Speaker 1: This is the Drive with Dale Lolly and Matt Williamson
Speaker 1: on Home of the Black and Gold Steelers Nation Radio.
Speaker 1: Welcome back to the Drive. I'm Dale Lilly. He is
Speaker 1: Matt Williamson and Matt. I don't know if you saw
Speaker 1: this another I imagine you probably did. But we got
Speaker 1: the first melt Keiper mock draft. I did see it,
Speaker 1: and I actually kind of scrolled through it and didn't
Speaker 1: read it. Talk to bottom yet. But some new names
Speaker 1: in the first round. There are some new names in there. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1: And I worked with these guys, I know Todd and Mel,
Speaker 1: especially Todd. And I'm not taking anything away from Mel
Speaker 1: because he's the original. I mean, he's the draft nick
Speaker 1: of all draft knicks. But a lot of what he
Speaker 1: does that he publishes is things he here. People in
Speaker 1: the league tell Mel a lot. And that doesn't mean
Speaker 1: he's got an agenda or they have an agenda. Get
Speaker 1: this guy in the first round, get my client in
Speaker 1: the first round. I just think that he has pretty
Speaker 1: dowed in with his NFL sources that this guy is
Speaker 1: probably gonna be a first round pick. And there were
Speaker 1: some names here that I was shocked to see in
Speaker 1: the first round. Yeah, for sure, and let's let's roll
Speaker 1: through this thing here. Uh So he has the Bears
Speaker 1: taking Jalen Carter, the defensive tackle to Georgia. Obviously that
Speaker 1: the names at the top are are not the ones
Speaker 1: that are changing here, right, and they just the order
Speaker 1: a little bit. I don't think ESPN once I'm doing
Speaker 1: trades right now either, right. Um. Yeah, he has the
Speaker 1: Texans taking c. J. Stroud from Ohio State at two,
Speaker 1: which is interesting because they have their choice of quarterbacks. Um.
Speaker 1: I do know their GM is very traits oriented, and
Speaker 1: I've seen some people put Levice there. Um, but what
Speaker 1: I mentioned that why I mentioned is just Young might
Speaker 1: just be use ball for them, you know, the way
Speaker 1: that they view the posit Yeah, I would understand. At three,
Speaker 1: he has the Cardinals taking Will Anderson and they'll probably
Speaker 1: get Carter or Anderson and be just as happy with either.
Speaker 1: At four, he has the Colts taking Brace Young fair enough,
Speaker 1: I mean, I think those would be the top four picks.
Speaker 1: Then at five, Seattle takes will love Us so three
Speaker 1: quarterbacks in the top five picks. I think that's possible.
Speaker 1: I don't know that that's the landing how it would work,
Speaker 1: but especially if teams start trading up to one or three.
Speaker 1: I could see these being the top five picks. Yeah yeah.
Speaker 1: At six, he has the Lions taking Tyree Wilson, the
Speaker 1: defensive end out of Texas Tech. It seems to really
Speaker 1: be every mock you look at, every draft, Nick has
Speaker 1: this guy basically in the top eight, you know, and
Speaker 1: he wasn't a household name a year ago. At seven,
Speaker 1: the Raiders to Pete Scurronski, the offensive tackle one in
Speaker 1: the Northwestern I guess that makes a lot of sense
Speaker 1: for them. I mean, when you look at their old line,
Speaker 1: left tackles really the only spot that's you know, So
Speaker 1: just give me the best lineman in the draft and
Speaker 1: we'll figure out where to play him, right. Yeah. Then
Speaker 1: at eight, the Falcons take Miles Murphy, the defensive endenic Clemson.
Speaker 1: That adds up as well. I mean, their offense isn't set,
Speaker 1: but their offense is at least respectable. A much different
Speaker 1: edge guy than Ebu Ketty who they took at the
Speaker 1: top of the second round him. He's a much bigger
Speaker 1: bodied guy. I like this one. I don't know if
Speaker 1: you saw Jeremy Fowler's thing on ESPN. He talked to
Speaker 1: some league executives. Um, and Atlanta is a possible landing
Speaker 1: spot for Lamar Jackson. Oh, I've heard that for a while. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and I think it makes all the sense in the world.
Speaker 1: That would be that would be interesting. At nine, he
Speaker 1: has the Panthers taking Anthony Richardson were back from Florida.
Speaker 1: I get it. Um. If I'm the Panthers, though, I
Speaker 1: better have Jacoby Brissette signed or at least Sam Donald signed,
Speaker 1: or you know, because do they really want to wait
Speaker 1: a year while they totally develop a quarterback? Darnald is
Speaker 1: still under contract with him, right he did? They picked
Speaker 1: and picked up I thought they picked up his fifth
Speaker 1: year option. I don't think so. I think Corals the
Speaker 1: only guy under contract, almost almost certain of that. Maybe
Speaker 1: I'm wrong about that, Maybe that maybe this year was
Speaker 1: the fiftyear option year. Yes, because they had him and Baker,
Speaker 1: which were the same draft class, and they were both
Speaker 1: you know, hitting free agency. Yeah. At ten, and here's
Speaker 1: the first name on here that that hasn't been h
Speaker 1: he has the Eagles taken Elijah Cancie. That the defensive
Speaker 1: tackle on a pit We we've talked a little bit
Speaker 1: about him, but he's he's six it two eight pounds.
Speaker 1: He's very small. Yeah. Now if he's listed at six pounds, right,
Speaker 1: he might he might actually be five eleven and two
Speaker 1: seventy five. Yeah, exactly. I mean he's little and boy,
Speaker 1: he's well coached by Charlie Partridge and there's gonna be
Speaker 1: Aaron Donald comparisons, which is unbelievably unfair. But I have
Speaker 1: never seen him even going in the top two rounds.
Speaker 1: To put him at ten, mel likes to make statements
Speaker 1: this time a year two, you know, whenever Cancy, you know,
Speaker 1: he ends up going twenty fifth overall, Mel can be
Speaker 1: like in April, Yeah, I had him in the top ten,
Speaker 1: you know, back in January. You know. So he likes
Speaker 1: to make statements this time a year. But that does
Speaker 1: not seem like he doesn't look anything like Fletcher Cox,
Speaker 1: Jbon Hargrave or Jordan Davis to me either, Well, heart
Speaker 1: Grave isn't tall, no, but hard Graves six ft you know,
Speaker 1: six ft one and you know three pounds or whatever.
Speaker 1: You know. Um, I will say this about Cancie thirteen
Speaker 1: and a half sacks the last two years from the
Speaker 1: defensive tackle position, and that was the most in college football.
Speaker 1: For a defensive tackle over those two seasons. Really, I
Speaker 1: didn't know that, but I knew he was very productive. So,
Speaker 1: I mean, he can get to the quarterback, and we
Speaker 1: know teams value guys who can get to the quarterback.
Speaker 1: I mean, the Eagles had seventy sacks or something this year,
Speaker 1: and her first round pick, it wouldn't shock me at
Speaker 1: all if it's some sort of the lineman with Cox
Speaker 1: and Graham and those guys getting up in age. I
Speaker 1: was just shocked to see this name. Yeah, guy, you know.
Speaker 1: At eleven, he has the Titans taking Paris Johnson, the
Speaker 1: offensive tackle out of Ohio State. I think less and
Speaker 1: less he's going to be in the mix for this. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I don't think he's gonna be there. At twelve, he
Speaker 1: has the Texans with their second pick, this one being
Speaker 1: from Cleveland, taking Lucas Van Nest, defensive lineman out of Iowa.
Speaker 1: He seems to really be gaining steam too. I mean
Speaker 1: he's got good size. People think he's gonna be a
Speaker 1: tremend this tester. So you know, I was, I forget
Speaker 1: who I was listening to, but I think we've mentioned
Speaker 1: this too, that it's corner, tight end and edge are
Speaker 1: really strong in this draft. Here's something that Mel has
Speaker 1: an interesting point in here about van Ness. He's thirteen
Speaker 1: and a half sacks over the last two seasons. Nine
Speaker 1: and a half of his sacks came on the interior
Speaker 1: and and four from the edge because they play him,
Speaker 1: you know, basically as as a you know, defensive tackling
Speaker 1: pass rush situations at times. So you know he's got
Speaker 1: that flexibility. There's been a lot of those guys like
Speaker 1: you know, it's going back to Travon Walker last year,
Speaker 1: but there's a we talked to the kid out of
Speaker 1: the Kid out of Houston last year, and you know
Speaker 1: a lot of these six five plus dudes that aren't
Speaker 1: to forty, you know, they're to sixty five. You've even
Speaker 1: alluded to you want to put ten pounds on him
Speaker 1: and turn him into a Cam Hayward her Do you
Speaker 1: want to see if he can be de Forrest Buckner
Speaker 1: or you know, I mean, I don't think people care
Speaker 1: as much anymore. Just give me athletic long defensive lineman
Speaker 1: and there's gonna be a situation I'm gonna line them
Speaker 1: up outside tackles. There's would be a situation he's standing
Speaker 1: up there's a situation, I mean, inside shoulder of the guard.
Speaker 1: Just give me different variety of dinosaurs that are mean
Speaker 1: and nasty at this is this kind of a surprise
Speaker 1: for the for the Jets. He has the Jets taking Jackson,
Speaker 1: Smith and Jake. Yeah, there has been some talk that
Speaker 1: they might cut Corey Davis and he's making a lot
Speaker 1: of money, but this one doesn't add up to me.
Speaker 1: Mal I apologize, but man, one of the problems with
Speaker 1: Elijah Moore was Wilson was a slot and more should
Speaker 1: be the slot. And Smith and Jake there is a
Speaker 1: slot like anything that I think they need the outside guy. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I don't. I don't know how that works. At fourteen,
Speaker 1: he has the Patriots taking Devon Witherspoon, the cornerback out
Speaker 1: of Illinois. Why people have him at first corner off
Speaker 1: the board now? Yeah. At fifteen, the Packers take Michael Mayer,
Speaker 1: the tight end from Notre Dame. I guess that adds up.
Speaker 1: I mean, they even they don't use first round picks
Speaker 1: on offensive players, but it might not be the terrible idea. Yeah,
Speaker 1: Robert Toddy and Marcedes Lewis are both free agents for them,
Speaker 1: so um, that would make some sense. Uh, it's sixteen.
Speaker 1: He has Washington taking Broderick Jones, the offensive tackle to Georgia,
Speaker 1: which is the pick before the Steelers. And if this
Speaker 1: was real life, maybe we've been keeping our fingers crossed
Speaker 1: for Jones, you know. Yeah. Yeah. Uh. Then at seventeen
Speaker 1: he has the Steelers taking Joey Porter Jr. Which is
Speaker 1: the low hanging fruit, but it also wouldn't be a
Speaker 1: bad pick. No, no, I will say this. I do
Speaker 1: have concerns. I mean, a three year starter at Penn State,
Speaker 1: which is great, one career interception, Yeah, I mean that
Speaker 1: to me goes against what they prioritize at the cornerback position. Yeah,
Speaker 1: they want guys with ball skills. I mean I really
Speaker 1: don't know Porter, Verse, Witherspoon, Verse, Gonzalez, first ringo verse, YadA, YadA, YadA,
Speaker 1: what my order is or even close at this point.
Speaker 1: But one of them at seventeen is fined by me. Yeah.
Speaker 1: At eighteen, the Lions with their second pick, he has
Speaker 1: taken Christian Gonzalez. See. I think to me, if it
Speaker 1: came down to a choice between Porter and Christian Gonzalez,
Speaker 1: I think the Steelers would value the ball skills and
Speaker 1: would take Gonzalez and as would I what I know
Speaker 1: about both players, and I don't care what their last
Speaker 1: name is or who their daddy is. I think Gonzales
Speaker 1: is the better athletes, better cover guy, and and better
Speaker 1: ball skills. Yeah. It nineteen. He has the Buccaneers taking
Speaker 1: key On White, the defensive lineman at a Georgia Tech.
Speaker 1: He's another one of these guys that's like six five
Speaker 1: seventy five pounds who can play inside, can play outside. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and they drafted Logan Hall to open the second round
Speaker 1: last year. Similar type guy too. I mean, they're not
Speaker 1: fat guys, they're long, and they're athletic. This was another
Speaker 1: there was two or three, you know, starting with the
Speaker 1: pit dude d Lineman. He just calls him d LS.
Speaker 1: I think that I did not expect to see in
Speaker 1: the first round that maybe that that group of players
Speaker 1: is better than I thought. You know that they're not
Speaker 1: They're not those tackle types. But I think it's some
Speaker 1: of the planet theory, Matt, where there are only so
Speaker 1: many of these six five plus, you know, two seventy
Speaker 1: plus guys walking around the planet, and you take them
Speaker 1: and there might be five of them at the combine
Speaker 1: that run a four or five five, and your the
Speaker 1: line coach is salivating in the corner. Go and give
Speaker 1: me him. Yeah, I want that. A twenty has the
Speaker 1: Seahawks taking another one of those guys, Byron Young out
Speaker 1: of Tennessee. He's another one I had not seen this high.
Speaker 1: I didn't know quite as much about. So he's not
Speaker 1: quite as big as those other guys. He's six three,
Speaker 1: so he's you know, he You're not gonna kick him inside,
Speaker 1: but he can scream off the edge. Uh yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: and they need pass rush in a big way. Yeah. Uh.
Speaker 1: He has a twenty one the Chargers taking defensive tackle
Speaker 1: totally to tell I think you nailed it. I didn't
Speaker 1: want to see if I think you nailed it. Out
Speaker 1: of USC. He's another one. I mean he he's listens
Speaker 1: a D tackle. He looks like a D tackle When
Speaker 1: I looked at the athletic when I looked at Danes list,
Speaker 1: he had him as more of an edge because in
Speaker 1: the USC defense he kind of lined up over a
Speaker 1: tackle more often, perfect for a three or four defense.
Speaker 1: Yeah yeah, tackling, you know, and that's kind of the
Speaker 1: Chargers run as well. Um, he's another name I've seen
Speaker 1: a lot, but I have not seen the first round,
Speaker 1: so a lot of d Lineman. Yeah. At two the Ravens.
Speaker 1: Somebody finally has the Ravens taking a wide receiver. How
Speaker 1: about that Quentin Johnson wide receiver from TCU. And I
Speaker 1: don't care if Lamar's back, if they run the exact
Speaker 1: same scheme. If it's Derek Carr, Aaron Rodgers, whoever, their
Speaker 1: first round picture, probably be a wide receiver. It has
Speaker 1: to be, because no wide receiver wants to go there
Speaker 1: on a free agent contract. It's it's you're not gonna
Speaker 1: catch any balls. You're gonna you're a run block all time.
Speaker 1: You you might as well run wind sprints in your
Speaker 1: in your basement. I mean, unless they're gonna trade for
Speaker 1: new Co Hopkins or something like that. You know. But
Speaker 1: this makes all the sense in the world. Plus he's
Speaker 1: a big bodied guy. I mean, I think he will
Speaker 1: walk a little bit, you know. Yeah. Twenty three the
Speaker 1: Viking Stake. Emmanuel Forbes cornerback from Mississippi State. He's another
Speaker 1: interesting cornerback prospect um fourteen interceptions, fourteen interceptions over three years.
Speaker 1: So we referenced DJs mock the other day and I
Speaker 1: listened to their podcast talking about it, and DJ's exact
Speaker 1: words were, I guarantee you ten corners are gone going
Speaker 1: to top fifty and maybe thirteen of them, and no
Speaker 1: one has him going in the top twelve or so.
Speaker 1: So if ten to thirteen or fourteen corners go between
Speaker 1: eleven and fifty, that's great for the Steelers. Yeah right, yeah, perfect,
Speaker 1: You've got three picks in that range you're gonna get.
Speaker 1: You're gonna get a good cornerback. Yeah exactly. Jacksonville takes
Speaker 1: Dion back to the cornerback out of Maryland. Yeah. And
Speaker 1: they're all kind of like the d line conversation. And
Speaker 1: all these guys have height in length for their position.
Speaker 1: I mean they can all ride the ride. Yeah, they're
Speaker 1: all listed at six ft. Who knows what they will,
Speaker 1: but they're all six ft six one, long arms. That's
Speaker 1: what I'm after for the Steelers. Two. Absolutely, he has
Speaker 1: a giant staking Jordan Addison the wide receiver at the USC. See.
Speaker 1: It serves them right, transferring from Pitt to go to
Speaker 1: that room because now he'll be injured. Now you're gonna
Speaker 1: get hurt. Yeah, this one, Mel has it. B Gen
Speaker 1: Robinson falling all the way down to running back from Texas.
Speaker 1: I think they do jumping. Jack's about over that. Um
Speaker 1: Zeke is shot. Zeke's done, and now Zeke maybe back
Speaker 1: next year because he's a Jerry Jones favorite. But you
Speaker 1: let you let Zeke be the you know you be
Speaker 1: the hammer is going to be this year's uh you know,
Speaker 1: he takes over for Tony Pollard and you don't miss
Speaker 1: a beat. I think this is the best fit for Robinson.
Speaker 1: That's conceivable by the way. He went to Texas, so
Speaker 1: right right, and I'm sure Jerry would love him. I
Speaker 1: don't know how Dallas should pass on him. I don't
Speaker 1: think they could. In fact, I'd be shocked if they
Speaker 1: didn't trade up with that. You know, if he keeps
Speaker 1: slipping like that, they may have Pollard locked up to
Speaker 1: a long term deal by the end that they may.
Speaker 1: Yeah it. He has the Bill Staking Derek Hall, the
Speaker 1: defensive end edge rusher out of Auburn. Yeah, he's another
Speaker 1: one I just keep seeing more and more of in
Speaker 1: this neighborhood, you know, the one to turn for the Steelers.
Speaker 1: He would be an outside linebacker, right. He has the
Speaker 1: Bengal Staking, Dalton Kincaid, the tight end at of Utah.
Speaker 1: I like tight end for them a lot. I mean,
Speaker 1: Hayden Hurst I think is a free agent. I'm almost yeah.
Speaker 1: They signed him to a one year deal. Okay, and
Speaker 1: one more weapon for Burrow. I mean that makes all
Speaker 1: the sense in the world. Two and it's a lot
Speaker 1: of people are talking about five tight ends going between
Speaker 1: fifteen and forty five ish or fifteen in the second round.
Speaker 1: I'll be another another offensive lineman. Might not hurt for
Speaker 1: them too. No, I agree with you there. I mean
Speaker 1: they're just kind of patching it together right now. Twenty
Speaker 1: nine the Broncos, who have the pick from Miami via
Speaker 1: San Francisco, Uh, take Isaiah Fosky, the defensive end at
Speaker 1: the outside linebacker out of Notre Dame. He's another one
Speaker 1: with good sides. I think he's six five ish, yeah,
Speaker 1: five okay, Um. He was on all the preseason lists
Speaker 1: and I don't think he blew the doors off people
Speaker 1: this year, but I'm sure he's still going to be
Speaker 1: sought after. Yeah. At thirty, the Eagles take Brian Branch.
Speaker 1: I don't know if it will last. Is long and
Speaker 1: safety out of Alabama. That would be a great pick um.
Speaker 1: The Steelers were if branch fell to thirty two. Um,
Speaker 1: you'd love that. Just add him to the defensive backfield, right,
Speaker 1: he's a lot of Minca. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. If he's
Speaker 1: three quarters of Mica, you're doing pretty well. Uh. At
Speaker 1: thirty one, the Chiefs takes a Flowers, the wide receiver
Speaker 1: out of Boston College. Good Lord, the neighborhood he goes in,
Speaker 1: and I think he's gonna be someone we might talk
Speaker 1: about at thirty two as well. Yeah, I mean I
Speaker 1: like him alive. I was watching tape of him the
Speaker 1: other day and I thought, Emmanuel Sanders with more speed. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that's a good one early career. Manny Sanders coming out
Speaker 1: of the slot, work in the slot and do it.
Speaker 1: You know, plays outside a little bit, but he's better
Speaker 1: in the slot and just gets open. Chris Routs. Yeah,
Speaker 1: he's a good player. Yeah. Absolutely, that's your first round
Speaker 1: because as of course they're only thirty one picks of
Speaker 1: Steelers then have the thirty second pick, but mel stopped there.
Speaker 1: But interesting some definitely some new names in that. Yeah,
Speaker 1: we'll be sitting there going. Should the Steelers take Brian Breezy?
Speaker 1: Should they are about the Florida Um, I'm trying to
Speaker 1: think who are some of the obvious other names that
Speaker 1: are usually in the first round that weren't in this one.
Speaker 1: But that thirty second pick is gonna be fun. Yeah,
Speaker 1: absolutely absolutely, um get me interesting. We got another well
Speaker 1: a couple of a couple of months here before we
Speaker 1: get to that. In fact, I just got the just
Speaker 1: got the information yesterday to send credentials in for the
Speaker 1: scouting combine. So cool. So that's right around the corner
Speaker 1: as well. In fact, it's a little under a month
Speaker 1: from now, so things will start to heat up here
Speaker 1: pretty quickly as we get into the into the off season.
Speaker 1: But we're gonna take another break. He is Matt Williamson.
Speaker 1: I am Dale Lala. You're listening to the Drive here
Speaker 1: on Steelers Nation Radio, and you could some described the
Speaker 1: snr's newest podcast, the godfather of Pittsburgh sports is talking
Speaker 1: nothing but Steelers. It's Savereign on Steelers. New episodes drop
Speaker 1: every Tuesday and Thursday. Subscribe today. They're available on the
Speaker 1: Steeler's mobile app, the I Heart Radio app, and wherever
Speaker 1: you get your podcasts. We're gonna take a break, as
Speaker 1: I said, we'll be right back with more right after
Speaker 1: this