Speaker 1: You're listening to the Miami Dolphins podcast Network.
Speaker 2: This is Drive Time with Travis Wingfield.
Speaker 3: Back to throw to a looking clips about a wide
Speaker 3: Dolphin touchdown Timeriquel uncrelievable, just blue bye for a second time.
Speaker 3: Don knew where he was going right away. I want
Speaker 3: to hit that man. I want to help you.
Speaker 2: Someone will stup on his man.
Speaker 3: Away Wattle Wadle to a shotgun, back to throw, looking
Speaker 3: at them, it's up Myers touchdown. It's Waddle his sixth
Speaker 3: touchdown paradown. This king Drive Time with Travis Wingfield begins.
Speaker 2: Now let me check your pulse if you're not for.
Speaker 3: What is up? Dolphins? And welcome to the Draft Time podcast,
Speaker 3: part of the Miami Dolphins podcast Network, covering your team,
Speaker 3: your Miami Dolphins. How's it going everybody? I am your host,
Speaker 3: Travis Wingfield. And on today's episode, we have another big
Speaker 3: time guest, NFL dot COM's own Lance Zerline is going
Speaker 3: to join us a talk NFL draft, including Miami's four
Speaker 3: draft picks, and just really give us some Dolphins topics
Speaker 3: in general. He was so great about expanding upon some
Speaker 3: of the answers and my follow up questions talking about
Speaker 3: Tua and Mike McDaniel and the defense and the running game,
Speaker 3: and multi sport athletes and so many different team building
Speaker 3: philosophy ideas. This is a guy whose work I used
Speaker 3: to really credit and use, as you know, my own
Speaker 3: proof of concept back in the day with a lot
Speaker 3: of these draft prospects. So really kind of a cool
Speaker 3: moment to get a chance to talk to Lance Zerlin.
Speaker 3: We'll do that and talk about my favorite offseason move
Speaker 3: of each team in the NFL this year, all of
Speaker 3: that in a heck of a lot more from the
Speaker 3: Baptist Health Studios inside the Baptist Health Training Complex. This
Speaker 3: is the Drivetime podcast.
Speaker 1: Jie gaff.
Speaker 3: Long introduction there, let's go ahead and kick this off
Speaker 3: with my interview with Lance Zerline and joining us today
Speaker 3: is one of the best analysts in the entire NFL
Speaker 3: Draft game for NFL dot Com and all over the internet.
Speaker 4: These lances are lined Lance, welcome in, my friend.
Speaker 2: Well, it's great to be here. I appreciate you.
Speaker 4: Having Yeah, it's no problem.
Speaker 3: So I know you're a Houston guy. Originally we're going
Speaker 3: to talk draft here in just one second. I'm a
Speaker 3: Pacific Northwest guy, so I'm wondering what year, do you
Speaker 3: project the Seattle Mariners to finally supplant the Houston Nastros
Speaker 3: and the al west end. I've been waiting for a
Speaker 3: long time. It's been a long time since they've been
Speaker 3: better than Houston.
Speaker 4: Yeah, when might that happen?
Speaker 2: Well, it could happen this year.
Speaker 1: I mean Houston's face and a lot of injuries. I
Speaker 1: guess Seattle have to get better played from their stars.
Speaker 1: But you know that's it's a little upside down right
Speaker 1: now in the division. But you build, you know, that's
Speaker 1: what I love about the NFL Draft. You build sustainable teams.
Speaker 1: You know, you build sustainable success. And the way to
Speaker 1: do that is by understanding what the buildout looks like,
Speaker 1: what the velocity philosophy should look like. And you know,
Speaker 1: when you look at the Astros and I always take
Speaker 1: what personally, I like to look at other sports because
Speaker 1: I think you can take a lot of if you're
Speaker 1: well versed in a lot of sports, you can take different
Speaker 1: things going on in different sports and relate it to
Speaker 1: the NFL, for example. And the way the Texans for me,
Speaker 1: need to build is the way the Astros have built,
Speaker 1: which is young core. You don't go too far into
Speaker 1: free agency. You draft and grow your own and Seattle's
Speaker 1: done that in baseball. And you look at Miami and
Speaker 1: what the Dolphins have done. You know, they have been
Speaker 1: smart and putting around a playmaker around Tua. They drafted
Speaker 1: another playmaker, and they've basically done what I think is
Speaker 1: a very good job of trying to find the right
Speaker 1: piece is between Tua and the new offensive coordinator, play caller,
Speaker 1: head coach, and Mike McDaniel. So it's building a sustainable
Speaker 1: product really starts with evaluations in the draft.
Speaker 2: Frankly, I mean, that's how you build it. If you
Speaker 2: try to spin your way into relevancy, it's very very
Speaker 2: difficult in any sport to sustain it. But if you
Speaker 2: draft it well, you can have long term success.
Speaker 1: You know, That's what the Ashros have done in baseball,
Speaker 1: and I know that's what Seattle has the opportunity to do.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I love that you brought it back to football
Speaker 3: there because Chris Career, you know, his brother is a
Speaker 3: GM for the San Jose Sharks. He loves going to
Speaker 3: Miami Heat games and getting out for all the sports
Speaker 3: here in South Florida. So I think that GM community
Speaker 3: does kind of operate well in those circles in terms
Speaker 3: of you know, not just focusing on their one sport.
Speaker 3: And you mentioned the draft. I mean, the Dolphins loaded
Speaker 3: up in twenty twenty and twenty twenty one and they
Speaker 3: got a whole bunch of good young players on their
Speaker 3: rookie deal. Still here is kind of the nucleus they
Speaker 3: went aggressively into pursuing you know, Tyreek Hill and to
Speaker 3: Ron Armstead and Bradley Chubb and on and on and
Speaker 3: on in Jealen Ramsey this year. So it's cool to
Speaker 3: see that team cycle kind of grow and build and
Speaker 3: get to the point where they are right now. But
Speaker 3: I do want to go back and revert back to
Speaker 3: this year's draft class, which again was depleted from a
Speaker 3: pick standpoint because of those veteran acquisitions, to go get
Speaker 3: Bradley Chubb, to go get you in Ramsey, And I
Speaker 3: want to start here in the second round of the
Speaker 3: draft with South Carolina cornerback Cam Smith. You had mentioned
Speaker 3: in your right up on him the anticipatory skill set
Speaker 3: that he plays with and how kind of you know,
Speaker 3: he gets he gets moving before the play actually happens.
Speaker 3: I'm curious how you think that jives with thick Fangio
Speaker 3: system on defense.
Speaker 1: Well, I think it. I think it always works with
Speaker 1: any system. Honestly, I don't think it really matters about system.
Speaker 1: I think being able to anticipate certainly it works better
Speaker 1: when you're able to play off coverages because you get
Speaker 1: to play with ice forward and and depending on how
Speaker 1: Vic wants him to play.
Speaker 2: You know, Javon Holland was a lot like that coming
Speaker 2: out of college.
Speaker 1: He was great anticipatory talent from a defensive standpoint, played
Speaker 1: with really good instincts and is a playmaker.
Speaker 2: Was a playmaker in college. It's kind of carried over
Speaker 2: to the pros.
Speaker 1: I think once you had that, it's a it's a skill,
Speaker 1: it's something that it's a skill. But I also think
Speaker 1: a lot of times it's an eight for a lot
Speaker 1: of players. And so with CAM when you're able to anticipate,
Speaker 1: that's that's also a sign of instincts and route recognition.
Speaker 1: Many times, and sometimes it can work against you, you know,
Speaker 1: you're a little bit too aggressive. But in terms of
Speaker 1: allowing him to play maybe an off you know, off
Speaker 1: from the slot or play in some more varied coverages,
Speaker 1: that gives you a chance not just to play full press.
Speaker 1: But to say, hey, let's take our guy who reads
Speaker 1: routes and.
Speaker 2: Plays with good anticipation.
Speaker 1: Let's keep his eyes forward as opposed to being crowded
Speaker 1: right up against the target at the line of scrimmage
Speaker 1: every single time. That gives you a chance to really,
Speaker 1: I think, be more difficult to project when offenses are
Speaker 1: trying to create game plans against you. If you do
Speaker 1: the same thing all the time, hey, if you're the
Speaker 1: best at it, if you've got better talent, then you're
Speaker 1: gonna win. But it's always best to mix things up.
Speaker 1: So the quarterbacks are constantly having their head swim, and
Speaker 1: I think Smith, along with the other two corners, really
Speaker 1: gives you that an opportunity.
Speaker 4: Yeah, not to mention, I mean the safety position as well.
Speaker 4: You talked about Javon Hollat. He can certainly some of that.
Speaker 3: Brandon Jones also played some slot in college as well,
Speaker 3: So there's a lot of versatility here on this defensive backfield,
Speaker 3: and there really is in the offensive backfield as well.
Speaker 3: Looking at the running back position as we move forward
Speaker 3: here to Devon a Chain, who we know about. The
Speaker 3: speed obviously has Olympic level track style speed.
Speaker 4: I love the that you made in your ride up that.
Speaker 3: He's simply too talented and explosive as a runner to
Speaker 3: be confined to gadget duty because traditionally the body type
Speaker 3: hasn't really you know, panned out that way.
Speaker 4: But you mentioned the rare traits he has.
Speaker 3: How do you think that Mike McDaniel can devise a
Speaker 3: role for him that takes advantage of that speed, explosiveness
Speaker 3: in general talent you mentioned, Well, I.
Speaker 1: Think it's gonna be fun to watch because I think
Speaker 1: Mike McDaniel thinks out way outside the box, and so
Speaker 1: does Kyle Shanahan.
Speaker 2: But I think one of the things you do is,
Speaker 2: you know, you get him.
Speaker 1: It allows you to to maybe introduce some outside zone,
Speaker 1: but with some more pitch plays, he can run plenty
Speaker 1: of outside zone in stretch plays where you can really
Speaker 1: take it wide.
Speaker 2: He's got speed to create wide flow.
Speaker 1: And get around the corner, which which gets linebackers moving in,
Speaker 1: which opens up the cutback lanes. I think because he's
Speaker 1: a good pass catcher catcher, it also gives you a
Speaker 1: chance to look like you're in a standard set and
Speaker 1: then go empty and now you've got to make a
Speaker 1: decision defensively if you're in man demand and you know
Speaker 1: what kind of coverage you're going to have, because one
Speaker 1: on one against a Chang is gonna be a real
Speaker 1: problem for any linebacker that's out there.
Speaker 2: It's not a favorable look.
Speaker 1: So when you you know are going to eleven personnel,
Speaker 1: you got to tight end three wide receivers on the
Speaker 1: running back. All of a sudden, a Chang goes out
Speaker 1: of the backfield. You're now four wides and a tight end.
Speaker 1: You can use that tight end to kind of give
Speaker 1: you additional protection. And now you've got to have four
Speaker 1: guys who can match up with what the Dolphins are
Speaker 1: gonna offer you.
Speaker 2: And that's the fastest.
Speaker 1: It's probably gonna be the fastest foursome that we've ever
Speaker 1: seen in football history. I mean, you're talking Jalen to
Speaker 1: Shaun a change, Tyreek Kill. These are all track guys.
Speaker 1: They're all legitimate track guys who are also legitimate football players.
Speaker 2: So a change.
Speaker 1: What he gives you is I think he's an explosive
Speaker 1: option as a runner and as a pass catcher. He's
Speaker 1: not afraid to run inside. It's just that his body
Speaker 1: type is he's not going to break many tackles. And
Speaker 1: he is going to have to hold up and prove
Speaker 1: that he's durable. But he is another guy who in
Speaker 1: space can create explosive plays and you can deploy him
Speaker 1: a differentferent areas of the field. So what what he
Speaker 1: allows you to do is create matchups.
Speaker 2: Depending on the personnel you're playing.
Speaker 1: So if you're playing a team that has some issues,
Speaker 1: you know from a speed standpoint, and either linebacker or safety,
Speaker 1: you know that you can get a Chain involved in
Speaker 1: that game. Get him, you know, get him out of
Speaker 1: the backfield as a single setback and before you know it,
Speaker 1: he's out as a wide receiver. Somebody's going to have
Speaker 1: to step out there on him, and if they don't,
Speaker 1: you know, he's in. You know, you know, the defense
Speaker 1: is playing zone. That's just easy pitch and catch stuff
Speaker 1: for tuas. So uh, I like the fact that he
Speaker 1: allows you to exploit slower teams, but he also gives
Speaker 1: Mike McDaniel a chance to really find creative ways to
Speaker 1: get the ball in his hands or use him as
Speaker 1: a decoy to create other opportunities. I mean, with with
Speaker 1: Tyreek Hill and with Devon a Chain, you have two
Speaker 1: very unique types of decoys that can be used as
Speaker 1: well to really take the to create opportunities for other players.
Speaker 1: And Jalen Watable can be a declads, it's almost unfair
Speaker 1: the amount of speed that Miami has, and so you
Speaker 1: basically just want to use a chain to maximize that
Speaker 1: speed threat to make other teams put players on the
Speaker 1: field that they don't want on the field simply because
Speaker 1: they're faster players.
Speaker 2: Just because you're faster doesn't mean you're a better player.
Speaker 1: And if you can run at those teams that have
Speaker 1: to go smaller and faster, you force them into personnel
Speaker 1: grouping changes and then you go hammer them and go
Speaker 1: run the ball effectively.
Speaker 2: That's a big advantage too.
Speaker 3: I keep getting stuck on the fact that you said
Speaker 3: faster we've ever seen before. I'm certainly looking forward to that.
Speaker 3: And you mentioned, you know, Waddle and Hill. It's it's
Speaker 3: not just about speed. Those guys, right, They have really
Speaker 3: good route technicians and in their bag and they can
Speaker 3: certainly create separation through multiple facets.
Speaker 2: And wells all too. I mean they're ball winners too, absolutely, yea.
Speaker 3: Their competitive as hell. They're so fun to watch out
Speaker 3: here at practice. And you know, you mentioned the idea
Speaker 3: of you know, putting. You know, I guess lighter players
Speaker 3: and faster players in the field. We kind of saw
Speaker 3: that in the second game against Buffalo last year when
Speaker 3: they stay in that primary nickel package where it's like
Speaker 3: ninety five percent of the time they're light in the
Speaker 3: box and the Dolphins ran the ball over and over
Speaker 3: again behind alec Ingles. You get that two back set,
Speaker 3: you have the best of both worlds there. Perhaps we
Speaker 3: can see more variety there with Mike McDaniel's system this season.
Speaker 3: And it brings me to the seventh round draft pick jumping,
Speaker 3: you know, four rounds down the rung. Here to Elijah Higgins,
Speaker 3: a guy that was a receiver at Stanford, but now
Speaker 3: we'll convert to a potential F tight end. I'm pretty
Speaker 3: excited about him. He's he looks big, he looks strong,
Speaker 3: He's a pretty smooth mover. I'm curious what you think
Speaker 3: makes him a good candidate to move into that F
Speaker 3: role and potentially play tight end here for the mim Dolphins. Yeah.
Speaker 1: Yeah, Elijah actually was sixth round pick, twentieth pick, so
Speaker 1: he's actually went around earlier than a packer.
Speaker 2: We'll get to a second. But the reason I want
Speaker 2: to mention that is because.
Speaker 1: I think it's I think it's substantial because to me,
Speaker 1: this pick is one of my favorite picks of that round.
Speaker 2: I think a sixth round pick, he's maybe my favorite
Speaker 2: pick of the sixth round.
Speaker 1: And the reason simple For everything I just talked to
Speaker 1: you about about devon Ah Chain, Higgins is another matchup guy.
Speaker 2: He's a wide receiver at Stanford.
Speaker 1: I talked to David Shaw at the draft or at
Speaker 1: NFL Network the day of the draft. I was asking
Speaker 1: about Higgins and Higgins had a hard time staying under
Speaker 1: two thirty. I mean, he just his body type is
Speaker 1: a two thirty plus type body type, and I know
Speaker 1: he plans on playing around two forty five with the Dolphins.
Speaker 2: I don't think he's gonna have any problem with that.
Speaker 1: He's a big wide receiver who can play big slot
Speaker 1: as If you know anything about Stanford wide receivers, they're
Speaker 1: asked to block, so he can block a little bit
Speaker 1: for you as well.
Speaker 2: So what you have now is another matchup guy.
Speaker 1: And this goes in line with what Shanahan likes to
Speaker 1: do in San Francisco, and I think what Mike McDaniel
Speaker 1: wants to really be able to do in Miami is
Speaker 1: be able to put personnel groupings out there to create
Speaker 1: challenging matchups depending on who you have on the other side.
Speaker 1: So I just told you about the speed matchup right
Speaker 1: with devon a chain and having a chain out there.
Speaker 2: Well, now what if we go Higgins and what if
Speaker 2: the slot?
Speaker 1: Now what if you're dealing with smaller corners and and
Speaker 1: you you know you, we've got a two hundred and
Speaker 1: forty five pound Mike mcgamis says, we got a two
Speaker 1: hundred and forty five pounds big slot that we can
Speaker 1: run at. You a legitimate wide receiver. Now he's he's
Speaker 1: going to be faster than most tight ends are going
Speaker 1: to be. He's going to be able to get out
Speaker 1: there in space. So you can't just throw a regular
Speaker 1: old linebacker on him. That's not going to work. But
Speaker 1: if you try to go smaller on him, he's got
Speaker 1: a chance to work against safeties and get some blocks.
Speaker 1: And so now you're running out of eleven personnel and
Speaker 1: you're able to run towards Elijah Higgins's side.
Speaker 2: So I think if he does what I think he's
Speaker 2: going to be.
Speaker 1: Capable of doing, which is creating mismatches, from a side standpoint,
Speaker 1: allowing you to run out of eleven personnel if he's
Speaker 1: the big slot receiver, and then mismatching teams that want
Speaker 1: to try to stay in. You know, more base looks
Speaker 1: against you. If you're really running the ball well and
Speaker 1: keep their safeties back on your two speed burners. Then
Speaker 1: if your safety is going to play back, then Mike
Speaker 1: mcgainer is going to want to run. And what better
Speaker 1: match up than to getting than getting a two hundred
Speaker 1: forty five two hundred and forty pounds big receiver really
Speaker 1: in the slot, giving you some blocking that you can
Speaker 1: run at that guy a little bit and have some
Speaker 1: success because he can lock up and neutralize in the slot.
Speaker 1: So it's really just another chess. It's more chess match
Speaker 1: for Mike McDaniel. Let's get a speedy guy who can
Speaker 1: catch the battle of the backfield. Let's get a hybrid.
Speaker 1: It's hybrid. Everything you see over here is you know,
Speaker 1: he's adding hybrid pieces.
Speaker 2: Now Deebo is a hybrid, Brandon Ayuk is kind of
Speaker 2: a hybrid piece. Now you see a couple hybrid.
Speaker 1: And I keep going to San Francisco because I think
Speaker 1: Mike McDaniel recognizes that's what works. So now he's got
Speaker 1: a hybrid running back slash pass catcher, and he takes
Speaker 1: a hybrid wide receiver who can play you know, big
Speaker 1: slot is what I call it.
Speaker 2: We can call it tight en if you want, but
Speaker 2: it's really more big plot.
Speaker 3: And so when you talk about that, it makes me
Speaker 3: think about the idea of those matchups that has to
Speaker 3: make it easier for a pre snap to identify what
Speaker 3: he's looking at, right, because now all of a sudden
Speaker 3: you're dictating terms on the offense because of the personnel
Speaker 3: you have. Does it make life easier on the quarterback
Speaker 3: when he has that?
Speaker 1: And I learned that lesson watching Gary Kubiak work here
Speaker 1: with the Houston Texans.
Speaker 2: I'll never forget.
Speaker 1: He had a three tight end set and it looked
Speaker 1: like a big heavy, a big heavy set, and then
Speaker 1: what he ended up doing was was moving or actually
Speaker 1: it was a two running back, two tight end set.
Speaker 1: It looked like a big heavy set. But then before
Speaker 1: you know it, and this is just a preseason game
Speaker 1: at San Francisco for the Texans in interestingly enough, and
Speaker 1: then he had his tight ends. He took one of them,
Speaker 1: James Casey, his third tight end, was using him as
Speaker 1: a pullback, put him in a slot. Arion Foster went
Speaker 1: out wide. They had Andre Johnson out there wide. And
Speaker 1: this is a preseason game where starters used to actually
Speaker 1: you know, play a little bit. And he just showed
Speaker 1: a look where he was in a two tight twenty
Speaker 1: two set, which you don't see very often, two running backs,
Speaker 1: two tight ends, and he turned it into an empty set,
Speaker 1: which caused like a lot of problems for San Francisco
Speaker 1: to you know, to match up with.
Speaker 2: Now why he showed that in a preseason I have no.
Speaker 1: Idea, and I remember that my the light going on,
Speaker 1: just saying, wow, look at he went from one of
Speaker 1: the heaviest packages you can get into that seems limiting
Speaker 1: and really made it an unlimited package. And so it
Speaker 1: really opened my eyes to the fact that it really
Speaker 1: does allow your quarterback to take a look.
Speaker 2: Okay, how are they matching up?
Speaker 1: You can create matchups by showing them a type of personnel,
Speaker 1: but then it looks like a you know, a two
Speaker 1: running back set or a two tight end set. But
Speaker 1: before you know it, especially if you can get and
Speaker 1: I think they will do this, get Higgins playing. You know,
Speaker 1: as long as he makes the team and progresses get
Speaker 1: him playing on a kind of a wing back spot
Speaker 1: where he can play around the.
Speaker 2: Line of scrimmage.
Speaker 1: Because once you get that and establish that that's a
Speaker 1: viable option, then you have hybrid opportunities to either use
Speaker 1: him around the line of scrimmage or flex him out
Speaker 1: and sometimes you may flex him all the way out
Speaker 1: wide and say, Okay, if you're gonna put a linebacker
Speaker 1: on him, we're going to take you way out wide
Speaker 1: and let twa take a one on one shot at
Speaker 1: him down the field. So I love the fact that
Speaker 1: this really it does. It makes to his job easier again,
Speaker 1: and I think that Miami's done a good job of
Speaker 1: trying to maximize to him by making it his life
Speaker 1: and his job as easy as possible. And one of
Speaker 1: the ways to do that is being able to dictate
Speaker 1: terms with personnel groupings and then have a personnel grouping
Speaker 1: that you can do multiple things with.
Speaker 2: And that's I.
Speaker 1: Think that's what Miami tried to build with the way
Speaker 1: that they drafted here. Even right, Yeah, I think even
Speaker 1: a stick rounder has value, especially because of who he
Speaker 1: is and what he is and Elijah Higgins, Yeah.
Speaker 3: It's an all the concept building on your quarterback like that.
Speaker 3: I see that I sometimes gets refuted on Twitter as
Speaker 3: a knock on the quarterback, but it's like, I think
Speaker 3: all teams want to support their quarterback in that way.
Speaker 1: You know, I'm the point where I don't care like
Speaker 1: it's on Twitter or trying to win arguments.
Speaker 2: Dude, We're trying to win a football game.
Speaker 1: So if Miami's way, Miami's not trying to win some
Speaker 1: kind of Twitter poll where two is the top five,
Speaker 1: or where does he ranking NFL's top one hundred, or
Speaker 1: what is ESPN saying about him?
Speaker 2: Just win, Just just put them in position to win games. Ultimately,
Speaker 2: my dad was an NFL coach. Those guys only care about.
Speaker 1: Finding ways to win on Sunday, sometime Monday, occasionally on
Speaker 1: a Thursday, maybe on a Black Friday game the way
Speaker 1: it is now. But ultimately, those guys grind all week
Speaker 1: long to try to create game.
Speaker 2: Plans that are gonna win. It's hard to win in
Speaker 2: the NFL, and all they really.
Speaker 1: Care about is winning, and the best way to win
Speaker 1: is having a quarterback play well. And to me, the
Speaker 1: best way to have to a play well is to
Speaker 1: put good players around him.
Speaker 2: And put him in a favorable offense. But who's not
Speaker 2: trying to do that, right? I mean, who doesn't want
Speaker 2: to do that? You're not doing yourself team and a
Speaker 2: head coach. If you're not doing that.
Speaker 3: One hundred percent, it's it's exactly right, Lance, And I'm
Speaker 3: getting more than I'm bargained for with you here. I
Speaker 3: wanted to have y'all because I love the x's and
Speaker 3: no's on's coming we do on the podcast here. But
Speaker 3: you made a comment earlier that I have to kind
Speaker 3: of follow up on talking about your conversation with David Shaw,
Speaker 3: because get to know Elijah just a little bit. We
Speaker 3: learned he was a military kid. Obviously going to Stanford
Speaker 3: is pretty impressive in terms of the intelligence and the
Speaker 3: way you work. I'm just curious if you have some
Speaker 3: more background on the way his work habits are, the
Speaker 3: way his work ethic is, and kind of how that
Speaker 3: might pertain to, you know, being making him capable to
Speaker 3: make that tradition from the receiver position to the tight
Speaker 3: end spot.
Speaker 2: Oh no, he's considered a worker.
Speaker 1: That's one of the things I asked David about, and
Speaker 1: typically that is going to be the case.
Speaker 2: But he wanted to to keep his weight down.
Speaker 1: But I know he's leaning into tight end now because
Speaker 1: that's his best opportunity. You know they have Michael Wilson
Speaker 1: out there too, But David Wilson said, one of the
Speaker 1: best one of the the best things you can do
Speaker 1: to find out what a guy's all about is go
Speaker 1: watch him block. If you want to find out if
Speaker 1: a guy because he's off the ball, you can find
Speaker 1: out attitude, You can find out willingness, you can find
Speaker 1: out toughness, and a lot of times those things all
Speaker 1: kind of manifest themselves in work ethic and in football character.
Speaker 2: Football character is personal character.
Speaker 1: Character, you know, is is who you are off the field,
Speaker 1: who you are in your private life, who you are
Speaker 1: you know as a person, right, But football character is
Speaker 1: how much do you love the game? How hard are
Speaker 1: you going to work on in the offseason? How how
Speaker 1: important are Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursday?
Speaker 2: For you? Is it just Sundays or is it is
Speaker 2: it always important?
Speaker 1: How competitive you are you and to me, you find
Speaker 1: a wide receiver that can block. You find a wide
Speaker 1: receiver that will play special teams and play it effectively.
Speaker 1: You find a wide receiver that's willing to gain weight
Speaker 1: and do what the coach says. These are all things
Speaker 1: that show me that he's he's the type of guy
Speaker 1: who should transition well into from a work ethics standpoint into.
Speaker 2: The position he's going to have to move into. And
Speaker 2: I think he's tough enough to do it too.
Speaker 3: We've seen that kind of be a theme here and
Speaker 3: the coaches the players have talked about getting the right
Speaker 3: kind of guys and how star players kind of you know,
Speaker 3: you never know how they might integrate into a locker room.
Speaker 3: But they've they've done a good job of getting the
Speaker 3: right kind of star players down here. I mean the
Speaker 3: way to Ron Armstead works, the way Tyreek Hill works. Yeah,
Speaker 3: it's infectious and impacts your entire football team.
Speaker 4: And you mentioned that was a sixth round pick.
Speaker 3: I flubbed that, so I appreciate you correct me there.
Speaker 3: Let's advanced out to the seventh round with Michigan offensive
Speaker 3: lineman here.
Speaker 1: The only reason I did that because he's my favorite
Speaker 1: as far as far as as far as he's his concerned.
Speaker 2: He is a guy who's playing on a back to
Speaker 2: back Joe More Award winning offensive line at Michigan, which
Speaker 2: means they're the top offensive line in college football.
Speaker 1: I'm part of the selection committee on that, so I've
Speaker 1: seen Michigan play quite a bit. To me, he is
Speaker 1: a guy who's well coached. He understands what he needs
Speaker 1: to do. My big concern with Ryan is what I
Speaker 1: saw at the You know, there's a lot of duo blocks.
Speaker 2: Which are the double teams, and you work up it's
Speaker 2: kind of three.
Speaker 1: Yards to cloud of dust is kind of the And
Speaker 1: I don't say that in a negative way. I'm just
Speaker 1: they're looking to grind you out Michigan Sharon Moore, the
Speaker 1: offensive line coach and now play caller.
Speaker 2: In that running game, they're looking to pound on you.
Speaker 2: And I like that physicality.
Speaker 1: I like that mindset, that dirt dog mindset that he's
Speaker 1: going to bring to the table. I think my concern
Speaker 1: in the NFL though, is that, and you can see
Speaker 1: some of the senior balls he struggles a little bit
Speaker 1: when it comes to speed to power rushers and being
Speaker 1: able to move him off his anchor and back into
Speaker 1: the pocket.
Speaker 2: I think he really needs to work on.
Speaker 1: Bending effective, creating a little bit better leverage from the
Speaker 1: hips and the knees, the ankles, getting the type of
Speaker 1: bend being good with his hands and not just you know,
Speaker 1: not just not just being active, but being well timed
Speaker 1: with his punches and getting stronger adding to that core.
Speaker 2: If if he can, I think if he has.
Speaker 1: A chance to get stronger and improve technique and in
Speaker 1: terms of really sitting down on the bull rushers and
Speaker 1: keeping them from from creating momentum into the pocket, they
Speaker 1: he's got a chance to be a good swing tackle
Speaker 1: on the league.
Speaker 3: What does that look like for a guy when you
Speaker 3: when you come into the league and you have that
Speaker 3: as kind of I guess the reason you might have
Speaker 3: gone to.
Speaker 4: The seventh round?
Speaker 3: How does how does that first season or the first
Speaker 3: off season in an NFL program translate to getting better
Speaker 3: in that area?
Speaker 2: You know, it's tough.
Speaker 1: My dad was an NFL online coach and I talked
Speaker 1: to him about about anchor, and he said, you know,
Speaker 1: some guys just are never going to have enough core
Speaker 1: strength to anchor down now. I and some times, you know,
Speaker 1: height can work against you because it creates a higher
Speaker 1: center of gravity.
Speaker 2: I think that he can get stronger. I think he
Speaker 2: can get better.
Speaker 1: Some of that is also just being able to bend properly,
Speaker 1: get your feets out I mean there's still technique stuff
Speaker 1: you can do as well. So I think you know,
Speaker 1: as we seen with Austin Jackson, it's been inconsistent. He
Speaker 1: was inconsistent coming out of And this is me saying
Speaker 1: it's not too working for the team website. It's me
Speaker 1: saying that, but it's something I saw. Frankly, I saw
Speaker 1: inconsistencies from a technique standpoint that led me to believe
Speaker 1: that it could be a slow process for him and
Speaker 1: that it might take a little time. But he has
Speaker 1: certain athletic capabilities that Ryan doesn't have. So now it
Speaker 1: has to be all about technique. I know the toughness
Speaker 1: is there, I know the experience is there against good
Speaker 1: pass rushers. Now needs to be perfecting technique and really
Speaker 1: hitting that weight program as hard as possible. They got
Speaker 1: a great weight a great weight program at Michigan, though
Speaker 1: their strength coach is.
Speaker 2: Phenomenal, so he's been part of it and he'll work.
Speaker 2: He's a worker.
Speaker 1: So my guess is you can get a little strong
Speaker 1: if you want, but a lot of it's just going
Speaker 1: to have to really be about technique and really fine
Speaker 1: tuning the bend and the techniques that he can be
Speaker 1: as leveraged and as strong as possible when the speed
Speaker 1: to power rushers challenge him in the pros.
Speaker 3: It was such a bummer to see you mentioned Austin
Speaker 3: Jackson to get injured in Game one, then come back
Speaker 3: in like week eleven and get injured again, and really
Speaker 3: the entire year was a wash for him after what
Speaker 3: I thought was his best off season program so far
Speaker 3: as a Miami Dolphin. And now the Dolphins have gone
Speaker 3: out and added two betteran tackles this week in the
Speaker 3: free agency that you talk about Ryan Hayes, and I
Speaker 3: think it's a great way to end the show here
Speaker 3: the same we started the show here at Lance talking
Speaker 3: about multi sport athletes. And you know, I saw that
Speaker 3: Ryan Hayes was an All conference hooper in high school
Speaker 3: and a picture of the year on the diamond. I'm
Speaker 3: curious your experience. Do teams care about that multi sport.
Speaker 2: They do a lot, you know, for safeties and cornerbacks.
Speaker 1: They love outfielders because they've got ball tracking backgrounds. For
Speaker 1: offensive line coaches, they love basketball because the footwork aspect.
Speaker 1: And you know, everyone loves a wrestlers, and defensive line
Speaker 1: and offensive line because they usually have very strong cores
Speaker 1: and they have a better feel for you know, leverage
Speaker 1: from the lower body and from from hip torque. But yeah,
Speaker 1: I think I talked to the Colt general manager, Chris Ballard,
Speaker 1: and he's real big into you know, his kids playing
Speaker 1: every sport that they can. And I know a lot
Speaker 1: of gms are kind of old school in that regard
Speaker 1: because there's something you can take from from learning to
Speaker 1: master or learning to improve in this craft and then
Speaker 1: you move.
Speaker 2: On to the next one and you improve in that one.
Speaker 1: It shows the ability to get not only just get better,
Speaker 1: but that you have the ability to work at multiple
Speaker 1: sports and improve in those areas. There's different athleticism that
Speaker 1: goes in hand eye coordination into in the major sports.
Speaker 1: Of course, some summer skiers and lacrosse players like Luke
Speaker 1: Musgrave who was in this draft. So being a multi
Speaker 1: sport athlete is always looked at in a positive.
Speaker 2: Sometimes it's very specific to the position, but a lot
Speaker 2: of times it's just about the mindset and being competitive
Speaker 2: throughout the year and then gaining some feel for either
Speaker 2: hand eye, foot eye, or some other skill leverage that
Speaker 2: a sport may give you that that maybe what you
Speaker 2: did in football didn't provide as much for you.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I muscle memory, right, different different types of quick
Speaker 3: twitch fibers. And you see Patrick Mahomes like, you can
Speaker 3: tell he's a shortstop in high school.
Speaker 2: What do you know?
Speaker 3: Yeah, you can just tell with those guys. So it's
Speaker 3: cool to see that. Lancederline NFL dot Com. He writes
Speaker 3: five hundred draft reports every year. Lance. Is your vacation
Speaker 3: Are you on the other side of it or is
Speaker 3: it coming up here soon?
Speaker 1: No, I'm coming up. I'm taking my vacation starting this Friday.
Speaker 1: So this this Friday, I'll start my vacation and I'm
Speaker 1: all done with all my draft stuff for this year.
Speaker 1: So the wife and I she doesn't see me a
Speaker 1: whole lot for about five or six months, so she'll
Speaker 1: gonna She'll gonna see me for about eight straight days.
Speaker 2: We'll see what she thinks in.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm always advocating for you guys to get out
Speaker 3: to some beach somewhere at this time of year and
Speaker 3: enjoy your time off. So we appreciate your time to day. Lance,
Speaker 3: thanks a lot, man, Okay, appreciate it. Thanks really good
Speaker 3: stuff right there. To me, That's what a podcast should be.
Speaker 3: You should always just kind of have conversations that develop
Speaker 3: and evolve from the original question, and Lance does that
Speaker 3: as well as anybody. I mean, a question about the
Speaker 3: American League West and Major League Baseball translates to Miami
Speaker 3: Dolphins team building. It's perfect. It's why I love having
Speaker 3: multi sport guys in the podcast, because it all is relative.
Speaker 3: It all comes back. Let's go ahead and take our
Speaker 3: last break right here and come back on the other
Speaker 3: side and do my favorite offseason move from each team
Speaker 3: this offseason. That's next Drag Time Podcast, your host, Travis Wingfield,
Speaker 3: brought to you by Auto Nation. I always love these
Speaker 3: summer months of the football calendar for the opportunity to
Speaker 3: go back and watch other NFL teams. It's funny to
Speaker 3: be because you watch the Dolphins all year, you watch
Speaker 3: as much tape as you can on other teams in
Speaker 3: preparation for the games. You spend four or five months
Speaker 3: watching tape of college players. But then some folks just
Speaker 3: kind of put away the NFL tape and don't watch
Speaker 3: other NFL teams. This is the time of year to
Speaker 3: do that, and I love doing it. It's gonna be
Speaker 3: pretty cool for the next week or so. Until we
Speaker 3: get to OTA's and for a month it kicks up,
Speaker 3: and then it really slows way down in the month
Speaker 3: of June and July before training camp kicks off. But
Speaker 3: I love having an opportunity to kind of go around
Speaker 3: the league and look at other teams tape and and
Speaker 3: just kind of get a feel of what's going on
Speaker 3: in the NFL, because I think it's important to have
Speaker 3: that perspective to measure the Dolphins against because we can
Speaker 3: say here talk about Dolphins all day long, but if
Speaker 3: you don't have context for other teams, then how is
Speaker 3: that doing any good? So my favorite move from each
Speaker 3: team this offseason, starting with the Miami Dolphins Jalen Ramsey
Speaker 3: obviously a matchup dictator who keeps the defense fluid in
Speaker 3: terms of the role so that so many guys can
Speaker 3: play on this defense. You just it creates an opportunity
Speaker 3: for you to match personnel packaging without having the substitute
Speaker 3: in so many situations where you can't do it. So
Speaker 3: it's Ramsey is just a really really good get there.
Speaker 3: And also the way that kind of sets a standard
Speaker 3: in terms of you know, this is how we're gonna practice,
Speaker 3: is how we're gonna play kind of like Tyreek Hill
Speaker 3: did last year for the offense. I think he can
Speaker 3: do the same thing for the defense, not that they
Speaker 3: don't know how to practice, but it's you that standard
Speaker 3: getting raised is always a good thing for the Buffalo Bills.
Speaker 3: To me, it's a tie between bringing back Jordan Poyer.
Speaker 3: This is what I'm talking about with team's not improving
Speaker 3: a whole lot. Bringing bat guys is like your way,
Speaker 3: your best move. It's there's not really improvement there, right,
Speaker 3: But drafting Osirius Torrance in the second round that is improvement.
Speaker 3: Poyer opens up so much of their playbook because of
Speaker 3: his interchangeability with Micah Hyde. If the Bills had a
Speaker 3: weak spot last year, it was the offensive line, So Torrance.
Speaker 3: I think Slot's riding as a starter as I thought
Speaker 3: he was a surefire top twenty five pick for the Jets.
Speaker 3: It's got to be Aaron Rodgers, right. The Jets were
Speaker 3: on the doorstep a year ago with some of the
Speaker 3: worst production at the quarterback position, especially when it wasn't
Speaker 3: Mike White in the game. Going from Wilson to Rodgers
Speaker 3: is a big upgrade. Even though I don't think Rogers
Speaker 3: is a top quarterback anymore played out last year in
Speaker 3: a Green bayle like watch the tape Man, Watch the
Speaker 3: freaking tape please, But still a massive upgrade for them
Speaker 3: at that position. The Patriots Christian Gonzalez. Every single year,
Speaker 3: Bill Belichick takes a defense that doesn't look good on
Speaker 3: paper and gets it to produce. That happened last year,
Speaker 3: especially in the secondary. Just so many guys that you
Speaker 3: I mean, there was like three rookies that played significant
Speaker 3: time in the secondary last year and they still were
Speaker 3: really good. And for Christian Gonzalez, he's a perfect fit there,
Speaker 3: the football acumen, the way he operates. I hate that
Speaker 3: they got him for the Steelers. Broderick Jones, I thought
Speaker 3: he was OT one. I just love that they leave
Speaker 3: frog the Jets into that spot, by the way, and
Speaker 3: sniped their guy. I think the Steelers getting back to
Speaker 3: a dominant offensive line with Naje Harris is a good
Speaker 3: way for them to zig and a conference that zagging,
Speaker 3: especially in that division, so to speak. And I just
Speaker 3: think it protects a quarterback that I just don't think
Speaker 3: very highly of Cincinnati Orlando Brown junior, the left tackle.
Speaker 3: Even with the heavy investment on the offensive line last year,
Speaker 3: it was still an issue for the Bengals. That AFC
Speaker 3: title game representative for two years in a row. The
Speaker 3: Cincinnati Bengals needed help in that area. They get it
Speaker 3: here with Orlando Brown, a surefire star at a key
Speaker 3: spot to protect their franchise quarterback. And by the way,
Speaker 3: our receivers are the best in the league. Just want
Speaker 3: to go ahead, put that out there. Cleveland defensive tackle
Speaker 3: Dollan Tomlinson has been one of the most underrated players
Speaker 3: in the league since he entered He controls two gaps
Speaker 3: in the way Christian Wilkins does for us to here,
Speaker 3: and the Browns desperately need to run defense help he
Speaker 3: gives it to him. Baltimore is signing Lamar Jackson. Just
Speaker 3: get rid of all the drama and the intrigue and
Speaker 3: the back and forth and the you know, making the
Speaker 3: relationship irreparable. It seemed like it was going in that way,
Speaker 3: but now obviously it's not. I just feel good for
Speaker 3: that fan base to get to put all that stuff
Speaker 3: to rest, because I know how freaking annoying it is
Speaker 3: as a fan of a team to just hear everybody
Speaker 3: who doesn't have a clue talk about where your quarterback
Speaker 3: is going to go and which your new quarterback is
Speaker 3: going to be. For the Ravens fans, that's over for them.
Speaker 3: For the Chiefs, Juwan Taylor, I've always loved his game
Speaker 3: since the Florida days. They needed to make a move
Speaker 3: after losing both Brown and Andrew Wiley bull starring tackles.
Speaker 3: They went to work on the offensive line. Really after
Speaker 3: paying Mahomes. It was like Trey Smith Creed Humphrey, Let's
Speaker 3: go get Joe Tooney and say goodbye to the weapons
Speaker 3: and build up the offensive line. It's a philosophy that
Speaker 3: runs counter to what the Dolphins do do here with
Speaker 3: go get skill players and we'll replace you know, o
Speaker 3: line production. By getting the ball out fast, they create
Speaker 3: bigger and longer pockets because Mahomes can create so much
Speaker 3: magic after the fact to make up for lackluster receivers.
Speaker 3: It's an interesting tychotomy there in the way the two
Speaker 3: teams approach it. I kind of like ours, but when
Speaker 3: you have Patrick Mahomes, you can do whatever the hell
Speaker 3: you want because the guy is phenomenal. The Chargers, it's
Speaker 3: a tie between two linebackers. For me, I've always loved
Speaker 3: Eric Kendricks. You guys know that, and of course I
Speaker 3: love dayon Henley go Koog's. I think this gets them
Speaker 3: into a position to really stay flexible at the position
Speaker 3: and match personnel with teams who can go positionless on offense.
Speaker 3: Wasn't that way for them last year. They struggled big
Speaker 3: time in the front seven. Two big gets there with
Speaker 3: Kendricks and Henley for Las Vegas. Jacoby Myers, I think
Speaker 3: he's super underrated, made a bunch of big plays for
Speaker 3: the Patriots and a really bad receiver Corps had the
Speaker 3: one big play in the opener last year that kind
Speaker 3: of kept the offense in the game, at least for temporarily.
Speaker 3: That receiver corps man DeVante Adams, is the top five guy.
Speaker 3: I'll take Renfro over most slot receivers, and I think
Speaker 3: Jacoby Myers is one of the better number twos in
Speaker 3: the league. Really good receiver cord there for Jimmy Garoppolo
Speaker 3: to work with in Denver, the guard Ben Powers, they
Speaker 3: went to work on the offensive line. They got Mike
Speaker 3: McGlinchey as well. I just think interior protections better for
Speaker 3: Russell Wilson's game that is on the off the edge
Speaker 3: because of his ability to move around the pocket and create,
Speaker 3: but if you get interior pressure, it takes away all
Speaker 3: of that. So Ben Powers in the NFC Philadelphia, the
Speaker 3: talent they were able to retain just didn't look like
Speaker 3: they're gonna be able to keep Fletcher Cox, James Bradberry,
Speaker 3: Brandon Graham, Darius Slay, but they did. They did lose
Speaker 3: Chauncey Gardner Johnson, which was their best player on defense
Speaker 3: to me last year. But man, they were looking at
Speaker 3: a much pretty much their entire defense and a chunk
Speaker 3: of their offensive line going by the boards and free agency,
Speaker 3: and they got a lot of it back. They did
Speaker 3: lose Isaac Samalu up front as well, but they've got
Speaker 3: guys who replace him. Slay is the name I'll go
Speaker 3: with here, because there was even an announcement that he
Speaker 3: was going to be moving on He's gonna be cut,
Speaker 3: and then you insert the call the ambulance but not
Speaker 3: for me, meme, and he comes right back. Dallas Brandon Cooks.
Speaker 3: I have been such a fan of Cooks for the
Speaker 3: longest time. I think his ability to separate against single
Speaker 3: coverage with the attention that Ceedee Lamb commands will open
Speaker 3: up things in a big way for the Cowboys. For
Speaker 3: the Giants, linebacker Bobby o'kaa kay right, it's not okaik anymore.
Speaker 3: He changed pronunciation. But I also like Deontay Banks. I
Speaker 3: also like John Michael Schmidz the Giants making moves I like.
Speaker 3: I've long talked about how much I didn't like the
Speaker 3: way they did things for their offseason, but really good
Speaker 3: moves here. I'll stay with Okuiki because I know what
Speaker 3: he can do at this level and it's something every
Speaker 3: defense needs. A run, hit and cover linebacker. For Washington
Speaker 3: Warternerton great retaining Deron Payn, one of the league's best
Speaker 3: defensive tackles in a booming business for defensive tackles, keeping
Speaker 3: him on the dominant defensive line is critical to what
Speaker 3: they want to be in Washington. They get their guy
Speaker 3: in Green Bay. I'm going to their first round draft pick,
Speaker 3: the edge Lucas van Ness. I love their entire draft class.
Speaker 3: They almost got you know, they also gout should say
Speaker 3: like most likely a future one if Aaron Rodgers stays
Speaker 3: healthy all year for next season, on top of adding
Speaker 3: two of my favorite tight ends in the class. But
Speaker 3: van Ness just looks like a packer man. And they
Speaker 3: were best when they got pressure from the two Smiths,
Speaker 3: Zadarius and Preston. Maybe van Ness can replace some of
Speaker 3: the pressure left behind from a couple of years ago
Speaker 3: from Zadarius's departure up there in Green Bay. Speaking of
Speaker 3: Zidarius in the Minnesota Vikings, I like the edge they
Speaker 3: brought in in Marcus Davenport. They pull over the Saints
Speaker 3: pass rusher for a one year deal, and I think
Speaker 3: what I like about it the most is the fact
Speaker 3: that he gets what is essentially a one year deal here,
Speaker 3: a prove it deal, and I think he's going to
Speaker 3: explode with that. They were pretty good rushing the quarterback
Speaker 3: last year but had major secondary issues. I think it's
Speaker 3: a good piece for Brian Flores to work with. I've
Speaker 3: said before I like strengthen and strength, and Davenport's a
Speaker 3: really good player for the Vikings up there Detroit. I
Speaker 3: like Jamiir Gibbs so much. Ignoring all the noise about
Speaker 3: drafting and running back, the truth is they got an
Speaker 3: impact player who I think is going to be very special.
Speaker 3: The offense was on one last year, and getting a
Speaker 3: weapon like Gibbs behind a line that opens up big
Speaker 3: lanes with regularity. I cannot wait to watch him in
Speaker 3: Ben Johnson's offense for the Bears. DJ Moore just a
Speaker 3: crafty route runner with the Jets to make you pay
Speaker 3: when you misplay it. An angle destroyer. I think his
Speaker 3: ability to extend his routes on broken plays pairs really
Speaker 3: well with Justin Fields' ability to extend plays. I'm guessing
Speaker 3: a breakout year here for more. I absolutely love Darnell
Speaker 3: right to their first round pick with the Saints defensive
Speaker 3: tackle Colin Sanders. I thought he was a big part
Speaker 3: of that Chief's front with the flexibility to play multiple
Speaker 3: positions and can control the point up front, stop the run,
Speaker 3: rush the passer, all of that. In Atlanta, I love
Speaker 3: Jesse Bates so much. I think he changes the way
Speaker 3: you call your defense. Lou and Arumu was one of
Speaker 3: the best defensive coordinators up there in Cincinnati in the NFL.
Speaker 3: He got his start coaching DBS and the way he
Speaker 3: talks about baits excuse me, tells you all you have
Speaker 3: to know about the player. In Carolina, tight end Hayden Hurst.
Speaker 3: I just love his game too. Really valuable receiving option
Speaker 3: who can attach and block in line. I really wanted
Speaker 3: him to hear in Miami. That's going to really help
Speaker 3: their Brookie quarterback. Also Von Belly very close second and
Speaker 3: Tampa Bay Cody Mock. He reminds me so much of
Speaker 3: Ryan Jensen. They look alike to and it's fitting Hill
Speaker 3: now play next to him on the offensive line. There.
Speaker 3: They also found Oli mar Pet from a small school
Speaker 3: in the Senior Bowl. That's the kind of ability I
Speaker 3: think that Mack has here in San Francisco. Javon Hargrave, Man,
Speaker 3: what an embarrassment of riches for them. Upfront. They were
Speaker 3: great even after losing to Forest Buckner, and now I
Speaker 3: think they maybe even improve that spot by getting Javon Hargrave.
Speaker 3: You go with Bosa Armstead, kin Law, have Mercer Seattle
Speaker 3: Smith and Jigba the rookie receiver from Ohio State. The
Speaker 3: space that he should have to show off, the suddenness
Speaker 3: and route running with Lockett Metcalf creating space should be
Speaker 3: so much fun. The Seahawks went from a team that
Speaker 3: many thought could be picking in the top five last
Speaker 3: year to one of the better rosters in the league.
Speaker 3: And that's pretty impressive now, like I think maybe even
Speaker 3: top twelve roster that the NFL is all about man
Speaker 3: turning it around quickly. That offense is going to be
Speaker 3: fun for the Rams. Steve Avila, I mentioned in the podcast,
Speaker 3: thought he was a first round pick all day winds
Speaker 3: up going thirty six of the Rams. They were decimated
Speaker 3: last year on the line by injuries, so a Villa
Speaker 3: to me steps in day number one and solidifies a
Speaker 3: spot on their interior offensive line in Arizona. Acquiring future
Speaker 3: draft capital was the move for me. The Texans, I
Speaker 3: think are much improved, but Arizona could conceivably wind up
Speaker 3: with two very high draft picks for the Texans that
Speaker 3: go get Will Anderson. I think that was really good
Speaker 3: job by the new regime there in Arizona. I think
Speaker 3: my biggest takeaway from this exercise so that a lot
Speaker 3: of teams in the AFC he just kind of stayed stagnant.
Speaker 3: The Dolphins attacked their weakness is hard, right, And you
Speaker 3: might say, well, what about tackle and guard and tight end?
Speaker 3: And I once again say it's the same as it
Speaker 3: was last year for the most part. You added some
Speaker 3: pieces and that offense finished sixth in the NFL with
Speaker 3: two of missing five games. Like think about that, Think
Speaker 3: about what the panic is really about McDaniel literally identified
Speaker 3: the best way to make this system and this quarterback
Speaker 3: function at a top six level was to go out and
Speaker 3: get playmakers. And they added another and they added more
Speaker 3: outlet relief. So while we all agree that it needs
Speaker 3: to be better at right tackle and left guard and
Speaker 3: tight end than it was a year ago, it's clearly
Speaker 3: not the engine that makes this offense go right. You're
Speaker 3: worried about a fender when you've got a Ferrari engine.
Speaker 3: It go fast. Big engine, big car, go fast. Room room.
Speaker 3: The Improvement Index a PFF measure from Kevin Cole. Miami
Speaker 3: is eighth overall on that list. They're one of two
Speaker 3: playoff teams in the top thirteen in terms of snaps
Speaker 3: gained and war added to your football team. Teams fourteen
Speaker 3: and fifteen are the Giants and Chargers. They were playoff teams.
Speaker 3: But once you across the midway point threshold where teams
Speaker 3: went backwards and did not improve, that's where you see
Speaker 3: not just the playoff teams, the teams that advanced into
Speaker 3: the second round into the conference championship round. Jacksonville, Dallas, Buffalo,
Speaker 3: San Francisco all check in between seventeen and twenty two.
Speaker 3: Then you get Cincinnati, KC, Minnesota, and Baltimore in the
Speaker 3: twenty five to twenty eight range. It's just so clear
Speaker 3: to me how much better Miami are. And this is
Speaker 3: on paper, so we'll see. But man, how are you
Speaker 3: just not championing at the bit for this season to
Speaker 3: get started. It feels like we say this light here,
Speaker 3: but man, this could be the one, This could be
Speaker 3: the year. I think that's a great way to start
Speaker 3: the week with this episode talking about how excited we
Speaker 3: are for the upcoming season. And Hey, Dolphins, Finn's Weekend
Speaker 3: is back and better than ever. This June second through
Speaker 3: the third, join your favorite Miami Dolphins coaches, players, alumni,
Speaker 3: and cheerleaders at the twenty fourth annual Finns Weekend, featuring
Speaker 3: a phishing tournament, exclusive parties, and more, with all proceeds
Speaker 3: benefiting the Baptist Health Foundation. Tickets are limited and available
Speaker 3: for purchase at Finnsweekend dot Com. Long episode of the
Speaker 3: podcast today, but we're gonna go ahead and get the
Speaker 3: heck out of here and be back with you guys
Speaker 3: tomorrow for a practice recap episode breaking down everything I
Speaker 3: see from Dolphins OTAs. That's coming up your way tomorrow.
Speaker 3: In the meantime, you all, please be sure to subscribe
Speaker 3: to the podcast on Apple Podcast. Leave us a rating,
Speaker 3: leave us a review. You can follow me on Twitter
Speaker 3: at Wingfold NFL. Follow the team at Miami Dolphins. Check
Speaker 3: out Seth and Juice on the fish Tank Podcast. Check
Speaker 3: out the YouTube channel for media availabilities and Dolphins Today,
Speaker 3: and much much more. At last, but not least, Miami
Speaker 3: Dolphins dot com. Until next time, fins up, Caroline Cameron, Daddy,
Speaker 3: He's coming home. Happy Birthday. Careen beeron Love You Sweeing,