# The Insiders Podcast: George Pickens Signs Franchise Tag, NFC West Division Draft Review, and Art Rooney II Joins the Insiders

An episode of [NFL: The Insiders](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1543090622), 30 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-ae390070e4d2/7fe5956a-53ce-4b4f-8bae-b43c000a08ce/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=3e412703-0644-468e-9001-ae390070e4db

NFL Insiders Tom Pelissero and Judy Battista provide updates on Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens and share comments from the Ravens & Eagles’ general manager. Brian Baldinger and Bucky Brooks join the show to breakdown the tight end & defensive front trends in the NFL and review the draft of the NFC West teams. Plus, Michael F Florio provides the fantasy rookie winners and losers from the 2026 NFL Draft, Rob Gronkowski talks about how he wants to be remembered, and Steelers owner and president Art Rooney II & Dolphins general manager Jon Eric Sullivan join the show. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:08] Speaker 1: A lot of changes this off season in Baltimore, but
[0:11] Speaker 1: QB one remains the same. Lamar Jackson have a new
[0:15] Speaker 1: contract by September. Hear what Eric Tacosta said today about
[0:19] Speaker 1: his franchise quarterbacks future and more. It was a wild
[0:23] Speaker 1: draft week in the NFC West, from Ky Simpson to
[0:26] Speaker 1: Jeremiah Love and beyond. Brian Baldinger and Bucky Brooks join
[0:30] Speaker 1: us tonight to discuss their favorite picks and who could
[0:33] Speaker 1: make an instant impact. Rob Gronkowski will one day have
[0:37] Speaker 1: a gold jacket. For now, he'll have to settle for
[0:40] Speaker 1: a red one. And you got to hear what Gronk
[0:43] Speaker 1: said today about heading into the Patriots Hall of Fame.
[0:47] Speaker 1: Welcome inside with the Insiders alongside Judy Batista, I am
[0:52] Speaker 1: Tom Peliicero jam Pack show tonight are early the second
[0:55] Speaker 1: Steelers owner are going to be here on the show.
[0:58] Speaker 1: What is he going to say about Aaron Rodgers. There's
[1:00] Speaker 1: a potential timeline We certainly will ask him. Michael Leflorio
[1:03] Speaker 1: also going to be here with a fantasy s fin
[1:06] Speaker 1: on some winners and losers coming out of the draft.
[1:09] Speaker 1: We start tonight with some news out of Dallas and
[1:11] Speaker 1: no this is not a rerun. It is now official
[1:14] Speaker 1: what was reported was going to happen a week or
[1:17] Speaker 1: so ago. George Pickens has put pen to paper, signing
[1:20] Speaker 1: his franchise tender, locking in a twenty seven point three
[1:22] Speaker 1: million dollars salary for twenty twenty six. Cowboys have said
[1:26] Speaker 1: the plan in their mind is for Pickens to play
[1:28] Speaker 1: on the tag. Pickens seems less than interested in that plan.
[1:32] Speaker 1: By signing the tender, now Pickens is required to report
[1:35] Speaker 1: to camp. Also allows the Cowboys to trade Pickens if
[1:40] Speaker 1: things go in a different direction. Lamar Jackson also in
[1:44] Speaker 1: line for a new contract, something that the Ravens have
[1:47] Speaker 1: been trying to get done for a couple of years now.
[1:50] Speaker 1: Eric Tacosta, the GM can't avoid the questions even when
[1:53] Speaker 1: he's on local radio Lobivana. Are you still negotiating with
[1:59] Speaker 1: Lamar on a new contract?
[2:01] Speaker 2: Is there a timeline? Is there a drop dead date?
[2:04] Speaker 3: Is our talks open still?
[2:06] Speaker 2: Yeah?
[2:06] Speaker 4: I mean that's those are fair questions, and in the
[2:08] Speaker 4: past I've not really answered those.
[2:10] Speaker 5: Questions, and I'm probably gonna.
[2:11] Speaker 4: Stick with that because, as we've said, Lamar is his
[2:15] Speaker 4: own agent.
[2:16] Speaker 5: It's a personal relationship.
[2:17] Speaker 4: That we have with Lamar, and I think it's important
[2:20] Speaker 4: that we probably keep those kind of discussions in house
[2:23] Speaker 4: for the best of the team, for.
[2:24] Speaker 5: The best of the negotiations. But I am confident that
[2:29] Speaker 5: Lamar will be here. I'm excited about it.
[2:32] Speaker 4: I think he loves the team, he loves the city,
[2:35] Speaker 4: he loves our fan base. And when I think of
[2:38] Speaker 4: the Ravens, I think of Lamar Jackson being on field.
[2:42] Speaker 1: Lamar Jackson do one hundred and four million dollars over
[2:44] Speaker 1: the two remaining years left on his contract. Study not
[2:47] Speaker 1: really a reason for Lamar to rush into anything, especially
[2:50] Speaker 1: amidst a time of transition for the Ravens. John Harbaugh,
[2:53] Speaker 1: the only head coach Lamar has played for, is gone.
[2:56] Speaker 1: Jesse Minter now in Declan Doyle with a different style
[2:58] Speaker 1: of offense coming on the draft. Big pictures we zoom
[3:01] Speaker 1: out here off a frustrating season for a lot of
[3:03] Speaker 1: reasons include Lamar injuries. Judy, what do it's your take
[3:06] Speaker 1: right now on the Ravens.
[3:08] Speaker 6: Well, do you remember when the things looked kind of
[3:10] Speaker 6: bleak for the Ravens? Like it lasted about thirty seconds
[3:13] Speaker 6: after the Max Crosby deal fell apart.
[3:16] Speaker 2: Things have settled down very nicely.
[3:18] Speaker 6: They of course got Trey Hendrickson, and then they used
[3:20] Speaker 6: that first round draft pick that they didn't trade away
[3:23] Speaker 6: to get an offensive lineman to protect Lamar. They eventually
[3:26] Speaker 6: did draft a pass rusher in Zion Young. He will
[3:30] Speaker 6: be paired with Trey Hendrickson. No, it is not the
[3:32] Speaker 6: same as having Max Crosby and maybe Trey Hendrickson, but
[3:35] Speaker 6: they did address the pass rus which was a huge
[3:39] Speaker 6: need for this team. They drafted two receivers, two tight ends.
[3:44] Speaker 6: They spent the offseason putting a lot of pieces in
[3:47] Speaker 6: place to help Lamar Jackson, both on the defense but
[3:50] Speaker 6: especially on the offense.
[3:52] Speaker 2: And certainly, the fact that there's.
[3:54] Speaker 6: No real movement, no real negotiation on the Lamar Jackson contract,
[3:58] Speaker 6: or at least nothing that Eric Acosta's willing to talk
[4:00] Speaker 6: about publicly, is not something to sweat over. Lamar is
[4:05] Speaker 6: his own agent, so that is a different dynamic for
[4:08] Speaker 6: a team and a player to negotiate directly with each other.
[4:12] Speaker 6: He will almost certainly be the Baltimore Ravens quarterback for
[4:15] Speaker 6: a very very long time, and he returns to a
[4:18] Speaker 6: team that, yes, there have been a lot of changes
[4:21] Speaker 6: this offseason, but also an awful lot of very good
[4:24] Speaker 6: put in place for him.
[4:26] Speaker 1: He's got a young offensive coordinator now in Deckland Oyle,
[4:29] Speaker 1: so young that he's younger than Lamar Jackson. What elements
[4:32] Speaker 1: of the Sean Payton offense, the Ben Johnson offense is
[4:35] Speaker 1: Doyle going to bring to the table. I would fairly
[4:37] Speaker 1: say there are going to be some things that are
[4:38] Speaker 1: a departure from what the Ravens have done in the
[4:41] Speaker 1: past under Todd Monkin among others here, but also playing
[4:44] Speaker 1: to the strengths of Lamar Jackson. Will be fascinating to
[4:47] Speaker 1: see exactly how this entire thing coalesce is moving forward.
[4:50] Speaker 1: New offensive coordinator, but the Eagles as well, and Sean
[4:53] Speaker 1: Manion has a lot of new toys, including the guy
[4:56] Speaker 1: and the Eagles traded up for at number twenty, makay Lemon,
[4:59] Speaker 1: who right there is shown hanging up on the Steelers
[5:02] Speaker 1: answering the call from the Eagles. He is headed to Philly.
[5:06] Speaker 1: Here's what GM Howie rosemand to say about how that
[5:09] Speaker 1: whole thing went down.
[5:10] Speaker 7: Well, we'll being totally transparent. It wasn't like we were
[5:14] Speaker 7: just trying to get to twenty. We were trying to
[5:15] Speaker 7: get ahead of that pick as well, because when you
[5:17] Speaker 7: feel really strongly about a player, you think, at every
[5:20] Speaker 7: pick he's going, and so you got this kind of
[5:22] Speaker 7: heartbeat going through when you hear the pick is in,
[5:25] Speaker 7: and you got to look. And we get it at
[5:27] Speaker 7: a couple of seconds before on our computer screen, and
[5:30] Speaker 7: you get it, and you know a lot of times
[5:32] Speaker 7: I'm beering over Jeffrey because I don't put it on
[5:35] Speaker 7: my computer. I let him have it on his computer
[5:36] Speaker 7: next to me, and I'm veering over his shoulder trying
[5:39] Speaker 7: to figure out, you know, who's going. And so you know,
[5:42] Speaker 7: to say that we were willing to sit there and
[5:44] Speaker 7: just get ahead of Pittsburgh, it wouldn't be true. We
[5:47] Speaker 7: were trying to get up. We were trying to get
[5:48] Speaker 7: the player.
[5:51] Speaker 1: For his disappointing as the season was last year in Philly. Dude,
[5:53] Speaker 1: he let the record show the Eagles still on that division,
[5:56] Speaker 1: they still went to the playoffs. They still have a
[5:58] Speaker 1: lot of talent on that rock. McKay lemon, of course,
[6:01] Speaker 1: just the latest edition at wide receiver at a time
[6:04] Speaker 1: that a lot of people's calendars are circled for June second,
[6:07] Speaker 1: and the possibility, if not probability of a big trade
[6:10] Speaker 1: involving a wide receiver as well.
[6:13] Speaker 6: Right, I mean, I think we can assume that there
[6:15] Speaker 6: will be a wide receiver trade, a wide receiver exiting Philadelphia,
[6:20] Speaker 6: and then we can truly assess how this off season went.
[6:23] Speaker 6: The Eagles have done a lot of work on that
[6:26] Speaker 6: wide receiver room in anticipation of making a trade, but
[6:30] Speaker 6: they also did in the draft. They got a tight end,
[6:33] Speaker 6: they got an offensive lineman. Those pieces maybe more for
[6:36] Speaker 6: the future than right this minute, but that's what the
[6:39] Speaker 6: Eagles and Howie Rosmond have always been really good at doing.
[6:42] Speaker 6: Like they have people in the pipeline, they draft for
[6:44] Speaker 6: the future. It's a really solid team. Still, there's still
[6:48] Speaker 6: an awful lot of unknown about how this is going
[6:51] Speaker 6: to go. At this time last year, we didn't know
[6:53] Speaker 6: that the offense was going to regress so dramatically. We
[6:56] Speaker 6: didn't know they were going to have to get rid
[6:58] Speaker 6: of an offensive coordinator and bring in a new one.
[7:02] Speaker 6: And of course we didn't know that there was going
[7:03] Speaker 6: to be quite as much drama as there ended up being.
[7:07] Speaker 6: We will see what happens if AJ Brown, when AJ
[7:11] Speaker 6: Brown is traded, assuming he gets traded, we will see
[7:14] Speaker 6: if maybe the Clouds part for Jalen Hurts and there's
[7:17] Speaker 6: just not so much drama. But when AJ Brown is gone,
[7:20] Speaker 6: if he has gone, there's going to be an awful
[7:22] Speaker 6: lot of focus on Jalen Hurts, and there's going to
[7:24] Speaker 6: be an awful lot of focus on that new offensive
[7:26] Speaker 6: coordinator you mentioned, because you're not going to be able
[7:29] Speaker 6: to talk about all the drama anymore. You're going to
[7:31] Speaker 6: have to see what the Eagles did to move forward.
[7:35] Speaker 1: Sean Manny was still playing in the league a couple
[7:37] Speaker 1: of years ago. He traded ounther guys like Sean McVay
[7:39] Speaker 1: and Kevin O'Connell. When you think of what that offense
[7:41] Speaker 1: looks like, that is a vast departure from what Jalen
[7:44] Speaker 1: Hurts has done to this point in his career.
[7:46] Speaker 8: To me, as much as the focus is going.
[7:48] Speaker 1: To be on AJ Brown, that drama, the completely remade
[7:51] Speaker 1: wide receiver room, it's all about how is Saquon Barkley
[7:54] Speaker 1: going to get rolling in this new offense? And how
[7:56] Speaker 1: does Jalen Hurts, whose skill set does it on paper
[7:59] Speaker 1: look like a great fit for it? How does he
[8:01] Speaker 1: as a Super Bowl MVP was on top of the
[8:03] Speaker 1: world like sixteen months ago, how does he embrace him
[8:06] Speaker 1: move into this system? Be fascinating to watch all that
[8:09] Speaker 1: plays out in Philly.
[8:12] Speaker 4: With the sixteenth pick in the twenty twenty six NFL Draft,
[8:18] Speaker 4: the New York Jets.
[8:19] Speaker 9: Select Kenyon Sadiq tight end Oregon, the two.
[8:24] Speaker 10: Time champions and reigning NFCAST champions.
[8:29] Speaker 11: Philadelphia Eagles select Eli Stowers.
[8:33] Speaker 8: Tight end for Vanderbilt University.
[8:35] Speaker 11: With the fifty six picks in the twenty twenty six
[8:38] Speaker 11: NFL Draft, the Jacksonville Jaguars select Nate Borcashire tight end
[8:44] Speaker 11: Texas A and M. With the fifty nine pick for
[8:47] Speaker 11: the Houston Texans, they select Marlon Klein tight end University
[8:53] Speaker 11: of Michigan.
[8:54] Speaker 10: And a twenty twenty six NFL draft, the La Rams
[8:57] Speaker 10: select Mats Claire tight end from Ohio State.
[9:01] Speaker 1: Baby hard to create a tight highlight reel when there's
[9:06] Speaker 1: that many names being called off tight ends in this draft.
[9:09] Speaker 1: Checkout a handful of teams that all took two tight
[9:12] Speaker 1: ends in this draft. There's a bunch of different reasons
[9:15] Speaker 1: for that and for more of the breakdown.
[9:17] Speaker 2: Some trends are on the NFL.
[9:18] Speaker 1: Let's bring in our Bucky Brooks as well as Brian
[9:21] Speaker 1: Baldinger Bucky. I'm old enough to have been covering this
[9:23] Speaker 1: league when back in two thousand and nine the Packers
[9:26] Speaker 1: kept three fullbacks on their roster. There are ebbs and
[9:29] Speaker 1: flows to this thing. But what jumps out of you
[9:31] Speaker 1: in terms of the trends right now in personnel in
[9:33] Speaker 1: the NFL.
[9:35] Speaker 10: Oh, look, the same thing that you're seeing in the drafts.
[9:38] Speaker 10: All these tight ends going off the board. And we
[9:41] Speaker 10: talked about the National Football League being a copycat league
[9:44] Speaker 10: where teams will see one team have success operating out
[9:47] Speaker 10: of a personnel group, moreformation, and they want to replicate
[9:50] Speaker 10: it right away. Last year, the LA rams to the
[9:52] Speaker 10: National Football League by storm by employing thirteen personnel, one back,
[9:57] Speaker 10: three tight ends, one wide receiver. They successfully used it
[10:00] Speaker 10: to not only create mismatches, but to exploit mismatches with
[10:04] Speaker 10: the big personnel on the field. You saw Matthew Staffn
[10:06] Speaker 10: had a lot of success tossing touchdowns down in the
[10:09] Speaker 10: red zone in particular out of that formation, and as
[10:12] Speaker 10: it led to a league wide craze of tight ends
[10:15] Speaker 10: being valued even higher than they had been before, we
[10:19] Speaker 10: saw nine tight.
[10:20] Speaker 8: Ends taken within the first three rounds, twenty two.
[10:22] Speaker 10: Tight ends taking overall and the league is showing you
[10:25] Speaker 10: to combat some of these light boxes that we're seeing.
[10:28] Speaker 10: Big boys on the field, more tight ends to create
[10:31] Speaker 10: more chaos. We go see your return to the running game,
[10:33] Speaker 10: but also play action passes with tight ends on the field.
[10:37] Speaker 12: Completely agreed, Bucky, and the thirteen personnel isn't just you
[10:41] Speaker 12: know success with the rams. Seattle used it last year,
[10:44] Speaker 12: Chicago used it. Look at the teams that were successful
[10:48] Speaker 12: in the postseason. Getting to the postseason. It makes the
[10:51] Speaker 12: defense defend an extra gap, you can protect your quarterback
[10:54] Speaker 12: a little bit better. And when you get the athletic
[10:56] Speaker 12: guys that we saw come into this draft, you know,
[10:59] Speaker 12: like Kenyon's de Cantours go to Philadelphia. Those guys are
[11:03] Speaker 12: like big wide receivers and they can extend the field.
[11:06] Speaker 12: Another trend I saw Bucky, and I think we're gonna
[11:09] Speaker 12: see a lot more of it. Brian Flores started in Miami.
[11:12] Speaker 12: It's the assimilated pressures. You know, where it's a blitzero
[11:15] Speaker 12: look where you might see as many as six, seven,
[11:17] Speaker 12: eight linemen including the linebackers and safeties up at the
[11:21] Speaker 12: line of scrimmage. And then it's really trying to get
[11:23] Speaker 12: the offense to decide do we need to max protect
[11:26] Speaker 12: this Do we think this is just an assimilated pressure
[11:30] Speaker 12: they're gonna drop. If we bail it all in and
[11:33] Speaker 12: protect our quarterback and they all drop, they're gonna have
[11:36] Speaker 12: a lot more defenders against our three receivers. So it
[11:40] Speaker 12: constantly puts the offense in a buind is this assimilated?
[11:44] Speaker 12: Is this real? And Brian Flores. Two years ago, Bucky,
[11:48] Speaker 12: they tied for the league leading in takeaways. It was
[11:51] Speaker 12: a big part of a lot of the success that
[11:53] Speaker 12: they had. It kind of fell apart last year because
[11:56] Speaker 12: the offense wasn't very good. But we're seeing this around
[11:59] Speaker 12: the league right now, this trend, and it's not just
[12:01] Speaker 12: third downs. Some teams are lining up on it on
[12:03] Speaker 12: second down right now. Denver was very good at it.
[12:06] Speaker 12: They did it quite a bit with Vance Joseph, and
[12:09] Speaker 12: I think we'll see more of it this year.
[12:11] Speaker 10: You absolutely see more of it because what it does
[12:14] Speaker 10: is you're able to create pressure without bringing the extra bodies,
[12:17] Speaker 10: so you have maximum coverage while also showing the illusion
[12:21] Speaker 10: of maximum pressure.
[12:22] Speaker 8: It is a win win for defensive coordinators.
[12:24] Speaker 3: Yeah, Bucky, I.
[12:25] Speaker 12: Think that you know Brian Flores, you know he was
[12:27] Speaker 12: in demand. I think teams have taken some of their
[12:30] Speaker 12: disciples from there. They sort of started their own version
[12:33] Speaker 12: of it because they've seen some of the complexities and
[12:37] Speaker 12: some of the issues that offenses are having with it.
[12:39] Speaker 12: And we're seeing the success that the defense are having
[12:42] Speaker 12: from the sacks, the splash plays, the takeaways. I think
[12:45] Speaker 12: we'll see a lot more of it and for more trends.
[12:49] Speaker 2: Tom pelisarrow.
[12:51] Speaker 12: We will be back here to discuss some of those
[12:54] Speaker 12: as we look at some of these newfound draft picks
[12:57] Speaker 12: into the NFL, including Ky Simms.
[13:00] Speaker 1: We call that a baldy bump right there, plugging his
[13:04] Speaker 1: own segment.
[13:05] Speaker 2: How about that?
[13:05] Speaker 8: Coming up after this?
[13:06] Speaker 1: Art Rooney the second also joins us to talk about
[13:09] Speaker 1: the draft in Pittsburgh, whether a certain future Hall of
[13:13] Speaker 1: Fame quarterback will be back there again. Stick around on
[13:16] Speaker 1: the Insiders. A new record for attendance at the NFL Draft,
[13:29] Speaker 1: eight hundred and five thousand people over three days, right
[13:34] Speaker 1: there in the city of Pittsburgh. And the man who
[13:37] Speaker 1: brought the draft to that city. Art Runer the second
[13:40] Speaker 1: joins us right now here on the Insiders Art.
[13:43] Speaker 2: I was there. It was logistically the best draft that.
[13:47] Speaker 1: I have been to. The people were phenomenal, the images.
[13:50] Speaker 1: Just tell me from your perspective what it was like
[13:52] Speaker 1: watching the draft take.
[13:53] Speaker 13: Over Pittsburgh, now, Tommy, it was fantastic. Couldn't have gotten
[13:58] Speaker 13: better from my perspective. You know, everything we wanted happened,
[14:02] Speaker 13: and you know, the traffic, everything was perfect. So it
[14:06] Speaker 13: was a well executed plan by a lot of people.
[14:12] Speaker 12: All right.
[14:12] Speaker 6: I know you and your son Dan to put a
[14:15] Speaker 6: lot of work over a lot of months into getting
[14:18] Speaker 6: this to go.
[14:18] Speaker 2: It worked beautifully. The pictures of Pittsburgh.
[14:21] Speaker 6: Were stunning, even in the rain. The crowds were crazy.
[14:25] Speaker 6: I don't even know if you've had time to recover yet,
[14:28] Speaker 6: but what sticks out in your mind? What's your favorite
[14:31] Speaker 6: memory from those few days?
[14:34] Speaker 13: You know there are a lot of them. Journey certainly
[14:37] Speaker 13: seeing the number of people over there on the North
[14:39] Speaker 13: Shore on Thursday and Friday night was great. But the
[14:43] Speaker 13: other highlight was when we drafted Eli and the reception
[14:47] Speaker 13: he got there in the seventh round was probably the
[14:51] Speaker 13: greatest seventh round pick we've ever made.
[14:53] Speaker 5: For sure.
[14:55] Speaker 1: Eli Heidenreich, he was born in Pittsburgh, went tom out
[14:58] Speaker 1: Lebanon High School.
[15:00] Speaker 2: Well, he's a hometown guy. He's also in the Navy.
[15:04] Speaker 1: What was the plan, in other words, when you go
[15:06] Speaker 1: into this draft, are you thinking let's get the local
[15:08] Speaker 1: kid in the seventh or how did that all come
[15:10] Speaker 1: together on the final day of the draft?
[15:13] Speaker 13: Yeah, I mean Omar and I did talk about it,
[15:16] Speaker 13: you know, a couple of days before, and we just said, look,
[15:20] Speaker 13: if the opportunity is there at the end the seventh
[15:24] Speaker 13: round and Eli hasn't been picked yet, we're going to
[15:27] Speaker 13: take a hard look at taking them. So I'm glad
[15:29] Speaker 13: it worked out the way it did and we're excited
[15:32] Speaker 13: to have him.
[15:36] Speaker 6: We're going to get to talking about the Steelers in
[15:38] Speaker 6: a second, but before we do, I want to ask
[15:40] Speaker 6: you about this.
[15:41] Speaker 2: Right before the draft, you.
[15:42] Speaker 6: Did not slam the door on the idea of Pittsburgh
[15:45] Speaker 6: someday hosting a Super Bowl. You said it will not
[15:48] Speaker 6: have a dome in your lifetime, but you said you
[15:51] Speaker 6: couldn't rule it out completely. Is this something are you
[15:53] Speaker 6: and Roder Goodell's ear occasionally saying Pittsburgh, especially after what
[15:57] Speaker 6: we saw last weekend, Pittsburgh should have.
[15:59] Speaker 2: A Super Bowl?
[16:01] Speaker 13: Well, I think I think we certainly made a good
[16:03] Speaker 13: case for it. Let's let's put it that way over
[16:05] Speaker 13: the weekend. So I would never take it off the table.
[16:09] Speaker 13: I admit it's probably a long shot, but I think
[16:12] Speaker 13: we proved that we could do it if if we
[16:15] Speaker 13: were given the opportunity here at Pittsburgh.
[16:19] Speaker 1: So tell me about the draft from the Steelers perspectives
[16:21] Speaker 1: and the side the city of Pitchburgh. It seemed like
[16:23] Speaker 1: little positive reception overall to the picks. You're in the
[16:26] Speaker 1: draft room from Maxie Hanashore on down. How did you
[16:29] Speaker 1: feel like the Steelers came out of this draft?
[16:32] Speaker 2: You know, we felt good.
[16:33] Speaker 8: Obviously.
[16:34] Speaker 13: We we addressed the offensive line with a couple of picks,
[16:37] Speaker 13: which is which is a priority, and then we were
[16:40] Speaker 13: able to come back and get a receiver in the
[16:42] Speaker 13: second round and so you know, things fell the way
[16:45] Speaker 13: we hoped and uh, you know, we had a lot
[16:48] Speaker 13: of picks, so that worked out well. And uh, I
[16:51] Speaker 13: think we got a lot of guys that hopefully can
[16:53] Speaker 13: make a difference this year.
[16:56] Speaker 6: We can't help, but notice the guys you drafted would
[16:59] Speaker 6: do an awful lot to support an offense, an awful
[17:01] Speaker 6: lot to support a veteran quarterback. If you were to
[17:04] Speaker 6: choose to return to the Pittsburgh Stealers. I know you
[17:07] Speaker 6: talked about it briefly right before the draft. Can you
[17:09] Speaker 6: give us an update on where things stand with Aaron
[17:12] Speaker 6: Rodgers right now and maybe a potential timeline for a decision.
[17:17] Speaker 13: Yeah. Well, we've been in contact with Aaron on a
[17:19] Speaker 13: regular basis. You know, he's been keeping us up to
[17:21] Speaker 13: date on his plans. And you know, even though I
[17:24] Speaker 13: thought it probably would would have been concluded by now,
[17:27] Speaker 13: I think we will come to a conclusion here in
[17:29] Speaker 13: the next few weeks.
[17:31] Speaker 1: Art when we yesterday used the UFA tender to make
[17:35] Speaker 1: sure that Aaron Rodgers, if you were to sign someplace else,
[17:37] Speaker 1: you would get drafted compensation. I haven't gotten the sense
[17:40] Speaker 1: that that's something that is going to happen. But can
[17:42] Speaker 1: you just since it's been misinterpreted in a lot of
[17:45] Speaker 1: different ways, just take us through the logic of using
[17:47] Speaker 1: a tender that's not used very often.
[17:50] Speaker 7: Right.
[17:51] Speaker 13: Well, the main thing that the tender gives us is
[17:55] Speaker 13: a potential for a compick. You know, if Aaron would
[17:59] Speaker 13: choose to go to another team, we don't expect that,
[18:03] Speaker 13: but by the same token, yeah, you never know, and
[18:06] Speaker 13: it's just something that you know, we had an opportunity
[18:09] Speaker 13: to protect if needed. The deadline was Monday, so if
[18:13] Speaker 13: we were going to do it, we had to pull
[18:15] Speaker 13: the trigger on Monday. We alerted Aaron and his representative
[18:19] Speaker 13: that we're going to do it, and so not a
[18:22] Speaker 13: real big deal, but but you know, just something that
[18:26] Speaker 13: if you know, in the unlikely event that he goes
[18:29] Speaker 13: somewhere else, we do, we are eligible for a compic
[18:33] Speaker 13: in that situation.
[18:36] Speaker 6: This has been an off season of sort of unusual
[18:39] Speaker 6: change at the Steelers. You don't do change all that often.
[18:42] Speaker 6: You obviously have a new head coach, You're bringing in
[18:45] Speaker 6: a whole bunch of new players. How do you feel
[18:47] Speaker 6: about where the team is now? How are things going
[18:50] Speaker 6: with Mike's transition to the Steelers.
[18:54] Speaker 13: Yeah, we're excited to have Mike McCarthy, you know, Pittsburgh guy,
[18:58] Speaker 13: and but he's done a great job. I think he's
[19:01] Speaker 13: brought in a great staff and now they're in the
[19:05] Speaker 13: process of developing a roster that we hope is going
[19:09] Speaker 13: to compete, you know, in the AFC North this year.
[19:11] Speaker 13: And I know Mike's really excited to be back in
[19:15] Speaker 13: Pittsburgh and have a chance to compete in the AFC North.
[19:18] Speaker 2: So so far, so good.
[19:21] Speaker 1: You mentioned Mike McCarthy being back in Pittsburgh. Obviously you've
[19:24] Speaker 1: had a Pittsburgh native before with Bill Kawer, but periodically
[19:27] Speaker 1: we get photos of Mike he went back to his
[19:29] Speaker 1: dad's old bar, saw the people there. Usually Pittsburgh the
[19:33] Speaker 1: injuris rally around their own. Have you sensed that a
[19:36] Speaker 1: little bit with Mike back in Pittsburgh, No.
[19:39] Speaker 13: I really have. I think from the from the first
[19:42] Speaker 13: opening press conference when people heard Mike and his his
[19:46] Speaker 13: Pittsburgh accents, he had a lot of a lot of
[19:50] Speaker 13: conversions at that point. So I know Pittsburghs are excited
[19:54] Speaker 13: to have him and and he's excited to be here.
[19:58] Speaker 13: I mentioned when I the introduced him at the league
[20:01] Speaker 13: meeting last month that he's the only head coach in
[20:04] Speaker 13: the league that can look out his office window and
[20:05] Speaker 13: see the neighborhood he grew up in. So it's it's
[20:08] Speaker 13: pretty cool. And you know, at the end of the day,
[20:11] Speaker 13: doesn't matter. We got to win games, and that's that's
[20:14] Speaker 13: what he's here for, and that's what he's excited about.
[20:17] Speaker 13: But it is fun to have somebody that's was you know,
[20:20] Speaker 13: born and raised right across the river here Art.
[20:24] Speaker 1: Thank you very much once again. And if that Draft
[20:27] Speaker 1: super Bowl does come to Pittsburgh, if the accommodations can
[20:31] Speaker 1: be very similar, we would love it. I think we'd
[20:33] Speaker 1: all be we'd be happy to come back, so we
[20:34] Speaker 1: appreciate it.
[20:36] Speaker 13: Well, I can't guarantee we have the same weather, but
[20:39] Speaker 13: we'll try so. Thanks thanks for having me today.
[20:43] Speaker 1: New Today, it is now official. The Cowboys have gotten
[20:47] Speaker 1: a signature from George Pickens, signing his franchise tender, locking
[20:51] Speaker 1: in a twenty seven point three million dollar salary for
[20:54] Speaker 1: this season. Pickings, of course, with like a new dealer,
[20:57] Speaker 1: perhaps a trade, Cowboys have said they expected to play
[21:00] Speaker 1: on the tag. Stay tuned for much more on this
[21:03] Speaker 1: story over the next several months. The Panthers with a
[21:06] Speaker 1: no brainer picking up the fifty year option in their
[21:08] Speaker 1: quarterback Bryce Young leg Carolina to the playoffs in his
[21:12] Speaker 1: third NFL season. Next question becomes can they work out
[21:15] Speaker 1: a long term deal with Young? Regardless he is now
[21:19] Speaker 1: locked in contractually through the twenty twenty seven season. The
[21:23] Speaker 1: Texans also locking up one of their own linebacker as
[21:25] Speaker 1: he's Al Shier on a three year, fifty four million
[21:29] Speaker 1: dollar contract.
[21:30] Speaker 2: Extension.
[21:30] Speaker 1: Nick Casserio has been proactive on a regular basis with
[21:34] Speaker 1: a lot of his standout players now locking in al Shire,
[21:38] Speaker 1: who for all the things that have happened suspensions otherwise
[21:41] Speaker 1: through his career, is really the heartbeat of that Texans
[21:44] Speaker 1: ded duty.
[21:47] Speaker 6: It is time now for our draft review, presented by Lexis.
[21:51] Speaker 6: We're doing a division a day, and today we are
[21:54] Speaker 6: going to look at the NFC West with Bucky Brooks
[21:57] Speaker 6: and Brian Baldinger. Bucky, I will start with you with
[22:00] Speaker 6: the Arizona Cardinals, who I think caught some attention when
[22:04] Speaker 6: they drafted Carson Beck in the third round. I'm told
[22:09] Speaker 6: I'm going to Baldy first. On the Arizona Cardinals.
[22:11] Speaker 12: Baldly, Yeah, No, I mean, look, Judy, they went straight
[22:15] Speaker 12: Chalk Manty.
[22:16] Speaker 3: Austin for you know.
[22:17] Speaker 12: I mean, they started with a big splash Jeremiah Love,
[22:20] Speaker 12: whether or anybody thought that they needed the running back
[22:23] Speaker 12: with James Connor and Tyler Algier, they went with him.
[22:25] Speaker 12: They went with Chase Besontis. They're trying to fix the
[22:28] Speaker 12: offensive line. They brought in Elijah Williams along with Isaac Salemolo,
[22:32] Speaker 12: trying to get that wall as strong as possible up
[22:34] Speaker 12: front for Love and whoever's playing quarterback. But you're right, Judy,
[22:38] Speaker 12: I mean, Carson Beck is a guy that I would
[22:40] Speaker 12: imagine Michae Lafloor will allow to compete with Jacobe Brissett.
[22:44] Speaker 12: We'll see what status is with Gardner Minshew. But here's
[22:48] Speaker 12: a guy that's started forty three games at very very
[22:52] Speaker 12: big programs at Georgia and obviously Miami all the way
[22:55] Speaker 12: to the championship game. And so, I mean, you can
[22:58] Speaker 12: look at some of the other guys, but that's really
[23:00] Speaker 12: the bulk of the draft.
[23:01] Speaker 3: Can Jeremiah Love help.
[23:03] Speaker 12: Elevate this this team right now behind a rebuilt offense line?
[23:07] Speaker 12: And does Carson Beck get a chance to come in
[23:11] Speaker 12: here and continue that elevation as they try to get
[23:14] Speaker 12: way more competitive in the NFC West.
[23:18] Speaker 6: All right, Bucky, Now I'm coming to you, Bucky. Let's
[23:20] Speaker 6: talk about the San Francisco forty nine ers who traded
[23:23] Speaker 6: all the way out of the first round. They didn't
[23:25] Speaker 6: have a pick on the first day, and then I
[23:27] Speaker 6: feel like there have been some post draft questions about
[23:30] Speaker 6: this class.
[23:30] Speaker 8: What do you think about it?
[23:32] Speaker 10: Yeah, a lot of questions about the San Francisco forty
[23:34] Speaker 10: nine Ers draft class. But I'm still trying to figure
[23:36] Speaker 10: out why there's so much outrage amongst and faithful about
[23:39] Speaker 10: this class. When you think about the wide receiver that
[23:42] Speaker 10: they picked up to Shawn Stribbling, there was a lot
[23:44] Speaker 10: of love in the Scout of community for the playmaker
[23:46] Speaker 10: from Ole miss and one of the reasons is because
[23:49] Speaker 10: he has the trace that you look for in a
[23:51] Speaker 10: player that can be a catch and run specialist in
[23:53] Speaker 10: this offense. As the Niners have remade their wide receiver
[23:56] Speaker 10: room and particularly they wanted more men, more professionals in
[24:00] Speaker 10: their room. Mike Evans, Christian Kirk, Well, you got to
[24:02] Speaker 10: have someone that can take the torch from those guys.
[24:05] Speaker 10: Stribling comes in to do that, and then you think
[24:08] Speaker 10: about it in the second round Romelo Heights and then
[24:10] Speaker 10: they go get a running back Caitlin Black. It's about
[24:13] Speaker 10: being able to have quality depth behind the starters. Last
[24:17] Speaker 10: year when Nick Bosa went out, they didn't. They weren't
[24:20] Speaker 10: able to generate enough juice. They wanted to get more
[24:24] Speaker 10: speed and explosiveness on that front line. That is what
[24:27] Speaker 10: Romelo Heights will give them. And then some of the
[24:29] Speaker 10: other depth players that they took in the later rounds
[24:32] Speaker 10: are about being one spot away from me to give
[24:34] Speaker 10: them the field solid overall draft for the Niners, even
[24:37] Speaker 10: though their fans did not.
[24:38] Speaker 8: Like some of the choices.
[24:41] Speaker 6: I don't like it if they get the usual results
[24:43] Speaker 6: in San Francisco that they always get, All right, Baldy,
[24:46] Speaker 6: Let's go further down south to the La Rams, who,
[24:49] Speaker 6: of course got the big headline with Ty Simpson. What
[24:53] Speaker 6: did you make of the entire class?
[24:55] Speaker 12: Well, I mean the shock and all was Ty Simpson
[24:57] Speaker 12: at seventeen and could they have added another piece here
[25:01] Speaker 12: to possibly add to the offense or defense? But do
[25:03] Speaker 12: you remember they had already given up their first round
[25:06] Speaker 12: pick for Trent McDuffie, so they got themselves in elite corner.
[25:09] Speaker 12: They wanted that along with other guys through free agency.
[25:13] Speaker 2: But you know, we got to.
[25:14] Speaker 12: See what the path is for Ty Simpson. Does Jimmy
[25:17] Speaker 12: Garoppolo come back as he resigned? Can he compete this
[25:21] Speaker 12: year with Stetson Bennett? What will training camp look like
[25:25] Speaker 12: with the MVP? There will he give some of the
[25:28] Speaker 12: reps up to some of the young guys to figure
[25:30] Speaker 12: out what the backup situation is going to be like?
[25:32] Speaker 12: But beyond that, you know, the Rams collect tight ends,
[25:36] Speaker 12: you know, I mean Max Claire is their fifth tight end.
[25:38] Speaker 12: They played for a bunch last year, including the second
[25:41] Speaker 12: round pick Terence Ferguson. They all caught touchdown passes from
[25:45] Speaker 12: Matthew Stafford a year ago. Now you add Max Claire
[25:48] Speaker 12: to that list, and they have been excellent in the
[25:51] Speaker 12: lower rounds. Keaton Tross comes in there, you know, an
[25:55] Speaker 12: offensive tackle right now. You know, Rob Havenstein retired, but
[25:58] Speaker 12: Warren mcclennan played very well. And then you know, they
[26:01] Speaker 12: gave up three picks to go get CJ. Daniels from Miami,
[26:04] Speaker 12: and so we got to see what that works like
[26:07] Speaker 12: and what it looks like, you know, when you have
[26:09] Speaker 12: a pretty stacked roster there with Poka and with Devonte Adams.
[26:13] Speaker 6: All right, Pucky, let's wrap it up with the defending
[26:16] Speaker 6: Super Bowl champions, the Seattle Seahawks.
[26:19] Speaker 2: How'd they do?
[26:21] Speaker 8: Really solid? I really liked what they were able to do.
[26:23] Speaker 10: They go and get a running back in the first round,
[26:25] Speaker 10: Engineerian Price, someone that can step right in and replace
[26:28] Speaker 10: Kenneth Walker Jr. Remember they lost the Super Bowl MVP
[26:31] Speaker 10: after the spectacular postseason run where They need someone that
[26:34] Speaker 10: is big, fast and physical to run by that behind
[26:37] Speaker 10: that offensive line and compliment what Sam Donald does in
[26:40] Speaker 10: the pocket. Price the Notre Dame standout, certainly can do that.
[26:43] Speaker 10: He can run with power in between the tackles, but
[26:46] Speaker 10: also has a little finesse in his game.
[26:48] Speaker 8: He is someone that's going to help him.
[26:50] Speaker 10: And then I also like what the Seahawks did and
[26:52] Speaker 10: getting four defensive backs in this draft class, headlined by
[26:55] Speaker 10: Bud Clark, the safety slot corner from TCU.
[26:59] Speaker 8: This is what this do. They want a lot of
[27:01] Speaker 8: verrsual athletes in.
[27:02] Speaker 10: That back end to give Mike McDonald the freedom and
[27:05] Speaker 10: the flexibility to come at the defense, come at the
[27:07] Speaker 10: offense in a few different ways.
[27:10] Speaker 6: Bucky Baldy, thank you very much. That was the NFC wes.
[27:13] Speaker 6: We are going to look at all of the divisions
[27:15] Speaker 6: before we are done, and when we come back, we're
[27:18] Speaker 6: going to have more analysis of the draft with Dolphins
[27:22] Speaker 6: general manager John Eric Sullivan. He joins the show coming
[27:25] Speaker 6: up after this, how's we going?
[27:38] Speaker 9: You want to come to South Florida and help us
[27:39] Speaker 9: win some games?
[27:40] Speaker 1: I'd love to.
[27:41] Speaker 3: I'd love to, man, We're fired up, Blessing.
[27:46] Speaker 2: It's crazy.
[27:48] Speaker 12: So wow, all the hard work, I hate, all first
[27:53] Speaker 12: round pay iratulation, you guys, now now the work starts.
[27:57] Speaker 11: Really just got to be thankful that, you know, the
[27:59] Speaker 11: organizations took a shot on me at the end of
[28:02] Speaker 11: the day, and I'll be forever blessed.
[28:06] Speaker 2: Chris jo.
[28:15] Speaker 14: Last night, Man, was this a real moment being able
[28:17] Speaker 14: to hear my name selected on a TV You sagned
[28:20] Speaker 14: my loved ones, my family and my closest friends.
[28:22] Speaker 8: Man, waking up.
[28:24] Speaker 14: This morning still really feeling like a dream. Finally touched
[28:27] Speaker 14: down in Miami, Man, and I just I couldn't be
[28:29] Speaker 14: more glad to be here right now.
[28:31] Speaker 2: You know, you had a lot of picks.
[28:32] Speaker 1: When the poor seventh rounder Maxwellan has to be squeezed
[28:36] Speaker 1: in in six point font on the bottom of a screen,
[28:39] Speaker 1: that's how active Miami was through the three days of
[28:43] Speaker 1: the NFL Draft. Thankfully, John Eric Sullivan, the new GM
[28:46] Speaker 1: still has enough energy to join us right here on
[28:49] Speaker 1: the Insiders. Soley, I asked you back at the combine,
[28:51] Speaker 1: and what's it going to be like the first time
[28:53] Speaker 1: it's you putting your name on these players, putting your
[28:57] Speaker 1: name on the card. What was it like actually being
[29:00] Speaker 1: in that draft room, and how do you feel like
[29:01] Speaker 1: the Dolphins came out of it.
[29:03] Speaker 9: Yeah, we had a lot of fun. You know, it
[29:05] Speaker 9: was fun. It was fast, furious, obviously when you have
[29:07] Speaker 9: all those picks. But I felt like we were prepared.
[29:11] Speaker 9: We had a really good process, one that I have
[29:13] Speaker 9: a lot of conviction in. But the thing that I
[29:16] Speaker 9: was really proud of is we executed. It's one thing
[29:18] Speaker 9: to have a process and be prepared, it's another thing
[29:20] Speaker 9: to go execute. And I feel like the guys were ready.
[29:25] Speaker 9: You know, things happened fast. You have to pivot at times.
[29:28] Speaker 9: You know, we had a trade, the clock was running,
[29:31] Speaker 9: we got it in at the at the eleventh hour,
[29:34] Speaker 9: but we got it done, and yeah, it was It
[29:37] Speaker 9: was a lot of fun.
[29:38] Speaker 3: I feel like most importantly we helped our football team.
[29:41] Speaker 3: Like what we did.
[29:43] Speaker 9: We took like we always do, best player available, and
[29:47] Speaker 9: within that, we got to solidify a couple of needs
[29:50] Speaker 9: along the way.
[29:51] Speaker 3: Feel good about the weekend.
[29:55] Speaker 6: All right, your very first pick as the general manager
[29:57] Speaker 6: of the thirteen picks, Caden Proctor. Why was he the
[30:01] Speaker 6: guy in that spot that you wanted to be the
[30:03] Speaker 6: first pick?
[30:04] Speaker 3: Yeah, you know, he was kind of our guy all along.
[30:06] Speaker 3: We just felt like he was different.
[30:08] Speaker 9: You know, he is a he's a rare, rare athlete
[30:12] Speaker 9: and an enormous body. You know, he's rare in a
[30:15] Speaker 9: lot of ways, his size, his his athleticism, his ability
[30:20] Speaker 9: to play four spots along the offensive line. We felt
[30:23] Speaker 9: like he's a competitor of somebody who's prideful. It's important
[30:26] Speaker 9: to him to be a good football player. He played
[30:29] Speaker 9: at a big school, played a lot of really good
[30:31] Speaker 9: ball there, and we just felt like he was he
[30:34] Speaker 9: was a guy that can make the Miami Dolphins better,
[30:36] Speaker 9: and he was versatile and and a guy that really
[30:40] Speaker 9: embodied what we want to be about, which is big
[30:42] Speaker 9: and physical and and versatile.
[30:45] Speaker 3: So we're excited to get him.
[30:47] Speaker 1: Chris Johnson, your your second pick in the first round,
[30:51] Speaker 1: was a hot name at the end, kind of rose
[30:53] Speaker 1: up a lot of times. It's the media catching up
[30:55] Speaker 1: to what people within the NFL actually believe for you
[30:57] Speaker 1: to trade up and go get him. What stood out
[31:00] Speaker 1: so much of him in a draft where it seemed
[31:01] Speaker 1: like there was some depth at the corner position, but
[31:04] Speaker 1: obviously he was poking out on your board.
[31:06] Speaker 9: Sure, yeah, you know, Chris is a guy that it's
[31:09] Speaker 9: funny when you when you do this job, there's so
[31:12] Speaker 9: many touch points along the way.
[31:14] Speaker 3: I went and watched Chris play.
[31:15] Speaker 9: But the first time I watched Chris was last summer
[31:17] Speaker 9: on tape and uh, and I thought he was a
[31:20] Speaker 9: pretty good player. And at the time, quite frankly, he
[31:22] Speaker 9: was a little bit lower graded guy coming out of
[31:24] Speaker 9: the summer for some of those scouting services.
[31:27] Speaker 3: And thought he was a good, pretty good player.
[31:29] Speaker 9: And I went and saw him play against Colorado State
[31:32] Speaker 9: on the Thursday night, and I really liked what I saw.
[31:36] Speaker 9: And then you know, obviously he had a really good
[31:37] Speaker 9: week at the Senior Bowl, and then he answered all
[31:40] Speaker 9: the all the questions at the Combine in terms of
[31:43] Speaker 9: just athletic trades. He ran fast, he jumped high, so
[31:46] Speaker 9: really at every touch point he checked the box. We
[31:49] Speaker 9: enjoyed our conversation with him in Indianapolis, and I just
[31:55] Speaker 9: thought that he was he was a guy that could
[31:57] Speaker 9: help his football team again.
[31:59] Speaker 3: Versatile play.
[32:00] Speaker 9: Nickel can play corner, he takes the ball away, very
[32:03] Speaker 9: good man hand zone ability, and he tackles. You know,
[32:08] Speaker 9: he tackles, which is a big deal. Play style here
[32:10] Speaker 9: is going to be a big deal. And so again
[32:12] Speaker 9: We just felt like he checked a lot of the
[32:13] Speaker 9: boxes that we were looking for and we wanted to
[32:16] Speaker 9: go get him.
[32:18] Speaker 6: You waited a little bit to get a wide receiver,
[32:20] Speaker 6: which we all knew was going to be in need
[32:23] Speaker 6: somewhere in this draft. Caleb Douglas. Why did he fit
[32:26] Speaker 6: the bill there? And was there any temptation to try
[32:30] Speaker 6: to go get one earlier?
[32:33] Speaker 9: Yeah, you know, I mean, of course there were other
[32:36] Speaker 9: players that we liked, but we really liked Caleb all along.
[32:41] Speaker 3: He's tall, he's.
[32:42] Speaker 9: Long, he has a lot of really really interesting athletic
[32:45] Speaker 9: traits for a guy who has his body type. He
[32:48] Speaker 9: can really drop his weight and get it out of brakes.
[32:50] Speaker 9: He ran well, and so we were excited to get him.
[32:54] Speaker 9: You know, the draft unfolds the way it unfolds, and
[32:56] Speaker 9: you only get one player per pick unless you guys
[32:59] Speaker 9: know something and I don't, so you know, you have
[33:01] Speaker 9: to address it as he comes.
[33:04] Speaker 3: And we weren't in at chase. We working.
[33:06] Speaker 9: You can't chase at all because then you're giving away
[33:09] Speaker 9: draft capital to do that, And we had already traded
[33:12] Speaker 9: up to go get a guy, and we felt like
[33:14] Speaker 9: the board was sitting right and Caleb came to us
[33:17] Speaker 9: and we were excited to get him, and then we
[33:19] Speaker 9: were excited to add Ad Bell Well, we felt like.
[33:22] Speaker 3: Was a really really good value.
[33:24] Speaker 9: We feel like he's got a chance to be a
[33:25] Speaker 9: difference maker once he gets healthy.
[33:27] Speaker 3: And then and then we got.
[33:28] Speaker 9: Coleman later on, who was another verstual piece who can
[33:31] Speaker 9: return punts and bring some explosive traits to the table.
[33:35] Speaker 3: So we felt like we got better at the receiver
[33:37] Speaker 3: position over the weekend.
[33:40] Speaker 1: So blink Willis, I'm sure enjoyed all those wide receiver picks.
[33:43] Speaker 1: Signing him back in free agency took the pressure off
[33:46] Speaker 1: you to draft a quarterback. I still thought with thirteen
[33:49] Speaker 1: picks you'd come out of this draft at some point
[33:51] Speaker 1: from round one to round seven with a QB. Were
[33:54] Speaker 1: you ever close to taking one? And what does it
[33:56] Speaker 1: say about the guys you have in that quarterback room
[33:58] Speaker 1: that you didn't.
[33:59] Speaker 9: Yeah, we had some discussions, we did, and I will
[34:03] Speaker 9: say we really like our room. We're obviously excited to
[34:06] Speaker 9: get Malie. Quinn's doing an excellent job. There's going to
[34:09] Speaker 9: be a great competition. I think they got a good
[34:11] Speaker 9: thing going, and we like Miller as a three. There
[34:15] Speaker 9: were conversations along the way. If a certain guy, our
[34:19] Speaker 9: guys would have fallen to a certain point, I think
[34:21] Speaker 9: we'd have probably pulled the trigger. It didn't happen that way.
[34:23] Speaker 9: We're excited to get Gronowski as a u DFA. We've
[34:27] Speaker 9: liked him all along. He's a big athlete, can run,
[34:31] Speaker 9: can move. He's a two hundred and thirty pounds man
[34:33] Speaker 9: with pretty good arm. So we're you know, inevitably we
[34:36] Speaker 9: ended up adding to the room. It just didn't come
[34:39] Speaker 9: in the form of a draft pick. It came in
[34:41] Speaker 9: the form of a drafted free agent signing. We're excited
[34:43] Speaker 9: to get him.
[34:46] Speaker 6: How has Malik been doing in the week since you
[34:49] Speaker 6: signed him? How things been going there?
[34:51] Speaker 9: Yeah, he's doing great. He's I think he's getting to
[34:54] Speaker 9: know his teammates. He looks relaxed and comfortable. He's throwing
[34:57] Speaker 9: the ball around good, you know, starting to show that
[35:00] Speaker 9: leadership that I saw in Green Bay.
[35:03] Speaker 3: And he's doing well. You know, he's growing with his teammates.
[35:07] Speaker 9: I think he's starting to form a little bit of
[35:10] Speaker 9: you know, on the field camaraderie, if you will, with
[35:12] Speaker 9: his receivers and his tight ends and his backs, and
[35:15] Speaker 9: it's fun to watch.
[35:16] Speaker 3: These guys are working hard, and I think they're having
[35:18] Speaker 3: a good time while they're doing it.
[35:21] Speaker 1: Sally, we appreciate you coming on. Also, glad to find
[35:24] Speaker 1: out that you have shades on those windows. I can't
[35:26] Speaker 1: imagine you've closed them a whole lot since you got
[35:28] Speaker 1: down there from Green Bay. We'll look forward to being
[35:31] Speaker 1: down there in the heat and the sun with you
[35:33] Speaker 1: come training camp and see and all these dudes running around.
[35:36] Speaker 1: Fannessy Live and our guy Michael f. Florio with me
[35:39] Speaker 1: Tom Pilicero here on the Insiders NFL Draft in the
[35:42] Speaker 1: books Florio fantasy draft still four months away or in
[35:45] Speaker 1: your case two or three. Let's talk about some of
[35:48] Speaker 1: these skill position players, good or bad, and what their
[35:52] Speaker 1: draft landing spot could mean for their fantasy out Look.
[35:55] Speaker 1: Let's start right up there at the top. One of
[35:57] Speaker 1: the surprise picks, Carnel Tait, number four, the Titans.
[36:00] Speaker 2: What do you think now?
[36:02] Speaker 15: I did my first mock draft someday, so we've already
[36:05] Speaker 15: started drafting over here.
[36:07] Speaker 2: I think Carnel Tait is a huge winner.
[36:10] Speaker 15: Of the NFL Draft because he gets a chance to
[36:13] Speaker 15: come in and I would say he should be the
[36:15] Speaker 15: Titans top target.
[36:16] Speaker 2: Immediately in year one.
[36:19] Speaker 15: And it's his skill set that fits so well. He's
[36:22] Speaker 15: a big bodied receiver, he can play out wide. They
[36:24] Speaker 15: have Wandel Robinson in the slot right now, but he
[36:27] Speaker 15: should be the go to option for cam Ward and
[36:31] Speaker 15: he reminded me of like a bigger Terry McLaurin.
[36:34] Speaker 2: As a prospect.
[36:35] Speaker 15: But now he gets to play with Brian Dable, who
[36:37] Speaker 15: in the past has always had.
[36:38] Speaker 2: A very pass heavy offense.
[36:40] Speaker 15: He likes to target his wide receiver ones at a
[36:42] Speaker 15: very high rate. So he is firmly a top five
[36:46] Speaker 15: pick in dynasty rookie drafts right now, and if you're
[36:49] Speaker 15: already thinking about redraft, I would expect to take him
[36:51] Speaker 15: in like the sixth round.
[36:54] Speaker 1: Chrystal Lave was also a comp. I heard Carnel Tate
[36:57] Speaker 1: in the process instead. Olave now teams up with the
[36:59] Speaker 1: other wide receiver. What do you think of Jordan Tyson
[37:02] Speaker 1: down there in New Orleans?
[37:03] Speaker 15: He was my personal favorite wide receiver in this draft class,
[37:06] Speaker 15: and I think he's a.
[37:07] Speaker 2: Huge winner here.
[37:08] Speaker 15: Look, a couple of weeks ago, I came on this
[37:11] Speaker 15: very show and said my dream landing spot for him
[37:13] Speaker 15: was the Saints, So obviously I like this one. Last year,
[37:17] Speaker 15: the Saints threw the ball at the sixth highest rate
[37:19] Speaker 15: in football. They could be trailing a lot once again
[37:22] Speaker 15: this year, so I would expect them to throw the.
[37:24] Speaker 2: Ball a lot. But even with that, Chris Olave.
[37:27] Speaker 15: Last year was the only Saints receiver to see over
[37:30] Speaker 15: seventy targets. They desperately need a number two option and
[37:34] Speaker 15: Tyson could come in see one hundred, one hundred and
[37:36] Speaker 15: twenty targets something like that as a rookie and with
[37:39] Speaker 15: his abilities, that should make him a really solid fantasy option.
[37:43] Speaker 2: Just like with Tate. He is a top five pick
[37:45] Speaker 2: in rookie drafts.
[37:46] Speaker 15: And again I think someone you would have to take
[37:48] Speaker 15: in like the sixth seventh round if you want on
[37:50] Speaker 15: your teams this fantasy season.
[37:53] Speaker 1: Browns also needed to upgrade the wide receiver position. They
[37:56] Speaker 1: did it with two guys in the top forty Floria,
[37:58] Speaker 1: what do you think?
[38:00] Speaker 2: I don't like this at all.
[38:02] Speaker 15: Look, I liked Casey Concepcio and Denzel Boston. I wanted
[38:05] Speaker 15: them to go to places where they could have immediate
[38:08] Speaker 15: fantasy success, and then they go to Cleveland. Look Todd Monkin.
[38:13] Speaker 15: His system is always one that tends to be a
[38:15] Speaker 15: run first system. They don't throw a lot historically his
[38:18] Speaker 15: offenses and the Browns might not have like all stars
[38:22] Speaker 15: in their wide receiver room, but they have depth with
[38:25] Speaker 15: these two rookies and Jerry Judy, Cedric Tillman, Isaiah Bond
[38:29] Speaker 15: and then Harold Fanner.
[38:30] Speaker 2: Junior is probably the top target. And on top of.
[38:32] Speaker 15: That, their quarterbacks are Deshaun Watson and Shador Sanders.
[38:36] Speaker 2: So just an awful landing spot for fantasy purposes. Let's
[38:40] Speaker 2: go to the mid rounds.
[38:41] Speaker 1: Chris Brazil quite possibly would have been a higher draft
[38:44] Speaker 1: pick if just based upon the tape and the talent
[38:47] Speaker 1: alone said, the Panthers get him in the third.
[38:49] Speaker 2: He's now part of a pretty crowded room there, Floria. Yeah,
[38:52] Speaker 2: I still think he's a winner.
[38:54] Speaker 15: Look, Chris Brazil was one of my personal favorites just
[38:57] Speaker 15: by watching the tape.
[38:58] Speaker 2: Like you said, Tom, he could stretch the field.
[39:00] Speaker 15: He's a big body guy who could be used in
[39:02] Speaker 15: the red zone and big catch radis all of that.
[39:06] Speaker 15: So why a winner Because the Panthers, yes, they have
[39:09] Speaker 15: a crowded wide receiver room, but outside of Tetoro McMillan,
[39:12] Speaker 15: I think targets are up for grab there, so he
[39:15] Speaker 15: could compete with Xavier Leget to be the number two
[39:18] Speaker 15: target there.
[39:19] Speaker 2: Jalen Coker, I would.
[39:20] Speaker 15: Expect it's more in the slot, but Brazil could push
[39:24] Speaker 15: Xavier leg Get to the side.
[39:26] Speaker 2: I think he has the upside of really being a
[39:29] Speaker 2: breakout guy as the ear goes on. Not someone you
[39:31] Speaker 2: draft to start right away, but a lot of upside
[39:33] Speaker 2: down the road. And how about a.
[39:36] Speaker 1: Running back Florio who you're confident is either going to
[39:39] Speaker 1: get overdrafted or let's face it, overdrafted, because that's what
[39:41] Speaker 1: always happens with the Roney running backs.
[39:44] Speaker 2: Yeah, this one he might live up to expectations. It's
[39:47] Speaker 2: Hidarian Price, who's a huge winner.
[39:49] Speaker 15: Look, Jeremiah Love was always going to be the RB
[39:52] Speaker 15: one of this class. The RB two, though, was always
[39:55] Speaker 15: going to be whoever Seattle drafted because last season they
[39:59] Speaker 15: ran the ball at the the highest rate in the
[40:01] Speaker 15: NFL and they lost Kenneth Walker. We know Zach Charbonney
[40:04] Speaker 15: tore his ACL in January, so he could miss a
[40:08] Speaker 15: lot of time This year. Price is going to get
[40:11] Speaker 15: a lot of volume on a team that runs the
[40:13] Speaker 15: ball a ton. Now he's more of a say, floor
[40:16] Speaker 15: guy than ceiling because he doesn't catch the ball a ton,
[40:19] Speaker 15: but he could go as early as the number two
[40:21] Speaker 15: pick in rookie dynasty drafts upcoming, and for redraft, I
[40:25] Speaker 15: think he's going to be a start off with like
[40:27] Speaker 15: the fifth, sixth round, but I.
[40:29] Speaker 2: Think with a good camp he's going to continue to
[40:30] Speaker 2: get pulled up.
[40:32] Speaker 1: Michael left florio as I said, saying that yes, the
[40:35] Speaker 1: running basket to get drafted a lot higher than he
[40:36] Speaker 1: probably should. Thank you very much. Talk to you again soon.
[40:40] Speaker 1: Ten years after Denver drafted him, Two time Pro Bowl
[40:43] Speaker 1: safety Justin Simmons retired today officially as a member of
[40:47] Speaker 1: the Broncos. Played most of his career in Denver. Final
[40:51] Speaker 1: season in twenty twenty four with the Falcons. Good guy,
[40:54] Speaker 1: really good player, walking away. Rob Gronkowski retired a couple
[40:58] Speaker 1: of times. He's got Super Bowl trophies in the case.
[41:02] Speaker 1: He's also got a new honor as a member of
[41:04] Speaker 1: the Patriots Hall of Fame, and he spoke about that today.
[41:09] Speaker 16: Well, as a player, you know, there's no doubt about
[41:12] Speaker 16: it that I want to be viewed as a football player,
[41:15] Speaker 16: not even just a tight end or a guy that
[41:17] Speaker 16: catches passes, catches touchdowns. I want to be viewed as
[41:20] Speaker 16: a fullball player. The definition of a football player someone
[41:24] Speaker 16: that goes out and puts their body on the line
[41:26] Speaker 16: at any given time. Someone that plays a game at
[41:29] Speaker 16: full speed on any given play and makes the big
[41:32] Speaker 16: plays in crucial moments when your number is called the
[41:35] Speaker 16: full That's the type of guy I want to be
[41:37] Speaker 16: remembered out on the field.
[41:39] Speaker 11: Are you on a boat?
[41:41] Speaker 2: Yes, I'm on a boat right now. I'm down in.
[41:43] Speaker 16: Florida and I just got this new boat. It's a
[41:46] Speaker 16: pontoon boat, single engine. It's nothing fancy, but let me
[41:50] Speaker 16: tell you, they're the best boats and they ride really nice.
[41:52] Speaker 16: And today's my first day, honest, So I'm actually learning
[41:55] Speaker 16: right now how to park it and how to drive it,
[41:57] Speaker 16: and it's going really well.
[41:59] Speaker 2: I'm already in the Hall of Fame with driving boats.
[42:03] Speaker 1: I love that The question rock Arkowski is are you
[42:05] Speaker 1: on a boat? Which seems obvious until you realize it's Gronk,
[42:09] Speaker 1: And it's possible, Judy, there could have been an alternate answer.
[42:15] Speaker 6: All I think of when I think of boats and
[42:17] Speaker 6: Gronk is isn't he the one who threw the Lombardi
[42:20] Speaker 6: Trophy in the Hillsboro River to Tom Brady.
[42:23] Speaker 2: Yes he is.
[42:25] Speaker 1: Yes, one of the legendary parades in the middle of
[42:28] Speaker 1: a global pandemic, but they won it in front of
[42:30] Speaker 1: a bunch of cardboard cutouts, celebrated on boats, and tom
[42:34] Speaker 1: Brady at himself a good old time, See you tomorrow.

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