THE MODERATOR: Thank you for joining us today for NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah's conference call previewing the 2023 NFL scouting combine.
Before I turn it over to DJ for his opening comments and the Q & A portion, I wanted to provide some programming notes regarding NFL Network's combine coverage.
NFL Network provides live coverage of the combine on-field drills starting Thursday, March 2nd at 3:00 p.m. eastern time with the defensive linemen and linebackers.
NFL Network's coverage continues Friday, March 3rd, at 3:00 p.m. eastern time with the defensive backs and special teams.
Saturday, March 4th at 1:00 p.m. eastern time with quarterbacks, wide receivers, and tight ends.
And Sunday, March 5th, at 1:00 p.m. eastern time with offensive linemen and running backs.
DJ is joined by Rich Eisen, Chris Rose, Charles Davis, Peter Schrager, Ian Rappaport, and Stacey Dales for all four days of coverage.
In addition to NFL Network, NFL Plus provides live coverage of on-field positional drills with players only combine streaming Thursday at 3:00 p.m. Eastern, Friday at 4:00 p.m. Eastern, Saturday at 2:00 p.m. Eastern, and Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Eastern.
NFL media analyst Kurt Warner, Steve Smith Sr., Joe Thomas, Shaun O'Hara, Maurice Jones-Drew, and Michael Robinson with joined by Calais Campbell, Matthew Judon, Dwight Freeney, Devon White, Joe Hayden, Sauce Gardner, Kenny Moore, Jordan Poyer, Adam Thelan, Dawson Knox, Dallas Goedert, Taylor Lewan, Dion Dawkins, Aaron Jones, and Jamal Williams, along with host Rhett Lewis.
The NFL recently extended its partnership with Zebra Technologies, the official relocation solutions provider by giving the NFL best-in-class-data on players and footballs. Zebra enables countless ways to allow the game to be better, safer, and more engaging for fans.
Most notably, this allows the NFL to create next gen stats. During the combine, Zebra will apply its RFID tracking devices to the players' compression shirts, allowing for new data points and comparable data between NFL prospects and active NFL players.
This data continues to be a bigger and bigger role across the NFL each successive year, and its extension with Zebra will help ensure continued innovation for years to come.
For additional information regarding NFL Network's coverage of the combine, please follow @NFLmedia on Twitter and Instagram.
I will now turn it over to DJ for some opening remarks. DJ.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Thanks, Andrew. Thank you, guys, for hopping on here. I got to say, just really grateful that there's so much passion and so much interest when it comes to the draft.
It's awesome to see it continue to grow every year. You guys are a big reason for that. I know the fans love it, and you guys do a great job of covering it and bringing a lot of attention to it.
First of all, I want to thank you for being here. This is going to be -- I think it's going to be a fun draft. There's a lot unknown. Unlike last year, we've got some name brand quarterbacks that people are familiar with that people have seen, that people have very strong opinions on.
I think the league is very split on those guys. We'll get into that, I'm sure, throughout the call here, but I think this is a year where, again, you're going to see some players that are 12 or 13 on one team's board, and they might be 53 on another team's board, which is -- there's a lot of variance of opinion.
There's going to be some -- there's going to be some fascinating storylines to follow as we go towards the draft.
In terms of overall strength of the draft, I think it's a really good corner group. I think it's a good edge rusher group. I think the tight end group is the best I've seen in the last ten years. It's outstanding. So, you know, running backs is really solid.
It's a fun draft. At some of those positions. You know, the quarterbacks, as I mentioned, are going to be a big storyline. I don't think the wide receiver group is quite what we've seen in the years recently here. Anyway, it's deep at some positions for sure.
I'll just open it up and let Andrew get this thing started. Thanks again for being here.
THE MODERATOR: We will now begin the Q & A portion of today's call.
Q. Hey, DJ, I think if the Lions at stick at No. 6, the perception is positional value wise, edge rusher is the way they would go. I think that's the way you had them go in your most recent mock. I'm curious if you can maybe tell me the difference, the separators, between Myles Murphy, Tyree Wilson, and I guess if you want to include him in that conversation, Van Ness.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: For me it would be Tyree Wilson. You know, by a pretty significant margin. I think there's a lot of buzz around him around the league. I think the league has it with him and Anderson a lot closer than people might think. He's got just freakish wingspan and burst and the ability to kind of use those long levers to get home.
I think he is a really talented rusher. I think he is a big-time athlete.
Unfortunately, I don't think we're going to get to see him do anything at the combine coming off the injury that he has had, so probably have to wait until the pro day on that one. For me it would be him.
Myles Murphy is a tricky one because it's all in there. He has it all in his body. He hasn't got it all figured out just yet, but between his kind of his combination of length and explosiveness, I think there's more there.
I think he is going to develop more as a rusher. I don't think he has a great plan at this point in time.
Then Van Ness, I'm going to end up moving him up in my next update of my top 50. I think I have him at 22 right now.
Again, it's curious when you watch him because he doesn't start. I know a lot of people are sitting there going, how in the world are you going to take a guy in the top ten. He didn't start at Iowa. I've done my homework. That's the way their program runs.
They're going to run with the older upper classmen, the leaders that have been in those spots. They're just going to roll those guys out there with starters, even though everybody knows this was their best guy.
But he has big-time, big-time explosiveness and power. Kind of a bull in a China shop. Again, somebody who is just figuring out, but when you watch him against the best tackles he played against, he got after them.
I think that is closer to me, what I'm getting at, it's going to be Murphy and Van Ness is pretty close. To me, I would have Tyree Wilson ahead of those two guys.
Q. DJ, thanks for doing this. Obviously, the draft starts with the Bears, and they're in an intriguing spot to try to maximize what they do with that No. 1 pick. If you were in Ryan Poles' shoes, what would you map out as kind of your plan A, best case scenario, and how would you -- when considering trades back -- figure out where to draw your line on how far you would be willing to go down?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Well, I'm glad you brought that up because we did a little home World War I on this. My buddy Jack in research, we've been working on this for the last couple of days, and he kind of spelled it out for me here.
If you look at those trades -- trade-ups for quarterbacks, usually when you look at the trade chart, it's about 120%, give or take, in terms of the trade chart value. You have to pay a premium if you are going to come up for a quarterback, which is great news there for the Bears.
So when you look at some of those previous trades, which, by the way, when you look at the names of the quarterbacks that teams have traded up for since 2011, it's Trey Lance, Sam Darnold, Mitchell Trubisky, Jared Goff, Carson Wentz, and RG3.
In other words, don't be so concerned if you are the Bears about trading off of a Hall of Famer and moving back. It hasn't been a great list over the last few years. But when you look at those points, here would be the three trades.
If we're going to look at those teams as, 2, the Texans, 4, the Colts, and 9, the Panthers, here would be how that would shake out on the trade chart.
So if you are just going to go back to pick No. 2, you're going to get the second pick, the 33rd pick, and next year's two. That would be the trade you would have there with the Texans.
If you go to 4, would you have to give up a fourth round pick this year. Or, sorry. A fourth round pick in 2024 as well as the No. 1 overall pick. You would get No. 4 overall, No. 35 overall, and a first round pick in '24, and a second round pick in '24.
If you want to go all the way to 9, you are going to get the ninth pick, you are going to get the 39th pick, and get a first round in '24 and a first round in '25.
So when I look at all those halls -- and I understand you could be trading off of the opportunity to get one of the premiere defensive players there at 2 or 4. If you ask me what I would do, I would be hoping the Carolina Panthers want to pay that price. I'll go to 9, and I'll take all those first round picks and let's go try and fill some of these needs.
So those are the three teams I think that will be in the mix, and those are the three options.
Q. DJ, I wanted to kind of piggyback kind of off that question covering the Texans, and Texans, of course, a lot depends it on what the Bears do. Let's say they stay pat at No. 2. Is CJ -- do you believe Bryce Young and CJ Stroud is that much of a drop-off? Would that be -- how would you feel about that as a consolation prize if they ended up getting CJ Stroud instead of Bryce Young?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I would be fine with it. I have Bryce Young. I like Bryce Young better on the tape, but I think CJ Stroud is a really good player. If the price -- if you're not comfortable with that price to go up to get to that No. Had 1 pick, staying with they are and getting CJ Stroud, I would feel just fine about that. I think he is just a pure thrower.
The big question with him, it's been talked about, was, okay, not a lot of off-schedule, not a lot of playmaking, but then all of a sudden you see the semi-final game and you are, like, dude, where has this been? He showed you he has that ability. The old scouting adage is if you can do it once, you can do it. So you know he does have that ability.
Now, I think Bryce is just a little -- he is a little bit more of a playmaker to me consistently when you watch him. I just love his instincts and feel, his ability to maneuver within the pocket I think is better.
So I think Bryce Young is a better player, but I would not be -- I would not be totally bummed if you sat there at 2 and ended up with CJ Stroud.
Q. This is sort of piggybacking off of the last question. The Colts sitting at 4. In your mind is there a big enough gap between you at 1 with Bryce Young and Stroud and Levis that you really can't sit there at 4 and get what's left, or do you need -- if you believe Bryce Young is the guy, do you go get him?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, I think if you have the conviction, I think if you are the Colts right now, they've been on this veteran carousel, as you know, for so long. They've got to get off of it.
So if you have conviction of who that guy is, I think where there position is as an organization I think it makes sense for them to be maybe more aggressive than Houston would be. If you have that conviction just go up is there and get him.
4, there's a lot that can happen. You know, you might have one that you love, one that you really like, and then it drops off. Nobody knows what order that's in, but I would not be comfortable -- I would not be sleeping well at night if I was just going to sit and hold tight there at No. 4.
Q. Saw you had the Lions taking Anthony Richardson at 18. Can you explain why Richardson -- you know, why a quarterback, I guess, when Goff is coming off the season he had? Part two of that, I've had some fans, I guess, sort of wonder why Richardson goes that high. He obviously has the raw traits, but maybe he is a little bit of a developmental player, like Malik Willis, some people say. Why would he not slide down the draft a little bit further, I guess?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Well, I guess I can answer it this way: He is not going to be there when it's all said and done when the Lions pick with their second pick, so it's not going to be a problem.
And making calls just around the league, the best way to do the quarterback conversation is talk to the teams that don't need one, and then you'll get kind of an accurate feel just how they evaluate him and what they think.
Anthony Richardson is the second quarterback for several teams that I talked to. We can look at the numbers. It doesn't look great on paper. You look at the accuracy and this, that, and the other; and he has elite, elite arm strength. He is a rare athlete.
You don't see quarterbacks running away from LSU with 80-yard touchdown runs. Like, he has big-time, big-time ceiling, big-time ability.
You know, you can find the games. If you want to fall in love with Anthony Richardson, you pop on Utah and you think he is the first pick in the draft. Even Missouri he made some big-time plays in that game.
I know it's a little bit of a roller coaster. I know he hasn't played a ton, but teams are starting to look at some of these quarterbacks as lottery tickets, and this one has the biggest pay-out.
That's why I think you're going to see Richardson go pretty high. The reason I had him there with the Lions is I think sometimes when you have those two picks, I almost don't want to say it's a luxury because you're trying to get good players, but when you look at the landscape of the NFL right now and you look at the high, high-end quarterback play, you know, this gives you an opportunity to take a shot on one of those guys who could be that.
He is not at that level right now, but ceiling-wise with him and Jared Goff, his ceiling is immensely higher. Jared is a solid steady player right now. He is playing winning football, but I think there is a ceiling on him. With Anthony Richardson, you don't have a ceiling. That's why I think you'll see him go, but I don't think -- in making just calls over the last couple of days, I don't even think he will get there.
Q. I wanted to ask you about a local kid from North Carolina, Nick Saldiveri from Old Dominion. We saw him move inside to center and guard during the Senior Bowl. I was just curious, where do you envision him playing in the league, and where do you think his range is from a draft standpoint?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, I liked him as a player and kind of reminded me of Max Mitchell coming out last year. People kind of wondering what Max would do, where he would play, was he physically strong enough, and when he got out on the field for the Jets, he played pretty well.
You know, I think he can still hold up at tackle. I think he has quick feet. I think he can bend. He plays under control.
I think there's going to be times just at that height if you are inside I think he is going to get a little high, and he is going to get moved. But he can sink, he can bend, and I think he could play out on the edge.
I still like him at tackle. I want to continue to see him get stronger, but in terms of the range, I have him, like, in the third round. You know, when you are talking offensive linemen with him in a pretty good class of -- in terms of the depth, maybe not the top-end guys -- third, fourth round would probably be the range I would put him.
Q. Very intrigued by your comment on the tight end position. Tell me why you love this year's tight end class. How many could you see going in the first round? The Patriots have the 14th pick. Is that too high for a tight end? Please break it down for me.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, it's not too high for me. In terms of the number of guys, I can kind of count them up here. Let me just go one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven.
I have eleven tight ends that I have top three round grades on, which is ridiculous number. It is just a really, really good group.
To me, I know he is coming off of an injury right now and I know he is kind of more of a flex tight end, but Dalton Kincaid from Utah is -- I think he is a big-time player. I think he is one of my favorite players to watch in this draft. I think he is one of the best players in the draft.
He is just sudden in everything that he does. He separates. He is outstanding after the catch. You know, he can win on contact over the middle of the field. He is really, really good after the catch. You know, as a blocker, he is going to more shield you and wall off.
I don't like when you compare guys to all-time great players, but just in his movement stuff, he moves, he kind of looks likes Kelce just the way he moves in and out of breaks. He is a really, really good player. I think he's -- I really liked Zach Ertz when he was coming out, the year he was coming out. I think he is a better version of Zach Ertz.
So he's up there.
You've got Mayer who is an just an all-around tight end, not going to be real dynamic, out of Notre Dame. But he is kind of the king of the combat catches. He has a good feel on option routes just keeping guys on his back and kind of walling them off and making plays. A good overall tight end, good blocker.
Darnell Washington is massive from Georgia. He is like playing with a sixth offensive linemen in the run game, and he is still developing and learning in the pass game. I think there's more there.
Obviously, they had the best tight end in the country there with Bowers, who is just an absolute freak show. So he doesn't get as many balls as he would on other offenses, but he is really intriguing.
Musgrave from Oregon State is going to probably run in the low 4.5s at 255 pounds. He could go in the first round.
Then you start going through the list. LaPorta from Iowa, Tucker Kraft from South Dakota State. You got Davis Allen from Clemson, intriguing. Payne Durham from Purdue, Schoonmaker from Michigan, Strange from Penn State, Wiley from Cincinnati. Those are the 11 guys. It is a really, really good group.
Q. Kind of a niche question. Rams really as they evaluate their back-up quarterback situation, who are some guys that you think are good schematic fits, but also fits in consideration with what Sean McVay has traditionally done at quarterback?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, there's some interesting guys. You know, it's kind of -- you look at it and say, okay, who fits from a traditional standpoint and then who could be kind of somebody that would be fun to play with a creative coordinator in Sean McVay?
I really like Hendon Hooker. I think he is a good player. I think he can do everything that Sean McVay wants to do. I think you start with accuracy and decision-making. He can move around, so you are going to be able to use all that stretch boot. He is going to be very comfortable doing that. He can think the game really well.
You know, we'll see how high he ends up going coming off of the injury. I think he would have been a first round pick if he doesn't get hurt, even with the age. I know people talk about how old he is, but he is a really, really solid player. I think he would be a great fit in that system.
You look at other guys that can kind of -- it would be maybe a little bit later on. To me would probably be somebody like a Jaren Hall that would be -- I think he will probably end up going in the fourth or fifth round. Good athlete. Can move. Can really drive the ball. He has some things he can work on with his footwork.
I'm sure they've been working on that in lead-up to the draft. He gets a little too bouncy at times. He is somebody that is kind of an intriguing project to me that you could keep an eye on in that type of area of the draft.
Q. I saw you picked Tyree to go 3 to the Cardinals, but given the fact that this is a brand new staff from top to bottom, coaching and management, do you think they might go in a different route? And if Anderson and the Georgia defensive tackle are there, is that still way, way in play?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Look, to me the way I have them stacked, like, I think Jalen Carter is the best player in the draft from Georgia, and I think that Will Anderson is the second best player.
But I know in talking to people around the league and when I do mock drafts, you're trying to get just a feel and the potential outcomes there and not just doing the same exact thing every single time.
I know that there's teams that have it really, really close, and some actually even prefer Tyree Wilson to Anderson just because of the size and the length and the attributes that he has there.
But if you are asking me, I wouldn't be trading off of either of those two guys. When you look at Jalen Carter, Will Anderson, I probably wouldn't want to get out if I were them, as desperate as they are for defensive linemen. I think those are the two best guys.
So kind of a two-parter there. You know, what would I do? That's what I would do. I would take one of those two guys. Then, you know, I do want to make sure that Tyree Wilson kind of gets in the mix.
I remember doing a similar thing last year trying to alert everybody that this Travon Walker from Georgia, you know, like, hey, just know who he is and be aware and don't be surprised. That's kind of the same thing I'm doing here, same formula.
Q. Daniel, obviously, a lot of moving parts in Tennessee when you look at their needs and you look at the board, what's maybe a best-case scenario for them at No. 11?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Well, I mean, obviously tackles is going to be a glaring need for them. If you are asking me absolute best-case scenario, I would say somehow Skoronski gets there, from Northwestern. I think he can play tackle.
I think he could be an unbelievable guard as well, but Peter Skoronski would be my dream scenario. And while I don't think that's going to happen, you start getting all these quarterbacks coming off the board, we end up getting four go and you have those top defensive players, you know, maybe it's not the craziest thing in the world that somehow he would make it to them.
He reminds me a lot of Alijah Vera Tucker. Remember with Vera Tucker last year the talk -- or when he was coming out into that draft was is he a guard? Is he a tackle? It turns out he can do whatever the heck you want him to do. He is really, really good.
So Skoronski would be my best-case scenario.
And then you are looking at receiver as another need there. I don't think it's a great receiver draft, but I really do like Jordan Addison. I think the one reason that might not happen is because he is kind of similar to Robert Woods.
If that wasn't what they were looking for, if they wanted to get bigger there, then I think you could look at TCU has Johnston, who is a big, fast, physical kid.
Q. You indicated earlier that the Bears could face a tough decision trading down and trading basically out of Carter or Anderson, I guess. Can you kind of break down Carter as a prospect? Is he worth the No. 1 overall? Also, how tough a decision would it be for the Bears to trade out of that? What would their options -- best options be if they traded too far down to get Carter or Anderson?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I mean, I would probably go back to the same guy I just talked about, would be Skoronski. As bad as the Bears defense is, you've got to give Justin Fields some help here going forward.
If they traded all the way down to 9 I would think they're probably trading themselves into their choice, dealer's choice of offensive linemen at that point in time.
You know, look, it would be hard to trade away from those top two defensive players, because I think they're really, really good. But if you could just get just the sheer haul of picks that could serve you well into the future, I think I would go that route and probably would switch me from the defensive side to the offensive side with that first pick that they would be going after there.
In terms of Carter as a player, it's overused, I guess, but I don't know how else to describe him. He is just a freak show when you are watching him. It just looks like he works at a different speed than everybody else on the field.
The change of direction, you know, he can kind of teleport from one gap to the next and you are, like, I don't know how he got there, but you've got no chance. The offensive line coach at Georgia is a good buddy of mine, Stacy Searels, and when I asked him about Jalen Carter, and he said, when he comes to practice and doesn't want to get blocked, he is not getting blocked. I mean, he is a unique player.
If you want to see the athleticism, go read my buddy Bruce Feldman's article about him and look at the dunk that he posted inside the article. You can see him with windmill dunking over 300 pounds. He is an absolute freak. I think he is better than Quinnen Williams coming out, and I loved Quinnen Williams, so that's the type of player you're getting.
Q. With the Jets you had them taking Broderick Jones at No. 13. Let's talk about why you think that would be a good fit, and also some other positions that the Jets might need in the draft as well?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Sure. When you look at Broderick Jones, I think his best football is still ahead of him. He is incredibly strong. He is incredibly athletic. What he can do in the second level stuff and the run game as well as in the screen game is outstanding.
He sets a little bit of a unique set where he sets a little bit flat so there are times where guys can get upfield on him, but then he shows you the ability to recover and hang in there.
So, you know, maybe a little top-heavy at times. He gets a little over-aggressive. He is a pretty physical player, but I think there's a lot to really like about him. I think he could play either side. I think he could play right tackle. He could play left tackle. That would be -- that's why I had him going there. I think it would be a really good fit.
In terms of other needs, you know, still continuing to get more firepower. I know they signed all those tight ends last year, but I still don't think they have a real dynamic difference-making tight end. I think they've got some good players, but that would be -- that would be something I would be trying to find as well as we'll see what they're going to do with the center position going forward.
I wouldn't mind seeing them get one of those young centers in this draft. It's a pretty good group of interior offensive linemen.
Q. I saw in your last mock you had Tennessee tackle going to the Steelers. Any others at that spot that you could see them taking at that position, or could they go defensive line or corner?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, I think when you are looking at it, I think you just nailed the three spots. I think when you are looking at the offensive line options, if you are looking at tackle, you know, Darnell Wright is the one that I put there. If they ended up waiting on tackle, I think Matthew Bergeron could be one from Syracuse that maybe they take at 32.
There are some good interior options. Steve Avila from TCU and O'Cyrus Torrence, I think those guys are just plug and play.
You're not going to win the press conference, maybe not going to win the draft party by taking those two guys, but I think they're just plug and play, solid starters immediately.
Any combination of those three guys. Then when you look at the corner position, I mean, I would love it just for multiple reasons, but it would be fun if Porter were to get there. I don't think he'll fall that far, Joey Porter Jr.
Christian Gonzalez I think would probably be gone as well. I would be shocked if Witherspoon from Illinois were there. If any of those guys somehow managed to get down there, those would be easy run the card up for the Steelers.
Q. DJ, when you look at Bryce, and we've had quarterbacks of his size be very successful in this league, what are some reasons just watching him that you think maybe his lack of stature may not matter in the NFL?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Look, it's still going to be a concern. I think you're always going to be a little bit nervous just about the durability because of the frame. As I was told as of yesterday, he was right around 200 pounds, so I think he is getting close to 200 pounds. I think he will probably show up to the combine and be 200 pounds.
So I know some of the rumors are out there that he was going to be 180 pounds. That's not -- he is not going to that. We'll see how tall he is.
But, you know, he has such good awareness and feel. I think he will be able to protect himself because of that. In terms of the ability, it's all there. I mean, every type of throw you want to make. He can drive it. He can layer the ball. He can make plays on schedule, off schedule. The talent is exceptional.
You talk to people that have been at Alabama for a long time, and they'll say, you know, we'll see how it translates, but this is the best football player that we've been around. Like, he is outstanding.
You are going to have to take a risk with any of these quarterbacks. It's just a different type of risk. Some might be it how they're going to continue to develop. The accuracy is going to improve or the instincts are going to get better.
With Bryce the gamble is just the durability. Is he going to be able to physically hold up? That's the gamble I would take when you stack all these guys up. When you talk to people there -- I'll give you one example. They said he'll show up on Monday. They'll give on Sunday after a game on Saturday, they'll have a game plan all ready for the next week.
Normally kids would come in, and you'll start on Monday, and you'll start digging into that. They said he would show up on Monday with a list of questions and suggestions of how to do this with this protection and how you can attack this coverage with this, and he said a lot of times they would incorporate his ideas. It's stuff he is doing on Sunday the day after a game. The wiring is pretty unique and pretty special.
Q. The Eagles have spent so long without taking a corner back in the first round. Just wondering if there were reasons why this year could buck that trend and why Witherspoon might be a good candidate for it?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, I just think Witherspoon is a stud. I think having been in that building and seen Asante Samuel there, I think you could make an easy comparison there with just the playmaking ability, take the ball away.
We'll see what Bradberry ends up doing in the offseason. I imagine he is probably going to get paid somewhere. So if they don't resign him, there's going to be a need there as well. There's a zillion free agents they have to navigate around, but that's one I would think would be hard to retain.
And I think, you know, if you are where the Eagles are right now, your thought process going into a draft is -- it's not the division anymore. It's not even the conference. It's what do we have to do to win a Super Bowl, and what do we have to do to get off the field when we're going to have to go up against Patrick Mahomes or whoever else is coming out of the AFC, be it Joe Burrow, Josh Allen.
Those are the guys you are going to have to go through to win a championship.
In that game they couldn't get off the field, and I think they've got some really good pieces up front. I think finding somebody on the back end that could take the ball away, that could help their cause as well.
So that's kind of my thought process there. Everything is about winning a Super Bowl and trying to beat these elite quarterbacks, and you do that with pass rushers and corners.
Q. The Broncos obviously don't pick until the third round. How do you feel that their areas of need match up with the depth in this draft that you kind of talked about?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah. You know, when you look at the Broncos and look at the directions that they could be looking to go, I think O-line, D-line obviously would be the places where you start. I think from an offensive line standpoint, I feel pretty good about the interior and some of the depth that you could find in that portion of the draft.
I think edge rush is actually a pretty good group as well. Kind of pulling up this list and guys that I think could kind of be in that type of range.
You know, a KJ Henry from Clemson would be one. Andre Carter from Army. Zach Harrison, Ohio State. Dylan Horton from TCU. Like, those types of guys, those are good players. I think those guys are probably going to be in that third, fourth round range.
Foskey will be another one. We'll see. He is going to test really well, so he might test his way out of that range and up a little bit higher.
I think when you are looking at offensive linemen, edge rushers, I think that's not bad. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with the quality of the depth that's going to still be there in the third and fourth round in this draft.
Q. Not really a prospect question, but the Ravens have said that they're going to protect Lamar Jackson, but I guess what can this next week look like for -- (indiscernible.)
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Sorry, you cut out a little bit. Just in terms of how they navigate around Lamar's situation? Is that what you are getting at?
Q. -- around the NFL (indiscernible)
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Look, it's kind of -- I don't know how you really conduct business if you are Baltimore right now until you get an answer kind of one way or the other whether or not you're going to be able to come close on a deal and feel like you can get something done there or you've got to start planning around that.
Not only, you know, kind of financially being able to budget what you want to do with free agency and things like that and budget your cap, but also if you are this far apart and it's a philosophical difference in terms of guarantees, then you have to start at least thinking about the possibility and planning for a future where he wouldn't be there.
Whether that entails seeing what the value is on the trade market -- and I think you would have to do your due diligence to at least see what it is. As well as potentially planning for the future if there's a quarterback that you like at some point in the draft, whenever that is, you might start having to plan for that as well.
So it's a tricky spot that Eric is in right there, but I think clarity one way or the other is going to be your friend. You just don't want to go into this thing not knowing if you have a chance of getting a deal done.
Q. Curious what you see as the Rams' biggest needs are and based on the way you have the first round unfolding in that mock draft, as well as your top 50, what some potential options might be for them towards the top of the second round there?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, so Rams picking 36. Needs-wise, you know, continue to look at edge. Offensive line-wise would be another area that I would keep an eye on.
Those linemen that I touched on a little bit earlier. You know, I like Cody Mauch. To me he is a really good player out of North Dakota State. He has five position flexibility. I think that's probably the sweet spot for where he would go.
You're seeing this more and more, and talking to people around the league and you are going through meetings, and I've seen it covering the Chargers games and doing their games and just being around the league. Man, when you've got guys that can play in those multiple spots, it just allows you to overcome the injuries of a 17-game season so much easier.
I think when you look at guys like Cody Mauch, I that really, really ups his value because he is able to play in those different positions.
I mentioned Bergeron from Syracuse I think would be a good fit. He is going to be a really good tackle; could kick in if you wanted him to.
If you want an interior offensive linemen, another one in that mix is John Michael Schmitz from Minnesota, who was awesome at the Senior Bowl. Where they're positioned, if you are looking for offensive linemen, I think it's a really, really good place to be.
Q. On the tight ends in general, like you touched on kind of going off of that from before, from watching yourself and in talking to teams, do you get the sense that there's going to be a consensus on the T-1 or more of a kind of widespread thing? Second part of that is why do you think that's kind of been a spot based on draft history, where teams are willing to overlook middling or unremarkable production and not get wowed by great production at tight end?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, it's a great question. We've done studies on it and looked at it over the years, and it's just been a traits over production position. It goes back to the basketball players with Antonio Gates and Jimmy Graham. It goes to George Kittle not having a ton of numbers there at Iowa.
It's just can you separate? Do you have that short area quickness, and then do you have kind of that awareness, that spatial awareness? All that stuff is really, really important versus you being on a college team and you're playing quarters coverage and they're throwing you bubble screens and tunnel screens so you catch 85 balls.
It just doesn't -- the production doesn't translate as smoothly at that position to the next level. You've got to have those traits.
I don't think there's a uniform TE-1 in this draft. When you talk to teams around the league you'll hear different names mentioned. Usually it's Kincaid, it's Mayer, it's Musgrave, and it's Washington. Those are kind of the four that get mentioned.
I would say I've got back -- the feedback I've got back the most, the most teams I talked to have Kincaid No. 1 because of the passing game value, but Mayer has his sponsors around the league as well.
Q. I have a Patriots question for you. Right now guys under contract, they have Davante Parker, Kendrick Bourne, and Tyquan Thornton who seem like guys that have pretty different skill sets. I'm curious if at 14, I and know you said it's not maybe an excellent receiver class, but is there somebody available at 14 who might complement that group that they may be interested in?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah. It's interesting. Should they be in the complement issue or should they be in the substitute issue? I mean, that's kind of the predicament that you are in. I think you want the best one available, and I don't think there's anybody in my opinion that's dominant or good enough in that group that would you have to play off of their skill set.
I think you just want the best one. To me I look at if you are looking for high volume catches and productivity, you know, you can make a case for Jackson Smith approximate and Jigba because he has a really good feel. He works really good in the middle of the field. We know the success they've had with guys like that.
That one I could see making sense to me. I just would want the best overall guy, and that's in my opinion Jordan Addison just because I think he is a complete route runner. I think he gives you bursts and explosiveness to make plays over the top, and I think he has outstanding hands.
That to me would be the place that I would go. Yeah, you know, it's one thing if you've got a premiere A-1 level player and you are, like, okay, we've got to find the complement to this. It's, like, I don't know. Substitute is okay there as well. You just need to find the best guy.
Q. I was wondering, I see that you put Bijan Robinson at No. 4 on your top 50, 19th in the draft. I was curious how much you think that reflects team needs versus the value of the running back, and in a year when you have potential franchise tag candidates in Saquon Barkley, Tony Pollard, just what teams are saying about the value of the running back, both in the veterans and the rookies?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: That's a great question. If you asked around -- and I've done this to a bunch of teams -- the most consistently, highly graded player in the draft -- because even on some of them there's some varying opinions. You'll get some people that will say on the defensive side, oh, you know, I'm a Will Anderson guy or maybe I'm a Jalen Carter guy. Everybody says that Bijan Robinson is not only the best running back in this class, he is one of the five best players in this class. He is elite.
Then you then transition to, okay, where does he go? Then all of them say, I have no idea. I have no idea. Does he go under the 20s? There's people that say -- there will not be people inside the league, and I know some people think, oh, analytics will kill him.
If he were to go in the top 10 he would not get laughs around the league because people know how good this guy is. So I just don't know where to put him. You look at all the different needs that these teams have.
My philosophy on kind of running backs is I don't mind taking a running back in the first round, as long as your team is ready to win right now. Because if you take into account the guy has four or five, six years of elite production, I don't mind getting him in the first round because you get the extra year on the contract. It's easy to control it.
Then I have a franchise tag number if I want, and that could kind of take me through all of his prime. But I don't want to waste carries on a crappy team. I want to have all of his carries over that five-year period count and help push towards a championship. To take a big-time running back like that and your team stinks, you're going to waste his prime and it's not going to do anything for you.
That's the conundrum there with Bijan Robinson. He is, no doubt about it to me, he is one of the premiere, premiere players in the draft.
Q. With Omar Khan overseeing his first draft and his first offseason, how important is this first opportunity for him, you know, to kind of set the tone for the types of personnel that he wants in there, and with three picks in the top 50, are they set up to do pretty well in this draft?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I think they're really set up well. Talking about them just a little bit ago, when you look at the needs of offensive line, corner, you know, maybe even some more pass rush, I think where they're positioned with their picks, 17, 32, 49, and 80.
Those are four -- you got four starters. I think you can get four starters with those four picks.
The good thing is Omar is smart. Omar has been there. He knows what Steelers are supposed to look like and how they're supposed to play.
I think Andy Weidl coming over there, somebody I've known forever, and he is going to kind of bring his background with the Ravens and with the Eagles, and if you look at those teams and how they've been built and the sustained success similar to the Steelers in that it's a line of scrimmage organization. So I think they're philosophically aligned there.
Tomlin and that group does such a good job of developing the guys once you bring them in. I think their needs marry up very well with there draft, and I don't think it's something where you have a new GM coming in and trying to survey the landscape and figure out, you know, what do we need?
He knows exactly what they need, and I think they have the people there to not only pick the right people, but I think they have the coaching staff to get it out of them.
I know this is draft call, but what they did last year, you know, to kick-save that season, and once again Mike Tomlin goes over .500, it was pretty remarkable.
Q. With the Chargers at 21, it seems like speed is the top need that people are talking about. I saw you had Johnston of TCU in your mock. Is that their No. 1 need with getting more quickness on the outside?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, you know, again, they can do that in free agency as well. There's some guys on that list that can move.
I just think it's an element that needs to be added. I'm not beholden to that being the first round pick even -- if you aren't able to do it in the free agency period, I don't think that you have an ultimatum that it has to be -- your first round pick has to be a speed receiver.
You can find some guys throughout the draft that can really run. It just has to show up at some point in time in the offseason. I think that is a big need.
When you look at the free agency situation, you know, what happens with Pipkins I think will kind of inform a little bit of the direction that they need to go in the offseason with the offensive line.
Again, kind of talking about that versatility that we were talking about earlier, that's where Jamaree Salyer's ability to play tackle or play inside at guard is valuable to them.
Yeah, I do think that's a big area of need. They need to get faster and more dynamic and more explosive.
Then, you know, the run defense has been the bugaboo for a few years now. Continuing to get stronger and stouter at the point of attack and maybe mix in a younger edge rusher as well.
Q. You mentioned Josh Wiley earlier as being a possibility in the first three rounds. I'm interested in your take on three other University of Cincinnati guys. Wide receivers Tre Tucker and Tyler Scott, and linebacker Ivan Pace?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Sure. Tyler Scott is -- we were just talking about speed. That's speed. That's legit big-time speed on the outside.
What I love about him is when the ball goes up, as fast as he is, he gets faster. He is fast after the catch. You can use him on jet sweeps. He's got reliable hands.
The one thing that's normal with a lot of fast guys is just gearing down, getting in and out of cuts. That's a little bit more effort there, but a pure vertical receiver. I think he is -- the grade that I gave him is a day 2 grade, so second, third round I think is where he goes.
Wiley can flex out. He is a clean route runner. He is smooth. He shows you at 260 pounds the polish to tempo routes, to change speeds. He is an intriguing player.
Pace is one of the best off-ball blitzing linebackers that I have seen really. It's like his super power. He just has a really good feel. He can shoot gaps. He has a wide variety of moves as a rusher there. You know, the agility, the change of direction, the pure speed.
You know, I'm curious about that once we get to the combine, but if you are looking for guys that can do one thing really well, he is an unbelievable blitzer off the ball.
I have him more kind of in that fourth, fifth round range. Who was the other one you asked about? Tre Tucker? Was that the other one?
Tre Tucker is really good on special teams; play in the slot. He has some suddenness as well. You can use him on jet sweeps. He is tough. He can win against press coverage with his quickness.
I thought he had the profile. He is a little bit smaller, obviously, at a little under 5'9", under 190 pounds. I thought he profiled as kind of a fourth receiver and a special teams player, which I put him in that -- right around the fifth round range would be about where my grade is.
Q. You have the Raiders taking Will Levis to No. 7. How would you kind of rank the quarterback class, and how many potential franchise quarterbacks do you see in this class?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I think there's -- I would actually say five because we'll see where Hendon Hooker lands. Again, I already went down that road, but I know he is older, but I think he has a chance to be a starter, be a solid starter.
I would say there's a chance to be five, and they all have concerns. There's not a -- it's not one of those years where you have Trevor Lawrence. It's not Joe Burrow. It's not Andrew Luck. It's not that year where you say, okay, this is that one -- I don't want to say can't miss -- but it's going to be hard to miss.
We don't have that. They all have warts and flaws, but I think there's five potential solid starters in this group.
I have it Bryce Young, CJ Stroud, Levis, Richardson. But, again, if you know who you have developing these guys and you have a plan in place, I think it's very close when you look at how those guys stack up. For me it's Bryce, a gap, and then those other three guys. I think it's however they fit you, what plan you have in place, and how you want to use them.
If you have a veteran in place for a year, I think Anthony Richardson you can make that case. You've got a coordinator that understands how to incorporate Will Levis' athleticism right now. I know in talking to folks that have been through there, they rave about his ability to handle a lot of information.
So if you think about Josh McDaniels and his offense, it's been kind of known as they can put a lot on your plate. It sounds like that's something he is comfortable doing.
I would put Hendon Hooker in that same realm just in terms of when they talk about his football acumen. He is going to be able to pick it up and handle a large playbook there.
Stroud to me is just like the -- he is the purest thrower of the bunch. Just accurate. If you value decision-making, accuracy, as pretty much everybody does, CJ Stroud is really, really solid in that area. That's why he is No. 2 for me.
Bryce I think outside the size just does everything at a very high level.
Q. I was just curious, when you look at this class, who are the four or five prospects that look most like Patriot-type players to you?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Oh, that's a good one. Patriot-type players. Well, I mean, Peter Skoronski. I'll go down through the list here. Witherspoon from Illinois, because they value ball skills and instincts and awareness so much in the secondary. He definitely fits in that regard.
I would give you Keion White as one because of the versatility up front. He is almost 6'5", 280 pounds. He could be an edge setter, which they've always valued. The physicality to set the edge in the run game.
Trying to find body types like Willie McGinest going all the way back. It's hard to find guys that are that big and that strong that can still move. He could be one I would say that would kind of fit that profile. A real smart player as well.
Let me give you another one here. Van Ness from Iowa. Obviously, you have the connection there with Kirk Ferentz and Belichick. He is always going to be comfortable with Iowa players, and he is a big, physical defensive linemen who can move inside-outside.
So those are some guys I think that would be good overall fits. Then if we want to go to the non-Power 5 offensive linemen that they hit on last year with Cole Strange, why not go back and go with Mauch there, Cody Mauch from North Dakota State. Versatility, a bunch of different positions, highly tough, highly intelligent, Patriot-type guy.
Q. Question about Washington's quarterback situation. You studied Sam Howell last year, and he has gone from a fifth round pick with one career start to being the projected starter this year. I'm just sort of curious what you think of that trajectory for him and if Washington isn't going to spend big at quarterback but still need to get somebody, how do you see what makes the most sense for them either with the draft or in free agency?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Now, I'm curious, because I'm going back to look it up because I know -- so Howell ended up -- that was a shocker to me how late he went in the draft, so I'm looking up to see where I had him. He was my 48th player in last year's draft, so I thought it was -- I thought it was a bargain of all bargains that they got him where they did.
When I go back through my notes with him last year, thick, sturdy. He has quick feet. He can drive the ball. He is a physical runner. Love the toughness. Just locks on at times.
I thought he was a starting caliber quarterback, so I'm not surprised that here we are a year later and he is going to be their starter. I didn't envision that it would have been available to them as late in the draft as it was.
But I'm bullish on him. I think he has a chance to be a good player. I think we'll see. I think the league missed on that one allowing him to fall as far as they did.
In terms of other quarterbacks, if you are looking for somebody to kind of bring in, and, again, try to find somebody maybe not high in the draft, but a little bit later on, the one that intrigues me and just is somebody that I think there's something there.
I know he is light, but the UCLA kid, Dorian Thompson-Robinson. He is kind of that backup that can get you out of games and can run around and make plays. He is ultra twitched up. He has a live arm.
I thought he got better. He played a lot of football at UCLA, about the he got better every year. I know he is a little bit older, and I think that's another reason why you probably get a value.
If you are saying who is somebody in this next draft might be picked in the fifth round, sixth round that could end up starting a few games next year and would be able to hang in there and make plays, he would be one that I think is kind of a fun one.
Q. When you look at the Jaguars at No. 24 overall, how do you balance potentially addressing the defense against potentially adding more pieces around Trevor Lawrence?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I'm always a proponent of giving the young quarterbacks as much help as they can early on in their careers as they can develop their confidence, and then once they become who they are, you can afford to maybe cut some corners around them and allocate your resources to the other side of the ball.
I think in having a front row seat at that playoff game, when they're down 27-0 and watching them come back and make it happen, I think he might have turned that corner already. So I'm not going to worry too much about what he has. I think he has a pretty decent group around him now. You can continue to sprinkle it in.
But to me, I think right now the defensive needs cry out. Especially more pass rushers, the ability to improve on third down. They were 29th in many third down last year. More corners, more pass rushers.
I would probably be leaning more in that direction even with their second pick as well. 24 and 56. I think you can find -- you can find the tight end, a wideout a little bit later in the draft. Just kind of maybe more of a niche player to come in there and fill out around what you already have. But I would be leaning defense early.
Q. I was just wondering your impressions of Michigan's Oluwatimi and Mazi Smith and Mike Morris please. Thanks.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Sure. We'll go through with Oluwatimi. He is just a really, really solid player. Guys that have started a zillion games offensive linemen in the Big Ten, there's a really good hit rate of those guys. Especially interior offensive linemen.
He started 49 games. It's just it translates really well. He has an instant anchor. He can wipe out middle linebackers when he works up to the second level.
Not going to be an elite redirect and space guy, but he is strong, he is firm. He is going to kind of just use that upper strength and wrestle you there at the point of attack in the run game.
You know, he can help you set a firm pocket, so I think there's a lot of value there with him. I have him as kind of a third round, maybe he could get into the fourth round, but most likely a third round player.
Mike Morris is just a massive stand up outside linebacker there who can really set the edge. He got after the tackle from Maryland as a gifted player, and he went right through him with power. He is a big, powerful guy. He flashes some up and under stuff that he can do, showing you he is a little more nifty than you think.
He kind of has an interior body and plays out there on the exterior, so interesting player. I put him in that third round range.
All three of these guys have the same grade on. Schoonmaker is another one, the tight end who I have in that range as an inline tight end. He can move. You can split him out wide. He has some bursts after the catch. He can adjust down the field.
I don't think you asked about him, but he is a good player as well. The top Michigan guys, though, when you look at Mazi Smith, he is up there in my top 50. He is 330-plus pounds. He has quickness. He can overpower you.
I know you look at the production, the pass rush production doesn't exist. He has a half sack in his career, but then you watch him, and he is disruptive.
It's more disruption over production, but I do think he has up side as a rusher. You can't move him in the run game, and he played really well in their biggest game of the year.
So he is a good one.
And then I'll add one more for good luck here with DJ Turner, the corner, is going to run really fast. I think he is going to go in the second round. He has big-time, big-time bursts. He can drive on balls in front. When he gets out of position, he has the speed to recover. Just every now and then he'll get boxed out because of his size, but I think he is a second round corner.
I was watching this group of Michigan players. They have a really good group that's coming into this draft, but you also notice the guys they have coming back next year, including the quarterback and the running back. This is not a college football show, but Michigan is going to be really, really good again next year.
Q. Five Canadians are in the draft conversation this year. I'm hoping you can --
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Hold on. Hold on. Let me just see. Let me see. Hold on. Is it Bergeron, Sidy Sow, Chase Brown, Sydney Brown, Tavius Robinson; is that right?
Q. I believe that's it. I was going to ask you about the three Ontario guys, chase and Sydney, and where you see Sydney projecting position-wise, and then Tavius Robinson.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I'm always geared up and ready for the Canadian question.
When I look at Sydney, to me obviously the ball production is there at 5'10", 213 pounds; had six picks. He has great range. You'll see him undercut routes. He is explosive. I think he is going to test really, really well. He is outstanding on special teams. He had a forced fumble on a punt in one of the games that I watched.
The only tape that he struggled with was against LaPorta, the Iowa tight end. He struggled a little bit in coverage on that one, but had a really good Senior Bowl week. He is going to go day 2. I think you'll see him go in the second round or middle second round to early third round is I think when you'll see him.
Chase Brown, the running back, he is a quick stepper. He can run through contact. He has a nice little stiff-arm. He just runs really hard. The production obviously was there. Again, super productive player. Good player. Pass pro is a little bit of an issue there. He got crushed by some linebackers in that, so that's his area to improve.
It's a really deep running back group, so I think probably third round would probably be the high watermark, but I would say is probably a wider range, third to fifth round, somewhere in there is where he would end up going.
Then the last one was Robinson; is that right?
Q. Yeah.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: For Robinson, get to him here. Robinson had the production. Had the eight sacks. He is high cut. He is long. He is kind of fun to watch because he is in that four-point stance and just launches out of it. He has a nifty little push-pull move, but I thought he was a little bit tight. He is a little bit stiff at the top of his rush, and I thought he got pinned and sealed a little too often in the run game.
He is a later round guy for me. More of like a sixth round pick. But you've got some size and you've got some production, so definitely you're going to hear his name called.
Q. I wanted to ask you and go back a year with you, if you don't mind, to the Eagles taking Jordan Davis. Is it something going back to your evaluations that you could have seen going into his rookie year where it might have been a struggle or difficult because he played limited snaps at Georgia? Weight I think was an issue for him a little times and just adjusting to the NFL. With all those great traits, but maybe not as much snaps or experience playing the game, is there something there that you could have maybe seen him not having a very impactful rookie year?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Well, I think he went from a team with a crap ton of talent in college and went to a team in the NFL with a crap ton of talent, so they rolled all those guys through. They kind of divvied up those reps.
Maybe that's why you didn't see as much pop or as much production from him. But, I mean, golly, they have such a deep group there, and it's one of the reasons why they went to the Super Bowl.
I'm still bullish on him. I think he is going to be really, really good. Obviously I think he is still learning how to use what's in his body. It's all there. He has all the ability in the world. I think he just needs to play. He gets out there and plays more, I think you'll see that start to emerge.
But it was somewhat like that in college where you'll see flashes, and then kind of, okay, where did it go? With guys like that and defensive linemen, it's not always instantaneous either. It's a different game.
Even when you are in the SEC, as great as that conference is, it's different when you are playing against grown men every week, and I think you'll see him grow and continue to develop.
I mean, you see it every year. Look at Quinnen Williams early in his career and he just gets better and better and better and better. I think you'll see Jordan Davis be a better football player next year.
Q. Everyone right now seems to think the Browns will be targeting their defensive line with their first pick in the second round. Do you agree with that, and which guys do you think are fits for them and what Jim Schwartz likes to do with his D-line?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, Schwartzy likes to get outside and let those guys rock and roll and really get off the ball. So when you look at where the Browns are picking, second round, pick No. 42, if you are looking for edge rushers that have kind of big-time juice, gosh, I know one of them off the top of my head as you go to Iowa State.
They have a premiere player in Will McDonald in terms of burst and athleticism. He is a little bit undersized at 241 pounds. We'll see what he weighs there. He can really get off the ball. He can win with spin moves. He can win just turning the corner, but burst and bend is his calling card.
Talking to Matt Campbell, head coach at Iowa, think about the players they've had there, including recently Brock Purdy and Breece Hall, and he said Will McDonald has the most up side of anybody they've ever had come through there.
He was a 206 pound freshmen. They couldn't block him in practice. They put him out there in a game. He has a sack in the first game. They're, like, we need to redshirt him. He is only 206 pounds, but is he our best pass rusher. He has an interesting background, interesting story.
He would be one that I think would fit what they do really giving you some juice off the edge.
I really like Felix Anudike-Uzomah from Kansas State. He is in that range for me too. He can get off the ball and win with his hands. He had to play a lot inside the tackle in kind of a 4I there on the inside shoulder of the tackle, so he didn't get as much runway consistently. When you widened him out and gave him a runway, he was pretty dominant.
Had a lot of production. Eight career forced fumbles for him. Eight in the last two years. Those guys to me would be good fits.
Q. I was just wondering what your impression is of Jayden Reed of Michigan State, and why do you think Michigan hasn't had a skill position player drafted in the first two rounds during the Harbaugh era?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Harbaugh, it's been smashmouth football. That's been his calling card going back to USD, to Stanford, to say what he did in the NFL.
I think maybe the biggest surprise is that they haven't had a quarterback because he has done such a good job previously of not only finding but developing quarterbacks. So I won't get too far ahead of me into the future years, but I do think that the quarterback they got there right now is pretty good.
We'll see what happens with them in the future with the skill guys, but I would imagine that will be something that will change as they get better quarterbacks, they'll attract better receivers, and you'll see that change. I think they have a good one now.
With Jayden Reed, he was excellent in the Senior Bowl. He is quick. He can separate. He has strength after the catch. He is tough. He is a really good blocker for being a guy that's not real big. Just under 5'11", 191 pounds. But he is tough. He gives you the return value as well. I put him in the third round area.
I think he has a chance to be a really good No. 3, maybe even grows into a No. 2.
Q. Obviously in Indianapolis there's a lot of talk about quarterbacks, and Will Levis is one that I wanted to ask you about. What's your general evaluation of him? It seems like a gotcha question because it's like give of me one thing. Then, also, aside from Josh Allen, what quarterbacks do you think -- current quarterbacks would you compare him to?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, it's a good question. I mean, I think Josh Allen is kind of what you are hoping he is going to be there. I would say the evaluation part of it if we go there first. You start with the sacks and the turnovers. I mean, that's the cause for concern. That's the flag.
So you've got to navigate that, and you've got to dig into that if you are a team and talk to him and sit down and watch the tape and go through it and see if you can learn some things.
Not all that stuff is going to be on him. When you look at some of the turnovers, there's a good number of tip throws. When you look at the sacks, the offensive line wasn't very good in front of him this year, and there's some blown protection.
I would want to sit there and go through all the sacks and turnovers when you sit down with him, because it is a big number and it needs to be explained. I don't think that's all on him.
The injury thing is another one. I mean, I don't want to go through and try and excuse away some issues, but when I watched him, I did not like when he was working to the left side of the field. I thought he was closed off. I thought he threw against him.
Then I come to find out after I've watched the tape that he had a messed up toe, he has a messed up shoulder, and I think that impacted that to a degree. But the things that you can't refute, he has a strong arm. He is a really good athlete. Especially the year before when he is healthy. You can see him as a runner. You can use him on some design quarterback run stuff as well as him just organically making things happen. He is tough. He hangs in there and takes shots.
There are sometimes where I wish he would feel things better on the back side. Every time he gets hit, it's a surprise party. I wish he just had a little bit better feel to get up and get away from some of those things.
But toughness is not an issue at all. He can make every type of throw you want. It's digging in on some of the issues to figure out what the deal is with him and why some of those things happen in terms of the turnovers and the sacks.
Other quarterbacks you try and compare him to? I mean, that's tough. As an athlete I think there's some comparison to Ryan Tannehill when he was coming out. I think you look at his frame, Dak Prescott is one. I think that's a fair comp for him. Same conference, same build, same toughness.
The stuff on Dak, when you talk to the coaches there, you know, worker, intelligent, tough, winner. Like, you'll hear all those exact same things said about Will Levis. They rave about him. As I think about it, that might end up being the best comparison.
Q. I wanted to ask about broadly quarterback evaluation. What are the downsides and benefits of using comps when you are evaluating a draft guy, and specific to this year, could you see teams possibly get in trouble trying to see Josh Allen when they're going to draft Richardson or Will Levis? Just give me one outlier the way Allen was and the way he improved once he got (indiscernible?)
DANIEL JEREMIAH: You cut out a little bit, but I think I got the gist of it here. Comps, I know some people on social media for some reason have -- some people have a really, really big hang-up with comps. Oh, you should never compare anybody. Everybody is their own player. That's just the way it works when you are in the draft room.
It's not saying -- there's no apple-to-apple comparison. There's no, this is the exact clone of this player. Usually it's a range in there. Look, I'm hoping this guy is going to end up being Josh Allen. There's also a chance that he ends up being another player that you see some aspects of his game.
It's just a frame of reference when you are in the room. You're trying to describe him to people in the room that haven't seen them yet, and that gives them a good visual of, okay, I can kind of see this person in my mind now that you are describing him.
Maybe it's just he runs like this player or maybe it's just his off-schedule stuff reminds me of that player, but there's always going to be comparisons.
Now, in terms of using the outliers, you know, Josh Allen, for being somebody who didn't have the best accuracy coming out and had some turnovers, you can get -- yeah, you can get in trouble when you compare everybody to that.
I know for being in the league when Drew Brees just got into the league, every undersize the quarterback for the next ten years, if you liked him, he was Drew Brees, and it turned out none of them was Drew Brees. He was a one of one.
I totally get that you can get in danger of thinking that that's -- that Josh Allens are everywhere because they're hard to find.
Q. I wanted to ask about the two offensive tackles from Ohio State. One you already kind of mentioned in passing, Paris Johnson Jr. And maybe the lack of strength there. Do you feel like only having one year at left tackle is having any affect on his draft evaluation right now? And for Dawand Jones, obviously he had a good Senior Bowl, really impressive Senior Bowl. Could he potentially still rise up to the bottom of the first round?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, I mean, I would have liked to see him more in the Senior Bowl. He had a dominant day or two and then he was gone because he got a little nicked up there. Yeah, if I start there with him, for those that don't know about him, he is 6'8", 375 pounds. He has 36 and 5/8 inch arms. It's insane. It's ridiculous how long he is.
That's where you start with the size and the frame. Now, he is an avalanche in the run game when he can block down. You get in his way, you're going to get collapsed. You're not going to be able to stop that from happening. He is too big. He is too massive. He is too strong.
He has average foot quickness. The struggles that he has are in space and then when he has to redirect. One of the things at the Senior Bowl he did really well, because a lot of people got the bright idea they were going to try and bull-rush and rush to the chest of a 375-pound guy, which did not work well.
Then if they tried to rush with speed, he just uses those long arms and just widens them out and rides them by. His issues arise when he has to redirect. So when you get up the field and he has to redirect back inside, that's kind of been a little bit of his kryptonite.
You saw it with -- with massive guys it's always going to be the case. With Faalele from Minnesota the year before, same thing. He just didn't really get tested with that at the Senior Bowl, but that's the one concern there. That's the one issue.
Then with Paris, you know, if he would have gone back and gotten a little stronger, I think you are talking about somebody that could have been a top 5 pick next year because he has that type of ability. He has the frame. He has the quickness. He just needs to get a little bit stronger and play a little bit lower, but there is a ton to work with there.
When I say the redirect issues with Dawand Jones, Paris Johnson can redirect fluidly, easily. He is an outstanding athlete.
So that was kind of the one knock on him. It's just playing a little bit lower consistently and just getting a little bit stronger, so those are the two concerns.
Q. The Eagles have shown a willingness to trade up and maneuver up and down the draft board. If they were to move back, say, to 14, 15, that range, who is a guy that you think would fit them? Also, how much value does that 30th pick have for them this year?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, I think that 30th pick is great. I think there's tremendous value there in that pick.
When I look at trading back to 14 or 15 and places that they could go, I mean, you kind of get out of that first group of edge rushers.
I don't think -- Van Ness, that might be potentially -- you could see him there. I think there's a chance he could be gone by then, but the Iowa edge rusher would be one, I would think. At that point in time I would feel good about turning in that card.
Any of those three corners were there I would feel great about it with Gonzalez, Porter, or Witherspoon, somehow made it there. Those would be home run picks.
Those are some of the guys that I would think in a trade-back scenario that could make some sense there.
Q. I'll keep this one simple. Obviously down here with the Saints we got a late start on the draft process with the draft pick coming in late, but it does seem in the back end of any draft there's a lot of fluidity. I'm just curious, are there any players who you kind of see as not getting a ton of first round draft buzz right now who might go out to the combine next week and have a great workout and suddenly they're all over everyone's board?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah. You know, I don't keep up with as many of the mock drafts I guess, so it's hard to say of guys that I think that -- you know, Calijah Kancey from Pitt is really, really dynamic. I got to him a little bit later on in the process, but he is not going to fit everybody because he is an undersized defensive tackle, but he is a 6-footer at 280 pounds.
I know everybody is going to compare him to Aaron Donald because is he at Pitt, and that's where Aaron Donald played. He reminds me more of Ed Oliver, but really, really twitchy, really dynamic. He can shoot gaps. You can see him do some freaky stuff with his explosiveness. He is undersized. He gets caught at times and gets washed. He is not going to fit everybody.
But if you are looking for that pure three-technique and you want to play up the field, he is somebody that he is going to test really well. He will put on a show, and I think you'll see him start to garner some attention there to move up there into the first round.
I'll give you a couple of other names that I think could be on the move up there. You talked about those interior linemen. Jack Campbell, linebacker from Iowa, is going to be huge. He is going to be 6'4", 250 pounds. He is going to probably run in the 4.5s. He could start getting some love and some talk about him up there in the first round.
Wide receiver-wise, I don't think he'll get all the way to the first round, but I think Cedric Tillman from Tennessee is probably a name people will be talking a lot more about after the combine.
He is going to be 215-plus pounds, 6'2"-plus. He is going to run really fast. He is somebody I think you'll see garnering some attention as well.
Q. I don't think any Bills fan will have a problem with a plug and play interior offensive lineman like you had in your mock draft. I'm curious, when you are looking at this top of the line wide receivers in this draft, the Bills are looking in that direction. Is there one in particular that you think if Brandon Beam was to select one of them, fits in with what they have in Stefon Diggs and Gabriel Davis already?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah. I mean, gosh, that's a good question in terms of exactly how they fit in there. You know, Smith-Njigba would probably be one that I would think would be a nice complement there. If you are looking for somebody who can do some of that in the middle of the field, he gives you that.
Gabe can play more over the top and Diggs kind of does everything. That would be one I would think that would be a really good fit there as a really good player.
I love Zay Flowers. I know he is not the biggest guy in the world at a little over 5'9", 182 pounds, but he is a clone to TY Hilton. I pulled this up today. When you look at their numbers, TY Hilton and Zay Flowers, it is -- Flowers is 5'9" 1/2; Hilton is 5'9" 1/2. Flowers 182 pounds; Hilton 183 pounds. Wingspan, 73.5 to 73 1/8. We'll see the testing when they run and all that.
It's one of those deals when you watch, gosh, he reminds me of TY Hilton, and then when you pull the numbers they're like twins. I think he is a great player. I think he is going to go somewhere into the late first into the early second round. We'll see how he runs, but I'm a big fan of his.
Q. Last year there was a lot of talk about Tyler Smith out of Tulsa and what it would look like if he just stayed in college for a year. He had the physicality. He had the athleticism. He was just raw technically. After his rookie season I was curious, if he was to be in this draft class with where he is technically today, where would he fit? Then it is that narrative of a guy in this particular draft class that, boy, if he just stayed a year, he would really shoot up into the early first round, but he is not there at this stage in his development.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, he would be the first offensive linemen picked if he were to enter in the draft after what we've seen this year, because you nailed it, the ability was all in there. He needed to dial some things back a little bit obviously with the penalties that he had. Ultra, ultra aggressive, which led to some balance issues as well.
He has played more under control. He played great this year. Yeah, when you look at his combination of athleticism, physicality, all those things, he would probably -- and I would feel pretty confident saying he would be the first offensive linemen picked in this draft.
That was a good pick, and a good job of developing him by the Cowboys. This year in terms of guys that still have some work to do in terms of their development, you know, Jaelyn Duncan from Maryland, and I don't even remember if he was a junior or not, but he was at the Senior Bowl, so I don't know if he graduated early or what his deal was.
I don't think he was, but he is somebody that I think is a year away. Like, it's all in there. It's all in his body. He has a ton of ability. He is very athletic. He is going to test -- I would be shocked if he doesn't test extremely well.
I know he has been working with Duke Manyweather who does a great job in Dallas, and you can already see him making strides there. I think his best football is in the future, not in the past.
Q. I wanted to kind of talk to you about the Eagles and the running back position. You know the history. You talked a little bit about Bijan before. What do you think his floor is, number one, and then some running backs maybe at 62 where the Eagles go in the second round?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah. I mean, in terms of his floor as a player?
Q. His floor as where he could drop. I know you have him dropped 5, but...
DANIEL JEREMIAH: He is impossible to peg of where -- you know, where he could end up going. I think he is one of the four, five best players in the whole draft.
I know the Eagles' history and they don't take linebackers and running backs in the first round, but I'm looking at a team -- it's hard to find a team that's put together a better roster than the Eagles. I don't think there is one. I think that San Francisco has done a really, really good job, and I think they're right there with them.
I look at them as a team that traded resources and obviously dedicated a lot of money towards Christian McCaffrey, and I saw what Christian McCaffrey did in that offense where they already had a bunch of good players and how he took it to a whole other level. I think, man, I know, I know, I know Howie doesn't take running backs. I know Howie doesn't take linebackers. But when you look at that offense with Jalen Hurts and AJ Brown, Davante Smith, and Dallas Goedert, and all of a sudden you drop in Bijan Robinson into that mix, holy moley. That would be fun to watch.
He is a special, special player. One of the best backs we've seen in the last several years. So to answer your question, it doesn't help anybody, but I have no clue where he is going to go. I just know I think he is one of the best players in the draft.
Q. With Bryan Bresee from Clemson, he is being rated as a top 10, top 15 prospect by most scouting agencies out there, but with you talking on your podcast earlier, you said that he is kind of split with different executives and different teams across the league. Going into a little bit more about why teams are so split on him based on his talent, but also on some of his concerns.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, to me he is a tough player to evaluate because you see flashes of it. You see some of the flash its of the quickness. I know he has obviously battled the injuries. I think there's some stiffness there, and maybe some of it is injury-related, but he is not the most loose athlete.
They move him around up and down the line of scrimmage, but I didn't see somebody that was really, really explosive and fluid and loose. I thought he was more of a tight athlete who has some power, but that's why I think you get into a little bit of a tough evaluation there, and I have talked to teams that really like him, and I have talked to teams that aren't nearly as high and don't see him as a first round player.
It will be interesting to see when it's all said an done. I'm excited to see him move. That's one of the things about the combine, not to get on my soapbox here, but I know as people have been out there and said, oh, the combine doesn't have value and it's Underwear Olympics. It's a great example of a player that I haven't seen him move around in person, and I think there's people in scouting departments and GMs and head coaches that have some questions there as well.
And to get out there and see him with your own eyes after he has had time to get healthy and train, you know, somebody like that to see those guys move in person, it does have value. I'm looking forward to seeing him in Indy.
Q. The Patriots could use some cornerback help as well. I know we kind of talk a lot about tackles here, but if there is no -- if they don't have a path to a tackle at No. 14, might they look for a corner there? If they don't, where else could they get some good cornerback depth?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: It's a good corner group. I think it's a better corner group than the receiver group. This year when I look at it, I've got 20 corners with top three round grades, which is a big number. I think it's a really good group of corners.
If you are at 14, you know, I've kind of talked about those big three. For me it's Witherspoon, Porter, and Gonzalez, whatever order you want to put them in. Then when you want to get out of that range, you know, to me let's see. When is the next pick? The next pick is at 46. If you are looking at pick 46, I think Ringo from Georgia is gone. Banks from Maryland is probably gone. You are looking Tyrique Stevenson. You are looking at DJ Turner from Michigan. Jartavius Martin is a nickel from Illinois. He is a really good player. That's probably like that type of a group. Riley Moss from Iowa maybe a little bit after that. He is going to fly. He is going to run really, really well.
Julius Brents from Kansas State. Those are just some of the names I would tick off there that I think are really good players.
When I talk about those corners carrying top three round grades, I think those guys are all starters. Whether you want to say he is a No. 2 corner, whatever, he is out on the field when the starting line-up rolls out there. I think there's 20 of those guys.
Q. Penn State has seven guys at the combine. Joey Porter, Parker Washington, Ji'Ayir Brown being the big three there. What intrigues you about those three, and is there an under the radar Penn Stater there that has already caught your eye in evaluations or might catch your eye next week?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Sure. Well, I know one thing. Penn State guys are going to run fast because they do it every year at the combine. Again, I always have to look it up, and I apologize for not having it in front of me, but I always like to give their strength coach. Never met him a day in my life, but whoever he is he does a good job because his Penn State kids fly at the combine every year.
Joey Porter, outside corner, rare length. He can work through wide receivers to get to the ball. He can high-point it. He is more play the ball, poke it away, get your hands on the football. I wish he would finish a little bit better, catch more of them, but he is always in a good position.
Even when he is out of phase, his length allows him to close that down. Takes him about three steps to build the speed, but once he gets those three steps going, he is rolling.
So he is a really good player. Ji'Ayir Brown is one that I finished up since my last top 50. He will move into my top 50. He is my top safety in the entire draft. He has corner skill. Obviously, the history there. He can play in the middle of the field. He has ball production. You can drop him down low if you want. He is tough. He is physical. You can see the Auburn game. What he does as a rusher there with a sack and the forced fumble. He can cover tight ends. He can do everything. He is a really good player.
He is one of my favorite guys to watch in this draft, and everything I've heard about him character-wise is off the charts. So I'm a big fan of his.
Then if you are looking for a guy that's maybe off the -- or Strange I guess you want to talk about too, the tight end. He is flexed out. He is able to create some separation with leaning into guys at the top of routes. He has a good feel for that. He can break tackles. Not much of a make 'em miss guy after the catch.
Another name of a Penn Stater that I kind of liked was the wideout Mitchell Tinsley who has speed. He has snap out of the break. He is a hands catcher. He attacks the ball. Mix in a little stiff-arm. He has some toughness after the catch.
I thought he was a really good player who I didn't really hear anything about or know much about before I popped on the tape, but I was pleasantly surprised.
Q. I was wondering, like, you know, with the Eagles second first round pick at No. 30, I think you mentioned earlier its tremendous value. Is that because you can see them trading back, maybe getting some extra picks in rounds four, five, and six, not to mention a second rounder? If so, who are some of the guys in the second round that would interest them? Thanks.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Sorry. Your thing cut out again. Was it the Eagles? Is that where you were talking?
Q. With their second first round pick at No. 30.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, yeah. To trade out and some options there?
Q. Yeah.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, I mean, I think if you are not going to take a running back there at 30 and you want a running back, you can trade back. Again, we're under the assumption that you are going to lose your running back in free agency in Myles Sanders.
If we want to play that game, you trade back on that one. If you collect an extra third round pick in this draft, I think you are going to get a starting running back. You get a really good player.
Tyjae Spears from Tulane. You have Kendre Miller from TCU. Israel Abanikanda from Pitt has big-time juice. Those are just a few names. If we want to put a number on it. The running back group is really deep. I have one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve. I have got 13 running backs that I gave top three round grade. Those are starter level players, which means not all those guys because of the value of the position are going to go in the third round. Some of these guys are going to go in the fourth and fifth round this year.
You are going to get good players. The other back from Texas, Roschon Johnson is a go ahead player. 225 pounds. He has speed. Gosh, you can use him in a kickoff game as well.
That's one of those scenarios where if you are trying to collect an extra third, fourth round pick, I think this year there's real value. Especially if it marries up with one of your needs. Tight end, running back. If you need tight ends and running backs, to me the sweet spot is the third, fourth round because I think you're getting a second round type player in a traditional year. They're really, really good.
Q. I had a couple of questions about Hendon Hooker for you. How important are the medicals? Do you have any concerns about the age and what not and all the dings that come up? And how much do you ascribe to the theory that it was all -- so much of it was dependent on Josh Heupel's offense and he is going to suffer a rough transition to the NFL? I want to know your thoughts on him.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: For those that haven't seen him play or have seen Tennessee play, they spread you from sea to shining sea. They are about two yards from the sideline it looks like when you are watching them on each snap where they spread you all the way out. Side note, but when you are doing the receiver in Hyatt who can fly, when you are watching him, SEC defenses kept trying to bring a safety in the slot where he had the whole field to work, and he justice ran by him repeatedly, which is some of the concern people have with Hooker is that, okay, this is so spread out. The NFL game isn't like this, and it's not going to be as defined in terms of your reads.
He was -- everything with him in that offense is off-play action. He was 51.5% of the snaps. There's some form of play action where you are kind of riding the back and raising up and firing as you try and manipulate those linebackers. That was the most of any quarterback at the combine.
Those are some of the offense concerns and how that relates and how that translates to the next level. I'll just say when you are evaluating him, the accuracy, the decision-making, the poise, the athleticism to be able to move around and create with his legs to throw as well as to run, all those things are all there. If we just put the offense to one side and say he has all these skills and all that is there for you to see so there's going to be an adjustment. I know the age. The age doesn't bother me as much as maybe some other people.
I think a lot of -- a lot of team-builders are looking four and five years at a time. He is 25 years old, and we've got quarterbacks with the way the league is right now that are playing into their late 30s. Obviously Tom was the unicorn going much later than that, but I think you could have a nice long run.
If you told me you draft Hendon Hooker in the second round and he is your starting quarterback for seven, eight really good years, I think you take it.
You've got to do your homework on the medical stuff -- that's above my pay grade -- and see if you are comfortable there. Everything I've heard from an intangible standpoint is really good. The intelligent stuff is excellent. While there will be an adjustment period, I think he'll be able to handle it, and I think he has all the skills to be successful.
Comparison-wise as a thrower he remind he me of Bradford. He doesn't have a huge, huge arm, but it's good enough. Obviously he is a lot more athletic. I thought when Bradford was coming out it was accuracy, it was decision-making. Obviously he was the first overall pick. I think Hendon Hooker has a chance to be a real value pick for someone.
Q. If I can make this a Tennessee festival, where are you with Hyatt as a complete receiver?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I mean, he is obviously -- the vertical stuff is what he does best, but I've seen him -- I've seen him flash the ability to get in and out of breaks. He just doesn't do a ton of it. My thing with him is I think there's a high floor, because worst case scenario he is going to stretch the field. He is going to take the top off of defenses. You'll be able to put him in the slot and be able to run deep overs and run verticals.
You can just pitch him the ball and let him do some things after the catch with his speed. He is not super elusive. He is going to need work to develop the full route tree. That's not going to happen right away.
I think in the immediate term you have an elite field stretcher, so I think you've got to know what you are buying there and know what that role is going to be.
If you are going to bring him in there and ask him to be Keenan Allen, then that's not going to work because that's not who he is.
Q. You talked briefly about Matthew Bergeron earlier. You seemed pretty high on him. Just curious to know what do you think are his best attributes and if you think he will play tackle or guard at the next level? My second question would be about Sidy Sow and how do you like his chances of getting drafted.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, good stuff. I am a fan of both those guys actually at different levels of the draft. But Bergeron, I think he can play left tackle. He plays with a good base for the most part. Myles Murphy got him once in the Clemson game. He does a really good job of staying attached to blocks. He has lateral quickness. I think he is a really solid player. You'll see him move in space. Does some good things.
Occasionally he is a little late off the snap, so figure out what the heck that's all about. That should be able to be solved.
No, I think he has tackle movement skills. I think he can play tackle. I think he can stay at tackle. I know some might say, okay, you kick him to guard. I think he could do that, but I didn't see anything with him that would be a reason why I would move him. I would let him continue to play there.
Sidy Sow, I called a buddy with a team the other day about him because I'm just kind of going through. It's been late nights for the last few weeks just trying to get all this tape done to watch all these guys for the combine. It starts to almost be like you're watching the M&M video after a while where they all look the same, and you are looking for somebody to pop. Sidy Sow popped off for me. When I watched the Arizona State game for me, he is a left guard at Eastern Michigan. He is huge. He is almost 6'5", 339 pounds. He has knock-off power. He has upper torque.
You can see him, I think I posted one of the plays of a combo block against Arizona State where you can see him move and redirect in space.
He gives up his chest a lot in pass protection, which I don't love, but he is so dang massive and strong that he is able to absorb it.
The team I talked to, they were lower on him. They were going to go back and do more work after I talked to them and sent them a couple of plays via text message. I'm like this guy is 330 pounds. He can move and he is powerful. I thought he would be a fifth round pick.
We'll see where he ends up going, how he moves around at the combine. Maybe it was a case where it was late at night and I was looking for something that wasn't there, but I actually really liked him.
Q. You've gone and talked about Devon Witherspoon. What is it about him that you like? And if I could, another player with Jartavius Martin. I know you mentioned him. What stands out about what he does?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I'm a big fan of the guys they've got in the secondary there at Illinois. They're all really good players.
Witherspoon, when you first popped him on was just blown away with the instincts and just the natural feel and awareness, route recognition. He sees things before they develop.
Sometimes you can see guys that have the athletic ability, and sometimes you see guys that really have studied film and they know how to play, and it's not common when you see guys that have all that wrapped up together. He does. He is a complete package that way.
I mean, I wish he was 200 pounds. He is not going to be. He is going to be a little bit lighter, but he just pulls the trigger. He does not play with any hesitation. He plays with ultimate aggressiveness and confidence and urgency. Then you see that and say, okay, well, let's see what happens when they hit him with double moves because sometimes you can take advantage of guys that are making plays on the ball. He doesn't fall for it. He is really, really instinctive that way. He is outstanding in zone.
There's a play in the red zone. I want to say it was Virginia who they were playing. I'll have to go back and look at my notes. There's a play where he is in the flat. He is in the flat of the flat defender. That's where his responsibility lies. He just reads the quarterback's eyes. He comes off of the flat about the front of the end zone, maybe the five yard line. He ends up in the back of the end zone breaking up a pass on a crosser just because he was reading the quarterback's mail. He just has outstanding eyes, quickness, and ball skills.
I like the fact that he plays with an edge. I like to talk to the guys that have been training with him, with these guys and kind of get some feedback, character-wise, personality-wise. They're, like, this guy just has really, really good Florida swag. He brings good energy. Reminds me kind of the way -- we had a lot of Miami players when I was with the Ravens. He has that good Miami vibe. I'm a Witherspoon fan. I love his game.
When you look at Jartavius Martin, I think he is going to be a day 1 starting nickel. He is quick and fluid. He can change directions. He is a physical hitter. He shows you his toughness. I'm curious to see what the pure speed is. That's the only box left for him to check is the speed part, but I thought he was somebody that could come in and be a really good nickel right away.
Q. I wanted to ask Georgia has another big-time class, another 12 going to the combine this year. I wanted to get your evaluations on a few guys like Chris Smith, Kenny McIntosh and Nolan Smith. In addition to Smith, what do you think about a guy like Jared Verse returning back to Florida State and how that affected the edge rusher class as a whole?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Hats off to Florida State, because that was a heck of a coup to get that dude to come back, because I had already done him and watched his tape, and he is outstanding. There's two guys. I think it's -- we're seeing more of that now. I think some of it's going to be NIL-related. I think that's a good thing. Guys go back and continue to develop and get better. That's good for the colleges. It gives the NFL a better product when they arrive. I don't have any problem with that at all.
The left tackle from Penn State going back, Verse going back, those guys are great players already, and they're going to be even better players next year. It's a win for the school, and I think ultimately a win for the league.
Some of the other guys you were asking about, Nolan Smith, he reminds me of Haason Reddick coming out. I pulled their numbers too. We'll have that at the combine. There's some similarities there in terms of how big they are and how they move around. We'll see what that looks like there.
He is just -- I just wrote down, he is just juicy. He has big-time juice and burst coming off the edge. He can change directions. He has a good feel at the top of his rush. He can bend and close. He will grab the wrist. He has a really good job of controlling the wrist of opponents. One of the plays with him you are watching Auburn. It's special teams. They run a fake punt. He sniffs it out and makes a play. Just showed you the overall football player that he is. Just a really good player.
Christopher Smith, you know, it will be big for him, no pun intended, to see if he can add some weight. He was 188 pounds at the All-Star Game. He is a little undersized there. You want your safeties to be a little bigger than that. He is a playmaker. He plays fast. He has range from the middle of the field. He has no wasted movement. Again, plays with confidence. Quick to read and drive. He sits there flat-footed and then drives on the ball.
Unfortunately, he was one of Hyatt's victims there getting vertical from the slot. He did that to everybody.
He is a really, really instinctive player who plays fast. I guess the expectation is he is not going to maybe run as fast as you think, but I would be more curious to see if he can add a little bit on the frame. He was 188 pounds. Who the other one you wanted to know about?
Q. Kenny McIntosh.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, what he does in the passing game, the way he moved around, you see some Tony Pollard type stuff with him. Maybe not without that elite, elite top speed.
He is an excellent route runner. They'll use him on some jet sweeps. He has burst. He can make you miss. I think he is more comfortable getting outside as a runner than banging away inside. He has to work in pass protection where he likes to go low and he has whiffed a couple of times.
I love the value he adds on third down. Get out of the back field and make plays.
Q. How do you find that teams operate or I guess navigate the draft differently when they are a contending team as opposed to building a contending roster?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, I mean, I think when you get to different places of trying to get your foundational pieces in place, and then it's obviously a lot easier. Once you have the quarterback in place and then once you have a couple of those building blocks in place, then you have the -- it's a lot easier to find those other pieces.
That's kind of where everybody starts, and I think initially it's you want to line up and play. So you want to eliminate as many of the reject players from your group as you can, have competent NFL players. Then once you reach the point that you have a competent team, you have to have blue players, you have to have difference makers, and you have to have eight to ten of them. I think that's kind of the way of doing it.
I think most teams are going to start quarterback and then the foundation pieces up front on the offense and defensive line, and that's where you are. Man, you look at teams like the Chiefs, look at teams like the 49ers, look at teams like the Eagles. The Eagles basically redshirted a draft class last year. They had so much roster depth, and they're going to lose a bunch of free agents and have guys ready waiting in the wings to come right in there. Then you look at some other teams and kind of like where the Bears are right now. Gosh, you are just trying to get a competent group out there.
So you have to kind of crawl before you walk there.
Q. I was just wondering, in each of your first two mocks you've had the Falcons drafting Van Ness at pick 8. What is it about his fit with the Falcons that you are particularly keen on, and can you consider them -- or would you consider them taking a quarterback at pick 8?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah. I mean, I don't know that there's going to be a quarterback there. I think when it's all said and done -- and mock drafts, especially before free agency, I just don't do trades because it just gets all messy.
But I think when it's all said and done, and we'll know more coming out of the combine and as we get through the quarterback carousel of free agency, but I think this there's a chance that all those quarterbacks go.
In terms of Van Ness, it's pretty simple really. They're 31st in sacks. 31st in first down. I think they've been searching for edge rush forever. When you stack it up on the board where it is, I think he offers them the up side there. He has some real power, he has some real twitch, and he is just figuring out what he is doing.
I think you can -- you have a good player right now, and you can chase some of the up side with him as well. Yeah, no doubt they have to figure out the quarterback thing, but I don't know if they're going to be able to do that sitting right where they are.
Q. I wanted to ask about Kelee Ringo and Stetson Bennett, guys that you don't necessarily think of in the first round. Kelee with first round traits and Stetson a later guy in the quarterback class.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah. Kelee is going to be -- I don't want to say polarizing. I just think he is going to fit certain teams. He is not going to necessarily fit others. I think there's a real chance he goes in the first round, especially when he puts on a show when he runs. Track background. He is going to be 6'2", 200 pounds. He is going to fly.
I think I'm curious to see him in some of the change-of-direction stuff. He is a little rigid. He is a little bit tight. I think if you are a cover-3 team, you are going to love him. He is going to fit beautifully with that, and he is physical and tough. He can find and play the ball. He just has to be in phase to be able to find and play it.
Sometimes he is a little too much separation because he is a little sticky and a little bit tight. I like him as player. You watch him as a gunner. You watch him on kickoff. That tells you a lot about a guy of that stature, that type of recruit, that type of reputation as a defensive player to not only be on teams, but to be playing with maximum effort and be a good player on special teams. I think it tells you a lot about him and his makeup.
I think he there's a real chance he goes in the first round. He won't get out of the early part of the second round if that were to be the case, if he doesn't go round one.
Stetson Bennett is a tricky one. Obviously, the age, as we talked about a little bit earlier with Hendon Hooker. You have that as well. Gosh, the guy has won two National Championships. He's shown the ability to make a lot of different throws. He is just to me streaky as a thrower. He has some bad misses where you'll see -- you'll see worm burners on low flat routes and swing routes. Like, what was that?
Then you'll see him squeeze the ball in tight windows later on in that same game. He is just a little bit streaky, a little inconsistent there. Obviously, really undersized guy.
But I was talking with a GM, gosh, had to be over a month ago, and he just said if Bryce Young can be the first overall pick at his size, then why is Stetson Bennett talked about as a sixth or seventh round pick at his size? I said, well, he is a better player. He says, no, I get that, but is the gap six rounds wide, you know? Or could you take him in the third, fourth round? I don't know.
I think most teams have him on day 3, but he will be an interesting test case, no doubt.
Q. I wanted to ask you about a couple of USC guys. Andrew Vorhees, and then in a strong cornerback group, what are your thoughts on Mekhi Blackmon?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Sure. First of all, I don't think those guys -- it's probably good that Deion came a year later, right, because they lose Christian Gonzalez and Mekhi Blackmon out of Colorado. They both go on to Oregon, USC, and played really, really well.
If I start there with Blackmon, he has average size. A little under 5'11", 182 pounds. He is an efficient mover. In off coverage he has a smooth pedal. He does a good job of staying in phase, staying connected.
There are times he gets a little bit grabby down the field, just to work on that a little bit. He had one of the best interceptions of anybody in this draft class. His red zone interception against Stanford in that game where he pops up in the air, pops the ball up, and ends up finishing it, making a play there.
It's a good cornerback class. I'm curious to see how truly, truly fast he is, but he is somebody that I have kind of in that fifth round range is where I have him in a really good class. Fifth, sixth round. We'll see where he ends up going.
Then Vorhees is a big powerful guy. He is going to be over 6'5", over 320. I think he is going to bench a zillion times, but he has got real upper power, upper torque. He will flash the ability to really finish guys. I thought the UCLA game he struggled some against their power.
You don't see -- it's hard in some of these conferences -- I'm not picking on the PAC-12, it just is what it is, but you don't see a lot of NFL defensive linemen. You have to cherry-pick the right games to be able to see them go up against real powerful NFL type players along that defensive front.
There were teams I thought in the UCLA game he got a little bit high and kind of got tugged and pulled and pushed around a little bit and some of the balance showed up.
I think to me I know I wouldn't be shocked if he snuck into day 2. He is early day 3 for me of where I have him, but he has played a lot of football there at USC. It will be one of the benefits -- you were asking it, but one of the benefits of this realignment is I am looking forward to seeing USC in the Big Ten because you'll get to see them play against a lot more NFL players in the trenches. I think not only will that be good to evaluate, but it will probably be good for USC. I think they'll be able to track more guys because it's a different game. It's just a different game in that conference.
Q. First, I know we talked a lot about the corners. I do want to go back into the defensive backs for a second. You have about five corners going in the first round of your latest mock draft. After seeing what Sauce Gardner and Tariq Williams did last year, I know they were outliers, but I wanted to see your projections for this group as a whole. What is the floor and the ceiling for this group? And on top of that, what did you see out of the safety position this year as a whole?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, the cornerback group, as I mentioned -- I think I've got 20 guys with top three round grades. I think it's a really good group. I had a higher grade on Sauce Gardner than anybody in the draft class. I was a big Sauce Gardner plan, so I don't put anybody in his class in this one. I don't think there's a Patrick Surtain in this class. I would have probably a similar grade on Witherspoon, even though he is a totally different player. I would have a similar grade on Witherspoon to the corner that went to Carolina now. The name is going to escape me. What was his name? Do me a solid on that one. Someone is going to do me a solid. Oh, Jaycee Horn. Thank you. Appreciate that.
I would have a similar grade there. I don't think there's the top-end guys like that. I love Witherspoon. I wouldn't put him up there with gardener or Patrick Surtain.
Depth-wise, I think there's a sweet spot, and I think you can look at different positions and find sweet spots. Again, I think I would love to have third round picks and need corners, running backs, tight ends. I think there's -- it's just a really, really good group to choose from there. I think this is a good group of guys in that area.
Safety-wise I don't think it's a great group. I love the Penn State safety, but he is going to be probably towards the back end of my top 50. Maybe 30s, early 40s, somewhere in there.
Then I've got one, two, three, four, five -- I have about six safeties that I think are going to be -- I feel good about saying they're going to be starters at the next level.
I think the safety group is a little bit light compared to the corners.
Q. So I wanted to kind of circle back to the Philadelphia Eagles. I know you were talking about 30th pick having tremendous value. I want to talk about that 10th pick and what value you think that has, specifically to other teams? Are there any teams that you may think want to get into that top 10 pick, and if the Eagles maybe can get rid of that?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, that's a good question. When you look at the draft order, I mean, it all comes down to quarterbacks usually. That's where the trades take place.
If one of those top four quarterbacks make it to 10 and then I guess you could always call the Saints back and see if they want to dance again if you would be interested in that. I don't know. Try and see a team that might want to come up for a quarterback there.
Maybe it's -- shoot, who knows? There's always a sneaky team that you have to keep an eye on quarterback-wise. Maybe it's the Vikings who want to have somebody develop and be ready to go. Who knows? Yeah, I mean, I think you would be open to listen there if you are the Eagles, but if there's an edge rusher there that you have highly rated as much as they value that position, you know, I would think they probably would stick and pick if that were the case.
Q. I just wanted to ask for Clemson, you have Bryan Bresee getting drafted 24th overall by Jacksonville. What led you to put him at 24th? Some other people have him going higher in the draft and even before Murphy.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Look, I talked a little bit about it earlier. He is a little bit of a polarizing player. I am a little lower on my top 50 on him than where he I even had him going in the mock draft.
Again, in terms of why I had him going to Jacksonville, I was looking at Jacksonville and just kind of looking at their ability to get after the quarterback and I thought that there's some up side there with some interior pass rush.
You look at Trent Baalke has always liked big guys, so you have somebody that kind of fits their frame. You go back to Justin Smith when he was with the 49ers at that point in time. You had Justin Smith and Aldon Smith, and you could look and say, okay, you drafted Travon Walker. You are hoping he is going to be Aldon Smith, and maybe Bryan Bresee, you are hoping he could be Justin Smith.
That was one of the reasons why I paired them up there. But, again, he is a guy that has a wide variance of where he could go. There's a wide range. There's some guys you look and say, I feel he is probably going to go in this three, four spots. He has a very broad range of where he could go. I wouldn't be shocked if he went much higher or much lower.
Q. You talked about Devon Witherspoon a little bit earlier. Just kind of what do you think his up side could be and also how much did he help himself this year?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, he helped himself tremendously. He just played at such a high level, and the tape is so fun to watch. I kind of talked about it a little bit, but Asante Samuel Jr., somebody that maybe doesn't have that elite, elite size, but makes a ton of plays on the ball.
I guess I should say Asante Samuel Sr. I do the Charger games, so I see Junior making a lot of plays, as he did in the playoff game. But Witherspoon plays like the Samuel family, I guess I could say there.
He is just an excellent ball hawk. When you get guys that take the ball away, and they don't get beat, sometimes you have to take one or the other. There's corners in the NFL. You'll see up there in the leaders with interceptions, but then there's also -- there's a lot of issue with them giving up points now too. They run up both sides of the scoreboard. He is able to make plays on the ball without giving up big plays.
So he was an easy one to like, and really if you are stacking up players, I think he is one of the best players. I think he is one of the most fun players to watch because he plays with a good energy, a good competitiveness and a good edge to him.
Q. You mentioned earlier that this year's quarterback class might not have a can't-miss prospect like Joe Burrow in 2020 and Trevor Lawrence in 2021. Just for the depth of this year's class, how does it compare to those groups in 2020, when you have Burrow, Tua, and 2021 with Lawrence, Wilson, Lance, Fields, and Jones? How does it this year's class stack up depth-wise?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I think you look at the depth of a quarterback class by how many starters you can produce. You know, if you have to wait three years at least, right, before we know, but I don't think that there's anybody like the Lawrence or Burrow, but as I mentioned, I think there's five guys we could see starting. You know, being starting quarterbacks that you can win with that you're not looking to get rid of or replace or draft over. I think there's five solid guys.
I'm putting Hooker into that group, provided everything comes back health-wise with him. I think he has a chance to be a productive starting quarterback. You put all those guys together. I think they all have questions. They all have flaws.
There's no perfect prospect, but I think if you draft those guys, you are expecting those guys are going to be starting quarterbacks. If you get a draft that ends up with five starting quarterbacks, that's a pretty good group and pretty good depth.
Q. With bluechip guys from this year's class, like Verse and Fashanu your opting to stay in school, how is the league valuing picks in this year's draft versus next year's? Then I also kind of wanted to know separate from that entirely, is there -- just about UCLA receiver Jake Bobo, where do you see him getting drafted?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Sure. I think you always do a little bit of homework, and teams do a deeper dive than I've done on next year's class. I just know -- I've seen a couple of the quarterbacks that are really, really intriguing for next year, and the two players you just mentioned are outstanding.
We've talked about the Georgia tight end. There's going to be really, really good players in next year's draft class. I think I wouldn't be surprised if you saw teams, especially if they have an aging quarterback or if they don't have their quarterback, if they were trying to spin off picks and acquire some ammunition for next year's draft.
I could definitely see a team thinking like that because of what is coming. You always have to keep an eye on that.
In terms of Bobo and what he is, it's whether or not he is going to be a receiver or a tight end. He is kind of a tweener. 6'4", 216 pounds. He is a big slot, or he is a flex tight end.
I think he has some polish to him. He can change tempo. He understands how to set up defenders. I don't know how much true burst there is, how dynamic he is to be able to stay out at wide receiver. I would probably be leaning more towards trying to put a little weight on and moving him to tight end.
I know he will block. You'll see it as a receiver. They do a lot of that push-to-crack where he comes down inside and he will waylay some guys. I love the toughness.
It's just a matter of, again, finding out what exactly he is.
Q. My question pertains to the Dolphins, who didn't have a pick in the first round or the second round last year. Don't have a first round pick this year. They wound up with Channing Tindall and Eric Ezukanma in the third and fourth round, and neither of them basically saw the field as rookies. My question is whether that came as a surprise to you based on your evaluation last year and what you thought their ceiling might be ultimately in the NFL?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: It was Ezukanma, and what was the other one.
Q. Channing Tindall.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Bear with me for just one second, because I have all these current guys. I'm curious to see where I had him here.
All right. Let me go by position. Start with the wideout. I had him as -- he was not in my top 150. So I had him as a late guy.
A lot of bubbles. A lot of 50/50 balls. I thought he was kind of a project in terms of working with him and developing him. I guess I wouldn't be surprised that he wasn't playing there.
Then it was Tindall. Where was he out of? Wisconsin?
Q. Georgia.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Georgia, there we go. Oh, yeah, the athletic linebacker. Let's see where I had him. I'm always curious where you had guys and where they ended up getting picked.
Tindall, okay, he was my 76th player. Didn't start there. Speed, explosion. Thought the FBI in terms of football intelligence, seeing things clearly, was a little bit of a question mark. More see-and-go. Thought there was some stiffness in space. I said he would be an animal on special teams initially.
I think both those guys you are probably looking at some development that needed to take place, so maybe not a shock that you didn't get as much out of them right away.
Q. With the Bears obviously there's a lot of talk about resetting the quarterback clock, and I wanted to get your evaluation of Bryce Young versus Justin Fields both as a prospect and what we've seen from Fields after two seasons in two different offenses?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I have a higher grade on Bryce coming out than I did on Justin, but I don't think that Bryce is a great fit in Chicago. And Justin, you know, obviously -- I think the evaluation is both easy and complicated. It's easy in that you can see the play-making ability and what he has done with his legs and the competitiveness and the toughness. That's easy to see.
Then, it's complicated because how do you evaluate him with what he has got, with who he is working with? So to me this is the only thing. In knowing the guys in Philadelphia and hearing over the last -- since Jalen Hurts got in the league, hearing the work that he was putting in and talking to coaches on that staff that said they would go down to the weight room on a Thursday night 9:00 and he is there watching tape downstairs. He just lived there.
So when you know that -- you know he has the ability, and then you know the commitment and the work ethic is there, I think it makes it easy to believe in Jalen, and he has paid off.
I don't have the same relationships there in Chicago. I've never heard anything that would lead me to believe that Justin is not doing that. If Justin is doing what he needs to be doing from that standpoint, I would be, like, oh, this guy has so much ability, and he is committed to it. Let's give him some help and try to build around him.
Q. Of the Clemson players in this draft, who intrigues you the most? Maybe your top one or two guys. Then is Trenton Simpson a guy that you think could work his way into the first round?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I was told that he is going to put on a show. I think somebody's mic is up. I think that was Rich Eisen. Somebody is listening to Rich's show. I appreciate that. Keep it all in the family.
Trenton Simpson is going to run. He is probably going to run in the 4.4s. He is going to jump out of the gym. I think he will put on a Devon White-type workout show.
With him, the same thing I was just talking about with Tindall, the linebacker from last year. It's just how well do you see things? Sometimes if you get clear sight lines, he can see it, he can go, you will see that burst. He is off the edge. You'll see him blitz. You will see him chase plays laterally. He has tremendous, tremendous juice.
It's just sometimes in the trash there you kind of get lost a little bit amidst all those bodies. That's the only knock on him. That's the only concern.
I would not be shocked at all if he went in the first round. I know one thing. If you want to -- if you are in a division with an athletic quarterback, like if you were in the -- if you were in the NFC East with Jalen Hurts and you want to have somebody that can play that role and be a spy and be able to mirror and just close those alleys, this dude is unbelievable when he spies the quarterback.
So, you know, that's going to be interesting to see with him what happens, but I would not be shocked if he goes in the first round at all.
In terms of other Clemson guys, I'm probably higher than most of the league on the tight end and Davis Allen. I was hoping he would do a little bit more at the Senior Bowl than I saw there, but he is a smooth, easy mover.
He flashes some power after the catch to run through guys. He understands how to set up routes. Gosh, he is 6'5" and a half, 246 pounds. I think he has the frame to get even bigger.
So I'm a little higher on him than some buddies in the league. I thought he would be a day 2 guy. Some people in the league think he will go day 3.
Then KJ Henry, I gave him a good grade. I wouldn't be surprised if he went in the second round. He destroys tight ends. First play of the game against Georgia Tech, drills a quarterback, ball pops up and gets picked. He can shoot gaps.
I think he is instinctive. You'll see him on the edge. He'll be able to see jet sweeps coming from the other side and be able to naturally just widen out and make plays. He has a nice little counter-rush.
Talking to Dabo about him, he loves him. He is a captain. He is graduated. Just outstanding. Said the same thing about the tight end too as well. Graduated captains. Asking about those two kids before the Senior Bowl, it came back pretty positive.
Q. For the Chargers' sake, how does the speed in this year's wide receiver class look? Guys that can get to the deep part of the field, something that the Chargers didn't have a whole lot of last year. Then for the edge position in the mid-round, how does that group of guys, assuming that's kind of where the Chargers may target that position?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Sure. There's flyers in this draft. You can get them. We talked about Hyatt early. Quentin Johnson can fly. He can really run. I know Nathaniel Dell is undersized. He is tiny. He is 5'8" and a half, 163 pounds. He is like Marquise Brown. Big-time, big-time juice and acceleration. He has really good hands. He is a good player. He can fly.
Tyler Scott from Cincinnati I think is probably going to go on day 2 somewhere. He is vertical, can really go. He can take the top off.
Charlie Jones I think you'll see run well from Purdue. Marvin Mims, probably more mid-4.4. Type speed from Oklahoma but an overall good receiver, good route runner, and can get vertical if you need him to do that.
There's going to be options throughout the draft if you want guys that can roll and get on top of coverage.
Then in terms of the edge rushers, mid-round edge rushers you are asking about, you mentioned some of these guys. Andre Carter from Army is tall and long. He just needs to get physically stronger. But he is kind of like Max Crosby light there. He has that same height and length type thing. He is an interesting one as a mid-round guy.
On maybe not as big of a guy, but Byron Young has some real twitch and juice from Tennessee. Double digit sacks. He has quick feet. He can get off the ball. He is a little bit tight and a little bit undersized. Those are a couple names there that I wouldn't sleep on.
Another big guy would be Dylan Horton from TCU. He is long. Almost 6'4", 265 pounds. Kind of reminds me of a Charles Omenihu as a player.
Q. In terms of the Ravens, obviously everybody knows wide receivers, a huge need for them. It seems like there's not a consensus on those first round guys. You talked about Jordan Addison already. Who do you think is probably -- depending where they all stack up, who is the best fit for the Ravens? Who do you think they would like?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: It's tough to say with the new offense coming in there to see what the fit looks like and how they want to set that up and incorporate it. I've always felt like with the run game that they have and whether -- how much of that run game you want Lamar to be, they should still be able when Lamar is out there, his mere presence will mean that they'll have a good run game to go along with Dobbins. I think complementing that with speed is always the way to go.
Where you can hit a slant and somebody can go. You just have to break one tackle where you can get on top of coverage because you have flat safeties because they have to come down and play the run.
So I'm always going to lean towards guys that can really go.
Zay Flowers, as I mentioned, is an overall player I love. The suddenness there I think would be a fun player to match up in that offense.
Q. For the Tennessee Titans you had them picking Paris Johnson in the first round. Let's just say hypothetically they address tackle and maybe wideout in free agency. Is there another player, I guess position, you could see them attacking with that first pick?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, with Tennessee, right? If you are looking at them and looking at other positions, they've got to get more explosive on offense. You're 28th in points per game, and we talked about the issues in pass protection there. Just something to help the passing game.
I look at wide receiver would be an area that I would look at there. Could make some sense. Then, you know, if not that, if you're not going offensive line, you're not going wide receiver, I'm going to try and trade back and see if you can't get some more value there. They've got to do something to be a little better on offense.
Q. You talked about Anthony Richardson possibly being gone before the Lions had a chance at No. 18. If they do decide to potentially take a developmental quarterback maybe later on in the draft, is there a prototypical maybe potential backup that you could see as a developmental player that could fit the Lions, maybe a Clayton Tune, Jake Haener that could sit behind Jared Goff and learn in later rounds?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, I think you hit on a couple of interesting ones. I mentioned Dorian Thompson-Robinson a little bit earlier who gives you a different skill set and a little more dynamic presence there.
Max Duggan is one we haven't talked about at all, but there's something there. I think when you look at Max Duggan, you look at a guy that's played some football, that's competitive, that's tough.
He has kind of the qualities of guys that have been day 3 guys that have got on the field. I know Brock Purdy would be the one that people would talk about a lot. With him and Haener I think those guys kind of fit that. They played a lot of football. They're tough. They're competitive. They're smart. They just find ways to make winning plays at the time. I think those guys are -- it's going to be day 3 guys, but why not take a shot on one of those?
Q. I know you talked about the trade charts for quarterbacks at 4 and 9. What about at 3? What if the Cardinals were to opt out of one of those defensive guys and say take a deal from the Colts or the Panthers?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I have to go back through and look at some of those. I have to pull up the charts and look at some of the previous trades. We have had, gosh, the Jets were 6 to 3 for Darnold. Here it is. Yeah.
The Jets when they went from 6 to 3 they also had to give up two second round picks in that draft, which were pick 37 and 49. So two good second round picks. And then a next year second round pick.
If the Cardinals wanted to get out of there and maybe they only had to go back a few spots, you know, maybe a little bit further if they went back to 9, I would guess, you would get even more than that. If you are looking to going to 9, are you getting at minimum, three second round picks. That's pretty good value there.
Q. Is that for a first-rounder?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: If you go to 9, you'll get a first-rounder. That's the way the points would shake out.
Q. Like next year?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: A next year's 1, yeah.
THE MODERATOR: That concludes today's call. Thank you, Daniel, for the team time, and thank you, media, for joining.
A link for transcripts and audio of today's call will be made available later today. Please visit @nflmedia at on Twitter and Instagram for more information. Thank you, again, and see everyone in Indy.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: See you guys. Thank you.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports