WEBVTT - Drive Time: 2023 Pre Draft Roster Reset - Offense 0:00:01.600 --> 0:00:05.160 You were listening to the Miami Dolphins podcast Network. This 0:00:05.360 --> 0:00:08.600 is Drivetime with Travis Wingfield. Back the throne too a 0:00:08.760 --> 0:00:14.200 looking slips at the water. It's waddle, It's six touchdown 0:00:14.280 --> 0:00:20.400 pad of two. Drive Time with Travis Wingfield begins. Now 0:00:20.720 --> 0:00:26.440 let me check your pulse if what is up? Dolphins? 0:00:26.480 --> 0:00:29.680 And welcome to the Draft Time Podcast, part of the 0:00:29.680 --> 0:00:35.280 Miami Dolphins podcast Network, covering your team, your Miami Dolphins. 0:00:35.280 --> 0:00:38.440 How's it going everybody? I am your host, Travis Wingfield, 0:00:38.640 --> 0:00:41.320 And on today's show, one of my favorite episodes we 0:00:41.440 --> 0:00:44.600 do every year a few times a year, it's time 0:00:44.640 --> 0:00:47.360 to step back and look at the roster and assess 0:00:47.440 --> 0:00:49.920 where we are at this point in the calendar. Free 0:00:49.920 --> 0:00:52.080 agency kind of coming to an end here a little bit, 0:00:52.120 --> 0:00:54.640 at least the first couple of waves. The draft coming 0:00:54.720 --> 0:00:57.640 up later I should say next month. We're still in March, 0:00:57.960 --> 0:01:00.800 but kind of any midpoint of the offseason. Let's go 0:01:00.800 --> 0:01:03.520 ahead and evaluate what this Dolphins roster looks like heading 0:01:03.520 --> 0:01:07.119 into the month of the draft. Will do offense today? Defense? 0:01:07.240 --> 0:01:10.360 On Friday? That heck of a lot more From somewhere 0:01:10.360 --> 0:01:16.280 in South Florida, This is the Drivetime Podcast. May gaffe fish. 0:01:17.640 --> 0:01:20.360 So now that we've hit that point of the I 0:01:20.400 --> 0:01:22.960 don't know a second or third wave of free agency, 0:01:23.040 --> 0:01:26.240 and there's like seven waves. Now as you go through 0:01:26.800 --> 0:01:29.240 post June one, you get into training camp and you 0:01:29.280 --> 0:01:31.720 still get some of those late acquisitions that happen with 0:01:32.280 --> 0:01:36.280 veteran ployers, and who knows how long the Packers situation 0:01:36.360 --> 0:01:39.880 can draw out or the Ravens situation. You just it 0:01:39.920 --> 0:01:42.560 just seems like we get moves twelve months out of 0:01:42.560 --> 0:01:45.839 the year. Let's call eleven, given the kind of dead 0:01:45.880 --> 0:01:48.440 period in July. But what I'm trying to say is 0:01:48.440 --> 0:01:50.400 I want to take a step back today between the 0:01:50.480 --> 0:01:54.240 draft and the main part of free agency and just 0:01:54.280 --> 0:01:56.360 take sort of a thirty thousand foot view of a 0:01:56.480 --> 0:01:59.360 roster that I think most of us feel pretty good 0:01:59.360 --> 0:02:02.000 about in will of course take shape, like I mentioned, 0:02:02.000 --> 0:02:04.680 over the next couple of months, because for the most part, 0:02:04.680 --> 0:02:06.960 you'll get some moves here and there. But once the 0:02:07.040 --> 0:02:09.560 draft comes and goes, we get those five or six 0:02:09.600 --> 0:02:11.720 players that we'll see you new members of the Miami 0:02:11.760 --> 0:02:15.560 Dolphins UDFA signed up. That's always a big chunk of players, 0:02:15.600 --> 0:02:19.520 fifteen twenty players. Sometimes then it's pretty much Ota summer break, 0:02:19.560 --> 0:02:21.440 training camp, and then week one. It's gonna be here 0:02:21.440 --> 0:02:23.760 before you know it. So we have what are we 0:02:23.840 --> 0:02:26.400 at sixty players give or take. Here, we're about two 0:02:26.440 --> 0:02:29.240 thirds of the way to the ninety man roster. But really, 0:02:29.240 --> 0:02:32.360 when you look at what the fifty three could potentially be, 0:02:32.760 --> 0:02:35.040 the truth is you're probably there with about forty five 0:02:35.120 --> 0:02:37.400 or so of those guys. Right, so draft picks a 0:02:37.440 --> 0:02:40.560 couple of slots for the UDFA to compete for replacing 0:02:40.639 --> 0:02:43.679 potential injuries, whatever the case may be, you're pretty darn 0:02:43.720 --> 0:02:47.519 close to seeing the foundation and the bones and all 0:02:47.639 --> 0:02:50.760 of your twenty twenty three Miami Dolphins roster. So with that, 0:02:51.040 --> 0:02:53.160 I think it's a good time to assess that roster 0:02:53.280 --> 0:02:56.440 and man just looking at it, without even diving into 0:02:56.440 --> 0:02:59.200 the individuals off the top here how they might fit 0:02:59.320 --> 0:03:02.200 or benefit from the systems. I just think you're hard 0:03:02.240 --> 0:03:06.560 pressed to find a much better Dolphins roster since for me, 0:03:06.639 --> 0:03:09.000 the easy answer is two thousand and two. But when 0:03:09.000 --> 0:03:11.359 you look at the positions in which Miami are most 0:03:11.440 --> 0:03:14.120 stacked at, they sure as hell make up most of, 0:03:14.240 --> 0:03:18.000 if not all, of the premium positions. When you consider 0:03:18.080 --> 0:03:20.840 which spots tend to break the bank in free agency, 0:03:21.160 --> 0:03:23.280 which spots go at the top of the draft each year, 0:03:23.639 --> 0:03:24.720 or if you just want to do it from a 0:03:24.800 --> 0:03:27.679 number standpoint, how the league spends their money at each 0:03:27.680 --> 0:03:31.160 position each year. Your quarterbacks, your pass rushers, your wideouts, 0:03:31.160 --> 0:03:34.120 your pass protectors, your cover guys, right, essentially the passing 0:03:34.160 --> 0:03:37.840 game with run game elements being kind of one B tier. 0:03:38.160 --> 0:03:40.080 And I say that because the two thousand and two 0:03:40.080 --> 0:03:43.280 team actually did a good job of foundational pieces at 0:03:43.280 --> 0:03:46.760 those premium spots too, especially when you consider how those 0:03:46.800 --> 0:03:50.520 spots have short sort of shifted over the years. Over 0:03:50.560 --> 0:03:53.000 the decades, running back used to be that for the 0:03:53.040 --> 0:03:56.280 younger audience, A lot of offenses actually used to base 0:03:56.560 --> 0:04:00.840 everything they did around a Ricky Williams, Priest Holmes, A 0:04:01.040 --> 0:04:04.520 Larry Johnson, A Brian Westbrook, Curtis Martin, Corey Dillon. You 0:04:04.560 --> 0:04:07.400 get the idea. And conversely, I think you typically have 0:04:07.480 --> 0:04:10.120 your positional counterpart on the other side of the football, right, 0:04:10.320 --> 0:04:13.200 and you can usually determine it is by where would 0:04:13.240 --> 0:04:16.480 your high school player or your star high school player 0:04:16.600 --> 0:04:18.920 have played on the opposite side of the football back 0:04:19.279 --> 0:04:22.040 in high school. And again, maybe this is a generation thing. 0:04:22.040 --> 0:04:23.760 I haven't been to a high school football game since 0:04:23.760 --> 0:04:28.120 I graduated from there seventeen years ago. Damn man. Our 0:04:28.200 --> 0:04:31.680 running backs in high school were also our linebackers. Our 0:04:31.680 --> 0:04:35.560 wide receivers were also our dbs. Our quarterbacks typically played safety. 0:04:35.760 --> 0:04:38.560 Linemen typically played on the line on the opposite side too, right, 0:04:38.839 --> 0:04:41.120 So by the transitive property, I think that's right. I 0:04:41.120 --> 0:04:42.880 don't know math, but I'm gonna use the word because 0:04:42.880 --> 0:04:45.479 that sounds smart. If running back was a premium spot, 0:04:45.520 --> 0:04:47.760 then so too was linebacker. And that's where a player 0:04:47.800 --> 0:04:50.520 like Hall of Famer Zach Thomas, who never left the field, 0:04:50.920 --> 0:04:54.120 ruled the middle of this defense. Jason Taylor certainly fit 0:04:54.200 --> 0:04:57.280 the mold of a blue chip player. Sam Madison, Patrick 0:04:57.320 --> 0:05:00.320 Surtan Brock, Marion, Tim Bowen's the offensive line and had 0:05:00.320 --> 0:05:02.400 some dudes that year. I mean, how good was Jamie 0:05:02.480 --> 0:05:06.760 Nails that season. Let's get back on the rails here, Jamie. 0:05:06.960 --> 0:05:09.719 I say this because just glancing at the roster, I mean, 0:05:10.760 --> 0:05:13.680 you're just built for the modern game, with top of 0:05:13.720 --> 0:05:16.400 the line players at the positions that I believe make 0:05:16.440 --> 0:05:19.800 the biggest impact in a football game in twenty twenty three, 0:05:20.080 --> 0:05:22.040 and as much as I can say the game has changed, 0:05:22.080 --> 0:05:25.200 that defense heavy run game. Two thousand and two team, 0:05:25.279 --> 0:05:27.520 they did fail to qualify for the playoffs at nine 0:05:27.520 --> 0:05:30.520 and seven, and they kind of had the same issues 0:05:30.560 --> 0:05:33.240 that the two twenty two team did. Their quarterback missed 0:05:33.240 --> 0:05:35.400 a handful of games when Jay Fiedler broke his thumb. 0:05:35.920 --> 0:05:37.320 But I like two a tongue of by Low and 0:05:37.360 --> 0:05:38.800 twenty three a lot more than I like to Jay 0:05:38.839 --> 0:05:41.160 Fiedler in two thousand and two. Every team has their 0:05:41.200 --> 0:05:44.240 own mode of player evaluation in the draft is typically 0:05:44.360 --> 0:05:47.640 new Miracle grades. Some teams use color coding, and that's 0:05:47.640 --> 0:05:50.800 what I've always done. Blue players equals blue chip. That 0:05:50.920 --> 0:05:54.760 of course goes back to the nineties vehicle with Shack. 0:05:55.040 --> 0:05:58.839 The movie Blue Chips scouting players for a college basketball 0:05:58.839 --> 0:06:00.560 team as a great movie that one go back and 0:06:00.640 --> 0:06:03.159 check out Blue Chips. But that's kind of how that starts. 0:06:03.760 --> 0:06:05.320 But you can kind of look at the roster and 0:06:05.760 --> 0:06:09.360 I suppose assign your perception of each player in which 0:06:09.400 --> 0:06:11.560 category they fit into. That's where a lot of the 0:06:11.640 --> 0:06:14.160 guys stack up in terms of best of the best, 0:06:14.160 --> 0:06:16.839 in terms of production numbers, film, all that stuff. Then 0:06:16.880 --> 0:06:18.800 you have the projection for what you think they could be, 0:06:19.080 --> 0:06:21.160 and that factors in as well. So when I take 0:06:21.160 --> 0:06:22.839 a look at it, it's what you've done, what I 0:06:22.839 --> 0:06:25.080 expect you to do going forward. We kind of marry 0:06:25.120 --> 0:06:27.719 all that up for the complete package on a player 0:06:27.960 --> 0:06:31.000 like take Javon Holland for instance, I think he's refringing 0:06:31.000 --> 0:06:33.880 on a blue player. I don't think his production would 0:06:34.040 --> 0:06:38.280 necessarily garner that type of evaluation. But we also talk 0:06:38.360 --> 0:06:40.400 to something like, I don't know what it was, twelve 0:06:40.800 --> 0:06:44.240 film experts and analysts in Indianapolis, and every single one 0:06:44.240 --> 0:06:45.800 of them that I asked about who can stand to 0:06:45.839 --> 0:06:48.599 benefit the most from Vic Fangio's defense, they all said, 0:06:48.640 --> 0:06:50.600 Javon Holland's a guy they think can become one of 0:06:50.640 --> 0:06:53.480 the best safeties if he's not already that player, one 0:06:53.480 --> 0:06:55.359 of the best safety in the National Football League. So, 0:06:55.360 --> 0:06:58.400 for instance, a guy like him, maybe not two years 0:06:58.400 --> 0:07:01.600 of blue production, but for number three, I am projecting 0:07:01.640 --> 0:07:04.480 blue for Javon Holland. But to bring this home, before 0:07:04.480 --> 0:07:06.919 we get to the quarterback position on the offense, defense 0:07:06.920 --> 0:07:09.720 in Javon Holland will be Friday's podcast, And think about 0:07:09.760 --> 0:07:12.800 this as you are lifting weights on your walk driving 0:07:12.800 --> 0:07:14.960 to work, wherever you listen to your podcast, how many 0:07:14.960 --> 0:07:17.240 blue chip players do you think are on this roster? 0:07:17.680 --> 0:07:20.520 And I'll do you one further. The next tier I used, 0:07:20.600 --> 0:07:23.240 which if you go back to the Lockdown Dolphins whiteboard, 0:07:24.040 --> 0:07:27.280 was plus starter. That was always my green color. A 0:07:27.320 --> 0:07:30.080 player who is enraged to potentially make the Pro Bowl 0:07:30.400 --> 0:07:32.840 be known as one of the top guys at his position. 0:07:33.160 --> 0:07:36.040 Plus use a previous Dolphin as a good example here, 0:07:36.360 --> 0:07:39.360 I would say Chris Chambers lived in this category for 0:07:39.440 --> 0:07:42.040 most of his career. He made that run that one 0:07:42.080 --> 0:07:44.240 Pro Bowl in two thousand and five, but he was 0:07:44.360 --> 0:07:48.320 right on the fine, fine fringe of pushing for blue 0:07:48.320 --> 0:07:51.400 status really his entire career. But was just a player 0:07:51.440 --> 0:07:53.520 you could count on and knew that roster spot with 0:07:53.640 --> 0:07:57.200 solid if not you know, like his counterparts Reggie Wayne, 0:07:57.200 --> 0:08:00.320 Marvin Harrison, you know players like that back in those days. 0:08:00.360 --> 0:08:03.440 To me, the blue category from Miami eight, maybe nine, 0:08:03.480 --> 0:08:06.080 maybe as many as ten. Then the plus starter, which 0:08:06.120 --> 0:08:09.320 was always green on my board. Another ten players. I mean, 0:08:09.400 --> 0:08:11.040 let's go ahead and just go over right now, because 0:08:11.080 --> 0:08:14.360 looking at the projected lineups, it's impressive and what I 0:08:14.400 --> 0:08:16.880 went through, and we'll get to the entire individual piece 0:08:16.920 --> 0:08:18.440 by piece here and tell you why I think this 0:08:18.480 --> 0:08:21.560 with all these players. But here's my roster breakdown heading 0:08:21.600 --> 0:08:24.760 into this. The blue chip ninetieth percent TILE player at 0:08:24.800 --> 0:08:27.880 your position. You're within the top ninety percent of the 0:08:27.880 --> 0:08:31.000 players at your position, and that varies obviously for how 0:08:31.000 --> 0:08:33.120 many players play your spot. So for quarterback, what would 0:08:33.120 --> 0:08:36.520 that make up at the top, let's see one out 0:08:36.520 --> 0:08:37.920 of every ten, So I guess the top three or 0:08:37.920 --> 0:08:40.280 four players at your position. I guess I've attend that 0:08:40.280 --> 0:08:42.600 probably the top five or six, because quarterbacks a little 0:08:42.640 --> 0:08:45.320 more unique, and that's why we have, in my opinion, 0:08:45.360 --> 0:08:48.880 ten blue Chippers on this roster. We'll talk about each 0:08:48.880 --> 0:08:50.680 individual like I mentioned as we go along here. But 0:08:50.720 --> 0:08:53.800 I have the quarterback, two wide receivers, an offensive tackle, 0:08:54.080 --> 0:08:58.600 two interior offensive lineman, an interior defensive lineman, an edge rusher, 0:08:58.720 --> 0:09:01.840 a corner, and a safety. My plus starters, I've got 0:09:01.840 --> 0:09:04.640 eight of those. Those are seventy fifth percent tile, top 0:09:04.720 --> 0:09:06.920 three quarters of their position in the league. I have 0:09:07.080 --> 0:09:11.200 eight the fullback, interior defensive line one of them, two edges, 0:09:11.320 --> 0:09:15.200 a linebacker, two corners, and a safety. The quality starters, 0:09:15.200 --> 0:09:17.720 which is better than replacement level means I'm expecting to 0:09:17.760 --> 0:09:20.600 get better than just plugging in an average type of player. There, 0:09:20.679 --> 0:09:22.720 I've got eight of those as well, with a running back, 0:09:22.800 --> 0:09:25.600 to edge, a linebacker, a corner, a safety, a kicker, 0:09:25.640 --> 0:09:29.319 and a punter. Replacement level is it's not the worst 0:09:29.320 --> 0:09:31.000 thing in the world. It means you have a job 0:09:31.000 --> 0:09:32.920 in the NFL, but it means you're always probably looking 0:09:32.920 --> 0:09:36.280 for upgrades. There, I've got nine such players quarterback, running back, 0:09:36.280 --> 0:09:40.760 wide receiver, tight end, offensive tackle, interior defensive line, linebacker, 0:09:40.800 --> 0:09:44.160 and the long snapper. The next category is depth in 0:09:44.200 --> 0:09:47.720 complete evaluation or special teams contributor. That's kind of where 0:09:47.760 --> 0:09:49.800 most of the players tend to fall because if you're young, 0:09:49.840 --> 0:09:52.040 you haven't played much. You go here fourteen of them. 0:09:52.080 --> 0:09:55.280 A quarterback, a running back, four wide receivers, two tight ends, 0:09:55.520 --> 0:09:59.160 two interior offensive lineman, an edge, a linebacker, a cornerback 0:09:59.160 --> 0:10:02.680 of safety apart giner peatree. And then the final spot 0:10:02.760 --> 0:10:04.800 is we don't really know what you've got here, and 0:10:05.000 --> 0:10:06.880 they typically are the ones in the red. Thirteen of 0:10:06.920 --> 0:10:09.400 those players don't need to list off those positions here 0:10:09.400 --> 0:10:12.280 for this podcast, but in total, so sixty two players, 0:10:12.600 --> 0:10:15.800 ten blue chips, eighteen players who are green or better. 0:10:16.160 --> 0:10:19.160 That's all but three of your starters that I think 0:10:19.800 --> 0:10:23.079 would qualify as top seventy five percent of their position. 0:10:23.120 --> 0:10:26.000 It's pretty damn good orange or better, which is also 0:10:26.480 --> 0:10:29.880 you know, better than your replacement level player. Twenty six players. 0:10:29.880 --> 0:10:32.959 It's every starter plus four rotational guys, and then thirteen 0:10:33.000 --> 0:10:35.400 in the red. That's where I have the roster outlook 0:10:35.400 --> 0:10:37.840 heading into the month of April. It is all cherry, 0:10:37.920 --> 0:10:40.120 it's all rosy, it's all looking up. Let's go ahead 0:10:40.120 --> 0:10:41.960 and take our first break right there and come back 0:10:42.000 --> 0:10:45.000 and do the individuals, starting with the quarterback position. Here 0:10:45.000 --> 0:10:47.880 on the Drivetime podcast, your host Travis Wingfield, brought to 0:10:47.920 --> 0:10:55.480 you by Auto Nation, looking ahead at your twenty twenty 0:10:55.480 --> 0:10:58.480 three Miami Dolphins, as the roster is two thirds of 0:10:58.520 --> 0:11:01.640 the way complete, with sixty two players in tow, the 0:11:01.720 --> 0:11:05.760 draft still to come, the late phases of free agency, 0:11:06.200 --> 0:11:08.920 roster activity come August, all of that's still ahead, but 0:11:08.960 --> 0:11:12.400 we have the bulk of the roster pretty much in place. 0:11:12.400 --> 0:11:14.319 And then shape right here, we take a look at 0:11:14.320 --> 0:11:16.400 the quarterback room. And I told you guys about the 0:11:16.440 --> 0:11:20.240 color coating here already between two a tongue of bloa 0:11:20.320 --> 0:11:22.640 Mike White and Skylar Thompson. We heard from coach McDaniel 0:11:22.679 --> 0:11:24.000 there's going to be a battle for the number two 0:11:24.080 --> 0:11:27.040 quarterback job, and training camp, we know who QB one is. 0:11:27.360 --> 0:11:30.920 He gets the blue connotation, the blue coating here, and 0:11:30.960 --> 0:11:33.439 I'm saying that because of what I saw last season 0:11:33.480 --> 0:11:36.280 when he was healthy and playing and productive and engineering 0:11:36.280 --> 0:11:38.720 one of the top offenses in the National Football League 0:11:38.840 --> 0:11:41.880 and doing so much high level stuff on top of 0:11:41.920 --> 0:11:44.400 what I expect a year to jump to look like 0:11:44.440 --> 0:11:46.760 in the offense. That's why he gets the blue tag. 0:11:46.840 --> 0:11:48.400 Is one of the top five or six players at 0:11:48.440 --> 0:11:52.560 his position right now in the NFL, A yellow designation 0:11:52.640 --> 0:11:56.960 for a backup quarterback with up and down spots, starting 0:11:57.040 --> 0:11:59.679 experience for Mike White replacement level, and then the a 0:12:00.320 --> 0:12:02.680 on Skyler Thompson, obviously with just a couple of starts 0:12:02.679 --> 0:12:05.199 in a handful of games, still remains incomplete. But as 0:12:05.240 --> 0:12:08.719 a room as a whole, this Dolphins quarterback position, it's 0:12:08.720 --> 0:12:10.760 in a great spot. And this is probably what I 0:12:10.760 --> 0:12:12.959 wanted to look at heading into the offseason in terms 0:12:13.000 --> 0:12:16.240 of the construction. To me, the ideal quarterback room looks 0:12:16.280 --> 0:12:18.360 like this where you have your bona fide starter, one 0:12:18.360 --> 0:12:21.000 of the best players at his position, And that's how 0:12:21.040 --> 0:12:22.600 I'm going to continue to view this guy because the 0:12:22.600 --> 0:12:24.680 head coach views him that way, and this head coach 0:12:24.760 --> 0:12:28.000 knows more than you or I, and I don't know 0:12:28.000 --> 0:12:30.400 what kind of matches my evaluation since like twenty eighteen 0:12:30.440 --> 0:12:32.440 as well, so I'll just stick with that. Also, you've 0:12:32.440 --> 0:12:35.479 got the capable backup with that kind of firestarter mentality 0:12:35.520 --> 0:12:38.120 coming off the bench in a pinch, who can play 0:12:38.160 --> 0:12:40.000 well from the jump, which I think is the key, 0:12:40.320 --> 0:12:42.520 Like just don't come in cold and require a few 0:12:42.559 --> 0:12:44.880 series to get started. We've seen Mike White do that 0:12:44.920 --> 0:12:46.559 for the Jets in the past, and then the young 0:12:46.559 --> 0:12:49.360 guy pushing to challenge him and Skylar Thompson, Like going 0:12:49.360 --> 0:12:51.240 into camp last year, I don't think many would have 0:12:51.240 --> 0:12:54.360 projected more than the practice squad for Skylar Thompson because 0:12:54.440 --> 0:12:57.240 most quarterbacks don't carry three qbs. But he did play 0:12:57.360 --> 0:13:00.360 in such a way all summer that it was undeniedle 0:13:00.360 --> 0:13:02.320 that he belonged on the roster. You put him on 0:13:02.320 --> 0:13:04.120 the practice squad, he probably would have been snatched up 0:13:04.160 --> 0:13:07.000 pretty quickly. Just by the time you filed that transaction 0:13:07.280 --> 0:13:09.640 with the league office, even though the performance in the 0:13:09.679 --> 0:13:12.040 regular season didn't really match that, I think it was 0:13:12.040 --> 0:13:15.640 certainly worth keeping him around to get get an evaluation 0:13:15.679 --> 0:13:17.959 further based upon what he showed you in preseason because 0:13:18.000 --> 0:13:20.560 it was so good, and now with a second year 0:13:20.600 --> 0:13:22.720 here to develop in the system, can he take a 0:13:22.720 --> 0:13:24.760 big jump and challenge for that spot. It would be 0:13:24.920 --> 0:13:29.160 a certainly valuable move heading forward if Skyler Thompson were 0:13:29.200 --> 0:13:31.800 to achieve that role in that status, because you didn't 0:13:31.800 --> 0:13:33.719 have him on club control for a couple more years 0:13:33.760 --> 0:13:37.400 on the cheapest contract imaginable to be your backup behind 0:13:37.400 --> 0:13:39.600 two A Tunga Byloa. So that's kind of where you 0:13:39.679 --> 0:13:42.000 head into camp looking at this from a dollars and 0:13:42.080 --> 0:13:44.680 cent standpoint. But the fact that you have that entrenched 0:13:44.679 --> 0:13:47.560 starter and then competition with the depth and that guy 0:13:47.640 --> 0:13:49.800 pushing is a second year player that you still have 0:13:49.800 --> 0:13:52.840 afforded the opportunity to develop, to me, that's ideal. Like 0:13:52.880 --> 0:13:55.320 you have a different quarterback in each phase of their 0:13:55.320 --> 0:13:58.160 career or various stages of their career. It's like cooking 0:13:58.160 --> 0:14:00.680 a five course meal and you've got to balance the 0:14:00.679 --> 0:14:03.160 timing on all your dishes. The bread goes in right now, 0:14:03.320 --> 0:14:05.240 Let's go ahead and fire up that sauce and start 0:14:05.320 --> 0:14:07.240 mixing it in. Oh, the noodles are ready to be 0:14:07.320 --> 0:14:09.280 strained right now. You just have a lot going on 0:14:09.320 --> 0:14:11.120 and they have to try to finish around the same time. 0:14:11.360 --> 0:14:13.280 That's kind of what I'm looking at here with give 0:14:13.320 --> 0:14:16.439 me the freshest, hottest meal possible rather than having your 0:14:16.480 --> 0:14:19.040 protein sit on the warmer while you wait for your 0:14:19.080 --> 0:14:21.480 starts to finish. Just full of analogies. In this podcast, 0:14:21.720 --> 0:14:23.600 that's what we do, so I love that, But I 0:14:23.640 --> 0:14:25.120 also want to talk about the skill of each of 0:14:25.120 --> 0:14:27.360 these players, and that's where the train slows and we 0:14:27.440 --> 0:14:29.320 go explore the weeds a little bit, as we are 0:14:29.360 --> 0:14:31.480 wont to do here on the Drivetime podcast. I've been 0:14:31.560 --> 0:14:34.800 kicking around this content idea for some time, and I 0:14:34.840 --> 0:14:38.160 think it's a good spot to explore it. It's what 0:14:38.200 --> 0:14:40.960 the league looks for, or even better, what equates to 0:14:41.040 --> 0:14:44.000 good quarterback play versus what you might see on social 0:14:44.040 --> 0:14:48.560 media fans sites or people that do YouTube channels who 0:14:48.760 --> 0:14:50.960 I see takes from all the time that just quite 0:14:50.960 --> 0:14:54.440 frankly don't operate in the same lane that the actual 0:14:55.040 --> 0:14:59.200 league thinks because I see you conspiracy and you know 0:14:59.560 --> 0:15:01.440 what it will was the Deshaun Elliott thing. I saw 0:15:01.480 --> 0:15:04.320 some takes on that about how I don't know, like 0:15:04.640 --> 0:15:07.760 what are we doing here? Man? But anyway, Twitter, I 0:15:07.880 --> 0:15:09.600 do this to myself. I get myself worked up and 0:15:09.600 --> 0:15:12.520 then I can't even begin to conversate about it because 0:15:12.520 --> 0:15:14.240 it just annoys me so much. But the idea is 0:15:14.280 --> 0:15:16.640 that Twitter is not a real place, right. Something like 0:15:16.680 --> 0:15:19.400 six percent of the population has an account, and of 0:15:19.440 --> 0:15:23.000 that six percent, another minuscule fraction is actually active on 0:15:23.040 --> 0:15:25.520 the social media website that continues to get worse under 0:15:25.560 --> 0:15:28.560 new management. But I digress. It's just not a real 0:15:28.560 --> 0:15:31.440 representation of the real world and real people. And I 0:15:31.480 --> 0:15:34.400 think that's the most true with how football is discussed 0:15:34.440 --> 0:15:37.120 on this website. I saw a tweet the other day 0:15:37.160 --> 0:15:39.800 from a fella who fancies himself a draft guru, and 0:15:39.840 --> 0:15:44.080 with these bubbling rumblings even a word that Frank w 0:15:44.080 --> 0:15:46.440 Reich and the Panthers might already have settled on their 0:15:46.480 --> 0:15:48.720 guy before the trade up. I mean, who the hell knows. 0:15:48.760 --> 0:15:51.680 But what I've seen the most of is that that 0:15:51.720 --> 0:15:54.360 guy is CJ. Stroud And the tweet I saw was 0:15:54.400 --> 0:15:57.440 they better surround that guy with weapons. And the genesis 0:15:57.520 --> 0:16:00.160 of that tweet was that Stroud isn't the athle like 0:16:00.240 --> 0:16:03.560 Marvel that Anthony Richardson or Will Levis are right, or 0:16:03.640 --> 0:16:06.520 come with a scramble acrobatics and highlight reel that Bryce 0:16:06.600 --> 0:16:10.000 Young has to offer. Right, Okay, cool? So why do 0:16:10.080 --> 0:16:13.320 you think the Panthers think this way? Assuming they do? Also, 0:16:13.400 --> 0:16:15.720 shouldn't the goal be to maximize your investment like this 0:16:15.840 --> 0:16:18.920 is a sidebar to the sidebar, especially the most important 0:16:18.960 --> 0:16:21.200 position of all in all sports. Why would you buy 0:16:21.200 --> 0:16:24.200 a Ferrari body and dropping an Accord engine with it 0:16:24.240 --> 0:16:28.520 and give you a player Antonio Callaway and Isaiah Ford 0:16:28.640 --> 0:16:30.960 is his top weapons in an offense? It makes no sense, right, 0:16:31.240 --> 0:16:34.720 always surround your quarterback with weapons, especially when on that 0:16:34.800 --> 0:16:37.720 rookie contract in that rookie season, trying to get the 0:16:37.800 --> 0:16:39.800 league figured out. It's a tough position to learn, a 0:16:39.800 --> 0:16:42.720 tough league to learn. So the disconnect is this draft 0:16:42.720 --> 0:16:45.560 Twitter thinks that tangible traits are what makes a great quarterback, 0:16:45.800 --> 0:16:48.040 and this is true for all positions. I think it's 0:16:48.040 --> 0:16:50.320 perfectly ironic that Zach Thomas is going to go into 0:16:50.320 --> 0:16:52.760 the Hall of Fame as this type of debate wages 0:16:52.800 --> 0:16:56.200 on endlessly. Zach was certainly a great athlete, but he 0:16:56.320 --> 0:16:59.360 was he in the Derek Brooks and Brian Urlacker mold. 0:17:00.120 --> 0:17:02.000 Was he Ray Lewis? No, he certainly was not, so 0:17:02.040 --> 0:17:03.800 why he was a fifth round draft pick? But he 0:17:03.920 --> 0:17:06.640 was just as good of a football player. Why is that? 0:17:07.160 --> 0:17:10.720 Because playing football is typically what makes a football player 0:17:10.840 --> 0:17:13.480 good at playing football. And I'm laughing as I'm writing 0:17:13.520 --> 0:17:16.200 this because it sounds so stupid. But get on Twitter 0:17:16.280 --> 0:17:18.600 and tell me that's not necessary. And so to bring 0:17:18.600 --> 0:17:21.159 this back to CJ. Stroud and ultimately our quarterback here 0:17:21.200 --> 0:17:23.399 in two a Tongabailoa, you know what, made two of 0:17:23.400 --> 0:17:25.960 the fifth pick in the draft and probably number one 0:17:26.040 --> 0:17:28.960 if he never suffers that hip injury. You know why 0:17:28.960 --> 0:17:32.080 the Panthers are being linked to CJ. Stroud because they 0:17:32.119 --> 0:17:36.520 excel with rare ability traits that translate to the National 0:17:36.560 --> 0:17:40.640 Football League. That throw with elite timing and anticipation. They 0:17:40.640 --> 0:17:43.959 are accurate as hell. They give their wide receivers chances 0:17:43.960 --> 0:17:46.600 by reacting to their routes faster than the defense can. 0:17:46.760 --> 0:17:49.480 And you'll hear the same BS arguments. Ohio State and 0:17:49.520 --> 0:17:53.480 Bama had loaded offenses. Yeah, they were that, absolutely, But 0:17:53.560 --> 0:17:57.520 do you really think that Mercedes wins seven straight championships 0:17:57.520 --> 0:17:59.720 just because of the car or do you think Lewis 0:17:59.720 --> 0:18:02.440 Hamton had something to do with that? And another thing, 0:18:02.720 --> 0:18:05.240 this isn't even to disparage the two quarterbacks in terms 0:18:05.240 --> 0:18:08.439 of their escapability, their arm strength or whatever. Five percent 0:18:08.520 --> 0:18:10.800 of the time trait we want to blow up into 0:18:10.800 --> 0:18:13.159 being the most important because it's what gets the highlight reels. 0:18:13.200 --> 0:18:16.120 Going go watch two's game. Man, there's a two play 0:18:16.160 --> 0:18:18.679 sequence in the Chicago game right before the Jeff Wilson 0:18:18.720 --> 0:18:22.000 touchdown where TWA gets pressure off his left immediately he's 0:18:22.040 --> 0:18:24.679 dead to rights. It's a free run squared up at 0:18:24.720 --> 0:18:26.440 the quarterback. Two is going to have to get off 0:18:26.480 --> 0:18:28.760 that spot to make this guy miss in the pass rush, 0:18:28.800 --> 0:18:30.600 and he does that. He spins out of the pressure, 0:18:30.640 --> 0:18:34.080 steps up and throws the football away. He knows the 0:18:34.119 --> 0:18:36.879 play is dead. He knows second downs, no bueno. I 0:18:36.920 --> 0:18:39.040 have to get to third down. It sets up third 0:18:39.080 --> 0:18:42.160 and six where he identifies Wilson one on one, gets 0:18:42.160 --> 0:18:43.960 the ball too before he comes out of the break, 0:18:44.080 --> 0:18:46.080 and that allows him to turn up not just to 0:18:46.160 --> 0:18:49.000 find the sticks, but find the pylon, and in that 0:18:49.040 --> 0:18:52.720 moment you get erasing the elite athleticism off the edge 0:18:52.760 --> 0:18:54.880 that most teams have these days. When the pass protection 0:18:54.920 --> 0:18:57.840 breaks down and your play call is caput, you get 0:18:57.960 --> 0:19:01.080 the anticipation to understand how to mac sumize the route 0:19:01.119 --> 0:19:03.359 given the coverage in a situation where the defense has 0:19:03.400 --> 0:19:06.240 the advantage. Right third and six is close to Long's 0:19:06.280 --> 0:19:09.040 it's third and long medium. I think third and four 0:19:09.119 --> 0:19:12.359 to third and six is categorizes a medium. But you 0:19:12.400 --> 0:19:14.800 get the picture and the idea to understand that you 0:19:14.800 --> 0:19:16.560 have to get the ball out quick against that leverage, 0:19:16.560 --> 0:19:19.040