# 40s and Free Agents: Draft Week's Biggest Remaining Questions

An episode of [NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/680904259), 21 Apr 2026, 28 min.

Audio: https://pdrl.fm/91be81/podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/claritaspod.com/measure/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/f7cfc65f-e6f2-46cb-a8c1-b291006e6616/2a1f7932-3f12-45b9-8d9b-b42b017ecf98/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=deff018f-4b51-4501-937c-ae27003475d1

On this episode of 40s and Free Agents, Daniel Jeremiah and Gregg Rosenthal dive into the biggest remaining questions heading into draft week. The guys break down what stands out most in this year’s class, analyze the overall depth, and explore what makes the 2026 draft cycle unique. Then the duo discuss which teams might need to slow down their expectations and which are just one strong draft away from true contention. NFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcasts See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:02] Speaker 1: Welcome back to forties and free agents. I'm Greg Rosenthal
[0:06] Speaker 1: alongside the best draft analyst in the business, Daniel Jeremiah
[0:11] Speaker 1: on his favorite week of the year. We're only a
[0:13] Speaker 1: couple of days away. Are you ready?
[0:15] Speaker 2: DJ? Yeah? I think so. I mean, you never know
[0:18] Speaker 2: until we get there. But it's uh man, I'm just
[0:21] Speaker 2: glad it's here. It takes I think I've said this before,
[0:24] Speaker 2: but like the crunch to the combine feels like it
[0:26] Speaker 2: shrinks every year, and then like the the literally path
[0:30] Speaker 2: to the draft, from the combine to the draft, it
[0:32] Speaker 2: feels like it just gets the longer.
[0:34] Speaker 1: I think you're just getting older and you guys got
[0:36] Speaker 1: to work harder to repeat the same you know, productivity,
[0:39] Speaker 1: which is why I'm going to put you on the spot.
[0:41] Speaker 2: Did I tell you my cheat code?
[0:42] Speaker 1: By the way, this year, sure, not actually watching the film,
[0:46] Speaker 1: just reading everyone else.
[0:48] Speaker 2: Yeah, just survey everybody. Survey the landscape, see what it
[0:51] Speaker 2: got whateverbody has No. No, this is my cheat code
[0:53] Speaker 2: this year. Unintentional, but I was like, you know what,
[0:57] Speaker 2: I've been having too much coffee. I'm off, I'm gonna
[0:59] Speaker 2: I'm to get off caffeine. So I did it for
[1:02] Speaker 2: two months two months nothing well, then the crunch of
[1:06] Speaker 2: the draft, and it's just it doesn't stop. So I
[1:09] Speaker 2: started taking it back up. Oh yeah, it's different when
[1:12] Speaker 2: you've taken a little bit of a break. I mean,
[1:15] Speaker 2: I feel like I could scale a skyscraper right now,
[1:18] Speaker 2: which is one cup of coffee.
[1:20] Speaker 1: I mean, I know you're you're a clean living type
[1:23] Speaker 1: of guy, DJ, So this is about as crazy as
[1:25] Speaker 1: you get. But yeah, you know, you know, everyone who's
[1:29] Speaker 1: had a little weed here it's legal here in California knows.
[1:32] Speaker 1: You know, if you take take off a couple of months,
[1:33] Speaker 1: the next time you have, it's gonna it's gonna pop
[1:35] Speaker 1: a little a little extra that there's something you.
[1:38] Speaker 2: Take your word for it. I'll take your word for it.
[1:41] Speaker 1: Look in this show, we're bringing back a segment people
[1:43] Speaker 1: love last year. I'm putting you on the clock for
[1:45] Speaker 1: five minutes, just hitting you with rapid fire question. We're
[1:49] Speaker 1: also gonna kind of look at a couple of teams
[1:51] Speaker 1: at the end that we think maybe just one draft
[1:53] Speaker 1: away from being closer than you think, and maybe some
[1:55] Speaker 1: teams uh to pump the brakes on. But let's just
[1:58] Speaker 1: start off just generally. Now we're we're kind of at
[2:00] Speaker 1: the end of the process, some general impressions of the
[2:05] Speaker 1: twenty twenty six draft class. You have a better view,
[2:08] Speaker 1: I think than almost anyone of like how each draft
[2:11] Speaker 1: class is different. What stands out to you about this
[2:14] Speaker 1: twenty six class.
[2:15] Speaker 2: Yeah, I will say kind of the good and the
[2:18] Speaker 2: bad here. I think as you've gone through the whole process,
[2:21] Speaker 2: I think the you know, we talked about the edge
[2:23] Speaker 2: rushers a lot, and it's a good group of drushers.
[2:25] Speaker 2: I think the corner group being pretty deep is the significant,
[2:29] Speaker 2: you know, part of this draft and kind of seeing
[2:32] Speaker 2: those guys go all the way throughout and I and
[2:34] Speaker 2: on the opposite side of it, it's just the running back.
[2:36] Speaker 2: This is one of the worst running back classes, you know,
[2:39] Speaker 2: just in terms of the number of guys. Like I
[2:41] Speaker 2: talked to a GM of the day that said they
[2:43] Speaker 2: had like six running backs on their front board, which
[2:45] Speaker 2: means they had six draftable running backs and which is
[2:49] Speaker 2: insane when you look at it. I was just looking
[2:51] Speaker 2: at if you look at total, like you're talking about
[2:54] Speaker 2: twenty one running backs getting drafted on average over the
[2:58] Speaker 2: last five years, they had six. So it's gonna come
[3:02] Speaker 2: from other positions. We're gonna see a lot of tight
[3:04] Speaker 2: ends day three. You know, the corners, safety groups, receivers
[3:07] Speaker 2: is a bazillion of them. But that is uh, that
[3:10] Speaker 2: that is a fascinating storyline in this draft.
[3:13] Speaker 1: I remember on this show just just one year ago,
[3:16] Speaker 1: you were talking about how how you love this tight
[3:18] Speaker 1: end class more than any other, and then you think
[3:20] Speaker 1: about this, this rookie season for Tyler Warren and Colston
[3:23] Speaker 1: Lovelin and Harold Fannin and even Gunner Helm is out
[3:25] Speaker 1: there making plays here gain.
[3:27] Speaker 2: And made some plays like all those guys did.
[3:29] Speaker 1: Good call Like, yeah, I think it's it's pretty deep
[3:31] Speaker 1: at receiver, but every every class seems like it's deep
[3:34] Speaker 1: at receiver, linebacker, certainly tackle. I don't know, is there
[3:39] Speaker 1: a defensive tackle even taken in the first you know, I.
[3:42] Speaker 2: Don't think that's I don't think that's a slam dunk.
[3:44] Speaker 2: I think we could could be wait until round number.
[3:46] Speaker 1: Two and uh in the quarterback position, obviously, did you
[3:50] Speaker 1: want a little more sizzle though? Just be honest, like,
[3:52] Speaker 1: did you do you want a little more sizzle out
[3:54] Speaker 1: of the draft class? This daft class.
[3:56] Speaker 2: I think you can build the nucleus of the guts
[3:58] Speaker 2: of a really good team here. But I mean, look,
[4:00] Speaker 2: when we're doing what we're doing, quarterbacks are kind of
[4:02] Speaker 2: the tent poles that hold the discussion as you go
[4:05] Speaker 2: through the entire draft, and we have one who's going
[4:08] Speaker 2: to be the first pick, and then you know, maybe
[4:10] Speaker 2: with Tys Simpson, like when you've got years, when you've
[4:13] Speaker 2: got five six quarterback names you're kicking around there, that
[4:16] Speaker 2: kind of drives the lead up into the draft.
[4:19] Speaker 1: And yet you've talked about you and I'm curious now
[4:22] Speaker 1: that you've really gone through your top one fifty and
[4:25] Speaker 1: getting everything going, like, do you think it's deeper than
[4:28] Speaker 1: some other classes? Because I went and looked at the
[4:30] Speaker 1: twenty twenty four this was going around. I don't know
[4:32] Speaker 1: if you saw this the third round draft, the third
[4:35] Speaker 1: round pick twenty twenty four, and you look at it
[4:37] Speaker 1: and you're like, wow, I mean there's some contributors there,
[4:41] Speaker 1: but like you had not a lot. You know, you
[4:43] Speaker 1: have Jalx Hunt and Cooper Beebe and Blake koram as
[4:46] Speaker 1: some of your those are good third round picks, but
[4:48] Speaker 1: those are some of your real standouts and the rest
[4:51] Speaker 1: of it. So that class, which had some great players,
[4:53] Speaker 1: at the top not as deep. What do you think
[4:55] Speaker 1: in terms of depth of this class, Well.
[4:57] Speaker 2: I think that there's another discussion that goes along with that,
[4:59] Speaker 2: and I'll get to second. I think it's a fairly deep.
[5:01] Speaker 2: I don't think it runs deep into day three. To me,
[5:04] Speaker 2: it's like up to like second, third, fourth round, you know,
[5:08] Speaker 2: I really like but there's some years where you're like, man,
[5:10] Speaker 2: I'm in the sixth round and they're still getting good players.
[5:12] Speaker 2: What I think is contributing to that list that you
[5:15] Speaker 2: just discussed in twenty twenty four is the fact that
[5:17] Speaker 2: because of technology, because of having all of the data
[5:22] Speaker 2: on these players, not only the analytical stuff, but then
[5:25] Speaker 2: also having GPS, you know, with in game technology, I
[5:29] Speaker 2: think there's more of a standard around the league. I
[5:31] Speaker 2: think there's less variance, and I think basically what we
[5:34] Speaker 2: used to scatter, you know, fifty players, or let's say
[5:37] Speaker 2: scatter the thirty players could get scattered over four rounds.
[5:40] Speaker 2: I think all those guys are getting identified and crunched in.
[5:43] Speaker 2: You also have the factor in the transfer portal where
[5:46] Speaker 2: all those guys are transferring up, so there's not as
[5:49] Speaker 2: much guesswork with some players they play against the quality
[5:51] Speaker 2: of competition. Well, now they're in the Big ten or
[5:53] Speaker 2: the SEC you're playing, it's easier to identify guys when
[5:56] Speaker 2: they're playing NFL taler players each and every week, or
[5:59] Speaker 2: at least a bunch of the time. So I think
[6:01] Speaker 2: that's what's happened, and that's what's hurt some of these
[6:04] Speaker 2: middle round players is the rest of the league has
[6:05] Speaker 2: kind of crunched all these guys together.
[6:07] Speaker 1: So you're saying you've gotten better. The league's gotten better.
[6:10] Speaker 2: Not me. No, Yeah, I just think it's the league.
[6:13] Speaker 2: I don't know it's something to do with me. It's
[6:14] Speaker 2: just that there's more a little more consensus around the
[6:17] Speaker 2: league now, and I think it's because the information it's
[6:19] Speaker 2: your apples to apples. You're not having to compare to
[6:22] Speaker 2: nine different fruits. Here.
[6:24] Speaker 1: Justice for Kaylin Bullock, by the way, who has taken
[6:26] Speaker 1: there in the third round. He might be the best
[6:28] Speaker 1: third round player. And Gonzales, the guard for the Colts,
[6:32] Speaker 1: has been very good. So they were good. There's still
[6:33] Speaker 1: always gonna be good players, but not a time. All right,
[6:35] Speaker 1: let's talk about inflection point. Where do you think this
[6:39] Speaker 1: draft changes potentially? Like where are you looking?
[6:44] Speaker 2: I'm looking to me, it's like this little alley that
[6:47] Speaker 2: I think is fascinating. It's you know, five, six, seven,
[6:51] Speaker 2: I think drives a lot of this draft. So because
[6:54] Speaker 2: they could go anywhere. They could go offense, they could
[6:56] Speaker 2: go defense. The Giants, you know, the more I looked
[6:59] Speaker 2: at that and saw it last week where they came
[7:02] Speaker 2: out in their press conference and said, neighbors, you know,
[7:04] Speaker 2: is not all the way back yet and you lose
[7:07] Speaker 2: Wandelle Robinson and I'm like, okay, well they could be
[7:09] Speaker 2: in the receiver market there at five, you know where
[7:12] Speaker 2: they're picking, just they got to get somebody to help
[7:13] Speaker 2: out with Jackson Dart And then you also, well, the
[7:16] Speaker 2: best players available are going to be the defensive players.
[7:18] Speaker 2: So you know, do they go with one of those
[7:20] Speaker 2: Ohio State guys there at five? There's some mystery there.
[7:23] Speaker 2: Six with Cleveland has always been the debate of receiver, tackle.
[7:27] Speaker 2: I've kind of landed late in the process, more so
[7:29] Speaker 2: on tackle first, because you don't want to miss out
[7:32] Speaker 2: on that when you get to twenty four. And then
[7:34] Speaker 2: Washington doesn't have a second round pick, so they could
[7:36] Speaker 2: be potentially Jeremiah Love could be there. You could be
[7:39] Speaker 2: looking at you know, downs could be there, but they
[7:42] Speaker 2: could also be an attractive team to come up to
[7:45] Speaker 2: take that spot and they can recoup a second round
[7:47] Speaker 2: pick they don't possess. So five, six, seven is kind
[7:49] Speaker 2: of where things I think start to change.
[7:51] Speaker 1: Yeah, that it's fascinating because my biggest question is like
[7:54] Speaker 1: when do these tackles get taken because if they if
[7:57] Speaker 1: they don't, then then you see like the premier players
[8:01] Speaker 1: in terms of just like blue chip, a lot of
[8:02] Speaker 1: the guys that are near the top of your prospects
[8:04] Speaker 1: taken taken in the top nine picks. But if these
[8:06] Speaker 1: tackles just start and get taken a lot early, that's
[8:09] Speaker 1: gonna put everyone down.
[8:10] Speaker 2: I think that's possible.
[8:11] Speaker 1: No fun, that's no fun. I tackle class. I fel
[8:15] Speaker 1: like you're just trying to make these guys happen. They
[8:17] Speaker 1: could be guards like it's.
[8:18] Speaker 2: It's not I think that the button again. I think
[8:20] Speaker 2: that the there's a premium there and that would not
[8:23] Speaker 2: surprise me. And I think once you start to see
[8:25] Speaker 2: one or two of them go, people are gonna panic.
[8:28] Speaker 1: Here's the thing, though, you could go inflection point as
[8:31] Speaker 1: early as too, because I don't I don't think we
[8:32] Speaker 1: have a consensus on which defensive player, and it's probably
[8:35] Speaker 1: a defensive player that the Jets take. And then even Arizona,
[8:39] Speaker 1: I know you've been doing now we know h every
[8:41] Speaker 1: time I feel like they're a grab back, Like why
[8:44] Speaker 1: couldn't they take Jeremiah Love. Our friend Nick Schook had
[8:47] Speaker 1: him going to Arizona at three. I like, I feel
[8:50] Speaker 1: like they could go in any direction in terms of
[8:52] Speaker 1: premier talent. They could take one of the Ohio State players.
[8:55] Speaker 1: They could take a tackle. So it's it's as unpredictable
[8:58] Speaker 1: to me in the top two three as a class
[9:01] Speaker 1: that we've seen in a little bit.
[9:02] Speaker 2: Arizona is also the you know, they're kind of the
[9:05] Speaker 2: Ty Simpson team for me. So whereas that, like I
[9:09] Speaker 2: if Arizona were to trade out, maybe they traded out,
[9:13] Speaker 2: if they traded out of the top ten, my spidy
[9:15] Speaker 2: senses would would perk up a little bit and say, Okay,
[9:17] Speaker 2: this is maybe they're going to take ty Simpson there,
[9:20] Speaker 2: or they come back up from thirty four maybe and
[9:23] Speaker 2: try and take him there. But they just they feel
[9:25] Speaker 2: like the most obvious to me, you know, at this
[9:27] Speaker 2: point in time, feel like the most obvious Ty Simpson
[9:29] Speaker 2: team And I'll say I've been on the desk when
[9:32] Speaker 2: Mitchell Trubisky was taken in the top five. I've been
[9:35] Speaker 2: on the desk when Blake Bortles was taken in the
[9:36] Speaker 2: top five. Like those guys that we didn't, you know,
[9:39] Speaker 2: quite see that. So I'm just saying you always, you always,
[9:44] Speaker 2: you know, it's saying that they're a little bit of wildcard.
[9:46] Speaker 2: I'm just trying to to give a little bit more
[9:49] Speaker 2: umph to your point there.
[9:50] Speaker 1: I like that. And we had a mailbag question on
[9:52] Speaker 1: NFL Daily last week, like what are the team who like?
[9:55] Speaker 1: What players would a team even trade up for in
[9:58] Speaker 1: this draft. It's kind of a confusing, but Arizona maybe
[10:00] Speaker 1: would be at that spot where it's you just trade
[10:03] Speaker 1: up a couple spots. Do you have a player that
[10:06] Speaker 1: you think someone would would trade up for.
[10:08] Speaker 2: Yeah, I've I've gone back to the Jets. I mentioned
[10:11] Speaker 2: that last week, just talking about the Jets with the
[10:13] Speaker 2: receiver and Carnel Tait and you know, you've got proof
[10:16] Speaker 2: of concept of an Ohio State receiver right there. You
[10:19] Speaker 2: need they need another guy. I know you're an ad
[10:21] Speaker 2: Mitchell guy. I like him and I'm hopeful there, but
[10:24] Speaker 2: I don't think you're going to rely on that, So.
[10:26] Speaker 1: I mean, I don't want that on my tombstone or anything.
[10:29] Speaker 1: I'm an ad Mitchell guy. I'm saying, if he's your
[10:32] Speaker 1: number three and you have Garrett Wilson and a player
[10:35] Speaker 1: like Carnel Tate as your two, I think you're cooking
[10:37] Speaker 1: with gas.
[10:38] Speaker 2: I think the tombstone says decent tennis player, owner of JEZL.
[10:43] Speaker 2: Next watch, and then it says, right beneath that, ad
[10:46] Speaker 2: Mitchell fan, look at that thing. What a watch?
[10:49] Speaker 1: And that's right. I'm glad you mentioned once again Minutchog
[10:53] Speaker 1: Regional nineteen ninety six Massachusetts state champion.
[10:56] Speaker 2: There you go.
[10:57] Speaker 1: Let's go Falcons. Last question before I just give you
[10:59] Speaker 1: a bunch of rapid fire question, is there something that
[11:02] Speaker 1: surprised you? Again, we're thinking kind of big picture, evaluating
[11:07] Speaker 1: the entire group of players that you kind of learned
[11:10] Speaker 1: through the process, maybe not expecting going into.
[11:12] Speaker 2: It, going through and looking at that. That's a great
[11:15] Speaker 2: it's actually a really good question. You know. I just
[11:17] Speaker 2: think what surprised me the most is that for a
[11:20] Speaker 2: profession that I was in of scouting, where we were
[11:23] Speaker 2: so obsessive over measurables and those things that guys are
[11:27] Speaker 2: just having to put that to the side a little
[11:29] Speaker 2: bit in this particular draft. So it is, I mean,
[11:32] Speaker 2: you look like Fano doesn't have the ideal length. I
[11:35] Speaker 2: still think he's going to go high. Bain and his
[11:38] Speaker 2: notoriously short arms, he could fly it a little bit,
[11:41] Speaker 2: but I mean it's not like he's going to fall
[11:42] Speaker 2: out of the first round cash is Howell with his
[11:45] Speaker 2: short arms. But still I think the more I talk
[11:48] Speaker 2: to teams, there's plenty of teams that are excited about him.
[11:51] Speaker 2: So there's a lot of these exceptions that for the
[11:54] Speaker 2: most part scouts don't like jumping on that train, but
[11:58] Speaker 2: it feels like you almost you're gonna have to. And
[12:00] Speaker 2: I would even put like Jordan Tyson's injury history like
[12:03] Speaker 2: that's a there's there's injuries every single year. There's you know,
[12:07] Speaker 2: significant concern there. But I think as we're going through
[12:11] Speaker 2: the process, people have been able to just kind of
[12:13] Speaker 2: put this stuff on the side and say, we're just
[12:14] Speaker 2: gonna take the good players.
[12:15] Speaker 1: Where yeah, where are we at? By the way, in
[12:18] Speaker 1: the there's less measuring every year in terms of forties,
[12:22] Speaker 1: certainly in terms of shuttles, but just in general, getting
[12:25] Speaker 1: the actual data I was a big talking point I
[12:27] Speaker 1: feel like going into last year draft and now everyone's
[12:29] Speaker 1: just used to it. Did it did it change at
[12:32] Speaker 1: all this year? Did it just keep getting less numbers?
[12:34] Speaker 2: Like?
[12:34] Speaker 1: Where are we at with that? Yeah?
[12:36] Speaker 2: I mean, especially in indie and there's just there's incomplete
[12:41] Speaker 2: stuff on so many players. They just kind of, as
[12:43] Speaker 2: I'd like to say, this kind of buffet the process.
[12:45] Speaker 2: But you you get the at least you get all
[12:48] Speaker 2: the GPS data you know, from the from the tape
[12:50] Speaker 2: and and all that stuff. So you have that, but
[12:53] Speaker 2: it's gonna take It's just gonna take a while for
[12:55] Speaker 2: that database to build up. The nice thing about all
[12:57] Speaker 2: the indie testing is that you hear go back, you know,
[13:00] Speaker 2: thirty forty years or whatever and compare this stuff.
[13:03] Speaker 1: I heard that. You know, there's always like a couple
[13:05] Speaker 1: of prospects. I heard in this class that people don't
[13:07] Speaker 1: even know their birthday. How is that possible? Is that
[13:09] Speaker 1: a real thing?
[13:10] Speaker 2: I had not heard that yet, But that's an interesting
[13:15] Speaker 2: to know it.
[13:15] Speaker 1: But like a.
[13:16] Speaker 2: Baseball issue, I mean, remember we've had all that, you know,
[13:19] Speaker 2: some players come from Latin America, and then that you
[13:21] Speaker 2: realize he's twenty four, he's not sixteen.
[13:24] Speaker 1: It's like, DJ, it just seems like he's younger than
[13:27] Speaker 1: he looks. And then suddenly you look up and he's
[13:29] Speaker 1: got kids in college graduating.
[13:31] Speaker 2: You're going to be a grandparent, you know what I mean?
[13:33] Speaker 1: Like, all right, let's put you on the clock. We
[13:36] Speaker 1: are going to have five minutes. I'm going to try
[13:39] Speaker 1: to get as many questions as I can. DJ, you
[13:44] Speaker 1: are on the hot seat. Start the clock. Let's go
[13:47] Speaker 1: right now. Number one, Could David Bailey just be Chop
[13:52] Speaker 1: Robinson with better pr.
[13:55] Speaker 2: No, he's more skilled as a rusher. That's a mean question.
[13:59] Speaker 2: But now I mean Shop Robinson.
[14:01] Speaker 1: It was a first round pick.
[14:02] Speaker 2: But yeah, no, but but yeah, I think I'm still
[14:05] Speaker 2: holding not hope for Chop. But no, he's he's a
[14:06] Speaker 2: higher rated prospect coming through the process.
[14:09] Speaker 1: Okay, have you heard any you get the inside stuff
[14:12] Speaker 1: of any veteran players potentially shaking loose in this draft?
[14:18] Speaker 2: Yes?
[14:18] Speaker 1: I have. But I'll come on, are you got to
[14:21] Speaker 1: be one of those insiders? After the fact, it's like,
[14:23] Speaker 1: well everyone knew this.
[14:25] Speaker 2: No, I you know me well enough that when we
[14:26] Speaker 2: hang up, when we finish this, I'll text you and
[14:29] Speaker 2: tell you.
[14:29] Speaker 1: Okay, does that make you think there's gonna be a
[14:32] Speaker 1: lot of trades?
[14:32] Speaker 2: Then?
[14:33] Speaker 1: In general, I.
[14:34] Speaker 2: Think there're gonna be a decent amount of trades. Yeah,
[14:35] Speaker 2: I don't know how high they are, but I think
[14:37] Speaker 2: as we go throughout the draft to start see trades,
[14:39] Speaker 2: and I do think you're gonna see some bets get moved,
[14:40] Speaker 2: whether it's right before the draft or during the draft.
[14:43] Speaker 1: The obvious names would be like a J. Brown, Kenny
[14:45] Speaker 1: Moore is out there, Brandon maybe gets a leader.
[14:47] Speaker 2: None of those are the ones.
[14:49] Speaker 1: Yeah, those aren't exciting though, so I felt like you
[14:51] Speaker 1: were going to do something.
[14:52] Speaker 2: I might be overselling it. I don't think mine's super
[14:54] Speaker 2: exciting either, But they're guys.
[14:56] Speaker 1: You know, maybe Jared's did him. Let's put you kind
[15:00] Speaker 1: of on the table here, a player you think deserves
[15:02] Speaker 1: to go much higher than consensus.
[15:06] Speaker 2: I'm a couple of guys I'm higher on, but one
[15:08] Speaker 2: would be Emmanuel McNeil. Warren. I just loved I love
[15:11] Speaker 2: watching him, and I think there's a chance he could
[15:13] Speaker 2: fall into the second round. That wouldn't shock me. You know,
[15:16] Speaker 2: safeties do slide, and I just think he's a really
[15:19] Speaker 2: good player. And he ran in the four fives. I guess,
[15:21] Speaker 2: you know, people want to run a little bit faster.
[15:23] Speaker 2: I think of four to five to two. It doesn't
[15:25] Speaker 2: matter to me. He's six three and a half in change.
[15:27] Speaker 2: He makes a ton of plays. Smiths tackle rate was
[15:29] Speaker 2: a little bit high, which people have been banging on
[15:31] Speaker 2: him when I've talked to some teams, And then I
[15:33] Speaker 2: had to fight back on that and said, that's like,
[15:36] Speaker 2: it's like we're talking about one or two three tackles
[15:38] Speaker 2: over the course of the year. He guys forced nine
[15:40] Speaker 2: fumbles in his career, Like, can we upset that a
[15:42] Speaker 2: little bit?
[15:43] Speaker 1: I would love to see him with Flores with the
[15:46] Speaker 1: Vigins that could be a fun one, or Todd Bowles
[15:48] Speaker 1: even drafting around the same spot. How about a guy
[15:50] Speaker 1: I know this isn't being negative, but you think deserves
[15:54] Speaker 1: to go lower than consensus.
[15:57] Speaker 2: Ooh, lower than consensus? I think that, Well, it depends
[16:00] Speaker 2: on how high he ends up going. But you know,
[16:03] Speaker 2: Monroe Freeling, I like, is what he can become. But
[16:06] Speaker 2: I think there's a significant risk there. He's just not
[16:09] Speaker 2: He hasn't done it for a long period of time,
[16:11] Speaker 2: and it's not a you know, it's just not a
[16:12] Speaker 2: long track record there. So that that's one that I
[16:14] Speaker 2: think has got a little hero or zero to it.
[16:17] Speaker 1: I think a lot of these tackles could be boom
[16:19] Speaker 1: or bus picks. Are you mad that you listened to me?
[16:21] Speaker 1: I don't know if you remember this, but I was
[16:24] Speaker 1: the biggest reason you made Travis Hunter your number one
[16:27] Speaker 1: overall player last year, right before uh, you know, the draft.
[16:31] Speaker 1: Are you mad that you listened to me?
[16:32] Speaker 2: I probably should have, just I had Abdul Carter throughout
[16:34] Speaker 2: the whole process and the last the last update, I
[16:37] Speaker 2: ended up switching.
[16:38] Speaker 1: Keep your stock, Keep your stock. Everyone's bailing.
[16:40] Speaker 2: It's here too for a young play all pro corner
[16:43] Speaker 2: next year.
[16:44] Speaker 1: Then everyone will just shut up. Kind of a similar idea.
[16:48] Speaker 1: If r Vel Reese winds up primarily as a linebacker,
[16:51] Speaker 1: will you apologize to me and Ali Connolly?
[16:55] Speaker 2: Uh? Sure, yeah I will. If he plays as an
[16:57] Speaker 2: off the ball linebacker full time? Yeah, I want that.
[17:01] Speaker 2: I will apologize to both of you guys.
[17:03] Speaker 1: There is there anyone that you think is suffering from
[17:05] Speaker 1: prospect fatigue, like a great player that everyone's just picked
[17:09] Speaker 1: over for too long because the process is so long.
[17:14] Speaker 2: Gosh, I don't know if they've like gotten down on them,
[17:18] Speaker 2: so to speak. Uh, I just don't think anybody talks
[17:22] Speaker 2: about you want to And the Penn State guard is
[17:25] Speaker 2: just like he's boringly. Everything he does is really really good,
[17:29] Speaker 2: and I feel like people don't talk about him.
[17:30] Speaker 1: That that's absolutely true. We haven't much on this show
[17:33] Speaker 1: or on NFL daily, and that was gonna be one
[17:34] Speaker 1: of my questions, true or false? Uh A, Yanni, you
[17:38] Speaker 1: want better at guard than any of these tackles are
[17:41] Speaker 1: at tackle.
[17:41] Speaker 2: I think that's I think that's true.
[17:44] Speaker 1: Okay, and some of them might end up being guards anyways,
[17:46] Speaker 1: are you I mean we've mentioned it before. Are you
[17:49] Speaker 1: just trying to make this tackle class happen because because
[17:51] Speaker 1: they play tackle?
[17:52] Speaker 2: Oh, they're making this tackle happen. This tackle class happened
[17:55] Speaker 2: because the class that they're in. Like everybody, I love that.
[17:58] Speaker 2: It's just like when you say, like you're you're too
[18:02] Speaker 2: you're too high on this guy, you're too low on
[18:04] Speaker 2: this guy, Well, then list them out, like start telling
[18:06] Speaker 2: me who's ye who are you going to take over them?
[18:08] Speaker 2: You know?
[18:08] Speaker 1: I think that was an instructive answer for people like
[18:12] Speaker 1: myself and everyone listening.
[18:13] Speaker 2: He's not a top ten player, Well, then tell me
[18:15] Speaker 2: who the top ten guys are in the draft.
[18:17] Speaker 1: Top ten's pretty sweet here, but then after that or maybe.
[18:19] Speaker 2: But that's the gist of the argument is what, Yeah.
[18:23] Speaker 1: Is nick Emon Worry going to get safety is drafted
[18:25] Speaker 1: higher this year just because of what happened last year?
[18:28] Speaker 2: I don't think so. Because Derwin James didn't get Kyle
[18:31] Speaker 2: Hamilton drafted higher, and Kyle Hamilton didn't get nick Eman
[18:34] Speaker 2: Moorey drafted higher.
[18:35] Speaker 1: What are we doing here? All right? Which did you
[18:37] Speaker 1: enjoy more five minutes with me on the clock or
[18:41] Speaker 1: five minutes with Eisen on Sports Center?
[18:44] Speaker 2: Well? I mean, I as a kid, I'll be honest
[18:47] Speaker 2: with you, I didn't dream of being on a podcast
[18:49] Speaker 2: with a mime, So I did dream of being on
[18:52] Speaker 2: Sports Center, So I mean, I think I checked that box.
[18:55] Speaker 2: But doing a show with Greg dressed as a backstage
[18:58] Speaker 2: hand is fun. What are you're talking about?
[19:02] Speaker 1: We're totally normal. You know it's a collar, dark black shirt.
[19:07] Speaker 2: It's dark, is there? Do you have an undershirt in
[19:09] Speaker 2: there too? Like black black?
[19:11] Speaker 1: No? Give me a break, that's it. That was our
[19:14] Speaker 1: five minutes. Good job, DJ, you're off the clock. You passed.
[19:18] Speaker 1: You can do one more show of forties and free
[19:20] Speaker 1: Agents when we come back after the draft, which we
[19:22] Speaker 1: are doing. But not over. This isn't over. Not only
[19:26] Speaker 1: is this man you know series not over. This show
[19:29] Speaker 1: is not even over. But we are going to take
[19:30] Speaker 1: a break and wrap it up on the other side,
[19:44] Speaker 1: back on forties and free Agents. I'm excited. I'm gonna
[19:48] Speaker 1: be watching. I'm still, you know, an NFL network guy.
[19:51] Speaker 1: I don't care about this merger. I'm watching Eisen in
[19:53] Speaker 1: DJ all Thursday night while we're doing some live fun
[19:56] Speaker 1: stuff for NFL Daily after the draft and enduring. But
[20:01] Speaker 1: before that, let's let's talk about who you think could
[20:03] Speaker 1: change the most in terms of this next season. Uh.
[20:09] Speaker 1: Negative and positive, But let's let's go negative. Maybe maybe
[20:13] Speaker 1: a team to pump the brakes on a little bit
[20:16] Speaker 1: that that maybe needs a big draft in a way
[20:19] Speaker 1: that people don't understand more holes than people really understand.
[20:23] Speaker 1: A year ago at this time, we nailed a couple
[20:26] Speaker 1: of the teams. I'm spacing on who they were. I
[20:29] Speaker 1: know the Bengals were one of them, But why don't
[20:32] Speaker 1: you give me a team to to pump the brakes
[20:33] Speaker 1: on a little.
[20:34] Speaker 2: Bit I'm still curious about Buffalo a little bit. I
[20:38] Speaker 2: do think there's some some significant work that needs to
[20:41] Speaker 2: be done here. I think that David Edwards lost in
[20:43] Speaker 2: free agencies as bigger than people anticipate there, So getting
[20:48] Speaker 2: that short up you look on the defensive side of
[20:51] Speaker 2: the ball up front, I don't know, it's there's solid
[20:55] Speaker 2: players up there, but that doesn't blow me away. I
[20:59] Speaker 2: just look at them in terms of like how many
[21:01] Speaker 2: players do they have you have to game plan around?
[21:03] Speaker 1: No, I don't know.
[21:05] Speaker 2: They got some work to do.
[21:07] Speaker 1: Yeah, they I think both them and the Ravens, who
[21:10] Speaker 1: are favorites right now if you want to call them
[21:14] Speaker 1: that in terms of over underwin total in Vegas for
[21:16] Speaker 1: whatever that's worth, the highest numbers in AFC, both have
[21:19] Speaker 1: more needs going into the draft than you usually would expect.
[21:23] Speaker 1: Like where are the super strength of the Bills team
[21:26] Speaker 1: outside of offensive line? And Josh Allen? Maybe maybe that's enough,
[21:29] Speaker 1: Maybe that's it, And I think they need an offensive lineman.
[21:33] Speaker 1: I think the Patriots got to get faster, you know.
[21:35] Speaker 1: I think I start every exercise like this offensive line,
[21:39] Speaker 1: defensive line, and I just think they still need to
[21:42] Speaker 1: do work on their offensive line I still think they're
[21:44] Speaker 1: going to be looking for defensive tackles and edges. I
[21:46] Speaker 1: thought they were too hard on you in terms of
[21:49] Speaker 1: the Patriots fans who didn't like that you gave them
[21:52] Speaker 1: a defensive tackle. They could absolutely use a defensive tackle.
[21:55] Speaker 1: So they're a team I think was way ahead of
[21:58] Speaker 1: schedule last year, but has need in terms of you know,
[22:02] Speaker 1: they have some premier players, but they have more holes,
[22:04] Speaker 1: including a linebacker, than maybe people expect.
[22:06] Speaker 2: You know. What's interesting on the other side of that
[22:08] Speaker 2: a little bit is going through the process and they
[22:11] Speaker 2: ended up obviously trading the pick for a waddle. But
[22:14] Speaker 2: when you look at Denver's roster, you can make cases
[22:17] Speaker 2: in the best shape of anybody, Like there's no when
[22:19] Speaker 2: you go through and you're looking at what they need.
[22:21] Speaker 2: Now they don't have many picks and they're picking sixty
[22:23] Speaker 2: two here, but that roster is in really, really good shape.
[22:27] Speaker 2: So that was an interesting part of that exercise before
[22:29] Speaker 2: they ended up trading out. When you're going through, who
[22:30] Speaker 2: do they take? And I was like, they were a
[22:32] Speaker 2: hard team to mock draft for. I'm almost kind of
[22:33] Speaker 2: glad that they made the trade because it was tough
[22:36] Speaker 2: to pin them down on what they would take last.
[22:39] Speaker 1: Year's team is, by the way, is that we said,
[22:41] Speaker 1: you know, maybe maybe just pump the brakes on a
[22:43] Speaker 1: little bit. Dolphins, Bengals, Commanders all in that mix. Do
[22:48] Speaker 1: you even you even had the Packers, although you said
[22:51] Speaker 1: I think they'll make the playoffs, but there there's not
[22:54] Speaker 1: enough oomph there that it's they're kind of trending towards
[22:56] Speaker 1: the same idea of like good not great, and you
[22:59] Speaker 1: were you were, you know, so we can the one there.
[23:03] Speaker 1: I feel bad about this because Panthers fans are getting
[23:06] Speaker 1: tired of it, but there's this feeling that, you know,
[23:09] Speaker 1: they made this huge step last year, and they they
[23:12] Speaker 1: did from where they were and it's an easy division.
[23:15] Speaker 1: But I just think they have a lot of holes
[23:16] Speaker 1: as well. They're another team where offensive defensive line I
[23:18] Speaker 1: think could use a lot of improvements, some juice in
[23:21] Speaker 1: terms of their skill position, talent really anywhere outside the
[23:24] Speaker 1: cornerback position I think could be improved there. So I
[23:27] Speaker 1: still think they're like in a sending team, but they
[23:29] Speaker 1: could really use another draft stacked on top.
[23:32] Speaker 2: Of last year. I'm with you on that one.
[23:34] Speaker 1: All right, let's get positive, Let's go for teams that
[23:37] Speaker 1: are a good draft week away from contention. I'm not
[23:42] Speaker 1: going to say we nailed all of these last year,
[23:46] Speaker 1: but I did have the Jaguars as one of the
[23:48] Speaker 1: teams that was good, and you had the Bears. So
[23:52] Speaker 1: those were two two big hits. Give me a team
[23:56] Speaker 1: that you think is a good draft week away from contention.
[23:59] Speaker 2: I don't think the Giants are that terribly farm I don't.
[24:03] Speaker 2: I know, there's a couple of things on the to
[24:05] Speaker 2: do list that we need to get a receiver in there,
[24:07] Speaker 2: some more firepower there. But I think the offense and
[24:10] Speaker 2: defensive lines are in decent shape so and that you
[24:13] Speaker 2: get the new bump here with the new coach some
[24:16] Speaker 2: energy that comes along with that. I don't think they're
[24:19] Speaker 2: that far away.
[24:20] Speaker 1: They were one of my picks last year. I you know,
[24:22] Speaker 1: conveniently didn't mention that that one didn't work out that well.
[24:26] Speaker 1: But if you think about it all the same reasons.
[24:28] Speaker 1: I like them last year, which was mostly line play,
[24:31] Speaker 1: and now you have Jackson Dart not having to worry
[24:34] Speaker 1: about the quarterback position. Obviously want him to develop. But
[24:37] Speaker 1: you're looking at year two, I think that's a good one.
[24:39] Speaker 1: This is a weird choice, But I just feel like
[24:41] Speaker 1: people have forgotten a little bit about the Bucks right now.
[24:44] Speaker 1: They're in an interesting spot. People are a little tired
[24:47] Speaker 1: of Bulls. They've just been at the same level even
[24:51] Speaker 1: when they were winning games in the playoffs, they were
[24:53] Speaker 1: kind of a nine win team. But I still like
[24:56] Speaker 1: their lines if they can just get an edge. I
[24:59] Speaker 1: like the youth throughout the roster receiver, running back certainly,
[25:02] Speaker 1: but also on the defense, I like most of the
[25:05] Speaker 1: offensive line. If they're a team where, man, if you
[25:08] Speaker 1: could just have forget those you know, doubles that your guy,
[25:13] Speaker 1: you know, Ozzie Newsom was always going for, let's get
[25:15] Speaker 1: some home runs for the Bucks if they got the
[25:17] Speaker 1: right edge rusher and another player in the in the secondary.
[25:21] Speaker 1: Perhaps in terms of their second round, I just don't
[25:24] Speaker 1: think they're that far away from being right back with
[25:26] Speaker 1: the real deal contenders.
[25:28] Speaker 2: Yeah, and I think in that division, I mean, it's
[25:31] Speaker 2: it's all right there for him. They could easily win
[25:33] Speaker 2: that division next year. So that's a good one. I'll
[25:35] Speaker 2: give you one more here as we go through this,
[25:37] Speaker 2: because I was going back and forth on a couple
[25:39] Speaker 2: different teams here, I'm gonna I mean, this is an
[25:42] Speaker 2: easier one. But Detroit, I mean, I know they need
[25:45] Speaker 2: to replace a tackle, but the overall to do list
[25:48] Speaker 2: I don't think is that great. They can continue to
[25:50] Speaker 2: add to the secondary, add another rusher, but I think
[25:53] Speaker 2: kind of where they are positioned in the draft, with
[25:55] Speaker 2: what some holes they need to plug, I think they
[25:58] Speaker 2: could accomplish that if they get it right, so they
[26:01] Speaker 2: can be right back in the mix next year.
[26:03] Speaker 1: Yeah. People love to talk about windows. Did they miss
[26:07] Speaker 1: their window this week? I don't think so, And I'm
[26:09] Speaker 1: just thinking they have. If you just pick like young
[26:13] Speaker 1: players in the middle of their prime, either on their
[26:16] Speaker 1: rookie contracts or early on their second contract, they might
[26:20] Speaker 1: have the best top you know, seven players in the league.
[26:23] Speaker 1: So give me a break about window. They can get
[26:25] Speaker 1: right back there. I made more bold choices than you.
[26:29] Speaker 1: I had two more the Saint.
[26:30] Speaker 2: Go two more. You have the league, You get it.
[26:32] Speaker 2: No wonder you talk about the ones we got right
[26:35] Speaker 2: when we I didn't really talked about ten different teams
[26:37] Speaker 2: in these segments year from.
[26:40] Speaker 1: Giving you three the Saints just just like one more
[26:43] Speaker 1: wide receiver and a defense and the quarterback elevates. It
[26:47] Speaker 1: could happen. I think that offensive line could could be
[26:49] Speaker 1: really good actually for the Saints, and that's a great
[26:51] Speaker 1: place to start for the team.
[26:53] Speaker 2: I do think the receiver thing, and that's why, you know,
[26:55] Speaker 2: I wouldn't be shocked if they pulled the trigger there
[26:57] Speaker 2: in the first ROUNDT know why.
[26:58] Speaker 1: And then one team, I want you to keep an
[27:00] Speaker 1: eye on losing record last year, bad in one score game,
[27:04] Speaker 1: some line issues and whatnot, But keep an eye on
[27:06] Speaker 1: these Kansas City Chiefs. I know they're picking in the
[27:09] Speaker 1: top ten, but I think they're upstarts. I think they
[27:13] Speaker 1: I think they have a future. They could turn this
[27:15] Speaker 1: thing right around.
[27:16] Speaker 2: The Kansas City Old Greg likes his coffee bowld.
[27:21] Speaker 1: They really could use a great draft, though it's been
[27:23] Speaker 1: it's been up and down. I mean not like I
[27:25] Speaker 1: mean last year could actually work out quite well with
[27:27] Speaker 1: Josh Simmons and everything. But if they got a good draft,
[27:30] Speaker 1: it seems an obvious point to make. But they really
[27:33] Speaker 1: need to kind of replenish the youth the cheap you know,
[27:37] Speaker 1: contracts on their roster, and if they do, you know,
[27:39] Speaker 1: they're right there.
[27:40] Speaker 2: Yeah, I really appreciate that Limy went out on there.
[27:44] Speaker 2: I can go with you on.
[27:44] Speaker 1: That that's the kind of analysis you can only get
[27:47] Speaker 1: on forties and free agents. We're doing it one more time, DJ.
[27:50] Speaker 1: The next time I see you, you will be one
[27:54] Speaker 1: day away from your vacation of watching Padres games and
[28:00] Speaker 1: listening to early nineties R and B. So we have
[28:04] Speaker 1: one more show. Can you do one more show? Yeah,
[28:07] Speaker 1: I'll do it for We will do it next week.
[28:10] Speaker 1: In the meantime, everyone enjoy the draft. Came wa

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