Scouting the Secondary – Bills’ Best DB Fits from the NFL Combine | Film Room - The Film Room - Bills Breakdowns and Analysis

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Off the defensive line onto surprise more defense, the cornerback position. Eric,
let's start with someone who you love. Who is Yeah, man,
a lot of fun impossibility with John A. Barron, the
Thorpe Award winner from Texas this past year. It's really
hard to put on the tape and not just really
like you said, fall in love with him. Like his game,

(00:22):
the versatility, the tenacity, what he could do it in
a multitude of ways from a schematic standpoint, just a
really really really fun player on a really good defense
this past year.

Speaker 2 (00:31):
Yeah, he's just a draft crush of mine for sure.
You know, he's that got that versatility. As you said,
he was used at corner, on the boundary, in the
slot as a nickel. He did a little bit of everything,
very smooth transitions, discipline and zone and man, he's just
super cerebral. He's a heady type player that is gonna

(00:55):
make an impact on day one, just not just from
a production standpoint and making turnover and getting his hand
on the ball, but also you know communication in the
secondary as you see him break up a pass there.
He's he can do a little bit of everything. And
so when I think of a guy like him, and
while he did, his arm length is kind of under

(01:15):
what the Bills typically like.

Speaker 3 (01:18):
I just think about.

Speaker 2 (01:19):
Him on the boundary on early downs and then when
the Bills go to those dime looks and cam Lewis
comes in, you put Barron there. You put Barron there,
and you can move him near the line of scrimmage
like they did against Michigan and some of these plays
where they're trying to shut down Lovelin and him, he
was in there making some big plays and just absolutely

(01:40):
shutting that big tight end down.

Speaker 3 (01:42):
He was a weapon for the Texas defense.

Speaker 2 (01:45):
Played all over the field and you're seeing a bunch
of those plays, and man, I would love to see
him in the Bills defense again. It would add to
that creativity that we want to see from the defensive
staff having a guy like Baron on the roster.

Speaker 1 (01:58):
My fourth bullet point in my notes evaluation is to
readin quote alignment, versatility outside slot box, capable of covering
different body types. For example, manned up against Loveland versus Michigan,
good trail technique, able to read the hips, and a
nice rep of catch technique and scooch and then I
put a hyphen. I put dime linebacker fun stuff capabilities

(02:22):
that is ye, yes, this is one of them. He's
in that a gap. This is late in that game
against Michigan. What I love about this one is he
drops out on the snap and he changes his stem
based on what he sees from the route, and then
he gets his eyes on the QB and makes a
bee line right to Loveland change booth. That's where he

(02:42):
changes the stem. And then watch the finish. Look how
low he gets and just his shoulder goes right into
Loveland's like hip or gut. There he is number seven again.
I so I that tight end. I the number two
coming out of your out of the snap, change your stem,
a little look at the QB B line make a play.
He's think you said. He's so smart, He's so cerebral.

(03:03):
He's got really good zone eyes. He reads routes and
the QB's eyes. He triggers accordingly. He lets the quarterback's
eyes lead him while still also being responsible in his
zone or assignment. Here's a nice look at the man cover.
That's the one that I mentioned earlier in terms of
trail and reading the hips like the collision point. Let
him get by you and then you're just in phase.

(03:25):
He's got the athleticism, he's got the physicality on top
of it, good ball skills, good hands, ability to punch
and rip through to cause PBUs. He's tenacious, good zone
in spatial awareness, and smooth and smart in coverage. You
showed that one rep against Florida with the double move.
He has a similar rep against Clemson where he just

(03:46):
he honors the initial move from the receiver, but he's
watching the QB and sees that club Nick isn't loading up,
so he immediately bails out of it, takes a good angle,
locates the receiver, cuts him off, and rides him into
the boundary. Yeah, very similar to he doesn't slow turn
like he does here against Florida, but the type of
intelligence recognition, the body like control and ability, and look

(04:09):
at the fluiding. Just how smooth, how smooth, how smooth
and instantaneous that transition is. He slow turns there the
one against Clemson, he just stays kind of hinged and
drives angriarly with it. Just he ticks so many boxes.
He's such a fun player.

Speaker 2 (04:24):
Yeah, five interceptions, a thirty four point two passer rating
aloud last year. He's a stud draft crush of both
of ours. Again, I would like to see him in
the Bills defense. I have obviously a first round grade
on this guy. I think he's one of the playmakers
in this draft.

Speaker 3 (04:40):
And just again you see him making the tackle there
on that one.

Speaker 1 (04:44):
He does it with one arm. He throws his body
in front of Edwards and then here he comes out
of the right side of your screen against number twenty.
He throws the right side of his body in front
of Edwards to slow him down, and then with one
hand he picks the ankle just like while he he's
getting grabbed that episode nuts.

Speaker 3 (05:02):
He's so good. I love the guy. I would love
to get him. I think with how he ran and
his film, he gone, he ain't making it. He ain't
making it to thirty.

Speaker 2 (05:14):
I would love to see him in the Bills game.
I just I don't think it's gonna happen.

Speaker 1 (05:19):
Yeah, I Corner is interesting. I think you've got Travis
Hunter and Will Johnson is the one and the two.
I do think there is some movement in shaking potential
for Corner three through honestly Corner seven. But I thought
a big indicator after Baron ran that forty and he
didn't do any other workouts or drills at the combine
because his agent was essentially like, hey man, you wrapped

(05:42):
it up, You're done it. It made me think of
the Senior Bowl last year, or Byron Murphy showed up
and dig after he didn't even do anything. He got
there night one on Monday. Yeah, and it was announced. Yeah,
it was announced that he wasn't doing anything because they
got word like, hey man, you're you're locked for pretty
high in the first don't bother. So that's my thought.
I don't think he's going to be available for the

(06:02):
bills at thirty. I I could see him, maybe he
falls into the twenties, but I think he's going to
go his corner three just because of his versatility and
what he can do. But like to your point, I
would love to see him in Buffalo. Another corner up
on here that we want to talk about, mister Darien
Porner corner out of oh Porter corner that kind of

(06:23):
nimes a little bit. Darien Porter corner out of Iowa
State length. I'll say you got it. Like, as soon
as I see him, I think lean frame length, tall,
the strides and just how he operates. But despite that,
he plays a little chippier at a little more tenacious
that I thought given the leanness to his body type
and how he's built.

Speaker 2 (06:43):
I mean, he does use his length to especially if
we're talking down the field. He's very good at closing
the passing lands and windows down the field, making the
quarterback have to make almost a perfect pass up and
over the top of him. Very smooth player in that
Baot technique. Very good recovery, speed and hustle. One of
the players, well I'll show you is him chasing down
a running back I think it was against Iowa. Very

(07:06):
good and contests the ball high point catches on those situations.
But dude, the play that I really want to start
with is this play against Iowa when it came to
defending Leak, which is damn near undefeated. When we're talking
play concept, so top of the screen.

Speaker 1 (07:22):
Everybody gets got by Leak, like it happens to everyone college.

Speaker 2 (07:25):
Everyone watch Porter on this play. So their motion the
wide receiver and he comes down and thinks it's a run.
He comes down like a bat out of hell, like
he's about to set the edge right here of the defense.
But quarterback runs play action and they're trying to leak out.
This guy right here and this is Porter. I want
you to watch him and how he reads run to
pass and then just transitions. Now he's looking for the target,

(07:48):
looking for the threat. Here comes the tight end and
he just you know, drops back and then high points
the ball there attacks the ball for the interception. Just
great work by him on that, dude, This is leak again.
This play almost always works, but the awareness and understanding
of what was happening pre to post snap on the

(08:08):
run of pass processing.

Speaker 3 (08:10):
Very good work by Porter on this interception.

Speaker 1 (08:13):
To not only drop out and realize, oh oh it's
a pass Like that in and of itself is like, okay,
good job, But the fact that he also picks up
the leaking tight end, that he has the awareness to
be like to scan mid play and be like, okay,
where's this going to bank? There's the guy, let me
pick him up. And then on top of it, the interception,

(08:33):
like the ability to go up and get it. You
said it, like that, ability to make plays downfield and
kind of restrict airspace downfield. The length shows up regularly,
and the ability to kind of go after and tack
the football and constrict things downfield again because of that
length and his ability to stay in phase. It's a
nice piece to his game.

Speaker 3 (08:50):
All right, And I watched you to watch this play.

Speaker 2 (08:52):
There's a hustle playoffs telling you about bottom of the
screen just to run play by Iowa running back cuts
it back to the top of the field, top of
the screen, and just watch him get on his horse
right here.

Speaker 3 (09:02):
Look at him stride it out.

Speaker 2 (09:03):
Obviously he had great testing at the combine, and you're
seeing not just the testing and athleticism and speed here
and ability to open it up to one hundred miles
an hour, but you see the hustle Like a play
like that, that's the type of play that coaches love,
and they go back on Monday morning in the film
room they show it to the entire team, that type
of effort and hustle and again speed by porter to

(09:26):
chase down the running back and essentially say six points.
Just a really good play by him. And overall, like
I said, he's very good. Were talking plays down the field,
closing it down. But things he does have to work on,
or some of his transitions are a little troppy, especially
if we're talking comebacks where he's getting into that into
the body of the wide receiver and then the wide

(09:48):
receiver snapping off the route on a comeback or stop route.
There's some separation there because he is so high cut, right,
he's more of a taller guy. And then there's some
of the run support stuff is a little weak, but
of course he can always add play strength when you're
that tall and that big, and so I still think
he can grow into it.

Speaker 3 (10:04):
But he was he six years Iowa stay like he was.

Speaker 2 (10:09):
He was there for a few years, so again I
would like to see him in the Bill scheme. He's
he kind of reminds me of Benjamin Saint Juwis, who
we talked about in free agency, that that taller type
guy that has some press ability, some ability to disrupt
the wide receivers route or stem. And I think Porter

(10:32):
would bring a lot to the Bill's defense.

Speaker 1 (10:34):
Yeah, he only four years of snaps, but he's been
there since twenty twenty nothing in twenty twenty one, so
he's been here for a while. He is he was
born in two thousand and one, so he's twenty four
years old right now. From an age standpoint. You hit
the two big negatives for me. The one was I
think he's a willing force player and player against the run,

(10:56):
but his lankiness, frame and build does make him movable.
But I commend him on some of them. Against Texas Tech.
He's literally just loading up to try and shut down
like counter, and he's loading up and barreling into tackles
or guards and he's getting popped, but he's given some
effort there. And then the you know, the feet and
lower body stuff like you mentioned again, just because of
how he is kind of built. He's susceptible to some

(11:19):
underneath routes and inbreakers and also comebacks. His feet will
get crossed up and or stuck, and he can also
get caught lunging a little bit, and I think his
feet and hands can get out of sync from time
to time. I do think it's stuff that can be
cleaned up, mainly from that technical standpoint, but some of
it I do think is not unavoidable. But it is
due to just because of how he's built, and you

(11:39):
know his frame and how cut he is and so
on and so forth. But I'm interested to see again, Randall,
you mentioned how he can fly four three forty at
the combine. You see that on tape you're watching him
running down that play against Eyeway. You watch his transitions
and the recovery speed, the ability to get onto his horse.
That speed plays on tape and it really was reflected.

Speaker 2 (11:58):
At the combine six three arm like thirty three and
one eighth. You said at four three forty one four
nine ten yards split easy, fast, thirty six and a half, vertical,
ten eleven broad. Yes, he tested through the roof only
fourteen tackles last year, thirty in his entire career. You
heard being in McDermott and in their post in their
end of season pressers talk about Hew, you gotta be
able to tackle as a corner.

Speaker 3 (12:19):
Again.

Speaker 2 (12:20):
I still think that's where he needs to work on
that area of his game.

Speaker 3 (12:24):
But it's funny.

Speaker 2 (12:24):
One of my notes when we're talking defending the ball
down the field with his length and size, I said,
he's got a Dikembe Mutumble type play. You know, he's
always just like three interceptions a four point seven passer
rating allowed last year courtesy of our producer Joe DeRosa
for compiling that.

Speaker 3 (12:43):
So he again, he reminds me of some of the
guys who looked at.

Speaker 2 (12:47):
You know, whether it's a check Shaquille Griffin and Benjamin
Saint Juis in the Free Agency Show. But I'm not
as high on him based on his film as I
think most are. I have a third round grade on him.
I know there's some talks that he may be creeping
into early day too.

Speaker 3 (13:05):
I have a third round grade on him.

Speaker 1 (13:06):
Yeah, I gave him like a mid to late three,
just because of the frame and the run defense stuff,
I guess. I mean, I'm a big proponent of running
the ball and having corners be able to tackle, and
I'm waiting for someone to be like, yeah, but you
like a Sante Samuel Junior, But he tries. It's just
sometimes he's not as technically sound. I just worry about
that piece for his game and what that means at

(13:29):
the next level. But from a pure coverage standpoint, there's
a lot to like and there's a lot to be
intrigued by. And then the age also creeps into it
for me a little bit as well, knowing that he's
already twenty four. What does that frame look like if
you're trying to thicken him out a little bit and
change the body type a bit, and if you're not,
how does he survive? You know, from a run defense standpoint,
kind of that forced player aspect to his game, which
is just some of the questions I had, which is

(13:51):
also like annoying because he's good and like from a
spatial awareness standpoint in zone like as a cloud corner
and you kind of passing things off and collecting. But
then also if you're a cloud corner, you're gonna have
to be a force player on that outside. And then
I'm like, okay, how do you how do you know
you're spacing out routes well from a cover standpoint, that's awesome,
But if you have to be that force player and
come up, how do you live? But yeah, a lot

(14:12):
of intriguing pieces for him. Another person to be intrigued
by at the cornerback spot, someone who I'm a big
fan of, mister tray Amos again, another old miss defender.
There's a multitude of them in this draft class.

Speaker 2 (14:25):
If the Bills don't draft one of those guys, I'd
be shocked because let's start off with like, their scheme
is so attack oriented, Like we talked about with the
Bill's scheme, there's a lot of slashing defensive linemen. The
coverages are very friendly when it comes to you know,
help and all that and something we're gonna talk about
with Amos Trey Amos. That defense, Like there are several

(14:46):
guys on that defense I could see playing in the
bill scheme.

Speaker 1 (14:49):
Yeah, very fair and they were a well coached group.
They had a good year this past year and you're
seeing it reflected in some of the prospects that they
have in this class. You know, first round, potential, second,
third round. A lot of good dudes come that squad.
You have a nice graphic up here for mister Treams. Also,
if we mentioned too, Ole Miss has some great uniforms.
They got a variety of helmet choices, uniform Yeah, a
lot of good commos for him. The big thing for

(15:11):
me and you have it right there, that elite zone awareness.
I just like what he's able to do in terms
of passing off and collecting, the ability to spin off
fine guys. He's very sound in a multitude of coverages. Man,
you know, off press, he can bail a little bit,
play some traditional zone match a little bit. I think
he gives you a lot of versatility and his skill

(15:31):
set and play style and what he's able to do physically.

Speaker 2 (15:34):
And mentally right, elite zone awareness. You said it, the
ability and understanding on I have to escort this guy
to the next teammate in their zone. So there's no
great area, there's no overlap, there's a good overlap between
the two zones. Quiet footwork, especially if you're looking at
some of the man match or zone match stuff with him.

(15:54):
Very high IQ, really good, you know, ball production, quick
hips and transitions.

Speaker 1 (16:00):
Uh.

Speaker 3 (16:00):
The way he reads routes.

Speaker 2 (16:02):
Man, I hate comps, but when I watched his college film,
and I went back and watched Trey White's college you
the ability to read combinations, but not just route two
or three man combinations, but the levels to them when
we're talking from the line of scrimmage to twenty yards

(16:24):
on the field. His ability to immediately as number one
exits out of his line of sight and out of
his zone, he immediately gets number two. Okay, number two
is not coming? Is there a guy coming across the field.
He does it so well and it just reminded me
of Trey White. His ability to see the layers to
the past route combinations was just so freaking good with

(16:45):
his film.

Speaker 1 (16:46):
Yeah, I am right there with you, like you can
watch him, you know, they'll run cover three and his
initial man leaves and you see him or he is
this man runs across, or you see him fall back
off and catch somebody who's coming into his zone and
threatening another spot the zone away farness that he has
that ability to collect pass off Harry deliver, but then
match this one. I just you see the fluidity and

(17:10):
that quick you mentioned that, the quick hips like he
opens up looking at the QB. Just that snap, his
ability to turn his speed whenever he speed turns that snap.
He's really good at identifying where the receiver is getting
back on top of them. And you know that rep
right there, you know a press rep. He's comfortable and effective. Impressed.
It's more of a soft shoe h Every once in
a while he'll kind of jammy a little bit and

(17:31):
and get a little physical, but you know that's part
of the things we'd like to see him work on.
This rep is really nice. The end zone angle is great.
He's up there covering Mason Taylor tight end. Watch him,
he's in phase the whole way I on the ball.
Watch him go up and just now, I'm good, just
smack that over the top, over the top. That athleticism
the vertical ability. I find him more often than not

(17:53):
staying in phase with guys, and his ability on that
one too again to be able to locate the football
and make plays on it. This is overlap in a
where this one crazy. So he's dropping back. Number two
Lacy goes inside on that route and let's just watch
Amos number nine still dropping. He's drifting inside a little bit,
but he sees the QB load up. What do we

(18:14):
get again? We get the speed turn, he stays over
the top, locates the football, goes up, makes the play.
He's got several reps like that. He's got another one
against h Oh I forget, but it's towards the top
of the screen in the low red zone. His ability
to just speed turn like that and get over the
top and disrupt plays, it's it's wild, wildly instinctual.

Speaker 3 (18:34):
He's his one of my favorite corners in this draft.

Speaker 1 (18:37):
I know, yeah good.

Speaker 3 (18:39):
His feet are just so good.

Speaker 1 (18:41):
We didn't know how you felt about him. I love him.

Speaker 2 (18:45):
You see this play here, You see that him affecting
the quick game.

Speaker 3 (18:48):
We talked about that.

Speaker 2 (18:49):
Right off coverage, he immediately recognizes the route, he sees
the number two's diving inside and he understands that the
you know, the number one is coming behind it, drives
right on it and goes and gets the ball and
breaks it up, man like. He's so good at doing that,
and he really at the line of scrimmage, you see
him jam they'd down here the gators are trying to

(19:10):
get it to the bottom of screen. Look at the
jam technique from Amos there with the inside him, jams
him up, takes him away as an option, and then
the pass rush is able to get home. I love
this kid, I think again. I get Trey White vibes
from him, not just from you know, a physical standpoint,
but I'm talking from the shoulders up. He sees things

(19:32):
so well. You know, there are multiple times on his
film where he had two vertical routes, you know, going
up the field. He splits them vertically, and then once
the quarterback committed to throwing it to the outside guy,
he would do that speed turn and go make a
play on the ball.

Speaker 1 (19:47):
Yep.

Speaker 2 (19:47):
He just sees that the the you know, the route
combinations so well, and he's always making plays on the ball.

Speaker 1 (19:53):
I love like some of my favorite reps for him
are when they're running cover three and there's two receivers
to his side, and you're getting a vertic from both
number two and number one, And like you said, like
his ability to kind of ride the numbers and space
it and be able to play them both and deter
a throw. I am. I'm just an absolute huge fan
of his I like that. That's this was the first
one that really got on the you know, a little

(20:15):
slant flats combination from number two and number one. He
collisions number one, delivers him and passes him to his
man and look at him seamlessly just fall off and
then slingshot a little bit grab that hip. Not enough
to draw a flag, but enough to get positioned and
get inside, gets in front and deters that throw. I

(20:35):
am just a huge, huge fan of his game. I
kind of just want to read through my notes. Comfortable, comfortable,
and effective impress mainly soft shoe, but can give you
some true press with that actual jam there. I like
that he's good on the left side or the right
boundary or field corner, like we talked about, he's adept
at passing off and collecting, doesn't lose sight of wide

(20:56):
receivers when bailing. He doesn't allow them to get into
his blind spot. Very good zone in spatial awareness and
IQ like we showed there. The ability to locate the
football and make plays on it, or reading the wide
receiver's hands and punching through. This one is a nice
rap against this.

Speaker 3 (21:11):
Trey white Stuff.

Speaker 2 (21:12):
Man.

Speaker 3 (21:12):
This is Trey white Stuff right here.

Speaker 1 (21:14):
Again. Number one, get in my head?

Speaker 3 (21:16):
Yeah yeah, number one across.

Speaker 2 (21:18):
Okay, now where are myes? There's no other threats to
my side. There's gotta be guys coming to my side
of the field. And again they lock it down. There's
three of them going deep there. But you see how
heavy he is. Man, He's so so smart. You can
just see it when you watch his film. And you
can't say that about a lot of players to kind of,
you know, say that, hey, this guy appears to be

(21:38):
smart is one thing. But when you can see him
thinking like you do on his film and where his
eyes are and his helmet is like that is special man.
And then there's just plays like this, like you said,
the ability to quickly turn those hips and make a
play on the ball.

Speaker 3 (21:52):
I love this guy. I mean, I want to go
back and watch more.

Speaker 2 (21:55):
He's one of I always say, like my draft crushes
are my guys, because I want to go watch more
film of his, and not just from this year, but
next year.

Speaker 1 (22:04):
I knew, and I hate, I hate that we're like
in lockstep with because people, well, of course you go
to show together, but I genuinely did not know this.
I knew you love Baron. I love Baron as well
Amos I really really love and so it makes me
very happy to know that you feel similarly, and honestly,
you know, one of my biggest questions I had some
change of direction questions with him, but I also wondered

(22:26):
about his long speed. And then he came and he
ran that four four three, so I couldn't tell him
I have it in my notes here, I wrote, is
he he's a smooth strider? And I said, is it
because of that smooth stride that he looks like he's
not running fast? Or does he have true long speed? Questions?
And so that four four three made me feel a
lot better with his ability to kind of work vertically

(22:48):
and you know, again, like you're tying into you mentioned
it and tying into what we talked about, wanting guys
who can restrict that airspace a little bit. He can
do it from off. He can do it from press.
I like when he's impressed, looks to stab that near
hip or that shoulder when running. The ability to get
a little physical at the release or in the stem
or on breaks but not be too grabby. I'd like
to see him increase that physicality like you mentioned as well,

(23:10):
and just his ability to stay in phase through a
combination of footwork and arm length. I just if we're
talking about guys who can restrict airspace, who have a
good size and builded their game and the intelligence to it,
I love that a lot of them. And I have
a round one grade on him.

Speaker 2 (23:27):
Round one, yes, same six one one five thirty one
in a quarter arm length four four three forty, I'll check, check,
check again. The defense he plays in when we're talking
the coverage side of things, very reminiscent of what the
Bills do. A lot of three over twos, a lot
of two over ones helping each other, a lot of
help coverage. Uh you know when it comes to the

(23:49):
ole miss defense again, first round grade on him. And
there's just so many things I see in his game
that remind me of Trey White that again, I don't
throw comps out there lightly, especially when we're talking about
Trey White and what he brought to the Bills defense
even early on, and you know what, what he ascended
to before his injury. I think Amos has a lot

(24:11):
to his game that is very reminiscent of Trade White.

Speaker 1 (24:13):
Yeah, you know that rep that you showed h with
the you know, the four by one or whatever, and
his number one is going across from the drag and
how he collects number three company inside. It's reminiscent what
Trey did against what Seattle during the COVID year. I
think a big pass breakup.

Speaker 3 (24:27):
Yeah, Chargers, Chargers.

Speaker 1 (24:30):
To that time, and honestly someone else too recently, Rasoul
Douglas did that a lot with Green Bay. That was
something that we loved with him coming over, like if
they're running cover three or you know, cover four, him
not just blindly Okay, my guy's gone. Oh my guy's gone.
There's nothing. Somebody's got to be coming back my way.
Let me go, let me locate them, let me find them.
Not a lot of guys do that and don't do

(24:50):
it with that level of efficiency and effectness, and Amos
does so. I'm very happy to know how much you
like that that's very nice. Another corner up on Forest
here surprise defense again. Mister Maxwell Hairston of Kentucky, someone
who I posted like a couple of plays from him,
I think yesterday or the day before, a lot of

(25:12):
Bills Mafia clamoring for Harriston. Potentially, I had a lot
of people that are like, oh, I love that you
show to play at Harrison. I love him and I
don't know if it's the speed or what, which is
very real on tape and at the combine, but he
has a bit of a hive here with Bill's Mafia,
and I understand why, given his playmaking and the speed
and the juice that he brings to the game.

Speaker 2 (25:31):
Yeah, I put why he fits dynamic coverage instincts strong
in zone, but very capable of men. They played a
lot of zone I'm talking like eighty five percent last
year for Maxwell himself, but when you looked at the
reps where they did run man and obviously the way
he measured at the combine. When we're talking speed, he's

(25:51):
very capable and a lot of his skills that he
showed in zone you can apply them to man coverage.
For example, if he's an off coverage and that wide
receiver is running towards him to get into the route.
Stem he didn't move, he would get his hands on
the guy and make that guy work around him. Again,
some of that press stuff, but more from the zone perspective,

(26:12):
which we talked about when the Bills brought on Ryan
Nielsen and Mike Pellegrino. How you know they want to
play more press and slow down and be disruptive of
the opposing offenses quick game. I think Harrison will help
in that regard. Very aggressive posture pre to Postna two.
So again that disguising Hey looks like he's in a bell.

(26:32):
They look like they're gonna be dropping the Cover three
ball snapped. He squares up, closes that door, as Pelgrino said,
and again plays some zone or plays Cover two or
Tampa two. You see a lot of that in his
game at Kentucky. But he obviously has the vertical speed
and the skill set to match this. You know, plays
down the field, routes down the field, and you saw

(26:53):
that a lot in twenty twenty four, but even more
last year.

Speaker 1 (26:57):
Yeah, it's a twenty twenty three tape, I think five
in twenty twenty three, really productive banged up in twenty
twenty four. I'man locks up with you for a lot
of why he fits. Also a couple of big things
from me. I thought I liked his calm and clean feet,
you know, quiet as you like to say, but calm
and clean feet, very very good recovery speed. There are
times when he'll get beat. This one's nice, like kind

(27:19):
of not to interrupt myself there, like the ability to
space out what you see here, okay, Like where's number
two going? Where's number one looks like wearing cover three? Here? Okay,
my flat defender is carrying the wheel. You've got an
eye on that inside receiver. You've seen that hook. The
curl player is carrying him going up field. The post
safety's coming along with them. So as you highlight a

(27:40):
Harriston's track, let me open up towards the sideline break
on the ball. They highlighting the ball skills, the zone
awareness that he has against spatial awareness. A lot of
the similar themes that we keep talking about with these guys,
because this is what you need to do if you're
going to be in that Bill's defense. Again, Calm and
clean feet, good recovery speed, athletic. I like when he's

(28:00):
able to get back in phase even when he gets fooled,
especially versus vertical routes. Due to that athleticism and speed,
good short area burst can play left side or right side.
He collects routes well in zone, also displays good zone
spatial awareness. He's able to fall off guys, but he's
also able to bait quarterbacks, especially as a cloud, like
a cloud a corner and he'll sit there and kind

(28:21):
of wait and wait, and then he can use that
burst and that speed, just that one there. Just look
at him just running down. He's just so fast. The
juice is so intriguing.

Speaker 2 (28:30):
And you see here off the top of the screen
he actually gets a sack there on the quarterback. He
just he's got the measurables. He does a good job
in zone coverage when we're talking the spacing aspect of it.
And so while he did play a lot of zone
at Kentucky, I do think he has a skill set

(28:51):
in traits to play more man coverage if the Bills
do decide to kind of pivot just a little bit
with some of the things and the tea leaves that
we've been reading about the staff that they're bringing on
and you know the changes that we have slowly been seeing,
especially late in the year for the Bills defense.

Speaker 1 (29:09):
Yeah, and I think with that man coverage piece, I
think he has the ability to play off and despite
you know, being kind of a smaller frame guy, I
think he can play press a little bit because he
will battle and he is he does have some aggression
to him. Obviously has to clean some things up because
of the stature and frame, which will be a concerned
especially if he's going up against bigger dudes. He really
has to battle in that regard. But this is a
good example too against this deep deep comeback, watch him turn,

(29:32):
you watch him open up, and just look how nice
and clean the feet are. Chop top chop. Let me
go down and break like that. The feet are a
really intriguing piece that it's not just it's not long speed,
it's good clean feet attached to the long speed. That
sort of combination that is extremely favorable for.

Speaker 2 (29:47):
A corner super off coverage here. But again, watch the
quiet feet. You know as soon as that cushion, like
he feels like that cushion is going to be broken,
you see him go ahead, break down and then that
collision Pison's very good at the collision point of getting
his hands on the guy and simultaneously transitioning open it
up and then of course having been able to run
with the wide receivers. He's a guy that I have

(30:08):
a late second, third, third round grade on, and again
I think a lot of his skills will transition into
the Bills defense.

Speaker 1 (30:17):
Yeah, I I'm with you there. The four two eight
forties extremely intriguing. I hate to be that guy. The
frame stuff does concern me a little bit. I like,
really technically what he is, and part of me really
wants to give him, Like what did you give him
for a grade? What day?

Speaker 3 (30:34):
Late second?

Speaker 1 (30:35):
Okay? Oh okay, so we are in locksto. I'll say
I had him as a as a mid day two,
so late late round two, early round three. I watched
his tape and liked him way more than I thought
I would, and I came away wanting to like him
even more. He's another one who I'm gonna go back
and watch more Amos just because I want to. But

(30:55):
I want to watch more Harriston just because I was intrigued.
The frame concerns me a little bit and how that
attaches to the tackling piece and what it can be
if he and again you could say this for so
many guys, and this would make him like a freak.
But if he was like one ninety five and a
little thicker, I'd be like, you might be creeping into
the first a little bit. But yeah, very fair overall.

(31:19):
Guess we're what side of the ball. We're gonna stay
on folks defense, but we're gonna move to the safety
spot someone who Bills fans have kind of been clamoring
for a little bit, especially with the combine that he
had a tremendous testing performance for Nick m and Worry
Safety out of the University of South Carolina. For those
of you who watched Disgui's coverage, you know that I

(31:39):
picked South Carolina and NCAA twenty five dynasty and em
and Warry finished third in the Heisman and helped me
win a national championship. So I am very partial to him,
but I'm interested to see what your thoughts are on
him overall as a player and his potential fit in
the Bills defense.

Speaker 3 (31:54):
Yeah, he's obviously he is an elite athletic guy.

Speaker 2 (31:58):
He is.

Speaker 3 (31:58):
He's a freak.

Speaker 2 (31:59):
There's really no where, no other way to put it,
very athletic defender, amazing closing speed, pretty good zone awareness,
and obviously his length allows him to disrupt the passing lanes.
And I really like him at the second level, and
I know he has got he's got the speed and
everything to play the post, but I like him in

(32:22):
my in my head closer to the line of scrimmage,
not necessarily because of this tough defending the run, but
obviously matching up with tight ends running backs out of
the backfield. But I thought he I think that's where
he shined the most. And so he's the type of
guy if the Bills were to bring him in, it's
they're gonna have to get created with him. Uh if
we're talking about, hey, Cole Bishop is kind of better

(32:46):
near the line of scrimmage. Taylor Rapp is kind of
that guy as well. Are we going to go to
more of the three safety looks? And this is I
think where the conversation needs to be framed. You know,
we're talking starks here. In a couple of minutes, you're
talking and men war like, these are guys that you
want to get on the field, But where are they
going to fit into the Bills roster right now. And

(33:07):
I think that if the Bills were to go to
more three safety sets, I think then it makes more
sense to bring a guy like this in or even
starts for that matter, because then you know you have
a guy with his size and athleticism to basically do
whatever you want. But again, typically these aren't the type
of guys that the Bills draft at that position.

Speaker 1 (33:26):
Yeah, so I would say you you pretty much hit
on everything. For me. I I like the player. I
don't think the fit is clean with the Bills, especially
right now given their safety room, given where he excels,
I think, and and I don't want to I don't
want this to make it seem like he can't play deep.
I think he gets worse the deeper he goes. And
that's not necessarily meaning he's bad deep. I just think

(33:48):
he's better in and around the line of scrimmage, being
whether it's you know, a hook the curl player or
a curl to flat like he is on that cover
three rep where he drops underneath and gets that interception.
I hate this one because this he returns it for
a touchdown and they called it stupid penalty on South
Carolina and ended up making them lose this game. I
just like him in and around the box and the
line of scrimmage almost a lot of the things that

(34:09):
I say for Cole Bishop or what I would say
for nick em and worry, which is awesome, but also
like what's the fit, how much redundancy is there? And
then even just for me with him as a player.
I don't know how you felt about this. I don't
feel like on tape, I don't feel like he played
like the athlete he tested as. I feel like you
didn't see enough of for this dude who's you know

(34:31):
what six three two hundred and twenty plus pounds runs
this four three forty. I didn't feel like I was
seeing that on tape. I didn't feel like I was
seeing this guy who was able to take on blocks,
and you know, I didn't like him seeing getting him
cracked and pinned inside by smaller receivers. I didn't feel
like he played to the size and frame and speed
that he tested with.

Speaker 2 (34:51):
So one of my notes on you know, areas of
opportunity he needs to work on is that he plays heavy.
He plays heavy footed. He can say he looks to
move very well, but it's heavy. It's not not he's
not light on his feet, and I think that's you know,
some of that is. I can't explain it because then
when you watch him test, you're like, why aren't we

(35:11):
seeing that more on film? And I thought overall he
was more reactive than proactive. And so whether it's you know,
a route or the run, hitting the perimeter of the defense,
he was half a click late more times than not,
and it would put him out of position. But of
course what he can make up with it with his
athleticism and speed. So I was a little underwhelmed. I

(35:33):
think he's a solid athlete, a good a great athlete,
but I don't know how he would fit in the
bill scheme and I just expected, you know, you know,
bigger splash plays for men. He had seventy seventy three
tackles last year, four interceptions, a thirty seven point one
passer rating allowed solid numbers, but I didn't feel I
didn't feel that on his film, Like even the interception

(35:56):
that he took back there, it's like, okay.

Speaker 1 (35:58):
You know by the quarterback, that's a bad read. Like
he's not like he made some amazing play.

Speaker 2 (36:03):
Right, And so I was kind of underwhelmed with his play,
and so I don't think he's actual a fit for
the Bills. I do think he's gonna get drafted rather high.
I have a second round grade on him, But I
from what everyone's talking, there's a chance because of the
testing he maybe he moves into day one.

Speaker 3 (36:18):
I don't know.

Speaker 2 (36:19):
I'd be shocked if the Bills were interested in this
guy as a safety and their scheme unless they're gonna
do something crazy and again start to play instead of
Taron Johnson as a nickel, start to play more three
safety looks. That is something that is possible. But until
they do that, I can't I can't say they're going
to Yeah.

Speaker 1 (36:38):
Same similarly on what we talked about for d line stuff. Yeah,
I'm I'm with you. I feel like he works better
as a big nickel or an apex in the NFL
who can do like, Okay, you know, maybe he'll get
ten snaps deep a game, but if you're looking at
the PFF like snaps by alignment, everything's coming in the
slot or box like I see him as more in
an day and age in the NFL, where you know,

(37:01):
so much of the safety position has been blended, I
see him as more of a strong safety and more
of a box safety and as a down safety. And
again I don't think that fit is ideal with the Bills.
And when you add on top of that, the heavy
footed comment from you is great. You watch him move
and it looks like are you wearing like ankle weights?
Like why? Like it just seems like he'll jump or
he'll he'll shuffle, and his feet seem like they like,

(37:25):
I don't know, like there's extra gravity turned on and
they like sink him down and bring him down. And
for for as athletic as he is, I really thought
the man coverage piece varied with him too, Like you
could see him cover some tight ends, but you got
really varied results against wide receivers in a variety of ways.
And yeah, I just for for all that he offers,
I also have a two on him, which may make

(37:47):
me feel crazy if he gets taken in like the
top fifteen, like a lot of people are saying, or
he might A lot of people are mocking him to
the Dolphins, not that mocks necessarily mean anything, so that
would be really interesting. That's fine. They can take nick
em and Warry, the Bills can take Jovon Holland we'll
call it even and kind of move from there. But yeah,
very uh to.

Speaker 2 (38:04):
Your point to wrap up, you know, this player a
thousand over a thousand snaps in the box over the
course of his career three year career, seven hundred snaps
at free safety, seven hundred and ten snaps and then
five hundred and sixty four in the slast So yeah,
that the versatility is great. But for a guy with
his size and athleticism, you got to ask yourself, is

(38:25):
he what.

Speaker 3 (38:25):
Is he good at?

Speaker 1 (38:27):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (38:27):
What is he great at? With that athleticism is?

Speaker 1 (38:31):
And I don't know if there's anything, will the.

Speaker 2 (38:33):
NFL coaching make him, you know, great at something aside
from just being an athlete, because at the NFL level one,
it's not just about being an athlete, but it's about
being a good football player, and everyone is good at
the next level.

Speaker 3 (38:47):
So I don't know.

Speaker 2 (38:48):
I can't tell you what aside from his athleticism, that
he's great at anything, And so I don't know what
that gets you. If we're talking combine testing, where the
grades are going to fall and where he ultimately gets drafted.
I don't know. There's a lot of variants. Yeah, to
his game and where he goes it matters. And yes,

(39:10):
that's usually the case for most guys you can say that,
but for this player, I think it absolutely matters the
environment and scheme that he plays in and that defensive
coordinator has to be creative with him.

Speaker 1 (39:21):
Yep, I'm in locks up with you. And again I
came away as I saw a bunch of South Carolina
games during the year, and I was very excited to
watch his tape, and I came away underwhelmed, just for again,
for his guy who's tested so well and who has
all this potential. It's a good way to put it, like,
I don't know if he's great at any one thing,

(39:43):
and then it's like, Okay, if he's not, can you
make him great or how do you deploy him to
take advantage of that kind of do it all skill
set that he has. But it's also like do it all,
but also not do anything, if that makes sense. Don't
a lot of those.

Speaker 2 (39:57):
Guys though, these type of players, especially at the safety posi,
they don't usually work out.

Speaker 1 (40:02):
Isaiah Simmons is the first one that comes in my mind.

Speaker 2 (40:05):
Yeah, they don't all work out. It sucks because in like,
especially guys like us who are like, oh, you could
do with him, and then you're just like, maybe that's
part of our our perspective and framing of this is
like on paper, like, oh man, the it's endless, like
what you can do with a guy like this, right,
especially if you're thinking about it from a defensive standpoint

(40:27):
and coordinator standpoint.

Speaker 3 (40:29):
But I've yet to see it consistently work.

Speaker 1 (40:32):
But also maybe that's why it's so hard, because it's
like it's like instead of having a menu of like
five things and you pick one, you have a menu
of like five thousand things, and then it's like, oh
my god, I feel overwhelmed. There's too many possibilities. Maybe
it's harder because you've got this guy. Oh he can
be deployed in so many ways, and it's like, oh, yeah,
but how do I deploy him? Like and yeah, it's
just it's it's an interesting conversation with him, and I'm

(40:53):
intrigued to see where he goes, especially with how well
that he tested another safety on the minds of Bill's
Mafia and on our mind here in the film room,
Malachi Starks, safety.

Speaker 3 (41:02):
Guy, this is your guy?

Speaker 1 (41:04):
Huh Yeah, I like him this year. I do think
he has some wartz, but I just from the time
he was a true freshman making plays for this defense
and help him lead them to national championships. Yeah, a
lot of big games, a lot of plays and high
leverage moments and situations, and I think for me, it's
more of if he's used in the more siloed way

(41:27):
I would like him to be. I think he's a
bit of a force multiplier, and for the Bills defense,
I think that can help a little bit. But the
work to do pieces, you know, obviously, we'll get to it.
I think they are significant to a degree. But yeah,
Malachi Starks safety from Georgia.

Speaker 2 (41:40):
Six one one ninety seven, forty yard dash and four
point five that was a little disappointing. Ten yard split
one five to one, vertical jump thirty three three condreil
also kind of disappointing, seven point two six seconds.

Speaker 1 (41:54):
I did not expect him to test well. Honestly, him
running a four or five and having the three cone
that he did, I was actually afraid it would be slower.
So I was decently surprised while being whelmed. At the
same time, I was worried.

Speaker 2 (42:04):
About that he's another guy at the conversation of Okay,
how do you get him on the field, not just
for the Bills, but for most teams, Like if you
have two solid safeties, is he going to be the
third safety? And I think if we're talking about the Bills,
this is where maybe he comes into play, because I
do like him, not even just in and around the box,
but coming from depth.

Speaker 1 (42:23):
I like him.

Speaker 2 (42:24):
I like he he uses his hands really well, whether
it's a wide receiver coming to crack down on him,
or he's in the box and he's he's facing a
tight end or even a polar At times, he's very
active with his hands and shedding. If we're talking support
against the run in the past. You know, he's a
guy that played a lot in the slot two hundred
and seventy one snaps last year in the slot. But

(42:47):
obviously in order, much like the last player Nick is,
in order to do that, you do have to have
a certain level of football IQ and smart smartness to
their game, Like they have to be smart to learn
several positions. I think the fact that Starts played in
the Georgia defense, which is a lot is asked of
those safeties for several years in those big games. He's

(43:08):
obviously a smart player. I wrote down he leverages strong
communication and zone instincts, quickly shifting focus between receivers and
effectively funneling plays to help. And what I mean by
that is what they do a lot is is kind
of like what Ole Miss does. Is the safeties are deep.
They're seeing number one. Okay, number one is doing this,
Now I need to get my eyes to number two.
They're very good at doing that, and he immediately shifts

(43:31):
from one receiver to the next. Problem is when they
run a trap coverage, he in the corner jumps that
out route. He's supposed to get up over the top,
and sometimes he forgets and he's a little slow to
transition and then there's a big play happening. There were
a lot of big plays against him over the years.
Starks were talking here and I thought his eye discipline
could be better. I think that's his biggest work, is

(43:53):
his eye discipline. It lacks at times and it allows
big plays by the offense.

Speaker 1 (43:58):
Yeah, no, I agree. I think the kind of the
the eye discipline, the eye discipline and how he can
you just get put out of position by trying to
kind of anticipate too much or jump things. He'll get
caught flat footed from time to time. Yeah, I think
the eye discipline piece, which was such a huge strength

(44:19):
for him early on as a true freshman, and I
think it waned a little bit as I don't know,
as he took more responsibility on or tried to do
more in the defense. So I'm hoping that's something that
can be rained in or coached through a little bit.
And for me, with him, he played a lot of
that star role, that Apex role for Georgia last year,
the Brian, the Brian Branch role from Bama, everything that

(44:41):
they do in those defenses, but it was mainly because
of injury. Like naturally, he is more of a deep
safety play in the post too high type of safety,
and if you can have him be that with a
guy who you can sprinkle in some man coverage with
from time to time, that's where I really like compairing
him as then despite the fact that you know he's
not a burner because he only runs that four or five,

(45:03):
but his ability to read route distributions, collect read what's
happening from an offensive standpoint, being able to diagnose and
process if you can get him better with his eye
discipline and kind of not coach out some of that,
you know, overplaying his hand a little bit from time
to time. I like the idea of pairing him with
a coal bishop long term, or just the idea of

(45:23):
him being more of that deep safety because of what
he can do from an IQ standpoint, a zone coverage standpoint,
a match coverage standpoint. Then he's also got this ability
to play man coverage, which is nice. I don't want
him in man coverage as an apex. I don't want
him as a big nickel. I don't. I think, you know,
slot receivers are gonna give him some trouble from time
to time. And for I think he's athletic, and I

(45:43):
think you had it in some of your notes there.
He is athletic, but I find him a bit like
stiff hipped at times, or that the verbiage I use
is there's a bit of a hitch in his gidea
up when he turns to open and I don't know
if it's the hips related or if it's you literally
almost looks like he like he gets snagged, like his
shirt gets caught on something like it's a little hitching
his giddy up in his hips when he turns it.

(46:05):
And it's really when he's going from that pedal to
turn and he's going vertical, he's is still able to
stay in phase because of his hand uses just some
of his athleticism. But that's a concern for me, some
of that stiffness and the hip ability. And then a
note I had here is said he had multiple quote
unquote bad eyes reps and coverage where his eyes led
him obviously tying into your eye.

Speaker 3 (46:25):
Just bad eyes. And I also some bad angles and.

Speaker 2 (46:30):
That top end athleticism or speed, you're not able to
make up a bad angle. And and that showed a
few times aside from bad eyes bad angles at times
in the run in the past game, receiver catches it
and he just runs. He runs at the receiver, flat
receiver just bounces and takes off on him. But again,
I think, I think he's a Day two player, and

(46:52):
I think he's gonna be a solid pro. I think
with all the wars he has, I think, you know,
given the games he's played in and you know the
production he's had, I think he is a guy that
plays many years in the NFL. You know, a lot
as a starter eventually, but also even as a backup.
I think he's a smart player, that he's one of
those guys that just has like a ten year career,

(47:14):
like in the blink of eye, you know. And so
I have a mid second to third round grade on him.
I do like him, I just in the Bills defense.
I think it's a good fit for him, But he's
not someone like I don't want to burn a second
rounder on him when I know in years past the
coaching staff has done a good job of coaching up

(47:34):
that position, and so maybe they could get more out
of him. But I'd prefer a little more athleticism, i'd
from what he brings you know, on the field.

Speaker 3 (47:46):
So but a fun player to watch.

Speaker 2 (47:48):
Again, a lot of big games, So a lot of
the games you watch him, they're big than he is
making plays.

Speaker 1 (47:53):
Yeah, absolutely, I have a two on him. He's my
safety one. But again similar from a conversation perspective, from
the bad you know, fixing, fixing, the bad eyes and
the eye discipline, big thing for me, I said, he
has to clean up his angles to the ball, especially
coming forward and also as a as a run defender,
as a safety coming from depth or even just in general.

(48:13):
He fits the run as a tackler and as a
forced player I think overall responsibly. But he isn't overly physical.
He's more of kind of like a catch tackler. Then
he is like, Oh, he came up and just stuck
the hell out of that guy. I think he is.
I think he's more free than strong type of safety,
but he can I think he can do like a
mix of both. Oh yeah, that's I was trying to

(48:34):
find this in my note. I put he's a fine tackler,
but not a detonator. I like more pop or forcing
contact from my safeties when coming from depth. But I
think what he can do from a coverage standpoint again,
can benefit this defense or a team. If he was
the pick at thirty, I would hope that they answered

(48:54):
all of the defensive line questions in free agency. Like,
if he's the pick at thirty, then that means I
would like the Bills got dj Jones, they got Fouler
or Hoyt. They also signed a pretty good corner, so
that way they're Okay, we can go safety at thirty
and corner with our first second round pick. In defensive
line with our third like, that's if he creeps in,

(49:16):
that's what I'm looking for. But I do have a
two on to your point.

Speaker 2 (49:20):
He's a solid player and we're running out of time
here and so real quick, just to kind of wrap
up the combine winners, we did a lot of defensive
guys did all defensive guys, and I know a lot
of you guys are clamoring for some offensive weapons for Josh.
Is there anyone at wide receiver that stood out to
you that either you know, you watched film on him

(49:42):
You're like, okay, that makes sense, or like, oh, I
got to go watch film on this guy because he
stood out, you know, at the Combine this past weekend.

Speaker 1 (49:50):
Someone you know you mentioned this earlier when we talked
about like, you know, watching guys on tape and them
doing stuff that made you go like, hun, like I
didn't think that a low hanging fruit. Matthew Golden, who
I like, mm hmm, it did not see sub four
four speed from him, and not only sub four four,
he ran a four two nine. Yeah, though he just
did not see that. And I think it's part partly schematic,

(50:13):
like you mentioned, you know, there he's running glance routes
and RPO stuff and things underneath, and there's not a
lot of opportunity for him to just you know, separate
and run and really open up the engine. But I just,
and I guess in a good way. I didn't think
he was slow, but I just didn't see four two nine.
He's somebody I really like. He's just so smooth and
fluid with how he moves. And again, maybe it's because

(50:35):
he's so smooth and fluid that you just don't see
that speed or think of it. But yeah, I was not.
I was not expecting that time. I was expecting. No,
I was expecting like, oh, four four two maybe four
four five four two nine.

Speaker 2 (50:48):
Blew me away, ideal size, smooth realises. I think he's
a prototype X and at the next level methodical route running, uh,
very high football IQ. And the funny thing about you know,
the Texas offense and Golden all together, is like there's
some plays like that where he's got great body control,
especially at the catch point along the boundary, you know,
things like that over the midchie need with.

Speaker 1 (51:08):
Quin you were throwing some ducks every once in.

Speaker 3 (51:10):
A while, right that offense. Obviously they have dogs everywhere.

Speaker 2 (51:13):
They have great players at all their positions, and so
they kind of just run Steve Starkesian's offense and then okay,
who's making a play. Okay, your turn, Who's making a play?
And then but when they needed a big play in
a big game, and they whether it's the you know,
the games against Georgia, you know, like they went to
him and they schemed things up for him on third

(51:36):
and fourth on situations, which is why he always made
those big plays in critical situations. And you see a
bunch of them in his highlight reels and plays like
this where he's just coming back to the ball, adjusting
to the pass and bringing in down the field. He's
a I have a feeling like if you were to
talk ball with him, he comes across as a smart guy.
I forget who posted the presser of him at the podium,

(52:00):
but he just sounded so smart, like it shows on
the field. He's another guy where it shows on the field.
If you need a big play in a big moment, Texas,
they went to him, And I could see him doing
that at the next level, having played in these big
games in his career at Texas.

Speaker 1 (52:16):
Yeah, if you look down the stretch two of his
final three games, against Georgia twelve targets, eight catches, one
hundred and sixty two yards, the bowl game against Arizona
State in the playoff ten targets, seven catches, one hundred
and forty nine yards and a touchdown. He really was someone,
especially with you know, his running mate there, Isaiah Bond,

(52:36):
inconsistencies with injuries and just maybe some other things on
top of it as well, and Golden was kind of
the stabilizing force in that wide receiver room. And you
know you even showed that play kind of doing the
dirty work to help Bond get clear on that low
red zone touchdown. Yeah, he just does Oh he does it. Yes,
he does a lot of professional things. Him and at

(52:58):
BUCA from Ohio State. Two receive receivers that I just
think do a lot of the dirty and a lot
of the good and guys that I think will be
good wide receivers in the NFL for like twelve years,
and the veat that teams want to fans want on
their team to try and get him a ring towards
the end of their career if they haven't already got winning.
Golden just does a lot of good things on tape.

(53:18):
You mentioned I don't want to drill down too much
on them and reiterate, but I just really, I guess
again in a good way. I'm like, I'm gonna go
back and I feel like I need to watch every
Texas game because I'm like, I need to see if
the four two nine on tape. I need to see
you pulling away from someone in some weight and not
that it's bad. I was just like, really, like, did
somebody hit the button a tenth of a second early?

(53:38):
It's still right now. I'm shocked by.

Speaker 2 (53:40):
It, right, and there's not Again, this is the player
we're talking about, Like, huh, I need to go back
and watch this film because there weren't many plays or
situations where you know he was pulling away. There was
that rep against Arizona State where he takes that inbreaker
out and he has the middle of field, he's in
the clear, and he doesn't hit the alley with that

(54:03):
speed and when you're running, if you're running that that
fast at the combine, it should have been an easy touchdown,
an easy touchdown, and he just didn't see it. So
I I you know, a lot of my notes when
it came to things he can work on. It was like, hey,
you know, releases, undeveloped, underdeveloped releases versus press, you know,
leaves him vulnerable against the defender who's aggressive against him.

(54:26):
And a lot of that is because he wasn't separating.
He was allowing these guys to get into him. Even
though he had fifty eight catches for nine hundred and
eighty seven yards and nine touchdowns, there was a lot
to be a lot left beies desired for him. We're
talking that speed because it just it didn't show. I
will agree with everyone, like I did not see that
on film.

Speaker 1 (54:47):
Even that his ten yard split was one point four
to nine, Like that's very good. I didn't feel like
I saw that either. And I just again like power
to him, like he made himself some money, uh with
that combine. And again the tape, the tape is good
and there's a lot to like with him. I echo
your sentiments about like the releases and kind of how

(55:08):
how that ties into his overall route running it and
stem work as well, which is an area that I think, uh,
he excels in. But yeah, I I I'm still right
now just like going through all the games that I watch,
because I watched stuff for Bond. I watched stuff for Golden.
I watched certain defenses play against Texas, and there was
never a moment where I was like, whoa, this guy's

(55:28):
gonna fly, And not that everyone is the same, but
like juxtapose it with Worthy last year for Texas where
it was like, oh, okay, like that makes sense. He
can fly. I mean he's also weighsed the weight of
a feather. But you could see even ad Mitchell at
times I felt like opened it up more and was
faster than Golden, and he was not timed faster than Golden,

(55:49):
which I'm just still a little shocked right now. But again,
power to him. He makes it off.

Speaker 2 (55:54):
Just a few of my notes, like the first note
from again, I watched Let's see Michigan, Florida, Georgia twice,
Arizona State. Athleticism or explosiveness don't jump off the screen.
YEP doesn't have the quickness to avoid opponents punched near
the line of scrimmage. Breaks aren't that sudden, but there's
a smoothness to them, no doubt. Man cover corners can

(56:15):
mirror him pretty easily. He doesn't threaten the leverage of
the DBS due to lack of suddenness so, yeah, this
is a guy that we have to go back and
watch because there there weren't many situations. Again, a lot
of some of it is scheme related. You know, they
weren't asking him to do a lot of these things
that you're gonna see these situations pop up. But the
few times they did, like, huh, I'm not seeing it.

(56:38):
And so he's definitely gonna have to go back again.
I have an early day two grade on him, So
I still have a high grade on him. I just
I didn't it didn't match up. It didn't match up
what he did at a combine to his film.

Speaker 1 (56:50):
Yeah, I haven't early to mid two on him. And
just to kind of give you one of my notes,
they tied with it. Yeah, I wrote smooth fluid athlete,
smooth fluid route runner. Not a lot of sharpness or
suddenness to his game. Can make up for it with
deception and pacing. Has some snap out of his breaks,

(57:10):
but overall not suddenness, not a lot of sharpness. I'm
still perplexed. But again, power to him, Power to him
for that forty and powered all you folks for powering
through us with this episode. We're rolling through. But again,
this is the time of year where we get I
feel like these episodes go a little longer for us
because we get into maybe I'll speak for myself here,

(57:31):
I feel like these episodes are important because whether it's
free agency, whether it's draft talk, this is the peak
time of year where everybody loves to highlight scout and
talk about it as if they know what's up with
a player because they watched a two minute highlight, or
they watched a game one time, or they heard Daniel
Jeremiah like somebody or something, And so I think these important.

(57:53):
These episodes are important for us to show and also
speak to a lot of these prospects and players that
Bill's Mafia have their eye on. And I don't want
to say like necessarily we're here to kind of like
set the narrative straight, but you know, for us speaking
on these guys, it it takes a lot to go
in to be accurate with these evaluations, and I feel
like that's reflected in the length of these episodes.

Speaker 2 (58:12):
Yeah, we went super long today, but again, we try
to cover a lot of these players from the combine
that you know would fit into the Bill scheme, that
would fit into the Bill's typical archetypes and maybe even
some that are don't really do that. But if the
Bill shift, like we've talked about the last few weeks,

(58:34):
maybe you see him become a target for them in
the draft. So obviously free agency is first, that's right
around the corner. If you're interested in the Bill's targets
on both sides of the ball in free agency, we
covered that in the last two episodes, so take a
look at that. But if if you're a full throttle
into the draft, you have plenty of content just from
this episode, and we honestly couldn't even get to everybody

(58:57):
because of the length of that we went. When it
came hand to the defensive side of the ball, which
we hope that the Bills address in the free in
free agency and also in the draft.

Speaker 1 (59:07):
Absolutely, and if there is someone draft related you folks
want us to dive into, or a position group to
dive into. We you know, the off season, even though
it's in you know, draft time or free agency time,
we're always looking for, you know, additional things to cover
or some fun topics or things that you folks are
really clamoring for, So anything and everything. Get at us
on Twitter Eric's at the cover one handle, so at

(59:28):
cover and the number one. All his individual is at
Eric J. Turner. I'm on Twitter at pro Underscore Underscore
And if you don't have those socials, but you're here
on YouTube, leave us a comment here on YouTube. If
you are on Reddit, we post these episodes to Reddit.
Cool comment on Reddit, let us know something you want
us to cover there. We also have the cover one
film room handle on Twitter. It's at cover one film Room,

(59:51):
so cover the number one f I L M R
O O M, No underscores, no dashes, no numbers, just
at cover one Film Room be posting stats and film
clips and highlighting pieces from our you know, Twitter accounts
and these episodes that are related to these episodes free
agency wise, draft wise, the advanced metrics to film all
that stuff for you folks. So again, multiple ways to

(01:00:14):
get at us. If you have questions, thoughts, comments, concerns,
want us to cover something, let us know. Thank you
very much for tuning into this episode of the Film Room.
We hope to see you next week for Free Agency
Film Breakdown, where hopefully the Bills do a lot of
their moves on Monday so we can watch the tape
Monday and Tuesday and not just wait until watch them
be silent and then like Wednesday at like four thirty,

(01:00:37):
it's just a flurry and it just I'm waiting for
that to happen to us. But hopefully they operate in
way that'll help us out.

Speaker 3 (01:00:45):
Yeah, let's hope man. And again it's gonna be fluid.

Speaker 2 (01:00:47):
So if that does happen, there's a possibility that we
may have to postpone it so that we can get
all of our you know, research and film and all
that together, because as you can see, this is a
two hour long episode. A lot went into this episode
when it comes to watching all of these games of film,
compiling it, editing it, getting the stats for a lot

(01:01:09):
went into this. And props to Joe DeRosa, our producer,
for helping out with some of the stats and the
pre and post production stuff of the film room. But again,
thank to you guys for tuning in to this episode
and please hit that like button, leave us a comment,
let us know who you want us to break down,
whether it's in free agency or the draft. And again

(01:01:30):
big thanks to tuning into this in depth episode of
the Combine Winners, because it took a lot of work
to get this out there.

Speaker 1 (01:01:38):
Yeah, absolutely, and this is a nice way to also
to kind of set the stage a little bit for
our draft covers that you'll get here in the Film
Room going forward. And yeah, it takes a lot of
time to watch all because also to like, for these games,
we're usually watching anywhere from four to six games for guys,
So it's not like, oh, you know, Matthew Golden, let
me watch his best game against Arizona State or whatever,
and that's it. We're watching a lot. So we imagine, however,

(01:02:01):
many players we talked about here, you're watching anywhere from
four to six games for each player, so it is
a lot of time. So we appreciate the support from
you folks. If you're watching on YouTube, drop a like,
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If you're listening on the audio platforms, please rate, review
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at us on socials, subscribe to the Cover one channel

(01:02:23):
as a whole on audio or on YouTube. We have
recovered pretty much every single day of the week with
various levels of bills content for you, folks, thank you
very much for tuning in. We will see you next
week for another episode of the Film Room, hopefully on Wednesday,
because the Bills did us a favor and announced all
their free agent signings on Monday. Also, for those who
don't know, Monday, starting at noon, that's when you'll start

(01:02:44):
to see all the announcements of signings start to trickle through.
Nothing is official until Wednesday, starting at four o'clock when
the new league year starts. But Monday is your big
news day. You'll start seeing stuff hitting right at noon.
In terms of so and so has agreed in principle
to a deal with YadA, YadA YadA. Nothing's official until
Wednesday at four. We hope you and your family and
friends and loved ones are all doing well and staying safe.

(01:03:06):
Be kind to one another, take care of one another.
We'll see you next week. Godspeed. I'm Anthew Breska. That's
Eric Turner. This has been the cover one Film Room
and Go Bills

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Scouting the Secondary – Bills’ Best DB Fits from the NFL Combine | Film Room

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Scouting the Secondary – Bills’ Best DB Fits from the NFL Combine | Film Room