Lots to Say: Mini Camps Underway and NFL Analyst Bucky Brooks

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Bobby Bones Show – "Lots to Say: Mini Camps Underway and NFL Analyst Bucky Brooks"

Date: May 6, 2026
Host: Bobby Bones
Guests/Co-hosts: Matt Castle, Kevin, Bucky Brooks
Theme: This episode dives into NFL rookie minicamps, behind-the-scenes stories from NFL and college football, the changing landscape with NIL and draft trends, and a lively interview with NFL Network’s Bucky Brooks. The episode blends personal stories, football analysis, and candid advice for players at all levels.

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Main Theme & Purpose

The episode kicks off with Bobby Bones and Matt Castle reflecting on personal parenting tales before shifting gears into the world of NFL rookie minicamps: what new players experience, the subtle hierarchies among rookies, and the critical skills needed to transition from college to pro. The conversation then gets expert reinforcement with guest Bucky Brooks, who shares insights on the current draft class, team-building philosophies, coaching culture, and the role of NIL in today’s game.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Personal Stories: Parenting, Youth Sports, and Troubled Teen Tales

(00:51 – 13:08)

• Bobby Bones’ New Dad Life: Bobby jokes about finding a pacifier in his pocket and makes light of the adjustments his new child has brought to his work-life balance.
• Matt Castle’s Nostalgia: Reminisces about raising his daughter and contrasts the sweet moments of infancy with the wild teenage years.
  • "Every moment that you have...as they get a little bit older, every stage gets a little bit better." (Matt Castle, 01:59)
• Growing Pains and Troublemaking: Castle tells an engaging, self-deprecating story about being arrested as a teenager for “minor consuming alcohol,” sitting through a drug rehab class full of serious offenders, and narrowly dodging juvenile hall.
  • "I was 16, just turned 16, just got my license...they get to me, and I’m like, yeah, my name’s Matt Castle, and I was minor, consuming alcohol...They start cussing at me in all different languages and stuff." (Matt Castle, 06:58)
• Contrast with Bobby: Bobby laments that the most trouble he got into was buying and reading encyclopedias as a kid.

2. Early Sports Development and Parenting

(12:02 – 13:12)

• Discussion on spotting athletic talent in children and the trend toward early specialization.
  • "Probably was around 4 or 5 when you start to see that...they’ve got some hand eye coordination." (Matt Castle, 12:12)
• Bobby jokes about his baby running an "11-minute mile" at 7 weeks.

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3. Inside NFL Rookie Minicamp: Expectations, Hierarchies, and Struggles

(13:12 – 20:36)

• Freshman Orientation Analogy: Rookie minicamp feels like college freshman orientation; safety in numbers, shared nerves, but also a hierarchy based on draft status.
  • "It's also baptism by fire. They get you in there, they bring you into the locker room..." (Matt Castle, 13:40)
• Hierarchy Among Rookies: First-rounders get subtle perks/status, but everyone’s equally overwhelmed by new systems and pace.
• Technical Adjustment: Discusses challenges for college QBs switching from shotgun to under-center snaps.
  • "So much of playing the quarterback position...is your footwork." (Matt Castle, 16:46)

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4. NIL Impact: NFL Rookies Taking Pay Cuts to Turn Pro

(18:31 – 22:55)

• Examples of college QBs (Diego Pavia, Carson Beck, Garrett Nussmeier, Cade Klubnik) making more in college through NIL than as day-three NFL rookies.
• Concerns about lack of guaranteed money in late-round rookie contracts.
• Emphasis on undistracted professionalism for rookies.
  • "That's always Belichick's thing: you should be seen but not heard as a rookie." (Matt Castle, 20:03)

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5. Featured Interview: Bucky Brooks on the Draft, Team Building, Minicamp, and More

(23:56 – 48:02)

Notable Quotes & Segments

• Why Nussmeier Dropped to Round 7 (23:57)

  • "He certainly is not a guy that was viewed as a seventh round pick. When you check the consensus around the league…[but] you rather go to the right spot." (Bucky Brooks, 23:57)

• Draft Winners & Questioned Teams (24:39)

  • Praises the New York Giants and Cleveland Browns for smart draft moves and culture building.
  • Questions about Jacksonville, 49ers picks, but notes draft grades are subjective until players prove themselves.

• Rookie QBs: To Start or Not? (27:29)

  • Advice that even if sitting is ideal, the pressure almost always sees top picks play early.
  • "The only way you really get better is by playing...But once you put the quarterback out there, the noise is loud if he doesn't play well." (Bucky Brooks, 28:49)

• Patrick Mahomes & Injury (30:00)

  • Marvels at rapid injury recovery and urges caution. "It's going to be tough to stop him from playing...If [he] shows that he can protect himself." (Bucky Brooks, 30:00)

• Kansas City’s Offensive Line (30:36)

  • K.C. is betting on Mahomes and a big-time running back instead of overhauling line; running game must earn defensive respect.

• Winning Organizations: The Secret Sauce (32:25)

  • "Consistency is everything...complete alignment from top to bottom [GM, coach, scouts, players]...talent development is the secret." (Bucky Brooks, 32:25; 33:27)

• What Rookie Minicamp Actually Reveals (35:15)

  • Scouts just hope their picks "look like the guy they saw on tape"; teams focus on teaching fundamentals, not competition.

• Validated Drafts Take Time (39:09)

  • Proper time to evaluate a class is 2–3 years. “No free lunches. You have to be able to make a contribution…”

• NIL & Transfer Portal Impact (44:13)

  • Scouting is harder; must determine if kids love football or just love the fame/money of NIL.
  • "It's the difference between playing a boys game and a man's game." (Bucky Brooks, 45:37)

• Coaching High School: Full Circle (45:40)

  • Bucky Brooks shares coaching stories and how teaching football fundamentals to high schoolers with no prior experience is a "passion project."
  • "It is a completely different ball of wax…when you're the head guy." (Bucky Brooks, 46:41)
  • Fun banter about Matt Castle’s legendary high school career.

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6. Closing Roundtable: Training Camp QB Battles, College Choices & Rapid Fire

(48:18 – 54:06)

• Browns’ QB Situation (48:28)
  • Speculation over Deshaun Watson, Dylan Gabriel, and whether the Browns could end up back in the quarterback market.
• Anthony Richardson Trade Scenarios (49:23)
  • Best case: Go to a team with trusted QB developers (e.g., 49ers, Vikings) and become a professional backup to learn.
• Bobby’s Daughter and College Loyalty (50:58)
  • Humorous, heartfelt debate: Bobby is adamantly against his Arkansas-born daughter ever going to Texas.
  • "If there's a single piece of burnt orange clothing in my house. I'll burn the whole house down." (Bobby Bones, 53:47)

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Notable Quotes

• On the NFL learning curve and distraction avoidance:
  "You should be seen but not heard as a rookie." (Matt Castle, 20:03)

• On the difference between being a pro and college/NIL star:
  "It's the difference between playing a boys game and a man's game. The league is about men." (Bucky Brooks, 45:37)

• On the time it takes to judge a draft:
  "It takes two to three years to really know if people can play." (Bucky Brooks, 39:21)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:51 – Parenting stories, Castle’s “Scared Straight” moment, trouble with the law
• 12:02 – Early signs of athletic talent in kids
• 13:12 – What rookie NFL minicamp is actually like
• 16:46 – Why under center is so tough for shotgun QBs
• 18:31 – Rookie QBs making less than in college
• 20:03 – "Be seen not heard" rookie advice
• 23:56 – Interview begins: Bucky Brooks joins
• 27:29 – When to start rookie QBs
• 32:25 – What winning organizations do differently
• 35:15 – What teams look for in rookie minicamp
• 44:13 – NIL makes scouting harder
• 45:40 – Bucky’s high school coaching and city section stories
• 48:18 – Who starts at QB for the Browns in camp?
• 49:23 – Where should Anthony Richardson go to resurrect his career?
• 50:58 – Bobby on whether he’d let his daughter go to Texas

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Memorable Moments

• Matt Castle’s Arrest Tale: Castle’s surprising brush with the law as a teen is both hilarious and cautionary.
• Hair-dyed Rookie Debate: Lighthearted ridicule about Diego Pavia’s attention-grabbing blonde hair, with sincere advice for rookies to fly under the radar.
• Bucky’s “man’s game” line: Sharp wisdom about the difference between college and NFL mental toughness.
• Bobby’s Arkansas Loyalty: The running gag of Bobby refusing, under any circumstance, to let his daughter go to Texas.

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Summary

This episode offers a blend of comic personal storytelling and expert NFL analysis. Listeners get both locker-room insight and homegrown advice about parenting, sports, and life in the NFL—from first minicamp jitters to nuanced draft evaluation, with plenty of laughs, wisdom, and sports talk in between. Bucky Brooks’ guest segment deepens the conversation with up-to-date draft takes, practical scouting wisdom, and thoughtful discussion on how NIL and culture affect player development.

Recommended for: Fans wanting a dose of sports analysis and relatable life stories; anyone curious about the NFL rookie experience, draft dynamics, or how today’s football landscape is changing.

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Transcript

[Bobby Bones]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Bucky Brooks]

Guaranteed Human.

[Matt Castle]

And, Doug, there's nowhere I wouldn't go to help someone customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual, even if it means sitting front row at a comedy show.

[Bobby Bones]

Hey, everyone, check out this guy and his bird. What is this, your first date?

[Matt Castle]

Oh, no. We help people customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual together. We're married.

[Bobby Bones]

Me to a human, him to a bird. Yeah, the bird looks out of your league.

[Matt Castle]

Anyways, get a [e-mail] or with your local agent.

[Bobby Bones]

Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Lots to say with Bobby Bones and Matt Castle is a production of the NFL and iHeart podcasts. We got lots to say. We got lots to say?

[Bucky Brooks]

We're glad you're here and we hope you stay?

[Bobby Bones]

Cause we got lots to say. Yeah, we got lots to say. Now here's Bobby. And I reached in my pocket just now. I have a pacifier in my pocket. Like, right as the song was playing, I was like, oh, no, My wife probably brought two, but we were coming up here today. I try now to leave when I do the radio show. We work there all morning. And most of the time, I would just go from there and drive over here, not go home. But now that we have a baby, I try to go home for a little bit of time. 30, 45 minutes, just help the wife out or at least be there to support her if she needs it. And she will walk the baby around in that carrier. The baby loves sleeping in the carrier. And. And so she was like, I'm gonna go walk. She goes, I'll go walk around your new studio.

[Matt Castle]

Right?

[Bobby Bones]

And so I was like, great. I said, well, I don't think any of the guys ever met the baby before either. And so we just had her in here.

[Matt Castle]

Oh, my gosh. You talk about Precious and the head of hair and those cheeks and her eyes are open. I mean, I remember those stages. There's nothing better other than maybe the sleep time and when she's a little cranky.

[Bobby Bones]

So is there really nothing better or is that just what you say?

[Matt Castle]

Cause at that moment time, at that moment, every. Every moment that you have, as they get a little bit older, every stage gets a little bit better. But it is one of those that I look back now, and I've got a 16. She's going to turn 16 this week. And it feels like it was just yesterday that she was in my arms and I was holding her and she's falling asleep. Like, you miss those days, but you also are able to put outside your mind that some of them are torturous just because of the strain of putting them to sleep, of the eating patterns and everything else. But yeah, soak it in, brother.

[Bobby Bones]

Because what sounds fun is when you talk about your son hitting home runs and you're like, you cry. Knocked it. I'm like, that sounds like it gets better.

[Matt Castle]

That was awesome.

[Bobby Bones]

That's what I'm saying.

[Matt Castle]

That was awesome. But you also have, as your girls grow up, as your boys grow up, they hit a stage when they're not that little kid that wants to come up and you're their world and you're their superman. They want to hug on you and cuddle with you. Instead they're like, hey, dad, look, when we get to school, just let's put up the windows, turn down the music, and just make sure you don't embarrass me. Okay? So it's a different, it's a different mode of operation. As they get a little bit older and they start to get a little independence, you, you see that innocence start to leave a little bit.

[Bobby Bones]

Does it make you wish that you'd have been nicer to your parents in that 15, 16, 17 year old phase?

[Matt Castle]

Oh, I was a hellion. Starting at 12 years old, we used to go egg cars. We used to do all the different bad stuff that kids did back then. And I remember getting in trouble all the time and my parents would ground me. I was like, gosh, like I, I, it didn't register to me that I was just a deviant at that time. But looking back, I was like, I can't believe my parents didn't just send me off to boarding school.

[Bobby Bones]

Did you ever get in any real trouble as a kid? Like I get arrested for something like don't exit cars or.

[Matt Castle]

I didn't, I didn't get arrested. So we were at a Dodger stadium game and I was with three of my buddies. I wasn't even driving. And we picked up some beer beforehand, drank some beer, went to the game. And we're leaving Dodger Stadium. We missed the first entry point on the freeway. So we had go down and we're in Echo park and there was this guy walking down the street, his pants were sagging like down past his, past his butt. And I of course puts the window down, says, hey, where you from? Like that, just messing around because I knew we were in the turn lane. Well, of course, as I'm yelling out at this dude, a cop is pulling through the intersection. You could kind of see him start to Break lights. And I was like, reggie, go. This is my buddy who's driving. So we get up, we're about two miles, and I think we're in the clear. Next thing I know, sirens hit, pull off to the side of the road. They instruct us to go turn around the block. And it's like a movie scene. It's like the lights are flickering, dark desolate alley. And there's three cops in this car. They get out and pull their guns

[Bobby Bones]

on the car because they didn't know what.

[Matt Castle]

Because they were. I came to find out they're a gang crash unit or something like that. So we have to put our hands out the car. We're walking backwards for them. They tackle me, put me in handcuffs and put me by the car.

[Bobby Bones]

No way.

[Matt Castle]

Yes. So. So they then all of a sudden bring my buddies out. None of them get handcuffed or thrown to the ground or anything like that. They get lined up, they find the beer, they make them throw it out. And the guys are coming up to me, is this going to be your first night in juvie hall? I was like, what? What did I do exactly that was so bad. But I think that they're just proving a point, helping me learn a lesson. Long story short, after all this goes on, they let those guys get back in car. And I really do. At this point, I'm convinced that they're taking me into juvie hall. Like, I'm like, what is going on? Finally, the guy undoes my handcuffs.

[Bobby Bones]

I can't believe you're a handcuff, by the way.

[Matt Castle]

That's crazy.

[Bobby Bones]

That's crazy.

[Matt Castle]

For 15 minutes. And I was sitting in red ants, and I told the cop and he says, oh, just shut the up. I was like, oh, God, dude, I'm in serious trouble. Long story short, minor consuming alcohol. Give me a ticket. We go home, I go to the court date, it's in Echo Park. Walk in, and I think I'm going to get to give my sob story wrong element of guys this. And these guys are all my best buds, but I had to throw them under a bus to get out of trouble. Didn't get to say a word. This old guy looks at me and goes, okay, minor consuming alcohol, your license is suspended for a year. You have to pay $350. You have to go to a drug rehabilitation class. Drug rehabilitation cost. Guess where that is in Echo Park. I go in, there's 10 people at a like, round table. First thing you have to do is introduce yourself and tell them why you're There. I mean, first dude gets up, says, my name's this, that, and the other. I took PCP and stole a car. Next guy says, I had an armed robbery while I was on. Dude, I was 16, just turned 16, just got my license. So they're going around this room, and these dudes look hardcore. I mean, you talk about, like, the tear drop tattoo necks. I mean, they look the part. And then they get to my. Who wore, like, a polo shirt? Trying to think that. Polo shirt and, like, khaki shorts. And the next thing you know, they get to me, and I'm like, yeah, my name's Matt Castle, and I was minor, consuming alcohol, and that's why I'm here. And they start cussing at me in all different languages and stuff. We literally had to sit there the entire day. I don't think one of the conversations was about alcohol abuse. It was all about what these hardcore drugs. Heroin, coke, this, the trade, what it does, how it impacts you. And I just was sitting there sucking my thumb.

[Bobby Bones]

Were you scared straight?

[Matt Castle]

I was very scared. I was like, wow. Never thought having a few pops before Dodger game was going to get me in this situation, but you could only imagine how. How fulfilled my mom was at that point.

[Bobby Bones]

Because she liked that you went through that hardcore.

[Matt Castle]

No, she hated the fact that I did even got to that point, that I was stup enough to be in a car and doing all that. So she's like, yeah, you. You actually get with. You deserve.

[Bobby Bones]

But yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Matt Castle]

I had to have my mom drive me to the class.

[Bobby Bones]

Because you didn't have license for a year.

[Matt Castle]

For a whole year. They literally just said, I just got my license.

[Bobby Bones]

Because you yelled at a dude.

[Matt Castle]

Because I yelled at a dude.

[Bobby Bones]

And then. But then you had. You had been drinking.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah, I think they would have let me go if they didn't find any beer or anything like that, but because I fessed up when they found the Coors light in the back of the car and they made him throw it out. They're like, all right, be serious. Were you. Were you guys drinking? I was like, well, I only had two or three beers. This and the other. And he's like, all right, mine are consuming alcohol. Boom.

[Bobby Bones]

Did any of your other friends get in trouble at all?

[Matt Castle]

Not at all, dude. I was even driving. I mean, nobody got in trouble. Everybody.

[Bobby Bones]

You weren't driving. No fights. You just said. You just admitted it. Would you. If you were to go back, would you say, nope, I hadn't been drinking?

[Matt Castle]

I think I was so Frazzled at that point. Being handcuffed and tackled. I can't believe you're here. And put by the car and being threatened with juvie hall that. I was like, man, I'm just gonna tell you. Yeah, I'm innocent. Other than I had a few beers

[Bobby Bones]

and so the handcuffing thing's wild. I've never been handcuffed anybody.

[Kevin]

Yeah, One time.

[Bobby Bones]

Really?

[Kevin]

Yeah. Kevin.

[Bobby Bones]

Yes.

[Kevin]

Yeah.

[Matt Castle]

What'd you do?

[Kevin]

Short story of it is got in a fight with a few friends. Cops showed up, we all took off, and I'm running and running, and all of a sudden, the cop was chasing me. And then I hear, as I'm hopping a wall, I hear him say, you know, get down. I got a taser pointed right at you.

[Matt Castle]

That would have been awesome if you got tasered.

[Bobby Bones]

Did he. Did he have one eye?

[Kevin]

As soon as he said that, I said, I'm done. I'm coming down. So I did not want to get tasered at the top of a fence, so I came down and then sat in handcuffs on the. On the curb waiting for them to do all their work. I didn't get in trouble, but I did get handcuffed. Just never got taken in or anything.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah.

[Bobby Bones]

What did they tell you when they let you go?

[Kevin]

They're just that basically, I was probably about Castle's age 16. They basically said, just stop being an idiot. And they arrested one of my buddies, cuz he's the one that got in the fight, and he drove off and got a dui. But everyone else, they just kind of let us go have our parents come pick us up, and we were good to go.

[Bobby Bones]

He had to call your parents, though. Oh, yeah.

[Kevin]

A couple times. Had to do that.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah.

[Bobby Bones]

How'd that go?

[Kevin]

Not fun. No, no. The silent treatment is what I got on the way home.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah, I just got a good, you know, verbal lashing. And it just so happened that before the court date, I was driving my brother over to his girlfriend's house, and I was speeding. 54 and a 40 get pulled over. I remember we were. We had a VW bug that I was driving, and the cop pulls up. Well, my mom hadn't, unfortunately, had not done the insurance recently, so we. I didn't have insurance, and I had a paper license that the other license hadn't come to our new house yet. So he's told me, well, you're driving without a. You're driving with an expired license and you don't have proper insurance. We're going to impound Your car? I had to walk down to the McDonald's and call my mom from a pay phone and tell her, hey, Mom, I know, I just got that other thing. But also, your car just got impounded.

[Bobby Bones]

Wait, so they ended up impounding the car?

[Matt Castle]

They impounded it?

[Bobby Bones]

I thought they were threatening you. I didn't know they actually impounded it.

[Matt Castle]

I literally had to sit at the McDonald's of my older brother. Dude, I thought that was a threat. No, literally impounded the car, took it, and I watched it get on the tow truck and leave. And I was just like, oh, my God, I'm in so much trouble. I couldn't do anything for months.

[Bobby Bones]

I'm jealous of those stories. I'm sure at the time it wasn't fun. But you know what I did as a kid?

[Matt Castle]

I read books.

[Bobby Bones]

That's what I did. And I don't have good stories. I'd love to hop in and be like, oh, you'll never believe it. One time I was climbing the fence, we were burglarizing the house. And I don't have any of that. I got nothing. I bought encyclopedias one at a time at the grocery store and read them.

[Kevin]

Yeah, they're funny now, but you definitely

[Matt Castle]

have the time at the time. Yeah. You're just sitting there going, oh, boy, this is not good.

[Bucky Brooks]

Yeah.

[Matt Castle]

So there was quite a few of crazy stories growing up where I was just like, I can't believe I did that. And then I think about my kids, and I can't imagine any of my children being in those type of situations. A lot of other situations that I was in when I was that age.

[Bobby Bones]

But could your parents have imagined you in those situations?

[Matt Castle]

Probably not. They probably gave me too much credit for being a good kid, which, overall, I'd say I was a good kid. Just had a wild side. And there was a lot of opportunities to go off the reservation.

[Bobby Bones]

One other kid question. When did you know, like, your girls were going to be athletes not because they wanted to, but because you would notice hand, eye coordination or speed, et cetera?

[Matt Castle]

That's a great question. It probably was around 4 or 5 when you start to see that, oh, they can catch a ball, or they. You'd put out the little plastic golf ball and see if they could hit a golf ball or do anything like that. And that's when you kind of started to see, oh, they've got some hand eye coordination now. You really don't know until they grow up a little bit more, where you start to see them compete against other Kids, because so much of this now is specialized. Like there's kids getting private lessons at 7, 8, 9 years old. Well, they'll accelerate early but it might cap out at a certain point and then maturity catches up to them. Right. But yeah, I think at a young age, probably four or five, you can tell that they've at least got a foundation of athleticism that's too long to wait.

[Bobby Bones]

They're thing that my baby now is 7 weeks old and she can just now do an 11 minute mile and so it's a little slow for us. We're going to get her a running coach.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah, yeah, get her running coach.

[Bobby Bones]

Yeah. Around 12 weeks. We expect the running coach to be. They're going to live with us.

[Matt Castle]

I really want fishing.

[Bobby Bones]

Yeah, I want this.

[Kevin]

Stay away from the hills, Flatland.

[Bobby Bones]

Okay, you talk football or no, let's talk some football. When you go to minicamp and everybody is a rookie, is that like freshman orientation?

[Matt Castle]

Absolutely.

[Bobby Bones]

Because you know, we went to college and it felt a little safer because everybody else with me was a freshman and we all knew we were going to get pounded later or it was going to all the upper. But it was just like safety with the other freshmen. You're all learning but it's a little nerve wracking. But you're like, okay, there's no seniors or anything here. Is that what rookie mini camp is like?

[Bucky Brooks]

Yes.

[Matt Castle]

And it's also baptism by fire. They get you in there, they bring you into the locker room and in New England where we were, they bring in temporary lockers and I think I told you this before, so if you're a rookie, you get a temporary locker amongst all the vets lockers and at that time in New England when you'd walk in and you'd see Teddy Brusky, Mike Vrabel, Willie McGinnis, Richard Seymour, Rodney Harrison, Tom Brady, you can go down the list and you're just a little bit intimidated by the moment. But like you said, they're not there yet. So as rookies you kind of have this natural bond all coming in together and they even bring in free agents as well. And some of the guys that were veterans that maybe are going in their second year that were on practice squad to fill up kind of the practice space so you can get out there and run drills and then from there it's jump right into meetings. You have Belichick obviously come do an introductory speech, what the expectation level is this, that and the other and then it's jump right into if you're on the offensive side of the ball. We're going to do an install now. It's very minimal, but it's a foundational approach to look, this is what we're going to run, this is what we're going to do. And then you go out, do drills and then you get into team period and you're just kind of. You're rolling. You're hoping that you retained enough information over these meetings and understand a little bit conceptually what they're trying to achieve, that you go out and have a little bit of success. But it's much, much different the moment those veterans step in at rookie minicamp.

[Bobby Bones]

Is it an understood hierarchy, though, of the first round, second round, third round draft picks versus the free agents, the later round picks?

[Matt Castle]

To a certain extent. I mean, because usually when you all come in as rookies, they draft to needs and wants, and a lot of times those needs were. It could be an offensive lineman. Logan Menken. Menken's our guard, all pro, maybe potential hall of Famer, was our first round pick. We had a guy, Alice Hobbs, who was a cornerback. So we had a bunch of different guys from different positions. And so you're not necessarily competing with them, but you also understand, hey, this guy's got status, he's a good player, he's a first rounder. Like Logan was my roommate in camp, so we would, we'd hang out all the time, but great guy. We were both on the same side of the ball. But they're also going through the same struggles because really it's about how much knowledge you can gain over these installs and how you're able to apply it. Because the biggest part of rookie minicamp is understanding the system and then getting a feel when you're watching the film of Tom Brady doing it, of how it's applied, right? And so you're. You just start that learning curve.

[Bobby Bones]

I was watching some of the Raiders camp and watching Fernando Mendoza, and I think one of the, I won't say struggle, but one of the things he's dealing with now is that he was in shotgun the whole time, right? And now he's having to be under center. I think around 75% is what they said. And it's so different for him that him and a rookie center or two are in the hotel away from the facility. Like they got all the reps into the facility, they got extra reps in, but they're just snapping the ball. Is it that different to take snaps under center when you've been just in shotgun for the last Couple years.

[Matt Castle]

It is because it's such a feel thing. And then also so much of playing the quarterback position, especially in the pass game, is your footwork. So when you're in the gun, say you have a three step under center, so you're taking three steps like in the short game and stuff like that. In the gun, it's usually a catch and gather. When you're throwing on rhythm on the outside, it could be a speed out on the outside or what we call a stop route. 9 yards, turn around and the ball should be out, but it's five in rhythm, let the ball go. And so, so much of that, if you haven't done it a lot, is a. That is very difficult to just try to pick up and start at that point. Now, I'm sure he's been drilling it all off season, working up to this moment, but there is so many little nuances that happen under center in terms of timing and how you see the defense and how you have to be in rhythm, get from 1 to 2 to 3 and the hitches and everything else that take place with just the bottom half of your body. That is absolutely a huge adjustment for somebody that's only been in shotgun.

[Bobby Bones]

I think what I just learned from this is that my mind goes, well, they're just taking a lot of snaps and they haven't done that. It hasn't been about footwork to me, but it seems like that would be the biggest because you've learned none of that. It's not even about taking the snap or catching it from shotgun or being there and taking it from the center. It's literally about the footwork that you've never had to do.

[Matt Castle]

Right. And. And that's a lot of times that's muscle memory for guys that have done it for a long time. If you've never done it and you've only been in gun, then that transition, like I said, can be difficult at times, especially when you're doing it in live action for the first time.

[Bucky Brooks]

You just.

[Matt Castle]

How you even. You see the field, you're five yards away in the shotgun, you're under center, and now you're getting five to six yards away from center. It's just different.

[Bobby Bones]

Some of the guys, and I have four of them. A list of the top quarterbacks from this year's draft class who are taking a pay cut to go pro because of nil Diego Pavia, $2 million at Vandy last year. Now, his year one raven salary is 885, but none of his money is guaranteed Right.

[Matt Castle]

He's still got to make the team.

[Bobby Bones]

Yes. And now what these agents are doing is announcing like a three year deal when it's literally just if the team keeps you there, they have the ability to keep you for three years. No guaranteed money. So, yeah, he has no money. He does look small. He is small, but he does look. Do you guys see the videos? Yeah, he does look small.

[Bucky Brooks]

He does look small.

[Kevin]

Yeah, tiny.

[Bobby Bones]

He moves really well though. I don't think anyone questioned that.

[Matt Castle]

Right.

[Bobby Bones]

And I think if there was a system that he was going to be in and have a shot, it would be the system that he's in, which is why they chose him, which is Baltimore. Right, But. And his hair is blonde.

[Bucky Brooks]

Yes.

[Bobby Bones]

He's got a little.

[Kevin]

Yeah, like a old, like Eminem look.

[Matt Castle]

Oh, really? I bleached it.

[Bobby Bones]

If I were Diego Pavia, try to

[Matt Castle]

bring as much attention off of yourself.

[Bobby Bones]

That's exactly it. I'm doing everything possible to be as square. No attention. I'm not dying my hair. Everybody's, sir, yes, sir. I'm saying nothing unless I needs to be said. I'm trying to prove not just on the field, but off the field that I can be the person that people don't think I am. When I saw the blonde hair, it's screaming attention. It's. People are going to talk about that in the comments. I don't want the comments talking about anything other than, hey, this is a guy working hard.

[Matt Castle]

Right. And that's always Belichick's thing is you should be seen but not heard as a rookie. And that's part of it, is don't come in and be a distraction. You're a big personality, your big storyline anyway, just because of the success that you had in college. And everybody was like, is this guy going to get drafted? Heisman Trophy finalist, all those things and all those components. But at this point, you're starting at ground zero and you've got an uphill climb. So instead of doing anything that brings attention toward you other than you're on the field, productivity, I just think it works against you.

[Bobby Bones]

Yeah, it's. It's even less than ground zero. Like he's coming in with a reputation and you don't want a backup or a third string quarterback to get any attention, right? None. You don't want them to beat somebody. That the reporters are at their locker when the game is over because they'll be at Diego Pavia because he will be a distraction, like it or not, based on all the distracting things he did pre Ravens.

[Matt Castle]

Yes.

[Bobby Bones]

But then you dye your hair blonde. Who. Who is. Is not telling him because somebody's doing him wrong. Even if it's his mom, if it's his agent. And I was like, I don't have an.

[Bucky Brooks]

He doesn't.

[Bobby Bones]

He does have an agent or lawyer. Somebody's got to say, stop doing stuff that brings any attention to you. It's crazy. I couldn't believe it.

[Matt Castle]

It's just some of these guys just don't get it.

[Bobby Bones]

Carson Beck. And Carson Beck has a real shot to play.

[Matt Castle]

He does.

[Bobby Bones]

Yeah. Because, I mean, he was also drafted, what, round? Two or three, I believe.

[Matt Castle]

Three.

[Bobby Bones]

Three. He made 4 million with Miami. His year one salary is 1.3 million. Now, a lot of people go, well, why would they leave and make less money? Just in general. But it's not so much about what you're making year one year to year. It's getting to that second contract.

[Matt Castle]

Right. Your first contracts. Your first contract, even if you're the number one pick overall, you're going to make some money. It's the fifth year option. If they pick that up, you'll make some money there. But that's just a negotiating chip that you'll have in your back pocket to say, okay, I've done enough to where I'm going to get to the second contract. And that's where you break the bank.

[Bobby Bones]

Nuss Meyer made 4 million. LSU his year one salary if. Because I don't think he's guaranteed either. I couldn't believe the Saints didn't take him in like, round six or seven. Because his dad's the OC there.

[Matt Castle]

Right. I. I'm sure that that is an interesting dynamic to have your dad be the OC and then you draft your son.

[Bobby Bones]

Round seven, though, and he's.

[Matt Castle]

That's true.

[Bobby Bones]

And Nuss Meyer was good. He was hurt last year.

[Matt Castle]

Right.

[Bobby Bones]

You know, they say his interviews turned off a lot of people. I don't even know if that's true.

[Kevin]

Right.

[Bobby Bones]

People say all kinds of stuff.

[Matt Castle]

Right.

[Bobby Bones]

But he was a good quarterback. He was hurt a good quarterback all last year. I just would have thought maybe his dad's like, come on, just save him, man. We can, we can, we can cut him, but just pick him. It's embarrassing for him and Kate Club Nick From Clemson made 2.1 million and he's with the jets for 1.2 million. I think any warm body on the jets, even if you're not a quarterback, has the opportunity to win the quarterback job.

[Matt Castle]

No doubt.

[Bucky Brooks]

Yeah.

[Bobby Bones]

You can be a defensive Lineman, you could win the quarterback.

[Matt Castle]

That's why the Jets.

[Bobby Bones]

Yeah, it's wide open.

[Matt Castle]

It's wide open for sure.

[Bobby Bones]

All right, we're take a break and we will come back with the wonderful, super intelligent Bucky Brooks. Hey, let's welcome in Bucky Brooks, NFL Network analyst, former NFL player, former scout, one of the best voices in football when it comes to draft roster building, team philosophy. Bucky also co hosts the Move the Sticks podcast with Daniel Jeremiah, so make sure to check that out. We've talked about that podcast a bunch, even with Daniel. Bucky, we appreciate you. I want to start with something I was talking about with the guys a second ago and kind of random, but we were talking about Garrett Nussmeier, and I was like, round seven, maybe his dad would draft him. Round six, maybe his dad would draft him, like, just throw him a lifeline. Why didn't Nussmeier go any earlier?

[Bucky Brooks]

You know, it's such a weird thing sometimes. The draft has weird ebbs and flows where a player that you have rated much higher just happens to be sitting there in the seventh round. And sometimes it can take one or two random decisions by someone that's picking ahead of you to kind of change your focus for a minute. But I'll say this, he certainly is not a guy that was viewed as a seventh round pick. When you check the consensus around the league, to me, and I think this is true of all former players, if you ask them, would you rather go higher, go to the right spot? You rather go to the right spot? And I think for him, he might have landed in the best landing spot in terms of his own individual development and how it can play out and really help his career going forward.

[Matt Castle]

Bucky, now that the dust is settled, who would you say were some of the big winners in this year's draft? And maybe a few teams that you'd think you'd consider them losers.

[Bucky Brooks]

Yeah, that's tough. I would say this. I would think the first team off the rip that people are talking about would be the New York Giants. And I think this is part of a bigger thing where they've kind of made over their team from a cultural standpoint, inside out. One, you get a coach in John Harbaugh, who has done this for a long time. He's been a Super bowl champion. He's probably motivated, given some of the noise that came out of Baltimore when he left. You look at the players that they were able to pick in the draft, you think about R.V. reese coming over, Francis Malanoa helping Them out on the front line, they get Colton Hood who is a terrific player on the corner and then even Malachi feels their third round pick should be someone that helps you think about what they have defensively. They have a dominant defense in the works that gives them a chance to make one of those jumps into the playoffs. I think the Cleveland Browns also deserve to be celebrated. The job that Andrew Berry and his staff did, bringing it over to KC Concepcion, having Spencer for no those first two picks but then EMW Emmanuel McNeil, Warren coming over and giving them kind of some juice in the back end and some of the picks that they took later that I absolutely love Joe Warrior, the tight end from Cincinnati who was a transfer to Ohio State. I think he gives them another playmaker to work around. They have two tight ends that he took this year. And then let's talk about Taylor Green, six round pick, super athletic, does a bunch of things that can make it happen. I think the guys, the teams that people have said losers, I don't really refer to them as that. I would say some are questioning. I would say obviously the. The team that people always talking about is the Jacksonville Jaguars. I'm close to that situation so I understood what their intent was. They would tell you that they're trying to find Duvall DNA cultural fits. And so they took a tight end in the second round that many people didn't have at that point. But if you look at the draft, there's a run on tight ends that went right after that. And so that's one. I think when you go and look at The San Francisco 49ers, that's another one that has been questioned. People talk about why would you take Stribling at the top of the second round? He wasn't viewed that high even though I had a bunch of people tell me that he was going within the next 10 picks. They take a running back, Kim Black, who some people didn't favor. So the thing about all of this, it's all subjective until we see him play. The one thing that we never know on our side is what is the plan to utilize them, what were they looking to do, what are they looking to become as a team and how does that player fit into the fabric of what they do. All those things kind of matter more than when the players are picked and how they're picked. But I would say there's certainly some controversial or some questionable picks that were taken that have been the conversation. Here we are a week and a half, two weeks past the draft.

[Bobby Bones]

How do you feel about the Raiders quarterback situation and how does that decision get made? As in, you got a great rookie, when does he play? Does it depend on how good the Raiders are playing?

[Bucky Brooks]

Yeah. No. That's interesting because we go all the way back to number one overall pick. As much as we talk about the quarterback development in the league and how it is always better when they sit, we haven't seen one since. Since I think Carson Palmer 2004. Like that just doesn't. It just doesn't happen in our league. Not a number one overall. Now, if Kirk Cousins can play and play well, look as to Fernando Mendoza's benefit, if he can sit and kind of just slowly acclimate to the game. Kirk Cousins had his best seasons of his career under Clay Kubiak, first as a quarterback coach, then as a bit of an offensive coordinator when Kevin o' Connell was there. That said, the natives are restless when it comes to wanting to see the number one overall pick. I think a lot of it would depend on Fernando Mendoza. If I am the Raiders, I'm giving him a heavy workload in preseason, enjoying practices to see how he handles it. And if he shows us that he can handle it, he's going to play sooner rather than later regardless of what Kirk Cousins does.

[Matt Castle]

Are you one of those people that believe that starting a quarterback maybe before they're ready is the right approach, or do you feel like it's just the nature of the beast at this point?

[Bucky Brooks]

I would say normally the player in me will say like, the only way you really get better is by playing. But I also know that once you put the quarterback out there, the noise is loud if he doesn't play well. And I would say the difference now is we don't give young guys, young quarterbacks, an opportunity to grow through their struggles. And if it's so overwhelming early, it's not about him losing confidence or the team losing confidence in him. The noise is so loud that do you have the. The gravitas to just stick with the process and say, hey man, it doesn't worry. We're not worried about what it looks like now. We're worried about down the line. Most people don't have that, so you kind of want them to be ready to go. And if you could put him in more of a managerial role where, look, the team around him is good, he doesn't have to throw it 30 times, you can kind of ease him into it. But that's pie in the sky stuff. Once they play, the clock is on because everyone is going to make A judgment right away if he can or if he can't play.

[Bobby Bones]

Internet's trickling a little bit about Patrick Mahomes and his health. Seems like he may be pretty healthy. Like if so Adrian Peterson style.

[Bucky Brooks]

You think he plays early and it's like science is amazing to think about like tearing the ACL and they're talking about him being ready for minicamp. That's bananas. I would not put him on the rush to get on the field. I would really try to help him help himself, like protect him from himself so he doesn't go out there too soon. But I know this. It's going to be tough to stop him from playing. If Pastor Mahomes one shows that he can protect himself, he can run around and do the things that he needs to do at the position. And if he is adamant about playing, it's going to be hard for the Chiefs to keep him on the sideline.

[Matt Castle]

Talking about Kansas City, they went heavy defense in this draft. Do you have any concerns that they didn't address that offensive line from last year?

[Bucky Brooks]

Yeah, I mean I know that was a big thing. A lot of us had talked about right tackle being a concern, particularly after they let Juwan Taylor go. I think for the Chiefs is this. They probably believe internally Patrick Mahomes and a big time running back solves a lot of their issues. If we really pinpoint the offensive struggles one, you lost the ability to push the ball down to the field when Tyree kill left. But part of the reason we really lost that is because the running game doesn't force the defense to respect it. So all those teams that are playing too high looks, they didn't have a runner good enough to force them out. The look and that's no disrespect to Isaiah Pacheco or Kareem Hunt and those other guys that played it. If Kenneth Walker is effective enough on the ground, then it changes the way the defenses play them and either they're going to get run through where Kenneth Walker is going to chew up a hundred yard, a bunch of 100 yard games or they gonna drop somebody in the box and now you get the one on one coverage on the outside that you want. To me this is about Eric B. Enemy and Andy Reid being committed enough to the running game to force defenses to make tough decisions on. Would we rather die a slow death or are we willing to like drop somebody down and say hey, we're not going to allow them to run all over us. In the past when teams would play that in their prime years, they would run it successfully up and down the field. Of late, they haven't been able to do it. And so people just sat back in that umbrella coverage.

[Bobby Bones]

You've been able to do it on different levels, player scout, analysts. So I think you'll have good perspective into this. Next question. It does feel like the organizations that win win a lot most of the time, and those that don't, lose a lot most of the time. What's the through line on the good, consistently winning organizations?

[Bucky Brooks]

What you said, consistence. Consistency is in everything. Consistent in your approach, consistency in your preparation, your process. Normally, the greater coaches that I've been around, they stay the same. Good, bad or indifferent. They don't waver. They believe in what they believe in, and they have a way of selling it to the team that the team believes in it. Whether that was Marty Schottenheimer, whether that was Marv Levy, Tom Coughlin, John Gruden, Mike Holmgren, all of those guys deeply believed in what they were doing. And I would say the other part of it is complete alignment from top to bottom, meaning the general manager and the head coacher in lockstep. They understand what kind of players they're looking for, what they want, and they don't. They don't waver. When the noise on the outside is loud, they double down and go even harder and recommit to what they believe in.

[Matt Castle]

So when you're talking about the front office and a gm, the scouting department, what separates somebody like the Howie Rosemans of the world or Brett Veach and Kansas City, do they do it differently than other organizations?

[Bucky Brooks]

Look, I would throw John Snyder. I think they all do it. You kind of do it the way that you're brought up, right in the business. So a large part of, like, how you played as a player, your preparation process, came from your formative years, whether it be in New England or going on Kansas City, like, you kind of have your thing and the same thing when it comes to being a general manager. I played in Green Bay. I understand a lot of the Ron Wolf stuff. So the way that John Snyder does it is very similar to the way that was done in Green Bay. You put your own spin on it, but it's very, very successful. Howie took some of that that he learned from Andy Reid, which was a big part of the Green Bay stuff, and he put his own spin on it. I think you have to have tremendous confidence in what you're doing. You have to have a clear vision for how you want your teams and your players to play and what kind of players are needed to play that style. And then you have to have a coaching staff that one you're in lockstep with. Two, they're committed to developing the players. The secret sauce in this league is not talent acquisition, it's talent development, how you develop the players when you get into the building. We have all played where guys come in and they lead the same way that they were when they came in, skill level. But then we've seen other teams take a lesser play. And he plays as a much higher level because of the extra commitment to practice and the details and the fundamentals. Look, it takes a village, but everyone has to be on the same page. And I think the general manager has to know exactly what the head coach wants, and he has to be able to make sure that they not only bring the right players in, but they challenge the coaches to develop the young players so they get better.

[Bobby Bones]

These rookie minicamps are opening and have opened in the past week. What are two teams looking for early and what do people overreact about?

[Bucky Brooks]

Well, I think the first thing that you're doing when you're a scout and you're not a high ranking scout, when you're a scout, the first thing is the players that you bring in, man, you want them at least look like the guy that you saw on tape. Like, that's, that's, that's the most anxiety that you have that first weekend when you see him, you're like, come on, man, make a play, please, please make a play. So I can justify whatever. Outside of that, really, some teams approach you where I think the most realistic approach is like, hey, this is the teaching phase. We're going to teach you what you need to know. So when we come back in OTDAs and eventually training camp, then you can compete. But you can't compete if you don't know what you're doing. So you give them the outline in terms of this is how we work out. These are the standards on and off the field in terms of how we go about our business. You need to find a vet that you can model, a good vet that you can model his behavior and have someone kind of show you the ropes. And then when it's your time, whether it's two reps, four reps, six reps, man, you need to make sure one, you know what to do and you do it with maximum effort. And then you hope that that buys you another day and more reps. But ultimately, man, we talk about the game. The game is a meritocracy. No matter how we spin it, you have got to be able to perform when you get your opportunity. And it doesn't matter what team you're on and how many reps you're given, you better make the most of them.

[Matt Castle]

If you were to make a prediction on the first rounders that all got drafted in terms of their organization and system fit, who do you think is probably set up for success, the most success early in their career?

[Bucky Brooks]

Man, it's, it's funny, right? Because scheme fit is everything when it comes to it. And I look at the Ravens, Venga Yone, the guard from Penn State, he just screams Raven to me. And it's something about when you look at him and you look at the way that he plays and the way that they want to play, how they want to bully people at the point attack, that works. But I will also say, look, man, I think Fernando Mendoza lucked out. I had a lot of questions about him coming in and whether he could take it over whatever. I would say that Clint Kubiak and the system is perfect for him. It alleviates some of the pressure on him. The stretch, bootleg misdirection, passing game worked for him the way they're going to be committed to the run game. I think he certainly is the beneficiary of a scheme that matches how he needs to play given his skill set. And there's some other guys. I love Ruben Bane going to Tampa Bay. I like Minnesota, Delane playing at Kansas City. To me, this was one where I don't think people were out of pocket in terms of like matching the players with the fit. But I will say the most intriguing of them all is how is Ty Simpson going to eventually play when he gets his opportunity in la? I think that's the million dollar question because that ended up making or breaking how people view the Rams draft.

[Bobby Bones]

I understand everyone's supposed to be professional, but when a player doesn't want to be on the team and is requesting a trade, let's use Anthony Richardson as an example. Is there awkwardness in the building with that or is it everybody just gets

[Bucky Brooks]

kind of depends on how good the player is. I would say that if Dexter Lawrence requests a trade from the Giants, the panic around the building is a little different because you're talking about a Pro bowl player, Anthony Richardson, requesting a trade. People probably looking around like who cares? Like I'm just saying, like just, just what it is given how he's performed. It's a performance based business and if the team believes that you can Play at a high level, they can live with that. And they'll chalk it up to, hey, that's business, we'll stay out of it. But if you're a guy that hasn't played or hasn't kind of earned the right to be that guy, they just kind of go on and move on. Like the locker room would tell you exactly what the team feels about a player, the way that they react to those situations and circumstances.

[Matt Castle]

In your opinion, how long does it take to truly validate a draft class? Because obviously we're talking about all this stuff, but is it, is there a time period that you'd put on it?

[Bucky Brooks]

Yeah, it takes two to three years to really know if people can play. Like, let's, let's do the simple math. If the league average for players is three and a half years, what we're saying is most of the people in these classes will never even get to their second contract. So it's not even about, oh, you know, five, six years down the line in that two to three year window. The players that we took, can they help us get to where we want to go? Is there a noticeable change in our team given the contributions of this class? And so for players, look, you get more flexibility given how high you drafted. And so like the first round pick is going to get every opportunity to show that he can play. Second and third round is. Maybe they get a little leeway, but after that, you got to be able to hit it. Right now. You have to be able to make a contribution immediately, whether it's on special teams, whether it's showing enough on the practice field that they can prime you for a role the next season. But no free lunches. Like, you have to be able to make a contribution in some way, shape or form, or it's kind of deemed to be a failure. So hopefully in two years, you kind of know if a guy can play or not, but they need to start making contributions right away.

[Bobby Bones]

What's the expectation on a guy like Dak Prescott, who's had different expectations over the years, but they haven't been able to do it? How many more years do you think he's got in Dallas?

[Bucky Brooks]

Well, look, I think he just got paid and I think they'll continue to do it because it's very hard to find a quarterback in the league. And I would say that for Dakota, I mean, last year, obviously, offensively, they were lighting it up. And I would say that was probably even a surprise, knowing Brian Schottenheimer as well as I do, like this Offense was rolling with George Pickens and CD Lamb and they were running the football effectively with Devontae Williams. Dak Frederick Scott played really well. And whenever there's a common link, whenever he has a legitimate running game, he plays at a high level. You look at the division titles that they won, whenever they've had a big time back, they have been able to win because the compliment of the running game and the passing game helps them out. Yeah, they're under pressure because the star is big. The amount of people that watch that team creates a lot of noise and a lot of interest. But I think he is right. I think really it's about getting the rest of the team to play up here to his level and then he has to deliver when it matters most in the postseason.

[Matt Castle]

How much leniency do you think that they're going to have with George Pickens as this kind of drags on? And a little bit of the saga about whether he's going to sign the franchise 10 or get a new contract?

[Bucky Brooks]

Look, I think it's in his best interest to sign it. Just because, like George Pickens hasn't made like significant money in this league. You're talking about whatever 27 million that they're pushing across the table, he needs to sign that. And it's unfortunate because you talk about, look, I proved it last year, but you got to prove it again. I mean, that's just what it is. If they're not going to commit years in long term money, then he has to go out there and do it again. It won't be a distraction because at the end of the day, man, you got to play to make it happen. And I think he and CD Lamb work well off of one another because it's one of the rare situations where you could say they're probably code number ones in the passing game. And so as long as George Pickens plays and have that impact, he'll get the money. And what worked in his favor. I know people always talk about the injury. More times than not, when someone plays on the tag, they always get their money. He can look to the quarterback, Dak Prescott. He got hurt playing on the tag and still got a blockbuster deal. So he is going to get paid. It's just a matter of how is he going to get paid. But I know he can drive the price up. If he plays really well, he'll push himself into that $40 million category, which the Cowboys certainly don't want to pay, but they have to pay if he plays really, really well.

[Bobby Bones]

Let's stay expectations. But let's go to North Carolina. Your, your team year two with Belichick. What do they got to do this year?

[Bucky Brooks]

What do they have to do? I will say this, talk to people in the program. One, I think everyone has to adjust to the new game of college football and I think coach Belichick has been great. I went back, did something that he asked me to do for like official visits and I would say that he has a great perspective on the game. I think the main thing is you got to get the right players in there. And some of that is talent, but some of that really is temperament and just kind of understanding. It is a blue collar program. You're going to have to work and get after it and if you're not about that life, it's going to be hard for you. They can be much better and I say this is almost like a cop out. I think they can be a much better team and their record might not, might not be noticeably different, meaning that they can play well and buy in. But I mean they have 40 freshmen coming in. Like that's a ton of young players and 18 year olds in the college game. It doesn't work. I think there'll be a better team. I just don't know if the record will change much this year. But I think at some point he'll turn it.

[Matt Castle]

Do you think with the change of college football with nil and transfer portal and all these things, does that have an impact on the player in terms of how you scout them and is it harder evaluation process?

[Bucky Brooks]

Well, yeah, it is a harder evaluation process in terms of you better really know if they like it or love it. I would say actually love it. Most of the things that scouts talk about now he's trying to figure out if a guy really loves the game or if he just kind of likes the fame and all the things that come with that. So it requires more digging, more asking, more investigating to see who he is and what's around. What is he into? How much time does he spend in the facility? Does he really care about his craft or is he a guy that look, he took the money early and he's content? That's really what happens. Because we all know when you throw dollars at some of the players that we've played with, doesn't change them at all. If anything, the more you pay them, the harder they even work at whatever it is. Other guys, you throw them a little money, it's over, they're content and they become complacent. It's really about making sure that the guys that you're bringing into the building are worker bees, and they really love to work because the game is hard. And I don't think young kids know how hard it is when you play professional football. It's hard, not just physically, but the mental grind of being consistent day in, day out and really focusing on your craft is really hard. And so it's like, it's the difference between playing a boys game and a man's game. The league is about men, and you have to be equipped to deal with all the stuff that comes with that.

[Bobby Bones]

Last question. I'm looking at your shirt. That CHC athletics.

[Bucky Brooks]

No, no, no. That is gac because omat.

[Matt Castle]

Granada Hills Highlanders. Yeah, because how did you get hooked up there?

[Bucky Brooks]

Well, I was coaching for a decade with someone that you actually know. Cindy Kramer.

[Matt Castle]

Oh, yes.

[Bucky Brooks]

So I think y' all go back to Little League.

[Matt Castle]

Little League. She was our Little league coach. She is unbelievable. Get after us. Cindy Kramer. She's probably, well, I mean, five foot tall, if five, and she just ripped into all of us.

[Bucky Brooks]

So I was coaching at Notre Dame for a decade, and Cindy Kramer used to always bring your name up. And the strength coach at Notre Dame is married to the AD at Granada, and so I had to end there. So when a job opened up, even though I went from southern section ball to city section, it was an attractive and appealing thing for me. And I think if you coach this game, everyone wants to see what it's like to have the whistle, because we all can theorize and say, oh, I would do this and that. It is a completely different ball of wax when you.

[Matt Castle]

When.

[Bucky Brooks]

When you're the. When you're the head. Head guy. And there's a disparity. Most of the guys that I coach have never played tackle football until they get to ninth grade. And so it is a bit of a. I would say, a passion project to teach a bunch of young kids who haven't played how to play, but to do it with the expectation, oh, no, we're going to win. Like, we got to figure this out. We still have to win. We may have to do it differently, but now it's been a lot of fun. And as Matt knows, as the CF champion, we won the city in 2022. There's nothing like winning, and there's nothing like kind of being celebrated as being the best. And so it just drives all of us to do what we can. When you got a bunch of them kids to do it.

[Matt Castle]

Did you meet my Chatsworth Chancellors I

[Bucky Brooks]

mean, yeah, we're in the same league. We have to.

[Matt Castle]

Dang it.

[Bucky Brooks]

We have to beat a butt. They won the title a couple years ago and it brought back the old. I mean, you may not know that, but you're over there with a city section legend like Matt Castle is. He's a city section legend.

[Matt Castle]

I don't know about that, but I

[Bucky Brooks]

don't want to curse on the program. Ye to do that.

[Matt Castle]

No, it's cool.

[Bucky Brooks]

It's been great. Like, coaching and playing in the city has been a lot of fun. I look forward to it. It's one of the best things that I did.

[Bobby Bones]

Everybody check out the Move the Sticks podcast. Bucky and Daniel Jeremiah, they're great. Individually, awesome together. You guys do a great job on the podcast. We really appreciate the time and just the knowledge. I hope you have a great rest of the day. Coach.

[Bucky Brooks]

Hey, thanks for having me on.

[Matt Castle]

Thanks, coach.

[Kevin]

All right.

[Bobby Bones]

Anything you're dying to talk about before we go?

[Matt Castle]

Not really. What do you got? But I do have something.

[Bobby Bones]

Dude. Okay, well, do quick. I know. Qb.

[Matt Castle]

QB competition. Who's gonna start week one?

[Bobby Bones]

Deshaun Watson.

[Matt Castle]

He's back in the fold, but hasn't played a full season in three plus years.

[Bobby Bones]

But also.

[Matt Castle]

What does that say?

[Bobby Bones]

Say, I mean, shoulder ain't the guy. Hard for me to say. Dylan Gabriel. Probably not the guy. Taylor Green, Arkansas quarterback, really good.

[Matt Castle]

I think he could be a guy.

[Bobby Bones]

He can be a guy. Eventually, yes.

[Matt Castle]

Not away.

[Bobby Bones]

I think it's Deshaun Watson. And the question to me is, are the Browns going to lose a lot again to get in the mix for all the quarterbacks next year?

[Bucky Brooks]

True.

[Bobby Bones]

I think that could possibly.

[Matt Castle]

They've got a pretty good roster, though. And their defense is always going to play tough.

[Bobby Bones]

They're.

[Matt Castle]

Yep. So if they get any productivity whatsoever out of Deshaun Watson, I don't think they want it.

[Bobby Bones]

I think you want to get with those quarterbacks. I think you got to get a quarterback and they don't have a quarterback.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah. If you don't have. If you've got four quarterbacks, you don't have a number one quarterback. And that's kind of where the Browns are at right now.

[Bobby Bones]

So quick note. What else you got? We don't have to get into that.

[Matt Castle]

Let's see what else we got. What else we got? Oh, well, we already just talked about a little bit of it. Colts declining Anthony Richards, fifth year option. Potential trade partners for him.

[Bobby Bones]

Don't say the Browns. Don't say the Browns.

[Matt Castle]

Where would he want to go right 49ers.

[Bobby Bones]

Okay. He only should go to a place where he's not going to start, where he doesn't think he has a chance to start or he should be developed. Like a 49er or a Minnesota.

[Matt Castle]

Yes.

[Bobby Bones]

That. That's.

[Matt Castle]

I had those two on the top.

[Bobby Bones]

That's where you go. It's a. You can now tell by the Sam Dardo. We could go through the quarterbacks that just did this.

[Matt Castle]

Right.

[Bobby Bones]

Go somewhere where they can. He never was fully developed. He wasn't developed out of Florida.

[Matt Castle]

No. He only played one season.

[Bobby Bones]

He didn't really get a chance to develop with Indianapolis and he was hurt. So. Yes. You go to one of the teams that can develop you as a backup

[Matt Castle]

and I feel like that's the only way you resurrect your career because you have to go learn how to be a professional and play that position at a high level from people that have been successful doing it and can develop quarterbacks.

[Bobby Bones]

You just hope the ego doesn't get in the way. I can understand if you really think you're that and you're going. I want to go somewhere where I have a shot to play right now. It's probably an organization that's not going to give you a best shot at a long term career.

[Matt Castle]

Right.

[Bobby Bones]

Because those, those teams are not going to win if you have a shot to actually play right now.

[Matt Castle]

Right. They're not looking at him right now to come in and be a bridge guy or anything like that. They're looking at him strictly to be a backup and develop San Francisco, Minnesota.

[Bobby Bones]

Try to get the backup spot there.

[Matt Castle]

Try Anthony. That's. That's our instruction here on the Bobby Bones.

[Bobby Bones]

Listen, this is not the Bobby Bones podcast.

[Matt Castle]

I know, but Matt Castle's here too.

[Bobby Bones]

No, it's literally not. Give me one more of your headlines.

[Matt Castle]

All right. We just saw your beautiful daughter a little while ago. Okay. You're a huge Arkansas fan. Would you allow her to go to a school down the road like Texas?

[Bobby Bones]

Oh, no. Texas is a no.

[Matt Castle]

But what about if it's her dream school? She wants a dream school.

[Bobby Bones]

It won't be a dream school. No.

[Matt Castle]

Like. Like the big deal was Maurice Jones. Drew just came out. His son is following his footsteps, going to ucla. But then I, we had to pivot there. And I think about my kids going somewhere else. And I wanted to ask you that question because you're a Die Hard.

[Bobby Bones]

I don't. I'm not going to say absolutely no to every other school, just not Texas.

[Matt Castle]

What is another school that you may allow her to go to anywhere in the sec?

[Bobby Bones]

Yeah, sure. I would love her to go to Arkansas. My. My wife, I was talking to her last night. She says to me, and I think my wife has wonderful awareness of the situation. She says, you love Arkansas because you grew up in Arkansas. That's what you had. She's a massive Oklahoma fan. She grew up in Oklahoma. Her parents, she goes, our daughter is going to grow up in Tennessee, so it wouldn't be crazy if she wanted to go to Tennessee.

[Matt Castle]

Or Vandy. Or.

[Bobby Bones]

Or Vandy. I want to pay for that, but.

[Matt Castle]

Oh, gosh, now. Now we're done. Oh, sorry. I don't want to pay for that. I'm sure he's already got her college fund taken care of and he's bitching and complaining like he's got to work harder for it. You just have to sell one of your Bentleys and she'll be all right.

[Bobby Bones]

You're one to talk. You can't get five. Okay, just no to Texas would love Arkansas. I'm okay with Oklahoma, really. Anywhere in the SEC would be fine.

[Matt Castle]

Anywhere but Texas.

[Bobby Bones]

No, there's no Texas. Texas doesn't exist as a place to go. Texas is.

[Matt Castle]

It's not really a state.

[Bobby Bones]

Texas is Australia years ago, where they send the criminals. That's what I'm going to teach her. Because Australia was. That.

[Matt Castle]

It was Fear Factor. Just breathe it into them.

[Bobby Bones]

Young Penitentiary Island.

[Matt Castle]

Yes.

[Bobby Bones]

That's what. Australia.

[Matt Castle]

So dangerous in Austin, in Texas, they

[Bobby Bones]

only send the people that have done bad things there. And you're not gonna. I'm gonna teach you that early. So, yes, it is anywhere but Texas. Hopefully Arkansas. But we. When we were talking about buying the house that we bought in Fayetteville, my wife not super keen on going to Fayetteville a whole lot, but she knows I love it. So we bought a house really close to the football stadium. And I was starting to have second thoughts because I knew my wife didn't want to spend a bunch of time in Fayetteville. She didn't have to, because why? I mean, it's not her thing. And I said, hey, maybe we don't. We can always just go and Airbnb. And she said to me, we're going to get the house because I think you and our daughter will have great times there going to games through the next 10, 15 years.

[Matt Castle]

That's so solid.

[Bobby Bones]

That's solid because I know it wasn't in my wife's best interest, but it wasn't about that.

[Matt Castle]

No But. But she loves you, and she knows that you're passionate about it, and she gave you that opportunity to create memories with your daughter.

[Bobby Bones]

It'll be incredible if there's a single piece of burnt orange clothing in my house. I'll burn the whole house down. It's not even. I'm gonna throw it away.

[Matt Castle]

It's done.

[Bobby Bones]

Yes, I will throw. I will burn the whole house down. I'll throw out the baby with the bath water. There will be no burnt orange.

[Matt Castle]

I know what I'm getting there. For her first birthday.

[Bucky Brooks]

Yeah.

[Bobby Bones]

It'll never make it inside down, you imagine.

[Matt Castle]

Okay.

[Bobby Bones]

Okay. That's it. Thank you guys for being here. Thanks to Bucky. That was great. That's Matt Castle. Let's kick off. Kevin. That's Brandon Ray. I'm Bobby Bones. I got a pacifier right in front of me. This is my pocket before we started, we have had lots to say. Goodbye, everybody. Lots to say with Bobby Bones and Matt Castle is a production of the NFL and iHeart Podcast. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed.