THE MODERATOR: Thank you for joining us on today's conference call with NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah. Before I turn it over for opening remarks and questions, here's notes regarding NFL Network's coverage.
For the 18th year, NFL Network provides on-location coverage of the NFL draft. Begins Thursday, April 25th, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time with Rich Eisen, draft expert Daniel Jeremiah, CBS' No. 2 NFL team analyst Charles Davis, Fox Sports lead college football analyst Joel Klatt, Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport, and Emmy-nominated Kaylee Hartung.
Coverage of rounds 2 and 3 begins Friday, April 26th, at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time with Eisen, Jeremiah, Davis, Klatt, Rapoport, and Peter Schrager.
Live coverage of the 2024 NFL draft on NFL Network concludes with rounds 4 through 7 on Saturday, April 27th, at 12:00 noon, with Eisen, Jeremiah, Davis, Schrager, and Rapoport.
Daniel Jeremiah reveals his final mock draft of 2024 on Wednesday, April 24th, at 8 p.m. Eastern Time on NFL Network.
Finally, for media who will be onsite in Detroit next week, we'll hold a media availability session with Daniel, Charles Davis, and Joel Klatt on Wednesday, April 24th, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time at The Corner Ballpark, 1680 Michigan Avenue in Detroit. For any questions please reach out to me at AndrewHoward@NFL.com.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Thanks, Andrew. Thank you, guys, for hopping on here today. I can't believe we finally made it. Feels like it takes forever to get to this point. Then it goes fast from here to the finish line.
Looking forward to getting to Detroit. It's going to be a fun draft. We've got a big offensive draft, quarterbacks galore, tackles, receivers. I think that's been the theme throughout the whole process.
I'm happy to go wherever you guys want to go, so fire away.
Q. D.J., thanks for doing this. I have a question. We talk so much about quarterbacks up here in Boston, I wanted to ask you about the other two major needs that the Patriots have on their roster right now offensively at receiver and at tackle. I'm curious, in your opinion, is there an ideal way to address those two spots with the 2nd and 3rd picks that the Patriots have? Is there any chance they can hit big on those positions, go tackle first then receiver, vice versa? Do you have any names for them in mind that would be available in that range?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I think you can definitely address those positions, then it becomes what order you want to do it in. When you start looking at the tackles and where they are, 34 in the second round, 68 in the third, if you're looking for tackles at 34, that's almost a little bit of no man's land. I think I would keep an eye on a name like Jordan Morgan. He would probably factor into there.
Teams are a little split on Tyler Guyton from Oklahoma. We've had him in the mock drafts and assume he's going to go up there because he's really talented. He's raw, but he's really talented. That would be one that maybe there's a chance he would get there. I think Mims is gone. I think all those other guys are gone.
Then you start talking about guys like Jordan Morgan. So that would be the name there in the second round. When you look at wideouts, pick 68, I think wideouts get pushed down a little just because of the sheer number of them. Where I have these guys ranked, you might be looking at someone like a Malachi Corley, who's a big-time run after catch out of Western Kentucky.
I'm curious to see where Keon Coleman is going to go. Other people feel like he's a third round guy. That to me is kind of a fascinating thing to keep an eye on.
Q. D.J., why is it that, despite the time and resources teams have poured into evaluating quarterbacks, projecting them to the NFL remains a crapshoot, for lack of a better word? Do you think we've made progress in quarterback projection over the last 10, 15 years?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I think it would be hard to point to the results and say we've made progress, as sad as that is. I think the more you look at it, I think there's more attention being paid now to maybe more so the environment than the actual quarterback, and knowing how to set the table for when you do take the quarterback, that he can be successful.
I think that seems to be a conversation I have a lot with teams around the league is, okay, A, do we take him? Then do we put him out there right away? Do we have the infrastructure for him to survive and be successful? That seems to be a little bit more of the focus on that.
In terms of figuring out the evaluation, it's constantly changing. You see it used to be the era of the huge quarterback with Peyton and Tom and Big Ben, then the Russell Wilson thing happens, and everyone says, okay, we can excuse away size. You see Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray come in. Then it's not really size.
Then you see the off-platform, off-script style of Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen, and teams have tried to copy that, and that hasn't necessarily worked all the time to perfection there.
Then you see last year Stroud coming into the league almost as a little bit of a throwback from what he did in the pocket and how pristine he was there.
It's constantly changing, and people can't necessarily nail it down on one style. I think it comes down to does he have the traits and the makeup and all those things? That's the questions there. Different styles, that's not something to get carried away with. To me, it's more a focus of do we have the right play caller, the right offensive line to protect him, and do we have some guys he can get the ball to?
I think that seems to be what's going to lead to these guys being a success or not, more so than even just how good the player at the quarterback position might be.
Q. Just wanted to ask you about a couple of the interior linemen, I guess, who have a chance to go late round 1, Barton from Duke, Jackson Powers-Johnson, Zach Frazier. Can you compare and contrast? Do any of them jump out as a Dan Campbell, Brad Holmes, Lions type to you?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I've talked about that a bunch around the league is these three guys paired together and teams going through their meetings trying to sort these guys out. I would have Graham Barton, Jackson Powers-Johnson, and then Zach Frazier.
If you asked me who's the Lion in the group, I would say the third one, Frazier. The four-time state champ wrestler. A guy who's got a tenacity and a physicality to and through the whistle. He kind of fits their style, as you know, there. I think he's worthy being taken there in the bottom of the first round. I have no problem with that at all.
In terms of stylistically, Graham Barton is the best athlete of the three. I think he has legit 5 position flexibility. He can move around and do different things. Played left tackle. I think he's best at center, but he can survive at tackle if you needed him to.
I think he's fully capable of playing guard as well. He's the best in space, change in direction, just overall athleticism. He's really, really talented there.
Jackson Powers-Johnson, he's just bigger. He's 328 pounds. He's going to be more set a firm pocket. You want more of a mauler/brawler in the run game. He's not a poor athlete. He's just not the athlete the other two guys are out in space. But he's a physical, strong, sturdy presence there in the middle who you'll be able to set a nice deep pocket with him.
I think they're three kind of distinctly different players, but I think all three of them are excellent, and I think all three of them are ready to start right away.
Q. Titans picking at 7 in the first, 38th overall in the second, what would you say would be the best-case scenario for them based on their needs, as far as which players are going at 7 and 38?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: To me, 7 almost feels like you're in a spot there where the left tackle position is going to force your hand. I think that's not a bad thing in this draft. I think there's great options there. It feels like from the very beginning of this process, Joe Alt has been connected to them there at that spot.
There's a chance, we'll see what happens, with the Chargers, what do they do? They could potentially be an offensive line team. I wouldn't even rule out the Giants as maybe a sneaky offensive line team. But I think there's still a good shot that Joe Alt is staring them in the face. I think that's a home run pick, just safe, secure, solid player who I think he's got some upside as well.
I like the fact you've got a high floor and a high ceiling with him. That would be the home run pick for me there at 7.
Then when you look at pick 38, you look at a couple different areas they could go, defensive tackle being one and edge rusher. So if I'm going to pull up that list and look at guys who could kind of be in that mix, gosh, I would say Darius Robinson would probably factor into that a little bit from Missouri, who could actually do a little bit of both of those things. He was better this last year coming off the edge as opposed to the year before as an interior guy, but I think he gives you some versatility there.
That would be a pretty good line of scrimmage combination if you went with Alt and came back with Darius Robinson at the top of the second round.
Q. It's Adam Peters' first draft in Washington. They have the No. 2 pick, six picks in the top 100. How important is this draft in terms of setting up for the future of this franchise? How much can they really set this place up?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I think it's huge. He's got massive decision in front of him starting with his very first pick. That's a lot of pressure. That's difficult when you are just coming together with a coach and a general manager, not to mention new owner, new organization, and trying to learn your existing roster.
They were very aggressive in free agency in terms of bringing in a lot of guys. So trying to make all these pieces fit. Oh, by the way, right away you've got to make a call in the quarterback position and make sure that you get that right.
I've known Adam for a very long time. I don't know that they could have -- I don't know that they could have hired a better person for where they are as a franchise right now because Adam's a scout at heart. He's a grinder. He's a worker. To have all this draft capital year one, it's in good hands with a guy who's got experience with helping to build some great rosters.
I'd be curious to see -- I think they stick and pick. I think they take the quarterback at 2. Then I'm curious from then on out, at 36 and 40, if you're going to play that rookie quarterback, I still think the offensive line has to be addressed, and I'm not loving the fact of sitting at 36 and 40.
I think they're a prime candidate to come back up and try and scoop up one of these tackles. If you've got Amarius Mims, who's floating around there in the teens, they have plenty of ammunition to be aggressive and go get a starting offensive tackle.
That to me is something I would keep an eye on. I don't see them standing pat and sticking there at 36 and 40. I think you'll see them try and make a move and address the offensive line.
Q. You just touched on the crux of my question. I think you mocked Marvin Harrison and the Jets in one of your recent drafts. But just some teams that you expect might be aggressive trade-wise and maybe non-quarterbacks that you think teams might target aggressively?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: That's interesting just to see who can move? At the end of the day, I don't think the Jets are going to be that bold to go up there and make that move. That was my -- I think I used the word chaos, and I was going with chaos for fun. Maybe that's the problem with mocks, is you get to one point in time there's some boredom sets in, and you want to shake up the snow globe a little bit.
One thing I would say on the Jets, though, the one thing about them moving -- talking about them and then we'll get on these other teams. If Odunze -- we talked about him potentially being in Chicago, if he gets to 8, I could make a strong argument that the Jets could make an easy, painless flip with Atlanta, where Atlanta goes back to 10, they could leapfrog Chicago and take Odunze, and it wouldn't cost them much. You give them your 3, they give you a 4. You could have other picks involved there. You wouldn't necessarily lose a pick, you could swap a pick.
In terms of other teams to be aggressive, I mentioned Washington, top of the second round, being a team that could jump back up and make a move. I never sleep on Howie Roseman as a potential to go north or south. I always keep an eye on them. I think they have a pretty obvious need there at corner.
You have somebody like Terrion Arnold or even Mitchell, if Quinyon Mitchell, if either of those guys start to drift a little bit, I wouldn't sleep at all on the Eagles being an aggressive team and going up there and trying to get one of those corners.
Other teams to be a team to keep an eye on, to move around a little bit, those are kind of the key ones. The other one I would say is the Saints have historically in their DNA been an aggressive team. They're in a position where they have a dire need at tackle. I think they could stay where they are at 14 and get a really good one, but they're always a candidate to try to move up and get a guy that they really love.
Q. Kind of a trend I've noticed lately with fans, no one appreciates a consistently good team anymore. If you don't have a QB that can win the Super Bowl, you have to go and try to get one. You have to accelerate the process and skip the steps. I'm wondering, with teams like the Giants, the Commanders, the Broncos, who haven't been good often in the last decade, should they worry about getting to the level of the Steelers, the Cowboys, the Seahawks in terms of consistently good? I'm wondering why that is. If there's a C.J. Stroud element where you can go from being bad to being a contender really quickly. And are there teams that should consistently be thinking about the Super Bowl behind the scenes, or is there a subset of teams that need to build up their roster and then worry about the Super Bowl quarterback?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: There's the two schools of thought. You build up the entire roster and drop the quarterback in the mix, and you're good to go. The other part of it is, if you have a chance to get what you believe is a premier quarterback, even if the rest of your team isn't in place, you're going to have the pressure to go ahead and make that move.
I think there is definitely something to the superstar era of the quarterback we're in right now, particularly in the AFC. It's just hard, when you're in draft meetings, and you're looking at it going, These are the quarterbacks we have to run through. We can build a talented team and a balanced team, but at the end of the day, those big games, especially if we get into the tournament, are going to come down to can our quarterback compete with their quarterback and make the throws they need to make to go win something?
That's kind of the pressure on these teams is we don't have one of those guys. We're always in search trying to find one. I think the consistent playoff teams have consistent quarterback play.
There's about every -- I looked it up a while ago. It feels like there's maybe two teams a decade where they don't have a premier quarterback, but they have a loaded roster, and everything goes perfect for them and they can go win a Super Bowl. The rest of those Super Bowls seem to be won by superstar quarterbacks, Mahomes being the one at the front of the line right now.
Q. With the Falcons looking at the edge rushers up high, is Latu's medical issue a factor there? Is he better than Turner if he didn't have the medical issue? I'm trying to balance that out.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I know there's teams that have Latu as the number one edge guy. I have Dallas Turner, then Verse, then Latu.
I know, talking to teams, there's varying degrees of concerns with Latu's medical. You're medically retired. You have a fusion that's concerning to teams, rightfully so. But then on the other side of it, he's played well and been healthy the last two years and been really productive at UCLA. So other teams aren't as concerned with it.
Yeah, to answer your question, I wouldn't just put it in ink that Dallas Turner is the pick there with the Atlanta Falcons. I think I would not rule out any of those other top guys there on the defensive line.
One of the things that's been kicked around -- I said this on TV the other day. The name that -- if you asked me who the surprise top ten pick is or somebody we just didn't see coming, to me that's Byron Murphy. He's a defensive tackle from Texas. It's a league that's placed an evermore premium on defensive tackles.
I was talking to a general manager this morning, and I said, When you look around the league and we ask, who are the true impact dominant defensive tackles, maybe seven or eight of them. Edge rushers, it goes a lot deeper than that. And when you look at the draft, to me, there's some other interesting names you could go after outside the first round at the edge rusher position. It falls off pretty quick at defensive tackle.
Even though everybody's kind of looking and the sack issues they've had and them needing an edge rusher, I wouldn't just totally rule out Murphy there as somebody they could be at least interested in.
Q. You had a tweet the other day about the Cardinals and how they could set themselves up for the next five to seven years. I guess that's because Monti Ossenfort really has a whole field of play here with 11 picks, 6 in the top 90, 7 in the top 104. What kind of strategy do you think he's going to play here with so much draft capital and a lot of needs? But to go back to that tweet, how do you intertwine what he said with he has in front of him to deal with?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I can't wait to see what he does. There's some things you want to get accomplished here. Number one, you still need some blue chip players. You can't always trade back and keep getting more and more and more picks. Eventually you've got to add more -- they need blue chip talent players here.
I think there's a way where they can get creative. I think there's a way where they can serve all these masters. In other words, they get some impact players. They can still move around the board a little bit, hopefully continue to add picks in the future, keep that alive. I love, when you've got all this capital, let's not spend it all this year. Let's try to keep accumulating things for next year.
I think they're in a prime position where they can get out at four if they want to and come back up and get one of those top three receivers. If they think those guys are close, and who knows what order they have them in -- I think that order changes around the league -- I think they can get one of those guys as a top five player while also collecting a little something extra. It's a way for them to add impact guys at positions of need while also continuing to add some more firepower here.
Yeah, this is a "set your franchise up" situation here for the Arizona Cardinals. The Houston Texans did it last year. If you go back and look at a lot of the Super Bowl teams, you can identify the one- or two-year period where their draft set that run up. Seattle is one that comes right to mind, what they did over a couple years.
I remember back when I was in Baltimore in the early 2000s, the Chargers had gone on a good run, and we had talked about it in our meeting, where they had back-to-back drafts, just two drafts where they hit on five guys each, and it set them up to be a really competitive team for a decade.
This is their moment here. They need to get some guys who really make a difference for them.
Q. I wanted to ask you about -- you hear a lot of comparisons around here about Dallas Turner and Will Anderson, being that they were college teammates for a couple of years. It was pretty obvious that Anderson had a little more power as a bull rusher. Could you touch on that difference or any other differences or similarities you see between them?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: The thing with these two guys, they are -- I don't want to say polar opposites, but they are not similar at all. Dallas has got a little more juice in terms of his get off, and his burst is pretty elite. He's a better bender. He's a more fluid, loose athlete than Will.
Will is just -- he's got a lot more horsepower, not just with the bull rush, playing through blocks. He's got a little more knock-back at the point of attack against the run. Turner is a little more use your length and kind of set the edge.
There's some people around the league that aren't as high on Turner in terms of him being the top guy in this draft, and they've used the words, oh, he's kind of soft. He's not tough. He's not physical. I don't agree with that at all. I think there's a difference between being a violent player, like a Jared Verse is a real violent, angry, physical player, while I think with Turner, he's more of a firm player.
He's still doing a good job. He's not getting blown back. He holds the point of attack. He's just not going to get a ton of knock-back from that standpoint. So I think he gets a little unfairly criticized with that. I think he's a special player with his combination of length and bend and athleticism. I think he plays hard. I think he's a really good player.
Yeah, stylistically very different than what you had last year with Will Anderson.
Q. D.J., you mentioned earlier the Saints have a history of trading up, and of course now Sean Payton is in Denver, and meanwhile George Paton, he's spoken of the (indiscernible) philosophy, trading down to get more picks. At No. 12 and the QB need the Broncos have, what's the best play for them, up, down, or stand pat?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I think the best play is to try and move down, unless I would say if they -- if we have a situation where if Minnesota makes a move for Drake Maye. Let's say somehow New England, they want to just get the haul and get out of there at 3, and the trade-up from Minnesota ends up being Drake Maye and not J.J. McCarthy, I don't know who the other J.J. McCarthy team is.
I think at that point, if you're Denver and you're staying there at 12 and you hear reports that they like him, then you stick and pick and get the fourth quarterback right there at 12 because I don't think there's another McCarthy team if it's not the Vikings.
Outside of that, let's say McCarthy's gone and you're staring there at Bo Nix, seems to be one that's popular there, obviously Penix would still be on the board. If you want to take a quarterback, I think at that point in time you could probably afford to move back a little bit and see whatever else you can accumulate and make that pick.
The challenge is going to be I don't know who at that point in time is coming up, unless it's someone that's coming up to position themselves to get a tackle, assuming the Raiders could be a tackle team and the Saints right there are a tackle team.
So maybe you get somebody -- I'm looking down through -- maybe if the Bengals wanted to jump up there for a tackle, maybe you get the Rams who wanted to move up there for a tackle. I think they could be in a position where they might not be able to get out. That might be what they want to do. I just don't know if they'll be able to find a partner there.
Q. Obviously the great debate here in Washington, Drake Maye or Jayden Daniels. They're hosting four quarterbacks at the same time at their team headquarters. What do you think that means they're hosting all those four quarterbacks at the same time? And ultimately what's their decision going to be at No. 2, do you think?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Look, I talked to Adam the other day about having those guys in there. They've done it in San Francisco, and there's value there. He didn't mention this, but I know from being around other teams, that a lot of times that can be a way to cater to the owner. The owner might not be in town in the building on a day-to-day basis so it's a way to be efficient for these guys to come in and meet the owner. He can get a feel for them.
I think that's some of the philosophy behind bringing those guys together.
In terms of what they're going to do, honestly, I've known Adam forever. He's not going to say a word. I think all of us are going to find out who they're picking once they get on the clock and turn the card there in Detroit. I've been connecting them to Drake Maye for a long time. I just felt like that fit there. I think about DQ going to a Super Bowl with Matt Ryan, and what Matt Ryan was coming out, strengths, weaknesses, and I thought it actually married up pretty well with Drake. So that had been my connection there.
But in talking to coaches and executives around the league, they're like overwhelmingly convinced around the league that this is Jayden Daniels, that this is going to be the pick there at No. 2. I like Jayden Daniels a lot. I like all these three quarterbacks.
That seems to be the expectation from folks around the league, but again I don't think -- I think anybody that said they know exactly what Washington is doing is lying because I don't think Adam's saying a word.
Q. Obviously this will be Jim Harbaugh's first draft with the Chargers. How do you think he puts his stamp on the roster in round 1?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I think in an ideal world they'd like to get out of there, trade back and get extra picks, build out as many players that kind of fit his vision for the team.
To me, I think this makes sense to be kind of a volume draft for them, come away with some extra picks, continue to add guys that fit their new physical philosophy of how they want to play the game.
There's been a lot of debate. Do they take a receiver? Do they take an offensive lineman? What do they do there at 5? I think the overwhelming preference would be they don't pick at 5. They get out of there, find somebody that wants to come up, and they continue to fill out the needs on this team.
While we've been focused so much on that side of the ball, they could use a big-time defensive tackle. They could absolutely use another corner. At some point in time they're going to need to add a linebacker, an off the ball linebacker.
They've got a lot of things they need to get accomplished here. For him to put his stamp on it, to me, I think it would be more about just the volume of the players they bring in that kind of fit what he wants to do. That's going to go long after the first round's over. I think they'll do that throughout the draft.
Q. We had a chance to chat with Grier yesterday, and it's not as simple as we're taking the best available. There's six offensive tackles. He was very clear that the fit had to be right. Of those top six, which of the ones do you think fit best with the Dolphins?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Well, when you look at guys, to me, you want guys that can move around a little bit and guys that can protect. So if I'm looking at where the Miami Dolphins are picking there at 21, Alt's gone. I think Fuaga's gone. I think Fashanu's gone.
There's a chance that Latham could be there. I think Latham would fit them. I think Fautanu would be a great fit. I don't think he'll be there, he's my 11th player.
Look, these guys have them in different orders. But to me, the two that I would feel great about is if somehow Fautanu got there or if it was Latham, in terms of being ready to go right away.
Amarius Mims has the freaky upside, but it feels like with this Dolphins team they're ready to go right now, and I think the presence of somebody like Latham is a little bit more prepared to step in right now and go.
Q. The new kickoff rule that was approved last month, do you see that showing up at all, and to what extent? Especially with maybe guys who teams might project as returners even if they didn't do it much in college? Do you think any of those guys will get pushed up a little bit or maybe some day 3 guys get drafted that wouldn't have otherwise gotten picked?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I was talking to a GM the other day, and he was going through the process of pulling returns on guys from like their freshman year. Like the stuff that we used to do a lot of in scouting that you really haven't had to do over the last few years as the return game has kind of diminished, but now they're like, okay, we're close on these two corners. This one was a kickoff returner two, three years ago. They're going back and watching all these returns because now that has a little bonus to it, a little added value.
I think it impacts the draft, absolutely. I think especially this year not knowing, I think there's teams and decision-makers that want to be ahead of the curve a little bit and view that as -- that could be a difference making play again and something that we haven't seen in terms of how this is set up.
Yeah, I'm fascinated to see it, and I think it's going to help separate a lot of ties between players. And I think it's also going to be an easy sell for college teams now with some of these premier young players that they have, to convince them, hey, you can add to your value by being a returner for us. So I think that will be fun as well.
Q. Kind of a "no, duh" question, since everyone wants to do well in the draft, but as it relates to the 49ers, they've got the semi-aging core, the salary cap issues looming, they have 10 picks, their last couple drafts have been kind of "meh," except for Brock Purdy. How do you view the importance of this, maybe just replenishing the roster with maybe some young talent?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I think it can be a good -- where they're picking, it's kind of the punishment of success. It's hard to find those premier, premier players when you're at the back of every round.
I do think they have such a rock solid nucleus of blue players, if you look at the elite teams have between 8 and 12 blue chip guys, premier guys, they've got that. They've got that kind of checked. Now it's about having the depth in place that you can withstand injuries and not having enormous drop-off at these other positions.
I don't think they need superstar drafts, but I think they need depth along the offensive line. I think they can find upgrades there. They can continue to look at the corner position. I think, in a draft like this where they're picking those picks at 63, 94, I think there's opportunities there to get players that can come in in the secondary and help out and be a part of their mix right away. Adding another receiver along the way as well shouldn't be difficult to do in this draft.
Q. I want to pose a Jets scenario for you. If the top three receivers are gone, which is likely, and Joe Alt is gone, so then the Jets are probably looking at Bowers or the next best offensive tackle, what do you think Joe Douglas would do in that scenario? If he goes tackle, who do you think might be the preference after Joe Alt?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: My guess on the tackle front would be Fuaga. I mean, that would be Fuaga or Fautanu, one of those two guys. I would guess Fuaga, but both of those guys have position flexibility, which, when he's been healthy, that's been big with guys like Tucker, to get your best five out there. There's a bonus there with having those two guys.
To be honest -- and I haven't talked to Joe, but that would be, if you're going to ask that decision, my gut tells me I think they would take Bowers. I think he comes from an organization and all the time in Baltimore where they had great tight ends and they've always done a good job of drafting tight ends.
I like their tight end room now. Conklin is a solid player. But this would give him a little something different there that they don't have. That would be, if it came down to that between the tight end with Alt off the board, I would guess Bowers, and then I would put Fuaga and Fautanu right behind that.
Q. Les Snead left all options on the table as far as sticking and picking, maybe trading up, maybe trading back, the Rams are still, I believe, tied with a couple of other teams for the most selections entering the draft. Looking at 19th overall, what are the scenarios that you potentially see, whether it's addressing offense or defense, they move up or they stay put or they trade back.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: They already have a ton of resources. I wouldn't -- I talked earlier about a team like Washington potentially coming up for one of those tackles, that was one of the spots I thought, okay, that would be the most Les move ever is they finally have a first round pick after all these years, and right when they go on the clock, they announce they've traded out to get some assets here in the second round.
I wouldn't rule it out, again, for something like that to happen where he has a zillion day two picks in rounds 2 and 3 and continues to tack it that way. You could make an argument that might be the smartest course of action there.
They have the ammunition if they want to move up. I would think with a guy like Byron Murphy, knowing who just left the building, if Byron Murphy started to drift a little bit, I would think that would be an obvious one for them to target to go up, as well as if one of those three edge rushers, if they have a preference on those guys, I wouldn't sleep on that as well.
In talking to teams around the league over the last week, I think it's a lot closer with Chop Robinson with those top three guys than maybe some people expect. So I have Turner at 12 on my list, Verse was 14, Latu was 16, Robinson was 21. There's a lot of people out there that think that Chop Robinson could end up being the second edge rusher to go.
Those four guys, I think there's a decent chance one of those four guys is just going to be right there for them at 19, and that would not be a bad way to go.
Q. With J.J. McCarthy, I'm sure you've been asked every question, but it's kind of a two part. This notion that he might do more in the NFL because he was asked to do less at Michigan and how true is that. How viable was it that -- I know you kind of answered this question, but how viable do you see the possibility of him actually going in the top five?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Two different questions, right? The best way I heard this explained to me -- and I love the way it was said, which was somebody was watching tape with McCarthy and they got to -- you know, watching a drive and they got into the red zone, and he said, Well, you can fast forward it from here.
What do you mean?
This is Michigan football from here on in. We're just going to run the ball, and that's going to work, and they're going to get their way in the end zone. Jim Harbaugh wasn't going to -- why throw it if you don't have to throw it? And they didn't.
He said, Look, we worked on red zone passing every day in practice and put in all the work and I've got all that experience, but they didn't need it, except in a few games, including in the Alabama game, and he played well.
That's why it's a difficult evaluation because you can see him do everything you want him to do or you need a big-time quarterback to do, it's just the numbers in terms of the volume is not there. You've got somebody that, if you look at him from a size standpoint, he's put on like 15 pounds in the last year. I think he's still growing into his body. He's going to be a bigger guy. Everybody that was at the Pro Days that I talked to said he threw it as well or better than any of the top quarterbacks. He's got a big-time live arm.
You've got enough size, a guy that's still growing. He's got a big arm. He's incredibly smart. There's things you can latch onto there, and you've just got to have faith, some do and some don't, in terms of what you're buying there. In terms of him going, the Vikings are the team that's connected to him, and then you have the Denver Broncos.
Is that enough to warrant a move up there, or do those teams try and be patient and see how it falls? That, I don't know. I would be -- I'll put it this way. I feel like, if you tell me that J.J. McCarthy goes beyond the 12th pick, I'd be shocked. Outside of that, everything's on the table. Whether or not that's a trade up to 4, 5, whether that's a trade up just a couple spots, or whether those teams stand pat, I think all those options are in play.
Q. When you look at the situation in place in Minnesota and you kind of take that into account, how does that set up if they do take a rookie quarterback, compared to other situations and other teams that might be looking to take the same type of player?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I would say, if you gave truth serum to the quarterbacks and the agents of all the top guys, every single one of them would say they would love nothing more than to go to the Minnesota Vikings. That would be the No. 1 choice.
Of all these teams that are quarterback teams, and we've run through all of them on this call, that is by far the best landing spot for a quarterback to go into. It's all set up, from the things that we talk about with the three Ps, with the play caller, the protection, the play makers, check, check, check.
Hey, maybe we don't want to rush right onto the field, we want to sit and learn a little bit, we've got Sam Darnold who can get us through games, he can get us through the whole season if we needed to, but at least get us through games until you're comfortable and ready to go out there.
I can't think of a better situation for a young quarterback than the one that the Minnesota Vikings have. For me, I think it's kind of foolish to look back and see, oh, these teams or these people had these quarterbacks ranked wrong. It's like, well, if you tell me where all they're going to go, it might inform how you'd rate the players a little bit. I'd feel pretty confident Minnesota has a good chance of getting some production out of a quarterback that they take.
Q. Offensive tackle question that's kind of coming from an Eagles perspective. They look for offensive linemen that have at least one really unique physical trait typically, and then hopefully they have good football character as well, and then they let (indiscernible). I'm curious which of the offensive tackles in this class you think have one exceptionally unique trait compared to other offensive tackles in the class?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: If you're asking me who the stout guys are in this draft, Fuaga would be way up there. I don't think that he's going to be in their mix. If we're looking at the reasonable guys that they could have a shot at, Latham, Mims, and Guyton. I think all three of those guys have exceptional physical traits. They're all enormous and long. And by all accounts are coachable.
To me, I would be -- you could try and split hairs there, but I think all three of those guys, they're 18, 22, and 23 on my list, and I think all three of those guys would be Jeff Stoutland approved in terms of the ability they have.
I think Latham is a little bit further along in the progression than Mims and Guyton, but I think any of those three guys are there, I would think that Stoutland would absolutely get the best out of them.
Q. We talk a lot about how quarterback valuation has changed over the years, and one way I see is team's willingness to adapt to quarterbacks coming out versus one cookie cutter style. How do you think willingness to adapt to quarterbacks affects the top quarterback prospect? Or put another way, how would the top five quarterback draft class be now versus 20 years ago?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I think that's a great point. Sometimes we get carried away with how does this guy walk in and fit the current offense that exists versus how do we build around the most talented player? I don't think you want to bypass talent too often, especially at that position, so how do you cater towards them?
That's been going on for probably a while now. Maybe 20 years ago it would have been different, but I would say probably over ten years now where you've seen teams be a little bit more flexible in terms of incorporating what these guys do well in the college game, and that's why we've seen the RPO stuff make its way up through the league and mirroring a little more of the college game than it did previously.
I also think one of the huge changes in quarterback evaluation of play is just having the -- when you have the voice in your ear, when you have the coach in your ear with the helmets, I think that's made that a lot easier to be able to communicate down in and down out with these guys what needs to be communicated other than just a play call. It's made that transition earlier.
I think that stuff over the last 20 years that you've seen that have eased the transition and trying to meet them more where they are instead of trying to turn all these guys into 6'5", 230-pound pure pocket quarterbacks, it's been that way for a while.
Q. Kind of follow-up to your Eagles conversation just there with the tackles and Stout. With Lane Johnson still playing at a high level, Jordan Mailata just got $66 million, they prefer someone who can start at guard and just kick out. Are any of those guys that you mentioned equipped to start inside than the others?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Of those three that I said, I would say Latham. Between Latham, Mims, and Guyton, that's a lot of man inside. All those guys are big, but you're talking about almost 6'8" with Mims and Guyton, where it's almost 6'6" with Latham. To me, Latham would be the one that could kick in, but the two that could really do it are Fuaga and Fautanu. Those two guys, plug and play at guard and graduate to tackle whenever Lane walked away.
You'd have to move up a little bit to get that done. Howie's been more than willing to do that over the years too. He'll move either way. I wouldn't rule that out if one of those guys started to drift. That's an easy plug-and-play guard for sure.
Q. There's a lot of chatter in Las Vegas and in Raider Nation about the quarterback position, but they might not have the ammunition like the Vikings to move up for Daniels. Right now you have Michael Penix Jr. mocked to the Raiders at No. 13. You say he fits the Raiders style of play. How does he fit that Raiders style of play under Luke Getsy? And if they decide to stay pat at quarterback, what non-quarterback options do you see there at right tackle and cornerback?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: To me you just simplify it, like okay. We could argue, where do you have them? Is he your 15th player, your 20th player, your 40th player? Sometimes you can simplify it with two things. Number one, the quarterback is the most important position on the team. Is there an option that we're picking that's better than what we're playing with? That's why I came with the Penix thing.
Penix is my 34th player, I think, as of my last update. 13, that feels like it's a little rich, but I'm like, I don't know, if you told me that I've got to move forward and I've got Gardner Minshew, who I think is a quality 2 who can get you out of a game or two, but I don't you want him as your starter for the long term, and Aidan O'Connell, who's shown some good things. To me there's a huge talent gap there. To me Penix has shown so much more ability.
That's why I've made that spot there for him. Obviously in an ideal world you'd trade back, get some extra picks, and if nobody else takes him, you get him and a little bonus there.
In terms of the other positions, you nailed it. Corner and tackle, I think they have really good options there. I would love Terrion Arnold or Quinyon Mitchell. I don't think you could go wrong with either one of those kids. It would be home run picks there.
I think from a tackle perspective, that to me is right around the sweet spot where you've got Fuaga, Fautanu, and Fashanu. I gave those guys the same grade. They're 10th, 11th, and 15th on my list. That's the decision it's going to come down to. Do they feel like that's a big upgrade at the quarterback position, whoever that might be, or do you address one of the other two big needs with guys that are ready to go, I think high, high floor players that you're not going to miss on for Antonio Pierce to get this team going.
Q. My question, I have a scenario for you. If Brock Bowers is available at 12 for the Broncos to select, do you think the Broncos should just go in and select him or try to address a more pressing need such as edge rusher, corner, or even offensive tackle?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: That's kind of the crux of drafting, right? Do you take the need, or do you take the best player available? I always go back to the best player available unless we're talking about the quarterback position. Quarterback position, you might be willing to adjust things a little bit because obviously of the importance there.
I would have a higher grade on Bowers at that point in time. I know they've got other tight ends, and it's not like it's a dire need for them, but I think that's a premier player. I think whatever they're going to do quarterback-wise, Jared for another year or bring in a veteran. If I was looking at Bowers versus one of these other positional players, I might be one who leans towards best player available, and I take Bowers.
Q. You talked about Keon Coleman being a big guy and could sneak into that first round. Are there any other names you're monitoring as one of those unsuspecting guys who could be taken in the top 32?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, Xavier Legette, there's a chance he goes late 1. There's a chance he'll go in the second round. There's a lot of love for McConkey and Pearsall. There's definitely some Xavier Worthy teams. All of those guys are mentioned there.
I just know there's been years past where I go back to the DK Metcalf draft, him, A.J. Brown. It seems like every year there's a couple of these guys that we have pegged as lock first rounders at the wideout position, and teams just feel that, because of the volume of wideouts, they can address some other needs and get one later. I think we're more likely to see wideouts we believe are going in 1 that are going to slide to 2, then guys we believe are second rounders that are going to climb up into the first.
Q. I'm curious how far you think T'Vondre Sweat falls with the DUI. What kind of organization would be the best fit with that kind of red flag, whether it's a no-nonsense head coach, a veteran locker room, or a city with a less than thriving nightlife?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: That's a good question. I think it's going to be different around the league. I think the answer to that question has to do with, whether people agree with it or not, is how good of a football player do you think he is? I didn't know many teams that were as high on him as a player. He wasn't in my top 50.
It was explained away, but you go to the Senior Bowl, you don't weigh in. He's 366 pounds. Now this thing happens with the DWI a couple weeks out from the draft, which is terrible judgment and it's immaturity in there as well.
Look, if you thought he was a great player and you get a chance to -- you'd be spending a lot of time with him on Zoom right now with different members of your organization from coaches and personnel, staff, and security folks, you name it. You're going to be doing all kinds of homework to try to get comfortable with him if you like him.
If you didn't like him, I think he's going to get pushed so far down. I would guess, when it's all said and done, I think there's a chance, as high as he'd go, I'd be shocked if he went in the second round. To me the third round would be the earliest I could see him going, and I wouldn't be shocked if he didn't go on day two and ended up going somewhere on day number three.
Q. D.J., going back to Michael Penix conversation with the Raiders at 13, is the risk worth the reward for the Raiders to go and grab a guy like Fuaga or the best offensive tackle to fill that right void on the offensive line and then try to double down and get Penix maybe at the back end of round 1 if he's still available?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I think that's a very reasonable and thoughtful strategy. I think, if you came out of this -- if you asked me what is the home run draft for the Raiders and you told me they got Fuaga with the 13th pick and came back in the bottom of the first round and got Michael Penix, I'll be on the set in Detroit tipping my cap to Tom Telesco and Antonio Pierce because I think that's an "everything's gone perfect" type draft for me.
I think that gives you the hope of the future with Penix and addresses a huge, huge need and would actually give Penix a better opportunity at success, or whoever's playing quarterback for that matter, by nailing that. And if you love Penix, there's some risk involved there that maybe somebody else takes him, but man, if you pull it off and it works, I think that's a heck of a strategy.
Q. Maybe just framing the Broncos in the quarterback conversation slightly differently. How do you sort of evaluate where they're at in terms of roster-wise and with Sean Payton in terms of like is it a good time for them to have a young quarterback on the roster? Sean's never actually really had a young guy that he's relied on. Obviously he had Drew Brees for a long time. Sort of in the spirit of the Vikings question, where are the Broncos in terms of an attractive option for a young quarterback?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Look, it's not the Vikings, but look, I think it's set up to be functional. You look at having the offensive mind/play caller there with Sean and Lombardi having been together forever. Those guys know what they're doing. So you've got that taken care of. I think the offensive line's in decent shape. So you start there.
To me, they need to have premier, premier weapons, but they've got some interesting guys. I like what Mims did last year. They've still got those veterans out there.
I'll put it this way. I think it's set up to be sustainable. You're not going to ruin the quarterback by throwing him out there with that group right now. That's the line for me. Ideally you'd like to have the Minnesota Vikings and we've got everything in place and we're going to go off and running. Houston Texans, we've got maybe the best left tackle in the NFL and we've got a collection of good weapons, that's great.
To me, it's like let's not be in a situation where we're throwing him out there and he's got no chance. I don't think that's the case in Denver. I think you get out there, you get a chance for your quarterback to be functional for sure.
Q. What do you think position-wise the Eagles would benefit most from with their late round picks in terms of adding value for the long run? And which players do you think might the Eagles target with some of their day three picks?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Look, day three is usually you start with guys who can help contribute on special teams while they're developing and growing. You look at corners and you look at off the ball linebackers. Those would be the places I would start.
When you start talking about day three guys, corners, guys like Josh Newton from TCU, Jarvis Brownlee from Louisville. Those are a couple off the top here that I really like. I love Andru Phillips from Kentucky. I think he's going to end up going on day two. He's a really, really good player. Those are some of the names at the corner position.
Then linebackers, day three linebackers that can help you immediately on special teams and then continue to grow and develop, I like Ulofoshio from Washington, Bertrand from Notre Dame, Muasau from UCLA. Those are some guys that to me are day three players that not only can help you on teams right away, but they're guys who I think have the potential to be solid starters in time.
Q. What do you think of Mohamed Kamara? He reminds me of Dwight Freeney if he agreed to stand up. He's one of the nation's pass rushers, and I'm surprised he's not getting much mention.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I'm a Kamara guy. I don't know that I'd put him in Freeney's category, but I loved him as a player. To me, it's funny that you mention that because I just pulled the numbers the other day on the top ten times for edge rushers in this draft class, and I think he was third.
You've got somebody with 13 sacks. He knows how to rush. He's a little undersized. He's 6'1" 1/2, 240 pounds. He's got big time burst. The Colorado game was the first game I watched where he basically took the game over. To me, he's someone where I have him slotted, he's outside my top 50, and I'll put my 150 out early next week.
But outside my top 50, Chris Braswell is my first edge rusher, and Kamara is my second edge rusher. So we're talking about I have him in the early third round range, maybe the late second round range. I'm a Mohamed Kamara fan, and there are teams around the league who feel exactly the same way. I don't believe he's getting out of day two, let's put it that way.
Q. Love your mock with Chop Robinson falling to 31. I think that's a home run pick. Obviously we see the athletic gifts and the get off, and we know a lot of talk around defensive linemen are based around Kris Kocurek and his work with defensive linemen. What would you say Kris Kocurek has to improve in Chop's game that will take him to the next level?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Unfortunately, I don't think he'll be there for them at that point in time with the way everything's gone through the process. He's got the elite, elite get off, big time, big time burst. For me, it's some of the finishing things, just being able to get the quarterback and finish, being a little bit more under control.
Kris is as good as it gets in terms of coaching these guys. The funny thing is he starts, first and foremost, with get off, that's covering ground, gaining ground. I think there's even more for him there. Ironically, he takes kind of choppy steps when he gets going. I think Kocurek would probably lengthen his stride out a little bit more and help him cover some ground, and I think you'd get some early wins because of how explosive he is.
Those are two areas that you'd have a chance to work with him and get even more out of him. I know people have -- you look at the production, this guy is ultra, ultra disruptive, and he changes games, the Michigan game being one of them, where they just refused to throw the ball anymore because they couldn't block the guy. So he's a really, really good player.
Q. We've seen the rise of player tracking data being used by NFL teams to inform their draft picks, so Puka Nacua last year by the Rams was identified as a much better game player than he was a tester. PFF have released their own tracking data with GAS, game athleticism score, and Next Gen Stats tweeted this perfect tweet for my question, where they said Keon Coleman, who ran a 4.61, was the fastest player to run the gauntlet. How fit for purpose is the on-field portion of the NFL combine, particularly the 40-yard dash, given that NFL teams have access to more valuable in-game data?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: It's still helpful because we don't have the in-game data going all the way back. I think, if you're looking at value with something like the 40, it goes back so long, and you can compare guys over decades. It's like a profile of a player, this guy ran this. That reminds me of a player maybe 15 years ago, whereas we don't have that in-game data on those guys. We don't have their college GPS numbers to compare them.
I still think there's value there, until we get more of an inventory of the GPS stuff, but yeah, talking to teams, absolutely, they rely on that.
The funny thing about the gauntlet, I'll give you a story on that. I talked to a team that liked Keon Coleman. I sent -- when those numbers are coming out, before they even go on the air, they'll send them to me. Bill Smith, who runs the Next Gen Stats stuff department at the network, he'll send me stuff and give me a heads up.
I saw that, and we talked going into the combine about Puka Nacua having been the No. 1 guy in terms of getting through the gauntlet the fastest. I think that's valuable information is what I'm getting at.
I had that information. I texted it to two different teams. One team liked Keon Coleman. One team didn't like Keon Coleman. They said, not surprised. That transfers to the tape. He's not a 40 guy, but he plays full speed all the time. And the team that didn't like him said, what is this? I don't really put much value in that. So it was kind of those that wanted to confirm their existing opinions did, and those that didn't.
It's just kind of, as we get more accustomed in getting all this information, it's important that we have a longer track record, and then it will be irrefutable.
Q. Xavier Worthy has jumped up a lot the last month or so, not a surprise after his combine. How much of that is from his combine workout, and how much of that is from teams digging in a little bit more? You touched on it with the last question, like the 40, I think there's some GMs out there who think it's outdated. Has there been any talk of what might be a better way to track speed coming into the NFL?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I think the way is what's out there, which is the GPS numbers that you have. That's a way to get the in game. Obviously not many teams are in a position to get Marvin Harrison Jr., but I haven't talked to one team who was concerned about him not running a 40. We have the GPS numbers. GPS numbers are excellent. There's no cause for concern with his in-game speed. So that's on that side.
With Worthy, I think he's someone who's always been, when you're a little -- at 165 pounds, you're not going to be talked about all the way up there at the top, and he had drops the year before. This year, caught the ball better, more consistently. He's still the weight is a little bit of a concern there. The speed, that wasn't a surprise to anybody when he broke that record.
I don't know that his stock has drastically changed is what I'm getting at. I think he's been viewed by most people as kind of a 20 to 40. He's kind of always been in that range, whether if you love him, he's towards the front of that range, and if you're not as high on him, he's toward the back end of that range. I think that's always kind of been his bumpers of where he was.
Q. The Browns aren't set to pick until 54. If they stay there, how would you rate the options at receiver and D tackle, which seem like possibilities for them?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Wide receiver is going to be a deeper group. At 54 you're potentially looking at Pearsall, Troy Franklin from Oregon I think will be there. I mentioned Corley earlier, Coleman, Roman Wilson.
If you just want some speed, there's going to be a lot of options for guys that can really, really run. Legette, I think, has trended up. I don't see him being there at that point in time. There's good guys there in the mix at the wide receiver position. At the defensive tackle position, I think you're having to take on maybe a little bit of a project there.
The name I would not rule out is Dorlus from Oregon. Jim Schwartz loves guys who can get up the feels and attack in that Jet front he plays, and Dorlus as a three technique can really, really get up the field. Really, really athletic dude. That, to me, feels like a Jim Schwartz type pick.
I would also say someone like DeWayne Carter is an interesting one as well, so those guys. I think the defensive tackles as a whole are going to get pushed up. I think there's too much talk around the league about this position and how hard it is to find and how impactful it can be if you get guys. Those are a couple names to keep an eye on.
Q. You named some teams that are trading up or could trade back or maneuver in the draft earlier. One team you didn't mention was the Jacksonville Jaguars. There's a lot of mocks of them trading up into the top ten for Rome Odunze in terms of the trends I'm seeing in the mock drafts. My question about that is is that something you can see happening? Also, who do you think are fits because the one that comes to mind for me is the Falcons, who can maybe get a cornerback at 17. What say you to that?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: It's interesting. So if you're looking at the Jags and their collection here, they've got a couple 4s. They've got their 2 and their 3 there. If they were going to move up -- I don't have the chart in front of me. It's going to be decently costly to go all the way up there to get Rome Odunze.
I don't know if I see that happening quite as much. When I look at some other areas they can address on their team, especially with the corner spot, I think it would be more -- more along the lines of them maybe trading up a few spots with a team like New Orleans to get in front of Indy, to get up in that range, maybe, to take a corner.
I think that makes more sense to make a small move and go up there, if Terrion Arnold is or if Quinyon Mitchell is there. I think that would be a little more reasonable.
I love Rome Odunze. I've said he's my favorite player in the draft. I just think where Jacksonville is right now, I think it makes more sense for them to maybe stay where they are or a little baby move to go get a corner.
Q. I wanted to ask about a couple of Arizona Wildcats. With Jordan Morgan, there's been a lot of talk of him starting at guard, potentially bumping out to tackle. What do you feel like the best situation is for a guy like him? And then where do you see Jacob Cowing's skill set translating to the pros?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Sure. I mean, look, there's teams that are really high on Jordan Morgan. I know one team that has -- thinks he's one of the three or four best tackles in the draft. So that's a little bit higher than I am on him.
My concern with him was really just play strength and I've been burned a couple times on guys that are really good athletes, have great feet, but just didn't have the core strength.
I'm thinking, look, another year off the ACL, that gets better and you'll see that improve. That was my one area of concern which, to me, that would not be a great move inside to guard. I think he's better off staying at tackle.
When I look at Cowing, I mean, he's a fun player. I think what helps him, when you look at Tank Dell, what he did last year, I don't think he's Tank Dell, but I think he's got some of that to him with big-time speed. He knows how to run routes. I love the consistency. You catch a ball in 57 straight games, that's pretty nuts.
But he can win right away. I think he's competitive after the catch for somebody who is a little undersized. The USC game should show you all you need to know of what he's capable of.
The grade I gave him is, like, a fourth round grade, and I think that's probably about where he goes and where he lands. I think he's a fun player. I think he's a fun player to incorporate into your offense.
Q. With the rise that we have seen from J.J. McCarthy, I feel like every year we get one or two players that just some people love 'em and some people tend to be on the other side. I'm one of those people on the other side. Is there another prospect in this draft who you felt like has just flown up draft boards and that people shouldn't be surprised that they end up being, let's say, like a top 20 pick?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: So guys that have flown up draft boards. Well, there's different levels of it, right? So I mentioned that Byron Murphy, who I have as 19 right now, if he went in the top ten, it wouldn't shock me. Chop Robinson is 21. If he went up ten spots higher than that, it wouldn't shock me. Those guys are two guys that have kind of buzzed up through the process.
Other guys, going through here, one that I'm interested because I know some teams really like him is Junior Colson, the linebacker from Michigan. It's not a great off the ball linebacker draft. I know teams that have him as the top off the ball linebacker and the intangibles and stuff like that are off the charts. If you're looking at a sneaky potential first round pick, he's my 44th player. I wouldn't sleep on that one as a potential one.
And then, gosh, any other ones? I mean, Legette, who I've mentioned, he has some love. You see Buffalo mentioned as a potential spot for him in the bottom of the first round. That would be another one I'd say that's got some buzz here coming down the home stretch.
Q. I want to ask you about our guy and your guy, Charles Davis, Tennessee Volunteers for this draft. Specifically, Jaylen Wright and Joe Milton, if there are any team fits or, you know, landing spots potentially that you think would work for those guys. Also, if you see any other Vols potentially getting drafted.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Look, Jaylen Wright's so explosive and so dynamic. In terms of finding fits for him and those guys, look, the speed play is anywhere. I always go back to Kansas City continuing to add speed. I don't care how many running backs, how many guys they have. When I see guys with big-time juice like that, that's the first team that jumps into my mind.
I think he goes in the -- I think he'll go in the third round would be my guess of where he ends up going.
Joe Milton, he's interesting because he's raw but he's a sixth-year player. So that's kind of a tough combination to sell a little bit there.
So I think he's a late-round flyer. Terms of trying to find a time, I think you just want to go somewhere where they've got a good quarterback developer. But I think that will be pretty late in the draft.
And then in terms of other guys, you've got the corner, Hadden, or Hadden, I always pronounce it wrong. He's got the shoulder surgery. Coming off that, he's got some play-making ability, but I think he's a late one as well.
Q. I was kind of curious, you were speaking about the Miami Dolphins, a team that's ready to go now. I kind of view the Lions in the same situation. Is that a team you see moving up in the class?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Hit me up on that one more time. I could barely hear you.
Q. Could you see the Detroit Lions as a team of interest in moving up in this year's draft class, being they're in kind of that win-now window?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, I wouldn't rule that out. They've got some age on the offensive line so if there's a guy that they feel like they love to go up there and get one, that wouldn't shock me at all. Corner position is one they can continue to look at. They've done a lot of homework on the corner class and talking to some agents over the last week.
So, yeah, I think one of those top corners starts to drift a little bit, they could go up there and do that as well. But you hit it. I mean, they're knocking on the door. They are right on the cusp of being a championship team. So if there's a time to be aggressive, this would be it.
Q. First of all, when you look at the draft itself, would you -- could you identify any hidden gem quarterbacks beyond rounds 1 and 2. Obviously, everybody's talked about the bigger names. When you look at that, would you say this quarterback draft is much deeper than most people think that it really is?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I think when we say it's deep, we're talking about the top six guys. That's a big number. When you have six guys that, you know, are in the mix to be in the first round, I mean, that's what I think we're talking about the depth.
Outside of that, I would say there's -- the three names that intrigue me the most, and I would put them in this order, would be Spencer Rattler from South Carolina, who has got a lot of twitch and a live arm. I think, you know, all the stuff's out there that's been discussed. He's grown up a ton throughout his career and transferring from Oklahoma and two-time captain. They rave about him at South Carolina. There's a lot to like about him. Again, not the biggest guy, but a real live arm and someone who I think's got a shot.
If you're going to say who has a chance to be a starter outside those six, he would be my one. Outside of that, Devin Leary from Kentucky who I think throws the ball really well. Rhythm, timing, touch. He's tough. He'll hang in there. He can -- if things break down, he's got a chance to get outside and make some things happen. He feels like he's been around forever. He would be second in that tier.
After that would be Mike Pratt from Tulane is another one who is someone who can function inside the pocket. He can make some guys miss. He has a beautiful deep ball. I just want to see him be a little more consistent underneath. There are traits and tools in there. Those would be the three guys for me.
Q. Daniel, I wanted to get maybe a few thoughts on some of the Canadians that are in this year's draft. Just throw some names at you, give me a thought or two on each of them, if that's cool. Start with Theo Johnson at Penn State. Could he be the third tight end off the board?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, Theo Johnson is definitely in that mix. Oh, gosh. He is my fourth tight end. So, no. Obviously, the traits and the tools are there. When you're 6'6" and you're almost 260 pounds, you run 4.57.
He's got a huge catch radius. He can really get down the seam. He's understanding in terms of the physicality after the catch. I love that competitiveness there. He's not the most defined, precise route runner. I think there's some development to take place there.
But I don't think it's a great tight end draft. If you told me he was the second tight end to go, I wouldn't bat an eye.
Q. Another Canadian, Tanner McLachlan at Arizona?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah. Tanner McLachlan, I have just over him. He's my second tight end in this draft, which I think probably might surprise some people. But I was a big fan of his game. He does really good work in the middle of the field. I think it's an instinct position. He's got as good of instincts as anybody in the draft at that spot.
Being able to work in space, find holes, accelerate through the ball, trust his hands. His effort is there. I don't think he's going to -- not going to win any awards in the run game. The effort's there. There's enough want-to that you can work with him. I'm a fan.
Q. You can see McLachlan as a day two pick?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I have him as a day two pick. I haven't got the exact same love reciprocated when I've talked to people around the league. They like him, I'm higher on him. It's one of those ones where I'm okay with that.
If you're asking where I think he's going to go, I'd say probably goes late in the third round, maybe in the fourth round. I have him personally rated higher than that.
Q. A couple names to throw quickly. Isaiah Adams at Illinois. Offensive line.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Isaiah Adams. Let me look real quick. I see his name floating around a lot. To me, he's more of a day three player. I thought he was a fifth-round type guy who's got some versatility inside and outside.
I like the power. I just thought the Penn State game was a rough one for him out there at tackle. I think he's better off playing inside and holding up there at guard. I thought he was more of a round-five type guy.
Q. The kid who was the biggest kid at the combine this year, the tackle from Howard, Anim Dankwah.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: That's a large human being. Massive, 353 pounds. Developmental player. I thought he's more of an absorbed blocks guy than someone who can uproot and move people. I thought he had some issues just past pro, change of direction stuff.
So very much love the traits. There's a lot to work with there, but felt more like a project to me. It was more of kind of a practice squad player that you take a flyer on like the sixth or seventh round.
Q. To close out, the two tackles from the University of British Columbia, who are getting some attention from the U SPORT Canadian level, Theo Benedet and Giovanni Manu.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: So I've done Manu, literally just watched his workout. That's the homework I've done on him. The two I did were Manu and Clayton. Clayton might be from England, I think. Those are two of the international guys that got thrown my way.
Manu was very much felt like, again, similar, with like a practice squad type player. Massive, massive human being. Again, it's tough to come up with a ton off of just what I've seen there. But straight line explosive, tested well. Just thought, you know, didn't think he was quite as natural in his movement. I was actually kind of intrigued by the kid from England, Travis Clayton, who was the one I watched.
The third name you mentioned, I had not done homework on him yet.
Q. Would you see Manu as a PFA --
DANIEL JEREMIAH: He would be a PFA for me.
Q. Where do you see Mississippi State's Nathaniel Watson, Southern Miss's Frank Gore, and any players from Ole Miss that are catching your eye?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Sure. Frank Gore, I like. I think he'll probably be a late day three pick. To me, he makes your team. He has a role. I love the way that he competes. He's got really good vision. He's got really good balance. I'm a fan of his game. I don't think he's going to go particularly high, but I think he makes your team and has a role in your backfield.
With Watson from Mississippi State, I think I'm higher on him than teams in talking to him. I liked him. I liked him kind of like a fourth round player. Teams that I talked to had him a little bit lower than that. But I just don't think they knew exactly what to do with him.
But the production's off the charts. Obviously what he does as a blitzer, shooting gaps, making disruptive plays. Kind of gets pin-balled and bounced around a little bit in there. Wish he was a little bit bigger.
But, to me, he plays really hard, and I think with him it's a high floor from the standpoint that you have an unbelievable special teams player with his skill set, it should translate very well there. I think you continue to work with him and develop him as a linebacker.
So that would be that one.
And then who else? We want to talk about Ole Miss? Is that what you're looking for, Ole Miss guys?
Q. Yeah, anyone from Ole Miss that stands out.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Tre Prince, you know, when you're a corner and you run 4.38, you know, that's going to get your attention. I thought his eyes got him in trouble as a player. He struggled a little bit against McConkey. But, again, you see big-time bursts when he can trigger and get downhill. You'll see big hits. He's a physical kid. He's tough. I thought he was a developmental player, a day three pick. Anytime you get a corner running 4.38 and is 6'0", he's going to get drafted.
Q. I was wondering if the Lions elect to go trenches earlier in the draft, who are maybe some day two, day three wide receivers who you think could fill the Josh Reynolds role after he departed.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Ja'Lynn Polk can be one from Washington. Can give you physicality and toughness. Brenden Rice from USC would be another one I could see filling that position. Those are two that come right to the top of my head.
I also -- I'm intrigued to see where Luke McCaffrey is going to go. I think he's a fascinating one who hasn't been at the position very long, who just makes a lot of plays and is still developing and growing. Obviously, the gene pool is outstanding.
I thought he got better as the season went along and I thought he was excellent in the senior bowl, culminating in a good senior bowl game. That would be one I think would be a really interesting fit there.
Q. Every year, we see this debate about a tackle being better suited for playing inside. This year, Fautanu. Maybe in another year was Slater. What are the things you technically scouting-wise look upon deciding where these players fit better? I mean, beyond the arm length and maybe the footwork.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Look, I think the arm length is part of it. You get guys in the room, when you get a guy with short arms at tackle, teams in the department are going to say, well, you know, we got to at least have the idea of how he would hold up at guard if he can't hang out at tackle.
To me, it's core strength more than anything else. If you're a tackle who might not have the -- might not have the agility, the athleticism to hold up at tackle in the NFL level, you see a different caliber rusher and we're going to try to project you inside to guard, you better have core strength and be able to drop your weight and anchor down because you can't play with a flimsy -- you cannot play with a flimsy interior player in the NFL.
So that, to me, is like the checklist when you're looking at can somebody do that. Vera-Tucker is somebody who wasn't real long. I felt like he can play tackle, and he's done it. He's played tackle at a solid level but had a chance to be an all-pro guard because of his strength, his anchor, that power core that he has. That translates very well inside.
Now, obviously, he hasn't been able to stay healthy. That's been his issue. But that's an example of a guy like that, and Fautanu, in this year's draft, he's got incredible length. So while he's not the tallest guy in the world, he's got really, really long arms which leads to believe he can still hang out there at tackle. I think he's got all the tackle tools.
But he has that power and core strength where some people that have tackles in place are like, dude, I could make this guy an all-pro guard. I know one team that feels like he could be the best center in the draft. He's a legit 5 position guy.
Q. D.J., I'm going to throw some names out there. Eric McCoy, second round pick. Trevor Penning, first round pick. Previously Andrus Peat, who was free agent, first round pick. Cesar Ruiz, first round pick. Ryan Ramczyk, first round pick. Although his career may be in jeopardy. He may have to retire because of injuries. The Saints have heavily invested in the offensive line, early premium draft capital. And with the draft, best you would kind of expect they should have a top five offensive line and that just hasn't been the case. With them likely drafting potentially another offensive this year in the draft at 14 or maybe moving up, would players not working out like Penning and Ruiz as serviceable, is that a coaching issue or is it a scouting issue?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Well, I think that's a great question. It's a combination. I don't think you make first round picks really anymore unless your coaches and your personnel department are on the same page, for the most part, or one of you is leaving or the coach is on the way out or the GM is on the way out.
I think there's usually alignment when those things are made. The blame you can spread around. I think some of those, you know, some of those players, while they didn't work out, I don't think there's any connection to it. When I look through those guys and rolling through that list of names you rattled off there.
I mean, Penning, like if we -- that's the most recent in terms of the one you might be already replacing. The size was there. Obviously, the temperament and the tenacity and the willingness to work and all that stuff was there. He just -- balance was an issue for him coming out, and that has been kind of a killer for him when he's been in the informal. So that's that particular one.
I don't think you can shy away from it. It's so important and it's a position group that dictates a lot of your success not only as an offense but as a team. I don't think you can say, well, we have -- it's been a blind spot for us so let's draft another position so we don't make another mistake.
You just got to suck it up and keep swinging, and they've got to get that solved if they're going to be where they want to be.
So I think you've got to try and learn your lessons from the mistakes you've learned in the past but they've got to get back on the horse and I don't really see how they go any other direction but offensive tackle first pick.
Where they are with this draft, they ought to get that accomplished. Every organization has issues with certain positions. I've been on organizations when I was in Baltimore, we couldn't get the receiver thing figured out. They kept swinging and kept swinging. Last year, you look up and you see Zay Flowers who looks like a superstar. You've got to keep swinging.
Q. It seems like the 49ers are being projected a lot for either a defensive end or an offensive lineman. It's starting to feel more and more like the guys they really want there at the end of round 1 might already be gone. Do you see them potentially moving up or moving back? If they do stay still, is there a different position they might look at taking?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I mean, they've got a nice haul of picks here. If they want to move up, they absolutely have the ammunition to do so. I just think when you look at the needs that they have and some of the different areas that they could go, if you're thinking about corners and edge rushers, maybe you miss out on the top tier.
Interior offensive linemen, grabbing a wide receiver if they want one. I still think there will be a quality corner there, personally, even though some of the top guys might go. I don't really see them in a position where they need to do that. I think this is more filling out your roster, getting a layer of depth.
They have the stars in place so I don't think they're in a position where they have a must, hey, we've got to get up there. We must get this accomplished. I don't feel like they're in that spot here. I think they can be a little more patient than that.
Q. In terms of tight end, they've been trying to find either a complement or potential replacement for George Kittle for a couple years now. Do you see anybody in the draft? I know it's not clearly deep at this position, but do you see any potentials in this draft that they might look at?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Well, they want their tight ends to be able to block and be a part of that process. So, unfortunately, with today's college game, that lops off a good chunk of them.
But Cade Stover from Ohio State would be one. That would be one who's got some ruggedness and some toughness to him. That could kind of fit the mold a little bit there. That would be one name I'd throw out there.
Q. You mentioned earlier that potentially six quarterbacks could go in the first round of the draft. What sets this quarterback class apart kind of in historical terms? At the top of it, what has Caleb Williams shown that kind of sets him apart from all the other quarterbacks that could be first rounders?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: First of all, it's one thing to feel good about the number of guys we could have go. It's another thing to see how their careers pan out. Gosh, if you'd have told me the year where we had, what was it, the five quarterbacks that we'd be looking up here and you'd have Zach Wilson, they haven't been able to trade. The Jets are done there. You look at Trey Lance has been traded. Mack's gone. Justin Fields is gone.
If you'd have told me that, and then Trevor there's been questions about some regression there. So that was an example of a draft we had all these guys go and it hasn't always worked out. In fact, it hasn't been good at all.
So I just think that there's a lot of ability with these guys, and you take your shot when the ability's there and hopefully have a little bit higher batting average than that group we just went there.
In terms of Caleb being the guy, I think he's just got the most in his body. In terms of being able to do everything, to make every type of throw, there's a physicality to him that I think is an underrated aspect. Just his toughness, be able to pull through tackles, be able to absorb hits and be durable that way.
I love that about him. The play-making stuff, the creativity, everybody's seen all that stuff. I think that's pretty rare, the things he can do there. But to me, all of the things you want to do in an offense, he can do. So I think he expands your playbook in a big way. And I just think that's one of the reasons why he's the top guy.
Q. I know there have been a lot of questions about quarterback evaluation. I want to ask about Lamar Jackson specifically. When it came to the doubts that he had during his evaluation prospect, now his success, how do you think that's affecting prospects in the way they're evaluated now?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Well, look, I know everybody had different opinions there. I wish I could go back and have a higher grade on Lamar. I think he was my 32nd player. I thought he was -- he was very dynamic and had the upside to be really, really good.
There was just make sure you fit him with the right spot and use him properly and correctly. That's where he went. He went to the Ravens. They crafted an offense around what he does really well and his dynamic tools took off. You've seen him continue to grow and develop in the passing game throughout the years.
I think the lesson there is, first of all, don't ever pass up that rare of a dynamic player. I think the other lesson, and I remember talking about this during that run-up, is I think some people struggle with it because if you watched him on tape, you could see two incompletions a game that were just -- it was, like, two terrible plays where there would be just throws, and you'd be like, golly, that was awful.
At the end of the day, they're two incompletions. It's no different if he missed by a foot or missed it ten feet. There's so much good in there with him as a runner, a creator, and even as a passer working in the middle of the field very comfortably. Outside the numbers, he wasn't as accurate.
So I think that people made more of the few bad plays than they should have in that evaluation. So I think those are some of the lessons you could take away from Lamar.
Q. Daniel, with the acquisition of Russell Wilson and with Cam Heyward and T.J. Watt and Minkah all getting older, do you think the draft strategy changes for the Steelers at all in terms of maybe not going after the guy with a lot of potential but maybe just targeting plug and play guys to fill those major holes that are on the roster?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I think they have specific things they need to get accomplished here. Starting with the center position, obviously, adding something to the wide receiver room. I think they can be a little more targeted, to answer your question there. Do we think about best player available, or do we target specific needs?
It's helpful when you don't have one specific need, in a sense. They have a couple different areas they need to address and they kind of be flexible based off who's there in what order they go in addressing the positions. Yeah, they're ready to win right now. I think they've kind of tried to form their identity, get back to who they are. They want to run the football. They want to be better up front.
I thought the offensive line took some steps forward with the additions they had last year. I think they continue to add to it this year. And then they've just got to get some production out of the quarterback position, whether that's Russell or whether that's Fields, that's going to determine their success.
But I agree with you from the standpoint of they don't need to pick somebody for three years from now. They're ready to go right now. They need to plug some of those spots.
Q. When you look at the Eagles, they have, with those two second round picks, on offense they're set at a lot of those spots, especially receiver and running back. They have DeVante Parker and Parris Campbell, both one-year deals, and Kenneth Gainwell's contract ends next year and there's a slot potentially open for a third running back. Are there any skill guys that you see potentially being in the spot of them taking them day 2? If not, who would be a guy day 3 they can potentially pick up to fill one of those roles?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: I'll put it this way, the Eagles will draft a running back on day 3 or I'll buy you lunch, Chris, next time I see you if I see you anywhere. If they have not drafted a day 3 running back -- not a fancy sit-down lunch, but a sandwich place. But I think you'll see the Eagles take a running back on day 3.
The guy I like, I just did the other day, I was going through the non-combine guys, Blake Watson from Memphis. I know when I worked there Howie was always big on explosives, like he wanted to see how many explosive runs guys had, catches. Like he wanted guys that could go the distance as running backs and have some juice. This is a guy who ran 4.4 flat, has a ton of production both rushing and catching the ball.
That's a day three back that would be a fun one. When you're looking at receivers, I go back to, like, Quez Watkins as being a good hit for them late. Looking for late receivers with traits, big-time speed that could go, you could get to Anthony Gould, who can return from Oregon State. Ran 4.39. He's undersize, but it's a fun flyer to take late in the draft on somebody who has return value and also has the ability to get on top of coverage.
Those types of players are fun. That's the fun part of scouting is trying to find those guys on day three that can, first of all, make your team and hopefully carve out a role.
Q. Some of your favorite day two offensive tackles, we know kind of the big names in the first round that will likely go. And then just from a Cincinnati Bengals perspective, maybe best fit at that position for them and maybe kind of ideal first couple of rounds for them.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Sure. Day two offensive tackles, I like Blake Fisher a lot from Notre Dame. I'm going to be higher on him than a lot of folks. I think he's got a chance to be a starting right tackle. He could kick inside if he had to. I think he's a tackle.
I like Christian Jones from Texas as well. Those would be the two names I would have there, I think would be excellent, excellent day two guys that are ready to play and really intriguing.
In terms of the Cincinnati Bengals and everything, you know, going perfect for them, where they're picking at 18, obviously the throw a parade scenario if somehow Brock Bowers got down there. I don't think it will happen, but every now and then you get one thing that happens and a guy slides down. That would be the home run of all home runs if somehow he navigated his way down to 18.
But outside of that, one of these offensive linemen getting there, like Fautanu, to me, is somebody who could play anywhere. That would be a fun one as well if that was -- if we're looking for the home run scenario.
By the way, as we're finishing this thing up, you guys are all so lucky, because if King didn't just lose this no-hitter with two outs in the 7th inning, I would have been so insufferable by the end of the conference call. I have a cold. I was already feeling better when he had a no-no in the seventh inning, but apparently he gave up a hit. So oh, well.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you, D.J., for the time and thank you, media for joining us.
DANIEL JEREMIAH: Andrew is a Dodger fan. That's why he's not referencing what I just said. Full transparency.
THE MODERATOR: First place doesn't need mentioning. A transcript and audio will be made available through NFL communications and on Twitter from NFL media.
Daniel, Charles Davis, and Joel Klatt will be available in Detroit next week on Wednesday, April 24, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time at The Corner Ballpark.
Thank you again, and see you next week.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports