← The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL
The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL
Building the Beast: Dane Brugler's updated Top 100
01:01:50
Loading summary
Transcript138 lines
- [00:00]
Dane Brugler
Thy ticket, lady Jennifer of Coolidge.
- [00:03]
Jennifer
Well, many thanks, good sir. Here is my Discover card. They accept Discover at Renaissance Fairs? Yeah, they do here. Discover is accepted at the places I love to shop. Get it with the times. With the times. You're playing the loot. Yeah, and it sounds pretty good, right?
- [00:23]
Dave
Discover is accepted at 99% of places.
- [00:26]
Dane Brugler
That take credit cards nationwide, Based on.
- [00:28]
Dave
The February 2025 Nielsen report, still listing.
- [00:31]
Stable Sponsor
Your home address on business documents. Stable gives you a permanent business address, one you can use for the irs, banks, vendors, you name it. So you can keep things professional and keep your personal address private. Stable also digitizes all the mail that comes to that address accessible from our secure online dashboard, which makes it easy to manage your mail from wherever you are. No P.O. boxes, no Ms. Mail. Just one less thing to think about as you scale. Sign up for a virtual address today@usestable.com pod and get 50% off your first three months of a grow or scale plan. That's usestable.com pod. Your business moves fast. Your mail should too.
- [01:13]
Gab Sponsor
This episode is sponsored by gab. The youth mental health crisis is all over the news and we know social media is driving it. And this shocked me. This number? Unbelievable. 45% of girls and 32% of boys feel overwhelming stress from being on social media. And together 20% of both feel worse about their own lives. I have a four year old at home, so I haven't confronted this yet, but I know it's coming eventually. And I dread the day that she asked for her own phone and access to social media. But here's the good news. A company called Gab has solved the problem by doing something no one else is doing. Their approach is tech in steps. Tech in Steps works by providing kids safe phones and watches tailored to every age, offering the right device at the right time. From GPS tracking enabled watches for young kids to increase features and parent enabled apps on the phones for tweens and teens, each device grows with your child. Bottom line, you don't have to give your kid a device that was made for an adult. Get them Gab, which keeps them socially connected safely. I can't recommend Gab enough. Use our code to get the best deal on something that will make parenting easier and give you peace of mind. Visit gab.comfootballshow that's G A B B.com and use code Football Special Offer.
- [02:36]
Dave
Welcome to another episode of Building the Beast. And if you're listening to this, your team is officially undefeated. The Seattle Seahawks triumph In Super Bowl 60 means the season is officially in the books and it's really real deal draft season now. And what better way to ring that in than an updated top 100 big board from Dane Brugler. While we were at the Super Bowl, Dane was hard at work putting together his top 100 players in this 2026 NFL Draft class. Plenty of names we've covered, plenty of guys we've known are going to go at the top of this draft. We talked about the top 10, we talked about the deep positions, which guys might hear their names called early, which position groups might have a lot of guys go in the top 30, top 40 of the draft. Plenty of talk about receivers and edge rushers. Also made a concerted effort to talk about the names maybe you haven't heard yet. We call this building the beast. So the goal is to talk about as many prospects as possible. We made sure to do that as well. Really fun episode. Let's get to it right now. Well, Dane, it doesn't happen very often, but I established some common ground with an NFL coach here over the last 24 hours because I saw NFL Network had Mike McDonald on after his Seahawks championship on Monday and they pointed out to him that the NFL combine is a mere two weeks away. And he, he laughed very hard and said, that's unbelievable. And that is exactly how I feel. The whip around from super bowl week to diving right into draft season is always a fun one, but I'm really excited for if we had the unofficial start of draft season in January. It's full bore now, man.
- [04:27]
Dane Brugler
Yeah, full speed ahead. And I mean, you guys did great. It was so fun listening to your shows. You guys are pumping out Radio Row. Looked like it was fun. What was the best thing you ate during the week in the, in the San Francisco area?
- [04:40]
Dave
Oh my God, dude.
- [04:42]
Dane Brugler
I'm sure you had a lot of, a lot of good contenders.
- [04:45]
Dave
The night we went, the night we got there, we had, we went to Chinatown for Chinese food and I think it was the best Chinese meal of my life. Place called ZNY Restaurant, highly recommend it. They had like this spiced Dungeness crab with fried rice and we got a like a Chinese style duck that I am still dreaming about. And then throw a rock anywhere in the Mission District and you'll hit one of the best burritos you've ever had in your life. I went to Taqueria Cancun. I went to at least one or two others. Can't, can't say enough about the burritos and the Chinese food in San Francisco.
- [05:27]
Dane Brugler
Sound like a lot of first round quality establishments.
- [05:32]
Dave
High. I, I came away really impressed with San Francisco and I'd been there before, but funny thing is Levi's Stadium is down in Santa Clara, so. And most of the time when you go for an NFL game, you're there for like a night. So you're not getting a whole hell of a lot of time to see the whole Bay Area and definitely not San Francisco because it's 50 miles away. So I hadn't spent a ton of time in the actual city of San Francisco. Very, very impressed. Highly recommend it if you're looking for a place to check out here in the continental U.S. but I also gotta tell you how much I appreciate you, my friend, because I get home from the Bay and you immediately have your top 100 dropped. Your first update of your big board since November. And I can't tell you how much it means to me to have some ready made, content to dive into. How long, how long did it take you to piece this thing? How stressful was it? We're definitely, I mean we've got a few things to hit, but just in terms of getting to a hundred names. Cause during the season it's been 50, so you're doubling that. I mean, you keep your hair short anyway, but how much were you pulling out, pulling it out here over the last couple weeks?
- [06:47]
Dane Brugler
It's never a problem to come up with names. You know, I could do a top 1000 if we needed to. It's the, the issue is getting these guys in the right buckets and tearing them out and feeling good about where those break points are. And it gets, there is some struggle with that when you're doing it from a generalized point of view. If we were scouting for a team with a established culture, established scheme, established way of this is the way we want to build this thing out. It would be a lot easier because it's yes or no, like there's a lot less gray where with this, we're doing this, I'm stacking these guys from a very generalized point of view. And so it's, it gets a little bit tougher doing that, but it's all about getting these guys in the kind of the right areas. You know, like we think, all right, he's going to be a top 75 pick, he's going to be a top 50 pick. And then there will be little tweaks between now and the draft. Not necessarily because things have changed all that much, but maybe seeing a guy up close at the combine, seeing a move, maybe Getting some more character information, feedback from teams might change things a little bit. But I think this is a good kind of top 100 resourced pre combine. You know, to go into Indianapolis. This is where kind of a lot of these guys stand. Some guys will, they'll fluctuate a little bit. But yeah, it was interesting. There's what I think 17 receivers, the most of any position. You know, the top 10 is interesting. The top five all played in Ohio or played in Ohio or Indiana in college. Don't think anyone's ever said that before. So yeah, just a really interesting top.
- [08:29]
Dave
100 what I'm hearing from you and we'll get into this but every year there's going to be a player or players who maybe their skill set or their measurables take them off a third of the draft boards in the league or maybe they play a position that people don't value highly. And what I'm hearing is the balance between those factors and how good of a football player the guy is. Is it's an annual source of frustration when you're put stuff like this together.
- [09:01]
Dane Brugler
Yeah. And I mean that's kind of how the NFL works where one team's value system. Because I think a lot of these teams and a lot of evaluators, they see the same things on film. It's less about seeing different things and more about valuing different things. Where you know, you take a guy like Jose Trotter, the linebacker from Missouri, if you're looking for a true Mike who's going to come downhill and hit you and a hammer looking for a nail, that's Trotter. I mean he makes his dad proud with that competitive toughness that he plays with and that that's something that has certainly has value in, in the right role. But he's also struggles mightily in coverage and that's going to be an issue for a lot of teams that put more value on linebackers that are, you know, can play any down and you don't have to worry about making sure they're subbed in, subbed out. You know, what are the sub downs, what sub packages look like. So it just that that value system is different from team to team. It's not about right or wrong necessarily. You know, Lee Hunter, the big nose tackle, big nose guard from Texas Tech. This guy is every bit of 320 pounds, long arms, you know, he's really good against the run. He just the pass rush skill set really isn't there. And you know, I don't know that he's ever going to get there essentially. And so that type of value is different for every team and so certainly a lot of those types of guys in this draft.
- [10:30]
Dave
So there's about a half dozen things that I want to quiz you about in regard to your top 100. I figure we can start at the top. And the fun thing for our show, we've been talking about this since August. A lot of it is what you would expect. Arvell Reese is in the top spot. Fernando Mendoza, top quarterback, number two prospect overall. Very, very easy guess that he's going to be the Raiders number one overall pick when this is all said and done. Jeremiah Love Caleb Downs round out the top four. I did briefly want to hit on your number five guy. We love Sonny Stiles, we've talked about him a lot. But it is interesting and fun for me as an unabashed fan to see his name in the top five. I don't think particularly surprising. But when you consider positional value, the strength of the defensive players at the top of this draft, I think it says a lot for him to crash the top five here. Even though we know he's a hell of a player.
- [11:30]
Dane Brugler
6, 4, 2, 40. He's going to run 4, 5. The thing that I don't think we appreciate enough is just the jump he took this year. We have to remember last year was his first year playing linebacker. He was a safety at Ohio State, made the move to linebacker last year and the improvements he made throughout the course of this season, just so impressive. Big time athlete like that. I'm eager to see him at the combine. I mean he had basketball offers coming out to Kent State, you know, Toledo Duquesne, like a lot of basketball programs wanted this guy which speaks to just the level of athlete mover that he is at that size especially. But the season that he had this year was just, just really, really impressive. The only reason I don't have him higher, to be honest is and the next step for him is just to become a better playmaker in coverage. You know, he's not a, it's not a weakness to his game necessarily because of the athlete that he is, but I want to see him go make some more play. Just a lot that you look at. He's a very high floor player because we were just talking about what do you do on sub downs with some of these guys. There's no question about what you're doing on sub downs. Like he can play any role you want. A true four down player. And this is a draft where we've been talking about since August. It's a little light at the top in terms of true blue chip high end talent. So I think there's going to be a lot of teams that look at it and say, hey, there's nothing wrong with taking a really high floor player here. And that's Caleb Downs, that's Sunny Styles. These guys are high floored. You know what you're getting. Maybe he makes a Pro bowl or two in his career, but you're getting him more for the understanding that is not bust proof. But the percentage chance that he's going to not work out is fairly low, especially when you compare him to some of these other guys.
- [13:18]
Dave
I'm looking back through it. You gotta go to 2019 would be the last time an off ball linebacker was drafted that highly. Devin White and then the year, the year before that, Roquan Smith was drafted eighth overall. And that's, you know, I don't think people fixate on linebacker as much as they do on safety and running back, but I do still think an off ball linebacker is a position where people would rather quote, unquote, get more bang for their buck. You know, you hear edge, rusher, cornerback, quarterback, wide receiver, but especially in a draft like this where we've talked all through the process about how the top of it is a little bit thinner than you would prefer probably, and then just what a prospect this guy is, I, I, I don't have a ton of reservations if that's the way it winds up going. And I think with what we've seen in the NFL recently, with the value that these guys have, like run defense, being adaptable, being flexible, that doesn't trouble me at all. And yeah, you could say very similar things about Caleb Downs. And I'm really hoping this is a year where both of those guys don't see themselves slide over positional value, I think that's overthinking it.
- [14:34]
Dane Brugler
Well, I mean there are plenty of teams, I hope you're wrong. The Cowboys would love to see both these guys at 12 there, there's plenty of teams in the teens that would love, you know, the Bucks sitting there like, hey, Sonny Stiles, come on, come to us. You know, like that, that is something that a lot of teams are hoping for. But I, I don't know, I have a hard time seeing it just because again, this, the top 10 of this draft is just, there's good players. Don't get me wrong. It's just, I, I think some teams are going to look at it and say, hey, let's, let's, let's go for the really good player who is maybe not a position that we value in the top 10 normally, but he's high floor. We know what we're getting. Yeah, I, I, I'm not saying Sunny Styles is going to be a top five pick, but I, I mean I, I think that when we look back at this class, we're going to look at him as one of the better players that come out of this class.
- [15:22]
Dave
Very chalky at the top. David Bailey's in the top 10. Ruben Bane is in the top 10. One guy I wanted to ask you about, we've known about Mendoza and Jeremiah Love forever and, and we have talked about this guy. But at number eight, your first offensive player in this top 100 who is not Mendoza and who is not Jeremiah Love is Spencer Fano out of Utah. And we've talked about him plenty. He's been in the mix to be the top offensive tackle in this draft class. But when you were putting this together and I think there's a few receivers that could have been the first guy list Francis, Maui, Noah is not far away from here at number 11. But when you're talking about the first offensive player who is neither Mendoza nor Love, how did you wind, how did you land on Spencer Fano?
- [16:14]
Dane Brugler
And I think Vega Yoana is in that mix as well. The Penn State all the way up.
- [16:19]
Dave
To number 13 by the way.
- [16:21]
Dane Brugler
I mean when I did my mocking, when I did my mock back in, I don't a while ago, I mean I had him at 14 to the Ravens, you know, I just love that fit and it's, he's just one of the best players in this draft. No doub. But yeah, I think Fano is a player that when you watch a Utah tape and you know they needed a yard, they ran behind number 55. You see the, the footwork, you see the demeanor that he plays with, the mobility is awesome. Some of those power play skip pulls in the way that he's, how efficient he moves and gets out in space is awesome. So the feet, the temperament, the recovery balance, he just has a knack for losing slowly and that's absolutely a skill that NFL teams want in their offensive linemen. So he doesn't have that elite body type, doesn't have that elite length necessarily. I'm very eager to see what he comes in at the combine. Just the raw measurables height, weight and arm length. But this is a guy that is, I think you plug and play on your offensive line and he's just going to be a reliable starter for you.
- [17:30]
Dave
And then as I said right there at number 11, Francis, Maui Noah, you've been in the camp that at least give the guy a shot at tackle before you move him to guard. I know people have disparate opinions on him, but to, to be at that slot at number 11, primarily at at tackle, at least to start, you would guess.
- [17:51]
Dane Brugler
I think so. I mean, I, I do think that, you know, it's almost like a Zach Martin discussion where if you really want to maximize what he is. Yeah. Movement side to guard and you know, he could be a really, really good guard. But the value of what he can bring as a quality starting tackle. Yeah, I think that's, and he's supposed to come in right at 33 inch arms. You know, there's just not a lot of bad tape on film. You know, him playing right tackle. I mean, it's always been playing, you know, since he showed up at Miami. He started every single game at right tackle. So I think when you talk about Fano Ioane and Maui Noah, those three guys, those three offensive linemen, you could really make a case for either of them why they should be the first offensive lineman drafted. I think it really comes down to, and it's kind of similar to these receivers, the three receivers that we'll talk about. Like, it's just what type of player you're looking for because these guys are all pretty closely rated. And you know, I, I, I'm not going to stand here and, you know, say anybody's wrong if you prefer Yoane first or Maui Noah, like, I totally get it. These are good players.
- [18:58]
Dave
Let's talk about those receivers that you just alluded to. You said it at the, at the top 17 wide receivers in this top 100 of yours, and six of those are in the top 30. And I mean, yeah, let's, let's just start at the top. We've talked plenty about Carnell Tate, Jordan, Tyson and Makai Lemon. I think most people see those as the consensus top three, but I expect there is going to be no consensus about the or of those three. And illustrating that is the fact that you have Tate coming in at 10, Tyson coming in at 12 and Makai Lemon at 14. So again, this is why I'm, I'm wondering how frustrating this is for you to put together when you've got three guys slotted within four or five places of each other.
- [19:49]
Dane Brugler
Well. And when you have guys that are ranked so closely together. Yeah, it's, again, if we need if you're looking for more of a true slot player, obviously you're going to prefer Makai Lemon over the other two guys. But I, I don't have any of any of these three players graded as highly as I had Tedro and McMillan last year. So, you know, and certainly not close to, you know, the huge grades I had on Malik Neighbors and Marvin Harrison Jr. So this is a good receiver class, but I like the depth more than I like the, the options in the top 10. You know, I don't think it's a very top heavy draft. I like these three players, but I don't know that any of the three are true legit number ones in the NFL. So I mean that, that factors into this as well. Lemon, to me is the most interesting because, and I was talking about this with a scout, just how 1% of Lemon's contract should go to Almond Ross St. Brown because what that has done for what St. Brown has done in the league and the boost that's going to give to Lemon I think is something that's really going to help help him come draft time. And now it's certainly possible that Lemon turns out to be a very, have a very similar career because they're very similar players. So it's very, he's an easy player to like and it's, it's very possibly turns out to be very much worth a top 15 pick. But are we over correcting a little bit with Lemon because of we don't want to miss on the next St. Brown And I say that with full confidence in saying I think Lemon's gonna be a very good player. It's just a small needle of thread when we're talking about, you know, undersized, not an elite athletic profile, someone that works, I think you can play outside, but you, you, he does some of his best work inside and working the middle of the field, how strong he is, especially through contact. So I like Mikhail, I mean I a ton. But I do think what we've seen Almond Ross St. Brown do and even JSN to a degree is going to help Makai Lemon come draft time.
- [22:00]
Dave
Let me ask you a philosophical question about that and I get your point. And you're looking at the top of the draft. You want the premium athletes, the guys with the highest ceiling. Totally understand. But you talk about is this guy going to be a number one receiver. I'm not trying to suggest that doesn't matter. But we like with the way offenses are built and the way we're trying to get Yards. In the modern NFL, is it more palatable to draft a wide receiver to considering the options that are already available? Like for, for, for example. I mean, the, the Las Vegas Raiders already have Brock Bowers. The New York jets already have Garrett Wilson under contract. The New York Giants have Malik Neighbo back from injury. And I'm just looking at the top of the draft order. I mean, the, the Saints got Chris Olave back on track this year. If you already have that guy on your team, do you think it makes organizations more willing to draft the guy? Especially again in a year where I mean, they're like, we're just, we're not talking about Marv Harrison and Malik Neighbors. We've known that this entire time. So do you think teams would be more willing to take a Makai Lemon or a Carnell Tate and say, hey, he doesn't need to be a wide receiver one on our roster, that guy, that role is already filled.
- [23:26]
Dane Brugler
I mean, yeah, I think so. And they don't have a choice, right, because there isn't a wide receiver one in this class. And so if you want to get better at receiver, you're going to. This is what this draft has to offer. And we just got done saying with Sonny Styles and Caleb Downs and Jeremiah Love how, you know what, take the good football player over prioritizing this position over that position. Makai Lemon's a good football player. And so if you have, if you don't have an established slot and that's type of weapon you're looking for, take him at 6, take him at 8. I mean, I think that's fine. You know, and so I do think that because in my rankings, Lemon's like what, 14th? I think that's the, the line for me, like where the like 14 true first round grades. And so, you know, Lemon's right in there in that mix where I think this is a first round player. And you know, we can talk all we want about that profile and how that usually translates to the next level, but you know, I, you can watch his tape and it's hard to come away with saying that, look, this is not going to be a, an impactful player in the right role.
- [24:35]
Dave
Just working through these other 17 receivers. Like I said, three other guys in your top 30. Casey Concepcion, Denzel Boston, Omar Cooper, all the way up at number 27. I mean, we, we are familiar with his game. I was, I'm not surprised, happy. I was happy to see how high he wound up here. Cause I feel like he's, he's Sort of taken second billing to some of these other names. And even for a period there's even Elijah Surat on his own team. I feel like got more pub when you were talking about the Hoosiers at least for the first two thirds of the season. And maybe, maybe it was the Penn State catch that flipped everything around. But I was, I was pretty pumped to see Omar Cooper land this highly.
- [25:21]
Dane Brugler
Yeah, I mean he's a guy we, we've liked all, all year as because he, his, his run after catch, that is what separates him. And I, I just, you, when you watch him play, it's like, okay, what don't you like about him? You know, like what, what is there player? The play strength is awesome. The how coordinated he is. Both of his parents were big time basketball players and his mom played at Michigan State. And you know, he has that DNA in him where the coordination, the competitiveness at the catch point is awesome. And then what he does after the catch, to me I think that's what separates him as a real playmaker in this draft. So I just think he's going to be an attractive, attractive prospect for a lot of teams. I think he's not again, another player that's not a slot only but best in the slot where you can really weaponize him. So I just, when you start stacking these guys, you just I why shouldn't Omar Cooper be this high or why shouldn't he be higher? Why shouldn't he be top 25? You know, I think you run out of reasons why he shouldn't be that high. Especially when you get to that point in the draft where things start to thin out a little bit and you know, it's just easier to make a case for him. So yeah, I, I, to me, Cooper looks like a player that belongs in that first round.
- [26:36]
Dave
Discussion of the 17 receivers, I was really proud of us. I'm confident we've talked about 14 of them at length. But if it's cool with you, I wanted to hit the three that maybe we're not as familiar with on this show. The first one of those would be your 61st overall player, Antonio Williams out of Clemson.
- [27:01]
Dane Brugler
Yeah. And who came in with a lot of pub this season and I didn't really live up to it. You know, he's, he's another best or not can play outside, but best in the slot. That's how he works. I, I think he's a really good athlete. He's more of a glider in space. I think he does his best on some of those Option routes where he can create his own separation, get open, give the quarterback a target. Just didn't have the, the se. The. He was a redshirt junior, but didn't have the 2025 season that I think a lot of people thought he would. Just a really controlled, fluid athlete. Didn't have a ton of explosive plays on his tape. And that's what, that's why I couldn't really go higher than where I did. I just, I expected to see more explosive plays out of him, but really competitive. I, I. There's the player I did write down in my notes with him was Khalil Shakur. Just that, that style of player. And I don't think he's going to maybe get to that level, but just in terms stylistically, I think that's the type of player you could expect with him.
- [28:02]
Dave
Quarterback's best friend. I mean, I, Okay, I can, I can live with that. At number 74, Brennan Thompson. I'm really confident we haven't talked a lot of Mississippi State football this year on the show.
- [28:16]
Dane Brugler
Yeah. So my pick for the fastest 40 this year at the combine, which, you know, I think that's not gonna be a. I won't be alone in that sentiment. You know, he, he was running what, like 10 fours, and I think it was faster than that, like 10 twos in high school and 100 meters. He led the SEC in receiving this year. So this isn't like some gem I'm mining out of nowhere. You know, he's, he is a good player who, when you watch that Mississippi State offense, you feel his speed. Like it's, it's different small. That, that's, you have to get past the size.
- [28:53]
Dave
He's a smaller guy, but 5, 9, 1 70. And that's on his school bio. So I will have an eye on the combine. I'll have an eye on the combine. Check in.
- [29:03]
Dane Brugler
It was supposed to be at the Senior bowl, was at one of those late dropouts. And so, yeah, getting the. How Is he over 172? Is he lower than. You know, that'll be interesting. But again, that's why he's in the 70s and we're not talking about him in the first two rounds. But the speed is impassive, impressive. Like, it just looks like he has a jet pack underneath his, his jersey with the way that he's pull from dudes. And it's not just a lot of gadget plays and manufactured touches. He's tracking the ball downfield. If he had a more accurate quarterback, he would have had 2,000 yards this year. I mean it was rare to see this type of speed. I think he led the FBS and catches at 50 plus yards. Like just a, a really impressive athlete who has receiving talent to him. Not an athlete who's trying to go out there and you know, play wide receiver for Halloween. So this is, this is a good player who I think is maybe being slept on a little bit, but I think once he runs that 40 in Indianapolis, I think it'll open some more eyes.
- [30:06]
Dave
I'm laughing because I'm imagining Andy Reid licking his chops and Chiefs fans saying like no, no, we need, we need a bigger receiver. No, not again. All right, last, last receiver. Before we take a break, number 99 right at the end, Trey Lance's brother Bryce Lance out of North Dakota State. In this draft class we got between Josiah Trotter and Bryce Lance. Very NFL brothers. Heavy draft class here. I love it.
- [30:35]
Dane Brugler
Yeah, you know, kind of. Bryce followed the same path going to North Dakota State and he had offers like lucrative seven figure offers to go play up in the Big Ten. And he turned it down for considerably less money to stay in North Dakota State. And he with a first year quarterback, Cole Payton, the stats did dip a little bit, but he still had over a thousand yards receiving, still made some big plays. You know, he's a good size, he's six three, 210 pounds, freaks list guy, 40 inch vertical. So I mean I, I think that we're not talking about a slug here, has some explosion. I'll be interested to see what his long speed is. You know, over under like a 4, 5, 2, you know, does he have necessary long speed? He didn't get caught on, on tape. But again, FCS competition. So like the way he's a hands catcher, doesn't drop the football. So you're talking about an athlete that size with those hands and just a, a human being and you know, a type of guy that character wise is going to check out in a big way. Yeah, I, I think he's someone teams are going to be interested in when we get to that third fourth round area.
- [31:44]
Dave
All right. There are plenty of other things I want to pepper Dane with questions about, but we're going to take a first break real quick.
- [31:52]
Bombas Sponsor
People keep asking about my 20, 26 resolutions and sure I've got the usual goals. Read more, tweak my workout routine, make sure I'm eating well. But this year there's a new one at the top of my list. Get comfy. That's where bombas comes in, they're bringing serious comfort to all my everyday go tos. The all new Bombas sports socks are engineered with sports specific comfort for running, golf, hiking, skiing, snowboarding and all sport. This year I really want to go on some longer walks with the dog over the course of the week and these socks are perfect for that. They're cushioned where I need it most, sweat wicking and loaded with other tech features to keep me comfy and locked in. For those everyday around the house resolutions, Bombas also has you covered with the comfiest footwear imaginable. Anybody doing some spring cleaning and just wanting to be comfy around the house. Their luxurious Sherpa Sunday slippers will feel like walking on clouds made with a super comfy and lightweight Eva, the Friday sandal, the new squishy Sunday suede slip on for comfort on the go and underneath it all the softest base layers that will have you rethinking your entire wardrobe. Bomba's underwear and T shirts are flexible, breathable and buttery smooth premium everyday go to's that I won't leave the house without and for every item you purchase, an essential clothing item is donated to someone facing housing insecurity. One purchased one donated with over 150 million donations and counting.
- [33:08]
Dave
Head over to bombas.com athletic and use code athletic to get 20% off your first purchase. That's B O M B A S.com athletic code athletic at checkout it's funny.
- [33:20]
Ethos Sponsor
When you're aware of something as a kid but not really sure what it is. And then it hits you when you're an adult and you're like oh right, that's what that was. You know, kind of like life insurance. I was first aware of it I suppose by playing the game of life as a kid. Wasn't really sure what it was, but then I don't know. 20, 20, 25 years later I had a kid of my own and realized what that was and why it was and is so important. I have two kids now and could not imagine going one day without life insurance. Ethos makes getting life insurance fast and easy 100% online you can get a quote in seconds, apply in minutes and get same day coverage. There's no medical exam. You just answer a few simple health questions. You can get up to $3 million in coverage. Some policies are as low as $30 a month. As of March 2025, Business Insider named Ethos the number one no medical exam instant life insurance provider. Ethos has 4.8 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot with more than 3,000 reviews. Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos now by going to ethos.com athleticfootball in as little as 10 minutes, you can get your free quote and up to $3 million in coverage at Ethos. Ethos.com athleticfootball that is E T-H O S.com athletic football ethos.com athletic football application times and rates may vary.
- [34:47]
Jennifer
Oh, could this vintage store be any cuter? Right. And the best part, they accept Discover. Except Discover in a little place like this? I don't think so, Jennifer. Oh, yeah, huh? Discover is accepted where I like to shop. Come on, baby. Get with the time. Right. So we shouldn't get the parachute pants. These are making a comeback, I think.
- [35:10]
Dave
Discover is accepted at 99% of places.
- [35:12]
Dane Brugler
That take credit cards nationwide. Based on the February 2025 Nielsen report.
- [35:21]
Dave
All right, Dane, you said receivers lead the way with 17 in your top 100, but I did the math. If you include Arvl Reese as an edge, which I do, even if he plays off ball, he's an edge.
- [35:34]
Dane Brugler
Yeah, I agree.
- [35:36]
Dave
If you think of ARVL Reese as an edge, there are 16 edge rushers in your top 100. And even more interesting than that, there are nine in your top 40, six in your top 32. So this is not a mock draft. Obviously, we have no idea where these guys are going to go. Anything is possible.
- [35:57]
Dane Brugler
But.
- [35:57]
Dave
But just for reference, there were four edges drafted in the top 40 last year and five in 2024. It's been a couple years since the edge class looked this loaded where you might have nine guys ranked in the top 40. So we've talked about it. We said it about the senior bowl crop as well, but really looks like there's a lot of options for edge talent in this class.
- [36:25]
Dane Brugler
Watching the super bowl on Sunday night, all I could think about was, yeah.
- [36:30]
Dave
You think having, like, five amazing edge rushers comes in handy?
- [36:34]
Stable Sponsor
Yeah.
- [36:35]
Dane Brugler
All I could think about was, yeah, this edge class and how much, like, it was already a good class. But watching. And this happens every year. We talked about it with, okay, we gotta find that next Nick Em and worry and, you know, like the. The team that wins a Super bowl. It's like, okay, let's dissect this. What do we learn? What can we, you know, what's repeatable for our team that they did? And it's never one thing, but. And it's something that. It's not. Like, this is a novel idea, but turns out the more pass Rush depth. You have the better situation you were in to go wreck havoc on the quarterback. And you know the, the Seahawks are loaded on the defensive line inside and out and it's. Yeah, they have some potential stars on that defensive line but the depth is what really stands out in a big way. And that's what happens when you spend second round picks, third round picks on pass rushers and you hit on those guys. And so I think we're going to see plenty of those, you know the, the Gabe Akkis and the Derek Moores and you know those types where you not quite good enough to be Maybe a top 32 pick but you're going to be more than happy to add them to the mix on somewhere on day two where it just add more bullets to the gun and you know, it's, we're, we're going to figure out how to affect the quarterback and we do it with these big, strong, twitchy athletes. And this, this class has quite a few of them.
- [38:02]
Dave
I am. And this is, this is just me. I'm not. It can definitely be flawed reasoning. I mean shoot, I would have voted for Derek hall to win Super Bowl MVP if I had had a vote. And he was, I think he was pick seven in his draft class. I typically think there's like a cutoff for where I get excited to draft an edge. Like I just, I operate with the idea like if, if you're not good enough to go top 20, top 30, then am I getting enough ROI for my pick? I don't feel that way this year. I am amending my attitude because just rolling through there are, there are so many guys and, and like it's, it's different roles, it's different, you know, different archetypes. But I love our Mason Thomas who is 35th on your, on your board. T.J. parker right behind him had an amazing Senior Bowl. I don't need to talk about Zion young for an 18th time. He's your number 39 guy. And even further down the line you just mentioned Gabe Akis. He is here at number 57. Like I just feel like throughout day two it feels like there are edge and I guess I should, I should disclaimer again we don't know for sure where these guys are going to get drafted but if I'm using your board I'm liking a lot of my options here among like you know, picks 40 to pick 60, 70, etc.
- [39:34]
Dane Brugler
Speaking of Derek hall, stick with the Auburn theme. Kieran Crawford. You know teams watch that Auburn offensive or defensive line for Keldrick Falk. But you come away buzzing about Crawford and what he could be at the next level. So yeah, this is a, you know, even like a guy like Danny Dennis, Dennis Sutton from Penn State who I would say underperformed compared to some expectations this year as a senior, he's still a good player, still a quality player who can give you some, some real solid reps at the next level. So this is a edge class that we can debate about the top and how many are true first round guys, you know, and there'll be plenty of debates about David Bailey and Reuben Bain, especially with the arm length and all that kind of stuff. It's just, it's a good edge class where there's a lot of names and a lot of guys that are going to help their teams as, even if it's in a rotational role. So yeah, that's, that's going to be a theme this year in this class.
- [40:30]
Dave
Let me ask you this. If you can't say Arvel Reese and obviously the, I mean the top 100 kind of speaks for itself in terms of how you have these guys slotted. But do you have a favorite, you bring up Derek Moore a lot. Like do, do you just have a, who's your guy? Who's your pet cat among this group? If you can't say Reese.
- [40:52]
Dane Brugler
Yeah, no, it's a good question. I mean it is hard to say Reese especially cause it was like since day one or since that first game, it was like, yeah, this is the guy. No, I, I, I, I, I, I like a lot, a little about a lot of these guys. You know, like Akeem Mezador is a guy that I've really come around on just how different he looked from the 24 tape to 25 tape. There will be some teams that have Mezador higher on their board than Bane. You know, that's, that, that will happen and that's, and that's less about Bane and more about Mezador. It's more about the way he played this year, especially in the, in the playoffs. Watch that Texas A and M tape. He was the best pass rusher. Bane had more sacks against Texas A and M. Mesador was the better pass rusher in that game. And so it, I, I think that it's easy to overlook Mezador because of Bane and some of the, you know, big plays that he had, especially in the playoff. But Mezador is a dude and you know, he's a, he's someone that is going to be wrecking NFL backfields next year.
- [41:51]
Dave
I don't want to hear any about the fact that mazador is turning 25. I really don't. I could not care less. He's, he's 25. Okay, cool. He's also, the whole point is that he's coming into the NFL with a little bit more polish. Like that's, everybody gets all excited about 20 and 21 year old players. Odds are they're going to need some time. If I'm drafting Akeem Mezador, I'm relatively confident at least that you're getting a guy who's closer to being in his final form. I get it.
- [42:24]
Dane Brugler
That's the trade off.
- [42:25]
Dave
Yeah, yeah.
- [42:26]
Dane Brugler
It's maybe not open out of the box, ready to play. Like that's, that's exactly what, and that maybe that's not what every team's looking for, but for some teams, absolutely, that's what, you know, they could be looking for. And I mean, how many, how many GMs in the NFL will still be GMs of their respective teams in five years? You know, like when it's time to be talking about extension with him, you know, it's, I, I, I think most NFL GMs are thinking about the next two to three years, not necessarily the next five to six years. So if he's going to give me quality pass rush the next three years and give us a chance to win, yeah, I, that's something that I will be perfectly fine betting on.
- [43:04]
Dave
It's also a position that you can play at a relatively high level deep into your career. I mean, yeah, we were in the room when Tank got drafted forever ago. He turns 34 this year, by the way.
- [43:19]
Dane Brugler
Never forget that, because that, I think that was the first year I was doing stuff with you guys at the Cowboys. And Tank was my pet cat that year. Like absolutely loved him. I was kind of worried I was a little too high on him. He was like, I don't know, my 21st best player or something. And then the Cowboys traded up to pick like what, 33 or 34 or something early in the second round. It took him and just loved it because that was, that was a perfect fit for them. And you know, it turns out he's been pretty solid player.
- [43:48]
Dave
I liked Tank as a player, but I remember being aggravated that they traded a third round pick to get him because that just felt expensive. And he's still awesome 10 years later. So the draft will humble you and make you question your convictions. That's, there's, there's no hard and fast rules for me because you do it long enough, you'll be dead wrong.
- [44:09]
Dane Brugler
Oh, 100%. That's and that's the beauty of the draft is. And even an exercise like this, this top 100 people will read it and see something completely different with a player than I do. And but like I said, I think it's less about seeing things differently and more about value and just, you know, and like, like the safeties this year. Caleb down.
- [44:32]
Dave
I was about to bring that up. Thank. It's like you read my notes.
- [44:35]
Dane Brugler
Yes, I, I, I, we're on the same wavelength here. Cause the safety class is a fun one and but they're all just a little bit different and so depending on what you want, you're going to value someone maybe a little bit differently. I mean, let's just take Caleb Downs out of it. He's one of the best players in this draft. But after that, and we've talked about this with Nick Emnwarry, like how is that going to affect maybe some of these safeties and how high they could go? I think that when teams look for maybe who could be that next nickel. Dylan Thienaman from Oregon is someone that I think is going to be a really popular player with, with teams because of how good he is in coverage. He is going to test off the charts and just the, the football character that he brings. I think he just checks a lot of boxes that what teams are looking for. Not, not he's not amazing in the box but as a nickel, as someone that can wear a lot of different hats from single high to post and doing these different things that you want safeties to do. So he brings that versatility. And so if we're looking for, you know, who could be this year's Emmy worry, I wouldn't be surprised if teams look at the intamin and say, hey, let's, let's bet on this guy as being that nickel for us. And so, and to get him, the price tag is probably going to be somewhere in the 20s and I think that McNeil Warren from Toledo is not far behind him.
- [46:00]
Dave
I got a question for you which real quick, I'm, I'm pulling up Dylan Dieneman's measurables 6 foot 205. Okay, so this is, this is what I was wondering and I'm, I'm obsessed with what Emin worry did for Seattle this year. I think a lot of people are. This might sound stupid. I had a, I had like a light bulb moment while I was at the super bowl where I was like, okay, Nick him and worry is this big nickel that lets Seattle stay in that personnel and they can defend the run against it and it opens up a lot of cool options for them. At the end of the day, isn't it fair to say em and worry is just a linebacker that doesn't get exposed as easily as a lot of linebackers would in pass coverage. And like he is a big nickel, but you could also think of him as an undersized linebacker that lets you play base more adequately in the modern NFL. So I think a lot of people are going to be looking for big safeties. But I also wonder if maybe undersized linebackers benefit from this as well because at the end of the day you're asking for similar skill sets.
- [47:12]
Dane Brugler
The thing, yeah, it's all about a hybrid skill set because the thing that you want is you want to be mismatch proof. That's what you're looking for as a defense. It gives you that flexibility because that's what offenses are trying to get you in a disadvantageous position with your personal know and a guy like em and worry, the value he brings as being mismatch proof that whether you call him a linebacker, whether you call him a safety, a nickel, whatever that type of value is just, it's, it changes things. And I, I think that it's hard to find those guys. It's not like, you know, there's a reason why an em and worry was had such a special season and what it meant for that team. Like it's just, it's rare to find those guys. But I think a guy like thienamin, he could at least fill some of that role. Whether, and we watch Oregon tape, he's doing a lot of it. Whether it's deep middle cover two, you know, like as a robber playing a true nickel position. He is a hybrid safety with what he did at Oregon. And so I, I do think that a lot of that will translate. Kind of reminds me a lot of Justin Reed. You know I'm listening. Yeah, exactly. And I don't think we think of Reed as maybe like an em and worry type of player, but he does a lot of different things and he's a, he's a good sized athlete who has been a good player in this league for a long time and I think the enemy's kind of in a similar conversation.
- [48:34]
Dave
Nick and Min ruined it for everybody. We're just really going to be, we're going to be hunting, hunting this guy. Hopefully somebody can live up to it. All right, we got one more break and then we're going to hit some other positions and some I want to hit on some lesser known names that maybe we haven't talked as much about on the show. Right after this.
- [48:57]
Jennifer
Oh, could this vintage store be any cuter? Right? And the best part, they accept Discover. Except Discover in a little place like this? I don't think so. Jennifer. Oh yeah, huh? Discover's accepted where I like to shop. Come on, baby, get with the times.
- [49:13]
Dane Brugler
Right.
- [49:13]
Jennifer
So we shouldn't get the parachute pants. These are making a comeback, I think.
- [49:20]
Dave
Discover is accepted at 99% of places.
- [49:22]
Dane Brugler
That take credit cards nationwide. Based on the February 2025 Nielsen report.
- [49:27]
Jennifer
Wellness doesn't have to be complicated. Sometimes it's just how your home feels when you walk in the door. Pura plus lets you create soft feel good moments with premium fragrances in open concept spaces. Automatically, beautifully and effortlessly. For a limited time, get a free Pura plus diffuser with your first cent subscription, 2 cents for 12 months, risk free for 30 days. Calm your space, lighten your day. Visit pura.com today.
- [49:57]
Dane Brugler
Everyone deserves to be connected. That's why T Mobile and US Cellular are joining forces. Switch to T Mobile and save up to 20% versus Verizon by getting built in benefits they leave out. Check the math@t mobile.com and now T Mobile is in US cellular stores.
- [50:17]
Bombas Sponsor
Savings versus Comparable Verizon plans plus the.
- [50:19]
Dane Brugler
Cost of optional benefits plan features and taxes and fees vary.
- [50:21]
Bombas Sponsor
Savings with three plus lines include third.
- [50:23]
Dave
Line free via monthly bill credits credit stop if you cancel any lines. Qualifying credit required. All right, Dan, before we get out of here, as I said, I just want to, I want to try to hit on as many names as possible. We call this building the Beast. Obviously there's going to be plenty of focus on the top 10 top 20 players in the draft. But at this point I feel like we've talked about a lot of those guys and I'd rather focus on maybe some names you haven't heard before. If you're listening to this show, one of the first things that jumped out at me when I was looking at your top 100 two members of the Arizona Wildcats secondary in your top 100 safety Genesis Smith at 72, cornerback Trade and Stukes at number 77. And I'm perfectly comfortable just admitting I don't know a lot about these guys and I would like to know more.
- [51:16]
Dane Brugler
So Genesis Smith is a, he's going to be a really polarizing player. He's a true center field type of safety where you see the range. He can cover a ton of ground. A really good cover defender from deep. He's also a very finesse run defender or just defender in general. Like there are times where he just lets up before contact. He's a below average tackler. Those, those things are really bothersome when you are scouting a safety. Now I, I had some of the similar concerns with Kaylin Bullock when he was coming out of USC and he's been a, a good player for the Texans. But you know, Bullock was also drafted in the 70s, you know, that year in, in the mid third round because of those concerns. So I think Genesis Smith probably drafted in the same range. But if someone is really looking for that center field touch type and think that they can get more aggressiveness out of him, I wouldn't be surprised if he's drafted earlier just because he. Of the athlete that he is and the COVID talent. It's, it's really impressive. It's just. Can you get him to be a little more, not even a little more, a lot more aggressive? I, I was really floored with the, some of the lack of aggression in the run game and just tackling overall.
- [52:33]
Dave
It's such a catch 22. Because going back as long as I've known you, we always say it's really hard to find safeties really back seven players in general. But safeties who are good moving away from the line of scrimmage and don't feel like liabilities. But at the same time you start to get nervous when you hear that about a lack of aggression and the inability to tackle because teams are going to exploit that if, if you don't prove you can shore it up. And so I get excited when I hear that a guy's strength is. But I, I wonder how you balance those two things because there are, there are a ton of guys that can tackle and, and come up to the line of scrimmage. Like most college players are good at that. But no matter how good at coverage you are, is it enough to set you apart if that's like a liability in your game?
- [53:26]
Dane Brugler
And I think there's gonna be different schools of thought. You know, some teams will be more okay with it. Other teams, it's non negotiable. I mean look at the Seahawks and how good good that that's secondary, how good tacklers that group is like not saying that that's the key to their success. But I think for some teams it's a non negotiable aspect of the way they Play and I get it as the last line of defense, I need to be able to trust you out there. While other teams might look at it and say can you at least just get them on the ground? Can you at least hold them up until help gets there? You know, like we'll, we'll sacrifice a little bit there if it means we're going to, you know, get that deep coverage we've been looking for. So I really think, I think it's, it's a different school of thought from team to team, coach to coach. Some teams will just be more willing to sacrifice than others. The other Arizona player trading stukes, you know, he's, he's been around a while. He's a, I think six year guy because he was a former walk on kind of a self made player. He's going to be 25 as a, as an NFL rookie, so another one of those older guys. But he was really good in the nickel. One of the best interceptions that, that I saw year year. What was that Arizona State tape? I can't remember but he just reached over to the defender deep, made the play. There's, there's a lot to like about his coverage ability and what he brings. He was productive. I think the, the on ball production, it was like four interceptions this past year. So has a frame that you can work with, has the versatility where play the nickel but can also play outside, can also play as safety a little bit. So I, I, I just think he's a guy that stays connected in coverage and that's the type of safety, the type of nickel type of player that I'm looking for in, as a, as a back end player.
- [55:09]
Dave
Let's just keep it in the Territorial cup because another guy that is pretty highly ranked in your, on your board that I don't remember talking about much over the course of the year would be Keith Abney the second who is over at Arizona State. Another DB. So plenty of DBs coming out of Arizona this year.
- [55:30]
Dane Brugler
And I, I can't remember if I told you about, have I told you about Adme before?
- [55:34]
Dave
If you, it's possible that you have, but we've been doing this since August and maybe some guys slipped through the cracks. I, I don't, I don't vividly remember talking about him. It's possible that we could have.
- [55:47]
Dane Brugler
I say that because he has one of the cooler backgrounds and I feel like it's something I would have done is oh, I gotta tell Dave about this. But there's a chance I didn't so he was a competitive inline skater growing up like 5 years old on the skating team.
- [56:02]
Dave
I feel like I would have remembered this.
- [56:05]
Dane Brugler
So seventh grade he actually won the national championship in, in the inline skating national championship in Nebraska. Won it with a US record in the 300 meters. He also hold, he held the 200 meter record. So this is a guy that was thinking USA Junior World and and beyond. Like he wanted to take it far and then football kind of took over. Covid sidetracked things for him. But it's, it's interesting when you talk about former wrestlers and offensive line or you know, Hoopers and receivers and things like that. It's interesting because you can't tell me that his balance, his lower body, core strength, some of the endurance that you see on the field when you watch his tape, you can't tell me some of that doesn't come from his entire life being this competitive inline skater and how cool of a transition that is to take some of those traits that he picked up in that sport and bring it to the football field. And so he's a little bit undersized, but he's a really good cover athlete. Love his demeanor. He's just a good player that I think is going to be end up being a steal probably in the second round.
- [57:16]
Dave
I am going to find Keith Abney at the combine and he's going to think I want to talk to him about football and I'm going to be like, absolutely not. Let's talk about the Olympics. What's going on in Milan right now? How do you feel about the medalists in the speed skating?
- [57:30]
Dane Brugler
He nerds out about it. Excellent. You figure he did it for such a long time in his life that all the techniques and all the things like that, I bet you he will have a lot of insight into that sport and how that's probably helped him on the football field. Field.
- [57:49]
Dave
We really just don't know. Well, not we. And that was going to be my point. People in general don't know as much about players as people as, as I think would be fair. And that is why the Beast is so amazing. Because I will have these guys life stories available to me at the click of a finger in just a couple months. Unbelievable.
- [58:12]
Dane Brugler
The anxiety. Thinking about how it.
- [58:15]
Dave
No, I didn't mean to stress you out. I didn't mean to stress you out. You got plenty of time.
- [58:19]
Dane Brugler
You got plenty of.
- [58:20]
Dave
But the, the top rated guy that I see on your list that I just, I don't remember talking about and it's probably fair Cause look, I've, I've busted Auburn's chops a lot on this show. Clemson is another one where we know how many good players they have. We've talked plenty about Peter woods and TJ Parker, and they just did not have the type of season that the talent would indicate. And so that is probably why I don't think we've talked much about Blake Miller, their offensive tackle, who comes in at 42nd overall, which, look, the season did not go the way that they want. But I would still expect to hear a lot of Clemson players get their names called over the over draft weekend.
- [59:04]
Dane Brugler
Well, that's got to make Dabo and Clemson fans sick that they're going to have what, like five players drafted top two rounds and you know, things went as sideways as they did this year for the Tigers. But yeah, Miller, he was a big recruiting win for Clemson. They took him out of Cleveland and he has been like, in terms of football character, he. If you're going to just rank every player in this draft in terms of football character, he might be in the top five. Just based off of what scouts have told me. Talking to his coaches, talking to his teammates, like they just rave about this guy. Captain. He doesn't cheat himself, he doesn't cheat his teammates, plays through any type of ailment like he suffered. He. In four years at Clemson, he missed a grand total of one practice and that's because he broke his wrist. He just, he doesn't miss time. And he. That type of endurance and toughness along with good tape, maybe not amazing tape, but good tape that's going to help him get drafted pretty high. So I think there's some things about his profile that worry me. He's very upright in his posture. He's not a great bender. And I do think NFL like savvy NFL rushers are going to be able to kind of break him down. But I just think that the, the foot quickness, the physical demeanor, he's a big dude, like he's a long player, has the physical dimensions you want. So I just think those physical traffic traits, the football IQ, the competitive toughness, that's what NFL teams bet on. And so somewhere in the top 50, top 60, I think Miller's gonna come off the board and team's gonna feel good about him being a starting right tackle for them.
- [60:49]
Dave
Did you say he broke his wrist and missed one practice?
- [60:53]
Dane Brugler
Yeah, it was, it was during spring, so it's not like it was mid season, but still he. And he had surgery and he missed one practice.
- [61:01]
Dave
So I mean even if it was just spring, I assume there were more practices after the, that.
- [61:06]
Dane Brugler
Yeah, he had, he had the surgery. So, you know, he gets a pass for missing the practice for surgery and then he's right back out there with, you know, the cast on and ready to go like that, that, that, that's the way this guy's wired. And I, that is not as if.
- [61:19]
Dave
You don't need your wrist to play tackle. Like you're immediately like punching guys with that thing like a day later. That sounds.
- [61:26]
Dane Brugler
His, his hands are a big part of his success. I mean he's got those big thudding hands and that's, that's the way he plays. So, so I, he is wired in the way that will endear him to NFL coaches, especially offensive line coaches.
- [61:39]
Dave
Football players. Psychopaths.
- [61:41]
Dane Brugler
Yeah, they are. And sometimes you gotta be to compensate for other areas. And that's what this guy is. He's not a perfect player. But the way he plays, the demeanor, the temperament, that helps mask some of those other issues that, that every player has.
- [61:58]
Dave
Is there anybody else who you feel like we haven't highlighted that you would like to talk about? I got one or two others, but I might as well throw it to you.
- [62:08]
Dane Brugler
You know, I think gave a nice little bump to Kyle Lewis, the pit linebacker who I went into Senior bowl week really curious about because you like the athlete. Another guy where football characters off the charts was really productive in 2024, 2025. A little bit of a drop off, but still a productive guy. Guy. But what was he? And we talked about him, you know, in our Senior bowl preview in our wrap up. What was he going to be? And I, I just feel better about his coverage ability after seeing him up close and personal at the com or at the Senior Bowl. So gave him a nice little bump, you know, a couple guards that I think are being a little underrated right now. Jalen Farmer from Kentucky, a Florida transfer who started every game the last two years at guard for, for the Wildcats. Big physical, he loves to finish. I think that he's a, a good athlete for that size. Really long player. So Jalen Farmer's in there and then Billy Shroud from Notre Dame who was a big recruiting win for, for the Irish. He was actually like Marcus Freeman was announced as head coach, had his press conference and that same day he got on a plane to go make sure he had Billy locked up in that recruiting class. And he, he's, I think he's over overlooked a little bit because he missed the second Half of this year with, I think it was an MCL sprain in his knee. But if Notre Dame made the playoff, he was coming back for it. And so I don't think that we're worried long term about durabilities. It's just. Okay, I need you to stay on the field. And you know, I think last year was an ankle or 20, 24 is an ankle. He missed four games. This year was the knee, so. But Billy Shroud, when he's on the field, it looks the way it's supposed to look. There's, there's some Wyatt Teller there with Billy Shroud.
- [63:54]
Dave
Ralph Speaking of Notre Dame, I met Jeremiah Love at the Super Bowl.
- [63:59]
Dane Brugler
Oh, yeah.
- [64:00]
Dave
I mean, I was already really impressed with him, but came away even more so. And he, he also, on top of just being awesome in his own right and seems like a super cool guy, he gave me an awesome scouting report of Jadarian Price as well. I'm sure we'll have that up on the athletic YouTube channel at some point. But could. He could probably go into scouting if he wanted to. He had it all hammered down.
- [64:26]
Dane Brugler
Well, I'm glad you brought up the running backs. There's only three.
- [64:29]
Dave
That's where I was. That's, that's why I was going to ask you about this. So you've got Love3 and Jadarian Price51, which is not surprising at all. I don't see my guy, Jonah Coleman on here, which hurt my feelings.
- [64:42]
Dane Brugler
Couldn't do it.
- [64:43]
Dave
So your third guy comes in at 92 overall, and that's Emmett Johnson out of Nebraska, which I would love to know more.
- [64:54]
Dane Brugler
Yeah, I mean, he was the Big Ten running back of the year. Had almost 1500 rushing yards. You know, he was, he kind of waited his turn in that offense and so it was like very little, very little. And then this year he just exploded, kind of emerged as the guy. And he's explosive laterally. You see the footwork in the vision, how he ties it together. Together. He's really good at pressing the line, setting up those open field defenders. And I just what he offers as a pass catcher as well, I think that's going to help him. So if you're looking for, you know, like, I, whether it's a Tony Pollard or, you know, like, I don't, I don't think he's going to be a true bell cow type of back, but I, you add him to the, to the mix and he's going to give you that versatility as a, as a change of pace. Option but a valuable change of pace option because he's, he's quick, he's balanced and he catches the ball well. So he's going to stack cuts on cuts on cuts and be a productive player. So yeah, I was, I was glad that, you know, I, when I finished stacking the top 100 that he was in there because I think that first of all it would be pretty shocking if only two running backs, especially two from the same program, went in the top 100. But I think with what he did this year, what he put on on tape, he deserves to be in that top 100 conversation.
- [66:15]
Dave
46 catches on top of 1400 rushing yards, which is a. Not an unusual amount of receiving production, but an impressive amount. Like if you're looking to see if a guy. Yeah.
- [66:30]
Dane Brugler
All FBS running backs this year, number two in catches. So yeah, it's it, it is a lot for sure. And he didn't d. There weren't many drops. He only had one fumble. So he handles the ball really well.
- [66:41]
Dave
I'm curious how much like if you're making a top 100, like how much further did you go? Like how many guys were on the cusp when it was all said and done?
- [66:53]
Dane Brugler
I. There were, you know, probably 15, 20 guys like Tyler Onam from Texas A and M. I hated leaving him off the defensive tackle. I think he's a good player. Dion Burks from Oklahoma was one that, that I, Some people are high on. I just, I struggle with him. He's small, he's gonna, he's gonna blaze at the four in the 40 at the combine. He might be like low four threes, like 4, 3, 1. He's got that type of juice in him where. Why didn't we see better production on the field and part of it at Oklahoma offense we've talked about with Mater and just the way that things went, but I struggled to get him in the, in the top 100. I, I see him more as an early day three type of player, so I think that might be surprising for some. Jalen Kilgore, you know who we talked about as kind of that next guy out of South Carolina. I, I've got more of a fourth round grade on him. Aiden Fisher, the Indiana linebacker. I hated leaving him off. I. A lot of Indiana players make. Made it. He just missed for me, Sam Hesh, the center from Kansas State. So yeah, I mean there's could have easily just stretched this out and done a top 150 or 200, but gotta cut it off at some point. And yeah, this.
- [68:12]
Jennifer
This.
- [68:12]
Dane Brugler
I won't be surprised if. If I update this in a month after the combine, you know, maybe looks a little bit different.
- [68:18]
Dave
I was gonna say you got plenty of time to. To revise it or add to it or agonize. And, yeah, agonize is a good word. I can see the stress that it puts on you. But we do appreciate it. The NFL combine in Indianapolis is the next milestone. I'm sure you'll have plenty of data points to tweak when we get out of that. Before we get to it, though, we will have a preview. We'll be back in your feed in two weeks. Looking at the combine, who's going, who to know? During the workouts, Dane's always really good at letting you know who got snubbed. I'm sure we can go over that as well. Plenty coming your way. We're taking next week off.
- [68:56]
Dane Brugler
Off.
- [68:57]
Dave
But, yes, we will have another episode for y' all heading into the NFL combine, and plenty more content coming out of that as we move closer toward the NFL draft. Until then, thanks, Dane, for all the hard work you put in. You made my life very easy. And we will talk to y' all soon.
- [69:28]
Jennifer
Are you really buying a car online on Autotrader right now? Really? At a playground? Yeah, really? Look at these listings from dealers. Wow, your search can really get that specific. Really? And you just put in your info and boom. Cars in your budget. Mom needs a second, honey. You can really have it delivered. Really? Or I can pick it up at the dealership. One sec, sweetie. Mommy's buying a car.
- [69:50]
Dane Brugler
Mommy.
- [69:51]
Jennifer
I think your kid is walking up the slide, Kyle.
- [69:53]
Dane Brugler
Again?
- [69:54]
Dave
Really?
- [69:54]
Jennifer
Autotrader.
- [69:55]
Dane Brugler
Buy your car online.
- [69:57]
Jennifer
Really? Imagine the merging of trusted intelligence into a unified experience. Imagine collaboration amongst teams and across continents. Imagine an empowered ecosystem designed to deliver actionable insights that inspire growth and sustainability. That's the power of the Connect industrial intelligence platform. To help you see further, innovate faster, accomplish more. That's the connect effect. Learn more@thatstheconnecteffect.com here's how to stay alive.
- [70:28]
Dave
Longer so you can enjoy Boost Mobile's unlimited plan with a price that never goes up. Do not mistake a wasp nest for a pinata. Stay alive and switch now at boost mobile. After 30 gigs, customers may experience lower speeds. Customers will pay 25amonth as long as they remain active on the Boost Mobile unlimited plan.