WEBVTT - Positional Prototypes, Pro Days and Breaking Down the Mega Trade with Ben Fennell 0:00:01.080 --> 0:00:16.440 That keeps booking Miami n What is up, Dolphans And 0:00:16.600 --> 0:00:19.920 welcome to the Drive Time Podcast, part of the Miami 0:00:20.000 --> 0:00:25.320 Dolphins podcast network, covering your team, your Miami Dolphins. How's 0:00:25.320 --> 0:00:28.400 it going everybody? It is Wednesday. I am your host, 0:00:28.680 --> 0:00:32.000 Travis Wingfield, And on today's show, we're gonna revisit the 0:00:32.040 --> 0:00:35.800 trade trades from Friday, with the details from Peter King's 0:00:35.800 --> 0:00:39.080 weekly column, the value the Dolphins pulled on their side, 0:00:39.280 --> 0:00:42.400 the crazy Chris career trade numbers and data, and the 0:00:42.440 --> 0:00:45.000 player he says the Dolphins moved back up to number 0:00:45.040 --> 0:00:48.920 six four plus, we're turning our attention completely to the draft. 0:00:49.159 --> 0:00:52.000 All eleven free agent interviews are in the can, and 0:00:52.040 --> 0:00:55.440 we're taking a look at sleepers and positional prototypes with 0:00:55.560 --> 0:00:58.640 Ben Fannel of the NFL Network. All of that and 0:00:58.720 --> 0:01:01.840 a whole bunch more. This Wednesday, March the thirty one 0:01:02.080 --> 0:01:08.319 edition of the Drivetime Podcast. So before we get to 0:01:08.319 --> 0:01:11.200 my guest today, Peter King dropped his mega column on 0:01:11.319 --> 0:01:14.600 Sunday night, and you really should read this thing every 0:01:14.640 --> 0:01:16.959 single week because, frankly, it's the best in the business. 0:01:17.200 --> 0:01:20.160 But it was especially interesting this week for Dolphins fans 0:01:20.200 --> 0:01:24.080 because of last week's big trade Big Trades. We covered 0:01:24.080 --> 0:01:26.920 that thing comprehensively in the last Drift Time podcast. But 0:01:26.959 --> 0:01:30.600 how about some supplemental notes here from King. First, there's 0:01:30.600 --> 0:01:33.839 a blurb about why San Francisco was motivated to move 0:01:33.920 --> 0:01:36.600 up this early one month out, and you might recall 0:01:36.680 --> 0:01:39.520 the Jets and Colts trade from and that one also 0:01:39.560 --> 0:01:43.520 occurred weeks before the draft, and King right simply that 0:01:43.600 --> 0:01:47.440 Miami gerald manager Chris Career has proven adept at maximizing 0:01:47.480 --> 0:01:51.800 compensation for his assets, so going up now ensured someone 0:01:51.840 --> 0:01:54.400 didn't swoop in with a better offer than the forty 0:01:54.480 --> 0:01:57.080 Niners offer, according to Peter King. But that's not to 0:01:57.120 --> 0:01:59.960 say that the forty Niners got some kind of bargain deal. 0:02:00.040 --> 0:02:02.559 They did not. Friday, we told you about the halls 0:02:02.800 --> 0:02:05.840 the previous trade downs provided the team moving back and 0:02:05.880 --> 0:02:08.680 all the players they got from those trades. Well, Miami 0:02:08.760 --> 0:02:12.240 maximized this one big time. The Patrick Mahomes trade up 0:02:12.240 --> 0:02:15.959 back in sev k C to Buffalo from to ten 0:02:16.360 --> 0:02:19.280 to fall back seventeen spots, they got a first round 0:02:19.320 --> 0:02:21.240 draft pick and a third round draft pick. That's it. 0:02:21.520 --> 0:02:24.400 Miami got two first to go down nine spots compared 0:02:24.520 --> 0:02:27.760 to Buffalo going down seventeen spots the Julio Jones trade 0:02:27.800 --> 0:02:31.040 inven the Browns got a first, a second, and two 0:02:31.080 --> 0:02:34.600 fourth rounders to go from six to seven. They got 0:02:34.639 --> 0:02:37.680 less than Miami going down nine spots by going down 0:02:37.720 --> 0:02:41.120 twenty one spots. Not bad at all, Chris Career not 0:02:41.240 --> 0:02:44.840 bad at all, and King also notes that Greer's ability 0:02:45.040 --> 0:02:47.679 to wheel and deal has put Miami in position to 0:02:47.800 --> 0:02:51.560 continually restock the cupboards with eight first round draft picks 0:02:51.600 --> 0:02:55.760 over a four year period and a quick aside Albert 0:02:55.800 --> 0:02:58.919 Brier tweeted out on Friday, the Dolphins won ten games 0:02:59.000 --> 0:03:01.720 last season with just three of those eight picks made, 0:03:01.919 --> 0:03:04.520 and Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus also a lot 0:03:04.560 --> 0:03:06.760 of the trades saying the Dolphins are doing whatever the 0:03:06.760 --> 0:03:09.359 hell they want right now, which Brian Flowers and Chris 0:03:09.360 --> 0:03:11.280 Greer I both said they can do whatever the hell 0:03:11.360 --> 0:03:13.520 they want without the hell part in there with all 0:03:13.560 --> 0:03:16.480 this draft capital, and most are saying that. In fact, 0:03:16.600 --> 0:03:19.120 Rich Eyes and anyone from the NFL network, you might 0:03:19.160 --> 0:03:21.519 see all these tweets praising this trade because the Dolphins 0:03:21.720 --> 0:03:25.160 absolutely maximize their value. They wind up going down three 0:03:25.160 --> 0:03:27.000 spots at the end of the day, for an additional 0:03:27.040 --> 0:03:29.760 third round draft pick and an additional first round draft pick. 0:03:30.040 --> 0:03:33.720 Also in this column from Peter King, he mentions the 0:03:33.760 --> 0:03:36.480 idea that scouts and teams and decision makers might be 0:03:36.520 --> 0:03:39.880 more inclined to push assets into future draft because of 0:03:39.920 --> 0:03:43.200 the uncertainty of this year's draft. So many players in 0:03:43.200 --> 0:03:46.800 this class did not play a football season in there's 0:03:46.840 --> 0:03:50.200 no live in person medical, no live in person meetings 0:03:50.240 --> 0:03:53.200 on the white board. All that stuff doesn't exist this 0:03:53.280 --> 0:03:55.720 year and next season we should have a full college 0:03:55.720 --> 0:03:59.360 football season, a full compliment of the scouting combine, Pro Days, 0:03:59.360 --> 0:04:01.480 and all the out of fun stuff. As the world 0:04:01.560 --> 0:04:03.800 gets back to normal, it makes more sense to have 0:04:03.920 --> 0:04:06.520 more picks in those future years than maybe it does 0:04:06.560 --> 0:04:09.440 this year. Back to the article real quick, and this 0:04:09.480 --> 0:04:11.680 is from Peter King, and it's not new for Chris 0:04:11.720 --> 0:04:13.560 Greer to do this kind of thing. He's now made 0:04:13.600 --> 0:04:16.440 eight trades involving first round draft picks since he took 0:04:16.440 --> 0:04:19.200 the job over in two thousand and sixteen. And King 0:04:19.279 --> 0:04:21.960 praises Career for being an outside the box thinker and 0:04:21.960 --> 0:04:25.360 says it has put the Dolphins in tremendous position with 0:04:25.440 --> 0:04:28.120 another great trade, maximizing the Larry mit Tons will trade 0:04:28.160 --> 0:04:31.440 back from twenty nineteen and continuing to milk that resource 0:04:31.680 --> 0:04:36.760 for additional premium assets. Finally, the final point that King writes, actually, 0:04:36.920 --> 0:04:39.440 let's go ahead and make this the penultimate point about 0:04:39.520 --> 0:04:43.239 quarterback flexibility. You know, if you listen to this podcast, 0:04:43.320 --> 0:04:44.640 you know what I think about two a tongue of 0:04:44.680 --> 0:04:46.320 by Lowe. I've always thought about two a tongue of 0:04:46.320 --> 0:04:48.920 by low is ability to play at this level. And 0:04:48.920 --> 0:04:50.800 I think we're gonna see that this season with with 0:04:50.839 --> 0:04:53.240 what I think he can be. But let's just say 0:04:53.360 --> 0:04:55.440 for one second it doesn't go that way and they 0:04:55.480 --> 0:04:58.160 have to go back into the quarterback market. Well, Miami 0:04:58.279 --> 0:05:01.279 now gives themselves future appital in case they have to 0:05:01.279 --> 0:05:04.240 circle back and explore either a veteran quarterback trade or 0:05:04.320 --> 0:05:06.040 a trade up to the draft to get a quarterback 0:05:06.040 --> 0:05:08.719 in those future drafts. Maybe it's to find a veteran, 0:05:08.760 --> 0:05:11.360 proven player to supplement to his offense as he is 0:05:11.400 --> 0:05:15.080 at the controls. Dolphins have just given themselves ultimate flexibility 0:05:15.120 --> 0:05:18.440 at the quarterback position and every other position across the board. 0:05:18.600 --> 0:05:21.000 And finally, our last point, let's just go ahead and 0:05:21.040 --> 0:05:24.200 lead this read this last part verbatim, regarding the logic 0:05:24.279 --> 0:05:26.360 of the second trade, it has to come down to 0:05:26.440 --> 0:05:29.440 one thing. King writes, Miami had to have wanted certainty 0:05:29.640 --> 0:05:31.400 that it couldn't have one of the four great pass 0:05:31.440 --> 0:05:34.280 catchers in this draft tight end Kyle Pitts or white Out, 0:05:34.360 --> 0:05:38.360 Jamar Chase, Jalen Waddle or Davante Smith. That's possible at twelve, 0:05:38.640 --> 0:05:41.640 that's certain at six, he writes, And knowing how smart 0:05:41.640 --> 0:05:44.320 a personnel guy Chris Greery is, it would not surprise 0:05:44.360 --> 0:05:46.719 me now knowing he was in position to get a 0:05:46.760 --> 0:05:49.760 great receiver if he tried to move one of his Whiteouts, 0:05:49.760 --> 0:05:52.960 maybe even DeVante Parker if the compensation were right. So 0:05:53.080 --> 0:05:55.320 Kings just kind of spitballing there. But he talks about 0:05:55.360 --> 0:05:57.520 those four playmakers. I want to go ahead and touch 0:05:57.560 --> 0:05:59.520 on that before we get to our guest here on 0:05:59.520 --> 0:06:02.320 this one's the edition of the Drive Time podcast. So 0:06:02.360 --> 0:06:04.799 if you go after one of those targets at number six, 0:06:05.160 --> 0:06:07.960 what does that make the offense look like from Miami? Well, 0:06:08.040 --> 0:06:10.279 we start there with Jalen Waddle. We've talked about this 0:06:10.360 --> 0:06:13.360 on previous podcast. If you want to defend the speed 0:06:13.440 --> 0:06:16.200 of a Jailan Waddle and a Will Fuller on the defense. 0:06:16.400 --> 0:06:17.960 Just go look at what teams had to do to 0:06:18.000 --> 0:06:20.720 Houston with Will Fuller and Kenny Stills. You had to 0:06:20.720 --> 0:06:23.040 play two high safety because both those guys could take 0:06:23.040 --> 0:06:25.760 the top off the defense on either side. They could 0:06:25.760 --> 0:06:28.320 split your safeties. You had to account for them vertically 0:06:28.320 --> 0:06:31.800 down the football field. It incorporates more flexibility for the 0:06:31.920 --> 0:06:35.120 R P O game because you influence the linebackers and safeties, 0:06:35.279 --> 0:06:37.280 and all of a sudden, all you have to do 0:06:37.320 --> 0:06:40.000 is win a two way go inside because the ball 0:06:40.080 --> 0:06:43.240 handling of TA takes care of the linebackers sucking up 0:06:43.240 --> 0:06:45.839 as he rides that mesh point and the speed backs 0:06:45.880 --> 0:06:48.839 the safeties off, creating that vulnerability, that soft spot in 0:06:48.839 --> 0:06:50.760 the middle of the field. And of course you have 0:06:50.800 --> 0:06:52.520 to hit some of those deep shots to maintain that 0:06:52.600 --> 0:06:54.760 level of respect. And if I may just go onto 0:06:54.800 --> 0:06:58.760 another tangent here, can we stop with cementing narratives as 0:06:58.839 --> 0:07:02.159 some unchained idea with a sample size smaller than a 0:07:02.160 --> 0:07:04.320 week's worth of at bats, as it were. I mean 0:07:04.360 --> 0:07:06.680 what I mean by that is, remember when Ryan Tannehill 0:07:06.720 --> 0:07:09.000 couldn't throw the deep ball. And I'm using air quotes here, 0:07:09.240 --> 0:07:11.680 and the only reasoning behind it was because the numbers 0:07:11.720 --> 0:07:14.240 just weren't there. And the numbers weren't there because Mike 0:07:14.280 --> 0:07:17.480 Wallace was the smallest, most precise deep target in the 0:07:17.560 --> 0:07:20.000 history of deep ball targets. I mean, he had no 0:07:20.040 --> 0:07:22.960 problem hitting Brian Heartline and Charles clay In stride down 0:07:23.040 --> 0:07:25.040 the field. Then he goes to Tennessee and guess what. 0:07:25.280 --> 0:07:28.000 Now he's got a j Brown and he's tossing up 0:07:28.040 --> 0:07:30.800 forty plus yard touchdowns every other week. It seems so 0:07:30.880 --> 0:07:34.320 scout the ability, not the box score, and I'm convinced 0:07:34.360 --> 0:07:37.200 the only way to arrive at the whole air quotes 0:07:37.240 --> 0:07:39.680 again to I can't throw the deep ball end air 0:07:39.760 --> 0:07:42.880 quotes idea is if you just haven't seen the kid play, 0:07:42.960 --> 0:07:45.720 because I posted a clip of him tossing a dime 0:07:45.760 --> 0:07:49.800 to Jillen Waddle at Tennessee, which, by the way, Waddle 0:07:50.120 --> 0:07:53.600 caught twenty one of twenty six passes twenty or more 0:07:53.680 --> 0:07:55.960 yards down the football field in his college career, an 0:07:56.000 --> 0:08:00.000 absurd deep ball producing machine, and all of those Alabama 0:08:00.040 --> 0:08:03.160 the highlight videos are just bomb after bomb. Who do 0:08:03.200 --> 0:08:05.880 you think through him those deep passes. Waddle only played 0:08:05.880 --> 0:08:08.000 four games this year, so most of those deep balls 0:08:08.040 --> 0:08:11.160 came from the lefty. And I'm actually looking at an 0:08:11.240 --> 0:08:14.320 article right now titled to a tongue volois passing chart 0:08:14.360 --> 0:08:17.240 shows just how insane his downfilled passing has been. So 0:08:18.160 --> 0:08:20.280 I don't know it's it's therefore you look at and 0:08:20.320 --> 0:08:22.440 Waddle can do that. He's electric with the ball in 0:08:22.520 --> 0:08:25.280 his hands. He's dominant as a punt returner. He can 0:08:25.320 --> 0:08:28.520 turn swing screens and flats into touchdowns. And he finally 0:08:28.560 --> 0:08:31.280 gives you a dangerous option on over routes and drags 0:08:31.320 --> 0:08:34.480 those shallow crossers, those intermediate crossers. I think he checks 0:08:34.520 --> 0:08:36.840 a lot of boxes this offense could use for this 0:08:36.960 --> 0:08:40.120 young quarterback. In general, Kyle Pitts, the middle of the 0:08:40.160 --> 0:08:43.720 field presence that he presents would be invaluable to a 0:08:43.760 --> 0:08:46.400 young quarterback. We saw to attack down the middle of 0:08:46.400 --> 0:08:49.360 the field successfully to Mike Gatsicki last year. We've seen 0:08:49.400 --> 0:08:52.000 him drive those slants, those digs, those square in and 0:08:52.080 --> 0:08:55.559 work between the underneath hook and curl defenders. Those linebackers, 0:08:55.840 --> 0:08:58.880 play off of the leverage of defensive backs and manipulate 0:08:58.920 --> 0:09:00.839 the accuracy of his throws based upon the look of 0:09:00.880 --> 0:09:03.439 the defense. Well, this is an area where Pits can 0:09:03.440 --> 0:09:05.959 take those types of throws to another level because he 0:09:06.000 --> 0:09:09.120 threatens leverage, he threatens your understanding of what is open 0:09:09.160 --> 0:09:11.400 and what's not open, and he also has the athletic 0:09:11.440 --> 0:09:14.360 ability to get open and to create separation. There just 0:09:14.400 --> 0:09:17.480 aren't that many clubs that can get this athletic six 0:09:17.520 --> 0:09:20.560 six body into a nasty split, which a nasty split 0:09:20.640 --> 0:09:23.520 is just a little bit detached from the offensive line 0:09:23.760 --> 0:09:26.439 and run r p O from there. The Dolphins utilized 0:09:26.440 --> 0:09:29.240 Gassicki in that regard a little bit. Having both would 0:09:29.320 --> 0:09:31.839 make things tricky and for more than just the r 0:09:31.880 --> 0:09:35.160 p O threat, the matchup ability this would create. You 0:09:35.200 --> 0:09:38.880 could go empty with Gassicky, Fuller and Parker, or Fuller 0:09:38.920 --> 0:09:40.880 and another speed merchant on the field. If that's where 0:09:40.880 --> 0:09:43.000 you go at receiver with a running back that can 0:09:43.040 --> 0:09:45.319 also function as a route runner, and that's where I 0:09:45.360 --> 0:09:47.600 look to go with Kyle Pitts. How can I just 0:09:47.640 --> 0:09:50.920 be indefensible with a twelve personnel package that can line 0:09:51.000 --> 0:09:53.440 up balanced with two in line tight ends and run 0:09:53.440 --> 0:09:55.439 the ball down your throat, or we can spread it 0:09:55.440 --> 0:09:58.040 out and go empty. There's not a defense on Earth 0:09:58.080 --> 0:10:01.599 equipped to match up to that. To me, it's revolutionary 0:10:01.800 --> 0:10:04.640 Davante Smith. If there's anybody in this draft that screams 0:10:04.679 --> 0:10:07.319 Dolphin more than Smith, I have not seen him. The character, 0:10:07.640 --> 0:10:10.559 the fact that he's already praised for his knowledge, understanding 0:10:10.559 --> 0:10:13.120 and approach and the field for the game of that 0:10:13.200 --> 0:10:17.000 of a ten year veteran is just outstanding. And he's so, so, 0:10:17.000 --> 0:10:19.240 so good as a route runner. I think if you 0:10:19.280 --> 0:10:21.760 have Smith, you call plays where it's basically just if 0:10:21.800 --> 0:10:24.120 DeVante has a one on one, that's where the ball 0:10:24.200 --> 0:10:26.440 is going, because you know he's going to deconstruct that 0:10:26.520 --> 0:10:29.120 cornerback in a way that one makes it easy for 0:10:29.160 --> 0:10:31.920 the quarterback to make the read and the quarterback has 0:10:31.920 --> 0:10:34.400 an easy decision because of the separation created and to 0:10:35.040 --> 0:10:38.480 it creates big plays after the catch ability because he 0:10:38.520 --> 0:10:40.880 wins by so much and gets so many dbs on 0:10:40.960 --> 0:10:42.839 their heels and turned around. Go watch his tape and 0:10:42.880 --> 0:10:45.640 the defensive backs in the SEC they're having a hard 0:10:45.640 --> 0:10:47.839 time finding out which direction he's going. They're on their 0:10:47.840 --> 0:10:49.960 heels a lot. He really puts them in a bind. 0:10:50.240 --> 0:10:53.160 I don't think DeVante is as specialized as the other two, 0:10:53.360 --> 0:10:55.280 but he's the best route runner and I feel like 0:10:55.320 --> 0:10:57.560 he's the most sure fire player of this group in 0:10:57.640 --> 0:11:00.840 terms of his floor, but his ceiling is also incredibly high. 0:11:00.840 --> 0:11:03.840 To Daniel Jeremiah on the Move the Sticks podcast the 0:11:03.840 --> 0:11:06.560 other day, I was talking about the wide receiver class 0:11:06.559 --> 0:11:09.079 and Smith in particular, and I was actually thinking about 0:11:09.080 --> 0:11:11.920 this myself, as I seriously have one hell of a 0:11:11.960 --> 0:11:14.720 time separating he and Waddle. I go back and forth 0:11:14.760 --> 0:11:17.200 with Smith and Waddle all the time. But he said, 0:11:17.240 --> 0:11:19.079 every time they go back and look at their draft 0:11:19.160 --> 0:11:21.800 hits and misses, the one thing he always regrets not 0:11:21.920 --> 0:11:25.160 valuing higher is route running and the craft. And that's 0:11:25.200 --> 0:11:30.400 Davante Smith. Fourth, and finally, Jamaar Chase, big physical speed guy. 0:11:30.720 --> 0:11:33.240 Now you don't see the speed and quickness at the line, 0:11:33.400 --> 0:11:35.160 but where it really shows up is when you get 0:11:35.200 --> 0:11:37.440 down the field. He has this ability to run away 0:11:37.679 --> 0:11:40.400 once he builds up that speed, and that combination is 0:11:40.400 --> 0:11:43.880 pretty rare. But here's the thing. In a way, it's 0:11:43.920 --> 0:11:46.600 almost redundant to what Davanta Parker does, and that could 0:11:46.600 --> 0:11:48.720 be great for some offenses, but I don't think it 0:11:48.800 --> 0:11:51.160 is for this team. For this quarterback. We've talked about 0:11:51.240 --> 0:11:54.720 the timing, the rhythm, the precision of two hitting his speed. Guys, 0:11:55.040 --> 0:11:58.040 his game isn't the yolo ball into coverage the way 0:11:58.040 --> 0:12:00.880 it was with Ryan Fitzpatrick. Now, if Fits was the quarterback, 0:12:00.960 --> 0:12:03.400 I'd say, yeah, let's go ahead and replicate Davante Parker 0:12:03.520 --> 0:12:06.520 and go crazy all year with him Parker and Gisicky. 0:12:06.600 --> 0:12:08.600 But that's just not the construction of this offense. In 0:12:08.640 --> 0:12:11.280 my opinion, Chase might give you something you need. It's 0:12:11.280 --> 0:12:14.079 a weapon from the inside. At five ft eleven, he 0:12:14.160 --> 0:12:16.800 has the ability to both press slot corners with a 0:12:16.880 --> 0:12:19.840 mixture of physicality and vertical playmaking, which is a dangerous 0:12:19.840 --> 0:12:22.520 thing to defend against in today's NFL. But I'm just 0:12:22.600 --> 0:12:25.320 not sure if that's what fits best. We're gonna find 0:12:25.320 --> 0:12:27.400 out soon enough. Here. Draft is less than a month away, 0:12:27.679 --> 0:12:31.040 and I cannot wait. Let's turn this thing over now 0:12:31.080 --> 0:12:33.680 to my guest on today's edition of the Drivetime Podcast. 0:12:33.720 --> 0:12:36.440 He produces draft content for the NFL Network. He's on 0:12:36.440 --> 0:12:39.160 the Journey to the Draft podcast on the Eagles Podcast 0:12:39.200 --> 0:12:43.240 Network with Fran Duffy. He is Ben Fanelle and joining 0:12:43.240 --> 0:12:46.280 me now on the Drivetime Podcast is Ben Fanelle and Ben. 0:12:46.679 --> 0:12:49.719 We're a month out, man, Christmas morning is almost here, right? 0:12:49.840 --> 0:12:53.560 Or is this entire process kind of Christmas morning for you, Well, 0:12:53.600 --> 0:12:57.080 let's really turned into this three animals. So it's getting close. 0:12:57.160 --> 0:12:59.880 We're definitely in December if we're looking forward to that 0:13:00.040 --> 0:13:03.040 Christmas and opening presents as we're uh, just about a 0:13:03.080 --> 0:13:06.080 month away from this draft in Cleveland, and it's been 0:13:06.120 --> 0:13:08.480 a long process and it's been a unique process in 0:13:08.480 --> 0:13:11.080 this cycle in particular, and I'm kind of just excited 0:13:11.120 --> 0:13:14.160 we're almost at the finish line, which just starts another 0:13:14.240 --> 0:13:18.760 race for aside from the combine and general human interaction, 0:13:19.559 --> 0:13:22.040 one of the things I missed the most is your 0:13:22.200 --> 0:13:25.439 on field shots on Saturday at college campuses, but also 0:13:25.520 --> 0:13:27.560 your scenic shots. Like you've shared the b y U 0:13:27.640 --> 0:13:29.679 photos so many times and I love it every time 0:13:29.720 --> 0:13:32.800 because it's it's so gorgeous. What's the one thing you 0:13:32.920 --> 0:13:36.280 miss most about being on campus being in a stadium 0:13:36.320 --> 0:13:38.839 on Saturdays in the fall. Well, it's gonna be tough 0:13:38.880 --> 0:13:41.559 to list just one thing. Just a reminder, I didn't 0:13:41.559 --> 0:13:43.839 go to a college with a football team. I went 0:13:43.880 --> 0:13:46.160 to a city school with a lot of sidewalks and 0:13:46.200 --> 0:13:49.000 concrete jungle. So being able to go out to these 0:13:49.040 --> 0:13:52.040 meccas a college football I soak it all in. So 0:13:52.440 --> 0:13:56.320 I love the flying in the random airports and drives 0:13:56.360 --> 0:13:59.679 from major cities and going to that random lunch spot 0:13:59.760 --> 0:14:02.760 that's in there for eighty years, and all the father 0:14:02.920 --> 0:14:06.520 daughters on game days, and the pageantry and the history, 0:14:06.600 --> 0:14:10.680 the culture. I love it exponentially more than NFL games. 0:14:10.960 --> 0:14:13.400 I feel like NFL games, you're in a cookie cutter city. 0:14:13.679 --> 0:14:17.160 You fly into that city, stay in a corporate hotel. UM. 0:14:17.200 --> 0:14:20.240 There's some challenges with college obviously. Sometimes you go to 0:14:20.280 --> 0:14:22.680 Tuscaloosa and the only place to stay is a holiday 0:14:22.680 --> 0:14:25.000 in UM. But if you're not too picky, you get 0:14:25.080 --> 0:14:27.920 to see some really unique areas of the country. So 0:14:28.440 --> 0:14:30.680 it was very disappointed I wasn't on the road this 0:14:30.800 --> 0:14:34.040 past season due to COVID and this world falling apart, 0:14:34.160 --> 0:14:36.680 but I hope to definitely pick it back up in 0:14:38.320 --> 0:14:41.160 college football is it's to me, it was it was 0:14:41.200 --> 0:14:42.880 the sport that suffered the most from the lack of 0:14:42.920 --> 0:14:44.960 fans and the lack of the you know, the environment 0:14:45.040 --> 0:14:48.240 is really really so important, so crucial to the entire sports. 0:14:48.240 --> 0:14:49.920 So I man, I can't wait for this season and 0:14:50.240 --> 0:14:52.400 hopefully things are more back to normal this year. And 0:14:52.440 --> 0:14:54.760 speaking of that, we've got some protas going off. You 0:14:54.760 --> 0:14:56.800 mentioned you were kind of picking off in the corner 0:14:56.840 --> 0:14:58.520 of your eye here during you know, before we got 0:14:58.520 --> 0:15:01.320 on the air. Here good at the Alabama Pro Day 0:15:01.400 --> 0:15:03.960 right now on NFL Network. I want to go ahead 0:15:03.960 --> 0:15:06.240 and start there and talk about the Pro Day process. Like, 0:15:06.640 --> 0:15:08.600 you know, we've seen all these times that have been 0:15:08.640 --> 0:15:11.400 posted that are to me substantially better than what we 0:15:11.440 --> 0:15:14.760 get at the combine every year by considerable amounts. Before 0:15:14.880 --> 0:15:17.520 your dashes are lower, the jumps are longer and higher. 0:15:17.760 --> 0:15:19.120 What do you make of the way the Pro Day 0:15:19.160 --> 0:15:21.320 process is played out? And when we get to this 0:15:21.400 --> 0:15:23.440 I guess. And on the second part of the question, 0:15:23.640 --> 0:15:25.520 who do you think has really helped themselves the most 0:15:25.560 --> 0:15:28.200 in the Pro Day process? Well, I feel like the 0:15:28.280 --> 0:15:31.520 scores are on par with Pro Days of the last five, ten, 0:15:31.760 --> 0:15:35.240 twenty history of Pro Days. They're just you know, much 0:15:35.280 --> 0:15:39.200 more controlled environment. The players are more comfortable. Yes, there 0:15:39.240 --> 0:15:42.880 are maybe some tricks and trends of the world that 0:15:42.920 --> 0:15:45.200 you know have alluded to some better times or some 0:15:45.360 --> 0:15:49.840 notorious thirty nine yard tracks down wind down hill that 0:15:49.920 --> 0:15:53.080 always produced slightly better UH test scores that have been 0:15:53.160 --> 0:15:55.760 running jokes in the scouting community, but it's really just 0:15:55.800 --> 0:15:59.400 a comfortability factor of the schools and the lack of 0:15:59.440 --> 0:16:04.920 a streamlined baseline testing process is gonna lead to high 0:16:05.000 --> 0:16:08.560 variants results. And that's the beautiful thing of a combine. 0:16:08.640 --> 0:16:12.920 It's a much more controlled atmosphere by outside third parties 0:16:12.960 --> 0:16:16.240 and everything is kind of streamline and the same situation 0:16:16.320 --> 0:16:18.760 for every player, and I think that's why the scouting 0:16:18.760 --> 0:16:22.120 community values the combine. At the end of the day, 0:16:22.160 --> 0:16:25.440 this process is just very interesting this cycle, and it 0:16:25.520 --> 0:16:28.680 all started last cycle with the lack of pro days, 0:16:29.280 --> 0:16:31.760 and it's really the pro days that start the process 0:16:31.800 --> 0:16:34.360 for next class and not having the pro day circuit 0:16:34.680 --> 0:16:38.720 last year, in combination with not having scouts on campus 0:16:38.760 --> 0:16:41.960 for the most part in the fall, the scouting community 0:16:42.040 --> 0:16:45.160 is just behind the eight ball. With general vetting of 0:16:45.200 --> 0:16:48.120 the players. You can watch every snap these players have 0:16:48.200 --> 0:16:51.000 ever played and figure out the player. Now we just 0:16:51.040 --> 0:16:54.400 need to figure out the person, the potential co worker, 0:16:54.520 --> 0:16:58.160 the teammate, the member of society, and being around the 0:16:58.160 --> 0:17:01.000 player on campus pro days, you can talk to the 0:17:01.040 --> 0:17:04.760 position coach and his academic advisor and strength and conditioning coach, 0:17:05.040 --> 0:17:07.720 maybe some teammates and start to put together all the 0:17:07.760 --> 0:17:11.520 pieces about the person, and as we both know, the 0:17:11.560 --> 0:17:14.320 person you're drafting has become just as important as a 0:17:14.400 --> 0:17:17.639 player you're drafting, and some may say it's even more important. 0:17:17.960 --> 0:17:21.879 The success and failures in the NFL are rarely for ability. 0:17:21.920 --> 0:17:25.000 These guys are all very talented, very athletic, very strong, 0:17:25.400 --> 0:17:28.280 But what separates is typically the player and the employees. 0:17:28.320 --> 0:17:31.879 So these pro Days and even the Combine, Travis, we 0:17:31.920 --> 0:17:35.480 have to remember why the combine was created medicals. Then 0:17:35.480 --> 0:17:37.119 we said, hey, if we're getting them all here in 0:17:37.160 --> 0:17:39.360 one spot, let's work them out. Hey if we're working 0:17:39.400 --> 0:17:41.360 them out, we might as well interview them. But all 0:17:41.440 --> 0:17:43.720 we see on TV is the workouts, so we think 0:17:43.760 --> 0:17:46.280 that's the most important, just like Pro Days we see 0:17:46.320 --> 0:17:48.480 the times we see the workouts, we think that's the 0:17:48.520 --> 0:17:51.280 most important. But it's really what goes on behind the 0:17:51.359 --> 0:17:56.160 scenes and just the general vetting, people, talking to people, doctors, 0:17:56.200 --> 0:17:58.840 poking and proud in the cattle. All that stuff I 0:17:58.880 --> 0:18:01.919 think has so much more value then the on field 0:18:01.960 --> 0:18:04.560 workouts and what's in front of our faces. Yeah, you 0:18:04.800 --> 0:18:07.880 talk about the medical aspect of Indie. Just last year 0:18:07.920 --> 0:18:10.520 was my first combine and I was so we talked 0:18:10.520 --> 0:18:12.640 about Christmas morning. I was kid in a candy store, 0:18:12.680 --> 0:18:15.320 just kind of bruising the entire convention center, going from 0:18:15.359 --> 0:18:18.440 podium to podium and the central location of everything in Indie. 0:18:18.440 --> 0:18:21.320 The skywalks, Man, I love that city, even there one time. 0:18:21.359 --> 0:18:22.920 I absolutely loved that. I hope we get that back 0:18:22.920 --> 0:18:25.040 in the near future. We had good weather last year too, 0:18:25.080 --> 0:18:27.080 we got to use those skywalks when we had blizzards 0:18:27.119 --> 0:18:30.200 and we literally cannot step outside. Yeah. I also was 0:18:30.240 --> 0:18:31.679 a late ad to, so I had to get one 0:18:31.720 --> 0:18:33.480 of the hotels that was not like I wasn't a 0:18:33.560 --> 0:18:34.960 j W or anything like that. I was off to 0:18:34.960 --> 0:18:36.760 the side, so I kind of had a distance walk. 0:18:36.880 --> 0:18:39.320 So I was definitely in the in the skywalks because 0:18:39.640 --> 0:18:41.600 I don't do I don't do below fifty very well. 0:18:41.640 --> 0:18:43.360 But that's why Miami is a great place for me. 0:18:43.680 --> 0:18:45.800 So so that was that was fun. I hope I 0:18:45.880 --> 0:18:47.560 get back to that. You mentioned, you know, getting know 0:18:47.640 --> 0:18:49.440 the person. I think we both can talk about last 0:18:49.480 --> 0:18:51.399 year's twenty ninth pick in the draft. I thought for 0:18:51.440 --> 0:18:53.480 sure you're going to mention him. Well, we'll leave it 0:18:53.480 --> 0:18:55.840 at that. Clearly the person is very important when it 0:18:55.840 --> 0:18:58.159 comes to to you know, what you get in the player. 0:18:58.240 --> 0:19:00.560 But you also mentioned these proteins again, and we're gonna 0:19:00.560 --> 0:19:03.600 go back to this because you know, I watched the 0:19:03.640 --> 0:19:07.199 Ellerson Smith and Spencer Brown from northern Northern Iowa or 0:19:07.240 --> 0:19:09.680 the Penn State guys that just Michael Parsons and Jason 0:19:09.680 --> 0:19:11.960 Oh wait, who just blew this thing up. You talked 0:19:11.960 --> 0:19:14.000 about how those have been consistent with the pro day, 0:19:14.119 --> 0:19:16.400 you know, the Pro days of the past. But who 0:19:16.400 --> 0:19:18.919 do you think has really helped themselves the most in 0:19:19.040 --> 0:19:21.120 this in this run to the draft, in the pro 0:19:21.200 --> 0:19:23.960 day process, these multiple pro day schools are having who 0:19:24.000 --> 0:19:27.520 has really helped themselves the most above anyone else? You think? Yeah? 0:19:27.520 --> 0:19:29.480 And I guess my final point just on the importance 0:19:29.480 --> 0:19:31.919