NFL Draft Recap: Favorite Picks and Full Class Breakdowns for All 32 Teams

Summary

Detailed Summary of "NFL Draft Recap: Favorite Picks and Full Class Breakdowns for All 32 Teams" – The McShay Show

In the April 28, 2025 episode of The McShay Show, NFL Draft and College Football Analyst Todd McShay, alongside Mel Kiper Jr., delivered a comprehensive analysis of the 2025 NFL Draft. The episode meticulously dissected the draft performances of all 32 NFL teams, highlighting favorite picks, value selections, areas needing improvement, and strategic insights into each team's approach.

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AFC North

Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens, under new General Manager Eric Dacosta, continued their tradition of patient drafting, focusing on mid to late-round picks. Todd McShay lauded their strategy, emphasizing their ability to capitalize on a deep draft class:

"Malachi Starks ... versatility can play free, he can play nickel, can even pinch play some corner." [03:36]

Mel Kiper Jr. echoed McShay's sentiments, highlighting the Ravens' adept draft management:

"It's unbelievable. That's how you manage the board." [07:17]

Cincinnati Bengals

Cincinnati took an aggressive approach by selecting Shemar Stewart at pick 17, a decision both hosts found intriguing despite Stewart's developmental needs. McShay praised Stewart's potential:

"Stewart's torso flexibility and pass-rushing potential make him a prime candidate for future impact." [11:10]

However, their selection of Demetrius Knight later in the draft sparked debate over pick timing and value.

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers made impactful selections with Derek Harmon and DK Metcalf. McShay expressed satisfaction with their draft haul, noting the depth and versatility these picks add:

"He [Derek Harmon] can go work with him and learn from him and get better." [25:47]

The addition of Caleb Johnson further strengthened their roster, fitting seamlessly into their zone-blocking scheme.

Cleveland Browns

Cleveland's draft was characterized by strategic trades and defensive enhancements. McShay praised their A-minus draft, particularly their move to secure defensive tackle Mason Graham:

"They move back and get the first round next year." [16:00]

Kiper Jr. highlighted the Browns' focus on building a ferocious defensive front:

"We got to get great on that side of the ball and in part of that highest in the priority is get me some closers because we're going to go score some points with our quarterback that we love." [45:07]

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AFC South

Houston Texans

Houston prioritized strengthening their offensive line and wide receiving corps. McShay commended their draft board management, particularly their selections of Jalen Noel and Ariante Ursary:

"Ursary’s ability to play multiple positions on the line gives them valuable flexibility." [30:18]

Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jaguars focused on quarterback support, selecting Travis Hunter through a calculated trade. McShay and Kiper debated the implications of drafting two quarterbacks, with McShay highlighting future stability:

"With Gabriel and Sanders on the roster, Jacksonville is setting up for dual quarterback depth." [19:46]

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AFC East

Buffalo Bills

Buffalo's draft was celebrated for its value picks and defensive depth. Key selections included Maxwell Han and TJ Sanders. McShay praised their focus on defensive solidity to complement Josh Allen’s offensive prowess:

"They load up on defensive players to balance their high-powered offense." [45:07]

Miami Dolphins

Miami addressed multiple positions with notable picks like Kenneth Grant and Jordan Davis. McShay critiqued the timing of certain selections but appreciated their overall strategy to bolster both offensive and defensive units.

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AFC West

Denver Broncos

Denver's strategic selections included RJ Harvey, an edge rusher valued for his strength and pass-rushing ability. McShay appreciated Harvey's traits:

"Harvey’s ability to maintain pressure against the run makes him a cornerstone for Denver's defense." [60:59]

Los Angeles Chargers

The Chargers focused on offensive upgrades, especially their offensive line. Drafting Omarion Hampton and Greg Russo, McShay emphasized the importance of these picks in supporting quarterback Justin Herbert:

"A strong O-line is critical for Herbert’s success and the Chargers' offensive schemes." [73:03]

Las Vegas Raiders

The Raiders demonstrated strategic depth with picks like Ashton Genti and Caleb Rogers. McShay highlighted their focus on versatile and high-impact players:

"They nailed their first three picks ... understanding their team’s needs perfectly." [68:22]

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NFC North

Chicago Bears

The Bears made impactful selections with Derek Harmon and DK Metcalf, focusing on strengthening their defensive lineup. McShay praised their draft strategy but also pointed out areas for future improvement.

Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota prioritized defensive upgrades, selecting players like Darius Alexander and Cam Scatter. McShay commended their focus on impactful defensive players, noting:

"These players will play a crucial role in solidifying the Vikings' defensive front." [109:32]

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NFC Teams

New Orleans Saints

The Saints focused on defensive and offensive balance, selecting key players who fit their strategic needs. McShay and Kiper Jr. discussed the Saints' emphasis on versatility and depth, ensuring they remain competitive in upcoming seasons.

Seattle Seahawks

Seattle's draft was hailed as one of the best, with strategic picks that bolster both their defensive and offensive units. McShay praised their aggressive approach and focus on youth and depth:

"They nailed their first three picks ... understanding what they are as an organization." [123:54]

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Conclusion

The 2025 NFL Draft showcased a blend of strategic planning, value selections, and a few contentious picks across all 32 teams. Todd McShay and Mel Kiper Jr. provided insightful commentary, emphasizing how each team addressed their immediate needs while also building for the future. Their analysis underscored the intricacies of NFL team-building, highlighting the delicate balance between drafting for current performance and long-term potential.

Notable Quotes:

• Todd McShay on Ravens:

  "Malachi Starks ... versatility can play free, he can play nickel, can even pinch play some corner." [03:36]

• Mel Kiper Jr. on Cincinnati:

  "It's unbelievable. That's how you manage the board." [07:17]

• Todd McShay on Browns:

  "This was like an A-minus draft. And I don't give out grades, but I'll let you know." [16:00]

• Mel Kiper Jr. on Bills:

  "He [Maxwell Han] is by far the most explosive athlete in this draft behind Travis Hunter." [45:07]

• Todd McShay on Chargers:

  "Greg Russo is a student AJ Epanessa, who has worked incredibly hard in the training room." [57:01]

Overall, the episode served as an extensive recap of the draft, offering listeners a detailed understanding of each team's strategy, successes, and areas poised for improvement. Fans were left with a clear sense of the potential impacts these new players could have in the upcoming NFL seasons.

Transcript

[Todd McShay]

This episode is brought to you by no Bull. Every day is an opportunity to grow stronger, especially when you've got best in class award winning footwear backing you up. No bowl is a footwear brand for training and for daily life built to support you in your pursuit of physical, mental and emotional strength. And get this exclusive for the McShay show listeners. No bull is offering 30 off your order. Visit nobleproject.com SL MC for 30% off your entire order. That's N o B U L L P r o j e c t.com backslash McShay for 30% off. It's the McShay show, presented by FanDuel. It's our time. It's officially NFL draft season and you can get in on all the action with FanDuel. FanDuel has lots of ways to bet on the draft, like pick, position, team to draft a player, exact order, top five and 10 picks, and so much more. When you win, you get paid instantly. FanDuel always has exclusive offers. The app is safe, secure and easy to use. So download FanDuel Sportsbook app today and make every moment more. During the NFL draft, the ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit rg d help.com to learn more about the resources and help lines available and listen to the end of the episode for additional details. Must be 21 and older and present in select states. Gambling problem. Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit rg-help.com the 2025 NFL Draft. It's in the books. Today we deep dive all 32 NFL teams will take a look at what they accomplished in the draft, what's still left to do and where these organizations stand. We're going to go by division, all 32 teams. This is the draft review. You're here. We're glad to have you. The draft is in the back seat now. Man. You good?

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I'm good, man.

[Todd McShay]

All right, let's roll. Today's the day. It's all over. It's time to take a real deep dive into these positions, into these teams and let's look at what what was accomplished, right? It's a nuts and bolts show. Not a lot of messing around. We gave you that with Rosillo at his house. Absolute clown show. If you haven't watched that, go back and check it out. Also, the McShay report. Google it. We're mostly going to do, I think, favorite picks, my not so favorites. An overview for all 32 teams. But for for today, you. You've got us here as long as it takes mensch, hopefully not five hours, maybe closer to two, but it's try to keep moving, try to keep me moving. But we're going to go through all 32 teams. There's no, no sense in messing around. We're going to start with the AFC north because Cleveland's in there and that was one of the biggest moves early on. We'll get to the AFC south right after that. Jacksonville obviously making that move. Then we'll go east and west, take a quick break, then we'll come back with the, the nfc. So here we go. Baltimore Ravens. What stood out to me most, Eric Dacosta, the general manager, obviously took over for Ozzie Newsome. This organization now, through two general managers, has, has always in its history been patient. It seems like they're always drafting in the 20s, sometimes when things go really well in the 30s.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah, late 20s too.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah, right. And, and they've made a living off of sitting back and letting everyone else maneuver around and, and, and get worked up and, and maybe make some irrational decisions like maybe Atlanta moving up, giving away a 1 next year. And let's sit back, right? We got the 27th pick, excuse me, in this year's class. And, and let's, let's, let's take advantage of that. Let's see what falls to us. What I love sometimes as a gm, it's about draft management and understanding each draft class. And this year it was about the depth of this class nil transfer portal. A little bit of a Covid, you know, hangover as well. So there were a lot more quality players late in this draft rounds. 4, 5, 6, even 7 even some of the undrafted free agents were like, that's normally like a fifth, six round pick. So what did they do? They back ended it. They had eight picks on day three, the Ravens did. So let's dive into it. 20, 27. I said they, they love to sit back and get players that fall to them there. And Malachi Starks, the safety from Georgia, did not have a great workout at the combine. In fact, one of the worst workouts of the safeties. And you also had Nicki Minwari who came out at, you know, 6 to 263, I think 220 pounds and best vertical jump or best broad jump, all these things. And ran a 4, 3, 8. So when you looked at those two things, you're like, well, Emmanue's going to go. He didn't. He went, he went in the second round. But teams went back and looked at the tape and Starks is just a better football player. His versatility can play free, he can play nickel, can even pinch play some corner. And this is a team Mensch that gave up 58 plays of 20 plus yards last year. That's third worst in the NFL. So they need, they need that, that second level. I mean, safety by definition is the safety valve of the defense. So bringing in Mal Malachi Starks and now being able to, to line him up with, with Hamilton at safety and the versatility that Kyle Hamilton and Malachi Starks will, will give them in the back end and kind of the creativity and being multiple I thought was brilliant. And then if that wasn't enough, this.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Is a better example. I think that's a great example. This is an even better example.

[Todd McShay]

They sit back at 59 with Mike Green, the edge rusher who fell because of the two sexual assault accusations. I wouldn't bring up any details if he didn't bring it up himself. And he did that at the combine. And by doing so, every organization knew, the national media, that's all they could talk about with Mike Green. Not that he's an explosive edge rusher, not that he is the led the FBS in sacks last year. Not that he's got unbelievable power for his frame. It was the off the field incidents. Never charged, never arrested, never convicted. But they're there in the past. And now everyone nationally is talking about that. They're comfortable with the back background. They like all organizations, they have former FBI guys and police officers and do all these background checks and work. They're comfortable with it. And Mike Green, one of the 15 best players in the entire draft falls to them at 59. So now we get Starks and Green with the first two picks.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

It's unbelievable. That's how you manage the board. I mean, I couldn't agree with you more. The Green pick is again the better example because this is a player that I thought was a lock to go in the first round maybe two weeks before the draft, a week before the draft, and then you heard about him possibly falling. I think it's incredible. I also think, look, look at the overall. They. This is what, this is what it's like to have a lot of picks. They have 11 picks and yes, I think five of them were in the sixth round. Look at what they did in the sixth round though. Like, let's get a little deeper into it.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah, yeah, please.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I mean, I love the first two picks, but then you look at that sixth round and you talk about they're giving out the big Plays they pick up two, two corners there. Western Michigan's ball cone.

[Todd McShay]

Yep.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

And Rucker's Robert Longer beam, which by the way, he's kind of a thing on the show because remember when you were like, these are the players you're looking at and you're probably looking at Robert.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

And it's kind of a funny name, like longer dude. He could play.

[Todd McShay]

Oh, he can. I talked to teams actually leading up and they're like kind of curious on where Longer.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Keep an eye on him. He's 5 11, 175. He's kind of a smaller corner, but he ran the four threes very quick. 10 yard split. Played outside in college. He's gonna have to play inside, but I really like him. I think he can play the ball well. I think he can cover. I mean you're gonna look at that, you're gonna look at those picks in the six round, five six round picks. They may have got their kicker of the future. They may get two corners they can contribute. I mean Lajante Wester is a guy that can take the top off the coverage for a smaller receiver. Anise Peoples, the Virginia Tech defensive tackle who was a standout at the Senior Bowl.

[Todd McShay]

Yep.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Again, some of this is about being in a position to take a lot of players and take advantage of a deep draft. And that's one that like, that's something I'm going to keep an eye on going forward. Is these five, six round picks, how many do they hit on? If they hit on two, I mean, they've done an outstanding job.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah. Listen, if I'm going to nitpick and honestly with some teams, I have beef. Okay. Right. With, with this. It's just nitpicking because I don't, I don't want to be the show that comes on. And for 32 teams, like every pick was the best. They did an awesome job. I just told you all the things that they're. That the Ravens have been great at. And D. Costa has continued and has taken it to another level in certain instances. But like I just, I tried to find where, where was I, where was my board off? Where, where could they have gone? Teddy Buchanan, the linebacker from California, that was like, honestly the only pick where I was like, eh, you know, 129 overall. And obviously you're nitpicking. We're talking fourth round towards the end. But 129 overall. And I look at this roster and there were some other linebackers they could have gotten a little bit later. And I'M seeing the cornerback is still a position of need, which they obviously addressed later, as you mentioned with Bilalcon wide receiver, a position of need. They obviously addressed it later in the sixth round with Lajante Wester, who. Who I like, by the way, I think is a quick slot. He's got something to him.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

So faster than he ran. He ran okay. But he plays faster than Iran.

[Todd McShay]

But I look at that board at Teddy Buchanan there and I see Quincy Riley two picks later.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

Ball hawk.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Right.

[Todd McShay]

Most comfortable corner in this. He and Hairston are the two most comfortable when the ball's in the air. Can get you the ball back. That might have been an option. Jalen Royals fell and I wasn't the biggest Jalen Royals lover. Like, I like Troy Horton more, but I didn't see him falling to the late fourth round, so. And Ella IO Manor. Okay. Ellic IO Manor, Stanford wide receiver. Yeah. Stanford wide receiver is a big, a big physical guy if you want to see what the upside could be. It's trouble catching the football. I, I grant that. Okay. But, but, but I o manor with, you know, you get Deandre Hopkins towards the end, you got Rashad Bateman, you get Z flowers. I don't know. I just thought maybe that was an opportunity there, so.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I agree.

[Todd McShay]

Moving on from Baltimore, I thought overall it was a really good draft.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Me too.

[Todd McShay]

Cincinnati, Cincinnati was interesting. I actually liked the players that they wound up getting and they weren't favorites of everyone in the league. But it started with taking a big swing, like a big hack with shemar Stewart at 17. And I talked, I talked to you pre draft, leading up all the measurables and traits in the world. A guy that needs development in terms of like instincts and finishing moves and counter moves as a pass rusher. Only a sack and a half last year, was it?

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I think that's right. Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

But, but 33 pressures. Okay. Just a sack and a half. But when you look at like the torso flexibility working through contact, the ability to continue the rush while. While engaged, he has the traits to develop. And then you look at the actual traits, like the combine workout numbers and we're talking about Trayvon Walker, like numbers. And Trayvon went number one overall. I've talked to a team right before the draft. They had him seventh on their board. Okay. So they got him at 17. And it's also an organization a that that loaded up in the off season financially, salary cap wise on the offense.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Correct.

[Todd McShay]

Defensively, there's no money left. They had to attack this and they.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Need to fix their defense. Their defense is an issue.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah, defense was a huge issue.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yes.

[Todd McShay]

Three of the top four picks were on defense as expected. To be quite honest, I thought they could have even done a little bit more, but they had to. You know, Jalen Rivers in the fifth round. But I, I, I really like that pick of Stewart because everyone said, well, Trayvon Walker, he's, he's not as good as Hutchinson. I think T.R. i think because Jacksonville hasn't won the last two years, people have forgotten Trayvon Walker. Twenty and a half sacks the last two seasons. I think Stewart, maybe it is only.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

You mean people may aren't watching the Jacksonville tape maybe and just making comments?

[Todd McShay]

Yeah, it's like, well, Hutchinson so great. I think Stewart's got a chance to have that kind of arc. Maybe it is only three to five sacks the first year, but it's going to be a lot of pressures. He's great versus the run. And I think in years two and three, as he continues to develop, he's got a chance to be one of those guys where you're like, yeah, that was, that was more than worth the pick at 17. And then Demetrius Knight was one of my favorite players in the draft. I actually, I felt like I was too high on him. I had an early third on him.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah, that's, I was going to ask you, did you think it was the right place for him? This is what gets tricky, right? There's a lot of players you love.

[Todd McShay]

Super tricky.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

This is early.

[Todd McShay]

It was early.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

It's just early.

[Todd McShay]

But I love him.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Agree. I like, I would say the same thing about their.

[Todd McShay]

But I, I know he wasn't going to be there at 81. So if, what are you going to do? What are you going to do?

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Are you going to trade back up? Do you want to use another asset? You're right. It just felt early.

[Todd McShay]

What else jumped out to you?

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Dylan Fairchild. Same thing for me, the third round offensive guard from Georgia. I like him a lot. It felt like it was a little early for me then. I will say this. I like their last two picks. Jalen Rivers, the guard from Miami I like has some upside, man. He's a little up and down, he's a little inconsistent, but he's competitive at the Senior Bowl. I liked his tape. He's, he's one of those guys you keep an eye on. Could be a steal. And then Texas Tech's Taj Brooks was a sleeper for me. He's a bigger back, he's a powerful back. They need to, I think they need a compliment there. I thought that was a good pick. Taking advantage of how deep this running back class is to get a player like that in the middle of the sixth round.

[Todd McShay]

Here's what I look at. I'll wrap it up in Cincinnati. They organizationally came into this draft and said, okay, our defense, we can't spend on because of what I just talked to you about and we really need help up front. Okay. In our front seven, they're 27th in sack percentage last year, 21st in pressures Trey Hendrickson had. Of the 36 team sacks he or no, he led the NFL. But Cincinnati only had 36 team sacks. He had 17 and a half of them. They needed.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

There's no one else.

[Todd McShay]

There's no one else. So, so that was a, that, that was a must. And they got a player that was, I thought lasted too long on the board. The other part is that offensive line that they've invested in didn't play to the level it should have last year and was 32nd in pass, pass blocking, PBWR and 30th in RBWR. Okay.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah, the win rate.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah, the win rate. And so. So they address those things early on. Okay, Cleveland, it's time. Hey, Browns fans, I'm sorry. We. I already apologized to you once once. I'll apologize again. We got. Things got hectic brought on our guy, Bill Simmons. We had to take a break for a second. There were, there was movement around. Things were going on. We didn't get enough into your pick the first night. We got into it heavily the second night. And I'll, I'll get. Come back to you here and let you know. The reason we started with this division is for you Browns fans. This to me was like an a, A minus draft. And I don't give out grades, but I'll just, I'll let you know. Like, you know what I mean? Like, if I were to do grades, give it some perspective, this one would be up there with. Was some of the best. Because I said on draft night, it takes onions to make a move as a 30, 30 something GM, first time in that job, in that seat and James Gladstone did it to move up to get Travis Hunter. You know, it takes real onions.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah, it does.

[Todd McShay]

Real onions. When you, when you haven't been winning and you're going to bypass Shohei Ohtani possibly and trade back to get next year's. You talk about someone who's sitting in that seat and Andrew Barry who is taking the organizational. Organizational priorities and putting it ahead of his priorities and Kevin Stefanski's priorities of winning now to save their jobs. He feels safe and hopefully Jimmy Haslam has told him you are safe because he just made a move of a general manager who has the luxury to do that. And it's brilliant. It's brilliant. They move back and get a defensive tackle in Mason Graham that most, most teams, not all, but most teams viewed as a top five, top seven player. Some teams saw him at like three or four. You put him next to Miles Garrett.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Right. Who apparently loved the pick, by the way.

[Todd McShay]

How could you not?

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I know, right? Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

And so now it's going to be ferocious.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I love that.

[Todd McShay]

Tenacious.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

There you go.

[Todd McShay]

Ferocious this front with Malik Collins, Shelby Harris, Miles Garrett. It's going to be fun to watch and you're not going to have to score a ton of points. Okay. And they move back and they get the first round next year. Now they drafted two more quarterbacks. I didn't think.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Can we get into the other position? I want to get. We're going to get into the quarterbacks, but let's, let's talk about how they hit. I think a home run on every player that wasn't a quarterback.

[Todd McShay]

Okay.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Carson Schwester from ucla, the linebacker, first pick in the second round. You may think that's too early. I love that pick.

[Todd McShay]

I think he was, he was going in that race. Yes. I love.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Very productive guy. Only one year starter, ucla, former walk on. Was a special teams ace and then just blew up last year. I mean, led the country in solo tackles. Great player. Love that pick. The two backs, they get Quinshawn Judkins exactly what they need, that powerful downhill runner. And then they got Dylan Sampson in the fourth round. I know the two backs, home runs. Then they get Harold Fannin Jr. The Yak King's offense again with in Joku, like you, you can have more than one great tight end. I love that.

[Todd McShay]

I love that.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Having 12 personnel.

[Todd McShay]

I adore it.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Right. Like, I mean, they hit a home run on all of their picks outside of the quarterbacks and then we can get into that. I'm not, I'm not saying that the whole. The quarterbacks were terrible picks.

[Todd McShay]

They're not terrible picks.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

The other picks were home runs. The quarterbacks. I have, I have questions about what this organization.

[Todd McShay]

And quite honestly, I've talked enough about Shador Sanders. Like you could go back and watch the last five shows leading up to each round, each night as it happened, right after it happened. Like, we've talked enough about it. What I, what I find interesting Browns fans is sometimes the draft tells you what the team is looking to be more of next year. Judkins over Travion Henderson tells me exactly what stuff is. We are going to line up and we're going to pound you. We got Miles Garrett, we got Mason Graham, we got a damn good defense. We're going to stuff it down your throat and we're going to do it with Quinshon Judkins, who I told you had a 1 5, 110 yard split. The most explosive back I saw on tape from out of his stance through the line of scrimmage. So he is going to get up on your ass and flash and he's going to pound you. And maybe it only lasts three, four years in terms of.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

We'll see.

[Todd McShay]

But, but we're going to, we're going to maximize that. And then we get Dylan Sampson.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah, you know. Yeah. We're not, we're not going to talk about the quarterback situation. I got to talk about it.

[Todd McShay]

These two quarterbacks outside of Miami for, for Dylan Gabriel as being the other and for Shador as being another option, they landed in the best spot that they could possibly land. And Dylan Gabriel, yes, it was. I don't care about where they were drafted. We're now talking about what they're going to be in for this organization by using a third round pick, which blew my socks off if I'm going to be honest, on Dylan Gabriel, but then just a fifth round pick on Shador Sanders. There's zero pressure and even though it's Shador, there's zero pressure that these guys have to play ever, ever. Shador, if he comes in and uses pick 144 like Brady used 199 to light the biggest fire in the world under him and to get under the, get out of the, the bubble that is the, the, the Deion Sanders home and, and goes in and attacks and learns and studies and, and takes that process, I don't want to say more seriously, but is more effective in that process of walking in humbled and saying this like it's time to go to work. Like actual work. Unlike the interview process went. He's got every opportunity to succeed. I've said for months now there's one place I want to see him go play and it's because of one human being and that's Kevin Stefanski. And we talked about in the past, right, the quarterbacks he's won games with.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I hear you. I mean the Case Keenan's of the world, the Kirk Cousins of The world. I get it.

[Todd McShay]

And we got a first next year.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I understand. Here's.

[Todd McShay]

We got a first next year in case neither of these two wind up being the guy.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I get it. And listen, I, I'm kind of a, you know, for taking quarterbacks and, and throwing a lot of darts to try and like. I get all that. You signed Joe Flacco.

[Todd McShay]

You traded the 101 year.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

You traded the 164th pick for Kenny Picket. You now take Dylan Gabriel in the third round. Just so we understand, like, what could have. If you. At 164 in this draft, if you don't trade for Kenny Pickett, you could have gotten Yaya Black, the defensive tackle from Iowa, Good player that slid. You could have got Tori Horton, the Colorado wide receiver. Good player that slid. You took yourself out of that. Now, if you're not talking, if you're talking about taking Gabriel that early, by the way, who's. Let's be honest about this. Who else was taking Dylan Gabriel that early? Who were they? They were like bidding against himself, it felt like.

[Todd McShay]

Unless it was Miami.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Right?

[Todd McShay]

Yeah.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

So Ty Felton, the wide receiver from Maryland there. Dante Thornton, the wide receiver from Tennessee there. Jalen Royals there. Jalen Lane, who are one of our personal favorites. The Virginia Tech kid there. Charles Grant, the offensive tackle from William and Mary also there. I just don't know how you're managing this position. I just don't get it. You've spent. You traded for Kenny Pickett. Now you've used two. An additional two picks on quarterbacks. I don't. What's the plan? And my understanding was after, and I kind of like this, my understanding is that one of the whole reasons you didn't take Travis Hunter was so you can get an additional first round pick. So you're in a position to go up and get your quarterback next year.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

So if that's your approach, then let. Let that be your approach and build the best roster you can until next year.

[Todd McShay]

I'm not saying anything that you are saying right now is wrong. I do believe that there's something to. I'd rather have more lottery tickets than buy the $20 scratch ticket. You know what I mean?

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Like, I think what's really kind of bothering me is the Picket trade more than anything else. I don't mind you taking the two quarterbacks now. You, you just have too many in your roster. How you can. You can't keep them all.

[Todd McShay]

You can't, you can't foresee no one, no one, no one saw this Coming with Shador Sanders. No one, even the people that despised him and did not think they were like third round.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Right.

[Todd McShay]

Okay. I also, judging by the Cleveland Browns war room, draft room didn't look good. I don't know that this was, this was their decision, that this may have been an ownership one. But it's just speculation. All right. We've gone on too long on Cleveland, but I think all of our points were made.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Thanks for letting me read Pittsburgh.

[Todd McShay]

Derek Harmon, I mean, I guess I love that pick at that point because I thought it was right, right about where Derek Harmon should go. But I also, there was so much rumor and speculation it was going to be Shador Sanders. And I just didn't want that for Pittsburgh. Not because it just felt like this is an organization that builds and does it one way. And that would have been going against the grain, last minute, kind of. Maybe, maybe Mike Tomlin steps in. It was good to see them get their kind of guys like Derek Harmon up front. Modeled his game after Cam Hayward and now he gets to go work with him and learn from him and get better. And condolences to Derek Harmon and their family. The passing of his mom right after hearing the news that he was a Pittsburgh Steeler. Beyond that, they didn't have a second round pick. But like everyone's like, well, they didn't have a SEC yet. DK Metcalf was their second round pick. Okay. So let's put that. So they essentially got Derek Harmon and DK Metcalf with their first two picks. And I thought Caleb Johnson. Here's the thing with the, with the Steelers draft, every single player they got in the first six rounds on my board, I had him coming off the board earlier. So it was value everywhere. It was Caleb Johnson in the third at running back who fits what they want to do the zone blocking. I think he's going to be a really good fit, you know, in that with Jalen Warren, Kenneth Gainwell, they're gonna have a really nice rotation there. Jack Sawyer, Captain Jack didn't love him on tape like Tui Molo. A lot better. His running mate, his edge mate. But I. But at 123, right, please.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yep.

[Todd McShay]

I'll take Captain Jack all day long. Yaya Black, you mentioned him before, like behemoth of a man. Plug up the middle. Will Howard. There was talk.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I love the Will Howard.

[Todd McShay]

I love the Will Howard. Because you know what? And I'm going to keep emphasizing this so people understand when you're drafting a backup. He is like an administrative assistant. To the, to the offensive coordinator and the quarterback. And you want a guy who's going to come in and is ready mentally and is mature and can handle those duties and then that those duties allow they, they buy him time in practice in preseason to showcase. Hey, maybe we got more than just a backup here, see how he develops. But you gotta, and that's why you see like Riley Leonard go. That's why you see the North Dakota State guy go. Kim Miller go. There were a couple of Graham Mertz goes in the same round as Shador Sander, because those guys are going to come in and they're going to help and they're going to be productive members of the quarterback room. And so I thought were they people I was talking to? It was like maybe the Raiders in the third round. So Will Howard at six, I thought was a great value too.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Agree. I mean, let's see what happens. Again, just kind of add on what you're saying there. He comes from a very successful program at Ohio State. He's used to winning. He knows what it takes to win. And he's been in a couple different programs, which I think helps you. You know, you've been in a couple different rooms. Will Howard, I think, is going to go in there ready to contribute in that backup role. And then again, let's see what happens. This kid's coming off an absolute tear in the, in the playoffs. Let's see if he continues to ascend. Yeah, he played his best football at the end of his college career. I thought he might go earlier, to be honest with you.

[Todd McShay]

But, but most important importantly, this was a down year for that Pittsburgh defensive front and, and what they, this organization has made a living off of. They're going to beat you up up front defensively. Right. And, and now they bring in Cam Hayward's 35. Everyone's, he's ageless, he can go forever, but he can't. He's a human being. And so if it's one more year or two more years, whatever it is, now you've got the heir apparent. And in the meantime, you've got an upgrade in pass rusher, depth, all of it. And he like, I love that pick. And then at running back with, with Caleb Johnson, I mean, Jalen Warren averaged 4.3 yards per rush. He's fine. Signed Kenneth Gainwell, he, so, so now you go from this group that's like, yeah, it's okay to, oh, we might have something. I, I, I love, I love what the Steelers did. I thought they got better. All right. Moving on.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Who's Next?

[Todd McShay]

Said, Let's 15 minutes of division. We won about 40 there. It felt like AFC South 25, says Tucker without a smile on his face. Houston Texans. Let's start there. Okay. They needed. They needed pass catchers and they needed an offensive lineman, and that's what they got done. And they were smart to move back. They picked. Yeah, they picked up a third.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

They managed the board.

[Todd McShay]

They managed the board. And when they. By the way, we kind of. We foreshadowed that there was going to be a run on these offensive linemen because when the shelf fell off, like, it fell off hard and hard, hard. And. And so they, they realized that they had missed out because there were eight offensive linemen taken in the first round and the guys that they wanted were gone by the time they picked a 25. Giants wanted to move up for quarterback. They pick up the, I believe the 99th pick or 97th pick, whatever it was, and they make. They make that move. Okay? And so they managed the. I thought Nick Kisserio managed the board beautifully. And they still. Here's the deal, okay, for me. And I didn't. And you can get into wherever you want. Jalen Smith. Smith. I thought they were. I thought they were high on the USC guys in the third and fourth rounds if I wanted to nitpick a little bit. But these first three picks are three of my favorite players in the entire draft. And like, I had a hard time. I'm like, I don't like. Jaden Higgins is one thing. He's a big X. Great. Getting off the line of scrimmage, down the field. Physical, all those things. Now I got Noel or Noel, sorry. Jalen Noel, his teammate. Who. No. Is so exposed right off the line of scrimmage. And every, every route is crafty like a seasoned veteran. This guy's going to come in as a slot right away and contribute big time. Who do I take? Which one do I rank higher?

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Both.

[Todd McShay]

Let's take both of them. Higgins and Noah and Noel. Sorry. Picks 3479, respectively. I never thought Noel would get there. I had him ranked in my top 32. That's how much I like it and I don't regret it for a second. Talk to me next year.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I wasn't that high on him, but I didn't think he'd get out of the second round. I didn't think there was a shot.

[Todd McShay]

And then Ariante Ursary, the bell of.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

The ball in the second round for offensive lineman man.

[Todd McShay]

Ariante Ursary. Everyone wanted him in the second massive behemoth, light on his feet. I'm telling you, he's got a chance to develop into, into a left tackle. Okay. He may be able to play guard and add depth, so let's kick him inside. Like Rossillo said, kind of a life, life hack or life lesson. Someone's not you bumped to guard, but if he bumps to guard, it's temporarily because camera Robinson was brought in just a stopgap. So this is an opportunity to develop. Ursary needs a little developing still and make him your left left tackle and hopefully you get him at guard and he can contribute. So I just loved what they did with their first three picks and the fact that they got an additional pick for it.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Woody Marks from usc. Man, I, I remember just watching the tape, there's. It was running back after running back after running back after running back this year and I remember watching Woody Marks a little bit later in the process. He was at the Senior bowl and I had heard about how he's a good pass catcher, which he is a good pass catcher. He's very good at that. He's a compact, tough runner who sticks his foot in the ground and gets north south like that. He is tough, he is quick. I remember just watching and I ended up giving a fifth round. He won the fourth round. You look back at it and you say, I, I'm not mad at it. You know what I mean? Like it's a little earlier than I had him on my board, but I remember watching his tape and saying to myself, someone's going to get a damn good running back in the third on day three of this draft.

[Todd McShay]

Didn't Woody Marks have like 80 plus catches at Mississippi State one year?

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

He did outstand, but that's the thing. I knew he was an outstanding receiver. He's a better runner. I think that, that, that production and that aspect of his game kind of overshadows the fact that he's also an excellent runner.

[Todd McShay]

Luke Lachi, tight end, Iowa.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Like that late durability stuff.

[Todd McShay]

There's a couple times telling you he's, he's got skill, like he can stay healthy. That could be, that could be one of those where we look back like 39. Hell, was he picked 255. Okay, pass catchers, weapons and protection. This was all about CJ Stroud. They failed him last year organizationally and Nick Casario was not going to do that again. Indianapolis Colts, man, did they get lucky. Sometimes it's about luck, right? Tyler Warren falls to them at pick 14. Thank you. Turn the card in. No problem. Shane Steichen with Dallas Goddard. This guy's a more talented. Dallas Goddard. Okay. Same frame, similar style. Warren is a bruiser after the catch. They've got a quarterback mess on their hands and so the best. One of the best elements for a quarterback mess is that security blanket in the middle of the field. And I think Steichen is going to have a blast with Tyler Warren. Then my guy, J.T. your guy?

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

Tui Mola Lao from Ohio State. Plug and play starter right away. Plug him in. It's just like I love the physicality. I'm assuming it's going to be opposite quiddy pay, right?

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

Pay. Had a good, good year. Not exceptional, but eight sacks. If DeForest Buckner can come back healthy and stay healthy for a season, he's. He's a pretty good player. Like that's. That helps solidify the defensive front. Warren becomes a guy who the offense can kind of run through as it did in Penn State as he, you know, gets going. Two other picks. I really like D.J. giddens, the running back from Kansas State. Never in a million years. And I haven't gone. There are too many guys to go digging on. I haven't. It must have been something with the durability or medical because that guy's too damn talented to be sitting on the board at pick 155, 151 overall. What'd you call him?

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

The human glitch.

[Todd McShay]

The human glitch. They got the human glitch in the fifth round. Human glitch. I just, I. He's going to be an impact player for them and to take some of the load off of Jonathan Taylor. And I want to remind you too, I had this note, four tight ends last year. This is how big of a mess it was. Four tight ends last year for the Colts had 39 combined receptions. Warren's going to have like 80. Their tight ends were Kyle Granson, Mo, Alex Cox, Drew Ogletree, Will Mallory. Now they got Tyler Warren. Like this team is significantly better because of this draft.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah, getting Tim Smith from Alabama late and where he should have gone. He should have been a six round pick, but he's a character. He's a guy that's going to come in and give you a certain amount of nasty and toughness on your run defense late. The Justin Wally pick from Minnesota, the corner. Little early for me, but I do like him. He can cover. He. He had a good year, so that was a little early. But I don't I don't hate it.

[Todd McShay]

Jacksonville just. I want to finish with India real quick. It is going to be fascinating to see what happens to quarterback.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

There it is. But that's why the Riley Leonard pick is so sneaky. Good. Because you don't know. He's probably just going to be a backup for his career. I get it.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah, he is.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Maybe he develops. But at worst, I think you found your backup for a long period for whoever this.

[Todd McShay]

The starter is. I don't disagree with that.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Right.

[Todd McShay]

All right, Jacksonville. We said Liam Cohen was coming in and the reports I was getting leading up to the draft that it was like James Gladstone absolutely is running this thing. But just like in. In LA out here with. With less Sneed and Sean McVeigh, that's going to be the relationship. Offensive coach, fiery, you know, wants his weapons, but the GM is going to make the final call. But they're going to work together, you know, lockstep, and that's how it is. But. But there was an understanding of. Yeah, like, this is our first time around. Let's. We got to get weapons. If the. If the goal here is to fix Trevor Lawrence, to get him. Right. To get him to be the player that we all thought he was going to be coming out of college, we got to get him. We got to get him supported with the right players around him. We did it last year. We did a great job. Brian Thomas Jr. And we saw how that. That paid off.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Great pick for.

[Todd McShay]

But just on one side.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

Now we got to get the other guy.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Right.

[Todd McShay]

And so they went and got obviously the best. I mean, I thought the best player in the entire draft and Travis Hunter and. And I do think it's interesting, like, he's. He now doesn't have to be a number one as a wide receiver. Okay. As he's trying to. And they. They said in the press conference going to be. It's going to be wide receiver first and then it's going to be. It's going to be cornerback developing there. Like, I don't see how they don't use him on both sides, but he could. He could, theoretically, he could be the number two opposite Tyson Campbell and the number two opposite Brian Thomas right away.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I mean, look, he. I think he's going to have to be. That past defense was terrible.

[Todd McShay]

Let's call it what it is. They gave up entirely too much to move up three spots from a draft compensation standpoint.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

It's interesting. I, I just, I understand what you're saying on paper and I get that and it, you're not wrong, but it's a unique player. It's, it's, it's not every, it's not always from 5 to 2 is going to be this amount. Right. If you're moving from, let's look at it last year, right. If you're going to move from five to two to get Jaden Daniels, you would have had to give up more than you would normally have to give up to move from five to two. And Travis Hunter's a unique player. That price tag's going to be higher for that reason.

[Todd McShay]

If he winds up playing at a high level on both sides of the ball. You absolutely did not give up too much because essentially like that's. If you get the wide receiver you expect to get in, the cornerback you expect to get. He legitimately pulls off what no one in the history of the NFL has ever pulled off before. It wasn't too much.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Right.

[Todd McShay]

And that's what they're betting on.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah, I like that they were aggressive.

[Todd McShay]

I didn't love the rest of their draft. I like Caleb Ransom. I thought he was maybe a little, he came off the board a Little High at 88 early. I told you I liked him. He, he and Hancock from Ohio State were two guys. I studied late and I really liked them, but it was more like fringe of top 100. You know, I gave him a fifth round grade.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I like him, but I gave him a fifth round grade.

[Todd McShay]

Your favorite player in the draft, I'll let you take it. But why, why Milam is that I don't hate him.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

There, there was some talk about why Milam from West Virginia who played offensive tackle is going to kick inside a guard. He's a, he's a, he's a Mauler. I mean, he's, he's a tough guy. He's going to move guys in the run game and, and if he moves inside the guard, he'll be okay. In pass protection, there is talk of him going like second, first round and I, I just couldn't get on board with that. I think he's got some athletic limitations and he just, the tape didn't match that kind of a pick. But late in the third, I don't hate it.

[Todd McShay]

And Bishul Tootin, like, he just wasn't my favorite. But I get like you get Tank Bigsby who can't catch. You got etn, who can catch and has some explosiveness. But can he stay fully healthy? They, they brought him in to take the power runs. That's what he is He's a straight line power runner. Yeah.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

And then they get the receiving option later on in the Quinlan the seventh round.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah. Which I didn't mind. I highlighted that as well.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

So overall, like it was fireworks to start and then. But now we don't have a first round pick next year and then we didn't have a second round pick. Two thirds. Jack Kaiser. Good, good player. So like I don't know. I wasn't in love with the draft top to bottom. But we'll see. Gladstone goes about it a little different way and we'll see who was right in the end. Tennessee. One of my favorite draft classes in the entire draft.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Interesting.

[Todd McShay]

The Tennessee Titans. Okay. They just took all my guys. Yeah, that's my guy. And then the next. That's. That's my guy. Who took him? Oh, Tennessee. A top to bottom. Cam Ward was the obvious. But beyond that, Femoladejo.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Your guy, your darling. Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

I've been telling you his backstory. Transfer from, what was it? Cal to ucla. Off the ball, linebacker to edge.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Explosive during the year, by the way. Not like oh, a year he made the switch. It was this year during the season that he made the switch.

[Todd McShay]

Kevin Winston I got done with. I had to go back to 2023 tape because the injury this year. And I told you like I just love this guy. The first clip I saw of him again, I think it was usc. He reads the play early, was a crosser and he just comes up and I love Kevin Winston and where they got him in the third round too. I thought he was the second best.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

He goes there. No way if he's healthy.

[Todd McShay]

No, no, no, no. He's going ahead of em and worry. I think quite honestly you just like to say I do. Cherry DK, Chimiri DK. The deep crosser guy.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

The king of the cross.

[Todd McShay]

4, 3, 4 speed. Whatever it was before. It's exactly where I said he was on the fringe. I thought about putting me in the top 100. I knew he wouldn't go. I had a strong sense he wouldn't talking to people in the league. But he went 103. Then Gunner Helm. My Jake Ferguson.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

Traits for nothing. This guy just gets open and makes plays and then Alec IO Manor. Where they got him love.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Where they got him love.

[Todd McShay]

And I was when. When I was saying I really worry about his, his ball skills and I made the joke like I don't know if it's Lasik or if we're not working the jugs machine or what, but this guy's too talented to, to have this kind of. Not just drops, but drops where it's like, is he not seeing the ball? He's not.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

The other catches.

[Todd McShay]

And some of the other catches, it's.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah, it's. And he can get off press, but pick one, 36.

[Todd McShay]

Let's get it. Let's get my guy in the jugs. Let's see if he needs some eye work. And then Khalil Mullings late.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I think that's about where he should.

[Todd McShay]

It should be where he goes. But that's a flyer pick on a back who went from linebacker to running back. And it's just learning the position, but he's a big son of a gun. I like this draft a lot.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Good draft.

[Todd McShay]

All right. That's it.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I mean, you went through every one of them, but other than Jackson Slater from Sacramento State, who played well at the Senior Bowl, a little inconsistent on tape, but again, end of the fifth round, we're good.

[Todd McShay]

Okay. All right, moving on. Next play, as I always say, get yelled at at home for saying it too much. AFC East, Buffalo Bills. I got a lot of notes here, huh? Total mess. This is what it looks like, folks.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

He.

[Todd McShay]

This is what it looks like on Sunday after the draft.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

He started prepping as soon as. As he could. And then we couldn't even get him to go to dinner because I got stuff to do. It took a while.

[Todd McShay]

The, the.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

They almost closed the place.

[Todd McShay]

The complaining from you and Marissa about dinner. If I get another giving you a.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Compliment for all your prep work, if.

[Todd McShay]

I have another two hour dinner that costs $350 and just saying, I'm gonna. I'm gonna.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I'll be in and out tomorrow.

[Todd McShay]

Buffalo Bills.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Here we go.

[Todd McShay]

We've eaten well, though, haven't we?

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

It's been great. I mean, I would love to say thank you and compliment you without you having to yell at me about it.

[Todd McShay]

You're welcome. Credit Billy Bean. Okay. And I'll be honest when I don't like some drafts and we'll get to one of them. Next. Credit, Billy Bean. Literally every single pick was of value. And yes, I'm going off of my value, but what else do I have to go off of? Every single one? And like, and these are veteran guys they drafted, too. These are guys who have played a lot of ball. And if you notice when I rip off this list, the Bills and Billy Bean and that staff, they do an awesome job, man. They got a lot of Senior bowl guys who want to compete, who are proven entities These, this is an organization that has to win now. We don't have a lot of time for guys to take chances on in long term development. We need football players now. And the first five picks were on defense. And what have I been raving to people about or screaming about? Yes, I've been screaming about this. The good organizations. And I lumped the Bills in with this. But I was curious to see if they stayed on track. And they did. The great organizations, when they find a great one at quarterback, which they obviously have with Josh Allen, the Eagles, the Chiefs, the Ravens, the Bills, they shift the focus of the defensive side and they get, they. They load up on defensive players. Because he can't help you on that side.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Right.

[Todd McShay]

Allen can help the other 10. He can't help the opposite 11. And that's the recipe. Great general managers do this. And included in that they typically find guys who are closers and that can be interior, defensive line or defensive tackle. So they come out and draft one of my favorite players in the draft. I told you pound for pound, second most explosive athlete in this draft behind Travis Hunter. And that's Maxwell Han. I get it. The durability. Maybe dropped a little bit. Slender frame, not the best tackler, but fastest guy at the combine. As quick as he is fast. Crazy quick ball skills for days. Three pick sixes tied the Kentucky school record. And then you get your favorite player, TJ Hand Sanders.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I love this. It makes me look good.

[Todd McShay]

It's 41. Yes, it does. Because Landon Jackson, who I didn't love in the second round, wherever, but you get him and the way he can pass rush. Landon Jackson in the third coming in as a rotational guy, right?

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yes. A little insurance in case Joey Bosa can't say healthy.

[Todd McShay]

Greg Russo. Greg Russell is a student AJ Epanessa who has not been been to the level. But now we got dudes competing for snaps and staying fresh. Dion Walker wasn't my favorite, but like in the fourth, a massive man who can rotate in, rotate with Daquan Jones opposite Ed Oliver. Now you get TJ Sanders. This group is. There's going to be like line shifts up in Buffalo. And then my guy, Jordan Hancock in the fifth.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah, late fifth.

[Todd McShay]

I like him.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I know you do.

[Todd McShay]

As a nickel, can play some corner.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Very versatile defensive back.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah. The versatility. I just. I love this draft.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

By the way, Dorian Strong. The sixth round. The first pick in the sixth round. Not for everybody. He's not a very good man corner. But for what they do. Yep, that's a great pick. I wouldn't be surprised if that kid plays for them. I wouldn't be surprised if he saw meaningful snaps for them at some point.

[Todd McShay]

Because I don't disagree.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

He's so instinctive and he plays the ball so well that I could see himself getting some playing time.

[Todd McShay]

I. I believe Prather was there. Lunt was there. Dorian Strong was there. Jackson Hawes was there. Hancock was, I think, the only, like, underclassmen of this group, really.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Jackson, Hawks.

[Todd McShay]

Landon Jackson was there. T.J. sanders were there. And. And Dionne Walker was there. And by there, I mean Mobile, Alabama.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah. Jackson Hawes gets a high ceiling, man. He's. He's one of those guys could be more productive in the pros than he was in college.

[Todd McShay]

All right, Miami. Oh, not. I mean, oh, here's. Here's the deal. Some. Some organizations, I didn't agree with where they got the picks, but when the draft's done, you're like, yeah, they got better and they address some needs. But with Miami, I like Kenneth Grant in terms of, like, you can't find these big guys who can move like this. And we've seen Dexter Lawrence and how he's improved as a pass rusher, and he's not Dexter Lawrence. He's not Carter. Not Carter. The other. The Eagles. The Eagles defensive.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Jordan.

[Todd McShay]

Yes. Jordan. Yes.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Davis.

[Todd McShay]

Jordan Davis. Thank you.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Got there.

[Todd McShay]

He's not those guys, but he's like this year's version a little, you know, he's not light. You can't say light with 331 pounder. But my point is, like, the Chargers take him at 22, I think. Was their pick 20? Yeah, yeah, I'm. I'm cool with that.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

13.

[Todd McShay]

13 was high. Okay. And Big Jonah from Arizona, the offensive tackle in college. But. And I love his verse, Joe. Big Jonah made sense to me, but it was pick 37. Man, I like him.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I get it. I like him.

[Todd McShay]

Why it makes sense is because he started what was like five games at left tackle, 16 at right tackle, 13 at guard. He, like, he had. And they have. They don't know what lineup they're. They're rolling out there. Miami doesn't truly like, so get bodies. And it's dependent on. It's dependent on some of the guys who haven't had to play a lot with Toronto Armstead retiring. Right. And. And, and they. And you look at last year. Was it last year, their second round pick at left tackle? Yeah. 20, 24. Patrick Paul. Right, Right. And then Austin Jackson's not the answer. The 2020 first round pick at right tackle. So best case, he's a right tackle. Worst case, he's inside a guard. And there's questions at guard too. So I understand the versatility because if it doesn't work out a tackle, we can still start in the guard. But it seemed early for me. Jordan Phillips, fifth round pick. Fine Phillips guy. The two picks I did like and you take it from here. I liked Ollie Gordon in the six. If he can get back to 20, 23, they may have gotten a huge steal.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Right.

[Todd McShay]

Some teams were higher on him than others. And then Quinn Ewers in the seventh, it's like, why not?

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I love that.

[Todd McShay]

I, I, I and, and he, he doesn't have that big time. Drive it down the field arm. He fits what they want to do. He can learn from Tua. Mike McDaniel might get the best out of him, man.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah, I don't hate that one. They're kind of handcuffed by the fact they only had two picks in the first three rounds, right?

[Todd McShay]

First four rounds. I think that's right. That's right back.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

But yeah, the first four rounds. So they're kind of handcuffed there. And some of these, I'm like, what are you going to do in the fif. I mean, Jordan Phillips, he's not for me. I know he's got a lot of upside. No career sacks. I watch his tape and I'm like, you need. He came out early, too. I mean, early. He should have gone back. He needs a lot of work. He's got a lot of talent, but he needs a lot of work. That's just not, not a player for me. I'm not surprised that he went that late. But other than that, it's, it's a very, you know, for lack of a better way of saying it, man, Kenneth Grant's a great fit for what they want to do, but because his versatility and his talent. But I'm like, Todd, it's early. Just seems early.

[Todd McShay]

And Jalen Ramsey's on the way out. They've got to make, they've got to make that trade.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

And Jason Marshall, the answer, no, no, not a bad player.

[Todd McShay]

You got to address cornerback position somehow. So I don't know if that's a trade for somebody, what that looks like. And the Tyree Kill situation, it's plan there, it's concerning. So they've got their hands full in Miami, which is shocking considering where they were like middle, middle of the pre of 2023, you know?

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yes.

[Todd McShay]

All right, moving on.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Best team in the League. Let's go.

[Todd McShay]

Who's that? New England Patriots, of course. I like this draft. Patriots fans like, you got to love, think about where you were one year ago. Patriots fans, right. And then think about where you were like week two of the season and now pick your head up and where you are. My goodness, things have changed. Rabel comes in, the organization gets aggressive. They start spending their money, they make big moves. Milton Williams, obviously, Harold Landry is an addition. Robert Spillane is an addition. Carlton Davis is a really nice addition. Stefan Diggs, they bring in Garrett Bradbury at center temporarily. Morgan Moses at right tackle temporarily. And now they come out and they draft Will Campbell. Whether you love it or hate it, I feel like we've done a deep dive on this. And Patriots fans know, know where everyone stands on this. But what I love most is you've got this quarterback, right. And he is, he is what everything hinges on keeping him healthy and getting weapons around him. And the Patriots, for as long as I can remember, dating back to Randy Moss, since Moss left town, they have not had explosive difference makers. Speed put fear into opponents. They bring in Trayvon Henderson who runs in the low four fours. 1, 5, 210 yard split, 70 yard screened for touchdown. If you want to see the level of explosiveness, you can watch it all season long. Last year put him in a rotation. Kyle Williams speed at wide receiver. You can argue slightly early, but that's about where he was going to go. Jared Wilson, maybe it's not starting. He's got to develop still a little bit. Only one year as a starter Jarrett Wilson had because he sat behind Van Pran, right at Georgia.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yep.

[Todd McShay]

But you brought in Garrett Bradbury. So Garrett holds the seat or he.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Plays a guard, you know, or how good problem to have.

[Todd McShay]

Good problem that. Now we have the right kind of depth issues on the offensive line. We're starting to create those. Okay. Joshua Farmer was a frickin steal in the fourth round. There was talk of second round. There was some durability stuff that led to.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I couldn't believe it.

[Todd McShay]

Long armed, powerful, quick hands. He's going to be in a rotation. Braden Swenson, I had a late second.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Who's two packs man, Farmer and Swinson to get them on the turn from the 4th to the 5th.

[Todd McShay]

Unbelievable. And by the way, you got your starting kicker, Borgales.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I mean that, that's, that is good. That is a good pick. I like that pick. The Farmer Swinson picks. I was stunned. I mean that's again managing your board and understanding like just Seeing those and just, you know, I don't know what their plan was in terms of what they were going to address with those picks, but when you see those two names on the board, I just don't know how you don't take them.

[Todd McShay]

So they wind up with three offensive linemen, right?

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

The Marcus Bryant kid from Missouri. Keep an eye, okay? Keep an eye on him. He was the. He was the offensive tackle opposite of Arman Menboo, who's the seventh overall pick. Big kid. He ran a sub five. He has long arms. He's. He's someone. If they, if they can get Dante Skarnegy to come out of retirement, maybe work with him a little bit. And my understanding he's doing some advising. If you can. If you can unlock that kid's potential, he's got to play with better pad level and a little better balance, but if you can unlock that kid's potential, that's a seventh round pick. I mean, that's a guy I would take a flyer on.

[Todd McShay]

And at the end of the day, Mike Vrabel is trying to change things in New England from a year ago. He's trying to bring in, and I like the word culture, whatever his program, right? And 11 draft picks this year was critical in doing that. And maybe only eight of them stick, but that's eight new players on your roster that you vetted, you interviewed, you worked out, you trust that they are going to buy into what you're doing and they want to be there with you. Things are moving fast in the right direction for New England Jets. Jets were interesting and I honestly, they had a really good draft. This offensive line, if you, if you tell jets fans, while it's not sexy, it's not the tight end, but obviously.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

You know, but you got the tight end.

[Todd McShay]

You. I know, I'm saying.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I know, I know. But you still get here.

[Todd McShay]

Here's what I loved about the jets pick, okay? And I think. And I talk about it a lot leading up to the draft, so I want to point out where it happens and I want to give. I want to give organizations when they do, when they manage the board the way this was managed, okay? You got to give them credit for doing it. We talk about combo picks a lot. It's okay. What does it look like if we take Tyler Warren at 7 or we take a. A corner? There's no corner. Take an edge. But Jalen walker fell to 15. Okay? The guy that we talked about, potentially, Tyler Warren fell to 14. And most importantly, eight offensive linemen went in the first round. Okay, so. So what does this board look like if we go with one of those two, the aforementioned Warren Walker, what's going to be available at 38 when we come back on the board at offensive tackle? The answer was nothing. You're psyched about nothing.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

You could plan on being a starter right away. Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

So we get Armand Menbu, who you and I believe outside of Josh Simmons is the most talented offensive offensive lineman in this draft.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Okay, agree.

[Todd McShay]

And in that zone blocking scheme and how. How good he is getting out and running at £332, it's like stupid when you watch him on tape.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Guys playing the right. They on the right.

[Todd McShay]

Yes. And with Fashanu and Tippmann and Sampson and. And, and, and most importantly, Elijah Vera Tucker playing at home now at guard, this could finally be the first time we could say in three general managers and give Joe Douglas a lot of credit for being a part of transitioning from really bad to pretty good, but not quite there. They carry the torch over this could be the first time in like over a decade that the jets actually have an asset in that offensive line group. Okay. And that's going to help because they got to run the football because. Because Justin Fields isn't going to sit in the pocket and beat you. And if you're going to run the football right and you're going to try to work the short in the middle of the field, let's bring in Mason Taylor. I didn't think there was a chance in hell Mason Taylor is going to be the third tight end. I did think it may be 42, but again, managing the board saying if we go Warren here, we get nothing at tackle that we're psyched about. Now we're psyched about our right tackle. And like, I'm thrilled Mason Taylor, if he can stay healthy, and I know it's a big if because he had two seasons, but it was really like one injury that he was still fighting through and came back. So again, we're talking about the combo picks. You, you fix your right tackle position.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Right.

[Todd McShay]

Fix your offensive line and, and by doing so, you. You avoid what could have happened at 42, which is there's no tackle that can. Can be the starter and be an impact guy. And then you still get Mason Taylor. And Mason Taylor wasn't utilized properly. It was like 12th percentile of. Of average depth of target at LSU, but he was like 93rd percentile or something ridiculous in terms of separation. So we know he can separate. He just wasn't utilized down the Field this guy. I mean, he's a plug and play starter. He's a plug and play starter. He's reliable, he's durable, he's consistent. He's a worker. He's got it in his blood. Two hall of Famers in his bloodline played in the sec, Mason Taylor. Like there was talk about him going late first round. Okay. So those combo picks were brilliant. And then to come back in the third round and get your corner and to wait on corner because the court Amos dropped Az. Az Thomas from Florida State dropped these corner. Savone Revel dropped. They. So my point is they. They knew the board. They did their work. They had their relationships and communication and they wound up getting at those spots. A starting right tackle, a starting tight end and impact guys and taking a flyer on Az Thomas who ran the 4, 5, 8. I love that pick. But on tape, on tape, where it matters. He plays fast.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Right.

[Todd McShay]

Really good ball skills. I just like this draft a lot.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I liked it a lot as well. I had someone, I talked to someone in the league the week of the draft and Malachi Moore was a guy, was all over my board all year. Loved him. Couldn't. I was concerned about size and speed. And there's some tape from 2023 when Malik neighbors is running by him. And Malik Neighbors does that to guys. But. But this person. League was like, keep an eye on Malachi Moore. He is a good player. He's a slot safety. I thought that was a great pick towards the end of the fourth round. And I'll say this too. Tyler Barron from Miami, their last pick in this draft.

[Todd McShay]

Yes. Greats.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Underrated edge.

[Todd McShay]

Yep.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

He's a guy that people are going to look back and say, how is he rated? Solo.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Something else interesting about their draft. I want to make sure I get this right. 1, 2, 3, 4. 4 SEC players, 3 ACC players they're not messing around with. And I think we're going to see more of this with the transfer portal stuff. Yeah, but they're not messing around with the smaller schools. They wanted to get guys from bigger programs.

[Todd McShay]

Denver, AFC West. Let's shift over Denver. Excuse me, Denver. Like everything was about them trying to trade up to go get Ashton Genti. And it was confirmed. Sean Payton came out. He was great about. You know, I think you actually told me. I went and looked.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah, it was great. Right.

[Todd McShay]

What do you say? Go ahead.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

He was just basically saying that they were falling in love with Ashton Genti. And then there was a, you know, come to Jesus conversation of we're not getting this guy, are we? And then it was, well, what are we doing? Why are we watching his tape? Why are we falling in love with this? And then Sean Payne went back to his office and watched about two hours of RG Harvey tape and was like, yeah, we're good. I think we're going to be all right with this kid.

[Todd McShay]

And it was earlier than I thought. And I absolutely adored RJ Harvey. There were some durability things that people were maybe concerned about a little bit. The medical, the medical was supposed to lead to him dropping, and it didn't. And I'm pumped for him because he's a team captain, two time, I believe, leader, tough guy, undersized. He's one of my powerful contact balance for his size. Catches the ball like I love him. And you know what? Like if Sean, I know you've talked about him. I know Harvey's my dude. So I love that pick at 60, even though it was higher than I even thought. John a. Barron at 20, your guy, please. So these are two of my guys. And then, and then they turn around the third round and take one of men's guys. My guy. Yeah, yeah. Like this is our draft class here.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

It's all really from, from beginning to end. And Q. Robinson, the kid from Alabama, love that. Where they got him. He's end of the fourth. He's an, he's another edge rusher with some upside. He was a guy that was getting a little bit of buzz and I think it kind of cooled off. Love that pick. Do you know who the Utah tight end is?

[Todd McShay]

They took loner. Yeah.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Interesting cat. He's a former basketball player. He's six, seven ran really well. I think he ran the four sixes.

[Todd McShay]

Okay.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

He had four catches last year, his first year of college football.

[Todd McShay]

I did not.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

But he's a, he's a post up, box out tight end right now, but he's got a ton of tools, a ton of upside. I love those kind of seventh round, man. I love those kind of.

[Todd McShay]

That's a flyer.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

It's an intriguing. If they hit, great. But I mean, if we look at the. Yeah. If you look at the tools and the lack of experience of where this player could go.

[Todd McShay]

Throw a little change at it. Throw a little change at it.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah. And it is funny on tape because there's very little tape on him. Very little tape. But he is clearly a basketball player playing football.

[Todd McShay]

And at the end of the day, they needed, they needed some jokers and they, and they got two jokers. If, if you believe. If you believe in men's eval on Pat Bryant. And I don't think he's that far off. And. And the Broncos not.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

That is not confidence right there. Not that far off.

[Todd McShay]

You loved him and you got to even admit 74. You didn't think.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

No way. I'll tell you right now. I had him in the fifth round. I think because I just. Yep.

[Todd McShay]

Because the speed.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I just didn't think. I didn't think teams would do it. I was trying to be honest with myself too. You know.

[Todd McShay]

But I love that I look.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

You know what they did? Do you know what they did? The Broncos just relied on their eyes and tape.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I should have done the same.

[Todd McShay]

Jade Baron belonged in the top 20. He's one of the best 15 football players in the draft. RJ Harvey's tape is like it make you teary eyed. It's so good. Pat Bryant's tape is awesome. He just didn't run well. Savion Jones tape is really freaking good.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

Tough, powerful long arm. Yeah. Q. Robinson's got upside. I just. I like this draft. And then Crenshaw apparently I don't do. I don't do punchers and kickers.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I just don't. You need five minutes on him.

[Todd McShay]

Apparently he's got a big leg.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Don't call my bluff.

[Todd McShay]

He's got a big leg. I tried to go write about him while we were over at Rossillo's house yesterday. Chiefs. If Simmons hits Chiefs fans, if Josh Simmons hits left tackle. Set for years.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

This whole draft is awesome though.

[Todd McShay]

I'm. I'm getting there.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Sorry I started to jump the gun. I get excited about this one.

[Todd McShay]

But then after that gamble but not. But at that point it was the right gamble and you're gambling on the medical. You're gambling on like maturity externals. But if Andy Reid can get the former offensive lineman can get out of him. What is in that tank? You're set for years at left tackle. Most talented offensive lineman in the draft and I know mention sitting right next to me and he agrees.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yes.

[Todd McShay]

But then they went back and then they went back to the recipe and the recipe is we got Mahomes. We got to protect him. That was a nightmare in the super bowl. So. So we just gave him one asset for protect, for protection. But then we're going right back to it. Shifted the focus to defense for three straight picks. Interior defensive lineman edge cornerback Omar Norman Lott. One of my favorite guys. I can't believe he win.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

The second I had him I talked.

[Todd McShay]

To a couple teams. Apparently he was, he was a trip at the combine. There are some funny stories. Ashton Galati Edge Louisville.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

That's a good pick.

[Todd McShay]

That's a really good pick. Those are good football players. I'm not, I'm not the biggest Noel Williams. He was going to go there. I'm not the biggest Noel Williams but other people liked him. So like I'm good with it. Jalen Royals end of the fourth. End of the fourth.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

That had to be some kind of durability concern or injury concern.

[Todd McShay]

I feel like Jeffrey Basa, good player. The most traveled man in the pre draft circuit was Mr. Jeffrey linebacker Oregon. Every team, I bet you 20 plus teams brought him in for 30 visits. So that was intriguing to me. And then your guy. Who's my guy?

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Rashad Smith went in seventh.

[Todd McShay]

I couldn't believe it. I had to flip the page. I forgot that this is where he went like with Mahomes in that offense. Andy Reid and dialing things up and.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

The way they use their backs in the passing game. The former wide receivers.

[Todd McShay]

Former wide receiver. Unbelievable year for smu.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Fit, value, need, awesome. That's what you're looking for picks, right?

[Todd McShay]

Yeah. I really liked like Omar Norman Lott and Ashton Galat. Galati. Both pass rusher first type players. Right. They're both guys who.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Physical pass rushers too though.

[Todd McShay]

Yes. But, but that like so in a rotate, remember Omar Norman Lott? It was just like James Pierce. They were, they were running three line shifts like a hockey team. They had three line shifts. Okay. And so they, they had like the fewest snaps of the edges and defensive tackles respectively for, for Pearson Norman Lott. But they played fresh and they were allowed to rush the passer and that's what Omar Norman lot's going to be able to do. And it's going to take a lot of the load I think off of Chris Jones or it can help. And Steve Spagnolo with all the blitzing. Like these are two players that may wind up being like real serious impact even if they're only playing half the snaps. 30 something snaps.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Right.

[Todd McShay]

I just, I think that this was a smart draft. And then Royals and Burchard Smith late are going to be impact players. I'll be shocked if they're not.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

The Raiders.

[Todd McShay]

I highlighted so many. Here's the thing.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Although we. Yeah, it's the Raiders. Yep.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

They have in the wrong order.

[Todd McShay]

The Raiders. I, I probably. I. My, my code here is I highlight the guys that I thought were good values and obviously starting with Ashton Genti I want to give a lot of credit first of all for the espionage for getting out the late leak that it was. That it was going to be Banks and so. So John Spytech. I see you.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I see you. That would happen again.

[Todd McShay]

But much more importantly to the point outside of Caleb Rogers, the offensive lineman from Texas tech at pick 98 and I love the fact they went back to back offensive lineman there with Rogers and Charles Grant, offensive tackle William Mary, every pick on this list was of value. Genty at 6 value and like obviously and knowing your team and they're in this first three picks like high character guys who are going to come in and love especially Jinty and Besh.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yes.

[Todd McShay]

Jack Besh a wide receiver. He's a starter. I don't care like he's a.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

He's definitely a starter.

[Todd McShay]

Day 1 Physical Slot Block down the field. Darien Porter, traits for days, still developing. But so was Reek Wolin when he came out of utsa. And this guy's got former wide receiver ball skills. Later, Dante Thornton. Speed, explosiveness. I had. That's exactly where I thought he was gonna go. Tonka Hemingway.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

I got off the plane in Mobile, Alabama.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I was gonna say. Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

I didn't have Internet. I want to know, I want to know. Was that Tonka? Yep. And 1791.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

You're like, who's 91? 91.

[Todd McShay]

Because in that game he played better than even your boy Sanders. I said to you, I said, wrong with Tonka.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

You did see that.

[Todd McShay]

I didn't say, hey, men, how was your flight?

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I remember we watched about like the rental cars.

[Todd McShay]

You're like wrong with Tonka. I like that guy.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

J.J. peggies my guy.

[Todd McShay]

Best running back in the the SEC according to you. And you're welcome, by the way.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

You. I was kind of. Just give me a minute to thank you.

[Todd McShay]

Okay, go ahead.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I love by the way that they got from the same conference, Tommy Malotte from Montana State who's a quarterback but he's going to be a wide receiver.

[Todd McShay]

Julian Edelman is the.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Julian Edelman is the comp.

[Todd McShay]

Yep.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

An outstanding runner. Tested extremely well, doesn't throw the ball well enough. He's not big enough to stay a quarterback, but he's an intriguing prospect. And then Cam Miller from North Dakota State. Those guys are battling. The Walter Payton award goes to the fcs. Best FCS player in the country.

[Todd McShay]

Yep.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Tommy Miller. One Cam Miller too.

[Todd McShay]

Oh.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I mean those guys on the same team, I just love. I think they're going to be competitive and push each other I think that those are great back to back picks. But yes, McShade did call me. There's another player. I'm going to bring this up later on too. And said, hey man, the Montana State quarterback, keep an eye on. He's going to go.

[Todd McShay]

So, so write him up so you don't have to walk over to the back table when we're talking to Rosillo and you can actually join in the conversation. Finally, the Chargers. But I do love like I do love that draft for, for Spy Tech first year there and, and with Pete Carroll like they, they made some headway starting with Jinty. The Chargers nailed the first four picks in my opinion. Nailed it. And, and in the Harbaugh image, okay, I, Joe Ortiz doing a great job there, drafting comes from the Baltimore Ravens and it's about knowing what you are as an organization and Harbaugh whether as you made the point on their show the other day, whether it's San Francisco, whether it's Stanford, whether it's Michigan. It's about, you know, multiple tight ends. But it's about running the football and being physical and putting our quarterback in a position with play action to set him up for some big shots. Make life easier. And we saw in the playoffs last year we got to make life easier on, on Justin Herbert. And that's what they did. They come out, Omarion Hampton is going to pound the rock. And by the way, he catches the ball. 97th percentile missed tackles forced after the catch as a running back last year. Okay, Trey Harris, physical. Let's not. Maybe we don't have to throw 30, 40 yards down the field. Three out of every four times we drop back to pass. Maybe we can get a quick slant, quick out and throw up a little.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Fade, get 12 yards.

[Todd McShay]

Trey Harris, wide receiver, Ole Miss. Not the fastest guy, but my goodness, is he good after the catch. Jamari Caldwell, huge interior defender.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Too early.

[Todd McShay]

Fine, but like stout, tough versus the run.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Listen, Tonka Hemingway there, Josh Farmer there, Cam Jackson there, Yaya Black there.

[Todd McShay]

I like. I'm a Caldwell guy, so I'm not going to nitpick. I didn't think he was going to go quite that high. It is what they need and it's what they need. And remember, this is a team. Had Kenneth Grant fallen and Puna Ford out, Kenneth Grant probably would be that pick. So at least they get a big body guy. And I like Kyle Kennard, man. I know he doesn't have traits in the fourth round. That's a great pick too.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Go watch the LSU tape tell me you don't like him. Also, I think the sixth round safety R.J. mickens out of Clemson, wildly underrated. A big safety that can run can cover a little bit. I look at that. I couldn't believe I was higher on him than a lot of people. I understand that. I couldn't believe he lasted that long. End of the six to get RJ Mickens.

[Todd McShay]

I just look at like Najee Harris assigned. But this like now we got a difference maker. Difference maker, running back.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah. You know, and there'll be plenty enough for both of those to eat.

[Todd McShay]

Both of those questions. Especially now that Jim can start doing what he wants to do.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Offense is what he wants to do.

[Todd McShay]

That's a wrap on the afc. Stick with us here. We're going to take a second, do whatever we got to do for a minute. We're going to be right back with the nfc. I'm sure Tuck will play some music, something fun to keep you going and then we'll be right back and attack the NFC with the same vigor, the same excitement mentioned finished strong.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Ferocious.

[Todd McShay]

Ferocious. Tenacious. All right, we'll see in a minute.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

This episode is brought to you by the Home Depot.

[Todd McShay]

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[Mel Kiper Jr.]

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[Todd McShay]

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[Mel Kiper Jr.]

And 247 live help. Because at Schwab, we understand it's your financial journey and we believe you should have choices in how you invest.

[Todd McShay]

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[Mel Kiper Jr.]

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[Todd McShay]

[e-mail] and we're back. Bears fans, Bears fans, AF NFC North. 3, 2, 1. NFC North. That's where we're starting. Okay? And Chicago Bears fans, you've heard me screaming your name. And it didn't work out exactly how we talked about with Ashton Genti as a possibility, although they tried. Ryan Poles, Ian Cunningham, they tried. They tried to move up, according to all reports, and didn't happen. Pick it. 10. And interestingly enough, Mensch, Ben Johnson's fingerprints were all over this thing. Okay, let's start there.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Right?

[Todd McShay]

Secondly, interestingly, and to my surprise, but it wasn't shock, they choose Colston Loveland over Tyler Warren. And we had a lot of indicators from people we talked to. Don't be surprised if Loveland goes before Warren. And in this case, it actually makes sense because to me, Ben Johnson is looking for chess pieces. Get in the lab, design ways to do it. So now we've got Cole Comet, we've got Loveland. Loveland is. Loveland is more in that tree of the. The Travis Kelsey, whereas Warren is more in that grunt tree. Okay? And so flex him out, kick him out wide, move them around. Best separator in terms of route running and ability to get open with his feet. Doesn't need his body as much as a lot of these big tight ends to get late separation. He does it with his feet like a big wide receiver. Then they come back with Luther Burden at 39, who fell because of some of the character issues. But at the end of the day, this guy's too talented to fall outside the top 40. We knew that coming in. And he's. He's got that Debo Samuel type ability. Not the best downfield route runner. Okay. He can develop there in terms of tracking the ball, he's a little inconsistent, but he is such a good. Like, for an offensive coordinator like this who's so creative with the ball in his hands, he's one of the special athletes in this class. And then the offensive tackle spot, let's bring in a guy in Tropillo, Ozzie Tropillo, who appears to me like a right tackle. I've heard people talk about a left tackle.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

He's a right.

[Todd McShay]

I think he's a right tackle. I think eventually, like, if it's inside a guard, but to me, he's a right tackle. And I know you're looking at it and say, well, we Got Darnell right. But the future of this position and there's going to be contracts coming up pretty soon. And Wright was a first round pick back in 23. However it plays out. And you brought in Joe Tunney, Drew Dahlman, Jonah Jackson along the interior. Maybe it's. It's developed for a year. We got a swing tackle if we need him, but also could. Could play a garden a year from now. I just, I like the direction they went with these. And I think you really like the pick in Turner late in the second round with Smart Turner, Mart Turner, the.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Texas A M defense tackle. If he, if, if he came out last year, I think he would have gone even higher than this. I think this is about right for him because he was.

[Todd McShay]

Tell people why.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Why he would have gone higher.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Very disruptive player. Very disruptive player this year.

[Todd McShay]

He's dealing with the injury, right?

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

He was dealing. He's played hurt this year. Was a stress fracture. His numbers dropped. You look at his numbers in 20, 20, 23. They're excellent for a defensive tackle. Also a little bit overshadowed maybe by Nick Scorton, the edge and by Shamar Stewart, the other edge. Shemar Turner can play, man. He's going to help them out. And it was like maybe their most pressing need and they get it with their fourth pick and they get it at the end of the second round. I thought that was a great pick. I'll tell you another player that I really liked is Zafrazer, the UTEP corner. I mean how many? Six. Three corners that run. Four. Three. Six are there in the world. Not many to get him in the fifth round. The Hippolyte, the fourth pick. The fourth round pick, Ruben Hippolyte was a little of a head scratcher.

[Todd McShay]

I put it. I put a blue highlight on that, which means. I thought it was a little bit of a reach. Was not where I would have gone with that pick.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

He ran well in his pro day, but he's 511. I don't.

[Todd McShay]

I just.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I don't know. I don't know. That was a little early for me.

[Todd McShay]

Dennis Allen, man to man defense, looking for press corners. I completely agree with you. Was off Frazier, right? This is going to be a team that's going to be more aggressive. Get up the field. They want that front four pass rush to get there. You brought in Montez Sweat, Graydon, Grady Jarrett, right? This is Grady. Can't play forever. Shamar Turner is another guy. Depth, keep legs fresh.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Turner could be a gritty Jarrett player, like a type player over the Long term, Yes. I love Grady Jarrett.

[Todd McShay]

I just.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I don't know how he went so late.

[Todd McShay]

I like these first four picks a lot. And Zafrazor fits exactly what they're looking to do. Okay. So running back not addressed until the seventh round would be one thing that I look at with this draft with all these running backs and like, Like Hippolyte. I get it. At linebacker, I get linebacker. I don't get that linebacker.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Right.

[Todd McShay]

Luke Newman. I just. I felt like there were better running backs on the board throughout the course of the draft that they could have brought someone in to make a little bit bigger impact. Listen, Monica, like, there's.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

He's not bad.

[Todd McShay]

No, there's some. There's some stuff to him, so I. I think he can contribute, but it's going to be. You're asking a lot from him to get what you're looking for at that position from a seventh round pick.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

All right, Agree.

[Todd McShay]

Detroit. Detroit was interesting. Let's just call it what it is. Who are you going to go with? Are you going to go with Brad Holmes, who I was all for what he did a couple years back with Jameer Gibbs and drafted a linebacker and a tight end. These aren't positions of priority. What is he doing? The year before, we drafted a wide receiver early with our second first round pick and he can't even play. He's, you know, the suspension, the injury. Or are you going to go with Todd McShay? Yeah, I mean, ultimately, that's what I'm asking you Lions fans. Like, I would take your guy ride with Brad. He's done nothing to deserve you not riding with them. He's been nothing short of brilliant. Okay. Everyone was laughing like, this is a bridge. Quarterback Jared Goff, like, bridge, my ass. He, like, everything he's touched is basically turned to gold. So when I sit here and tell you I thought they reached on just about every single pick, like, who are you going to ride with? And to be honest with you, I'm kind of questioning my own, like, right, you do that.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

He'll make you do that. He will make you.

[Todd McShay]

He's that good, is my point. So I'm not here sitting. I'm not sitting here questioning. I'm just saying, like, from my seat, my perspective, I liked the players. They got a lot. I just had almost all of them about a round, like a half round round below Ty Leak Williams. Watch him move at the combine. Beautiful, big man. Beautifully, you know, moving. I think there's more in the tank as a pass rusher. He's a great run defender. You're going to have to monitor the snaps, keep them fresh. Okay. Tate Ratledge is starting guard plug play. Yeah, but, like, could we have gotten him at 70 or something of that caliber? 70, where they took Isaac Tesla, who.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Was a riser and is interesting on tape, but he's a. He's a big slot receiver. That hasn't proven he can play outside. Really? And he played outside a little bit, but he was at his best working out of the slot. That one was the biggest reach for me. I do like the Miles Frazier pick in the fifth round. That was the one that I felt like they got really good value for. Miles Frazier's gonna. I think it'd be a starting guard in the league. But all the other ones, I agree with you.

[Todd McShay]

But, Tesla, I want Pat Bryant, your guy who went earlier than we thought to.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

Jaylen Noel sitting there.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

Jaylen freaking Nol is sitting there.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Tesla's a bigger height, weight, speed guy, but still.

[Todd McShay]

Well, he's bigger height. And. Wait, he ran.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

No, he ran well, too. I know he didn't run faster than Noel, but he runs well.

[Todd McShay]

Noel.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Sorry. Noel. They do pick guys that fit their personality and their head coach's personality, right?

[Todd McShay]

Yeah.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

These are guys who are gritty, tough grinders all. They know what their identity is. I just think they could have. Could have done better at spots, but.

[Todd McShay]

But clearly they're trying to make sure that they're able to protect and run the football up the middle. And by drafting Tate Ratledge and even. Miles. Miles Frazier. Two guards with their first, what, four picks? Clearly, they're indicating that this was your meat and bananas. Yeah, this was, like, right down the middle. We're gonna. We're gonna. We're gonna keep the grit, and we might have to run the ball a little bit. We don't have the. We don't have the, you know, the chef in there, the brilliant chef in there mixing up the ingredients on offense anymore, so. But we're going to be physical, and we're going to wear you down, and we're going to be deep along the defensive front, and we're going, you know, like, I think Ty Leak and then the Boise State guy. Hassanine, is it?

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

Ahmad. Ahmad, he's a tough kid. He's a tough kid. So you're right, it. It fits the. The temperament.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Right. Dan Jackson from Georgia wasn't at the combine, but was at the Senior Bowl. Chip on his shoulder, flies around against the run. These are guys that, if you're You. These are Dan Campbell guys.

[Todd McShay]

They are Green Bay. I love it. Best available man. And. And you know what? We got a lot of receivers. We got a lot of receivers, but who's ever stepped up? Jaden Reed has been awesome. Okay. But he's had some drops. Okay. The four receivers between 70 and 76 targets. But maybe we can. Maybe. Maybe our quarterback's good enough. We can get more and Matthew golden is going to provide more. Now we got a 429-guy receiver who's not excellent after the catch, but we don't need him. We need guys who can get down the field fast with that arm. Jordan Love's got an arm on him, man, and he loves to chuck it. So let's get guys who can run vertical down, let's get guys who can break off routes. Let's get guys who adjust to the football. That's what. How many times do you watch a Packers game and the ball's up in the air and it's a beautiful ball, but it is like maybe contested or we gotta. We gotta adjust and go track. And it's an incompletion, right. For whatever reason, but typically the receivers not making a great. How many times then did you watch Texas this year?

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Right?

[Todd McShay]

And a ball's up in the air and. And a lot of. And Quinn Ewers fell to the seventh round in part because the ball's hanging in the air. Yeah.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Watch the end of the year, especially for Golden. Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

Receiver has to adjust, come back to the football, track it and then. And then Sabion Williams, who's a running back, receiver, return specialist, don't get that twisted. He is not like, put him as much with the running backs as you will with the. The wide receivers. He's just. He's Cordero Patterson that's like not quite as fast, but still fast. Big, athletic. He's like, you're gonna. There's going to be some blooper reels of him falling, trying to get in and out of breaks. He's. He doesn't know where he's going all the time, but get him the ball in his hands and so that's going to be like. To me, that's on Matt LaFleur. Matt LaFleur saw him and said, chess piece.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah, chess piece.

[Todd McShay]

So now I get Golden Run to 429. I got Jaden Reed, I got all these other guys who have been okay, but like Heaven Step Dobbs, Christian Watson got Mikole Harmon. All of a sudden Matt LaFleur has got all these chess Pieces with this quarterback who's super talented. That's what I loved about this draft class. I thought Anthony Belton was too high where they took him.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Right.

[Todd McShay]

I truly did. But he's in.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah. You can't wait longer. I mean, we're already out. This is the. We've already dropped off the cliff that you've described when you get to Anthony Belton and he's probably the first guy that you would consider at that point. So I get it. Offensive tackles go early. I'm with you. I don't think the tape matches the. The spot.

[Todd McShay]

I liked Warren Brinson too. I know. Late round pick. Just.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I think that a golden. It's not overly exciting for me.

[Todd McShay]

Okay.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Savion Williams could turn into a guy. I get it. Everything you're saying about him is accurate. I get all of that. I love the golden pick. And then the rest of it, I'm like, eh, Baron Sorrell went exactly where I think he should have gone. He's tough, gets after the quarterback with great effort and motor. But I don't think he's special in terms of his tools. You know, Warren Brinson's great there. John Williams, a late offensive tackle, not a bad pick. I just. There's nothing like other. Some of these other drafts. And again, I have more beef with, you know, with what Detroit did. But I look at this class and I'm saying to myself, you know, just not overly exciting.

[Todd McShay]

I'll give you another. Another team in the National Football League where I look at the draft when the finished product and the expectation was we're going to have this feeling about it and I probably feel a little bit more about it than I thought I was going to. That it's me. Minnesota.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

And they had four they the fewest picks of any organization coming in. So we weren't ever going to look at the Vikings be like, oh my gosh, like they are. And by the way, I want to remind Vikings fans, look what they did in the off season.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Right.

[Todd McShay]

Look at, you know, look who they, you know, Jonathan Allen, Javon Hargrave. Okay. Ryan Kelly. Will. Will Fries. Freeze. Sorry. A lot of depth pieces all over. So. So they put themselves in a position where they could take best available for the most part. We knew cornerback was a position that they wanted to address. Right. Coming into the draft.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Right.

[Todd McShay]

Didn't do that.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Interesting.

[Todd McShay]

Right. Running back was a position that we thought that they would want to address. Aaron Jones, Jordan Mason, they brought it so like they protected themselves. But there was a lot of Freaking running backs. I don't know how many wound up even going. I haven't even gone back and look right. But there was a run in the fourth and fifth and sixth round of these running backs. Donovan Jackson's a damn good football player, okay? He kicked out the left tackle for Ohio State and honestly saved the season. Okay. When. When Josh Simmons got injured, I like that pick a lot. I didn't think he should go that high, but the linemen were going. So it was get one or get out of the business. So I think, like, to me, and I do feel like with his position flexibility and mostly as a guard, he's a great run blocker and he's a pretty darn good pass protector. So, like, I like that pick.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I like the player. I don't like it.

[Todd McShay]

There's. Yeah, yeah.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I love the Ty Felton pick at the end of the third round. I think you should have gone earlier. Tyrion Ingram Dawkins, your guy, he went in the beginning of the.

[Todd McShay]

That was my favorite pick of all of it.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Right.

[Todd McShay]

Fifth round here. Vikings fans, let me tell you a little bit about this guy. He is. He's arguably like top three or four most physically, five stars, right? Had a couple injuries early on, got lost in the shuffle. Easy to do there where we're pumping out first round draft picks in Georgia. Okay. I watched his tape this last year and there are times where I'm like, yeah, he doesn't quite know what the deal is, but he is talking about position. Like, I saw him play. One technique, three. Technique, five. Technique. So we're talking about penetrate, disrupt, or steering offensive linemen on a straight line. There's some shit on that tape where you're like, nuh.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

He's an unbelievable run defender. He's got to develop as a pass rusher, totally.

[Todd McShay]

But, like, as a fifth round pick, find me a guy in round five who has more upside than Tyrion Ingram. Dawkins, like, blew the doors off of the combine. Lucas Oil was like. There was smoke coming out of it with Tyrion Ingram, Davis.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

So if you were just handcuffed, you're right about what you said. I mean, they're handcuffed because their first pick is an offensive guard and then they have four other picks.

[Todd McShay]

Right.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I mean, what are we going to do? You know, it's not. It's not necessarily a bad draft. It's just not. Yeah, let's get excited.

[Todd McShay]

All right. NFC south, let's get excited. Let's go, Atlanta. Hey, hey.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Don't say they don't swing.

[Todd McShay]

I like my batters to get up there and take it, to take a deep cut into it. And that's exactly, that's exactly what Atlanta did. Terry, Terry Font. No, like he got after it, man. I'll tell you what, it's an interesting case study on just like the mind. Like how many years can you sit there in that GM chair and, and look and be like, I've tried everything on face earth, face of the earth to figure out this edge position, right? I've traded, I've drafted, I've signed and it never gets figured out. And we have a defense that doesn't have an identity and we have a defense that isn't fierce, it doesn't get after quarterbacks. And I sit there on Sundays inside my GM box and I watch these, these quarterbacks picking us apart and time in the pocket and it's driving me mad. And I just changed defensive coordinators again. And Jimmy Lake's out the door and Jeff Albrecht's in and I 27th again in pass rush win rate, 26 in run stop win rate. I've drafted Abbottie. I traded third round pick for Matthew Judon. I went and signed Leonard Florida again. I'll keep to keep, but I'm not doing it again.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Right.

[Todd McShay]

And so, so what they gave up was too much, no doubt about it. But I promise you this, you brought in one of the all time dogs in terms of this class and the leadership and the toughness and if you're going to be the alpha at Georgia, you got to be different. And Jalen Walker's different. He is going to hold like right away, hey, rookie. No, I'm not rookie. I'm the guy. He's going to take over this defensive front and pretty much, pretty soon it's going to be, he's, he's the leader of this Atlanta defense and they've been looking for this kind of guy and it's going to be some off the ball and it's going to be edge rusher. They're going to move him around and Ulbricht's going to have a blast with the flexibility. We got to be multiple. Everyone says we've got to be multiple. They throw a lot at us and they're in personnel sets. We're going to be multiple. I told you the drinking game. If you want to get hammered, sit down with a defensive coordinator and have a sip every time that he says multiple. And this guy allows you to be multiple and he's explosive and he's a leader and then you Go.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

And you, but you didn't trade up for that guy. You trade up for a guy who.

[Todd McShay]

Who'S not that guy.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Right.

[Todd McShay]

Who's not an alpha dog who has, who comes into the league with a reputation of where is he the other six days he shows up. I've told you there's, I draw a line in the sand. When I see it on tape, I will.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

The one, one thing I have a problem with on the tape is I'm not sure he plays within their scheme all the time. I think he's a little selfish.

[Todd McShay]

The motor's great, but he plays, but he plays hard.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

He plays hard all the time. But I think he's out to, I don't think he's always there to play within the scheme. I think he takes some chances in terms of how he attacks offensive line.

[Todd McShay]

And I think a lot of that has to do with the preparation and not being, you know what I mean.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Right in the nose.

[Todd McShay]

And I think Jalen Walker now is, it's, you got drafted to bring everything that you, you brought, you had at Georgia, skills and traits wise. But also I, I, I need your leadership because I just trade away next year one.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Right, Right.

[Todd McShay]

For James Pierce, who is the second best pass rusher behind Abdul Carter in this draft. I just traded away a first round draft pick to get him. I, I'm going to need you to light a fire and keep him involved and invested in here and getting cut out the externals in his life. And if that happens all of a sudden, looks like a good deal.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Oh, it's just like the Jacksonville Cleveland deal. Right?

[Todd McShay]

100%.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

It seems too much. But if it pans out the way that Atlanta foresees it panning out, it's not too much. Trading an extra first round pick to get James Pierce. This is a guy again who came into the year neck and neck with Abdul Carter about who's going to be the first edge off the, off the.

[Todd McShay]

Board and in safety was a position that you looked at the players, they got Justin Simmons, Jesse Bates didn't quite have the year he had getting up there a little bit and now. But yeah, yeah, yeah, no, I mean he still had like 100 tackles hit 100 tackles, four, four forced fumbles, four interceptions. I'm not, I'm not cutting, I'm saying there's signs. Right. Okay. And so when you see signs, good general managers get out ahead of it. And, and you're, and Justin Simmons free agency. So Xavier Watts and Billy Bowman. Billy Bowman is a Tasmanian devil. He's undersized short arms, doesn't tackle the inconsistent tackle because of those short arms. But he plays his ass off and he's the most prepared guy in the world. They got that. Here's the thing. Four of their draft picks are like a plus plus character, football character, leadership, toughness, involvement, preparation. And then they brought in James Pierce and I, I know it sounds funny, there's James Pierce but, but, but now we're surrounding him with a class of guys.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

You're right. I get it. It's just, it's just funny how you worded it to me, but yeah, I understand what you're saying.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah. So any other thoughts?

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

No, I agree with you. It's all about that. I love the safeties of the God. I'll just add in really quickly that the, the late round offensive tackle slash offensive guard Jack Nelson played a lot better towards the end of the year. Again, these are players that have flaws at the end but I don't mind taking a flyer. Jack Nelson, he played for a lot of different offensive line coaches at Wisconsin. If you can get him into a stable situation, I think he could turn into a player for them.

[Todd McShay]

They had five picks coming in. They used five picks.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Again, you, this is the thing too. A lot of the drafts we're talking about, they were excited about. Right? 11 picks, 10, no question, eight picks.

[Todd McShay]

But I'm excited about what this class can do for this Atlanta team because these are positions that they needed to address obviously at edge first and foremost. But also like I, I, I want to make it perfectly clear that they believe they've got their guy at quarterback. And I've said the great organizations follow this trend. Get switch it right away in the draft to the defensive side. We got to get great on that side of the ball and in part of that highest in the priority is get me some closers because we're going to go score some points with our quarterback that we love and that's their mindset. Now we're all in on, on Michael Penix and we've drafted wide receivers, right?

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

And we've drafted tight ends and we. So now it's time to get a great defense opposite him.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Right. And if you're going to be a gm look you might get, you're probably going to fire at some point. Point everyone gets fired at some point. If you're a gm, do you want to get fired because you played it safe and try to do it the, you know, the simple way or do you want to be the guy who's like I did everything in my power to go up. Like, do you want to be the Gladstone who said, I went up and got Travis Hunter and it didn't work out? But I was aggressive. Terry Fano. I was aggressive about getting the quarterback that I wanted. I was aggressive about addressing our pass rush needs. I like that. I like that approach. You're not going to sit back there and at the end and regret not doing something. I'd rather regret doing something.

[Todd McShay]

I have a great deal of respect for Dan Morgan. I've told you. There are organizations, like, a bunch of my guys are like, on my. Why don't you take Carolina?

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Well, you didn't like it. Oh, because Roe McMillan, the eighth overall pick to Carolina. I look, I think that's early. I think we all think that's early. I think that.

[Todd McShay]

But he was going.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

He was going to go. It surprised me. If you had told me before the draft that Jalen Walker was going to go after him, I would have gone the edge. I would have gone Jalen Walker, I would have gone Mikel Williams. I would have. I would have taken a defensive edge here. I think that's more. More value. Tedro is going to go. He was the first receiver on my board. I don't hate the pick. I would have gone in a different direction. I will say this, that they got Nick Scorton from Texas A and M and Princely. You man me, Ellen in the third. They got scored in the second round. You man me, Ellen in the third round. So it's not like they didn't address the edge position. And those are two pretty good positions. I mean, two pretty good players at where they took them. And there are some players down the board that we can talk about in a second. But your, your main thing is.

[Todd McShay]

Well, and I wasn't. I wasn't a scorching guy either.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Right. So I, I'm not scorting though. And I understand you say you're not a scoring guy, but you weren't a scoring guy first. Are you a scoring guy at pick 19 in the second round?

[Todd McShay]

No, I had a late second, early third, but that was me.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

That's not that far, but go ahead. Sorry.

[Todd McShay]

I mean, around that high is pretty far off.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Okay.

[Todd McShay]

So very productive player on statistically.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Very productive player. Very good tape. Doesn't have great measurables. Was excellent at Purdue and was excellent.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah, yeah. He's tough. He's like. I like him. I just don't see anything special about him.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Devil's advocate would be like if Shemar Stewart's so damn good. Why was this guy way, way more productive?

[Todd McShay]

Yeah, I think it was part of the scheme. I, I understand what you're trying to get to. I know, I understand that. I just. I didn't see the traits like I saw with Shamal.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

They're not there. This guy, this guy is probably more towards the topping out end of his. His skill set where then Shemar Stewart is. But again in the middle of the second round. I like that pick. I think that's a good pick.

[Todd McShay]

But Trevor ETN is. Is an interesting pickup. I think he's got a little bit of juice to see if he can protect the ball and those sorts of things. Latham Ransom is a. Is a. I mean dude.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

He's a tough, tough.

[Todd McShay]

Buckle up. Right. And Mitchell Evans I think were they.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I love that pick.

[Todd McShay]

That's a good pick too.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

So not all. Not all. I just for me like it's not. And I do want to say a Tetaro McMillan was going to go and I think it was worst case 12. So that's not a reach by that standard. I think it's very important that they're able to get him focused and channeled and doing the right things and paying attention to detail and finishing routes and becoming like the best he can be like much, much closer to what it was with Jed fish back in2023. Okay. If they can do that, they get a damn good football player. And Adam Thielen's their best receiver. Right. And he's 35 years old. All right. And. And they brought in Xavier Leggett who's going to continue to ascend. Which is the assumption and they absolutely should. But now you get two trees for your shorter quarterback to be able to launch the ball up to and trust contested catches and those sorts of things. It makes, it does make a lot of sense. And Jalen Coker, if he continues it, he like he's a pretty good number. Number three. Right. So number three, number four.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

They got the Texas tight end last year too. They got some young talent there.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah. It wasn't. I just. I feel like you had a. You had a better version of what Carolina did this year based off.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I can't believe I didn't pick it up right away.

[Todd McShay]

The Saints, Kelvin Banks I got no problem with. Even though I wasn't as high on him. Like I totally get what they did. It was the same when I go and praise the jets for looking at the combo picks and what would be involved and they had. They were under the strong assumption that 40th pick was going to be on a quarterback. And so they get Tyler Shuck in round two, who I like right now, Saints fans, Saints fans, Saints fans. It's like more probable than not that Chuck's getting a shot, a real shot at being the starter there. And I, and I've said it from the beginning, I think he's as, as or more ready from a maturity like been through the wars, had the game taken away from him in his mind as he's carted off the field. Three season ending injuries, seven years, three schools. Like 90 different coordinators. Like he's been through it all. So he comes in with like a different level of maturation and, and just readiness then you. It's kind of rare to see that with a guy. And yes, he's a little bit older and yes, only one year full starting experience, but his traits are awesome.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Awesome.

[Todd McShay]

So physical. And there's nothing like Kellen Moore is the right guy for that job because he's in the mold of a Justin Herbert of a Dak Prescott. He's in the mold of a Jalen Hurts. Not identical but like there's some similar traits and qualities. I'm excited for Shuck, I'm excited for New Orleans, I think. I don't know, man. I've been saying since January, put him in the right spot.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

We may look back two, three years from now and say Shock was a turn out to be the best quarterback of the group or second best quarterback of the group. All right. Louisville corner Jonas Sanker. I love that pick. Third round, Louisville corner Quincy Riley. Wait to be a Saints man.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Fourth.

[Todd McShay]

Wait until you see his ball skills. He is not the fastest.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

He's not the tips to himself, one handed picks.

[Todd McShay]

I mean he's, he's like having fun out there. When the ball's in the air, he's gonna, he's gonna get the ball back to Shuck. And Devin Neil's your guy.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Mensch, sixth round.

[Todd McShay]

And I like him. But you.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I moved. I, I have to make a confessional here a little bit. We did sit here last week and I said that I was going to move any of my backs out of the top hundred and I knew Devin Neal was going to go in the top 100 so I put him at 101.

[Todd McShay]

That was a productive move for you.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I had to try to get as close to Todd's number. But listen, I think in the sixth round this is stealing. I, I've said Kareem Hunt. I believe Kareem Hunt. They both Ran around the same times. They both do the same things. They're very good runners. They are instinctive. They have good contact balance. They are quick and they catch the football and they pass protect. I think Devin Neal is an absolute steal at this point.

[Todd McShay]

I do think it's interesting with trading Marshawn Lattimore, Paulson Adiba leaves free agency. The Giants that their first cornerback pick was late in the right. But Quincy Riley's a good one and maybe, you know, see what he can provide. Tampa Bay, final team in the NFC South. They want a Buca with the first pick and then four straight on cornerbacks and defensive linemen. I like the strategy here.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yes.

[Todd McShay]

And, and you look at, you look at a Mecca bucket and you're like, where does this fit? And I say to you this, there's been injuries in Tampa and when those wide receivers went down, Baker was still balling his ass off. Man.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Was, man, that was crazy.

[Todd McShay]

But, but not with the weaponry. He didn't have the swords in the sword fight to go when to go win enough games at that point. So Mike Evans is getting up there, but he's still a great player. Jalen McMillan, we'll see what he can. He can become as a third round pick. Last year you like you thought it was promising. I saw it flashes too. Chris Godwin, if he can stay healthy, that's the key. But now it is interesting because you look at Godwin, his slot. Mecca's a slot. How are they gonna.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

McMillan's a slot.

[Todd McShay]

McMillan's a kind of a sharp.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

It's a. I mean Sterling shepherd is a slot. They wish it was Sterling sharp. Ted Johnson's a slot.

[Todd McShay]

So we're just gonna have, we're just gonna have a smaller, quicker. We got, we got our slot party. A slot party. We're gonna have a slot party. But I, but I, I really like some of their other picks. Benjamin Morrison, did you see him when he received the call?

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Listen, I'm, I, I don't know how you feel about it. I'd like to think I'm not, not overly soft. But man, those, some of those phone.

[Todd McShay]

Calls they get me. Yeah. Benjamin Morrison, first round draft pick coming out of 2023, comes back based off of his tape has two. That's his second hip injury. Both required surgery. He falls to 53. I feel like it was a reasonable spot for him to fall because you worry about the hips. But if, honestly, if he, if he pans out and he's. He's what? He was on tape in 2023 and early 24. This guy's an absolute player and I, I like him in that defensive scheme too. And then David Walker is kind of a spitfire out of Central Arkansas in the fourth round. Elijah Roberts kind of like that five technique, long arm. He'll. He'll help a little bit. Yeah. I mean, and they're in that three, four front. It makes perfect sense. Logan Hall, Vita Ve in the middle collage you can't see. I think he like Logan Hall. He's just going to help those, both.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Those guys play physical, violent styles of football.

[Todd McShay]

And like, if we're having a slot party, let's have the best freaking slot party out there. Let's just bring in Tez Johnson and see what happens. Throw a little change at that. No one could cover him at the Senior Bowl. Doesn't run well. Doesn't have great speed.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Small, stunning to me, he didn't run again at his pro day. I just so which just says that he, they that he thinks he's a four or five guy. I just, it surprises me because I don't see it on tape.

[Todd McShay]

Football speed can be different and quickness can't be perfectly measured. I can tell you that.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

All right, NFC east, let's get to it. Cowboys. I'm sorry, Cowboys fans, I did not love your first pick and I, I mentioned it more than mentioned it.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

They bounced back well, Cowboys, they did.

[Todd McShay]

They had, they had a really good rest of the draft. And let's just say what it is, I, I, I, it makes I get like queasy thinking of taking a, a power limited athlete blocking, lightheaded. Really?

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

You have a physical reaction to it?

[Todd McShay]

Yeah, a little bit.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Okay.

[Todd McShay]

It doesn't make me feel settled taking a like but the leadership that comes with Tyler Booker, the fact that you just are absolutely plugging playing a starter and you're going to get a guy who loves ball, who's going to set the tone in the offensive line room like I.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

And he has the length and the width and he's got some tools to get over his flaws. But again, he's not clean.

[Todd McShay]

He fits perfectly in that scheme. Right. So it'll be just fine. Donovan Asaraku, they went to work after that, though. They went to freaking work. Donovan Ezraku, where they were able to get him at 44, is a guy that people were talking about maybe late first and had and what was it, 1.38 was his sack number per game last year. Led the FBS long or short. He's undersized, he's got Long arms. He's not the fastest, but. And. And it may take a year. Liatu Latu I. I could see a similar trajectory before you get that quality of pass rush out of him.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Technician though.

[Todd McShay]

But he is so technically sound. It's like it's master class hand usage. Then Siobhan Revel.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Siobhan Revel, who's another guy we thought could go on the first. I mean, maybe, maybe not as much as Iraq, but I think in my.

[Todd McShay]

Final mock, I put him to Buffalo.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I don't think that's crazy, but it.

[Todd McShay]

Was durability stuff with him. But. But I literally read the medical report from the doctor and I've talked to teams. They don't think it's going to be an issue. Maybe a little bit early in the season. We'll see. But Revel is a long, athletic press man. Corner on the outside fits what they want to do. And I even like Jaden Blue because we know what we're trying to get out of him. And it's not every down back. But we brought in Javante Williams, we brought in Miles Sanders. He's just a massive upgrade. I hate to say it over Deuce Vaughn.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I agree.

[Todd McShay]

Okay.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Douce Von is what Deuce Von is. He should be a complimentary player. I'm going to be honest with you.

[Todd McShay]

What?

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I kind of like to film off of Pickley too. I went back and watched his tape. I know you're not. I'm Clemson fans. I might be coming over the dark side. Just hear me out, all right? I went back and I watched his tape. He played hurt last year. He's a big back that I don't. He didn't run, but he's a big back that moves well on tape. Powerful downhill runner that when he gets a crease, he's got a little bit of get up and go to him in the seventh round. I kind of like that pick.

[Todd McShay]

All right. Noted. It's not.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I just want to like plant that seed.

[Todd McShay]

Hey, Giants fans.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Giants fans.

[Todd McShay]

Hey, Giants fans. I get it. You like to be the cynical bunch. I grew up in Boston. I've been around this kind my whole life. Get out of here, man.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Like this. Maybe the best draft. It's. It's in the. It's in the running. Get the bleep out of here now. He's bleeping himself.

[Todd McShay]

I've had enough. I. You have an organization that is fighting constructively the way you want them to fight about. Should we take Shador at 3? There were people in the organization saying Maybe we should take Shador at 3. You got a general manager and Joe Shane after Hard Knocks, who's just been a battering ram, you got a coach in, Brian Dable, who's one of the best at what he does. Quarterbacks, offensive mind, who's been handed nothing at quarterback. Nothing. Daniel Jones was a backup coming out. I screamed it. No one listen. Your organization didn't listen, and you were stuck with them and then resigned him. It's a joke. And now you get arguably the best player in the draft because Joan, Joe Shane managed the whole thing. And by the way, John Mara Nod allowed the football people to do the football thing, okay? And Shane manages it beautifully. Brian is a genius at this thing. He said, Dart is our guy. Get out of here with the Shador stuff. We saw how that played out. Get me Dart. Okay, I will, but I got to get. I got to get this guy who's not. Lt doesn't deserve. Lt's number. And he learned that the hard way. But I got Abdul Carter, and now I'm gonna find the perfect spot. And here's the other thing. Giants fans, I see all the complaining in the. What? I don't understand it. The Rams, I think we're gonna take him at 26. So they moved up to the exact right spot if that was the case. The Rams will never tell you that. But they moved up to the right spot to go get him. And now you bring in Jackson Dart, who fits exactly what Brian Dabel wants. And Brian himself told you, go get me him. And now you got a quarterback to develop, and he doesn't have to play right away, so you can kind of wean him off of the. The training wheels that come with Lane Kiffin's system, because Lane's awesome at college and exploits college defensive backs and defenses. But now he's got to. He's got to explain the catalog, expand it. But with that, I'm watching a player who processes as fast as anyone in this class when it comes to bullets flying and things going on. And it's competitive. That's all. Get out. You're going to love this guy. You're going to love this guy. And so why are we bitching and moaning On Sunday when we went out, we got the best player arguably in the entire draft, and the guy that Brian can finally hand pick. And then after that, we go get Darius Alexander in the third round at 65. He should have been gone in the second. A defensive tackle, an impact player. Go watch his tape against Pitt if you have so mouthy and you got all these things to say. Go watch that tape against Pitt created an interception with pressure. Pick six in that game. Cam Scatter. Boo. Interesting cat, but my goodness, he's gonna plow and grind. Marcus Bow. I still don't know if his medical mention or what the deal was but I had a, like I had him 63 overall in the class.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

That's the common theme with these three picks, by the way. Darius Alexander, you got in the third. I thought he was the second round values. Cam Scatter, you got in the fourth, I thought he was a third round value. Marcus B, you got in the fifth, I thought he was the second, maybe third round value. All of those players on my board were much higher than when, than when they came off the board. So I mean that's a common theme for their next three. You could talk about Carter and you could talk about dart and you should. Those are the, those are what make this draft great or potentially make this draft great. But look at those next three. They were all taken later than I thought and then they would come off.

[Todd McShay]

The board onto the Eagles.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Your guy. I love when you get like this by the way. It's great.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah, it just pissed me off. I was reading it last night and this morning and I just, I, I like, I don't get. Do we just do it because we, because we're scorned? I mean you've won Super Bowls pretty recently compared to other organizations who really have a. Fan bases that have something to actually complain about. Howie Roseman, there's, there's always, there's always a level of genius behind the stuff he's doing. I wanted. Yeah, this draft isn't going to be like it may not turn out to be the best draft that how he's ever had but he knew coming in and this, some of the best GMs knew this. This is not going to be a great class but there's a lot of depth. We get the nil transfer portal still a little bleed over from COVID and we got a lot of guys who are like six year players, five year starters, a lot of experienced football players. Let's, let's, let's backtrack. Okay. Let's, let's backlog it and get a lot of picks. And that's exactly what they did. And so he made kind of a weird move. Movement up one spot, five. But he got Jihad Campbell, right. The linebacker who. There's some durability stuff but you look like everything for them is about depth in the future and they Recognize they're coming up on some stuff with and they're already upon it.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

That was one of my favorite moments of the weekend though. What we're driving back to the hotel from night one. Todd says on the pod that night they treated a He trained a fifth round pick to move up a pick. I'm not gonna get hung up on it. I swear to God. We were in the car for 13 seconds before Todd's like fifth round pick. What's he doing? Why is he training over the fifth round? He could not let it go But.

[Todd McShay]

I'm actually interested to talk to Howie about it because there. Yeah listen there's some other team was going to move up he had something.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

To whatever it was something was going on.

[Todd McShay]

But you got Nicobe Dean coming off the injury. Right.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Right.

[Todd McShay]

And it's just value like every team I talked to is a top 12 player but he has the injury stuff. Multiple injuries, recovering might even start the season on the pup. Not 100 sure but. But like to get at 31. What if a healthy version is at 12 is pretty good. I like Andrew Makuba a lot.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I don't like him there I thought.

[Todd McShay]

It was slightly early but he. But he's at ball hawk and a guy who can go make so he.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Plays strong safety for them. At his size I think that he's more of a nickel and you have the best young nickel in the game in Cooper De Jean. Like I just. I didn't get. There are some picks here that I didn't get and again I feel really scared saying that.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah I'm not saying it because you know like he.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I know he knows what he's doing but I mean there's just picks here. Like he got smile Mundon too and he's now he's got smile Munden Jihad Campbell, the Kobe Dean. He just signed Zach Bond to a deal. By the way the Zach smile Munden.

[Todd McShay]

Was in the fifth round and he's going to be great covering kicks and and put and working him in nickel and dime packages with all the other guys you have. Yeah but there's also free agency coming.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Around pick on Jeremy Trotter last year.

[Todd McShay]

Okay.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I just.

[Todd McShay]

I.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

There's just.

[Todd McShay]

But they wound up with. They wound up with what 10 1.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

2, 334 ton of picks was a smart.

[Todd McShay]

They had 10 picks this year but here's part of the brilliance with Howie. He recognized this class is where. Where this class is strong is rounds like 4, 5, 6. There was a lot of good players who had played a Lot of ball. More so than you're going to get in a normal year. Okay. Because it's not always going to be this nil transfer to this level and there's not always going to be this one last year like bleed over from COVID Okay. And so we've had more dudes in later rounds that are competent that can come in and actually compete. Whereas was it last year? I think, I think it was last year or two years ago. It was like these are undrafted free agent guys that were drafted early in the sixth. Okay. So he recognized that. And they're gonna, there's gonna be some more turnover with this roster in the next two years because of the salary cap.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Right.

[Todd McShay]

And what he did was Howie, he now has 12. We're, we're in April of 2025. And how he already has 12 draft picks. 12 smart in 2027, which is projected to have a better class, especially in the first three, three rounds. Okay. So I, I, I get what he was doing. I thought that Drew Kendall like I talked to some teams, man, Drew Kendall think people really like him. Yeah, I, I thought I, but around that range. But I talked to a couple of teams. I was surprised. They think he has starting potential. Miles Hinton from Michigan Eagles fans like dad's, dad's a former player. There's a lot of talent in that blood pool. And you, and you look at, I.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Called you after watching him, I was like, man, he's this kid can play a little bit.

[Todd McShay]

You look at his traits now. He's not like he is not a glass eater as we like to call. And if you can develop that in him. But if that doesn't work out, we brought in Cameron Williams who I didn't think would get to the six.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

He played hurt last year and probably should have gone back because he was only I think a one year starter and he was banged up all year, but traits for days. Kyle McCord, what'd you think about that?

[Todd McShay]

Sure.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Moving on.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah. Six round. I only was against McCord when people were starting to talk like this could be the steal of the draft. They were talking to him about him like they were talking like, like people should have been. And I was talking about Tyler Schuck, like get out of here with Kyle McCord. Like go watch his pressure reel. Dancing on his back foot, never falling.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Through, never threw the ball more than he did. And the scheme was so wide open.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah, but, but like in the six. Sure. And how he always takes a quarterback and so let's, let's See what we can get out of him there. Washington, I liked it. They didn't have much capital but like they found two potential long term starters. Connerly, left tackle, potentially. Trey Amos. Like Trey Amos, there was talk about going late first out of Ole Miss.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

For a five pick draft. I loved this.

[Todd McShay]

And Jalen Lane at 128, I had him in my top 100 and I don't apologize for it. What you guys watch it. You watch with that quarterback and that play caller, Jaden and Cliff respectively. You watch Jalen Lane and his four three something speed and his ability. Jalen Lane has never had a quarterback who can accurately get him the football. So everything was a reverse, a bubble screen, like all sorts of gimmicky stuff. He can return. He's an A plus plus plus plus character. Football just loves the game. I think Jalen Lane's going to wind up being the big surprise from this class as a 4th round pick.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I think there's a couple other guys that came. Adrano from the UCL UCLA linebacker, ran a 4, 4, 6. He's undersized but he can cover. He's really good in coverage. And the other guy that I love that I think he's one of the cooler players in this, in this class is the, the running back from Arizona, Jacori Crosky Merritt in sort of Arizona. He played one game there.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

And then the NCAA came in and said he was ineligible so he thought he had more time. But if you look at his New Mexico tape and again, I know it's New Mexico, but if you look at his New Mexico tape, he is an absolute slasher with great burst and speed. You get him in the late seventh round. He's a guy who turn into, turn into a player.

[Todd McShay]

You know how in the tissue case and the tissue box when you get towards the end and they'll come out and then the white tissues turn to like the yellow.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

It's like your indicator that we're running, we're running out running out here. Get this, get the backup box ready.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Right.

[Todd McShay]

So when I, when I run out of. When I'm 99 of these in draft weekend. My lemon. Perfect lemon.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Almost there, man.

[Todd McShay]

Then I reach over and this pulls up the. What do we got watermelon here? That's when it's like, okay, last division. Here we go. Let's finish up. Running out.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Watermelon is pretty good. By the way.

[Todd McShay]

The Cardinals. I actually like the Cardinals draft. Actually.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

This is, I think this is one of the best drafts.

[Todd McShay]

They nailed their first three picks. Go.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

You.

[Todd McShay]

You seem excited. Go.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I love the way they attack their defensive front. After again bringing Clay is Campbell and they brought in Josh Sweat. They. They go out and get Walter Nolan. Arguably, I mean you could say he's the most talented defensive tackle in the class. We just behind Mason Graham. Will Johnson, the corner falls because of health concerns. You hope he stays healthy. But getting him in the middle of the second, watch out. Jordan Birch was a player that I was much higher on than other people. I gave him a second round grade. They get him in the middle of the third. Cody Simon. How many times we talk about Cody Simon, the linebacker from Ohio State this year.

[Todd McShay]

Kept getting better. Just fine.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Ball. Get the ball. He's going to be great on special teams. He's going to. I think he's really good at rushing the passer. There's a lot of things there. Denzel Burke kind of fell this year. I get it. But he's a corner. You're getting in the late fifth. And then Crawford, Keaton Crawford, the Nevada safety who they got in the seventh.

[Todd McShay]

Nevada. They'll be.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I can't believe he fell that far. His tape's better than that. I thought he was more of a.

[Todd McShay]

Fifth, fourth round guy and trades for days too. He had a great combine.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

And you look, clearly they want to address the defensive front and look what they've done since the beginning of free agency. I think it's outstanding. I think it's a home run draft.

[Todd McShay]

You've got a head head coach who has been generous with. Yep. Let's take care of the offense. Let's take care of the. You know what I mean? But Jonathan, Jonathan Gannon is a damn good defensive football coach. Okay. This group plays hard. They've exceeded the talent level in terms of their production on the field. Yeah. Like they. I want to tell you this. They have no business being as good on the field as they have been. And so this was the year Monty Austin Fort. The GM was like, let's go get. Let's go get my guy. Some guys. Okay. We went. Marvin Harrison Jr. We did all the thing with, you know, Paris Johnson at left tackle two years ago. Isaiah Adams at guard last year. Like we. There's been a lot of focus. And I know Darius Robinson last year, but six out of seven, six out of seven on defense and this, I'm telling you folks, like there, there are the yeah, buts and there are the question marks with Walter Nolan and Will Johnson. But, but you talked about it. It's your best. It's one of the best comment. Not bad. One of the most impactful comments you made all year long to me or all, all draft weekend long was Calais Campbell's not just coming into play. He's coming in to coach.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Right.

[Todd McShay]

And Walter Nolan needs like a big brother, uncle, father figure who's going to care for him, show him the way. Jordan Birch too. Okay. And if they get out of these guys and if Will Johnson is healthy, I'm telling you, like we're talking high, high impact players. This could go back. We go back to this and be like this is where they.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah. Turn the corner. Right.

[Todd McShay]

Rams. I mean less need fleeced Atlanta. What else do you want me to say? I mean it's true.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Well listen, it's, it's. I laugh because I think it's funny, but it's, it is true.

[Todd McShay]

I would like to know if they're going to take Jackson dark because it's a lot of the buzzes.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

And then they'll never ever say, understandably.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

What about the tight end?

[Todd McShay]

I love you less. I'm. It had to be, it had to be durability with Elijah Arroyo. I. And here's the weird part for me, like mention I are sitting in the stands where with all the scouts talking to buddies of ours and, and like watching practice go down. I think it was like first or second day and I'm like, I like, I just can't stop looking at Terence Ferguson and thinking like what? Like why not everything right. He's finds a way to get open. He just makes plays. He's so consistent. I love this guy. But then you look over in Elijah Royo's in the next practice and he's like body beautiful like you know, runs like a gazelle, runs down the runs.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Well, but it just looks different.

[Todd McShay]

Ferguson was the fastest of the tight ends that ran, but none of the tight ends ran. None of the top four ran. Loveland didn't run. Mason Taylor didn't run. Arroyo didn't run. And, and Tyler Warren didn't run. So. But he was the fastest of the rest of the tight ends. I like him a lot. I was surprised he went before Arroyo, but I got no problem. And in fact, like I get in, in McVeigh's system, like that's exactly what they're looking for. And so that was their first pick and they, but, but their first pick really was next year's first round pick. And if this is the, if this is it for Matthew Stafford, that might turn into Garrett Nuts Meyer, that might turn into Lenore.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Sorry Cleveland fans, but yeah, right. Yeah. So I love Josiah Stewart, the edge from Michigan in the, in the third round as well. Very explosive players. Great fit for their scheme as an outside linebacker.

[Todd McShay]

I like Ty Hamilton where they got him because he's going to come in right now and compete and he's going to help versus the run. I, I like Chris Paul where they got him in the fifth round. Pick 172 special teams immediately covering in sub packages immediately. I mean I liked what they did and I just put a note down here. I Mumfield. Kanata Mumfield from wide receiver Pittsburgh. Exactly where I expected. Late round. But they see something and this, this.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Is their kind of receiver, right? Yes. Does it run well? Yeah, runs good, routes creative after the catch.

[Todd McShay]

He'll have 90 catches next year.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

It's just he's their kind of guy.

[Todd McShay]

Right. So it's tough. It's an interesting draft. I, I, I know this Ferguson's going to be an impact player. Josiah Stewart's gonna with that defensive line is going to be used perfectly. He's going to be an impact pass rusher. Jarquitz Hunter, I thought was they like they passed over some dudes.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah, that was an interesting one.

[Todd McShay]

But Hunter's got some, some juice to him and it won't shock me if he winds up working out well. Hamilton, Paul, Mumfield, like they're they, I think all seven or was it set? 1, 2, 3, 4. All six of those draft picks will actually play a role this year for the Rams.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

And we said it going into the draft it was hard to sort out these running backs and guys are going to have, you know, it's a flavor for everyone. Certain teams are going to like certain players more than others.

[Todd McShay]

San Francisco, boy, they had a lot of picks. You can count them while I talk for a second.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Okay.

[Todd McShay]

Mikel Williams, absolutely love that pick. I think when you look at Mikel and the traits that you're betting on, for starters, he's a great run defender. Like right now he walks in the league, he's going to be great setting the edge long, strong, hard to move, locates a ball, keeps blockers up. He's a really good run defender and his he's got the traits when he's not dealing with an ankle injury. And then when he gets there in San Francisco and he's like I can't think of two or three other better than Nick Bosa and Nick Bosa's commitment to the pass rush and like commitment to the game and every little nutrition all of it. He's a loony tick and I love looney ticks. Right.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

So I can't think of much better spot for him to be in. So that was a home run pick. Alfred Collins is a good player.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Early.

[Todd McShay]

Little early for me. But, but, but you bring him in and right away, like, he's. He's going to be stout versus the run. He's going to help. They just. That defensive line was threatened for the first time in a long time that it wasn't going to be the baddest bunch of dudes on the block.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

And this is going to help get him right back there soon. Nick Martin, early.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Love the player, by the way. I think I was higher on him than most people in early.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah, early. Really early. Collins was a little bit early, but I understand that pick. Nick Martin, I don't get that pick. But watch him go out and have 120 tackles. You know, Upton Stout is one of my favorites. Slot cornerback. He's glue. He's. He's glue. Like, I don't care what PFF says, like, there's no corner that gives up less. Less separation, one on one. But yeah, he's a slot, but he's a damn good player.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

They already have a slot is what I'm saying.

[Todd McShay]

Well, I had him. I had him right there at 101.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Great, great value. Great value. I agree with you. But again, it's a position that I didn't really see as a need.

[Todd McShay]

Two other names I want to throw out to you. Jordan James.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Love that pick.

[Todd McShay]

He. He's past protections. Sore, but he is. He. His run skills and are not that far off of RJ Harvey.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

Okay. So like in a rotation with McCaffrey.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

You know, they're gonna get the most of them too. I love that he ended up there.

[Todd McShay]

And at some point, like, maybe McCaffrey misses a game or two, however it works, this guy will step in. Right. And he's not. No one's McCaffrey, but he's gonna. They're not gonna have this like, oh, my gosh, we're done.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

No, he's gonna get 80, 85 yards.

[Todd McShay]

And then Curtis Rourke. You little son of a gun. Could you have wound up in a better spot as a 20?

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Did you hear about his knee, by the way?

[Todd McShay]

No.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

He played the entire season on a 20 seal.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah, of course he did. And I like him as a passer. He just, he can't move that well and when the blitz comes and all that stuff. But he also didn't have Much protection in front of him and going up against defenses that had a lot of dudes. And he is really accurate and layers the ball. And I'm not saying he's the next Brock Purdy, but like, just like I said with the Rams, with that, with Mumfield, the seventh round pick, like, I wouldn't be shocked if Rourke won a couple games in the NFL because he's there.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Don't sleep on this. Wide receiver, by the way, Junior Bergen from Montana played wide receivers, played running back as a freshman, switched over to wide receiver. He holds, he ties the FCS record for punt returns for touchdowns. 8. Eight punt returns for touchdowns in college. He's a running back after the catch. He's a weapon. They're going to get him involved in the running game, they're going to use in the return game. Remember the name Junior Bergen. It's going to be a guy like, how'd that guy go on that late? It's because he played for a smaller school but. And he didn't. He doesn't have blazing speed. But this is a guy that I think the Shanahan's going to look at and be like, I got a couple ideas for you.

[Todd McShay]

I like that. Yeah, I like when you dig deep like that. Mensch. All right, last, certainly not least, Seattle. I've given a lot of long speeches on John Schneider and what I thought. And it started with me, with Dan on the phone. Dan Comer, my trusted grinder of a producer, director, editor, everything he does, a little bit of everything. A lot of everything I should say. But I remember getting on the phone, be like, it's in the air. It's in the air. I've known, I've known Schneides for 20 plus years. John Schneider, the GM, he is resetting the clock and I'm not paying for a 35 year old. We'll go get a younger version who can be just as good.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

It's just so smart.

[Todd McShay]

Reset the clock in Seattle and he's going, remember what happened? Was it two or three years of drafting with John Schneider? They went and won a Super bowl and he's going back to his roots. Started like Green Bay on the road, grinding tape, finding players. And he went back and I knew it. How many. Look up how many draft picks here. It looks like 12 on my, on my sheet. And that's what he did. We're going to get younger at quarterback. We're like seven years younger. 11, 11 draft picks. And. And we're going to build from the middle out and it started with Gray Zabel, the best interior offensive lineman in this class who moves differently than everyone else and is a perfect scheme fit. Nick E. Minwari talked to an assistant GM that after the first night of the draft, went back and watched more tape in 2023. Get him close to the box, it's like. And I might. I went and looked at my evaluation. It's the same thing. I don't want him.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I don't want Jeremy Chin. If you're familiar with the player. Jeremy Chin, he's a lot like that.

[Todd McShay]

Yes. I don't want. I don't want him deep and I don't want like those tall, long legs having to turn it. Although he does first size. I don't want him thinking. I don't want him processing. I want him near the action and utilize that length and that speed. And that's what. That's what Seattle's going to do. Again, working from middle out. Elijah Arroyo. They had to be like doing somersaults.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

And Ferguson goes before Arroyo.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

If Arroyo can stay healthy. And I get it that it's a bigger if than with other prospects because he had the injury, but it was one. It was one injury that lingered. And this past year he was pretty damn good in the Senior Bowl. He was awesome. Jalen Milro then. And then why wouldn't you?

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I don't know.

[Todd McShay]

Beautiful. Pick 92. He's still on the board.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

How we didn't think he's gonna.

[Todd McShay]

And at this point, honest to God, if Jalen Milro never does a single thing for your organization, absolute worst. He never does anything. Second worst is he has a couple good training camp games and you trade him for a fifth or sixth like. Like Joe Milton down the road. Best case, Darnold gets injured because he's so dynamic as a runner and it's like so different than what teams are used to seeing. Maybe he goes and wins a couple games and then you develop them, see what the hell happens down the road. But continuing down. So their first we had Jalen Milroe where you had to take him. Perfect spot. And then Riley Mills, they go back to it. Riley Mills is a dog, man.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Especially for them. Listen, Riley Mills is coming up Notre Dame. I think he play inside out. He's versatile. D defensive lineman. But he probably defensive tackle. But I hear you. But coming off a torn acl, there's some bad tape. He plays high at times. There's a whole lot more. Great.

[Todd McShay]

Yes.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

My understanding is that one of the. Either the defensive line coach or the defense coordinator was like, if you don't, if you don't take him, I'm leaving. Because that's the story is that he told Schneider if you don't get him, I'm out.

[Todd McShay]

Good.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

And then Tori Horton, the wide receiver in Colorado State.

[Todd McShay]

Yes.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Who we thought might be a day two guy.

[Todd McShay]

Huge values. What I wrote.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Are you kidding me? And as good as that. That you could say that's a great value. Pick Damian Martin Martinez in the seventh round.

[Todd McShay]

I mean the Miami running back and he's a pounder. And so now you like he's he. I like Zach Charbonnet. We'll see. Like he is a grind. He's instinctive, he runs hard. He's going to pound it up inside.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Too good a value not to take there.

[Todd McShay]

I don't care about team is going back to what God. Remember it was the Legion of Doom. It was beast mode. We're gonna come out to the Pacific Northwest. Okay. And see what happens to you with the 12th man. See how physical we are from the inside out. Schneider like had a reawakening. We're gonna get younger, we're gonna get tougher, we're gonna get harder, we're gonna get more physical and you're. It's gonna be a nasty 5 hour, 5 hour flight back to the east coast for you.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Have fun.

[Todd McShay]

Get out of here.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I'm going to give you your props one more time and I'm going to give myself some flowers.

[Todd McShay]

Okay.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

I am literally finishing my, my rankings, closing my computer. I haven't even packed to come on this nine day trip. It's the night before, it's 10 o'clock. I get a text. Hey, make sure you watch the Iowa offensive tackle, Mason Richmond.

[Todd McShay]

I liked him.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Son of a. Have not watched him yet. Throw the thing back on. I, I think I texted you. You suck. Yeah, he better be good. Yeah, I throw it back on. This guy played a thousand games for them.

[Todd McShay]

I know I liked him and it's.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Shame on me for not seeing him. But I'm watching this tape, I'm like, he's good. He's really good. And he may have to kick inside because he may not be long enough or athletic enough. And the yada, yada, yada.

[Todd McShay]

He's a good football player.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

He's going to find a way on the football field. So I had to write up Mason Richmond and then Ricky White, who you wrote off after the combine because he didn't run well. He ran like the four sixes, I think.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Went to his pro day and unlike some other people, cleaned it up, ran a four, four one. Love his tape guy. I think he's got a nice first smaller receiver. He's got a good release package. He can get off the line pretty well. Makes plays. They get him late in the seventh. This, this is the one where you look at the amount of picks and I mean, it's great way to end, right?

[Todd McShay]

Yeah.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

This might be the best of them.

[Todd McShay]

Yes.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Because you look at the amount of picks, the players they got and where they got him. And he just smoked this draft.

[Todd McShay]

Smoked it. It's like back to his first two years in Seattle and what he did. And I'm excited to see how it all plays out for John Schneider and and this entire staff like this. It's going to be exciting. What's also exciting is we're wrapping up here. Men. Just taking me out to dinner tonight.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

Listen, I'm going to fish.

[Todd McShay]

Oh. Oh, yeah. You saw him on guitar yesterday. Yesterday was about the fun and the chill and Marcillo making off, you know, off color jokes and wearing short shorts. How about those shorts?

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

No comment.

[Todd McShay]

Holy smokes.

[Mel Kiper Jr.]

He's right, though. It's his house.

[Todd McShay]

It is his house. He invaded it and we had an awesome time. But today was more nuts and bolts. We appreciate you hanging with us. I know it's a long one, but if you're a fan of any of these 32 or just love the game, hopefully there was enough in here to get a real sense of what we thought on all 32 teams. So we appreciate you being with us and I guess the next time I see you, I'll be talking about the way too early mock draft later. Fun, though. Must be 21 plus and present in select states for Kansas in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18 + and present in D.C. gambling problem. Call 1-800- gambler or visit rg-help.com call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org chat in Connecticut or visit MD gambling help.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit gambling helpline ma.org or call 1-800-327-5050 for 24. 7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-8-HOPE NY or text Hopeny in New.