Q. In regard to the secondary and specifically Adoree', Robinson, how much adding guys like that change what you guys can do schematically and coverage-wise?
JOE JUDGE: Look, we are always looking for different skill sets that create versatility within our defensive schemes and look ultimately throughout the draft and free agency you're looking for the best players available. We happened to go through the Draft and we had the opportunity to add two good Connors, coming to compete with our current roster. We'll see when they get there how it shakes out.
I tell the guys all the time, truest thing I can say, it doesn't matter how you get here; it's what you do when you are here. We are excited to work get these guys here and at the same time excited to work with everyone on our current roster, and again, look, our goal is to make every position as competitive as can be and that's when you really get the best out of your team.
Q. You drafted five guys that were Senior Bowl participants this year and a few talked about the conversations they had with you and Rodarius mentioned. How important are those face-to-face conversations, especially in a year like this where you didn't have the combine to meet with the guys?
JOE JUDGE: For me, they are crucial. I don't really like adding someone to our team or I can't really have a strong enough opinion on someone if I have not good enough interaction with them as a person and there's no better opportunity to sit down with somebody and look them eye to eye and really ask them tough questions and get an answer and get a feel for them at the.
A number of guys at the Senior Bowl we came away with obviously the ability to have a strong opinion. To be honest the guys you only see on tape, if you don't have enough inter action with, you may like them as a player and there's just something missing that you isn't say, this guy fits our locker room, this guy fits our culture. So the interactions are definitely crucial for us.
Q. Is it possible at this point to gauge how much better you've gotten with this draft? And secondly, do you look at the other teams in your division in terms of what they have done and maybe whether you've gained on them or not or is that too early to do that at this point?
JOE JUDGE: Yeah, look, I don't think you can ever make a team on paper. I don't think you can ever really win in the off-season. To me it's about adding, you know, competitive players each position. And then when training camp starts and the competition truly starts that's when we'll know how much we've improved. We'll know when we start the preseason games and truly know when we get into the season. It's a fair question, I fully understand it. We are looking to add a raised level of play at every position. But by adding competition, one of two things happen: You either bring somebody in who you improve because they are good enough to take someone else's job or you bring someone in who pushes the guys in front of him to keep their job, and either way you get a raised level of play.
Q. Gary Brightwell sounded like you talking about special teams and all the hidden yards and importance of it. What did you like about him in those roles while he was in college?
JOE JUDGE: He's a guy that definitely jumped out and was a few weeks back, me, Tom, Quinn and Tom were sitting in the staff room on Saturday morning and Tom Quinn brought his name up and we watched his kick game and this guy was flying down the field and it was early enough that it woke you up and you really got excited about watching him. You start watching a lot more of his offense and start talking with our scouts who have down a lot of research on him and talking to Burton as far as the running back value.
Look, he's a guy that jumps out from his skill set. You are always looking for good versatility and depth at those positions, running back and the kicking game, and you know, to be honest with you, the opportunity I had to really speak with him and spend some time with him even though it was over Zoom with Gary was very, very impressive. He has an tremendous job story. This dude has utmost compliments given to him from everyone who has been around him at every level. He was the guy that was available at the time and he was a guy we guy we could bring on on our roster and compete to be on the roster and make us a better team.
Q. From the outside there's a lot of surprise that you guys didn't address the offensive line throughout the three days of the Draft. Dave talked about this but I'm curious from your perspective on the guys that you have and whether you're completely comfortable going into the season with the group you've got.
JOE JUDGE: First off I'm encouraged by the guys we have on our roster right now. They are working hard. We don't have them in the building just yet, not all of them. As we get closer to the mandatory mini camp and training camp, we'll get a feel for them on the grass.
I would say we are always looking to make every position more competitive, but right now we are committed to working with the guys on our roster and approving each one of those guys individually and that should help the unit collectively.
Q. Elerson Smith, lower level of competition, gained a lot of weight, big hands, good athlete. This team has been looking for an edge rusher for many years. You think you got it right with these two guys?
JOE JUDGE: I think we added two guys between Elerson and Azeez that are going to be Abe to come in. They have a skill set to develop and work with, both guys really fit our outside linebacker category. Look, in our defense, our outside backers have a variety of skill set. Some guys are more stout, set the edge guys better in early down run setting and some guys are more third down sub-package pass rushers. Elerson is a guy, I got to sit down with him at the Senior Bowl and was impressed with him down there playing.
You watch his tape, the one thing I would say good guys from small schools and low level of competition, I think sometimes people over-evaluate someone because where they played in college. And this is a guy you look at his story, he weighed 195 pounds coming out of high school, was built more like a receiver. So someone at Northern Iowa did a good job evaluating this guy and seeing his upside and potential. That's what I think we did a good job, as well, and we're going to have an opportunity to develop.
But he's gained a lot of weight. That just shows his commitment to body and really developing over time. Some guys are late bloomers. But I know when Northern Iowa plays, those guys play tough. You watch their tape. They are a competitive team. So to me I look at a lot of lower competition, per se, quote, or smaller schools as really more of an opportunity to grow these guys as guys that really weren't always in a program where they had great nutrition plans or maybe the top-tier strength program or assets available to them.
Sometimes you get a guy from a really good program and you have to look and say, how topped out are they. They have been coached very well, had a resource at all times; what is their ceiling and how much higher can they go.
A guy from a smaller school, you can say, we can really develop this guy. You know, let's be patient with this guy, give him time, throw them in, let them compete and if they have upside, all of a sudden you really see them competing on your roster.
Q. Last year was a whirlwind. How is this year, the whole process and your involvement any different?
JOE JUDGE: No, I think from the day I got here we all worked together very well. That's one thing that I talked about from the very beginning. It's been very open on both sides of the building. It's just one building. It's not separated personnel and coaching. Everyone is working together.
Right now we have our scouts working with the coaches on the free agency process after the Draft, me and Dave and Kevin and mark and Tim and Kris, we always talk fluidly throughout the entire process.
There is more involvement because I wasn't here last fall, or two falls ago. The ability to talk about who is in the draft, who we are targeting, what kind of bodies, change of the scheme and further understanding on both sides what we are looking for and how we work together. After going through a cycle last year, you knock off some of the newness and this time through it was a lot more fluid.
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