Speaker 1: What is up, Dolphans And welcome to the Draft Time Podcast.
Speaker 1: I am your host, Travis Wingfield, And on today's show,
Speaker 1: we have reached the finish line of the off season
Speaker 1: capsule series. Up next, up last a position that has
Speaker 1: more of a need now at the cornerback spot. And
Speaker 1: since you can never have enough corners, it's always worth
Speaker 1: exploring this group that I would argue has the most
Speaker 1: uncovered talent among it within the ball club. That's it
Speaker 1: for today, all cornerbacks. We'll talk a little bit about
Speaker 1: the moves made on Friday. That's it from the Baptist
Speaker 1: Hell Studios inside the Baptist Health Training Complex.
Speaker 2: This is the Draft Time Podcast. Eye.
Speaker 1: I played that SoundBite for Caroline at the hotel we
Speaker 1: stayed in this weekend, and she was so infatuated by
Speaker 1: who that voice was. It was like two year old Caroline.
Speaker 1: She turns five in May. And speaking of that, if
Speaker 1: you are not from Florida, or if you're new to
Speaker 1: the area and you're looking for a Florida vacation, might
Speaker 1: I recommend the Tampa Bay area, in particular Tampa downtown.
Speaker 2: What a great city that is.
Speaker 1: That was my first time going there outside of our
Speaker 1: training camp visits when I'm there for work and basically
Speaker 1: only work, but the tight knit downtown there's no traffic whatsoever.
Speaker 1: There's tons of space in the surrounding areas and all
Speaker 1: the suburbs with actual like scenery and open plots where
Speaker 1: they haven't developed everything. My kids were obsessed with the
Speaker 1: trolley system. The chew Choose as we called them. One
Speaker 1: of the drivers even let both the kids pull the
Speaker 1: horn and honk the train horn there, whatever you call that,
Speaker 1: and they were just fired up about that. Really good
Speaker 1: food as well. Had the best Mexican meal I think
Speaker 1: I've ever had. It was a Gringo burrito, which is
Speaker 1: right up my alley. So just obsessed with the with
Speaker 1: the downtown Tampa, Man, what a cool spot that is.
Speaker 2: That was my weekend for the most part.
Speaker 1: I also played golf before we left on Friday, and
Speaker 1: your boy is heating up. Second round of the season
Speaker 1: carter to seventy seven. But that was a disappointment because
Speaker 1: we were one over, or rather check that, one under
Speaker 1: at the turn after a birdie par birdie start and
Speaker 1: then a birdie on six as well after a bogie
Speaker 1: on five, so we were one under going into that
Speaker 1: part of the course and kept it consistent with Pars
Speaker 1: the rest of the way. Man, when you're playing really
Speaker 1: good golf, I told my wife this, like, I played
Speaker 1: high school varsity sports in baseball and basketball three years each,
Speaker 1: and I've hit walk off home runs, i have hit
Speaker 1: massive shots and crowded gyms. I contend that with you
Speaker 1: and your buddy playing golf in front of nobody else,
Speaker 1: being red hot on a golf course and putting the
Speaker 1: golf ball wherever you want is like the greatest feeling
Speaker 1: you can have in sports. So that was kind of
Speaker 1: what I've been up to. We're gonna have a show
Speaker 1: today on Friday Show. I'm going to get deeper into
Speaker 1: a general off season overview and kind of talk about
Speaker 1: the things that we addressed way back in January as
Speaker 1: things they must get better at, and kind of give
Speaker 1: you a better crystal ball in terms of who might
Speaker 1: fit those needs, and just kind of evaluate the general
Speaker 1: off season as a whole, talk about the positional needs,
Speaker 1: how much that might cost, and how you can fill
Speaker 1: it in. And we'll do a mock off season on
Speaker 1: that Friday podcast, and then we're gonna have a change
Speaker 1: in in schedule next week. Couldn't think of that word.
Speaker 1: Where we're gonna be in Indianapolis. It's gonna be a Tuesday, Wednesday,
Speaker 1: I think, I think Thursday rundown on the week episodes.
Speaker 1: Next week, we're gonna have Mike McDaniel on the show
Speaker 1: that I can confirm will break down his public press
Speaker 1: conference as well as well as Chris Grears. I'll get
Speaker 1: Daniel Jeremiah, We'll get all kinds of NFL network and
Speaker 1: ESPN talent, and we might get a Dolphin scout on
Speaker 1: the show.
Speaker 2: So just plenty to come your way here the next
Speaker 2: couple of weeks.
Speaker 1: But ma'am, I wanted to put a bow on the
Speaker 1: off season capsule episodes today and like the series for
Speaker 1: me for the last you know, eight nine, ten years
Speaker 1: of doing this consistently as a job, it always takes
Speaker 1: on the exact same like trajectory. It's always like so
Speaker 1: excited in the beginning, a little bit of a lull
Speaker 1: in the middle, then you find a position group that
Speaker 1: you're all about and it gets you more excited.
Speaker 2: But by the very end, like I just can't wait
Speaker 2: for it to be over, And.
Speaker 1: Today it's over, and I'm excited to talk about this
Speaker 1: draft class, not so much the free agents, but we'll
Speaker 1: do all of that as well as the incumbents in
Speaker 1: just one second. But first off the top, the Dolphins
Speaker 1: did announce last week the release of Durham Smyth, Kendall Fuller,
Speaker 1: and Raheem Mostert, three pretty prominent names on the Dolphins'
Speaker 1: recent rosters in terms of Durham being the longest tenured
Speaker 1: fin on the team besides Jason Sanders, who now holds
Speaker 1: that honor, a very well known player for a decade
Speaker 1: plus around this league, and Kendall Fuller, and then, of
Speaker 1: course our single season touchdown record holder and a fan
Speaker 1: favorite in Raheem Moster. I thought the future of the
Speaker 1: tight end room was incredibly clear. I've made no bones
Speaker 1: about the fact that I thought that Durham Smyth, you know,
Speaker 1: whether it was fifteen snaps or thirty five snaps, more
Speaker 1: so fifteen snaps down the stretch, you know, of the season,
Speaker 1: I thought they were all like indictments of our inability
Speaker 1: to play off the edge, and why I'm so steadfast
Speaker 1: on improving that why position with he and Julian Hill
Speaker 1: take in that the honors this year and Julian did
Speaker 1: supplant him in snaps and that was one of my
Speaker 1: best calls back in training camp.
Speaker 2: If you recall that, I thought.
Speaker 1: Julian Hill was going to be tight end two behind
Speaker 1: John news Smith and it did work out that way.
Speaker 1: But they still want to run, you know, all these
Speaker 1: tight end groupings with multiple tight ends in the field
Speaker 1: because John w New in a lot of ways is
Speaker 1: is kind of a glorified receiver. I thought his ability
Speaker 1: to play off the edge and the run game in
Speaker 1: pass pro was was not up to snuff. And a
Speaker 1: lot of those third down in short issues were because
Speaker 1: the edge could crash across his face and he would
Speaker 1: really offer no resistance to that. So you need a compliment, Henry,
Speaker 1: Why tight end to him? And that's why I'm so,
Speaker 1: you know, so gung ho about the idea of Tyler
Speaker 1: Warren and all the issues that he could fix on
Speaker 1: your football team. But first things first was it was
Speaker 1: just time to make this this split. You know, Durham
Speaker 1: I thought was really rough in the floor as years,
Speaker 1: and then I thought he had a bit of a
Speaker 1: bounce back last season as like his best year as
Speaker 1: a pro. But then this year it was like, oh
Speaker 1: this is there's so many reps on tape where it's
Speaker 1: like eighty one misses a key block, eighty one's assignment
Speaker 1: doesn't seem clear to him, when it seemed very clear
Speaker 1: to me based upon the evolution of that play. And
Speaker 1: so now you cut him and you save a little
Speaker 1: bit of money in the cap. Same story for all
Speaker 1: these guys. Raheem was one of the biggest savings. Kendall
Speaker 1: will carry some dead cap as well. But I think
Speaker 1: with with Kendall, you look at a guy that had
Speaker 1: you know, he's he's thirty, he just turned thirty. He's
Speaker 1: coming off of a knee injury that you know McDaniel
Speaker 1: was kind of iffy about and his press conference answer,
Speaker 1: But I don't put a lot of stock into that
Speaker 1: because he never gives you anything with injuries, and to me,
Speaker 1: it seemed like that was a pretty serious knee injury.
Speaker 1: Especially seeing him walk around, you know, off off the
Speaker 1: field after that play. That seemed like just a preventative
Speaker 1: future a preemptive future issue move. If you give that
Speaker 1: guy his guaranteed salary for this year, he only played
Speaker 1: eleven games for you this year, probably doesn't get much
Speaker 1: better at age thirty. Not to mention You've got Jalen
Speaker 1: Ramsey on the other side, who I think is one
Speaker 1: of the few guys that might be impervious to the
Speaker 1: whole age thirty cornerback Cliff, especially with his ability to
Speaker 1: I think transition to that Charles Woodson role at some point,
Speaker 1: should he want to, should they see that for him,
Speaker 1: I think he's I think he's really well cut for that.
Speaker 1: But I think the move made sense in that sense,
Speaker 1: although look at this free agent class, I don't think
Speaker 1: you're going that direction.
Speaker 2: I want to say.
Speaker 1: I want to believe that it speaks highly of how
Speaker 1: they feel about Storm Duck and Cam Smith and Ethan Bonner,
Speaker 1: regardless of how I feel about it. But I don't
Speaker 1: think you're going to find that cornerback too on the
Speaker 1: open market.
Speaker 2: We could see, We'll see.
Speaker 1: I don't know, but I do absolutely love this draft
Speaker 1: class once again at this position, so that could be
Speaker 1: a spot to go to for that role, but you're
Speaker 1: gonna wind up having competition, I think. So the Durham
Speaker 1: Smith move made all the sense in the world. He
Speaker 1: was tied in three at best, and I thought you
Speaker 1: could really upgrade that position even with a you know,
Speaker 1: a minimum player at that role Raheem moster. You know,
Speaker 1: Jalen Wright has to serve more carries for a long
Speaker 1: time in my opinion, and I would have cut into
Speaker 1: devon a Chan's workload last year to accomplish that and
Speaker 1: kept Raheem in the fold even after his fumbles that
Speaker 1: really cost him playing time after Halloween. But I just
Speaker 1: thought DeVaughn was better suited for a you know, ancillary
Speaker 1: role of doing multiple things. And I thought that's why
Speaker 1: you would get a Jaileen Wright on your roster, a
Speaker 1: more you know, between the tackles type of bellcow to
Speaker 1: help give a Chan more you know, duties outside of
Speaker 1: playing true running back. But they freaking love him, that's
Speaker 1: gonna that's gonna be his role. I would be uh,
Speaker 1: you know, inclined to believe that, or I would be
Speaker 1: surprised to see it be anything different than that. So
Speaker 1: I think with with that in mind, like Raheem was,
Speaker 1: was a pretty obvious cut to make. Move To make
Speaker 1: that move, there so two very obvious ones in my opinion,
Speaker 1: one not so obvious, but I totally get the reasoning.
Speaker 1: And you know, we've we've only seen a handful of
Speaker 1: cornerbacks play really well after their age thirty season. You know,
Speaker 1: we saw Xavier and Howard's play fall off a cliff
Speaker 1: when he got to that level, so I don't know,
Speaker 1: but again just pontificating, I think it says well for
Speaker 1: cam Smith, Storm Duck and Ethan Bonner and you know,
Speaker 1: a pretty good cornerback class, and I think there's some
Speaker 1: guys that could be in play at that thirteenth pick
Speaker 1: as well. So we'll get more into the cuts and
Speaker 1: stuff like that. On the Friday show. Just wanted to
Speaker 1: get a message across to you guys on those moves
Speaker 1: because it was, you know, a move that happened last Friday,
Speaker 1: and we had a podcast already pre taped for Monday,
Speaker 1: and I was out of town so couldn't get back
Speaker 1: in there and make those edits. But today on the show,
Speaker 1: we thought it was worth discussing. So let's go ahead
Speaker 1: and pivot now quickly here into the cornerback position. Are
Speaker 1: incumbents and in general, you know, I say it every year,
Speaker 1: the improvements that you can best make to help your
Speaker 1: football team are from in house you know, procedures, in
Speaker 1: house evaluations, guys that you already have taking their game
Speaker 1: to the next level, like, for instance, you know, if
Speaker 1: Tua and Waddle both have their best years, what would
Speaker 1: be better for the Dolphins or signing a mid level
Speaker 1: hit in free agency, Like it's obvious right now. The
Speaker 1: reason I open with that is I don't think there's
Speaker 1: a position on this team with more untapped young talent
Speaker 1: than the cornerback position. Jalen Ramsey is the leader of
Speaker 1: that group, the decorated veteran with every skill in his bag,
Speaker 1: and I think his game does transcend his age and
Speaker 1: experience in terms of any type of dip in production.
Speaker 1: I also think at a moment's notice, he could flip
Speaker 1: to safety and be an All Pro there, just like
Speaker 1: Charles Woodson did at one point in his career. So
Speaker 1: until he shows us otherwise, I think you have to
Speaker 1: classify Ramsey as an all Pro caliber talent. Then cater Co,
Speaker 1: who had what I would consider his best season pound
Speaker 1: for pound, the best physical aspect of our perimeter defense.
Speaker 1: You know, Ramsey puts an argument to that, but Cater's
Speaker 1: a lot smaller than Ramsey, but he has a real
Speaker 1: knack for recognizing quick game and screen game in his
Speaker 1: area right. He consistently beats those blocks and not only
Speaker 1: does he put himself in position to you know, help
Speaker 1: his teammates have a free run of the ball carrier,
Speaker 1: but he can get off those blocks and make the
Speaker 1: tackle himself. I thought his coverage was the best of
Speaker 1: his career this year, especially as the season went along.
Speaker 1: As a restricted free agent. It seems like a no
Speaker 1: brainer move to me. But we shall see. But then
Speaker 1: you get deep into the unknown, and I think this
Speaker 1: team really needs competition this summer, and what better way
Speaker 1: to do that than to pit a former second round
Speaker 1: pick against a UDFA from a year ago who, by
Speaker 1: all intents and purposes beat him and the UDFA darling
Speaker 1: from twenty twenty three and Ethan Bonner out for playing time. Right,
Speaker 1: I'm talking, of course about Storm Duck taking Bonner and
Speaker 1: Cam Smith to the wire and winning those competitions early
Speaker 1: back in the spring and through the summer. And we'll
Speaker 1: see if more are added, but I would assume there
Speaker 1: will be a couple, because well, this position is one
Speaker 1: where you legit need five or six guys that can
Speaker 1: play at this level just to get through the attrition
Speaker 1: of a season and all the weapons opposing offenses have
Speaker 1: to offer. This doesn't even mention the two guys on
Speaker 1: reserve contracts that I am quite a big believer in,
Speaker 1: and Isaiah Johnson and Jason Matrie. But yeah, I think
Speaker 1: the Kendall Fuller move signal some confidence a little bit
Speaker 1: at least in those players. The real indication will be
Speaker 1: what happens when they're on the clock at thirteen, and
Speaker 1: of course pending what happens in free agency, but I
Speaker 1: tend to think they won't spend another like Kendall full
Speaker 1: sized contract on.
Speaker 2: A cornerback too.
Speaker 1: But we'll see what happens if Will Johnson and Chavon
Speaker 1: Ravel are on the board at thirteen, or maybe they
Speaker 1: trade back and they're looking at Johnny Barron on the
Speaker 1: board like that could test their allegiances to the young
Speaker 1: grew we're talking about here. And quite frankly, I tend
Speaker 1: to think it's like, you know, s or get off
Speaker 1: the pop time if you will, for Cam Smith not
Speaker 1: to mention, I mean, you know, Ramsey is at that
Speaker 1: age where thanks could get Harry quickly, but it's a
Speaker 1: very complicated room. And cater I thought had his a
Speaker 1: you know, a rough summer in an early part of
Speaker 1: the season finding the football, so this could almost be
Speaker 1: a trapdoor position. For the Dolphins as much as it
Speaker 1: could be a strength. That's why I'm so like apprehensive
Speaker 1: on how to you know, clarify my thoughts on this room.
Speaker 1: That's kind of the makeup of the team this year.
Speaker 1: I fear so it's going to be like maybe things
Speaker 1: bottom out, but maybe it works and you're good.
Speaker 2: We'll see.
Speaker 1: Let's go ahead and take a break rate there, come
Speaker 1: back and talk about the incumbent players, the assets in
Speaker 1: this room, what this room needs, all of that next,
Speaker 1: as well as the free agents that are out there
Speaker 1: and what might be attractive to your Miami Dolphins on
Speaker 1: the Draft Time podcast, brought to you by Auto Nation,
Speaker 1: The cornerback Room our final positional capsule before we head
Speaker 1: out to Indianapolis for the scouting combine, as we revisit
Speaker 1: the incumbent players here, starting with number five, Jalen Ramsey.
Speaker 1: In a lot of ways, he's the straw that stirs
Speaker 1: the drink in the defense. We had Anthony Weaver this
Speaker 1: year talk about some of the in game communication. I
Speaker 1: think it was Indy when coach Matthew Rugio was like, hey,
Speaker 1: five has been in the nickels six times a day
Speaker 1: and you haven't blitzed him once, then he blitzed him
Speaker 1: the next three plays in a row, and he impacted
Speaker 1: all three of them for a three and out for
Speaker 1: our defense. He's a factor on the run game. He
Speaker 1: can condense inside and cover a slot receiver or Hunter
Speaker 1: Henry or like Travis Kelcey for instance. Now, Garrett Wilson
Speaker 1: did get the best of him after he locked him
Speaker 1: down twenty twenty three, but I thought that was more
Speaker 1: one off for him. His length, his physicality, his ball skills,
Speaker 1: his temperament, his tackling, his hitting, his anticipation of the
Speaker 1: ball skills. He's still cooking employs all over your defense.
Speaker 1: Number four Cater Kohu, I alluded to it off the top.
Speaker 1: I just think that his work as a tackler is
Speaker 1: often teaching tape, and I like him inside the most,
Speaker 1: where he can factor in more in that regard, even
Speaker 1: fitting outside runs that can bang the B gap or
Speaker 1: you know, cut it all the way back across the
Speaker 1: grain into the you know the backside B gap or
Speaker 1: cutups it runs right out of his direction. I thought
Speaker 1: his feel and spatial recognition took a big, big jump
Speaker 1: this year, like almost almost immediately, like around the Bye
Speaker 1: week because I was pretty down his play in the
Speaker 1: first part of the season, but to me, it was,
Speaker 1: you know, a breakout season for him for a player
Speaker 1: that was really good right away for us. He's a
Speaker 1: restricted free agent, so he might be asking yourself, Travis,
Speaker 1: what the heck is that it's a player with three
Speaker 1: accrued seasons at least six regular season games in each,
Speaker 1: which is a UDFA. Contracts typically are those right undrafted
Speaker 1: three year contracts, but can also apply to a draft
Speaker 1: pick who's been cut and reacquired. The original team can
Speaker 1: place a tender on that player and they can select
Speaker 1: the roundtender. Then that player can negotiate with other teams.
Speaker 1: They can bring the offer back to the original team,
Speaker 1: and if they signed that match that offer sheet, then
Speaker 1: he goes back to his original team. If they don't
Speaker 1: make the offer, the offering team can then send you
Speaker 1: the draft pick that you tendered him with and give
Speaker 1: him that contract that they offered to him. So that
Speaker 1: happened with Wes Welker a few years ago when they
Speaker 1: gave us the second round pick for Wes Welker.
Speaker 2: That's what that was. Kendall Fuller number twenty nine.
Speaker 1: He was released last week I thought the production was
Speaker 1: really good for the first like eight games of his
Speaker 1: year this year, and tape it off towards the end,
Speaker 1: especially with that big game by the Jets wide receivers
Speaker 1: down here at age thirty off knee injury. You can
Speaker 1: see the thinking there Storm Duck number thirty six. I
Speaker 1: thought he showed you what he showed in his college tape.
Speaker 1: Consistent strain, willingness to put a lick on a ball carrier,
Speaker 1: and the length at the last scrimmage to reroute and
Speaker 1: play aggressive man coverage. I think there was an area
Speaker 1: where he lost some reps. It was feeling space and zone,
Speaker 1: but I expect that to improve and his second year
Speaker 1: within the system, there's a lot to work with there.
Speaker 1: There's a lot that you can ask questions about. That's
Speaker 1: kind of how this entire room is made up right now,
Speaker 1: and that's probably gonna be the avenue we're cruising on
Speaker 1: right now. Number twenty four, Campsmith injuries have really slowed
Speaker 1: his progress man coming out and throughout camps and practices
Speaker 1: the way he would, you know, transition his his weight
Speaker 1: and shift and change gears. And I thought he showed
Speaker 1: you the stuff that made him a high draft pick.
Speaker 1: It was exceptional squatting from an off position, driving back
Speaker 1: down the stem with really good instincts and change of direction.
Speaker 1: Obviously a massive year for him. They need this guy
Speaker 1: to show some bite. I just I don't think it's
Speaker 1: gonna happen because I thought, you know, Vic Fangio kind
Speaker 1: of putting him on the non negotiable list was a
Speaker 1: pretty big indictment as a rookie, and then he plays
Speaker 1: even less this year. It seems like, I don't know, man.
Speaker 1: I don't think the mindset is right, and he's gonna
Speaker 1: have to get it right if he wants to figure
Speaker 1: out in this league. Ethan Barr number twenty seven. I
Speaker 1: think the worst case scenario for Barner's career is that
Speaker 1: he follows a similar track to somebody like Sarann. We'll
Speaker 1: talk about here in just one second, his speed and
Speaker 1: play style. I think we'll always keep him a central
Speaker 1: part on special teams wherever he goes.
Speaker 2: Now. I know he didn't do that this year.
Speaker 1: But we were deep at corner and had pretty good
Speaker 1: health for the most part. So for him, for Cam
Speaker 1: and for Duck, it's a big year. But I think
Speaker 1: he has a chance to make an impact this season
Speaker 1: and if not, then we can talk about alternatives.
Speaker 2: Number thirty three Saran Nils a free agent.
Speaker 1: He was a big part of a special teams and
Speaker 1: played a played defense in a pinch, A nice depth
Speaker 1: piece to have, but to me, these are the kind
Speaker 1: of players you need to avoid spending millions of dollars on.
Speaker 1: And where our lack of draft capital or I guess
Speaker 1: you can just call it hits, it's both on Day
Speaker 1: three has hurt us. You know, two picks from twenty
Speaker 1: twenty one to twenty twenty three through the fourth and
Speaker 1: sixth rounds.
Speaker 2: That was Rika Zukama and Elijah Higgins.
Speaker 1: So absolutely no return for you in terms of pro
Speaker 1: production from those spots. And that's how you wind up
Speaker 1: spending three million bucks a year on a Clayton Fedulum
Speaker 1: or a Keon Crossing or a.
Speaker 2: Saran Neil who are okay.
Speaker 1: Saran Neil is good this year, but the other guys
Speaker 1: on special teams were okay. And then when you got
Speaker 1: to a point where that had to play on defense,
Speaker 1: you couldn't do it like you couldn't couldn't have it,
Speaker 1: couldn't afford it. I thought Neil was to put him
Speaker 1: in that class is unfair, but it is similar. You
Speaker 1: need those guys to be hungry, young dudes that are
Speaker 1: grateful for the role, who will push the starters and
Speaker 1: only cost you the minimum rookie contract right now. We
Speaker 1: did get Kamara and Malikue Washington and Patrick mc morris
Speaker 1: this year in that range, and I do think at
Speaker 1: least one of those guys will be an impact player.
Speaker 1: I would actually wager two of them will be. But
Speaker 1: that's that's kind of what I'm getting at here, is
Speaker 1: like you have to not venture in the world of
Speaker 1: the saran Neils and try to find these guys, you know,
Speaker 1: in the fourth, fifth, sixth rounds of the draft. What
Speaker 1: this room needs is competition. It needs feistiness. It needs
Speaker 1: someone to battle with Cater Kohu, to battle with Storm
Speaker 1: Duck and Ethan Bonner and Cam Smith. Perhaps you need
Speaker 1: a true number two. I just I don't know, man.
Speaker 1: I felt it's gonna be costly to get that, and
Speaker 1: this free agent class gives me a little bit of
Speaker 1: a pause with that. But if we go into camp
Speaker 1: and it's a second round draft pick, and then it's
Speaker 1: Storm Duck and it's Ethan Bonner and Cam Smith, like
Speaker 1: that's tough. You're gonna feel it not great about that
Speaker 1: cornerback room. But I guess the Eagles of the exact
Speaker 1: same thing with Quinnon, Mitchell and Cooper de Gene this year.
Speaker 1: So I don't know, and I don't think you're paying
Speaker 1: top dollar. I just kind of wish Kendall was younger
Speaker 1: and not injured and we can just have this not
Speaker 1: be an issue. But it is what it is, additional assets.
Speaker 1: And this is another thing, like maybe this is more
Speaker 1: a reasoning why they were confident making that move because
Speaker 1: I think Isaiah Johnson has a pro career ahead of him,
Speaker 1: and I think Jason Matrie has a pro career ahead
Speaker 1: of him. Both those guys are on futures contracts. Let's
Speaker 1: go ahead and get into the free agents that are
Speaker 1: gonna be available here in just a matter of a
Speaker 1: couple of weeks. And one of the problems I have
Speaker 1: here with this group, a lot of the attractive skill
Speaker 1: sets and costs are players that are in that same
Speaker 1: range as Kendall Fuller that he just was cut from.
Speaker 2: In fact, I'm gonna trim the fat like I had
Speaker 2: I had.
Speaker 1: Jonathan Jones thirty one, DJ Reid twenty eight, Carlton Davis
Speaker 1: twenty eight coming off a serious injury, Rasul Douglas thirty
Speaker 1: on the list, all those guys, but I removed him
Speaker 1: because I just don't. I cannot imagine. Can't imagine you
Speaker 1: would go in that direction after cutting Kendall Fuller. I
Speaker 1: can't imagine it. We'll do the same thing with names
Speaker 1: that I wasn't gonna watch anyways, like Stefan Gilmore who's
Speaker 1: thirty four, Mike Hilton, who's been awesome for a long time,
Speaker 1: but he's thirty, Shad Griffin's thirty, Tree Whites thirty one.
Speaker 1: I mean, if you ever need to sign that, that
Speaker 1: twenty eight to twenty nine to thirty year mark is
Speaker 1: the cliff for the cornerback position, just go to the
Speaker 1: spow track page spot racks bow track.
Speaker 2: How you pronounced that?
Speaker 1: Like eighty percent of those dudes are on the wrong
Speaker 1: side of twenty eight years old and it tracks. Speaking
Speaker 1: of guys that are not on the wrong side of that,
Speaker 1: Paulson Adebo is like twenty five years old because he's
Speaker 1: off of his fourth year as a pro and he's
Speaker 1: ready to be a free agent.
Speaker 2: I think this is.
Speaker 1: The kind of guy that I look at as our
Speaker 1: top end potential spectrum, like that's as high as we
Speaker 1: can go.
Speaker 2: Is Paulson the deebo.
Speaker 1: I remember him coming out of Stanford as an elite
Speaker 1: press man cover with exceptional ball skills. But he would
Speaker 1: undersize at like one hundred and eighty pounds and he
Speaker 1: fell out of the back of day two. Sure enough,
Speaker 1: he's been a beast for the Saints. He did break
Speaker 1: a femur this year and that might be the only
Speaker 1: reason he won't get cornerback one money. Maybe he will,
Speaker 1: but he had three picks this year in seven games,
Speaker 1: after having four picks last year. He's got long speed,
Speaker 1: great ball tracking like a true number one cornerback. He's
Speaker 1: also played inside. He has tackle and fumble production. I
Speaker 1: like his game spow Track spot Rack says e eleven
Speaker 1: million dollars apy I would do that. He plays with
Speaker 1: the real mein streak as well. He's feisty, the kind
Speaker 1: of player we need. Brandon Eckles from the Jets Dolphins
Speaker 1: fan should know him well. He's pick six two or twice.
Speaker 1: The tape wasn't as good as I remember those times
Speaker 1: he plays against us, because he always makes a freaking
Speaker 1: play against us, but he's probably gonna be cheap because
Speaker 1: of him running fourth fiddle in New York for a
Speaker 1: couple of years. If you want to adhere to the
Speaker 1: competition idea and get someone that's going to compete and
Speaker 1: push guys every single day, then this is that dude.
Speaker 1: He's feisty, loves football, played his butt off. There was
Speaker 1: a game against the Titans where he was he on
Speaker 1: the final drive they made a stop and then he
Speaker 1: barfed on the field. He leaves it all out there
Speaker 1: literally and again can play inside. My conclusion is I
Speaker 1: tend to think a player like this and a draft
Speaker 1: pick might be the best way to attack it. Now
Speaker 1: he's twenty seven, so it's close to that cliff, but
Speaker 1: that's still within the prime of his career. I think
Speaker 1: you might be able to get the best version of
Speaker 1: him and hungry to show you he's a starter, and
Speaker 1: I think he could be that, or he could be
Speaker 1: starter quality on your bench if someone like Storm Duck
Speaker 1: does show you that he's the real deal.
Speaker 2: I don't know.
Speaker 1: Maybe someone pullings up for this guy, but I would
Speaker 1: love to try to offer him on the cheap and
Speaker 1: if it's you know, Ramsey Echles cater a Day two
Speaker 1: draft pick, and then all the guys we talked about,
Speaker 1: Maybe that can work out for us, Byron Murphy, I
Speaker 1: mean settled to a quarterback one on cornerback, one on
Speaker 1: the freegent market. We've seen this team, you know, make
Speaker 1: some surprising moves at cornerback, I e. The Kendall Fuller
Speaker 1: move last year or Byron Jones on twenty twenty, but
Speaker 1: I just can't imagine they do that again this year.
Speaker 1: This is a twenty million dollar player, exceptional zone field,
Speaker 1: can press and run with the best players in the league,
Speaker 1: and one on one coverage, ball production, sound tackler. He's fantastic,
Speaker 1: top of the market guy out of our range. Assante
Speaker 1: Samuel Junior is the ultimate feast or famine player. It
Speaker 1: was great early on, then bad, but then he sort
Speaker 1: of evened out as.
Speaker 2: A good player.
Speaker 1: He's a big time playmaker, just like his pops was.
Speaker 1: He finds the football and takes it away. He can
Speaker 1: really sink his hips, has good flexibility in that lower
Speaker 1: half to pivot and get vertical with the long speed
Speaker 1: to stay in phase and coverage or down the stem
Speaker 1: back towards a line of scrimmage. He was a one
Speaker 1: thousand plus snap player each of the last two years
Speaker 1: before playing just two hundred and thirty this year because
Speaker 1: of a severe steinger in his shoulder, which he says
Speaker 1: could have long term impacts. So I'm curious to see
Speaker 1: what that looks like for him. It makes me want
Speaker 1: to say, like, I don't know, man twenty five, but
Speaker 1: if you have a banged up shoulder, that's not gonna
Speaker 1: work at cornerback. So I'm not sure if it's worth
Speaker 1: spending what it'll probably cost to get him. If we're
Speaker 1: going to take swings on hurt guys, it should be
Speaker 1: one year, low cost deals. I think Samuel gets close to,
Speaker 1: you know, eight figures, and I do love the age,
Speaker 1: the break takeout profile, the versatility. I'm a bit conflicted
Speaker 1: on this player. Brandon Stevens is up next, and Eric
Speaker 1: DeCosta said he expects Stevens to test the free agent market.
Speaker 1: And I do think you should sometimes be wary of
Speaker 1: players from teams that walk, when those teams have proven
Speaker 1: they know what they're doing, you know, Joey Porter and
Speaker 1: Mike Wallace down here, a Raven danell Ellerby down here.
Speaker 1: Ravens fans hate this guy, and I think A change
Speaker 1: of scenery could be good for him because he's very
Speaker 1: sticky in coverage. But he had the same issue that
Speaker 1: I got on cater early this year for with a
Speaker 1: total lack of feel at the catch point. He's often
Speaker 1: late to react. But he is six foot one, he's
Speaker 1: two hundred and fifteen pounds. He hits, but the ball
Speaker 1: production stats are an indication that he really struggles to
Speaker 1: find the football.
Speaker 2: My conclusion here is I could see him.
Speaker 1: I could see them having an affinity for this player
Speaker 1: who played for coach Weaver has played on the perimeter,
Speaker 1: played in the slot, and some safety, but I would
Speaker 1: think it would have to come in under cornerback to
Speaker 1: money because he's so up and down. It's tough to
Speaker 1: gauge a signing that I would be equally concer earned
Speaker 1: and optimistic about. I'll close you with this to scare
Speaker 1: you away and say no, no thanks, Travis. He had
Speaker 1: the second worst coverage EPA in the NFL this year,
Speaker 1: four to fifty one out of four hundred and fifty
Speaker 1: two coverage players. Eric Stokes this last on our list here.
Speaker 1: It's funny watching these twenty five year olds. He's not
Speaker 1: last week at one more illied these twenty five year
Speaker 1: olds compared to the guys at the top of the
Speaker 1: draft class. Just like Stevens, his feel and ability to
Speaker 1: find the football is just not there. He's late to everything,
Speaker 1: a reactionary player. From what I can tell, he was
Speaker 1: excellent as a rookie and then it just kind of
Speaker 1: got off the rails for him. But then wait, you
Speaker 1: get to the second half of the season and since
Speaker 1: their bye week, he had the first hit the lowest
Speaker 1: amount of coverage er yards per coverage snap in the NFL,
Speaker 1: So it makes for an interesting market. I still see
Speaker 1: flaws in his game with the stats propped up by
Speaker 1: some situation and scheme, but he's a four to three
Speaker 1: speed guy NFL lineage. Perhaps a low level investment. These
Speaker 1: are the kind of players we're discussing here right. It
Speaker 1: hasn't worked out for him. He's still twenty five, hungry
Speaker 1: with something to prove as a former first round draft pick,
Speaker 1: but man, the tape just had has not been great.
Speaker 1: He also lost his job mid season, but did come
Speaker 1: back and play a lot better down the stretch. So
Speaker 1: maybe the light did go on for Eric Stokes at
Speaker 1: some point this year. Maybe you can still a gem here.
Speaker 1: Last on my list is a guy that breaks the
Speaker 1: rule we talked about earlier in Charvarius Ward, a player
Speaker 1: that is thirty by the time the season kicks off,
Speaker 1: but he wants out of San Francisco because he and
Speaker 1: his wife lost a child and he has communicated that
Speaker 1: he has too much pain associated with the area and
Speaker 1: he's hungry and wants to go somewhere else, expressing that
Speaker 1: on social media. I might take that gamble as a
Speaker 1: cheap cost, but would he because Bochrack spot Rack says
Speaker 1: three year, forty five million dollars Gtfoh. Now, I know
Speaker 1: he's tight with coach, hence the inclusion, but and he's
Speaker 1: a lockdown corner He's a number one cornerback. But I
Speaker 1: just I don't care how good he is with the
Speaker 1: fluidity out of his pedal to flip in either direction,
Speaker 1: his ball skills, the way he matches up against the
Speaker 1: league's best week in and week out. I just think
Speaker 1: he's going to cost a lot more than what Kendall
Speaker 1: Fuller was, and we're out of that business. My rankings
Speaker 1: are him why Ward number one, Byron Murphy number A
Speaker 1: very close number two, Paulson a debo number three. Then
Speaker 1: there's a big tier market rate there. I got Brandon
Speaker 1: Eckles fourth, and this is kind of based upon the
Speaker 1: cost expectation ratio for these players. Sante Samuel fifth, Eric
Speaker 1: Stokes sixth, and Brandon Stevens is seventh. I kind of
Speaker 1: suck at cornerbacks, like it's my biggest misrate among all positions,
Speaker 1: so it's hard for me to stack these guys sometimes.
Speaker 1: So with that mind, there's a good teamser going to
Speaker 1: stick with us for the last segment evaluating draft ball cornerbacks.
Speaker 2: We'll do that next year.
Speaker 1: A Draft Time podcast, your host Travis Wingfield, brought to
Speaker 1: you by Autnation.
Speaker 2: College.
Speaker 1: A bunch of cornerbacks that I had a fun time watching,
Speaker 1: much more so than the free agents we talked about
Speaker 1: here on the podcast.
Speaker 2: And where else would it start?
Speaker 1: With the top guy in the class for pretty much
Speaker 1: everybody but Colorado's Travis Hunter, and the debate will weigh
Speaker 1: John about which side of the football he should play.
Speaker 1: But I think you make him a one hundred percent
Speaker 1: player on defense from day one and then create special
Speaker 1: packages on offense akin to how they used to do
Speaker 1: it with a shoot with I can't think of the
Speaker 1: name all of a sudden, Oh Jack Jones for the Patriots.
Speaker 2: Why did I blank on that name? But that's just
Speaker 2: me now.
Speaker 1: When I see him on tape as a cornerback, there
Speaker 1: is so much confidence from this player. He trust his
Speaker 1: eyes as well as anybody, and he has the athletic
Speaker 1: profile to make it go. He can squat, he can drive,
Speaker 1: he can catch the football off of his frame, he
Speaker 1: can play from depth, and you can just see all
Speaker 1: the reps he's had at wide receiver logged in the
Speaker 1: way that he plays route concepts, not to mention his
Speaker 1: ball skills. I think he's pretty clearly cornerback one from
Speaker 1: this class, and I love the next guy a bunch,
Speaker 1: but I think the offensive options make him even more
Speaker 1: attractive as a defender as you look to make him
Speaker 1: a top five pick, which is where he should go
Speaker 1: in my opinion, the.
Speaker 2: Number two cornerback.
Speaker 1: I could easily make a case that he should be
Speaker 1: the first pick for cornerbacks in this draft. In Chavon Ravel,
Speaker 1: junior from Eastern Carolina, I will say he challenges Hunter
Speaker 1: on my board. I'm not sure anybody else will have
Speaker 1: it that way, but for starters, he's six foot three
Speaker 1: and that length is just so evident. I cannot wait
Speaker 1: to watch or to see what his arm measurement is
Speaker 1: next week in Indy because the hangoff of his body
Speaker 1: like freaking vines man. He's high cut, long legged, a
Speaker 1: little bit thin at one to ninety five at that height,
Speaker 1: but he plays like he's two fifteen with how he
Speaker 1: cuts off routes and just out physicals you. It's akin
Speaker 1: to how Ramsey plays. Quite honestly, I'm bigger and I'm
Speaker 1: stronger than you, and I'm going to prove it. If
Speaker 1: you had him here, I think it creates a lot
Speaker 1: of fun disguise for coach Weaver to institute. I think
Speaker 1: he could play inside too, at that height, in that size,
Speaker 1: I think he can cover tight ends. I think he,
Speaker 1: you know, at full development, is going to be an
Speaker 1: absolute lockdown corner. Then you plug in the Michigan tape
Speaker 1: and watch him whack Colston Lovelin on a split flow
Speaker 1: run action as the you know, the first round tight
Speaker 1: end for many folks for a tackle for loss. I
Speaker 1: just love him now. He tore his ACL in September.
Speaker 1: Dolphins fans turned the podcast off right there, which probably
Speaker 1: hurts his stock, But I think he'd be a great
Speaker 1: pick at thirteen.
Speaker 2: He's a stud. I have him in the top fifteen.
Speaker 2: No further back than that.
Speaker 1: Will Johnson from Miss Again was a guy that people
Speaker 1: thought might be like a top three pick, you know,
Speaker 1: not that long ago.
Speaker 2: I have him as the gambler.
Speaker 1: Nobody makes bigger plays than Will Johnson, and no one
Speaker 1: gives up bigger plays than Johnson. But I think most
Speaker 1: of it is through like actual film prep and recognition,
Speaker 1: because I think there is some guesswork there. But for
Speaker 1: the most part, you know, he gets beat on double
Speaker 1: moves and he's really sharp. Route runners have hit explosive
Speaker 1: plays on him. But I do think he is in
Speaker 1: tune with what he's seeing and he definitely trusts it.
Speaker 1: But he did get beat deep more than the other
Speaker 1: two here in our top three. Now, that's the first
Speaker 1: thing that stands out on his tape, the yin and
Speaker 1: the yang of his big playability.
Speaker 2: But he's also a stud in many many ways.
Speaker 1: Now. I think the reason he can gamble like that
Speaker 1: like he does is because he's six foot two and
Speaker 1: two oh five and an outstanding fluid athlete, and that
Speaker 1: see it, trust it go mentality is not because he's
Speaker 1: just guessing. He's putting in the work and you can
Speaker 1: see him fall off of his man and jump into
Speaker 1: another zone for a big time play all the time.
Speaker 1: He could easily be the top corner back in four
Speaker 1: years from now from this class, no doubt about. In
Speaker 1: my mind, he too was a top fifteen pick. There's
Speaker 1: a little bit of a fall off right there, but
Speaker 1: not by much for me. I think Johnny Barron from
Speaker 1: Texas is the way I think Revel. Revel opens up
Speaker 1: a lot of your coverage options. Baron could do the
Speaker 1: same because of his ability to play inside shoot.
Speaker 2: He might be the best slot cornerback in this draft.
Speaker 1: And we've heard Weaver talk about the versatility of Cater
Speaker 1: and Kendall and how that maximized the versatility of Ramsey.
Speaker 1: I think you have to start there when looking at
Speaker 1: cornerbacks in this defense. And he's a plus tackler, a blitzer,
Speaker 1: a ball tracker. He's the kind of guy you try
Speaker 1: to scheme up play making opportunities in your defense, and
Speaker 1: those are so few and far between you. You're just
Speaker 1: going off numbers here against loaded schedule. Mind you, nine
Speaker 1: pass breakups five picks did not allow a touchdown this
Speaker 1: year was tab with two hundred and seventy nine yards
Speaker 1: allowed in coverage. He plays press so well, whether he
Speaker 1: turns into trail technique or is on an island in
Speaker 1: coverage where he doesn't have help over the top and
Speaker 1: he's not funneling where he has to play both under
Speaker 1: and over. Really good change of direction and feel. He
Speaker 1: might be the best in this class at playing off
Speaker 1: and then mirroring the route to prevent stemming and stacking.
Speaker 1: He just like cuts you off and doesn't let you
Speaker 1: press his toes the way some cornerbacks do. I think
Speaker 1: Kyle Krabs nailed the comp. He's Brian Branch all over again.
Speaker 1: So in reality, you could kind of kill two birds
Speaker 1: with this cat. You know, I keep hearing it's a
Speaker 1: bad draft class, but every group I watch has studs
Speaker 1: all over it. So I like those four guys. I
Speaker 1: like this next guy too. I got Barren in the
Speaker 1: first round. By the way, same place, I have a
Speaker 1: zire oh Man, the Florida State kid man. Those last
Speaker 1: same is Thomas A z A R E y E apostrophe. H.
Speaker 1: Come on, man, you're killing your kid's ability to learn
Speaker 1: proper FINNUCX.
Speaker 2: We canna do that I digress.
Speaker 1: I feel like, you know, kids these days are better
Speaker 1: quote unquote pros from an early age, Like I'm watching
Speaker 1: these five prospects just really having great technique and feel
Speaker 1: for their position. Maybe I am misremembering this, but it
Speaker 1: seems like the green or the project players near the
Speaker 1: top of the class are less and less every single year.
Speaker 1: This guy's an easy mover who keeps his pad shelf
Speaker 1: low with excellent start stop quickness, which is pretty key
Speaker 1: for a cover corner. You could really see that in
Speaker 1: his one on one reps at the Senior Bowl, where
Speaker 1: he could condense inside for a rep play on one
Speaker 1: side of the man and have the ability to run
Speaker 1: across the field with him from that backside position or
Speaker 1: stay in the hip pocket on a corner route back
Speaker 1: the other way. He's big, six foot two, which makes him,
Speaker 1: you know, the movement skills even more impressive. He's exceptional
Speaker 1: impressed man like then you see him, you know if
Speaker 1: he takes a false step, he has the recoverability too.
Speaker 1: He looks like a center fielder tracking the ball down
Speaker 1: on the gap.
Speaker 2: Huge, huge fan of his game.
Speaker 1: So you've really got all kinds of flavors here at
Speaker 1: the top and I think you know Rebel and Thomas
Speaker 1: are the best press man guys. I think Baron's the
Speaker 1: best slot safety type of guy who can play the
Speaker 1: perimeter as well. Johnson's more of the off reactionary cornerback,
Speaker 1: and Hunter is a little bit of everything with wide
Speaker 1: receiver ball skills. I have Thomas also in the first round.
Speaker 1: Then I have a bit of a drop off to
Speaker 1: Trey Amos from Old Miss, but he's still really damn good.
Speaker 1: Stop the record if you've heard this before. His best
Speaker 1: trait is the ability to play in press man's long
Speaker 1: He's feisty. His attacking style shows up both at the
Speaker 1: catchpoint and downhill as a tackler. He was recruited by
Speaker 1: Sabin at Alabama, and we know how polished cornerbacks are
Speaker 1: that go there. I thought his feel at Old Miss
Speaker 1: was tremendous. His angles are exceptional. I love the way
Speaker 1: he reads the play from you from diagnosing the concept,
Speaker 1: like you can see him in passing zone in zone situations,
Speaker 1: parsing through the routes and not the quarterback. Then he
Speaker 1: picks it up and gets his eyes back to the quarterback.
Speaker 1: His recovery and closing speed is very good. He was
Speaker 1: outstanding in mobile, so much so that he just pieced
Speaker 1: out on Wednesdays said I'm good for Thursday's practice. You
Speaker 1: guys can catch him later. Top forty pick all day long.
Speaker 1: Benjamin Morrison from Notre Dame is my first, like, I
Speaker 1: don't know about it type of guy. Three year starter,
Speaker 1: nine picks twenty two plays in the football. Another pressman
Speaker 1: reroute type of player. But I think where the difference
Speaker 1: is between he in the top five is he can
Speaker 1: be a little bit tighter and slower to react, and
Speaker 1: that's a big turn off for me. Now that said,
Speaker 1: he had a hell of a against Jeremiah Smith, getting
Speaker 1: a fair share of his wins, although Smith did leave
Speaker 1: him looking silly a few times.
Speaker 2: He's a competitor.
Speaker 1: He had no issues following his man across the formation
Speaker 1: on a jet sweep and making the tackle on the
Speaker 1: other side. He always gets his eyes back to the football.
Speaker 1: My problem is this is mostly a zone league, and
Speaker 1: I don't think he has a great feel for zone coverage.
Speaker 1: I think he's super sticky in the hips and I'm
Speaker 1: curious to see how he tests. I've got more guys
Speaker 1: to watch, but the ones I've seen a brief glimpse
Speaker 1: at like Kobe Bryant from Kansas looks like a stud
Speaker 1: to me. Quincy Riley from Louisville can play a little bit,
Speaker 1: Maxwell Harrison from Kentucky, Jacob Parrish, the Kansas State kid.
Speaker 1: There is a lot to like here in this class.
Speaker 1: Like I said, it's gonna be tough to mess up
Speaker 1: this draft. All right, let's go ahead and call it
Speaker 1: a podcast right there. Friday, We're gonna put a bow
Speaker 1: on this entire series and give you a comprehensive look
Speaker 1: at the offseason preview this whole thing as well. We'll
Speaker 1: do that then and then it's all the way to
Speaker 1: Indy for next week's episodes.
Speaker 2: In the meantime, you all.
Speaker 1: Please be sure subscribe, rate, review, follow me on social,
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Speaker 1: Until next time, fins up, God on camera and Daddy's