# The Insiders Podcast: Dexter Lawrence Updates and Jacory Croskey-Merritt and Offensive Tackle Prospect Emmanuel Prengon Join the Insiders

An episode of [NFL: The Insiders](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1543090622), 16 Apr 2026, 43 min.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/0414225e-5167-477f-9f83-ae390070e4d2/0b63ce48-f23e-441c-a865-b42e000bf4cf/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=3e412703-0644-468e-9001-ae390070e4db

NFL Network Insiders Tom Pelissero and Judy Battista share updates on Dexter Lawrence’s future with the Giants and reactions to the Ravens, Dolphins, and Buccaneers general managers pre-draft comments. Plus Steve Wyche and Omar Ruiz discuss the Raiders, Commanders, and Ravens draft strategy; Bucky Brooks, Marc Ross and Brian Baldinger break down the top quarterback and tight end prospects; and Commanders running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt and offensive tackle draft prospect Emmanuel Prengon join the show. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:06] Speaker 1: The city of Pittsburgh is ready to host the twenty
[0:09] Speaker 1: twenty six NFL Draft, and the wait is almost over.
[0:14] Speaker 1: We'll tell you what we know tonight about how things
[0:16] Speaker 1: may unfold next week in the Steel City. Bucky Brooks
[0:20] Speaker 1: has unveiled his new top five by position in this
[0:23] Speaker 1: year's draft.
[0:24] Speaker 2: Bucky, Brian Baldinger, Mark Cross.
[0:26] Speaker 1: They're all here tonight to tell you how the qbs
[0:29] Speaker 1: could come off the board one year ago, Jacory Krofsky
[0:33] Speaker 1: Merritt was waiting for his name to be.
[0:35] Speaker 2: Called, and then waiting some more.
[0:38] Speaker 1: Commander's running back joins us tonight to discuss his advice
[0:41] Speaker 1: for this year's late round picks and what the future.
[0:44] Speaker 2: Holds in Washington.
[0:46] Speaker 1: Welcome inside with the insiders alongside Jennie Batista, I am
[0:50] Speaker 1: Tom Pelicero. Eight days until the draft kicks off. We've
[0:55] Speaker 1: got tons of analysis over the next sixty minutes here,
[0:58] Speaker 1: but let's start out with one veteran who is he
[1:00] Speaker 1: is still not happy with the current state of affairs.
[1:04] Speaker 1: That is Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, who, as it
[1:08] Speaker 1: was reported a couple of weeks ago, has requested a trade.
[1:11] Speaker 1: Besides have been trying to work toward a new contract
[1:14] Speaker 1: that would bring him in line with some of the
[1:16] Speaker 1: top players in the market. But Judy, as our fre
[1:19] Speaker 1: Indian Rapport reported last night, besides currently had an impass.
[1:22] Speaker 2: Where we stand, Well.
[1:25] Speaker 3: Where we stand is that Dexter Lawrence has two years
[1:28] Speaker 3: left on the contract, and I don't get the sense
[1:31] Speaker 3: from listening to Giants folks that they feel an urgency
[1:34] Speaker 3: to make a deal right now. It's not like he's
[1:36] Speaker 3: going into free agency and so they feel like they
[1:39] Speaker 3: have to move him. He's got two years left on
[1:42] Speaker 3: the contract, and they sweetened the contract last offseason when
[1:45] Speaker 3: he was coming off a very, very good season. This
[1:49] Speaker 3: time around, he's not coming off his very best season.
[1:53] Speaker 3: It was a down year by Dexter Lawrence standards. The
[1:55] Speaker 3: other thing is that the Giants have spent a whole
[1:58] Speaker 3: lot of draft capital building up that defensive front. They
[2:01] Speaker 3: don't want to remove a critical piece, especially because so
[2:04] Speaker 3: much of the focus of this offseason. John Harbuzz mentioned
[2:08] Speaker 3: it many times is improving the run defense. Well, you
[2:11] Speaker 3: don't improve the run defense by taking the big guy
[2:14] Speaker 3: out of the middle. So could they trade him, Yes,
[2:17] Speaker 3: They're certainly not going to give him away. It would
[2:19] Speaker 3: take a very very strong offer for them to move
[2:22] Speaker 3: him now, but they could also hold on to him,
[2:24] Speaker 3: and if they do, I feel like we could be
[2:27] Speaker 3: waiting a long time. There could be holdouts and fines,
[2:30] Speaker 3: and that gets all kinds of messy. I would also
[2:33] Speaker 3: point out the only thing that can end and impass
[2:36] Speaker 3: is somebody picking up a phone, and that could happen
[2:38] Speaker 3: at any time. So I think this has quite a
[2:41] Speaker 3: few days left to play out.
[2:44] Speaker 1: John Harbaugh's old team, the Ravens, does not have any
[2:47] Speaker 1: drama with their star quarterback. There's still no extension in
[2:50] Speaker 1: place with Lamar Jackson he was on and when new
[2:53] Speaker 1: coach Jesse Minter kicked off their off season program recently.
[2:57] Speaker 2: Of course, the goal as always.
[2:58] Speaker 1: Putting the pieces around Awl Lamar to try to get
[3:01] Speaker 1: them over that Super Bowl hump. GM Eric Acosta spokes
[3:05] Speaker 1: reporters about this draft.
[3:07] Speaker 4: We think it's a solid draft first round wise.
[3:11] Speaker 5: You know, there's definitely a drop off probably midway through
[3:15] Speaker 5: the round in terms of talent, but looking at the
[3:18] Speaker 5: overall numbers and the players that we think have a
[3:20] Speaker 5: chance to be starters in this draft, probably similar to
[3:23] Speaker 5: the last couple of years, I would say, I do
[3:26] Speaker 5: think that there's some really intriguing guys for us. We've
[3:28] Speaker 5: got four fifth round picks. We've challenged the coaches and
[3:32] Speaker 5: scouts I think to hit on some of those players,
[3:36] Speaker 5: which would be which would be really good.
[3:39] Speaker 2: There's been a lot of consistency in that Ravens program.
[3:41] Speaker 1: The difference Judy, of course, is the first time Eric
[3:43] Speaker 1: to Costa running the draft without John Harbaugh's significant impact
[3:47] Speaker 1: into it.
[3:48] Speaker 2: What does Baltimore do well?
[3:50] Speaker 3: They've got eleven picks, eleven picks. Eric Acosta also mentioned
[3:54] Speaker 3: today that he thought the strengths of the draft were
[3:57] Speaker 3: conveniently enough for what the Ravens need offensive line, wide receiver,
[4:02] Speaker 3: tight end, all positions that they could target. He also
[4:05] Speaker 3: said that both of the lines, offensive line and defensive
[4:09] Speaker 3: line were priorities, so they could go a number of directions. Again,
[4:13] Speaker 3: they have eleven picks, As eric Acosta mentioned, some of
[4:16] Speaker 3: them are in the later rounds. They can move around
[4:19] Speaker 3: the board an awful lot. He feels like they are
[4:21] Speaker 3: in a sweet spot where they're going to pick in
[4:23] Speaker 3: the first round sort of after that. The feeling, it's
[4:27] Speaker 3: sort of a universal feeling around the league right now,
[4:29] Speaker 3: is that the talent level drops off, but he feels
[4:31] Speaker 3: like at fourteen they are still in the sweet spot
[4:33] Speaker 3: to get a real impact player again number of directions.
[4:37] Speaker 3: They do have some needs offensive line, wide receiver, tight
[4:40] Speaker 3: end that would fit very nicely with the strengths of
[4:42] Speaker 3: this draft.
[4:45] Speaker 1: Ravens also addressed some of their needs in free agency,
[4:47] Speaker 1: including the signing of Trey Hendrickson to shore up the
[4:50] Speaker 1: edge after the Max cross We trade fell through. Dam
[4:53] Speaker 1: Bay Buccaneers did some of their work by resigning their
[4:56] Speaker 1: own that included tight end Cade Otten. We're celebrating on
[5:00] Speaker 1: the seventh birthday to day on tax Day. Boy, that's
[5:03] Speaker 1: a bit of a tough beat. Their longtime GM Jason
[5:06] Speaker 1: Light spoke on the draft.
[5:09] Speaker 6: You have a group of players that you say, no
[5:12] Speaker 6: matter what, if this players there were taking, if there's
[5:17] Speaker 6: a group of three, then maybe you go back one
[5:20] Speaker 6: or two to make sure that you ensure you get
[5:23] Speaker 6: one of your three.
[5:25] Speaker 7: Yeah.
[5:25] Speaker 6: But now the part of that that makes it difficult
[5:28] Speaker 6: is you got to find a trade partner. It's it's
[5:31] Speaker 6: not as easy as it sounds.
[5:33] Speaker 5: Not.
[5:34] Speaker 6: Sometimes the teams just don't want to move up, you know,
[5:36] Speaker 6: they don't want to give up picks. And I understand why.
[5:40] Speaker 2: This is something We've heard a lot within the league.
[5:42] Speaker 1: Judy, the teams I've spoken to and between thirteen and
[5:45] Speaker 1: fifteen legit first round grade. So the Bucks are right
[5:48] Speaker 1: on that prespice, whereas there actually going to be a
[5:50] Speaker 1: guy that makes sense for them. Trading down sounds great
[5:53] Speaker 1: in theory, but someone needs to trade up. What do
[5:55] Speaker 1: you think is realistic for the Buccaneers.
[6:00] Speaker 3: Have only seven picks, and they have a few needs.
[6:03] Speaker 3: Jason Light spent a lot of time talking about the
[6:05] Speaker 3: concept of potentially moving back, dropping back and getting more picks.
[6:10] Speaker 3: He's done that quite a few times in the past,
[6:12] Speaker 3: so he certainly would not be averse to it, but
[6:15] Speaker 3: as he pointed out, you got to have a trade
[6:16] Speaker 3: partner to do that. They particularly have needs on defense,
[6:21] Speaker 3: he said. Todd Bowles, who comes from the defensive side
[6:23] Speaker 3: of the ball, has always been supportive about drafting offensive
[6:26] Speaker 3: players too. But they know that the holes on this
[6:28] Speaker 3: team right now are on the defensive side of the ball.
[6:31] Speaker 3: I certainly would not be surprised if they managed to
[6:34] Speaker 3: drop back and pick up a few more picks. Again,
[6:37] Speaker 3: they only have seven right now. It certainly sounded from
[6:40] Speaker 3: Jason light like they'd like to get a few more
[6:42] Speaker 3: out of it.
[6:44] Speaker 1: The Dolphins have almost that many picks in the first
[6:47] Speaker 1: three rounds. After all, they're wheeling and dealing through the
[6:50] Speaker 1: course of this offseason. They already filled the quarterback slot
[6:53] Speaker 1: with Malik Willis, who in real time does throw the
[6:56] Speaker 1: football faster than this GM John Eric Sullivan spent time.
[6:59] Speaker 2: Today with the media.
[7:02] Speaker 8: You don't know how this thing's gone unfold.
[7:04] Speaker 4: None of us have a crystal ball.
[7:06] Speaker 8: It's more likely that we would move back and pick
[7:10] Speaker 8: up picks, then give up picks to go forward. If
[7:13] Speaker 8: you walk in their day two and all of a sudden,
[7:16] Speaker 8: there's some players that you cove it at the top,
[7:19] Speaker 8: you know, and you're like, hey, maybe it makes sense
[7:21] Speaker 8: to go burn a pick to get to you know,
[7:24] Speaker 8: something that unlikely happened in a player that you didn't
[7:26] Speaker 8: expect to be there. If those are conversations will have.
[7:29] Speaker 8: I'm not saying that I won't do anything. Everything's on
[7:32] Speaker 8: the table. I just think when you look at our
[7:33] Speaker 8: roster and what we need, it's more likely we would
[7:36] Speaker 8: go back and pick up picks.
[7:39] Speaker 1: Let's bring in our Mark Ross to the conversation. Mark,
[7:42] Speaker 1: so they got two first rounders at eleven and thirty.
[7:44] Speaker 1: They got a bunch of other picks through the early
[7:47] Speaker 1: to mid rounds. A new front office, new coaching staff,
[7:49] Speaker 1: there's a ton of new How do you anticipate they
[7:51] Speaker 1: handle it well?
[7:52] Speaker 3: First, I love all the gms we have want to
[7:54] Speaker 3: talk about.
[7:54] Speaker 9: You don't know how the draft is going to unfold,
[7:56] Speaker 9: but yeah, we've got all the predictions of everybody saying
[7:59] Speaker 9: how it's going to unfold. But for the Dolphins, it's
[8:02] Speaker 9: key that they build the foundation. I mean, because it's
[8:04] Speaker 9: really not about next season and winning the Super Bowl
[8:07] Speaker 9: next season. It's about the long term here and really
[8:11] Speaker 9: crushing their picks, much like Cleveland did last year. Cleveland
[8:14] Speaker 9: wasn't a good team, but Cleveland absolutely crushed their draft
[8:17] Speaker 9: picks last year and they're looking at the future to say, Okay,
[8:20] Speaker 9: they did really well. So that's what John eRx, Sulvan
[8:23] Speaker 9: and the brain trust there, the scouts have to do
[8:25] Speaker 9: with so many picks eleven picks total. You mentioned those
[8:29] Speaker 9: two first round picks. They've got three in the third
[8:31] Speaker 9: as well, so that you can really get a really
[8:34] Speaker 9: good group of starters right there, huge huge need for
[8:37] Speaker 9: wide receiver where they have two two at Well and
[8:40] Speaker 9: Jalen Tolbert as their starters now, so they really can
[8:42] Speaker 9: go get maybe even used two first round picks or
[8:45] Speaker 9: first and a third in the wide receiver position. Definitely
[8:48] Speaker 9: need edge, definitely need some secondary help corner as well.
[8:51] Speaker 9: So really you're just the first time all those guys together,
[8:54] Speaker 9: but with the head coach in GM knowing each other,
[8:57] Speaker 9: that'll make it a lot easier and seamless in the
[8:59] Speaker 9: whole draft process that those guys have worked together to say,
[9:02] Speaker 9: this is what we're looking for, this is what we envision, Judy,
[9:05] Speaker 9: and also they better hope Malik Willis is the guy
[9:08] Speaker 9: that is the foundation to go around all those young pieces.
[9:13] Speaker 3: Well, I thought one of the most important things that
[9:15] Speaker 3: Sullivan said is that he said it adamantly. Devon Achen
[9:18] Speaker 3: is not available for trade. He said, Now Chen has
[9:21] Speaker 3: not been participating in OTAs, which as we know, are voluntary,
[9:26] Speaker 3: but his hope, Sullivan's hope, is that they will be
[9:29] Speaker 3: able to get an extension done for him. So that
[9:32] Speaker 3: was the most definitive thing he said. But as you
[9:34] Speaker 3: pointed out, they have so much draft capital. We always
[9:36] Speaker 3: extol teams for accumulating draft capital. Now they've got a
[9:40] Speaker 3: hit on these picks. I mean, this is the foundation
[9:43] Speaker 3: of the Dolphins team that we're going to see for
[9:45] Speaker 3: the next few years. They have so many picks, especially
[9:48] Speaker 3: in the early rounds, and they have a whole lot
[9:51] Speaker 3: of needs. They could go in almost any direction and
[9:54] Speaker 3: get a player that would fill a need. They are
[9:57] Speaker 3: in a rebuild again. These are the player that are
[10:00] Speaker 3: going to be part of the future for the Miami Dolphins.
[10:03] Speaker 3: It's great that they have all these picks. Now they've
[10:05] Speaker 3: got to.
[10:05] Speaker 2: Hit on them. Mark mentioned the need for a wide receiver. Well,
[10:10] Speaker 2: what do you know.
[10:10] Speaker 1: One of the final visits on the last day for
[10:12] Speaker 1: pre draft visits for the Dolphins, indeed a receiver. Washington's
[10:16] Speaker 1: Denzel Boston visited the Dolphins today the final day of
[10:20] Speaker 1: those visits. Boston regarded as a late first round prospect.
[10:24] Speaker 1: They own number thirty. You can do the math, Mark
[10:27] Speaker 1: stick around. More from you to come in just a
[10:29] Speaker 1: little bit.
[10:33] Speaker 10: You don't cuts out to the right to the line
[10:35] Speaker 10: into the opisode touh out touch out walking again Bill Klufsky, No,
[10:41] Speaker 10: what does Bill belcoon has it quite ability? TikTok cut
[10:45] Speaker 10: outside a free ticket outside into the inZone of the
[10:50] Speaker 10: New York Simes.
[10:52] Speaker 1: One of many highlights in the rookie season for Tracy
[10:55] Speaker 1: Krosskey Merit, and Bill himself joins us right here now
[10:58] Speaker 1: on the Insiders with me, Pela Cerol, and Judy Batista.
[11:02] Speaker 1: We'll talk some football, you're Bill, but let's start out
[11:04] Speaker 1: with the news of the day in Washington. New uniforms.
[11:07] Speaker 1: You've got to look at them. Give us your thoughts here.
[11:09] Speaker 1: This is the first reaction. What do you think of
[11:11] Speaker 1: the new units.
[11:12] Speaker 11: I think that don't can't wait to, you know, jump
[11:16] Speaker 11: them out and just play on.
[11:18] Speaker 12: I think they're they're fantastic, all three colorways and just
[11:22] Speaker 12: just ready to rock them.
[11:26] Speaker 3: They do look awesome. Look, you were getting ready for
[11:29] Speaker 3: the draft a year ago at this time, so take
[11:32] Speaker 3: us back to that. What are these guys going through
[11:34] Speaker 3: right now, waiting for the draft a week from now.
[11:38] Speaker 11: I think it's just a big waiting game for those guys.
[11:41] Speaker 12: I think they're anxious to, you know, just just see
[11:44] Speaker 12: where they end up and and.
[11:46] Speaker 11: Just ready to get it, get it started.
[11:48] Speaker 12: Because I mean I trained, I was in the area
[11:51] Speaker 12: with some of the guys that was preparing for the
[11:53] Speaker 12: draft and just waiting, and they was like, man, just
[11:55] Speaker 12: a wait again. So I know exactly how they feel,
[11:58] Speaker 12: just ready to know where they're gonna be and get it.
[12:01] Speaker 1: Well, that's the thing that the waiting game is an
[12:04] Speaker 1: unbelievably difficult part of this. You're the two ord forty
[12:07] Speaker 1: fifth overall pick last year, you get into those late rounds.
[12:10] Speaker 1: I'm sure your agents getting calls, but this team wants
[12:13] Speaker 1: to sign you at an underrafted rookie.
[12:14] Speaker 2: You got your head all over.
[12:15] Speaker 1: If you had advice for some of those guys who're
[12:18] Speaker 1: gonna be right on that border this year, who might
[12:20] Speaker 1: be waiting into day three, don't even know if the
[12:21] Speaker 1: name's gonna be called, what would that advice to them be.
[12:26] Speaker 12: I would say, I mean, just just be just be
[12:30] Speaker 12: thankful for even like just just getting an opportunity to
[12:33] Speaker 12: play if you if you don't go, if you don't
[12:36] Speaker 12: get drafted, so I mean, just just keep your head
[12:39] Speaker 12: down there and just work, and I feel like everything
[12:41] Speaker 12: will play itself out, because I mean I was, I was,
[12:44] Speaker 12: I was stretched out like, man, well I'm gonna go, like,
[12:47] Speaker 12: am I gonna get drafted? But I mean I was
[12:50] Speaker 12: just when it got to those late rounds I was
[12:53] Speaker 12: just like just ready for opportunity. So I say, just
[12:56] Speaker 12: just take advantage of whatever opportunity you get.
[13:01] Speaker 3: How closely are you going to follow the draft because
[13:04] Speaker 3: obviously what the Commanders do could impact you, and it
[13:07] Speaker 3: certainly is going to impact this season. So are you
[13:09] Speaker 3: gonna be one of those guys who's watching on television
[13:11] Speaker 3: dialed in or do you ignore it a whole thing?
[13:14] Speaker 11: Nah, I'll be at a watch party.
[13:16] Speaker 12: We have a watch party, and I'll be there with
[13:19] Speaker 12: some of my teams and like we just we're just
[13:21] Speaker 12: gonna just gonna celebrate together and like whatever to make
[13:24] Speaker 12: the team better.
[13:27] Speaker 2: So, you know, take back to your rookie year.
[13:30] Speaker 1: You obviously come in, you have a lot of success,
[13:32] Speaker 1: but you're also going through a ton right the whole
[13:34] Speaker 1: pre draft process, there's really no offseason. What have you
[13:37] Speaker 1: focused on maybe having a little bit more time these
[13:39] Speaker 1: past few months to try to get your game in
[13:41] Speaker 1: a better spot even going into the year two.
[13:44] Speaker 12: Just seeing what I wasn't or just looking at what
[13:48] Speaker 12: I thought I could have did better this year and
[13:50] Speaker 12: like just trying to like narrow down on those details.
[13:54] Speaker 12: So this year, like the same things that I struggle
[13:57] Speaker 12: with won't happen again my sophomore years, So I mean
[14:01] Speaker 12: that's basically it just just seeing what I could have
[14:03] Speaker 12: did better and just just focusing on those details and
[14:07] Speaker 12: just spending my game being able to do more as
[14:09] Speaker 12: a as a running back. So that's really been my
[14:12] Speaker 12: focus is out season.
[14:15] Speaker 3: Like what's your routine like right now? It's obviously still
[14:18] Speaker 3: only April, so still fairly early in the off season.
[14:21] Speaker 3: So what are you doing on a daily basis to
[14:23] Speaker 3: get ready?
[14:25] Speaker 12: Just making sure I'm really trying to be big on
[14:28] Speaker 12: like my diet programs, so making sure I eat right
[14:31] Speaker 12: and right now, I'm just just working out, working out
[14:37] Speaker 12: like four times a week, doing recovery on Wednesdays, and
[14:42] Speaker 12: you know, just.
[14:43] Speaker 11: Just trying to making sure I'm staying in shape.
[14:46] Speaker 12: So just just taking it step by step and of course,
[14:50] Speaker 12: like getting in the playbook at field.
[14:51] Speaker 11: So that's kind of been my routine so far.
[14:55] Speaker 2: Beweing that playbook.
[14:56] Speaker 1: You got a new offense, you got a new coordinator,
[14:59] Speaker 1: the guy who's been in the b only.
[15:00] Speaker 2: He's thirty years old.
[15:01] Speaker 1: They did blow he was playing in the league a
[15:04] Speaker 1: couple of years ago. Just based on what you know
[15:07] Speaker 1: about him as a guy, and what you think this
[15:09] Speaker 1: offense is going to be?
[15:10] Speaker 2: What are you envision it looking like in twenty twenty six?
[15:14] Speaker 12: Very explosive bloun. He's a he's a great coach, knows
[15:19] Speaker 12: a lot. Yeah, just just ready to you know, just
[15:23] Speaker 12: just see what you have in store. I know he
[15:24] Speaker 12: got some some greatest store for us, and I mean
[15:27] Speaker 12: just just ready to just go to war with him
[15:31] Speaker 12: and be explosive like the whole office. I know it's
[15:33] Speaker 12: gonna be special.
[15:35] Speaker 3: What kind of goals have you set for yourself? I
[15:37] Speaker 3: don't know if you're a numbers guy, but when you
[15:39] Speaker 3: think about what you want to do in your sophomore season,
[15:41] Speaker 3: what do the goals look like?
[15:43] Speaker 12: The goals just being better than being better than last year,
[15:48] Speaker 12: winning more games, because I know with teams that says
[15:54] Speaker 12: you know you're gonna shine regardless. So just I haven't
[15:58] Speaker 12: really wrote my wrote my numbers goals down, but I
[16:00] Speaker 12: know I want to be way better than I was
[16:02] Speaker 12: last year for sure.
[16:05] Speaker 1: To real quick then before we let you go, just
[16:07] Speaker 1: team goals here, you know two years ago, before you
[16:10] Speaker 1: get there. This is a team's in the MC Championship game.
[16:12] Speaker 1: Last year, all the injuries, all the circumstances. It's obviously
[16:16] Speaker 1: a big disappointment. Can this be in your mind a
[16:18] Speaker 1: playoff team? What's a realistic expectation for the Commanders this season?
[16:22] Speaker 2: Me?
[16:23] Speaker 11: Everyone, everyone want to win it all. That's the goal,
[16:26] Speaker 11: and that's that's the mindset. Gonna We're gonna go into
[16:30] Speaker 11: it with and just I'm just.
[16:32] Speaker 2: Gonna work work for that.
[16:35] Speaker 1: Bill, great senior man, Best of luck. Try to enjoy
[16:38] Speaker 1: a little bit of downtime here in the coming months.
[16:40] Speaker 2: Here. We'll talk to you again soon. I appreciate you.
[16:43] Speaker 2: I've having.
[16:45] Speaker 1: Annevil draft just eight days away, and there are some
[16:49] Speaker 1: quarterbacks on the move. How high could Carson Beck go
[16:53] Speaker 1: after his time at Georgia and Miami? Bunkie Brooks, Brian
[16:57] Speaker 1: Baldi er Mark Ross all here to talk about it
[16:59] Speaker 1: next eight more days until the twenty twenty six NFL
[17:16] Speaker 1: Draft kicks off live next Thursday night, April twenty third,
[17:19] Speaker 1: in Pittsburgh, Coverage on NFL Network and across the ESPN
[17:23] Speaker 1: family networks starting at eight pm Eastern Time. For more
[17:28] Speaker 1: on this draft, heres are Steve Whitch no omar Owiz, Hey.
[17:31] Speaker 13: Tom Yeah Yesterday, the Las Vegas Ragers who have been
[17:34] Speaker 13: on the clock since the end of the season with
[17:36] Speaker 13: that number one overall pick. John Spytech general manager and
[17:40] Speaker 13: assistant general manager Brian Stark with their pre press conference yesterday, Steve,
[17:45] Speaker 13: and one of the takeaways for me is that John
[17:48] Speaker 13: spy Tech saying that they have received calls for that
[17:51] Speaker 13: number one pick, but he said those teams know where
[17:53] Speaker 13: they stand. In other words, doesn't seem like the Raiders
[17:56] Speaker 13: are open for business. All indications continue to point toward
[17:59] Speaker 13: them using that number one pick. And Fernando Mendoza. The
[18:03] Speaker 13: other takeaway that I got from listening to those who
[18:06] Speaker 13: speak about their plans on this upcoming draft, and this
[18:09] Speaker 13: not only applies for the number one overall pick, but
[18:12] Speaker 13: for the other nine picks they have ten total heading
[18:15] Speaker 13: into the draft. They want guys who are going to
[18:17] Speaker 13: be great teammates, and they want guys who want to
[18:20] Speaker 13: be Raiders. And obviously we'll find out in about a
[18:23] Speaker 13: week and a day how Fernando Mendoza feels about potentially
[18:27] Speaker 13: getting selected by the Raiders. But we do know how
[18:30] Speaker 13: he is with teammates. And I think back to the
[18:32] Speaker 13: first time that Fernando Mendoza was in the national spotlight
[18:36] Speaker 13: when he was interviewed when he was still as the
[18:38] Speaker 13: quarterback of Cal They beat Stanford in the big Game,
[18:42] Speaker 13: and afterwards he was very emotional talking about his teammates,
[18:45] Speaker 13: why they go camping in the off season, why they
[18:47] Speaker 13: bond together every Saturday, and that obviously continued through Indiana.
[18:52] Speaker 13: You hear about the stories and the work that he
[18:54] Speaker 13: did with his teammates there, specifically during the pro day
[18:57] Speaker 13: earlier this month, and how Fernando continues to have that
[19:01] Speaker 13: respect for his teammates. From his teammates, So when you
[19:04] Speaker 13: talk about Mendoza potentially getting drafted number one to the Raiders,
[19:08] Speaker 13: he's not only there steve to become somebody who can
[19:11] Speaker 13: execute Clint Kubiak's offense at a high level, but also
[19:14] Speaker 13: to help build this culture there in Vegas that they've
[19:17] Speaker 13: been looking for for twenty years, to get this going finally.
[19:20] Speaker 4: In the right direction, sustainable winning.
[19:22] Speaker 14: Yeah, a little bit longer than that, you know, right,
[19:24] Speaker 14: Fernando Mendoza most likely is be gonna be the guy.
[19:26] Speaker 14: And look what they've done in free agency kind of
[19:29] Speaker 14: goes to show what you're talking about building a culture
[19:32] Speaker 14: and having a plan and being good teammates. Look at
[19:36] Speaker 14: some of the players that they brought in in free agency.
[19:38] Speaker 14: You know Tyler Linderbaum, Kirk Cousins to Kobe d and
[19:41] Speaker 14: Quay walk or tarn Johnson. These are all players who
[19:44] Speaker 14: have won. Right, there's player accountability, something that's been lacking
[19:47] Speaker 14: in that building. So that's good to set up for
[19:49] Speaker 14: Fernando Mendoza. But also you talked about the amount of
[19:53] Speaker 14: draft picks that they have. Now they can go in
[19:55] Speaker 14: a lot of different directions because they hit some needs
[19:57] Speaker 14: in free agency.
[19:59] Speaker 2: When they get into that.
[20:00] Speaker 14: Second round pick and that third round pick, remember they
[20:02] Speaker 14: got three picks in the first sixty seven, they can
[20:05] Speaker 14: draft players like safety and wide receiver. But omar one
[20:08] Speaker 14: thing I think we keep talking about so much for
[20:10] Speaker 14: Nanda Mendoza. Cliff Kubiak also has got to build this
[20:13] Speaker 14: offense around last year's number six, number six overall pick,
[20:16] Speaker 14: Ashon Genty.
[20:18] Speaker 4: How is he actually going to work in this game?
[20:19] Speaker 4: We don't know how good he is.
[20:21] Speaker 14: Yeah, for three point seven yards per Kerry last year
[20:23] Speaker 14: he had nearly thirteen hundred combined yards. But I think
[20:27] Speaker 14: the way this offense structures, we talked about the best
[20:29] Speaker 14: way to support a young quarterback.
[20:31] Speaker 2: Get this running back who draft so highly going.
[20:33] Speaker 14: He didn't have an offensive line last year that works,
[20:35] Speaker 14: so I think that's part of what they need to
[20:37] Speaker 14: do as well. And adding to that running back room
[20:40] Speaker 14: or to that offensive line room is going to be
[20:42] Speaker 14: significantly important throughout this draft.
[20:44] Speaker 13: Yeah, a lot of confidence in Rico Dennison now coaching
[20:46] Speaker 13: that offensive lining, the run game coordinator for that unit,
[20:50] Speaker 13: looking to get gent going. We talked about Fernanda Mendoza,
[20:53] Speaker 13: the weapons that they brought in during free agency. Building
[20:56] Speaker 13: that Team's very similar to what the Washington Commanders did
[21:00] Speaker 13: in twenty twenty four when they brought in Jayden Daniels
[21:03] Speaker 13: along with Dan Quinn, the first year head coach in
[21:06] Speaker 13: that department and then they ended up in the NFC
[21:08] Speaker 13: Championship game.
[21:08] Speaker 4: Well, they stacked them.
[21:09] Speaker 14: Too with a lot of veterans in free agency, and
[21:11] Speaker 14: that's exactly what Washington did this year as well. They
[21:13] Speaker 14: added a lot of veterans on both sides of the ball,
[21:15] Speaker 14: predominantly on defense. So you know, with Washington's going to
[21:19] Speaker 14: do with that seventh overall pick probably is going to
[21:22] Speaker 14: have a significant Ohio State University feel to it, depending
[21:26] Speaker 14: on which one of those great Buckeys is going to
[21:29] Speaker 14: be available now. The most clearing need when you look
[21:31] Speaker 14: at this team as safety, and that's where Caleb Downs
[21:34] Speaker 14: is there. Dan Quinn loves to have the hybrid safety
[21:37] Speaker 14: type of guy who can play close to line of scrimmage,
[21:39] Speaker 14: who can play free, who can rush off the edge.
[21:41] Speaker 2: That is Caleb Downs.
[21:42] Speaker 14: That is a perfect fit for someone like Deronta Jones
[21:45] Speaker 14: a new defensive coordinator right there as well. But then
[21:48] Speaker 14: also Carnel Tate the wide receiver. Yeah, they need some
[21:52] Speaker 14: help at the wide receiver spot opposite Scary Terry and man,
[21:55] Speaker 14: this guy's the game breaker. We're talking about supporting Jayden Daniels.
[21:58] Speaker 14: That's one guy right there, Okay, and then Caronel Tate.
[22:01] Speaker 14: You know, we're talking about some of the other Buck
[22:03] Speaker 14: guys as well that could be their styles. The linebacker
[22:06] Speaker 14: another one. But Omar up the highway from Washington to Baltimore.
[22:10] Speaker 14: What about some of the things that they could do
[22:12] Speaker 14: with their draft approaching, especially now they've got that fourteenth
[22:15] Speaker 14: overall pick that they retained after the field.
[22:18] Speaker 4: Max Crosby Trope. Yeah, fourteen.
[22:21] Speaker 13: In the first round, eleven total, and you talk about
[22:24] Speaker 13: the Ravens history, Eric Tacosta having his press conference today
[22:28] Speaker 13: for the pre draft.
[22:29] Speaker 4: You look at the.
[22:30] Speaker 13: Times that they've drafted fourteenth or higher. It's been seven
[22:33] Speaker 13: times in their franchise history they've hit. It's either been
[22:35] Speaker 13: an offensive player of the Year like Jamal Lewis, a
[22:38] Speaker 13: defensive player of the Year in Terrell Suggs has been
[22:40] Speaker 13: a Hall of Famer like Jonathan Ogden. Time and time again,
[22:43] Speaker 13: they've hit on those. So they're looking to do it
[22:45] Speaker 13: again and surround Lamar Jackson with those weapons. You saw
[22:48] Speaker 13: Isaiah likely there, he is gone, Charlie Kohlar another tight end.
[22:53] Speaker 13: That depth at that position could be a way that
[22:55] Speaker 13: the Ravens go. We heard Tom and Judy speak earlier
[22:58] Speaker 13: about the interior offensive line potentially. You mentioned Tyler Lindabah
[23:02] Speaker 13: now on the Raiders looking at that position potentially as
[23:06] Speaker 13: a way that the Ravens. But I think jesse Mentor
[23:09] Speaker 13: said it best today. He said, when he was the
[23:11] Speaker 13: defensive coordinator of the Chargers, he embraced the team first
[23:14] Speaker 13: mentality that of course he wants to get those blue
[23:15] Speaker 13: chippers on defense, but if they can improve the team
[23:18] Speaker 13: as a whole and go offense and help Lamar Jackson,
[23:22] Speaker 13: that is the priority that they're all looking forward to
[23:25] Speaker 13: as they try to get back to the playoffs with
[23:28] Speaker 13: the Ravens and Lamar returning to that MVP caliber type.
[23:31] Speaker 15: Of plays outside He's got out score, Simpson took an
[23:44] Speaker 15: absent why he wants.
[23:46] Speaker 1: Using for the score.
[23:48] Speaker 3: Wednesday was the final day that top thirty visits are allowed,
[23:52] Speaker 3: and Ty Simpson was with the Arizona Cardinals. That's probably
[23:55] Speaker 3: going to fuel some speculation that the Cardinals could maybe
[23:58] Speaker 3: make a move back into the the first round to
[24:01] Speaker 3: select Simpson. And if that happens, that would definitely excite
[24:04] Speaker 3: the crowd in Pittsburgh. There is the list of draft attendees.
[24:08] Speaker 3: Ty Simpson is on that list. He's the only quarterback
[24:11] Speaker 3: slated to be in Pittsburgh for the draft on Thursday night.
[24:16] Speaker 3: Right now, there's the entire list. Let's bring in Bucky Brooks,
[24:20] Speaker 3: Mark Ross, and Brian Baldinger. Guys, you've got a lot
[24:23] Speaker 3: more to talk about with the quarterbacks. Buck, you take
[24:25] Speaker 3: it away.
[24:27] Speaker 4: Thanks, Judy.
[24:27] Speaker 16: Hey, guys, so I just released by three point zero
[24:30] Speaker 16: version of the top five list and we're going to
[24:32] Speaker 16: take a look at the quarterbacks. And the quarterback list
[24:35] Speaker 16: is interesting because everyone knows that Fernando Mendoza is a
[24:38] Speaker 16: resumpt the number one overall pick. And then there's a
[24:41] Speaker 16: bunch of questions about the other guys that are on
[24:43] Speaker 16: this list. Ty Simpson is second, Carson Beck third. You
[24:46] Speaker 16: have Garrett Nusmay and Drew Allert running out the list,
[24:49] Speaker 16: And to me, the most interesting guy that I'm gonna
[24:51] Speaker 16: talk about is going to be Carson Beck, because we
[24:54] Speaker 16: presume that Ty Simpson is going to be bottom of
[24:57] Speaker 16: the first, top of the second. But Carson Beck is
[24:59] Speaker 16: a guy that is interesting just in terms of what
[25:02] Speaker 16: he could do at the next level, winning pedigree, Georgia, Miami,
[25:06] Speaker 16: play for championship caliber programs, and even though he's more
[25:09] Speaker 16: of a managerial type, to me, I believe he has
[25:12] Speaker 16: a chance to lead a winning team to the winning
[25:15] Speaker 16: to the winner circle. So now, Mark, I know when
[25:18] Speaker 16: we're scouting rooms, we have a tendency to disagree. Tell
[25:21] Speaker 16: me what you think about the list and who am
[25:23] Speaker 16: I missing in your estimation?
[25:26] Speaker 9: Yeah, Bucket, I had to get my glasses check your list.
[25:29] Speaker 9: I didn't see Taylor Green on there. You know you
[25:31] Speaker 9: got your glasses on. I didn't see Taylor Green, a
[25:33] Speaker 9: quarterback from Arkansas. Look He was my been, my absolute
[25:37] Speaker 9: favorite player to just watch. I didn't see a quarterback
[25:39] Speaker 9: that had more wild plays than him with the arm
[25:43] Speaker 9: and as a runner six six two twenty seven exploded
[25:46] Speaker 9: on the national scene really at the combine when he
[25:49] Speaker 9: ran at four three six forty three and a half
[25:51] Speaker 9: vertical eleven to two broad. But he's really more than that.
[25:54] Speaker 9: I mean, I thought he had really good pocket presence.
[25:57] Speaker 9: He was poised in there, he had good vision, he
[26:00] Speaker 9: never really got flustered. He can move outside of the
[26:03] Speaker 9: pocket and make plays with his eyes and not just
[26:06] Speaker 9: take off and run. When he does run, he can
[26:09] Speaker 9: run like a young Randall Cunningham and whatnot. And the
[26:12] Speaker 9: big difference here, and you look at the win loss
[26:14] Speaker 9: and when we're in a scout and we look at
[26:15] Speaker 9: quarterbacks the win loss record, and he only had two
[26:18] Speaker 9: wins last year, but the offense had six games where
[26:21] Speaker 9: they scored or thirty one points. That defense was one
[26:23] Speaker 9: hundred and twenty fourth in the NCAA Baldy, so they
[26:27] Speaker 9: couldn't stop anybody. It wasn't Taylor Green's fault. He ran
[26:30] Speaker 9: that offense, explosive playmaker with a lot to offer.
[26:34] Speaker 7: Then fired the head coach earlier this season, it was
[26:37] Speaker 7: a disaster except for Taylor Green and Mike Washington junior,
[26:40] Speaker 7: the running back there in Arkansas.
[26:42] Speaker 4: But I got to go back to Bucky and Carson Beck.
[26:45] Speaker 7: I don't really understand the people not wanting to talk
[26:48] Speaker 7: about him when you're thirty seven and six at Georgia
[26:51] Speaker 7: in Miami. The one loss record does matter because a
[26:53] Speaker 7: lot of those games were against top ten teams, where
[26:56] Speaker 7: he was ten to two against top ten teams. And
[26:59] Speaker 7: if you want to pick him apart because of twenty
[27:02] Speaker 7: four interceptions the last two years, that's fine. To go
[27:04] Speaker 7: watch the interception reel and just see how those things
[27:08] Speaker 7: transpired and if it was some of the receiver's fault,
[27:11] Speaker 7: some of the timing fault, some of the offensive linees fault.
[27:14] Speaker 7: The other thing is last year, at this time, he
[27:16] Speaker 7: was recovering from a UCL injury. He didn't even have
[27:19] Speaker 7: an offseason at Miami until they went to training camp,
[27:22] Speaker 7: and so he had trusted very quickly for Mario Christobal
[27:25] Speaker 7: taking him all the way to the national championship. I'm
[27:27] Speaker 7: a big Carson Back fan in this draft here, you know, Boddy,
[27:32] Speaker 7: I'm with you obviously and talking about Carson Beck. But
[27:35] Speaker 7: I understand what Mark C's and Taylor Green.
[27:37] Speaker 16: When you see someone that size with that kind of
[27:40] Speaker 16: speed and athleticism, naturally you want to do it.
[27:43] Speaker 4: And it was really tough for me because he's.
[27:44] Speaker 11: Right there behind you.
[27:45] Speaker 16: Allah, in my mind, is just a matter of can
[27:47] Speaker 16: we find the right quarterback developer to really maximize this talent.
[27:51] Speaker 16: But man, this speed is gonna give him a chance
[27:53] Speaker 16: where they plays quarterback or another position, he's gonna have
[27:56] Speaker 16: a chance to make it in the Nation Football.
[27:58] Speaker 11: Let that.
[27:59] Speaker 2: Let's go.
[28:00] Speaker 3: I'll do that, Buck.
[28:00] Speaker 16: I'm just saying I'm not disrespect I'm just saying I've
[28:04] Speaker 16: seen Terrell Pryor and others make the move.
[28:06] Speaker 11: I just four to three speed is remarkable. We want
[28:08] Speaker 11: to maximize that.
[28:09] Speaker 16: And speaking of speed and maximizing it, here we go
[28:12] Speaker 16: see the tight ends and there's some unique athletes on
[28:16] Speaker 16: this list. People talk about Kenyon Sadik, I'll talk about
[28:19] Speaker 16: Eli Stowers being down there at four, Joe Royer. There's
[28:22] Speaker 16: some guys that are going to not only create mismatches,
[28:25] Speaker 16: but they're going to exploit mismatches.
[28:27] Speaker 2: I like the way the list is lined up.
[28:29] Speaker 11: I like some of these guys.
[28:30] Speaker 16: I think they have success, but I feel like Mark,
[28:34] Speaker 16: there's a guy that you want to talk about.
[28:35] Speaker 2: Did you feel I'm a little low on I'm a
[28:37] Speaker 2: heart great.
[28:39] Speaker 9: Yeah, I almost have this guy as one a when
[28:41] Speaker 9: that's Eli Stowers right there that you have as four.
[28:44] Speaker 9: The tight end from Vanderbilt, a former quarterback only in
[28:47] Speaker 9: his third year playing at tight end right there, six
[28:50] Speaker 9: four two thirty nine. He ran four or five to
[28:53] Speaker 9: one at the combine jump forty five and a half
[28:55] Speaker 9: eleven three broad jump, Mackie Award winner, first team All
[28:59] Speaker 9: American Academic Heisman. And this guy when he played, he
[29:02] Speaker 9: talking about mismatches. I thought he had a better catch
[29:06] Speaker 9: radius and a better hands than Kenyan Sadik did and.
[29:10] Speaker 3: Had more production.
[29:11] Speaker 9: He had five point one catches per game versus Sadiq's
[29:15] Speaker 9: three point six catches per game. And I really thought
[29:18] Speaker 9: they used him in a lot of different ways and
[29:20] Speaker 9: that that will continue, will get even better as a
[29:22] Speaker 9: route runner and is tough for being a smaller guy.
[29:25] Speaker 9: He's tough inside after the run, after the catch, he
[29:28] Speaker 9: runs over guys the block and we know got to
[29:30] Speaker 9: use in the right way.
[29:31] Speaker 2: Baldy.
[29:31] Speaker 4: But just as far as an.
[29:33] Speaker 9: Athletic tight tight end who can catch the ball with
[29:35] Speaker 9: a ton of upside.
[29:36] Speaker 2: I love Eli Stowers.
[29:40] Speaker 4: Mark and Bucky.
[29:41] Speaker 7: I just paid a little visit to the eye doctor
[29:43] Speaker 7: just to get the eyes checked. I was on the
[29:44] Speaker 7: eye chart and they're Bucky. I don't see the guy
[29:47] Speaker 7: that I'm interested in on your list. I know my
[29:50] Speaker 7: eyes are good, they told.
[29:51] Speaker 4: Me they are.
[29:52] Speaker 7: But I don't see Michael Trigg from Baylor. And I'm
[29:54] Speaker 7: not in love with this class of tight ends. They
[29:56] Speaker 7: all look like flex tight ends. They all look like
[29:59] Speaker 7: guy that play on the wing. But this Michael Tragg.
[30:02] Speaker 7: He's got a seven foot wingspan, and there's an example
[30:06] Speaker 7: of it right there, like he took it right off
[30:08] Speaker 7: the rim. But he's got a big wingspan. He runs
[30:10] Speaker 7: really well, he's explosive. I know he's got a block better.
[30:14] Speaker 7: I know right now he's probably getting a struggle trying
[30:17] Speaker 7: to block his shadow.
[30:19] Speaker 4: But that can be taught. That can be coached.
[30:21] Speaker 7: But what can't be coaches that wingspan, his ability after
[30:25] Speaker 7: the catch like this right here to finish in a paint.
[30:27] Speaker 7: I like what Michael Trigg brings to the position right now,
[30:31] Speaker 7: especially the way teams are migrating towards two and three
[30:34] Speaker 7: tight end sets. I think Trag can find his way
[30:37] Speaker 7: into one of those programs.
[30:40] Speaker 16: Look, man, I think this tight end klas ball. You're
[30:42] Speaker 16: not a sounding but I think there are a lot
[30:43] Speaker 16: of interesting candidates. And there are a lot more interesting
[30:46] Speaker 16: candidates on my top five list. You can go to
[30:48] Speaker 16: NFL dot com slash top five to see some of
[30:51] Speaker 16: the guys that are ranked. Judy back to you.
[31:01] Speaker 2: You don't what number're gonna wear for us yet?
[31:03] Speaker 4: I'm gonna beat number five. Five. Yeah, that's my school
[31:07] Speaker 4: football number, my little league number. Am I bok as
[31:10] Speaker 4: clean boy.
[31:11] Speaker 2: Oh.
[31:11] Speaker 4: Mike ev is in the city in Nacinco.
[31:13] Speaker 1: Mike Evans is a forty nine er and San Francisco
[31:16] Speaker 1: might not be done at wide receiver. On the last
[31:19] Speaker 1: day for pre draft visits, Indiana's Omar Cooper Junior was
[31:23] Speaker 1: in the building. San Francisco owns the number twenty seven pick.
[31:27] Speaker 1: Some other pre draft visits, Utah offensive i'man Caleb Lomu,
[31:30] Speaker 1: potential first round pick, also visited the forty nine ers.
[31:34] Speaker 1: Cayden Proctor, Alabama offensive tackle has visited the forty nine
[31:37] Speaker 1: ers as well. One of the busier men in this
[31:40] Speaker 1: pre draft cycle. Speaking of busy man and big man,
[31:44] Speaker 1: here's Baldy.
[31:46] Speaker 7: I am joined by all American left guard from Oregon.
[31:50] Speaker 7: Go duking with Emmanuel Pregnin right now. Emmanuel, I mean,
[31:54] Speaker 7: thanks a lot for joining us. I know you'd rather
[31:56] Speaker 7: be in the weight room probably lifted weights and everything.
[31:59] Speaker 7: But yeah, you came out. You put a nice shirt on.
[32:02] Speaker 7: I appreciate it. How you feeling. We're almost a week away, Emmanuel?
[32:06] Speaker 7: Are you ready for the moment next week?
[32:09] Speaker 13: Yes?
[32:09] Speaker 2: So I am.
[32:09] Speaker 12: Thank you for having me. First off, I'm just, man,
[32:13] Speaker 12: It's this a real experience, you know. I'm just, you know,
[32:16] Speaker 12: extremely grateful to be in this position. And I can
[32:19] Speaker 12: show nothing but gratitude honestly.
[32:22] Speaker 7: Okay, listen, So you came out, You go to Wyoming,
[32:25] Speaker 7: all right, and it's COVID nasty, COVID's going on.
[32:29] Speaker 4: You got to sit it out.
[32:30] Speaker 7: You end up going you know, you play at Wyoming,
[32:32] Speaker 7: You go to USC play well there for a couple
[32:35] Speaker 7: of years, you finish up in Oregon in the playoffs.
[32:38] Speaker 7: It's been it's been a different kind of a route
[32:41] Speaker 7: for you. But has it been a benefit to go
[32:45] Speaker 7: to three different programs being coached by different players, playing.
[32:48] Speaker 4: With a lot of different players.
[32:51] Speaker 12: Yeah, I would say, you know, just having been three
[32:55] Speaker 12: different programs, that's honestly allowed me to, you know, just
[32:59] Speaker 12: refine my process. You know, I would say at each place,
[33:02] Speaker 12: I garnered more and more information and just honestly became
[33:05] Speaker 12: more of a pro everywhere I went, And it's honestly
[33:08] Speaker 12: helped me in the long run.
[33:11] Speaker 7: I think you know, played in Oregon this year, he
[33:13] Speaker 7: got a chance to go up against a lot of
[33:15] Speaker 7: elite players. You went went to Penn State, had that
[33:18] Speaker 7: great game there. You saw Texas Tech and those defensive linemen.
[33:22] Speaker 7: Is there anywhere that stood out that you went up
[33:24] Speaker 7: against where you're like, you were really getting ready, like
[33:27] Speaker 7: this is going to be a.
[33:28] Speaker 4: Back This's going to be a fun one on one afternoon.
[33:33] Speaker 2: Yeah.
[33:33] Speaker 12: I would most definitely get give credit to guys like
[33:37] Speaker 12: probably Zane Durant and Lee un you know those were guys.
[33:43] Speaker 4: Yeah, I had to prepare well for him.
[33:46] Speaker 7: I was just watching your playoff game against Lee Hunter
[33:49] Speaker 7: and Texas Tech. I said, Emmanuel plays big, he short sets,
[33:54] Speaker 7: and he loves to get his hands on guys and finish.
[33:58] Speaker 7: Is that a pretty good description Emmanuel of the way
[34:00] Speaker 7: that you play the game.
[34:01] Speaker 11: Yes, sir, that is a very accurate description.
[34:04] Speaker 4: Yes, sir, so I need you to do me a favor.
[34:07] Speaker 7: We've got to have some fun here, Manuel, Right, I
[34:09] Speaker 7: want you to put your hands up for the screen.
[34:12] Speaker 7: I want people to see what your hands look like.
[34:15] Speaker 7: All right, can we get a can now? Those for
[34:18] Speaker 7: everybody watching, those are the biggest myths in the entire draft.
[34:23] Speaker 4: Those are eleven inch hands.
[34:25] Speaker 7: You measure it from your thumb to your pinky finger,
[34:28] Speaker 7: eleven inch. I've got big hands. I can pull them
[34:30] Speaker 7: a basketball either hands. But you've got bigger myths than me.
[34:34] Speaker 7: That's your weapon, Emmanual. I was blown away eleven inch
[34:38] Speaker 7: like you've got pure you. These are your weapons. I
[34:42] Speaker 7: can't wait to see him use them at the next level, Yes, sir,
[34:46] Speaker 7: well certainly. So what was the whole process like here
[34:51] Speaker 7: for you getting up? You're going to Pittsburgh. You'll be
[34:54] Speaker 7: announced in Pittsburgh next week, Emmanuel, I don't know what's
[34:57] Speaker 7: going on with the you know what what teams are
[34:59] Speaker 7: the I was interested, but I know there's a lot
[35:02] Speaker 7: of interest out there. We saw a lot of guards
[35:04] Speaker 7: come into the league last year start right away. Graves Abel,
[35:07] Speaker 7: you know, help with a Super Bowl up in Seattle.
[35:09] Speaker 7: What are you hearing right now and what are you
[35:13] Speaker 7: anticipating next week when the draft begins to Pittsburgh.
[35:18] Speaker 12: Yeah, as far as what I'm hearing and whatnot, I mean,
[35:22] Speaker 12: I'm honestly hearing a lot of good things, you know, us,
[35:27] Speaker 12: just from my agent, having conversations with my agent. But honestly,
[35:32] Speaker 12: when I'm what I'm expecting next week, I don't I
[35:34] Speaker 12: don't really want to go into it with any expectations.
[35:38] Speaker 12: All I know is that I'm ready for whatever team
[35:41] Speaker 12: is you know, sees my value and wants to give
[35:43] Speaker 12: me the opportunity to be a part of their organization.
[35:46] Speaker 12: And I'll put my all into whoever sees that. So
[35:51] Speaker 12: that's where I stand there.
[35:54] Speaker 7: I'm watching your play with you know, with old world
[35:58] Speaker 7: at left tackle and you know, and and how you
[36:00] Speaker 7: guys played as a group at Oregon as good as
[36:03] Speaker 7: an offensive line group as there was in a country. Honestly, Emmanuel,
[36:06] Speaker 7: I would imagine that your best friends are your offensive lineman,
[36:11] Speaker 7: and your best hobby is probably putting a bunch of
[36:14] Speaker 7: weight on a squad rack and just doing reps of squats.
[36:18] Speaker 4: I mean, does that sound a little bit like a
[36:20] Speaker 4: Manuel pregnant to you.
[36:22] Speaker 12: Yes, sir, I'm a I'm a gym freak. I'm a
[36:24] Speaker 12: gym head. And you know my line, guys, that's my family.
[36:29] Speaker 12: You know my family through all.
[36:33] Speaker 7: You're you're repping with six eighty five right there, Emmanuel, Like,
[36:37] Speaker 7: does that feel heavy to you or is that just
[36:39] Speaker 7: are you just warming up right there?
[36:43] Speaker 11: I mean it's heavy, it's most certainly.
[36:46] Speaker 2: I can't.
[36:46] Speaker 11: I can't take away that well.
[36:48] Speaker 12: Yeah, I mean that's probably that's not my my max squad.
[36:52] Speaker 7: So yeah, okay, you got to you got more, you
[36:55] Speaker 7: got more ironor you can put on there. Listen, Emmanuel,
[36:58] Speaker 7: I can't.
[36:59] Speaker 4: I can't.
[36:59] Speaker 7: Thank you for for joining us here for a few minutes,
[37:01] Speaker 7: taking time out of your day. We're all looking forward
[37:04] Speaker 7: to seeing where you go in the draft next week,
[37:06] Speaker 7: and we wish you the best of luck at the
[37:09] Speaker 7: next level.
[37:10] Speaker 12: Yes, sir, I just want to say, you know, thank
[37:12] Speaker 12: you for having me, thank you for this interview, and
[37:15] Speaker 12: it was a great time here. So I hope you
[37:18] Speaker 12: know everybody has a great rest of the day.
[37:27] Speaker 8: Pocket Collapse pass is picked off Colton Hood Well Hi
[37:31] Speaker 8: stepping into the end. Jone touchdown Tennessee.
[37:36] Speaker 17: Each week, I practice a touchdown dance. You know, I'm
[37:38] Speaker 17: a defensive player, so you know, they don't come by
[37:40] Speaker 17: that offense that you always got to be prepared, you know,
[37:43] Speaker 17: to get in that end zone. And then when you
[37:45] Speaker 17: get in, you can't just stand there or just double
[37:47] Speaker 17: over and down. You gotta have a celebration, so you know,
[37:50] Speaker 17: depending on the week, you know, I find a new
[37:52] Speaker 17: celebration each week, even if I don't get to use
[37:54] Speaker 17: the one from the past week. And then I get
[37:56] Speaker 17: in my mirror in my bathroom and I practice him
[37:58] Speaker 17: and I recorded to to make sure it looks good.
[38:01] Speaker 2: I'm close to Hood.
[38:02] Speaker 11: I play cornerback and from the University of Tennessee.
[38:06] Speaker 4: Incomplete.
[38:07] Speaker 1: Hood has had an excellent day in coverage.
[38:09] Speaker 17: I'm a competitor, dog like I bring the fight.
[38:12] Speaker 11: I'm gonna beat the hammer and not the nail.
[38:14] Speaker 2: He really black. My uncle.
[38:19] Speaker 17: His name is Roger Hood. He played for the Eagles,
[38:22] Speaker 17: the Cardinals, the Titans, and the Rams. Him and my dad,
[38:25] Speaker 17: you know, they taught me everything I know about the game.
[38:28] Speaker 17: You know, a lot of the time when you win,
[38:30] Speaker 17: you like to get complacent. But you know, they never
[38:32] Speaker 17: let me get complacent, like they.
[38:33] Speaker 2: Are saying that five seconds of fame.
[38:35] Speaker 17: They'll tell me good job or great job for them
[38:38] Speaker 17: five seconds and then they go point out everything I
[38:39] Speaker 17: did wrong so I can continue to get better. I
[38:45] Speaker 17: love you, Mama, My mom. She's the most sweetest, most
[38:48] Speaker 17: gentle person.
[38:49] Speaker 3: You'll ever meet.
[38:50] Speaker 11: Like she wouldn't hurt a fly.
[38:51] Speaker 17: If you could picture like the best, most perfect mom,
[38:53] Speaker 17: that's what she would be.
[38:55] Speaker 11: She sacrificed a lot for me.
[38:56] Speaker 17: She's a doctor, she works long hours to seeing her
[38:59] Speaker 17: work so hard, so happy to be able to get
[39:02] Speaker 17: to do this very You know, I think when I
[39:04] Speaker 17: hear my name Carl, it's all just going to sink
[39:05] Speaker 17: in all those long nights, those early mornings. There's all
[39:09] Speaker 17: the hardships and adversity I've been through. Also, the draft
[39:12] Speaker 17: is on my mom's birthday, so I know she's going
[39:15] Speaker 17: to cry, so I'll just burst into tears. Yeah, that
[39:19] Speaker 17: would be a great birthday gift for her.
[39:21] Speaker 3: What a great birthday for Coltonhood's mom. He visited the
[39:25] Speaker 3: Chiefs this week. We know they could use cornerback. How
[39:27] Speaker 3: he has had a slew of visits Jets, Raiders, Seahawks, Texans, Cowboys.
[39:33] Speaker 3: No surprise, he is very high on Bucky's top five
[39:37] Speaker 3: corners list. Here it is. You can see where it is,
[39:40] Speaker 3: colton Hood right there in the middle. Monsieur Delaine is
[39:44] Speaker 3: number one. We will see eight days away from now
[39:49] Speaker 3: where these guys come off the board, how quickly they
[39:52] Speaker 3: come off the board. And of course we will see
[39:54] Speaker 3: it all from Pittsburgh.
[39:58] Speaker 1: Well, the UFL is expand Anton franchises travels to Houston
[40:02] Speaker 1: looking for their first ever win. It's the Louisville Kings
[40:05] Speaker 1: and the Houston Gamblers tomorrow at eight pm Eastern, right
[40:09] Speaker 1: after The Insiders on NFL Network. Then on Saturday, battle
[40:12] Speaker 1: of two to one teams take the field in the
[40:14] Speaker 1: nation's capital. The DC Defenders host the Saint Louis BattleHawks
[40:18] Speaker 1: at twelve thirty Eastern on ABC and ESPN. The UFL
[40:23] Speaker 1: plays on the Disney family of networks. Some NFL news
[40:29] Speaker 1: from earlier today, The league informing clubs at the league's
[40:32] Speaker 1: officiating staff has begun onboarding potential replacement officials. The conduct
[40:37] Speaker 1: trading sessions next month in preparation for a sign officials
[40:40] Speaker 1: to work off season practices started on June first. Talks
[40:44] Speaker 1: continue between the league and the Referees Association. That labor
[40:48] Speaker 1: deal is set to expire on May thirty, first final
[40:52] Speaker 1: day four pre draft visits. Penn State quarterback Drew Allar
[40:56] Speaker 1: didn't have to go far for this one, taking a
[40:58] Speaker 1: visit to the Pittsburgh Steelers have been doing work on
[41:01] Speaker 1: all the top quarterbacks as they continue to wait for
[41:03] Speaker 1: a decision from Aaron Rodgers. They have a new coach,
[41:07] Speaker 1: Mike McCarthy, who I posted this AI generated image of
[41:11] Speaker 1: back when he was first interviewing for the job. A
[41:13] Speaker 1: Pittsburgh guy, wouldn't it be great to see him right
[41:16] Speaker 1: back in the neighborhood. Then today I saw this post
[41:20] Speaker 1: on X of Mike McCarthy essentially re enacted it, not
[41:25] Speaker 1: AI dressed in his Steeler's gear, standing in a bar
[41:30] Speaker 1: like a true Yinzer Judy. This is a man who
[41:33] Speaker 1: is very comfortable in his surroundings.
[41:37] Speaker 3: I love that he's just walking around in full Steeler's
[41:40] Speaker 3: regilia because that's what you would do if you were
[41:43] Speaker 3: Mike McCarthy back in your hometown. It's amazing. I can't
[41:47] Speaker 3: wait to watch this.
[41:50] Speaker 1: You have to blend in. That's a pretty good way
[41:53] Speaker 1: to do it. Although I did notice that unlike in
[41:54] Speaker 1: the AI generated photo, there's not a cigarette behind his
[41:58] Speaker 1: ear with the lit part against his head. That's probably good.
[42:02] Speaker 1: That's how you can tell that was the authentic article.
[42:05] Speaker 1: We got a big show tomorrow night. Romelo Height, NFL
[42:08] Speaker 1: draft prospect that is going to be on the show.
[42:10] Speaker 1: So is Anthony Beck, UFL head coach. Lots of draft talk,
[42:14] Speaker 1: lots of news tomorrow. SENDBM Eastern. See there

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