WEBVTT - Undrafted Free Agent (UDFA) Breakdowns | Ticket to the Draft Podcast | Washington Commanders | NFL 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:02.280 In today's episode Ticket of the Draft Podcast, we have 0:00:02.360 --> 0:00:04.640 something near and dear to my heart, and that's the 0:00:04.760 --> 0:00:07.760 udfas man which one of these guys are going to 0:00:07.800 --> 0:00:09.959 be the commanders of tomorrow. I can't wait to tell 0:00:10.000 --> 0:00:11.360 you about each and every one of them. 0:00:11.480 --> 0:00:19.840 It all starts right now. Welcome to the Tickets Draft Podcast. 0:00:19.880 --> 0:00:22.400 I'm Logan Paulson here with Jess Guy, Jason and as 0:00:22.440 --> 0:00:25.120 always represented by sea Geek. This summer, seat Geek has 0:00:25.160 --> 0:00:27.640 your ticket to the best live concert in the DMV 0:00:27.800 --> 0:00:31.280 at Northwest Stadium. Seakeek, the official primary ticket partner of 0:00:31.480 --> 0:00:35.120 Northwest Stadium, and Jason Man, what's here. We've done the draft, 0:00:35.200 --> 0:00:37.320 We've gone through all of our stuff, but we haven't 0:00:37.320 --> 0:00:39.080 gone through all of our stuff because we still have 0:00:39.520 --> 0:00:42.800 the undrafted free agents to talk about and discuss. And 0:00:43.200 --> 0:00:45.120 initially when I first started watching, I was like, man, 0:00:45.159 --> 0:00:46.919 I don't know, this group doesn't seem like it's as 0:00:47.000 --> 0:00:48.720 exciting as the group was last year. You know, you 0:00:48.760 --> 0:00:51.480 got Tyler Owens, you got coolson Yankov, guys that were 0:00:51.479 --> 0:00:55.360 like Ben Nickel, guys with these crazy, freaky athletic profiles. 0:00:55.760 --> 0:00:58.120 But the more that I've gone through this, the more 0:00:58.160 --> 0:01:01.080 guys I've watched, the more I've been impressed with, I'd 0:01:01.080 --> 0:01:03.200 say seventy five percent of the free agent class, eighty 0:01:03.240 --> 0:01:05.000 percent of the free agent class as guys that I 0:01:05.080 --> 0:01:08.440 think have a shot to make waves and maybe make 0:01:08.440 --> 0:01:08.880 the roster. 0:01:08.959 --> 0:01:09.479 We'll see. 0:01:09.720 --> 0:01:11.560 Obviously a lot of these guys are developmental and it's 0:01:11.600 --> 0:01:15.200 up to evaluate for agents. But I think it's it's 0:01:15.319 --> 0:01:17.399 it's becoming a more and more compelling group the more 0:01:17.440 --> 0:01:17.800 I watch. 0:01:18.080 --> 0:01:18.280 Yeah. 0:01:18.280 --> 0:01:20.320 Absolutely, man, you love to get right into it, right. 0:01:20.400 --> 0:01:23.760 We're talking about udfa's today. It's our last episode, man, 0:01:23.840 --> 0:01:25.759 it is our last episode, last episode of the season. 0:01:25.760 --> 0:01:29.840 So it's sad, little tier. But yeah, no, what you're 0:01:29.840 --> 0:01:33.000 saying is exactly right. When you first look at these 0:01:33.080 --> 0:01:37.160 udfa's this year, it doesn't seem like last year's as 0:01:37.240 --> 0:01:39.440 far as like I don't I don't want to say talent, 0:01:39.640 --> 0:01:40.440 but it's. 0:01:40.319 --> 0:01:42.640 Like there was some freaky dude like Tyler Tyler Owens, 0:01:42.680 --> 0:01:44.440 like I think he broke or it was close to 0:01:44.480 --> 0:01:47.480 breaking the broad jump record at the combine, you know, 0:01:47.760 --> 0:01:50.560 like Coolson Yankov for his size, heyway, he had hit 0:01:50.600 --> 0:01:53.280 like a ten Ris ben Nicol. We talked about him 0:01:53.320 --> 0:01:56.640 like he killed the the Big ten pro day, like 0:01:57.600 --> 0:01:59.840 it just there was a it was a different kind 0:01:59.880 --> 0:02:03.080 of timber for that group. And maybe that's a you know, 0:02:03.160 --> 0:02:06.960 reflection of the draft class. But this group, again on paper, 0:02:07.200 --> 0:02:09.160 none of those kind of freaky athletic dudes. There's a 0:02:09.160 --> 0:02:11.320 couple of guys that actually have pretty freaky one or 0:02:11.320 --> 0:02:13.640 two guys freaky athletic profiles. But on the whole, I 0:02:13.639 --> 0:02:16.119 think you're looking at kind of guys that are here 0:02:16.200 --> 0:02:19.320 because of the film as opposed to maybe some of 0:02:19.320 --> 0:02:20.519 those testing numbers. 0:02:20.600 --> 0:02:24.240 And I'm excited to talk about a little bit. Yeah. Absolutely. Also, 0:02:24.639 --> 0:02:26.600 you know this is also a. 0:02:28.680 --> 0:02:30.959 I think it's a it speaks to the draft last 0:02:31.000 --> 0:02:33.200 year compared to this year. I mean, remember last year 0:02:33.800 --> 0:02:38.480 there were so many in that one, two, and three tier, yeah, 0:02:38.840 --> 0:02:42.720 that we didn't have this year. So you'll see more 0:02:43.440 --> 0:02:46.240 udfas that have more of the thing Like a lot 0:02:46.280 --> 0:02:48.280 of the guys that were udafa's last year could have 0:02:48.280 --> 0:02:50.600 been maybe six or seventh rounders of this year. Does 0:02:50.639 --> 0:02:55.040 that make sense to how deep much that draft, how 0:02:55.680 --> 0:03:00.440 big that draft class was with prospects, They're just a 0:03:00.480 --> 0:03:02.560 lot of them all at once. Like you hear about 0:03:03.080 --> 0:03:07.480 deeper prospect classes versus less at certain positions, and if 0:03:07.520 --> 0:03:09.840 it's those primary positions, and a lot get pushed back. 0:03:09.919 --> 0:03:12.720 So last year there were so many quarterbacks that came 0:03:12.760 --> 0:03:15.320 off the board, so many wide receivers that come off 0:03:15.320 --> 0:03:17.840 the board, that it pushes guys out of the draft 0:03:18.160 --> 0:03:21.240 that maybe maybe Tyler Owens is drafted this year if 0:03:21.240 --> 0:03:24.440 he's in this class. It's that sort of thing. But 0:03:24.520 --> 0:03:26.840 that being said, you're exactly right, Like it looks like 0:03:26.880 --> 0:03:29.680 the U at thefa's that they took last year were 0:03:30.080 --> 0:03:32.960 measurable kind of freaks. Like it was like this athletic 0:03:33.360 --> 0:03:35.240 guy that we can get in that you know, God 0:03:35.280 --> 0:03:37.280 only makes so many of them, Let's see how what 0:03:37.320 --> 0:03:39.000 we can do to put it together and make them 0:03:39.000 --> 0:03:41.920 good football players. Where this year it looks more like, 0:03:42.040 --> 0:03:46.800 let's get guys with attitude that ad quite honestly had 0:03:46.800 --> 0:03:49.040 a tough road, Like it looks like they're looking for 0:03:49.120 --> 0:03:53.560 character traits here and they have good tape. Right, It's 0:03:53.680 --> 0:03:56.240 really interesting that these guys didn't get drafted a lot 0:03:56.320 --> 0:03:59.320 of them because they have good tape, they have good film. 0:03:59.560 --> 0:04:03.080 Now it may not have been this past year at college, 0:04:03.120 --> 0:04:05.680 it may be years ago. There may be an injury 0:04:05.720 --> 0:04:09.400 that's in there, there may be like little things like that, 0:04:09.800 --> 0:04:12.400 but when they are on the football field, they flash yeah, 0:04:12.440 --> 0:04:13.840 which is what you want from a UDFA. 0:04:13.960 --> 0:04:15.760 Yeah. No, I think that's exactly right. And I think 0:04:15.800 --> 0:04:16.560 you just wanted. 0:04:16.360 --> 0:04:18.000 Up Like the way I look at Udfa's, I look 0:04:18.000 --> 0:04:19.279 at them the same way that I look at later 0:04:19.360 --> 0:04:22.200 on draft picks, is you want a guy that can 0:04:22.240 --> 0:04:24.800 come in and have a shot to make your team, right, 0:04:25.440 --> 0:04:27.320 just have a shot. And so like you know, I've 0:04:27.360 --> 0:04:31.320 been I've observed when I mostly when I played Udfa's 0:04:31.320 --> 0:04:32.760 coming in and you're like, no way this guy makes 0:04:32.760 --> 0:04:35.680 that team, Like there's no role for him in this organization. 0:04:35.800 --> 0:04:38.000 And I think the one thing about this group of 0:04:38.000 --> 0:04:40.599 guys is when you watch them all, really all of them, 0:04:40.920 --> 0:04:43.120 you kind of say to yourself, like, there there is 0:04:43.160 --> 0:04:45.480 a there's a path for them to make it. You know, 0:04:45.600 --> 0:04:48.200 some of it's injury related for other guys in the team, yep, 0:04:48.240 --> 0:04:50.240 But a lot of them I think have the ability to. 0:04:50.200 --> 0:04:51.160 Play some good football. 0:04:51.200 --> 0:04:53.360 And so I'm excited to talk about the group because 0:04:53.440 --> 0:04:56.760 it does feel, again the more the more I watched 0:04:56.800 --> 0:04:58.520 it like an extension of the draft class. And that 0:04:58.600 --> 0:04:59.840 some of these guys are going to end up making 0:05:00.320 --> 0:05:01.479 and maybe making the roster. 0:05:01.720 --> 0:05:02.000 Yeah. 0:05:02.080 --> 0:05:05.520 I really enjoy doing this podcast with you, like this 0:05:05.560 --> 0:05:08.480 specific episode, because you're an undrafted free agent. 0:05:08.560 --> 0:05:09.960 Drafted free agent, so these. 0:05:09.839 --> 0:05:11.719 Guys, as you said last week, I have a special 0:05:11.760 --> 0:05:13.560 place in your heart. But I get to ask you 0:05:13.680 --> 0:05:16.520 questions about like what it takes for this guy to 0:05:16.560 --> 0:05:18.600 make the team, and like you got the answers man 0:05:18.680 --> 0:05:21.240 ten years in the NFL, Like you did it, and 0:05:21.360 --> 0:05:23.400 like you got to be a little lucky, you got 0:05:23.400 --> 0:05:25.800 to be a little good, right, So real quickly, but 0:05:25.960 --> 0:05:28.520 before we get into this, can you like give me 0:05:28.560 --> 0:05:32.440 a summary of how you made the cut? You got 0:05:32.440 --> 0:05:35.000 brought in, you didn't get drafted, you got brought in, 0:05:35.240 --> 0:05:37.240 what was that like? And then once you were here 0:05:37.320 --> 0:05:38.880 what was that like? And then how did you make 0:05:38.920 --> 0:05:39.400 the team? 0:05:39.800 --> 0:05:40.080 Yeah? 0:05:40.080 --> 0:05:42.039 So I think the thing that I would kind of 0:05:42.080 --> 0:05:45.000 give every you know, late round draft pick or u'dfa 0:05:45.200 --> 0:05:47.440 kind of just point this out. I think it's better 0:05:47.440 --> 0:05:49.320 to be undrafted if you're going to be drafted in 0:05:49.320 --> 0:05:51.240 the sixth or seventh round, Like, it's better to be 0:05:51.320 --> 0:05:53.400 undrafted because I get to pick the situation. I go 0:05:53.480 --> 0:05:56.479 to so you know, the draft ended in twenty ten 0:05:56.560 --> 0:05:58.240 and I was sitting there and a bunch of teams 0:05:58.279 --> 0:06:02.279 were calling me, like the Dollar Cowboys, the Chargers, the 0:06:02.279 --> 0:06:05.880 San Diego Chargers at the time, and the Washington Commanders, Redskins, 0:06:06.200 --> 0:06:08.840 and basically like I had a good relationship with the 0:06:08.839 --> 0:06:11.520 tight end coach. He coached me in college. I played 0:06:11.520 --> 0:06:14.039 with his son for four years at UCLA, and he 0:06:14.080 --> 0:06:17.120 had come back and been like an assistant, like GA 0:06:17.279 --> 0:06:19.600 quality control guy to help out Rick new heisl who 0:06:19.680 --> 0:06:21.680 was the head coach, and he had just taken the 0:06:21.760 --> 0:06:24.280 job with the Redskins at the time, and so I 0:06:24.360 --> 0:06:26.480 knew him really well. And then my agent did a 0:06:26.480 --> 0:06:29.040 great job of going through all the depth charts and saying, 0:06:29.440 --> 0:06:31.400 you know, they've got Chris Cooley, they've got Fred Davis, 0:06:31.400 --> 0:06:33.560 but everybody else is a free agent that they've brought 0:06:33.600 --> 0:06:36.400 in to break the team. So even though you're undrafted, 0:06:36.400 --> 0:06:38.200 you'll have a good shot to compete with those guys 0:06:38.240 --> 0:06:40.200 and fight for that third tight end spot. 0:06:40.240 --> 0:06:42.440 Right, because most teams keep three tight ends right. 0:06:42.320 --> 0:06:44.600 Three ends, in some cases four like Baltimore. 0:06:44.640 --> 0:06:47.240 There's exceptions to every rule some teams keep too, but 0:06:47.320 --> 0:06:49.480 mostly I'd say the mean and the mean is three. 0:06:49.600 --> 0:06:53.360 Can I also like Chris Cooley and Fred Davis, they 0:06:53.360 --> 0:06:57.440 did specific things. You're a little you're different than them. Yeah, 0:06:57.480 --> 0:06:59.600 so you not only do you have a chance to 0:06:59.600 --> 0:07:02.240 make that the tight end spot, you're bringing something that 0:07:02.440 --> 0:07:05.359 they don't have. Yeah, or maybe they have it, but 0:07:05.440 --> 0:07:07.560 you know, your specialty is something different than there. 0:07:07.680 --> 0:07:10.320 And both those guys are like really tremendous football players. 0:07:10.320 --> 0:07:11.920 And I was very lucky to have the opportunity to 0:07:11.960 --> 0:07:14.600 learn from both those guys, you know, in different ways, right, 0:07:15.600 --> 0:07:17.600 but yeah, a little different. But again, like when you're 0:07:17.680 --> 0:07:20.080 that third tight end, you're not competing with those guys. 0:07:20.080 --> 0:07:21.760 And I let din't look at it like I was 0:07:21.800 --> 0:07:23.400 competing with them. I looked at it more like I 0:07:23.440 --> 0:07:27.880 was competing with the fifth linebacker, the sixth safety, because 0:07:27.880 --> 0:07:30.400 you're thinking about special team spots and allocations and like 0:07:30.400 --> 0:07:32.680 how do you stack up with those guys, and like. 0:07:32.680 --> 0:07:34.480 Can you develop a role on offense? 0:07:34.480 --> 0:07:36.480 Because really, if you're the third tight end, like for 0:07:37.000 --> 0:07:38.880 the team, it doesn't really matter because they'll easily put 0:07:38.960 --> 0:07:40.560 up six offensive linemen in there and say, hey, we 0:07:40.560 --> 0:07:42.400 don't need the third tight end this week, right for 0:07:42.480 --> 0:07:46.040 even for depth purposes. So that was kind of my philosophy. 0:07:46.040 --> 0:07:48.680 And again like I made it because of my relationship 0:07:49.000 --> 0:07:50.600 with the coach. That was one element is I knew 0:07:50.640 --> 0:07:52.040 he was going to give me a fair shot, which 0:07:52.120 --> 0:07:53.840 as a UDFA is really all you can ask for. 0:07:53.880 --> 0:07:57.320 I just want a fair shot. Then I think the 0:07:57.400 --> 0:07:59.760 other element too is like come in. And you know, 0:07:59.760 --> 0:08:01.240 we talked about this little a little bit on the 0:08:01.240 --> 0:08:05.400 Command Center podcast with Fred and Santana, and Fred said 0:08:05.400 --> 0:08:07.520 the word consistency, and I do think that's a big element. 0:08:07.600 --> 0:08:09.320 Is I just treated it like it was a job, 0:08:09.400 --> 0:08:12.360 like it was my nine to five, you know, twenty 0:08:12.400 --> 0:08:14.280 four to seven, Like this is all I care about 0:08:14.320 --> 0:08:16.320 is making this football team. So how quickly can I 0:08:16.400 --> 0:08:19.120 learn the offense? How quickly can I show my mastery 0:08:19.120 --> 0:08:21.760 of the offense, and how quickly can I develop my 0:08:21.800 --> 0:08:25.040 technical acumen you know, like my footwork, my hand placement, 0:08:25.080 --> 0:08:27.800 all those different things. And that was that took a 0:08:27.840 --> 0:08:29.480 little bit of juice to took a little time for 0:08:29.520 --> 0:08:33.400 me to get there. But like I said, my titand 0:08:33.440 --> 0:08:35.440 coach believed in me. I had the right kind of 0:08:36.080 --> 0:08:38.280 work ethic mindset. You know, there was a couple of injuries. 0:08:38.320 --> 0:08:40.880 You know, Sean Ryan was the tight end who was 0:08:40.920 --> 0:08:43.320 ahead of me. He got hurt during OTA's and so 0:08:43.320 --> 0:08:45.160 they ended up cutting him. I ended up making it. 0:08:46.240 --> 0:08:48.280 Lee Vickers didn't have a great preseason. He's really good 0:08:48.320 --> 0:08:50.320 friend of mine, but didn't have a great preseason. I 0:08:50.360 --> 0:08:52.360 ended up making it over him, so just and they 0:08:52.360 --> 0:08:54.240 even drafted a guy that same year too, So just 0:08:54.280 --> 0:08:56.960 kind of fell the a little lucky, little good. But 0:08:57.040 --> 0:08:59.480 again I had to produce, Like I remember my one 0:08:59.480 --> 0:09:01.640 of my favorites stories about my rookie year. It's not 0:09:01.679 --> 0:09:04.800 a crazy story, but one of my things was like 0:09:04.800 --> 0:09:07.120 I'm gonna finish to every single football, like, no matter 0:09:07.160 --> 0:09:09.559 where it is, I'm only getting like six reps of practice, 0:09:09.920 --> 0:09:12.560 Like that ball could be an eighty yard touchdown. Like 0:09:12.600 --> 0:09:14.680 I'm going to try and finish in the shot next 0:09:14.720 --> 0:09:16.839 to that guy because at some point they're gonna be like, 0:09:16.880 --> 0:09:18.880 who's this guy in every single shot? 0:09:19.000 --> 0:09:24.160 Right? And so pro Chris Samuels, he was. 0:09:24.120 --> 0:09:25.680 Like helping out with the offensive line and there was 0:09:25.679 --> 0:09:28.000 a play where I was running like a backside corner 0:09:28.320 --> 0:09:30.079 and they threw it I think it was to I 0:09:30.120 --> 0:09:31.880 think it was to Terrence Austin. 0:09:32.000 --> 0:09:32.680 Or something like that. 0:09:32.920 --> 0:09:34.800 In the flat to the side, he ran a little bit, 0:09:35.000 --> 0:09:37.400 he fumbled the ball and I don't know how I 0:09:37.400 --> 0:09:38.959 got over there, but I managed to get all the 0:09:39.000 --> 0:09:41.600 way over there and recover the fumble in the drill, 0:09:41.840 --> 0:09:44.520 and Chris came up to me as like, and he's 0:09:44.520 --> 0:09:46.200 told me since that, He's like, that's when I knew 0:09:46.240 --> 0:09:48.400 you were gonna you had a shot. Is because you 0:09:48.440 --> 0:09:51.160 were just like that locked in and it takes those 0:09:51.440 --> 0:09:52.719 because it's you know, I'm not gonna be able to 0:09:52.760 --> 0:09:54.960 catch ten passes a day. I'm not Santana Moss, I'm 0:09:54.960 --> 0:09:56.480 not Fred Davis, I'm not Chris Cooley. 0:09:57.160 --> 0:09:57.920 I was gonna. 0:09:57.960 --> 0:09:59.840 I had to find ways to make myself noticed. So 0:10:00.200 --> 0:10:02.280 making sure that when the opportunity came, I was ready, 0:10:02.360 --> 0:10:06.080 like through study and preparation and then also just doing 0:10:06.120 --> 0:10:08.320 anything to just be like, who's that guy, Like, what's 0:10:08.360 --> 0:10:09.040 he doing over there? 0:10:09.400 --> 0:10:11.680 And doing the most? Yeah, doing the most, doing the 0:10:11.679 --> 0:10:12.280 most for sure. 0:10:12.360 --> 0:10:15.800 Yeah. All right, So that's your advice for these guys. 0:10:15.880 --> 0:10:17.600 Do the most. Let's do the most. 0:10:17.840 --> 0:10:19.680 Be a little lucky, be a little good, do the most. 0:10:20.640 --> 0:10:23.520 I love I love your NFL story about like, seriously, 0:10:23.559 --> 0:10:25.920 every time you bring up like your stories about the NFL, 0:10:26.200 --> 0:10:28.080 how you got there, how you played through it, like 0:10:28.120 --> 0:10:30.800 the things you've gone through. Like it's just different hearing 0:10:30.840 --> 0:10:35.360 it from you, because there's this weird thing that we 0:10:35.440 --> 0:10:39.560 do as fans where we think we can do certain 0:10:39.600 --> 0:10:40.800 things and we definitely can't. 0:10:41.000 --> 0:10:41.240 Write. 0:10:41.320 --> 0:10:44.600 Like I'll preface that, like everybody that's in the NFL 0:10:44.840 --> 0:10:47.280 was like the best that their high school has ever 0:10:47.320 --> 0:10:50.240 seen before life Like that's don't you still hold your 0:10:50.280 --> 0:10:54.240 high school sack record or record? And then you're like, oh, 0:10:54.320 --> 0:10:57.480 Logan pulls in the third played in is like yeah, 0:10:57.520 --> 0:11:00.760 well he's also like the best as high school has 0:11:00.760 --> 0:11:04.480 ever seen. And so everybody that gets to that one 0:11:04.559 --> 0:11:09.439 percent the NFL is a tremendous athlete. But fans, including myself, 0:11:09.559 --> 0:11:13.080 I don't always view it that way. So I'm like, well, 0:11:13.120 --> 0:11:15.480 just hustle. Well just like oh he we like to 0:11:15.520 --> 0:11:18.240 do this a lot. He's either good or he's bad. Yeah, right, 0:11:18.320 --> 0:11:21.600 And I guess the reason I like hearing your stories 0:11:21.679 --> 0:11:25.599 is because it makes me feel like I understand it, 0:11:25.640 --> 0:11:28.040 because it makes me feel like, yeah, just hustle, just 0:11:28.320 --> 0:11:30.240 like if it weren't for my knee, I could have 0:11:30.320 --> 0:11:31.280 done it like you. 0:11:31.200 --> 0:11:32.040 Hear that all the time. 0:11:32.320 --> 0:11:33.720 Weren't for that knee injury, I could have been in 0:11:33.720 --> 0:11:36.760 the NFL. Now that's not true. That's the caveat. That's 0:11:36.800 --> 0:11:37.520 not true, but. 0:11:37.520 --> 0:11:38.559 It is like, but. 0:11:40.520 --> 0:11:43.800 Fans get I relate to what you're talking about. Just grind, 0:11:43.880 --> 0:11:47.280 just hustle, because you're not born with this crazy gift. 0:11:47.320 --> 0:11:49.200 We're not, and we just work. We just hustle and 0:11:49.280 --> 0:11:51.760 like good things will come from it. Now, you were 0:11:51.800 --> 0:11:54.360 born with a crazy athletic gift. As much as you 0:11:54.400 --> 0:11:56.560 may not say it, but how big are you? 0:11:56.840 --> 0:11:59.040 About six or five? About two seventy? 0:11:59.240 --> 0:12:04.680 Yeah, five six and way too many LB's for what 0:12:04.960 --> 0:12:07.600 five to six should be. There's no chance I'm ever 0:12:07.640 --> 0:12:11.440 playing a professional sport. But I do understand the notion 0:12:11.559 --> 0:12:16.200 of work hard, grind hard, the underdog story, right. So 0:12:16.280 --> 0:12:17.120 I just love hearing you. 0:12:17.160 --> 0:12:19.360 No, that's that makes me happy because it is. 0:12:19.720 --> 0:12:22.400 I don't always appreciate it because you know, I get 0:12:22.440 --> 0:12:25.679 to do stuff with Fred and Santana and be Mitch 0:12:25.800 --> 0:12:28.400 and you know London Fletcher, guys who are borderline Hall 0:12:28.400 --> 0:12:30.240 of famer. So my story is not as you know, 0:12:30.280 --> 0:12:32.079 it's different than theirs, and so it's. 0:12:32.040 --> 0:12:35.920 More relatable even though you're still an NFL athlete that's 0:12:35.920 --> 0:12:40.719 a one percent echelon athlete. That is like you're you're 0:12:40.960 --> 0:12:41.840 crazy athletic. 0:12:41.920 --> 0:12:46.160 Well, I appreciate it, but like your Josh Connerly challenge, Yeah, 0:12:46.960 --> 0:12:49.400 just watching you, I'm like my hamstring hurts. 0:12:49.400 --> 0:12:51.480 Well. Yeah, it was definitely the Camra angle. You did 0:12:51.520 --> 0:12:52.679 a great job film in that. For me. 0:12:52.880 --> 0:12:55.920 I got multiple comments about the gasp at the end 0:12:55.920 --> 0:12:57.959 and how that really added to the aura of the video. 0:12:58.400 --> 0:13:00.760 Well, the gas was in and what you did it 0:13:00.800 --> 0:13:04.840 was my hands free. Oh all right, let's get into 0:13:04.840 --> 0:13:11.800 the udfas I'm done, done, done. 0:13:11.120 --> 0:13:13.360 Slawilkere all right, So I guess we'll start just go 0:13:13.400 --> 0:13:14.120 straight down the list. 0:13:14.120 --> 0:13:16.240 What do you think, Yeah, let's do it. Man. 0:13:16.280 --> 0:13:19.120 I'll defer to you because you've watched these guys wing. 0:13:19.200 --> 0:13:22.160 Yeah, so I'll start with Timothy McKay Gardens. He stay 0:13:22.160 --> 0:13:24.240 and he first popped on my radar at the Shrine Bowl, 0:13:24.280 --> 0:13:25.760 and he was a guy that when you watch one 0:13:25.800 --> 0:13:28.679 on ones like was the kind of low key dominant right, 0:13:28.679 --> 0:13:30.400 he just like had a great feel for the pass. 0:13:30.440 --> 0:13:32.160 Pro like he's going against like C. J. West, who 0:13:32.200 --> 0:13:34.480 was a drafted player and kind of locked them down. 0:13:34.600 --> 0:13:34.800 You know. 0:13:34.920 --> 0:13:38.360 So he has got thirty four in an eighth inch arms, 0:13:38.520 --> 0:13:40.680 he's got pretty good movement skills, like for a guy 0:13:40.720 --> 0:13:43.160 of his size, I will say the one thing that 0:13:43.200 --> 0:13:45.360 sticks out to me is he's still I feel like, 0:13:45.400 --> 0:13:49.720 developing in his like core midsection area. So like sometimes 0:13:49.760 --> 0:13:51.319 when he gets a bull rush, it's hard for him 0:13:51.320 --> 0:13:53.440 to like fully sit it, or like when he's in 0:13:53.440 --> 0:13:57.680 a double team combination, like his shoulder gets turned. But 0:13:57.760 --> 0:14:01.640 I think you see an athlete with the length and 0:14:01.800 --> 0:14:05.840 feeling pass protection that could be at some point a 0:14:05.960 --> 0:14:09.240 rotational guard, maybe a swing guard. And you know, given 0:14:09.280 --> 0:14:12.600 the right kind of ecosystem and environment, maybe he's you know, 0:14:12.640 --> 0:14:15.080 he starts a couple of games for you, so's he's 0:14:15.080 --> 0:14:16.960 definitely And I got to say this about all these 0:14:16.960 --> 0:14:19.280 guys that are all developmental, they've all got a warts 0:14:19.320 --> 0:14:21.240 their game. Like I think he tore his peck at 0:14:21.240 --> 0:14:23.360 his prote doing bench press, you know, so he might 0:14:23.400 --> 0:14:26.720 not be ready to go until August or September. But 0:14:27.600 --> 0:14:31.200 an interesting guy, a guy that I think from an 0:14:31.200 --> 0:14:33.280 offensive line standpoint, has a lot of things you like, 0:14:33.680 --> 0:14:36.000 a lot of things you're searching for and especially if 0:14:36.000 --> 0:14:38.000 you can play that guard spot or play center, like 0:14:38.200 --> 0:14:39.360 I think it's a good fit for the team. 0:14:39.440 --> 0:14:41.480 So it's depth, right, Like you're trying to get some 0:14:41.520 --> 0:14:43.840 depth here of a guy like you said that's developmental, 0:14:44.160 --> 0:14:46.920 can learn behind a Sam Cosmi, right, can add that 0:14:47.040 --> 0:14:50.800 depth to where like you're growing and if there's injuries 0:14:50.960 --> 0:14:52.720 or you need to step into a role, you got 0:14:52.760 --> 0:14:55.880 someone there that, hopefully for the next couple of years, 0:14:56.000 --> 0:14:59.600 can fill a void. And who knows, Like you said, 0:15:00.320 --> 0:15:02.880 there's all potential here. Maybe he can become a starter 0:15:03.000 --> 0:15:06.480 over time. Because here's the thing about him, Like again 0:15:06.520 --> 0:15:09.520 we talked about tape, so I saw him, but I 0:15:09.600 --> 0:15:11.480 wasn't watching for him, if that makes sense. 0:15:11.480 --> 0:15:14.160 I was watching for anything right. 0:15:14.200 --> 0:15:17.720 Also from Inzay State, so I have seen him play 0:15:17.880 --> 0:15:21.920 and at six four, three twelve or three fifteen, only 0:15:21.920 --> 0:15:24.160 four sacks allowed in thirty eight games that he played. 0:15:24.160 --> 0:15:26.280 That's pretty nign good. And last year in twenty twenty 0:15:26.280 --> 0:15:30.560 four he had zero QB hits. So there's something there, right, 0:15:30.600 --> 0:15:34.280 there's good tape there. So maybe the torn peck is 0:15:34.280 --> 0:15:35.560 what has them fall a little bit. 0:15:35.600 --> 0:15:36.880 I think he's a draftable player. 0:15:36.920 --> 0:15:38.600 I think so like I think that in the injury 0:15:38.640 --> 0:15:40.160 is probably something that pushed him down a little bit. 0:15:40.200 --> 0:15:41.360 And how much does guard matter? 0:15:41.760 --> 0:15:44.160 Because in the draft there's such a value for tackle 0:15:44.480 --> 0:15:46.920 that you're are you more willing to take a chance 0:15:47.000 --> 0:15:53.320 on a less polished tackle because maybe with that and 0:15:53.320 --> 0:15:56.640 tackles so premium, then I'll take a good guard. 0:15:56.840 --> 0:15:59.440 I just think it's this is just my personal draft philosophy. 0:15:59.440 --> 0:16:02.280 I think it's just so hard to find a starting 0:16:02.320 --> 0:16:05.040 caliber tackle. Like a good example this is Jalen Travis. 0:16:05.120 --> 0:16:06.640 We talked about him a lot on Tick to the 0:16:06.720 --> 0:16:10.280 draft throughout the process, like is he there right now? 0:16:10.760 --> 0:16:10.920 No? 0:16:11.080 --> 0:16:13.840 But the thing that makes him so enticing, like his 0:16:13.960 --> 0:16:17.640 film is probably not too much different than Timothy McKay. 0:16:17.680 --> 0:16:20.000 Like it's probably not in terms of like the wins 0:16:20.000 --> 0:16:22.720 the losses. It's it's kind of in the same bucket. 0:16:22.720 --> 0:16:25.200 There's some good, some bad, but it's just there's only 0:16:25.200 --> 0:16:26.920 a couple guys on planet Earth who can play right 0:16:26.960 --> 0:16:29.680 or left tackle in the NFL, Like there's just and 0:16:29.920 --> 0:16:31.440 you know, some people say, oh, there's sixty four. I 0:16:31.440 --> 0:16:32.960 don't even think there's sixty four guys. I think a 0:16:32.960 --> 0:16:34.480 lot of teams are like, man, we need to upgrade 0:16:34.480 --> 0:16:37.120 tackle at guard for whatever reason. I think because the 0:16:37.120 --> 0:16:40.320 body type is more universal, like the heights not as important. 0:16:40.800 --> 0:16:43.040 The crazy arm length isn't important, So you get guys 0:16:43.080 --> 0:16:45.800 who like Timothy six Foards, a big guy, but not 0:16:46.160 --> 0:16:47.760 six seven like Jaalen Travis. 0:16:48.320 --> 0:16:49.240 He's three point fifteen. 0:16:49.320 --> 0:16:52.160 Jalen Travis is three forty, right, Like, it's just a 0:16:52.200 --> 0:16:55.000 different style of body and so I think that I 0:16:55.000 --> 0:16:56.720 think this is a good football player. I think, like 0:16:56.720 --> 0:16:59.680 I said, there's some mid sections, some waist spending that 0:16:59.680 --> 0:17:02.840 needs to be cleaned up. But when you look at him, say, hey, 0:17:02.880 --> 0:17:05.480 maybe not this year, but in two years, do we 0:17:05.520 --> 0:17:07.440 have a guy that could be the swing guard for us? 0:17:07.480 --> 0:17:10.400 Like that's pretty encouraging, and I think he's got that 0:17:10.480 --> 0:17:13.359 in him. It's just about this is where the stuff 0:17:13.359 --> 0:17:14.800 that I talked about with my story and stuff that 0:17:14.840 --> 0:17:17.600 I've observed with other UDA phase is how much are 0:17:17.640 --> 0:17:19.440