Speaker 1: There you go. All right, shoot, I appreciate you guys waiting.
Speaker 2: We'll talk about the safety. You know, I'm sure, but
Speaker 2: taking a kicker in the third round, uh.
Speaker 3: John, as a safety, Uh, I'm it's not easy, but
Speaker 3: but they're really important and and we've had a very
Speaker 3: good one uh here in our tenure, and so uh,
Speaker 3: you know, I think you put this much work into
Speaker 3: making your roster as competitive as we have, You're gonna
Speaker 3: be in a lot of close games and and the
Speaker 3: kickers matter, and uh, you know, we we knew that
Speaker 3: we'd be looking this year, and our special teams coaches
Speaker 3: really got out and about and really studied this thing hard,
Speaker 3: and we put a lot of thought into it.
Speaker 1: Uh.
Speaker 3: When we felt like there was one who separated themselves
Speaker 3: from the rest, we became very convicted. And we were
Speaker 3: fortunate to have three third round picks, and you know,
Speaker 3: we felt like he was worthy of one, and we're
Speaker 3: happy to have done it.
Speaker 2: So did you until that somebody else was close to
Speaker 2: taking him?
Speaker 1: No, no intel there.
Speaker 3: The intel that we had is that there's a lot
Speaker 3: of teams in the NFL right now who seem to have.
Speaker 1: A need at kicker.
Speaker 3: And I think you know that there's a couple good
Speaker 3: college ones this year, but consensus, I think this was
Speaker 3: the guy, and so we put a lot of work
Speaker 3: into it. Ultimately decided with you know, one of those three.
Speaker 3: If he's there, we were going to go there. And
Speaker 3: you know, right down to the end, we decided to
Speaker 3: do it at ninety nine because we felt that good.
Speaker 3: We didn't want anyone going to that Vegas pick and
Speaker 3: doing it. So we did that, and you know, you
Speaker 3: know he's.
Speaker 1: There.
Speaker 3: Wasn't the applause that we got when we took the
Speaker 3: Gira Brown in our own room, but I think everyone
Speaker 3: knows it's necessary and everyone feels really good about this kid.
Speaker 2: Robbie has been someone of a mentor to him, and
Speaker 2: he spent some time with him. He felt he wanted
Speaker 2: to pass the torch.
Speaker 1: Did you talk to Rob about him? No, we didn't.
Speaker 3: We didn't talk to Robbie about him. I know they
Speaker 3: share the same agents. Brian Schneider got out and worked
Speaker 3: him out, and I think that's you know, that was
Speaker 3: our interaction with Colin and I are going to be
Speaker 3: completely upfront, just as we were with Mitch.
Speaker 1: Uh.
Speaker 3: You know, we really rely on our special teams coaches
Speaker 3: when when it comes to those things, and and uh,
Speaker 3: you know, Schneid's and his group did a great job
Speaker 3: of of really vetting these guys, doing a thorough process
Speaker 3: involved O R and D department, and Jake was the
Speaker 3: consensus guy for us. He's a baller. He's uh, he's
Speaker 3: a baller. I think he's got the components of what
Speaker 3: make up a Niner. We had consensus, uh, you know,
Speaker 3: coaches to scouts, it was all around the building. He
Speaker 3: really solidified that with his tape. But then he came
Speaker 3: here on a thirty visit and he's just got this
Speaker 3: infectious personality and you know, I know something's been made
Speaker 3: about him not running a real fast forty R and
Speaker 3: D department as you know, some of the fastest times
Speaker 3: amongst the safety stack. So I think he plays fast.
Speaker 3: He's good up towards the ball and ball production ten
Speaker 3: interceptions over the last couple of years.
Speaker 1: He's just a really good football player.
Speaker 3: And then when you add the person he's a team captain,
Speaker 3: it's just like Steve Wilke said, that's my dude right there.
Speaker 3: And you know, we everybody in the building wanted that
Speaker 3: guy our top target of the guys we identified that
Speaker 3: we thought had the best chance of being there in
Speaker 3: the third where we picked. We didn't think he'd be
Speaker 3: there at ninety nine. I didn't think he'd be there.
Speaker 3: Quay said no once, But then we got back on
Speaker 3: the phone and thank thank you to Quacy and the
Speaker 3: Vikings for letting us get up there, and you know,
Speaker 3: really happy to have gay R.
Speaker 1: Brown.
Speaker 3: But I feel like Kicker is probably in a position
Speaker 3: you like to think spent a lot of time thinking
Speaker 3: about it.
Speaker 2: How important is it for you to kind of have
Speaker 2: somebody that you don't you can trust and just have
Speaker 2: that piece of mind that you don't have to worry
Speaker 2: about it.
Speaker 4: Very important because I don't want to have to think
Speaker 4: about it, which I've been fortunate in that area for
Speaker 4: the last six years. So it's been awesome with Robbie.
Speaker 4: You know, we haven't had to worry about that spot.
Speaker 4: How consistent he's been with making field goals. I think
Speaker 4: I've said before it was, you know, the first time
Speaker 4: in my career that I always actually just energy wise,
Speaker 4: always felt like the kick was going in. And you're
Speaker 4: hearing that with us, and probably starting with our first
Speaker 4: year when he didn't missed one, but it's not fun
Speaker 4: to have to go replace that. I still can't believe
Speaker 4: we didn't take a running back, but you know, it
Speaker 4: was a necessary need. And but if you're gonna do it,
Speaker 4: you better do it with the right one. And you know,
Speaker 4: we felt like we got the best kicker in the
Speaker 4: draft and one that you know, I can't say that
Speaker 4: I study kickers every year, but the people who do
Speaker 4: felt very good about it. And you know, I think
Speaker 4: it's all about you know, you know you need one,
Speaker 4: so where you're going to get it and you think
Speaker 4: you're looking at you know, there's probably five to six
Speaker 4: teams who you feel need to kick her, and so
Speaker 4: the whole debate is where to go get that guy
Speaker 4: because it's someone you.
Speaker 1: Need to get.
Speaker 4: And you know, when you look at the history, the
Speaker 4: majority kickers go in the fourth round. We didn't have
Speaker 4: a fourth round pick. The guy was not going to
Speaker 4: be there in the fifth round. And when you look
Speaker 4: at pick ninety nine, I know they call it the
Speaker 4: third round, but to me, it's seven picks after the
Speaker 4: third round ends, so I feel like it's the start
Speaker 4: of the fourth round. So to me, that was like
Speaker 4: that was the spot that we felt would be the
Speaker 4: spot to get them. But that's why we're also nervous
Speaker 4: that someone could come up to hundred and take them.
Speaker 4: So I'm very glad that we got them. But yeah,
Speaker 4: it's it's not quite as fun as some other things
Speaker 4: can be, but I think it would be if we'd
Speaker 4: had a bad kicker for the last six years. I
Speaker 4: think everyone be like, all right, we finally invest in.
Speaker 1: We got one.
Speaker 4: But you know, when you have one who's been like
Speaker 4: robbing so consistent, it's a little anti climatic, but it
Speaker 4: was something that is extremely important.
Speaker 2: Did you guys get any texts good or bad from
Speaker 2: other draft rooms after the kicker bick?
Speaker 3: Other special teams, coaches, coaches who coached me throughout the career.
Speaker 3: So that's always good that dude, you stole.
Speaker 1: That guy, or like great, great pick, great spot.
Speaker 3: Uh, So that that meant something to me because I
Speaker 3: respect this guy.
Speaker 1: He's one of the better ones. And uh, those guys
Speaker 1: tend to.
Speaker 4: Know my friends made fun of me. Most my friends
Speaker 4: made fun of me, trying to make me feel insecure
Speaker 4: about it.
Speaker 2: We don't so and ar things like you know, bad weather, U.
Speaker 3: It helps yeah a little bit, you know, Uh, of
Speaker 3: the story that was shared with us too. There was
Speaker 3: a guy who had arrived there before him. It was
Speaker 3: a really highly recruited guy, more heralded than Jake. And
Speaker 3: and you know, uh, Jake came in was pretty good.
Speaker 3: Harball put him through, you know, a competition you know,
Speaker 3: has explained to me that only Jim.
Speaker 1: Harbor you know, could do.
Speaker 3: And it was it was pretty intense, and and the
Speaker 3: kid was nails and and really you know, kind of
Speaker 3: fought through that to win the job over or a
Speaker 3: guy who was a really big recruit and all that.
Speaker 3: And so they really speak of him glowingly there and
Speaker 3: you know, Schneide's got to be there.
Speaker 1: Brian Schneider got to be there, spent some time with.
Speaker 3: Him and and you know, really became convicted that not
Speaker 3: only the way this guy kicks the ball, both on
Speaker 3: his kicks and kickoffs, but the personality, which is important
Speaker 3: for that position.
Speaker 1: The confidence, you know, the steadiness was all there.
Speaker 2: The brown pick was that kind of looking ahead a
Speaker 2: year when you're not you know, when it would give
Speaker 2: on a one year deal and his age and everything
Speaker 2: like that, or is that is it something where you
Speaker 2: think he can be for a starting job.
Speaker 3: Now you know, I think, you know, we feel pretty
Speaker 3: good about Gip and Huff.
Speaker 1: They played really well at a really high level.
Speaker 3: We'll never you know, we're not just you know, giving
Speaker 3: people jobs, and Kyle can speak more to that, but
Speaker 3: we felt like we could add to the depth of
Speaker 3: that position. And JayR is a guy he can come
Speaker 3: in play special teams right away and learn the safety position.
Speaker 3: He's got good versatility to his game, and I think
Speaker 3: he'll be a great compliment to those guys.
Speaker 2: Moody was the highest draft of kickers since Roberto Olio
Speaker 2: twenty sixteen that did not work out well.
Speaker 1: It's like he's just a cautionary tale of you know,
Speaker 1: when you yeah, be careful.
Speaker 4: I'm sure you're aware of that history. But I mean
Speaker 4: sometimes it's hard, just because kicking in college is differently
Speaker 4: kick in the NFL.
Speaker 3: I guess, what do you know about his makeup or
Speaker 3: anything that suggests he's.
Speaker 1: Gonna be able to handle this?
Speaker 3: Yeah, I just think you know the things I described.
Speaker 3: You know, he's he's an extremely confident kid. He's you know,
Speaker 3: he's been through you know that competition I spoke of
Speaker 3: at Michigan. You know, the way he kicks he's an
Speaker 3: extremely aggressive kicker, all the things that you know, we
Speaker 3: just became very convicted. Yeah, you have to look at
Speaker 3: history and study it. We didn't pick him in the
Speaker 3: second round, like Kyle said, we see that as a
Speaker 3: fourth round pick, and we felt it was worthy of.
Speaker 1: The pick, and so you know, we're convicted on it.
Speaker 1: I think his mentality.
Speaker 3: I think he's a versatile player in that he's good
Speaker 3: in both the run and the pass. But he went
Speaker 3: to Bama as a as a linebacker and I think
Speaker 3: he plays like that. You know, I think he's got
Speaker 3: a you know, he he's an aggressive player.
Speaker 1: He's a competitive player.
Speaker 3: When you're watching film with him, you know, he's a
Speaker 3: guy who as soon as the next play, his recall
Speaker 3: is really good. And he you know, coach just not
Speaker 3: a good one. You know, He's just he kind of
Speaker 3: grew on you from that standpoint. I know Kyle got
Speaker 3: to talk to sark Over at Texas who had coached
Speaker 3: him right when he was transitioning over to the tight
Speaker 3: end position.
Speaker 1: You know, got some information.
Speaker 3: But you know, just we like the skill set and
Speaker 3: we like the mentality.
Speaker 4: Is he more future for or you see them playing
Speaker 4: right way?
Speaker 1: Why do you look at the same way as as Jair.
Speaker 4: I mean, when we're sitting at ninety nine, we we're
Speaker 4: trying to get the best player, and that's gonna be
Speaker 4: our first you know, ninety nine and one on one,
Speaker 4: one O two, we looked at almost all the same.
Speaker 4: We're trying to get three players who can make our team.
Speaker 4: We feel we have a pretty good team, but we
Speaker 4: had a lot of hopes on guys who could fall
Speaker 4: to there that can not only just make our team,
Speaker 4: but could fill spots to potentially be a starter. I
Speaker 4: didn't it was so nice going into the draft this
Speaker 4: year that we didn't feel like we had to find
Speaker 4: a starter at any position except kicker. Everything else. We
Speaker 4: feel we can win with our guys in. But we're
Speaker 4: going to do our best at every pick. We have
Speaker 4: to first of all, find someone who can make the team,
Speaker 4: and then someone who can compete to make the guys
Speaker 4: we have better or to beat out the guys that
Speaker 4: we have. So we played two safeties. We have packages
Speaker 4: where we can have three. In last year, our starting
Speaker 4: safety got hurt pretty early and we ended up starting
Speaker 4: a safety who we got in a workout three weeks
Speaker 4: in a training camp who is now our starting safety
Speaker 4: this year. Huff just got to start last year for
Speaker 4: the first time. We were fortunately there with health and everything,
Speaker 4: but to add some depth and also a guy who
Speaker 4: we believe could have gone in the second round have
Speaker 4: been a starter somewhere else. We we feel we've got
Speaker 4: a real good player is gonna help our team. And
Speaker 4: the tight end is the same situation. I think is
Speaker 4: really the safeties, and I think we have a number
Speaker 4: of other number of other positions like that that hopefully
Speaker 4: we can address tomorrow.
Speaker 1: You said that you.
Speaker 2: Haven't you hadn't talked yet. A couple of days ago,
Speaker 2: you hadn't talked yet to Brandon or Javon came out.
Speaker 2: Whether you talk to those two.
Speaker 3: Yeah, talk to both of them. Brandon, we're going to
Speaker 3: exercise that fifth year option. We won't with Javon. I
Speaker 3: talked with Javon. Uh still looking for great things from Javon.
Speaker 3: Javon's having an outstanding off season. He's in a great place,
Speaker 3: and you know he's excited about what's to come as
Speaker 3: our as are we for him.
Speaker 2: That you getting stronger as the as the year went on.
Speaker 2: It needed you guys, see the same thing that this
Speaker 2: was a guy who was coming from an injury and
Speaker 2: getting better.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I think it's one of the things we liked
Speaker 4: about on the most that he looked like a good player,
Speaker 4: but also how much better he got throughout the year
Speaker 4: and how much more we thinks in his body. And
Speaker 4: then you look at his history and knowing he was
Speaker 4: he came in playing linebacker the first two years I
Speaker 4: think switched over, so he's late to the position, and
Speaker 4: as you watch him throughout the year, we think he
Speaker 4: can get a lot better in the run game and
Speaker 4: the past game. And it's hard to say whether he's
Speaker 4: a usually designate guy one or the other. He's a
Speaker 4: run blocker or a pass blocker I mean, or a
Speaker 4: past game guy. And we see this guy's both and
Speaker 4: he could accelerate in both and that's important to us
Speaker 4: with all our titands.
Speaker 1: Thank you all right, Thanks guys,