Journey To The Draft PodcastNFC / AFC West Draft Recaps | Inside The Rams With Sosa Kremenjas
Fran Duffy and Ben Fennell discuss the draft classes for seven of the eight teams in the NFC and AFC West before Fran chats with Underdog's Sosa Kremenjas about the LA Rams and the slew of players they selected last month in the NFL Draft.
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Welcome to the Journey of the Draft podcast. I'm your host Fran Duffian. Today we continue our divisional recaps of the twenty twenty three NFL Draft. Today we continue with our West division recaps, so the AFC and NFC West. We're gonna start that off with Draft Buzz with Ben Fenel. We're gonna do seven of the eight teams there. We're gonna take a look at again a few different categories, the top choice, why did they make their first round pick, the biggest surprise and early impact on Day three, and just some big picture takeaways from each of these teams. And then we're gonna focus in on one team, hyper Focused in the Blueprint where this week we bring on Sosa Cremenius from The Underdog Fantasy to talk through the La rams. So we're gonna talk through the rams there with Sosa. We've got a couple questions to get to in our draft mail bag as well. Again, the best way to support us, the best way to throw us your review, throw us a question. If you want to get your question read here on the show, head on over to Apple Podcast. Leave us that question in the comment box. We'll get to it in an upcoming episode.
That's it.
Let's get to Ben Fenel and Draft Buzz.
Now it's time for Draft Buzz.
All right, join here this week on Draft Buzz once again by my friend Ben Fennel. Today we were to go through the seven teams in the AFC West and the NFC West. We're going to start on the NFC side bed and we'll start with the team that had the number five overall pick in this draft, and that's the Seattle Seahawks. They select Illinois corner Devin Witherspoon, which was one of the bigger surprises I would say, certainly in the top ten. Your thoughts on the Devin Witherspoon selection and why he was the pick by John Schneider and Pete Carroll.
Well, I think they fell into a really great starting corner in Darike Wolland, but still looking for his counterpart on the other side of the field. Certainly, Devin Witherspoon plug and play starting corner. Fifth overall pick. This is a team that was twenty eighth and missed tackles last year in twenty four with an explosive pass plays. Devin Witherspoon's going to keep you know, obviously ballcarriers on the ground with his physical demeanor and his place strength and his attitude while also defending the ball down the field and getting the ball back and being a ballhawks. I think he kind of checks boxes of two areas of need while also filling a positional need while needing a starting corner opposite of bawling. So I think it checked a lot of boxes and it was really one of the first surprises of the draft is not a lot of people had cornerback plugged into the Seattle Seahawks that you know, had a lot of different needs on their roster. He could have gone edge rusher, could have gone offensive line, could have gone you know, pass catcher, which they obviously circled back to later. But Devin Witherspoon fifth overall pick certainly checked the boxes that team needed.
Yeah, if you look at all like the mainstream mock drafts, you know everybody had at the big networks and at the big publications, you know, the only one I found the entire draft cycle from January on that had Devin Witherspoon at number five. Doug Farrar from USA Today, who was actually, you know, is based in the Pacific Northwest and based in Seattle as follow Seahawks for a long time, So big shout out to Doug there for predicting that selection.
But aesthetically he doesn't really fit the tone of that cornerback that they've.
Had over there for the last few years.
Whether it's you know, the Richard Sherman's of the world, or the Brandon Browners of the world, the Byron Maxwell's of the world, into the Tariq Wollans of the world, those are all really big corners brand and Devin Witherspoon, obviously a smidge over one hundred and eighty pounds, didn't really fit this Seattle profile. I think we all think about this is still his new Seattle team, and they're kind of turning over their roster and finding different types of players to fill their roles and schemes.
Yeah, they took that corner from Oklahoma a couple of years ago. Why am I blanking Gray Brown? Yep, they took it Trey Brown a couple of years ago, and he was on the smaller side and then did you see during the press conference after the pick, Pete Carroll actually compared Devin Witherspoon to Troy Palamalo from like a play personality standpoint, like that was what he kind of saw with Paula Malo, and he coached paulam Malow down at USC So I thow that kind of caught me off guard as well. So certainly an interesting pick and one that caught a lot of people buy surprise, and through the back half of the top ten kind of for a loop a little bit because a lot of people thought that was a landing spot for him in the Detroit Lions, the lines that they're trading back. So it was very very interesting start there to the top five. Now, let's get to the biggest surprise, because I think the Seahawks they are they were known for some of those as well. Certainly Weather it's been one of those surprises, but they had a bigger one on Day two. Zach Sharboney, the running back from UCLA.
Yeah, you know, he was certainly a surprise pick in there. Obviously thought Kenneth Walker really showed out well last year, being a second round pick last year of this same team. And then circling back and grabbing another running back in the second round. I think that speaks to not only their need to want to run the ball, but their philosophy as a team. I think they want us a pound it. I think they want to be physical. I think they want to lean on the run game and then push the ball down the field with Geno Smith and get those vertical receivers in the outside down the field like DK and Tyler Lockett. Obviously a new weapon there with the twenty eighth overall pick in Jackson Smith and Jigbu as well, so a lot of weapons in that offense. But I think the more bodies you can throw at defenses in the backfield, gets more resources dedicated to stopping the run.
It's going to make all.
Those receivers' lives easier. So a bit of a surprising pick. But Kenneth Walker and his zach Sharbonnek two guys ran I think the first thing on the report contact balance, guys that know how to break tackles and have excellent, well built frames.
And surprising for sure, right and the big one of the bigger surprises of the first couple of days. But people may not have been as surprised if they listened to the Journey of the Draft Mock Draft Extravaganza been because you remember we had Michael Sean dugar on from the Athletic and the pick that he made at twenty overall for the Seahawks in that mock draft was Bjon Robinson. I remember you and Ross both reacting like, oh, They're like, there's no way they're gonna take it run in. And that was my reaction to I like pressed Michael Shawan on that was like, hey, like do you think this is something that they really could do? He said in the explanation for the podcast, was like, yeah, like they won a legitimate two back backfield and so obviously they didn't have a shot at either of the top backs and Gibbs or Bijon Robinson in the first round, but they come back around in round two. And that's why whenever we're trying to do those mock draft exercises, certainly in the Mock Draft Extravaganza, we try and pull writers from the local markets right to make sure that they really give us a sense because these guys are going to be closest to these teams.
Absolutely, and I feel like there was a huge line of demarcation after Sharbonet. A lot of people have Bijon rated very high as a borderline generational prospect. Gibs in there as a fringe first rounder. He obviously got accelerated up and then Sharboney and a huge line in the sand afternoon, and I think that's how the draft ended up playing out. And the next running back wasn't for merely a round later, and Ken Dre Miller and a couple other guys in round three. But those first three I thought the NFL coveted much higher than the rest of the group. And that's really the way the draft played out.
Day three, early impact guys. I'll just stay at the running back position for me. Kenny McIntosh, he was their last pick. He was the seventh rounder out of Georgia. I was always high on McIntosh throughout the course of the pre draft process, and I think higher than most. Obviously he ended up going in the seventh round. It's not a guy I would have valued as a seventh rounder personally, but when you look at some of the backs that have gone through there over the years, right you know, you'd think of like the kid that they had from Miami, Home or DJ Dallas, another kid from Miami and some of these pass catching backs that can come in and play a role like McIntosh fits that model to a team, and I think he can come in and have that impact as a third down presence for them as long as the pass pro is up to stuff, which you and I I have studied McIntosh. We feel like that's something that he can come in and be a third down presence.
Yeah, he could also just be a third down pass game weapon. He's a guy that's you know, played out in the slot quite a bit at Georgia. They you know, he caught a thirty yard tunnel screen touchdown against Ohio State and you know, went right through the defense and athletic tackles like Charles Cross, he could be pretty creative and getting the ball into his hands. But the guy on the other side, fran I really like Cameron Young at Missippi State. This guy is NFL ready. This is an NFL body. He knows how to id and play NFL style running schemes out in the SEC for a number of years. I think this guy is really going to play and eventually be a starter along the defensive line before the season ends. Cameron Young may not have the pass rush juice, this is an NFL defensive tackle all day long. They took in round four, and I think that was a perfect landing spot for him to.
The guy you know, had a very specific role, a very specific skill set, and I think he'll go there to Seattle and be able to play in that kind of a system. Big picture, any takeaways when you look at this hall as as.
A group, No, I think you kind of started to harp on. I think this team's willing to kind of ebb and flow off of previous trends, and I think you need to do that, and you need to have some truth with yourself as you have a coach that's been there for a while, GM that's been there for quite a while and did not get stuck in your previous patterns, previous eras of evaluating prospects and the way you feel about philosophical natures of positions and value. So I like seeing the old goats and you know, Pete Carroll and John Schneider change their approach and go after different body types and maybe a couple outliers. And I think that really started with taking in Devin Witherspoon fifth. Overall, I think the last twenty years only one other corner has gone in the top fifteen under one hundred and eighty five pounds. That was Denzel Ward a few years back to the Cleveland Brown. So it's a bit of an outlier pick. And I think the Seattle teams willing to kind of ebb and flow a little bit more than they used to.
Yeah, and to your point too, you know, this is a team that hadn't taken a corner higher than ninety under Pete Carroll. While Michael Shawanda actually shared that here on the podcast back last March, I think the last corner that Seattle selected in the first round was Kelly Jennings. I'm pretty sure. So we're going we're going back aways there for the Seahawks taking a corner high. And also too, you know, this is a team that a lot of people say like, oh, yeah, they're willing to take this characteristic They're willing when you look in recent history the last few years, they've placed much more of an emphasis on football characters and guys that have grit and have come through adversity. And when you go back and listen to the press conferences from a lot of these picks here in this draft, they pointed to a lot of that. So yeah, like what this guy overcame and came out the other side with the arrow pointing up on his career. I think that's kind of the way they are shifting and less likely to take on some of that risks that they've done in the past. So that's also something going to take away from me just kind of looking at this group as a whole. Let's now go to the Arizona Cardinals here, and there was a team that started with the number three pick. Obviously, they trade out, then trade back up and they select Paris Johnson, the left tackle from Ohio State. Then when you look at that, why do you think Paris Johnson was to pick well?
I think addressing the offensive line and keeping Kyler Murray upright, comfortable, safe in a variety of fashions, whether it's using him in the run game or in pass protection is the critical factor and the number one priority this offseason. I know there's some changeover at the coaching spot and new gms and trying to turn the roster over, maybe move on from some high dollar players like DeAndre Hopkins and players like that, but keeping Kyler Murray. You're a high dollar quarterback upright, and healthy is the name of the game here, and he cannot be running for his life another season in the NFL. So I think addressing the offensive line is a good approach and getting the player they probably would have taken with the third or overall pick while adding another pick later in the draft and getting that same player at the sixth pick in Paris Johnson. That's good value, that's good business.
You know, this is a guy that there was no real sense that they were going to go that direction until the week of the draft. You know, Peter King came out with his Monday Morning column the week of the draft and said, you know, there's a lot of rumor that they could really like Paris Johnson. They might take him there at number three overall. And obviously that's not what happened. They trade back and then trade back up to take them. But for all the reasons you laid out, I think it makes perfect sense. What was your biggest surprise when you look at the slew of picks there by the Arizona Cardinals.
Well, you know, seeing Garrett Williams, you know, go in the third round seventy second overall there. I know that may be a surprise to you and seeing him fall, but you know that was still ahead of guys like Healey Ringo and Clark Phillips and Darius Rush. And I kind of liked that landing spot for him in the third round. I was really hoping he wasn't going to fall out a day two and he ended up going there in round three, And it's more than appropriate for a guy coming off the ACL that's probably a bit of his zone corner, you know, not the fastest or you know, a blazing tester type of player, but really good film in twenty twenty one and fran I'm kind of happy he landed there in round three.
Yeah, it felt like a little late for me, just because I thought and look, I know that I was higher on him the he thought.
He thought very highly of him. Man, his twenty twenty one tape is great.
Yeah, So I saw a guy that was like a Round one talent. So I said, all right, round one talent. You figure the injury and the lack of the workout obviously because of the injury, that'll set him back around. So him going to the middle of round three, that was a little bit surprising for me, but a good value there, certainly for the Arizona Cardinals.
And there's some teams, Fran, there's some players and teams and rounds and fits that just I think just tracked and clicked. And I really think Garrett Williams. Don't get hung up on the third round pick. I think this guy's going to be a starter all day long. I think that's a great defensive back room to fall into because right now you're incumbent starters are Marco Wilson and Antonio Hamilton and not a ton of competition behind them. You know, it's another player we'll talk about later, like the Raiders taking Jacory Bennett, you know, is a Day three pick, but it's the perfect dB room to find yourself in a pathway to start. We'll talk about him later.
All right, Well, let's go. Let's continue here with the Cardinals for a Day three early impact player. Talk about that that cornerback depth chart not really being up the snuff. There's opportunity there for Garrett Williams once he's healthy. Is there another player, uh, Dirtler, When you look at the Day three selections there that has an early path of playing time.
You know, I really like that John Gaines pick.
I know early in day three I've been high on him, and you know Antonio Maffi the other guard there for the UCLA Bruins. But you know, Gaines is going to have to compete with Will Hernendez that right guard, most likely with Paris probably filling in that left guard spot. We'll see if they left Paris compete with DJ Humphrees and we'll have to see what his contract looks like and maybe moving on from him down the road. But the issue I have is John Gaines has a much different profile than Will Hernandez, you know, very much like the different guard profiles on that UCLA line. They had a big maller at left guard and John Gains was about a three hundred pound, light footed, athletic guard. So I want to see what the Cardinals prefer moving forward. Obviously Jonathan Gannon's now the head coach, but Drew Petsing on the offensive side, I think they're going to want a little bit more athleticism, you know, on the offensive line they already got Paris. I think moving John Gaines in eventually over Will Hernandez will suit the team and the scheme and Kyler Murray better.
Yeah, I do think that he's a better fit. You know, it seems like pets Is probably gonna run more that stretch run scheme, some of the stuff that they did out in Cleveland when he was there. Then he certainly would be a better fit for that scenario. He gives them some swing versatility inside, and that athletic upside is certainly there. You look at some of these other picks here, Clayton Tuon the quarterback from Houston, all On Popou the linebacker from Auburn, Kitrell Clark the corner from Louisville, and then Dante Stills, the West Virginia defensive tackle. Just getting into some of these like big picture themes when you look at all these guys. I just ran through the day three picks, but you look at Garrett Williams, Michael Wilson, the wide receiver from Stanford, bj Ojalari pass rusher Lsu and then Tyris Johnson. The theme that screams out to me many like big picture wise, like character, character, character, And that's something that both Monte austin Ford and Jonathan Gannon both preached at their press conference. You listen to stuff from both guys in the past. Character very important to both guys and the proofs in the pudding there with their first draft together.
And really quick, fran I think I want to add, I think their receiver room was almost a running joke previously for being so small. Outside of DeAndre Hopkins, every receiver is like five eight, five to nine. Well, they added Zach Pascal late in free agency, obviously another Philadelphia Eagle disciple, rejoining Jonathan Gannon. But then they grabbed Michael Wilson out of Stanford as well. I think they're trying to get a little more bigger, a little physical at that receiver spot, and a little bit more versatile on what they can do. I really like now the you know, the diverse, you know, body types and skill sets in that receiver room and not just a bunch of munchkin receivers out there.
All right, Let's get now to the the San Francisco forty nine ers, who did not pick until number eighty seven because they lose their first round pick in the Trey Lance trade, their second round pick in the Christian McCaffrey trade, stand up with three third round pick. They go Penn State safety jayra Brown Michigan kicker Jake Moody and Alabama tight end Cameron Latto. A couple of comp picks in there with Moody and Lattu. But let's go to that Gayr Brown selection.
Ben.
When you look at Jayra Brown, why did he end up in San Francisco.
Well, I think they, you know, still are going to have a safety spot to replace next to Hufanga out there. I believe Jimmy Ward went to Houston and free agency. I'm not mistaken. They had moved off to Chrisky Tart, you know, the previous offseason. So Jyr Brown I think, is going to compete with Deshaun Gibson for that free safety spot. We'll see who comes out in camp. It could end up being Gibson and maybe a transition late in the season. But you know, a team like this that likes to get into their nickel and dime packages on third down, Gyr Brown's gonna get called upon. He's going to play this season. So we'll see if you get carve out a starting role. And I think finding higher level players on the back end here, which has quietly gotten turned over in San Francisco. So I think there's a bit of a youth movement on the back end in that defense in the forty nine ers, So you better add some high level talent.
I think j R.
Brown with their first pick in the draft, which unfortunately came in the third round, certainly fits a need for him.
Yeah, and obviously the biggest surprise, I mean taking the kicker Jake Moody from Michigan in the third round. Kyle Shanahan actually joked in the press conference afterwards said that a lot of his coaching buddies we're texting him kind of busting on him about Moody. Look, they had need at the position. They had a long time great there who's no longer with the team. So now you get Jake Moody in there, clearly it'll be his job going into the summer.
Yeah.
I think that's fair little early for kicker for my liking. But you know, a team that like the forty nine ers, with a pretty complete roster and a pretty clear mindset to try to contend. If you don't have a kicker you can trust and rely on, you better go get one. So we'll see what Jake Moody can do in the NFL.
I will say, like It's just funny because obviously everybody bristles with the idea of an early kicker, rightfully so, because you and I are both in the lockstep there. But then some people will like bristle at the idea of positional value and like, oh, no, you're just gotta get great players, you gotta get great players. Well, he can't be on both sides of the coin there, right if you admit that, yeah, like you don't take a kicker that high, then there's a sliding scale with everything. It's not as extreme as taking a kicker in the top eighty five of a draft, but when you look at some of these other positions, like it just makes more sense to wait on those as opposed to take them early with some of those quality assets. And again there's a sliding scale with everything. But you know, I just find that interesting.
It's just tough when you're like you're looking at your board and it's like, ah, should we take you know at a bare or you know, Jamie Robinson or Isaay McGuire or the place keeper.
You know.
So it's just fun kind of comparing across positions and different values.
And so the draft's all about.
I wasn't nuts about their Day two, but at Day three I thought they got some good players or an early impact player that I think could come from this group is Daryl Luder, the corner from South Alabama. This is the guy I thought had inside, outside flex, good ball skills. I thought I liked his instincts, his toughness. He was a guy who went down to the Senior Bowl as well, but I liked his game film. I thought Daryl Luder was a really nice pick there early in day three.
I don't see why he came compete with Ambrey Thomas and Domador Lenor, you know, for that cornerback spot opposite of Chark Ward. So again, that defensive back room I think is in a little bit of a turnover and a bit of a youth movement, and I think that corner spot opposite Ward is up for grabs. Luter can take that. And I really like the Brandon Willis pick. Just felt like a Niners type of picky side of removed tight end, bit of an h back, you know, a bit of a full back type. I know they have Kyle Hustcheck, they have George Kittle for those primary roles, but Braidon Willis. I'm telling you they're going to design some plays for him to either get the ball in play action or design some plays for him to block too.
I think two things.
He really did well at Oklahoma, and I think Kyle Shanahan will find ways to use him. Could eventually be a use check of the future, possibly, but really kind of a unique role in that he's not a true anything. But I think shannonhan will find the best of them.
Yeah. Ronnie bell At out of Michigan was a seventh round pick. He had some Jawan Jennings to him. I think when you look at his games that one made some sense to me. The rest of these day three picks here for San Francisco. Robert Beale Junior, the pass from Georgia, only a one year starter, highly athletic, just not super productive. De Winters, the linebacker from TCU. They had some comparisons there between he and who's the linebacker who not Fred Warner Law. Yeah, with green Law, they were like, oh, we don't want to make the comparison, but yes, we want to make the comparison in the press conference. So De Winter's a guy that they clearly were high on. You mentioned Braden Willis, the tight end from Oklahoma, Ronnie Bell from Michigan, and then the undersized linebacker Jalen Graham from Purdue, a converted safety who made the move to linebacker. He was their seventh round pick. When you look at that group overall, ben any just big takeaways from the forty nine ers.
You know, not particularly, you know, I think it's just interesting to see teams not have picks in the first and second round and tried to weigh that capital that they had previously spent on who eventually were those draft slots. So they had nine picks. That was interesting that they didn't go offensive line in any of those nine picks, which maybe another one of the few questionable spots on that roster there, you know, outside of Trent will and think you have four guys that really still need to prove themselves and show some consistency on a team that wants to contend and try to win a Super Bowl this season. So adding no offensive lineman was a bit surprising. But you know, I think this team is going to be a competitive moving forward and a lot of different position battles. This team is really interesting.
I think it's a really interesting case study because you know, look, every team approaches Day three of the draft differently, right, And that's why I love Day three is that you're either going, let's okay, we're gonna go in and we're gonna go best player available, and we're gonna go with traits. Right, We're gonna try and see if we can hit a grand slam here on data. You know, the Jordan Mylotta is of the world. Right, We're gon we're gonna go and bet on traits, and if this player hits, we get a huge boom at this value for a Day three contract.
Right.
Or there's the other way I look at it, where like, hey, you know, this is where you find your role players. This is where you can get your nickel corner, and so this is where you can get your fourth linebacker or your third safety. Right, So now you're looking for guys that have specific skill sets. Maybe they don't have the best ceiling, but you could project their role to the NFL. The forty nine are certainly in this draft. It felt more just looking at a group like they were going with that ladder approach, right, right, Hey, we know what we're going to try and just pluck in holes. We're a team that we feel we can contend we were in the NFC Title Game a year ago. But that said, it's interesting because the forty nine Ers, like all off season, all you've heard them talk about is like, oh, well, you know, we just didn't have the quarterback. We didn't have the depth of quarterback, and we couldn't address that fourth quarterback for the NFC Title game and if we had one, we would have been in a position to win that game. Right Going with that former that first strategy on Day three of the draft, where you're again you're just going best player available. You're trying to bet on trades and trying to just add talent to the roster regardless of position. Because you might look at it at that forty nine Ers roster and if you looked at it last you know, October, and said, oh, quarterback is not a huge need, look at the look at the depth we have in that roster, and then just like that, the depth changes. There are a lot of interesting ways to approach Day three, but that was one of my big pictures that clearly the forty nine ers they think they're a team ready to compete. They're just trying to pluck in some different role players there to come in and try and make an impact.
Yeah, it's an interesting team to evaluate and their philosophy moving forward and reflecting back. The quarter back situation really kind of killed the team's tone. And you know, as much as I could say they weren't, you know, adequately prepared to handle the fourth quarterback, I don't know how much that affected, you know, Javon Kinlog getting blown off the ball, you know, so it's you know, the defense allowed to show up as well, but obviously that's not how they expected that season or that game to go. But the one issue I have some concerns with that offensive line. There's some suspect you know, quality and some suspect consistency. I think they fell into a nice player and Spencer Burford last year started every game, But no more Mike McGlinchey out there.
I believe it.
Right tackle, it's gonna be Colton mckivitz, compete with Jalen Moore and Jake Brendle at center, compete with John Feliciano, Aaron Banks in there, and not a whole lot else. They brought him Matt Pryor from Indy. I just think it's one of the few kind of soft.
Spots I think on the roster, certainly, some guys are gonna have to prove themselves there here this summer. Let's now go to the ASA. We're gonna talk with her, the La Rams with Sosa. In the next segment, we'll go to the Raiders here, who had the number seven pick going into the draft. They stay put, they take the pass rusher Tyree Wilson from Texas Tech. I'll be just to get your thoughts here on Tyre Wilson ending up with the Raiders.
Well, really versatile player.
I think to add into the mix of Max Crosby and another year Chandler Jones out there, a guy can play up and down the defensive line and give them a little bit more juice and playmaking from the interior position, particularly in sub packages. I don't think Crosby or Chandler Jones is really suited for that sub three Tech spot, and they weren't getting a lot of push or move or impact from any interior.
So I think finding.
Guys that can play up and down the line and get some more production from the inside of that defensive front. I think that's what Tyree Wilson's gonna do. Obviously a hulking presence on the outside, you're not gonna be able to put a tight end on them. It's gonna be able to stack blocks, be a good run defender. But in sub packages, his versatility to play up and down the line and suddenly deploy more threats, and that should make Max Crosby's life a little bit easier. Who I think was either number one or number two in double team scene as a pass rusher last year, so finding ways to either alleviate his plate of double teams or just somebody else to win opposite of him, And I think at Tyree Wilson is an impact player on that front that was in desperate need of you.
And I would go every year to you know, or try to every year to online masterminds down with Big Duke down in Dallas at the Star and just learn about line play on both sides. And one of the things we learned is, look, not every guy is the same, not every body type is the same. So you try and find if you're a young player, try and find veterans that are doing in the league that are built the same way as you. Right, Because if you're a six foot five two hundred and seventy pounds defensive end watching von Miller like, that's not really going to give you too too much, right, So I like the idea of Tyree Wilson being in the same room as Chandler Jones where he can kind of learn some of those same kind of savvy long moves that we've seen from Chandler Jones over the course of you. It's not an apples to apples comparison, but I do like having that same body type in Crosby is built in a similar way as well, So I do think that'll be big for him early in his career. What was your biggest surprise. I'll just go through these Raiders picks real quick. Here, Michael Meyer at the tight end from Notre Dame. He's the fourth pick of round two, thirty fifth pick overall. Round three. They got two round three picks Alabama nose tackle Byron Young and Cincinnati speedster wide receiver Trey Tucker. And then you get to day three, Jacorey and Bennett the corner from Maryland he alluded to him earlier. Aidan O'Connell the quarterback from Perdue, Georgia. Safety Chris Smith the second Florida linebacker Amari Bernie and then Arizona State defensive tackle Nessa Jade Silvera. So just kind of looking your biggest surprise from that group of players.
I don't think it's just so that Michael Mayer went in the second round. I mean, he essentially went thirty fifth overall. I think that's an appropriate landing spot for his style of tight end. But I think the biggest surprise was he went after Sam Laporta.
Yeah, exactly right for Meck.
I think that's the interesting thing about the draft is there's thirty two teams. It just takes one team to define their landing spot and define their value in the draft. The Detroit Lions could have been the only team that saw Laporta is the second If thirty one other teams just making this up saw him as a seventh rounder, it doesn't matter. He's now a second round value pick in the NFL Draft. And that's the fun thing is you're trying to think and project for thirty two different organizations, thirty two different philosophy. So I just thought that was one of the bigger surprises in that we really didn't see that across the mock drafts. And landscapes, but similar type of players. And I think as we got closer to the draft, we realized they were kind of closer in value. And I think where they landed, which the thirty third, thirty four to thirty fifth picks in the draft, Laporte and Mayor, you have more than appropriate. So I think the Raiders got a great value in Mayor, and I think he's going to eventually fill in and be their Yad end of the future.
I couldn't have said it better. I felt the same way. You know, I wrote down the Michael Meyer selection only because of him going tight End three was a little bit of surprise here at the end of the day A Day three early impact, I went through the picks. Was there one guy that stood out most of you from that group?
Give me Ja, Cory and Bennett at a Maryland speedy corner out there a lot of highs Maryland, not a lows at Maryland. But they have some talent for sure on that roster. Let's see if the NFL can pull out the best of Jagorean. Bennett thought he had some same kind of thing at the Senior Bowl. Some good reps, some bad reps, but that's the perfect defensive back room, as I alluded earlier for him to land in. Don't be upset you were a Day three player. Be happy about the defensive back situation you fell into. Their starting corners right now are David Long and Duke Shelley. Nothing against them, but those are two players you could go compete with, and maybe Batt'll end up being a starter week one or eventually into the season. So I think jackorean Bennett. I'm sure upset he ended up on Day three, but that's a great situation out there, and just like that tight end position, a lot of new bodies out there. Michael Meyer obviously the second round pick, Austin Hooper's now there, Oj Howard's now there. I love seeing Josh McDaniels get some new pieces on that offense.
Feels like you and I have been talking about Nessa Jade Silvera for forever, from his early days in Miami. I feel like I watched him first as a sophomore. So now enters the league as a super senior from Arizona State. But I look at that depth chart of the defensive line, I think, yeah, like he can come in and be a role player early if he obviously's gonna have to show out in camp, but I do think the opportunity will be there for Silvera well. I think it's got like a hybrid one technique three technique skill set. I can think he could chip in at a couple of different techniques up front, and then he's got a disruptive skill set.
So he's like a subpackage nose, like he's a you can play him on third and five. He can get up the field and disrupt a great first step, a bit wound up, you know, he's a bit off balance sometimes in that staggered stance against the run. He's gonna play third down. He might be a three tech one tech on third down. But just like we had mentioned earlier, finding guys a disrupt on the inside of that defensive front insided Jones and Max Crosby. That was clearly their intent. So whether it's Tyree Wilson at the beginning of the draft, nest to Jade at the end of the draft, checking some boxes for their needs.
And then big picture takeaways, you know, for me, I would say this is a direct quote from Dave Zigler, the general manager from the Raiders. Traits don't dominate the discussion with us, So you know, they really value not just like scheme fit, but then also the background and the character the makeup of the player, and so that's something to keep in mind there for the Raiders moving forward. And then also one thing that they harped on a lot with this group, and they did the same thing last year in their first draft together both I and Josh McDaniels. Versatility across the board. They want guys that can wear a lot of hats and chipp in a lot of ways, like the more you can do, that kind of theme on both sides of the football. That's something to keep in mind for the Raiders.
Yeah, some bigger takeaways, just like those forty nine ers. A little surprise they didn't go after offensive line to at least maybe add some Day three competition. I'm happy they brought in a Clendon Curtis out of ut chat and new guys that undrafted. He should be a fun player to go compete. But again, a team that really believes in offensive line, building in the trenches, leaning on the run game and kind of working off of that, probably the more questionable positional group on the roster would have liked to see them add a little bit of competition in there. But this is a team that went into the draft ready to play a game. They handled a lot of their needs in free agency, and as they look at their depth chart, a whole lot of draft picks in the starting lineup. And that's a good thing. Working those young players sparingly, give them a you know, an adequate role or kind of a playtime early on, and then figure out what they can handle. I love kind of slowly grooming young players in and not having to thrust some right in on day one with a huge, huge, you know, role on their plate.
Well that's good now. So the Denver Broncos, a team that would have been selecting at fifth overall, but obviously due to the Russell Wilson trade, did not have that pick. They also did not have their later first round pick because of the Sean Payton trade. So they get their quarterback, they get their head coach, but they're missing some picks here. So they came in with not a ton of ammo, but they ended up making a lot of trades up and that's exactly what they did for their first pick here. It came at number sixty three overall. The thirty second pick in the second round, they take Oklahoma wide receiver Marvin Mims Junior. And this one caught some people off by surprise a little bit here, Ben, because a little bit of a logjam, A lot of bodies there at wide out for Denver. So why do you think Marvin Mims ended up with Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos.
Well in a vacuum is an exciting downfield, big play threat in any offense. He's a guy that knows how to win vertically, great double moves, incredibly impressive at the catch point. Despite his rather diminutive size and kind of slight frame, He's got to competes really well, strong hands, great tracking, lightning quick. You give him any room to operate, he's probably gonna embarrass you and win over the top of it. So that's gonna work in almost any offense. Now, the interesting thing with the Bronco is, like you mentioned, serious logjam. You know, Tim Patrick's coming off the contract extension, but the injury last year with Courtland and Jerry Judy Marquez Callaway, they brought into free agency and kJ Hamler, who they had taken in the second round just two years ago. The writing's on the wall for somebody in that room, and it could be kJ Hamler as I feel like he kind of Marvin Mims kind of has a similar role, skill set, size, and landing spot in the draft now here in the second round.
I'm fascinated to see the usage here. And we're talking a little bit like you know, I think there's a lot of people in like the fantasy football community that are excited about Marvin Mims, and I think with his versatile skill set, this is the guy that over the course of his career Oklahoma, he has proven that he could be like a target hog, like possession receiver, Like could they have their different body types? Could he be used in a way that like Michael Thomas was used by Sean Payton the Saints, Like yeah, you know, moved into the slot, option routes and stuff like that, Like, yeah, he could do all of that stuff. But then you think back to like early days of like Emmanuel Sanders and the speed receiver that end up going down to Miami might blanket on like veteran names here today, thank you sales, the ability to be worked vertically down the field as well.
I didn't know how far back here ready to go.
Initially say, I mean throw him in the bucket too.
Lance Moore. Let's let's just go through the whole hopper here, right.
Well, that's the thing is that Mims has that versatile skill set I used in a lot of different ways, and so between he Judy all the rest of those guys there, like I think to figure.
Out I'm trying to like figure out who's who. So I think, you know, Mims is probably the you know, Devrie Henderson. I think Jerry Judy's probably the Lance Moore, Tim Patrick, bigger Markus, probably the Arcus Colston. But that's kind of Courtland Sutton, you know, a big body guy, not really separating, but he's gonna catch you with a body on his back.
It's gonna be interesting to see how that shakes out over these next couple of months. Now, let's go through the rest of their draft. Here, linebacker Drew Sanders. They also traded up for him from Arkansas. Another third round pick here, Riley Moss, the corner from Iowa. They trade up for Riley Moss there at the end of the third round, and then just two Day three selections obviously go to the trade ups. Boise State safety Jail Skinner and then Oregon center Alex Forsyth. So let's talk through the rest of this class here, Ben, your biggest surprise for me, it was the trade up for Mims just for the reasons we mentioned. But was there another surprise there for you in that group?
All right, I'm gonna screech the record here on you just for a second. I'm gonna say my biggest non surprise. So, my biggest non surprise in this Broncos draft, that's them taking Drew Sanders in the third round. That is such a Broncos pick. And I'm mad I ain't come up with a Baron Browning comparison.
Yep.
Another guy that kind of played off ball ended up being a great sub rusher now and now I believe he's in out side linebacker defensive end for that team. But they love their hulking linebackers that can then also play off the line of scrimmage. I think Drew Sanders fits that perfectly.
Did you see Sean Payton who he mentioned in the post draft press commerce about him the Mario Davis.
Another great one. Oh, that's a perfect one, yep, and be blitzing a lot. Yeah, Drew Sanders could be flirting with double digit sacks.
Yep.
Yeah, I think that's something certainly to keep an eye off for. How about a Day three early impact. Just a couple guys there, But Skinner was the one who stood out to me. And we know that defense was really really good last year, but a little bit older, you know, you look at some of those spots, certainly at safety. Skinner is a guy that I thought they got great value on just because he had that late injury in the pre draft process so he couldn't go through a full workout. This is a big body kid who's got some versatility. I'm just see what Skinner can do for them in that defense.
Yeah, Skinner's an exciting prospect, and I think the injury into the draft process I think kind of hurt his buzz just a little bit. But that's a defensive back room that's the opposite of the previous two I mentioned. This dB room is loaded. There aren't a lot of rooms for spots or competitions. But Skinner could be that dime safe. He could be a dyne linebacker or some sort of sub package box player as well. So just finding a unique skill set for him and on the other side, I like seeing Alex Fortsyite get drafted number one as a seventh round pick out of Oregon. But I think that's a great landing spot for him because he has Lloyd Kushionberry in front of him, Luke Wattenberg in front of him, and I think it's going to be a three headed competition this summer and let's see who the best guy is that comes out. There could eventually be a Quinn Minors sliding over to center. I think they like him at guard. Alex Forsyite's played some good football, a lot of football at Oregon. I think that's a great situation for him to compete, maybe be a starter by the time the season ends.
I honestly thought watching ForSight at Oregon that he had started like he to me, looked like he could be an adequate starter in the league, And so that would not shock me if he ended up with that job when it was all said and done. You know, big picture takeaways for me, just looking at this group of players the Broncos took, I would just say, like, and this isn't a huge surprise because obviously for what they gave up and what they're paying Sean Payton to be the head coach, but it definitely felt like he was the guy who had the juice in that room, that building over as opposed to the general manager George Peyton, who's been there for a couple of years. George Payton in the past like has not been super aggressive with like trade ups. They haven't been like targeting guys with like exemplary traits in the past, and that's something that when you look at Sean Payton and during his time in New Orleans, that's what they did. They were super aggressive trading up all the time, you know, always targeted guys with trades. And they actually joked because George Payton was like, yeah, like I'm not used to trading up as much as we did. He said that after Day two and Sewn said, yeah, like it's fun, isn't it. Like I told you it was fun. He said, yeah, it was kind of fun. So it's just fun seeing those guys talking about it after the draft.
Yeah.
Absolutely, And another team I thought just did a great job in free agency addressing their needs and they went into the draft with a very competitive roster. I love adding Mike McGlinchey and Ben Powers in free agency, bringing in a smajp Ryan, adding in and filling in those holes in the early spring, show up to the draft, and now you can add all those accent pieces and looking at the depth chart on the one deep on either side of the ball, I don't see any rookies in there, and I think that's a good thing early on. So I love seeing the different profiles of different teams. There's some clubs and franchises that are thrust in rookies all over the place on both sides of the ball. Past few teams we've talked about, like the forty nine Ers, the Broncos here who we just mentioned before, the Raiders potentially not having a lot of rookies there on that front line.
All right, let's go to the next team here, the LA Chargers. They select Quinton Johnson, the wide receiver from TCU, the second receiver off the board, just over Jackson Smith and Jigbow. He went number twenty at twenty one. Quentin Johnson's the pick. Why Quintin Johnson there before you Ben?
You know, you have to imagine they just want to add more threats at the disposal of you know, Kellen Moore offensive coordinator and Justin Herbert at quarterback.
I know he kind of.
Embodies the Mike Williams style and body type, that bigger receiver with some explosive, you know, playmaking ability, but finding more players to just diversify this offense. And Quinton Johnson is the guy that can do damage and have an impact at all three levels. So the number one reasoning I have light up the scoreboard. You know, you got outscore teams like Buffalo, Cincinnati and as pesky Kansas City Chiefs and their own division there, and you feel like putting up thirty thirty two to thirty five a game might not be enough anymore. So having four or five six different threats at the disposal of Justin Herbert, that's the way this league's kind of shaken up.
Yeah, and they talked about the Yak element that was something that they didn't quite have. Certainly, it seems like this team has an affinity for bigger receivers, bigger bodies at the position. I just think it was interesting too. And this is something I was gonna touch on later, but we're talking about now. So they seemed like they were big connected a lot to say, Flowers and the quasi local kid Jordan Adison from USC but they hit their intentions. Quinton Johnson was not a guy that was like popularly mocked to the Chargers, and they end up taking him. Honestly, this has been a theme a little bit over the last few years. Just look at last year, most people had the Chargers taking either Trevor Penning or Trent McDuffie. They passed on both guys and they take Zion Johnson right again, you can take that over this year. Most people had them taking either one of the tight Ends or Jordan Addison or Zay Flowers. They passed on all all of them, all four guys I left on the table there, and they take Quinton Johnson. So I think Tom Telesco they do a nice job of kind of hiding their intentions there when it comes from a media standpoint to mock drafts. But that was one of my big takeaways there, and they talked about what they liked about Quintin Johnson and again bringing that element there that they didn't quite have at that position. What was your biggest surprise from their group of picks.
Well, outside of.
You know, the receiver pecking order and style you had mentioned, I thought they'd go for a day or Jordan Addison to compliment the pieces a little bit more. But they certainly have a type and that's okay, bigger surprise for me. How about Dan Henley going over Trenton Simpson. Yes, you know, stud linebacker out at Clemson. A lot of people had mocked throughout the first round. Through much of the process, Dan Henley, the converted receiver I believe from Nevada over at Washington State, has been a steady riser through the process. It was just thrilled to see him get taken, not at the expense of Trenton Simpson, but just at the height of Henley. To see him go in the third round there. And this is a new linebacking pair era in Los Angeles with Eric Kendricks now coming over from the Minnesota Vikings. I think Kenneth Murray is eventually on his way out as I don't believe they picked up his fifth year option, So solidifying those linebacking pair and in Los Angeles that's been a need for a number of years now I think they found there too. I'm really excited to see Henley playing that defense.
Yeah, Henley's a fun player. That'll be interesting to see how he fits in there with Brandon Staley. He was the third round pick. The second round pick was pass rusher tullytuy Polo two from USC So he ends up there off the edge. He's the second round pick. You go to Day three, you have the speed receiver Darius Davis from TCU. You have Clemson guard Jordan McFadden. They're left tackle that a lot of people if you will play guard, Scott Mattlock the defensive tackle from Boise State, and then Max Duggan the quarterback from TCU. Ben They became the first team in NFL history. I heard this in the press conference. I haven't fact checked this, but according to the press conference, the first team in NFL history. You just select a quarterback and two receivers from the same school in the same draft as they did with TCU. So you mentioned, I think it was last week on this podcast, just like TCU, like a bunch of those guys went, here's a good example, three guys ending up with the Chargers.
There's tons and tons of TCU guys and Travis Hodge, Tomlinson later on, you know, Dylan Horton, and don't forget about the TCU transfers, right, you guys like Zach Evans running back at Old miss or O'Shane mappis edge rusher in Nebraska. I know he got drafted. Some people look left right and said, who some guys are really good players that left TCU before their championship run. So nice to see that program pumping out some players of the pros early or day three early impact for me, Scott Mattlocke, Boise State guys. He's playing in the league. He's going to get snaps on that defensive line. I don't think he cares where. He is just going to beat the guitar out of whoever's in front of him. Reminds me a lot of who's the Henningsen kid that came out of Wisconsin last year?
Oh yeah, I loved that kid.
Yep, Yeah, very similar. I don't think Matt Locke really cares to get quarterbacks or even get the ball. He's just going to annihilate whoever's in front of him. He has a lot of fun to watch. He's gonna play on Sundays. Really happy he ended up there Los Angeles.
Yeah. I liked the Darius Davis pick more so for you know, and they actually said this is like he's going to be more he's more returner than receiver. Like we're not looking at him as a as a threat to be a pass catcher early on, but we expect him to make an impact in the return game. So for that reason, I'm like, all right, well, this guy's going to be on the active roster. Then they said, like, look like we targeted him to be our return man, and so I think that's they have that role envisioned for him early in the draft. Big picture, I dimension earlier. I just feel like this is a good smoke screen team. They've hit their intentions pretty well over the last couple of years. When you look at that group overall. With there any other big takeaways for.
You, No, not particularly, but again another team that I hate seeing these contending teams not.
Address the offensive line.
I still think there's a couple of sore spots in there, particularly on the right side, right guard, right tackle. I think can use some competition. Added Jordan mcfatt in the fifth round from Clemson. Just want to see that team get better in the trenches, keep Herbert upright a little bit more. But this is a team I think you're bringing in all the ingredients. You're keeping the fridge the same, you're keeping the menu the same. He got a new chef though, and Kellen Moore, so I think everyone's just excited to see how the new chef designs all these new new dishes out there and how he's going to deploy all the ingredients. So you almost want to hit reset on this twenty twenty three Chargers offense and see how it gets deployed with new leadership.
All right, Well, the last team you are not going to cover, the unfortunately defending Super Bowl champions, the Kansas City Chiefs, the host city for the twenty twenty three NFL Draft. They stay put at number thirty one overall, the final pick in the first round, and they select Kansas State pass rusher Felix on A d. K Uzama. This is a guy that was pretty popularly mocked to the Kansas City Chiefs. Why do you think he ended up there in Kansas City?
Well, it seems like they're going to have a need to replace Frank Clark left in free agency, so you know, adding some more firepower to get after quarterbacks is certainly a priority on any team. So you're going to hope for a you know, a big jump from George Carlaptis in year two, but adding Felix and ay Dukie Uzama, his great length and you know, maybe leaves a little bit to be desired against the run. Knows how to get their quarter and he ain't come in waves and they come in flashes, as he got after quite a few in the Big twelve at Kansas State. Has a variety of pass rush moves, long arms, very heavy handed, with some twitch and some looseness at the top of the rush. He's going to be a fun player, including Day three player bj Thompson. I think he's going to be a really interesting player for them as well, getting after quarterbacks. So I think this team and their philosophy in the trenches, if you're ever in doubt, go offensive line, go defensive line. Go guys are going to get quarterbacks. Go get guys that can protect quarterbacks. So I think, whenever you're in doubt, keep adding coals to the fire, as we say in the trenches.
And that's what the Chiefs believe in.
Yeah, we know you. Andy Reid will say this all the time, is you can never have enough pass rushers. They said that in the post draft Presser. After selecting Fau. Let's go to the rest of these picks here, because the Chiefs all throughout the month of April, there was a lot of buzz. Hey, they might move up to take a Quinton Johnson, to take a Ze Flowers. There are a lot of connections being made there between them and the wide receiver position. Well, they end up with a wide receiver on Day two, select in the second round the wide receiver from SMU Rashi Rice. Then in the third round they take Oklahoma tackle jan Ye Morris. Then you go to day three of the draft, Shamari Connor, the defensive back from Virginia Tech, a safety with nickel flexibility. Bj Thompson, the pass rusher from Steven F. Austin that you mentioned earlier, and then KeAndre Kober and the nose tackle from Texas. He's their sixth round pick, with ball steak corner Nick Jones rounding out their draft in the seventh round. Biggest surprise when you look at this group overall, probably.
The expectation of the receiver pecking order. You know, seeing Overshee Rice go over Jalen Hyatt or over a Josh Downs. I think that took me by surprise just a little bit. As you know, Jalen Hyatt was a guy that was consistently mocked anywhere from twenty to the back end of Round one with his speed, his blitt Nikoff Award and Josh Downs, you know, his gadget ability and all the things he can do for an offense. Forshe Rice was just sitting there from the group of five smu ho hum the whole time, maybe not the twenty twenty two seeds, and we all expected for him to have a huge jump and a bigger leap and a bigger impact, but he's had steady tape down there for a number of years. Really strong players played inside outside, excellent hands, blocks well. And then he was working out with Patrick Mahomes in the offseason. That probably gave the last vote of confidence for them to add a Rashid Rice. And one last thing about the Chiefs. You know we talk about their turnover and the roster, all the defensive players they added to the back end last year. This is a very different offense too, even last year in the Super Bowl, from Checko and the new receivers and Sky Moore, Kadarius Tony mvs. It's going to keep changing around Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid. You now have a new left tackle out there, you have a new right tackle out there. You're adding Rashid Rice. This team has some cornerstones in their coach, in their quarterback, but it is a revolving door around them, and that's really exciting. When you have those foundation players, those Hall of Fame types, keep adding youth around them, keep getting younger, cheaper, more explosive. This is the name of the game in the l and the Chiefs are doing it really well.
Yeah, when you're talking about the selection there of ver Shee Rice, they actually said that this was a player that most replicated Juju Smith. Schuster's still sat in the draft, and so you look at his ability to.
Like play Nicole Hartman's gone again, so it's going to be even more different than we've seen him.
Who's the guy that can offer some of that yack skill set that we're missing, and that's something that he has really helped provide that SMU offense. He was a high volume target. He could win up above the rim, So that pick made a lot of sense. How about a Day three early impact player for me? I liked Chamari Connor, the safety from Virginia Tech. This is a highly experienced player, a versatile player. And when you look at some of the guys that they've got on the back end, you think of ladariused corner, the corner who's played some safety, He's played some Nickeolay did all three at Louisiana Tech. Well, Connor has done a little bit of everything as well at Virginia Tech, and so he can come in and be a very If you have one versatile piece, yeah that's good, but you like everybody to be versatile if you really want to kind of take advantage of that that flexibility.
Yeah, that's fair. I like Jamarry Connor out there. I think he's going to try to find his way into some snaps. But they have a very deep defensive back room and a lot of youth out there, as they thrusted a lot of those rookies into the lineup last year. I don't know where Chamarry Connor is going to play. But they love their nickel, they love their dime, they love deploying many many defensive backs. Chamari's played all over that Virginia Tech defense for a number of years and Virginia Tech for a long time. Made some really impactful NFL ready players. A little bit of a different program these days, but Chamory has been there for a long time. I like BJ Thompson at a Steven F. Austin reminds me a little bit of Leonard Floyd, a little bit of Randy Gregory coming out of Nebraska. Brian, I don't think he knows what he's doing against the run. That's okay. He's a fifth round pick. He's probably not playing a lot of first and second down get quarterbacks when it's third and five and your numbers called. I expect him to have some impact plays on the quarterback. Maybe not a lot of early down run plays. That's okay as a young player. But BJ Thompson a Day three player at a Steven F.
Austin. That's a great bet right there?
A big picture any other takeaways here? I think, Look, we know that the Chiefs are they are a speed team, they are a traits team. They're willing to look past any character flaws that a guy might have. Any other big picture thoughts there?
No, And I just love kind of harping on how they approach the roster in their philosophies going into drafts, not necessarily evaluating on the backside, but I like kind of taking a snapshot of what the team looked like going into the draft, and this Chiefs team rarely goes into a draft with a glaring hole, and I love teams that go in ready to play and address those huge needs in free agency, as they added a Juwan Taylor early in the process, adding a Donovan Smith late in the process. You know, you lose a Frank Clark or we're gonna go get Charles Amnahu right away from the forty nine ers. So I love them seeing teams like this be aggressive and free agency for the needs that allows you to go best available in the draft. I love that philosophy. Seems like one that we believe in here in Philadelphia, Howie Roseman and a lot of the best teams around the league. This Chiefs team their contenders, obviously with Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid, but it is a different roster every year and that's so exciting.
I love the way the Chiefs two ball.
Well, Ben, you and I only have one more of these to go. Man, We're gonna do the AFC and NFC North next week. Here on the Journey of the Draft podcast We've got one more team to break down here today. Let's now get to the blueprint.
All thirty two teams are always under construction. How are they being built? Let's check out the blueprint?
All right?
So joining us here for the blueprint for I leave the first time here for this segment. So so can you joined me over on the Eagle Line of Sky podcast once before, Sosa cremendus from over at Underdog Fantasy. They do a great job over there with all of their fantasy content, their best ball content. So so you, Josh Hayden, you guys do outstanding work. Appreciate you joining me here on the Journey of the Draft podcast.
Thank you so much Frank for having me. It's you know, it's always nice to hop on and talk football. It seems like the season never ends, fortunately or unfortunately, but you know the planning to talk about, of course, and I'm happy to join you.
So we're talking obviously through the Rams here. This will be the eighth team we talk about here on this show, and we'll start with the first pick. Now, obviously the Rams did not have a first round pick. Once again here in this draft they have not selected a player in the first round. Since Jared Goff in twenty sixteen. Is one of the wildest stats in modern sports. Right now, let's go to the first selection here for the Rams that came early in the second round TCU offensive lineman Steve Avila. I want to get your thoughts on on the why behind the Steve Avila selection in round two for the Rams.
Yeah, this one was a home run in the sense that, you know, you look back to the offensive line last year, they lose Andrew Whitworth to retirement at left tackle, and ultimately they lost what was projected to arguably be their starter at right guard as well and Logan Brush to a torny aco in training camp. So even heading into the season, they were down two out of the five offensive linemen. And you know, of course the depth that O line is always hard to come by in for the Rams, even the guys that were scheduled to start, I mean, things just didn't really shake out in terms of how they expected it to. A lot of juggling. If I'm not mistaken, I believe there was thirteen offensive line combinations through the first thirteen weeks of the season. I believe that set a new record for the Rams. And of course a lot of that had to do with injuries. There was guys shuffling, you know, from center to guard, guard to center, guard to tackle and so forth, and guys were getting signed and starting the next week. So you look at Steve Lvila, he should offer a lot of consistency, a lot of ability there at guard, as well as the versatility to potentially play center. Wouldn't be shocked if that's ultimately the road they do go down. Maybe not this season. I think it's more likely that he starts at left guard and ultimately could slide to center in the future. But you know, you talk about a guy with a very strong anchor, a really strong player. I think he's gonna bring a lot of toughness to the running game and ultimately just settle one of those spots along the offensive line alongside the right tackle Rob Hainston, who's been a stalwart so to speak, for the Rams. But outside of that, there's been a lot of question marks there.
You know, we focus a lot here on the show about like some of the breadcrumbs that teams will leave throughout the course of the pre draft process, and the Rams, especially over the last like two three years, have been incredibly difficult to track. They don't don't go to the Senior Bowl. Very very limited presence. There, very limited presence at the combine, you know when it comes to like pre draft visits and going to Pro Day's and all that stuff. I think it's very very limited in terms of the information surrounding the Rams, and so I feel like that's going to be kind of a recurring theme in this discussion, is just trying to figure out like, all right, like, oh, what are the whys behind some of these picks? In the Pro Draft press conference, talking about a Villa, they said, yeah, you know, we got a good player from TCU and Joe notaeb Boom. Obviously it's a little bit of a different coaching staff, but the same coaching staff recruited Steve Avila. Is there anything else from like a player archetype standpoint when it comes to Steve Avilla, it's like, Okay, this is why this pick makes sense and you look at his profile.
Yeah, I mean outside of the versatility, which I think is a huge key for the Rams. I think that might have been one of the reasons they lean a guy like a Villa instead of Osiris Torrents, where you know, you got that garden center capability, especially going back last year, like I mentioned, with the injuries. But I do think that they're slowly getting away from that like outside zone style scheme and maybe going a little bit more gap style concept to where you know they're going to be in the shotgun a lot, and maybe running little bit inside zone as well, maybe more mixed as as opposed to you know where Sean McVay came from, which was under center and very West Coast heavy and then outside zone heavy. So I could see that be part of the process here, but I do think a lot of it really just comes back to the versatility.
All right, Well, let's go through the rest of these picks here. As we go through a couple more picks on Day two, these two happened on the in the third round of the draft. That's edge rusher from Tennessee Byron Young. And then you go to the second third round selection and that was Kobe Turner, the undersized defensive tackle from Wake Farest. So when you look at Steve Avila Byron Young, Kobe Turner, clearly the Rams trying to get better on the line of scrimmage on both sides. But any other just general takeaways again kind of speaking to the general player archetypes when it comes to the Rams.
Yeah, So I think it's really just dependent on, you know, how the offseason kind of went for the Rams. They clearly we're happy to deconstruct the defense. Lost a lot of pieces on that side of the ball, starting with like you mentioned, on the line and scrimmage on the ball. You know, you lose Ashan Robinson, you lose Greg Gaines two out of the three starters along the defensive line. You lose Leonard Floyd, one of the edge rushers. So it's very easy to slot these guys in and see why they were added. Now in terms of what kind of skill sets they bring to the table, I think Byron Young is going to obviously be that explosive third down pass rusher where they're going to try to get them off the ball and let them be very explosive coming off the edge.
There.
Maybe not ideal on early downs, but the Rams still got to figure that out at this point in time, he arguably could start regardless, and then I think a guy like Kobe Turner, i mean grated out really well in terms of his college profile a little undersized, very high effort style player. I think the Rams just really made it a key, especially on the defensive side of the ball here obviously to get younger, but also find guys that are very explosive, guys that would absolutely run to the ball and play with all that effort, because at the end of the day, this defensive depth chart is obviously not the best when it comes to the NFL. That's me being very kind, But they're gonna have to play hard, and I think they're just trying to surround as many pieces as they can around Aaron Donald, who of course is coming back this season, but very inexperienced side of the ball.
Well, let's go over to the day of the draft, where they continue to try and add as much depth as they could, not just to the defense, but to the offense as well. I'll buzz through the picks and then if there's just any like kind of general takeaways, whether it's about an individual player or about a group of players, feel free please to chime. In fourth round, they get Georgia quarterbacks Stetson Bennett. I think that was a little bit earlier than a lot of people envision four Stetson Bennett for the two time national championship quarterback. Fifth round, you got four picks here, Nick Hampton, pass rusher from Appalachian State, Georgia Wright, tackle, Warren McClendon, junior Clemson tight end, Davis Allen, BYU wide receiver Puka and Nikua. And then you get into the sixth round, You've got Ladanian Tomlinson's nephew, Trevius Hodges, Thomlinson the corner from TCU. They go back to the horn frogs. Oh Shane Matthis a TCU transfer who ended up at Nebraska. He's a pass rusher, another edge rusher there for the Rams. Round six, another one the final one in round six, Ole Miss running back Zach Evans. Then in the seventh round, I'll buzz through these ones fast. Three of them. Here Ethan Evans, the punter from Wingate, Jason Taylor the second, the strong safety from Oklahoma State who's played a ton of football, and then Dewan Johnson, a defensive lineman from Toledo has played a lot of ball as well. So it's I don't know where you want to start. I guess like from like what's that?
Like?
Ten picks there on the third day of the draft. Where's their head go when you look at that group of players.
Yeah, so I got three guys that I think are very intriguing that I have circle going into the season. I think you start with Stetson Bennett and when it comes to the Rams, I mean they sort of hinted at getting this style of player, and I think, you know, even when you think back to the Matthew Stafford Super Bowl run, there was a lot of clutch and key moments where he stepped up in those most important parts of the game in you know, two minute warnings at fourth quarter, things like that third down, and I think they felt very comfortable with Stetson Bennett being a similar style of, you know, step up when it counts type of player. Of course, you know, there's a lot of reasons why he was available in the fourth round, but I think that was one thing that they really wanted to find in their backup, something similar to maybe a Baker Mayfield who they had this past season. And of course Matthew Stafford suffered a lot of injuries, a lot of uncertain dy at quarterback. They had no other quarterbacks on the right, so they definitely had to get a guy who's a little bit developmental, but at the same time, maybe plug and play and you know, you can hope to maybe get some sort of Gardner Minshew style play I guess out of him, where maybe they won't win you the game necessarily, but they might not lose you the game either. The next one I'm looking.
At, they've they've talked about that clutch team, so so in years past. I know they talked about it last year with Logan Bruss that was something that Sean McVay said, you know, he always played his best football when his best football was needed. They talked about that when they took the kicker Sam Sloman a couple of years ago. Is just pointing to his performance in the second half of games, an overtime of games, just coming through in big moments. So that has been a recurring theme. It's interesting that you brought that up, because they did not say that in the post draft presser, but it definitely makes sense when it comes to Stetson Bennett.
Yeah, I certainly think that was one of the huge factors when it came to drafting him. Moving on, I think Trevius Hodges Thominson a guy that I definitely have circle as well. The cornerback obviously undersized. You know he's available late in the draft, but he intrigues me on tape. I mean, a gamer definitely can get in trouble with some of the hands. I mean, he's very, very handsy. I think that I could come back to bite him a little bit in the league, But you know he's gonna fight for that football.
He's got a lot of heart.
He's another one of those defensive guys that will rally to the football. He will make a tackle. So you look at cornerback for the Rams right now, a lot of question marks. I don't know that they even have even one player that's proven. Maybe did Kobe Durant to some extent last year as a rookie. But outside of him, I mean, there's definitely snaps available, if not a starting job here, and maybe he's pigeonholed into the nickel spot where you know, some of his size concerns are masked a little bit. But I certainly wouldn't be shocked if he does ultimately end up as a starter on that side of the ball.
I was gonna say with the with the Tomlinson pick, another theme that I kind of picked up on They've talked about this in the years past, the football family's aspect of it. You know, when they took Van Jefferson Sewn Jefferson's son. They took bryceon Hopkins a couple of years ago out of Purdue his dad played in the NFL. Was a high pick. But there are a couple other examples as well on that roster that that's something that you know, gives a guy a little bit of extra boost, maybe a tiebreaker in those situations.
Yeah, you can't go wrong with the NFL bloodlines. On the other side of the ball, I'm looking at running back Zach Evans. Definitely guy that was obviously highly recruited coming out, you know, very talented player. I think he flashes a lot on tape of that big play potential that the Rams really haven't had in the running game. I mean, especially last year, they just struggled to really turn those five or seven yard runs into something a little bit longer. And so I think there's definitely gonna be a role available for Evans to what extent, you know, I could see him as an early down backup to k Akers. I think the complimentary third down, you know, pass blocking role will probably be given to Kyne Williams. But Evans is definitely a guy that I have circled this well. I think there should be a role for him on offense.
So then let me ask this question. So, so I mentioned earlier the stat they have not made a first round pick since Jared Goff. Next year they have their first round pick as we sit here today on May twenty third, twenty twenty three. They have their first round pick for twenty twenty four. So is there are there any actionable items for people if you're putting together your mock draft, your too early mock draft for next spring, the Rams are up and you're like, man, like, the Rams have not picked here in a while, what are some themes? What are some elements the years? They take this into consideration when making that pick.
In your mind, yeah, maybe give it to another team kidding its side. I wouldn't be shocked ultimately if it's not drafted by the Rams. But you know, for for all sakes, you know, we'll say that they will sit there. I think the first thing is the quarterback situation, right, you know, Matthew Stafford obviously getting towards the end of his career. Here I mentioned earlier. Obviously had a lot of injury concerns over the past few years, to the point where you know, some people consider that he might even consider retirement this offseason, so he had to come out and say that he wasn't retiring. So, you know, as long as that's a thing in the realm of you know, possibilities, then obviously that's one situation that the Rams have to look at. Another one, of course, is going to be the edge rusher spot. Yes, they drafted a few edge rushers dis draft, but at the end of the day, they don't really have any established players at that position. I want to say the earliest round pick that they have starting it or projected to start at that spot would be Byron Young, a third round edge rusher. So definitely a lot of question marks there. I think the Rams want to try and surround Aaron Donald with as much help as possible, and that's definitely going to be a situation that I think the Rams are going to try to trade for maybe during training camp, maybe during the trade deadline, and if they don't succeed, then that would certainly be a position that I have very much circled. And then the final thing is you know the Aaron Donald effect here, he's under contract just for twenty twenty three, twenty twenty four. I think that's definitely a big factor in terms of what the Rams might want to look at next season. Maybe find a successor to him, maybe try and push the Chips into the middle of the table, so to speak, next season, and give that last little push when he's still in the NFL prior to retirement. So that might be one of the reasons why they're not picking next season in the first round. But we'll see, I guess. As of right now, of course, they do have that pick.
For more intel like this on the Rams and the rest of the NFL, so fantasy football Intel, make sure you go follow Sosa on Twitter at qbs MVP and again the Underdog Fantasy crew, Josh Narris, Hayden Wings and so so and the other the rest of the crew there. Outstanding work as always. Thanks so much for joining us here on the Journey the Draft podcast. All right, so good stuff there from So, so let's now just go. I want to give a shout out to a couple of people who left some reviews over on our Apple podcast page.
M M. A. D.
Seventy five left a five star review, just asking if we're gonna have an episode where we look back at some of the picks that the Eagles made and some of the things we said about those players over the course of the calendar year. MMAD, I tried to squeeze some of that in to the Draft Weekend podcast episodes, so I did not plan on doing a full episode on those take a ton of time and honestly and the ROI on those was not always outstanding. So again, I tried to squeeze some of that into the post draft podcast. So if you go back and listen to those episodes with myself and Ben and Dane, I know I did it on night one, so you can go back and hear some of the things we said about Jayleen Carter and Nolan Smith for sure. So appreciate that. Thanks so much for listening here to the show, and then one more here. Ike the Swiner just left a five star review saying, you guys rock so and go Birds, so informational, great insight and perspective. So Ike appreciate the five star review. Thanks to Ike and to MMAD for their five star reviews and for their comments there on our Apple podcast page. You've got a question. Could be about prospects for next year, could be about the process. It could be about teams and what they did in the draft. Whatever it is, go and leave it there on our Apple podcast page and we'll answer it here on an upcoming episode. That said, that'll do it this week here on the Journey of the Draft podcast
