Speaker 1: What is up Dolphins And welcome to the Draft Time Podcast.
Speaker 1: I am your host Travis Wingfield, and on today's show,
Speaker 1: we are covering the Chris Greer press conference. He spoke
Speaker 1: to the local media here on Tuesday afternoon ahead of
Speaker 1: the NFL Draft, talking about some of the major landscape
Speaker 1: shifts across the roster and that includes some new information
Speaker 1: about cornerback Jalen Ramsey. All of that and a heck
Speaker 1: of a lot more from the Baptist Health Studios inside
Speaker 1: the Baptist Health Training Complex. This is the Draft Time Podcast,
Speaker 1: May Gaff. So the press conference begins with an opening
Speaker 1: statement from Chris Greer about the news of the morning
Speaker 1: that was reported that Jalen Ramsey and the Dolphins have
Speaker 1: mutually agreed to part ways and they will look to
Speaker 1: facilitate a trade for the all pro cornerback. Here's Chris
Speaker 1: Grear on Jalen Ramsey.
Speaker 2: So, really, after a couple of weeks of discussions between
Speaker 2: ourselves internally and Jalen and his representation, we decided that
Speaker 2: it was probably the best interest for all parties to
Speaker 2: move forward. So I will say these decisions aren't done
Speaker 2: quickly and.
Speaker 3: They're not taken lightly.
Speaker 2: Because we spent a lot of time this offseason working
Speaker 2: through this, talking through things. At the end of the day,
Speaker 2: Jalen did not ask for a trade, so we went
Speaker 2: through the process, and I just felt that after numerous
Speaker 2: conversations and then talking last week with Jalen and his agent,
Speaker 2: that it was best to move forward and it was
Speaker 2: best interest of the Miami Dolphins and for Jalen Ramsey.
Speaker 1: Naturally, a lot of questions arose from that statement that
Speaker 1: it has obviously become made clear that the Dolphins and
Speaker 1: Jalen Ramsey are going to wind up parting ways. And
Speaker 1: you'll hear him talking a few of these answers about
Speaker 1: we'll deal with the fallout of him being here or
Speaker 1: you know, the situation of him being here if when
Speaker 1: that happens, or acquire the draft picks, and he was
Speaker 1: asked about urgency to get done before the draft to
Speaker 1: make sure they get picks in this year's draft. He
Speaker 1: said that that was not part of the discussion, that
Speaker 1: they'll do it when the best time for it is
Speaker 1: to be done. He was also asked about Ramsey wanting
Speaker 1: a salary adjustment. He said no, he opted to keep
Speaker 1: it internal. When asked why this is happening, because he
Speaker 1: did say that Ramsey did not ask for a trade,
Speaker 1: did not ask for a raise, there was not an
Speaker 1: issue with the scheme or anything. And so he was asked,
Speaker 1: why is this trade happening or why is this discussion
Speaker 1: even happening, and he said that will stay internal. He
Speaker 1: was also asked, it didn't seem like the moves you
Speaker 1: made this offseason matched up with what you did in
Speaker 1: free agency or to build the rest of the roster out.
Speaker 1: And I think if you look at the Dolphins current roster,
Speaker 1: you're gonna have to get some guys that step up
Speaker 1: that have been unproven, and that might even include you know,
Speaker 1: cater Coho playing on the outside more than the inside
Speaker 1: than he has in the past. And if you guys
Speaker 1: are longtime listeners of the podcast, you know, I think
Speaker 1: he's very capable of that, a very good football player.
Speaker 1: And Chris Career touched on on Cam Smith later on
Speaker 1: in the press conference as well, and we saw a
Speaker 1: Storm Ducket playing time last year, Ethan Bonner the year
Speaker 1: before that. Like, if you go into the season right now,
Speaker 1: which you're not, you have the draft and undrafted free agency,
Speaker 1: and as you'll hear from Chris later on, there's the
Speaker 1: you know, the free agent veteran market hasn't closed either,
Speaker 1: that's still available to them. And while I don't think
Speaker 1: it makes sense to sit here and talk about the
Speaker 1: roster on April sixteenth, from a completion standpoint, I think
Speaker 1: that the general idea is that if you don't have
Speaker 1: like sure things at every single position group, that you're
Speaker 1: lacking in that group. And I understand that from an
Speaker 1: outside and fan perspective, but sometimes in this league, especially
Speaker 1: in this league, I should say, with how the salary
Speaker 1: cap is and you know the turnover that we've seen
Speaker 1: in the last couple of years, you have to have
Speaker 1: guys that haven't shown stuff in the past show up
Speaker 1: and be players that you maybe didn't expect them to
Speaker 1: be or and maybe the team did, but maybe the
Speaker 1: fan base didn't. But it happens every single year on
Speaker 1: every single football team, and for the Dolphins at the
Speaker 1: cornerback spot right now, they're going to have to have
Speaker 1: a couple of guys step up and play to a
Speaker 1: higher level than what they've shown in the past, or
Speaker 1: play at all. And that could include rookies, you know,
Speaker 1: high draft picks or mid round draft.
Speaker 4: Picks or your DFAs. So we'll see what it looks like.
Speaker 1: But right now it sounds like Ramsey and the Dolphins
Speaker 1: will try to find a way to facilitate a trade
Speaker 1: to get Ramsey out of Miami after a two year
Speaker 1: run here with the Dolphins. One more here from Greer
Speaker 1: on Ramsey and we'll go ahead and move on.
Speaker 2: When you're talking through the off season and all these
Speaker 2: conversations are having throughout the off season, you're still working
Speaker 2: and you tried to prepare for scenarios. So like again,
Speaker 2: this was a long discussions, many discussions, i would say,
Speaker 2: throughout the off season, So this wasn't anything we rushed
Speaker 2: to and just said today, let's do this, So we're prepared.
Speaker 2: If he's here, you know, we'll deal with it. And
Speaker 2: if he's not, you know, we'll we'll adjust as well.
Speaker 2: So we feel good about where it is. It's never
Speaker 2: easy to replace a player like Jalen a good player.
Speaker 2: For us, he's a good player, he'll probably be a
Speaker 2: Hall of Famer here, but for the Miami Dolphins going forward,
Speaker 2: we feel like this is the best chance to help
Speaker 2: us win not only just this year, but in the
Speaker 2: future as well.
Speaker 1: He was also asked about the mindset of Stephen Ross
Speaker 1: about this team and how hopeful he can possibly be.
Speaker 1: Chris Career just basically said that he doesn't step over
Speaker 1: the football decision makers to make football moves. So I
Speaker 1: think this concept that Ross has been handing out Levy's
Speaker 1: about spending money or not, like, that's never been Ross's
Speaker 1: m right. He's always been spend the most money possible
Speaker 1: to get the best team on the field possible and
Speaker 1: spare no expense in doing that.
Speaker 4: So and I mean.
Speaker 1: That's been pretty well proven with the facilities and the
Speaker 1: constant report cards that you get back from the NFLPA
Speaker 1: survey they say a plus across the board. So this
Speaker 1: building in this facility and the commitment to winning is
Speaker 1: something that I think would be I mean, I don't
Speaker 1: know how you could possibly ever question that given the
Speaker 1: all of the surroundings that you see down here in
Speaker 1: South Florida and Stephen Ross's commitment to winning here with
Speaker 1: the Miami Dolphins. And you know, I think what you
Speaker 1: look at with this year's team and this offseason, like
Speaker 1: everything that they do or that they've done is through
Speaker 1: the prism of like what's going to make us win
Speaker 1: most now, but also for the long term, because you'll
Speaker 1: recall back when his you know, twenty nineteen press conference,
Speaker 1: when they made the move, it was like, we are
Speaker 1: our biggest thing right now is trying to find a
Speaker 1: way to sustain success. And that was after a couple
Speaker 1: of years of teams that pushed money into you know,
Speaker 1: some some aging veterans and went onto the free agent
Speaker 1: market and signed big time names, and they didn't always
Speaker 1: work out, and you would get these six and ten,
Speaker 1: seven and nine years and kind of be up against
Speaker 1: the books every year. And that was kind of a
Speaker 1: change in process. And I think the idea behind sustained
Speaker 1: winning is how every decision gets made here for Miami
Speaker 1: and especially for Stephen Ross. Just continuing for the posterity
Speaker 1: of the entire press conference, which you can find on
Speaker 1: the team YouTube channel, but I think that breaking it
Speaker 1: down here has a better option.
Speaker 4: What do I know to you guys.
Speaker 1: He also was asked about the effort to resign Kalay's Campbell.
Speaker 1: He mentioned that Klay has opted to go back the
Speaker 1: team that drafted him. And we have heard, you know,
Speaker 1: I had heard previously the Campbell's a big Arizona guy.
Speaker 1: Loves it there and wants to set his roots long
Speaker 1: term down in Arizona. So that makes the most sense
Speaker 1: to me. And then the question I want to go
Speaker 1: ahead and play the answer for was would you label
Speaker 1: this a soft rebuild or a reset of the roster?
Speaker 1: Because I've made it clear that the twenty twenty four
Speaker 1: rams were a great example of this, and I think
Speaker 1: you're seeing the Niners go through something similar to this
Speaker 1: and we'll see, you know, how these teams shake out
Speaker 1: on the other side. And we have seen the results
Speaker 1: of teams that have kind of taken a different approach
Speaker 1: or maybe just change their overall structure for how they
Speaker 1: do things. And you've seen that with the Miami Dolphins
Speaker 1: this year. I mean, it wasn't about the top of
Speaker 1: the class of free agency. It's not about you know,
Speaker 1: making the big trade in big splash, and it's been
Speaker 1: more about acquiring draft picks and trying to reset your
Speaker 1: the way the building operates through the draft and through
Speaker 1: young players. And you've seen teams, not just across the league,
Speaker 1: but from this particular coaching tree have success doing that.
Speaker 4: And so.
Speaker 1: Chris Greer was asked about the actual label of a
Speaker 1: saw to reset or rebuild, And I thought that his
Speaker 1: answer was just instructive in terms of how they view
Speaker 1: this entire thing from you know, this point forward.
Speaker 2: We have a lot of really good football players on
Speaker 2: this roster still at some places that impact game. So
Speaker 2: our goal is to win, win this year and and
Speaker 2: and keep winning for sustained success in the future.
Speaker 4: Quick pause for a follow for Chris Grew on a
Speaker 4: similar question.
Speaker 2: And some of the players we added or quality h
Speaker 2: human beings and people that have been leaders that other teams.
Speaker 2: But I do think in house when you have guys
Speaker 2: like Zach Seeler, just to name a few, like I mean,
Speaker 2: you can say Tyree Waddle, alec Ingold, Austin Jackson, the
Speaker 2: offensive line guys love you know, those guys they lead differently,
Speaker 2: you know, they're they're quiet guys and how they do
Speaker 2: it by example and stuff. So we feel comfortable they
Speaker 2: know the expectations. You know, as we talked about it
Speaker 2: the post draft press conference, Mike addressed that and what
Speaker 2: he told the team. And so Mike and leaders on
Speaker 2: a team have been meeting all throughout the off season
Speaker 2: talking about things. So very excited for where it's going.
Speaker 2: And they know the expectations and so looking forward to
Speaker 2: see how this group responds.
Speaker 1: Let's go ahead and take a break right there, come
Speaker 1: back on the other side and continue here with Chris
Speaker 1: Grear his pre draft press conference. That's Next Draft Time
Speaker 1: podcast brought to you by AutoNation. I think this next
Speaker 1: part here will be of interest for those that are
Speaker 1: concerned about all the needs on the roster. He was
Speaker 1: asked about this, Chris Greer about kind of bowing out
Speaker 1: of the first the high end of free agency, and
Speaker 1: you guys have heard this podcast time and time again.
Speaker 4: That's for no team.
Speaker 1: Is that a good process to invest heavily into that
Speaker 1: portion of the offseason or team building program. Team building
Speaker 1: portion of the off season program. But there was some
Speaker 1: interesting tidbits in here about the draft picks and also
Speaker 1: the tension of free agency beyond that first couple of weeks,
Speaker 1: the first wave or two of free agency, and you're
Speaker 1: going to hear him talk about how they're in connection
Speaker 1: right now to a few players that are out there,
Speaker 1: which I always thought was the case, but interesting to
Speaker 1: hear Chris Wereer talk about.
Speaker 2: This in a salary cap era, you just can't keep
Speaker 2: when you have high priced players and you've seen it
Speaker 2: around the league. You know that a team, so you
Speaker 2: make decisions. We have ten draft picks this year for
Speaker 2: the first time with that many draft picks, so excited
Speaker 2: about that. But at the end of the day, it
Speaker 2: was just we were just looking to sign some good
Speaker 2: players at prices that we feel comfortable playing. And that
Speaker 2: continues all the way through the drafts and post draft
Speaker 2: as we've been in touch with a number of players
Speaker 2: as well still that we're still tracking.
Speaker 1: So here's where I think there could be a disconnect
Speaker 1: from someone like myself or Kyle Crabs for that matter.
Speaker 1: And obviously, you know my job and attachment to the
Speaker 1: team comes with a different level of expectation for this.
Speaker 1: But like Kyle is also a pretty optimistic guy that
Speaker 1: we like to call it like we see it when
Speaker 1: it goes wrong. But for the most part, we involve
Speaker 1: ourselves in this because it's it's more enjoyable to be
Speaker 1: looking at things from the lens of like what could
Speaker 1: it be if it goes right, Because the entire league,
Speaker 1: the entire process of the sport is make a decision.
Speaker 4: It could go this way, it could go that way.
Speaker 1: We'll see what happens and if you make enough of
Speaker 1: the decisions to go the right way, you are a
Speaker 1: consistent winner. And I'm not, you know, naive enough to
Speaker 1: acknowledge that it never goes wrong, but I always like
Speaker 1: to look at it that way. And I even't thought
Speaker 1: about this today before the press conference went off and
Speaker 1: we heard about the Ramsey News, like I remember covering
Speaker 1: the team in twenty nineteen, and I kind of enjoyed
Speaker 1: it because it was like there was no need to
Speaker 1: get upset about what you're watching on the field because
Speaker 1: they were not going to be a contender to begin with,
Speaker 1: but there was things to get excited about from an
Speaker 1: evaluation standpoint. And I will not sit here on April
Speaker 1: fifteenth and be like they have no chance at positions X,
Speaker 1: Y and Z, because there's going to be a lot
Speaker 1: of more additions made to the roster. We have to
Speaker 1: watch how those guys, you know, acclimate to the football
Speaker 1: team and where they are in September and even beyond
Speaker 1: that into like Thanksgiving and where this thing grows. So
Speaker 1: that's all I set up to say, Like they could
Speaker 1: sign three impact free agents still and hit on four
Speaker 1: draft picks and get a couple of u DFAs that
Speaker 1: play on special teams and they could wind up adding
Speaker 1: seven or eight more contributors to the football team.
Speaker 4: Is that super likely? I don't know.
Speaker 1: I don't think the history and math of the league
Speaker 1: tells you that it is. I think there's examples of it,
Speaker 1: but probably more examples of it not working out for you.
Speaker 1: The reason I say all this is because he was
Speaker 1: asked a question about and this has been something he
Speaker 1: said every all the five years that I've been here,
Speaker 1: like we want to go into the draft without having
Speaker 1: any glaring needs, like the ability to line up and
Speaker 1: play a football game tomorrow. Then we can just draft
Speaker 1: the best players and supplement what we already have from
Speaker 1: a roster standpoint. And it's obviously not like that this year,
Speaker 1: And so he was asked, do you adjust your draft
Speaker 1: strategy to fit those needs? Because right now, and you'll
Speaker 1: hear him talk about this press conference about like going
Speaker 1: into this draft with maybe more needs than years past,
Speaker 1: or you know, how the draft strengths align with the
Speaker 1: needs the Dolphins have on their roster, So will you
Speaker 1: adjust accordingly? So here's Kris talking about that and addressing
Speaker 1: the fact that there are particular needs on this roster.
Speaker 2: No for us it's the draft kind of lines with
Speaker 2: a lot of the positions of need for us that
Speaker 2: people perceive and what's on our roster right now. So
Speaker 2: for us, we think at thirteen, they'll be good players
Speaker 2: there that will we'll be NFL ready players that are
Speaker 2: also fell in need. So if we choose to stay there,
Speaker 2: we'll have options and if we move around, we'll take
Speaker 2: advantage of that as well.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I get the sense they would prefer to add
Speaker 1: even more draft picks the ten that they do have
Speaker 1: and just try to again do what the Rams did
Speaker 1: in twenty twenty four. It was twenty twenty three when
Speaker 1: they really you know, hit the reset button and had
Speaker 1: all those draft picks and signed like twenty seven udfas
Speaker 1: and got impact your performance from a couple of them.
Speaker 1: And that's how teams have restacked the deck for a
Speaker 1: long time. Now when it comes to like, okay, we
Speaker 1: made our aggressive push. Now it's time to kind of
Speaker 1: peel back and go more back towards the draft. Like
Speaker 1: there's team cycles, right, you have teams that are ready
Speaker 1: to go after it right now, and those are the
Speaker 1: teams that are attractive towards the top of the line.
Speaker 1: You know, veteran, one year mercenary types of players, and
Speaker 1: then you have teams that are trying to slowly build
Speaker 1: the thing up, and we've seen the Panthers kind of
Speaker 1: do that a little bit over the last couple of years.
Speaker 1: And then you have teams that have to kind of
Speaker 1: reset back and kind of reformulate. Like every different team
Speaker 1: in the league has a different particular cycle, and right
Speaker 1: now Miami's in their cycle where they're trying to get
Speaker 1: younger and trying to get more contributing draft picks and
Speaker 1: young players in the roster.
Speaker 4: Let's go ahead and pivot forward here.
Speaker 1: He was asked, is the belief that both the starting
Speaker 1: safeties are in the building, And I thought this answer
Speaker 1: was pretty interesting.
Speaker 2: Yes, yes, we feel good about those three and Elijah
Speaker 2: Campbell as well as back, so we feel like we
Speaker 2: have some depth there. But we'll keep looking to add
Speaker 2: as well as we you will to every position.
Speaker 1: And I do think that in the best version of
Speaker 1: those players, you do probably have starting quality talent, but
Speaker 1: I think you also have good depth if you were
Speaker 1: to tap into this pretty deep safety class, which we've
Speaker 1: seen reports to the Dolphins being attached to a few
Speaker 1: of the draft prospects in terms of their visits to
Speaker 1: Miami and free agency. There was talk about Jeremy Chin
Speaker 1: having interests to the Miami Dolphins that go sign e
Speaker 1: Fatu melafon Wu, who's a similar player type. And so
Speaker 1: I think that with this class, with the amount of
Speaker 1: draft picks, you probably could look to add more safety
Speaker 1: help and that would really make that room even deeper
Speaker 1: and better. But yeah, you've got a bunch of guys
Speaker 1: and they're going to compete for positions. And I'm excited
Speaker 1: about the turnover that spot because I thought safety last
Speaker 1: year was kind of a struggle for the Dolphins and
Speaker 1: having that whole room over Maade was probably a good thing.
Speaker 1: And I kind of view the entire Weaver defense right
Speaker 1: now through that prism of like, hey, what do you need, coach,
Speaker 1: because it seems like that hybrid, you know, box impact
Speaker 1: safety that can play the run, which is so paramount
Speaker 1: in today's league. Right Like, if you can't play the
Speaker 1: run at the safety position, man, you put your defense
Speaker 1: in a bind because of the inability to play high
Speaker 1: coverage and play off the football but also be able
Speaker 1: to insert into the running game, Like if you give
Speaker 1: the offensive front a hat advantage, a numbers advantage in
Speaker 1: the running game because you can't come down and play
Speaker 1: the run like it changes the entire dynamic of how
Speaker 1: you play football. And you know, this is getting way
Speaker 1: into the weeds here in terms of like the discussion
Speaker 1: about analytics and whether or not running the football matters.
Speaker 1: And you guys remember ten years ago when it was like,
Speaker 1: it does not matter who your running back is. It
Speaker 1: does not matter if you run the ball ever in
Speaker 1: a game, you should throw the ball every single time,
Speaker 1: because if you average eight yards per past attempt and
Speaker 1: that's a good number, and you average four yards per
Speaker 1: rush attempt and that's a good number, which one should
Speaker 1: you choose every single play? And that's how like I
Speaker 1: even subscribed to that thought a while ago. I remember
Speaker 1: I had a friend who was a high school running
Speaker 1: back and I told him one time.
Speaker 4: Running backs don't matter. He was like what, he was
Speaker 4: so mad at me. And that was a foolish take.
Speaker 1: And I one of the reasons I bring it up
Speaker 1: is because, like, you have to be able to impact
Speaker 1: your physicality and put the threat of the run game
Speaker 1: in the mind of the opposition to be able to
Speaker 1: open up your entire offense especially for Miami and all
Speaker 1: the play action that we have, and how good of
Speaker 1: a ball handler Tua is a quarterback. Like, when you
Speaker 1: can do that and impact the run game that way,
Speaker 1: it changes the way teams have to defend you and
Speaker 1: vice versa with the ability to play the run from
Speaker 1: depth of safety. So when I watch these moves and
Speaker 1: when I think about Anthony Weevers impact on the defense
Speaker 1: and who could possibly run what he wants to run,
Speaker 1: I look at those types of impact safeties and think
Speaker 1: like that, that seems like a really good fit and
Speaker 1: a good idea for how this team builds out that
Speaker 1: room on the very back end of your defense. More
Speaker 1: questions about culture and all that stuff. I feel like
Speaker 1: they've covered that pretty in depth, so I need to
Speaker 1: get into that any further. Do you guys see Patrick
Speaker 1: Paul as the long term left tackle here, the starting
Speaker 1: left tackle for twenty twenty five. He was asked about
Speaker 1: that and leam Mikeenberg. Will he start a guard back
Speaker 1: to CG in terms.
Speaker 3: Of Patrick Paul, Yes, he will. He will be our
Speaker 3: starter at left tackle get the first crack at doing it.
Speaker 2: We signed Larry Borum, who we felt really good about.
Speaker 2: We really liked him in free agency, and Liam will
Speaker 2: will come in and provide swing versatility, and he'll compete
Speaker 2: for a job, and he's not homist anything, and he
Speaker 2: knows there's going to be a competition for it.
Speaker 1: And remember McDaniel mentioning that Liamlickenberg is going to have
Speaker 1: to be the best version of himself if he's going
Speaker 1: to start in twenty twenty five, which I think the
Speaker 1: writing on the wall between that and the versatile backup
Speaker 1: options and competition that you heard from Chris Grear that
Speaker 1: that all kind of tracks to me. I'm sure that
Speaker 1: was part of the conversation with Liam when he signed, like, Hey,
Speaker 1: we're going to bring you back, but you're going to
Speaker 1: have to compete if you want to keep that starting job.
Speaker 1: This next question was posed by Omar Kelly in a
Speaker 1: pretty pretty upfront way about what created the change that
Speaker 1: you guys had in terms of philosophy of going into
Speaker 1: the draft without having any roster holes to now having
Speaker 1: several of them. Here's Chris Greer on what changed your
Speaker 1: core philosophy to have this approach going into April's draft
Speaker 1: for the first time, really that we can remember.
Speaker 2: For us, we feel good with our scouting staff and
Speaker 2: what we've done and our ability to be able to
Speaker 2: fill some holes with the free agency, like you know
Speaker 2: we've done with the guys we've added. The strength of
Speaker 2: the draft was a little bit of the reason where
Speaker 2: we felt like, okay, like we said, we're going to
Speaker 2: need NFL ready players. It's not like there's no like, hey,
Speaker 2: let's hope this guy's right, like he's going to be
Speaker 2: These guys are gonna be forced into play and that's
Speaker 2: a good thing, you know. So we just have to
Speaker 2: be right on the person and the characters of the
Speaker 2: guys that we bring in here that they're gonna do that.
Speaker 2: So there was there was really no grand plan of
Speaker 2: doing it. It was just as we were looking through
Speaker 2: because you really always look a year into the future,
Speaker 2: like when you're looking at like the quarterbacks evaluations, like
Speaker 2: who's the next class of college players, So you always
Speaker 2: try and get a peek of what the next year's
Speaker 2: draft class looks like in strength. So for us, it
Speaker 2: just aligned to where it made sense for us to
Speaker 2: invest in some younger players at those positions and UH,
Speaker 2: and then we'll fill in the rest post draft, UH
Speaker 2: through free agency.
Speaker 1: They're not shopping in the markets that provide you the
Speaker 1: Jalen Ramseys and the Bradley Chubbs with Tyreek Kills. Anymore,
Speaker 1: they're trying to find the next Aram Brewer, right, That's
Speaker 1: that's the idea here. And I did find the answer
Speaker 1: about like, we can't expect to draft guys and just
Speaker 1: have him like red shirt for you. He didn't say that,
Speaker 1: but we have to have guys that can make an
Speaker 1: immediate impact. Like that wasn't the case last year because
Speaker 1: the first two picks were guys that needed some time
Speaker 1: in seasoning, especially your second round pick, who has now
Speaker 1: looked at in hindsight as a smart move because of
Speaker 1: what happened to Toron Armstead's career and his retirement.
Speaker 4: So let's go.
Speaker 1: Ahead and take our last break right there. Come back
Speaker 1: on the other side, talk about the QB position. We'll
Speaker 1: talk about pressure, trade down, interest, all kinds of stuff here.
Speaker 1: More from Chris Greears April fifteenth, Tuesday press conference ahead
Speaker 1: of the draft. All the coverage here on the Draft
Speaker 1: Time podcast brought to you Buy Auto Nation, Quarterback Talk.
Speaker 4: Why Zach Wilson. Here's Chris Greear.
Speaker 2: We were all going through it and we spent a
Speaker 2: lot of time on that, you know, with Mike and
Speaker 2: the offensive coaches and the scouts, and we just felt
Speaker 2: like Zach had a lot of potential and a lot
Speaker 2: of talent. And I know, you know, you could go
Speaker 2: to the veteran route with someone that you know, more proven.
Speaker 2: Know Zach has won a few games. I know everyone's
Speaker 2: going to say, you know, his record and stuff, but
Speaker 2: I think for us, in dealing with it and getting
Speaker 2: to know him, talking you know, once he signed, and
Speaker 2: getting to know him and going through it and going
Speaker 2: back to the relationships people had with him prior to
Speaker 2: the draft when he came out, we just felt that
Speaker 2: in talking to him and some veterans, that he was
Speaker 2: the right fit and right choice for us because we
Speaker 2: do think that his skills set really fits what our
Speaker 2: offense does.
Speaker 1: And perhaps my favorite part of the entire press conference
Speaker 1: was a response to a question about would you guys
Speaker 1: take a quarterback in the first round, Well, we already
Speaker 1: have our starting quarterback. Never rule anything out, but we
Speaker 1: have our guy.
Speaker 2: I would say, we have our starting quarterback, so I
Speaker 2: wouldn't be looking to it. But I never rule anything out,
Speaker 2: but I would not be looking to draft a quarterback in.
Speaker 3: The first round.
Speaker 1: I want to go ahead and play this sound bite
Speaker 1: for you guys about the willingness to come off the
Speaker 1: thirteenth pick to acquire more picks. I think that's you know,
Speaker 1: let's go ahead and play the audio first.
Speaker 2: I'm definitely open to moving around in the draft, but
Speaker 2: also if the opportunity to arise is to get a
Speaker 2: really good player, be open to figuring out a way
Speaker 2: to go get them too as well. So we do
Speaker 2: have needs. But I think you guys would even say
Speaker 2: that there's more good street free agents on the street
Speaker 2: now than there have been in a long time. Seems
Speaker 2: like a lot of veterans are waiting until after the
Speaker 2: drafts to see.
Speaker 3: Where they're going to sign.
Speaker 2: So there again, there are opportunities to keep building the
Speaker 2: roster that way.
Speaker 1: So I want to first address that by saying, like,
Speaker 1: typically when you get these breadcrumbs, these trails of consistent
Speaker 1: messaging from Chris or Mike, they typically come to fruition.
Speaker 1: And a few times now we've heard him mention the
Speaker 1: idea that there's players on the free agent market that
Speaker 1: can round out the roster, and there are some pieces
Speaker 1: like at cornerback. I'm a fan of a Sante Samuel's game.
Speaker 1: He would be a good fit in my opinion. There's
Speaker 1: a safety Julian Blackman that remains out there who could
Speaker 1: be of interest to me, a couple of guys on
Speaker 1: the offensive line. I think Marcus Williams at safety makes
Speaker 1: some sense as well. So there are guys that exist
Speaker 1: out there that would help this roster improve. But there's
Speaker 1: also some areas that are pretty scarce, like defensive tackle
Speaker 1: or the cornerbacks beyond a Sante Samuel. But it does
Speaker 1: sound like there's going to be a pretty good surge
Speaker 1: here of players coming in post draft or post June one,
Speaker 1: whatever it might be. I think that'll be a pretty
Speaker 1: It's pretty telling that they're looking to do that already.
Speaker 1: And then the other thing was a trade down interest,
Speaker 1: which again I think there's been breadcrumbs there about how
Speaker 1: they've built this thing and the interest in draft picks
Speaker 1: and a team that wants to build their entire program
Speaker 1: through the draft and has kind of pulled back the
Speaker 1: reins on the aggressiveness of going after veteran talent. I mean,
Speaker 1: if you offer that team more draft picks, they're going
Speaker 1: to say yes, right like's if it's worth it for
Speaker 1: them in terms of the deal that gets done. So
Speaker 1: I think those are two things you can look forward to,
Speaker 1: is potentially more accumulation of picks as well as more
Speaker 1: veterans being brought in between now in September. And we'll
Speaker 1: go ahead and close with this. I found this to
Speaker 1: be a very interesting answer, probably one of the best
Speaker 1: of the entire press conference, when he was asked about
Speaker 1: the process of running a draft for ten years now,
Speaker 1: really going back to sixteen and what has he learned
Speaker 1: in that process. And I'll go ahead and weigh in
Speaker 1: act we hear from Chris and a pretty lengthy answer here.
Speaker 2: Now, it is an interesting question because it's an evolution.
Speaker 2: You kind of know how I work with coaches. So
Speaker 2: I've had, you know, three different coaches here and it
Speaker 2: is interesting and they all have different types of players
Speaker 2: they like. So it's the adjustment. But you know, I
Speaker 2: think the one thing that's common is just finding those
Speaker 2: guys that love football, that are tough kids, that are
Speaker 2: competitive and love ball. And so I think there's some
Speaker 2: times when maybe I've veered a little bit guess like, hey,
Speaker 2: we're just going to take the athlete or something or
Speaker 2: whatever whatever trait this player has and you're kind of like, okay,
Speaker 2: we'll make it work. Sometimes it does, it doesn't always,
Speaker 2: And so I think we do a lot of work,
Speaker 2: you know, vetting backgrounds and personalities of players, and I
Speaker 2: think that plays a big role in the of people because,
Speaker 2: like you said, these players read everything that is.
Speaker 3: Said about them, you guys know, I mean.
Speaker 2: And for those guys to handle it, it takes a
Speaker 2: special player to be able to handle it because they
Speaker 2: want to react to everything someone says about them. So
Speaker 2: so myself, I think for me, sometimes.
Speaker 3: You know, maybe I defer too much. And I've talked.
Speaker 2: About that and that's probably the one thing I've I've
Speaker 2: learned that as I've gotten more, I guess along in
Speaker 2: my years that the pushback is great. And that's what's
Speaker 2: great with Mike. We don't always agree on everything, but
Speaker 2: we always come into alignment to where we get to
Speaker 2: help the MIDI Dolphins.
Speaker 3: So it's it's been really good working with them.
Speaker 1: So, all things told, a pretty interesting press conference there.
Speaker 1: I thought that last answer was was kind of like
Speaker 1: a little bit of getting to know Chris more than
Speaker 1: we ever have in terms of his press conferences and
Speaker 1: talking about maybe some of the things that he could
Speaker 1: have done better throughout his career so far and where
Speaker 1: he is right now in twenty twenty five. But on balance, overall,
Speaker 1: I think, you know, the fan base might be a
Speaker 1: little bit dubious about what's going to happen. My messaging
Speaker 1: to you would be, let's let this thing play out
Speaker 1: and see see what the draft brings. See what that
Speaker 1: you know, the kind of hint or teaser there towards
Speaker 1: you know, more potential free agent acquisitions. Why don't we
Speaker 1: go ahead and see what that looks like, and then
Speaker 1: we'll kind of make our judgments come August September when
Speaker 1: they kick this thing off for real, because if you don't,
Speaker 1: you're gonna drive yourself crazy all summer long. And you've
Speaker 1: got baseball, and you've got golf, and you've got the
Speaker 1: Miami Heat playing tonight, all kinds of fun stuff for
Speaker 1: you in the sports world. Okay, let's go ahead, though,
Speaker 1: and call it a show. You can find again the
Speaker 1: entirety of this press conference up on the Team YouTube channel,
Speaker 1: where you can also find a brand new episode of
Speaker 1: Dolphins HQ. I got a chance to break down the
Speaker 1: Patrick Paul film. In the film room, as well as
Speaker 1: talk about that thirteenth pick of the draft. Fun episode
Speaker 1: of HQ coming your way. You all, please be sure
Speaker 1: to subscribe, rate, review the podcast. We're getting more reviews,
Speaker 1: not so good reviews, but that's okay on the podcast lately.
Speaker 1: Go ahead of follow me on social at winkfod NFL.
Speaker 1: The team at Miami Dolphins. Check out the fish Tank
Speaker 1: with Seth and Juice, the YouTube channel for the aforementioned
Speaker 1: h Q four Draft time interviews, for media availabilities, and
Speaker 1: much much more. Last butt not least Miami Dolphins dot com.
Speaker 1: Until next time, Fin's Up, Caroline Cameron Daddy