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Rough Draft 1.4: The Latest Risers, Fallers, and Behind-the-Scenes Intel on the 2026 QB Class
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- [00:00]
A
Tape and intel. Intel and tape. That's the foundation for NFL draft scouting. Today. We share info you can't get anywhere else with a little instrument we like to call risers and fallers. I'm feeling a rough draft in the air and just 168 days until the NFL draft bench. You good?
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B
I'm good. Let's go.
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A
Roll that beat, Tucker. Welcome in. It's Rough Draft. It's a Thursday on the McShay Show. This is our flagship show. It's the thing that we just, you know, the most fun show, as I always say, Saturday night, the live reaction to college football games during the season. But the foundation piece, the thing that we were birthed on, the thing that puts us in these seats is the NFL draft. And our flagship show during the season is Rough Draft. This is the McShay show, presented by FanDuel. And college football Saturdays are heating up. Whether you're in for the early kick or the late night action, FanDuel lets you bet your way with the same game parlays, live betting game props and more. And Missouri, get excited because FanDuel is coming your way on December 1st. Download the app or head to FanDuel.com McShay and make every Saturday count. Must be 21 and older in present select states or 18 and older in present in D.C. kentucky or Wyoming. Gambling problem. Call 1-800- GAMBLER or visit rg-help.com, call 1-888-789-7777 or visit CCPG. Do hat in Connecticut. And today's a fun one. Today's an exciting one. I feel like it's starting. I feel like it's actually starting now. And I say that because we were kind of preparing and saying, all right, what are we going to do this week? We did the top 32. We did the quarterback rankings. We did the premium subscriber mailbag for the last three weeks of rough draft. Right? Today we're talking about what should we do? Let's just get back to the roots. The very first rough draft, kind of guys who were rising, guys who were falling. How can we elevate that? So I got on the phone and I made some calls and it's always, it's always fun. It's always enlightening. It's a great time to call. Call. Because when you're talking to scouts, it's like, yeah, I just got done with this program. I'm literally in the car. I'm driving from here to there, right? If I'm, if I'm at Wherever today I'm going to be in that region, you know, 150, 300 miles away, wherever it is, because I get practices tomorrow and I get meetings with coaches. So you're getting fresh information. For guys, it's been like eight weeks. The guys have been on the road for the majority of the last eight weeks away from their family grinding. So they're a little ornery. They're a little bit more likely to just kind of drop the, the scoop on you and tell you how they're really feeling. And it's before we get to the meetings and every, some, some teams have some December meetings. A couple teams that I know of have January meetings, but typically they're called the February scouting meetings. Right. And so you'll get done with the, the Senior bowl in January and teams will typically come in in February. But scouts right now, they're not only like, they not only have, they've been on the road for the vast majority of the last eight weeks dating back to the last weekend in August, but they're also now typing up their reports and they're, you know, they've got, they're trying to make sure everything's in there and concise and ready to hand over to the scouting director and the general manager. So with that as the backdrop, as I said off the top, like, it's like there are two core cornerstone foundation pieces to scouting and it's the tape and the intel. And yeah, we'll sprinkle into some pro days and all star games and workout numbers and like all, and medical and all those things. But the foundation pieces, as I do the 6, 7 thing. Oh no, my kids always get mad at me, you know, making fun of them. They're, they're, it's really the intel that you're getting and the, and the, the tape that we study. This episode is brought to you by Fox 1. Fox 1 is now live stream all your Fox favorites together in one place from NFL on Fox to big noon Saturdays with Fox one. You get it all live. Start your seven day free trial today. Offers are subject to change. Go to Fox one for complete terms and conditions. Fox one streaming now. So I do what before we get started on the risers and fallers and the McShay report is out this week. We're going to give you. Steve's got two risers and a faller. I've got two risers in the faller that we're going to get to in a few minutes here. And the McShay report. I did five and five I got a lot of guys, man, and like.
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B
Yeah, get some stuff off your chest.
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A
Get some stuff off my chest. You can go, you can go and follow the Twitter mafia, formerly known as the Twitter mafia, now the Ex Mafia. You can, you can get all the other shows and all this stuff. Like you're not going to find it. What we're about to share on this show and the McShay Report. Google it. The McShay Report. Subscribe. This is the time of the year to jump in because we get the College Football Playoff coming in up. The, we've got the all star games, we've got the, the, you know, the pro days, the combine, not in that order. The NFL draft, like this is where we ramp things up and you're going to be. Want to part you, you're going to want to be a part of this ride with us. Okay? So with that said, before we get into the risers and followers, Steve, I'm going to go through a little rant here and it's just going to be miscellaneous notes. I have, I've got notes upon notes of like literally pages of pages that I, I'm going to share as I just rip through. I'm going to give you some, some nuggets. And over the next three weeks as I talk to more people and Steve will talk to his people, we'll just keep kind of dishing it out piece by piece. But I just want to give you an overview of some of the things that I heard from different NFL scouts who are on the road and have been for a long time. All right. And then Steve, when I'm done with this rant, I want you to respond to the things that really stood out. We can have a quick conversation then. Let's get into these, these guys. Okay. Because rough drafts are supposed to be a quick concise show and I always screw it up. First of all, just some nuggets. Peter woods don't jump off the train. Clemson season's not been great. We'll get to TJ Parker in a little bit. But Peter woods comp to Mason Graham. If you like Mason Graham, why wouldn't you like Peter Woods? That was one of the nuggets that I wrote down. The Utah tackle. Legit. Yes. Top 10. Legit. The right tackle.
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B
Yes.
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Spencer Fanu. Low Lomu. Strong, strong indication he could. He would be best served to come back and play another year as we've talked about.
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B
Yeah.
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A
But still think he could be a first round guy off of the traits and the ascension. He's not he's not quite there. But the right tackle. Fanu is left tackle.
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B
Yeah. Yeah. Sorry.
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A
No, no fan. Is the right tackle. Yes, he's, he's, he's legit. Miami tackle. Why do I always give me his. It's his. Maui Noah. Maui Noah. I always mispronounce it. Maui Noah. Could be a really good tackle in the league. Absolute first rounder. Two different scouts I talked to this, like, my worst case scenario is I'm walking into the GM's office and saying, do you want to. Do you want to draft an all probably guard? That's my worst case. How does he succeed? How does he fail? His failure is he's going to be an all pro guard. That's. That's kind of the, the consensus I'm getting. And, and one scout reminded me, just go back to the first round of the draft last year. Where'd some of those guards go? People always say the value's not there. And yeah, it was a bad draft, so people were trying to hit doubles and not home runs. Guard. If you're that level and he's that level, they're going to see this guy come off the board. Well, the first true guard was. Was Dallas, right. At 12.
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B
Yeah.
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Tyler Booker.
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Yep.
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So that. So that's surprising. Yes. Caleb Banks, your guy. Florida defensive tackle. Basically a wash this year. Played had one. One game, I think 29 snaps. Yeah, he's one of them. Like, top 20. Won't surprise me. Was the. Like, he's the first rounder.
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B
Interesting. This is good. This is really interesting.
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A
I mean, I'm just rolling up.
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B
Yeah, yeah.
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But I have dropping bombs on you right now. I know I'm just the. Again, these are not my quotes. These are not my, my thoughts. This is not my tape evaluation. I'm sharing with you guys who have been on the road for a long time, and this is what they do professionally. This is how they feed their family. They've. They've been wrong before. You've been wrong before. I've been wrong before. I'm just sharing with you. This is. And they're. They're talking to other scouts, they're talking to coaches. They're getting all this different intel. Right. And they're talking to other people inside their organization. Let me go down to the quarterbacks. Okay, Sit back. I think interesting stuff. One scout I talked to, like, I'm not ready to give up on Carson Beck yet. Despite all the stuff. I don't think he's a definite starter, but I think he's a really really high level backup. I think with mature, with age will come maturity. I don't like what he said after the first loss. He goes but I promise you I was there in the building and talked to the coaching staff. What he said the receiver ran the wrong route, remember was absolutely factual. So while you can't report that to the media, that's what happened. So he took a very literal stance to it. And then this past week he was in the building after the first loss, not after the second loss. To scout that I talked to this past week, his assumption is probably the same. They were doing something that he wasn't happy about, should be handled internally. But and I was also reminded check out the six throws before that interception in the first loss. He's the one who got him there. So like there's more good coming from Beck this year than the bad which is getting highly publicized. Again, just this one scout's opinion. Okay. But again a high level backup still in consideration in his mind. Day two could if, if he starts to mature, things go well. The right system maybe could surprise people as a starter in the league. Again, somebody else's. Somebody else's thoughts there. Here's the interesting stuff from a. I've talked to five scouts in the last two and a half weeks and three very recently. Okay, here's a summary of what I'm going to give you on the quarterbacks. Mendoza is believed to leave to be leaving after this year, but it's not a lock. Okay, so some interesting stuff about him. How much can I share? The Cal coach is not going to be his best asset.
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B
Huh.
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When it comes to not a dislike, not not man, nothing like but like they also have a very talented freshman quarterback and I'm sure there's a little ax to grind the decision to leave there for, for Indiana. But if you're trying to pound the table for Mendoza, you might not want to go to Cal. You know, feel is he a general, is he this is he that, you know, maybe wasn't as broken up.
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B
He's.
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He's proclaiming he's not as broken up by Mendoza leaving as some people would think when you lose a first round quarterback. Right. So that was interesting but the sense is he's the most likely of these underclassmen when we're talking about Sellers and Matier and Dante Moore and Ty Simpson that Mendoza Arch, obviously the Mendoza is the most likely of those guys to return to leave for the NFL and not return to college football. But nobody knows definitively. I'm not trying to Put it. I'm just saying, like when I talked to scouts, it was, yeah, he's probably the most likely to, to be in the 2026 class. Here's the other interesting stuff. Dante Moore, 1, 1 Scout I just recently talked to book it. He's going to be back at Oregon next year. They have the resources, the parents, the agent, the coaches are all in lock step on this thing. Dante Moore is going to be an Oregon Duck next year and be paid handsomely to be that. But he will be back. And, and this is me talking now. I think it's absolutely the right decision. I think he's super talented. I think the jets just made a, made a couple massive trades, giving up Quinn and Williams and giving up their, their cornerback to Sauce Gardner to get picks for 2026, but most importantly for 2027 because they've got an eye on. We've finally got to figure out this quarterback situation that has the number one reason that that organization doesn't win is ownership. And I've told you that flat out. And I have behind the scenes information. There's no question in my mind. But if they're going to turn it around, they've got a general manager and a head coach or in lockstep and they recognize maybe we get a guy in 2026 and we might draft a guy in 2026, but we're still getting an eye on that class in 2027 that could include Julian Sayan, Arch Manning, not in this order. Ty Simpson, Dante Moore, Matier Sellers. Sellers. So I knew I was missing someone who was ranked higher. Again, that is not in order.
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B
Right.
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Also DJ Lagway. And this will transition to another note I got McShay. Have you watched Nico recently? Answer no response.
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B
Question.
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Answer. I said, I said, well watch them. I watched on tv.
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B
I haven't either.
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A
By the way, I saw the upset. He goes, go back and watch the last three games. He goes, coming on. He goes, I've heard. He goes, I, I, I, I, I check out you and men. I, I, I watch the show and I hear you talking about Julian saying, and rightfully so. I hear you talking about Dante Moore. I hear you talking about Sellers. I hear you talking about Arch. I hear you talking about Mater. I can hear you talking about that 2027 class that could be absolutely brilliant. Not only. Don't leave Nico out of that. Nico does special things that I got to see again in the last three tapes, he was saying, relaying to me special things that maybe some of those other guys can't do. And yeah, we got questions about maturity and handle the Tennessee situation, all that stuff. He's coming into his own. Go back and watch those three tapes. If this guy continues to ascend at this rate, he's gonna be in the mix with those guys. I thought that was wow, right?
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B
Love that.
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A
That.
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B
I'm running to the tape now.
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I'm like, here's some other.
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B
I want to stop down here so I can just watch it.
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Here's some other stuff. Matier desperately needs to return for his NFL, for his NFL preparation and his NFL draft stock. And I responded, I was like, listen, the Auburn tape is when he got injured. But my goodness, play 64 and 65 or whatever it was in that game. Like, you see who he is, the competitor, the run, the throw. He's like, don't disagree, like a lot of things about what he does. He's got some special things that he does that not a lot of other guys can do. But it's not just the thumb, Todd. This was. This is what I was getting. I don't like what I've seen. The Michigan game was his best game. I don't like what I've seen. The more panic, more, you know, inside the pocket than I want. Caffeine, caffeine inside the pocket. Like we talked about with Club Nick, some of the same stuff with him. He needs another year. Let's rinse, refine, repeat in the off season. Let's get that thumb ready. Let's come back and. And still can we get him with a quarterback coach that can do some of the things, whether it's Baker, whether it's reaching out to Mahomes to help him with some of the things that those guys did post college to become the players they are in the NFL that they weren't with all the skill sets that they had in college, but they weren't. They. They weren't quite that. Mahomes especially, till they got to the NFL and had some time to develop. And for Baker is bouncing around different places. And for. For Mahomes, he was having that year behind Smith and with Andy to develop. So those are kind of the. Just the things I'm getting on Mattier. And there's a strong belief he will be back. He's got a chance to be back and become a legend. One of the. The many legends quarterback we've seen in Oklahoma. Norman is putting a lot into this. We know with Jim Nagy and the organization and the development that they have that. That mater is very much a part of that that near future and the mater could be back in college, which I think would be a wonderful thing for him and a wonderful thing for Oklahoma and a wonderful thing for college football. So all of those guys outside of Mendoza are expected to be back, including your guy, Lenora Sellers. And while that's not shocking news because and here's what I'm getting back, feedback on Sellers from guys who have been in the building, guys who've evaluated him are looking forward to the draft. He has ascended. The wins and losses don't show it. Maybe the stats don't show it, but he has shown progress as you and I have reported watching his tape. But he's not there yet. And he could really benefit from another year. And here's the nugget. Here's probably the most interesting nugget. Here we go. Outside of Nico, there is a. I.
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B
Don'T know any of this yet.
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A
By the way, I love Shane Beamer. I love what they're doing in South Carolina. I know it doesn't show in wins and losses. I know the fan base is irate over Shula and the offensive system. I am not here to get into that conversation. I'm not here to support, defend or, or, or go or counter. I'm just here to kind of share the information. I'm getting Lenora Sellers. There's a strong opinion in NFL scouting circles. Remember, these guys are going from one college campus to the next to the next. There's a strong sense with Lenora Sellers he will be back in school next year that he absolutely needs to for his development to be ready when he's called upon as a first round draft pick. And all first round quarterbacks, whether they plan on it or not, start in year one. And if he is to start in year one while he has the mobility and all the things to get himself out of trouble that less mobile quarterbacks couldn't get themselves out of trouble. It's still going to be a really uphill battle for him as rookie if he comes out in 2026. So everyone is supporting the concept of he needs another year of college and there are people in his camp who are in agreement is what I'm told. But I also, this is just scouts talking. There's some programs out there lurking.
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B
You know, there are. Do we get any names? To get any names?
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A
I got one and I don't want, I'm, I'm not here to say there's collusion. I, I promise you no one said a word that that program A has reached out to player A in this situation, I promise you. But one person started putting the dots together. You know, there is a place in South Florida where they've done a really nice job of hand picking quarterbacks the last two years and they've seen ascensions in their game and they have a lot of talent around that quarterback position and they haven't been able to take that next step. And while Cam Ward was amazing and did amazing things, the defense wasn't quite ready. And this year Carson Beck has been good, but the program is still having that. How could they get to that next step with the existing coaching staff and the existing support? Miami is a program I would be very cautious of if I'm Shane Beamer, you know, and that and the in the Gamecocks program of trying to come in with an offer that is very difficult to refuse.
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B
You're killing me. You're killing me. You just dropped and I don't like to compliment you. I really don't. I mean, I just don't like to do it, you know how I am. I'm the guy who's trying to keep you, you know, attached to the earth. You just dropped like what, 10 minutes? This is supposed to be a 30 minute show. There was 10 minutes of just what am I supposed to respond to? I'll start with it. I loved at the beginning of this you were talking about the bigs that I love and that there you're getting a lot of feedback on the positive side of that. And then we're ending up with Lenore. I mean, there's a lot of stuff to unpack there, man.
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A
Literally, I'm on page one. We're gonna save the rest of it.
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B
It's all great.
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A
And we'll just keep dropping these things for the next several weeks and, and as the season ends and we get in the NFL draft and like it's absolutely going to be. This is what it's going to all be about. So if you're wondering what you got and you're new to this show, that's just a. That's just a sliver of what we're going to provide for you for the next, what, five months leading up to the NFL draft. I'm frustrated because I want to get to more, but I think that's enough for right now. Okay, the McShay show is brought to you by FanDuel. Ready to fire up your Saturdays, FanDuel's got a boost you don't want to miss. It's called boosting with the boys and it's giving everyone a college football profit boost every single week. So here's how it works. Each week we're giving everyone a profit boost to use on college football. No invite only nonsense. Everyone gets the boost. We're talking real games, real teams, real Saturdays with an extra payout on the line. It's easy, it's fun, and it's only on FanDuel. Go to FanDuel.com McShay to download the app and get in on the action. Must be 21 and older and present in select states or 18 and older and present in DC, Kentucky or Wyoming. Opt in required bonus issued as non withdrawable profit boost tokens. Restrictions apply including any token expiration and max wager amount. See terms AT sportsbook. Do FanDuel.com gambling problem. Call 1-800-Gambler or visit rg-help.com, call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org chat in Connecticut this.
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C
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- [23:25]
A
This episode is brought to you by Duluth Trading Co. Ready to give rival tailgates the foam finger? Duluth Trading Co. Crafts hall of Fame game day gear to help you grill hotter, cheer louder and tailgate longer. Trust me, like I'm a scene at the grill, I know what this is all about. They've got bibs loaded with pockets, gusseted pants so you can crouch without snuffing out your coals, and free swinging shirts tailor made for beanbag tossing or some like to call it cornhole. Stay comfortable from preseason to playoffs in the toughest tailgate attire around. Only at Duluth Trading Company. Risers and fallers I know you. I know you have two that you're really excited to share and I want you to get started here and then I'll follow up with my two risers and then we can re rack it with fallers. Go ahead.
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B
All right, we're starting off with My first riser is Oregon defensive tackle Amari Washington. Remember last year? He's playing behind a first round pick in Derek Harmon and a third round pick in Jamari Caldwell, you know, kind of getting his feet wet working into the rotation this year. He's had a chance to really come on. You know, the other thing about his background is that fourth on the Bruce Feldman's freaks list coming into the year, this guy's different. So I, I really want to kind of get into the tape because the numbers are 20 tackles, three tackles for loss, one sack. Those. That's not really going to wow anyone. So let's watch the tape. And in going back and watching his tape, I see an elite run defender who is scheme versatile and can play anywhere along your defensive line between the offensive tackles. I'm not putting him outside, but you know, he played nose, he played defensive tackle regardless of the front. I see a guy who's quick enough to get into gaps, disrupt plays in the backfield. I see a guy who's getting off of, who can occupy double teams without giving a ton of ground. And the thing, it just. I'm watching the Wisconsin tape and I'm thinking to myself, this guy is now doing a better job of locating the block lo. Locating the ball, getting off blocks and making plays. So I think he's also ascending. So it starts with the run game and that's really what you want to do with a guy that size. The pass rush, you're going to look at, you're going to say he's not quite there yet. And I understand that. But go look at play eight versus Indiana when he absolutely runs over the right guard and throws the right guard into the. Into Fernando Mendoza and gets is part of a sack. Look at play five against Rutgers where he has a swipe to dip move where you, you start to see these things, you start to see him put together and then you're going back to that freaks list and you realize the tools that he has and he's just scratching the surface. Amari Washington. I love Caleb Banks from Florida and I love Peter woods from Clemson. Amari Washington to me is a first round talent and I think he's going to be in, in the mix for one of the defensive tackles draft. One of the first defensive tackles drafted if he comes out this year. I really do. I love him.
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A
That's, that's interesting. Yeah, I once. They're not sure yet. They, they're not sure yet. But I hear you, but no offense, I, I trust you more. Yeah.
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B
Thank you.
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A
I appreciate that.
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B
The one thing I'll say about this is you, you always. We have these, these conversations all the time about the scout and this and it, it it. Honestly, and you know, it does. It pisses me off. But it's also very healthy. It's a very healthy thing to do to hear someone say, look at this, look at that. You might be off and go back and consider someone else's opinion because you can get into these biases and all these things. So it's. I think it's. It's really good to hear sometimes that, you know what, Someone else doesn't think they're that great. And then you can go back and you can strengthen your opinion about it.
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A
Or there's nothing worse than a, Than a yes man in a. In a scouting. So, like. But. But I've also learned if you're gonna give me something that goes against the grain, give me why with examples, you know.
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B
Right.
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A
And those were provided to me. And I'm not.
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B
We don't.
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A
We. We've months to get into all this, but I haven't done enough of his tape to. I've done enough tape to know who he is, but I haven't done enough of his tape to get it. You only step into. Into fights when you're prepared. Like Defilit used to say all the time, hey, boys, boys, we're going to a hatchet fight. Bring a hatchet. Four fingers, one for your boys. So I don't have. I don't. I'm not comfortable with my hatchet yet. So I'm trusting you, but I'm hearing what other people are saying, and I'm. I've seen enough to know he's talented, but I. But the nitty gritty will. We have plenty of time to sort it all out. But that's. That's interesting that, that of all the players in the country, this is a guy that you're. You're kind of. You feel really good about at this point in the process. Well, there's also some.
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B
There's some obvious ones that we kind of stayed away from. Like, obviously Arvel Reese. Milo State has been an absolute, you know, Rocket.
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A
I'm not doing any. I'm not doing any quarterbacks in this one. I don't know if you are. I'm purposely staying away. Like, I, I could have. I could have gone like Carnell Tate. I could. There's a bunch of guys that are obvious that you can go hear about them on other shows and, and you've already heard about him on ours multiple times. I want to bring guys to the table that maybe that there's an element of. Oh, really interesting. And Washington. It's like, oh, that, that's interesting. Men's mench is on this guy. Okay, who's next?
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B
I'm going with another defensive lineman. I'm going with the Michigan edge. Derek Moore. Two sacks in each of his last three games. When you look at him as a pass rusher, the first thing that I, I really like is his ability to get up field with his first three steps, really explode off the ball and show like he's going to try and beat you with speed and then transition to power and run right through the chest of the offensive tackle. I think play 73 against Michigan State is a great example of that. He excels as a wine a wide nine rushers because he could bend and he can dip and he's explosive. You saw that in a sack against Nebraska. Play, play 61. Then you see his ability to swipe hands off his frame and work inside. Play 32 against Washington. He's got a lot of different ways that he can get to the quarterback and I think that's why I have him so high. The, the one thing he is. I love this. I love his frame. 6033, 265 verified. He's a little bit bigger than some of the other edges in this class that I might like their tape a little bit more but don't have that size in that frame. And I think that's going to help him. And when I say this I. I don't. He's not a glass eater as a run defender and that's what I want. I want him to be more rugged. I want him to be more aggressive, more physical as a run defender. Right now he's that rangy, disruptive guy who really can handle tight ends but maybe not as good as offensive tackles. But when you put this whole thing together, I see a top 50 player who could be the fifth or sixth edge rusher off the board and what I think is a very good edge class.
- [30:01]
A
I'll see your edge and I'll raise you with one of those aforementioned undersized guys, if you will. R Mason Thomas. We've long been a fan of our Mason Thomas. I went back and looked the Oklahoma edge. I went back and looked at, you know, I've talked to a lot about like national and Blessedo and their scouting services that NFL teams subscribe to and they allot scouts and, and all that don't trust necessarily their grades. It could be a young scout, it could be this, that, the other thing. But it's, it's a jumping off point in terms of like who's on the list, who do we need to evaluate all that stuff. But it also can be a reminder of like where they were approximately within a few rounds or not even like what were they considered coming into the year by at least one NFL scout. And then when they get together as a group, they, they kind of, you know, try to solidify what they have as a board. Anyway, he was ranked coming into the year. He, our Mason Thomas was, was not considered a top 100 pick. He was considered a day three prospect based off of the. One of the preseason grades that they got from scouting one of the scouting services. We said to you when we did the Oklahoma preview, I was banging the table like this guy and, and Dion Burks, they're two top 100 players. But I never thought we'd get to a point where I'm like, he might be in round one. And I'm not standing here kicking my feet and pounding a table saying he is absolutely a round one player or Mason Thomas. But I am saying in talking to scouts, don't rule that out yet. He is 6015, which means 61 and 58 of an inch. That's how they verify. That's how they do the heights in, in NFL scouting. So he's under 6 foot 2. He's only 249 pounds, but at, at 615-8249 is like, you know, he's, he's well put together, but he's not this, you know, he's not Reuben Bane at 275. But I watch him on tape, man, and his is different. When I watch our Mason Thomas like he's estimated in the 4, like the 47 around there. I don't see it like I. And I don't care what he runs as a 40. His get off his first step, how explosive he is. Combine that mensch with. And I talk about the negative all the time. Like this guy, if he could develop a pass rush plan. And I pointed out a lot of times with pass rushers and I don't point out the positive ones enough. If you want to figure out what it looks like to have a pass rush plan and you're trying to teach a young edge pass rush past rusher. Just put on our Mason Thomas's tape, please, because the hands are married to the feet and he has made a decision pre snap on how he's going to attack this offensive tackle on this pass rushing down. And then the next time he's going to utilize what he gained in terms of intel and the way the tendency that the offensive tackle tried to play him to counter that with something else. And throughout the game, it's this chess match of, you move here, I move there. And he does it with this unbelievable combination of. His feet are always moving, his hands are working in lockstep by. And then he's got this bend and this like this forward body lean that you see in the Boses and you see in some of the top pass rushers. You always see that. It's like, almost like, like the Matrix when they're coming around the edge and they're, they're shaving it tightly and their body is lean, but still they're, they're advancing their pass rush. And he's doing all these things on tape, man. And then I start to ask myself, why wouldn't he be in the first round? Pass rushers, like as a raku, right?
- [34:04]
B
Yep.
- [34:05]
A
Tiny. Smaller. And. And I'm looking at this and I'm like, but he can get home. And getting home is the whole deal. It's what. It's all. The whole deal. It's what it's all about. And, and the other thing too, like the motor, the way he carries himself.
- [34:24]
B
I was waiting for it. Waiting for it.
- [34:26]
A
If I'm his, If I'm his parent, if I'm Venables, if I'm that staff, you now have a player to look at and say, that's the fucking standard.
- [34:37]
B
Right?
- [34:38]
A
He's the standard 32. He's the standard. And I want that. I want that in my NFL locker room and on my practice field and in games. So I'm not saying he's gonna be a first round pick, but I'm talking to scouts who are saying he might be. And I know the right hamstring injury, Oklahoma's got a buy. We'll see if he bounces back. I don't have any medical report. I looked at it. I didn't even bother, like, reaching out to Nagy or anyone else. The tape is there already, man. So how he finishes the season, it's important, but it's like, it's not debilitating if he's somehow not able to come back and play at the same level. And then the workouts, yeah, you want it to be good, but like, the tape is the tape is the tape and the intel on this guy is the intel. And I'm just saying, like, when we start talking about this edge class with the Reuben Baines and the Keldrick Fox and the David Baileys, I promise you this, right? Now, as great as Reuben Bain is, not everyone in the NFL is sold on him. That's a nugget I didn't give you in the beginning. Not everyone is sold on him because he's got what, the three, three stacks.
- [35:42]
B
Yeah.
- [35:42]
A
And this is another traits guy, great run defender, but is he ever going to be a double digit sack guy in the NFL? The two best pass rushers in this class are not the guys that are ranked highest on most of the boards. Bain and Falk. It's David Bailey from Texas. Yes. And it's our Mason Thomas from Oklahoma. So keep that in mind as this process moves forward. All right, second riser for me, for me, this is a guy I had zero intention, we have talked zero about. I did a whole segment on one of our earlier shows, Steve, about the BYU offense fired up and Bear Batchmeyer and, and, and the play action. All the run, the run portion of it is a given. That's what BYU does. But are they advancing in the passing game? Well, what I failed to share with everyone because I didn't know it at the time, quite honestly, because this guy's a junior. And we're talking about running backs in this class that everyone knows. It's Jeremiah Love. It's his running mate Jadarian Price. It's Nicholas Singleton. It's his running mate Catron Allen. It's the ascension of Justice Haynes from AT Michigan. It's the re ascension of Jonah Coleman from Washington. It's all these other backs. Yep. One of the best backs in the country and one of the top running backs in the 2026 draft, should he leave early, is L.J. martin from BYU. I was told once a couple weeks ago, check out, check out Martin. I really like him. I really like him. I'm telling you, I like him. And I was there. Yeah, I'll get to it. We'll see if he comes out. And I talked to someone yesterday and like, I really like this Martin cat from byu. I was like, all right, tape, let's go. Pulled up his clip, put the whole reel. It was like 97 key plays and watched him. And the more I watched him, the more I was like, this guy's an NFL back. He's what it looks like. He's what everyone wants. We'll take the 511,210pounder, but my goodness, can we get a super talented guy with acceleration, vision, patience and contact balance at six one plus, 220 plus. Please, please, dear Lord, make more of these because they're the guys that hold up they're the guys historically, the Adrian Petersons, the Bijan Robinsons. Like, these are the guys that you can trust for a while. The Emmett Smith. So like these are the big backs that have the talent and I can rely on them.
- [38:20]
B
I love 20 plus running backs.
- [38:21]
A
Yep. 220 plus running. It's a thing. We both know it's a thing. I'm watching him and he's got his patient but with. With urgency as we love and he is Excel. I don't know what he's going to run. I don't. Emmett smith ran what, a 46 like. But I think he's going to run pretty well because his acceleration, when he gets. When he goes. And it's not a buildup, it's this initial burst when you watch a big back like that and then the contact balance. He is driving his big thick legs through his something there. Only 11 catches. I get it. Not a huge part. They do a lot of. Even when they motion him out wide. I watched his 11 catches. They motion him out wide. They still throw him basically a screen like. But I see soft hands like, remember Zeke didn't have a lot of catches. But you could see in the flashes there's more. There's more meat on that bone. So he's. He's been dealing with a little bit of an injury. BYU had a buy. You want to talk about a show me game can shut Mick Shay up. Texas Tech goes out number one run defense in. In. In the world right now. 74.6. I think it is that they're giving up. Yeah. 74.6, 2.4 yards. Yards per carry allowed. Texas Tech's defense with all those guys. Romella height. I just talked about David Bailey, three defensive tackles. Whether it's this year, a combination of this year or next year. Three defensive tackles who are going to be drafted, I believe. Can he get it done against this defense? That's going to be fun to watch.
- [39:57]
B
I love it. Love it.
- [40:00]
A
Do you want to give me a follow?
- [40:04]
B
All right.
- [40:05]
A
It's interesting about this. Just to let people know.
- [40:07]
B
I'm not nervous about it.
- [40:08]
A
I just think you've been texting me that like this is a. This is going to be one that is going to be really quickly.
- [40:14]
B
I will say something that I did. It's interesting you brought up Martin because I consider just doing the running back position, man. I mean, Nicholas Singleton from Penn State has looked like a shell of himself from last year. Makai Hughes went from Tulane to Oregon. We thought we're going to Get a star. I mean, just has been non existent once to red shirt Jay Knott hasn't worked out at Oklahoma. Justice Haynes has been awesome and now he's got an Injuries hurt. Jonah Coleman was awesome to start the year. The numbers have come down a little bit. I want to dig back into that tape and see what's going on there. I mean, the running back group as a. As a whole, it hasn't been a great year unless you're a Notre Dame guy. So it's awesome that Martin's kind of stepping up and filling that void. So I think that's great. But I am. I have hinted that I'm a little worried about or I'm not looking forward to talking about my faller. And it's going to be clear in a minute why. But it's. Are you going to be honest about what you're seeing?
- [40:59]
A
Are you gonna.
- [41:00]
B
Or are you just gonna stick to your guns about something? My father is South Carolina quarterback Lenora Sellers.
- [41:06]
A
Oh.
- [41:07]
B
And I. I've gotten a lot of questions.
- [41:11]
A
Whoa.
- [41:12]
B
Yeah. Yeah.
- [41:14]
A
And I'm glad. I want to be clear about talking about Sellers. And everyone in the scouting community believes he needs to go back 100. But it's not enough.
- [41:23]
B
And I agree. I agree. I think that is dead on. I think we're all seeing the same thing. And I think that some of the criticisms that I've seen are too harsh. I'll get into that in a minute. But let's talk about.
- [41:32]
A
This takes maturity. This takes onions. This is what a real man looks like, ladies and gentlemen. A real man with that beard and a new hat that I like. Safety third. Standing up and kind of being like, I know he can be. But he's not there. He's not where I want him to be.
- [41:51]
B
Let's sum it up his. Let's sum up his season in three sections. In one of them is very recent. I think it goes the beginning of the year. September was encouraging. October was discouraging. And the Ole miss tape on November 1st was alarming. Ole Miss had a great game plan for him. Ole Miss had a great game. If you watch that Ole Miss tape, they're not. They're barely trying to get up field. They sit there and they're rushed. They're like, we're not here to pressure him. We're here to make sure he doesn't get outside, which is exactly what you got to do. They must rush the whole game, which is basically just everyone stay in their lane. Don't worry about getting the sacks Just make sure this guy, we have gap discipline so he's got no running lanes. Did a great job of it. Oftentimes they dropped eight. Force them to throw into tighter windows and I will, you could say it's excuses. I, I think there's, I mean look, South Carolina fired Mike Shula this week, their offensive coordinator. There's clearly a lot of issues going on there. They have receivers, I mean Nick harbor in the first game of that Ole Miss, the first play of that Ole Miss game dropped a, like a deep ball that was right there for him. A little under thrown. I don't care. It was right there hit him in the hands. So there's pressure. They're getting pressure with three at times. The, the pass protection stinks. I think offense, I think the receivers aren't getting open. But that doesn't excuse, it does not excuse your, your, the fundamentals falling apart and missing open receivers on throws that you normally make. And that's what I'm starting to see. I think maybe it's, whatever it is, maybe the frustration's building. You know, I, I, I saw someone say that he's evacuating the pocket too quickly. I don't think that's true. I think he's actually getting out of the pocket because they're keeping him in there and his receivers aren't uncovering against own looks. But once you get outside the pocket and you create something, you can't just not set your feet in air mail ball like that's just not something that's going to fly. He's got to be better in those situations. So yeah, I have seen progress too, but it's just been staggered and it's come to basically a screeching halt at this point because of everything that's gone on around him. And if I'm being honest, he's not where I thought where I want him to be at this point. To call him a potential first overall pick. Now this is a lot. This is pretty raw for me. What does this mean? I know, I know that his grades coming down. I know that his grades coming down where he ranks with these other quarterbacks. I love the Fernando Mendoza love. I'm not there yet. I'm not there yet. Everyone like loves Fernando Mendoza. Like I think he's a good quarterback. I don't think he's special. I just don't see it. I love Ty Simpson's tape and probably have him as the top quarterback. Maybe Dante Moore when it's all said and done. And Sellers comes in at three. But Ty Simpson, the lack of, the lack of experience in the frame. It's concerning to me. The tape is outrageous. Dante Moore, I love the frame. I love what he can do. Again, another guy with a lack of experience and hasn't played well really since the Indiana loss. And I know this, that's a small sample size other than Rutgers. Give me a break. I have my concerns there too. So Sellers is still in that mix. If he comes out to be the first, whatever. But grade wise, he's definitely come down. He's a faller, but the floor hasn't fallen out. I still have a very high opinion of him as a quarterback and I think if he does go back, that he's a guy who's got a real shot to be the first overall pick. Sorry for ranting. I had to get a lot off there.
- [45:05]
A
It's the most important thing you've probably done in the show all season. Like, truly, like Sellers is a phenomenal talent. Sellers has a chance to be a special NFL player. Sellers, you can blame the offensive line, you can blame the, the coordinator who was just fired, you can blame all the things you want, but at the end of the day, if you're not ready, you're not ready. And so when I have these, these calls and conversations with NFL scouts and they're sharing, I mean, two things are popping into my brain because we have a show to do and we're going to Senior bowl and we're going to, we're going to the combine and we, like, you, want a great quarterback class, but I would much rather have maybe the best quarterback class in the history of the NFL Draft in 2027.
- [45:49]
B
I agree, man.
- [45:50]
A
We're tripping over each other. Like, I don't know, what do I give Julian, say, in the highest grade where his arch, arch and all this Dante Moore developed. Dante Moore's ready and oh, my gosh, he might be the best passer of this entire group. And, and holy Lenora, Sellers got another year with a different program or back in South Carolina. I'm not trying to promote anything. I'm just here to report what I'm hearing. And, and now we've seen his ascension and he's ready. We want all these guys to be ready. And John Mateer got his thumb fixed and everything's good. And he, he worked in the off season and he's a little less, you know, caffeine doubt, as we say, in the, in the pocket.
- [46:26]
B
Right?
- [46:27]
A
And then, and then we go down to the Manning Passing Academy, you and I, and maybe Dan Tucker, Connor, whoever wants to come. And now we've got Saying, We've got Arch, we've got Dante Moore. Mendoza will be gone, and he wouldn't be. Signetti wouldn't let him go down again. We've got Sellers, we've got. We've got Matier, we've got, like, in the list. We got Lagway, we've got Nico, we got all these stats there. And that could be the most amazing trip in. In, like, the history of the show.
- [47:03]
B
Patient? Yep. Just be patient.
- [47:05]
A
Whenever they're ready is when we want them to come out. And if it's just Mendoza and a bunch of round two through seven guys this year, that's fine, too. All right. It's hard to follow this up, but my. My father. Before we get out of here, I should have gone first. I didn't know that you were going to drop that bomb on me, but it's. It all ties together and it worked out perfectly that you had done that tape. And then I was getting that intel about a lot of programs, very interested in taking him to another level so that he can take them as a program to another level. And some people already starting to put the dots together. Miami's a scary factor, an entity out there that Shane Beamer in South Carolina needs to be careful of because they have the resources and a lot of enticing things to offer. TJ Parker is my father. And I know you just watched the tape recently, and you're absolutely right on. On Peter Woods. I had conversations with folks who said, why don't you go back now? It's time. It's time to reevaluate. So yesterday I spent some time and watched TJ Parker. Here's the thing, man. I. I said in the preseason, based off of the tape, that I thought that he was ascending to the point if he made those next steps. The growth potential, the power is undeniable. The traits as a whole, the length, the power that, like, they're undeniable and they'll always be there, and he can still develop upon them when he gets to the NFL. Unfortunately, this year, TJ Parker, the growth potential, when I gave him what equated to a potential top 10, top 15 pick in the summer, I was doing it with an eye towards. He's absolutely going to, you know, develop more of a plan as a pass rusher, work on his hands, become a better finisher. And then I'm watching the tape yesterday, and I really dug in, and I haven't seen the growth. And that's a scary thing as an evaluator both as where. Where is he as a prospect, but also why and, and, and is it because he's not putting the effort in or he's not getting coached properly or is this a ceiling? Is this who he is?
- [49:18]
B
Right.
- [49:19]
A
That's scary. And it's. For me, it's, it's the plan is part of it. But. And I said, I remember distinctly sitting here in August and talking to you about, or maybe it was July, talking to you about Parker and saying he leaves. The thing that I can't get out of my head is while he dominated a lot of players and I went back and I looked at kind of the notes I had from the players he dominated, not NFL guys. So he's dominating competition that it does not equate to the NFL with that straight power bull rush stuff, which was awesome to watch, but does it equate? And then I'm more. And then I'm going back and looking at my notes saying he finishes a. He believes a lot of sacks on the table at the top of his rush, which defines pass rushers. You love a quick first step. You love the great hands, you love the hand to hand combat. You love the bend. You love all these things. You love the closing burst. And a lot of the great pass rushers have this elite closing burst. It's like it came out of nowhere. But what defines pass rushers in the NFL and there's a lot of ways to skin the cat is what is this human being do at the top of his rush? Can he engage? Can he counter, can he stay on his feet? And that's a problem for Parker. Can he bend it tightly or does he come in hot and it looks like he's going to get the sack and he just. It's like the Titanic trying to make a sharp turn. That's what's scaring me with Parker. And so could he still be a first round draft pick? Yeah, he very likely could be because you don't make that many guys who are that big great versus the run have that power and tools to develop. But he's certainly not a top 10 pick. I don't think he's a top 20 pick. And I'm really starting to wonder is this the ceiling or something? You know, and so for a guy that I was touting coming into the year and I know you liked him too, but I was really, I did touting this guy. He's. He has not taken those next steps. So it's time to look at who are the other guys with the Reuben Baines and the Keldrick Fox, but also the guys who are really taking their game to another level. You talked about one of them from Michigan. I talked about the one from Oklahoma. I talked a little bit about the one from Texas Tech. There are a lot of dudes and that's not helping Parker's cause either. All right.
- [51:36]
B
Just to put a bow on that a little bit. I have him as a fringe first right now too. I think he's, I think he's probably more of a second round. He's not even a top five edge in this class anymore. He's just, I'm seeing the same things.
- [51:46]
A
Rough draft is like our, our thing. It's our flagship. We're proud of this. We're going to grow this thing to shove it up everyone else's ass. Right. Because that's how I operate, if you haven't noticed yet. But this one, we just did the top quarterback rankings. We did the top 32. And all this has been the best one so far.
- [52:06]
B
Been great.
- [52:07]
A
And if you, and if you want more, there's the McShay report. That's, that's out right now. Google the McShay report. You can subscribe. There's free and then there's also premium. You're going to get, want to get involved but I can't force you to do anything so you, you decide on your own. But, but there's a lot more risers and followers and, and most importantly a lot more of this intel in that piece and there will be for the next few weeks as we start, you know, verifying, double checking, going through tape and working off of a lot of this, this information that we're getting. So I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Mensch like you can't give more than five stars so I'll just give you five stars. This is an awesome show. And, and between the intel and you with the seller, stuff like this was, this was different. Must be 21 + and present in select states for Kansas in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18 + and present in D.C. kentucky or Wyoming. Gambling problem. Call 1-800-G GAMBLER or visit rg-help.com call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org chatincenetic or visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit gamblinghelplinema.org or call 1-800-327-help 5050 for 24. 7 support in Massachusetts or call 18778, Hope NY or text Hopeny in New York.