spot. They got
some pieces skill wise, they got a ton of picks
to add offensive linemen. They need to get a defense,
but just in terms of what's around him, he has
(25:50):
an experienced offensive play caller, not really my style, but
Cliff's called enough plays on Sundays now that you can't
really argue that's not normal. Usually these guys go to
shit teams, right, And that's what the New England Patriots
are Historically. The New England Patriots, with the skill they
have on their team, is a team that drafts number
(26:10):
one overall. Here's the thing. They don't have a general manager.
The Crafts refuse to name one. They have Drod Mayo,
who was a really good player, team captain level, got
high end. Guy has been an assistant coach for less
than half a decade. So you get in a situation
where you go to a team that's awful. It's almost
(26:30):
set up to fail. I saw it once upon a
time with Alex Smith. I mean it happens all the time.
Is it crazy that if New England's like, you know what,
let's trade back, load up the team and just figure
this out as time goes? What is the rush? Because
Drake May? If we assume Jayden Daniels is going to
(26:52):
go number two overall the betting market says says that
Coward said he's heard that everyone thinks that are you
in position to take Drake May, who is a legit project?
With all the needs you have? Now you can go.
Are you gonna have the opportunity to ever be in
this spot again? I would say decent chance. Yeah, I
(27:14):
would say if I was a betting man, I would
be stunned if the Patriots weren't drafting in the top
five in twenty twenty five. I would bet fucking ten
thousand dollars right now on that. I don't think you
can gamble on that, but I feel really strongly about
that they are going to suck. Now, I've said that
before and been wrong, but I feel pretty confident on
(27:36):
this one. So because ultimately, like last year, I thought
the Rams were gonna suck and the Bucks were gonna suck. Well,
the Rams had a bunch of high end players and
Stafford was healthy. The Bucks entire team full of Pro
Bowl guys from the previous Tom Brady regime still there,
and Baker played well and they won whatever, nine games,
(27:56):
ten games, whatever, I want a playoff game, but they
have high end players. How many Patriots would start on
the Bucks? How many Patriots would start on the ramps?
Guy's wrong because I bet on Stafford's health against it
and I didn't think Baker was any good. Turns out,
Bakers still got a little in the tank. I don't
see that with the Patriots at all. If I'm the Patriots,
(28:16):
I would definitely entertain trading back. Now, obviously the ownership
plays a role in this. Maybe he wants some hope
because hope is powerful. Heard Colin talking about that the
most powerful part about the NFL draft is hope that
this guy can become a high end player. And when
you do hit on the guy. It can change your franchise.
I just don't know if they're equipped to do that.
And honestly, if you get a spot where you can
(28:38):
add first round picks, second round picks, that might be
the move because if Jaden's off, to me, McCarthy makes
no sense there. He's much more as everyone And I've
said Alex Smith, if you're Alex Smith, you have to
be in a spot with a good team. When Alex
was on good teams, he was fine. When you put
him on the bad Niner teams, it was a disaster.
(28:59):
You put JJ McCarthy on the Patriots, I don't think
they're winning a game. You put them on the Vikings
in one he doesn't have to play against a red
shirt that year. Like it makes some sense. You put
them on the Giants. I'm out. I don't like it.
So your fit batters. So much is out of your
control as a quarterback. Who your play caller is, who
your receivers are, who your offensive line is. I don't
(29:21):
feel good about any of that. Patriots offensive coordinator Alex
Sandpelt was just fired by the Browns. Their offensive line
is hideous, their skill guy's best player is probably Kendrick Bourne,
who's like the fourth wide receiver on the Niners four
years ago. I like Kendrick Bourne, but got issues, so
I would entertain again. I would like I would try
(29:42):
to get a hole, Like I wouldn't just trade back
a pick to not take quarterback. But if you could
move back like five spots get a hole, I think
that's probably the move. Okay, Middlecoff mail back time. You
(30:03):
guys know the drill, very very easy to get involved
at John Middlecoff at John Middlecoff is the Instagram fire
in those dms. Get your questions answered on the show.
We'll start with Tyler as more NFL teams who are
up for a new stadium opt to build multi billion
dollar indoor stadiums, of course, to host a Super Bowl.
(30:25):
Do you think Godell fears the NFL will eventually have
an arena football league feel to it, losing its tradition
of being a sport played outdoors. It seems like every
turn I, every time I turn around, a new team
is building a dump. I fear in fifteen to thirty
years there will be no outdoor stadiums. Football and baseball
(30:45):
deserves to be played outdoors. Well that's a good question.
What the wait and see on Is Buffalo's new stadium
going to be indoors? Chicago, you know, is something to monitor.
I would say lambeau Field's never going away. That's outdoors.
I would say MetLife was built, is not going away.
(31:07):
That has two teams that's not going outdoors or not
going indoors. Foxboro not going And then you just kind
of go around the country. The West coast teams. You know,
Seattle that's here to stay, Niners here to stay. Some
of the Southern teams. I guess Atlanta's in a dome,
Dallas in a dome. Yeah, I mean it's I like
(31:31):
outdoor football. I'm with you. But think about some of
the AFC North Baltimore outdoors, Pittsburgh outdoors, Philly outdoors, Washington.
I would imagine if you know that he just hired
some consultant from DC to help them build a new stadiums.
Hopefully they keep that outdoors. I think it's a point
of difference. It's something you should want to keep. So yeah,
(31:52):
some of these new stadiums for sure. Right, Raiders are
a good example. Raiders played outdoors now they're indoors. Chargers
played out now they're indoors. Saint Louis was already indoors,
so they're indoors again. But I don't disagree with you.
I like outdoor stadiums. I fear being the arena league. No,
but I also wonder too. Think about this. Put yourself.
(32:17):
Let's say me and you ran a team and we
were going to build a new stadium and we were
in a cold weather city. Well, if I have a dome,
I can get Taylor Swift to come. I can get
the Rolling Stones to come, I can get George Strait
to come, I can get whoever post Malone. Much harder
to do a concert in snowstorm and freezing cold. Right,
(32:40):
So there is This is a business, you know, at
the end of the day, this is about making money.
So I get it. I'm with you. I do not
want to see domes everywhere, but I do get it
from their standpoint. What's up, John, the players in this
upcoming draft should the Ravens select that you think wouldn
tribute right away and make the team a clear Super
(33:03):
Bowl contender. They pick thirty sixty two ninety three in
the first three rounds, specifically wanting to know what players
could they take well, I don't have my big board
out here, but let's think about the Ravens right now.
They who they lose. They lost the linebacker. Well, there's
(33:24):
not a linebacker going in the first round, so I
could definitely see now they have guys coming up. Here's
the thing with Baltimore. It is hard for younger players
on a team that is equipped, like they let a
lot of guys walk in free agency because they usually
have backups who are pretty good. So you could always
go corner, right, Humphreys been banged up and getting a
(33:45):
little older. Safety plays good, defensive line is good. You
could always go with a defensive lineman, could always go
with an offensive lineman. Have a quarterback, could always draft
a running back in the middle rounds wide receiver. They've
invested in that position pretty heavily, right, Zay Flowers. They
drafted Bateman a couple of years ago in the first round.
(34:05):
They still got Mark Andrews. They got that other dude
who's pretty good, Lively likely Lively, So I would imagine
they you can never have enough defensive lineman. You know,
the linebackers, they always prioritize that position, and defensive back.
I would imagine they go defense would be my gut.
And you know, I guess they signed Derrick Henry, but
(34:27):
that's probably a one year thing. Specific players. You probably
need to like listen to Dane Brugler for that. But
those would be the positions that kind of jump out
to me when I think about them. They're gonna be good.
I mean they should. You'd put them right behind the
Chiefs as the team that should be right back in
the AFC Championship. To me, the Ravens are going to
(34:51):
be a super Bowl contender when Lamar has really good
playoff games against Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen, like he
is going to have to play a high end against
another top five quarterback. You're not in the Super Bowl
right now because you lost to a team that scored
seventeen points. Not all his fault. Your offensive coordinator was bad,
(35:11):
Your roster's always good. Comes down to your quarterback play.
When your quarterback play has been good and he got hot,
you won a Super Bowl a decade ago with Flacco
a little over now, you know what I mean? Like
you didn't win the Super Bowl last year because Lamar
had a bad game against the Chiefs. Was I'm not
blaming him completely. But that was not the Lamar that
we saw throughout the season. That was not that Lamar
(35:34):
we saw play the Niners on Christmas Eve. That was
not that Lamar we saw in the second half against
the Texans. Here's the problem. The Texans team wasn't nearly
as good as the Chiefs, and Lamar kind of freaked
and just wasn't good. So he if he plays well,
regardless who you draft, you can win a super Bowl, period,
point blank in a story. But he's gonna to play
(35:56):
well for three weeks. He basically played well in your
two play games for a half. He's a fifty million
dollar player, rightfully so several times, multiple time MVP, and
one of the more fun players we've ever seen in
the NFL, and all that stuff's great. Like Josh Allen
is not one advanced far enough in the playoffs. It
(36:17):
hasn't been his fault. His defense has screwed him multiple times.
Your defense kind of came to play. They scored seven,
they did not score a point in the second half.
That one's on Lamar in the OC, and to me,
that's gonna be the thing next year. Lamar in the
OC in the big moments, you're gonna be in the
playoffs if he's healthy, that's a lock. As a Lions fan,
(36:43):
our GM Brad Holmes has said he will draft the
best player available over anat What do you think of
this as a strategy and do you believe the best
teams employed this in their draft room. I think it's
an easy thing to say, take the best player on
the board, but you also have to be realistic, right Like,
(37:05):
if the best player on the board is a running back, like,
you wouldn't take a running back if you're the Lions.
If the best player on the board is a tight end,
you wouldn't take a tight end. So there is a
balance to it. If the best player on the board
is an offensive lineman and you already have a good
starter there, that's where you're like, okay, you do that anyway.
(37:27):
If the best player on the board is a pass rusher,
I think where you get into trouble is dB for example,
obviously the Lions defensive backfield. I know they invested into
it this offseason, but still I would say a place
of need and emphasis for that team to take the
next step if there is not a corner worth taking,
(37:49):
and you take a corner because you're like, we really
need a corner. That's where you get in trouble. So
I think that's what he's talking about. But there is
you're not going to take a player who is redundant
on your own team, especially if you have a young player,
and you guys have a lot of good young players
in a lot of different positions. So like, would you
take a wide receiver in the first round, I'd go,
probably not what you need. You got Saint Brown, you
(38:12):
got Jameson Williams, you got Laporta. You know, I would
say D Lineman or dB and luckily in that spot
where you guys are drafting, probably should be a player.
But I would say that's kind of the universal comment
for most gms, and they they kind of, I don't
want to say they're saying it tongue in cheek, or
they're saying it because that's the thing you're supposed to say.
(38:34):
But it's the easy thing to say. And then you
get in the position and sometimes you feel it's just
especially when you're drafting at the end of the rounds,
you go this player. For example, let's say you love
a dB. It's like most teams have them in the
middle of the second round. Well, if you're Brat Holmes,
you go, well, we don't pick again for a while,
(38:56):
so this guy's never going to be there when we
pick next. And we love this player. Ideally we'd like
to draft in ten spots later, but we don't have
the fortieth pick. We pick twenty ninth or thirtieth or
whatever your pick. Who else, Raven, you're probably picking twenty ninth,
you know what I mean. So I think most gms
(39:16):
say that they do believe that, but you also have
to put it in practice because you're not going to
take a player who you already have. Question regarding GM
decision makers perspective versus a fan perspective, you rarely see
anyone ever purchase an offensive lineman's jersey as opposed to
other skill positions, let alone right after the draft. Let's
(39:40):
use wide receiver as an example when drafting alignment. Though
admittingly very essential, it can be seen as a boring pick.
True unless it's a top one or two with their position.
I personally would rather have drafted a first round wide
receiver and watch him bust than a first round lineman
and watch him bust. Does that logic play any role
(40:03):
in drafting a player as in, there going to be
more pressure as a GM that if you go for
a quote unquote less attractive position and miss, then you
are going to be on the hot seat sooner than
the assumption there is a need for both and you
have them graded not too far apart. Well, let's use
tackle as an example. Let's say you're picking in the
twenties and they are still like this draft. For you know,
(40:27):
coming up there are good tackles in the draft, you
would go, well, it's much easier to get a wide
receiver in the next couple of rounds. All these tackles
are not going to be there when we pick again
at pick fifty five. So yeah, it's quote unquote not
as sexy. They don't give a shit about Jersey sales.
And when you draft a player, the reality is you
(40:48):
don't think he's going to bust. You're drafting him because
you think he's going to be good, So I you
basically choose to be optimistic. Max Holmas said this the
other day on coming into Sunday at the Masters. He's like,
I keep telling myself whenever I think something bad's gonna happen,
when I'm sitting around waiting, you know, at night or
(41:10):
in the morning, before I have to go to the course,
I force myself to think, well, what if something good happens,
what if it goes well? I mean there have been
studies that optimistic people are dramatically more accessible successful than
pessimistic people, which makes sense. I mean, we've all been
around negative people. Now there's a difference. Like I'm not
saying successful rich people can't be negative, because all of
(41:31):
us can fucking be pouty. It's human nature. But when
you're making big decisions, and I would say this would
go across any industry, I think you have to be
kind of cautiously optimistic. If you're pessimistic or negative, like, ah,
this could bust. Of course, any player can bust. Any
player cannot be good. But it is it's harder to
(41:55):
find offensive tackles than it is wide receivers. It's just this.
Most good offen tackles are drafted higher than good wide receivers.
We have seen all over the NFL second third rounders
be really good players at the wide receiver position. Most
of the high end tackles are not. Jordan Malatta from
Australia to be a multiple contract guy. They're usually drafted high.
(42:17):
Think about some of the good young ones, Pina Sewell,
Thomas Worse. I mean, they're usually first, definitely high, top
twenty picks. So offensive linemen are just more important a
good one. The edges are the tackles. So if I
have the tackle and a wide receiver grated the same
(42:39):
and I need both positions, I'm taking the tackle every
single time. And like you said, like the wide receiver
could suck, the tackle could suck, and if the wide
receiver sucks, we talk about it more because, like you said,
people buy the jerseys. But the importance of the line
is just more important. Plus it is harder to slow
(43:00):
down all these good defensive linemen in the league. So yeah,
I totally agree it's a boring pick. There's no doubt
about it, especially like wait, he took an offensive tackle
pick twenty two. But if that guy is a ten
year starter, you get a lot more credit than finding
the wide receiver. And most guys are not going to
be justin Jefferson to pick twenty two. But I know
(43:22):
what you're saying. Been a Giants fan all my life. Well,
if you're of a certain age, you've seen a bunch
of Super bowls. I think we need a quarterback. Daniel
Jones is obviously not the answer. Do you think this
draft is going to be the one for the history books.
All of the quarterbacks feel like first round picks based
on quarterback inflation. I listened to Peter Schrager who put
(43:43):
out his mock draft on a podcast. He had the
Giants trading up with the Cardinals to get JJ McCarthy
at pick four. And I've said over and over, obviously
taking a position player, specifically a wide receiver in theory
makes sense. You don't have playmakers. But if you tell
me they draft one of the wide receivers and Daniel
(44:05):
Jones is your quarterback, I don't think that guy's gonna
have a good rookie year. So if you like JJ McCarthy,
it is much easier to get from six to four.
Then it is even from Minnesota to get from eleven
to four. Because if you're Arizona, I trade back a
couple spots, maybe I add a second or third round pick,
and I still get Marvin Harrison, or I still get
(44:25):
the wide receiver I want Roma Doonsay or Malik Neighbors.
That's the easiest thing to do if you're Arizona. We
already did a big trade back last year to accumulate
another pick. That's the other thing. They have two first
round picks, so if the Giants want to get aggressive,
they are in green light position to trade up and
get probably JJ McCarthy. I guess the Patriots could dig
(44:48):
JJ McCarty, and also the Patriots could trade back and
someone could trade up and get j J McCarthy. But
you guys are in position as a Giants fan to
take quarterback. There is no disputing that, and John Marrow
went on record saying I gave them the thumbs up,
go get it if you like them. Now, if I'm
day Ball, I want a player because if I let's say,
(45:10):
let's use JJ McCarthy, I take JJ McCarthy, he's probably
got start in Week one, and if he does have
to play, decent chances. We're kind of struggling. And I've
been Daniel Jones after we'd two and five, Well, if
we end up going I don't know, six and eleven
or seven and ten, am I getting fired? Like John?
(45:30):
They're not. They fired back to back coaches after two seasons.
What would give John Mara hesitation if you have two
awful years to keep day Ball around. So if I'm Dayball,
there's a little job preservation of what do I have
to do to win? Now? I want to say win,
(45:50):
I don't mean the Super Bowl. I just mean compete.
So I wonder if internally now him and Shane are
really close. Joe Shane the GM right, they were a
package deal come from Buffalo. But I bet it's a
complicated conversation. Not we all know they need a quarterback.
But like Joe, Shane's probably going to get a second coach,
is stay Ball getting a fourth year if this year
(46:11):
doesn't go well? That's where I think it's really complicated.
So I don't know. I think the Giants. I think
the Giants and the Patriots are two great wild cards.
I think the Patriots could easily trade back, and I
think the Giants could easily trade forward. I also think
that Patriots could just stay and take a quarterback and
the Giants could just stay and take a position player,
specifically a wide receiver. I have a degree in an
(46:32):
emphasis in human resources and would love nothing more than
to work in the NFL league office or a team.
Do these entities have hr departments, and if so, what
would be my best way to get my foot in
the door. Before my mom passed away, she was an
HR and love football because it brought my family together
every weekend. So it'd be a dream combined a career
if possible. It's a good question. Yeah, I mean I
(46:54):
would imagine any company with a certain amount of people
has an HR department. In the NFL, teams one hundred
percent have HR departments. I don't exactly know how to
get a hold of every team's HR department, but they are.
What I would recommend is go to LinkedIn, type in
wherever you live, or all thirty two NFL teams type
(47:16):
in their human resource director, connect with them and send
them a DM through LinkedIn that or find them on
Instagram and then DM them that way. That would be
my approach on that. But yeah, all these NFL teams
one thousand percent have HR departments. Even when a football
like a coach gets fired or GM gets fired, you
(47:37):
know that there's a process of the HR. Like in
any company, you said HR person like, hey we need
a meeting, you know you're fucked. As a Steelers fan,
I generally feel like this is our final year with
coach Tomlin. If you were in charge of the Steelers draft,
what would you do? What positions do you feel they
need to make a run to the super Bowl. This
(47:58):
is hard because I don't think they're any closer than
they've been. They have some really high end defensive players.
Pickens is an interesting guy. Obviously they traded Deontay Johnson.
You know, Nage had best. I thought he played his
best year as a pro. Obviously, Warren's a good little player.
(48:18):
I think it's hard because there's a lot of emphasis
take a wide receiver, and they easily could, but they've
had a lot of success not taking wide receivers in
the first round and getting excellent players later. So you
can never have enough defensive lineman, you know, get another
young corner to go along with Joey Porter junior or
the second I'd be a little stunned if they took
(48:40):
a wide receiver in the first round. That's not really
their their mo it's just and maybe I'd have to
look through all their drafts, but it feels like most
of their wide receivers a hit on or not top
thirty picks. So I thought they should have moved on
from Tom and last year, Like I said, it's time
for a new start. Sometimes you just need a restart.
(49:01):
Not every breakup is acrimonious like some awful divorce. So
I'm like, yeah, we just time to go our separate ways.
That's what I thought. Now this year is gonna be
much more polarizing because you add Russell Wilson, you had
Justin Fields. Well, if you have the same outcome as
last year, it's gonna feel even worse because like, oh yeah,
of course fucking didn't go anywhere with Mason Rudolph or
(49:23):
can he Pickett? No shit, this one's gonna feel fair
or not, like your high end and your ceiling should
be a little higher, and I just I don't know
if it is. So I think the Steelers are in
a little trouble now. They're not gonna be terrible, but
I kind of view them as the same, you know,
kind of range. They've been in nine ten wins in
(49:44):
a one and done playoff team. I would expect Justin
Fields to be their starting quarterback by the middle of October.
That's one prediction. I feel pretty strongly that we're gonna
see Justin Fields much sooner than later. The volume
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