THE MODERATOR: Thanks for joining us today for NFL Network lead draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah's conference call previewing the 2025 NFL scouting combine.
Before I turn it over to D.J. for opening remarks, just a few notes on our coverage next week. NFL Network provides live coverage of the combine on-field drills starting a week from today, February 27th, at 3:00 p.m. eastern with the defensive linemen and linebackers. Coverage continues Friday at 3:00 p.m. with the defensive backs and tight ends. On Saturday the quarterbacks, wide receivers, and running backs will start at 1:00 p.m. eastern, and finally, on Sunday NFL Network combine coverage will conclude with the offensive linemen at 1:00 p.m. eastern.
D.J., I'll hand it over to you for opening remarks.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Thank, Alex, and for those of you that have been doing this a long time, you know Andrew Howard is not here. Andrew had a baby, so he is off for a little bit. We had to pull Alex. He had to go from the top shelf to come down here and hang out with us for combine preview here. Anyway, congrats to Andrew.
I'm excited about this draft. It's a starter's draft is how I would phrase it. Going through and watching all these guys for the combine and talking to a bunch of people around the league, okay, some positions maybe don't have that super star that we have had in years past, but we do have a boatload of starters, particularly the defensive line. A bunch of really, really good players.
Excited about it. Looking forward to seeing these guys in person in Indy. Look forward to your questions.
THE MODERATOR: We will now begin the Q&A portion of today's call.
Q. I noticed you've got Abdul Carter as your top prospect. I notice you have the Titans taking him at No. 1 in your initial mock. Is he good enough that you just stick there and pick, or do you look to trade? And to kind of go along with that same question, how much interest -- how much action do you think you'll get with the potential trade at 1?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I haven't heard much buzz about action at this point in time. Usually the combine, as you know, is when that picks up a little bit and you'll start hearing some buzz if somebody falls in love with a quarterback. That's where the trades happen, and that would be -- that will be interesting.
I look at them, and to me I think there's really a couple of options. I think it's three players. I think it's Abdul Carter, I think it's Travis Hunter or Cam ward. I think you're deciding between those three players. The fourth option is the trade.
To me, if I'm Tennessee, I'm not going past three unless I get an enormous haul, and I don't think you're going to get that in this draft. To me I think that's what their decision is going to come down to. I think it depends on what you are looking for.
I have a very similar grade on Abdul Carter and Travis Hunter. I have Abdul Carter a little higher than him, and it's such a premiere position. I think when you look at the pieces already on that defensive line and you go out and you get Abdul Carter, I think you've got a chance to have one of the best units in the league. That's a good foundation to build off of.
They need to do their homework on Cam Ward. If they feel confident and comfortable with him and they feel like he can be their guy going forward, I don't have -- I wouldn't have any issue whatsoever if they decided that was going to be the direction they went.
Q. How does this group of 14 Georgia -- I don't want you to go through all 14, but Starks is the one that's interesting perhaps where the Falcons are at 15. Maybe Walker, Mykel Williams and Starks. How does this group look as you project into the first round here?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, they have a boatload of dudes. I'll just go through those top three guys and give you my take on them.
Jalon Walker, he's one of my favorite players to study. He's got the versatility to play off the ball, on the ball. I think he's got a chance to be a special pass rusher.
I don't know if we're going to see him do everything in Indianapolis. I know he's been nursing some things. I anticipate when you see him run, if he does decide to run, he can run in the 4.4s. He has legit explosive bursts. He plays with a ton of energy. He's a tone setter.
The thing I love about him is, okay, I see he plays with energy and passion. He plays fast. He's physical. And then when you talk to the coaches at Georgia and they say, this guy is rare, off the charts intangibles, leadership. He took over a couple of games, the Texas game at Texas, that was a statement there. I think he's a lock to go in the top 10.
Mykel Williams, gosh, I just wish we could have seen him healthy. If he doesn't get hurt in that Clemson game and we see him at full strength, I think we're talking about him as another top 10 lock who has a lot of freaky qualities to him, freaky traits to him.
He can really get off the ball. He's got a lot of power and violence as a rusher. He can set the edge. It's just a perfection. Hasn't been great, but that's because the guy wasn't healthy all year long, and they still roll guys through there.
I think the Travon Walker experience and seeing how he has continued to develop with the Jags, I think that's -- when it's all said and done, I will be more surprised than not if he's not all the way up in the top 10.
And the Starks an intriguing one. You noticed him when he was younger and kind of popped on the scene. Man, he's such an easy mover, like a fluid athlete. He just didn't make as many plays this year. He made the big pick, a big-time athletic interception down the field in the Clemson game, and then after that just didn't make a ton of plays.
But real reliable. He's obviously a really smooth athlete, takes really good angles. Gets guys on the ground. I like the fact that he's young. I think his best football is still ahead of him, and I like the fact that he has safety nickel flex and can do a lot of different things.
To me I think it will be interesting to see how he works out and how he tests, but he's right there to me more so in the back half of the first half than the first half of the first round.
Q. We need some franchise quarterbacks in New York, Giants and Jets. Giants and Jets. You mentioned Cam as a possibility for No. 1 for the Titans, but not Shedeur, which makes me think you think there's a significant gap between them. Then you also had the Giants passing on Shedeur at 3 with all the buzz. Shedeur obviously thinks he's going to the Giants with his cleats and what not. What do you think of the top two quarterbacks, the separation, and their matches for the Giants and Jets?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, when I first watched the quarterbacks, I stacked them right next to each other, and they're totally different in terms of their strengths and weaknesses.
The more that I've done, the more I've kind of created some separation, and that will be reflected when the top 50 comes out next week, the updated top 50.
I like Shedeur. I think Shedeur is -- when you look at the things he does really well, the accuracy, anticipation, toughness, he just keeps getting up after taking a beating, but some of the other things that Cam has, he doesn't have, which is just a little bit more twitch in his body. He has a more live arm.
I think he's more equipped to play in that division, in that stadium, in that environment that you're going to get with weather. I think Shedeur makes more sense just as relying a little bit more as a touch thrower than a power thrower.
I think he makes more sense when you look at -- the Saints make sense to me; the Raiders make sense to me. More so about fit than anything else when it comes to those guys.
With the Giants not taking one in a mock draft, I always like to just run through different scenarios. What you're hearing, okay, if this happens, then where do we go from here? The mock drafts, as you get through free agency, they're going to -- it will crystallize a little bit more.
But there has been a lot of chatter in talking to guys around the league. You know, the Stafford stuff, I mean, I don't know if there's legs to it, but I know that it has a lot of people in personnel departments and general managers intrigued and seeing what's going to transpire there with him and the Rams.
The fact that they didn't just come out and say he's not going anywhere has led people to believe that's a possibility.
When I looked at the Giants and you look at head coach and general manager, there's some pressure there. You need to get this thing going, especially after the team in your division just won the Super Bowl.
I looked at that, and I'm sitting here thinking, man, you talk about turning around some excitement here in that market, and you trot out there Week 1 and you have Matthew Stafford throwing the ball to Malik Nabers and looking at Travis Hunter on the opposite side of the ball, and who knows what else they can do with the money they have in free agency. And is Cooper Kupp part of that? Is that a package deal with him and Stafford?
So that was my mind, that was kind of where I was going in my fantasyland as we got to that mock draft.
Q. It seems like this year maybe we have more on the quality side for Michigan and not the same quantity as last year, but just thought maybe if you could sum those guys up for us?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Sure, I'll rip through it a couple of them here. It's a good group.
Mason Graham, gosh, he's so fun. I watched him on tape and I fell in love with him, and then I got a chance to go to their game against Oregon. A bunch of personnel guys and GMs down on the field. We're walking down there, and I see Mason Graham walk by. Of course, he is next to Kenneth Grant, his teammate, who it looks like he's a cartoon character. He's an Adonis how big he is.
I'm looking at Mason Graham and body type, and I'm, like, gosh, maybe I need to adjust my grade. Maybe I'm just too high on this guy.
Then I proceeded to watch the game, and I was, like, nope, nope, he's just really, really good. So I hope people don't overthink it with him as we get to the spring and kind of the further we get away from football, but he's got crazy, elite leverage, balance, and instincts.
You can see there's a wrestling background there. He's just never on the ground. He gets underneath guys. I just wrote down when I was looking at my notes, I had "block destruction" written down so many different times. He's just a real aggressive player who has got instincts and can dominate the game against the run, and I think has more to offer as a pass rusher.
Loveland, I think some teams are going to have him as the top tight end. It's two different styles there with him and Tyler Warren, but he's someone who can really, really run, can get in and out of breaks, fluid for a bigger guy. He can go get it with a huge catch radius. He's tough and physical after the catch, and in the run game he does enough. He stays connected and shows want-to. He's one of the top 10 players in the draft for me.
Will Johnson is an interesting one because there's so much hype on him coming into the season, and he's this big, athletic, rangy corner. He's got ball production. I do not think he played his best this year. I thought there were times where he wasn't super interested against the run and he got trucked a couple of times against the run.
I just want to see a little more physicality there, and had then some guys got on top of him. Didn't get a chance to finish out the year healthy. I think this will be a big spring for him to recapture some of the momentum he had in a much better season in '23.
Kenneth Grant, I mentioned him; just massive. He's a people mover. Talking to the folks where he has been doing a lot of his training, at 340 pounds he should not be able to move around like that.
You're hoping and dreaming on this Dexter Lawrence type ascension for him once he gets to the NFL. Hasn't put it all together, but it's all in there.
Then, lastly, I'll give you one more, and there's a bunch more guys, but Josiah Stewart, he is a bolt of lightning off the edge. He's undersized, but if you don't look at the size on your paper and just watch the tape, he doesn't play small at all.
He can really generate power as a rusher, and he's someone who plays with just maniacal effort and energy. One of my favorite players to study.
Q. In your latest mock draft when you touched on the quarterback debate earlier with Ward versus Sanders, but to the Browns at No. 2, when you talk about fit, what specifically had you going Ward in that spot?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, similar discussion. Having scouted in that division for a couple of different teams, we always wanted guys who were really rugged and strong. It's a physical division. You're going to play in wind and weather as you go throughout the season. Arm strength matters a little bit more there.
Look, I'm not saying that Shedeur can't play there. He could fit in the system for sure. If they went in that direction, that wouldn't totally blindside me or shock me.
I just know from being in that division and talking to people inside that division, that's something that carries a little more weight than maybe in other spots.
I just liked his ability. If you look at Baker, and I know obviously it went sideways there at the end, but even though Baker wasn't a really, really big guy, I thought his arm played well there. There were some ups and downs, but I didn't think that was an issue there at all. I think there is some of that with Cam Ward. He just has a real, real live arm.
That's why I like that fit.
Q. The Texas pick at No. 25 obviously. Obviously they need guard, defensive tackle, wide receiver. Just considering the realistic expectations of what could be there, who would you consider to be a home run type of pick for them?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Well, you mentioned the interior of the offensive line is some place you can address. I think you can address that interior offensive line later on in the draft. I think there is some depth along that interior.
The two receivers that I just think were ready-made to play there and one of them is the obvious one is Emeka Egbuka because of his connection and history with C.J. Stroud. But can play inside and outside. Just really, really smart and instinctive and tough. I think he would make a lot of sense there.
There's two guys. When I look at the Houston Texans it's Egbuka for those exact same reasons I mentioned, and the exact same with Matthew Golden. I have them right next to each other on my list. Matthew Golden, I think both these guys actually are going to run a lot faster than people think, but a lot of the same attributes.
I've become kind of obsessed with receivers with the thought and keeping an eye out for guys who are grounded through the catch, guys who really trust their hands and run through the ball. I just put more importance on that. You just see the really great receivers in the NFL have that trait, that quality, that confidence in their hands and allows them to do so much after the catch as well.
Both those guys are grounded through the catch, tough, smart, instinctive players that I think would be home run fits there with C.J. Stroud.
Q. Just a couple of quick questions. The Ravens, they've got 11 picks in the draft. How do you sort of grade the overall quality of it depth-wise? And then, secondly, is this a draft that -- they don't trade up very often, but is it a draft where you could see maybe trading up in the first round to take maybe an edge rusher like a Jalon Walker, Mike Green, or somebody that could have that immediate impact edge rusher-wise, a position they've kind of struggled with in those middle rounds finding those guys?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Well, one of the things you look at with the Ravens is because they amass all these picks and have played the comp game better than anybody else in the NFL, is you have options. So if you absolutely fall in love with one of those edge rushers, yeah, they have the ammunition to do it.
I just don't necessarily think you have to. I think there's a lot of depth along the defensive front, not just edge rushers, but D-tackles. If they want to be patient, I think one comes to them.
Shemar Stewart is someone that I paired up with them who just has a ton of twitch and a ton of ability out of Texas A&M. I think his best football is ahead of him.
Even someone like Donovan Ezeiruaku your from Boston College kind of fits what they like in rushers. He's real long. He's firm. He's got some power, and he's got a lot of production.
We can go on into day 2. There's going to be edge rushers there. The one thing my ears perked up thinking about them moving up was with your question was maybe an offensive tackle depending on what happens with Ronnie Stanley. If Ronnie Stanley were to depart in free agency and say it's a Simmons or someone like that that they really like and have a high grade on, there's not a lot of depth of starting tackle caliber players in this draft. So that would be more in line with my thinking there.
Q. When you are looking at the Eagles at No. 32 as far as their pick is concerned, you know, it seems like they have quite a few needs and everything, but is there also a chance they could trade out of that pick? What do you think the possibilities would be for that?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I wouldn't rule anything out with Howie and going either direction, but their roster is in such great shape. We'll see what happens with free agency. They have some key guys there, but they have so much roster depth. They're traditionally a big line of scrimmage team in the draft, and this is a draft especially, as I mentioned on the defensive side, there's depth and quality there.
If somebody wants to jump up, I could easily see them sliding back and trying to get some more shots at it here on day 2. I think there's a lot of value in day 2 in this year's draft class. That would be more likely to me than moving north. I think it would be moving south.
Again, don't rule anything out with them. When in doubt, just sit there and wait for some uber-talented Georgia, Alabama player to fall into their lap.
Q. The question is about the Cardinals. I know 16 where you have a lot of guys kind of in that area, but I'm more curious about maybe three guys you really liked that could be available at the 47, whether they're defense or not? I could see them doubling down on two defensive players.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, 47, I mean, I still think, again, with the edge rushers specifically, which is a big need for that football team, as you know, just third down, pressure rate, two areas indicate they've got some work to do there.
So if you are looking in that range, you are talking about Jack Sawyer from Ohio State comes into the mix there who is kind of a real physical, rugged edge rusher who can also really set the edge.
Landon Jackson from Arkansas had a monster Senior Bowl. He's 6'5" and change, 273 pounds. He can really rush with that long arm, physical. He can close. He can run. He plays with effort.
Those are a couple of guys.
Then I would say Princely Umanmielen -- I'm going to get that right when we get to the combine, so forgive me -- out of Ole Miss. He's another one who popped at the Senior Bowl. Real long, bendy, athletic. He can really cover ground.
Again, there's no shortage of edge rushers, especially that's kind of almost a sweet spot where I like that clump of players.
Q. Just looking at the Rams at 26, do you see stick and picking as the best option for them, or in order to address their needs, would trading back and trying to accumulate more shots in the top 100 make more sense based on what you think their needs are?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Well, Wes has done such a good job in that range, so getting out of there and collecting extra picks, I'm all for that, especially when you kind of look at the direction that they could be looking.
The tackle, I wouldn't feel as confident of what you are going to get if you trade back, but there's still a need for corners, receivers. They could pluck a tight end. That's good position groups there on day 2.
If they were to slide back a little bit and collect some more resources there, I've got a lot of respect and appreciation for their ability to scout and find guys there. That would definitely make sense to me.
Q. You mentioned at the top that you wouldn't necessarily see the Titans moving past 3, or you wouldn't advocate for them moving past 3. I'm curious what your opinion would be on what a reasonable haul would be for moving if you are only moving one or two picks back?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Oh, gosh, I would have to pull up the comps on it. I don't have it in front of me right now. It does vary in terms of what the overall feel is on the class and how much they want to move out. I mean, I'm sure they'll have opportunities to slide back a little bit if they want to. I just don't know if this is going to be the traditional haul that you have seen for some of these other years where you had, you know, like -- I know obviously Caleb Williams was a little further to travel there, but in previous years I just think there's been a higher opinion overall in the quarterback class, which drives price.
To move back to 3, I mean, you're getting an extra -- getting next year's 1, I guess. You start there, but in terms of how much on top of that, I don't know that you get traditional costs and prices this year.
Q. Sean Payton has talked about wanting to find this joker player, whether it's a tight end in the receiving game or running back that has that potential out of the back field. I know you have Loveland in the first round, but any day 2 guys that you think would kind of fit that mold if they decide to go somewhere else in the first round?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, there are some fun ones. It got a lot of people, like myself, I think looking around going, okay, who would you classify in that department as mismatch type players?
If I'm going to go running backs and they are picking at 51 and 85, so I'm just looking at some running backs that I think are mismatch I type players, Jaydon Blue in the pass game out of Texas. He's a legitimate 4.3 guy, and they use him on a bunch of different ways in the pass game. Angle routes. He can snap guys off. He can run up the seam. Even just getting him the ball in it the flat, with his speed, he's a weapon.
That one to me, I don't think you would have to take him in the second. I think you could get him in the third round, but that was one when I was thinking about how they would use guys, that was one that definitely popped into my head from the running back position.
R.J. Harvey is another one out of Central Florida who is compact. He is under 5'8"; he is 207 pounds. When I watched him I was like, okay, who does he remind me of? This guy is a mix of Devonta Freeman and Tarik Cohen. He's that type of fast, low to the ground, shifty, is just going to be a nightmare. They use him on wheel routes and get him the ball in the pass game as well. Those are outside the second round, some fun mismatch type players.
And then from the tight end standpoint, I think Fannin is a good one from Bowling Green who is a little bit undersized at just over 6'3"; he's just under 240 pounds.
But he's just got a real knack for it, a real feel for it, creating separation. He kind of reminds me -- it's sacrilegious to say it because he's now going into the Hall of Fame -- but he is like a mini Antonio Gates with his movements and how he moves around. It's a unique movement style that he has. But you're questioning how fast is this guy? Then you watch Penn State and Texas A&M, and he is just running away from everybody and creating a bunch of big plays.
I think you would have to take him in the second round. I don't think he would be there in the third round, but he's definitely a fun mismatch guy.
Q. The Eagles have Zack Baun, Mekhi Beckton, Josh Sweat heading to free agency, and if they can't sign any of those guys, who do think would be a good spot around that 32 or in the top of the second round that could fit Vic Fangio's scheme or could be a quote-unquote Stoutland guy if it's Beckton.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, let's go to the offensive line, first of all. If I'm looking at the interior offensive line, you know, there's some interest -- to me the no-brainer would be Grey Zabel if he was there from North Carolina State. He has the versatility. I think that's one of the underrated aspect of what the Eagles have done.
Everybody talks about how big and physical they are, but look at the number of guys on that offensive line that have cross-trained at different positions. You mentioned Beckton from a tackle to a guard. Landon Dickerson can play any of those spots. Jurgens plays guard, plays center. Lane, if you needed him to, could kick over to the left in a heartbeat.
Zabel to me out of North Dakota State, he has got legit five-position flex. I think he is better off inside. Beckton, I think he is plug-and-play-year one at the guard spot. So that one I like a lot.
Miles Frazier outside that, when you get into day 2 from LSU. He's got size. Over 6'5", 324 pounds. I just think he knows how to play. He's played some outside as well, but he's definitely going to be a guard. He's got some power, some torque, and some turn to him. So that one would be a match there.
When you look at linebackers, it's not a great off the ball linebacker year. Howie, he's not going to take a linebacker in the first round, but if somehow Jihaad Campbell were to get there -- I can't imagine he would -- but he's a rangy, versatile, athletic dude who can play off the ball, on the ball. He can run like crazy. He's got a bunch of up side as a rusher too. That would be one there.
Then some of the linebackers, as you get beyond that, I like Pooh Paul from Ole Miss. Maybe third round.
Cody Simons, same, out of Ohio State. Jeffrey Bassa, Oregon, Barrett Carter, Clemson. That group of guys to me is in that third round range.
Q. I know in your two mocks you've had the Steelers taking offense in the first round. If they were to address the defensive line, which is getting older, what kind of player at 21 could you potentially see being there that fits their style?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, if you are looking at pick 21 for the Steelers, gosh, Mykel Williams would be a lot of fun just because the physicality they require, setting the edge, all that stuff. He checks that box.
I think he has so much up side as a rusher. I don't anticipate he'll be there at that point in time. Him and Mike Green are probably both gone, but either one of those picks would be to me home runs.
Shemar Stewart is as raw as can be, as we talked about a little bit earlier. Man, there is a lot to work with. I can't imagine with someone with his physical gifts that he has getting a chance to learn from T.J., Gotelli, that would be fun if he were to get where he is capable of getting talent-wise. There's a lot in his body.
They'll have options. If they want to go with an edge rusher, they're going to have someone there that's worthy of that pick. They're not going to have to reach if that's truly the position that they wish to address.
Q. I want to ask you about the Vikings at 24. You have them taking a running back. Why do you think the running back run isn't going to start until the 20s this time around? Then if they don't go running back, what other kind of positions do you consider for them at that spot?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, it's hard to figure out when the run is going to go. Just to be totally honest, I wanted to have some fun with that too with Ashton Jeanty and the center where he can fall down a little bit. Ashton Jeanty is my third player in the draft. I am a huge believer in him. He has an extremely high floor along with an extremely high ceiling. I think he's a special, special player.
The interesting part is and a lot of this comes from talking to people around the league is because of the depth of the class and it's really good that, man, if you have multiple needs, maybe you could see a scenario where teams are going to punt on running backs early and then just know that I still got some options there on day 2.
That's with the full appreciation that there is more love for running backs around the league after this last season with all those free agents. All the leading rushers in the league were all free agents that showed their value, and then we've seen with some of the young backs in the league what they've done led by Jahmyr Gibbs.
That's why I went running back with the Minnesota Vikings, because I just think they saw inside their division what you had with Jahmyr Gibbs, and, man, that would be an explosive player to add to their mix.
If Minnesota didn't go in that direction and I look at some of their other needs, interior offensive line would be one; corner would be another. If you just look at the corner position, if we're looking at guys that could potentially be fits and options there. I think Azareye'h Thomas from Florida State would be in the mix. I think you're going to start hearing a lot more about Maxwell Hairston from Kentucky after the combine. I think he has a chance to go in the first round.
Q. A little two-part question for you, I guess. A lot of teams are at the back of round 1 that could be potential suitors for Myles Garrett if they come out and draft defensive line. Can you walk me through the pluses and minuses of making a deal? And then also for a team like the Lions, if they didn't, if they decided to use their picks on defensive line, who are some guys you could see fitting in at 28?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, that was a team that made the most sense for me with Myles Garrett was Detroit just because, A, if they ever are comfortable with moving him -- which it sounds like at this point they are not -- but if they are comfortable, to me you get him outside the conference, and he goes to Detroit, Detroit has the roster that's ready to win right now, ready to win a championship. That could be a finishing piece.
I would be willing to be pretty aggressive I think if I were Brad Holmes on that front knowing that that could bring a parade to my city. I would be aggressive and do whatever I had to do and try and make something like that happen.
We'll just have to see if it's a legit possibility. Everything in talking to people as of late around the league, the expectation is, no, they're not going to move him. He's not going to go anywhere. We'll see what happens.
If you are looking at edge rushers for pick No. 28, you start getting into, you know, James Pearce, he's going to be an interesting one. He could go in the top 15. He could go bottom of 1. He could go top of 2. There's a wide range on him. He's a lean, skinny rusher, but he has a ton of juice and explosiveness. He really knows how to rush. His first three steps are pretty dynamic. That would be one. We'll see in the mix there.
I've mentioned some of the names before, but Shemar Stewart, we'll see what happens with him. That would be another one I think could factor in for them if they're looking for edge rushers. You can get them all throughout the draft and find them, especially day 2. There's a lot of other good options there for rushers.
Q. Just curious, you talked a lot about the depth with the defensive line, but can you talk about the overall -- the quality of the high-end edge rushers and specifically for the Saints at No. 9, just some options for them there?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, well Abdul Carter is gone. Jalen Carter (sic), if he is there, I would run the card up if you had an opportunity to get him. I just think he makes all the sense in the world for them.
He's just so dynamic. Not only just with the talent that he brings, I think in year one with Kellen Moore, having someone like that who he is going to take your message and spread it around. He's that type of dude. That one to me would be a home run.
Then I think Mykel Williams is the next one that would be a worthy candidate for where that slot is. I think he's another one maybe a little patient with him, but it's all in there, and the up side is tremendous.
I think all those guys -- or both those guys would be legit options and would provide some serious juice to a pass rush. That's going to be curious to me what direction they go position-wise because I just think Kellen Moore coming off of the year he had and seeing the value in the trenches and what they had in Philadelphia, I just would be surprised if they went anywhere outside O-line, D-line.
Q. Did you mean Walker instead of Carter?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, sorry. Jalon Walker, sorry. Jalon Walker, Jalen Carter. There's 55 Georgia Jalons/Jalens/Jaylins and Carters I feel like.
Q. I had a little bit of a broader question for you leading up to the combine. Last year we saw some of those elite prospects sitting out of drills. Do you see that trend continuing? How has the way teams view and analyze the combine changed throughout the years?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I appreciate that. It's a good question. I think you're going to continue to see it. I think especially with guys who have a long track record that have played well, have been viewed as kind of top 10 picks for an extended period of time, and they all the tape that's out there, and teams have the GPS information. That's the case that they'll present as to why they're not going to be active at the combine.
I think that's something that we'll continue to see with the top-tier players. I don't think it's going to spread all the way through. I don't. I think it's an opportunity for a lot of these guys to compete, and a lot of these guys still really want to do that. If you're not a lock in terms of your positioning, there still is a belief you can go out there and help yourself.
I still think there's value in it. I think certain positions maybe more value than others. I've said this over the years, but I've always felt like the corners have the most opportunity to help themselves at the combine. They run well. They move well. That can answer a lot of questions and can help guys maybe more so than any other position.
Yeah, I do think you'll see it. I know there's a growing trend there of not doing some of the psychological testing and those things. Yeah, I don't think that's going to go back to the way it was. I think you'll see more and more people that are going to probably opt out of that in the future.
There's enough information and resources out there for teams to be able to figure this thing out without all that, so I don't think that's that big of deal.
Q. Putting you back on the Titans at No. 1 again, kind of I guess a devil's advocate approach. I know you have Abdul carter going there. If you are the Titans, quarterback-needy team, why not pick a quarterback if you think he's better than what you have and you can win with him, and you don't know when your next time picking at No. 1 or close to it will be? Couldn't you make a good case for taking a quarterback there?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I think that's a great question and something I've been thinking a lot about and did some homework on it because I knew this would probably come up, but I still believe -- you can make a case, okay, he's better than what we have, but is that the marker? Then I would say, okay, if you are going to be right back two, three years from now saying, this isn't good enough, we need better, especially when you are in the AFC where we've got all these cyborg quarterbacks you have to compete with.
If you don't want to draft somebody you're going to have to replace in a couple of years because he was just a little bit better than the guy you had on your roster. The pushback I get when I've said that is, yeah, but you never know when you are going to be up there again.
So we looked it up, and, okay, the Bears were up there, and they had a quarterback that was better than what they had and they passed on it and they turned around and got Caleb Williams the next year.
There's teams that could have taken Will Levis, the Commanders, the Patriots, the Vikings. They all passed. The Commanders come back and get Daniels. The Patriots come back get May. The Vikings come back and get McCarthy. The Texans passed on Kenny Pickett twice and got C.J. Stroud the next year. The Jags passed on Love and got Trevor Lawrence. The Bills pass on Mahomes. Obviously that's one that's worked out for both teams, maybe more so initially here from Kansas City.
But they got Josh Allen the next year, so I do think there is some precedent there that you can't just say, he's 5%, 10% better than what we have, so we have to take that position. That's just my thoughts on it.
That's why you have to decide, do you think, do you envision with the quarterback you take at No. 1 that he is going to be able to help your team compete against Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, Justin Herbert? You need to have those honest conversations in the draft room.
Q. It's obviously offensive line season here in Chicago, so I wanted to ask you first about Kelvin Banks specifically at the tackle position, what you see in him. Then with Zabel, I know you like his versatility, but what are some of the things on his team and his Senior Bowl performance that jumped out at you?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: With Banks, just I love the fact that he is 320 pounds. He is thick. He is sturdy. He can bend; he is athletic enough to really sink and bend. He keeps his hands in tight. He plays with patience.
The stuff that he gets in trouble with is sometimes he sets a little bit deep, and then he ends up getting in some trouble that way when he kind of creates more runway.
I think if he could be a little more firm and not get in quite as much depth in his set that he will be able to solve that problem. Then in the run game I just want to do see him show a little bit more strain and finish, just a little bit more nasty to him in the run game.
But he's a good athlete. He's someone that I think can play. I think even though he's not the tallest guy in the world, I still think he can hold up and play tackle no problem, and I think he could be hell on wheels as a guard. That's Banks.
Then when you look at Grey Zabel, man, the week of practice, there were not many bad reps at all during the week of practice for him. In the game it got on his edges a little bit as he is kind of moving around playing all these different positions, but he is someone, again, that has really good balance. He's always under control. He's never on the ground. He's got strong hands. He's really aware in terms of seeing things and picking things up. He's just a guy who has played a lot of football who is polished and answered some of the smaller school questions at the Senior Bowl even though North Dakota State has been a school that's pumped out a lot of linemen.
I'm a huge fan of his, and I think he's definitely in the mix to go in the first round.
Q. For a team like Washington that has got needs on both lines, but of course, there is this push to get Jayden Daniels more weapons. It always feels like when you have a quarterback like that, he can raise the level of receivers more than you have to, like, get him star receivers, if that kind of makes sense. How do you weigh that option? You have this quarterback, but you also need to build the line to help them get to the next level?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I mean, I think it's arguments you could make on both sides of that. I do agree, though, that quarterbacks elevate the play of others. You want to start, let's get them protected and keep him healthy and let's be really good at scouting and evaluating players that we can find without premium resources, and let's surround him with some of those guys as well.
I think once that foundation in the offensive line is built and steady, then I think now you can go shopping for some of the other things. Kind of always use the analogy of you have to shop at the hardware store before you go to the toy store. I would continue to try and address that offensive line. Not only so we can run the ball better and we can do different things, but just to keep him upright and healthy. I think Adam Peters is really good. He's one of the best evaluators in the NFL, and he's been around a lot of good receivers throughout his career, especially the group that they had up there in San Francisco. So I'm confident he'll be able to find receivers without necessarily using the premium resources.
Q. You had in your mock draft Walker coming here, but also kind of mentioned the idea of a trade back. I'm wondering, when you are looking at a team like the Panthers that have so many needs across defense, is this a class that is deep enough to pass on a guy like Walker just to get more pieces?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Well, I mean, that's a good discussion, and it's a good debate in the room. I mean, I don't think you want to do it just to get a fourth round pick, but I think if you can get some quality resources, get another pick on day 2, he's a great player. I wouldn't have any criticism if they decide we're just going to stick and pick him and go forward.
But when you have this many holes and this is a draft that does have a lot of talent and depth on the defensive front, I'd be interested in that option. I'm not saying that's the right or the wrong way to go. I just think, man, there are so many holes there, and you could fill a bunch of them if you could slide back a little bit.
I think that's a good debate and a good discussion. I could spend ten minutes and argue it each way. So they just have to see what they get.
I definitely think you would want to get a premium. I don't think you just do that just to go back and get an extra pick.
Q. I saw you went Tyler Booker to the Dolphins at 13 in your latest mock. Beyond the obvious need at guard for Miami, why him? How many different passers could he see the dolphins going with that pick considering Chris Greer likes to go for his best player available and not necessarily by need early in a draft where they do have ten picks to address needs?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, I just think he's a perfect marriage of need and fit and value. Booker to me is one of more consistent players that I've watched in this class. He's big. He's powerful. He's someone that when you talk to the folks at Alabama, they just rave about him in terms of the work ethic, the leadership. Someone there told me he was like the Will Anderson of their offense in terms of the leadership, someone that had been around there for a while.
I think all those things considered, I think you have somebody who is really, really firm and pass pro. With Tua I think the interior of that offensive line being firm is very important. So that's one that I just thought was just a home run pick for them in terms of all those factors coming together. That's why that one made a lot of sense to me.
Defensive tackle could be an area they could go as well. There's no shortage of defensive tackles that are intriguing in this draft. I mentioned him a little bit earlier with Kenneth Grant. That would be a fun one to throw into their mix as well just as someone who is already dominant against the run, but somebody I think that has a lot of up side as a rusher and someone who if they can stay healthy on the edges, someone who will benefit those guys just because he's going to take away the escape hatch, just his ability to push the pocket even as he is growing and developing and evolving as a rusher. I know he can do that. He can put his hands in your chest and walk you back and take away the escape route as those edge rushers get home. That would be another one I think that will make a lot of sense there.
Q. It's kind of a quick two-parter when it comes to the quarterbacks. Obviously this isn't as strong a QB class as 2024; likely not more than two or maybe three QBs in there. How would Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders fit if you stacked them compared to last year's guys as far as the top six? And then if you are a team like the Browns at No. 2, how much does the idea of taking -- the idea of sealing variance, like Cam over the higher ceiling and Shedeur with the higher floor, how much do you think that should weigh into a decision if you are a team like the Titans or the Browns or the Giants and say you have a chance between both guys?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, I mean, that's the age-old debate, right? Do you want safe and floor or do you want kind of exciting and up side? I always feel like, again, for the same reasons I've mentioned referenced earlier, it's just the high level of quarterback play particularly in the AFC right now, man, it's hard to go with the floor instead of the ceiling there and know, hey, if we go with the ceiling and we can hopefully have enough of rope to come around and try to go get another one at some point in time. Nothing is guaranteed.
I always tend to be a little bit more let's chase the up side a little bit when we're up there. That's the direction I would go. When you look at this group compared to last year, I'll just pull up my list from last year, I had him -- I had Cam Ward with the same grade as Bo Nix, so that would put him behind the top four for me, so he would be in the fifth range.
Michael Penix I had just slightly ahead of Shedeur, so Shedeur would be behind those guys, behind Caleb, Drake, Jayden, McCarthy, Nix, Penix. Then I would have Shedeur right behind that group.
Q. Just curious, how do you see the cornerbacks and safety classes? I know last year had a ton of depth at corner, especially a lot of guys went high. How do you see that at the front end of that group and then the depth there? Can the Ravens find a plug-and-play starter if they don't bring Brandon Stephens back? Similarly at safety, Ravens are kind of looking for a potential starter there, at least the third safety.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, I think it's a little deeper at corner than safety. If we're looking at the Ravens, if we look where they're picking on day 2, like 59, 91, 59 I look at someone like Trey Amos from Ole Miss. That would be someone that would be an interesting fit for them.
Parrish from Kansas State, who I think could play inside, can play outside.
Those are some intriguing players.
Quincy Riley from Louisville would be in that third round range as a good one who kind of plays with a little bit of that edge that they like there in Baltimore.
So those are some of the corners. When you look at the safety group, second round safeties that I -- late first round, by the way, South Carolina's Nick Emmanwori, if he was there, I would turn the card in. I think he would be a fun player for them to play with. He's big. He's physical. Plays more near the line of scrimmage. He makes a lot of plays buzzing underneath the ball, and he's a physical, firm tackler and an aggressive, aggressive dude. I would be excited about that at the end of the first round.
When you start getting into the second, third round at the safety position, I really like Jaylen Reed from Penn State, who is 212 pounds and can run and just plays really, really well. Timing and burst as a blitzer. He can play the ball.
Third round-wise, Ransom from Ohio State, Mukubu from Texas, Billy Bowman from Oklahoma. Those are some of the names of those guys. I would say in terms of the depth of it, you are getting longer at the corner group.
Q. You probably heard Josh Jacobs at the Super Bowl talking about the Packers need a No. 1 receiver. I'm not sure the dpi is available in free agency. They don't pick receivers in the first, and you kind of hit on those guys anyway. Green Bay has had a sweet spot in the second round at receiver. Kind of who do you like there? Whether it's early or late, who do you like as a big-play guy and a guy that can actually play with some big-play ability?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: When we look at the Green Bay Packers, first of all, with where they're picking -- let me pull their number up here. They are picking 54. At 54 you're looking for a big play wide receiver. Trey Harris is a good all-around receiver at Ole Miss. That's about the range where you're going to see this clump here with Trey Harris from Ole Miss, Jayden Higgins from Iowa State, Jack Bech from TCU.
All those guys are big. Trey Harris is almost 6'2". Higgins is almost 6'4". Jack Bech, 6'1" and a quarter, 214 pounds. Those guys are all kind of in that range of the draft.
Tory Horton is another one from Colorado State who is going to be around that range. All those guys are big. All those guys can make plays down the field. All those guys are going to work out well in the red zone. They're going to be point producers.
That's a good clump of wideouts that I think would make some sense. If they wanted to go with a little more of the compact, explosive player in that mix, which I think they already possess, but to me you look at Jaylin Noel from Iowa State who is going to put on a show at the combine. He is really, really explosive. He can play inside. I think even as an undersized player, he could play outside.
Then Jalen Royals from Utah State, who has a real compact, 210 pounds. Actually kind of looks like Randall Cobb to go back in the old school there. There's a good clump of receivers there in that second round range. They've done a good job of identifying those guys, as you mentioned.
Q. I wanted your perspective on three of Oregon's guys starting with Conerly and Harmon and Burch. I know you have mocked Conerly into the first, but where Harmon and Burch fall in your projections so far?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Actually, I have Harmon even over him on my list personally, but Harmon is just really disruptive. He has quick hands. He just lives under the side of the line of scrimmage. He's really instinctive. He's aware. He knows where blocks are coming from, and he gets up the field. So he's a fun, fun player. Be.
I want to see him show his power. It flashes. It's all in there. I would love to see him play into his power a little bit more. I think he is bottom 1, top of 2 type of pick.
Conerly, he has that sturdy frame, long arms. He's real patient. He has quick feet. The issue with him is just going to be he's not a great bender, and that's how you can kind of get caught like he did in the clip that got sent around from Mike Green at the Senior Bowl.
That's going to be something he is going to have to continue to work through. It's just getting a little bit lower, bending a little bit better.
Then similarly to Banks, as I was talking about earlier, just a little more strain and finish in the run game, but the grade I gave him puts him kind of bottom 1, top of 2, in that range.
Burch was the other one who was an interesting player to watch because he's so big, but he is kind of more of a finesse player than a real physical player. Not real violent guy, but he is nifty. He plays to that long-arm move. He has a real steady bull rush. Not real dynamic, twitchy, explosive.
He can hold up with his length at the point of attack, and he does play really hard to close and chase plays from the back side. I thought he was more kind of bottom 2 to middle 3. That's where I had him on my list.
Q. Daniel, to borrow your analogy, the 49ers have accumulated a lot of toys over the years, and they may need a visit to the hardware store in terms of offensive, defensive lines. I'm curious what you are thinking they might do at 11 and who is available to them in those areas?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, where they're picking at 11, they're going to be able to get a really good player. I'm curious, the one thing -- we talked about him as one of the top players in the draft with Mason Graham. I'll be curious to see how he goes through the spring. As I mentioned, I think his tape is so good, but I'm want sure he's going to totally ace the spring part of it.
If you are looking for someone who I think would be a home run pick for him, what's the dream scenario, to me it would be Mason Graham were to fall down to them where they could scoop him up and pick him up.
Where they're picking, we've talked about Walker from Georgia. That's probably a good chance that he's gone at that point in time. Williams is the other one. It's kind of that same clump of players, that same group of players.
The player who is a great scheme fit for them, which I think would be more of a trade back than necessarily taking him right there at 11 would be Walter Nolan, who with their jet front and they like to play up the field. Kris Kocurek. They want to really get off the ball and penetrate and go, and he is really, really twitched up.
Walter Nolan to me would be someone if you -- maybe if you slid down a little bit just to get more value that would be a defensive tackle that I think would be a fun fit for that group.
Q. I wanted to check in with you regarding the Lions and their history under Brad Holmes and what ties their draft picks, and in light of that, what is kind of players in the range that they're picking at 29 is going to be the type of player that they'll be looking for in that range specifically?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I think he's been really intentional about how they've built their team. They've just found -- first of all, they started with building it through the foundation through the offensive and defensive line and finding guys with excellent play temperament, guys that are finishers with play with effort and are physical. I think that was kind of the first part of the build.
Then after that, they went hunting for as many dynamic players as they can find. With Jahmyr Gibbs, Jameson Williams, the juice that they brought to that offense; even LaPorta plays really, really fast as a tight end. It just feels like they've combined the physical and the fast really, really well. I think the way that they built it out was really, really smart.
So I think now with where they are, I think that they've got some of these young skill guys at these core positions, these core skill positions, and you have Zeitler as a free agent. I think you could look at them kind of going back and kind of going the full circle here. Start big, go fast. I think you can come back around and then go back to the line of scrimmage again. If they can't get Zeitler signed, I have mentioned Zabel as someone that's plug and play. Donovan Jackson from Ohio State is another one who I think is plug and play.
Those are kind of more meat and potatoes guys. They're in a really good spot.
Q. I wanted to ask you about mocking Colston Loveland to the Broncos at 20. What do you like about him as a potential fit? Also, kind of a follow-on that pick, you talked about how special Ashton Jeanty was. If he's there at 20, do you see the Broncos passing on him even with his skill set?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Push comes to shove -- first of all, I think I would just be shocked if Jeanty did get there. I was playing around with some different scenarios in the last mock draft. His tape is so good. The character is so good. All that stuff.
Even if teams are going to be patient on the running backs, I think once we get through it and get to the end, I think Jeanty will be off the board. That would be an interesting conversation with those guys there.
Jeanty is my third overall player. Loveland is my seventh overall player. I think they both would be home run picks. I think you go Jeanty over Loveland just based off that for me in that situation, but Loveland, when I think about jokers and chess pieces and mismatch players, he would be a fun one in that offense.
And to grow. I like the idea of having a young quarterback in Bo Nix having a chance to grow and play with the same tight end for a long period of time. I think as we've seen with Mahomes and Kelce, that's a chemistry thing with those two positions connected.
So I would love to see them get a premier tight end like that and get those guys grow together because Loveland is excellent. Again, he is one of the top 10 players in the draft for me.
Q. I had a question about the Canadian quarterback who kind of wowed everybody at the Senior Bowl. Is he a guy that's going to get drafted? If so, where is he more of like a priority free agent?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Everybody that I have talked to around the NFL, I still haven't got my hands on his tape yet, so that's been a tricky one just to try and locate the tape. So that's one of my things I'm efforting to do is to find my way to that tape.
There was a lot of excitement just the way the ball came out of his hand, and it was still more of a late-round, priority free agent situation.
But he's got some size. Just in the brief exposure I had to him watching him there, I think you have something to work with.
I'm anxious to see the tape. I'm anxious not just to see the tape to see him but to see the style and quality of play. I'm looking forward to seeing that. I'm on the hunt.
Q. As the Bengals are sitting in the middle of the first round, a lot of people are talking about Walter Nolan if he is there for interior line help. You mentioned earlier in the call here that there are some good interior offensive line prospects later in the draft. Can the same be said about other interior defensive line prospects if the Bengals decide to forego those type of spots within the first two rounds and they maybe wait until late day 2, early day 3?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I'm going to pull up their pick here. If we just want to go to pick 81 for Cincinnati, and you want a defensive tackle with pick 81, I mean, this is the draft to do it. There's a ton of them.
You've got Jamaree Caldwell from Oregon kind of in that range. You've got Ty Hamilton, Ohio State. You've got Omarr Norman-Lott from Tennessee, Jordan Phillips from Maryland. There's a lot of defensive tackles. I posted this the other day, but in terms of guys with potential starter grade -- so I'm not saying they're locks, stamp it, they're going to be starters, but with players with the potential to start at defensive tackle, last year I had 12, and this year I had double.
So it is as deep of a defensive tackle draft as I can ever remember. If they do decide to go another direction early, they're going to have plenty of options beyond that. If you are looking to one, by the way, that is one of my just favorite players to study is Pegues from Ole Miss, who is 323 pounds. I have him kind of as a second round, like bottom part of the second round.
If you want to have fun, pull up a YouTube. I'm sure they're out there on him, and look at the stuff he does offensively at Ole Miss. It's a lot of fun.
Q. Last time the Eagles were at 32 was the Lamar draft. A, is there a quarterback that you think might fit there for teams looking for that fifth year option? Then when they traded down, they drafted Dallas Goedert. Zach Ertz was a little bit younger than Dallas is now. Any tight ends in sort of that 40 to 50 range that could project?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, there's definitely tight ends. The three that I would have in that mix, Mason Taylor from LSU would be a home run pick who is just a real steady, reliable, dependable guy who jumped on the scene with the game-winner against Bama his freshman year.
Obviously it's a football family with Jason Taylor there, but he's an impressive kid who had a great Senior Bowl. I don't know how far into the second round he would make it, but he's in that range.
Elijah Arroyo from Miami. Another one who had a great Senior Bowl week, who can really run.
Then Harold Fannin, who I mentioned earlier from Bowling Green. I think those would all be good guys to add along into that group.
I do think Dallas Goedert has a lot more -- he's got a lot more football left in him.
In terms of the quarterbacks, I haven't been able to find that buzz out there for someone who is a quarterback who teams would want to get at the bottom of 1.
Jaxson Dart is my third guy. That would be the one I think I would keep an eye on and see if the buzz builds with him that maybe that buzz could build.
As of today, I would say I don't necessarily see a team moving in there.
Q. The interest in the NFL over here in the U.K. is growing at a huge rate, and particularly the offseason interest now it's growing with each passing year. With the focus on the combine next week, what drills for specific positions would you advise a first-time combine watcher really to pay attention to? Are there any sort of non-measurables when you are scouting these prospects that you pay attention to in sort of the numbers?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: That's great. I'm glad there's more interest building here with this event. It's a lot of fun to watch. I would say, first of all, if you are watching it for the first time, the most fun part of the combine is I think on the fan side of things is you want to watch guys run fast.
The receivers and the DBs, when they get a chance to run 40s, it's just me and Rich Eisen have a blast because we have the best seat in the house. It's just so fun to watch guys that can absolutely fly.
So that's something to watch there.
Quarterback-wise you just want to see how the ball comes out of their hand. You're not going to necessarily worry about all the ball placement things and ding them on accuracy throwing to guys they're not used to, but you can get a sense for just how they spin the ball, how the ball comes out of their hand.
I think when you look at explosive positions like edge rushers, I always think it's important to see their jumps, see their vertical, see their broad. Just see how much explosiveness they can generate. Those are some of the things you look at there.
In terms of outside the numbers, look, the team is going to get access to stuff we don't, like the medical information and the interviews they have in the evening. I think there's value if you are watching these groups and you see who ends up being the leaders in these groups, who do players navigate towards, who do they want to be and around talk to, I think there's information you can gather just by watching these guys interact.
Q. It's been interesting to see some of the best passing offenses in the NFL don't really have that prototypical receiver, and obviously we've seen teams like Buffalo embrace someone like a Mack Hollins because of what he can do as a field rusher and also with his blocking ability. I guess as that position has evolved, have the traits that teams are looking for at that X position changed at all just with the evolution of the game?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: That's an interesting question. I haven't really thought about it.
I still think the core principles are the same in terms of, you know, size, physicality, the ability to win on third down and in the red zone, catch radius. I think a lot of those things have been the same for a long period of time.
The blocking thing is interesting. I've been talking about this a little bit on the defensive side of it because with corners we used to say -- when I started scouting in 2003, we would use the term "cover corner" a lot. Hey, this guy doesn't really tackle, doesn't have any interest, but who cares. We're going to leave him out there on the island and let him cover. I think we're seeing so many condensed formations now that it's become imperative that you can tackle as a corner because they're going to put you in run fits, they're going to leave you alone, block everybody else and make you be the force player.
It's also done as it's created a need and a desire to have wide receivers that can do what the Rams have done, which is get guys who can dig out linebackers and be physical presence in the run game there as well from those tight splits.
I think all that stuff kind of factors into a little bit of evolution and a little bit of change there, but I still think when I think of an X, I still think third down red zone I would like to have somebody who can win one-on-one out there.
Q. I'm curious about the Lions are looking for somebody that generally is like a Swiss Army knife, has a lot of positional versatility, can do a lot of different things. Who do you see in this draft, whether it's on offense or defense, that really sticks out kind of later in the draft, second round and beyond, that can do a bunch of different things?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Well, defensively I mentioned Pegues and all the different things he can do. He is someone who on the defensive side of the ball is a defensive tackle who every now and then will kick out and just be a big massive edge rusher, but then on offense he's a wildcat quarterback. He's an H-back. He's a wing. He runs the ball. That's one of the more fun, versatile pieces in this year's draft.
When I look at a weapon offensively, if you are going to go down the line in the draft, I think there's a fun one in Woody Marks out of USC as someone who can really catch the ball out of the back field. He has a ton of production going back to Mississippi State. He's someone that I think can be a little bit of a mismatch player there with what he can do. So a couple of different things for him.
Trying to think of other tight ends maybe that could do some other things. Well, one of the guys that I'm so fascinated about in the draft, he's not going to the combine be, which I was bummed about, but Willie Lampkin from North Carolina, who he's a wrestler. He's 5'10 1/2", 275 pounds center who you just look at him on paper, and then you maybe go out there and watch him warm up, and you are, like, there's no way this guy can physically hold up, but he does.
He just plays with leverage and strength and power. He's a good football player. Did not get invited to the combine. I was bummed because I wanted to see him work out as a tight end. I wouldn't mind seeing him work out as a defensive tackle. I wouldn't mind seeing him work out as a fullback.
Through the Charger games I've seen Scott Matlock who was a D-lineman who converted to fullback. I've seen Ricard with the Ravens.
Willie Lampkin to me, that's a fun toy to play with. I don't know exactly what his role is going to be at the next level, but he's a fun player.
Q. I actually missed the name of the first guy you said.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Oh, gosh. Wasn't Woody Marks, was it?
Q. The defense guy that could --
DANIEL JEREMIAH: JP Pegues from Ole Miss.
Q. Cam Skattebo is obviously a guy who had a big coming-out party in the College Football Playoff and had a great season, but what does he need to do over at the combine and maybe at his pro day depending on if he works out to keep rising up the draft boards in your opinion?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Well, he's a unique player. Just when you watch him -- obviously the incredible run that he went on, but I was looking at my notes on him when I was putting this stuff in last night from my notebook. He just chooses violence. I don't know if I have ever seen a more aggressive runner who just seeks out contact and who can absorb contact.
When I was looking for a comp for him, my first thought was, okay, he is like a shrunk down James Connor. I was like, gosh, more of anything he reminds me of a Plinko chip from The Price is Right bouncing off everything and everybody.
The thing with him is we know he can catch it. We know obviously the vision, the balance, the toughness. The only question is going to be the top speed. If he has a chance, I think to me he looked like he would probably be a low 4.6 guy. If he would run in the 4.5s, that would be great. That would really help himself out. He is such a fun player to watch. Whoever gets him is going to have one of the most aggressive and physical runners that we've seen in the last few years. He's a fun one.
Q. A couple of Canadian players in attendance at the combine. I know Curtis Roark is not going to work out, but I understand he'll be there. And Elic Ayomanor, the receiver from Stanford. Can you give us your take on both those players and understanding that Roark comes with the injury.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: For sure. The first time I noticed Stanford receiver when I'm watching Colorado last year. I'm going, holy moly, he had a monster game there. That's when he jumped on my scene a little bit. He had 290-plus yards in that game. A good bit of it on Travis Hunter I might add. That's when he jumped on my radar.
But outside, big-time burst in his release. I thought he was better on the move. Keep him on the go. He's a little bit sticky at the top of routes working back downhill.
But I thought he's someone who runs through the ball, which I like to see. I've talked about that a little bit being kind of grounded through the catch.
The issue with him just kind of contact drops. You just want to see when he gets kind of those combat catch opportunities, just being a little stronger and finishing on those, but I think he's going to run really well. He has excellent size. I'm excited to see him once we get to Indianapolis.
Then with Roark, gosh, I guess that's not a surprise in Canada with the hockey nation and the toughness and all that stuff. This dude playing the whole season with a torn ACL is pretty incredible. A little bit older at 24 years old, but someone who is good in the RPO game. He's got a good pocket feel. He's quick through progressions.
I like the fact he's got a nice quiet delivery. He is not real violent or aggressive as a thrower. He is very poised. The question is going to be how much real pop does he have, how much arm strength does he have there.
I love the size and obviously the toughness speaks for itself.
Q. Where do you see Elic playing in the NFL? Where do you see him lining up?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I think he will be outside. I think he will be an X receiver. I think that's where he is best suited.
Q. You had Jalon Walker as one of your top 10 prospects on your big board. Going into next week's combine, do you believe he should be more of a pure edge rusher, or does he fit more of what Andrew Van Ginkel and Frankie Luvu does play style-wise?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Those are interesting comps. I think he can play in that role. To me I just think you can do so many different things. I think some teams are going to say I'm not just going to put him in one spot. I'm going to let him do a bunch of different things as those teams do with those guys.
That's real. That's a possibility. I just would love to see given the opportunity, to just be a full-time rusher off the edge. I know he's not 6'5", ideal frame out there. I think he's going to be a nightmare to block if you just cut him loose and let him rush like that.
That's what I would do. Everything is going to be dependent on what scheme you're in and who your defensive coordinator is. I think this guy is double digit sacks off the edge. I don't think his lack of that ideal size is an issue at all against the run. He's so strong and stout. I think he would be hell on wheels out there. That's what I would do with him. But again, if you have a defense that wants to deploy guys differently, I don't know that there's a whole lot he can't do.
Q. I have a two-parter here. Really the first one is I've done some research, and I haven't seen Tyler Warren ranked top 5 and Loveland ranked top 7 in your top 100. Haven't seen tight ends since probably Bowers in 2024 and Pitts from 2021 ranked that high. What do you say about Tyler Warren that's his X factor, and is Rob Gronkowski a little bit of a far-off player comp in terms of what he can be if he is to hit his ceiling? The second part is here -- this is a Dallas Cowboys-focused question -- you have Jeanty at mock to the Cowboys, and now my concern is the amount of touches. Is this something you look at when you look at your evaluations? He has around 750. Someone like Gibbs is coming into the league with 400. I'm a little bit concerned with drafting it back like that after I have seen what happened to Ezekiel Elliott after a couple of years of being in the NFL.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Good questions. I'll start with the tight end stuff here. Look, this draft at the very, very top, I have Abdul Carter, Travis Hunter up there, but it's not a draft where you have -- I had a higher grade on Brock Bowers, I'll cut to the chase, this than I do on these tight ends. I really like both of them, though. We don't quite have the same top-end depth as in years past.
Tyler Warren is my fifth overall player because his mixture of just size, physicality. He just walls guys off. He looks like a billboard rolling down the seam. He's enormous. He has a huge catch radius. He is so physical and tough with the ball in his hands after the catch. They use him on the wild cat stuff and use him as a runner and do those different things because he's a really hard guy to get on the ground.
I look at tight ends, and you kind of look at the Gronk tree and the Kelce tree. If you are stylistically the differences between those two guys, it's well-represented in this draft who you have Tyler Warren who represents more of the Gronk type that's going to be better on the move, crossers, seams, get the ball in his hands and make people tackle him. Whereas when you look at Loveland, it's a little more Kelce, it's a little more option routes, getting in and out of breaks, a little more fluid and someone who can make you miss after the catch, but not quite as physical a player there as you have there with Tyler Warren.
So those are the two tight ends that I think are two of the top 7 players in this year's draft class.
With the Cowboys and Jeanty, look, workload is something that you look at, but I don't know. I know Ezekiel Elliott on the second contract did not get what the Cowboys what they wanted. That's a heck of a run, though. I don't know how many teams would be disappointed with that type of impact if they were to get out of a draft pick to have that type of elite player, even if it's for a handful of years. I think it would constitute a great pick.
Q. With the Chargers at pick 22, how would you prioritize their needs heading into year two with Jim Harbaugh and Joe Hortiz?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Look, I look at the interior of the offensive line would be the top for me, and that's going to be something you can address with free agency and draft. I think getting more weapons offensively, you know, getting -- ideally you get a big-time tight end to go along with some juice in the back field at running back, someone that you can find with some real burst, and then someone to add to the receiver room who has some explosiveness.
I referenced the Lions a little bit earlier, Eric, about doing the big things first and then going and getting the speed and the explosiveness. I still think there's a little work to do on the big side. They have got a defensive tackle situation with free agency. I would love to see them bring back Poona Ford there.
This draft is matched up pretty well with their needs. Interior defensive line, interior offensive line, tight end, running back. I think those are all areas that can be addressed through free agency and through the draft. I think where they're picking, there's a chance you could be looking at Loveland, which is would be a great pick there. I love Omarion Hampton from North Carolina if you want to go with a running back. I think that's a great pick there as someone who could give them some burst as well as the physicality, all kind of wrapped up in one.
So there's your tight end. There's your running back.
And then interior offensive line, I don't think Booker gets there. That would be a run the card up for me because I just think, man, you continue to invest in that interior offensive line, he would be a really good fit there with his size, physicality, character, intelligence, all that stuff. He's someone who checks every box.
So I think they're going to have a really, really good player there for them in one of those spots, and I think it's up to them to figure out how in free agency to support and complement what they're going to do.
Q. Just to kind of look at the back half of the first round, it seems like the area 20 to 40 is a dead zone or purgatory a little bit. Do you see enough teams trying to trade up where you can get out of that range? And then just looking at Jahdae Barron, I know you had him ranked pretty highly. Do you think he gets the Cooper DeJean treatment where teams see him as a nickel and then we're sitting here a year from now saying how did he fall to 40 or something like that?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, I've had the conversation with a team about this very subject. I'm higher on Barron than just about every team I've talked to. I love the way that he plays. I just do. I think that -- this is what I've said to teams. I'm, like, look, you blew it on Branch. You let Branch fall to the second round.
The league collectively blew it on Cooper DeJean and let him fall to the second round.
Is this going to happen again? Are we going to let Barron fall because we're not going to give credit to someone who is going to be on the field the whole game as someone who is going to be a nickel or going to play in that different role, he can play and be your dime linebacker, your nickel?
I think he could survive outside if you needed him to. That's not going to be where his specialty is, but somebody that is a sure tackler, that has instincts, that takes the football away, that's an outstanding blitzer, and I look at the teams that are in the playoffs and guys that can fill that role, can play that role for teams.
I see it with Derwin James as someone who can play in that spot. You look at obviously Cooper DeJean coming off of the Super Bowl there. The Chiefs with McDuffy had someone that he was outside, but he can be a differencemaker in that role and has been in the past. The Ravens, obviously when you have the size and physicality they have that they can put down in there in that spot.
I think there's value to it. I think he's a great player. I don't necessarily understand the lack of value there for him around the league, but I guess we'll have to see what shakes out there.
Then what was the other one about the options of being able to trade back? Is that what you were saying?
Q. Yeah, 20 or 40 seems like a purgatory. Are there going to be teams where they want to trade up that have had the option to trade back?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: The one thing I would keep an eye on is if you have some teams with tackle needs, depending on what happens with the Ravens with Ronnie Stanley, they could be one that could potentially move up. The Chiefs, depending on where their comfort level is with their roster, left tackle could be an area they could address.
So I try and look at maybe shallow pools and where there would be a need to move up. I would say keep an eye on the offensive tackle market and maybe that could drive some movement.
Q. The Buccaneers have a lot of different needs. A lot of them are on defense at a lot of different levels and Todd Bowles, cover three, a lot of different blitzes and fronts and looks. When you look at some of the defensive players and where the Bucs are going to draft at around 19. What do you think are some of the best fits for this sort of Todd Bowles' defense?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Well, aggressive guys that can blitz from anywhere. Todd Campbell would be sure as heck fun to watch there just with all the different things he can do, and fast and explosive and smart. That's a good combination for him for Coach Bowles to be able to play with there.
That's the first thing that jumped off the top of my head here when I'm thinking about those types of players.
Williams from Georgia would be another one. You can do a lot of different things with him in terms of rushing him inside, rushing him outside. He's athletic enough if you want to drop him. He can do a lot of those things as well.
Those are a couple of names to me that just kind of jump out as pretty dynamic players that are -- I love it when you have pass rushers that can win from different entry points. I think those guys can both win from a variety of entry points.
Q. I think a popular thought probably with the Lions at 28 is edge rusher, but if they do pass up on that, who are some guys in range at 60 that you think could be available?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, 60 for edge rushers, I kind of mentioned it. Umanmielen from Ole Miss is right in that range. I have -- I'm not quite as high on Nick Scourton as some other people are, so that is his range for me. Again, I like him. He's a good player. I just know a lot of people talk about him as a first-round pick, and he very well could be, but he is in that range for me.
You've got Kyle Kennard. You have Tuimolau from Ohio State. It's a good group. There's a lot of options there and still you can get guys that can come in and start. I've talked about this D-tackle how deep it is. The edge group is pretty deep as well.
Q. I know there's a lot of uncertainty with the quarterback position for the Las Vegas Raiders. There's been a lot of rumors of the Raiders moving up to a get a top quarterback. If they don't decide to trade up to get the top quarterback, what would be the option at No. 6 for the Las Vegas Raiders and what would position would be the best fit for that overall No. 6 pick?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, they could go in several different directions. You look at some of their needs. Obviously the quarterback stands out, but corner is an area depending on how comfortable they are with Will Johnson. I'm a Barron fan, but I haven't talked to teams that would be as comfortable all the way up there at that point in time. Might be a little early.
That's one area you could be look. I think they could just go, though, kind of best available defensive player. I don't think you can go wrong there. Walker is a fun one. We've talked a ton about him from Georgia. I know Tom Brady is going to know everything, ins and outs about Mason Graham. Christian Wilkins and Mason Graham would be a fun pairing with Max on the outside. There's different directions, different areas they could go there.
They've got to figure out the quarterback thing at some point in time, via free agency or whether they're going to do it right here at 6 or whether they want to try and take a flyer on somebody outside the top of the draft. I do have my -- I did have my antenna up because I have to go back and double-check, but I was trying to remember what Chip Kelly's connection was with Dillon Gabriel maybe as a down the line option for them at quarterback. I'm pretty sure they're familiar with each other.
Q. By all indications, the Browns are going to lean back into Kevin Stafanski's wheelhouse with the wide zone scheme and play action with under center elements. This is a terrific running back class. Which running backs do you see as the best fit for the wide zone, and give me some of the characteristics of each one.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Sure. Yeah, again, I've mentioned the depth of this running back class. The first one that just popped right into my head is Kaleb Johnson from Iowa, someone who I just think is that one cut, foot in the ground, speed and go. He's got excellent vision. He's not going to be a real, like, nifty in and out guy. He is just going to see it and go. He has burst, and he has long speed.
That would be the first one that kind of popped into my mind.
Other ones, Hampton obviously would fit into that as a big, explosive guy. I think he is a little more loose than Johnson. That would fit there as well.
There's Dylan Sampson; not the biggest guy in the world. Kind of undersized out of Tennessee, but he, again, can get to the perimeter and get north and south. He has got big-time, big-time bursts. I don't think he will time as fast as he plays, but he plays plenty fast.
Those are guys that jump out to me.
The two Ohio State guys can play with Judkins and Henderson and with those two individually. Judkins is like a finisher. You watch the end of the Penn State game, he is their four minute back and he just salts the game away. He has got balance, strength, power. Passing game-wise more screens, checkdown type; whereas Henderson is one of the best pass protecting backs that I've evaluated.
He is exceptional in that regard. Then he can run routes. He can pluck it, and he can hit home runs out of the back field. He is not quite as good of a dirty runner inside as Judkins is, but definitely a home run hitter who in that system, again, stretch and then get up the field and use your speed and be a factor in the passing game. Trayvon Henderson is outstanding.
I could go on. There is a bunch of backs. Third round type. Probably third, fourth round for someone like Trevor Etienne is another one that I like. It's a long list.
Q. I'm curious for your impressions of Florida's draft class; they're sending nine guys to the combine after two last year. Obviously don't need to get into each one, but maybe some of the stand-outs to you? In particular Graham Mertz with the quarterback class and the play that he put together at Florida after a little bit of up and down at Wisconsin, who changed his trajectory at all?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah. I'll start with Mertz. To me I had him more of as a late round, priority free agent. He is a little bit older, which a lot of these guys are. He is 24. I like the way he threw the ball on the move. I thought he held the ball a little bit long. I thought he got a little bit jumpy at times in the pocket. I just thought there were times where I would like to see him throw with more trajectory. He threw a flat ball. By all accounts talking to folks there, he is a great dude. He's really, really bright.
If he can kind of just pass the threshold as a thrower, I think he has a chance to an opportunity as a practice squad or hang on to a roster as a backup, but to me he was more kind of a late round guy or free agent.
With some of the other Florida guys, Cameron Jackson is enormous, kind of unique to see a D-tackle at 6'6" 1/2, 340 pounds. More of a flash player than someone who is real consistent. I thought he played on his heels a little much, but he can stack blocks. He has real strong hands. I thought he played with good block awareness.
Interesting package with him with his size, and then I'll just give you a couple of more here.
Badger, their receiver. I like that he is inside/outside. He is instinctive. Settles in zones. He can win quicks against press. He tracks the ball easy. I thought his frame, you know, he caught the ball and played bigger than his size. I thought he was fourth round type player.
Then I'll give you one more here for Shemar James, a linebacker. First tape you watch is against Miami. Has nice play against Cam Ward, pick one off there. You can use him in a variety of ways. You can spy him. He has range at the perimeter. He can carry. He can cover down the seam.
I just thought physicality-wise he got stuck on some blocks and got swallowed a little bit inside. A little bit more of a day 3 guy for me, but someone who has a chance.
Q. I want to ask you about a couple of Tennessee guys. You already touched on Sampson, so we can circle back to James Pearce. Something you mentioned earlier was that there's a pretty wide range to where he could go. He obviously going into the season was projected near the top of the draft. How do you evaluate his play this season?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, teams are just kind of split on him. Just kind of you have stuff all over the map.
He is kind of a unique player because of his frame and his build. But gosh, when I watch him, he is just really, really explosive. I mention the first three steps, those are the ones that jump out to me.
He reminds me, gosh -- the name is -- I have all these draft names in my heads, so the current guys end up escaping me, but Leonard Floyd, you know, tall, long, rangy edge rusher. That's kind of who he reminds me of as a player.
He's a good one. Omarr Norman-Lott, the DT, he plays with power through edges. He is kind of funky in that he has a unique rush as someone in there who he will use a Euro step at times, he can cross your face. I didn't think he was ultra, ultra dynamic, but he just has a lot of ways to kind of win in there. I gave him a third-round grade.
Elijah Simmons, the other DT, is 340 pounds. Just massive. Can sit there and plug and hold the point of attack easy. Holds up doubles. Not much of a pass rusher. More just push the pocket.
Bru McCoy, seen him since high school at Mater Dei and at USC. Just durability is the knock there. He is big and physical. He is going to look great just watching him move around in warmups. Can track the ball. He is physical after the catch. Just durability and staying healthy is the issue there.
Then Thornton, you know, size, speed. He caught a zillion of those bang-8s, those skinny posts in that offense with that real, real wide split. He tracks the ball well. I just thought as a route runner he telegraphed a little bit. I would just like to see a little bit more precision there and a little more intention there as a route runner. I didn't know after the catch if there was much wiggle. Just more of a run-away from you guy.
Q. For the Colts they have some clear needs in the secondary with some younger pieces in the mold and then making the defensive philosophy switch with Lou Anarumo coming over as the coordinator. What are your thoughts on the day 1 and day 2 prospects at corner and at safety, especially in terms of being able to play in the deep safety role?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Sure. Deep safety role, I mean, Starks fits that out of Georgia. He's someone that can play in the nickel, can play high as the safety. So that one would be the first one I would talk about as someone who can range and play over the top.
Xavier Watts is another one from Notre Dame who fits in there. One of my favorite guys in the safety group who is going to be third, fourth round, maybe you get him in the fourth round is Craig Woodson from Cal. He plays in the deep half. He can play downhill. He can open. He's a smooth mover. He's got speed. He's a firm tackler, and he's really, really smart. Talking to the folks at Cal, they rave about his intelligence and leadership.
He's someone. I'm big on trust in the back end, and I think he's someone you get in the third, fourth round that I would trust to put back there real early in his career.
Corner-wise for a little more of the depth guys, we talked about Trey Amos is one of my favorites out of Ole Miss; Parrish, Kansas State.
In terms of having some tools, some raw tools to work with, but you have to be a little bit patient, Darien Porter from Iowa State, height, weight, speed. He can play the ball down the field. He just is a little bit tight, but you have some things to work with there.
Another Cal kid, Nohl Williams, who has a ton of production, and I think is ready to play right away. You can watch the Auburn game with him. I think he had three picks in that game. Picked off Cam Ward. A pick-6 against Cam Ward in that game. Feisty, physical. Maybe a little quicker than fast. We'll see what he runs, but he is another one kind of in that third, fourth round range.
There's some interesting names there that I think would fit what they're doing.
Q. The big story up here in the Pacific Northwest regarding the Seattle Seahawks is whether or not they extend Geno Smith and keep him as a starter in 2025, but even if he does stay, there is the possibility that Seattle could actually draft a quarterback this year, which is something they've only done twice ever under John Schneider. There are a lot of options, seemingly, in the late day 1, day 2, even day 3 range. The most common I've seen mock drafted to Seattle is Will Howard of Ohio State, Kyle McCord of Syracuse, Quinn Ewers of Texas, and Jaxson Dart of Ole Miss who I think you suggested could be an option for Seattle at No. 18. With the expectation of a run-oriented, play action-based, more under center offense under Clint Kubiak, which of the quarterbacks do you believe best fits the new Seattle offense?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, appreciate that. Look, coffee would probably be a little rich for me at 18 for Jaxson Dart. I have him in the 40s. He's my third quarterback there.
I can rip through some of these guys and tell you about them, and then I'll just kind of wrap it up with who I think could make some sense for what they're doing.
You know, Will Howard had the hot playoff run. He's got obviously the size. Almost 6'4", 240 pounds. Ultra competitive kid. I love the fact that he won at two spots at K-State. Then obviously this year at Ohio State.
He's a touch thrower. He is quick to get to No. 3 in his read. The big question is just going to be the arm strength. Had a couple of brain cramps during the year, but I thought he cleaned all that stuff up. Everybody is going to look at the Oregon game. The first meeting with run the clock out there at the end of that ball game and some turnovers against Penn State.
I thought he got better and throughout the year. I just want to see him throw live. I've never seen him throw live. I want to see what his arm looks like.
Tyler Shough from Louisville is older; he is 25. He has four degrees, so he's probably going to be as well-educated as anybody on your football team. I can't imagine anybody having more than that.
He can drive the ball. He is big and strong. He's another one who can get to No. 3 in the progression. He can throw off balance. He has a lot of arm talent. There's a lot to like there. One of the things with him is just pocket awareness stuff. He bails too much instead of just sliding, shuffling, and finding space within the pocket, but he's a big, strong dude.
Ewers, there's a few guys that are on my list to go back after the combine after I get some time after watching all these guys and go back to '23 tape. I know he wasn't healthy this year, but he did not take the step I was hoping he would take. He is still young at 21. He has quick feet, quick release, but he got in a lot of bad habits. I didn't think he played with any conviction. Just not trusting what he is saying. Got real sloppy with his feet and everything kind of got away from him.
The team had tremendous success, and he obviously made some big-time throws in the playoffs. Overall not the step forward I was hoping for him.
Last one was Kyle McCord after Syracuse. Reminded me a lot of Derek Carr at Fresno. Quick feet, quick eyes. You see some RPO stuff there. He is accurate. He has a touch down the field. He can gas it up and give you some velocity when needed. Just played real aggressive and was a little bit frenetic at times and also ran himself into some sacks.
All those guys have different strengths and weaknesses. They're all intriguing type players. To me they're more ideally you would love to get them in the third round. I think Dart will be gone by then, but I think the rest of the guys that's more the range that I have them.
In terms of someone you would want to work with, gosh, it sounds weird even though he is older, but for what they're doing, I mean, Tyler Shough to me would be someone I would be interested in maybe taking a flyer on there in the third round.
Q. With talking about Shedeur and Travis Hunter, I was curious what you thought of the other prospects from CU specifically, the wideouts? Obviously a couple more will be at the combine. I don't think Will Sheppard will be. And what do you think of the two Jayhawks, Devin Neal and The Hawk Mamba Cobee Bryant?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I'll go Colorado. I think Travis Hunter is -- Travis Hunter is like someone took -- someone went to the Philadelphia Eagles and took Devonta Smith and Darius Slay and spun him around in a circle and they came out as the same human being. He's unique.
Wester is, for someone just over 5'9", 177 pounds, not real big, but ultradynamic, explosive. I like the fact he had 21 explosives and only three drops. He's sudden, getting in and out of breaks. Just going to have to play him in space. That's where his game is. I thought he was kind of in that fourth round range.
Jimmy Horn is a little bit in that same vein. I like Wester a little bit more, but Horn, a lot of quick hitters. He's tough and strong through contact. He can really see things, feel things, instinctive-wise. I didn't think he was quite as elusive after the catch there, but someone who's definitely kind of an interesting down the line player.
You didn't ask me about the Colorado State guys by the way. I feel like that's not serving your market properly when you have someone like Tory Horton who's a really, really good player. I'm just busting your chops.
Q. If you want to chime in on Tory Horton too. Obviously he's banged up a little bit.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: He's one of my favorites. I had a chance to go back and watch him in '23. Inside, outside, smooth mover, he can separate, he can change direction. He's got a big catch radius, knows how to play, knows how to work back.
You're going to see him climb through the spring. You're going to start hearing a lot more about him as he's healthy in the spring. You'll start seeing some buzz building on him.
Let's get to your Jayhawks. Actually, I'm a Logan Brown fan. Plays at right tackle. He's got quick feet. Plays a little bit high. I just like the fact that you've got somebody that can work up to the second level, swallows linebackers. He's got a little nasty edge to him when he's free. When he's free, he looks for work. I like that about him. Just overextends a little bit at times, something to work on. I liked him to the tune of like third, fourth round.
Cobee Bryant, you mentioned it, the ball production is excellent. He's lean. He's 171 pounds. I don't love that, but he can take the ball away. The Houston game will show you that, just watch him in Cover 3 just drive and pull it away.
He can find the ball with his back to the quarterback, which is very hard to do. He's got really quick feet. For someone who's not big and who's light like that, although it's always kind of a low tackler, but he's got a decent batting average as a tackler. He's, again, someone I think, if he was a little bit bigger, we'd be talking about him probably more in that second round range, but I think he's probably 3, 4 is where we see him go.
I'm just looking through a couple more. Let me give you two more, by the way. Dotson had the five picks at the other corner. Zone eyes, sees it well, drives through the receiver to the ball. Just got out muscled a little bit at times. He's a day three guy for me.
Devin Neal, short stepper, he can make you miss. The production is excellent. Looks to get vertical as fast as possible. I thought he was a little bit quicker than fast. I'm anxious to see what he runs, but someone who's definitely a valuable option as a checkdown back and someone who's an efficient runner at 220 pounds.
Q. Daniel, I'm just curious with the defensive line depth in this class and the top end talent that they have, do you think that teams could kind of wait until later rounds just because of how many startup level players there are?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, I think there's a couple positions in this draft where that's going to be the discussion. When you look at if you are dead set on getting a defensive tackle edge rusher, running back, tight end, I think that you have to look at the combination, and this is what you do in the draft room.
You take the combination of players, okay, if we take the running back in the first round and we take the tackle in the second round, what does that combination look like? Versus flipping it, we get the tackle first. We come back and get the running back, edge rusher, whatever other position later. I just those are some positions of real, real depth.
If that's a need for you along the defensive line, running back, tight end, I think you might look at going another position early knowing you can circle back and still get a really talented player, not just in this year, but historically, like day two guys.
Whereas I don't know if the top 15 of this draft marries up with some of the better top 15s we've seen in this decade, but I do think the day two mix is very similar, so I think there's quality to be had there.
Q. Daniel, there's a discussion a couple years ago about the value of taking a guy like Jordan Davis in the middle of the first round, a two down player. He's been that for the Eagles. Same question couple years later. If you could spin that towards the Steelers, would there be value there taking a guy like Kenneth Grant who could help your run defense, or would you rather see them at 21 go after a guy with more three down versatility, pick your guy, Harmon, whoever that might be?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I think Kenneth has that up side in him. He's going to be 340 pounds, and he's going to run under 5 flat. You're just going to see an athlete that's a freak. He just hasn't -- he's not a polished rusher yet. So I think that's all in front of him.
I think in the meantime he's someone who is going to dominate against the run. He's going to eat blocks, and as a league that's gone to so much Shell coverage and become so obsessed with taking away explosives, boy, you do that, you've got to play with light boxes.
So I do think that talking to people around the league and just following a team around the league and speaking to people every week, there's more value in these guys now.
Everything's kind of come around a little bit, where it was, man, if you can't really rush the passer, I'm not going to expend the high resources on you as a defensive lineman, a defensive tackle. Now it's like, you know what, we're trying to take away explosive plays. We're a little light in the box. Having someone that can dominate against the run and let us play our coverage over the top is huge.
I think he's got more as a rusher. I have this vision in my head, and this is probably a sign that I haven't been sleeping much, but I just remember going back to Albert Haynesworth when he was with Tennessee, playing with Vanden Bosch. I'm not comparing them in terms of people, work ethic, all of that stuff, but I'm just saying a big jumbo athlete like that that you could kick out at end, and they would put Vanden Bosch inside, and they could run games and all that stuff.
I think Kenneth Grant, he's got the ability and the tools to do some unique stuff, and he has not come close to scratching the surface of his potential. I would have no problem whatsoever if the Steelers made that pick, and I'd be pretty pumped up about it if I were a Steeler fan.
Q. I have a question about Alabama players Jihaad Campbell and Tyler Booker. I know you've spoken on them a bit. My question is for Jihaad, you have him -- if he's still around, why would it be a great idea to take him at that 29th spot? And if Tyler Booker is able to go to Chicago, what could he -- how could he be beneficial to that Chicago team? Additionally, what does Jalen Milroe need to do into combine and Pro Day to at least get back into the second round?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Cool. I will go those one at a time here. With Campbell in Washington, I think that represents a tremendous value there at pick number 29. Again, you obviously have seen him. When he plays off the ball in the range and the ability to use him as a blitzer from off the ball is pretty special. Then I'm not so sure you can't just get to third down and let him kick outside full-time and let him rush, and he might get you ten sacks doing that.
That would constitute a tremendous value there at pick No. 29 in my opinion, based off the player. I think they would love coaching him there, and Dan Quinn would love him in Washington.
Booker, with the Bears, it's the biggest need the Bears have when you look at them offensive line-wise, they have got to be better. They've got to be more firm up the middle. That's Booker's calling card as to how he can set his anchor and is just a strong, firm presence there, as well as someone who's so smart and bright and aware.
I like the fact, when you have a young quarterback in Caleb Williams, surrounding him everywhere with as many smart players as you can, I just think that helps in a big way. That doesn't necessarily have to be just veterans. It can be with really, really smart young players, and that's what Booker is. I think that fits and solves a lot of their problems there.
Then when it comes to Milroe, again, continuing to grow as a passer, get your cleats in the ground. There's times when he can get up a little bit on his toes. Just relax, be comfortable, drop your shoulders, put your cleats in the ground, and let the ball come off your hand.
It's all in there. As a runner, I was talking to a baseball GM the other day, and we were talking about the scale we use, the scouting scale, in baseball it goes up to 80. They reference everything by saying he's got a 65 fastball, he's got 70 speed, he's got 50 makeup, what have you. I was like, you know, it's interesting, if I was thinking about this draft and you take all the quarterbacks and you took all their individual skills and you put them on that scale, I would say that he's the only one who has an 80 straight, which is his ability to run.
He is an 80 runner. It is a special, special talent that he has. I don't know if he's going to run a 40 or not at the combine or at the Pro Day, but I would not be surprised if the second number was a 3, just watching the tape of how fast he is and how good of a runner he is.
Now just continue to grow and show through the spring, meet with teams. He's going to have Zooms. He's going to have visits. Show them that you've got a thirst to improve. I would not be surprised at all if somebody was excited about that and they were to pull the trigger there at that point in time.
I think right now most teams have him more third, fourth round, but to your point, he's got an opportunity this spring to see if he can better that.
Q. I just wanted to ask you very quickly another Michigan question. Your impressions of the running backs Donovan Edwards and Kalel Mullings. Donovan seemed to improve his stock a bit at the Senior Bowl. My second question is way early in the call, you were talking about Mason Graham. You were saying you hope people don't overthink it too much with him. I was just wondering, what might they overthink with Mason?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: He's not going to be long. He's going to have short arms. Body type-wise, he's not someone that's going to stand up on a stage in a line full of these defensive linemen, and go, oh, gosh, that looks like the top 10 defensive linemen. He doesn't cut that image. He doesn't have that body type.
Testing-wise, I have no clue how he's going to run or jump or do all those things. I do know some of these other guys are going to blow it out. That's kind of my point on him.
But the tape is so good. I don't know if many people remember this one, and I was in Baltimore with Kelly Gregg. He's got more twitch to him, more suddenness than Kelly, but Kelly was a wrestler who played with leverage. If he played on a field of wet paint, he did not have a drop of paint on him at the end of the game. That's kind of the way it is with Mason. He's got such good balance and strength and leverage.
Again, I'm a big fan of his, but that's what I was referencing. In terms of the spring, if we take the football pants off and put the shorts on, that maybe he would take on some water there. That was my thought process.
On the running backs, Kalel Mullings was a fun one to me. Kind of go into the year, and Donovan is the one, he's on the video game, and that's all the attention and all the eyeballs. I know he didn't quite have the year he wanted, but Mullings, for someone that's 227 pounds, I thought he had vision, I thought he ran with balance. He can push the pile. I love the fact he never put the ball on the ground. He didn't fumble.
The SC game was the first one I watched. He's got the stiff-arm and the long run to kind of set up his touchdown at the end of that game to really pull out one that they might not should've won, but he was able to lead the charge there.
Not a factor in the passing game with only six catches. That's something -- we'll see if that impacts where he goes. I had him more in that fourth round range.
Had a similar grade with Donovan. You've got some flashes with him this year, the flash, the power. He's another one that's got a nice little stiff-arm. He can catch the ball out of the backfield. I just thought he didn't run with a lot of wiggle, and I didn't quite see the same burst of speed.
You're right, the Senior Bowl was better. I don't think this year you saw his best, and hoping that's going to show up wherever he lands and we'll see the younger version of him.
Q. I really wanted to find out, it seems like Jaxson Dart seems to be getting quite a bit of buzz in the past couple of weeks, especially since the Senior Bowl. I just wanted to know what are your thoughts on him and kind of where does he level out at with this quarterback class?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I have him as the third guy. The things that you like about Jaxson, I see -- there's some similarities, people will maybe raise their eyebrows on this, but I do see some similarities to Hurts when Hurts was going through the process.
Got kind of a similar build, similar frame. They're both really good athletes. They're both beloved by their teammates, say the right things, do all the right things, do all the stuff on and off the field. There's a lot of similarities there.
I thought with Jalen, he got better every year. He kept taking steps. We've seen it since he's come into the league, he just keeps getting better and better and better. He's got great wiring. He works really hard, and there's a competitiveness and a toughness to him.
So that's some of the things that I really like about Jaxson. This offense, they're not going to get real deep into progressions. Lane does a really good job of getting to the point where early in progressions you're going to have places to distribute the football. You'll see some RPOs. You'll see some seams, some -- they take a lot of deep shots, but they're kind of designed deep shots. You kind of know where the ball is going, but he throws a nice deep ball to work on from that regard, not just kind of getting deeper in progressions.
There's times where I think his eyes can be a little bit ahead of his feet, just kind of syncing that up, marrying that up a little bit better, and just continuing to be cautious and careful with the football in some key moments. That's some areas for him.
I have met him. He's a really, really good kid, presents himself really well, and I think there's a lot of tools to work with. That's why I have him as the third quarterback.
Q. Two Bears questions here. First one, do you think they'll have their pick of choosing for the offensive linemen available in the draft? And second of all, when you look back at Roma dune say, he didn't have the best of years last year, do you still project him to be the top talent you were projecting him to be last year?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I don't have any concerns about him. I think he's going to be really, really good. Obviously there's issues up front offensive line-wise, and there's a lot of mouths to feed there.
I'm excited about Ben Johnson coming in there. I'm excited about him getting to really have an opportunity to take off there. Caleb is going to be better. I just think everything else around him is going to be better.
When I watch the tape, I still see somebody that can get open. I still see somebody that can make plays, and I think you'll see him. His makeup is so good and the talent's there. I don't really worry about him going forward.
When you look at where they're picking, do they get their first crack at an offensive lineman? Yeah, there's some teams ahead of them that can pull the trigger, so I think that's TBD, but I do think the fact that their need being along the interior, I think they're going to have their pick of interior guys.
I know it's not the sexiest thing in the world. I know people don't want to get super excited about taking a guard with the 10th pick, but if you watched the Bears play last year, you might be excited about taking a guard at the 10th pick.
Q. What are some under the radar prospects you think could make a huge impact during the combine and rise their stock?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: That's a great question. I am so glad you asked it in English because I'm going to be honest, I did not pass Spanish 1 the first time I took it. I had to retake it. I'm not proud of that, but I did eventually get a passing grade although I think it was a C.
I'm looking at some underrated players that I think are going to flash at the combine, I mentioned Hairston from Kentucky. He's going to absolutely fly. He's in my top 50. I think he's got a chance to run himself up into the first round conversation. You'll hear some buzz and some conversation about him.
There's a couple of edge rushers and defensive linemen that I think you're going to see test really, really well that I'm high on that are good football players. Sai'vion Jones from LSU is going to work out really well. He's 289 pounds. He was dominant in the Senior Bowl game. He's going to be a day 2 pick. I think you could see him really put on a show there and run particularly well.
You look at the edge rushers that are going to be impressive. I think Braden Swinson from LSU, his teammate, has a chance to workout run really well.
Ahmed Hassanein from Boise State is a great story. He's a kid that grew up in Egypt. He's productive there at Boise State. He's going to test, I think he's going to surprise some people with how he works out and how he tests.
Those are some of the guys that I think you'll see create some buzz there. I'm trying to think of an offensive -- maybe an offensive lineman that I can find for you. I mean, he's not necessarily under the radar, but I do think Membou from Missouri is going to work out extremely well at 330 pounds. We'll be talking about him.
Q. Just jumping on the No. 6 pick with the Raiders, I know you have on your mock draft 2.0, you've got Shedeur falling to them, but the last few years we've seen the Raiders needing a quarterback, and they kind of just didn't go that route. Is there a possibility if Shedeur is not there at 6, besides going defense, like Will Johnson -- as you said earlier, will they go someone like maybe McMillan or probably Jeanty and then come down to the 37th pick where they might look at a Jaxson Dart or Jalen Milroe?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Jaxson Dart would enter into the discussion. Milroe, that may be a little early based on where I have him. But you do your homework in the spring and get to know him and work it out, obviously the upside is there. I wouldn't rule out eventually getting to that point. I'm not there at this point in time.
In terms of some of those other options, you could go on a whole host of different directions there. I would love Jeanty, again, he's my third overall player. I'm a huge Jeanty believer. When it comes to running backs, do you take him high, do you not take him high? My theory is you take the running back when you have everything in place that all his carries matter. I just don't want to give away carries. They only have so many carries in their body, and I want them all to matter and to count for something.
I just don't know if the Raiders team-wise are there at this time that would make as much sense. To me, that's more of a kind of finishing piece than one of those early pieces there.
We've kind of seen it with the Giants, with Saquon Barkley. We saw Saquon Barkley on the team that wasn't ready for him, and we saw Saquon Barkley on the team that was ready made, and you could see the impact and the value there. That would be my one counter argument there even though I have Jeanty as the third best player in the Draft.
Q. With Chip Kelly's offense, between the three quarterbacks, who would be a good fit for it?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I think Shedeur fits it really well. I think he sees the field well. I think he makes good decisions. Chip can play out there with tight ends now. We've seen his offense morph and change over the years. I just think he'd be able to get them in the right play, get them where they want to be, and deliver the ball accurately and make good decisions.
That's why that one I've had, I think, for a couple times there of that being a fit, and I think Shedeur not necessarily having a huge, huge arm, in that division and in that home stadium, it doesn't matter. He's got plenty of arm to do everything he needs to do there.
Q. You alluded to another big Georgia draft class. Safety Dan Jackson did not get one of their 14 combine invites. Did that surprise you, and what value do you see in him at the next level?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, I was surprised because he had good week at the Senior Bowl. He had a couple of big hits both in practice and in the game. That one caught me a little bit off guard.
Now, he's not the biggest guy in terms of -- what did he weigh here? He's 194 pounds. He's 5'11", just under 6-foot, 194 pounds, but tape-wise, I had him in like the fifth round as the grade that I gave him. He's got a quick pedal, can plant and drive. Big hits on tape as well as at the Senior Bowl, plays with a physical presence, takes good angles.
There are some misses, he had some ricochet misses just because he doesn't wrap up, but it's not for a lack of throwing himself in there. But I thought he saw the field well, and I also thought he had a little value as a blitzer.
I think he's definitely a draftable player. I was a little surprised he didn't get an invite.
Q. Quickly, four Georgia offensive linemen at the combine. Tate Ratledge, Jared Wilson, Dylan Fairchild, and Xavier Truss.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Sure, I'll go through them here. Wilson to me is the top one of the bunch. He's a center, wide base, plays with strong hands. He takes good angles at the second level. Real firm. He's aware on twists in games. He can recover and stay attached. I think he's an elite athlete. He just really doesn't get beat, and he's a good solid player.
Ratledge at right guard, good seal and position blocker, takes good angles, but kind of more upper body, just wrestle. The side note, watching that Florida tape, Florida's got that 400-pound defensive tackle, and that defensive tackle threw him around a little bit. Had some initial pop; just didn't do a really good job of sustaining. And I had him as a down-the-line guy.
Truss, right tackle, position blocker, some right guard as well. Just plays a little bit high and struggles to change direction. Didn't think he was able to bend and sink all that well. Does flash some power, can pull and kick out. Day 3 guy for me.
We've got Fairchild, is that the last one? Fairchild, left guard, strong hands. Does a good job reworking his hands, can control the point of attack, just a little bit stiff. Again, plays a little bit high, looks for work. Just a little bit limited athletically.
I thought Wilson was on a different tier personally than the rest of them, but they're all going to get picked.
Q. As you know, the Commanders' offensive line has been a weak spot this season, and they're also in need of a solid No. 2, that's been the big talk. From your perspective, which offensive linemen draft can make an immediate impact, and are there any wide receivers who can step in that No. 2 role and complement Terry McLaurin?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I'll start with the receivers. There's definitely receivers. They're picking at the bottom of the first round, they're at pick 29. I would love to run the card up for either Golden or Egbuka.
Luther Burden, we haven't talked about him yet. He's in that mix. Teams will have those guys in different orders, but I think any of those three guys will be good complementary players.
Q. Sorry, the third one?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Luther Burden from Missouri. I compared him to Stefon Diggs coming out of college. Real quick athletic slot, really quick hitter, great hands, great body control. He's got some burst and make/miss after the catch.
His production dipped this year. His yards per catch dipped, but it was more of a result of kind of some bad balls coming his way and not getting as many opportunities. He's someone that, if he has a good spring, he might not even be there when they pick, but those are some options there at the bottom of the first round would make a lot of sense.
Then what was the other position you were asking about for immediate help?
Q. Offensive line.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Offensive line-wise, same guys he kind of mentioned, Donovan Jackson, Grey Zabel. Those are a couple that would be a couple of plug and play guys right out of the jump, if they were to be there at pick No. 29. From a tackle perspective, you start getting into Simmons, if he were to be there. He's coming off of an injury, but he is out of Ohio State, man, he's ready to go. He could start right away.
Q. Wanted to ask you about a couple of guys, Pat Ryan out of Illinois and Jalen Rivers out of Miami going to be out at the combine. What do you see from those guys? Where do you think they could end up draft?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Let's start first of all with pat Bryant. I gave him a third round grade. There's a big clump of receivers in there, though. You're going to see some of those guys fall beyond that. Outside, he wins on a lot of slants. He's an excellent adjuster down the field. It's one of my favorite things about him. He's a hands catcher, only one drop on the year. He's strong with the ball in his hands after the catch. He can win early with his release, and I love the toughness to work in traffic and win some of those combat catches, and I love the size that he has. I think he'd be a great fit there as a third round pick.
Rivers from Miami, obviously you start with the size, massive left tackle out there. He's one that I've said this about some of the linemen, but he just needs to play a little lower, can get a little bit tall, a little bit high, and that struggles with some of the redirect things against counters and things like that, but can move outside, can pull and seal. As a pass protector, he's a little bit of a scooper with his hands, kind of an under-hook scooper.
Some guys are better at that than others, but you don't see that quite as much. He's someone I thought was an early day 3 pick with a ton of up side.
Q. The Jaguars sitting at 5, where do you think they could go with a guy like McMillan to pair with BTJ at 10?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: That's a little bit higher than I have him, but I have him as a top receiver. You'd have two power forward types. He's got unbelievable body control with hands to go play above the end like red zone weapon, Drake London-esque, a real, real smooth mover. I have him as the 15th player.
Gosh, I guess that's not that far removed from where I have him graded. I think you could make that argument. That would be a fun pairing.
Q. My question is Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, Coach Prime, did say that Shedeur Sanders, he doesn't want his son playing for four teams, the Browns, the Titans, the Jets, and Bears. Will this cause an issue, let's say, if he does want to get taken by one of those teams?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Is that new news, by the way? I hadn't seen that.
Q. It's something that his dad basically said, hey, I don't want him going to these four teams. I don't know if it's so new, but it's something that his dad put out there. I know you have him going 11th, but just in case something does happen, it's a draft, how do you feel this might play itself out?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Look, I haven't seen all of it to wrap my head around it, but look, I think if you're a team and somebody doesn't want to play for you at that position, it's kind of a big deal. I don't know that I would fight city hall on that one if someone really was adamant about not wanting to play there.
Again, that would be kind of unique, but I do think that Deion is right and smart from the standpoint that fit is incredibly important. We look at all these different quarterbacks. Last year just watching the Sam Darnold last year, seeing Baker Mayfield for the last couple years, you have seen where you are matters and fit matters. It's extremely important.
If that's what Deion said or did, I would totally understand his reasoning for wanting to make sure that his son ended up in the right spot. So that's the parent side of it.
Then from the team side of it, I just don't think you're going to want to bring in somebody that doesn't necessarily want to be there. Again, I haven't seen the report. I haven't seen the information yet, but that would be my reaction to it.
Q. Just a quick follow-up on that, do you think maybe the dad should reconsider that position?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Look, Deion's not the average coach or dad. Like he knows the NFL inside and out. I don't think that Deion would speak or say something without doing his homework and saying it with conviction. I wouldn't want to be the person who's going to try and change Deion's mind. If he said that publicly, then I know he's done his homework on that, and I wouldn't imagine that would change.
Q. You already mentioned the Tennessee players and how you stood on each one of them. Which one would you feel is more strong for this combine and this setup? I know you mentioned Lott and Pearce, teams being not too sure about him, and also Samson, but what do you see from that group of six coming?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I'm hoping Pearce does something because he sure plays explosive and fast, so I would imagine he'll test extremely well.
On Samson, just talking to guys around the league and everything who are familiar with his training and stuff, he plays extremely fast and explosive, but the testing might not match that. Just in terms of him ripping off a 4.3 or something like that.
The one that would entice me and intrigue me the most would absolutely be Pearce.
Q. Just from kind of knowing what I know, the Saints really feel enamored potentially Will Johnson and McMillan potentially at 9. You spoke to why Will Johnson might be there, and prior to this season, the idea of those two players being there at 9 kind of seemed ludicrous going by like three mock drafts. Could you maybe talk about Will Johnson's 2023 of what he would bring as a player and Tetairoa as -- I think you made the Drake London comparison of what I see him as of what he would bring to an offense if he was the pick at 9 for the Saints.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Again, I think that comes down to the personnel department and the coaching staff getting on the same page. The reason I haven't had them going with a skill player is just based off of where Kellen was coming from as a head coach. You get together with the personnel department there, and they'll come up with the best plan.
Will has got -- he is central casting for what you want a corner to look like. He is tall. He's rangy. He's a fluid athlete, fluid mover. He's got really, really good eyes. He's got excellent ball skills. That's where you start. That's a really good foundation.
I think in '23, I just thought there was a little more physicality to him than we saw this year. It is what it is. I just thought guys got on top of him a couple times this year, and that could be just -- not necessarily have to be a speed thing, it can be a focus thing. They played a lot of games the year before. Obviously the team was in a different position. It wasn't as good of a team.
So coming off of a long season, he knows he's going to be a top 15 pick going into the year. I can understand how maybe it didn't match what we'd seen previously.
Then you get to McMillan, again, just mention him and talking about him a minute ago, the size is outstanding. The body control and ball skills are as good as you're going to see. There were some -- I didn't talk about really negatives with him last time, but there are some times just on the back side of routes, I don't really see him busting it all the time. I'd like to see that just be a little bit more consistent and competitive with each rep in that regard.
But, man, someone who can play above the rim in a big, big way. They'd have some fun with him, especially down in the red area.
I'd be curious to see, we call it a copy cat league, people paying attention to the teams that are playing well and winning, and coming off of a Super Bowl that was just dominated at the line of scrimmage and you have the coach who was involved in that game, that's why I was leaning more towards that side of things than a skill guy.
Q. I wanted to piggy-back off of what Ryan Dunleavy was saying where you have the New York Giants possibly passing off on Shedeur Sanders. If that's a possibility, how do you see them addressing quarterback it in free agency considering they have a coach on the hot seat and no quarterbacks on the roster?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: That was the whole Stafford theory that's the one that was floating around, and that's why I went that way with the mock draft. In terms of other options, I don't think Sam Darnold is going to be in a hurry to run back to New York. That's the best option in terms of the talent that is out there.
In a team that needs to, you mentioned it, you want to get your quarterback of the future, but there's some pressure, at least from the outside, not knowing any on the inside, to have a good year next year. Relying on a young guy there can be a little bit tricky.
The veteran options, that's, gosh, somehow trading for Matt Stafford would be way, way up there for me in the short term at least with Sam Darnold being, I just don't see that as a possibility there. You're looking at potentially Derek Carr, Kirk Cousins, there's a whole lot of other guys.
A lot of people have said this, and not just my opinion, but talking to a lot of people around the league, man, it's not -- coming off of a year last year when we had all those quarterbacks. Sometimes it's not just if you're bad, it's when you're bad. There's just not as many of those options this year.
Q. Just secondly, I wanted to ask you about a couple of prospects here. I shoot content for the University of Maryland. I wanted your take on where they go draft. It would be Ty Felton and Kaden Prather, the two wide receivers. And also wanted to get your take on Sai'vion Williams out of TCU.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Sai'vion Williams, first of all, he's a fun dude to watch, all the different ways they use him, just a jumbo athlete. Does the wildcat stuff, plays receiver. He's a big strong, athletic, physical dude. To me, it just drops, more than anything else, had eight drops this year, cleaning that stuff up.
But he's a fun toy to play with in terms of all the different things that he can do and how they use him there.
The Maryland guys, talking about those two wide receivers with Felton, productive, can play inside-outside. He can wall guys off in traffic, he can build speed, he's fearless working in the middle of the field. He can go up and get it and high point the football. I thought he played a little bit bigger than his size.
With Prather, Prather has that size outside, wins on a lot of shallow crossers, quick screens. Only had one drop. I just didn't know if he really had that second gear, so I'm anxious to see him run. But does a really nice job of using his body to shield guys off, wall guys off with that big frame.
Q. What round do you see those guys being drafted in possibly?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I had Felton in third round. Again, there's a big clump of those guys third, fourth round. Then it was more fifth round for me with Prather.
Q. Bills at 30, lots of help on that defensive line, whether defensive edge, D-tackle, cornerback, safety, which route do you think the Bills would go at pick 30?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Too bad they can't go all of the above, right? This is a team that it's just got to get better on third down, get off the field, find ways to get off the field. I'm always going to lean front to back versus back to front. So looking at options for them, they can get after the quarterback and make a difference from that standpoint. That's the direction that I would go.
If I'm pulling up, I've talked about Ezeiruaku that's an interesting one. I haven't talked a ton about him from BC, someone that just knows how to win and can really rush the quarterback.
You've got Shemar Stewart gives you more of that up side, a little bit raw, but big time, big time explosiveness. You've got the options to trade back a little bit if you want, and now you kind of get into the Landon Jackson area out of Arkansas. Those are some of those edge rushers.
The DTs, I love Derrick Harmon from Oregon that's a fit there, someone who can disrupt run and pass, play on the other side of the line of scrimmage. I think there's a chance he's there. That would be a fun one to add to their mix.
Q. On the flip side, the Bills don't really need too much on the offensive side, but I think they do need a playmaker. My guy authentic mentioned it first, how would a guy such as a Sai'vion Williams fit in this Bills offense?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I think you're looking at Deebo is a little bit of the path that you would try to follow there. He's not refined. You have to be patient. You have to find ways to get him the ball right now. We're going to give him a reverse, give him a bubble. If you want to take a little off Josh, I'm sure Josh will probably end up getting a new contract before too long, if you want to take a little bit off him, give him some reps down at the goal line and let him take that abuse as a runner.
But in terms of developing him and polishing him up as a receiver, that's going to require a little bit of patience.
Q. Nice to see you again. You talk about the connection between Chip Kelly and Dillon Gabriel. If I don't remember wrong, was in UCLA.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: That's right, he went there and was only there for a couple weeks. Chip left, and then Dillon Gabriel ended up transferring to Oregon. I knew it was deep in the recesses of my mind. I knew there was the connection there. Thank you for bringing that to light.
Q. I have a couple of questions. The first one, what is your opinion about Jalen Milroe, the QB of Alabama, and the other one? You know here in Mexico we have a great fan base, the Dallas Cowboys and the Pittsburgh Steelers. How looks to you the scenario for these couple of teams? The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Dallas Cowboys.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: With Milroe, again, we talked about him just a little bit earlier there. As a runner, he's elite, elite, elite. That's the best trait that anybody has in this quarterback class is his ability as a runner. Just take some time and patience with him in the pass game. A lot of it's mechanically, cleaning those things up, get your cleats in the ground, et cetera. But a lot to work with there.
Again, you're going to have to have a real plan there. I've mentioned, I think the Steelers were one of the teams you were mentioning, if the Steelers did decide to resign Justin Fields and make him their quarterback going forward, I wouldn't mind marrying Milroe up with him, if you've got Milroe potentially in the third round and you want to just become a physical, pound it team, to go out and get a dynamic runner which you can find. I know Najee is a free agent. I'd like to see him get a little more explosive in the backfield.
But having Milroe to kind of develop behind Fields would be kind of fun just to really go all in on that approach. Then with the Cowboys, what they're going to do, more than anything else, with them draft-wise is one thing, but a lot of people in the league are curious about the Micah Parsons thing. Are they going to pay him? Is this going to get done? What happens with him? That could go a long way determining what that looks like defensively, but they were pretty God awful on that side of the ball.
Finding some help up front. Odighizuwa is a free agent as well. Defensive tackle in a very rich defensive tackle draft, that was a direction I could see them looking.
Q. As of five hours ago, sporting news reported that Deion Sanders himself said that the Titans, the Browns, and the Giants are the only ones he wants Shedeur to talk to. First of all, Browns fans have been screaming, hey, some of them, they want Mason Graham as the 2 pick because they want to appease Myles Garrett. I want your thoughts on that. And then why not Ashton Jeanty falling to that place?
Today is Woodson's birthday. Go Bears. What team is he going to?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: He can go to my team. I wish I had one. I like him. He's one of my guys here in this draft class. I think he'll find his way somewhere in the third round, fourth round, but he's a good player.
When it comes to Jeanty, you were saying with the Raiders, Jeanty there. I'm not big on using up whatever limited carries a running back has in his life span on a team that's not ready to win right now, I almost would rather build up the rest of the infrastructure and kind of drop the electric running back in there at that point in time so that every single one of his carries is helping up where we want to go.
Q. Are you saying that Pete Carroll is not equipped to make the team ready?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I think where their roster is presently and where there's three playoff teams inside their own division -- I met Pete Carroll, I love Pete Carroll, he's a winning coach with a great pedigree. I'm excited to see what Spytek does, who's a good personnel guy, but I don't think they're one away from climbing the division.
Q. I have them in the Super Bowl.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: From your ears to God's lips. My brother-in-law is a Raiders fan, and he'll be excited to hear that.
Then with Mason Graham, to me, with Cleveland at 2, the quarterback thing is just -- I flirted with the idea of giving them somebody other than a quarterback, and I did it in the first mock draft, and I'd heard consideration with cousins is a possibility there because the familiarity with him as well as the price tag, which would be next to nothing, similar to what we had last year in Pittsburgh with Russell Wilson with another team paying the bill.
Gosh, they're one of those teams that I just think, if Cam ward was there, I would have a hard time thinking Cleveland would pass on him.
Q. Why is Jameis Winston not better than Kirk Cousins given the season cousins had down here in Atlanta and the fact that, hey, look, offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey got fired and he messed up his footwork? All season long, it was just awful what he did with Winston and Watson and the other quarterbacks, and he should have got fired. How can you justify bringing cousins to the Browns? I'm just curious.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I would say because Kirk Cousins, I would say Jameis Winston's best season, Kirk Cousins has probably had seven seasons better than his best season. I would say last year Kirk Cousins was not coming off of a healthy year. Kirk Cousins couldn't move at all. It was a terrible fit, it was a terrible match that didn't work out.
Q. Jameis was the best under Sean Payton, 14 touchdowns, three interceptions. That was better than anything Kirk Cousins ever posted. Got to check the numbers.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I'll pull up -- I don't want to do it right now, but I can promise you Kirk Cousins has had much better seasons than 14 touchdowns.
Q. My question is about the Rams. I see in your latest mock draft you had Darius Alexander from Toledo at the 26 spot. Do you see him as a fit for the Rams or the Rams could possibly go offense with that pick?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Darius Alexander, he's a little bit older, which we'll see some teams care more about that than others. Just in terms of body type, like range, explosive, that's kind of what the Rams have got a bunch of explosive defenders, and they've added to that bunch. I think it's the best young defensive line in the NFL.
I was kind of just -- maybe some of it's the newness of watching the Super Bowl and just seeing the waves of guys that Philly had, but, man, you just go get another twitchy, explosive, dynamic guy.
I kind of wrote down on my paper, when he was watching defensive linemen this year, the ones that I circled back on after the Super Bowl was over, and I just wrote the word -- I just wrote vet, v-e-t on my sheet, look at your notes on a player. If you see the words violent, explosive, twitchy over and over again, like looking for vets, those are the guys that I think you want because that's what we just saw win the Super Bowl.
That's why I had that fit there. If they were going to go in another direction, there could be a little bit of a makeover there in their receiver room. So Emeka Egbuka, if he were to get there, that one makes sense, he'd be a great fit. For somebody that wants plug and play for a team that's ready to win right now. And I would say the same for Matthew golden. Those would be guys I love for the Rams.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports