Speaker 1: Tour Fires touch stop Waddles knocked into the end zone
Speaker 1: of Miami type prowl my window. They had to get
Speaker 1: that touchdown on that play, they gave it. What is up? Dolphins?
Speaker 1: And welcome to the Drivetime Podcast, part of the Miami
Speaker 1: Dolphins podcast network, covering your team, your Miami Dolphins. How's
Speaker 1: it going everybody? I am your host, Travis Winkfield. And
Speaker 1: on today's show, and then there were four conference championship
Speaker 1: games are set, will review the Divisional round playoffs, a
Speaker 1: great for some of football games, plus a ton of
Speaker 1: your mail bad questions, and we'll continue our Senior Bowl
Speaker 1: preview with the receivers and tight ends from somewhere in
Speaker 1: South Florida. This is the Drivetime Podcast Miami Dolphins. How
Speaker 1: fitting is it that in this strange season where seemingly
Speaker 1: every single week there was a massive upset and National
Speaker 1: Football League and no teams were really truly dominant from
Speaker 1: wire to wire, from bell to bell this season, that
Speaker 1: we get three road teams winning on Divisional Round weekend,
Speaker 1: and damn near four with a quarterback who played basically
Speaker 1: a perfect game and lost in Josh Allen for the
Speaker 1: Buffalo Bills. What a tough way to end your season there,
Speaker 1: but I always enjoy seeing, you know, all three phases
Speaker 1: clearly contribute to the outcome and kind of kill the
Speaker 1: discourse about how the only way to compete this time
Speaker 1: of year is with you know, one of three or
Speaker 1: four quarterbacks. And do not get me wrong, those guys
Speaker 1: certainly help you substantially in your pursuit of a championship.
Speaker 1: But once again we learned here as we moved to
Speaker 1: the final four that it's not just one recipe to
Speaker 1: get all the way home. And one other hot topic
Speaker 1: out there is about the value of the running back position.
Speaker 1: That came to be about I don't know, four or five, six,
Speaker 1: seven years ago, longer than that. Maybe I've always disliked
Speaker 1: that though, because I felt like there was a bit
Speaker 1: of a blanket statement feeling to that idea for folks
Speaker 1: to say that it doesn't matter who you put it
Speaker 1: running back because running the football no longer matters because
Speaker 1: the impact on the outcome of the game is significantly
Speaker 1: less so than throwing the football. That's the thought process,
Speaker 1: right at least in some circles. Hard disagree obviously with that,
Speaker 1: and I understand the conversation about efficiency between the running
Speaker 1: game and the passing game and being slanted much more
Speaker 1: heavily in favor of the aerial assault. But that's a
Speaker 1: much different conversation about about a statement about running backs
Speaker 1: not mattering, and what about when you go empty with
Speaker 1: a back who can run routes as a receiver, What
Speaker 1: about past protection, what about explosive runs, the factor into
Speaker 1: big drives and helping control the clock and games. I
Speaker 1: don't know how you can watch that Rams team with
Speaker 1: cam Akers back in the lineup and say that offense
Speaker 1: didn't change pretty drastically for the better with his inclusion
Speaker 1: into it. So that was something else I thought was
Speaker 1: a big takeaway from this weekend and the overarching theme
Speaker 1: I thought here was those were two of the overarching theme.
Speaker 1: With the Niners pulling off a victory, that certainly adds
Speaker 1: to the whole value of the run game discussion as
Speaker 1: well as for the games. What a brutal way for
Speaker 1: the Titans to go out, going from thinking you're basically
Speaker 1: two first downs way from the n f C Championship
Speaker 1: game for the second time in three years to a turnover.
Speaker 1: Then the Bengals get their twenty yards they need to
Speaker 1: eliminate you. And also how about the value of a
Speaker 1: rock solid kicking game. I mean, I think the only
Speaker 1: miss there was the one with Harrison Butker in the
Speaker 1: Chiefs game this weekend. Maybe there's another one that I'm
Speaker 1: forgetting about. But you've gotta have a kicker, you know,
Speaker 1: kicker capable of going thirty six for thirty nine for
Speaker 1: you in a season and really kick big clutch field
Speaker 1: goals this time of year. It seems like all those
Speaker 1: teams had that figured out. Forty Niners and Packers might
Speaker 1: takeaways that we should never apply too much to one
Speaker 1: game because literally anyone in this league. In fact, in
Speaker 1: a season, everyone will have a bad game more than
Speaker 1: one bad game. I'm very happy for Kyle Shanahan and
Speaker 1: that Niners team, though, even if it does impact the
Speaker 1: Dolphin's first round pick. I'm a fan of that operation.
Speaker 1: I find it very easy to root for Rams and Bucks.
Speaker 1: What a game that was. I had the Rams representing
Speaker 1: the NFC in the Super Bowl, so I'm pretty happy
Speaker 1: about that. I'm a big Matt Stafford fan also, always
Speaker 1: was since that first season of his career back in
Speaker 1: Detroit when they were like three and eleven and he
Speaker 1: let a come back in a game with a dislocated shoulder,
Speaker 1: in a game that meant nothing in the grand scheme
Speaker 1: of standings, and I can't believe it came down to
Speaker 1: the way this game did. At the end of that,
Speaker 1: I mean, Brady remains just unreal. But I'm always for
Speaker 1: a new blood the playoffs and with Stafford. Cool to
Speaker 1: see him get deep into the playoffs his first year
Speaker 1: here with the Rams and then just finished up watching
Speaker 1: Chiefs Bills before hitting published on this podcast. Look, you're
Speaker 1: gonna have to have a quarterback that can go ahead
Speaker 1: to head with one of those guys in the postseason.
Speaker 1: What a battle that was. I mean, I consider this
Speaker 1: all the time. Should you play the game with the
Speaker 1: idea of drain the clock as just as important as
Speaker 1: scoring the touchdown to go ahead late in the game
Speaker 1: against the quarterback like Josh Allen or Pat Mahomes, because
Speaker 1: both these teams traded to blow for blow there. I
Speaker 1: mean Bill's touchdown, Tyreek touchdown, then thirteen seconds left from
Speaker 1: Mahomes and he gets it done. I said going into that,
Speaker 1: whoever won that game was gonna win the Super Bowl.
Speaker 1: I still feel good about that. I had Chiefs Rams
Speaker 1: in the super Bowl back in my September Predictions podcast.
Speaker 1: I still feel really good about that. I think it's
Speaker 1: who's gonna be in the super Bowl this year and
Speaker 1: I'll take the Chiefs to win it, like I had
Speaker 1: back in that poll as well. What a great weekend
Speaker 1: of football that was. I don't know if we'll get
Speaker 1: a weekend of games of playoff football games that good
Speaker 1: again for a long time. So I hope we all
Speaker 1: really enjoyed that. I sure as hell did. And so
Speaker 1: just like that, there are three football games left in season,
Speaker 1: and we have the Senior Bowl wedged in there as well,
Speaker 1: so four more games in just a couple of weeks.
Speaker 1: We're gonna be without the National Football League until August
Speaker 1: for preseason, September for the regular season. So a long
Speaker 1: stretch here without football in our lives, unless you count
Speaker 1: the USFL, which is kicking off the spring. But I digress.
Speaker 1: So with that, the offseason is getting even closer now,
Speaker 1: and I want to go ahead and open up some
Speaker 1: mail bad questions from y'all, and you guys did not
Speaker 1: disappoint putting, and I think it was fifty five questions
Speaker 1: in the user mail bag on Twitter. We're gonna do
Speaker 1: these periodically here, and we did this one every single
Speaker 1: week regular season. We'll do him I don't know, bi weekly,
Speaker 1: once a month here during the offseason, and certainly around
Speaker 1: the tem Bowl events. But let's go ahead and kick
Speaker 1: this thing off with at Sewan underscore three oh five.
Speaker 1: What type of coach do you prefer for the Dolphins
Speaker 1: the most one the hot shot coordinator with no head
Speaker 1: coach experience, to an experienced head coach getting his second
Speaker 1: or third or whatever job it might be, third college
Speaker 1: head coach or fourth other Well, you know, Sean, I'm
Speaker 1: glad you asked, because I really don't think there's you know,
Speaker 1: any one secret sauce. And that goes for team building,
Speaker 1: for coaching styles. Look around the league. Sean McDermott and
Speaker 1: Bill Belichick in our own division, two of the very
Speaker 1: best in the game. Both cut their teeth on the
Speaker 1: defensive side of the football. Sean McVeigh, Kyle Shanahan, Matt Lafleur.
Speaker 1: Those guys satisfied that successful hot coordinator, hot shot who
Speaker 1: came in and had success the second time head coach. Well,
Speaker 1: that's what Don Shula was, It's what Bill Belichick was.
Speaker 1: More recently, Ron River I want to division title in
Speaker 1: his first year of stop number two. We've seen John
Speaker 1: Harbaugh go from special teams coordina to one of the
Speaker 1: top five coaches in the National Football League in my opinion,
Speaker 1: and conversely, we've seen hirings under all those umbrellas not
Speaker 1: work as well. Here's what I believe is important leadership.
Speaker 1: Someone capable of collaborating and delegating to a strong staff,
Speaker 1: who is supported in a way that makes their job
Speaker 1: as easy as it possibly can be. None of these
Speaker 1: jobs are easy. This is a tough racket coaching. A
Speaker 1: person who can relate to the modern player, connecting to
Speaker 1: them on a professional and personal level, who can find
Speaker 1: that blend of old school toughness and new age explanation
Speaker 1: behind here's why we're doing what we're doing. I think
Speaker 1: it's important to have someone schooled in all areas of
Speaker 1: the games, schematics, understanding when you just got to trust
Speaker 1: your best players and athletes, knowing how to manage the clock,
Speaker 1: end of game situations, your challenge flags. All of that
Speaker 1: stuff is just so so crucial in a fine margins league.
Speaker 1: And as much as I'd love to see here and
Speaker 1: tell you that I don't know which coaches will work
Speaker 1: and which ones won't. I mean, I've mentioned this before.
Speaker 1: The more you learn about this league, the more you
Speaker 1: realize how little you actually know. And when it comes
Speaker 1: to identifying a great coaching candidate, how can we possibly
Speaker 1: know that without spending time with them face to face,
Speaker 1: seeing how they've worked in the past, talking to references.
Speaker 1: I mean, if you're not involved in the process, how
Speaker 1: can you really know. So my hope is that a
Speaker 1: new coach can check those boxes that I previously mentioned.
Speaker 1: Next question from at Eli jt S In your review
Speaker 1: of the tape, did you see defenses play US differently
Speaker 1: that lead to two us reduced efficiency? And that's in
Speaker 1: reference to the post by four games after after the
Speaker 1: bye week in the Jets game to kick that off,
Speaker 1: I think the team's down the stretch the Dolphins face
Speaker 1: were more inclined to eliminate the pass off of the
Speaker 1: r P O looks and forced to it to hand
Speaker 1: it off more. And the conflict of that package creates
Speaker 1: when you're selling out to stop the run makes defending
Speaker 1: the past very difficult. I think there was more of that,
Speaker 1: but in general, I mean not really. I think to
Speaker 1: needs to use this offseason to kind of look at
Speaker 1: those pressure packages that teams sent and identify his hot
Speaker 1: answers more quickly. That's something that usually comes with time
Speaker 1: at the position, and he can take strides in that
Speaker 1: area certainly, and when with the pre snap and the
Speaker 1: mental and the things that I've talked about so many
Speaker 1: times that make up the vast majority of your snaps
Speaker 1: as a quarterback of post to the off script stuff,
Speaker 1: just be better in those areas that we really projected
Speaker 1: him to be better in or be a good prospect
Speaker 1: in those areas. I should say that will take him
Speaker 1: a long way towards improvement and kind of getting over
Speaker 1: that hurdle. And if he can do that and take
Speaker 1: strides in those areas that the stuff that you know
Speaker 1: takes time to develop a master, and I think he'll
Speaker 1: be more than fine. But the differences, you know, fewer
Speaker 1: downhill steps on r p O and teams really put
Speaker 1: an emphasis on Jalen Waddle, which I'm surprised didn't happen earlier,
Speaker 1: to be quite frank. Next question here from j D
Speaker 1: fince Fan with two in mind for one more season.
Speaker 1: How many pieces are we away from a playoff winning
Speaker 1: team and what pieces slash positions are they That's the
Speaker 1: million dollar question, isn't it. I think the roster right
Speaker 1: now is good enough. We saw a lot of teams
Speaker 1: dispatched on wild card weekend a couple of weekends ago
Speaker 1: who had the same or similar records to the Miami Dolphins,
Speaker 1: and we lost three or five games that are between
Speaker 1: Las Vegas, Jacksonville and Atlanta on last second field goals
Speaker 1: and one of those games too didn't play. So to
Speaker 1: answer that part, I think this team won nine games
Speaker 1: and the vast, vast majority of the pieces that provided
Speaker 1: the most contributions to those nine wins would be coming
Speaker 1: back to the football team. Now, every team needs upgrades.
Speaker 1: You mentioned offensive line. Yeah, it's it's got to be better.
Speaker 1: There's no ways around that. From every grading metric or
Speaker 1: pressure counts or just using your eyeballs, it's got to
Speaker 1: get better on the offensive line. Now, I'm not gonna
Speaker 1: sit here and say redo the whole thing, because that's
Speaker 1: to me not realistic. And you, at some point you
Speaker 1: have to have faith in your own scouting developing process
Speaker 1: US and what you believe you You know you had
Speaker 1: in certain players that you took early in the draft.
Speaker 1: You have to get development and growth from your incumbents,
Speaker 1: because if you don't do that, you're gonna be in
Speaker 1: a tough spot. And I know I've talked a lot
Speaker 1: about flexibility, but you do have to also in addition
Speaker 1: to that flexibility. Hit On said, you know, acquisitions and
Speaker 1: develop and get improvement there. But that said, I think
Speaker 1: there's a lot of reasons to say that we need
Speaker 1: to upgrade, you know, that offensive line group. And if
Speaker 1: worst case scenario, some of the starters from this year
Speaker 1: are moved into backup roles, well, then I would love
Speaker 1: the possibility of having that depth there because I think
Speaker 1: that that would only mean that the entire offensive line
Speaker 1: has seen upgrades at not just the top five spots,
Speaker 1: but the reserve spots as well. Now from the previous question,
Speaker 1: I think you need more consistent reliability really at all
Speaker 1: the skill spots. Outside of Waddle, it was kind of
Speaker 1: a shuffle for the second go to receiver in the
Speaker 1: offense go to pass option. I'd love to see another
Speaker 1: separation artist added like Galen Waddle. I mean that's what
Speaker 1: I thought. You know, Will Fuller brought to the table,
Speaker 1: and you guys remember how excited I was a about
Speaker 1: the offense with the two vertical and horizontal stretch guys
Speaker 1: of a Will Fuller and Jaylen Waddle. We never really
Speaker 1: got a chance to see that. I mean, they played
Speaker 1: together for a couple of games, and neither of those
Speaker 1: games had too in the in the lineup. So I
Speaker 1: think some of some more explosiveness there and also at
Speaker 1: the running back position could certainly help. I thought, I
Speaker 1: thought Duke rant really really well when he got his chance,
Speaker 1: but more of that firepower for the whole season. And
Speaker 1: then defensively, depending on what happens with Agba, you might
Speaker 1: need to address the defensive and spot. I mean I
Speaker 1: think I think that's it could be Jayan Phillips Andrew
Speaker 1: van Ginkl, But you don't want to be just too
Speaker 1: deep there in terms of guys that you know can
Speaker 1: produce at a high level. And then I might look
Speaker 1: at the mic linebacker position that can maybe help free
Speaker 1: up a little bit more of Jerome Baker to move
Speaker 1: all over the formation, because I thought that he got
Speaker 1: he saw a huge leaping production in my opinion, when
Speaker 1: he started playing more off the edge and doing multiple
Speaker 1: things like he is wont to do in this defense.
Speaker 1: So that and also You've got to be better on
Speaker 1: special teams. I mean, there was you know, a lot
Speaker 1: of a lot of emphasis towards signing players that were
Speaker 1: exclusively special teams guys and paid, you know, requisitely in
Speaker 1: favor of you know, potentially day three picks to round
Speaker 1: out those spots paid free agent contracts. And the Dolphin
Speaker 1: special teams ranked twenty nine d o A. So that
Speaker 1: also has to get better and more efficient for what
Speaker 1: it's being paid to do as well. So that's a
Speaker 1: few of the things I think you can look at.
Speaker 1: You can always look to upgrade the entire roster, but
Speaker 1: those are the places I think you might start this offseason.
Speaker 1: Let's go ahead and take our first break and come
Speaker 1: back with some more mail bag questions, and also we'll
Speaker 1: go continue the preview of the Senior Boy taking a
Speaker 1: look at the receivers and tight ends coming up in
Speaker 1: next week's Senior Bowl practice and game. Drivetime Podcast. Travis
Speaker 1: Wingfield enjoying the mail bag here so far, our first
Speaker 1: offseason mail bag edition of the Drivetime Podcast. Let's go
Speaker 1: ahead and jump right back in with some more of
Speaker 1: your questions. Appreciate you guys putting out those questions on
Speaker 1: the Twitter mail bag that I posted last week, and
Speaker 1: you guys really came through with several questions here this
Speaker 1: one from at der Away see twelve on Twitter. How
Speaker 1: much does the public announcement that who is the guy
Speaker 1: hurt the head coaching search? I feel is this this
Speaker 1: really restricts the candidates as usually the head coach wants
Speaker 1: to choose his guy. And does this make day Ball
Speaker 1: the front runner? Now to your first question, no, not
Speaker 1: at all. First, the Dolphins haven't made any type of
Speaker 1: declaration themselves, so I want to be clear about that.
Speaker 1: But aside from that, almost nobody has more future resources
Speaker 1: to work with than the Miami Dolphins in terms of
Speaker 1: cap space and draft capital. Two first round picks next season.
Speaker 1: If you determined you need to make a change of
Speaker 1: the quarterback position, you could be one year away from
Speaker 1: two picks in a class that has potentially c J. Stroud,
Speaker 1: potentially Bryce Young, potentially Grayson McCall and c J. Stroud
Speaker 1: is a hell of a player. But there are options
Speaker 1: there which which has been you know, by design every
Speaker 1: offseason for this club under the current regime and makeup,
Speaker 1: so flexibility continues to reign supreme. There great question next
Speaker 1: question from at John J. Vogel. Two questions. He says,
Speaker 1: how high do you value Calvin Ridley? And what impact
Speaker 1: with a combination of him and Wattle have with regards
Speaker 1: to creating more opportunities for GASICKI slash a tight end?
Speaker 1: And number two, what little Dicky verse or song best
Speaker 1: applies to to ah? Thanks, Well, we can't talk about
Speaker 1: Calvin Ridley. He's on another club. I think he's a
Speaker 1: fantastic players and a fantastic player, I should say, and
Speaker 1: it kills me to see people commenting on his situation
Speaker 1: this past season. You know, mentals are very important. I
Speaker 1: commend the hell out of him for taking care of
Speaker 1: his Plus the reason he stepped away from the game
Speaker 1: was absolutely tragic. So a big fan of Calvin Ridley's.
Speaker 1: But he's on another team, so we don't talk about that.
Speaker 1: But I do agree that more weaponry to the arsenal
Speaker 1: is very important. Your second part, oh man, question after
Speaker 1: my own heart here, which little Dicky verse best applies
Speaker 1: to toa This is such a tough question that I
Speaker 1: could spend hours thinking about, but I'm gonna go off
Speaker 1: top of my head here and go to a very
Speaker 1: recent I think probably the most recent song that he
Speaker 1: has he has produced the the joint with with Gata
Speaker 1: when it's called we Good, and at the very end
Speaker 1: he says, and what do we say to the haters
Speaker 1: and nonbelievers? And Gator shouts thank you. That would be
Speaker 1: the verse that I would go with there for two.
Speaker 1: So he can just kind of put his head down,
Speaker 1: keep trucking and keep putting the work, all right. Next
Speaker 1: question here from at ramfin thirty one? Who are you
Speaker 1: breaking the bank for during free agency? You know, something
Speaker 1: about the phrasing of that just makes me, and sorry
Speaker 1: to bring back bad memories here, but it makes me
Speaker 1: a little bit queasy just breaking the bank on free agency.
Speaker 1: It's always a risky proposition. But if you want to
Speaker 1: know which potential free agents I like and who the
Speaker 1: hell knows who actually makes it to the market. I
Speaker 1: mentioned Ryan Jensen earlier, he's a free agent. I love
Speaker 1: his game. Davanta Adams is the best receiver in football
Speaker 1: and he's currently scheduled for unrestricted free agency. That's a
Speaker 1: no brainer pick and man, just the entire receiving group.
Speaker 1: I think Chris Godwin is an absolute monster. I love,
Speaker 1: love love Michael Gallops game. Both of those guys coming
Speaker 1: off a c l S though I'm a fan of
Speaker 1: Cam Robinson on the offensive line from Jacksonville. But this
Speaker 1: is all just conject during still until we see who
Speaker 1: resigns with their club, who gets tags that sort of thing.
Speaker 1: First order of business making decisions on our own guys,
Speaker 1: you know, Emmanuel Ogba, Mike Gasicky and Nick Needo and
Speaker 1: three players up for contracts who have have have had
Speaker 1: big production here the last couple of years at Robi Digital.
Speaker 1: What was your favorite piece of Miami Dolphins apparel growing
Speaker 1: up or ever? Hats, jackets, hoodies, t shirts, jersey is
Speaker 1: that kind of thing? And then he posted a great
Speaker 1: photo in the Twitter question of the goat himself, coach
Speaker 1: Shula in the famed starter jacket from the nineties that
Speaker 1: has that has to be it right there. That's there's
Speaker 1: nothing else, but two other things that do come to mind.
Speaker 1: I was in my brother's house during Christmas and he
Speaker 1: randomly had this Dolphins belt buckle that we had from
Speaker 1: like NTE in his garage that I stumbled across when
Speaker 1: coming in from getting a water bottle out of his truck.
Speaker 1: And my brother and I we always like all we
Speaker 1: got was sports memorabili of growing up. So we always
Speaker 1: had every team, every league, and every sport, everything that
Speaker 1: you could think of, But the Dolphins were one that
Speaker 1: really became more and more prominent as we went along,
Speaker 1: and we both became big fans because of all the
Speaker 1: Dolphins memorability we owned. And I've never like warn belt buckles,
Speaker 1: but for some reason, I thought that belt buckle was
Speaker 1: so cool. And then, finally, do you remember how you
Speaker 1: could write in and order things from Sports Illustrated, like
Speaker 1: send in this and whatever you can get this, like
Speaker 1: sports bag or whatever. I got a Dolphins Super Bowl
Speaker 1: ring back in junior high and wore that thing like
Speaker 1: every single day. I'm not even sure if it was
Speaker 1: supposed to be for the seventy two or seventy three
Speaker 1: world champion teams or just pretend, like in an alternate
Speaker 1: universe that it was recent, But I loved that ring
Speaker 1: and I love that question. Thanks for asking it. Let's
Speaker 1: do two quick ones here at Measter Tweets. Now that
Speaker 1: you're in Miami, in the Miami area, you probably don't
Speaker 1: have any more use for taco bell. What used to
Speaker 1: be your go to taco bell order on a late
Speaker 1: Saturday night back home. I did have it once when
Speaker 1: I got home when I flew back from from the Northwest.
Speaker 1: There was it was like one am, and it was
Speaker 1: next to my house, so I got it, and I
Speaker 1: regretted it the minute I got it back to the house.
Speaker 1: But aside from the late night visits where you you
Speaker 1: know you asked the uber to kind of pull in
Speaker 1: and make a quick stop on the way home, I
Speaker 1: really just stopped eating it in high school, but you know,
Speaker 1: I did used to have some of those fourth meals
Speaker 1: as they were, and house some double deckers like Nobody's business.
Speaker 1: I like to mix in the soft taco and cheesy
Speaker 1: Gordon to crunch as well, and don't sleep on the
Speaker 1: What are those things called the cinnamon twists? Those were
Speaker 1: pretty legendary as will at. Kevin M D four asked
Speaker 1: if if you watch Peaky Blinders, who are your favorite characters.
Speaker 1: I do not, keV. I've heard good things, It's just
Speaker 1: not really my cup of tea. Does that apply here?
Speaker 1: I'm really into Succession right now and finding Kendall to
Speaker 1: be one of the most interesting characters on the show.
Speaker 1: And a quick spoiler for those that have not but
Speaker 1: planned to watch succession. I really hope that in season
Speaker 1: two spoiler coming right now, I really hope that he
Speaker 1: comes back and has some type of what's the word.
Speaker 1: I'm looking for, some type of give back for what
Speaker 1: he did to the kid in the season one, Like
Speaker 1: he needs to show some remorse and to kind of
Speaker 1: make good there. That's what I want to see from Kendall.
Speaker 1: But I'm really fascinated by him and Greg Greg Gregory,
Speaker 1: he's my favorite character by far. But no, I have
Speaker 1: not watched Peaky Blinders. I probably won't. All right, go
Speaker 1: ahead and take our last break here, and then we'll
Speaker 1: go ahead and jump into our Senior Bowl preview. It's
Speaker 1: pass catcher day, receivers and tight ends here next Drive
Speaker 1: Time podcast brought to you by Auto Nation. Senior Bowl
Speaker 1: is right around the corner, and I want to kind
Speaker 1: of hit the express version of this because I quickly
Speaker 1: realized how many players we have to cover here. And
Speaker 1: we jump right in with the national squad and the
Speaker 1: wideouts and Johan Dots and from Penn State. Some have
Speaker 1: this guy as receiver one. He has phenomenal ball skills,
Speaker 1: can make every catch away from his frame, on his
Speaker 1: frame in stride the triangle scooping it down low. Veteran
Speaker 1: type of route runner who already does it with both
Speaker 1: a cerebral approach and then the suddenness and explosiveness, and
Speaker 1: you have to have that combination to be a great
Speaker 1: route runner to snap that thing off when you've opened
Speaker 1: up the dB. One of the best separators in this class,
Speaker 1: and he was charged with just two drops last year
Speaker 1: on Pro Football Focus. First round draft pick all Day
Speaker 1: Long John Dotson bow Melton from Rutgers a true burner
Speaker 1: I imagine hill test in the low four fours. He
Speaker 1: can open it up as a long strider, but also
Speaker 1: has the quick feet to win in a phone booth
Speaker 1: with a nice release package. Five ft eleven buck ninety
Speaker 1: five doesn't sound like a big receiver, but he's got
Speaker 1: kind of that Albert Wilson lower half build where he's
Speaker 1: very sturdy in his base and his legs allow him
Speaker 1: to kind of bounce off arm tacklers and really use
Speaker 1: that speed through traffic. Christian Watson from North Dakota State
Speaker 1: only saw him play a one game this year, was
Speaker 1: the FCS title game. We mentioned Milton at Watson's just
Speaker 1: thirteen pounds heavier Dot Dot Dot at six ft five
Speaker 1: like like Melton, he should test in that four four range,
Speaker 1: which is he runs like a deer with you know,
Speaker 1: the long legged deer average seventeen point one yards per catch,
Speaker 1: big play receiver in a Bison offense that usually grinds
Speaker 1: you to a pulp. Even when they had Lens Wentz
Speaker 1: and Lance, they they their entire operations built off that
Speaker 1: running game, but his ability to play down the football
Speaker 1: field really helped them open up the passing game in
Speaker 1: that offense. Romeo do Dobbs from Nevada, He'll join his
Speaker 1: teammate Carson strong and mobile. Much like the running backs.
Speaker 1: The traits here at receiver are pretty consistent. Explosive playmaker
Speaker 1: with plus run after the catchability, six ft two, twitched up,
Speaker 1: choppy feet. I'll be curious to see how he puts
Speaker 1: that to use at the Lion of scrimmage in these
Speaker 1: one on ones, all the small school kids one on ones.
Speaker 1: That's my favorite part of Senior Bowl week. Alec Pierce
Speaker 1: from Cincinnati, Now I did a I did get a
Speaker 1: good look at this receiver from this class, and he's
Speaker 1: a bit of a departure from our speed merchants earlier,
Speaker 1: and that he's six ft three and those fifty fifty
Speaker 1: balls are turned seventy balls with this type of receiver.
Speaker 1: If they got one on one with safety coverage rolling away,
Speaker 1: Ritter would go after Pierce and usually successfully. And I
Speaker 1: want to keep a close eye on him because one
Speaker 1: of the toughest parts to me of evaluating receivers is
Speaker 1: projecting the contested catchability and seeing how it translates. Because
Speaker 1: they make a lot of contested catches. It doesn't mean
Speaker 1: they can't separate, but can you find their separation package
Speaker 1: and skill set when you watch them in these one
Speaker 1: on one battles. On the other side, the American squad
Speaker 1: receivers Calvin Austin the third from Memphis Man Memphis is
Speaker 1: pumping out some skill players, Tony Pollard, uh Antonio Gibson,
Speaker 1: Anthony Miller. Here comes another one. At five ft nine
Speaker 1: one two, he's almost my size. Based on that, how
Speaker 1: do you think that he wins? I mean, that's right,
Speaker 1: he's a flash. You think punt returner as a route
Speaker 1: runner with the ball in his hands, and I love
Speaker 1: to to at well last year, and of course the
Speaker 1: common pushback is that he's under a buck sixty, which
Speaker 1: is kind of unheard of, But some guys just know
Speaker 1: how to protect themselves and play at that size, and
Speaker 1: I think Austin can do that. Reggie Robertson Jr. From
Speaker 1: SMU two SMU receivers here, speed technician, volume guy and
Speaker 1: that SMU spread game. More speed you have here, I mean,
Speaker 1: you kind of have to be that type of athlete
Speaker 1: at this position to play these days, which is why
Speaker 1: I think you're getting so much carry over in these reports.
Speaker 1: But that's what he is, speed merchant for days. Danny
Speaker 1: Gray also SMU, another sub four four potential tester, and
Speaker 1: he pairs that with tremendous vertical ball skills. He tracks
Speaker 1: that thing Alah Tyler Lockett. He's dynamic when stacking defensive
Speaker 1: backs and then tracking the ball to get himself into
Speaker 1: prime position to make a play on the football, and
Speaker 1: he also translates that speed to rackability. He had a
Speaker 1: video game style touchdown against Texas Christian this past season.
Speaker 1: Jalen Tilbert from South Alabama, the hometown kid gets to
Speaker 1: play in his home stadium. I haven't seen him play,
Speaker 1: though he was seventh in the country and receiving yards.
Speaker 1: Vellis Jones Junior from Tennessee what a name that is.
Speaker 1: This week is so good for this receiver's class because
Speaker 1: you're not gonna see a lot of the consensus top
Speaker 1: ten guys out there in terms of most people's big boards,
Speaker 1: and you know a handful of these guys will make
Speaker 1: an impact this year and their careers. It always happens,
Speaker 1: and this week is so important because you can start
Speaker 1: to see if their speed and suddenness can translate into
Speaker 1: a full NFL route tree, and if it stays fast
Speaker 1: at that level, if they can play against fellow NFL
Speaker 1: talent at that speed, that's what you're hoping to see.
Speaker 1: For here with Fellows Jones, that was his game there
Speaker 1: for the volunteers. Trade Turner from Virginia Tech one guy
Speaker 1: that has shown his full skill set. His trade Turner,
Speaker 1: natural hands, great body control, can make every route look
Speaker 1: the exact same, alter his releases, the timing up the stem.
Speaker 1: He's a nice looking prospect with inside outside versatility. Thinks
Speaker 1: smooth is the best way to describe his game. And
Speaker 1: then we have do Ontario Drummond from Old Miss, great
Speaker 1: body composition, slash speed profile playing with Matt Corral and
Speaker 1: Lane Kiff in the Old Miss. I thought really expanded
Speaker 1: his profile in terms of running multiple concepts and attacking
Speaker 1: the football at all levels in the passing game. Great
Speaker 1: running with the ball in his hands, football, i Q
Speaker 1: the whole thing. How about some tight ends here at
Speaker 1: the Senior Bowl. Big fan of this year's class. Love
Speaker 1: this year's class. Jake Ferguson from Wisconsin is a classic y.
Speaker 1: If you want to line up in twelve personnel and
Speaker 1: get yourself an advantage with a good blocking tight end,
Speaker 1: Jake Ferguson is your guy. But he also offers some
Speaker 1: dual functionality in the passing game. He's a good tendency
Speaker 1: breaker type. You know that twelve personnel, eleven personnel, play
Speaker 1: him in, flex him out. His ball skills are fantastic,
Speaker 1: and he's a little bit of juice when tracking the
Speaker 1: football in the air. A nice red zone target with huge,
Speaker 1: huge catch radius. Jeremy Rutckart from Ohio State the converse
Speaker 1: of Ferguson. F tight end to move tight end whatever
Speaker 1: we're calling it. Phenomenal hands wide receiver type of hands
Speaker 1: on this guy. And that said, with all the options
Speaker 1: of Ohio State has to catch passes there, his opportunities
Speaker 1: were a little bit limited, but He also did plenty
Speaker 1: of blocking in Ryan Day's offense. I really like these
Speaker 1: first two guys here I've mentioned here, and a handful
Speaker 1: of others like Cole Turner from Nevada, another member of
Speaker 1: the wolf Pack. They've assembled in the desert. There's a
Speaker 1: joke there. He made a catch against cal coming back
Speaker 1: down the stem of the route where he had his
Speaker 1: body a solid four ft off the ground, parallel to
Speaker 1: the ground, fully extended, making a catch like Ken Griffe Jr.
Speaker 1: Going into the right center field gap at the Kingdom
Speaker 1: Go Mariners. Ridiculous height, lank, strong hands, ability to win
Speaker 1: detached and from the y position. Love his game. Charlie
Speaker 1: Kohler from Iowa State basketball background, played every version of
Speaker 1: the tight end position, the h back offset flexed out,
Speaker 1: all that stuff imaginable for the cyclone offense. Big catch radius,
Speaker 1: fourteen touchdowns the last two years. He is a little
Speaker 1: bit undersized or in terms of his like build, but
Speaker 1: he knows how to use his length and to win
Speaker 1: with that size and kind of post up like a
Speaker 1: basketball player with And then finally here from the national squad,
Speaker 1: Shrey McBride from Colorado State rocked up punishing blocker he
Speaker 1: tacked on twenty pounds since arriving at Colorado State. He
Speaker 1: abuses safeties or corners if they try to match up
Speaker 1: with him, and you can really maintain your flexibility across
Speaker 1: personnel packages because he's arguably the best blocking tight end
Speaker 1: tight end in this class with real receiving skills. On
Speaker 1: the other side the American squad. My favorite tight end
Speaker 1: in the class Isaiah Likely from Coastal Carolina. I love, love,
Speaker 1: love Likely. That was a good joke. Vacuums for hands.
Speaker 1: Can make catches on all types of throws, like the ball.
Speaker 1: If it's in his vicinity, he'll pull that thing in
Speaker 1: away from the frame, going down low in stride, plucking
Speaker 1: that up high, all of it. He can absolutely scoot too.
Speaker 1: He could possibly test four or five or sub. They
Speaker 1: used him as their primary target in a variety of routes.
Speaker 1: He can get vertical or make tough, tight window catches
Speaker 1: in a loaded tight end class, I think he has
Speaker 1: a chance to be the first one to go. Greg
Speaker 1: Dolchitz from u c L a breakout season followed by
Speaker 1: a big one season, a former walk on receiver who
Speaker 1: tacked on mass and did not sacrifice movement. In the process.
Speaker 1: Has an impressive wingspan and kind of like likely in
Speaker 1: terms of the off the frame catches an ability to
Speaker 1: pluck that thing. Daniel Bellinger from San Diego State. These
Speaker 1: guys always have a big blocking tight end. He generates
Speaker 1: a ton of drive in the running game. Not a
Speaker 1: real flex option in college, but he can win from
Speaker 1: the inline position. And don't get it twisted. This guy
Speaker 1: wants to play bullyball in the running game. And then finally,
Speaker 1: Grant Calcataro from STMU. He might have a familiar sounding name.
Speaker 1: He was a big start Oklahoma, had to step away
Speaker 1: from the game because of some concussions and injuries, and
Speaker 1: he was one of the top receiving tight ends when
Speaker 1: he did retire. A true fpiece, a true move tight end.
Speaker 1: He's a refined route runner with nuance to get on
Speaker 1: top of unsuspecting defenders, and he can really build speed
Speaker 1: in a hurry. We'll do the offensive line here on
Speaker 1: the next edition of the Drivetime podcast and continue cracking
Speaker 1: these things out. Will be on the ground there at
Speaker 1: the Senior Bowl, providing you with some updates on practice
Speaker 1: and some some media availabilities and get to know this
Speaker 1: class a little bit better. As we do throughout the
Speaker 1: entire process here on the podcast, really getting inundated with
Speaker 1: this draft class. We'll continue doing that this week and
Speaker 1: the following week, the following month, all the way up
Speaker 1: until April. So keep it locked here on the Drivetime Podcast.
Speaker 1: In the meantime, that is going to be my time.
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Speaker 1: time finds up Caroline, Daddy is coming. Hope m HM