Speaker 1: Welcome in to the New Orleans Saints Podcast, present a
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Speaker 1: did cover the NFL on a daily basis. The New
Speaker 1: Orleans Saints podcast starts right now. Here's your host, Aaron Summers.
Speaker 2: Welcome to the New Orleans Saints Podcast. Aaron Summers. Here,
Speaker 2: we continue our draft preview podcast today with a look
Speaker 2: at the defensive line prospects. But before we get to that,
Speaker 2: we have to pay tribute to one of the best
Speaker 2: offensive linemen to play here, former Saints offensive tackle Toron Armstead,
Speaker 2: who announced his retirement from the NFL Saturday. Armstead played
Speaker 2: twelve seasons nine with the Saints after being drafted in
Speaker 2: twenty thirteen. He was a three time Pro Bowler with
Speaker 2: the Saints from twenty eighteen to twenty twenty and spent
Speaker 2: the last three seasons with the Dolphins, where he added
Speaker 2: two more Pro Bowl selections. Armstead made the announcement at
Speaker 2: a party held in Miami Saturday night. Was Saints defensive
Speaker 2: end Cam Jordan and legend Drew Brees in attendance. Breeze
Speaker 2: issued this statement on his playing time with Armstead. I
Speaker 2: remember when Toront Armstead first came into our locker room
Speaker 2: in twenty thirteen. He did not start immediately, but it
Speaker 2: would become evident to all that first year that he
Speaker 2: was going to be a starting left tackle in our
Speaker 2: league for a very long time. Not only did that
Speaker 2: combination of size, speed, strength, and athleticism take over, but
Speaker 2: also the knowledge, leadership, and sacrifice he brought to that
Speaker 2: offensive line and to our entire team elevated everything we
Speaker 2: did on and off the field. I could not have
Speaker 2: asked for more from a teammate for the eight years
Speaker 2: we were together, whom I am also proud to call
Speaker 2: a friend. For more from current Saints players on what
Speaker 2: Armstead meant to them and their career, you can head
Speaker 2: to New Orleans Saints dot com for today's guest. We
Speaker 2: are bringing in former Saints defensive lineman Leroy Glover to
Speaker 2: talk about the D line prospects in this upcoming draft.
Speaker 2: Glover is currently the D line coach for the Saint
Speaker 2: Louis BattleHawks of the UFL. LAURI, thank you so much
Speaker 2: for taking the time to join me on the New
Speaker 2: Orleans Saints podcast. It's always good to have you here.
Speaker 3: How are you all as well?
Speaker 4: Things are good. I cannot complain. Just excited about the draft.
Speaker 2: I'm looking forward to it as well. There's been a
Speaker 2: lot of excitement around here with the coaching changes. Looks
Speaker 2: like we might have a couple different schemes on both
Speaker 2: sides of the ball, but especially defensively. As a defensive
Speaker 2: lineman here one of the best. What are you expecting
Speaker 2: from the Saints under the new defensive coordinator Brandon Staly?
Speaker 4: I think what you'll see from the new staff and
Speaker 4: the new look of the New Orleans Saints defense is
Speaker 4: just a big emphasis on athletic size guys that can
Speaker 4: really penetrate get into the backfield, similar to what you're
Speaker 4: going to see it from You know, this is a
Speaker 4: copycat league, so you're going to try to see some
Speaker 4: of the duplicates of what the Philadelphia Eagles were trying
Speaker 4: to do there and they won the Super Bowl with
Speaker 4: just a very very dominant front four allowing them to
Speaker 4: rush and playing very solid coverage in.
Speaker 3: The back end.
Speaker 2: How much different is a three to four versus a
Speaker 2: four to three, because that's been what everybody has been
Speaker 2: talking about, is Staley's style having those three guys up front.
Speaker 4: Yeah, the biggest difference I think, in my opinion, in
Speaker 4: the three four or four to three is trying to
Speaker 4: find outside linebackers. You know, traditionally finding outside linebackers there's
Speaker 4: either guys who were undersized or you got to put
Speaker 4: weight on who were former safeties who you moved to
Speaker 4: outside linebacker or defensive ends in college who have enough
Speaker 4: athletic ability to drop in covers. That's the biggest difference
Speaker 4: between a three to four and a four to three defense,
Speaker 4: just those outside linebackers and trying to find it the
Speaker 4: fit and the measurements.
Speaker 2: When you look at what the Saints do have here
Speaker 2: on the line and maybe what the abilities of their
Speaker 2: linebackers are, what is the biggest need maybe in this
Speaker 2: draft for them in regards to the defense.
Speaker 4: I think the biggest right now is probably going to
Speaker 4: be finding some depth. You know, I think we had
Speaker 4: a phenomenal year by Breezy. I mean, Breezy had a
Speaker 4: fantastic season with seven and a half sacks. I think
Speaker 4: he got to get younger at the defensive end position.
Speaker 4: You know, you know, we've got some talented players at
Speaker 4: that position, but age is creeping in there. And then
Speaker 4: those guys behind them, who's going to be the depth
Speaker 4: at some of those positions as well. That's going to
Speaker 4: be kind of the questions that need to be answered
Speaker 4: through the draft.
Speaker 2: Okay, so there is an edge that is ranked pretty
Speaker 2: high coming into the draft in Abdul Carter from Penn State.
Speaker 2: He says he should go number one. Looks like it
Speaker 2: might be a quarterback off the board first, but when
Speaker 2: you look at his game, why is he possibly a
Speaker 2: number one number two pick?
Speaker 4: I think when you talk about the tradition of the
Speaker 4: linebacker position at Penn State, that kind of sets him
Speaker 4: apart a little bit with all the phenomenal players that
Speaker 4: have played at that university at that position that have
Speaker 4: gone on to the National Football League. You know, his
Speaker 4: skill set, quite honestly, is his ability to rush the passer.
Speaker 4: I mean nomenal pass rusher. He's got the size, he's
Speaker 4: got the link, he's got the attitude and the mentality.
Speaker 4: For I think as you watch them a little bit more,
Speaker 4: the thing you want to see him improved is his body.
Speaker 4: You know, is he going to hit the weight woman
Speaker 4: train to get a little bit bigger because these offensive
Speaker 4: tackles in the National Football they are going to be
Speaker 4: a little bit larger.
Speaker 3: And more athletic than maybe some of the guys he
Speaker 3: faced in college.
Speaker 2: Yeah, because he is somebody that changed from being a
Speaker 2: linebacker to more of a defensive end. So the size
Speaker 2: is different when you're talking about lining up against an
Speaker 2: NFL offensive tackle out there.
Speaker 3: Yeah. Absolutely.
Speaker 4: And I think the other kind of kicker for him
Speaker 4: is his versatility. You know, he may not be the largest,
Speaker 4: biggest guy on the earth, but at the same time,
Speaker 4: he can play a lot of different positions for you,
Speaker 4: specifically on third down.
Speaker 2: When you look outside of him. As you kind of
Speaker 2: get down the rankings for some of these linemen, what
Speaker 2: are you looking for from an edge versus somebody inside.
Speaker 3: Depends on your style.
Speaker 4: Once again, oftentimes the edge players, you're going to go
Speaker 4: more on measureables, you know, high speed, you know some
Speaker 4: of those things, how long are the arms, how big
Speaker 4: are they hands, and that kind of stuff. And then
Speaker 4: obviously the other thing they're going to look for in
Speaker 4: an edge guy, it's his ability to affect the quarterback
Speaker 4: difference on the inside. Now, the inside guys have to
Speaker 4: do a little bit of both. They have to be
Speaker 4: number one, very good versus the run, be able to
Speaker 4: use their hands and their feet in and together in
Speaker 4: certain situations, be able to play double teams and power scoops,
Speaker 4: which is challenging on the professional level. But then also
Speaker 4: they have to be able to convert to run excuse me,
Speaker 4: convert to pass in passing situations, which can be a challenge.
Speaker 2: For other defensive ends edges in the draft. You're looking
Speaker 2: at Tennessee's James Pierce as another highly rated one. Mikl
Speaker 2: Williams from Georgia. Who do you like outside of Carter?
Speaker 4: I think the beauty of this draft is is so
Speaker 4: deep at the position that you can fill it.
Speaker 3: In a lot of different ways.
Speaker 4: There's a lot of different body types, a lot of
Speaker 4: different players, there's a lot of different schemes. The guys
Speaker 4: that I like have the versatility. You know, the guys
Speaker 4: from Georgia have been phenomenal. Mkil Williams has been awesome
Speaker 4: there at Georgia. He's got some versatility. He can play linebacker,
Speaker 4: he can rush the passer, he can drop and coverage.
Speaker 4: He can do a lot of different things. If you're
Speaker 4: trying to disguise a player like that in the three
Speaker 4: or four system, and so that's kind of some of
Speaker 4: the things that you're gonna look for from guys like that,
Speaker 4: and then Jalen Walker as well from Georgia. Georgia seems
Speaker 4: to always produce just phenomenal, phenomenal football players, specifically on
Speaker 4: the defensive side of the ball, and so I'm gonna
Speaker 4: look really heavily at those Georgia guys to see if
Speaker 4: they can make a difference for the same.
Speaker 2: How about Mike Green. He's somebody from Marshall, which is,
Speaker 2: you know, a school that you don't necessarily circle as
Speaker 2: a football powerhouse, but they've definitely produced some players over
Speaker 2: the years. Is his game? Is he ready for an
Speaker 2: NFL roster?
Speaker 4: I think he is, but only time will tell you
Speaker 4: what you see when you put on the table from
Speaker 4: mister Green. There is just high energy, his tempo, his pace,
Speaker 4: the way he approaches the.
Speaker 3: Game is just full speed all the time.
Speaker 4: You think of a guy by with the Pittsburgh Steelers,
Speaker 4: Alex Heischmith, he kind of reminds you of him and
Speaker 4: just his ability to play full speed, play in and
Speaker 4: play out and play with a high more.
Speaker 2: Yeah, he ran a four five seven, which is pretty good.
Speaker 3: Absolutely yeah.
Speaker 2: I mean Carter was a four to four eight, and
Speaker 2: then James Peters A four four seven. I think he
Speaker 2: was the fastest outside edge players that you have in
Speaker 2: this draft. You go inside the line to maybe defensive
Speaker 2: tackle with Michigan as a couple players, Mason Graham and
Speaker 2: Kenneth Grant. What are some names that you think are
Speaker 2: going to get called in the first second rounds here?
Speaker 4: I think Mason Graham is obviously the top of the
Speaker 4: inside guys the interier defensive tackle position. His ability to
Speaker 4: be stout versus the run has been phenomenal. I think
Speaker 4: the way he wants again plays with the hands and
Speaker 4: just has the agility to be one on one blocks,
Speaker 4: but also enough to hold up those power schools, which
Speaker 4: is going to be critical at the next level. And
Speaker 4: then his running mate Kenneth Grant. If you're looking for
Speaker 4: a guy who's just a big, a large human being,
Speaker 4: Kenneth Grant is your guy. Six foot four, three hundred
Speaker 4: and thirty one pounds. His motor has been a question,
Speaker 4: but I don't think that'll be a issue on the
Speaker 4: next level.
Speaker 2: Anybody else that you liked or we haven't touched on
Speaker 2: that we need to be aware of as we're watching
Speaker 2: the draft.
Speaker 4: I think as you stay in the sec Walter Nolan
Speaker 4: at a Old Miss is a guy who may not
Speaker 4: be a large three hundred pounds plus guy, but does
Speaker 4: have that agility, does have some of those pass rushing
Speaker 4: traits that you like from an inside rusher. He's going
Speaker 4: to be a guy to keep an eye on. And
Speaker 4: then lastly, Shamar Stewart out of Texas A and M.
Speaker 4: If you're looking just for a pure speed edge rusher, he's.
Speaker 2: Your guy, all right. Well, any of your guys that
Speaker 2: we might make the move from UFL to NFL, Yeah.
Speaker 3: We've had some.
Speaker 4: We have some talented guys on our roster. I mean
Speaker 4: we're playing good ball right now. We're too and know
Speaker 4: I think Peter Tino wee Mo is a guy who's
Speaker 4: playing good ball for us. Travis Feeneni is playing some
Speaker 4: really good ball for us, and we have another inside
Speaker 4: defensive tackle Austin Fiole who's playing good ball for us
Speaker 4: as well.
Speaker 3: And we got to see those guys play even better
Speaker 3: down the stretch.
Speaker 2: Because a lot of these players are getting opportunities during
Speaker 2: the summer early months here and then we're finding them
Speaker 2: on training camp rosters once we get into late summer
Speaker 2: and fall, and they've done really well, it's been been
Speaker 2: fun to watch. It's a great area for them to
Speaker 2: continue to develop their game.
Speaker 3: And absolutely, you hit it on the head.
Speaker 4: I mean, the goal for us in the UFL is
Speaker 4: to try to give more guys an opportunity for the
Speaker 4: national football It's as simple as that. We're going to
Speaker 4: coach them hard, We're going to give them all the
Speaker 4: information that they need to be better ballplayers and hopefully,
Speaker 4: you know, we've had some of those to stick with
Speaker 4: NFL teams. So once again, that's what we're walking for,
Speaker 4: that's what we're hunting for, that's what we're trying to
Speaker 4: have accomplished.
Speaker 2: Here with the Saints. Now you have a former LSU
Speaker 2: guy leading the line. What do you think about him
Speaker 2: and what they can do here?
Speaker 4: Yeah, Coach Davis does a phenomenal job. He has NFL experience,
Speaker 4: he has big time college level experience as well. He
Speaker 4: really I think is going to bring more of a
Speaker 4: tough kind of a run stuff in presence to the
Speaker 4: defensive line room. And I'm excited once again to see
Speaker 4: what he can do. I'm a big fan of his
Speaker 4: style of coaching.
Speaker 2: What is the draft look like for you? Now, do
Speaker 2: you sit down and watch it the whole way through.
Speaker 4: I'm still a fan man, so I still sit down
Speaker 4: and watch it. I still got mock drafts going. I
Speaker 4: mean I kind of get I kind of geek out
Speaker 4: a little bit when it comes to draft time. I
Speaker 4: kind of try to dig into it a little bit
Speaker 4: because once again, you never know what can happen, and
Speaker 4: you never know when you potentially down the line, could
Speaker 4: potentially be coaching one of these guys.
Speaker 3: So it's always exciting.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's true, because you're still in it. I mean,
Speaker 2: you're right there coaching some of these players, so it
Speaker 2: makes sense you're probably diving way down you know a
Speaker 2: lot more than most of us. Well, thank you, thank
Speaker 2: you so much for joining me, Lroy, giving me some
Speaker 2: info on the line. We look forward to talking to
Speaker 2: you again and hopefully seeing you around soon.
Speaker 3: All right, you guys, have a great day.
Speaker 2: Thank you. We'll have to continue to follow along with
Speaker 2: the BattleHawks this season. Great to hear that they're two
Speaker 2: and zero to start things off and got to see
Speaker 2: how their season plays out. Thanks for tuning in today.
Speaker 2: We'll be back with another Saints Draft podcast Wednesday. Talk
Speaker 2: to you then.
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