Speaker 1: The volume. Hi, everybody, welcome in. John Middlekoff is going
Speaker 1: to stop mind about eight to ten minutes we're going
Speaker 1: to do. He's got some great insight on the Philadelphia
Speaker 1: Eagles getting Nolan Smith and Jalen Carter, so they load
Speaker 1: up on the defensive front after having some free agent losses,
Speaker 1: and the theory behind why the Eagles draft who they
Speaker 1: do a couple of takeaways for me. In the first round.
Speaker 1: The Packers continue over the last twenty years twenty five
Speaker 1: years with Farv and Aaron Rodgers to have great offenses,
Speaker 1: but they don't draft offense in the first round. They
Speaker 1: have such confidence in their quarterback play, their offensive coaching,
Speaker 1: and they're drafting and developing that they draft offensive players
Speaker 1: in later rounds. So they go get the Iowa rush
Speaker 1: end Lucas van Ness. Even though people speculated they needed
Speaker 1: a wide run receiver, they certainly could have gotten the
Speaker 1: Ohio state wide receiver Jackson Smith Nijigba. They passed. He
Speaker 1: would have been a great get. Seattle got him later.
Speaker 1: So teams tend to do what they do. And John
Speaker 1: Middlkoff will talk a lot about why the Eagles draft
Speaker 1: the way they do. But the Packers go in the
Speaker 1: first round. I mean, look at green Bay. They've had
Speaker 1: offensive coaches, star quarterbacks, excellent offensive lines for most of
Speaker 1: the last twenty five years. It's what they do. They
Speaker 1: do offense really well. The Patriots they do the secondary
Speaker 1: and linebackers very very well. What does Belichick get a corner?
Speaker 1: Oregon drops to him. So people go back to what
Speaker 1: they do well. And my takeaway on green Bay it's
Speaker 1: a deep tight end draft. The tight ends did not
Speaker 1: get gobbled up in the first round. So they're going
Speaker 1: to go get a tight end and a wide receiver.
Speaker 1: They have two picks in the second round. So green
Speaker 1: Bay does what they often do. They needed an edge rusher.
Speaker 1: They get a big ten kid. It's in their geographical footprint.
Speaker 1: That's what the Packers do.
Speaker 2: You know.
Speaker 1: You know, I'm a Northwest kid, right. I thought Seattle
Speaker 1: did really, really well. First of all, Devon Witherspoon. Many
Speaker 1: believed he was the best corner in the draft. Now,
Speaker 1: Seattle nailed their draft last year. They got a starting
Speaker 1: corner in the fifth and the sixth, but very much
Speaker 1: in the building, it was understood Seattle wanted to get
Speaker 1: another wide receiver and they wanted to get another corner
Speaker 1: and another edge rusher well by getting Witherspoon with their
Speaker 1: first pick and then going get the wide receiver, the
Speaker 1: dynamic receiver that can play slotter or outside with their
Speaker 1: second pick, Seattle has two seconds, a third, two fourths,
Speaker 1: a fifth, to sixth to seventh. They already have answered
Speaker 1: two of the three or four questions in the first round.
Speaker 1: I suspect they'll go interior, offensive line, and edge with
Speaker 1: their two second round picks. But I thought Seattle, if
Speaker 1: you go back to last year's first six picks and
Speaker 1: this shear's first two picks, the Seahawks I think are
Speaker 1: now relying more on their GM and their scouting department.
Speaker 1: I did feel that Pete Carroll had a little bit
Speaker 1: too much say for years in their picks. I don't
Speaker 1: like my coaches having a huge saying picks. It's hard
Speaker 1: enough to be a great coach. Andy Reid stays away
Speaker 1: from it. Sean Payton largely stayed away from it. You
Speaker 1: let a really smart GM do the work. I think
Speaker 1: Seattle lean's now back into their scouting department, John Snyder,
Speaker 1: and they have had great picks. I banged on the
Speaker 1: Seahawks for years with their picks. I think they nailed
Speaker 1: their first two picks. The other story, obviously, is Will
Speaker 1: Levis not getting picked. I did a mock draft a
Speaker 1: couple days ago on Fox Sports One. I did not
Speaker 1: have Will Levis getting picked. I think two things. He
Speaker 1: tests very well. He's a smart kid, but throws a
Speaker 1: ton of interceptions. And both the executives in the league
Speaker 1: I talked to that didn't like him said the same thing.
Speaker 1: He's falling in love with his arm. The gun show
Speaker 1: at the combine, lin, the tight T shirts, the bathroom selfie.
Speaker 1: A kid that's smart should make much better decisions in
Speaker 1: the pocket when he has time. He throws into traffic.
Speaker 1: He's got a little bit of a weird delivery, the
Speaker 1: position of the football. But I think the senses with
Speaker 1: Will Levis is Will Levis likes Will Levis. He loves
Speaker 1: his arm. He's undisciplined, he makes bad decisions. And it's
Speaker 1: a pretty bad sign when teams that need a quarterback
Speaker 1: have offensive coaches and they're not interested. I talked to
Speaker 1: one NFO coach on a team that was in the
Speaker 1: group of four or five teams that needed a quarterback,
Speaker 1: and kind of the takeaway was you can clean him up,
Speaker 1: but there's some things you may never get to stay out, like,
Speaker 1: you can't clean everything up. And I think when you
Speaker 1: had Bryce Young, he was easily the best quarterback. C J.
Speaker 1: Stroud was arguably the most accurate quarterback. Anthony Richardson is
Speaker 1: the most dynamic athletic quarterback and a really humble kid.
Speaker 1: And Will Levis came off as a little cocky, in
Speaker 1: love with his arm, in love with his body, and
Speaker 1: you'll pay the price for that. You will pay the
Speaker 1: price for that. I'm surprised he didn't get drafted. I
Speaker 1: think he's a better prospect, probably than Henden Hooker. You know,
Speaker 1: the Tennessee offense scares people. It's a really collegiate offense.
Speaker 1: It doesn't ask you to do things. Greg Gosell talked
Speaker 1: about this on my show yesterday Thursday. The Tennessee offense
Speaker 1: is really a college offense. And so the feeling is
Speaker 1: Hooker's already old to begin with. It would probably take
Speaker 1: him a year of development to start in the NFL.
Speaker 1: He's going to go obviously in the second round. Will
Speaker 1: Levis will too. But listen, there's a lot of teams
Speaker 1: at the top of that second that need receivers and
Speaker 1: tight ends and do not need quarterbacks, so will Levis
Speaker 1: may fall even further. You know, I feel bad anytime
Speaker 1: I sit and watch a kid sit in a green
Speaker 1: room and not get picked. But by the time your
Speaker 1: season ends to the draft weekend, you can absolutely elevate yourself,
Speaker 1: not just by a PRODA and a combine. I don't
Speaker 1: think will Levis did himself any favors with the bathroom selfie.
Speaker 1: Let me ask yourself this, every time you see a
Speaker 1: guy in a bathroom selfie, do you not think the
Speaker 1: same thing? Really bro that that's your picture kind of
Speaker 1: lacks self awareness. If you're a franchise quarterback, you gotta
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Speaker 1: let's bring on John Middlecoff. You know him, you love him.
Speaker 1: He's part of the ball Podcasting digital network. We love
Speaker 1: having him. Former NFL scout. Okay, let's start. I thought.
Speaker 1: The first thing that jumped out to me is good
Speaker 1: teams and good gms get value. The Belichick gets Christian
Speaker 1: Gonzales right middle of the first a very good corner,
Speaker 1: and the Eagles got, to me the best player I
Speaker 1: watched in college football at the number nine pick. They
Speaker 1: moved up a spot. I mean to me, Philadelphia again.
Speaker 1: They've got the culture, they think they have, the coach,
Speaker 1: you know, Fletcher cox Age. I thought, Philadelphia got the
Speaker 1: best player, you know the organization, Well, what were your
Speaker 1: thoughts on that?
Speaker 2: Well, I think, first and foremost, if you remember, several
Speaker 2: years ago, they drafted Jalen Rager instead of Justin Jefferson,
Speaker 2: and it really kind of bit him in the ass, right,
Speaker 2: I mean, Justin Jefferson went on to be one of
Speaker 2: the best players in the league and Jalen Rager's not
Speaker 2: even on their team. I think, I mean, I know
Speaker 2: that they kind of got together as an organization and said,
Speaker 2: why are we out thinking the room here? Take the
Speaker 2: best players from the best programs. What have they done
Speaker 2: the last couple of years? DeVante Smith Alabama Heisman Trophy,
Speaker 2: Jordan Davis starting defensive tackle at Georgia National Championship, trade
Speaker 2: for aj Brown, an SEC blue chip guy who's dominating
Speaker 2: Nakobe Dean, they draft, you know, from Georgia in the
Speaker 2: second round. They also, I think one thing, Howie and
Speaker 2: obviously Jeffrey Lewie they know well from the Andy years
Speaker 2: and they've carried it over into their good teams. With
Speaker 2: Doug Peterson in this last couple of years. His culture
Speaker 2: is really big and when you have these veteran guys
Speaker 2: like why do you resign. Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham,
Speaker 2: they're done because they bring a lot to the table.
Speaker 2: And then when you get a situation like this, what's
Speaker 2: this guy going to do? I act like an idiot
Speaker 2: around those two guys. I mean, Brandon Graham stripped Tom
Speaker 2: Brady to win a Super Bowl. He's been in the
Speaker 2: league for twelve thirteen years. Fletcher Cox, you know, is
Speaker 2: an all time great Eagle and while he's you know,
Speaker 2: on the other side of his career, is just an
Speaker 2: SEC guy. The other thing they have now to me,
Speaker 2: and in football, it is different than like AAU, right,
Speaker 2: if you meet a kid from LA or New York AAU,
Speaker 2: they all play together in basketball, they've all played in football.
Speaker 2: If I'm from LA, I don't know the guy from
Speaker 2: New York or Seattle or Florida. Right. Besides in college
Speaker 2: if I play him, Well, the SEC guys all know
Speaker 2: each other, right, and they all kind of rolled together. Well,
Speaker 2: think about their team, Colin DeVante Smith, Alabama, Nakobe Dean,
Speaker 2: Jordan Davis, the New Georgia guys, Fletcher Cox, SEC guy
Speaker 2: AJ Brown, SEC guy Jalen Hurts. Well, I think we
Speaker 2: think Oklahoma three years Alabama SEC guy, so their core
Speaker 2: they all kind of speak the same language in terms
Speaker 2: of that Southern football culture. Obviously they all come from
Speaker 2: elite program, especially the Baman Georgia guys. It's a risky pick.
Speaker 2: I mean, this guy, I think scared a ton of
Speaker 2: teams as you could see him going to nine like
Speaker 2: that's pretty telling. But I think how he feels very
Speaker 2: good about their infrastructure now with their coaches, with their
Speaker 2: players to kind of operate a lot like Belichick used
Speaker 2: to do for years with Tom and some of their
Speaker 2: core guys, where they as it went on, they started
Speaker 2: taking some flyers because they felt really good about their
Speaker 2: main guys. You can't act like an idiot when that
Speaker 2: when the top guys you look up to and are
Speaker 2: kind of like, you know, you have a lot in
Speaker 2: common with. So I think that was I mean an
Speaker 2: easy pick for that obviously.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and by the way, for those of you uninitiated,
Speaker 1: John's a former scout. This is the kind of insight
Speaker 1: you get, which I've never heard anybody talk about that,
Speaker 1: but I think you're right on the money. And the
Speaker 1: other thing that jumped out to me is I've said
Speaker 1: with c. J. Stroud, he is a first round quarterback.
Speaker 1: I don't see a ton of juice. He's accurate. Jared
Speaker 1: Goff is a very accurate comp I think he's a
Speaker 1: little better runner than Jared. But you know, there was
Speaker 1: a lot of speculation. I kind of fell for it
Speaker 1: that they would get Jalen Carter or Will Anderson. What
Speaker 1: did you make of the Texans getting Stroud? What did
Speaker 1: it tell you?
Speaker 2: One thing? I was stunned in the sense that they
Speaker 2: just got a brand new coach who's young. And I'm
Speaker 2: a big believer in Demiko. When I was with the Eagles,
Speaker 2: we traded for him as a player because of his
Speaker 2: character and I've you know, lived in the bear for
Speaker 2: a long time, went to the practices. Kyle Shanahan swears
Speaker 2: by the I think he's going to be a stud
Speaker 2: head coach. I mean, he's just he's been good at
Speaker 2: everything he's ever done in his entire life. I don't
Speaker 2: know why it's gonna stop little. I mean, obviously I
Speaker 2: understand why the GM in the front office and the
Speaker 2: owner and needs to get a quarterback. You look at there,
Speaker 2: But if you're Demiko, why rush into this? You know,
Speaker 2: I think a lot of people in the NFL he
Speaker 2: throws a beautiful ball. But when you look at Ohio
Speaker 2: State these last couple of years, a lot like Tua
Speaker 2: when he was Alabama. I mean, Colin, you're talking about
Speaker 2: three or four top fifteen wide receivers on their team,
Speaker 2: not like a couple guys that play in the NFL. Right,
Speaker 2: these are top fifteen picks. Well technically in JIGBA twenty,
Speaker 2: but you know what I mean. I mean this is
Speaker 2: and the speed difference in the Big ten relative to
Speaker 2: even two in the SEC that the advantage Ohio State has.
Speaker 2: I do think that Georgia game though, because the Jared
Speaker 2: gofkomp was definitely something that kind of kicks stayed with it.
Speaker 2: But that Georgia game, he was run around. He looked
Speaker 2: like kind of a different player. Now, I don't know
Speaker 2: what your take was, but the take of like when
Speaker 2: he was bonded to the test. I'm not a test taker.
Speaker 2: I'm a football player. I didn't love that quarterbacks get
Speaker 2: held to a higher standard. Man, you know, I mean
Speaker 2: you're not playing slot receiver dB, so I mean Peyton Manning,
Speaker 2: Tom Brady Lamar, those guys don't. They don't get defensive
Speaker 2: over stuff like that. But risky move. I actually thought
Speaker 2: they're moved trading back up to get will Anderson, who
Speaker 2: I liked a lot. But holy moly, they gave up
Speaker 2: a lot to go back from twelve to three. Especially,
Speaker 2: But I guess when you're in the court, when you've
Speaker 2: drafted the quarterback and they got all these picks coming
Speaker 2: from Deshaun Watson, maybe they're not thinking about Caleb Williams
Speaker 2: and Drake May anymore obviously.
Speaker 1: You know, I think it's interesting the Bears picked Darnell right,
Speaker 1: so he engulfed the Tennessee tackle engulfed Will Anderson when
Speaker 1: they played will Anderson was totally ineffective. And I think
Speaker 1: mel Kuiper said it that you could be looking at
Speaker 1: the best player on the draft. It's very interesting because
Speaker 1: last year the Bears went into the offensive line and
Speaker 1: they got a tackle from Southern Utah who started at
Speaker 1: left tackle for him. I thought they might go Scarronsky
Speaker 1: and go on the inside, But you know these days,
Speaker 1: John people look at tackles is you got to play
Speaker 1: both left or right. So my takeaway I thought they
Speaker 1: would go with a defensive coach. They went and got
Speaker 1: a corner in a safety last year, and they really
Speaker 1: spent some money on offense in the off season, so
Speaker 1: you know, they went and got another tight end with
Speaker 1: Cole Kmet. They went and got you know, another receiver,
Speaker 1: Dj Moore. So my takeaway was, Wow, they're going to
Speaker 1: go on defense with the defensive coach and they go
Speaker 1: and get Darnell right the tackle, and my takeaway is
Speaker 1: they're taking away the excuses for Justin Fields. Like the
Speaker 1: feeling is now like, hey, man, by the way, Atlanta
Speaker 1: is doing this with Bijon Robinson. They're like, Okay, what
Speaker 1: they're saying is Desmond offensive coach, top six offensive line,
Speaker 1: we got your Drake London, k Pits and Bijon Desmond.
Speaker 1: If you can play, this is good enough to move
Speaker 1: the sticks. So I kind of, I mean, my takeaway
Speaker 1: on the Bears was this tackle is, hey, we're gonna
Speaker 1: make sure if Justin Fields doesn't make it, it's not
Speaker 1: because we didn't help him. I am I reaching on that.
Speaker 2: I actually thought coming into the draft that the Bears
Speaker 2: were a sneaky destination for Bjon Robinson because the same mindset, right,
Speaker 2: we got you Dj Moore, we got you Mooney, we
Speaker 2: got you Commet, we got you now Bjon Robinson. Let's
Speaker 2: see what you got. Yeah, same thing. The Bejon two Atlanta,
Speaker 2: and I'm with you. I think Chicago is definitely just
Speaker 2: going to be pretty open minded this year. If it
Speaker 2: doesn't work, they'll pivot next year. He's out there, guy,
Speaker 2: and if it does, let's keep on rocking and rolling.
Speaker 2: And they got a bunch of picks right coming from Carolina,
Speaker 2: the Bejon Atlanta. I remember watching Atlanta last year play
Speaker 2: the Niners before Jimmy got hurt, and they kicked their
Speaker 2: ass and they ran the ball right down their throat.
Speaker 2: They had multiple running backs, multiple offensive weapons. Bijon Robinson.
Speaker 2: You can't talk to anyone in the NFL that's like this.
Speaker 2: You could argue if if he was a defensive end
Speaker 2: or a right tackle, he would have been the number
Speaker 2: one player in the draft.
Speaker 1: He's literally I had two GMS tell me he's the
Speaker 1: cleanest player in the draft.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Character the whole thing. So I'm not against high character,
Speaker 2: great players, but that position, when you already got running
Speaker 2: backs and your coach became a star by coaching a
Speaker 2: second round guy and Derrick Henry, when your defense is hideous,
Speaker 2: and like you said, they already have they've invested in
Speaker 2: London last year, who was a much better pro than
Speaker 2: I envision. I liked him at USC, but he looked
Speaker 2: really interesting last year. And obviously Kyle Pitts like they
Speaker 2: got some weapons and their guy can scheme the run
Speaker 2: game and their O line.
Speaker 1: John pff had it top five.
Speaker 2: I didn't quite understand that pick. Now that's been out there.
Speaker 2: It wasn't shocking because people are saying, like, keep an
Speaker 2: eye on a Landa with John Robinson, and it came true,
Speaker 2: unlike some of these other earlier picks, But that one's
Speaker 2: a little bit of head scratcher, not because the guy
Speaker 2: can't dominate, just because their defense is terrible I think statistically.
Speaker 2: I mean, they were as bad as any defense in
Speaker 2: the league in a lot of different categories.
Speaker 1: So one of the things that interesting is that Michael Mayor,
Speaker 1: the tight end for Notre Dame Dalton Kincaid, was the
Speaker 1: first tight end taken at twenty five. So I was told,
Speaker 1: good edge rusher draft, good tight end draft. You know,
Speaker 1: Cowboys end up going with Mazzy Smith, a defensive tackle Michigan,
Speaker 1: which is which is not a stunner because it's been
Speaker 1: a position of need for them. And they have by
Speaker 1: getting Gilmour and Trayvon Diggs. They're good at corner. They've
Speaker 1: got a great athlete in Micah DeMarcus Lawrence on the edge.
Speaker 1: So that pick for the Cowboys didn't bother me. He
Speaker 1: was I saw him on two mock drafts as the
Speaker 1: first pick in the second So that didn't bother me
Speaker 1: with Dallas because my takeaway is they're just going to
Speaker 1: get a tight end later. There's there are good tight
Speaker 1: ends in the third, fourth, and fifth round, and.
Speaker 2: They clearly got pushed down in this draft, right. I
Speaker 2: think a lot of us thought they were going to
Speaker 2: go in the top twenty. I also think if you're
Speaker 2: the Cowboys, you look at this. I think the NFC
Speaker 2: has a clear tier, right. I mean there are three
Speaker 2: teams you would rank them, Philly, Niners, Dallas. But Dallas
Speaker 2: gave the Niners everything they could handle in that playoff game,
Speaker 2: and you go, we know Kyle Shanahan likes to run
Speaker 2: the ball, and he'll run it right down our throat,
Speaker 2: So we need a big body. And Philly ultimately like
Speaker 2: the run game with their quarterback at any moment, and
Speaker 2: the New York Giants was sakuon Barkley.
Speaker 1: This is a really yeah. I mean, if you look
Speaker 1: at the way to beat Philadelphia that offensive line with Kelsey,
Speaker 1: you've got to win the point of attack. I think
Speaker 1: that's a great point, is that I think Dallas looked
Speaker 1: at this. You're probably right, and they just said, we
Speaker 1: got to play Philadelphia twice. We have to figure out
Speaker 1: a way. They can't just Kelsey is one of the
Speaker 1: top three centers maybe of my lifetime. Yeah, you can't
Speaker 1: be totally manipulated at the point of attack. So I
Speaker 1: you know, when you were with the Eagles, do you
Speaker 1: sometimes look in your division and go, Okay, this is
Speaker 1: a left tackle. I mean he's literally engulfing our people.
Speaker 1: Do you look at personnel and division?
Speaker 2: One thing? How he did and this was a long
Speaker 2: time ago, and I know he still does. This is
Speaker 2: now his teams now on that level. But the four
Speaker 2: teams that are in the final four, you know, the
Speaker 2: two NFC teams and the two AFC teams, he keeps
Speaker 2: those rosters in his in his room, and you know
Speaker 2: they follow. You can't help it. In the NFL, your
Speaker 2: division is just your direct competition. You view it much
Speaker 2: to you know, if you're a Dallas Cowboys. You view
Speaker 2: the Eagles not as much over the last you know,
Speaker 2: twenty years that the football team like you do. You
Speaker 2: know the Eagles and the Giants, right if you're the
Speaker 2: forty nine or Seattle in the Rams, I mean, you're
Speaker 2: just watching everything they do because it just it impacts
Speaker 2: you exponentially more because you play them twice every year
Speaker 2: no matter what, while all the other divisions rotate. And
Speaker 2: speaking of I mean I thought Seattle, you know, I
Speaker 2: just think Pete. You know, a lot of people thought
Speaker 2: Jalen Carter, he takes some swings. They did not mess
Speaker 2: around with that, which I understand everyone I know. And
Speaker 2: teams that had no shot of getting this guy. They
Speaker 2: loved Witherspoon kind of a throwback to you know some
Speaker 2: of those teams they had with Russell Wilson. Those LOV
Speaker 2: teams absolutely just m effort stud I mean, big time tackler,
Speaker 2: can play inside, outside, you can move them around, can tackle.
Speaker 1: And then they got John Seattle's got two two's, a
Speaker 1: three and two fours. So of their three needs, one
Speaker 1: was lock at DK. They needed another receiver, they needed
Speaker 1: they wanted another They got one.
Speaker 2: I mean, he's good, he's awesome when healthy yep.
Speaker 1: And then they got a wide receiver and then they
Speaker 1: get you know, Jackson Smith Jigba. So they end up
Speaker 1: getting two of their three needs. I think they need
Speaker 1: a guard now and then a later an edge rusher.
Speaker 1: But I mean, if you look at last year's pick
Speaker 1: on ESPN, they put up the last six or seven
Speaker 1: like great young players. I mean they are. They had
Speaker 1: a run John where I think Pete Carroll and Paul
Speaker 1: Allen passed. They had a run where Pete had too
Speaker 1: much control in the draft, and it feels like they've
Speaker 1: given it back to John Snyder and the scouting department.
Speaker 1: They have not missed on a pick.
Speaker 2: Were with tackles, They got Kenneth Walker. I mean, they
Speaker 2: got a good young nucleus. I mean they won nine
Speaker 2: games where I'm guilty. I thought they were going to
Speaker 2: be terrible and they were really good. And I think
Speaker 2: they're going to be even better. I mean because they
Speaker 2: got so many young pieces that they're building around.
Speaker 1: Okay, so I think we both agree Seattle did well.
Speaker 1: So Jamiir Gibbs the running back. So people are going
Speaker 1: to bang on Detroit's picks now. Gibbs is a very
Speaker 1: dynamic and again Alabama Big school. You see them run
Speaker 1: over guys and run past guys in the SEC. So,
Speaker 1: you know, my takeaway on Detroit is the last two
Speaker 1: drafts with his front office, John, I've really liked them,
Speaker 1: and so part of me thinks to myself with Swift
Speaker 1: and Gibbs as they're trying to take they love their
Speaker 1: own line. Okay, they solved their corner issue a little bit, right,
Speaker 1: are they basically saying is we want to take the
Speaker 1: pressure off Jared goff or? I mean I was watching
Speaker 1: them high five in the room like this was not
Speaker 1: a pick they had trepidation over. These guys were high fiven.
Speaker 1: What did it say to get a running back when
Speaker 1: they have Swift? Because their O line can control I
Speaker 1: think can control a lot of the defensive fronts in
Speaker 1: that division. Is that what they're saying.
Speaker 2: I think in most drafts, when you see a guy
Speaker 2: that you go, you know, I think it's fair to
Speaker 2: say going into the any draft, a guy like him
Speaker 2: is like an early second, you know, somewhere in like
Speaker 2: thirty two to forty pick. This draft was viewed as
Speaker 2: pretty terrible, Like the difference between pick eight and twenty five.
Speaker 2: You know, you might not be able to tell the difference,
Speaker 2: like Ken Kaid going twenty five to the Bills might
Speaker 2: be no different than the sixth pick, you know, So
Speaker 2: it's just time will tell people were not that cop.
Speaker 2: This was not Jamar Chase and the Waddles and the
Speaker 2: Pinasoles and the Michael Parsons. That wasn't this draft. So
Speaker 2: when you go, well, they got to a super Bowl
Speaker 2: with Jared Goff when he had a great running game,
Speaker 2: right with Sean McVay with LA and last year Jared
Speaker 2: Goff statistically was excellent, Well they had another pick and
Speaker 2: they got a linebackers their defense, I mean, I think
Speaker 2: Aiden Hutchinson is going to be a really really good player.
Speaker 2: To me, he's got some whiffs of Joey Bosa. I mean,
Speaker 2: he's got a chance to be a twelve fifteen sack
Speaker 2: guy next year immediately. So if their defense is just
Speaker 2: incrementally better their offense. I mean, the USC wide receiver
Speaker 2: they have as a stud, like you said, their offensive
Speaker 2: lines of stud. Their coach, while he's an offensive because
Speaker 2: he's a tight end, is really wired more like a
Speaker 2: defensive tackle. I mean, he wants to be a tough,
Speaker 2: physical guy. I'm with you. If you love this guy,
Speaker 2: and I'm going to give them the benefit out because
Speaker 2: I watched them last year and they were an expressive operation,
Speaker 2: so I think they know the wiring. The other thing
Speaker 2: is Dan Campbell came from Sean Payton, you know, over
Speaker 2: that five or six year run when he got fired
Speaker 2: from Miami and went there became an assistant head coach.
Speaker 2: They had really good drafts during that time when the
Speaker 2: Saints were really good at the end of the two thousand.
Speaker 2: You know the teams right the seventeen eighteen nineteen, So
Speaker 2: I think he knows the wiring of the guys. I
Speaker 2: remember sometimes the Saints hed be like, well they did that,
Speaker 2: and then it would work out right, So I'm with you.
Speaker 2: It was a little eye opening because you see the
Speaker 2: second running back come off at twelve. But I'm going
Speaker 2: to give them the benefit of the doubt because I
Speaker 2: know their play style and I know what they want
Speaker 2: to do. The other thing is when's the last time
Speaker 2: a running back from Alabama beside Trent Richardson hasn't worked
Speaker 2: in the NFL. You watch them all over the league.
Speaker 2: They're all successful players well, and Jared Goff's history is
Speaker 2: when Gurley was healthy, He's been a really good quarterback.
Speaker 2: When Jared gets in trouble is third and long. Okay,
Speaker 2: So is Detroit saying we love our OC, we just
Speaker 2: don't want to get in third and long. You and
Speaker 2: I know I saw Goff out duel Mahomes when they
Speaker 2: had Gurley and naked run. Jared was getting you to
Speaker 2: the super Bowl. It's when the O line aged and
Speaker 2: they didn't have a consistent run game. Now you' leene
Speaker 2: on Jared Goff and it's not pretty right. So I
Speaker 2: look at Detroit and I think they love their OC.
Speaker 2: They have good young receivers, excellent O line, Swift got
Speaker 2: banged up, and maybe they're just saying, listen, we're just
Speaker 2: going to do a one to two punch and we're
Speaker 2: going to go. And by the way, in that division,
Speaker 2: the D line for the Vikings, the D line for
Speaker 2: the Packers, the D line for the Bears. Are you
Speaker 2: going to pick them to win the division? You pick
Speaker 2: Minnesota last year? To me, obviously, injuries can happen, but
Speaker 2: Detroit would be my pick as of recording this today
Speaker 2: to win in the North.
Speaker 1: And again, I think is Detroit looking at that division
Speaker 1: and thinking our line is significantly better in those six
Speaker 1: games against the d lines in our division. Can we
Speaker 1: go five and one in that division?
Speaker 2: For sure? And in a weird way because they haven't
Speaker 2: even made them playoffs? Right, But if you assume that
Speaker 2: they're going to be in the mix, the three teams
Speaker 2: that are at the top of the conference, the Eagles,
Speaker 2: the Niners, and Cowboys are all physical teams. So you're
Speaker 2: getting this is not a lightweight fight. You're getting in
Speaker 2: the ring to fight heavyweights, So you have to be
Speaker 2: willing to play like that. And Dan Campbell is now
Speaker 2: building a team. Who do they draft their second pick
Speaker 2: in the first round a linebacker from Iowa? Right? I
Speaker 2: mean they have a type of guy that they're looking
Speaker 2: for to build their Honestly, that should translate to playing
Speaker 2: the Cowboys the Eagles and just give them a chance.
Speaker 2: If not in twenty three, the next couple of years. Obviously,
Speaker 2: you know Jared Goff is going to be the guy
Speaker 2: we talk about the most, but he's proven if you
Speaker 2: can do it around him and their roster.
Speaker 1: I liked a lot with the Lions. I have going
Speaker 1: on a lot, so I mean the Will Levice situation.
Speaker 1: I talked to people that I really trust and their
Speaker 1: big concern with them was, listen, the kid is smart.
Speaker 1: We know his mom went to an IV league school, Yale.
Speaker 1: We know he's a four point student. Why is his
Speaker 1: judgment so bad? And what I heard was Jay Cutler
Speaker 1: is that Jay Cutler was arrogant and obstinate, and if
Speaker 1: Jay had a rope, Jay had an arm, and if
Speaker 1: Jay wanted to sling it, he didn't give a shit
Speaker 1: what the coach said. And Jay, I'll argue it forever.
Speaker 1: Jay had one of the best arms in the league
Speaker 1: when he played. He had an absolute host. But Jay
Speaker 1: was stubborn, rigid, difficult, and people worried Will Levis with
Speaker 1: the selfies the gun show, look at me the combine.
Speaker 1: He wore a muscle shirt I had. I had a
Speaker 1: head coach and a GM told me they hated that.
Speaker 1: I mean, I listen, Brady Quinn works at Fox, and
Speaker 1: I like Brady. But that was one of the knocks
Speaker 1: I heard is that an he can't be jacked as
Speaker 1: a quarterback. You have to be fluid, and you don't
Speaker 1: see biceps on Aaron Rodgers or Peyton Manning. Your take
Speaker 1: on Will Levis dropping.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean I think that he was a fascinating
Speaker 2: player coming into the season, and then the season was
Speaker 2: a disaster, and I had people that really like him.
Speaker 2: They aren't necessarily quote unquote decision makers, but are you know,
Speaker 2: high in their organization. Said if coming out his junior
Speaker 2: season or whatever, two years ago, when Liam Cohen, right,
Speaker 2: the Rams guy, was his offensive coordinator, he would have
Speaker 2: been a lock top five pick. Then he goes to
Speaker 2: Rich Skangarello, who a lot of people are down on
Speaker 2: disastrous season, and then, like you said, kind of has
Speaker 2: a bad offseason. The lifting things, you're not playing offensive
Speaker 2: tackle or lineback, No one cares. It's about pliability. It's
Speaker 2: about fluidity. And that's a big knock on his game
Speaker 2: is fluidity touch. And we've seen so many guys Brady
Speaker 2: Quinn Kaepernick got really big. Whether you can throw at
Speaker 2: one hundred and twenty miles an hour, If you can't
Speaker 2: throw a strike, who cares? You're not going to make
Speaker 2: the big leagues, right, So touch is a big issue
Speaker 2: with him. I also think that like Anthony Richardson, who
Speaker 2: this raw guy was viewed as very mouldable. One thing
Speaker 2: I have heard like when he went and met with people,
Speaker 2: they were just like you know what this guy means? Well,
Speaker 2: like I would love to be around this guy. There
Speaker 2: was a lot of positive vibes around him. Very grateful,
Speaker 2: Like Anthony Richardson wrote a Penda letter. He was like
Speaker 2: humble and grateful. And it's like, John, you look at
Speaker 2: that and you think, Okay, this kid wants to learn. Yeah,
Speaker 2: and whether it works out, only time will tell, and
Speaker 2: more than the history would show us it probably won't.
Speaker 2: But I know that a lot of people were down
Speaker 2: on him and during the process came away the opposite,
Speaker 2: like I'm rooting for this guy. I think this guy
Speaker 2: not crazy to go in the top five is the
Speaker 2: ceiling is sky high, and I think will Levis started
Speaker 2: getting more negative and negative, not like you said anything malicious, right,
Speaker 2: but the buff stuff to the lifting the pictures on
Speaker 2: Instagram within the last month, like what are we doing?
Speaker 2: You know, it's just I mean, he didn't I mean
Speaker 2: he tumbled. I mean this was a guy that I
Speaker 2: think after last season twenty one, when Kentucky had the
Speaker 2: really good year, I don't see how he wouldn't have
Speaker 2: been a top five pick, not with those measurables, right,
Speaker 2: But then yeah, I mean I clearly the league is
Speaker 2: very I mean, this is a quarterback star of the Leak.
Speaker 2: For no one to touch him, right, it's crazy.
Speaker 1: Okay, So we get through the first round. So I
Speaker 1: was told by the people I trust that the people
Speaker 1: felt there was about twelve Usually there's eighteen, about twelve
Speaker 1: first round players, and then from about thirteen until about
Speaker 1: the twelfth pick in the second round, they're all about
Speaker 1: the same. So Will Levis is probably going to go
Speaker 1: at my guest top of the second. You know, Rams
Speaker 1: have a lot of picks, a second, two thirds, three fifths,
Speaker 1: three six. When I looked at the Rams, I thought
Speaker 1: to myself, if you're the Rams and you have you
Speaker 1: got to get an edge. You got to get another receiver.
Speaker 1: I think they want to back interior, offensive lineman, corner,
Speaker 1: tight end. And you had eleven picks no first would
Speaker 1: you be willing to forego if you're less sneed four
Speaker 1: or five of those picks to just go get a
Speaker 1: second second, have two thirds, get rid of your seventh,
Speaker 1: your sixth, and two of your fifths, and just say
Speaker 1: we need about six got with Stafford and Cooper cup
Speaker 1: coming back wildly productive guys, We're going to go and
Speaker 1: get about six players. Do you think teams would consider
Speaker 1: doing that, giving up like they have two sevens, three six,
Speaker 1: three fives?
Speaker 2: What for them specifically? I talk to a buddy. I
Speaker 2: think most people acknowledge the Arizona Cardinals right now are
Speaker 2: viewed as the worst team in the league right just
Speaker 2: roster wise, just a disaster. And a buddy of mine
Speaker 2: was like, in the league on a really good team
Speaker 2: was going, well, look at the Rams. I mean their
Speaker 2: their roster is very questionable at best for a team
Speaker 2: that tries to win it every year and be in
Speaker 2: the mix. So yeah, I mean they never live in
Speaker 2: the short term now. The only thing would be and
Speaker 2: they're not really built like this, assuming Stafford is healthy,
Speaker 2: would they want to just take it on the chin
Speaker 2: and go for one of the guys next year? And
Speaker 2: you'd go, well, based on mcveigh's history, could he take
Speaker 2: a season at two or three wins? I would highly
Speaker 2: doubt that. So yeah, I mean I would be shocked
Speaker 2: if they don't get super aggressive tomorrow, you know, in
Speaker 2: the second and third round, because they are not you know,
Speaker 2: a lot of businesses. I think not just about twenty three,
Speaker 2: but about twenty five, twenty six in any industry that
Speaker 2: has not been their history, and especially with Sean Right,
Speaker 2: who at any moment, you know, in any given year
Speaker 2: for them could get fifteen million dollars to go call games.
Speaker 1: So we are doing this at the very tail end
Speaker 1: of the first So not only did the Eagles get
Speaker 1: Jalen Carter, they got Nolan Smith as an edge with
Speaker 1: the thirtieth pick.
Speaker 2: They go blue chip guys from the best conference. That's
Speaker 2: an edict in the organization and it pops on television
Speaker 2: right when you watch them play. The forty nine Ers
Speaker 2: don't necessarily have that, like you don't need to be
Speaker 2: from the SEC, but they have a clear you're playing personality.
Speaker 2: If you don't play like a certain personality, they're not
Speaker 2: messing with you. They specific guy.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean the Niners really draft physical players. You
Speaker 1: become what you draft, right Like It's it's that you know,
Speaker 1: you become what you eat, what you watch, what you draft.
Speaker 1: Like if you look at the if you look at
Speaker 1: the Eagles and the Niners, they are just wildly physical teams.
Speaker 1: It's one of you know, Hendon Hooker or Will level
Speaker 1: Us who goes first.
Speaker 2: I think Will Levis still goes first, just based on
Speaker 2: two years ago. You know, it's weird in these draft
Speaker 2: rooms you still talk about what they were in high school,
Speaker 2: what they were maybe early on in their career if
Speaker 2: it turned, you know, turned a negative corner and the
Speaker 2: guy struggled. So Hennon Hooker had one year. He's also
Speaker 2: the same age as Sam Darnold. Sam Donald just played
Speaker 2: on his fifth year option last year, so I mean,
Speaker 2: and he's got a torn ACL. I think, you know,
Speaker 2: if you were going to be in the in the
Speaker 2: business of taking a question to me, it's a no brainer.
Speaker 2: You would take Will the other thing. Will Levis has
Speaker 2: played now one year, he struggled the other year in
Speaker 2: NFL offense for two years. The Tennessee offense, while wildly
Speaker 2: successful in college, is not viewed by both and most
Speaker 2: NFL people, as you know, transferable immediately to right to
Speaker 2: the field. So I back to the Eagles, I think
Speaker 2: they have really just stayed so true to this. The
Speaker 2: SEC guys, the big picture guys, think about the trade,
Speaker 2: how they ended up here. Two years ago. They traded
Speaker 2: Carson Wentz to the Colts, which ended up being a
Speaker 2: first round so they had all those first round picks
Speaker 2: and then they didn't need them. All, so they traded
Speaker 2: to the Saints, who were desperate to live in the moment,
Speaker 2: and that led them to get the Saints pick this year,
Speaker 2: which led them to Jalen Carter, and then just their
Speaker 2: own pick led them to Nolan Smith, who, let's face it,
Speaker 2: the only reason he's there that late is he was
Speaker 2: banged up this season. I mean, he's a in a
Speaker 2: draft like this year, a guy like that healthy at
Speaker 2: that program, with those measurables and that speed, No way
Speaker 2: he's there, you know. I guess technically it's thirty one,
Speaker 2: but because Miami gets their pick, take and it's the
Speaker 2: thirtieth pick. Yeah, the Eagles just there's a reason when
Speaker 2: you watch him play, their speed, their talent at every position.
Speaker 2: I mean, they're not taking guys from from random schools anymore.
Speaker 2: I mean, look at look at their top talent, look
Speaker 2: at look at the programs they play in.
Speaker 1: All right, John Middlecoff three and Out a volume podcast,
Speaker 1: does his golf as well. A good thirty minutes with John.
Speaker 1: We appreciate everybody stopping by. John. We will talk soon.
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