April 27, 2024

Draft Day Decoded: Day 2 Insights and Surprises w/ Alex Hardy and Nick Ferguson

Draft Day Decoded: Day 2 Insights and Surprises w/ Alex Hardy and Nick Ferguson

Draft Day Decoded: Day 2 Insights and Surprises w/ Alex Hardy and Nick Ferguson

NFL Draft Recap: Day Two Analysis and Key Moves

Nick Ferguson and Alex Hardy break down the NFL Draft. The discussion covers a wide range of topics including the emphasis on quarterbacks, with six being selected in the top 12 picks, and specific team assessments such as the Atlanta Falcons' controversial decisions, the strategic moves by the Minnesota Vikings, and the Chicago Bears' draft selections. The script also touches on various teams' draft strategies, key player pickups, and potential impacts on the upcoming season. The hosts provide an in-depth analysis of player fit, team needs, and the overall draft strategy, wrapping up with personal advice for undrafted players and a look forward to the remaining draft rounds.

00:00 Welcome to Our NFL Draft Recap!
01:04 Quarterback Frenzy: Analyzing the Top Picks
02:22 The Atlanta Falcons' Surprising Move
04:10 Falcons' Strategy: A Deep Dive into the Controversial Decision
13:08 Vikings' Draft Strategy: Securing the Future
18:33 Chicago Bears' Draft Highlights
22:00 Denver Broncos' Quarterback Gamble
25:47 Quarterback Dynamics and Draft Insights
26:13 Sean Payton's Intuition and Historical Draft Reflections
27:34 Bo Nix's Potential and Pre-Draft Preparations
28:33 Quarterback Competition in Denver
30:49 Draft Strategy and Team Moves
32:07 Raiders' Offensive Strategy and Draft Picks
33:46 Defensive Draft Picks and Team Strategies
40:42 Wide Receiver Moves and Draft Highlights
47:06 Advice for Undrafted Players and Closing Thoughts

 

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We are those guys.

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We hope to be your guys bringing you our special recap of the NFL draft.

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It is Friday night, day two has just ended, and I'm here with Nick Ferguson to tell you how your teams did in a vacuum with half of the draft left to go, but some excitement certainly going on on Thursday and Friday.

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Hey, what's going on with you, Nick Ferguson? Hey man, it's always a fun time.

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This time of the year, a lot of fans are going to be happy.

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But then there is going to be a bolo who are going to be upset because the team did not do exactly what they were supposed to.

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As they thought the team should have done, but it's been a great draft thus far, still some more information and a lot of things out there for a lot of players as another day of activity is set to take place.

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Well, we haven't talked to each other since before the draft began.

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And I know it's, you know, at this point we're trying to let the last 24 hours sink in with six teams in the top 12 picks.

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Selecting a quarterback.

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That's certainly going to be the headline.

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You know, the past two seasons in the NFL, more quarterbacks are playing, whether due to injury or incompetency, uh, because it's always the player's fault when the production doesn't show up on the field, that's what Nick Ferguson always says.

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But, you know, it's always.

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Um, you know, smokescreen time when we talk about the media narrative of pushing up quarterbacks and hitting the reset button on the franchise.

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And I truly believed that that's why we would see, like, Will Levis sliding to the second round last year when he was in the conversation for the number two pick.

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And yet, We have six quarterbacks, as I mentioned, in the top 12.

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Pretty, pretty routine, right? Caleb Williams, first overall to Chicago, something that other teams knew months in advance and weeks in advance, the commanders were set to take Jaden Daniels out of LSU.

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At least that's what Elliot Wolfe said.

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And the New England Patriots taking Drake May out of North Carolina, third overall.

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It was pretty chalky, right? Jim Harbaugh talking about offensive linemen, so they get to take Joe Walt out of Notre Dame.

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Uh, he did skip Marvin Harrison to the Cardinals.

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So on and so forth.

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But then, the Atlanta Falcons are on the clock, Nick Ferguson.

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And that is when things got absolutely crazy there in Detroit.

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Yeah, they did.

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I didn't understand this move just like so many other people as we were trying to understand what was the purpose or the mission of Terry Fontenot.

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And the line of Falcons.

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You had spent so much money on Kirk Cousins, who has long tenure in this league, but he really has to live up to a lot of those expectations.

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And I said this before, he's played in the same system for 12 years.

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And I thought it was kind of a, a, a brash move.

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And that's when the draft was kind of thrown on its ears because at that point, it was like, okay, well, a lot of top players still on the board, a lot of great talented players still on the board, but that move right there kind of shook everything up.

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And it shaped what happened with the Denver Broncos, what happened with the Raiders, the Jets moved back, allowed the Minnesota Vikings to move up, and that was kind of the idea of going in.

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Because the draft, pretty much to that point, Alex, it was going exactly how everyone had thought it would go.

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But it's always a wild card, it was the Falcons, and it changed the trajectory of the draft.

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Uh, forcing the Broncos to say, hey, listen, we were thinking about moving back, but with the Raiders behind us, we had to take both Knicks, which forced the Raiders to take the best player available.

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And that was Brock Bowers.

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Now we're talking about Michael Penix out of Washington going eighth overall to the Atlanta Falcons.

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As you said, Nick, the Falcons had just spent Uh, they handed out a 180 million contract for Kirk Cousins, 100 million of that guaranteed.

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So project, I guess, that Michael Penix now is, um, there's, there's a lot of, you know, making sure that we have a competent backup and we want to be able to groom somebody.

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That's the goal at which Terry Fontenot said, uh, when he introduced the draft picks on Thursday night.

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You know, we all want to be the Green Bay Packers.

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We want to instill stability and ensure that our fan base has someone that's always competent, able to right the ship, and after picking in the top 10 for now four straight years, and using them on four offensive players, they're assuming that with Kirk Cousins, they're not going to have an opportunity to take a talent That Michael Pennix is ever again, and you can't just call yourselves the Green Bay Packers for a number of reasons.

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Number one, Terry Fontenot is entering year four, and as I just mentioned, they picked in the top ten the last four years.

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There's no guarantee that by the time that this ship is righted, and they do anything better than 10, 11 wins if Kirk Cousins is capable of that, That Terry Fontenot is still there when Michael Penix is ready to go.

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Drake London, Kyle Pitts, Bijon Robinson, all on rookie contracts.

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And who's to say that when Michael Penix's number is called, that those guys are still going to be there because they all have to get long term deals done.

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Terry Fontenot's takeaway from this was like the Green Bay Packers.

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We have the ability to.

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Have him gain experience on the bench and that it would be a good problem to have if it's four or five years from now and Michael Penick still hasn't played.

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I like, I understand, I understand in drafting a quarterback eighth overall, I understand in paying a hundred million dollars to a free agent quarterback.

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I don't understand both of them in sequence.

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Both of these decisions being made.

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Now you can't tell me that they were ready to hand Kirk Cousins the money, knowing that they were targeting a quarterback at eighth overall.

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They didn't even have Michael Penix visit the facility as a top 30.

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So at some point after they signed Kirk Cousins, they made the determination and decision that Penix was someone that they had to have, and that is an absolute indictment on the job that is being performed and understanding the goals of Either winning now or building for the future.

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You can't just try to do both, Nick.

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You can't just half bake both ends of this.

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Well, that is what Terry Fontenot is planning on as he's done thus far.

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Telling the fan base.

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That is what I was thinking.

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I was trying to channel my inner Brian Gunthers and the Green Bay Packers and making this type of Uh, of decision.

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I think Ron Wolf was the GM there when you had Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers.

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That's right.

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But, but this only works out if you have a viable option as your number one.

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And the reason it worked out for the Packers because you had Brett Favre, who was a Hall of Fame, who is a Hall of Fame player, who was playing well, and you bring in Aaron Rodgers as Aaron's parent, and he has But the biggest part of that is Both Aaron and Brett Farr were healthy.

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They were not coming off of a massive surgery.

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And when you look at the Falcons and what they're trying to do, it is the idea of you're trying to save face because it appears as though maybe Penix wasn't on their radar, but they saw him still sitting there and Fontenot thought, to himself.

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Hmm.

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What would happen if he had a quarterback in waiting? And there is a possibility, Alex, that he might have had a little buyer's remorse when it came to Kirk Cousins, knowing as though with all the young players you just mentioned, you throw young quarterback in that mix that you don't have to pay right away because you have that fifth year option.

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So now the, the Falcons find themselves And quite a conundrum, because just think about it like this.

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If you were Kirk Cousins, granted, you got 108 million guaranteed, but they go and draft a quarterback in the first round at your position, and Penix is like 24.

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So four years from now, he's going to be 28.

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And if the idea is Kurt's going to play a lengthy period of time, Falcons fans are not going to see their aging young quarterback until years later.

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And then the Falcons are going to be in a situation where they have to determine, are they going to give, a la the Green Bay Packers looking at Drew and Love, what are they going to do with this fifth year option? So you're going to give a guy a huge payday.

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That you haven't even seen him play in meaningful games.

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This is one of the more baffling decisions that I've seen in the front office in a long time.

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I mean, Jordan Love, 26th overall pick, Jalen Hurts, 52nd overall pick, and they were 21, 22 years old respectively.

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8th overall pick, and Penix is 24 years old.

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In two weeks, you can say it's been two years since he suffered the season ending injuries, right? He's been healthy for two years at Washington, but if Kirk Cousins is 35 now and 36 when the season opens and they're guaranteeing him money through his age 37 season, you're right.

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The best bet is that he's going to be 26 years old the first time he takes the field and at 27 with one year starter experience under his belt, they have to make that decision if he's really the answer.

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Uh, at the, uh, at quarterback.

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And it's just so hard for me to believe that this is, you know, this is a sustainable situation where.

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You have stability and, uh, Terry Fontenot is still going to be there.

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That all those offensive playmakers are still going to be there.

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Meanwhile, asking yourself, Hey, the Falcons defense was pretty abysmal and they completely failed to address it with that top pick, uh, the other way we can talk about this.

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I think we're going to.

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Start with the first round, and since we're here on Friday night, Nick, um, I, I will mention that the Falcons did address their defense by adding two pieces on the defensive line.

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Uh, top of the second round, at the 35th overall pick, they took Clemson's Brooke Arrororo.

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Um, I'm just gonna call him Scooby Doo.

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Okay.

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If I'm wrong.

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Right? Yeah.

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Yeah, you first, you first on the name.

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You know what, okay, before we get to the name, here's the one thing that I find very interesting.

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Because of the conversation we just had about the run on quarterbacks.

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Something that's really historic and the Falcons just kind of We'll get to the rest of them for sure.

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I just want to round out kind of team by team, you know.

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Okay, well, you know what, I thought the Falcons did try to Add some pieces to become much better on the defensive side of the ball and it's not, you know, be mistaken.

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Their defense played better than I anticipated last year.

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So, so, so once again, you add more defensive pieces, you figure as though.

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In the division where Tampa Bay is your biggest threat because they went to the playoffs at nine and eight, once again, helping either your aging quarterback and Kirk Cousins or Michael Penix, if he can come in and, and take over or overtake, uh, Kirk Cousins, that, that's kind of, that would be a great mixture and a combination right there, offensively and defensively.

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Well, the defense was You know, you're right.

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An absolute masterclass.

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They were putting, you know, the, the, the past rush has always alluded them to a certain extent, but they were still getting the job done with Calais Campbell and rightfully so Ryan Nielsen was rewarded taking over in Jacksonville as the DC.

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Meanwhile, Washington defensive coordinator, Jimmy Lake comes in, which is kind of why, you know, I was on the fence.

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I was like, well, lay out to lot to, you know, was playing for Jimmy Lake.

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So Lake either.

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Knows and loves what he's seen out of him versus, well, he watched him get medically, um, you know, taken out of football, which is why the third round pick of Braylon Trice out of Washington is the piece that makes sense coming off the defensive line, seven sacks in his red shirt, senior year, um, and third team, all American first team, all pack 12.

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Is just, you know, a perfect fit for a Jimmy Lake defense that takes over and a player like Trice filling in some familiarity.

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So they upgrade the pass rush to a certain extent, not that elite talent that we were looking for, maybe eight overall.

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Nick, we had a run, an NFL record 14 first round picks all on the offensive side of the football.

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And because of what the Falcons decided to do at the eighth overall selection, it moves us down to Uh, the Vikings having to trade up, swapping places with the New York Jets so they could land J.

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J.

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McCarthy at 10th overall.

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Now clearly, the offensive playmakers in Minnesota Is one of the few situations for a rookie quarterback.

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That's better than what we saw in Atlanta.

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So JJ McCarthy with Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, TJ Hawkinson, probably coming back after missing the first month or so recovering from surgery.

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Uh, and, and some talented offensive line.

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What do you think about the spot for JJ McCarthy sliding into Kevin O'Connell's offense? I like it because all you have to do is think about the guy we were just talking about.

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You know, Kirk Cousins.

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Kirk Cousins thrived in that offense.

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And you look at J.

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J.

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McCarthy and what he was asked to do in Michigan, but more importantly, what he was not asked to do.

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And he did that part very well.

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And this is why, when you look at the Minnesota Vikings and how they're set up, you know, at the wide receiver position with Jefferson and Addison, and then they bring over Aaron Jones from the rival Green Bay Packers, it makes life easier for J.

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J.

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McCarthy.

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It's sort of like being at Michigan all over again, if you really think about it, because the whole idea is that, you know, when these quarterbacks go off the board, Every fan base is thinking, okay, well, these guys are Superman, but Superman can't do anything about without the Justice League.

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So it's all about putting that team around him and learning how to function within the framework of that team.

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And just think about the system that Kevin O'Connor comes from.

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It's the same system that Zach Taylor is running.

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Brian Callahan is running.

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Robert Sullivan, they're running a version of it when Nathaniel Hackett with the Green Bay Packers, Sean McVay is running, Matt McDaniels is running, you see the common thread here.

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So the whole idea is put the quarterback in a position where they don't really have to do that much.

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All you have to do is find the open receiver and give him the freaking ball.

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It's kind of, it wasn't stable of the West Coast offense for so many years, right? That's why San Francisco 49ers, back in the day when Bill Walsh was running it, You know, you had Steve Young and you had Joe Montana.

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Those quarterbacks were so efficient in the offense, and it's about pacing.

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It's about establishing somewhat of a rhythm.

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And J.

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J.

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McCarthy showed that at Michigan, that he can do that.

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So this offense for him with the vikings and the vikings weren't done there.

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You know, we were maybe assuming they'd have to package 11 and 23 to move up to get a Drake May or even a JJ McCarthy, but they didn't have to do that, which allowed them.

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To then make a move later in the first round to go up and get one of those falling defensive players.

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And arguably one of the best edge talents in this draft class, Dallas Turner, they swapped with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

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So here was the move, right? The rub is They moved up to 23 and gave up significant draft capital to do so with the Houston Texans.

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So you pair that with the trade to go from 23 to 17 and ultimately they got Dallas Turner and the number 230 and the 232 pick from Jacksonville.

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In return they gave up 42nd overall.

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A two fifth rounders this year, plus a second, third and fourth round selection in 2025.

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But for a man, a guy who physically as the numbers say, and as some of the film says, it looks like they've got in Dallas Turner, someone that could favorably compare to physically as someone you're very familiar with and Von Miller.

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Well, here's the interesting part about it.

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I mean, when Brian Flores came in and took over that Vikings defense.

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To me, they were underperforming and under his tutelage, they, I mean, surprised a lot of people with what they were doing.

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And known as though when you watch how this league is set up, and all we have to do is look at the first couple of rounds of this year's draft, everyone is pushing their chips to the center of the table, banking on those quarterbacks.

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So, Brian Flores, being as a guy that you're familiar with, coming from that Bill Belichick trade, with the Patriots, it's all about defense.

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So when other teams are going out grabbing wide receivers and grabbing quarterbacks, you need something to neutralize those particular players on offense.

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And the best way to kind of balance the playing field is adding guys who can really get after the quarterback.

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So we're going to have to wait to see how this uh, kind of pans out for Minnesota.

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But if you are a Vikings fan, you have to be happy.

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You have your quarterback of the future.

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And you have a guy, a young guy, at that, on the defensive side of the ball.

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Two of their biggest needs, of course, quarterback.

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And after essentially swapping places, the Neal Hunter going to Houston.

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Jonathan Greenard coming to Minnesota.

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Adding the edge was the next most important thing for them at quarterback.

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Um, and as you said, pushing all the chips in.

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No day two selections for them.

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So we'll see how they can fill out the rest of the talent.

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In Minnesota with a really feisty NFC North, which brings me to again, McCarthy with the 10th pick, but let's go back one selection because correct me if I'm wrong, the Chicago Bears who came in with four draft selections, right? Just four total picks.

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They picked up Caleb Williams, first overall and Roma Dunzey falling to them at ninth overall.

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Would you say that as far as day one, even through the first couple of days of the round, the Chicago Bears, uh, Super Bowl champions, right, Nick? No, they're not Super Bowl champions.

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And I wouldn't even say, go as far as to say, well, they won, uh, the draft.

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But here's what I would look at and say that they've added some nice pieces, complimentary pieces, and they set up Caleb Williams, the number one draft choice, To be effective and efficient early.

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I just wish that they would have done the same thing and taken the same philosophy with Justin Fields, but what they did, but when you look at what Kayla Williams has as his offense.

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He's got to co commit.

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Gerald Evidence is tied in.

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I love how you're leading off with that position, Groop.

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Now get to the receivers, please.

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You're right.

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Then you talk about Keenan Allen.

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You're not a very fast guy, but he is by far the best route running receiver in the league.

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And I would put his route running up against Any other wide receiver, you got DJ Moore, as I mentioned, and, you know, DeAndre Swift as a running back.

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I mean, is it USC all over again for, for Kayla Williams? The idea is that, hey, how can this kid fail with so much talent? And the reason I started with the tight ends because usually the tight ends really get no love, right? And these are the guys that make life easy for a quarterback because they attack the middle of the field, right between the hashes.

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And they make the linebackers have to, uh, have to honor all the underneath passes.

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But those safeties? Those safety, safeties have to make sure they're roaming the field and take away everything between those hashes.

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And that's a very difficult job, especially you got Gerald Everett, who is, you would look at him as being your move tight end that you got.

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And Colt Comette, he's not your typical wide tight end.

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So, now you essentially have two move tight ends that can really put pressure vertically on opposing defense.

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It's gonna be really interesting to see what happens in the NFC North this season.

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Well, the Bears rounded things out with their third draft selection.

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They had the 75th overall pick, spending it on Yale tackled Kieran Amagadji.

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There we go.

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Uh, I was doing so much better with our, anyway, uh, look, they've got their bookend tackles, Braxton Jones, who they found a diamond in the rough in the fifth round, I think a couple of years ago, and then Darnell Wright last year's ninth overall selection.

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So a nice depth piece with experience at tackle and at guard.

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It's just the kind of thing that you need to insulate and Caleb Williams, your prize possession upright.

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And again, we're not going to see the Chicago bears for a while now.

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So we have to, you know, kind of keep tabs on some of their undrafted free agents to fill out the rest of the roster.

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And Nick, the moment we've been waiting for, I did pick number 10.

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I did pick number nine.

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And so then the Jets get to take their tackle.

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And then at the 12th overall selection, the Denver Broncos pick the 6th quarterback in this draft class, with Sean Payton identifying the player that he wanted for his offense.

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Let's just put it this way.

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The last quarterback taken sixth overall, the, sorry, the last quarter, the last sixth quarterback taken in the first round was Dan Marino with the 26th overall selection in 1983.

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So tell me how.

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This is going to work out better for Denver than it did for the Dolphins back in 83.

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You know, here's what I don't like the way that you you set that up saying that The quarterback, let me start over Adam Schefter tweeted on the night of the draft Sean Payton wanted and intended to draft Patrick Mahomes in the 2017 draft where he held the 11th overall pick And he said He was ready to turn in the card, but before he could, the Chiefs traded up to the Bills spot at number 10 and took Mahomes one spot before Peyton got him, leaving the Saints to draft Ohio State cornerback Marshawn Lattimore.

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But, catching strays, weird.

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Peyton feels as strongly about Bo Nicks as he did Patrick Mahomes.

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Well, you know what, that says a lot because so many people, you know, hindsight being 20 20, uh, after watching Patrick Mahomes perform in his young career, they all say, well, we could have taken him.

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I mean, even Kyle Shanahan said himself, I mean, he was, Kyle was searching and hoping to land Kirk Cousins that he didn't even do an evaluation.

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On Patrick Mahomes.

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How crazy is that? And Patrick Mahomes has beaten him twice in the Super Bowl.

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So I'll let that, let people marinate on that for, uh, just a second.

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But I'm okay with what the Broncos did at the quarterback position.

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You are.

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Yeah, I'll tell you this.

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I was at the Broncos draft party, and the moment the Vikings moved up and selected J.

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J.

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McCarthy, You heard a lot of mixed reviews because there was this deep gas and it was just like, oh no, like, you know, they didn't get the Christmas gift that they were hoping to receive.

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But here's the thing that I try to tell the fans.

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First, you complain that the Broncos didn't draft over the past couple of years their future quarterback.

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So, they're sitting at 12, they draft their future quarterback, and you still have issues.

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So, it's damn, you're damned if you do, you're damned if you don't.

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So, I said to hell with those people.

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So, be happy that the Broncos did in fact get a quarterback of the future, a guy who has experience.

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Now, let's talk about the experience just a little.

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People have complained of that, well, Vote Nicks is like 23, 24, he's played so much football and he's too old.

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The whole idea is that.

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When we look at quarterbacks, we always hear this idea of a guy being NFL ready, even though the guy has yet to play a game, take a snap, and Let's be totally honest about that.

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But I do feel that experience does play a role, Alex, because how quickly can a guy learn an offense? How quickly can he process information? How quickly can he get over a mistake? But more importantly, can a college kid come in and lead a bunch of grown men? That have mortgages to pay.

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Now, we don't really know that right away about any of these quarterbacks.

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But you hope the level of experience and the system they played in kind of play a role.

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But I really like what the Broncos have done because now we get a chance to see a couple of things.

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The biggest thing is, who's going to elevate their level of play in that quarterback room? You have Ben DiNucci.

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You have Jarrett Stidham.

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You have Zach Wilson.

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And now we have Bo Nix.

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And keep this in mind.

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Keep this in mind.

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Bo Nix has a lot of experience, so much experience that guess what? Guess who was in his quarterback room when he was at Auburn? Jared Stenum! So that's going to be a real interesting dynamic to see what comes out of that quarterback room and who elevates their level of play.

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I go back to, you know, Bo Nix and Patrick Mahomes because of Sean Payton's, uh, let's call it LeBron like intuition.

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I'm sure.

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I'm sure that, you know, hindsight's 2020 and when he was the offensive coordinator of the New York giants, he's grinding tape and he says, Hey, you know what, uh, we, this, this, this Michigan kid, Tom Brady, I think, I think he, you know, he's my top quarterback.

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I'm going to give him a first round grade and then, oh no, he slipped through our hands for six rounds.

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The new England Patriots got him.

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You know, I'm sure that Sean Payton, when he was the San Diego State running backs coach in the mid 90s, said to himself, you know, there's a quarterback coming out, and I have absolutely, you know, no doubt in my mind, the best quarterback that's out there, just absolutely, you know, it just, it has to be, I can't even name a quarterback from the 90s.

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I just absolutely blew the bit.

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Um, I just, this, this hindsight, like fake intuition, LeBron telling us he vibed with, uh, with the Migos like two years before they put out a single.

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I just, it, it kind of stinks for me.

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You know, it's, it's not really fair to exactly.

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Grade yourself and put Bo Nix in the same conversation as one Patrick Mahomes.

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And then the other Schefter tweet that just absolutely sent me, and which again, will link us to Patrick Mahomes, uh, never held a private workout for Bo Nix the day after the pro day, the night before the workout, the Broncos sent Nix three packets of offensive play installation, and then when they worked with him the next day, he crushed it.

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So I'd like to turn your attention to, uh, a story from, I believe It was ESPN that during the 2017 draft process, Matt Nagy wanted Mahomes so badly that he gave Mahomes the plays that Andy Reid was going to ask him the night before and then all of a sudden here's Mahomes absolutely nailing what Andy Reid is going to go after.

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It kind of seems like not too far to say that if you were ready for a test and you, oh my gosh, knocked it out of the park, maybe that's not the best way to evaluate your draft process.

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But again, we still have to see them watch plays.

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I just kind of look at that room.

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And again, you said Jarrett Stidham and Bo Nix have that familiarity.

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They had Jarrett Stidham.

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They add two more quarterbacks.

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And I feel like Jarrett Stidham is still the frontrunner to be the starter for the Broncos.

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Well, the only reason that Jarrett Stidham might, at this moment, be the frontrunner is because he's the one that's most familiar with the offense.

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But that's what I mean.

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If you've got a quarterback that was that much more talented, or that, you know, We wouldn't be saying this.

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Okay, see, think about what you just said.

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I know, I know, talent.

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I stopped myself.

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Yeah, there you go.

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I know, I know, talent.

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Nick, we're, we're still talking about Jared Stidham and they've added two quarterbacks.

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Well, because they added those two quarterbacks, There's a possibility we won't be talking about Jared Stidham that long.

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Because when a team trades for a guy at your position, and then they double down and draft a guy, and your head coach says, now I got my guy of the future, that means that, you know, your days are really numbered.

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Because think about last season.

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I mean, Russell Wilson was set down after the Patriots game, and we were told that, hey, Jared Stidham was going to be the guy the team's still in playoff hunt, and they needed a spark, and Jared Stidham was going to be that guy.

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Remember when we were told that? Yeah, that's what we were told.

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Okay, so now.

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Fast forward, things have changed so much because now they not only have one quarterback, they have two quarterbacks, and both of those quarterbacks was, yes, you guessed it, selected and handpicked by Sean Payton.

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So that means as though no matter how things shake out, No matter what Jarrett Stidham does, Sean wants to make himself look right.

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If Stidham ends up being the starter, you know how bad that's going to look? That, hey, now Stidham is starting over the two guys that you brought in here.

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And listen, I get it.

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I get it.

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If he starts over Bo Nix, that is something that's expected because Stidham has experience already in this system.

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But if Stidham gets beaten out by either of those quarterbacks.

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What does that say about Stidham in the first place and the whole concept that he was going to be the spark? Exactly, exactly.

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So again, six quarterbacks in the first 12 picks.

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I think it's the third time I've said that it's just Completely unprecedented and teams are just scared to have to rely on somebody that they don't know is a sure thing.

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And I thought that the Raiders weren't going to go quarterback just because Gardner Minshew is getting 20 million a year, but I didn't realize as they went Brock Bowers, because all the quarterbacks were taken ahead of them.

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And it doesn't matter that Michael Mayer was a second round pick just a year before.

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They went out and got the best player on their board.

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Even if we wanted to say that there were other positions.

291
00:31:25,510.0897497 --> 00:31:49,910.0897497
Of greater need, right? Almost like it's a luxury pick, um, given, you know, the, the pieces that they have on that offense and the targets that Devante Adams and Jacoby Myers, uh, both merited, however, they rounded things out, adding Jackson powers, Johnson, um, who they actually listed as a guard, uh, when they announced the pick, even though he had played center at Oregon in his lone year, starting.

292
00:31:50,240.0897497 --> 00:32:07,650.0897497
Um, at an all american level and they riled things out adding Delmar Glaze the tackle out of Maryland And look, they're just fitting in pieces on that offensive line and they went three for three on the offensive side of the football knowing that defense was a huge liability for them.

293
00:32:07,890.0897497 --> 00:32:15,750.0897497
But as far as landing spots go, we weren't talking about Vegas for Brock Bowers, but I'm kind of intrigued with the fit, Nick.

294
00:32:16,890.0897497 --> 00:32:25,610.0897497
Yeah, you know, I thought before Minnesota moved up and the Jets were on the clock, I immediately said, well, Brock Bowers would fit well.

295
00:32:25,900.0897497 --> 00:32:28,220.0897497
With what the Jets trying to do offensively.

296
00:32:28,460.0897497 --> 00:32:36,610.0887497
Once again, thinking about how having a move tied in can actually open things up across the field for, for a quarterback like Aaron Rodgers.

297
00:32:36,860.0897497 --> 00:32:43,100.0887497
So with the Raiders taking them, look, you already mentioned Meyers and you got, uh, you know, Devontae Adams.

298
00:32:43,555.0897497 --> 00:32:56,635.0897497
Once again, that was a piece that they, they were missing, right? How can you affect the defense in a multitude of ways? Brock Bowers gives you that because he is one of these Martin Day type of tight ends.

299
00:32:56,635.0897497 --> 00:33:04,865.0897497
Like, it's not like the tight ends of old, like Mark Bavaro, guys like that, right? You know, you don't have those big body tight ends anymore.

300
00:33:05,320.0897497 --> 00:33:19,720.0897497
Now it's kind of slender wide receiver types and Brock Bowers was a monster in college at Georgia and I don't mind saying that even though that was, uh, that's something that we cannot say at Georgia Tech, but real recognized real.

301
00:33:20,10.0897497 --> 00:33:31,670.0887497
And when you look at Brock Bowers and what he was able to do in college, he's, he's capable of doing those same things because look what George Kittle was doing with the San Francisco 49ers, TJ Hawkinson.

302
00:33:31,670.0897497 --> 00:33:34,630.0897497
I know some of those are Iowa guys, but the idea is that.

303
00:33:35,105.0897497 --> 00:33:45,895.0897497
Utilizing the skill set of a guy who's a move tight end, who runs excellent routes, and who can run routes like a wide receiver, that's an excellent weapon for guarding Minju and the Raiders.

304
00:33:46,220.0897497 --> 00:33:54,470.0897497
Well, we garnered a ton of attention on the offensive players and, and then you started seeing a run on tackles and defensive linemen.

305
00:33:54,780.0897497 --> 00:34:04,870.0897497
Uh, I mean, if we go through, you know, the Saints and the Bengals and the Steelers all getting that offensive line help that they desperately needed.

306
00:34:05,100.0897497 --> 00:34:12,260.0897497
Meanwhile, the Colts, and we mentioned the Vikings with Dallas Turner, uh, Jared Verse becoming the first for the first.

307
00:34:12,635.0897497 --> 00:34:17,765.0897497
First round, day one selection for the Rams since Jared Goff in their first year back in LA.

308
00:34:18,155.0897497 --> 00:34:41,280.0897497
Uh, uh, you know going through that that cluster of Contending or near playoff teams and even getting into the rent, you know, the, the wildcard type teams, any additions that you see that you think maybe were the best fit? I mean, you know, uh, we had talked about one end of the trade, but the Jaguars getting a receiver and Brian Thomas Jr.

309
00:34:41,300.0897497 --> 00:34:49,620.0887497
After Calvin Ridley left in free agency, we're talking about a range of players that dropped because of the quarterback selections.

310
00:34:49,900.0897497 --> 00:34:51,160.0897497
And Nick, if you want to point out.

311
00:34:51,545.0897497 --> 00:35:00,945.0897497
Where one team you think went above and beyond with their draft selection, you know, as opposed to, we'll get to the receivers taken at the end of the round shortly here.

312
00:35:01,665.0897497 --> 00:35:06,825.0897497
Well, I don't want to look at it and say that some, you know, went above and beyond.

313
00:35:06,825.0897497 --> 00:35:09,779.9897497
It was just a matter of with the players that were still on the board.

314
00:35:10,330.0897497 --> 00:35:14,160.0897497
Some who none of us expected to be where they were.

315
00:35:14,490.0897497 --> 00:35:15,890.0897497
Teams kind of took advantage of it.

316
00:35:16,30.0897497 --> 00:35:21,430.0897497
You know, I was interested in seeing what was going to happen with the slew of Michigan players.

317
00:35:21,480.0897497 --> 00:35:23,890.0897497
And Blake Corham being one of those guys.

318
00:35:23,910.0897497 --> 00:35:32,350.0887497
Where would he, where would he eventually fall? Who would be willing to take somewhat of a risk on him? And I, and I don't even want to say, I shouldn't have even said risk.

319
00:35:32,600.0887497 --> 00:35:36,830.0887497
But just who was going to select him and would be a great fit.

320
00:35:37,115.0897497 --> 00:35:38,965.0897497
And he's going to an ideal place.

321
00:35:38,985.0897497 --> 00:35:43,45.0897497
I actually thought that his former coach would select it.

322
00:35:43,195.0897497 --> 00:35:52,685.0897497
Knowing as though, you know, they don't have the running back that they used to have, uh, who's, who's now, yeah, who's now with the Washington commanders.

323
00:35:52,815.0897497 --> 00:35:59,605.0897497
So I thought Blake Corum would go to join Justin Herbert with the charges, but no, Sean McVeigh picked him up.

324
00:35:59,605.0897497 --> 00:36:04,965.0897497
So Sean McVeigh sees in Blake Corum what Kyle Shanahan has.

325
00:36:05,455.0897497 --> 00:36:07,565.0897497
with, you know, Christian McCaffrey.

326
00:36:07,585.0897497 --> 00:36:08,985.0897497
So we have to see how that works out.

327
00:36:08,985.0897497 --> 00:36:17,5.0897497
But that was one where I was looking forward to, and I was happy that Corwin went to a place where an offensive coordinator would know exactly how to use the skillset.

328
00:36:17,335.0897497 --> 00:36:17,645.0897497
Right.

329
00:36:17,645.0897497 --> 00:36:22,815.0897497
And he joins Kyron Williams, who had a breakout performance, but missed 12 games the past two seasons.

330
00:36:22,835.0897497 --> 00:36:26,715.0897497
So I understand the depth and the position of need for LA.

331
00:36:27,670.0897497 --> 00:36:30,760.0897497
Uh, as they sort of insulate, it wasn't, it wasn't a rebuild.

332
00:36:30,910.0897497 --> 00:36:39,20.0887497
They did so well with their later picks in the draft that it was a luxury for them to be able to take an edge rusher and verse, and then following that up with Blake Corum.

333
00:36:39,350.0897497 --> 00:36:41,200.0897497
I'll bring up the corners.

334
00:36:41,230.0897497 --> 00:36:47,150.0887497
I know you are a former member of the secondary, the Eagles and the Lions with their cornerback selections.

335
00:36:47,150.0897497 --> 00:36:49,0.0897497
I think were the most intriguing for me.

336
00:36:49,240.0897497 --> 00:36:52,670.0897497
The Eagles were absolutely pumped to get Quinion Mitchell, who.

337
00:36:53,30.0897497 --> 00:36:58,700.0897497
Let's just say that the 40 time helped, you know, solidify his first round status.

338
00:36:59,30.0897497 --> 00:37:04,600.0897497
Uh, but Terry and Arnold to the Lions, the biggest area of need for Detroit was in that secondary.

339
00:37:04,600.0897497 --> 00:37:08,150.0897497
You watch the shootout that they had, uh, against the 49ers.

340
00:37:08,160.0897497 --> 00:37:08,790.0887497
You watched.

341
00:37:09,70.0897497 --> 00:37:19,180.0897497
You know, football's flying off of helmets that set up game winning touchdowns to send San Francisco back to the Superbowl and, and Terry and Arnold, I think was one of my favorite prospects.

342
00:37:19,180.0897497 --> 00:37:38,60.0897497
I don't want to say I did, you know, as much research as anybody, but in understanding the growth that he had as a true freshman starter for Nick Saban, which says a lot, and from his sophomore to junior seasons, he went from 80 targets his sophomore year to just 40.

343
00:37:38,430.0897497 --> 00:37:39,270.0897497
He cut down.

344
00:37:39,705.0897497 --> 00:37:43,915.0897497
His targets in half because of the shutdown prowess that he had on the outside.

345
00:37:44,195.0897497 --> 00:38:07,775.0897497
So I I'm kind of excited to see what Detroit does taking advantage of the Dallas Cowboys who were happy to move down twice and still take a tackle on Tyler Guyton, which was hugely needed, even though he's a bit of a guy that needs to continue learning the position as a former basketball player in tight end, but sticking with the Detroit Lions, Nick, I just really appreciate how he is just.

346
00:38:08,210.0897497 --> 00:38:11,450.0897497
Able to immediately start, hopefully.

347
00:38:12,65.0897497 --> 00:38:22,475.0887497
And patrolling the outside after the Lions made so many other additions, uh, to the front seven, uh, first round pick with the linebacker position a year ago.

348
00:38:22,725.0897497 --> 00:38:31,765.0897497
This was a huge need that they had in the secondary and Detroit, the team that was great last year, and they just got better with Arnold.

349
00:38:31,995.0897497 --> 00:38:34,205.0897497
And I'm just looking at their later picks.

350
00:38:34,335.0897497 --> 00:38:34,925.0897497
Oh, that's right.

351
00:38:35,145.0897497 --> 00:38:36,155.1397497
Uh, Ennis Rakeshaw.

352
00:38:36,155.1397497 --> 00:38:45,885.0897497
So they went corner corner taking the Uh, Junior out of Mississippi and no third round selection because they moved up to 24.

353
00:38:46,745.0897497 --> 00:38:47,865.0897497
On Thursday night, Nick.

354
00:38:47,895.0897497 --> 00:38:50,435.0897497
I, I, I like what the Lions are doing so far.

355
00:38:50,665.0897497 --> 00:38:51,975.0897497
I'll just, I'll just put it that way.

356
00:38:52,155.0897497 --> 00:38:53,935.0897497
Yeah, I like what the Lions are doing.

357
00:38:53,945.0897497 --> 00:39:13,845.0897497
And it's interesting that you took it all the way back to the game against the San Francisco 49ers when the Detroit Lions had what we thought was going to be a cushion of a lead, but San Francisco was able to take that away with a couple of players here and there and knowing their defensive coordinator, because I played with Aaron Glenn.

358
00:39:14,185.0897497 --> 00:39:19,85.0897497
Going out and it's no surprise that they wanted to move on the defensive side of the ball.

359
00:39:19,505.0897497 --> 00:39:21,45.0897497
To me, this is why they did that.

360
00:39:21,75.0897497 --> 00:39:25,765.0897497
They know that they are going to have to continue with the Green Bay Packers, the Minnesota Vikings.

361
00:39:25,865.0887497 --> 00:39:31,175.0897497
So, going out there, making sure that you're solid on the edges is going to help that pass rush.

362
00:39:31,375.0897497 --> 00:39:42,855.0897497
That pass rush that I thought played, you know, fairly well last year, uh, but they faltered down the stretch because Pressure and coverage in the back end go hand in hand.

363
00:39:42,855.0897497 --> 00:39:55,905.0897497
If you don't have guys who can hold up consistently, not every once in a while, not when you're playing against some of the lower tier teams in the NFL, but if you can do that consistently, it gives you more maneuverability.

364
00:39:56,200.0897497 --> 00:40:02,480.0897497
If you are a defensive coordinator, and I know Aaron Glenn, I mean, Aaron wants to play more man to man coverage.

365
00:40:02,870.0897497 --> 00:40:06,700.0887497
Some of the guys he had last year, he couldn't, he wasn't able to do that.

366
00:40:06,940.0897497 --> 00:40:13,40.0897497
And earlier, like a couple years ago, they went out and made Jeff Okuda one of their top corners out of Ohio State.

367
00:40:13,350.0897497 --> 00:40:14,450.0897497
That didn't work out.

368
00:40:14,460.0897497 --> 00:40:16,960.0897497
Now Jeff Okuda, I think, is on his third team.

369
00:40:17,90.0897497 --> 00:40:22,410.0897497
So going out there and get guys who you feel as though they possess all the skill set that you want.

370
00:40:22,610.0897497 --> 00:40:29,240.0897497
That level of toughness, that scrappiness, and those guys who can play that sticky coverage out there on the edges.

371
00:40:29,420.0897497 --> 00:40:35,510.0897497
This is going to be a good look for the Detroit Lions who, in my opinion, they're somewhat situated offensively.

372
00:40:35,855.0897497 --> 00:40:41,475.0897497
Based on how they're set up, but it is their defense that they needed to rebuild and I think they did that in the draft.

373
00:40:42,395.0897497 --> 00:41:02,990.0897497
And rounding out the end of the first round, the receiver position and top of round two, which began today on Friday, Nick, uh, I think you have to highlight Xavier Worthy go into the Kansas City Chiefs because the Buffalo Bills, who have lost to Kansas City three times, were more than happy to move.

374
00:41:03,390.0897497 --> 00:41:13,499.9897497
Xavier Worthy may not be the perfect fit because of the, uh, diminutive size and speed that some of their current receivers have, uh, bringing Curtis Samuel along with Khalil Shakir.

375
00:41:14,250.0897497 --> 00:41:27,880.0897497
They ultimately trade all the way down to 33, trading with Carolina afterwards to take Keon Coleman, who I guess they're going to try to line up outside, even though he was more split outside and in the slot at Florida State.

376
00:41:29,520.0897497 --> 00:41:38,770.0887497
The fastest player in this draft class, maybe without pads on, I'll just leave that caveat, is going to the Kansas City Chiefs.

377
00:41:39,340.0897497 --> 00:41:40,950.0897497
Along with Marquise Brown.

378
00:41:41,520.0897497 --> 00:41:44,870.0897497
Um, Kansas City with Xavier Worthy.

379
00:41:45,220.0897497 --> 00:41:48,810.0897497
Uh, Ricky Pearsall, who everyone seems to love for San Francisco.

380
00:41:49,140.0897497 --> 00:41:56,100.0897497
And Xavier Legette, uh, the local South Carolina native going to the Carolina Panthers.

381
00:41:56,490.0897497 --> 00:42:06,720.0897497
Uh, and then again, the top of the second round, Coleman, Ladd McConkie with the Chargers trading up with New England, who they themselves take a receiver in Jalen Polk out of Washington.

382
00:42:06,720.0897497 --> 00:42:10,100.0887497
It's a group that, you know, kind of all clustered together.

383
00:42:10,860.0897497 --> 00:42:20,220.0897497
Not all of them are going to work out, but Nick, the fit, the player, and the fit of those that I mentioned that you are most excited to see on the football field.

384
00:42:20,220.0897497 --> 00:42:25,100.0897497
We're not going to talk winners and losers and grades because that's not realistic football discussion.

385
00:42:25,540.0897497 --> 00:42:38,760.1387497
Well, one of the guys, uh, that was, I was very interested in his selection, you didn't even mention, and he was taken, I believe, in the third round, because it was a slew of Michigan guys taken 19, 20, 21.

386
00:42:38,760.1387497 --> 00:42:47,995.0897497
You're a Roman Wilson guy, huh? Yeah, I think Roman Wilson definitely fits well with what Arthur Smith wants to do with Pittsburgh Steelers.

387
00:42:48,755.0897497 --> 00:42:56,525.0897497
Because, I mean, look, they have Van, what is it, is it Van Jefferson? Van Jefferson, Wes Watkins, and George Pickens.

388
00:42:56,525.1897497 --> 00:43:01,390.0897497
And then they have, Yeah, they have Denzel, uh, Mims there.

389
00:43:01,640.0897497 --> 00:43:02,950.0897497
They have, uh, Firemove.

390
00:43:03,180.0897497 --> 00:43:06,560.0897497
So, they definitely have some weapons and you throw in Correll Patterson.

391
00:43:07,0.0897497 --> 00:43:22,760.0897497
So, the Steelers quietly have tried to get back to what they've been known to be in the past because when you think about the times when Big Ben was there, they always had three good wide receivers or three decent wide receivers and a tight end.

392
00:43:23,20.0897497 --> 00:43:29,680.0897497
So, whether it's Justin Fields or Russell Wilson, who's a starting quarterback, Those guys are going to be in a perfect situation.

393
00:43:29,950.0897497 --> 00:43:33,210.0897497
Now, let's go back to the Kansas City Chiefs and Xavier Worthy.

394
00:43:33,630.0897497 --> 00:43:53,75.0897497
To me, even though Worthy is more on the slim side, and some kind of criticize that, the one thing I see that the Kansas City Chiefs are trying to do They're trying to replicate Tyreek Hill, right? They thought they were going to get that with McCole Harmon, but Harmon never really gave that back to them.

395
00:43:53,185.0897497 --> 00:44:08,705.0897497
So the whole idea, if, if Xavier Worthy can take the top off the defense and just kind of scare the bejesus out of individuals, then it's going to help the wide receiver core and allow Patrick Holmes to operate underneath.

396
00:44:09,255.0897497 --> 00:44:13,745.0897497
Just, just think about, let's go back and say, well, what it was like.

397
00:44:14,160.0897497 --> 00:44:24,820.0897497
When Tyreek here was a part of that offense, I can tell you because I coached against it, the DBs were solely afraid because you couldn't play zone against him.

398
00:44:24,920.0897497 --> 00:44:29,820.0897497
You couldn't play press against him because if he got one step on you, if he's even, he's leaving.

399
00:44:30,30.0887497 --> 00:44:36,510.0887497
So that's what the, the Brett Beach and the Kansas City Chiefs, basically they're trying to do.

400
00:44:36,800.0887497 --> 00:44:39,890.0897497
They're trying to replicate that same mojo that they had.

401
00:44:40,90.0897497 --> 00:44:46,350.0897497
And I know before they said, well, You know, losing Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins, it wasn't a major blow.

402
00:44:46,800.0897497 --> 00:44:47,620.0897497
That's a lie.

403
00:44:47,860.0897497 --> 00:44:50,840.0897497
They're lying to themselves, and that's why they made this particular move.

404
00:44:50,840.0897497 --> 00:45:03,670.0897497
So, it's going to be interesting to see, but the first thing I want to look at is will Worthy out, outrun Mahomes passes, or would Mahomes be able to get the ball past Worthy and say, well, he overthrew him.

405
00:45:03,670.0897497 --> 00:45:05,820.0897497
So, that's going to be fascinating to watch.

406
00:45:05,970.0897497 --> 00:45:10,80.0897497
It'll be like, it'll be like Tua throwing a Tyreek Hill.

407
00:45:10,280.0897497 --> 00:45:20,610.0897497
And those first highlight reels that the Dolphins were putting out on social during OTAs, and it looks like, it looks like Tyreek was slowing down to, uh, to a throwing like that.

408
00:45:20,940.0897497 --> 00:45:22,260.0897497
Uh, oh, I can't wait.

409
00:45:22,550.0897497 --> 00:45:27,10.0907497
Chiefs, by the way, adding Kingsley, Sue, Mattia at the end of the second round, trading up a spot.

410
00:45:27,220.0887497 --> 00:45:41,935.0897497
You know, much of the chagrin of my Patriots who ended up having a reach for a tackle of their own, because we saw a run, uh, I love what the Ravens did with Nate Wiggins in the first round and Roger Rosengarten at the bottom of Second round and they finished things in round three.

411
00:45:42,345.0897497 --> 00:45:45,995.0897497
Uh, with Adisa Isaac, the linebacker out of Penn state.

412
00:45:46,5.0897497 --> 00:45:49,595.0897497
They're just checking off, you know, guys that they lost in free agency.

413
00:45:49,755.0897497 --> 00:45:57,365.0887497
You certainly can't replace their defensive coordinator, uh, Mike McDonald now in Seattle and their position coaches joining him.

414
00:45:57,765.0897497 --> 00:46:05,615.0897497
Uh, but what they have been able to do is add speed to combat what the chiefs had done, their AFC championship opponents.

415
00:46:05,615.0897497 --> 00:46:08,15.0897497
But Nate Wiggins is just their type of player.

416
00:46:08,255.0887497 --> 00:46:11,115.0897497
And what I love about Roger Rosengarten is a guy who.

417
00:46:11,420.0897497 --> 00:46:21,360.0897497
Slid up draft boards late in the process is that when Michael Penix committed to Transfer to Washington, they identified Rosengarten to switch.

418
00:46:21,550.0887497 --> 00:46:24,635.0897497
It was a depth Tackle playing on the left side.

419
00:46:24,775.0897497 --> 00:46:31,975.0897497
They say, we want you to go to the right side and be Penix's blind side protector, and he absolutely stood to that occasion.

420
00:46:31,975.0897497 --> 00:46:36,255.0887497
A reason why Washington was named the top offensive line in college football last year.

421
00:46:36,535.0897497 --> 00:46:42,225.0887497
So we still have four more rounds to cover Nick, and we're certainly going to do that once things are wrapped up.

422
00:46:42,615.0887497 --> 00:46:43,845.0887497
Um, I, you know.

423
00:46:44,175.0897497 --> 00:46:50,515.0897497
There's, there's going to be still plenty of talented players on the board and you're going to find your Amon Ross St.

424
00:46:50,515.0897497 --> 00:46:51,795.0897497
Browns in round four.

425
00:46:51,905.0897497 --> 00:46:56,345.0897497
You're going to find your, uh, Thomas Edward, Patrick Brady's in the six.

426
00:46:56,385.0897497 --> 00:46:59,95.0897497
You just have to, it's a guarantee, right? No, no, no, no.

427
00:46:59,135.0897497 --> 00:46:59,875.0897497
No, it's not.

428
00:47:00,225.0887497 --> 00:47:05,175.0897497
But you obviously can find a Nick Ferguson type of 10 year player.

429
00:47:05,410.0897497 --> 00:47:06,960.0897497
That's undrafted as well.

430
00:47:06,970.0897497 --> 00:47:24,470.0887497
So Nick, before we split, we are certainly going to come back, uh, once this NFL draft wraps up, but my favorite discussion that we have that I ask of you this time, every year, Nick advice for a player that is expecting to go.

431
00:47:24,530.0897497 --> 00:47:25,340.0897497
We saw this from A.

432
00:47:25,340.0897497 --> 00:47:25,480.0897497
D.

433
00:47:25,480.0897497 --> 00:47:29,870.0897497
Mitchell, right out of nine Mitchell falling 52 to the Colts.

434
00:47:29,870.0897497 --> 00:47:32,260.0897497
And he said he was pissed off and shout out.

435
00:47:32,500.0897497 --> 00:47:41,650.0897497
Chris, uh, um, Chris Ballard, the GM for asking, you know, people to put their effing names on it for people that were talking about his character.

436
00:47:41,810.0897497 --> 00:47:54,250.0897497
It was shades of Mike Gundy's, I'm a man, I'm 40, but I, Nick, your message for any player in this NFL draft that is expecting their name to be called, and it isn't.

437
00:47:54,540.0897497 --> 00:48:06,540.0887497
That was something that you experienced coming out of Georgia Tech, and not only did you not start in the NFL, you played overseas, you played in Canada, and you then went on to play 10 years in the National Football League.

438
00:48:06,730.0897497 --> 00:48:10,0.0897497
It's not over just because your name isn't called on draft night.

439
00:48:11,85.0897497 --> 00:48:12,235.0897497
No, it isn't.

440
00:48:12,435.0897497 --> 00:48:16,185.0897497
To me, that's kind of when the journey officially starts.

441
00:48:16,205.0897497 --> 00:48:17,595.0897497
Everyone wants to be drafted.

442
00:48:18,65.0897497 --> 00:48:21,535.0897497
But the way I look at it, it's not when you go, it's where you go.

443
00:48:21,935.0887497 --> 00:48:27,105.0897497
And once you get your foot in the door, you have to make sure that you get both feet in.

444
00:48:27,205.0897497 --> 00:48:31,95.0897497
And sometimes, that means you have to have that chip on your shoulder.

445
00:48:31,105.0897497 --> 00:48:42,950.0897497
You have to I'm not saying that you have to go in and just be just angry all the time, but every time you touch the field, you have to look at the person across from you.

446
00:48:43,260.0887497 --> 00:48:50,190.0897497
You have to look at the organization that you're currently playing for and say, well, you guys did not really take a chance on me.

447
00:48:50,210.0897497 --> 00:48:54,120.0897497
I just fell to you when I fell to you as an undrafted player.

448
00:48:54,300.0897497 --> 00:48:58,810.0897497
So I'm going to make everyone who doubted me eat their words.

449
00:48:58,860.0897497 --> 00:49:00,680.0897497
But I'm also going to make you.

450
00:49:01,105.0897497 --> 00:49:02,415.0897497
Eat your own words.

451
00:49:02,465.0897497 --> 00:49:08,945.0897497
And for me, I took that so literal that there were times where I even hurt my own teammates.

452
00:49:09,470.0897497 --> 00:49:20,560.0897497
And out of that certain level of frustration, I'm not advocating for that, but I'm just saying like Tom Brady and so many others before him, keep that chip on your shoulders.

453
00:49:20,810.0897497 --> 00:49:33,700.0897497
Make sure that no matter how long you play, you play with that memory of what they did or more importantly, what they didn't do to put you in a situation to make your climb that much more difficult.

454
00:49:33,700.0897497 --> 00:49:35,530.0897497
He's Nick Ferguson.

455
00:49:35,580.0897497 --> 00:49:36,560.0897497
I'm Alex Hardy.

456
00:49:36,880.0887497 --> 00:49:37,480.0897497
We're thrilled.

457
00:49:38,0.0897497 --> 00:49:39,350.0887497
This is the NFL Draft.

458
00:49:39,685.0897497 --> 00:49:41,515.0897497
We've got so much more to bring to you.

459
00:49:41,795.0897497 --> 00:49:47,385.0897497
You can follow us, uh, Apple podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts or watch us on YouTube.

460
00:49:48,75.0897497 --> 00:49:54,285.0897497
And we're going to be back when we have seven rounds in the books from pick number one Caleb Williams to Mr.

461
00:49:54,295.0897497 --> 00:49:58,835.0887497
Irrelevant, pick number 257 to the New York Jets, Nick Ferguson's former team.

462
00:49:59,115.0897497 --> 00:50:04,485.0887497
So until next time, Nick, what do you have to say for the people? Hey, go out there, have fun.

463
00:50:04,535.0897497 --> 00:50:10,945.0897497
Hopefully your team continues to make life changing decisions so you don't have to be frustrated.

464
00:50:10,995.0897497 --> 00:50:15,805.0897497
But just remember this, at the end of the year, only one team hoists up the trophy.

465
00:50:16,155.0897497 --> 00:50:16,785.0897497
Hopefully it's your team.