Speaker 1: This is the Drive with Dale Lolly and Matt Williamson
Speaker 1: on your twenty four to seven home of the Black
Speaker 1: and Gold Steelers Nation Radio.
Speaker 2: Welcome to the Drive. I'm Dale Lolly, he is Matt
Speaker 2: Williamson and Matt. It's like Christmas Eve, Happy drafting Eve
Speaker 2: to you and to all. We've been talking about this
Speaker 2: thing for months. We've been waiting for it to come.
Speaker 2: It is finally here, and nobody knows what the hell
Speaker 2: is going to go on now.
Speaker 1: I'm not sure we know a whole lot now that
Speaker 1: we did months ago, but it's just as much fun.
Speaker 1: I mean, I can't wait. Steelers are positioned to add
Speaker 1: a lot of quality talent. There's a lot of different
Speaker 1: directions they can go. And we have what three segments
Speaker 1: to talk between now and they start kicking off and
Speaker 1: then we'll be on the air quite a bit together.
Speaker 2: Quite a bit. Yeah, as we typically are, you know.
Speaker 2: But I do believe that this draft I think there's
Speaker 2: more volatility to it. I agree that maybe in some
Speaker 2: previous years, I think we all kind of know who
Speaker 2: the top Tenish guys are.
Speaker 1: I don't think any of them are gonna be Steelers.
Speaker 2: But you don't know what order they're going to fall in,
Speaker 2: other than we know Bryce Young is going to be.
Speaker 1: Number one, right, that's the anything we know at this point.
Speaker 2: And then past that, there could be an there could
Speaker 2: be a bunch of trades in the top ten, there
Speaker 2: could be no trades in the top ten.
Speaker 1: And it always comes back to quarterbacks, which fortunately for
Speaker 1: the Steelers they don't have to they're not in that market.
Speaker 1: And I'm glad that they're not for this particular class
Speaker 1: in particular, because I would hate to try to decipher
Speaker 1: these and you know, can we work around this deficiency
Speaker 1: or because they all when when I was first exposed
Speaker 1: to these top five quarterbacks, including Hendon Hooker, all I
Speaker 1: could see were the glaring weaknesses. And I've warmed up
Speaker 1: to some more than others, but still they all have
Speaker 1: huge red flags.
Speaker 2: Well this is you know. So it goes back to
Speaker 2: the and I've said this before, the people who wanted
Speaker 2: the Steelers to just wait and take one next year,
Speaker 2: right last year, a year ago, at this time, just
Speaker 2: wait and take one this class, the twenty twenty one
Speaker 2: class or twenty twenty two class. It isn't very good,
Speaker 2: So just wait and get your quarterback next year. That
Speaker 2: class is so deep, right, that's what people are saying. Now,
Speaker 2: just wait and take one next year because this one's
Speaker 2: so deep.
Speaker 1: I mean, Houston's second on the board. They have more
Speaker 1: draft capital than anyone in the league. And there's an
Speaker 1: argument to be made to not take any of these
Speaker 1: guys and wait till next year, which I think would
Speaker 1: be a mistake, which I think is dangerous as could
Speaker 1: be too, because even if we're right in the North
Speaker 1: Carolina and the USC dude are transcendent, phenomenal players. Well,
Speaker 1: no one's trading out of those picks. You have to
Speaker 1: be one of the worst two.
Speaker 2: You have to stink again, yeah, really really stick. Now
Speaker 2: your fan base is really ticked off at you because well,
Speaker 2: you know, we've stunk now for four straight years. When
Speaker 2: are we going to be good again?
Speaker 1: I know, and I understand that there is you know,
Speaker 1: we're gonna spend the whole time talking about the Texans.
Speaker 1: But there's finally some optimism in there. Deshaun Watson's gone.
Speaker 1: I mean, there's a new coach and.
Speaker 2: That extra draft picks, because yeah, you're.
Speaker 1: Loaded, can you? But you can't go into that locker
Speaker 1: room again and be like we're gonna start Davis Millsy.
Speaker 2: How you're telling Laramie tunsl again that you know, hey, Laramie,
Speaker 2: we love you. You're gonna be protecting five different guys
Speaker 2: back there and win.
Speaker 1: Three games again. Yeah, like I've seen this movie. No thanks,
Speaker 1: all right?
Speaker 2: Looking at some of the things that have happened since
Speaker 2: we were last on the air, Well, the Aaron Rodgers
Speaker 2: trade finally went through.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, to no surprise. He is a Jet, and.
Speaker 2: I mean there were rumors that the forty nine ers
Speaker 2: might be jumping into that, and and I think that
Speaker 2: kind of maybe the maybe the Packers put that out there,
Speaker 2: you know, through the back channels just to kind of
Speaker 2: spur that that trade on.
Speaker 1: It was like Belichick could call. Yeah, it'd be a
Speaker 1: Retal Belichick thing to do. But I thought the Jets
Speaker 1: gave up more than I expected. So it's a good
Speaker 1: deal for the Packers and that it's time to take
Speaker 1: a step back in Green Bay. You've had two amazing
Speaker 1: quarterbacks for a twenty year run with an unbelievable stretch,
Speaker 1: and now you've a lot to draft capital. See what
Speaker 1: Jordan Love is. I mean, it's probably gonna be a
Speaker 1: rough year for them. But at least they're in good
Speaker 1: rebuild mode. Jets are aggressive. I mean, they're all in,
Speaker 1: but to their credit, they still have a mid first
Speaker 1: and second round pick to you know, maybe draft a
Speaker 1: lineman this year this year, right, right, right?
Speaker 2: But next year gets interesting. You know that that picked
Speaker 2: next year is conditional upon Aaron Rodgers playing sixty five
Speaker 2: percent of the snaps. Yeah, if he plays sixty five
Speaker 2: percent of the snaps, the Packers get next year's first
Speaker 2: round pick from the Jets.
Speaker 1: Right, And Aaron.
Speaker 2: Rodgers, who's thirty nine, might not be playing for the
Speaker 2: Jets next year.
Speaker 1: That's what's odd to me is Rogers is an iron man.
Speaker 1: I mean, I would imagine it'd be a long shot
Speaker 1: for him not to play sixty five percent of the snaps.
Speaker 1: Now that doesn't I'm sure the Jets are looking at
Speaker 1: it like, if I can get Aaron Rodgers to play
Speaker 1: the whole year, we're gonna be that's gonna be a
Speaker 1: really late first round pick. And they might be right.
Speaker 1: But in the AFC, you still might not even make
Speaker 1: the playoffs. I mean, if the Jets are in the NFC,
Speaker 1: I might could the Rogers led Jets are the.
Speaker 2: Play Are they still any better than third in that division.
Speaker 1: I don't know. I mean, I think the Patriots are
Speaker 1: a clear fourth. But it's the best division in the league.
Speaker 1: Miami's all in even more than the Jets are, and
Speaker 1: Bills aren't going away. But so if you're the Packers
Speaker 1: and he hits those numbers, maybe it is a late
Speaker 1: first but it could still be a pick in the
Speaker 1: inside the top twenty, and you are you know, and
Speaker 1: they don't make the playoffs considering the conference they're in.
Speaker 1: But if he doesn't make those numbers for whatever reason,
Speaker 1: it's probably an early second round pick, a worse.
Speaker 2: If you remember. This is very much like the Russell
Speaker 2: Wilson trade to me, very much. So where as soon
Speaker 2: as it's made, everybody starts talking about, oh, there might
Speaker 2: be four teams out of the AFC East that make
Speaker 2: the playoffs this year. Yeah, yeah, they'll be lucky to
Speaker 2: get two.
Speaker 1: This is the way world works.
Speaker 2: That's the way the world war. Here's the Jets schedule.
Speaker 2: That's it's awful at home against the Bills, the Dolphins,
Speaker 2: the Patriots, the Chiefs right right there, the Chargers, the
Speaker 2: Eagle Wow, the Commanders, the Texans and the Falcons.
Speaker 1: Wow. So they play the they play the other East,
Speaker 1: which is pretty good.
Speaker 2: Which is pretty good away games Buffalo, Miami, Patriots at Denver,
Speaker 2: which is never an easy place, at the Raiders, at
Speaker 2: the Cowboys, at the Giants, at the Browns.
Speaker 1: Right right, right, And I'm sure Miami's is just as hard.
Speaker 1: You know, they're playing base I mean, this is a
Speaker 1: this is a that's what I means. Chances of three
Speaker 1: teams coming out of the division or's slim.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean I'm looking at that home schedule. I'm like,
Speaker 2: if they get four wins in that home schedule, that's
Speaker 2: pretty good. Right, they get five, Okay, good for them.
Speaker 1: I mean even the division. I mean, you sweep the Patriots.
Speaker 1: Say what you want about the Patriots, They're.
Speaker 2: Still tough to get. They're still tough to play against. Yeah,
Speaker 2: you know, so people celebrating this as well, that the
Speaker 2: Jets are Super Bowl contender and like the Vegas odds
Speaker 2: went crazy.
Speaker 1: I'm sure I don't see it. I don't really either.
Speaker 1: I'm planning on doing a ranks after the draft, I mean,
Speaker 1: just for other outlets or whatever. I'm sure we'll talk
Speaker 1: about I'm sure we'll talk about it, But I bet
Speaker 1: eight of the top teams are in the a FC. Like,
Speaker 1: if so only seven are going, right, you know, I
Speaker 1: mean like I think the really.
Speaker 2: I mean, you have to look at the top fourteen
Speaker 2: because seven from each conference go to the playoffs, right.
Speaker 1: I bet at least ten of them are AFC.
Speaker 2: Like when you start looking at that schedule like that,
Speaker 2: then you have to start looking at AFC losses and
Speaker 2: things of that nature.
Speaker 1: I mean, if they're three and three in the division
Speaker 1: and we do we think they're beating the Chiefs, probably not.
Speaker 2: You know, the Chargers at homes a toss up, you know,
Speaker 2: do you think they're gonna beat uh, you know, win
Speaker 2: in Denver? Again, that's a that's a tough, tough one,
Speaker 2: you know. So there's there's a lot of games that
Speaker 2: you know, people at that well it's the Browns away
Speaker 2: when you play in the Browns.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I was thinking that too, Like what if you
Speaker 1: go to Denver and Miami early in the year, they're
Speaker 1: the two worst places to play in the first month
Speaker 1: of the season by far, and then you go to
Speaker 1: Cleve in week sixteen.
Speaker 2: I've done that before.
Speaker 1: That's fine, right, It's just a tough situation.
Speaker 2: So it's gonna be interesting to see how that schedule
Speaker 2: breaks down, and we'll see that. We'll get that that
Speaker 2: a couple of weeks here after the draft, the schedule
Speaker 2: will be released. The other point to this is the
Speaker 2: Jets had one primetime game last year. Now they're gonna have.
Speaker 1: Six six thenced well, I mean that's emotion you can
Speaker 1: get you they're gonna have six primetime games. It's New
Speaker 1: York and it's Aaron Rodgers.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and everybody's talking, well, look at the you know,
Speaker 2: everybody in New York's excited about the Jets. Good, but
Speaker 2: they're gonna have a bunch of primetime games. And if
Speaker 2: you're not used to playing, if you're not used to
Speaker 2: going and playing in Denver on a Sunday night, Vegas
Speaker 2: flying back, yeah, I mean, look at the road trips here.
Speaker 2: Dallas is not an easy.
Speaker 1: Road trip for sure. And then you get.
Speaker 2: A fly but you know, fly back and play the Eagles.
Speaker 1: Yeah right, I mean I'm even think of a lesser team,
Speaker 1: but the Giants are going to run the ball eighty
Speaker 1: percent of time at you after a road game, you know,
Speaker 1: like that type of thing. And no, you're right, And
Speaker 1: I always go back to our conversation with labs. You
Speaker 1: know that, Well, we'll see how they handle, you know,
Speaker 1: those type of things that people don't think about, like
Speaker 1: you have five time, Yeah, you of them on the.
Speaker 2: Road, your Sunday, your Sunday against Miami at home, and
Speaker 2: then you got to go on a short week and
Speaker 2: go play the Raiders in Vegas.
Speaker 1: Or the fact that I keep bringing up the Giants, like
Speaker 1: maybe you're on the road against the Giants, but it's
Speaker 1: a home game. You know, that's not an advantage at all,
Speaker 1: you know.
Speaker 2: So, and I still believe there are more Giants fans
Speaker 2: in New York than there are imagine even so that's
Speaker 2: that's a that's an away game for you, but the
Speaker 2: stadium gym to be packed the Giants fans. Yeah, yeah, right, exactly.
Speaker 1: So No, but I know they're much better football team
Speaker 1: than they were. I mean I think that more than
Speaker 1: maybe any team in the league. Their quarterback play held
Speaker 1: them back. You know what they could have been with
Speaker 1: just joe average quarterbacks.
Speaker 2: This isn't a Buccaneers situation.
Speaker 1: No, Tom Brady.
Speaker 2: Tom Brady going to the Tampa Bay and you go, well,
Speaker 2: if you just don't turn the ball over fifty times,
Speaker 2: at the quarterback position. Yeah, I mean, well they're gonna
Speaker 2: be They're gonna be a contender.
Speaker 1: But I still are good.
Speaker 2: But I still think they're the third best team in
Speaker 2: their own division.
Speaker 1: I'm torn on that.
Speaker 2: I mean, I think depending on if two of places, I.
Speaker 1: Just trust the Miami up.
Speaker 2: Did you hear the the news, I think late last
Speaker 2: week that tu have finally announced that he's going to
Speaker 2: play this year. He was he was considering a retirement.
Speaker 1: And I'm surprised they haven't done more than just bringing
Speaker 1: Mike White, and they don't have the draft capital to do.
Speaker 1: They have the least draft capital in the league.
Speaker 2: They think they're gonna unless they think they were going
Speaker 2: to talk Tom Brady out of retirement.
Speaker 1: See, there always is that living thing, you know. I
Speaker 1: mean there's a connection there that That's why there's only
Speaker 1: thirty one picks in the draft.
Speaker 2: Even with that, I don't know that Brady fits what
Speaker 2: they want to do offense. I get the two speed
Speaker 2: receivers on the outside, Like is that play into what
Speaker 2: Tom Brady wants to do? Right now? The offensive line
Speaker 2: is not great.
Speaker 1: It's not great. I think it figure it out, you know,
Speaker 1: I mean, run the ball a lot.
Speaker 2: Know he can figure it out like he used to
Speaker 2: be able to figure it out.
Speaker 1: No, No, I mean I don't know. Miami. Both those
Speaker 1: teams are all in, though, I mean they both push
Speaker 1: their chips in the middle, and one of them for
Speaker 1: sure isn't going to work out as playing well.
Speaker 2: It might be more than one, because there are lots
Speaker 2: of teams that are quote unquote all in and they
Speaker 2: can't all win.
Speaker 1: I mean, I think about a year ago, the Raiders,
Speaker 1: We're going to go trade all in all this stuff
Speaker 1: for the Broncos, the Broncos, all those teams, right the Rams.
Speaker 2: They go down the list here of teams that quote
Speaker 2: unquote went all in and you don't always you don't win.
Speaker 2: The Browns have done it.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, I mean, so I keep mentioning draft capital
Speaker 1: and there's only like two or three teams that have
Speaker 1: less draft capital in this draft than Cleveland, and they
Speaker 1: don't have a first round pick next year. There's three
Speaker 1: teams already that don't have a first round pick now
Speaker 1: and then your quarterbacks, you know, seventy million dollars cap
Speaker 1: pick or something insane.
Speaker 2: I mean, it's ridiculous, like you better win when you
Speaker 2: go all in like that. Otherwise you get to start
Speaker 2: tearing it down and then you you know, all of
Speaker 2: a sudd and you become the rams.
Speaker 1: Denver is a perfect example too, Like they have bottom
Speaker 1: of the league draft capital this year and last year.
Speaker 1: You got two years without really reinforcing your team to
Speaker 1: the draft. Your quarterback better be a superstar, not like
Speaker 1: Deshaun Watson really has to be a top five quarterback
Speaker 1: for that to be worth it.
Speaker 2: I saw somebody and I can't remember who, put out
Speaker 2: ranking ranking the AFC quarterbacks and they had to show
Speaker 2: Deshaun Watson was number five on that list. He wouldn't
Speaker 2: be for me, but not based on what he did
Speaker 2: last year.
Speaker 1: He was bottom the list last year.
Speaker 2: Like he was ahead of two. I think had a
Speaker 2: much better year last year. Now he didn't play as much,
Speaker 2: actually he played about the same amount.
Speaker 1: Who would rather have? Right now? I mean off the
Speaker 1: field stuff?
Speaker 2: I say, neither right?
Speaker 1: Right? Right? You know?
Speaker 2: Is that the answer?
Speaker 1: I don't know.
Speaker 2: I mean, I so I think, you know, again, I
Speaker 2: look at this and what the Steelers can do in
Speaker 2: this draft with three premium picks. You know, if they
Speaker 2: stay put where they're at, they're going to get three
Speaker 2: football players in this drift, at least three who come
Speaker 2: in and help right away, I would assume.
Speaker 1: I mean, I think you could even say four. And
Speaker 1: we're not talking about starters day one every snap. Maybe
Speaker 1: they take a day two tackle that doesn't start, you know,
Speaker 1: that's the only way I'm trying to think of guys
Speaker 1: that might not start right away. That could be premium
Speaker 1: picks or you know, but for the most part, yeah,
Speaker 1: or maybe an edge that's a third guy that comes
Speaker 1: in and plays forty percent of the snaps, but that'll
Speaker 1: be a contributor.
Speaker 2: Right You're going to get guys who play, you know,
Speaker 2: three hundred, four hundred, five hundred snaps this season and
Speaker 2: make an impact.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah, And as we often say, the rosters set
Speaker 1: up right now that I don't know that Brian branch aside,
Speaker 1: who would be a thousand snap guy right off the bat,
Speaker 1: unless you drafted a left tackle he wins a job,
Speaker 1: you know, something like that. But they don't need a
Speaker 1: thousand snap guy at any specific position. Maybe an outside
Speaker 1: corner could do that, but.
Speaker 2: Maybe an outside corner could do that. Maybe a nickel
Speaker 2: slash safe he could do that. But outside of that, yeah,
Speaker 2: I don't. I don't know that you're looking at a
Speaker 2: guy to come in and be a thousand snap guy
Speaker 2: like right, like Terrell Edmonds was exactly in twenty eighteen.
Speaker 1: And that's what. Guys are set up well enough that
Speaker 1: they don't need one of those right this minute. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you know, and they could develop into those guys.
Speaker 2: And that's why I thought Mike Tomlin put it very
Speaker 2: succinctly when he said, you know, everything that we've done
Speaker 2: this offseason opened the draft board up for.
Speaker 1: Us extremely well. Yeah, extremely well. Right, I mean, could
Speaker 1: they use an offensive tackle, Yes, I can live with
Speaker 1: them not even drafting one, or more likely drafting the
Speaker 1: pit kid in the fourth round and developing him Carter
Speaker 1: War that type of guy. Yeah, you know, I mean
Speaker 1: I would love to see them get a slot. I
Speaker 1: do think they need to draft a corner of some sort,
Speaker 1: But the draft boards set up really well that you
Speaker 1: could do that at multiple spots.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's not it's not the then, you know, the
Speaker 2: immediate need. Hey, we got to have this guy to
Speaker 2: line up tomorrow and he has to start. That's not
Speaker 2: the case really at any position for the Steelers. You know,
Speaker 2: they could they could line up and play, and all
Speaker 2: the moves that they made are ones that maybe in
Speaker 2: September they don't necessarily look at it and go, oh,
Speaker 2: you know, these guys aren't starting this is that? But
Speaker 2: in October and November in week ten, you know, when
Speaker 2: you're heading to Baltimore, much different story. You know, if
Speaker 2: I'm bringing you know, somebody off the bench who's started,
Speaker 2: you know, fifty games in his career, as opposed to
Speaker 2: calling somebody up off the practice squad and starting right,
Speaker 2: they're signing somebody off of somebody else's practice squad and
Speaker 2: starting them. We've seen that have to happen in previous years,
Speaker 2: doesn't have to happen with this team.
Speaker 1: Right. I can play him a little bit in week one,
Speaker 1: a little more in week two, and now I trust
Speaker 1: them and I understand as coach says what he's like
Speaker 1: in a stadium or how he practices those type of things. Boom,
Speaker 1: now you're the guy, you know. So No, it has
Speaker 1: set up well to a part of the draft and
Speaker 1: acquiring young talent isn't always just draft this guy, put
Speaker 1: him in. It's how am I going to develop him
Speaker 1: once he's in our building? You know? And they've set
Speaker 1: themselves up well that it's not like, Okay, left tackle,
Speaker 1: throw you in the deep end. Hope you do fine
Speaker 1: against Miles Garrett. You know, I'm like, let's bring it
Speaker 1: along a little slower. Hey.
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Speaker 2: And you might want to do that during the draft
Speaker 2: because we're gonna be on wall to wall throughout the draft. Matt, myself,
Speaker 2: a cast of others that will cast a dozens. Maybe
Speaker 2: they're going to be on the air, but we're gonna
Speaker 2: bring you all the press conferences, all the immediate draft
Speaker 2: picks and things of that nature. You can hear that
Speaker 2: basically Thursday through Saturday this weekend, so you don't want
Speaker 2: to miss that. He is Matt Williamson. I am Dale, Lollie.
Speaker 2: You're listening to the drive here on Steelers Nation Radio.
Speaker 2: We'll be back with more right after this