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Speaker 1: The Action Network Podcast.
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Speaker 2: Well, what's up, everybody? Welcome to the Action Network Podcast. I am your host, Evan Abrams, and I am joined by Action Network NFL expert Chris Raybond to give some draft grades today. But we're gonna do it a little bit differently. But we'll get all to that in a second. Ray Bond. What the heck is going on? Man? How are you?
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Speaker 1: What's going on?
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Speaker 2: Evan?
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Speaker 1: Feeling good? Stowe's my favorite time of year when we finally we get semi complete rosters to kind of break down heading into camp and we can kind of break down all of our ridiculously probably wrong in two years opinions about you know, these draft grades and who do well and who did poorly and whatnot. So looking forward to it.
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Speaker 2: Yeah, I'd like nobody to look back at this episode after today. Listen to it, enjoy it, but please don't reference it, because you know, this one's a little difficult. But we're gonna have some fun and we're gonna do it a little bit differently. So we're gonna go by conference just because it's easier, and we're gonna start with the AFC. But I think what we're gonna do is we're just gonna go buy categories. So we've got most impactful picks, So we'll talk about the team, We'll talk about the pick we thought was most impactful. There, we're gonna go the pick surprised you the most, So another category, you can go any pick you want. There, we're gonna talk about big misses, so anything you think was you know, overvalued, should have gone this way or the other. And then finally we're gonna do something called message in a bottle, which is basically us making a prediction on a player. You know what, we'll think five ten years down the road. So I'm gonna let Raybond start off on each of these categories and kind of follow up. So we're gonna start with the AFC most impactful picks. You've got a few teams here, Raybond, just start with the first and we'll roll from there.
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Speaker 1: Yeah. So the first one I'm looking at is New England's day one and two halls. So you got at one oh four Will Campbell out of l FU to tackle. Then you got Trevon Henderson, a running back. I got to Ohio state a lot of speed in the second round. In the third round, you go Kyle Williams, and he's another guy wide receiver I think could start right away and then end the third round with Jared Wilson in interior alignment out of Georgia. So the reason I think these can be the most impactful. First of all, you had four selections in the first two days. That's always great, But I think getting a tackle for Drake May, getting another, you know, high upside interior line prospect in Wilson, and in between that, getting two guys who you could kind of build your offense around at the skill positions in Henderson and Williams, who you know, both have a lot of quickness, a lot of speed. Those are the kind of guys that are gonna keep defensive coordinators up at night. And I thought, you know, Drake May was probably better than a lot of people even realize if you were kind of just casually found in the NFL, especially before the playoffs got underway last year or whatnot. But Drake May really had a very very solid year one, and I thought what was missing was offensive line and difference making playmakers, and New England, at least on paper, looks to have gotten him those and droves in the first couple of days of their draft.
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Speaker 2: Yeah, literally, they were number one or number two on my list. I mean eleven total picks. You could call the entire Patriots off season theirs the most impactful thing. Like at the moment, the difference between what they looked like last year and this year is just completely and utterly different. I think you know, they were talking about it on the Favorites podcast, Chad and Simon, but even the Patriots look like they're a different team, especially when you see kind of the things that Jets have done, what the Dolphins have done, Like, I feel like they're going to be like competitive in some of these games, and they were competitive last year with that team. So I'm enthralled to see what May does in terms of going forward. But I agree Campbell, Trevion Williams Wilson, I think it was great and.
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Speaker 1: I want to give him a lot of credit to because the other underrated thing about this Patriot team is they've got a really good head coach now in Vrabel, And I want to give them credit for Rabel known as more of a defensive guys smash mouth football. They resisted the urge at any point, you know, early in the draft, maybe to you know, go deep. There was a lot of edge rushers and guys like that, you know, a lot of guys that they're at their picks that maybe also presented value. But I like that they went offense with those you know, important day one, day two selections, and it's really going to make a difference, I think right away on this roster. So really like what New England's doing all the way around to your point, go to your number two, all right, Denver. I thought they're around one in two hauls were really interesting and kind of flying under the radar a little bit because they were maybe not what most prognosticators thought exactly they would do. So the two picks I'm talking about in particular are Jday Barron, the cornerback out of Texas. They went with him at the you know, at one, and then R. J. Harvey, the running back out of UCF. They go with him in the second round. So I thought Barron was interesting because they could have easily looked at you know, wide receiver here. They could have easily looked at running back here, you know, Mari and Hampton goes. I think a couple of picks after but Baron, I thought was the best player on the board. As that pickt he it's a premium position. Cornerback is still you I know, they got certain, but cornerback was still kind of up and down for them around him last year, you know, Riley Moss would get picked on. Mathis has had his struggles. So I really think being able to draft a guy a high upside, you know, first round type of cornerback talent for a team that's trying to go head to head with the Kansas City Chiefs and it's gonna have to play him twice a year and then potentially knock them off in the playoffs to ultimately reach their their their goals. I thought that was a big, a big get, and especially because if you kind of look at, you know, what happened later on with the Chargers. You know, they draft a couple of wide receivers, the Houston Texans draft a couple of wide receivers. So all these other teams just kind of in those competing playoff spots, you know, with Denver, assuming Kansas City still the class of the division, which it probably will be, I just thought, you know, resisting the urge to maybe go with a skill guy, that it would have been a little flashier. Was a great pick and then getting Harvey. You know, the only other times the Sean Payton coach teams have gone with a running back before day three, And I know Harvey was late on dates, you're all kind of middle, middle of the way day two, but the only other times Reggie Bush mark ingram Alvin Kamara. So it's no small thing.
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Speaker 2: You know.
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Speaker 1: They obviously value him very highly. He's and he's got and he has a lot of those traits that you know, I think when people were mocking a difference maker to Denver in the first round at a skill position, they were thinking about in Harvey. You know, he's the guy who's just gonna make a lot of guys miss. I think he's gonna he's gonna be one of those guys that you can, uh, you know, do some different things with in terms of moving around the formation, and he's gonna be, uh, just one of those kind of chess pieces. So I really like what Denver did. And for a team that has its quarterback, has a coach and staff, has some blue chip players, I just thought it was a good, good kind of you know, I don't know if they expected Barons to be on the board. But I thought, you know, taking not letting him get past him, even though maybe some people didn't have corner as the number one position to need. Uh, it was really good. And then coming back and getting a guy like Harvey and not overpaying for running back like you know perhaps some other teams did. Uh. Even though it was a deep class, I thought it was really good for Denver.
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Speaker 2: Yeah, you said some really interesting things there, and I think off the bat, I didn't think they thought Baron would be available. So I mean, I think it's interesting to think, oh, wow, they didn't take Hampton. Well maybe they were like, we're gonna take Hampton. Oh wow, we didn't think this guy would even be close to here. I mean, he was supposed to be you know, maybe they were talking about it like thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, so you know, by the time we got to Denver, he was still available, especially when Will Johnson was going to slide. I think the interesting thing you always look back at is, Okay, they decided to take the corner and then wait for Harvey. We were always going to say they were going to get the running back anyway. I think in future years when handicapping the draft, Like we were right, Denver needed a running back. They just decided to make the decision not to take the blue chip guy early and went around later and got another player. So it's like, will they be right? We have to wait and see, but it surely does make them deeper, right, it gets them someone really good early on, which I'm going to talk about in a second. But I like what Denver did. I agree, all right, go to number three.
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Speaker 1: I would stay in the AFC West. I think Kansas City getting offensive tackle Josh Simmons out of Ohio State with the last pick of the first round could be big because Kansas City is a team that, because of how successful they are year in a year out, they don't really get access to draft these top ten type talents. And I think Simmons, you know, if he didn't have the injury, he would have been in the front half of this board in round one. He would have been up there. Maybe Banks doesn't go as highly if a guy like Simmons is completely healthy. So I thought for them to get a talent like that, and you know, a guy they didn't even expect to fall as far as he did even with the injury. At number thirty two is massive because we saw how you know, the few times it hasn't gone you know, perfectly. In Patrick Mahomes's young career. You talk about that Super Bowl against the Bucks, you talk about that Super Bowl against the Phodelphia Eagles last season, it's been because of the offensive line for the most part. And you know, uh, Kansas City already has wide receivers. They got the coach, they got the quarterback. They'll figure it out at running back one way or another. We saw them bring a guy off the street last year. So tackle is really that position where if this guy hits and you know, they have a longer season than most Kansas City like, they generally go deep into the playoffs, so it's not even like Simmons has to hit early on. You know, they can afford to kind of even in year one. I think he could make an impact and just adds some sorely needed depths behind a guy like jaymen More, who could also be a big, a big impactful signing if he uh you know, is able to shore up that that left tackle spot early on. But you know, they got Jawan Taylor, they still got you know, guys like Morris and Cel Mattea like a lot of guys who they just really I think weren't as comfortable playing as many snaps as they did. So I think this this pick right here, it was a position to need it. I thought it was value and I think it's a high upside pick. So really like what Kansas City did because remember, Kansas City's already there, so any little you know, value they get, or if they hit on it, if they get a star or in the first round or a big getted position in need like that could just change everything in the AFC because Kansas City is already in such a powerful position in terms with Mahomes and Reed at the top. So I really liked what they did with with Simmons there.
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Speaker 2: Yeah, I like Simmons there. My pick I really like is g Loot Ashons g Lot they took. Was it third it was a third round? Yeah, I think third round. But I mean karloftus Owming, you like, they've got already people kind of in that position, but I like the depth so him, They've also got Tillery and you know Jones's you know, got a year or so left potentially, But I do like that pick as well. So Kansas City just tends to take at this point when you have a lot of depth in things at different positions, being able to take like the most talented guy or someone who might have been an injury that falls to you. I think, you know, kind of works to their bets. Okay, so those are your most impactful. I'll kind of just go through a few players and teams and you know, quick thoughts here and you can kind of bounce stuff off. I don't know how you don't say Travis Hunter, Like I understand it's a stupid response to a degree, but a guy that's probably going to play both sides also considering I love this stat It's just the first non QB to be traded up for into the top two since the Rams and Raiders in ninety seven. Like, it's been so long since we saw someone actually give up something for a not quarterback and they thought to be this much value in So I kind of can't not say Travis Hunter. So I think in terms of the impact, he's on the list, especially next to Thomas on the wide receiver state. The other one's got to be cam Ward as well, just because of how damn bad the Titans were last year, Like from not only an on the field standpoint with Levis, but also from a betting world, like they ended up being the worst gambling team of all time in terms of ats. So being able to turn to someone who hopefully doesn't turn it over as much gives them a competent offense. You know, you got locket, you added some things, But I think quarterback most important position. It's hard not to say Ward. I wanted to say Buffalo as well. I actually like the Harston pick, not only because it won me money for a multitude of reasons, parlays and all this stuff with the SEC, but I actually like the player starting right cornerback other side of Benford, ahead of White, Like I think they listen, they see themselves in the playoffs, they see themselves in a AFC title game against Kansas City or this or that. So getting an extra corner or someone, especially with a little bit of speed there, I like the pick. I could stop there. I have like one or two more, but any thoughts, Yeah.
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Speaker 1: I think the camp Ward pick. You know, that's obviously gonna be a very impactful one to Tennessee. Now that division, you know, there's a lot of there's a lot of volatility there right. You know, we saw Houston go for Mike really good to just Okay, Indianapolis is always lurking there, like you never know what their quarterbacks. It's like there's just a lot of I think question marks in that division. So uh, it's if cam Ward is kind of out plays you know what people trying to think of them, you know, relative toward other core prospects this decade or so. I think that could be really impactful, not you know, not just based on what they had last year, but also just in terms of, uh, you know, maybe deciding this division of this playoff or a playoff spot, because Tennessee is kind of really an unknown, but they're coming from a spot where you know, they got him, and then they also had a pretty deep draft class as well, they signed the veterans, So uh, this thing could turn around into her, especially if a team like Indianapolis or Jacksonville if it doesn't work out quite or uston, if it doesn't work out quite the way you know, uh they envisioned, because you know, Jacksonville gave up a lot to go up and get Hunter. So uh yeah, I do think that that cam Ward pick is pretty impactful and and Buffalo. I mean, I think they have just an impactful class, you know, both ways. Right, it's because they went off with five defenders in their first five picks. I believe it was. So you know, that's where they're kind of saying that we needed to improve. And it's not a bad strategy. Given Josh Allen, you're gonna you're probably gonna be fine with Josh Allen either way. But I think people are kind of correct to say, you know, hey, at some at some point, maybe that you know your wide receiver depth does come back to hurt you a little bit because I remember when Josh Allen first really took that step to being an elite quarterback, it was Cole Beasley had really helped out a lot, you know, getting up you know, John Brown and then Stefan Diggs. You know, people forget John Brown really kind of added to what they were doing there for that when that's like a little one or two years. So now you're kind of saying, Okay, Josh Allen is good enough to carry us regardless of the receivers. And that's probably true, but you're talking about small margins and you see a team like Kansas City is pretty pretty loaded at wide receiver. That's always a team that you're going to kind of compare yourself to. You see the Chargers reading up, you see you know, Denver kind of reading up at the scope just in general. Even Baltimore trying to get better at that, you know. So it's it's just you just wonder if that comes back to bite them at any point.
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Speaker 2: Yeah, you were right, Harriston, T J. Sanders, Landon Jackson, Dean Walker. That's first one hundred and ten picks all defense. So and I kind of like them all his prospects. I agree Buffalo had a good draft. All right, let me go two more here and then we'll get to the picks that surprised you the most. It's just hard for me not to say the Raiders in terms of just their offense. When you add genty and you add Betch, I think overall it's got to be better now. I think there's questions all over the place with Gino and whatever, but with Moster, McCormick, Zamir White, like Gentsy's gonna get a ton of carries, like he is the bell Cow, He'll be the guy. And I think Betch could help, Like with Tree, Tucker and Jacobe Myers like, Yeah, I think there's like some good upside there. So do I like the Raiders? No, but I think impactful players on offense. I think it's a decent draft. And then the Jets, like, I guess my question is, did they get three starters in the first three rounds with Membu, Taylor and Thomas Thomas? Maybe, but Taylor and Membu were both going to be impactful right away, so I have to say, you know, chets have some work to do, but I do think they got two or three starters here, which is nice.
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Speaker 1: Yeah, the Jets had one of those kind of quiet drafts that probably went about as well as it could have in terms of just getting starters. It's just that, unfortunately for them, this wasn't one of those drafts where you had a lot of quarterback prospects, so you're gonna have to kind of figure it out, you know, adjusted fields and whatnot. But as far as what the positions they did feel, I thought they got rocks olid guys of the first three rounds.
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Speaker 2: All right, what picks surprised you the most?
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Speaker 1: All right, it has to be Shuldar Sanders. I mean, so I was laughing because I actually ended up cashing a bet Browns plus six fifty to draft your door that I thought it was gonna hit in round two and it ended up hitting in around five. Like, so that's that's kind of that shows you the surprise that I had. I mean, listen, I didn't think he was the first round prospect. We talked about it on the Favorites that morning, but you know, for him to fall all the way to round five, and even I would say even the surprise of Cleveland drafting him after drafting another quarterback in Gabriel Uh, you know, or just just before that, is you know, kind it could kind of create like you just had Deshaun Watson in this whole media circus, right, And a lot of people were saying part of not not the entire because I think it mostly had to do it's his you know, on the field play and future probably, but but yeah, you know, some people saying maybe they added to it, you know, just this potential media circus around things like that go with it. And I just thought it was interesting that now you have him as not even your first drafted quarterback, but like he could be in the position to compete for a starting job right away. It's just I just found it surprised and that Cleveland would go there after like fading him so many times early in the draft. It could just seemed like, man, like this is this is gonna be awkward, and now you're kind of back with this media circus at quarterback in Cleveland one way or another, and for a bunch of reasons that you probably didn't even foresee heading into the draft, even if you did take Shad or so that was that was pretty surprising to me to see him still end up in Cleveland. I get it, it was a value pick, saw you know, I'm not fully knocking it, but it's still was just surprising after everything else that had went down.
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Speaker 2: Yeah, so chadors at the top of my list too. I mean, I don't know how he can't be. But I think the question mostly is you take Gabriel in the third round, which I'm going to talk about a little bit later. I think Cleveland's entire draft is a little questionable. Like I kind of felt like at different times it felt like different people were making picks and I don't know if that makes sense, But when you look at like so you take this Schwestioninger pick was a little questionable, like off ball linebacker. A little early, they could have potentially gotten another linebacker. A little later, they take Junkins Jenkins over Henderson. I love the Fannin pick, but it kind of feels like a little bit like you took Jenkins and then you take Samson. I loved the Sampson pick, so like in that sense, I liked some and others felt a little odd at times. I guess one theory I would say is do you think they took Gabriel like Barry and Stefanski, and then ownership was like, take Shador, Like the plan wasn't to take Shador. Their plan was we like Dylan Gabriel, and for some reason, I guess they liked him at that slot, but then later on ownership was like, oh he's still there, we're telling you to take him. So it's like, I think it's weird if Barry and Stefanski were like, we're gonna take two quarterbacks like that couldn't have been the plan, especially with the room they have now. So I just feel like I'm questioning who was making all of the selections in that room. But that's the way I look at it, and I agree Shador was extremely questionable. Did you have any more because I only had two more in terms of being questionable or surprising.
00:21:12
Speaker 1: Yeah, no, that was my big surprise. I don't think anyone cud. I have some, you know, some misses that we'll talk about next, but surprising.
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Speaker 2: It was front and side, all right, So I'll say baron with Denver, and truthfully, just because I don't think anybody expected them to go corner. They were actually thirty four to one to draft a corner in the first round, So I don't know how it can't be in this lot when you talk about just being surprising, I don't think it's bad, but I just think it was surprising. And then the last one is, I mean Baltimore taking a kicker. I don't know how surprising it is, but it is, you know, probably the direction they might be heading, so they take Loop at one eighty six, the kicker from Arizona. We could talk about Baltimore in a second, about some other stuff like I love Starks, I think Green's has some upside, but taking the kicker, I feel like, was it interesting? One that got pointed out by a lot of people. So those are my surprises. Any thoughts there, if not, just start off with your missus.
00:22:07
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, let's going to missus. H. I think I'm curious to hear your thoughts about this of an actually, because I know you liked the player that they took first. But when I look at it in both where the player ranked in this current class and just in terms of their overall haul, I do I do have question marks. And so that's Miami going Kenneth Grant out of Michigan, who I know you liked a lot and I think won you some some money at at you know, one thirteen and then right and then they and then they end up getting you know, going back up in the second round to get Jonah savlenea out of Arizona and interior alignment, and that seemed like a need based kind of pick, and Grant was as well, you know, but I don't know if this was kind of the best way to go about the draft for Miami, considering they really didn't have much and like after this, you know, it's it's mostly it's pretty much Day three guys and fifth round guys. So I just I just questioned, did they get enough of kind of did they balance out kind of you know, going best player available or do they go too hard for need and you've just not come away with enough considering you're still probably gonna it sounds like you're going to trade another bluet trip prospect in in uh in Ramsey, Like, I just don't know what. I don't know what Miami is. Miami seems stuck in this purgatory, like I don't They don't, you know, because you lost Armstead, but you know you didn't get a tackle here even though you're drafted thirteenth and your defense it wasn't the biggest issue. Uh So it's I can't not the Grant pick, you know, from from the from the standpoint of you probably did need to fill that position. But I don't know. Overall, I was just left very unimpressed with Miami's draft of curiousness to your thugs.
00:23:59
Speaker 2: Yeah, I didn't love it at all. They were going to be on some of my misses as well. I mean, I loved Grant. I didn't think thirteen was an option. If thirteen was an option, he should have been minus two thousand to go in the first round, versus like minus two twenty, which is where it was so I think that was a little bit of a reach, but I don't necessarily like that. That's not the point in their draft where I say Miami went wrong, Like I'm not going to say that's like an issue. They just took someone they really liked that I liked, just a little bit earlier than maybe they should have. They could have traded back potentially. I think Jordan Phillips is a little bit of a question mark there, Like a lot of people had him ranked much later in the draft, I believe, so I would have a question with that selection. I think Jonah at the offensive line position is going to start, So I don't have like a huge like, you know, could they have gone another player at that position potentially, But I think overall, I'll say I don't really know what the Dolphins direction is at all on any level. Like I don't like that in the division, I don't think there's much value there. I kind of already see a little bit of the end of this era of the Dolphins a little bit, like maybe it's not happening right now because you still have two, you still have McDaniel, you still have Hill for the moment, but I do kind of see it coming to an end soon. And maybe I'm wrong, but I think I'm that's something I'm foreseeing.
00:25:21
Speaker 1: Yeah, it was, there was a little head scratching, but like you said, it's probably partially due to the fact that it's just hard to get a read on exactly what where the Dolphins, what they're doing, what they're what they're what their view and vision is a long term and you know, are they are they all in or do they view themselves as like a true playoff contender, do they need like a mini rebuild like what? It's just hard to kind of get a sense of where they are.
00:25:43
Speaker 2: So, but I think the biggest difficulty is with these three guys there still I think they're going for like the super Bowl. I think that's the mindset while Tyreek, McDaniel and two are still at the Helm, Like, I think they think that's where they're at, which might be hurting them because the rebuild might be easier, but that you know, I think it's a mindset right now.
00:26:01
Speaker 1: Yeah. So, another team that has Super Bowl aspirations that didn't love the pick specifically, I'll talk about their first round pick, and that's Bengals with Shamar Stewart out of Texas A and M at the seventeenth pick of the first round. Now it was in need, don't get me wrong. So they made but you know, you can get in trouble making need based picks. So first red flag to me, who's the need based pick. The second red flag to me was obviously just the lack of college production. You know, this is all based on traits and upside and a projection. Everyone's heard the you know, four and a half sacks number quoted a million times. But also I think part of why it also kind of raises a red flag for me is it seemed like they avoided certain maybe prior risk based mistakes that they've made by you know, fading some of those other edge rushers that maybe had some character issues or whatnot, and you know, you know, they they were burned. They've been burned by that in the past. I mean, even with a guy like Burton last season. So I thought they kind of avoided that only to still make like kind of a risk, risky pick just in another way, and it was still need based. So you know, they left some good players on the board at other positions. Even if you just look at the defensive side of the ball. I mean, you have Jenay Barron on the board, you have Harmon on the board. You know, if you open up the offense, there's even more guys. So it's just I don't know if this if this pick. Like I know, Cincinnati had to get better on defense and specifically on the edge. They had to find a successor for Hendrickson long term. I just don't know if they took I think they might have taken a little bit too much of a risk at this spot, given who else was on the board, and just given what we know about Stewart.
00:27:53
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think the question you're going to ask in the future is and looking at just some of the edges, like maybe Pierce one a little early, but you know, is there an opportunity to potentially either take someone like Baron or trade back. And maybe we're wrong about Stuart. I mean, he is an athletic freak, but the SAC numbers and all the things that you're referring to just aren't on the paper. But the tape looks great. And I think he slid a little bit because I remember his draft position being just around there. But people were talking about him at least initially early, so I think it all kind of hinges on how Stewart does do for them, especially if Hendrickson isn't there anymore at some point, so it is in need. But I do question kind of the decision. And then when you go forward like night Fairchild, I think, you know, moving on, they did fine. I mean, nobody was in like the top one ten or so in terms of rank profile, so they didn't get anybody. Even Stewart wasn't I mean, because it's just at that point the production wasn't there. So I think I'm with you in terms of misses. I think Cincinnati and Miami are pretty clear in that sense, and I think a lot of people agree with us.
00:29:06
Speaker 1: So what are we doing? Message about? Are you getting more miss.
00:29:10
Speaker 2: Let me roll through a few misses online pretty quickly. So I love the Colts pick of Tuyamalu. I was a big fan of his in terms of even going in the first round, so I liked that. I didn't like the Justin Whaley pick. I just thought it was a little bit overvalued other options there kind of in that slot. So that's my indie assessment. I want to go back to Jacksonville just for one player. I mean, we talked about Hunter. I love that. I thought Ransall was also a little bit odd, a little early for me at eighty eight. Super athlete from Tulane obviously does a lot of good things, but just didn't love the selection there. Same with the Chargers. Cold Well, I just to me a little overvalued at that slot. I liked Hampton, so I'll talk about in a second. And Trey Harris obviously interesting considering they have a few receivers and they can't exactly figure that out, so they just throw another guy in the mix, so we'll see how he does with Harbaugh. And then finally Houston. I thought Jalen Smith was a little interesting. I mean, obviously he's next to Petrie. I have Lassider and Darby on the other side, but he goes ninety seventh. And then the other one was Woody Marks usc running back at one sixteen, probably the backup to mix in at this point, but I just think it was a bit of a reach, like I kind of think, so if you look right when they took Marx, Jacksonville, Giants, Carolina all took running backs in the fourth round right before them, so maybe they just took what was there. I mean, Caroline took ETN Houston took Marx, and then it was Hunter and Samson. I love the Samson pic considering he's the fourth of that group, but I think Houston might have just gotten caught up. So any thoughts on those before we roll on?
00:30:49
Speaker 1: Yeah, for the Chargers, I was, you know, I was tempted to kind of put them in the misses because you know, I kind of the way I put it was, you know, they're going skill guys early, which you're in. You're still in a division with Mahomes and whatnot, and so but I will say, you know, the reason I don't is because I do respect how good Hampton is as a prospect, even though it was a deep running back draft, and you have seen that team make do with like I mean, you basically signed Dobbins and Edwards, who nobody wanted. And even if you only consider Dobbins a success, I mean, you know, you you've kind of proven that you can you could kind of cobble together a backfield there, and you did. You did sign Naji Harris, so I didn't think they needed to do it, but I did respect how how how strong of a prospect Hampton is. And then with with Trey Harris, He's a man beater and that was an issue for them last year. Outside of Lata mccackie, nobody could be man covered. So if those fits hit, they're gonna they're gonna be fine. And and they're gonna be fine, even though I think they might have they could have probably positionally gone a little different directions early on and still kind of arrived at the depth that they wanted. Uh Overall, I thought the player that they did take were solid, so I wasn't gonna knock them too much. And then Houston was It was kind of a it was Houston was just kind of in a weird spot because they had all these you know, they definitely needed to remake the line, but they kind of did it like they're focused a little more on depth, it looks like, and you know, they got out of veteran guys, and so they did need to beef up the receiving corps, which they did, and it seemed like they were just going best player available after that. Uh So time will tell. I mean, it's hard for me to criticize the Day three picks too much for any team, so I tend to focus a little higher those guys tend to be the most impactful, both in the guys you passed over and the player themselves that you did take. So yeah, but yeah, the jury is out on Houston. It's just I wasn't gonna knock them as much because I mean they did trade back, you know, they and whatnot, and so yeah, but the jury's out. But yeah, with the Chargers, they were, they're they're going to be kind of a polarizing one.
00:32:56
Speaker 2: I think. Yeah, the Texans are just an interesting case trading Tunsil and then trying to rebuild from there, like, you know, just just interesting decisions all around. So we kind of got to see all right. Last segment here for the AFC is messaging a bottle, which is basically, we're bearing a bottle. We'll bring it up in ten years. We have to write two names in the bottle. A player who will be good to great and we will consider a good to great draft pick, and a player who will be considered either a bust or someone we overvalued at their draft position. So I will let you start here. You're going to actually give me two names. It looks like two or three. I cheated because I have a few here. So I was hoping you were gonna cheat as well, but go ahead, you're out.
00:33:34
Speaker 1: All right. So for a guy who's going to be good degree or for a couple of guys good to great that will consider good great picks, Tues stand out to be Derek Harmon, defensive tackle at Oregon to Pittsburgh with the twenty first selection in the first round. They didn't they didn't, you know, they didn't get caught up in the quarterback high. They didn't even get caught up in the running back hip, and they went, you know, with kind of what they do. I think he'll be a rock solid player for them. And so Malchi Starks safety going to Baltimore wait in the first round. I mean, this is this is kind of their m every year, right. They don't necessarily draft based on need. They go best player available. They don't necessarily knock players just because they're not in premium positions. They just kind of take who they think is the best value available on the board and it tends to work out. So I think Stark's especially, you know, kind of coming into this kind of system. Kyle Hamilton there already, you know a lot of veterans, just a smart smart team and good infrastructure around him. Got a lot of guys at playoff experience. I wouldn't be surprised if you know Starks has yet another one of those Baltimore secondary players that they got weight that it's just like rock solid guy, MoU chip guy you know, ranks top five, top ten in the league at his position, if not higher. So those are the two guys for me.
00:34:52
Speaker 2: So I like the running back class. I don't necessarily think that's a shock, but I'm a Hampton and Gent guy. Especially the locations they went to and the story with hard Ba about trying to trade with Philly and then being like, no, actually I need Omari and Hampton just makes me love him more. So I'm a big fan there. My number one was Starks, so I thought it was great that you just wrote that down. I think he's just a perfect fit. I had him going as the first safety. It worked out hint for later for the next episode. But I also love him and Warri, so I think they were both kind of going to be destined for good in the NFL, and I think the other one would just be I kind of just love this tight end class, like I see Loveland and Warren and Taylor and Arroyo and Fan and I think they're all going to have success in the league, So I project that going forward. But Starks would be my answer, So that is probably the number one I think it's gonna work out. I think the backup would be Simmons. Like I do believe they train o' lineman pretty well there. He is uber talented, and I think he'll work out in Kansas City and we'll turn back in a bunch of years and be like, oh, it's just Josh Simmons still sitting there. So that is my feeling, all right, bad player, the.
00:36:07
Speaker 1: Player who will be considered a bus or someone overvalued at their draft spot. I gotta go back to Stuart just because again, listen, it's it's hard to project the draft. You know, we can, it's hard to you know, everyone kind of has their opinions in these It's definitely better to get a first round like a first rounder tend to have more success than the second rounds and whatnot as you go down. But when you look at red flags, one of them tends to be especially with these highly drafted players aka you know, day one type of picks, lack of college production does stand out as something that tends to signify a bus So for me, that's I love the athleticism, I love I understand why you know he was where he was and why they made the pick. But that's that's the guy from me. Shamar Stewart for the Bengals that one P.
00:36:54
Speaker 2: Seventeen, Yeah, Stewart was on my list, but I said, I want to be different. I'm just gonna I'm gonna ask too qui questions because this is just where my mind went. So I said, will New England regret Campbell over genty? And in the sense that they took Travion, So they chose Campbell and Travion over potentially going genty, which we had talked about for a while, even though they do have Stevenson, So you know, long term, what will that look like? I think Cleveland taking Chunkins over Henderson will always be an interesting choice at least something to look back on. Did they make the right decision there? But for me, it's Dylan Gabriel Like, even though it was a third round pick, I just no one had him in that slot and I still don't believe it is going to be a good pick. And We're going to look forward and you know, he might get an opportunity or two, but I just don't see him as a prospect. So that's going to be the one I'm going to write in the bottle. Anything you think I'm crazy, I mean.
00:37:44
Speaker 1: For New England, I think I would probably rather have the Campbell Henderson Tom Bash you said, because of who, you know, what they're dealing with. You have a quarterback they arey feel good about, but you really just needed that old line help. I know Campbell isn't sexy, but again I think you know combine and when you look at the rest of their haul in the first couple of days, I think I'd be happy where I was if I.
00:38:07
Speaker 2: Was doing it. Yeah, between the off season and the draft and all that stuff, they're a completely different team. All right. That is the AFC. So we are going to be back. We have another episode coming up right now on the NFC which will be on your feeds, and we're going to do the exact same thing. Go through each of the categories, go through all the teams, talk about the draft picks. But until then, I am Evan Abrams. That is Chris Raybond. This is the action Network podcast and we'll be back soon with NFC draft grades. See us some Guys.
00:38:45
Speaker 1: Action Network reminds you please gamble responsibly.
00:38:48
Speaker 2: If you or someone you care about has a gambling problem, help is available twenty four to seven at one eight hundred gambler
Speaker 1: The Action Network Podcast.
00:00:06
Speaker 2: Well, what's up, everybody? Welcome to the Action Network Podcast. I am your host, Evan Abrams, and I am joined by Action Network NFL expert Chris Raybond to give some draft grades today. But we're gonna do it a little bit differently. But we'll get all to that in a second. Ray Bond. What the heck is going on? Man? How are you?
00:00:26
Speaker 1: What's going on?
00:00:26
Speaker 2: Evan?
00:00:27
Speaker 1: Feeling good? Stowe's my favorite time of year when we finally we get semi complete rosters to kind of break down heading into camp and we can kind of break down all of our ridiculously probably wrong in two years opinions about you know, these draft grades and who do well and who did poorly and whatnot. So looking forward to it.
00:00:46
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'd like nobody to look back at this episode after today. Listen to it, enjoy it, but please don't reference it, because you know, this one's a little difficult. But we're gonna have some fun and we're gonna do it a little bit differently. So we're gonna go by conference just because it's easier, and we're gonna start with the AFC. But I think what we're gonna do is we're just gonna go buy categories. So we've got most impactful picks, So we'll talk about the team, We'll talk about the pick we thought was most impactful. There, we're gonna go the pick surprised you the most, So another category, you can go any pick you want. There, we're gonna talk about big misses, so anything you think was you know, overvalued, should have gone this way or the other. And then finally we're gonna do something called message in a bottle, which is basically us making a prediction on a player. You know what, we'll think five ten years down the road. So I'm gonna let Raybond start off on each of these categories and kind of follow up. So we're gonna start with the AFC most impactful picks. You've got a few teams here, Raybond, just start with the first and we'll roll from there.
00:01:45
Speaker 1: Yeah. So the first one I'm looking at is New England's day one and two halls. So you got at one oh four Will Campbell out of l FU to tackle. Then you got Trevon Henderson, a running back. I got to Ohio state a lot of speed in the second round. In the third round, you go Kyle Williams, and he's another guy wide receiver I think could start right away and then end the third round with Jared Wilson in interior alignment out of Georgia. So the reason I think these can be the most impactful. First of all, you had four selections in the first two days. That's always great, But I think getting a tackle for Drake May, getting another, you know, high upside interior line prospect in Wilson, and in between that, getting two guys who you could kind of build your offense around at the skill positions in Henderson and Williams, who you know, both have a lot of quickness, a lot of speed. Those are the kind of guys that are gonna keep defensive coordinators up at night. And I thought, you know, Drake May was probably better than a lot of people even realize if you were kind of just casually found in the NFL, especially before the playoffs got underway last year or whatnot. But Drake May really had a very very solid year one, and I thought what was missing was offensive line and difference making playmakers, and New England, at least on paper, looks to have gotten him those and droves in the first couple of days of their draft.
00:03:20
Speaker 2: Yeah, literally, they were number one or number two on my list. I mean eleven total picks. You could call the entire Patriots off season theirs the most impactful thing. Like at the moment, the difference between what they looked like last year and this year is just completely and utterly different. I think you know, they were talking about it on the Favorites podcast, Chad and Simon, but even the Patriots look like they're a different team, especially when you see kind of the things that Jets have done, what the Dolphins have done, Like, I feel like they're going to be like competitive in some of these games, and they were competitive last year with that team. So I'm enthralled to see what May does in terms of going forward. But I agree Campbell, Trevion Williams Wilson, I think it was great and.
00:04:03
Speaker 1: I want to give him a lot of credit to because the other underrated thing about this Patriot team is they've got a really good head coach now in Vrabel, And I want to give them credit for Rabel known as more of a defensive guys smash mouth football. They resisted the urge at any point, you know, early in the draft, maybe to you know, go deep. There was a lot of edge rushers and guys like that, you know, a lot of guys that they're at their picks that maybe also presented value. But I like that they went offense with those you know, important day one, day two selections, and it's really going to make a difference, I think right away on this roster. So really like what New England's doing all the way around to your point, go to your number two, all right, Denver. I thought they're around one in two hauls were really interesting and kind of flying under the radar a little bit because they were maybe not what most prognosticators thought exactly they would do. So the two picks I'm talking about in particular are Jday Barron, the cornerback out of Texas. They went with him at the you know, at one, and then R. J. Harvey, the running back out of UCF. They go with him in the second round. So I thought Barron was interesting because they could have easily looked at you know, wide receiver here. They could have easily looked at running back here, you know, Mari and Hampton goes. I think a couple of picks after but Baron, I thought was the best player on the board. As that pickt he it's a premium position. Cornerback is still you I know, they got certain, but cornerback was still kind of up and down for them around him last year, you know, Riley Moss would get picked on. Mathis has had his struggles. So I really think being able to draft a guy a high upside, you know, first round type of cornerback talent for a team that's trying to go head to head with the Kansas City Chiefs and it's gonna have to play him twice a year and then potentially knock them off in the playoffs to ultimately reach their their their goals. I thought that was a big, a big get, and especially because if you kind of look at, you know, what happened later on with the Chargers. You know, they draft a couple of wide receivers, the Houston Texans draft a couple of wide receivers. So all these other teams just kind of in those competing playoff spots, you know, with Denver, assuming Kansas City still the class of the division, which it probably will be, I just thought, you know, resisting the urge to maybe go with a skill guy, that it would have been a little flashier. Was a great pick and then getting Harvey. You know, the only other times the Sean Payton coach teams have gone with a running back before day three, And I know Harvey was late on dates, you're all kind of middle, middle of the way day two, but the only other times Reggie Bush mark ingram Alvin Kamara. So it's no small thing.
00:07:03
Speaker 2: You know.
00:07:04
Speaker 1: They obviously value him very highly. He's and he's got and he has a lot of those traits that you know, I think when people were mocking a difference maker to Denver in the first round at a skill position, they were thinking about in Harvey. You know, he's the guy who's just gonna make a lot of guys miss. I think he's gonna he's gonna be one of those guys that you can, uh, you know, do some different things with in terms of moving around the formation, and he's gonna be, uh, just one of those kind of chess pieces. So I really like what Denver did. And for a team that has its quarterback, has a coach and staff, has some blue chip players, I just thought it was a good, good kind of you know, I don't know if they expected Barons to be on the board. But I thought, you know, taking not letting him get past him, even though maybe some people didn't have corner as the number one position to need. Uh, it was really good. And then coming back and getting a guy like Harvey and not overpaying for running back like you know perhaps some other teams did. Uh. Even though it was a deep class, I thought it was really good for Denver.
00:08:04
Speaker 2: Yeah, you said some really interesting things there, and I think off the bat, I didn't think they thought Baron would be available. So I mean, I think it's interesting to think, oh, wow, they didn't take Hampton. Well maybe they were like, we're gonna take Hampton. Oh wow, we didn't think this guy would even be close to here. I mean, he was supposed to be you know, maybe they were talking about it like thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, so you know, by the time we got to Denver, he was still available, especially when Will Johnson was going to slide. I think the interesting thing you always look back at is, Okay, they decided to take the corner and then wait for Harvey. We were always going to say they were going to get the running back anyway. I think in future years when handicapping the draft, Like we were right, Denver needed a running back. They just decided to make the decision not to take the blue chip guy early and went around later and got another player. So it's like, will they be right? We have to wait and see, but it surely does make them deeper, right, it gets them someone really good early on, which I'm going to talk about in a second. But I like what Denver did. I agree, all right, go to number three.
00:09:04
Speaker 1: I would stay in the AFC West. I think Kansas City getting offensive tackle Josh Simmons out of Ohio State with the last pick of the first round could be big because Kansas City is a team that, because of how successful they are year in a year out, they don't really get access to draft these top ten type talents. And I think Simmons, you know, if he didn't have the injury, he would have been in the front half of this board in round one. He would have been up there. Maybe Banks doesn't go as highly if a guy like Simmons is completely healthy. So I thought for them to get a talent like that, and you know, a guy they didn't even expect to fall as far as he did even with the injury. At number thirty two is massive because we saw how you know, the few times it hasn't gone you know, perfectly. In Patrick Mahomes's young career. You talk about that Super Bowl against the Bucks, you talk about that Super Bowl against the Phodelphia Eagles last season, it's been because of the offensive line for the most part. And you know, uh, Kansas City already has wide receivers. They got the coach, they got the quarterback. They'll figure it out at running back one way or another. We saw them bring a guy off the street last year. So tackle is really that position where if this guy hits and you know, they have a longer season than most Kansas City like, they generally go deep into the playoffs, so it's not even like Simmons has to hit early on. You know, they can afford to kind of even in year one. I think he could make an impact and just adds some sorely needed depths behind a guy like jaymen More, who could also be a big, a big impactful signing if he uh you know, is able to shore up that that left tackle spot early on. But you know, they got Jawan Taylor, they still got you know, guys like Morris and Cel Mattea like a lot of guys who they just really I think weren't as comfortable playing as many snaps as they did. So I think this this pick right here, it was a position to need it. I thought it was value and I think it's a high upside pick. So really like what Kansas City did because remember, Kansas City's already there, so any little you know, value they get, or if they hit on it, if they get a star or in the first round or a big getted position in need like that could just change everything in the AFC because Kansas City is already in such a powerful position in terms with Mahomes and Reed at the top. So I really liked what they did with with Simmons there.
00:11:23
Speaker 2: Yeah, I like Simmons there. My pick I really like is g Loot Ashons g Lot they took. Was it third it was a third round? Yeah, I think third round. But I mean karloftus Owming, you like, they've got already people kind of in that position, but I like the depth so him, They've also got Tillery and you know Jones's you know, got a year or so left potentially, But I do like that pick as well. So Kansas City just tends to take at this point when you have a lot of depth in things at different positions, being able to take like the most talented guy or someone who might have been an injury that falls to you. I think, you know, kind of works to their bets. Okay, so those are your most impactful. I'll kind of just go through a few players and teams and you know, quick thoughts here and you can kind of bounce stuff off. I don't know how you don't say Travis Hunter, Like I understand it's a stupid response to a degree, but a guy that's probably going to play both sides also considering I love this stat It's just the first non QB to be traded up for into the top two since the Rams and Raiders in ninety seven. Like, it's been so long since we saw someone actually give up something for a not quarterback and they thought to be this much value in So I kind of can't not say Travis Hunter. So I think in terms of the impact, he's on the list, especially next to Thomas on the wide receiver state. The other one's got to be cam Ward as well, just because of how damn bad the Titans were last year, Like from not only an on the field standpoint with Levis, but also from a betting world, like they ended up being the worst gambling team of all time in terms of ats. So being able to turn to someone who hopefully doesn't turn it over as much gives them a competent offense. You know, you got locket, you added some things, But I think quarterback most important position. It's hard not to say Ward. I wanted to say Buffalo as well. I actually like the Harston pick, not only because it won me money for a multitude of reasons, parlays and all this stuff with the SEC, but I actually like the player starting right cornerback other side of Benford, ahead of White, Like I think they listen, they see themselves in the playoffs, they see themselves in a AFC title game against Kansas City or this or that. So getting an extra corner or someone, especially with a little bit of speed there, I like the pick. I could stop there. I have like one or two more, but any thoughts, Yeah.
00:13:43
Speaker 1: I think the camp Ward pick. You know, that's obviously gonna be a very impactful one to Tennessee. Now that division, you know, there's a lot of there's a lot of volatility there right. You know, we saw Houston go for Mike really good to just Okay, Indianapolis is always lurking there, like you never know what their quarterbacks. It's like there's just a lot of I think question marks in that division. So uh, it's if cam Ward is kind of out plays you know what people trying to think of them, you know, relative toward other core prospects this decade or so. I think that could be really impactful, not you know, not just based on what they had last year, but also just in terms of, uh, you know, maybe deciding this division of this playoff or a playoff spot, because Tennessee is kind of really an unknown, but they're coming from a spot where you know, they got him, and then they also had a pretty deep draft class as well, they signed the veterans, So uh, this thing could turn around into her, especially if a team like Indianapolis or Jacksonville if it doesn't work out quite or uston, if it doesn't work out quite the way you know, uh they envisioned, because you know, Jacksonville gave up a lot to go up and get Hunter. So uh yeah, I do think that that cam Ward pick is pretty impactful and and Buffalo. I mean, I think they have just an impactful class, you know, both ways. Right, it's because they went off with five defenders in their first five picks. I believe it was. So you know, that's where they're kind of saying that we needed to improve. And it's not a bad strategy. Given Josh Allen, you're gonna you're probably gonna be fine with Josh Allen either way. But I think people are kind of correct to say, you know, hey, at some at some point, maybe that you know your wide receiver depth does come back to hurt you a little bit because I remember when Josh Allen first really took that step to being an elite quarterback, it was Cole Beasley had really helped out a lot, you know, getting up you know, John Brown and then Stefan Diggs. You know, people forget John Brown really kind of added to what they were doing there for that when that's like a little one or two years. So now you're kind of saying, Okay, Josh Allen is good enough to carry us regardless of the receivers. And that's probably true, but you're talking about small margins and you see a team like Kansas City is pretty pretty loaded at wide receiver. That's always a team that you're going to kind of compare yourself to. You see the Chargers reading up, you see you know, Denver kind of reading up at the scope just in general. Even Baltimore trying to get better at that, you know. So it's it's just you just wonder if that comes back to bite them at any point.
00:16:16
Speaker 2: Yeah, you were right, Harriston, T J. Sanders, Landon Jackson, Dean Walker. That's first one hundred and ten picks all defense. So and I kind of like them all his prospects. I agree Buffalo had a good draft. All right, let me go two more here and then we'll get to the picks that surprised you the most. It's just hard for me not to say the Raiders in terms of just their offense. When you add genty and you add Betch, I think overall it's got to be better now. I think there's questions all over the place with Gino and whatever, but with Moster, McCormick, Zamir White, like Gentsy's gonna get a ton of carries, like he is the bell Cow, He'll be the guy. And I think Betch could help, Like with Tree, Tucker and Jacobe Myers like, Yeah, I think there's like some good upside there. So do I like the Raiders? No, but I think impactful players on offense. I think it's a decent draft. And then the Jets, like, I guess my question is, did they get three starters in the first three rounds with Membu, Taylor and Thomas Thomas? Maybe, but Taylor and Membu were both going to be impactful right away, so I have to say, you know, chets have some work to do, but I do think they got two or three starters here, which is nice.
00:17:25
Speaker 1: Yeah, the Jets had one of those kind of quiet drafts that probably went about as well as it could have in terms of just getting starters. It's just that, unfortunately for them, this wasn't one of those drafts where you had a lot of quarterback prospects, so you're gonna have to kind of figure it out, you know, adjusted fields and whatnot. But as far as what the positions they did feel, I thought they got rocks olid guys of the first three rounds.
00:17:48
Speaker 2: All right, what picks surprised you the most?
00:17:51
Speaker 1: All right, it has to be Shuldar Sanders. I mean, so I was laughing because I actually ended up cashing a bet Browns plus six fifty to draft your door that I thought it was gonna hit in round two and it ended up hitting in around five. Like, so that's that's kind of that shows you the surprise that I had. I mean, listen, I didn't think he was the first round prospect. We talked about it on the Favorites that morning, but you know, for him to fall all the way to round five, and even I would say even the surprise of Cleveland drafting him after drafting another quarterback in Gabriel Uh, you know, or just just before that, is you know, kind it could kind of create like you just had Deshaun Watson in this whole media circus, right, And a lot of people were saying part of not not the entire because I think it mostly had to do it's his you know, on the field play and future probably, but but yeah, you know, some people saying maybe they added to it, you know, just this potential media circus around things like that go with it. And I just thought it was interesting that now you have him as not even your first drafted quarterback, but like he could be in the position to compete for a starting job right away. It's just I just found it surprised and that Cleveland would go there after like fading him so many times early in the draft. It could just seemed like, man, like this is this is gonna be awkward, and now you're kind of back with this media circus at quarterback in Cleveland one way or another, and for a bunch of reasons that you probably didn't even foresee heading into the draft, even if you did take Shad or so that was that was pretty surprising to me to see him still end up in Cleveland. I get it, it was a value pick, saw you know, I'm not fully knocking it, but it's still was just surprising after everything else that had went down.
00:19:37
Speaker 2: Yeah, so chadors at the top of my list too. I mean, I don't know how he can't be. But I think the question mostly is you take Gabriel in the third round, which I'm going to talk about a little bit later. I think Cleveland's entire draft is a little questionable. Like I kind of felt like at different times it felt like different people were making picks and I don't know if that makes sense, But when you look at like so you take this Schwestioninger pick was a little questionable, like off ball linebacker. A little early, they could have potentially gotten another linebacker. A little later, they take Junkins Jenkins over Henderson. I love the Fannin pick, but it kind of feels like a little bit like you took Jenkins and then you take Samson. I loved the Sampson pick, so like in that sense, I liked some and others felt a little odd at times. I guess one theory I would say is do you think they took Gabriel like Barry and Stefanski, and then ownership was like, take Shador, Like the plan wasn't to take Shador. Their plan was we like Dylan Gabriel, and for some reason, I guess they liked him at that slot, but then later on ownership was like, oh he's still there, we're telling you to take him. So it's like, I think it's weird if Barry and Stefanski were like, we're gonna take two quarterbacks like that couldn't have been the plan, especially with the room they have now. So I just feel like I'm questioning who was making all of the selections in that room. But that's the way I look at it, and I agree Shador was extremely questionable. Did you have any more because I only had two more in terms of being questionable or surprising.
00:21:12
Speaker 1: Yeah, no, that was my big surprise. I don't think anyone cud. I have some, you know, some misses that we'll talk about next, but surprising.
00:21:18
Speaker 2: It was front and side, all right, So I'll say baron with Denver, and truthfully, just because I don't think anybody expected them to go corner. They were actually thirty four to one to draft a corner in the first round, So I don't know how it can't be in this lot when you talk about just being surprising, I don't think it's bad, but I just think it was surprising. And then the last one is, I mean Baltimore taking a kicker. I don't know how surprising it is, but it is, you know, probably the direction they might be heading, so they take Loop at one eighty six, the kicker from Arizona. We could talk about Baltimore in a second, about some other stuff like I love Starks, I think Green's has some upside, but taking the kicker, I feel like, was it interesting? One that got pointed out by a lot of people. So those are my surprises. Any thoughts there, if not, just start off with your missus.
00:22:07
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, let's going to missus. H. I think I'm curious to hear your thoughts about this of an actually, because I know you liked the player that they took first. But when I look at it in both where the player ranked in this current class and just in terms of their overall haul, I do I do have question marks. And so that's Miami going Kenneth Grant out of Michigan, who I know you liked a lot and I think won you some some money at at you know, one thirteen and then right and then they and then they end up getting you know, going back up in the second round to get Jonah savlenea out of Arizona and interior alignment, and that seemed like a need based kind of pick, and Grant was as well, you know, but I don't know if this was kind of the best way to go about the draft for Miami, considering they really didn't have much and like after this, you know, it's it's mostly it's pretty much Day three guys and fifth round guys. So I just I just questioned, did they get enough of kind of did they balance out kind of you know, going best player available or do they go too hard for need and you've just not come away with enough considering you're still probably gonna it sounds like you're going to trade another bluet trip prospect in in uh in Ramsey, Like, I just don't know what. I don't know what Miami is. Miami seems stuck in this purgatory, like I don't They don't, you know, because you lost Armstead, but you know you didn't get a tackle here even though you're drafted thirteenth and your defense it wasn't the biggest issue. Uh So it's I can't not the Grant pick, you know, from from the from the standpoint of you probably did need to fill that position. But I don't know. Overall, I was just left very unimpressed with Miami's draft of curiousness to your thugs.
00:23:59
Speaker 2: Yeah, I didn't love it at all. They were going to be on some of my misses as well. I mean, I loved Grant. I didn't think thirteen was an option. If thirteen was an option, he should have been minus two thousand to go in the first round, versus like minus two twenty, which is where it was so I think that was a little bit of a reach, but I don't necessarily like that. That's not the point in their draft where I say Miami went wrong, Like I'm not going to say that's like an issue. They just took someone they really liked that I liked, just a little bit earlier than maybe they should have. They could have traded back potentially. I think Jordan Phillips is a little bit of a question mark there, Like a lot of people had him ranked much later in the draft, I believe, so I would have a question with that selection. I think Jonah at the offensive line position is going to start, So I don't have like a huge like, you know, could they have gone another player at that position potentially, But I think overall, I'll say I don't really know what the Dolphins direction is at all on any level. Like I don't like that in the division, I don't think there's much value there. I kind of already see a little bit of the end of this era of the Dolphins a little bit, like maybe it's not happening right now because you still have two, you still have McDaniel, you still have Hill for the moment, but I do kind of see it coming to an end soon. And maybe I'm wrong, but I think I'm that's something I'm foreseeing.
00:25:21
Speaker 1: Yeah, it was, there was a little head scratching, but like you said, it's probably partially due to the fact that it's just hard to get a read on exactly what where the Dolphins, what they're doing, what they're what they're what their view and vision is a long term and you know, are they are they all in or do they view themselves as like a true playoff contender, do they need like a mini rebuild like what? It's just hard to kind of get a sense of where they are.
00:25:43
Speaker 2: So, but I think the biggest difficulty is with these three guys there still I think they're going for like the super Bowl. I think that's the mindset while Tyreek, McDaniel and two are still at the Helm, Like, I think they think that's where they're at, which might be hurting them because the rebuild might be easier, but that you know, I think it's a mindset right now.
00:26:01
Speaker 1: Yeah. So, another team that has Super Bowl aspirations that didn't love the pick specifically, I'll talk about their first round pick, and that's Bengals with Shamar Stewart out of Texas A and M at the seventeenth pick of the first round. Now it was in need, don't get me wrong. So they made but you know, you can get in trouble making need based picks. So first red flag to me, who's the need based pick. The second red flag to me was obviously just the lack of college production. You know, this is all based on traits and upside and a projection. Everyone's heard the you know, four and a half sacks number quoted a million times. But also I think part of why it also kind of raises a red flag for me is it seemed like they avoided certain maybe prior risk based mistakes that they've made by you know, fading some of those other edge rushers that maybe had some character issues or whatnot, and you know, you know, they they were burned. They've been burned by that in the past. I mean, even with a guy like Burton last season. So I thought they kind of avoided that only to still make like kind of a risk, risky pick just in another way, and it was still need based. So you know, they left some good players on the board at other positions. Even if you just look at the defensive side of the ball. I mean, you have Jenay Barron on the board, you have Harmon on the board. You know, if you open up the offense, there's even more guys. So it's just I don't know if this if this pick. Like I know, Cincinnati had to get better on defense and specifically on the edge. They had to find a successor for Hendrickson long term. I just don't know if they took I think they might have taken a little bit too much of a risk at this spot, given who else was on the board, and just given what we know about Stewart.
00:27:53
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think the question you're going to ask in the future is and looking at just some of the edges, like maybe Pierce one a little early, but you know, is there an opportunity to potentially either take someone like Baron or trade back. And maybe we're wrong about Stuart. I mean, he is an athletic freak, but the SAC numbers and all the things that you're referring to just aren't on the paper. But the tape looks great. And I think he slid a little bit because I remember his draft position being just around there. But people were talking about him at least initially early, so I think it all kind of hinges on how Stewart does do for them, especially if Hendrickson isn't there anymore at some point, so it is in need. But I do question kind of the decision. And then when you go forward like night Fairchild, I think, you know, moving on, they did fine. I mean, nobody was in like the top one ten or so in terms of rank profile, so they didn't get anybody. Even Stewart wasn't I mean, because it's just at that point the production wasn't there. So I think I'm with you in terms of misses. I think Cincinnati and Miami are pretty clear in that sense, and I think a lot of people agree with us.
00:29:06
Speaker 1: So what are we doing? Message about? Are you getting more miss.
00:29:10
Speaker 2: Let me roll through a few misses online pretty quickly. So I love the Colts pick of Tuyamalu. I was a big fan of his in terms of even going in the first round, so I liked that. I didn't like the Justin Whaley pick. I just thought it was a little bit overvalued other options there kind of in that slot. So that's my indie assessment. I want to go back to Jacksonville just for one player. I mean, we talked about Hunter. I love that. I thought Ransall was also a little bit odd, a little early for me at eighty eight. Super athlete from Tulane obviously does a lot of good things, but just didn't love the selection there. Same with the Chargers. Cold Well, I just to me a little overvalued at that slot. I liked Hampton, so I'll talk about in a second. And Trey Harris obviously interesting considering they have a few receivers and they can't exactly figure that out, so they just throw another guy in the mix, so we'll see how he does with Harbaugh. And then finally Houston. I thought Jalen Smith was a little interesting. I mean, obviously he's next to Petrie. I have Lassider and Darby on the other side, but he goes ninety seventh. And then the other one was Woody Marks usc running back at one sixteen, probably the backup to mix in at this point, but I just think it was a bit of a reach, like I kind of think, so if you look right when they took Marx, Jacksonville, Giants, Carolina all took running backs in the fourth round right before them, so maybe they just took what was there. I mean, Caroline took ETN Houston took Marx, and then it was Hunter and Samson. I love the Samson pic considering he's the fourth of that group, but I think Houston might have just gotten caught up. So any thoughts on those before we roll on?
00:30:49
Speaker 1: Yeah, for the Chargers, I was, you know, I was tempted to kind of put them in the misses because you know, I kind of the way I put it was, you know, they're going skill guys early, which you're in. You're still in a division with Mahomes and whatnot, and so but I will say, you know, the reason I don't is because I do respect how good Hampton is as a prospect, even though it was a deep running back draft, and you have seen that team make do with like I mean, you basically signed Dobbins and Edwards, who nobody wanted. And even if you only consider Dobbins a success, I mean, you know, you you've kind of proven that you can you could kind of cobble together a backfield there, and you did. You did sign Naji Harris, so I didn't think they needed to do it, but I did respect how how how strong of a prospect Hampton is. And then with with Trey Harris, He's a man beater and that was an issue for them last year. Outside of Lata mccackie, nobody could be man covered. So if those fits hit, they're gonna they're gonna be fine. And and they're gonna be fine, even though I think they might have they could have probably positionally gone a little different directions early on and still kind of arrived at the depth that they wanted. Uh Overall, I thought the player that they did take were solid, so I wasn't gonna knock them too much. And then Houston was It was kind of a it was Houston was just kind of in a weird spot because they had all these you know, they definitely needed to remake the line, but they kind of did it like they're focused a little more on depth, it looks like, and you know, they got out of veteran guys, and so they did need to beef up the receiving corps, which they did, and it seemed like they were just going best player available after that. Uh So time will tell. I mean, it's hard for me to criticize the Day three picks too much for any team, so I tend to focus a little higher those guys tend to be the most impactful, both in the guys you passed over and the player themselves that you did take. So yeah, but yeah, the jury is out on Houston. It's just I wasn't gonna knock them as much because I mean they did trade back, you know, they and whatnot, and so yeah, but the jury's out. But yeah, with the Chargers, they were, they're they're going to be kind of a polarizing one.
00:32:56
Speaker 2: I think. Yeah, the Texans are just an interesting case trading Tunsil and then trying to rebuild from there, like, you know, just just interesting decisions all around. So we kind of got to see all right. Last segment here for the AFC is messaging a bottle, which is basically, we're bearing a bottle. We'll bring it up in ten years. We have to write two names in the bottle. A player who will be good to great and we will consider a good to great draft pick, and a player who will be considered either a bust or someone we overvalued at their draft position. So I will let you start here. You're going to actually give me two names. It looks like two or three. I cheated because I have a few here. So I was hoping you were gonna cheat as well, but go ahead, you're out.
00:33:34
Speaker 1: All right. So for a guy who's going to be good degree or for a couple of guys good to great that will consider good great picks, Tues stand out to be Derek Harmon, defensive tackle at Oregon to Pittsburgh with the twenty first selection in the first round. They didn't they didn't, you know, they didn't get caught up in the quarterback high. They didn't even get caught up in the running back hip, and they went, you know, with kind of what they do. I think he'll be a rock solid player for them. And so Malchi Starks safety going to Baltimore wait in the first round. I mean, this is this is kind of their m every year, right. They don't necessarily draft based on need. They go best player available. They don't necessarily knock players just because they're not in premium positions. They just kind of take who they think is the best value available on the board and it tends to work out. So I think Stark's especially, you know, kind of coming into this kind of system. Kyle Hamilton there already, you know a lot of veterans, just a smart smart team and good infrastructure around him. Got a lot of guys at playoff experience. I wouldn't be surprised if you know Starks has yet another one of those Baltimore secondary players that they got weight that it's just like rock solid guy, MoU chip guy you know, ranks top five, top ten in the league at his position, if not higher. So those are the two guys for me.
00:34:52
Speaker 2: So I like the running back class. I don't necessarily think that's a shock, but I'm a Hampton and Gent guy. Especially the locations they went to and the story with hard Ba about trying to trade with Philly and then being like, no, actually I need Omari and Hampton just makes me love him more. So I'm a big fan there. My number one was Starks, so I thought it was great that you just wrote that down. I think he's just a perfect fit. I had him going as the first safety. It worked out hint for later for the next episode. But I also love him and Warri, so I think they were both kind of going to be destined for good in the NFL, and I think the other one would just be I kind of just love this tight end class, like I see Loveland and Warren and Taylor and Arroyo and Fan and I think they're all going to have success in the league, So I project that going forward. But Starks would be my answer, So that is probably the number one I think it's gonna work out. I think the backup would be Simmons. Like I do believe they train o' lineman pretty well there. He is uber talented, and I think he'll work out in Kansas City and we'll turn back in a bunch of years and be like, oh, it's just Josh Simmons still sitting there. So that is my feeling, all right, bad player, the.
00:36:07
Speaker 1: Player who will be considered a bus or someone overvalued at their draft spot. I gotta go back to Stuart just because again, listen, it's it's hard to project the draft. You know, we can, it's hard to you know, everyone kind of has their opinions in these It's definitely better to get a first round like a first rounder tend to have more success than the second rounds and whatnot as you go down. But when you look at red flags, one of them tends to be especially with these highly drafted players aka you know, day one type of picks, lack of college production does stand out as something that tends to signify a bus So for me, that's I love the athleticism, I love I understand why you know he was where he was and why they made the pick. But that's that's the guy from me. Shamar Stewart for the Bengals that one P.
00:36:54
Speaker 2: Seventeen, Yeah, Stewart was on my list, but I said, I want to be different. I'm just gonna I'm gonna ask too qui questions because this is just where my mind went. So I said, will New England regret Campbell over genty? And in the sense that they took Travion, So they chose Campbell and Travion over potentially going genty, which we had talked about for a while, even though they do have Stevenson, So you know, long term, what will that look like? I think Cleveland taking Chunkins over Henderson will always be an interesting choice at least something to look back on. Did they make the right decision there? But for me, it's Dylan Gabriel Like, even though it was a third round pick, I just no one had him in that slot and I still don't believe it is going to be a good pick. And We're going to look forward and you know, he might get an opportunity or two, but I just don't see him as a prospect. So that's going to be the one I'm going to write in the bottle. Anything you think I'm crazy, I mean.
00:37:44
Speaker 1: For New England, I think I would probably rather have the Campbell Henderson Tom Bash you said, because of who, you know, what they're dealing with. You have a quarterback they arey feel good about, but you really just needed that old line help. I know Campbell isn't sexy, but again I think you know combine and when you look at the rest of their haul in the first couple of days, I think I'd be happy where I was if I.
00:38:07
Speaker 2: Was doing it. Yeah, between the off season and the draft and all that stuff, they're a completely different team. All right. That is the AFC. So we are going to be back. We have another episode coming up right now on the NFC which will be on your feeds, and we're going to do the exact same thing. Go through each of the categories, go through all the teams, talk about the draft picks. But until then, I am Evan Abrams. That is Chris Raybond. This is the action Network podcast and we'll be back soon with NFC draft grades. See us some Guys.
00:38:45
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