WEBVTT - Ravens 2023 Draft Review Press Conference 0:00:03.360 --> 0:00:06.800 You're listening to the Ravens Press Pass podcast. The NFL 0:00:06.920 --> 0:00:10.040 Draft has come to a close and the Ravens made 0:00:10.119 --> 0:00:13.480 six picks over the course of the weekend. They have 0:00:13.520 --> 0:00:16.280 added some serious firepower to this team and they are 0:00:16.320 --> 0:00:22.480 excited about these moves. After the draft today, the Ravens 0:00:22.520 --> 0:00:26.000 General manager Eric Tacosa, director of college scouting David Blackburn, 0:00:26.040 --> 0:00:29.920 and director of player Personnel Joe Hortiz met with the media. 0:00:30.000 --> 0:00:33.600 Now a note here is that this press conference actually 0:00:33.640 --> 0:00:36.839 took place before the Ravens traded back into the seventh 0:00:36.920 --> 0:00:40.919 round of the draft to take offensive lineman Andrew Vorhees, 0:00:41.000 --> 0:00:44.200 so he is not mentioned at all during this podcast. 0:00:44.440 --> 0:00:47.839 But this was the only end of day recap that 0:00:47.920 --> 0:00:50.120 the Ravens did as a press conference. 0:00:50.360 --> 0:00:54.760 Take a listen, thanks for coming, and you know, today 0:00:54.840 --> 0:00:57.960 was a good, solid day for us. Tried to in 0:00:58.000 --> 0:01:00.000 the early part of the day and drafted the defense, 0:01:01.000 --> 0:01:03.639 which was our plan. And Tavious, I think we got 0:01:03.640 --> 0:01:06.800 a guy that plays very, very hard, big you guys. 0:01:07.040 --> 0:01:10.080 You see him six foot six, two hundred sixty to 0:01:10.120 --> 0:01:14.319 fifty sixty pounds, runs well, very very physical, long reach. 0:01:15.840 --> 0:01:18.680 You know, from a comparison standpoint, you know, probably more 0:01:18.760 --> 0:01:21.280 like a guy like Zadarius Smith. That type of a player, 0:01:22.200 --> 0:01:27.120 can kick inside, can play outside. Physical, you know, Cayu 0:01:27.200 --> 0:01:29.520 Blue Kelly is a player that we've scouted for two years. 0:01:29.880 --> 0:01:33.760 David has scouted him at length as well. Corey Fraser upstairs, 0:01:33.760 --> 0:01:37.520 our West Coast scout. A very very polished, efficient mover, 0:01:38.040 --> 0:01:41.640 good eyes, physical, has good size, can play zone, can 0:01:41.680 --> 0:01:48.000 play man, a very experienced player, durable guy. And then Salah, 0:01:48.520 --> 0:01:52.040 I'm not gonna try to pronounce his name. Here's a 0:01:52.080 --> 0:01:54.840 guy that, again we've scouted for two years. We looked 0:01:54.840 --> 0:01:56.240 at him last year. We thought there was a chance 0:01:56.240 --> 0:02:00.520 he was coming out last year. A very very large 0:02:00.720 --> 0:02:01.640 offensive lineman. 0:02:02.360 --> 0:02:02.600 Uh. 0:02:02.840 --> 0:02:05.200 Has played some left guard, he's played some right guard. 0:02:05.520 --> 0:02:08.799 Primarily has been a right tackle. A very very good 0:02:08.840 --> 0:02:11.480 athlete for his size, I can pull, can play on 0:02:11.560 --> 0:02:14.760 his feet. We look at him as a real strong, 0:02:14.800 --> 0:02:18.919 developmental guy, a lot of upside potential. He's young, and uh, 0:02:18.960 --> 0:02:23.000 he fits us very very well. And you know, in 0:02:23.400 --> 0:02:25.720 most cases, we're going to try to draft an offensive 0:02:25.720 --> 0:02:27.480 lineman every year if we can. We just think it's 0:02:27.520 --> 0:02:30.600 good and uh, you'd like to have that pipeline of 0:02:30.639 --> 0:02:33.000 guys every single year, the younger players, and Joe d 0:02:33.160 --> 0:02:37.120 does an amazing job developing offensive lineman for us. So 0:02:37.960 --> 0:02:41.360 very happy where we are right now, and uh, you know, 0:02:41.440 --> 0:02:44.440 over the next couple of hours, we will continue to 0:02:44.440 --> 0:02:45.519 build a team. 0:02:46.160 --> 0:02:50.560 Questions the emotions. 0:02:50.080 --> 0:02:53.560 And significance from you know, this whole week, from Sonny 0:02:53.600 --> 0:02:56.440 to Lamar to adding this rap class. 0:02:56.880 --> 0:03:00.760 Uh, it's been emotional. I mean, it's it's it's really started, 0:03:02.320 --> 0:03:04.560 you know. I would say this month's really a lot 0:03:04.600 --> 0:03:07.440 of work has gone into this month, starting. 0:03:07.040 --> 0:03:08.760 With Odell and. 0:03:10.400 --> 0:03:13.760 Really going back to the owners meetings, you know in March. 0:03:13.840 --> 0:03:18.280 It's been a whirlwind of different emotions and we've worked 0:03:18.880 --> 0:03:21.600 very hard to to get going. And I think at 0:03:21.600 --> 0:03:25.799 some point we started to build some momentum, which was nice. 0:03:25.840 --> 0:03:28.320 And here we are and it's it's you know, I 0:03:28.400 --> 0:03:30.399 think we would all say we're pretty tired, but it's 0:03:30.440 --> 0:03:32.000 a good tired. You know, there's bad tired and a 0:03:32.040 --> 0:03:34.519 good tired. This is a good tired. And I think 0:03:34.560 --> 0:03:38.560 we'll sleep well tomorrow and we'll enjoy tomorrow with our families, 0:03:38.800 --> 0:03:41.880 all the coaches and scouts, and we'll get back to 0:03:41.880 --> 0:03:42.560 work on Monday. 0:03:46.160 --> 0:03:46.320 Eric. 0:03:46.760 --> 0:03:48.480 In terms of cornerback right now. 0:03:48.480 --> 0:03:50.920 Do you do you feel like you Marcus Peters is 0:03:50.960 --> 0:03:53.480 a guy that's still in your plans right now. 0:03:53.800 --> 0:03:55.360 Metter Corner Shipping Gawn. 0:03:56.440 --> 0:03:59.680 Yeah. So you know, as we've said, you know, the 0:03:59.760 --> 0:04:02.640 ross just never set. And I think what you'll see 0:04:02.880 --> 0:04:06.240 is in the coming weeks. Uh, there's a lot of 0:04:06.240 --> 0:04:10.160 potential moves for us to make free agents guys that 0:04:10.160 --> 0:04:11.920 we've had, guys that we that. 0:04:11.920 --> 0:04:13.320 We like who are available. 0:04:14.400 --> 0:04:16.640 The other point, I think, which is a fair point 0:04:16.680 --> 0:04:18.520 to make as well, as we drafted two young corners 0:04:18.560 --> 0:04:21.640 last year and both guys kind of wrestled with injuries 0:04:22.200 --> 0:04:26.400 this past year. Uh, you know, Armor Davis and uh 0:04:26.520 --> 0:04:29.520 and and Williams both and uh we we both we 0:04:29.600 --> 0:04:32.240 feel the same way. If those guys were in this 0:04:32.320 --> 0:04:34.599 year's draft, we probably would have drafted them in the 0:04:34.640 --> 0:04:37.520 same spot, you know. Uh, and they're good young players 0:04:38.000 --> 0:04:40.480 and so but that being said, you know, would we 0:04:40.640 --> 0:04:43.039 like to add potentially add a veteran corner, Yeah, show 0:04:43.160 --> 0:04:45.520 what it's an important position, and what we've seen is 0:04:45.520 --> 0:04:47.840 that you know, you can never have enough good corners, 0:04:48.120 --> 0:04:50.200 you know, to start the season and throughout the season. 0:04:50.640 --> 0:04:53.200 That's a fast way to get beat is to not 0:04:53.279 --> 0:04:54.400 have enough corners on the field. 0:04:56.600 --> 0:04:58.799 Eric, the fact that you did end up only making 0:04:58.960 --> 0:05:03.520 five picks, I mean, was that a statement about not 0:05:03.720 --> 0:05:06.960 seeing maybe as many total draftable players as we've seen 0:05:06.960 --> 0:05:09.040 in some past years or is it not that simple? 0:05:09.160 --> 0:05:10.560 Was it more a function enough? 0:05:12.880 --> 0:05:15.000 Well, we only had five picks, so I mean, we 0:05:15.000 --> 0:05:18.120 can only make five picks, right, So I meane we 0:05:18.120 --> 0:05:21.919 could have And then to be honest with you, you know, 0:05:21.960 --> 0:05:23.560 I have to look at that because we didn't get 0:05:23.560 --> 0:05:27.040 as many calls this year, and I think you know, 0:05:27.240 --> 0:05:29.120 when you have a lot of picks, people call you 0:05:29.160 --> 0:05:31.120 because they know you have a lot of picks. And 0:05:31.240 --> 0:05:33.640 so the way that trades work is it's based in 0:05:33.640 --> 0:05:35.960 the combinations. Right. It's a simple math. If you have 0:05:36.000 --> 0:05:38.080 a lot of picks, teams can look at you and 0:05:38.120 --> 0:05:39.919 say we can do a trade with Baltimore because we 0:05:39.920 --> 0:05:42.560 can figure out the combination of points. When you don't 0:05:42.600 --> 0:05:44.480 have a lot of picks, it's tougher. So we didn't 0:05:44.480 --> 0:05:48.880 have a second round pick, we didn't have a seventh 0:05:49.000 --> 0:05:51.679 round pick. Sometimes we have multiple picks in a round, 0:05:51.760 --> 0:05:54.240 and so a team that may be lacking in picks 0:05:54.720 --> 0:05:57.760 can call us and the math works. We didn't get 0:05:57.760 --> 0:06:00.520 a lot of calls. I'm not really sure why did 0:06:00.560 --> 0:06:03.839 we have some opportunities we did. We didn't like the math, 0:06:04.240 --> 0:06:08.920 you know. So it's just one of those things like 0:06:09.000 --> 0:06:12.520 I would like to have had more picks. Still, might 0:06:12.640 --> 0:06:15.599 you know, we're gonna go upstairs. The seventh round is 0:06:15.640 --> 0:06:18.840 just starting, so this might be an unusual year. 0:06:19.160 --> 0:06:19.719 Who knows. 0:06:20.040 --> 0:06:22.360 But the fact is we just didn't get a lot 0:06:22.360 --> 0:06:25.799 of calls. And but you know, looking at the team, 0:06:26.440 --> 0:06:28.560 we really do in most cases, we look at the 0:06:28.640 --> 0:06:31.360 roster and we like the way it looks. We don't 0:06:31.400 --> 0:06:34.600 see a lot of you know, big glaring holes, and 0:06:34.600 --> 0:06:37.560 we and we and we have solutions as well still 0:06:37.600 --> 0:06:40.960 out there in free agency potentially, So if you're not 0:06:41.000 --> 0:06:42.800 going to have a lot of picks, this is probably 0:06:42.839 --> 0:06:44.840 the year to not have picks. 0:06:44.960 --> 0:06:46.359 We were able to fortify. 0:06:46.720 --> 0:06:50.200 We brought some guys back that played for us last 0:06:50.240 --> 0:06:52.680 year that we like that We were excited to bring 0:06:52.760 --> 0:06:56.120 back guys like Justice Hill as an example of one guy, 0:06:56.160 --> 0:06:57.400 and there were a lot of other guys that we 0:06:57.440 --> 0:07:00.120 brought back. So as we looked at the roster, we 0:07:00.120 --> 0:07:02.960 didn't see the big holes on the roster that we 0:07:03.000 --> 0:07:04.240 felt compelled to fill. 0:07:05.720 --> 0:07:08.839 What made an impression on you about Bluke. 0:07:08.600 --> 0:07:14.240 Kelly when you first started, Well, my first exposure to 0:07:14.320 --> 0:07:16.840 him outside of practice was I attended a live game 0:07:18.040 --> 0:07:21.880 in twenty one. It was at USC early season game 0:07:22.200 --> 0:07:26.200 and they had Drake London and he impressed me because 0:07:26.240 --> 0:07:29.160 he basically went toe to toe with a future top 0:07:29.240 --> 0:07:32.720 ten pick and did more than hold his own, got 0:07:32.760 --> 0:07:36.480 his hands on two or three PBUs had a pick 0:07:36.560 --> 0:07:38.280 six later in the game to kind of ice it. 0:07:38.640 --> 0:07:41.880 So that was kind of a statement game, and it 0:07:42.040 --> 0:07:44.120 stood out as far as like an exposure where a 0:07:44.120 --> 0:07:49.480 guy was able to really step out there and and 0:07:50.600 --> 0:07:53.960 make it make a lasting impression on me. So throughout 0:07:54.000 --> 0:07:58.000 that process, that's your basis, you know, that's your baseline 0:07:58.080 --> 0:08:00.400 from you like, man, well if he's doing and that 0:08:00.760 --> 0:08:02.360 he's gonna be able to do it in the league. 0:08:02.440 --> 0:08:04.760 And you know, I actually thought that if he had 0:08:04.960 --> 0:08:07.320 came out last year, he would have easily been a 0:08:07.400 --> 0:08:11.400 Day two pick in my opinion. But I'm happy to 0:08:11.440 --> 0:08:14.280 get him in the fifth round right now. I think 0:08:14.280 --> 0:08:17.600 he's going to be a great, raven, great fit, one 0:08:17.600 --> 0:08:21.960 of those high high floor prospects gonna come in dad 0:08:21.960 --> 0:08:26.880 played in the league. He's been around ball. Stanford kid, smart, tough, competitive, 0:08:27.800 --> 0:08:31.000 can play man his own, has good ball skills. 0:08:32.440 --> 0:08:34.560 He's gonna come in and do the right things. He 0:08:34.640 --> 0:08:35.680 loves ball. 0:08:35.800 --> 0:08:38.800 So to get a guy like that at this stage 0:08:38.840 --> 0:08:42.079 in the draft, we considered that a value pick. 0:08:43.120 --> 0:08:45.760 Did you see Tays is a sending player you know 0:08:47.160 --> 0:08:49.400 Canada and fills in a old Miss seem to get 0:08:49.960 --> 0:08:51.959 the course of his career league man animals, Is he 0:08:52.040 --> 0:08:53.439 look the league players to send him. 0:08:53.920 --> 0:08:55.280 Well, I let Joe answer that. 0:08:55.320 --> 0:08:58.480 I think Joe kind of has a better feel for 0:08:58.480 --> 0:09:03.000 for Tavis than I do. But answer your question, yes, yeah. 0:09:03.200 --> 0:09:06.400 If you watch his progression through his career at Ole 0:09:06.480 --> 0:09:09.400 Miss and then obviously went to the Senior Bowl, had 0:09:09.400 --> 0:09:12.200 a really good Senior Bowl, his performers at Combine and 0:09:12.200 --> 0:09:14.040 Pro Day, he just he just seems to be on 0:09:14.080 --> 0:09:17.080 the rise. Eric talked about the player. Is he's very physical, 0:09:17.160 --> 0:09:19.680 He's got a great motor. I mean, you know, John 0:09:19.720 --> 0:09:22.800 preaches run to the ball with our defense, and he's 0:09:22.840 --> 0:09:25.760 always run to the ball, making plays downfield. So the 0:09:26.320 --> 0:09:29.400 raven mentality is there, the effort is there. You know, 0:09:29.720 --> 0:09:33.400 he's a developmental player in terms of playing ball in 0:09:33.440 --> 0:09:36.840 the States versus Canada. But he's grown tremendously at Ole 0:09:36.880 --> 0:09:39.120 Miss and still see a lot more potential for. 0:09:40.520 --> 0:09:45.320 On the tape of right what do you like about 0:09:45.720 --> 0:09:48.640 him and give a division of more as a guard 0:09:48.720 --> 0:09:50.360 or tackle the professional. 0:09:50.400 --> 0:09:53.160 Well, I think when you watch him play at Oregon 0:09:53.280 --> 0:09:56.880 he played both positions. Some games he'd flip in during 0:09:57.000 --> 0:10:00.200 series into guard. He was primarily a right tackle for him. 0:10:01.120 --> 0:10:03.920 I think he can play both. You know, Joe'll get 0:10:04.000 --> 0:10:06.200 him and find the best spot for him in terms 0:10:06.240 --> 0:10:07.800 of starting them out, But I do. I do see 0:10:07.840 --> 0:10:11.160 flexibility with him. Things stands out with him. He's huge, 0:10:11.320 --> 0:10:16.600 He's got explosive power. Knox Sky's down on down blocks. 0:10:16.960 --> 0:10:18.880 He runs really well for a big man, and you 0:10:18.960 --> 0:10:21.160 watch him pool or get out on leads on the 0:10:21.160 --> 0:10:24.080 front side plays. He can really cover ground plays with 0:10:24.120 --> 0:10:26.880 a great temperament. So you know, just a lot of 0:10:27.120 --> 0:10:29.120 a lot to like a big man who plays physical 0:10:29.160 --> 0:10:30.000 our brand of football. 0:10:30.360 --> 0:10:33.000 You're listening to the Ravens Press Pass podcast. Also, if 0:10:33.040 --> 0:10:35.880 you want more analysis from this draft to go ahead 0:10:35.880 --> 0:10:38.920 and check out the Ravens Lounge podcast feed. We break 0:10:38.920 --> 0:10:42.520 down everything happening over the course of this weekend. Now 0:10:42.559 --> 0:10:43.720 let's get back to this presser. 0:10:44.840 --> 0:10:46.560 We'll say he's sixty six. 0:10:46.640 --> 0:10:49.880 I mean, there's not many out six to six outside 0:10:49.880 --> 0:10:52.240 a guy like multiple positions. 0:10:52.400 --> 0:10:54.640 Yeah, yeah, and they do it with him there. He 0:10:54.679 --> 0:10:58.000 plays everywhere from like a four eye technique inside reduced 0:10:58.040 --> 0:11:00.400 down all the way to a seven technique. He can 0:11:00.760 --> 0:11:03.560 you see him? Do you see that versatility? It gives 0:11:03.559 --> 0:11:05.880 you some inside pass rush flexibility. But he can also 0:11:05.920 --> 0:11:08.520 get in the two point stance and knock back tight ends. 0:11:08.520 --> 0:11:10.800 He's really physical taking on tight ends, kind of creating 0:11:10.800 --> 0:11:14.360 a new line of scrimmage behind the existing line of scrimmage. 0:11:14.400 --> 0:11:16.640 So does offer versatility in that sense. 0:11:17.600 --> 0:11:20.719 Kind of simone question probably, should you guys see Trent 0:11:20.800 --> 0:11:23.040 Simpson as a guy, a good cross train land backer. 0:11:23.120 --> 0:11:24.080 Do you like him on the ball? 0:11:24.679 --> 0:11:26.360 Yeah, I mean he's he's a good he's a good 0:11:26.400 --> 0:11:28.360 pass rusher, he's a good blitzer. I mean he can 0:11:28.400 --> 0:11:30.960 do some of that. You know, I think as we 0:11:31.000 --> 0:11:33.079 think about him, we probably envisioned him as moving off 0:11:33.080 --> 0:11:35.320 the ball guy. But that being said, you know, with 0:11:35.400 --> 0:11:37.440 Mike's defense, and this is kind of a growing theme 0:11:37.480 --> 0:11:40.400 in the league, you know, the defensive coaches are very 0:11:40.480 --> 0:11:42.200 multiple on what they do. So if you have guys 0:11:42.240 --> 0:11:44.560 who can do more than one thing, you can really 0:11:44.600 --> 0:11:47.560 mess with the offense. And what we like about Trenton 0:11:47.679 --> 0:11:50.320 is just he's a very explosive blitzer. He's good with 0:11:50.360 --> 0:11:53.880 his hands, he closes very quickly. So uh, that's a 0:11:53.920 --> 0:11:57.320 great skill for a linebacker to have. And that's you know, 0:11:57.400 --> 0:12:00.520 something that both wro Kwan and Uh and Patch both have. 0:12:00.880 --> 0:12:04.679 They're all excellent blitzers. So it just gives us a 0:12:04.720 --> 0:12:06.600 lot of, you know, multiple looks on defense. 0:12:09.559 --> 0:12:12.520 Eric just kind of one of the narratives around the 0:12:13.360 --> 0:12:16.360 draft in general, or a couple weeks ago, just around the. 0:12:16.640 --> 0:12:17.720 S two tests. 0:12:17.760 --> 0:12:20.360 I guess, do you guys see any value in those 0:12:20.440 --> 0:12:22.920 kind of things? I mean just kind of the picture. 0:12:24.520 --> 0:12:27.439 We do, you know, those we don't, So we don't 0:12:27.760 --> 0:12:33.000 subscribe to that test. You know, the Ravens historically we've 0:12:33.000 --> 0:12:37.040 been independent, going back to the nineteen ninety six. We've 0:12:37.080 --> 0:12:39.680 never belonged to a scouting service. You know, we don't 0:12:39.679 --> 0:12:44.480 belong the National we don't belong to BLASTO. The reason really, 0:12:44.760 --> 0:12:47.240 honestly being is we don't want to share our information 0:12:48.240 --> 0:12:51.560 with other teams. So I think what we try to 0:12:51.559 --> 0:12:54.880 do is kind of divide, you know, create our own tests. 0:12:55.880 --> 0:12:59.560 You know, Steve Claggett who works with us upstairs, he 0:12:59.559 --> 0:13:05.160 helps us. We use a lot of different people and analytics, 0:13:05.840 --> 0:13:08.480 We interview, we've trained our scouts. We spent a lot 0:13:08.480 --> 0:13:11.920 of time really figuring out what's most important to us 0:13:12.440 --> 0:13:15.200 when we assess these players, and we just do it 0:13:15.240 --> 0:13:18.200 our own way. And uh, you know, I think it's 0:13:18.200 --> 0:13:23.640 great because we trust our people with anybody else and 0:13:23.400 --> 0:13:25.079 h and the information stays in the house. 0:13:27.120 --> 0:13:28.040 When you look at all. 0:13:27.880 --> 0:13:31.120 The picks picks, is there something that kind of jumps 0:13:31.120 --> 0:13:34.559 out as you anything just as a collective class. 0:13:38.559 --> 0:13:42.359 Uh, well, I would say. 0:13:42.120 --> 0:13:48.840 That every single guy on this list has played starter 0:13:49.000 --> 0:13:50.560 level football and we think can be a starter in 0:13:50.600 --> 0:13:54.319 the NFL. Our scouts these players, the five of these 0:13:54.360 --> 0:13:56.960 players graded out very high. There were some years where 0:13:57.280 --> 0:13:59.960 you have a lot of picks and you sort of 0:14:00.480 --> 0:14:03.080 a little bit from your sequence because you're trying to 0:14:03.080 --> 0:14:07.800 fill specific needs. I think that the mindset for me 0:14:07.920 --> 0:14:12.040 this year was just like just try not to worry 0:14:12.080 --> 0:14:15.520 as much about the needs and just draft the best 0:14:15.559 --> 0:14:20.560 guy that's there at every single pick. And we really 0:14:20.840 --> 0:14:24.400 I think we did it like. Honestly, I can't say 0:14:24.400 --> 0:14:27.240 that we did it exactly, but I know it's pretty 0:14:27.280 --> 0:14:29.920 damn close. And the reason we might not have is because, 0:14:30.400 --> 0:14:35.080 for instance, we might have had we might have had 0:14:35.120 --> 0:14:39.320 an outside linebacker rated slightly higher than Kyu, but we 0:14:39.360 --> 0:14:41.600 did just taking an outside linebacker. So what we try 0:14:41.640 --> 0:14:45.160 to do with our sequence is that player may not 0:14:45.240 --> 0:14:47.440 be picked because we just took a player at that position. 0:14:48.000 --> 0:14:50.640 So but in general, I think the thing I think 0:14:50.680 --> 0:14:54.400 about this class is at that pick, as I look 0:14:54.440 --> 0:14:57.640 at the sequence, every one of these guys was the 0:14:57.760 --> 0:14:59.840 highest rated guy on our board. 0:15:02.160 --> 0:15:04.200 Eric, And as years you've talked about how it seems 0:15:04.240 --> 0:15:07.000 like there's Yere's years where the. 0:15:07.000 --> 0:15:09.480 Draft as a whole is seems to have a similar board, 0:15:09.560 --> 0:15:12.880 and I'm just curious did you find that to be 0:15:13.160 --> 0:15:14.400 feel like that was the case this year? 0:15:14.560 --> 0:15:15.720 I know, company into the draft. 0:15:15.600 --> 0:15:17.680 After some analysty felt like this is a very difficult 0:15:17.760 --> 0:15:20.200 draft to predict. How did the boardfollo in terms of 0:15:20.240 --> 0:15:21.320 your expectations of it? 0:15:22.600 --> 0:15:24.760 I would say that this year was a little bit unusual. 0:15:25.080 --> 0:15:27.040 Uh As you got into the second, third, and fourth round, 0:15:27.240 --> 0:15:30.920 there were some uh ebbs and flows and crazy picks. 0:15:31.680 --> 0:15:35.480 You know, I I I saw more volatility, low rated 0:15:35.480 --> 0:15:39.760 guys being drafted high guys outside our sequence. It had 0:15:39.800 --> 0:15:42.080 more of a two thousand seven type of draft feel. 0:15:43.240 --> 0:15:45.720 I think with just in general, y, you know, with 0:15:46.000 --> 0:15:50.360 the proliferation of mock drafts and the Internet and social 0:15:50.440 --> 0:15:54.720 media and information sharing, that a lot of draft boards 0:15:54.760 --> 0:15:58.240 look pretty similar, uh I, you know, and and that's 0:15:58.280 --> 0:16:01.680 why a lot of times when we're finished with the 0:16:01.720 --> 0:16:04.360 first round, second round, we see that there aren't a 0:16:04.360 --> 0:16:06.160 lot of players that we have in the top sixty 0:16:06.200 --> 0:16:08.280 four still available at the end of those two rounds. 0:16:08.480 --> 0:16:10.720 Used to be different. This year was a little different. 0:16:10.720 --> 0:16:13.000 I would say, Joe, I don't know, but they seem 0:16:13.080 --> 0:16:16.120 to be some different picks. I think this is a 0:16:16.200 --> 0:16:21.640 tough draft to evaluate. This was an unusual draft. Were 0:16:21.680 --> 0:16:25.920 still dealing with the ramifications of COVID in some ways. 0:16:26.480 --> 0:16:29.320 There's a lot of older players in this draft class, 0:16:29.440 --> 0:16:31.400 very unusual. But there's a lot of guys that are 0:16:31.840 --> 0:16:36.320 twenty four, twenty five, twenty six years old, and you know, 0:16:36.360 --> 0:16:37.840 so if you think about it, there are guys that 0:16:37.880 --> 0:16:39.960 are twenty years old in this draft, Guys that are 0:16:39.960 --> 0:16:43.320 twenty six years old, and it's just we haven't seen 0:16:43.360 --> 0:16:46.680 that big of a spread in terms of the numbers, 0:16:47.200 --> 0:16:50.240 so that's kind of different. But I would say yes, 0:16:50.400 --> 0:16:53.200 more of a tougher draft to predict in the second 0:16:53.200 --> 0:16:56.280 and third day with an. 0:16:56.240 --> 0:17:00.200 Iom maybe taking away something No I'm raving. I ask, 0:17:00.840 --> 0:17:02.640 do you still see as. 0:17:02.560 --> 0:17:05.679 Big a potential that have, you know, down the line 0:17:05.760 --> 0:17:08.639 contributors and previous years or else out of the country. 0:17:09.359 --> 0:17:12.919 That's a great question, Jonas, I don't. I don't know 0:17:12.920 --> 0:17:17.480 how that's gonna affect undrafted free agency. I will say 0:17:17.480 --> 0:17:21.200 this that I have a lot of faith in Mark Escevedo, 0:17:21.200 --> 0:17:23.520 who's upstairs. He kind of organizes this thing for us 0:17:23.960 --> 0:17:26.199 and Joe and David and the coaches and the scouts. 0:17:26.200 --> 0:17:30.440 They'll be cranking when the time comes. They haven't started yet, 0:17:30.480 --> 0:17:33.680 but when the time comes, they will be cranking. They'll 0:17:33.720 --> 0:17:35.960 be hitting the phones. We've done a lot of prep work. 0:17:36.040 --> 0:17:42.040 We started recruiting guys weeks ago, and we'll be in 0:17:42.080 --> 0:17:45.160 a great place and we'll get a good class of guys. 0:17:45.600 --> 0:17:48.000 It's going to be fierce competition to make the team. 0:17:48.680 --> 0:17:51.960 You know, it's gonna be hardly It's not like you know, 0:17:52.080 --> 0:17:54.600 back in like nineteen ninety eight, nineteen ninety nine, or 0:17:54.600 --> 0:17:57.360 four or five undrafted guys would make it every year. 0:17:57.520 --> 0:18:00.639 I mean, Jamison, you're the old statesman. Uh, you know, 0:18:00.840 --> 0:18:03.240 you remember those days, the historian, Remember those days when 0:18:03.240 --> 0:18:05.040 those guys. We had a lot of those guys make it, 0:18:05.240 --> 0:18:06.880 and now it's like maybe one guy or two guys 0:18:06.920 --> 0:18:07.240 a year. 0:18:07.480 --> 0:18:07.959 I think. 0:18:08.720 --> 0:18:10.920 So it is challenging, but we take a lot of 0:18:10.920 --> 0:18:14.240 pride in it. Jonas, I think, you know, we think 0:18:14.240 --> 0:18:16.159 we do it better than anybody else. I think probably 0:18:16.160 --> 0:18:18.600 other teams think that too, but we have we take 0:18:18.600 --> 0:18:20.840 a lot of pride in the way that we do it. 0:18:20.920 --> 0:18:24.400 Marcus highly organized in what he does in our scouts, 0:18:24.840 --> 0:18:26.679 and the coaches do an amazing job. And I do 0:18:26.680 --> 0:18:29.720 think we haven't advantage this year because we've got some 0:18:30.119 --> 0:18:33.639 college coaches that we brought in. And with that is 0:18:33.680 --> 0:18:40.240 the recruiting aspect of the job, which is a big advantage. 0:18:39.200 --> 0:18:39.920 Going into the draft. 0:18:40.000 --> 0:18:42.399 A lot of analysts that you know, Eric lakes to 0:18:42.640 --> 0:18:44.639 trade so much, there's no way that you would just 0:18:44.680 --> 0:18:46.320 stick and make the five picks. 0:18:46.600 --> 0:18:50.040 The rigants love drafting so many players. There's no way 0:18:50.080 --> 0:18:53.080 it's just a five player class. How did it feel 0:18:53.119 --> 0:18:55.760 to you to just stay and take a by. 0:18:58.119 --> 0:19:00.520 Yeah, you know, we just zagged. We didn't want to 0:19:00.560 --> 0:19:02.679 zig this year, I guess, you know, like we we 0:19:02.760 --> 0:19:05.359 always trade, and we didn't trade this year. And I 0:19:05.400 --> 0:19:07.840 would expect people would think that we would trade this year. 0:19:08.359 --> 0:19:12.639 But we like the players, we like the roster, you know. 0:19:14.160 --> 0:19:17.680 And as I said, you know, the phones didn't ring. 0:19:17.720 --> 0:19:20.800 I mean as actually honestly we use we have new phones, 0:19:20.840 --> 0:19:24.199 as you know, Brian, We've got new phones, right, and 0:19:24.240 --> 0:19:26.639 they weren't ringing. And I'm like, are these damn things working? 0:19:27.359 --> 0:19:29.159 Because they want the old phones that were used to 0:19:29.240 --> 0:19:31.240 using in the draft room. They brought these new like 0:19:31.400 --> 0:19:36.359 internet things, digital phones, and I'm like, are they really working, Joe, 0:19:36.440 --> 0:19:39.640 Like honestly, and we're calling them, they're ringing. The only 0:19:39.680 --> 0:19:40.680 people calling us. 0:19:41.320 --> 0:19:43.400 We would literally the strangest dynamic. 0:19:43.520 --> 0:19:45.800 But it's one of those years, you know. 0:19:47.720 --> 0:19:49.800 But I will say this, like what was good about 0:19:49.840 --> 0:19:54.280 this year was that in most cases the player that 0:19:54.320 --> 0:19:58.120 we wanted or a player that we wanted was there 0:19:58.160 --> 0:20:02.119 when we could pick. Some year that's not the case. 0:20:02.400 --> 0:20:07.720 That's a helpless feeling. So it was okay that the 0:20:07.760 --> 0:20:09.800 phones didn't ring quite as much. 0:20:10.320 --> 0:20:13.120 You too, more, David, you know we didn't get chance 0:20:13.160 --> 0:20:14.439 went and say Flowers was stracted. 0:20:14.520 --> 0:20:16.760 But what kind of stood out to you about him? 0:20:16.840 --> 0:20:21.320 And kind of the whole skept I mean everything. He's 0:20:21.400 --> 0:20:23.360 just a fun evaluation. He's electric. 0:20:23.400 --> 0:20:25.560 He can't help but keep your eyes off of him 0:20:25.560 --> 0:20:27.960 when you're watching watching the tape. And it's even better 0:20:28.000 --> 0:20:31.280 in person, as Joe and I saw in Vegas at 0:20:31.320 --> 0:20:38.720 the East West game. Explosive, fast, sudden, dangerous. He can 0:20:39.000 --> 0:20:41.120 hurts you on all three levels. He can get deep, 0:20:41.840 --> 0:20:45.040 he's great after the catch. He's a tough tackle, he's physical, 0:20:45.240 --> 0:20:47.640 he can play through contact. He can make more contested 0:20:47.680 --> 0:20:52.240 catches than most guys' size can make. He's very productive, 0:20:52.920 --> 0:20:55.320 and he doesn't shy away from the moment. And again, 0:20:55.440 --> 0:20:58.280