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The McShay Show
Todd’s Mock Draft 1.0: Abdul Carter to Tennessee and the Giants Find Their QB of the Future
01:17:57
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- [00:00]
Todd McShay
Foreign is live. It's been two years, men.
- [00:08]
Steve Mensch
You don't say. Todd.
- [00:10]
Todd McShay
Two years since my last mock draft. I've been waiting, and the waiting is finally over today, just 63 days until the NFL draft and you're joining us for a special mock 1.0 edition of the McShay Show. Mensch. You good?
- [00:25]
Steve Mensch
I'm good, man.
- [00:27]
Todd McShay
Damn right you are. Now let's play me those urban horns, would you please? Don't know what you got till it's gone, right? Yeah, I mean, like five to seven mock drafts and Kuiper making up new versions of mock drafts and just a mock, mock, mock, mock, mock. Like that's all my former life was. Then I sit out a year and now here we are in late February and I'm like, I'm just itching. I'm itching to get a mock draft out there. I didn't even do one last year. I played around with one for myself to kind of watch. I did a top 100. Watch the tape. But I didn't do a full mock draft myself last year. I finally now, after two years, get to drop a mock draft. And it is here. It is here for your consumption. Thank you for being here, audience. We appreciate your support. The support is growing week in and week out. We're on with our business folks and they're saying how the numbers are growing and there's already people diving in to get these subscriptions. We appreciate it. Here's the deal. If you want the mock draft, mock 1.0 for the 2025 NFL Draft, just Google the McShay Report. That's the easiest way right now. I'll send links on on X. We'll have it in our bios on the social media. Mens will get involved and help out with you good men at both X and on Instagram. And also you can look now on the screen and you'll see. You can just click on the link. If you're watching this on YouTube, click on the link. Subscribe to the newsletter it's the McShay Report. The Ringer is just unbelievable partnership helping us out with this. We've had folks all night long mensch like cramming for finals right between Austin, Gale and all the business portions of it with the subscriptions. Dan, Connor, Tucker, Eduardo, Mark, like the usual crew but like late last night. I'm texting them at 7:30 my time. They're on the West coast at 4:30 and I'm getting responses. So this has been a team effort through and through. Menches work. I did a first version but 10 days ago Mench worked through it with me. We made made a couple tweaks, talked to some more people as we got closer, made a couple tweaks, watch more film too. But here we are and this is it. Mach 1.0. Things will obviously change. It's fluid. We've got the combine coming up next week. There's no show on Monday, folks, but next week we are loaded with content. Wednesday, previewing from the combine with a lot of the measurables in and Talking to different GMs and getting a lot of inside scoop of what's going on. Thursday, first day of workouts. Friday second day of workouts. Saturday, the big day of workouts, right? The quarterbacks, the running backs, the wide receivers. And then we'll be flying home on Sunday when the offensive line, after the offensive linemen have worked out, we'll get all those numbers, punch it all together, take a step back and on Monday of next week we will or the following week, like 10, 10 days from now, whenever you're watching this, we will do a review show. So that's what's coming up. There's going to be a lot of content that we have coming out, but today is about the Mach 1.0 again. Google the McShay report. It's the first link that you'll see there when you Google it. I'm not good at this, but I'm just going to rip through some notes here. Everything that I've got for the for the NFL draft is going to be right there. Click on that link. Everything from mock drafts to updated position rankings to top 350 when it's all said and done. Overall top 100. To start out, we've got all the the insider buzz 25 years, men you know, of developing, cultivating relationships inside the league. We're going to do a lot of articles on what we're hearing. So if you're looking for anything having to do with the NFL draft, whether it's the player reports, the mock drafts, the inside scoop, whatever it is, for $4 you can have it all. It's all going to be exclusive content, right? And, and there's also a double down option where you can get for $36 this year's full draft all throughout the college season starting in really in May when we start doing evaluations for next year and ride it all the way through next year's draft. So for 36 bucks you get double down 20, 20, 25 NFL draft and through the 2026 NFL draft. Listen, we need your support. The little engine that could. My boy, Stevie Boy and I, we've, we've been grinding away at this thing. And I hope you realize two things. One, your support is unbelievably appreciated by Steve and I. Okay? Truly. Number two, we don't take this lightly. Like, I'm not going to ask you for 4 bucks or 36 bucks over the next two years if I, if I'm not going to put in the work. Like, the amount of film we're watching, the notes that we're sending back and forth to one another, Steve and I, the conversations I'm having, the roster studying that we're doing for NFL teams, the updated, you know, the, this year's free agency, who's coming, who's going, what the needs are, studying the salary cap. Like, we're going through all of it and all we're asking for and we, we don't take it lightly, but we're asking for a few bucks here, 36 bucks there for two years, and you can get all this information, but we've, it's a business. We've got to do it. I, I know the comments are going to be frustrated. I, I was at ESPN for a long time in the Insider and all of that. I understand it and it's okay. Be pissed off. It's okay. But if you want the, I don't want to say the best, that's arrogant. If you want content that you can trust that the work has been put in and the relationships are there and the content is there and the film has been actually studied, this is a great place to do it. Okay? So that's where we are. Can you tell them? Fired up, man.
- [06:27]
Steve Mensch
That's great. It's great. I can't wait to get back into it. I love it.
- [06:31]
Todd McShay
So today we don't believe that you.
- [06:32]
Steve Mensch
Didn'T do one last year. I, I just, I'm, I, I trust you. I hear what you're saying, but I just imagine, like, even if you did it in your head, you had something going on.
- [06:41]
Todd McShay
Well, I mean, I literally was talking to GMs up to the night before the first round of the draft, right? I got a conversation with, with the team drafting in the top 10, and we're literally like, he's asking me, like, what would you do here? Like, you know, like, we've decided, but I'm curious, like, I'm not going to tell you exactly, but, like, these are the three players, right? And so, like, I, I, I absolutely worked the scenarios out. But I never sat down with all 32 picks and, and actually wrote it down. Quite honestly, it was kind of depressing to do it. Like I got through like 16, 17 so that I could have these conversations and feel good about the information I had. So when I talked to another GM or and another GM it would be, you know, this is kind of how the landscape is. But never did the 32. Today we're gonna, we are going to. We're not going to go through every pick. This is not going to be like the old days where you watch Sports center special and, and I'm giving. We're going through all 32 picks. We're just, we're not doing it for obvious reasons. We've got to get everyone on board. Please subscribe and be a part of this with us. But we will go through the first three picks. We'll give those away today. Then I want to go through some scenarios with you Mensch kind of in the top 10. Maybe some other picks. Men, she's got some takeaways, maybe good, maybe bad. I don't know what they are. But he's going to go through, I think what, four picks?
- [07:55]
Steve Mensch
Four picks.
- [07:56]
Todd McShay
Yeah. And then I. And then do a little treatment for some of the positions and where we stand and where this class is really strong, where this class is. Is lacking and provide some historical perspective with all of that. Let's start at the top, man. Let's start at the top. Tennessee Titans. I think it's important to look at the board. Right. My board and, and you tell me if yours is different.
- [08:25]
Steve Mensch
Okay?
- [08:26]
Todd McShay
Excuse me. I, I look at this as tears. I always do. This year, unfortunately, the tier, the elite tier at the top in my opinion has three players in it now. There are a couple right behind where I, I think an argument can be made. And let's see how the workouts go. Let's. Let's see how the interviews go. And as we get closer, maybe the tier will grow. But I don't suspect it will. My elite. My elite tier this year does not include any quarterbacks. It's three positional players in Abdul Carter, Penn State. Travis Hunter, cornerback, wide receiver. Should have mentioned Abdul Carter Edge, obviously. Travis Hunter, cornerback, wide receiver, cornerback first. By the way, everyone I talk to in the league, it's. He's got to play corner. That's what he did in college. There are installs and packages we can do with them offensively will. There will be load management. There will be discussions about how to use them. But like match you and I know, like when you meet the. The majority of meetings that you have with a football team, whether it's in college or the NFL, is with your position group. You have offensive and defensive meetings, you have team meetings, but the most time you spend in meetings is with your position group. So right from a technique standpoint, from a studying standpoint, from a scheme alignment standpoint, he's going to have to. Travis Hunter is going to have to spend the vast majority of his time at cornerback in those meetings, but he's also going to be a part of the wide receiver meetings to a certain degree. There will be installs each week and there will be, I don't want to say special treatment, but unique handling of him in order to allow him to play as many plays as possible while trying to keep him healthy and utilize his very unique set of skills. Okay, so it's Carter, it's Hunter, and I've included in their Mason Graham, defensive tackle from Michigan, inside. Okay. So with that as a jumping off point, let's get to Tennessee. Mike. Mike Borgonzi, the new general manager, can't miss with this pick.
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Steve Mensch
No.
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Todd McShay
And by the way, just talking to people in the league, this guy's an absolute stud. Like he they Tennessee. Yeah, Tennessee got the right rising star upand cominging guy. According to my sources, in a perfect world, if this was last year, I think we all agree if you got Caleb Williams, Jaden Daniels, Drake may take a quarterback here. This, the next two months is about drilling down and making sure you got the right guy at quarterback. But there are three options, right?
- [10:58]
Steve Mensch
Right.
- [10:59]
Todd McShay
It's just not that year in my opinion. Cam Ward, I think is. I don't want to say consensus, but league majority. Cam Ward's QB1, Shador Sanders, league majority, QB2, Jackson Dart. I don't know if it's league majority, but there's strong sense he could be late first. And there's not as big a gap, at least in my opinion, as big a gap between QB2 and QB3 with Shador and Dart and Tyler Schuck is kind of. There's a groundswell of this guy with a lot to work through with 25 years of age, three years of injuries, three different schools, but damn, his tape is good. Okay.
- [11:36]
Steve Mensch
Right.
- [11:37]
Todd McShay
But here's what I'm hearing, okay? And it's early. This is exactly what I'm hearing. If there's a wish list for Bon in Tennessee, it's to trade out of this pick. And I think that's why, and we said it at the time. But, but the more I talk to people in the league who I don't want to say are in the know, it's always what people are hearing. So it, it can be smoke screens information, smoke screen information off of smoke screen information. So you never know for certain because no one in Tennessee is going to say a word, obviously, but information leaks out. The wish list, from my understanding, would be to trade out of this number one pick. And the reason why you're hearing from Pac Man Jones that it's absolutely going to be Travis Hunter at number one. The reason you're hearing from Tennessee, that from leadership there, that we're not going to pass on a generational pick is to entice or, or I don't want.
- [12:32]
Steve Mensch
To drive up the value.
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Todd McShay
Drive up the value and make people realize, like, yeah, we'll stay here and we'll take Travis. Or maybe the generational talent is. Is Abdul Carter or maybe the generational talents. Cam Ward. We're not telling you who we think the generational talent is. Yeah.
- [12:48]
Steve Mensch
And just to be clear, real quickly, you did not do any trades in this mock. You may do trades later on in other mocks, but you did not do that in this one.
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Todd McShay
Yeah. So I fought for five years at espn just behind the scenes a little bit. Five years with producers, executives, like, it.
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Steve Mensch
Was, I think, spilled onto the scenes a little bit.
- [13:07]
Todd McShay
I'm funny with this stuff. Like, I don't. I just, I, I come barreling in sometimes and I'm like, why don't we have trades? Trades happen. Why don't we have trades? And Kuiper's like, no. Little, little kid, like, hand on head, push me down, like. And Mel was always the biggest promoter of my career. I don't want to create any drama there. Mel's wonderful, like, right? Mel and Kim, his wife, and Lauren, his daughter. Like, they're like extended family. I love Mel, except when we disagree on players, then I can't stand Mel. Like, like your cousin or uncle or. Or older brother, that it drives you crazy. Right. And so the fights were legitimate. They were not prescripted. The fights were legitimate. But the, the trade thing was one of the things where, like, I kind of. I got put in my place for like three years and then four years, I made a little headway. Finally, like, five years later, once I pitched the idea of trades, I got the green light and he was pissed. He was pissed.
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Steve Mensch
Did you really want trades or, or I, I know you really wanted trades, but once he said no trades, it'll just make you that more motivated to know we're doing this. That's the kind of relationship you guys had, right?
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Todd McShay
A little bit. You caught me.
- [14:22]
Steve Mensch
Fired you up a little bit, right?
- [14:23]
Todd McShay
You caught me. Tell me I can't.
- [14:25]
Steve Mensch
Exactly.
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Todd McShay
Tell me I can't.
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Steve Mensch
Right.
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Todd McShay
So that's how that all worked. So I'm all four trades. It was a long way to get back to this. I'm all four trades. Like, I, I didn't create a lot in this business, but I feel like I pushed that through in the mainstream of like we're doing trades from now on. That was one of my biggest impacts on, on this, this pre draft process. All four trades. Now's not the time. Let's get all 32 markets. Let's get all 32 teams an opportunity to see what they need in this mock draft that I, I just think it's the fair right approach and at this point, honestly, you're just throwing darts on the trade stuff. When you get closer and you've got more information and the combine's done and free agency is wrapped up and the team needs are a little bit more obvious and you're starting to have real conversations with people in the league, not like more surface level like we are right now. That's when you make more educated guesses. Right. So, yes, no trades here. Thank you for bringing that up. Back to Tennessee. I went with that. I went with Abdul Carter. Edge.
- [15:29]
Steve Mensch
Yes.
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Todd McShay
Penn State.
- [15:30]
Steve Mensch
Yes.
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Todd McShay
There's the music start.
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Steve Mensch
Let's go.
- [15:37]
Todd McShay
He's the best player in this draft. Right. And. And it's at a position of priority that is prioritized in my opinion over any other position outside of quarterback.
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Steve Mensch
Agree.
- [15:52]
Todd McShay
So again, the wish list is trade out of this pick. Let's move. I. I read something yesterday. I don't put any credence into it, but like the jets are. Are talking about maybe moving up to number one or even to two to. To get to for Cam Ward to get ahead of the Giants at three if you can get it. Honestly, if you're not drafting in the top three. And so if you can get a partner with like the Raiders or the jets or a team even below that in this year's class where we're talking about like historically loaded at defensive tackle. Edge. I'm with you running back. Get. Get me more. I want quantity over quality when it comes to picks in this draft. So Borgonzi I think is kind of entertaining that. And, and I think that or the organization of the Tennessee Titans is looking to try to move out of that spot, unfortunately for it's like a fortunately, unfortunately situation if there was the quarterback that they're in love with. And again, I'm not saying that I definitively know that they don't love Cam Ward. I'm saying the information that I'm getting is that they'd rather trade out of that spot, which indicates that they don't believe that one of these quarterbacks is the guy. And they're having, they're doing some pretty realistic self assessments of like we're, we're not a quarterback away right now.
- [17:19]
Steve Mensch
Right.
- [17:19]
Todd McShay
We got, we got to rebuild this thing a little. Smart.
- [17:23]
Steve Mensch
Yeah.
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Todd McShay
And you look at like you look at Abdul Carter, the legendary performance, playing with one functional arm in that Notre Dame College football playoff game. You look at him this year with the win rate and I, I want you to understand this. He was tied for third in the, in the nation with a 23% win rate as a pass rusher this past year. And you say, well, if he's the best player, why wasn't he number one? I want you to understand that no pass rusher that I've watched at least got more attention blocking wise schematically than Abdul Carter. So for him to have those numbers and to be fifth in the nation in sacks with 13, despite all that attention speaks volumes about, about his ability. And for me, it's more about the tape, not the numbers, but the numbers kind of back it all up. Yeah. And it was Chad Brinker, the, the Titans president of football operations who made the comment, won't, we won't pass on a generational talent with the first pick in the NFL draft. So that's what we were referring to earlier. Number two match number two. I know you agree with that one. Here's where, here's where I really want to get your opinion. I'm going to tell you what I heard. I'm going to give you the pick and then you go from there.
- [18:37]
Steve Mensch
Okay.
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Todd McShay
I've heard from multiple sources now, okay, Cleveland is, they're not, they're not pulling the trigger on a quarterback here too. I've heard from multiple sources, the same multiple sources that they don't believe that this is the year to do that, that they're not, they're not a quarterback in this class away, if that makes sense.
- [19:01]
Steve Mensch
Right.
- [19:02]
Todd McShay
Had it been last year's class, they feel really good that they can kind of take off and run. So with that in mind, I went with Travis Hunter. I both. I also want to make this. I know you, you said recently that you don't think that he's going to be a top five pick in this draft in this scenario? I think Cleveland could take Travis Hunter, the cornerback wide receiver out of Colorado. I also want to say this. I've now heard from, from two different people that Kirk Cousins could be brought in on the cheap this offseason kind of as a stopgap. So with that in mind, and again I'll let you go with that in mind. I is Jackson Dart is Tyler Shuck from a value standpoint, whether it's sitting and waiting early in round two or if you're getting information he could go to, I don't know, Pittsburgh later in one. What are the Pittsburgh picks? 21. I think somewhere in that range.
- [20:05]
Steve Mensch
22 maybe, but that range, yeah, somewhere.
- [20:07]
Todd McShay
In the early 20s. But I don't even think Pittsburgh's going to do that so. And we could get to that later.
- [20:12]
Steve Mensch
But you're right, 21.
- [20:13]
Todd McShay
But is it trading back into the late first and don't forget this, this is an important part of it. By drafting a quarterback in the, in the first round, even though you don't want to give up that pick to go move up a few spots from round two to one, it's worth that. It's worth that pick because that fifth year option you get as a rookie draft pick, if you're a first round pick, there's a fifth year option that the NFL team gets that extends the shelf life, if you will, of being able to play and and operationally work with a quarterback on a rookie contract, which is invaluable. You're paying him peanuts compared to some of these numbers we're seeing for guys like Kirk Cousins for what Sam Darnold might go make even despite a very know tough finish of the season for Trevor Lawrence for like some of the contracts we've seen in recent years, last couple years. Right.
- [21:04]
Steve Mensch
Yeah.
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Todd McShay
So what are your thoughts there Bench?
- [21:07]
Steve Mensch
First of all, just to, to talk about the, the quarterback quarterback market is fascinating to me right now because when you talk about guys like Matthew Stafford could be on the move, Aaron Rodgers who we've already talked about but someone might fall in love with Russell Wilson, Sam Darnold, they're the quarter overall quarterback market when you're looking at this class is fascinating to me so I wouldn't be surprised if they go in another direction. I am, I do not. I'm so terrified that I'm get painted in this corner if I don't like Travis Hunter that I don't think Travis Hunter is Very good. I just think it's early for. For. For him here. I think that you go with someone up front. I think you have to improve your front. I think if you're going to trade Miles Garrett, which it sounds like they are, I don't think it's too early for a Mikel Williams out of Georgia. I don't. I just think those players are more valuable at the spot. I love Travis Hunter. I'm gonna keep saying it over and over and over again. I love Travis Hunter. I just think it's. Number two overall is early for him.
- [22:02]
Todd McShay
The Miles Garrett situation is going to be interesting.
- [22:05]
Steve Mensch
We'll see how that unfolds. And, and like, you have when you, you know better than anyone, when you're going through this, you're trying to read all the tea leaves, you know who's going to be available. Obviously, we got big news this week that the cap has jumped significantly. Some teams that we thought maybe couldn't keep guys, maybe they're in a better position to keep guys. You're trying to figure that all out right now. It'll. As you go because you'll get more and more information, but right now you're trying to figure out, is Miles Garrett going to be in a Browns uniform next year. It seems crazy that he wouldn't be, but if he's not, and, and there's some, you know, there's definitely some smoke there, then, you know, I, I'm going up front again. I just think when you build your teams inside out, man, and to me, there's still enough value in that edge class to take an edge second overall.
- [22:49]
Todd McShay
Okay, so for this, these purposes, though, we've got Travis Hunter off the board. So the top two prospects on my board are. Are gone. Now we get to the Giants, right? Wrong. Indifferent. The future is absolutely now for Joe Shane and Brian Dable. And I think, you know, and it goes without saying, and I've been saying this four or five years, I was yelling at Mel like, Brian Dable can absolutely develop quarterbacks. I have a great appreciation for Brian Dable as coach. Maybe. Maybe higher or higher than most or. I don't know. I don't know that it's shared, but with everyone. And obviously the, the struggles the last couple years makes it hard to, like, plant my flag on that, but I do. With that said, the reality is the reality. And that reality is that they have to win this year. And. And they have. And I don't mean win like go to the playoffs. I mean show promise not picking at number Three a year from. If they're picking at number three a year from now, there's a new GM and there's a new head coach and, and for the Giants. Okay.
- [23:51]
Steve Mensch
Right.
- [23:52]
Todd McShay
And so with that, you have to show in this next year that we're progressing in that direction and we've got our quarterback. And in order to do that, I just. I'm assuming it will be Cam Ward at this point, but I don't know that for certain, but I went with Cam Ward here at number three to the New York Giants. You got your wide receiver one. Right. And I, And I listen, I'm hearing. I'm hearing the same stuff, like, Sam Darnold could be here. Sam Darnold could be with the Raiders. Like, I hear all those things, but my information. And I feel really good about this. My information is this is going to be a quarterback. Okay.
- [24:33]
Steve Mensch
Right.
- [24:34]
Todd McShay
Like, I feel really good about that. I just, like, let's get that on the table. And so if that's the case, you got your wide receiver one in. Malik neighbors. You know, you. You've. You've got it. If you bring in Cam Ward, you get an opportunity to show a lot of life and a lot of promise on offense and to start turning things around. It just makes the most sense to me.
- [24:56]
Steve Mensch
Hypothetical. Love the hypotheticals.
- [24:59]
Todd McShay
Yeah.
- [25:00]
Steve Mensch
Joe Alt, the. The Notre Dame offensive tackle is available this year. Do you think about pulling the trigger on Joe out there? I do, yeah.
- [25:09]
Todd McShay
But I'm not in.
- [25:09]
Steve Mensch
I would.
- [25:10]
Todd McShay
I. I don't have a couple younger kids and, and, and got a GM opportunity and. You know what I mean? Like.
- [25:17]
Steve Mensch
Yeah.
- [25:18]
Todd McShay
That I'm trying to keep.
- [25:20]
Steve Mensch
It's a good point.
- [25:21]
Todd McShay
And, and, and, and don't get it twisted, folks. Like, when you're talking about drafting number three overall and, and quarterback is in play, it's absolutely. Is. There's an ownership element to this, regardless of. But there's an ownership element to this as well. So.
- [25:42]
Steve Mensch
Yeah.
- [25:43]
Todd McShay
Keep that in mind. Yeah. So that's it. I know you're going to be pissed, folks. I get it. Like, you want us to go through all 36. We're not. I, I'll remind you real quickly. And that's not it for the show. We have a ton more to get to. We're like 25 minutes in, so, like, we're just warming up. But I'm saying that, like, we're not going to give you any more picks, like, definitively. We'll give a few more. I'm lying. We'll give a few more. Picks when mentioning he likes later. But in the top 10, I want to now go through the scenarios and we'll do that in a minute. But I want to remind everyone, just google the McShay report. You get two options right here that will be the easiest. There are more, but two options that are the easiest. If you want this mock draft, it's not just this mock draft. It's the subsequent mock drafts. It's the player rankings that we're updating weekly as we're going through tape and, and like ripping through it. As I'm talking to people in the league and Mench is talking to people in the league about injuries, about character issues, all those different things, interviews, everything. The rankings get updated like I, I want to say bi weekly. We'll see how it goes. Whenever it's important, certainly after the combine, whenever it's important to make an update, we're going to make an update. Throughout this process, we're gonna have a lot of articles about, about draft buzz, what we're hearing, information that we're getting that I don't feel like a lot of other people are getting. And when other people are getting the information, our ability, I, I believe to spin it forward and to explain like, all right, well, if that happens, this is what falls in line. That's what we're going to provide. If you google the McShay report right now, the first link that you'll see there, click on it. Everything that I can offer. Mench isn't doing the writing with me, but certainly is part of the process. Okay. Everything that I have to offer through this year's draft, just $4. Again, we don't take it lightly. Can't appreciate people signing up, subscribing and being a part of this more. We truly do. But we're going to put in the work and we're going to, we're going to make it absolutely worth the four bucks to get through this draft or the double down for 36 bucks. Get you through this draft, get you through the entire off season, the college football season, next year, and through next year's draft. So you get two full drafts for 30.
- [27:58]
Steve Mensch
Double down.
- [27:59]
Todd McShay
Double down, baby. Double down. All right, so let's go through some scenarios now. We're, I mentioned my top three prospects. Okay. Mason Graham is not off the board defensive tackle from Michigan. So one of that top tier players, when you get to pick four with the New England Patriots, is still available. There are other players still available. Let's pull up that top 10 again. Okay. We've We've got Ashton Jinty, who I, I mentioned there are a couple guys who are right on the cusp of the, of the first tier. Ashton Genti, running back from Boise state, the top 25 here. Sorry, Ashton Genti would be close to on that tier. I, I believe Tyler Warren, close to on that tier. Will Campbell, the best offensive lineman in this class. I don't think he's the, he's Joe Alt. He's not in that top tier, but he's in the top of the second tier. So there are other players here, the pass rushers as well, from Georgia and beyond. With that in mind, Mensch, the New England Patriots are sitting there and we, we both live in New England. I got, I got Bill Simmons texting me all, you know, all the time about the good, the bad, the ugly with, with this. We. I've got all my friends, you know, wanting to know what, what's going to happen. Everyone's still pissed off about winning in Week 17 or Week 18, the 17th game, but here we are picking at four. You've got an offensive tackle that everyone's mocking Will Campbell to the Patriots at four. You've got Mason Graham, interior defensive lineman. I'm just fascinated. Let's just talk about the pick without giving away what, where we're going. I'm just fascinated with. All right, you got Mike Frable. He's making the final decision. That's a fact. Wolf, you got the guys he brought in, like, all that, but he's making the final decision. You need an offensive lineman desperately. My grade's higher on Mason Graham. Vrabel played with Vince Wilfork and, and coach Jeffrey Simmons knows the impact that a, a true absolute stud interior defensive lineman could have. If, if, if Travis Hunter was, were still to be here, would that be an area they would want to go? Do they already have their star cornerback? And you can't have like, having two of them is wonderful, too, but are they getting enough value out of them at wide receiver? Like, there's just so many questions here. What, what jumps out to you? To me? Offensive tackle, edge, wide receiver, the three biggest needs.
- [30:32]
Steve Mensch
I. First of all, I'm going to say two things. One is my wife is going to listen to this pod later on and she's going to say to herself, I can't believe that he didn't mention any of the names that he's not supposed to mention because I'm terrible at this. I'm so afraid that I'm gonna let something slip here. The second thing is I'm gonna sound like a car salesman. This is why. This is where I would spend four bucks just to see the next six picks because this is where it gets interesting. I'll just tell you right now, this is where it gets interesting. And I would just pay and I'm. I know it sounds like a car salesman. I don't care. I would pay four bucks to see what these next picks are because it gets really good. One of the things that's fascinating to me is I love the idea of Josh McDaniels walking into variables office and saying, hey, Vrapes, a lot of depth in this defensive line class. You know, you can get one, you can get a great one later on. You're a great defensive coach. You don't need this guy. I want, maybe I want a tight end. Maybe I want a tight end that I could be a franch. I think could be a franchise tight end. A guy that maybe could be my Gronk. That could be, you know, we can get another Gronk in New England. I love the idea of him possibly going in there and that would be, you know, look, that's early for a tight end, but, man, Tyler Warren's such a good player that I think he's someone who's going to go very early.
- [31:41]
Todd McShay
Yeah, I don't disagree. I. I think options are open here. I really do. Offensive tackle, here's the problem.
- [31:48]
Steve Mensch
They don't have a lot of needs, by the way, they have a ton of cap space. So what they do in free agency will ultimately make it a lot clearer what they're going to do there. But they, I mean, it's one of the good things about having so many holes in your roster is you have a lot of options.
- [32:05]
Todd McShay
And, and what's fascinating to me is what New England does. I mean, it's obvious. But does New England take the best player on the board in Mason Graham or do they take an offensive tackle or they take maybe the second best player on the board and Tyler Warren?
- [32:20]
Steve Mensch
Right.
- [32:21]
Todd McShay
That's fascinating. And then based off of what New England does it for Jacksonville sitting there, right? And you're like, if we can get the. If we can get the third best player in Mason Graham falls there, I think at probably arguably the biggest need, at least in the top two or three. But I would argue maybe, you know, like they have a glaring need at defensive tackle for like an impact player like that, the third best player in this draft sitting at five, one of the three guys in the elite tier on McShane's board. But I mean, I think a lot of people share in that concept that those are the three best players in this draft. Abdul Carter, Travis Hunter, and Tyler Warren. I'm sorry. And Mason Graham. So that, that would be, I think, the ideal fit if Mason Graham is sitting. Sitting there. I also think it's fascinating, like Liam, Liam Cohen was hired in large part to, to aid. I mean, there's no question, like, that's Trevor, Trevor Lawrence. They like to aid him.
- [33:29]
Steve Mensch
Yeah.
- [33:30]
Todd McShay
To get him his job. Like, we've got to get Trevor over the hump.
- [33:36]
Steve Mensch
So how do we best do that? Yep.
- [33:37]
Todd McShay
How do we best do that? And. And they, they don't have a new general manager right. At this point. Tony Bacelli's. Tony Bacelli, the Hall of Fame offensive tackle was. He's the team's executive vice president of football operations. He's working with ownership to, to hire a new gm. And so at this point, you don't even know who's. Who's like, pulling the trigger. But maybe if Tyler Warren's there, you're like, that might be the best thing for me. And yeah, I get it. You. You drafted a Penn State tight end in what, the second round last year?
- [34:12]
Steve Mensch
Yeah, they did, right? Strange. Brent Strange. Yeah.
- [34:15]
Todd McShay
Yeah. And I liked Brenton Strange a lot. But like, I was pounding the table for Brenton Straits, top 50 prospect last year out of nowhere. Right. But it's obvious the huge difference in, in Tyler Warren as a, as a tight end. And oh, and by the way, everyone's screaming about Evan Ingram, the, the tight end, former first round draft pick who came over to Jacksonville. I think he could be a cap casualty.
- [34:44]
Steve Mensch
Right. Again, you're trying to. Where's everything going here, man?
- [34:49]
Todd McShay
Right. An offense, offensive line could be. So, like, I don't know. There's. There's just a lot of different. There's a lot of different ways you could go here. Then you get to the Vegas. Go ahead. Sorry.
- [35:03]
Steve Mensch
Especially just because there's not that elite offensive tackle talent and there's, you know, the, the wide receiver class is down, which opens up other positions, which I think is going to be more. One of the more interesting things about this draft. It opens up the possibility of a defensive tackle and a tight end going in the top five picks. That just, it's not normal.
- [35:21]
Todd McShay
You said to me the other day, I think we were texting her on the phone, what, what offensive tackle class did this remind you of with. With Will Campbell?
- [35:31]
Steve Mensch
I don't remember now, was it the Northwestern guy put Me on the spot.
- [35:34]
Todd McShay
And I forgot the Northwestern tackle. Right.
- [35:36]
Steve Mensch
Sean Slater, that one.
- [35:40]
Todd McShay
Yeah. Maybe it wasn't you. I had this conversation. I don't think it was me. It's just coming back. I know who I was talking.
- [35:44]
Steve Mensch
I do that a lot. I don't think that's that.
- [35:45]
Todd McShay
No, no, it was. It was another conversation I had with someone in the league. They. They said this Rashawn Slater. Rashawn Slater. Like, the. The scenario with Slater. Is he a guard, is he a tackle? Is similar to that of. Of Slater. Is he a guard? Is he a tackle? How high do you want? Like, he's awesome player, but is the value there for him that early? Yeah, that's a conversation I had with somebody else.
- [36:09]
Steve Mensch
Oh, that's a conversation we could dive into.
- [36:11]
Todd McShay
Yeah. Yeah, we'll get into that more. But I. I think when we're starting to talk about teams like New England at 4 and. And Jacksonville at 5 and beyond, I think keep that in mind. So then the Raiders come on the board at 6. Here's what I'm hearing. I'm hearing that Sam Darnold or a veteran quarterback is. Is. Is absolutely. I don't want to say a priority, but they're exploring vigorously. I also know Tom Brady is, like, campaigning is not the right word.
- [36:44]
Steve Mensch
He.
- [36:44]
Todd McShay
He's. He is one of his initiatives in terms of, like, helping the NFL move forward and, like, think one of the things that he is, like, a hot button for him. And you could just Google that or, you know, go on YouTube and look is quarterbacks should not be thrust in. They can be if they're ready, but, like, very few are.
- [37:05]
Steve Mensch
Right.
- [37:06]
Todd McShay
So. So with that as a cut, like, he's done, like, speeches and, like, he really, truly believes. So with that is the mindset. And also knowing that Thomas spent some time with Shador in the off season and kind of mentor him, I could see a scenario in that, in that regard, but I also don't know, like, if they go out and they spend all that money on a Sam Darnold, are we going in a different direction here? So that. That's what makes this. This spot is intriguing and. And let's, like, this ain't show family. This is show business, you know?
- [37:44]
Steve Mensch
Right.
- [37:44]
Todd McShay
So, like, yeah, Tom worked. I don't think Tom's cutthroat, man. Don't get, like, the night, the nice smile and, like, you know, and all the other stuff twisted. Like, he is cutthroat, and so he's not drafting someone because it worked with him or Mentored him. And I think you got to truly keep that in mind with the 6 pick is Shador that guy. Do they believe like this is Tom's first just like major influence on a high draft pick in that organization. He is the most competitive human being out there. He does not want to miss on this. So when he's evaluating Shador and doing it not as Shador's mentor last summer, does he see a guy who he truly can like this is his organized organization in his mind, even though Mark Davis is the, you know, as vast majority ownership, but this is like this is his baby. And so that part's fascinating to me. The whole, the whole Brady concept is fascinating to me. So then you get to seven with the jets, man.
- [38:55]
Steve Mensch
Another possible quarterback spot.
- [38:56]
Todd McShay
They could go anywhere here, right? Yeah.
- [39:01]
Steve Mensch
Yeah.
- [39:03]
Todd McShay
I mean they could go Mikel or Jalen Walker, the edges from Georgia. They could go offensive tackle Will Campbell or, or others. They could go Will Johnson, cornerback, Michigan. They could trade up and try to get a quarterback, move up a couple spots ahead of, of the Raiders. If the Raiders are, if they think the Raiders are going to take their, their guy. If that is Shador, it's going to be fascinating.
- [39:27]
Steve Mensch
Right. Be interesting to see what they do again. A team with a lot of, a lot of different angle, a lot of different ways they could go and how they. And it'll be interesting again to see how all these teams approach the quarterback position. Are they going to bring in a veteran? Is that what they're more comfortable with? And maybe a guy that they see as a bridge or are they going to target a quarterback in the, in this draft?
- [39:49]
Todd McShay
There's a lot of talent on that roster. Yeah, there's a lot of talent on that roster. Like this isn't a total rebuild. This is just finding the right guy at quarterback and, and pumping some life and energy into that position and into the offense. I also just watching them live, like I've watched their tape and stuff, but just watching them live, they were not physical and tough versus the run up front and they were not a great tackling group at linebacker. And I'm not, that's not where they're going with this pick. But I think if you're a Jets fan, you watch throughout like Aaron Glenn is not going to have a defense that can't, you know, right up versus the run and he's going to do that. He, he like he was that Detroit defense, one of the most blitz heavy defensive schemes in the league. So like when I mentioned a guy like Will Will Johnson, the cornerback here, even though you get the star on the other side Sauce who didn't play.
- [40:46]
Steve Mensch
All that way last year.
- [40:47]
Todd McShay
No, no, no. And he's part of the tackling problems too. But I'm just saying, like having two corners that can actually do it. You look at what they did, you know, they used a first round pick on Terry and Arnold opposite Carlton Davis, like. Yeah. That's one way to get tougher up front is to get safety help. Right. So that's a possibility that the edge rush like get bringing in another guy like certainly Will Campbell if he's still there at seven, which he absolutely could be.
- [41:15]
Steve Mensch
That's an interesting spot for, for an offensive tackle.
- [41:18]
Todd McShay
Absolutely.
- [41:19]
Steve Mensch
Yeah.
- [41:19]
Todd McShay
And so now you've. In the last four years you've drafted a bunch of talented guys because you got, you got Olu from last year. You got, they got Veritas ago. Yeah, yeah. You got Tip in the center. Right. Who played pretty well last year.
- [41:40]
Steve Mensch
Yeah.
- [41:41]
Todd McShay
Now all of a sudden whoever you're plugging at quarterback is actually like, when's the last time a New York football team. When's the last time a New York football team lined up and you said they got an advantage on the offensive line? Giants or Jets? It's been a minute.
- [41:57]
Steve Mensch
Yeah. It's been like I try to think back to the Rex Ryan years for the Jets. I'm not even sure those all I think of the butt fumble. I don't know those offensive lines are that great.
- [42:05]
Todd McShay
Yeah. So. All right, then you get down to Carolina and we could kind of rip through these. But Carolina was interesting to me. I, I just think when you got your. Here's the thing, we've gone through this trend and I'm going to wear it out and people are going to get sick of hearing it. But when you, I mean when you get your quarterback, build your defense and build your defense up front. So Dan Morgan, the general manager, obviously former linebacker, that's a great understanding of the importance of that. So this would be where I would think you would, you would learn from the lessons of, of the Patrick Mahomes situation with Brett Veach, the general manager and Andy Reid of the Chiefs, Howie Roseman and what he's. How he's built that, that defense throughout even, you know, they had multiple quarterbacks over the. Going back to 2010, but they've always built that defensive front. Right. The Bills, you know, we go on and on. Yeah. So this to me, if they're trying to follow in the, in the footsteps instead of taking Tet McMillan. Maybe you go defensive front with one of the edge rushers. That's a poss. A strong possibility. We'll see if they follow that. But they need a wide receiver, man.
- [43:18]
Steve Mensch
Yeah.
- [43:21]
Todd McShay
Be interesting to see when Ted McMillan out of. Out of Arizona is. Is the only guy that you. You hear any noise about in the top 20. And he's super talented.
- [43:29]
Steve Mensch
Yep.
- [43:31]
Todd McShay
There's kind of Drake London type type tools coming out. Drake London was what, seventh overall pick or eighth for the Atlanta Falcons?
- [43:38]
Steve Mensch
He was in that range. Yeah, I could find it.
- [43:42]
Todd McShay
Saints are another team. Don't have your quarterback, but you need. Need a lot of things. This wide receiver, edge interior, defensive line, tight end, corner. So you're like, if you're the Saints, you just sit back, you're like, all right, someone's gonna fall and Ted McMillan is a possibility, but I'm probably gonna have better options at edge, interior, defensive line, tight end or cornerback because this class is loaded with all those.
- [44:14]
Steve Mensch
Yeah. I can't say it enough. Yeah. Again, build in, like inside out. Get your front settled before you start getting all these other players. And I love Ted McMillan, but I just don't see it. They. He's a. Too much of a luxury for a team like the Saints. They need to get better up front.
- [44:29]
Todd McShay
I agree. And then we'll, we'll round it off with the, with the bears at 10. I. I just. I like you. Look at what Detroit did. You got Ben Johnson coming in. And the reason they've had so much success is because their, Their, their lines were built first.
- [44:51]
Steve Mensch
Right.
- [44:51]
Todd McShay
That offensive line and defensive line. And I just, I think it ain't going to be sexy. There's been some misses there, there's been frustration. But you finally have a, A coordinator and a head coach who is. If he can't get it done with, with Caleb, and I think he will, but if he can't get it done, you know, there's not many that could. And, but you need an offensive line. You got to protect him. He just wasn't.
- [45:18]
Steve Mensch
He.
- [45:19]
Todd McShay
He was part of the problem. Holding on to the ball, indecisiveness, not knowing where to go, all those things. And he'll speed up his clock. Ben Johnson will. But. But the offensive line was absolutely at fault too. Yeah, that's, that's another. And we get into the offensive lineman this class. Is Will Campbell still available at 10? Is it. You know, is it Kelvin Banks? Is it Josh Simmons who we'll talk a lot about in this pre draft process? Super talented Ohio State player But only played six games this past year. Or four.
- [45:52]
Steve Mensch
I think so. Yeah.
- [45:53]
Todd McShay
Yeah. So. So yeah, that's where we are with the top 10 again. Just google the McShay report and it's right there. It'll be the first line there. Just click on it. Everything that, that I've got for you, Buzz rankings, draft insider articles about what's going on in the league and what the philosophies are. Everything that I've got. We'll have two, two, two pieces a week between now and the draft and, and beyond. One will be free, one will be part of the subscription. For $4 you can have all of this content and I know I'm starting to sound like a used card.
- [46:32]
Steve Mensch
It's like a latte.
- [46:35]
Todd McShay
No, it's like half a latte. Depending on what state you live in, it's literally half a latte or 30. So 36 bucks to double down. You get, you get this draft, which you can get for four, but then you get all of the off season and you get the entire next year's draft. And these, this four, four dollar special is not going to last forever. So that's it. Those are the options. All right, men, we just went through the scenarios. We went through the top three picks. Give me your four takeaways. You're free to give four players that were picked by the team. So we're going to give away four more picks here. You're free to give those four picks away and tell me what was interesting to you about them.
- [47:16]
Steve Mensch
Before we get into that really quickly. Give me your honorable mention. Give me your mock 1.0 honorable mention. A guy that could easily end up in your final mock. You just didn't find the right fit for him at this point. A player that you think that people you know. Again, a guy that you think could end up in that last first round lock.
- [47:36]
Todd McShay
I, I think Malachi Starks is one of them. Okay.
- [47:40]
Steve Mensch
Okay.
- [47:41]
Todd McShay
Malachi Starks, safety out of Georgia. Okay. Absolutely. One of them. Just going down my list here. Malachi Starks, another safety, your boy Iman worry. Nicki Minwari, the safety from South Carolina was certainly in consideration. Okay. It's going to be interesting because. And we'll get through the position. We had a lot of defensive linemen actually sneaky. A good amount of offensive linemen. We had, I guess, a little bit more tight end than influence than usual. More running back influence than usual. So, so that like when, when you talk about a position that's not considered a priority position, that it got bumped down it's not necessarily where the grades are on this players. These players, I think they're both, you know, later. First, first round prospects. Starks was talked about, maybe top 10, top 15. Didn't have the best year in 2024, but I think he's still a great player. Beyond that, wide receiver Mecca Buka from Ohio State and Luther Burden, Missouri are two guys that I. I kind of wanted to and I think absolutely could get in the first round, but they weren't in here. Two tight ends, Mason Taylor, lsu, and Elijah Arroyo. I'm not saying he will, but there's a little. There's a little movement on that.
- [48:59]
Steve Mensch
I love that. As for one, and I'm getting 10. It's great. A couple.
- [49:02]
Todd McShay
A couple smaller school guys that I think could be like, there's always like that one or two in the last five, six picks. And I think a couple like Darius Alexander, defensive lineman, interior defensive lineman, Toledo. He works out as well as I think he will, like 285, 290 pounds, whatever it is.
- [49:20]
Steve Mensch
Yeah. The momentum is real for him.
- [49:22]
Todd McShay
Yeah. And your boy, Gray Zable, interior offensive lineman.
- [49:26]
Steve Mensch
That's my guy.
- [49:27]
Todd McShay
Yeah. I just, like. I'm not saying they will. I'm just saying won't be shocked if we start to see like a mock draft or two with some of those guys or. Or if one of those two guys sneaks into the late first one. It's all said and done because they're both really intriguing players. So go ahead, give me four picks.
- [49:42]
Steve Mensch
I hope Tucker's ready with the sound effect because with the 13th overall pick.
- [49:47]
Todd McShay
Okay.
- [49:47]
Steve Mensch
The Miami Dolphins select Missouri offensive guard. Yes. Yes. Offensive tackle Armand Membu. I love this pick.
- [49:58]
Todd McShay
Okay.
- [49:59]
Steve Mensch
You. You look at how Miami's built. They run outside zone 43 of the time last year. They want to run outside zone. Look at their running backs. All right, they got a chant. Davon H on. I thought it was a chain. I looked it up. It's a chon.
- [50:12]
Todd McShay
You guys talked about this like five times, but I'm glad.
- [50:15]
Steve Mensch
I know. I still can't get it right, though.
- [50:16]
Todd McShay
Okay.
- [50:16]
Steve Mensch
Jalen Wright. And then they had Raheem Mostert last year. They're going to release him. But again, another guy who's a burner. Those guys all have one thing in common. They ran sub 4.4 40 yard dashes. And then you look at the numbers. 4.4.14 yards per carry last year towards the bottom of the league, 16th in explosive runs. This is a team that needs to get more out of their run game. Armando is built. He is. This is his DNA. This is what he does. He is a zone run blocker.
- [50:47]
Todd McShay
I love 332, 330 pounds.
- [50:50]
Steve Mensch
The way he moves, man, he seals, he's. The way he can seal the edge and work up to the second level is unique for a player with that size. And then you look at what they have on their roster already and they need help at guard. I. And in a perfect world, member would slide into guard. I think he is. That's where he has the most upside. But he can also play offensive tackle and right tackle. Austin Jackson's had some problems staying healthy. If. If they need an insurance policy. You now have a player that can slide in as a starter at guard. And if things don't work out at right tackle, you have a player that can move out there and help you. I think it maybe it's a little early for some people, especially if he's a guard. 13th you're getting a guard when you.
- [51:26]
Todd McShay
I don't know. I'm starting to hear things, man, I love them.
- [51:29]
Steve Mensch
I love them.
- [51:30]
Todd McShay
I'm sorry. Yeah, go ahead. No, I was just saying I'm. I've heard from a couple people that may like when. When the workout's done at the combine at 3:30, the way he moves like the. The gap might not be 34 inch arms. Not.
- [51:46]
Steve Mensch
Not terrible. Not great, but not terrible.
- [51:48]
Todd McShay
It might bridge the gap a little bit with he and Will. Will Campbell's is what I've heard a little bit interesting.
- [51:54]
Steve Mensch
Anyways. All right, so for all those reasons.
- [51:56]
Todd McShay
And he's young too. I think he turns 21 as a rookie.
- [52:01]
Steve Mensch
Yeah. And then also he's going to help keep your quarterback who's had some problems saying healthy, clean. He's going to be a good pass blocker, especially on the inside. So when you look at the fit, the speed they have in the backfield, what he does, what they like to do. Oh, that to me, that was a home run of a pick.
- [52:15]
Todd McShay
He played 1658 snaps at right tackle the last two years, only one at left guard.
- [52:21]
Steve Mensch
Right.
- [52:21]
Todd McShay
But that. That move would be easy. But as you talk about right tackle for him and for Miami, if needing to play there, that would be his home. Right?
- [52:33]
Steve Mensch
Right. Okay, go ahead with the 25th overall pick.
- [52:38]
Todd McShay
Okay.
- [52:38]
Steve Mensch
Houston Texans select Ohio State offensive tackle Josh Simmons. Josh Simmons, you get the best offensive tackle in the draft at 25. But this is what I loved about this pick. This is the McShay magic because you're going to look at that pick. And you're going to say, but they have Laramie Tunsall at left tackle. He's gone to four of the last six pro balls. Pro Pro Bowls, still playing at a very high level. They have Titus Howard, who could play guard or right tackle. They spent a second round pick on a Blake Fisher. Men, did you like Fisher coming out of Notre Dame? Yes, I did. And do I think it's maybe too early to give up on him? I do. But start digging a little bit deeper on this team. Third worst in the league, 54 sacks allowed. They've got to figure out it was.
- [53:20]
Todd McShay
Brutal watching that Titus Howard a better.
- [53:23]
Steve Mensch
Fit at guard than tackle. Now look at their cap situation. They're spending $28 million on Laramie Tunso. I know that he's still paying at a high level. He'll be 31 at the start of next year. Is that a player that you start looking at as. Maybe we trade, we trade high, maybe we sell high, maybe we look to move on. Because not only do they pay him $28 million, but they're going to pay Titus Howard $23 million.
- [53:49]
Todd McShay
Yeah.
- [53:49]
Steve Mensch
They have so much money invested in an offensive line that isn't doing its job. They gotta figure it out, man. And to me, I'll say this again.
- [53:57]
Todd McShay
You're not moving on from Laramie next year, but it could be the following year when he. It's his final year under contract is my guess. And. And plug in here. Yeah, fine. But I'm saying the more likely scenario is let's. Let's get the most five talented we can this year, see how they play, move guys around if we need to. And then going into the following year, we know what we have to work with. We're staring at a massive salary with Laramie Tunsil in his final year.
- [54:26]
Steve Mensch
Yep.
- [54:27]
Todd McShay
And you kind of. Then you spin it forward a little bit, roster wise.
- [54:32]
Steve Mensch
Gotta dig a little deeper with this one. But Simmons also, just to note, last two years at left tackle. The year before that, he started right tackle. This guy's got plenty of experience playing both sides. Him playing right tackle will not be an issue for him. He'll be just fine doing that. And again, if he's not hurt, he's still my top. He's my top tackle on my board. He just moves different. I think he's. He's the best tackle in this draft. And I don't care about the injury. Like, if. Unless there's something that's going to be a problem long term, then, yeah, I.
- [55:01]
Todd McShay
Felt like this is a little low for Josh Simmons when I did it, to be honest.
- [55:03]
Steve Mensch
Oh, 25. If you're a Houston Texas fan, you see this, you might think to yourself, that's not really one of our most pressing need. Stop. Getting him here would be an absolute coup in my mind. And speaking of coups.
- [55:15]
Todd McShay
Yep.
- [55:16]
Steve Mensch
With the 29th, I love how it.
- [55:18]
Todd McShay
Looks like a contract that was sent to you to sign. You get your.
- [55:21]
Steve Mensch
I had.
- [55:23]
Todd McShay
Whatever. I love it.
- [55:24]
Steve Mensch
I'm trying to organize. With the 29th overall pick, the Washington commander select Texas wide receiver Matthew Golden. Matthew golden at 29.
- [55:34]
Todd McShay
McShay. Yes.
- [55:36]
Steve Mensch
It's been a good year for the commanders, and it's getting better, apparently. You're talking about putting.
- [55:41]
Todd McShay
I love your energy.
- [55:42]
Steve Mensch
You're talking about putting this guy opposite of Terry McLaurin. Oh, my God. I think he. I think he's arguably. I know Ted's a little bit different. McMillan's a little bit different because of the build. And I could see him going. I. I wouldn't be surprised if on my board I had McMillan ahead of Golden. But I'm telling you this right now, it's not going to be much of a difference. I think golden is the. He's the best route runner, in my opinion, out of the top prospects. You see the ball skills downfield, you see the run that he had at the end of the year. Getting him at 29 is an absolute steal. And they have other needs, but they also have a ton of cap space. Go out and fill those needs through trades, through free agency. You can go do that. If you can get a value pick and fill a need like Matthew golden at 29. Home run. It's been a great year. It continues to be a great year for the camp commanders. And then I wouldn't. I have to do it because I. We just talked about them the other day. With the 32nd overall pick, the Philadelphia Eagles select South Carolina defensive tackle TJ Sanders. Does it seem like it's a pressing need to get a defensive tackle? Maybe not.
- [56:47]
Todd McShay
We've.
- [56:47]
Steve Mensch
We've talked ad nauseam about how this is how they've built their team. Get the best defensive lineman in there, and you look at a guy like Milton Williams is a free agence.
- [56:56]
Todd McShay
Free.
- [56:56]
Steve Mensch
Free. He's a free agent. The cap's gone up. Maybe they have a better chance of resigning him, because I didn't think they were gonna have any shot of resigning him. But even if they get him back, you're gonna have to make a decision. I think ultimately between him and Jordan Davis. Are you going to bring Jordan Davis back for that fifth year? I don't think you can invest that much money in that one position. So I think you're going to need a defensive tackle in the next year or two. And when I look at TJ Sanders game, you know who he reminds me of? Milton Williams. Great hands, violent hands. Gets after the quarterback. A little bit undersized. They have a lot of comp. There's, it's a pretty good comp in my mind between those two. And you know, I said, I think TJ Sanders is a home run first round pick. When I watch his tape, I love the way he plays the run. I think he can get after the quarterback. Leave it to Howie to wait and not, not trade up in this situation and get that kind of a player that late in the first round draft. Love that pick.
- [57:48]
Todd McShay
Not everyone in the league would agree with you, but I, I put him there so I'm, I'm standing on it.
- [57:54]
Steve Mensch
But he's been wrong before.
- [57:56]
Todd McShay
Say no. I'm just saying. Yeah. I mean, please Sanders. Different reactions from people in the league, which is interesting. I love it. Mensch. You didn't really notice.
- [58:07]
Steve Mensch
No, I didn't really have. There wasn't a lot that I was. There was.
- [58:10]
Todd McShay
It's 1.0. I get it. It's early.
- [58:12]
Steve Mensch
Yeah. There's also a couple places where I would have gone with maybe a different player. But again, splitting hairs as we get. Trust me, anyone who's watched us on this show or listened to us on this show or knows anything about us knows that I will take every opportunity that I get to tear you down. Well aware I enjoy it. So the fact that I didn't, I was, it was, it was a great mock.
- [58:33]
Todd McShay
I appreciate it. Just a Reminder, Google the McShay Report First Link you'll see right there. Click on it. Everything that I've got for you for getting through this draft for $4 if you want to double down and get through the entire next year's draft through 20, 26, 36 bucks. Also, if you're watching on YouTube, click on the link. Takes you right there, nice and easy. In addition, and we, we've got more stuff here and our, you know, to our producers chagrin, sitting, sitting in the back right now who were up by the way till like probably two in the morning. And then I was starting to text people on the West coast at 4:30 in the morning so they're like shut up McShay and mention we've had enough but we got a little bit more here. But I do want to mention no show on Monday. Okay. But it's because we're gonna let this. This breathe with the mock draft. Have at it. Have some fun. Make your comments. I'll check out your comments. We'll have some fun on. On social media. But more importantly, because we're flying out on Wednesday morning to the combine. We're gonna have a preview show on Wednesday. We've got all the. With a lot of information, what we're hearing and having conversations even with people in Indy prior to getting there. A lot of. A lot of the agents are there early in the week because. And the GMs do some media stuff on, like, Tuesday and then like the podium on Wednesday, but then they get into, like, workouts and meetings and stuff, and. And kind of get shut off a little bit. So there's information that always comes out early in the week. We'll. We'll touch on those things. We'll also touch on some of the measurables and things that we found out. But on Thursday, the second show of the week at the combine, it'll be the first day of workouts. And same on Thursday, same on Friday. So it's Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Saturday is the last one, which is the biggest show that we're gonna have. And we'll probably be up. Probably have to cover two hours of that with the running backs, quarterbacks and wide receivers. Then we fly back on Sunday, and then on the following Monday, we're gonna have a review show. So stay tuned for that. That's the upcoming schedule. Excuse me. Last thing. Mention. Of course, I can't. Oh, there we go. I went through and did some things like if again, we haven't shared every pick, if you want it, go subscribe for it, please. We appreciate you doing so. We truly do. Not taking it lightly. I don't like asking for four bucks, let alone 36 bucks or anything else, but the information's there. I look at this, this class, and it's interesting in a few areas, and I want to get your opinion on all of these. The running back group, the last time, if it were to play out this way, and I'm giving away a little bit more here, if it were to play out this way. The last time there were three running backs drafted in the first round was 2018. Not forever ago, but it's been a minute, right? That was Saquon, Barkley, Rashad, Penny, Sonny, Michelle. Mixed bag, obviously.
- [61:30]
Steve Mensch
Mixed bag.
- [61:31]
Todd McShay
Okay, wide receiver. Last time. Let me preface this wide receiver only had two wide receivers in this year's class. First one didn't come off the board for a minute. Okay. Not going to give you exactly where he went, but I will tell you that that Ted McMillan and. And golden, who we just touched on, Matthew golden, they were the two wide receivers come off the board. Mensch gave that away.
- [62:00]
Steve Mensch
Outside of Hunter, who I don't think you're going to count as in this group. Right. Like you're, you're looking at it. Thank you.
- [62:05]
Todd McShay
Okay. All right. We're going to count him as a cornerback moving forward. That's going to be his primary position, but absolutely will play a factor on the. On the offensive side at wide receiver. The three year average match. Remember I've talked to you about. And we've talked about. I haven't talked to you about. We've talked about how spoiled the NFL has gotten with wide receivers in the last decade. It's been wild. The three year average is almost Six wide receivers in the first round. Six.
- [62:35]
Steve Mensch
Crazy.
- [62:35]
Todd McShay
Isn't that crazy?
- [62:37]
Steve Mensch
Yep.
- [62:38]
Todd McShay
I think this year's class is similar though to the 2023 class. That year. Jackson Smith and Jigba was the. Was the first wide receiver taken. First of four wide receivers taken. And again, I think there could be up to four. I think we could have a scenario where it's Ted McMillan, it's Matthew Golden. It is. And Luther Burden III and in whatever order. So 2023, I draw a lot of similarities. Right. Jackson Smith at Jigbo was drafted 20 overall by Seattle that year. Quentin Johnson went to the Chargers one pick later. 21. Zay Flowers went one pick later. 20 didn't run to the Ravens. Yes. Jordan Addison from USC. One pick later he went to the Vikings. One more one pick later. 23. I. I could see a similar situation. I think Ted McMillan's got a chance to go top 15. I've seen him mocked in the top 10. Okay. I didn't have him going until later. So I think if you're to look at this year's mock, I think that 2023 group, kind of even this year's class. Forget about the mock for a minute. This year's class is similar to that 2023 group. But the last time there were only two wide receivers taken in the first round, which is what this mock has was 2019. That was Hollywood Brown and Nikhil Harry thought that was interesting.
- [64:06]
Steve Mensch
Defensive line that class, by the way, we talk about that really quickly. Just. Yeah, it's not. They. So the two. It was Marquis, Brown and Akilah taken in the first round, which is kind of me. Not great. At best, the second round in that draft. I know Debo Samuel, A.J. brown, D.K. metcalf. And the third round of that draft, Terry McLaurin. So you look at that draft, you're like, oh, not that great. And then you're like, oh, well, wait a second. Yeah, there's four dudes right there in the first three rounds.
- [64:36]
Todd McShay
But anyways. Yeah, no, I love that. That's a great point.
- [64:39]
Steve Mensch
Yeah.
- [64:40]
Todd McShay
But it also speaks to as much as I, I think running back and wide receiver and probably linebacker. The three positions you can, you can get your guys. Look at the Steelers over the years, all the second round picks. Look at the Pastors over the years. Second, third round, fourth round picks. You can get your guys in later rounds. And then look at the great drafting teams. Like the. Look at the great organization. Forget great drafting teams. Look at the great organizations in the last two decades or 15 years. Their fuckups are usually at wide receiver and running back early. I mean, honestly, don't hold back. Yeah. Bill Belichick couldn't find, like when they, they wouldn't do. Couldn't find a guy also struggled at cornerback, but couldn't find a running back or receiver that was worth that pick in the first and second round. But first and early second. The Eagles struggles, the Chiefs struggles, you know.
- [65:44]
Steve Mensch
Yeah.
- [65:44]
Todd McShay
So anyway. But they had other issues. Yeah. So my. I guess the point is when you got 11 defensive linemen going in my mock draft, and this is a perfect transition, there are 11 defensive linemen. We talked about 20 interior defensive linemen with grades in the first three rounds. We talked about like 17, 20 edge rushers in the first three rounds. When you've got that kind of talent at that premium position, go with it. Take advantage, Cash in this year. Speaking of which, 11 defensive linemen I had going in the smock draft. 2019 was the last time we had 11. I want you to listen to some of the names in that class. Dude, Quinn and Williams, Ed Oliver, Christian, Wilkins, Dexter, Lawrence, edges, Nick Bosa, Rashan, Gary Sweat. Those are just to name a few, right?
- [66:40]
Steve Mensch
Yeah. Right.
- [66:41]
Todd McShay
So. So. So yeah, 2019 was the last time we had five interior defensive linemen, which is what we have in this mock draft. Five interior defensive linemen. I just mentioned those names. Williams, Oliver, Wilkins, Lawrence, and beyond that year, edge rushers, I had six. The last year that there were six Ed Rush Edge Rushers was 2017. That was the Miles Garrett, Solomon Thomas, Derek Barnett, class Right. So it's been a minute, but again, 11 defensive linemen going in this, in this first round. Then the, the last thing I wanted to get to the tight ends, this one was interesting to me, man. I have two tight ends going relatively early. Okay. The last time that there were two tight ends taken in the top. Let's say, let's pick 18, 17. 18 picks somewhere in that range. Okay. Was 1992.
- [67:43]
Steve Mensch
Wow.
- [67:44]
Todd McShay
And you can. Absolutely.
- [67:48]
Steve Mensch
92.
- [67:48]
Todd McShay
That is.
- [67:49]
Steve Mensch
That's. Wow.
- [67:50]
Todd McShay
We haven't had. We haven't had two tight ends drafted in the, in the first round since 2019. So you're going back six years. It's been six classes. Okay. Or 20, 21, 22, 23, 25 classes since. Okay, that's a lock. That's happening, folks. Like, absolutely. There's going to be two tight ends, so it'll be. This will be six years from, from 2019. That will happen again. Three tight ends drafted in the first round. You got to go back to 2017. Two years earlier. That was O.J. howard, Evan Ingram and, and Joko. Right?
- [68:29]
Steve Mensch
Yeah. George Kittle, a fifth rounder that year.
- [68:32]
Todd McShay
Exactly. Love it. So. So while I had two in this first round, I mentioned two names. Mason Taylor, Elijah Arroyo, LSU and Miami, respectively, could bump that up and make this the first class since 2017 with three. Okay. But I mentioned 1992. The last time two tight ends went in the top 17 picks. Derrick Brown, Johnny Mitchell. I gotta tell you, from the people I'm talking to, there's a really good chance. I mean, a really good chance. Tyler Warren is a top 10 pick and Colston Loveland is somewhere in that top 15, 17 range. Yeah.
- [69:15]
Steve Mensch
What was your Johnny Mitchell report? Look at what it looked like.
- [69:18]
Todd McShay
92. No, I'm trying to think.
- [69:20]
Steve Mensch
You would have been in high school.
- [69:22]
Todd McShay
Yeah, but like Earl, like a freshman. No, freshman. Sophomore or something like that. Yeah. All right.
- [69:26]
Steve Mensch
You're kind of bearing the lead here, and I don't know if you want to reveal it.
- [69:29]
Todd McShay
No, I was waiting for you. I was the best for last.
- [69:33]
Steve Mensch
How many, how many quarterbacks are in. In this, in this first round here?
- [69:38]
Todd McShay
I'm not going to tell you.
- [69:40]
Steve Mensch
Okay. Yeah, I was. This. That was an interesting one because I, I expected a little bit different. Okay.
- [69:49]
Todd McShay
I think that's a perfect way to end if you want to see it, if you want to read the whole thing, if you want to get all of our draft buzz, the information we're getting from 25 years of cultivating these, these relationships with people in the NFL. What we're hearing, the conversations we're having about, just, like, they're. They're fun. I'm like, I can't share everything verbatim or put names, but, like, I'm gonna. I'm gonna keep you posted on what we're hearing the next couple months leading up to the draft. If you want to know what your team's looking at, like, the roster studying that we're doing from salary cap to. To, you know, financial placement per position to the needs that need to be addressed, not just this year, but looking ahead, you know, in the next couple years, we're going to dive deep into all those things in the next couple of months. $4. If you go and type in the McShay report, just Google it. The McShay report. Do it. Click on this link. If you're watching on YouTube, you can get right to it. Please subscribe. As I started off this thing saying, there are two things you need to know. Like, we can't appreciate your support, not just with the newsletter. That's. That's starting out, but with, like, this whole show and the. The amount of people that are flooding in now that the season's over and we're getting ready for the draft, it's starting to take off. And we. We don't take it for granted. We really don't. And number two is, like, I don't ask for money. I don't like. But, like, this is. It's just the nature of the business. We've got mock drafts. We've got draft rankings. We're putting in a lot of work, and hopefully it's not too much for people to afford. But I. I don't. And I know my good friend Steve Mensch does not take it lightly. So we. We understand. So you can be pissed off. I understand it. But, yeah, it's just. It's just where it is. Again, we appreciate you. This has been fun. Like, I feel like we're finally. Yeah, we're back on the horse now, right? Mach 1.0 is out now we're back on the horse. We got the combine coming up. This. This show's going to last. It's going to sit, we'll do some cutups and all of that, but we're not going to have a show on Monday or Tuesday. On Wednesday, we're back in it. As I mentioned, we get four straight days from Indianapolis, right on Radio Row. We're going to interview some gms. We're going to share all the conversations that we're having. That are shareable. We're going to break down all the numbers, the 40 yard dashes, the vertical jumps, the three cones, the arm lengths, the broad jumps, all the stuff we're gonna, we're gonna dive in and we're gonna let you know, mention I put a lot of time like year after year after year of figuring out the measurables that matter at each position. We're going to share all that information with you, stuff that we've never been able to share before. So please join us in Indianapolis for that four day stretch. But we will see you on Wednesday from Indy. Thanks men and thank you everyone for listening. We really appreciate it. 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 mdgamblinghelp.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.