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Speaker 1: At least he's the Drive with Dale Lolly and Matt Williamson on your twenty four to seven home of the Black and Gold Steelers Nation Radio.
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Speaker 2: And we are back. I am Dale LOLLI he is the Matt Williamson. Welcome back to our number two of the drive here on the Steelers Audio Network. And Matt, it's a Monday mock draft. Okay, bellow, wild shoot we again. We'll slow down a little bit here in the mock maybe Monday, Wednesday, Friday, something like that, but let's do it. We're working on the.
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Speaker 3: Profile become draft season in a hurry, though very much sight. It's not that far away.
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Speaker 2: Pro Footballnetwork dot Com mock draft simulator here, just to change it up a little bit, and we're down to pick twenty one. We got three trade offers. New Orlean wants to give us picks forty and fifty.
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Speaker 3: Wow.
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Speaker 2: Consider Actually initially thought, oh, I don't want.
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Speaker 3: But it might not be that different than what you're picking.
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Speaker 2: It's not that bad.
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Speaker 3: I'm not going to consider.
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Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm not going to reject it. Straight up. The Chargers are offering, uh, pick twenty two and eighty six for pick twenty one and one fifty six. It's like free money, Yeah, unless you're going to take your guy, right, and the Jets are offering forty two seventy three next year second and next year's fifth. I'd love the Jets next year second, but they got a bevy of next year's Steers have a bevy of next year. I mean, I'd like to get back into that second round.
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Speaker 3: This year if possible.
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Speaker 2: Forty and fifty is kind of fifty is kind of intriguing the Chargers.
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Speaker 3: One's kind of dumb. I mean, to move up one pick. I mean, I kind of feel like we should dismiss those trades. They never happened. That's not going to happen, right, what's the chances they have to have our pick who they want so bad?
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Speaker 2: But this is so I'm back to the Saints offerer of picks forty and fifty for twenty one and two twenty nine.
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Speaker 3: I don't dislike it.
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Speaker 2: I'm kind of inclined to take that one.
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Speaker 3: Let's just do it because we have it. Yeah, I don't even want to ask who's there at the moment. Let let's do it because we haven't.
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Speaker 2: And see what that Let's see what see what that looks like okay, and it might be something as you look at and go, yeah, I could say I'd definitely do that.
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Speaker 3: So have three seconds. No, we don't have three seconds. We have two seconds.
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Speaker 2: Oh right, right right, which is the little reason why I'm interested in getting a pick in that second round. I don't want to miss out on some of the second.
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Speaker 3: For Day two picks. Yeah, two and two.
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Speaker 2: Yeah, okay, we're not going to trade again here, No, it's hang it forty yeah, So I'm gonna reject both of those trade offers. Oh, at thirty nine, we just missed out on Amari and Hampton.
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Speaker 3: I would ran the podium.
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Speaker 2: We also just missed out on Kenneth Grant and he went thirty seventh, which is crazy to.
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Speaker 3: Me, which is in the real world, if we would have made that trade, I'm calling guys.
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Speaker 2: We might have been trying to get back up.
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Speaker 3: I would call the guys after Thursday, you know, all day, all night, try to get to the first or second pick in the draft.
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Speaker 2: Okay, so the players available here for us at four Tyler Williams, that wouldn't be bad.
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Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, that's kind of the bonus prize.
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Speaker 2: Right defensive tackle out of Ohio State, Benjamin Morrison, cornerback out of Notre Dame, Arianta Ersrie, offensive tackle out of Minnesota, Cameron Williams, offensive tackle out of Texas, Trey Harris, wide receiver, Ole Miss, Jaylen Milroe quarterback out of Alabama, Jackson Dark quarterback out of Ole Miss. Josh Connery is still there, offensive tackle out of Oregon. I want to look specifically at defense here first. So the defensive tackles available, you're looking at TYLERK. Williams, t J. Sanders, Darius Alexander, Alfred Collins, Alexander diom Walker, Omar Norman Lott, Shamar Turner, Josh Farmer.
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Speaker 3: Okay, it wouldn't break my heart to go detackle the tackle here.
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Speaker 2: No, I hear you. Yeah, I just want to take a look at the running backs available. Caleb Johnson, Quinn Shawn Jenkins, Trayvon Henderson, DJ Giddens, Cameron Scattabo.
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Speaker 3: Okay, So, I mean I think between those two positions we're going to get something. At forty and fifty we like, yeah, what's the best way to juggle it?
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Speaker 2: That's the question, right which is going to get us? I think right now I would lean running back defensive tackle.
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Speaker 3: See, I was looking at it differently. If I was just if I had to take a dtackle here, I think i'd take Alexander or Williams.
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Speaker 2: Yes, because I'll find a thill. Be great, Yeah, I'll find a noose. I agree, that's that's not the that's not the worst.
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Speaker 3: I mean, if you really wanted to nerd out, and I know it doesn't quite work on this, I would look at a draft and be like, how many running back landing spots are there? Because there's two or three we like? Yeah, and the chances they get scooped up between forty and fifty that great. I don't know, I'd pretty happy with Alexander. I don't love the chances of him getting.
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Speaker 2: The fifth I don't love it either. That's a good point by you. Okay, so you might take Alexander.
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Speaker 3: Might be unhappy with both Ohio State guys falling off the board is the concern. But Johnson's there too, right, Yeah, I'm not as big on him, but okay, I mean I think if either Ohio State running backs they are at fifty, we're pretty happy, right, I mean that's the goal.
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Speaker 2: Yeah, all right, let's take Alexander taking Alexander. Okay, and we're now up at fifty and all three running backs still there, Caleb Johnson, quinch On Jenkins, Trevon Henderson.
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Speaker 3: Johnson's my third choice.
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Speaker 2: I like probably I probably like Judkins the best just because he brings you a little something different than what you have. But they could also be I mean, they brought in right last week from.
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Speaker 3: We've talked a lot about is their mold changing? Maybe maybe not.
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Speaker 2: The Juggins doesn't.
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Speaker 3: Judgin's pretty good matter.
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Speaker 2: He doesn't change yet for me because he can get to the edge, he can do those kind of things.
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Speaker 3: I'd prefer Junkins as well.
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Speaker 2: Yeah, all right, okay, Judkins is the pick.
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Speaker 3: Now we get two thirds? No, we got one third? Correct, Okay, we are now up now at this point, I don't think there's a position you have to have, but it knows what could be attractive. Quarterback would quarterback would be something I look at a project tackle that might be a guard or whatever. It would be something I'm interested in. But you consider corner be kind of low on the list.
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Speaker 2: Lower on the list. I think you have some needs that you need to fill in here. Jylen Milroe is there TJ. Sanders is there, but you've already taken an end.
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Speaker 3: Yeah, said, I don't think that's a plan.
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Speaker 2: Alfred Collins is there.
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Speaker 3: I'm fine with that.
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Speaker 2: Jared Wilson in the center out of Georgia, Shamar Turner defensive tackle to Texas A and N Latham Ramsen safety out of Ohio State. Ashton Jillette and Josiah Stewart ed rushers out of Louisville and Michigan. Gunner Helm tighten out of Texas. Holland Pierce offensive tackle out of Rutgers. DJ Giddens running back.
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Speaker 3: At a K state on the Ohio State.
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Speaker 2: Guys, when yours is there, Jordan Birch, the off edge rusher out of Oregon, I think I think you take Collins.
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Speaker 3: Yeah, that's a nice and fusion of talent on.
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Speaker 2: Your You just got a lot better up front, a lot younger, and certainly.
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Speaker 3: Trade down kind of made that happen.
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Speaker 2: Collins might be your Day one starter at those tile Yeah.
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Speaker 3: Yeah, real good chance. Yeah, no, sign me up for that, all right? Two huge players.
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Speaker 2: Yeah, and you've now mined from the strength of the draft.
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Speaker 3: Now it's bonus prizes. Yeah, you know, all right, we're up at once at your back and you got your two d lineman.
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Speaker 2: At one twenty three when yours there. Want to take a look at the quarterbacks available viewers? Is there? Dylan Gabriel's there, Tyler Schuck is there? Riley Leonard is there, cal McCord, Curtis Rourke.
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Speaker 3: I take shuck time to thought. We have the same car fis every week. Yeah, I mean I don't think he'll be there. We could take them. What are the positions are available or what are some of what's like? The tackle at the wide receivers? Bus of wideouts are an interesting Ricky.
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Speaker 2: White out of un l V, Pat Bryant out of Illinois, Nick Nash out of San Jose eight San Jose State. I should say THEOIESE junior Kobe Hudson ill love this at all. Offensive tackle as you're looking at Logan Brown out of Kansas, Chase Lunt out of Yukon, Charles Grant out of William and Mary. All those guys are Trey Whidig at a Indiana.
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Speaker 3: I like first three again. Tackles don't go in trees and they turn into compicts when they leave. Of course i'd take shock, but we can't have that conversation every day. Of everything.
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Speaker 2: You like, I kind of like Grant, but of the.
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Speaker 3: Tackles, he's my favorite. Yeah, you don't need anything from him this year, probably.
00:09:11
Speaker 2: And maybe he lines up for you as an extra tight end. Maybe he's maybe winds up playing some guard for you. Who knows.
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Speaker 3: But no, talented tackles are something every team should describe no matter what.
00:09:22
Speaker 2: Okay, Charles Grant, offensive tackle out of William and Mary it is. We're up next at one fifty six. A lot of big people, yes, and again building through the trenches. Yeah, all right, now we are up at one fifty six. Riley Leonard is there, cal McCord is there. Curtis Rourke is there, Max Brosmer, Brady Cook. Those are your quarterbacks.
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Speaker 3: Work's probably my favorite, but several of those would fit the bill, I think.
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Speaker 2: Again. The thing with Rourke, I don't think medicals are going to show it.
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Speaker 3: Could be bad, could be bad. We won't know that until draft day. Probably.
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Speaker 2: Nick Nash is still there at wide receiver, the oisee. Kobe Hudson, Antoine Walls junior.
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Speaker 3: Yeah, how about a defensive back?
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Speaker 2: Let me see here, cornerbacks you're looking at Tommy Hill out of Nebraska, Jabbar Mohammad out of Oregon, No Williams at of col Upton Stout out of Western Kentucky. I kind of like Upton Stole.
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Speaker 3: I say Stout so I'm a fan of. I don't think Eccles means you don't go that you're done at slotness.
00:10:28
Speaker 2: Yeah, because Eckles can play outside both could I could take two bites out of that apple.
00:10:32
Speaker 3: And try to really improve on special team. Yeah, that's my favorite name so far.
00:10:37
Speaker 2: He could take up in Stout out of Western Kentucky. It's kind of like Mike Hilton, young, Mike.
00:10:41
Speaker 3: Hilton, real tough, right, safety back runs better? Oh ye faster? Yeah, yeah, No, I'm fine with that. All right.
00:10:48
Speaker 2: We got another pick at one eighty five. This is our final pick. So if we're gonna take a quarterback, we got to do it here.
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Speaker 3: And if we don't, we don't we should.
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Speaker 2: Cal McCord, Curtis Rourke, Max Brosmer, Cook cam Miller out of North Dakota State, and Donovan Smith out of Houston.
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Speaker 3: Those top two or three, it would all be fine with me. I mean, I don't know what to think in terms of like just because they signed Mason Rudolph, Does that not mean they don't want running quarterbacks anymore? I don't think that's true, you know, but the fact that they did sign Mason Rudolph makes me think maybe they'd be fine with McCord. You know, he rips it over the middle, and yeah, he's a good year.
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Speaker 2: There's also you can look at it this way too, The fact that they signed Mason Rudolph means you have the time to deal with Rourke's injury stuff. If he's medically okay, you don't have to play him.
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Speaker 3: He's inactive for time being.
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Speaker 2: The only problem I have with it is he's the earliest, doesn't get on the field until training camp.
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Speaker 3: Yeah. I mean, he could be bad medicals.
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Speaker 2: It could be you just eat the year period, which.
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Speaker 3: Is an idea, but those are the two names. To me, is Becord or Rourke? I think I like Rorke. I like better.
00:12:01
Speaker 2: Well, yeah, all right, let's take Rourke. We can we can afford to wait because we got Mason Rudolph.
00:12:05
Speaker 3: And the we're assuming Mason's a two in this exercise. By the way, I like it. I like the dtackle situation.
00:12:14
Speaker 2: It actually worked out pretty well, so we ended up getting with the trade down to forty and fifty for twenty one. In our last pick, Darius Alexander at forty, defensive tackle out of Toledo. At fifty, we took Quinn Shawn Jenkins, the running back out of Ohio State. At eighty three, Alfred Collins, nose tackle out of Texas. Had some good history of nose tackles out of Texas.
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Speaker 3: Yeah, anything of that.
00:12:42
Speaker 2: At one twenty three, we took Charles Grant, offensive lineman out of William and Mary. I don't even if he turns into a guard, that's fine, whatever, right, but we've just added depth to our defensive line, our offensive line.
00:12:53
Speaker 3: Grab those guys.
00:12:53
Speaker 2: When we took upon Stout, he'll play, he'll play somewhere, and he's gonna be a demon on special teams. And then at one eight five we took Curtis work the quarterback out of Indiana.
00:13:03
Speaker 3: The quarterback and tackle. We'll see what happens down the road. But those are the positions you can't find ever in the outside the organization.
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Speaker 2: You know, again, when defensive tackles are going fifteen to twenty million dollars a year on the open markets to twenty six million dollars a year on the open market, taking those, taking two of them in a draft that's just riddled with them.
00:13:28
Speaker 3: And I think there makes a lot of Slayers fit the Steeler mold in terms of physicality and size and strength and that type of thing too. They're not finess type guys.
00:13:37
Speaker 2: Here's the thing too with Alexander. Because I'm now not paying the premium fifth round or first round fifty year option on him, I don't care to these twenty four Noah, No, I don't really either. Yeah, I'll probably still I can still get two contracts out of him playing that position.
00:13:53
Speaker 3: Yeah, as opposed to thirty thirty one.
00:13:56
Speaker 2: Yeah, he's a hit. As opposed to having to pay his pick up his fifty year option when he's twenty seven to twenty eight.
00:14:01
Speaker 3: Years old, which might prohibit you from doing it, right, Who knows if he has a couple of injuries between now and then or whatever. I mean, the league's not kind to people. Yeah, I like the.
00:14:10
Speaker 2: I don't I don't mind giving up the fifth year option possibility.
00:14:15
Speaker 3: It's such a rare thing anyways. I mean, it's not Jamar Chase coming out or Penny sol Yeah, you know. I mean, there's the chances that if you'd just stuck with your original pick, you just did pick up a fifth year option. Who knows.
00:14:26
Speaker 2: I just want to look here and see who did New Orleans came up to get and they moved up to get Matthew Golden.
00:14:34
Speaker 3: Okay, see that what was their first pick?
00:14:37
Speaker 2: They took Nick Scouton.
00:14:40
Speaker 3: Okay, they need both everything. I could see that. Yeah, and Golden would be fine. But the Seelers weren't going to be in that market right now.
00:14:47
Speaker 2: Yeah, the defensive tackles drafted after that.
00:14:51
Speaker 3: No Grant went in the second round.
00:14:52
Speaker 2: Yeah, Colson loved them. Went to the Chargers. Edgibika went to the Packers. Chavon Revel twenty four to the Vikings, jodd A Baron at twenty five to the forty nine Ers, who traded back up into the first round. Donovan has a echo to the Rams, Walter Nolan to the Ravens. I don't love that. Derreck Harmon goes at twenty eight to the Lions. Mike Green to the Commander's edge rusher, and Marshall g Odd Campbell to the Bills at thirty the linebacker out of Alabama, Grey Zabel goes to the Chiefs at thirty one, and Donovan Jackson, the guard from Ohio State.
00:15:31
Speaker 3: Goes to the Eagles. There's a lot of players when we were on the board. Yeah, I like to trade down experiment though with picking up two seconds, it's kind of fun.
00:15:39
Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't know the I didn't realize the Saints have two seconds, but.
00:15:42
Speaker 3: I didn't either. Who did they trade to make that happen? I don't remember. I don't recall either. A lot of more.
00:15:48
Speaker 2: Probably, Oh, there you go.
00:15:49
Speaker 3: That makes sense.
00:15:49
Speaker 2: Yeah, that makes yeah, that makes some sense. So they could be a team that they're always aggressive to move. We're going to try to get into that, whether they shoul they've had years when they've had two draft picks, they've been so aggressive.
00:16:01
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think there's I think they averaged like four and a half picks over the last five years. It's the lowest of the league. Yeah, they trade up for Penning and after it taken.
00:16:08
Speaker 2: With what they're doing there, we're going to try to win again there.
00:16:15
Speaker 3: They and I do not see football the same way, but they see it a very distinct way and they don't ever differ from it. It's aggressive.
00:16:22
Speaker 2: I could understand a team to your point before about the wide receivers wanting to get back into the first round to get a wide receiver.
00:16:28
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, I mean I Buka or one of these type of guys or yeah, I mean, I don't think Golden gets out of the first round. Yeah, have to run as well as he did. You know, but just how many are you going? Yea?
00:16:37
Speaker 2: Some of the offensive tackle I mean the three offensive tackles. Top three offensive tackles went in the top ten.
00:16:44
Speaker 3: That including Campbell.
00:16:46
Speaker 2: That's yeah, Banks and Campbell and Membo all went top ten. Tyler Booker went twelve for all the reasons we talked about. Banks screams like a guy that could get overdrafted. Yeah, you know, because of the position he played. They might even say these bad. But I could see on draft day, like, wow, he went seventh overall. Okay, I mean I get it.
00:17:05
Speaker 3: Yeah, I don't think he is super high upside.
00:17:07
Speaker 2: Yeah, no, I hear you. But yeah, it's interesting, just a little different approach to that one. Having again, I would love to be able to get back into the second round somehow. There's a lot of without trading George Pickens.
00:17:21
Speaker 3: Oh, right, how do you do that other than trade back in round one? Right, that's the process. Yeah, So it was so weird to me last year.
00:17:29
Speaker 2: So I mean, if you look at it that way too, you got DK metcalf Darius, Alexander Quinn, Shawn Judkins, Alfred Collins, Charles Grant.
00:17:37
Speaker 3: Yeah, he's definitely part of the draft. Yeah, he gave a second und picked directly for him. Right. It was so weird to meet last year when the Texans traded out of like the early twenties, way before the draft, not knowing exactly what was going to be there.
00:17:52
Speaker 2: Usually that happens draft day.
00:17:53
Speaker 3: Would you considered now, you know, like the Saints calleg he said, we'll give you forty and fifty for twenty or you know for this, would you do it way ahead of time?
00:18:03
Speaker 2: I don't think they would do it.
00:18:05
Speaker 3: I think you'd be so you'd kick yourself like crazy, Yeah, saying, man, our favorite nineteen That could typically.
00:18:12
Speaker 2: You only do that to trade into the first round or trade or do that kind of thing if you're in the market to get a quarterback.
00:18:18
Speaker 3: Yeah, which is what the Vikings, Which is what the Vikings. I just didn't understand why Houston did it last year.
00:18:22
Speaker 2: It's the same thing that forty nine Ers did when they moved up to get as it turned out Lance.
00:18:26
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, they were just I think the Eagles did that. The wentz here too. They just kept trading up and trading up and packaging up going up to the draft. Really do that on draft day it is to make all those moves. Yeah. Yeah. So now someone blew my doors off though and said, we'll give you two pretty nice but they're.
00:18:43
Speaker 2: Not going to do it to move up to now for a wide receiver that they don't know if he's going to be there or not, right.
00:18:48
Speaker 3: Right right, You have to be a team trying to get up to a quarterback. Yeah, hyeah, I don't know who that is. This year. It's different than last year. Yeah.
00:18:54
Speaker 2: I could see somebody wanting to trade into the end of the first round while the draft is going on. We got to go get Jackson dart or we gotta go get I can see that, Yeah.
00:19:03
Speaker 3: I could see that. Yeah, especially if Sanders goes real early. Then all of a sudden, it's like, think if it goes if by chance it goes Ward Sanders and you're the Giants sitting there.
00:19:18
Speaker 2: You're not waiting till the top of the second round.
00:19:20
Speaker 3: No way. I mean you took Hunter or Carter or whatever, and you're fine, but your owner's like, we'res the quarterback, right, and you're getting a quarterback thirty fifth pick. I'm calling Steelers and making that Dart.
00:19:32
Speaker 2: Or everybody from twenty down. I'm on the phones trying.
00:19:35
Speaker 3: To work all those playoff teams, right, I mean, especially if darts this much higher than everybody else or whatever, you kind of have to They're in a bind. Yeah, they have to get a quarterback. And I don't know if Titans are open for business. I tend to think they're not. Yeah, so I don't know what the Giants are in a pickle. Giants and Browns could really overpay for quarterbacks this year, yeah, because they have to.
00:19:57
Speaker 2: Anyways, let's get to a break. That's our latest small draft. Tomorrow we'll do some more rankings that kind of stuff, but let's get to a break. He is the Matt Williamson. I'm Dale Lolly. You're listening to the Driver here on the Steelers Audio Network, and of course you can hear the Drive every Monday through Friday right here. On these very airwaves. You can also download the Steelers mobile app. You get it there along with our Triple Take videos and all that good stuff.
00:20:21
Speaker 3: He tackles it up today, right, yeah, think so? Yeah, yep.
00:20:24
Speaker 2: And well you can also check out our YouTube page. Give us a thumbs up on there. That goes over well apparently as far as the algorithms and everything goes. Let everybody know, and you can leave your comments on there. But we're gonna get to a break. We'll be back with more right after.
00:20:40
Speaker 1: This is the Drive with Dale Lolly and Matt Williamson on your twenty four to seven home of the Black and Gold in Steelers Nation Radio.
00:20:56
Speaker 2: And welcome back. I am Dale LOLLI he is the Matt Williamson. And we'll get a little news here. While we were talking draft, the Steelers went out and have agreed to terms with former Chiefs and Brown safety one Thornhill.
00:21:12
Speaker 3: Yeah. To add to the equation. I think he was the second round pick of the Chiefs. Yes, and we're talking about slightly just before we hit record here for the segment. Really good tester, explosive, vertical, very versatile in terms of slot, deep, middle, too high. Not the biggest, roughest, strong safety body type, but real fluid. It's a nice pickup. I mean that's your third safety. Like, I don't think he's in challenge those top two to be a starter, but you could do a lot of different packages. He could play the deep middle and make it comes down or whatever. I like to pick up a lot.
00:21:50
Speaker 2: Yeah, six foot two oh five ran a four to four to two at his combine his long arm with a forty four inch vertical.
00:21:57
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's crazy.
00:21:59
Speaker 2: Eleven nine in the broad jump. Wow, and he still did twenty one reps on the bench. Yeah, has played a specimen right, played a lot of free safety over the years, in addition to also coming down and playing slot more so with the Chiefs than he did slot with the Browns.
00:22:16
Speaker 3: In the slot, yeah, the Browns, like the Steelers, are pretty predominant single high defense more than most teams. So many teams are playing cover two two high shells these two or two that don't. So I think he's much more Minca than Elliott in terms of usage. I'm not saying he's as good as Menca. I mean I think people get my drift here that he's in a typical three cover high three shell. He's probably your middle guy more often than not. Big Nickel is something they've kind of gotten away from that. It mostly because their linebackers are better now than they used to be. Not that they couldn't play big Nickel, but now you can with the third. You can make the argument he's one of your best fifteen defensive players or so. You know that he could get serious rotation.
00:23:00
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think he's an upgrade over KZ for sure. For sure in that regard way different athlete, a way different athlete, different sized athlete. It gives you the potential to be both your strong and you're free. He did play your strong safety in Kansas City as.
00:23:13
Speaker 3: Well, way better length. Yeah, they look like different people coming in, I'm sure.
00:23:18
Speaker 2: And he gives you a guy that you know against a lot of these teams that line up with their tight end in the slot. Well, now you've gotten the joke. You've got two guys capable of handling those and still keeping Meca back.
00:23:31
Speaker 3: Deep obvious connection to the division too. He's played against all these guys who understands what Lamar is, He understands what Burrow is. I mean, there's something to be said for that I like it.
00:23:42
Speaker 2: I mean, also I assume has a pretty good understanding what Mahomes is. Yeah, probably too, practicing against him for four years.
00:23:49
Speaker 3: Yeah, so I like it. It also kind of eliminates a draft need maybe needs a strength. But I always thought they might take.
00:23:58
Speaker 2: Well, if we had known that going into what we just did, maybe we don't take Upton Stout.
00:24:04
Speaker 3: Maybe not. You know, like you got the two smaller slot type guys in Beanie and Eccles, and you got your bigger one now in Thornhill war Amenca. You know, depending on what you show, so they might be. Are they done at defensive back? I think wats being out there is kind of important too.
00:24:24
Speaker 2: I think they I think they might be.
00:24:25
Speaker 3: I mean, if anything, maybe it's just an outside corner. You're shocked. Is there in the fifth round that you had a third round grade on? That's about right? And again, this is which means they're back. Seven's done.
00:24:38
Speaker 2: This is what the Steelers do every single year. And again it might not be the flashiest signings or anything like that, but.
00:24:47
Speaker 3: Do you think Elliott was a flashiest sign right?
00:24:51
Speaker 2: You know, he was just okay, right, you know, it was all about the queen signing. Well, this year it's been all about you know, a DK Metcalf and you know Darius Slay, Right, what are they doing a defensive tackle? They'll they'll figure that out in the draft, but they typically set themselves up so that they don't have to go in to the draft. We got to take this, We got to take that, I.
00:25:13
Speaker 3: Mean early, because we talked through this just looking at like the final roster defensively, I kind of and they came to agreement with the defensive tackle from New England too. But I don't think it's a rotational pie. I don't think that that's that's a lowry, that's a warmly. I mean, yeah, he's fine. I'm not saying he's not a good player. But if you could add two d tackles in your draft and everything else is offense, I think that's about all you need now. I mean, in terms of filling out my defensive depth chart, I'd love that and nose and another defensive tackle. Yeah. Okay, you know, and maybe that's less than a little with the signing yesterday, but that doesn't mean.
00:25:51
Speaker 2: Me the thing. You know, for example, over the weekend, the Titans kinda woozy, eh, Yeah, who's a good NFL cornerback?
00:25:59
Speaker 3: I would sniff around.
00:26:00
Speaker 2: They just signed him last year.
00:26:02
Speaker 3: He was worth a lot last year, all of a sudden, and all of.
00:26:04
Speaker 2: A sudden, he's not. There might be a defensive tackle cut loose here in the next couple of weeks, and like, you know, for a woozy it was like, okay, they signed him. I think he played like seven or eight games and was hurt. Yeah, and so they said, okay, we're gonna move on this guy while he was hurt. Who's the defensive I don't know who the defensive tackles, but there will be somebody out there.
00:26:25
Speaker 3: Grady Jeric got cut. He got picked up by the Bears next day. You know. I mean like there's always at every position, not really quarterback, but I mean someone that's worth being on a roster and helping a good team will pop up. Yeah, but they may not even need it.
00:26:40
Speaker 2: And the thing is, we're now past that opening wave of free agency. Where As I said earlier, it's like if I'm in Target, which is a fine store. Sure, I like Target. I liked what they got in there. There's nice stuff. I can buy clothes at Target or whatever, and be perfectly happy for them. But when I'm at Target, I don't want to pay Macy's prices, right.
00:27:01
Speaker 3: Right, right right. I don't want to buy this agency.
00:27:04
Speaker 2: I don't want to buy this thirty dollars jacket for sixty dollars or one hundred dollars. I want to buy it for thirty dollars. That's why I'm a Target.
00:27:10
Speaker 3: Yeah, buy kitty litter Target, Yeah, and bananas over there.
00:27:15
Speaker 2: I'm not ripping on Target at all. I do lots of shopping there. There's one rate by my house. I'm there all the time.
00:27:20
Speaker 3: Williamson Family's spent a lot of money to the Target, right.
00:27:23
Speaker 2: But I don't want to. I don't want to buy my one hundred dollars jacket there and expected, well, this is a really nice hundred Oh it's not such a nice sme.
00:27:30
Speaker 3: It's what we paid for it. Yeah. Yeah, And that is kind of free agency this year in particular, in most years, but not at this point. I mean again, I don't know what's going on with quarterback. I don't know what Rogers is going to cost, or Wilson or any of those dudes. That's a different beast. But teams plucking the thorn heels of the world up now are usually pretty happy with it. I know what he does. I'm going to pay him what I want to pay him, not what his agent wanted to pay him a week ago. And I got a roll.
00:27:55
Speaker 2: For and for the players that are out there right now, not you're worried. These guys are starting to go. Okay, the seats are starting to get taken here, I'm walking around the chairs. I'm walking around the chairs and music still playing. But at some point it's going to turn off and them, what and you sign.
00:28:13
Speaker 3: A one year deal and I'll roll the dice next year. Yeah, it adds up to me.
00:28:18
Speaker 2: That was the other thing. And he does a great job of tracking this stuff. But you know, and I'm listening to Miller and on to last night, and he was talking about all the guys signing. He says, after that opening salvo free agency, you're going to see a bunch of guys sign one year deal because they're going to play in the league this year.
00:28:36
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:28:36
Speaker 2: Yeah, But the guys who got the four years at twenty six million dollars or whatever, all right, those were the big ticket items. Now these are the guys that are going to play in the league. But they just won another year in the league.
00:28:50
Speaker 3: Yeah yeah, get get a paycheck, a nice paycheck. Yeah, by human standards, you know, maybe not what you expected. There's four year deals. They're never going to see the end of the man never, but they pounce on him. Good for them. They get the big bonus, they get guaranteed money. This is what most NFL players. Yeah, Like you've said this a bunch of the last couple of weeks. There's still five hundred unemployed NFL players or whatever. You know. You got roster the.
00:29:13
Speaker 2: One Thornhill's out there who's been a starter his entire career.
00:29:17
Speaker 3: He's played.
00:29:18
Speaker 2: He's played an eighty seven career games, seventy four of them starts. He is a starting caliber playing round pick. Yeah right, I mean, this guy's a big time athlete. He'll be coming here not to be a starter, right, but to be a key backup. KZ played a lot of snaps for them last year.
00:29:34
Speaker 3: He'll lose menka, right. I mean, it's like we got to change the whole defense. Now, you got to do get they can do that.
00:29:40
Speaker 2: You know, for example, you get into that game late in the year and elliotts is out, which is what happened to them.
00:29:47
Speaker 3: Remember the safeties and the linebackers they rolled out two years ago. The right stuff happens. It's a long year and it's a war of attrition.
00:29:54
Speaker 2: Now you're you know, it's it's very much like the Lowry signing a year ago. You got a guy coming off your bench now who's got ninety plus career starts, and it's like, he's not going to be overwhelmed going into this situation.
00:30:05
Speaker 3: Exactly who he is.
00:30:06
Speaker 2: R Yeah, one Thornhill. If he has to start. They have a situation like they had last year where they're down what five defensive starters against the in the second matchup down in Baltimore, they were missing five starters in that game.
00:30:18
Speaker 3: Yeah, Yeah, that's what the league is. Yeah, and you know, and he would have been like, oh, okay, I played Baltimore years.
00:30:27
Speaker 2: We want to step right in. Not the Kzy wasn't no, But this is a better place. I think it's a better better player.
00:30:33
Speaker 3: I assume he's younger than KZ too.
00:30:35
Speaker 2: He's twenty nine right now.
00:30:36
Speaker 3: Okay, yeah it makes sense. So and I would think, who knows, but I think you're going to keep those three killerbrew Watts. It's a pretty good safety room. It's good safety, real good safety.
00:30:46
Speaker 2: Room, right, one of the better safety rooms in the league.
00:30:48
Speaker 3: Yeah, no question.
00:30:48
Speaker 2: I mean honestly, if you're adding you're adding a wan Thornhill and you're not expecting him to start. He's your third safety, yeah, and your fourth safety is a two time All Pro on special teams you got maybe the and your your number one safety is a multi time All Pro top guy. You might have the best safety room in the league.
00:31:12
Speaker 3: It's really strong. I was sitting there thinking I almost didn't say it, but whenever you went down that road, I'm like, I bet thorn Hill's still a top thirty two safety. You know that a lot of teams would think he's one of their top two. Yeah, you know, and he's your three. And again I wouldn't mind seeing a little more big nickel. But you're gonna put eleven on the field too, you know.
00:31:30
Speaker 2: And he'll play four hundred to five hundred snaps this year. They'll find ways get him on the field easily.
00:31:35
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think let alone. If there's injury, yeah, we hope it's only that number, right, you know, but people get hurt.
00:31:42
Speaker 2: I mean, if everything's right, Mika's playing over a thousand snaps.
00:31:47
Speaker 3: I mean, think about them. Again, I'm just spitballing. But if you have Wilson Queen and those three safeties on the field, that's a lot of middle of the field speed compared to what they used to play with in the middle of the field. Yeah, I mean that was a big problem for a lot lot of time. I mean, you're not crossers and play action and that kind of stuff. You should be really good against that stuff.
00:32:10
Speaker 2: The interesting thing here is that Thornhill in his first four seasons had eight interceptions when he was in Kansas City, Okay, the last two years with the Browns none.
00:32:22
Speaker 3: I don't know what to make of it. I mean, I just way different environments.
00:32:25
Speaker 2: Yeah, whatether it was the way they were using him. As I mentioned, Kansas City used him more in the slot and then free safety as well, where you know, I mean he's taking the ball away.
00:32:36
Speaker 3: He's been on some good Browns defenses, especially two.
00:32:39
Speaker 2: Years two years ago in twenty twenty three, and was a good player for them.
00:32:42
Speaker 3: I mean, I'm thinking, obviously the difference is Kansas City played a lot more leads than the Browns. During his his stint, the Chiefs and Steelers the best teams in the league getting their hands on batted passes, you know, and that always leads to picks, and probably more than anything, it's luck. I mean, I don't think he got bad at picking the ball.
00:33:02
Speaker 2: No, we talked about with me, like, okay, there's it's.
00:33:05
Speaker 3: A hard thing to count on. Yeah. The interception leader every year is usually a corner that gets thrown at over and over who isn't very good, you know. Anyways, now I like to pick up.
00:33:15
Speaker 2: So that's that's that's the latest Steelers signing here, and again there's going to be more of these type of deals happening here. Again, maybe they're one year deals, but again I like doing the one year deals.
00:33:28
Speaker 3: I'm not sure what positions you're looking at now, Like I really think the back seven's done.
00:33:33
Speaker 2: I could see another offensive tackle, Yeah, on a a one year deal. Who's a guy with some starting experience that.
00:33:40
Speaker 3: I'm gonna get kind of crazy? But if what if a Marii Cooper or Stefan Diggs or some is still sitting out there a week from now and want to sign a one year deal and be like, we'll figure out something to do with you. I mean, it's not gonna be a quarterback. It's not gonna be a running back.
00:33:53
Speaker 2: I think I need offensively. I think I need to figure out before I have more skill position players. I think I need to know what I'm doingquarterback.
00:34:00
Speaker 3: I also would mind the her big replacement type guy, that guy.
00:34:02
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's why offensive line to me, just adding another offensive lineman to the mix who's played an.
00:34:08
Speaker 3: NFL games and they won't be superstars at this note, but they'll be pretty tough guys.
00:34:12
Speaker 2: Guys who've been in the league five or six years, who've you know, they've started twenty games.
00:34:17
Speaker 3: And going back to O line. The more you draft, the more you sign these Thornhills, the more you get the William and Mary tackle in the third round. Yourself up for that too.
00:34:27
Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't have to take a fourth round safety now because right that spot's filled. Now I can take it.
00:34:33
Speaker 3: Cap money for the bird in the hand, and now I'm gonna draft O lineman even if I don't need them, because everyone in the world needs. Yeah.
00:34:40
Speaker 2: We talked about it last year during camp that you know they get eleven offensive linemen here that have our NFL players, Well, they'll probably only keep nine or ten. Could they trade one of them? Well, as it turned out, you know, Herbie three herbig gets hurting camp, right, and you had a ration of injuries early in the season. You're signing guys off the street because that's the way that.
00:35:00
Speaker 3: I mean, two or three more moves like this, or maybe even not even that many. That fourth round guard is sitting there that you can't believe is like, maybe that's the McCormick. You might take a McCormick this year that we've never taken in our mocks because the roster wasn't filled out yet. And where you take the right right right, you know, see them Alla's gonna be back.
00:35:20
Speaker 2: Because it's such a deep draft with some of these positions that you you know, you just can't believe that that guy's still there.
00:35:25
Speaker 3: Wow, there's an edge pass rusher doesn't seem like a need. But DJ's not young, and those guys would be right right, right, two years left on his deal yet, right, So that's a good situation being.
00:35:38
Speaker 2: Absolutely But again three D chess don't look at things just two dimensionally. You have to look at all these moves like, Okay, what's this do? What's what's the fallout from this kind of stuff?
00:35:49
Speaker 3: So cool?
00:35:50
Speaker 2: Yeah? Good signing wasn't on my radar for no.
00:35:53
Speaker 3: No. I even mentioned it I think late last week and like a Storrenhill still out there because we were talking about the Browns and we're going through depth charts and I'm like, so, yeah, to be signed by.
00:36:01
Speaker 2: Now, yeah, good player, not a great player, but a good player. No, no, it'll be a valuable piece. Yeah, and uh athletic. You know, if he's not one of the top thirty two safeties in the league, he's probably in the top thirty six.
00:36:13
Speaker 3: Yeah, say he's top forty or whatever. I mean. He's an NFL player all day long, and we'll play a lot of snaps for any team.
00:36:18
Speaker 2: Absolutely, But let's get to a break.
00:36:20
Speaker 3: Cool.
00:36:20
Speaker 2: He is the Matt Williamson. I am Dale Lolly. This is the Drive on the Steelers Audio Network and we will be back with more right after this.
00:36:33
Speaker 1: He's the Drive with Dale Lolly and Matt Williamson on your twenty four to seven home of the Black and Gold Steelers Nation.
00:36:41
Speaker 2: Radio and we are back. I am Dale Lolly. He is the Matt Williamson and while we're in break there. According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, the Steelers bringing back defensive lineman Isaiah Laudermilk.
00:36:57
Speaker 3: It's keep coming here on the drive, right, and every day it's one year deal week. It is one year deal week, and again just picking up little bargains, you know, filling out the roster. They generally keep seven defensive linemen and they've signed two basically in the last two days. I can't guarantee the louder Milk will be on the opening day Ross.
00:37:16
Speaker 2: Again, you hoped out draft those guys. It's a one year deal, so there's not a lot of money involved.
00:37:21
Speaker 3: And it's easy to go into the draft saying we're going to take two, but you might not might right right right, And you know, you can live with him. He's a homegrown talent. He's fine, you know what I mean. I don't have any problem with that at all. Again, you have cap space. It's not hurting your comp picks or anything like that.
00:37:36
Speaker 2: Although defense, you know how you don't have to guess about what his work habits are or anything like that.
00:37:43
Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm fine with it.
00:37:44
Speaker 2: It's much like you know, they announced the signings of Ben Skernic and Scotty Miller today and oh boy, Scotty Miller. He's not guaranteed to make the roster. If you got signed to a one year deal, you're not guaranteed of anything.
00:38:00
Speaker 3: I mean, like Thornhill is going to make the team. Yeah, I think that's a higher roster move. Thankronic got a two year deal. He's going to make the roster, right. I don't know what kind of guarantee money Thornhill got ors Goronic, but I'm sure it's something, you know, like we like you, we're going to be around. I don't know about you, k Lee. I assume he'd be ahead on the depth one year deal. I think he's probably in the mix, you know. I would think he's ahead of louder Milk in terms of chances to make the team.
00:38:27
Speaker 2: They signed him before they signed I don't know. I can't here that he started sixteen games last year for the Patriots. Now it was the Patriots and they weren't right terribly, you know.
00:38:39
Speaker 3: And I'll be honest, I didn't know a ton about him. And his PFF grades are decent. He's quality run stuff or he has some sacks. He's okay, you know, what I mean. But he's not a needle mover. I think he doesn't stop you from guy and right right, it's not like they're out of the first round D line mix. Not at all, not even a little, right, not at all in the mix. Yeah.
00:38:59
Speaker 2: So again this is you know, this is where I think you in this over the years, this is where the Steelers have done most of their shopping. And it you know, again, I don't I don't want to pay Macy's prices. My target my target coat.
00:39:18
Speaker 3: But you go get the slaves and there wasn't a receiver to go get those comparable to DK metal.
00:39:23
Speaker 2: Which is why you made the trade.
00:39:24
Speaker 3: Godwin's not going anywhere.
00:39:25
Speaker 2: And I'm sure like the Steelers weren't even rumored to be in on that DK Metcalf. No, no, no stuff.
00:39:32
Speaker 3: There was a lot of packers like we had talked about it.
00:39:37
Speaker 2: And we had worked out we did some mock drafts for Okay, we're gonna trade for DK Metcalf and see what that looks like if we give up that second round pick or you know, but they were they weren't one of the teams that were supposedly in that market and until they were.
00:39:51
Speaker 3: Until they were, Yeah, and so you never know what's looming out there. I mean, is there a quarterback move that we didn't see coming that could be out there? I don't know. I mean that's that that big shoe is just kind of allumin in the air.
00:40:02
Speaker 2: But you know, that's the other thing. I Mean, everybody's gotten so used to listening to the quote unquote insiders that they'll believe anything if you work for a network or you work for this outlet, or that they'll believe anything that you put out there.
00:40:19
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:40:19
Speaker 2: Absolutely, you might not be an insider, but well they work for that network.
00:40:23
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:40:24
Speaker 2: That's why I don't necessarily like if I talk about you know, I'll try if Rappaport tweets it, if if Jeremy foul tweets it. These people that I know whose reputations are on the line here with this stuff.
00:40:37
Speaker 3: If it's it's like lock it up right right. Yeah.
00:40:40
Speaker 2: But if it's somebody I haven't heard of, or somebody that is questionable, so I'm not going to even talk about it.
00:40:46
Speaker 3: Or they're talking to or they're close to a deal with that stuff.
00:40:49
Speaker 2: There's so much Aaron Rodgers speculation out there, and that's what it is is speculation. At this point, to the best of my knowledge, Aaron Rodgers isn't talking to anybody. So anybody who says that they have inside information on the Aaron Rodgers situation, they're making it up.
00:41:09
Speaker 3: Yeah, he's doing whatever he does. I mean, he lives in his own world, and good for him. Yeah, And I don't know that much about your business and reporting and breaking news and being an insider. But my hunch is just being around you guys, and Pittsburgh media and national people in general, I bet the Steelers insiders like yourself, or at least his doubt and even as greate as Schifter is, so I have the most respect for. But he gets he's thirty two teams, you know what I mean, Like they might break news before you guys.
00:41:40
Speaker 2: People need to understand. And I get asked this a lot over the years, like why do they break these these stories, like these signings and stuff? Because the agents are telling them that stuff.
00:41:48
Speaker 3: Because they want the world to know. Now, they're not.
00:41:50
Speaker 2: They're not schefters, not on the phone all day long calling agents.
00:41:53
Speaker 3: They call him, call him right, He's got a bazillion followers and.
00:41:56
Speaker 2: Because you and that's that's what they do now.
00:41:59
Speaker 3: It used to be you might get scoop, well they really like this guy, or they you know, like you know people.
00:42:04
Speaker 2: That back in the day when I first started with this stuff, you would call the agent up and say, you know, hey, you know so I'm working with you know, whatever outlets you're at, and and you know, I, you know, I wanted to ask you about this guy or that guy, and they would Okay, I gotta you know. And there were some times, like I can remember I broke the I had this Santonio home signing before anybody else know to his rookie deal because he was he was holding out in training camp and I just happened to call the agent when the timing was perfect, and so I had it first big deal.
00:42:39
Speaker 3: You know.
00:42:39
Speaker 2: Now that wouldn't happen.
00:42:41
Speaker 3: Yeah, they would just call chef.
00:42:42
Speaker 2: They would just call chef, They call one of these guys there, they text three of them and just get it out there.
00:42:47
Speaker 3: Yeah. I mean the world's different now, which is.
00:42:50
Speaker 2: Why you see these guys now tweeting out when they when they send out a tweet or an X or whatever you want to call it.
00:42:55
Speaker 3: Now.
00:42:56
Speaker 2: Uh deal was negotiated by such and such.
00:43:00
Speaker 3: Mm hmm, Yeah, that's big. I really noticed that.
00:43:02
Speaker 2: It's a payback for the agent forgiving you the Yeah.
00:43:06
Speaker 3: Exactly, the kid coming out of that's what That's what.
00:43:08
Speaker 2: The agents get out of it. When he did this deal for this guy. What can he get me?
00:43:13
Speaker 3: I guess A better spot is even like training camp, Like if we're on the drive and it's like, man, I really think they love this fourth round tight end. He's gonna make the team. He might even be better than they thought. Schefter wouldn't know that. I mean we were I.
00:43:28
Speaker 2: Guarantee you we were on Jalen Warren before any example.
00:43:30
Speaker 3: Yeah, I was trying to think of an example. We were rating he was.
00:43:33
Speaker 2: We were raving about Jalen Warren in mini camp.
00:43:37
Speaker 3: I remember watching him just my eyes go and he's really good. Yeah, and then you guys that are talking to people are like, oh, they think he's really good too, you know, like it was, I mean, it didn't take an experts out. They'll see him being pretty a high quality player.
00:43:49
Speaker 2: I remember seeing that with James Harrison his rookie year, Like what's going on with his Harrison kid? He's pretty good? Yeah, he's pretty good.
00:43:56
Speaker 3: He just needs to listen. Yeah, a little bit of loose, can't. If we can watch that the right channel that energy a little bit, maybe you'll win some defensive Player of the Year. I suppose to getting cut nothing, But yeah.
00:44:09
Speaker 2: That's what you see when you're on you have boots on the ground. Yeah, yeah, those kind of things. Then you go when you talk to people and you ask them about certain guys and you get the yeah.
00:44:18
Speaker 3: Adam and e and those guys can't be boots on the ground like you know, all over the place.
00:44:22
Speaker 2: Like when I say the Steelers really liked what Troy Folatana was doing last year in training camp, I'm telling you the Steelers really like what Troytana was doing in training camp last year.
00:44:31
Speaker 3: They weren't thrilled about his injury. They were not, right, no, right, no, So they have high hopes. Yeah, and again, think about if he becomes that guy and is one of the better left tackles in the league, right tack right, I mean what an asset that is. I mean it's just huge. You get that in the middle of the first round. If that turns out to come to fruition, he stays healthy and he's a top ten right, tack on a massive right right huge? Yeah. Anyway, foundation players.
00:45:00
Speaker 2: Absolutely, and you want to keep building that foundation until you get your quarterback.
00:45:05
Speaker 3: And then you have the thornhill and the louder Milks.
00:45:08
Speaker 2: And you build a deck on the back of the house, you do the kitchen, you know that kind of stuff. Yeah, but it doesn't do you any good to put that on a poor foundation and you build all that nice stuff on it and then it caves.
00:45:18
Speaker 3: In on drafting and land a couple more this year, Matt.
00:45:22
Speaker 2: That's going to do it for the show today.
00:45:23
Speaker 3: We had a lot going on today. We did this is a barn burner.
00:45:25
Speaker 2: Absolutely, it was Monday. Lots of stuff going Onday, and lots of stuff to continue to talk about. We'll get into that more as the week continues, but for today, that's going to do it. For my partner Matt Williamson, for Justin Miller here on site making sure we sound okay, and for Tyler Wittmeyer, uh making sure our YouTube video gets out there. Check that out. We also had a little best of on Saturday.
00:45:49
Speaker 3: Step week, so you get the best of CD.
00:45:52
Speaker 2: You check out the best of on there as well. I'm Dale Allie. We Thank you for listening to this edition of The Drive on the Steelers Audio Network.
Speaker 1: At least he's the Drive with Dale Lolly and Matt Williamson on your twenty four to seven home of the Black and Gold Steelers Nation Radio.
00:00:15
Speaker 2: And we are back. I am Dale LOLLI he is the Matt Williamson. Welcome back to our number two of the drive here on the Steelers Audio Network. And Matt, it's a Monday mock draft. Okay, bellow, wild shoot we again. We'll slow down a little bit here in the mock maybe Monday, Wednesday, Friday, something like that, but let's do it. We're working on the.
00:00:37
Speaker 3: Profile become draft season in a hurry, though very much sight. It's not that far away.
00:00:41
Speaker 2: Pro Footballnetwork dot Com mock draft simulator here, just to change it up a little bit, and we're down to pick twenty one. We got three trade offers. New Orlean wants to give us picks forty and fifty.
00:00:53
Speaker 3: Wow.
00:00:54
Speaker 2: Consider Actually initially thought, oh, I don't want.
00:00:57
Speaker 3: But it might not be that different than what you're picking.
00:01:00
Speaker 2: It's not that bad.
00:01:00
Speaker 3: I'm not going to consider.
00:01:01
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm not going to reject it. Straight up. The Chargers are offering, uh, pick twenty two and eighty six for pick twenty one and one fifty six. It's like free money, Yeah, unless you're going to take your guy, right, and the Jets are offering forty two seventy three next year second and next year's fifth. I'd love the Jets next year second, but they got a bevy of next year's Steers have a bevy of next year. I mean, I'd like to get back into that second round.
00:01:31
Speaker 3: This year if possible.
00:01:32
Speaker 2: Forty and fifty is kind of fifty is kind of intriguing the Chargers.
00:01:36
Speaker 3: One's kind of dumb. I mean, to move up one pick. I mean, I kind of feel like we should dismiss those trades. They never happened. That's not going to happen, right, what's the chances they have to have our pick who they want so bad?
00:01:48
Speaker 2: But this is so I'm back to the Saints offerer of picks forty and fifty for twenty one and two twenty nine.
00:01:55
Speaker 3: I don't dislike it.
00:01:56
Speaker 2: I'm kind of inclined to take that one.
00:01:58
Speaker 3: Let's just do it because we have it. Yeah, I don't even want to ask who's there at the moment. Let let's do it because we haven't.
00:02:03
Speaker 2: And see what that Let's see what see what that looks like okay, and it might be something as you look at and go, yeah, I could say I'd definitely do that.
00:02:10
Speaker 3: So have three seconds. No, we don't have three seconds. We have two seconds.
00:02:15
Speaker 2: Oh right, right right, which is the little reason why I'm interested in getting a pick in that second round. I don't want to miss out on some of the second.
00:02:23
Speaker 3: For Day two picks. Yeah, two and two.
00:02:26
Speaker 2: Yeah, okay, we're not going to trade again here, No, it's hang it forty yeah, So I'm gonna reject both of those trade offers. Oh, at thirty nine, we just missed out on Amari and Hampton.
00:02:40
Speaker 3: I would ran the podium.
00:02:41
Speaker 2: We also just missed out on Kenneth Grant and he went thirty seventh, which is crazy to.
00:02:45
Speaker 3: Me, which is in the real world, if we would have made that trade, I'm calling guys.
00:02:49
Speaker 2: We might have been trying to get back up.
00:02:50
Speaker 3: I would call the guys after Thursday, you know, all day, all night, try to get to the first or second pick in the draft.
00:02:57
Speaker 2: Okay, so the players available here for us at four Tyler Williams, that wouldn't be bad.
00:03:03
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, that's kind of the bonus prize.
00:03:05
Speaker 2: Right defensive tackle out of Ohio State, Benjamin Morrison, cornerback out of Notre Dame, Arianta Ersrie, offensive tackle out of Minnesota, Cameron Williams, offensive tackle out of Texas, Trey Harris, wide receiver, Ole Miss, Jaylen Milroe quarterback out of Alabama, Jackson Dark quarterback out of Ole Miss. Josh Connery is still there, offensive tackle out of Oregon. I want to look specifically at defense here first. So the defensive tackles available, you're looking at TYLERK. Williams, t J. Sanders, Darius Alexander, Alfred Collins, Alexander diom Walker, Omar Norman Lott, Shamar Turner, Josh Farmer.
00:03:47
Speaker 3: Okay, it wouldn't break my heart to go detackle the tackle here.
00:03:50
Speaker 2: No, I hear you. Yeah, I just want to take a look at the running backs available. Caleb Johnson, Quinn Shawn Jenkins, Trayvon Henderson, DJ Giddens, Cameron Scattabo.
00:04:01
Speaker 3: Okay, So, I mean I think between those two positions we're going to get something. At forty and fifty we like, yeah, what's the best way to juggle it?
00:04:10
Speaker 2: That's the question, right which is going to get us? I think right now I would lean running back defensive tackle.
00:04:23
Speaker 3: See, I was looking at it differently. If I was just if I had to take a dtackle here, I think i'd take Alexander or Williams.
00:04:32
Speaker 2: Yes, because I'll find a thill. Be great, Yeah, I'll find a noose. I agree, that's that's not the that's not the worst.
00:04:42
Speaker 3: I mean, if you really wanted to nerd out, and I know it doesn't quite work on this, I would look at a draft and be like, how many running back landing spots are there? Because there's two or three we like? Yeah, and the chances they get scooped up between forty and fifty that great. I don't know, I'd pretty happy with Alexander. I don't love the chances of him getting.
00:05:03
Speaker 2: The fifth I don't love it either. That's a good point by you. Okay, so you might take Alexander.
00:05:09
Speaker 3: Might be unhappy with both Ohio State guys falling off the board is the concern. But Johnson's there too, right, Yeah, I'm not as big on him, but okay, I mean I think if either Ohio State running backs they are at fifty, we're pretty happy, right, I mean that's the goal.
00:05:27
Speaker 2: Yeah, all right, let's take Alexander taking Alexander. Okay, and we're now up at fifty and all three running backs still there, Caleb Johnson, quinch On Jenkins, Trevon Henderson.
00:05:44
Speaker 3: Johnson's my third choice.
00:05:45
Speaker 2: I like probably I probably like Judkins the best just because he brings you a little something different than what you have. But they could also be I mean, they brought in right last week from.
00:05:56
Speaker 3: We've talked a lot about is their mold changing? Maybe maybe not.
00:06:00
Speaker 2: The Juggins doesn't.
00:06:01
Speaker 3: Judgin's pretty good matter.
00:06:03
Speaker 2: He doesn't change yet for me because he can get to the edge, he can do those kind of things.
00:06:06
Speaker 3: I'd prefer Junkins as well.
00:06:08
Speaker 2: Yeah, all right, okay, Judkins is the pick.
00:06:12
Speaker 3: Now we get two thirds? No, we got one third? Correct, Okay, we are now up now at this point, I don't think there's a position you have to have, but it knows what could be attractive. Quarterback would quarterback would be something I look at a project tackle that might be a guard or whatever. It would be something I'm interested in. But you consider corner be kind of low on the list.
00:06:44
Speaker 2: Lower on the list. I think you have some needs that you need to fill in here. Jylen Milroe is there TJ. Sanders is there, but you've already taken an end.
00:06:53
Speaker 3: Yeah, said, I don't think that's a plan.
00:06:55
Speaker 2: Alfred Collins is there.
00:06:57
Speaker 3: I'm fine with that.
00:06:59
Speaker 2: Jared Wilson in the center out of Georgia, Shamar Turner defensive tackle to Texas A and N Latham Ramsen safety out of Ohio State. Ashton Jillette and Josiah Stewart ed rushers out of Louisville and Michigan. Gunner Helm tighten out of Texas. Holland Pierce offensive tackle out of Rutgers. DJ Giddens running back.
00:07:19
Speaker 3: At a K state on the Ohio State.
00:07:22
Speaker 2: Guys, when yours is there, Jordan Birch, the off edge rusher out of Oregon, I think I think you take Collins.
00:07:29
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's a nice and fusion of talent on.
00:07:32
Speaker 2: Your You just got a lot better up front, a lot younger, and certainly.
00:07:35
Speaker 3: Trade down kind of made that happen.
00:07:37
Speaker 2: Collins might be your Day one starter at those tile Yeah.
00:07:40
Speaker 3: Yeah, real good chance. Yeah, no, sign me up for that, all right? Two huge players.
00:07:46
Speaker 2: Yeah, and you've now mined from the strength of the draft.
00:07:51
Speaker 3: Now it's bonus prizes. Yeah, you know, all right, we're up at once at your back and you got your two d lineman.
00:07:57
Speaker 2: At one twenty three when yours there. Want to take a look at the quarterbacks available viewers? Is there? Dylan Gabriel's there, Tyler Schuck is there? Riley Leonard is there, cal McCord, Curtis Rourke.
00:08:11
Speaker 3: I take shuck time to thought. We have the same car fis every week. Yeah, I mean I don't think he'll be there. We could take them. What are the positions are available or what are some of what's like? The tackle at the wide receivers? Bus of wideouts are an interesting Ricky.
00:08:23
Speaker 2: White out of un l V, Pat Bryant out of Illinois, Nick Nash out of San Jose eight San Jose State. I should say THEOIESE junior Kobe Hudson ill love this at all. Offensive tackle as you're looking at Logan Brown out of Kansas, Chase Lunt out of Yukon, Charles Grant out of William and Mary. All those guys are Trey Whidig at a Indiana.
00:08:46
Speaker 3: I like first three again. Tackles don't go in trees and they turn into compicts when they leave. Of course i'd take shock, but we can't have that conversation every day. Of everything.
00:09:03
Speaker 2: You like, I kind of like Grant, but of the.
00:09:07
Speaker 3: Tackles, he's my favorite. Yeah, you don't need anything from him this year, probably.
00:09:11
Speaker 2: And maybe he lines up for you as an extra tight end. Maybe he's maybe winds up playing some guard for you. Who knows.
00:09:17
Speaker 3: But no, talented tackles are something every team should describe no matter what.
00:09:22
Speaker 2: Okay, Charles Grant, offensive tackle out of William and Mary it is. We're up next at one fifty six. A lot of big people, yes, and again building through the trenches. Yeah, all right, now we are up at one fifty six. Riley Leonard is there, cal McCord is there. Curtis Rourke is there, Max Brosmer, Brady Cook. Those are your quarterbacks.
00:09:47
Speaker 3: Work's probably my favorite, but several of those would fit the bill, I think.
00:09:51
Speaker 2: Again. The thing with Rourke, I don't think medicals are going to show it.
00:09:55
Speaker 3: Could be bad, could be bad. We won't know that until draft day. Probably.
00:10:00
Speaker 2: Nick Nash is still there at wide receiver, the oisee. Kobe Hudson, Antoine Walls junior.
00:10:05
Speaker 3: Yeah, how about a defensive back?
00:10:10
Speaker 2: Let me see here, cornerbacks you're looking at Tommy Hill out of Nebraska, Jabbar Mohammad out of Oregon, No Williams at of col Upton Stout out of Western Kentucky. I kind of like Upton Stole.
00:10:23
Speaker 3: I say Stout so I'm a fan of. I don't think Eccles means you don't go that you're done at slotness.
00:10:28
Speaker 2: Yeah, because Eckles can play outside both could I could take two bites out of that apple.
00:10:32
Speaker 3: And try to really improve on special team. Yeah, that's my favorite name so far.
00:10:37
Speaker 2: He could take up in Stout out of Western Kentucky. It's kind of like Mike Hilton, young, Mike.
00:10:41
Speaker 3: Hilton, real tough, right, safety back runs better? Oh ye faster? Yeah, yeah, No, I'm fine with that. All right.
00:10:48
Speaker 2: We got another pick at one eighty five. This is our final pick. So if we're gonna take a quarterback, we got to do it here.
00:10:53
Speaker 3: And if we don't, we don't we should.
00:10:56
Speaker 2: Cal McCord, Curtis Rourke, Max Brosmer, Cook cam Miller out of North Dakota State, and Donovan Smith out of Houston.
00:11:04
Speaker 3: Those top two or three, it would all be fine with me. I mean, I don't know what to think in terms of like just because they signed Mason Rudolph, Does that not mean they don't want running quarterbacks anymore? I don't think that's true, you know, but the fact that they did sign Mason Rudolph makes me think maybe they'd be fine with McCord. You know, he rips it over the middle, and yeah, he's a good year.
00:11:28
Speaker 2: There's also you can look at it this way too, The fact that they signed Mason Rudolph means you have the time to deal with Rourke's injury stuff. If he's medically okay, you don't have to play him.
00:11:40
Speaker 3: He's inactive for time being.
00:11:42
Speaker 2: The only problem I have with it is he's the earliest, doesn't get on the field until training camp.
00:11:47
Speaker 3: Yeah. I mean, he could be bad medicals.
00:11:50
Speaker 2: It could be you just eat the year period, which.
00:11:53
Speaker 3: Is an idea, but those are the two names. To me, is Becord or Rourke? I think I like Rorke. I like better.
00:12:01
Speaker 2: Well, yeah, all right, let's take Rourke. We can we can afford to wait because we got Mason Rudolph.
00:12:05
Speaker 3: And the we're assuming Mason's a two in this exercise. By the way, I like it. I like the dtackle situation.
00:12:14
Speaker 2: It actually worked out pretty well, so we ended up getting with the trade down to forty and fifty for twenty one. In our last pick, Darius Alexander at forty, defensive tackle out of Toledo. At fifty, we took Quinn Shawn Jenkins, the running back out of Ohio State. At eighty three, Alfred Collins, nose tackle out of Texas. Had some good history of nose tackles out of Texas.
00:12:41
Speaker 3: Yeah, anything of that.
00:12:42
Speaker 2: At one twenty three, we took Charles Grant, offensive lineman out of William and Mary. I don't even if he turns into a guard, that's fine, whatever, right, but we've just added depth to our defensive line, our offensive line.
00:12:53
Speaker 3: Grab those guys.
00:12:53
Speaker 2: When we took upon Stout, he'll play, he'll play somewhere, and he's gonna be a demon on special teams. And then at one eight five we took Curtis work the quarterback out of Indiana.
00:13:03
Speaker 3: The quarterback and tackle. We'll see what happens down the road. But those are the positions you can't find ever in the outside the organization.
00:13:11
Speaker 2: You know, again, when defensive tackles are going fifteen to twenty million dollars a year on the open markets to twenty six million dollars a year on the open market, taking those, taking two of them in a draft that's just riddled with them.
00:13:28
Speaker 3: And I think there makes a lot of Slayers fit the Steeler mold in terms of physicality and size and strength and that type of thing too. They're not finess type guys.
00:13:37
Speaker 2: Here's the thing too with Alexander. Because I'm now not paying the premium fifth round or first round fifty year option on him, I don't care to these twenty four Noah, No, I don't really either. Yeah, I'll probably still I can still get two contracts out of him playing that position.
00:13:53
Speaker 3: Yeah, as opposed to thirty thirty one.
00:13:56
Speaker 2: Yeah, he's a hit. As opposed to having to pay his pick up his fifty year option when he's twenty seven to twenty eight.
00:14:01
Speaker 3: Years old, which might prohibit you from doing it, right, Who knows if he has a couple of injuries between now and then or whatever. I mean, the league's not kind to people. Yeah, I like the.
00:14:10
Speaker 2: I don't I don't mind giving up the fifth year option possibility.
00:14:15
Speaker 3: It's such a rare thing anyways. I mean, it's not Jamar Chase coming out or Penny sol Yeah, you know. I mean, there's the chances that if you'd just stuck with your original pick, you just did pick up a fifth year option. Who knows.
00:14:26
Speaker 2: I just want to look here and see who did New Orleans came up to get and they moved up to get Matthew Golden.
00:14:34
Speaker 3: Okay, see that what was their first pick?
00:14:37
Speaker 2: They took Nick Scouton.
00:14:40
Speaker 3: Okay, they need both everything. I could see that. Yeah, and Golden would be fine. But the Seelers weren't going to be in that market right now.
00:14:47
Speaker 2: Yeah, the defensive tackles drafted after that.
00:14:51
Speaker 3: No Grant went in the second round.
00:14:52
Speaker 2: Yeah, Colson loved them. Went to the Chargers. Edgibika went to the Packers. Chavon Revel twenty four to the Vikings, jodd A Baron at twenty five to the forty nine Ers, who traded back up into the first round. Donovan has a echo to the Rams, Walter Nolan to the Ravens. I don't love that. Derreck Harmon goes at twenty eight to the Lions. Mike Green to the Commander's edge rusher, and Marshall g Odd Campbell to the Bills at thirty the linebacker out of Alabama, Grey Zabel goes to the Chiefs at thirty one, and Donovan Jackson, the guard from Ohio State.
00:15:31
Speaker 3: Goes to the Eagles. There's a lot of players when we were on the board. Yeah, I like to trade down experiment though with picking up two seconds, it's kind of fun.
00:15:39
Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't know the I didn't realize the Saints have two seconds, but.
00:15:42
Speaker 3: I didn't either. Who did they trade to make that happen? I don't remember. I don't recall either. A lot of more.
00:15:48
Speaker 2: Probably, Oh, there you go.
00:15:49
Speaker 3: That makes sense.
00:15:49
Speaker 2: Yeah, that makes yeah, that makes some sense. So they could be a team that they're always aggressive to move. We're going to try to get into that, whether they shoul they've had years when they've had two draft picks, they've been so aggressive.
00:16:01
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think there's I think they averaged like four and a half picks over the last five years. It's the lowest of the league. Yeah, they trade up for Penning and after it taken.
00:16:08
Speaker 2: With what they're doing there, we're going to try to win again there.
00:16:15
Speaker 3: They and I do not see football the same way, but they see it a very distinct way and they don't ever differ from it. It's aggressive.
00:16:22
Speaker 2: I could understand a team to your point before about the wide receivers wanting to get back into the first round to get a wide receiver.
00:16:28
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, I mean I Buka or one of these type of guys or yeah, I mean, I don't think Golden gets out of the first round. Yeah, have to run as well as he did. You know, but just how many are you going? Yea?
00:16:37
Speaker 2: Some of the offensive tackle I mean the three offensive tackles. Top three offensive tackles went in the top ten.
00:16:44
Speaker 3: That including Campbell.
00:16:46
Speaker 2: That's yeah, Banks and Campbell and Membo all went top ten. Tyler Booker went twelve for all the reasons we talked about. Banks screams like a guy that could get overdrafted. Yeah, you know, because of the position he played. They might even say these bad. But I could see on draft day, like, wow, he went seventh overall. Okay, I mean I get it.
00:17:05
Speaker 3: Yeah, I don't think he is super high upside.
00:17:07
Speaker 2: Yeah, no, I hear you. But yeah, it's interesting, just a little different approach to that one. Having again, I would love to be able to get back into the second round somehow. There's a lot of without trading George Pickens.
00:17:21
Speaker 3: Oh, right, how do you do that other than trade back in round one? Right, that's the process. Yeah, So it was so weird to me last year.
00:17:29
Speaker 2: So I mean, if you look at it that way too, you got DK metcalf Darius, Alexander Quinn, Shawn Judkins, Alfred Collins, Charles Grant.
00:17:37
Speaker 3: Yeah, he's definitely part of the draft. Yeah, he gave a second und picked directly for him. Right. It was so weird to meet last year when the Texans traded out of like the early twenties, way before the draft, not knowing exactly what was going to be there.
00:17:52
Speaker 2: Usually that happens draft day.
00:17:53
Speaker 3: Would you considered now, you know, like the Saints calleg he said, we'll give you forty and fifty for twenty or you know for this, would you do it way ahead of time?
00:18:03
Speaker 2: I don't think they would do it.
00:18:05
Speaker 3: I think you'd be so you'd kick yourself like crazy, Yeah, saying, man, our favorite nineteen That could typically.
00:18:12
Speaker 2: You only do that to trade into the first round or trade or do that kind of thing if you're in the market to get a quarterback.
00:18:18
Speaker 3: Yeah, which is what the Vikings, Which is what the Vikings. I just didn't understand why Houston did it last year.
00:18:22
Speaker 2: It's the same thing that forty nine Ers did when they moved up to get as it turned out Lance.
00:18:26
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, they were just I think the Eagles did that. The wentz here too. They just kept trading up and trading up and packaging up going up to the draft. Really do that on draft day it is to make all those moves. Yeah. Yeah. So now someone blew my doors off though and said, we'll give you two pretty nice but they're.
00:18:43
Speaker 2: Not going to do it to move up to now for a wide receiver that they don't know if he's going to be there or not, right.
00:18:48
Speaker 3: Right right, You have to be a team trying to get up to a quarterback. Yeah, hyeah, I don't know who that is. This year. It's different than last year. Yeah.
00:18:54
Speaker 2: I could see somebody wanting to trade into the end of the first round while the draft is going on. We got to go get Jackson dart or we gotta go get I can see that, Yeah.
00:19:03
Speaker 3: I could see that. Yeah, especially if Sanders goes real early. Then all of a sudden, it's like, think if it goes if by chance it goes Ward Sanders and you're the Giants sitting there.
00:19:18
Speaker 2: You're not waiting till the top of the second round.
00:19:20
Speaker 3: No way. I mean you took Hunter or Carter or whatever, and you're fine, but your owner's like, we'res the quarterback, right, and you're getting a quarterback thirty fifth pick. I'm calling Steelers and making that Dart.
00:19:32
Speaker 2: Or everybody from twenty down. I'm on the phones trying.
00:19:35
Speaker 3: To work all those playoff teams, right, I mean, especially if darts this much higher than everybody else or whatever, you kind of have to They're in a bind. Yeah, they have to get a quarterback. And I don't know if Titans are open for business. I tend to think they're not. Yeah, so I don't know what the Giants are in a pickle. Giants and Browns could really overpay for quarterbacks this year, yeah, because they have to.
00:19:57
Speaker 2: Anyways, let's get to a break. That's our latest small draft. Tomorrow we'll do some more rankings that kind of stuff, but let's get to a break. He is the Matt Williamson. I'm Dale Lolly. You're listening to the Driver here on the Steelers Audio Network, and of course you can hear the Drive every Monday through Friday right here. On these very airwaves. You can also download the Steelers mobile app. You get it there along with our Triple Take videos and all that good stuff.
00:20:21
Speaker 3: He tackles it up today, right, yeah, think so? Yeah, yep.
00:20:24
Speaker 2: And well you can also check out our YouTube page. Give us a thumbs up on there. That goes over well apparently as far as the algorithms and everything goes. Let everybody know, and you can leave your comments on there. But we're gonna get to a break. We'll be back with more right after.
00:20:40
Speaker 1: This is the Drive with Dale Lolly and Matt Williamson on your twenty four to seven home of the Black and Gold in Steelers Nation Radio.
00:20:56
Speaker 2: And welcome back. I am Dale LOLLI he is the Matt Williamson. And we'll get a little news here. While we were talking draft, the Steelers went out and have agreed to terms with former Chiefs and Brown safety one Thornhill.
00:21:12
Speaker 3: Yeah. To add to the equation. I think he was the second round pick of the Chiefs. Yes, and we're talking about slightly just before we hit record here for the segment. Really good tester, explosive, vertical, very versatile in terms of slot, deep, middle, too high. Not the biggest, roughest, strong safety body type, but real fluid. It's a nice pickup. I mean that's your third safety. Like, I don't think he's in challenge those top two to be a starter, but you could do a lot of different packages. He could play the deep middle and make it comes down or whatever. I like to pick up a lot.
00:21:50
Speaker 2: Yeah, six foot two oh five ran a four to four to two at his combine his long arm with a forty four inch vertical.
00:21:57
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's crazy.
00:21:59
Speaker 2: Eleven nine in the broad jump. Wow, and he still did twenty one reps on the bench. Yeah, has played a specimen right, played a lot of free safety over the years, in addition to also coming down and playing slot more so with the Chiefs than he did slot with the Browns.
00:22:16
Speaker 3: In the slot, yeah, the Browns, like the Steelers, are pretty predominant single high defense more than most teams. So many teams are playing cover two two high shells these two or two that don't. So I think he's much more Minca than Elliott in terms of usage. I'm not saying he's as good as Menca. I mean I think people get my drift here that he's in a typical three cover high three shell. He's probably your middle guy more often than not. Big Nickel is something they've kind of gotten away from that. It mostly because their linebackers are better now than they used to be. Not that they couldn't play big Nickel, but now you can with the third. You can make the argument he's one of your best fifteen defensive players or so. You know that he could get serious rotation.
00:23:00
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think he's an upgrade over KZ for sure. For sure in that regard way different athlete, a way different athlete, different sized athlete. It gives you the potential to be both your strong and you're free. He did play your strong safety in Kansas City as.
00:23:13
Speaker 3: Well, way better length. Yeah, they look like different people coming in, I'm sure.
00:23:18
Speaker 2: And he gives you a guy that you know against a lot of these teams that line up with their tight end in the slot. Well, now you've gotten the joke. You've got two guys capable of handling those and still keeping Meca back.
00:23:31
Speaker 3: Deep obvious connection to the division too. He's played against all these guys who understands what Lamar is, He understands what Burrow is. I mean, there's something to be said for that I like it.
00:23:42
Speaker 2: I mean, also I assume has a pretty good understanding what Mahomes is. Yeah, probably too, practicing against him for four years.
00:23:49
Speaker 3: Yeah, so I like it. It also kind of eliminates a draft need maybe needs a strength. But I always thought they might take.
00:23:58
Speaker 2: Well, if we had known that going into what we just did, maybe we don't take Upton Stout.
00:24:04
Speaker 3: Maybe not. You know, like you got the two smaller slot type guys in Beanie and Eccles, and you got your bigger one now in Thornhill war Amenca. You know, depending on what you show, so they might be. Are they done at defensive back? I think wats being out there is kind of important too.
00:24:24
Speaker 2: I think they I think they might be.
00:24:25
Speaker 3: I mean, if anything, maybe it's just an outside corner. You're shocked. Is there in the fifth round that you had a third round grade on? That's about right? And again, this is which means they're back. Seven's done.
00:24:38
Speaker 2: This is what the Steelers do every single year. And again it might not be the flashiest signings or anything like that, but.
00:24:47
Speaker 3: Do you think Elliott was a flashiest sign right?
00:24:51
Speaker 2: You know, he was just okay, right, you know, it was all about the queen signing. Well, this year it's been all about you know, a DK Metcalf and you know Darius Slay, Right, what are they doing a defensive tackle? They'll they'll figure that out in the draft, but they typically set themselves up so that they don't have to go in to the draft. We got to take this, We got to take that, I.
00:25:13
Speaker 3: Mean early, because we talked through this just looking at like the final roster defensively, I kind of and they came to agreement with the defensive tackle from New England too. But I don't think it's a rotational pie. I don't think that that's that's a lowry, that's a warmly. I mean, yeah, he's fine. I'm not saying he's not a good player. But if you could add two d tackles in your draft and everything else is offense, I think that's about all you need now. I mean, in terms of filling out my defensive depth chart, I'd love that and nose and another defensive tackle. Yeah. Okay, you know, and maybe that's less than a little with the signing yesterday, but that doesn't mean.
00:25:51
Speaker 2: Me the thing. You know, for example, over the weekend, the Titans kinda woozy, eh, Yeah, who's a good NFL cornerback?
00:25:59
Speaker 3: I would sniff around.
00:26:00
Speaker 2: They just signed him last year.
00:26:02
Speaker 3: He was worth a lot last year, all of a sudden, and all of.
00:26:04
Speaker 2: A sudden, he's not. There might be a defensive tackle cut loose here in the next couple of weeks, and like, you know, for a woozy it was like, okay, they signed him. I think he played like seven or eight games and was hurt. Yeah, and so they said, okay, we're gonna move on this guy while he was hurt. Who's the defensive I don't know who the defensive tackles, but there will be somebody out there.
00:26:25
Speaker 3: Grady Jeric got cut. He got picked up by the Bears next day. You know. I mean like there's always at every position, not really quarterback, but I mean someone that's worth being on a roster and helping a good team will pop up. Yeah, but they may not even need it.
00:26:40
Speaker 2: And the thing is, we're now past that opening wave of free agency. Where As I said earlier, it's like if I'm in Target, which is a fine store. Sure, I like Target. I liked what they got in there. There's nice stuff. I can buy clothes at Target or whatever, and be perfectly happy for them. But when I'm at Target, I don't want to pay Macy's prices, right.
00:27:01
Speaker 3: Right, right right. I don't want to buy this agency.
00:27:04
Speaker 2: I don't want to buy this thirty dollars jacket for sixty dollars or one hundred dollars. I want to buy it for thirty dollars. That's why I'm a Target.
00:27:10
Speaker 3: Yeah, buy kitty litter Target, Yeah, and bananas over there.
00:27:15
Speaker 2: I'm not ripping on Target at all. I do lots of shopping there. There's one rate by my house. I'm there all the time.
00:27:20
Speaker 3: Williamson Family's spent a lot of money to the Target, right.
00:27:23
Speaker 2: But I don't want to. I don't want to buy my one hundred dollars jacket there and expected, well, this is a really nice hundred Oh it's not such a nice sme.
00:27:30
Speaker 3: It's what we paid for it. Yeah. Yeah, And that is kind of free agency this year in particular, in most years, but not at this point. I mean again, I don't know what's going on with quarterback. I don't know what Rogers is going to cost, or Wilson or any of those dudes. That's a different beast. But teams plucking the thorn heels of the world up now are usually pretty happy with it. I know what he does. I'm going to pay him what I want to pay him, not what his agent wanted to pay him a week ago. And I got a roll.
00:27:55
Speaker 2: For and for the players that are out there right now, not you're worried. These guys are starting to go. Okay, the seats are starting to get taken here, I'm walking around the chairs. I'm walking around the chairs and music still playing. But at some point it's going to turn off and them, what and you sign.
00:28:13
Speaker 3: A one year deal and I'll roll the dice next year. Yeah, it adds up to me.
00:28:18
Speaker 2: That was the other thing. And he does a great job of tracking this stuff. But you know, and I'm listening to Miller and on to last night, and he was talking about all the guys signing. He says, after that opening salvo free agency, you're going to see a bunch of guys sign one year deal because they're going to play in the league this year.
00:28:36
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:28:36
Speaker 2: Yeah, But the guys who got the four years at twenty six million dollars or whatever, all right, those were the big ticket items. Now these are the guys that are going to play in the league. But they just won another year in the league.
00:28:50
Speaker 3: Yeah yeah, get get a paycheck, a nice paycheck. Yeah, by human standards, you know, maybe not what you expected. There's four year deals. They're never going to see the end of the man never, but they pounce on him. Good for them. They get the big bonus, they get guaranteed money. This is what most NFL players. Yeah, Like you've said this a bunch of the last couple of weeks. There's still five hundred unemployed NFL players or whatever. You know. You got roster the.
00:29:13
Speaker 2: One Thornhill's out there who's been a starter his entire career.
00:29:17
Speaker 3: He's played.
00:29:18
Speaker 2: He's played an eighty seven career games, seventy four of them starts. He is a starting caliber playing round pick. Yeah right, I mean, this guy's a big time athlete. He'll be coming here not to be a starter, right, but to be a key backup. KZ played a lot of snaps for them last year.
00:29:34
Speaker 3: He'll lose menka, right. I mean, it's like we got to change the whole defense. Now, you got to do get they can do that.
00:29:40
Speaker 2: You know, for example, you get into that game late in the year and elliotts is out, which is what happened to them.
00:29:47
Speaker 3: Remember the safeties and the linebackers they rolled out two years ago. The right stuff happens. It's a long year and it's a war of attrition.
00:29:54
Speaker 2: Now you're you know, it's it's very much like the Lowry signing a year ago. You got a guy coming off your bench now who's got ninety plus career starts, and it's like, he's not going to be overwhelmed going into this situation.
00:30:05
Speaker 3: Exactly who he is.
00:30:06
Speaker 2: R Yeah, one Thornhill. If he has to start. They have a situation like they had last year where they're down what five defensive starters against the in the second matchup down in Baltimore, they were missing five starters in that game.
00:30:18
Speaker 3: Yeah, Yeah, that's what the league is. Yeah, and you know, and he would have been like, oh, okay, I played Baltimore years.
00:30:27
Speaker 2: We want to step right in. Not the Kzy wasn't no, But this is a better place. I think it's a better better player.
00:30:33
Speaker 3: I assume he's younger than KZ too.
00:30:35
Speaker 2: He's twenty nine right now.
00:30:36
Speaker 3: Okay, yeah it makes sense. So and I would think, who knows, but I think you're going to keep those three killerbrew Watts. It's a pretty good safety room. It's good safety, real good safety.
00:30:46
Speaker 2: Room, right, one of the better safety rooms in the league.
00:30:48
Speaker 3: Yeah, no question.
00:30:48
Speaker 2: I mean honestly, if you're adding you're adding a wan Thornhill and you're not expecting him to start. He's your third safety, yeah, and your fourth safety is a two time All Pro on special teams you got maybe the and your your number one safety is a multi time All Pro top guy. You might have the best safety room in the league.
00:31:12
Speaker 3: It's really strong. I was sitting there thinking I almost didn't say it, but whenever you went down that road, I'm like, I bet thorn Hill's still a top thirty two safety. You know that a lot of teams would think he's one of their top two. Yeah, you know, and he's your three. And again I wouldn't mind seeing a little more big nickel. But you're gonna put eleven on the field too, you know.
00:31:30
Speaker 2: And he'll play four hundred to five hundred snaps this year. They'll find ways get him on the field easily.
00:31:35
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think let alone. If there's injury, yeah, we hope it's only that number, right, you know, but people get hurt.
00:31:42
Speaker 2: I mean, if everything's right, Mika's playing over a thousand snaps.
00:31:47
Speaker 3: I mean, think about them. Again, I'm just spitballing. But if you have Wilson Queen and those three safeties on the field, that's a lot of middle of the field speed compared to what they used to play with in the middle of the field. Yeah, I mean that was a big problem for a lot lot of time. I mean, you're not crossers and play action and that kind of stuff. You should be really good against that stuff.
00:32:10
Speaker 2: The interesting thing here is that Thornhill in his first four seasons had eight interceptions when he was in Kansas City, Okay, the last two years with the Browns none.
00:32:22
Speaker 3: I don't know what to make of it. I mean, I just way different environments.
00:32:25
Speaker 2: Yeah, whatether it was the way they were using him. As I mentioned, Kansas City used him more in the slot and then free safety as well, where you know, I mean he's taking the ball away.
00:32:36
Speaker 3: He's been on some good Browns defenses, especially two.
00:32:39
Speaker 2: Years two years ago in twenty twenty three, and was a good player for them.
00:32:42
Speaker 3: I mean, I'm thinking, obviously the difference is Kansas City played a lot more leads than the Browns. During his his stint, the Chiefs and Steelers the best teams in the league getting their hands on batted passes, you know, and that always leads to picks, and probably more than anything, it's luck. I mean, I don't think he got bad at picking the ball.
00:33:02
Speaker 2: No, we talked about with me, like, okay, there's it's.
00:33:05
Speaker 3: A hard thing to count on. Yeah. The interception leader every year is usually a corner that gets thrown at over and over who isn't very good, you know. Anyways, now I like to pick up.
00:33:15
Speaker 2: So that's that's that's the latest Steelers signing here, and again there's going to be more of these type of deals happening here. Again, maybe they're one year deals, but again I like doing the one year deals.
00:33:28
Speaker 3: I'm not sure what positions you're looking at now, Like I really think the back seven's done.
00:33:33
Speaker 2: I could see another offensive tackle, Yeah, on a a one year deal. Who's a guy with some starting experience that.
00:33:40
Speaker 3: I'm gonna get kind of crazy? But if what if a Marii Cooper or Stefan Diggs or some is still sitting out there a week from now and want to sign a one year deal and be like, we'll figure out something to do with you. I mean, it's not gonna be a quarterback. It's not gonna be a running back.
00:33:53
Speaker 2: I think I need offensively. I think I need to figure out before I have more skill position players. I think I need to know what I'm doingquarterback.
00:34:00
Speaker 3: I also would mind the her big replacement type guy, that guy.
00:34:02
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's why offensive line to me, just adding another offensive lineman to the mix who's played an.
00:34:08
Speaker 3: NFL games and they won't be superstars at this note, but they'll be pretty tough guys.
00:34:12
Speaker 2: Guys who've been in the league five or six years, who've you know, they've started twenty games.
00:34:17
Speaker 3: And going back to O line. The more you draft, the more you sign these Thornhills, the more you get the William and Mary tackle in the third round. Yourself up for that too.
00:34:27
Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't have to take a fourth round safety now because right that spot's filled. Now I can take it.
00:34:33
Speaker 3: Cap money for the bird in the hand, and now I'm gonna draft O lineman even if I don't need them, because everyone in the world needs. Yeah.
00:34:40
Speaker 2: We talked about it last year during camp that you know they get eleven offensive linemen here that have our NFL players, Well, they'll probably only keep nine or ten. Could they trade one of them? Well, as it turned out, you know, Herbie three herbig gets hurting camp, right, and you had a ration of injuries early in the season. You're signing guys off the street because that's the way that.
00:35:00
Speaker 3: I mean, two or three more moves like this, or maybe even not even that many. That fourth round guard is sitting there that you can't believe is like, maybe that's the McCormick. You might take a McCormick this year that we've never taken in our mocks because the roster wasn't filled out yet. And where you take the right right right, you know, see them Alla's gonna be back.
00:35:20
Speaker 2: Because it's such a deep draft with some of these positions that you you know, you just can't believe that that guy's still there.
00:35:25
Speaker 3: Wow, there's an edge pass rusher doesn't seem like a need. But DJ's not young, and those guys would be right right, right, two years left on his deal yet, right, So that's a good situation being.
00:35:38
Speaker 2: Absolutely But again three D chess don't look at things just two dimensionally. You have to look at all these moves like, Okay, what's this do? What's what's the fallout from this kind of stuff?
00:35:49
Speaker 3: So cool?
00:35:50
Speaker 2: Yeah? Good signing wasn't on my radar for no.
00:35:53
Speaker 3: No. I even mentioned it I think late last week and like a Storrenhill still out there because we were talking about the Browns and we're going through depth charts and I'm like, so, yeah, to be signed by.
00:36:01
Speaker 2: Now, yeah, good player, not a great player, but a good player. No, no, it'll be a valuable piece. Yeah, and uh athletic. You know, if he's not one of the top thirty two safeties in the league, he's probably in the top thirty six.
00:36:13
Speaker 3: Yeah, say he's top forty or whatever. I mean. He's an NFL player all day long, and we'll play a lot of snaps for any team.
00:36:18
Speaker 2: Absolutely, But let's get to a break.
00:36:20
Speaker 3: Cool.
00:36:20
Speaker 2: He is the Matt Williamson. I am Dale Lolly. This is the Drive on the Steelers Audio Network and we will be back with more right after this.
00:36:33
Speaker 1: He's the Drive with Dale Lolly and Matt Williamson on your twenty four to seven home of the Black and Gold Steelers Nation.
00:36:41
Speaker 2: Radio and we are back. I am Dale Lolly. He is the Matt Williamson and while we're in break there. According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, the Steelers bringing back defensive lineman Isaiah Laudermilk.
00:36:57
Speaker 3: It's keep coming here on the drive, right, and every day it's one year deal week. It is one year deal week, and again just picking up little bargains, you know, filling out the roster. They generally keep seven defensive linemen and they've signed two basically in the last two days. I can't guarantee the louder Milk will be on the opening day Ross.
00:37:16
Speaker 2: Again, you hoped out draft those guys. It's a one year deal, so there's not a lot of money involved.
00:37:21
Speaker 3: And it's easy to go into the draft saying we're going to take two, but you might not might right right right, And you know, you can live with him. He's a homegrown talent. He's fine, you know what I mean. I don't have any problem with that at all. Again, you have cap space. It's not hurting your comp picks or anything like that.
00:37:36
Speaker 2: Although defense, you know how you don't have to guess about what his work habits are or anything like that.
00:37:43
Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm fine with it.
00:37:44
Speaker 2: It's much like you know, they announced the signings of Ben Skernic and Scotty Miller today and oh boy, Scotty Miller. He's not guaranteed to make the roster. If you got signed to a one year deal, you're not guaranteed of anything.
00:38:00
Speaker 3: I mean, like Thornhill is going to make the team. Yeah, I think that's a higher roster move. Thankronic got a two year deal. He's going to make the roster, right. I don't know what kind of guarantee money Thornhill got ors Goronic, but I'm sure it's something, you know, like we like you, we're going to be around. I don't know about you, k Lee. I assume he'd be ahead on the depth one year deal. I think he's probably in the mix, you know. I would think he's ahead of louder Milk in terms of chances to make the team.
00:38:27
Speaker 2: They signed him before they signed I don't know. I can't here that he started sixteen games last year for the Patriots. Now it was the Patriots and they weren't right terribly, you know.
00:38:39
Speaker 3: And I'll be honest, I didn't know a ton about him. And his PFF grades are decent. He's quality run stuff or he has some sacks. He's okay, you know, what I mean. But he's not a needle mover. I think he doesn't stop you from guy and right right, it's not like they're out of the first round D line mix. Not at all, not even a little, right, not at all in the mix. Yeah.
00:38:59
Speaker 2: So again this is you know, this is where I think you in this over the years, this is where the Steelers have done most of their shopping. And it you know, again, I don't I don't want to pay Macy's prices. My target my target coat.
00:39:18
Speaker 3: But you go get the slaves and there wasn't a receiver to go get those comparable to DK metal.
00:39:23
Speaker 2: Which is why you made the trade.
00:39:24
Speaker 3: Godwin's not going anywhere.
00:39:25
Speaker 2: And I'm sure like the Steelers weren't even rumored to be in on that DK Metcalf. No, no, no stuff.
00:39:32
Speaker 3: There was a lot of packers like we had talked about it.
00:39:37
Speaker 2: And we had worked out we did some mock drafts for Okay, we're gonna trade for DK Metcalf and see what that looks like if we give up that second round pick or you know, but they were they weren't one of the teams that were supposedly in that market and until they were.
00:39:51
Speaker 3: Until they were, Yeah, and so you never know what's looming out there. I mean, is there a quarterback move that we didn't see coming that could be out there? I don't know. I mean that's that that big shoe is just kind of allumin in the air.
00:40:02
Speaker 2: But you know, that's the other thing. I Mean, everybody's gotten so used to listening to the quote unquote insiders that they'll believe anything if you work for a network or you work for this outlet, or that they'll believe anything that you put out there.
00:40:19
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:40:19
Speaker 2: Absolutely, you might not be an insider, but well they work for that network.
00:40:23
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:40:24
Speaker 2: That's why I don't necessarily like if I talk about you know, I'll try if Rappaport tweets it, if if Jeremy foul tweets it. These people that I know whose reputations are on the line here with this stuff.
00:40:37
Speaker 3: If it's it's like lock it up right right. Yeah.
00:40:40
Speaker 2: But if it's somebody I haven't heard of, or somebody that is questionable, so I'm not going to even talk about it.
00:40:46
Speaker 3: Or they're talking to or they're close to a deal with that stuff.
00:40:49
Speaker 2: There's so much Aaron Rodgers speculation out there, and that's what it is is speculation. At this point, to the best of my knowledge, Aaron Rodgers isn't talking to anybody. So anybody who says that they have inside information on the Aaron Rodgers situation, they're making it up.
00:41:09
Speaker 3: Yeah, he's doing whatever he does. I mean, he lives in his own world, and good for him. Yeah, And I don't know that much about your business and reporting and breaking news and being an insider. But my hunch is just being around you guys, and Pittsburgh media and national people in general, I bet the Steelers insiders like yourself, or at least his doubt and even as greate as Schifter is, so I have the most respect for. But he gets he's thirty two teams, you know what I mean, Like they might break news before you guys.
00:41:40
Speaker 2: People need to understand. And I get asked this a lot over the years, like why do they break these these stories, like these signings and stuff? Because the agents are telling them that stuff.
00:41:48
Speaker 3: Because they want the world to know. Now, they're not.
00:41:50
Speaker 2: They're not schefters, not on the phone all day long calling agents.
00:41:53
Speaker 3: They call him, call him right, He's got a bazillion followers and.
00:41:56
Speaker 2: Because you and that's that's what they do now.
00:41:59
Speaker 3: It used to be you might get scoop, well they really like this guy, or they you know, like you know people.
00:42:04
Speaker 2: That back in the day when I first started with this stuff, you would call the agent up and say, you know, hey, you know so I'm working with you know, whatever outlets you're at, and and you know, I, you know, I wanted to ask you about this guy or that guy, and they would Okay, I gotta you know. And there were some times, like I can remember I broke the I had this Santonio home signing before anybody else know to his rookie deal because he was he was holding out in training camp and I just happened to call the agent when the timing was perfect, and so I had it first big deal.
00:42:39
Speaker 3: You know.
00:42:39
Speaker 2: Now that wouldn't happen.
00:42:41
Speaker 3: Yeah, they would just call chef.
00:42:42
Speaker 2: They would just call chef, They call one of these guys there, they text three of them and just get it out there.
00:42:47
Speaker 3: Yeah. I mean the world's different now, which is.
00:42:50
Speaker 2: Why you see these guys now tweeting out when they when they send out a tweet or an X or whatever you want to call it.
00:42:55
Speaker 3: Now.
00:42:56
Speaker 2: Uh deal was negotiated by such and such.
00:43:00
Speaker 3: Mm hmm, Yeah, that's big. I really noticed that.
00:43:02
Speaker 2: It's a payback for the agent forgiving you the Yeah.
00:43:06
Speaker 3: Exactly, the kid coming out of that's what That's what.
00:43:08
Speaker 2: The agents get out of it. When he did this deal for this guy. What can he get me?
00:43:13
Speaker 3: I guess A better spot is even like training camp, Like if we're on the drive and it's like, man, I really think they love this fourth round tight end. He's gonna make the team. He might even be better than they thought. Schefter wouldn't know that. I mean we were I.
00:43:28
Speaker 2: Guarantee you we were on Jalen Warren before any example.
00:43:30
Speaker 3: Yeah, I was trying to think of an example. We were rating he was.
00:43:33
Speaker 2: We were raving about Jalen Warren in mini camp.
00:43:37
Speaker 3: I remember watching him just my eyes go and he's really good. Yeah, and then you guys that are talking to people are like, oh, they think he's really good too, you know, like it was, I mean, it didn't take an experts out. They'll see him being pretty a high quality player.
00:43:49
Speaker 2: I remember seeing that with James Harrison his rookie year, Like what's going on with his Harrison kid? He's pretty good? Yeah, he's pretty good.
00:43:56
Speaker 3: He just needs to listen. Yeah, a little bit of loose, can't. If we can watch that the right channel that energy a little bit, maybe you'll win some defensive Player of the Year. I suppose to getting cut nothing, But yeah.
00:44:09
Speaker 2: That's what you see when you're on you have boots on the ground. Yeah, yeah, those kind of things. Then you go when you talk to people and you ask them about certain guys and you get the yeah.
00:44:18
Speaker 3: Adam and e and those guys can't be boots on the ground like you know, all over the place.
00:44:22
Speaker 2: Like when I say the Steelers really liked what Troy Folatana was doing last year in training camp, I'm telling you the Steelers really like what Troytana was doing in training camp last year.
00:44:31
Speaker 3: They weren't thrilled about his injury. They were not, right, no, right, no, So they have high hopes. Yeah, and again, think about if he becomes that guy and is one of the better left tackles in the league, right tack right, I mean what an asset that is. I mean it's just huge. You get that in the middle of the first round. If that turns out to come to fruition, he stays healthy and he's a top ten right, tack on a massive right right huge? Yeah. Anyway, foundation players.
00:45:00
Speaker 2: Absolutely, and you want to keep building that foundation until you get your quarterback.
00:45:05
Speaker 3: And then you have the thornhill and the louder Milks.
00:45:08
Speaker 2: And you build a deck on the back of the house, you do the kitchen, you know that kind of stuff. Yeah, but it doesn't do you any good to put that on a poor foundation and you build all that nice stuff on it and then it caves.
00:45:18
Speaker 3: In on drafting and land a couple more this year, Matt.
00:45:22
Speaker 2: That's going to do it for the show today.
00:45:23
Speaker 3: We had a lot going on today. We did this is a barn burner.
00:45:25
Speaker 2: Absolutely, it was Monday. Lots of stuff going Onday, and lots of stuff to continue to talk about. We'll get into that more as the week continues, but for today, that's going to do it. For my partner Matt Williamson, for Justin Miller here on site making sure we sound okay, and for Tyler Wittmeyer, uh making sure our YouTube video gets out there. Check that out. We also had a little best of on Saturday.
00:45:49
Speaker 3: Step week, so you get the best of CD.
00:45:52
Speaker 2: You check out the best of on there as well. I'm Dale Allie. We Thank you for listening to this edition of The Drive on the Steelers Audio Network.
