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Ravens Press Conference, Devon Witherspoon's Pro Day, & NFC North Draft Needs · NFL Now

0:05
Speaker 1: NFL Now is a production of the NFL in partnership
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Speaker 1: with iHeartRadio. There is no offseason today a friendly reminder
0:21
Speaker 1: of that as we welcome you to another day, a
0:25
Speaker 1: Wednesday edition of all of NFL Now on NFL Network
0:29
Speaker 1: from our newsroom in Los Angeles. My name is andrews Ceciliano,
0:32
Speaker 1: vet right there. Good to see you, sirs, all bar
0:34
Speaker 1: weeks Andrew Ravens having their predraft press conference more than
0:38
Speaker 1: three weeks before the draft, about as early as I
0:40
Speaker 1: can remember a team having a pre draft. You know,
0:42
Speaker 1: we're thinking about that today. I think this is the
0:44
Speaker 1: first of the official pre draft press conferences. Now, general
0:49
Speaker 1: rule of thumb about pre draft press conferences, you're not
0:52
Speaker 1: going to get a lot of information, and that was
0:56
Speaker 1: kind of the case today in Baltimore. John Harball is
0:59
Speaker 1: on the press con was on the podium, Erica Costa,
1:02
Speaker 1: the Ravens GM was on the podium as well. As
1:06
Speaker 1: we sit here now eight days since Lamar Jackson tweeted
1:11
Speaker 1: that he had requested a trade. What that really means
1:15
Speaker 1: because he has a non exclusive franchise tank, he can
1:18
Speaker 1: seek out a new deal and a new team. That's
1:21
Speaker 1: open for conversation but if you thought you were getting
1:23
Speaker 1: more details today from Da Costa or Harball about Jackson,
1:28
Speaker 1: think again, I understand the need to ask those kind
1:32
Speaker 1: of questions. I think just out of respect for the process.
1:36
Speaker 1: This is a draft launching, and we're gonna try to
1:38
Speaker 1: keep as much of this discussion as we can to
1:41
Speaker 1: the draft to the coming weeks building the best football
1:44
Speaker 1: team we can build. So I understand those questions. I
1:47
Speaker 1: think We've spoken about this situation probably five different times
1:51
Speaker 1: this spring, in various different press conferences and such. So
1:54
Speaker 1: we're gonna try to just kind of defer to those
1:56
Speaker 1: questions and move forward to the draft. Respect to the
2:00
Speaker 1: listening about the draft and everything just with the Lamar
2:03
Speaker 1: stuff that's going on looking at quarterbacks, This is about
2:13
Speaker 1: are you looking at quarterbacks differently because of the situation's point? Yeah,
2:17
Speaker 1: you know, I don't think we really are. I mean,
2:19
Speaker 1: we go into every draft trying to take any kind
2:21
Speaker 1: of bias, out, any kind of need based situation out
2:24
Speaker 1: of the draft equation. We really do try to build
2:26
Speaker 1: a board that's really best player available, and that process
2:30
Speaker 1: involves really nine months starting in you know, the you know,
2:34
Speaker 1: in early August, from our scouts go out on the
2:37
Speaker 1: road and they generate the profile and the evaluation to
2:40
Speaker 1: get as much information as possible. We then segue into
2:43
Speaker 1: a set of meetings in December, and then we get
2:45
Speaker 1: into the meetings in January and the All Star Games
2:47
Speaker 1: and all those different things. Really trying to assess this
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Speaker 1: player versus a player, and it's really just comparisons and
2:52
Speaker 1: how these players stack up. Who do we think has
2:55
Speaker 1: the best chance to come in and make us the
2:57
Speaker 1: best football team. And so if that's a quarterback, if
2:59
Speaker 1: that's a receiver or corner, an offensive tackle, we're going
3:02
Speaker 1: to look at that very strongly and make the best
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Speaker 1: decision we can, knowing that over time, we think building
3:07
Speaker 1: a team best available player is the right way to go.
3:11
Speaker 1: All Right, it's not a lot there either. A NFL
3:12
Speaker 1: Network insider Ian Rappaport Da Costa did say he thought
3:15
Speaker 1: there were four, maybe more quarterbacks that he called significant
3:18
Speaker 1: quarterbacks in this draft that could be game changers for franchises.
3:21
Speaker 1: But we're now twenty two days away. What if the
3:26
Speaker 1: Ravens don't know, if they have no progress with Lamar Jackson,
3:31
Speaker 1: how do they attack this first round? They're at twenty
3:34
Speaker 1: two What if there's a quarterback there, Yeah, and that
3:39
Speaker 1: is a very real possibility. Obviously, the Ravens have tried
3:41
Speaker 1: several times, including within the last week or so week
3:45
Speaker 1: or ten days, to try to get some tracks in
3:47
Speaker 1: Lamar Jackson for a long term contract, try to get
3:49
Speaker 1: that deal done. But as we've seen a lot of
3:52
Speaker 1: times when the players on the franchise type, there isn't
3:54
Speaker 1: any real traction until the middle of July when there's
3:57
Speaker 1: a deadline. The Ravens are going to try to do that,
4:00
Speaker 1: and they have continued to stay in contact with Lamar
4:02
Speaker 1: Jackson despite his trade request, so we will see that. Yeah.
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Speaker 1: I would imagine if the right quarterback is there, they
4:08
Speaker 1: would potentially take a look at that. Anthony Richardson does
4:11
Speaker 1: have a pre draft visit scheduled with the Baltimore Ravens.
4:15
Speaker 1: That is the only quarterback I know of the you know,
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Speaker 1: sort of high high end first round quarterbacks. I know
4:20
Speaker 1: if it was a visit schedule with the Ravens, but
4:23
Speaker 1: they also have an RFA as their backup quarterback, so
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Speaker 1: I wouldn't be surprised if one came, let's say, with great,
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Speaker 1: great value in the first round. Maybe take a look
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Speaker 1: at him maybe in the mid rounds if there's a
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Speaker 1: quarterback that is the highest player on their board. We've
4:36
Speaker 1: seen plenty of teams takes flyers on mid round quarterbacks,
4:39
Speaker 1: and that's a guy who makes your roster and sometimes
4:42
Speaker 1: makes your team a lot better. Yeah. I would think
4:45
Speaker 1: the Ravens take a look at it, honestly, regardless of
4:48
Speaker 1: whether or not Lamar's long term deal or not. Yeah.
4:50
Speaker 1: And in twenty eighteen, remember they traded back up into
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Speaker 1: the first round. That was Ozzie Newsome's tenure still and
4:55
Speaker 1: they got Lamar Jackson at thirty two. Dacastro was asked today,
4:57
Speaker 1: would you do that again this year? Possibly, and he
5:01
Speaker 1: kind of said, well, sure, we have quarterbacks in our
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Speaker 1: top thirty one. If there's a player there that we
5:04
Speaker 1: think is worthy of trading back in, yeah, then we
5:08
Speaker 1: would do it. All right, Ian, stay right there, We'll
5:09
Speaker 1: talk Austin Eckler coming up at a second. Let's get
5:11
Speaker 1: a front office few on this now and bring Mark
5:14
Speaker 1: Ross into it. It's an interesting dilemma, hair, Mark, because
5:17
Speaker 1: you kind of have to make that decision before the
5:20
Speaker 1: draft opens on the night of the twenty seventh. We
5:23
Speaker 1: like these quarterbacks. We like them so much that if
5:26
Speaker 1: one happened to be there at twenty two, we gotta
5:30
Speaker 1: do it, don't you. No question, you game plan for
5:35
Speaker 1: the draft knowing that you have strengths and weaknesses on
5:37
Speaker 1: your team, and there's no bigger strength or weakness than
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Speaker 1: your franchise quarterback, and everything revolves around that, and you
5:44
Speaker 1: game plan based off of how great your quarterback is. Well,
5:47
Speaker 1: the Ravens got one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL,
5:50
Speaker 1: and when you approached the draft, although Eric de Costa
5:53
Speaker 1: had to say, we take the best player, bail, but
5:55
Speaker 1: we look at it, you game plan completely different. In
5:58
Speaker 1: nineteen ninety nine with the Philadelphia Eagles, we had the
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Speaker 1: second pick in the draft. We put every amount of
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Speaker 1: time and resources into exploring all those quarterbacks that came out.
6:07
Speaker 1: We eventually took down on the McNabb. Okay, well, now
6:10
Speaker 1: you have McNabb, you've got the foundation. You approach the
6:13
Speaker 1: draft differently. Yes, you look at quarterbacks, but you don't
6:16
Speaker 1: look at them as thoroughly dig as deep with the
6:19
Speaker 1: Giants with Eli Manning. When you have that foundation. Every year,
6:22
Speaker 1: yes we thoroughly poured over the quarterbacks, but it's different
6:26
Speaker 1: when you have that guy and you just have to
6:28
Speaker 1: find a backup or improvement in the future. So with
6:32
Speaker 1: the Ravens, yes, they should know. They are having internal
6:36
Speaker 1: discussions now and they probably have a good idea of
6:39
Speaker 1: what the landscape is with Lamar and if he'll be back.
6:42
Speaker 1: And when you have a stable quarterback situation one of
6:45
Speaker 1: the best players in football, and by the way, a
6:47
Speaker 1: really good backup situation with Tyler Huntley pro bowler by
6:50
Speaker 1: the way, then you're saying, Wow, we're great at quarterback.
6:53
Speaker 1: We can address the draft in a different sort of way. So, yes,
6:56
Speaker 1: Eric Decastle will have to keep saying this Omar and
6:59
Speaker 1: he'll never give anything away, but it definitely changes things
7:02
Speaker 1: for the Ravens in their game plan going forward. Yeah,
7:05
Speaker 1: he didn't want to answer any of those questions about
7:07
Speaker 1: Lamar Jackson saying he's respecting the process. And you look
7:10
Speaker 1: at the last year's big, big Kyler Murray negotiation. Part
7:14
Speaker 1: of that process was the big public announcement from the
7:18
Speaker 1: agent right before Steve Kim was going to take the
7:21
Speaker 1: podium at the combine. That letter was addressed to fans.
7:25
Speaker 1: This year, Lamar Jackson addressing the fans in his tweet
7:29
Speaker 1: right before John Harbaugh was going to address reporters there
7:33
Speaker 1: at the annual meeting. So that's part of the process.
7:35
Speaker 1: And as you mentioned, more than four quarterbacks. They said,
7:40
Speaker 1: somebody that can make a significant impact in the NFL
7:43
Speaker 1: with this quarterback draft class. And they also referenced the
7:46
Speaker 1: fact that you can get a quarterback that can be
7:49
Speaker 1: a significant player for you in the first round, the
7:51
Speaker 1: third round, the fourth round. They referenced drafting Tyrod Taylor,
7:54
Speaker 1: who was a development type of player, Derek Anderson a
7:57
Speaker 1: development type of player. And certainly they're continuing to look
8:00
Speaker 1: at the weapons to build around their quarterback, whether it's
8:03
Speaker 1: Lamar Jackson or whoever that might be. Greg Lewis, their
8:07
Speaker 1: wide receiver coach, was out working out Jalen Hyatt and
8:10
Speaker 1: Cedric Tillman at the Tennessee Pro Day last week. Eric
8:13
Speaker 1: da Costa continues to get questions about the receiver there,
8:16
Speaker 1: so continuing to build that roster with quarterback in mind.
8:20
Speaker 1: Like Mark said, they probably have a pretty good idea
8:22
Speaker 1: what's going to happen. Now it's a matter of executing
8:24
Speaker 1: it here in the next year. Da Costa did get
8:25
Speaker 1: a wide receiver question again today and he pointed out
8:29
Speaker 1: that he's been here twenty eight years. We're always talking
8:31
Speaker 1: about the wide receivers. Let's talk about a running back now,
8:34
Speaker 1: Let's talk about Austin Eckler, who has his own interesting
8:36
Speaker 1: situation here. He's heading into the final year of his
8:39
Speaker 1: deal after scoring thirty eight touchdowns thirty eight that's not
8:41
Speaker 1: a typo the last two seasons. But he's going to
8:45
Speaker 1: be twenty eight next year, and he would like either
8:50
Speaker 1: a a new contract or be a trade. And he
8:53
Speaker 1: doesn't get the sense that either has got to happen.
8:57
Speaker 1: Kind of got punched in the face when the Chargers
8:59
Speaker 1: basically saying, hey, we don't want to we don't want
9:01
Speaker 1: to talk about extensions anymore. And you know, this is
9:04
Speaker 1: the burg zation that I continue to rise and hit
9:07
Speaker 1: new heights in and continue to add more value. Right,
9:10
Speaker 1: scored the most touchdowns you know from scrimmage, you know,
9:13
Speaker 1: in the past two years, and you know, so that's
9:16
Speaker 1: that's how I felt. Right felt like wow, like this
9:18
Speaker 1: is like the first time in my career with them
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Speaker 1: that felt like kind of like you disrespected by my
9:22
Speaker 1: own organization, and it sucks, like I want to be
9:26
Speaker 1: I want to be a Charger, right. I want to
9:27
Speaker 1: be a Charger. I want to be there, and it
9:30
Speaker 1: sucks because it's like, okay, let's get something done. Yes,
9:32
Speaker 1: I do have one more year in my contract, absolutely,
9:34
Speaker 1: but you know, for them to want to allow me
9:37
Speaker 1: to go and be a free agent next year after
9:39
Speaker 1: playing and you know, maybe we can get something done
9:41
Speaker 1: throughout the year. Who knows how it's going to play out,
9:43
Speaker 1: you know, But just that's how I'm feeling right now,
9:44
Speaker 1: because we don't really have insight of what they're thinking.
9:47
Speaker 1: Things like that that are just like, nah, we don't
9:48
Speaker 1: want to talk anymore. I guess the worst case scenario
9:50
Speaker 1: right now, out of all of this, I'll come back
9:52
Speaker 1: and I'll have to play for the Chargers for a
9:53
Speaker 1: year and bet on myself and then be a free
9:55
Speaker 1: agent next year. Ian rapping for its kind of a
9:58
Speaker 1: different tone. A couple of weeks ago, I thought Austin
10:00
Speaker 1: Ekeler had the most like upbeat, happy, respectful trade request
10:04
Speaker 1: I've ever heard, and then yeah, yesterday he's using phrases
10:07
Speaker 1: like disrespected and punched in the face. Yeah, and this
10:13
Speaker 1: can get personal, this can hurt. These kinds of things.
10:16
Speaker 1: You know, players are human beings. With feelings. So I
10:19
Speaker 1: imagine Austin Eckler's feelings are a little bit hurt when,
10:21
Speaker 1: as he said, the Chargers said, you know, we don't
10:23
Speaker 1: want to talk about an extension anymore. My understanding is
10:26
Speaker 1: though the Chargers actually even went to him last year
10:29
Speaker 1: to try to give him more money, and during parts
10:33
Speaker 1: of this past season and then into the offseason to
10:35
Speaker 1: try to do an extension, try to get something done
10:38
Speaker 1: in some ways, just a raise because of what he
10:40
Speaker 1: has done on the field, what he represents off the field,
10:43
Speaker 1: just really how incredible productive he was as a football player.
10:47
Speaker 1: So all this comes after several attempts by the Chargers
10:50
Speaker 1: to try them either give him a raise and or
10:53
Speaker 1: lock him up to a long term deal. So all
10:55
Speaker 1: this trade request comes on the heels of that. It
10:58
Speaker 1: is a tough market for running back. I mean, look
11:00
Speaker 1: at free agency. You know the top running backs got
11:03
Speaker 1: six million dollars a year. I believe that was Miles
11:06
Speaker 1: Sanders a little more than that. That's basically what Austin
11:09
Speaker 1: Ekeler is making. So he wants more than the top
11:12
Speaker 1: running back gotten free into this year. I'm sure he
11:14
Speaker 1: deserves that. He is a great player in his production,
11:17
Speaker 1: no doubt, has outweighed his salary. I'm just saying it's
11:21
Speaker 1: tough sledding when you want just a whole lot of
11:23
Speaker 1: money as a late twenties running back at a time
11:26
Speaker 1: when there's a lot of running backs in the draft
11:28
Speaker 1: as well, and the franchise tag is only ten million
11:31
Speaker 1: here and you have guys out there like Ezekiel Elliott
11:34
Speaker 1: who is still a free agent. Granted much different player.
11:38
Speaker 1: Kareem Hunt, a former rushing champion, is still a free agent.
11:42
Speaker 1: It's tough out there for an older running back. Hunt,
11:44
Speaker 1: like Eckler is twenty seven, right he and say, right there,
11:47
Speaker 1: other news coming up in a little bit. Mark Ross
11:49
Speaker 1: now back with us, Mark, what do you think here?
11:50
Speaker 1: Because I totally get what Eckler is saying. I'm going
11:53
Speaker 1: to be a free agent next year, and he knows
11:55
Speaker 1: it's going to be hard to cash in. Even if
11:58
Speaker 1: he has another big year. He'll get a deal, certainly,
12:01
Speaker 1: but not the deal that he thinks he deserves. He
12:03
Speaker 1: would like to have that deal now, but the Chargers
12:07
Speaker 1: have a quarterback to pay, no question. Austin Eckler found
12:12
Speaker 1: out that this is a business and emotions and feelings
12:15
Speaker 1: don't get business deals done or contracts done. The Chargers
12:19
Speaker 1: essentially said, hey, Austin, forget your feelings, man, and as
12:23
Speaker 1: a front office you have to look at the health
12:26
Speaker 1: of your salary cap, the future of your team, and
12:28
Speaker 1: prioritize the players that you need to pay and the
12:31
Speaker 1: players that are going to get to where you need
12:34
Speaker 1: to go going forward. No doubt, it's wonderful what Austin
12:37
Speaker 1: Eckler has done. The production can't deny it, but the
12:39
Speaker 1: Chargers front office is looking at it as we cannot
12:41
Speaker 1: pay Austin off of what he did before. He's twenty
12:44
Speaker 1: eight years old. How much does he have left? How
12:47
Speaker 1: much more can a twenty eight year old running back
12:49
Speaker 1: give us? And that's the way they're looking at it.
12:51
Speaker 1: They're not looking at it as we love this dude
12:53
Speaker 1: and he's an amazing teammate. They have to look out
12:56
Speaker 1: for the franchise and the help of the cap. So, unfortunately,
13:00
Speaker 1: this is the nature of doing business in the NFL
13:03
Speaker 1: with Austin. He's been very public about it, so it
13:05
Speaker 1: looks sort of bad for him, But for the Charges,
13:08
Speaker 1: they've kept it under wrapped gone business wise, which is
13:11
Speaker 1: the best way to do a lot of running backs
13:13
Speaker 1: out there. The value of the position has gone down.
13:16
Speaker 1: His age, so all these factors, as he had talked about,
13:19
Speaker 1: is really hurting him. But for the Chargers, this hey,
13:22
Speaker 1: this is the cost of doing business. Yeah. Part of
13:24
Speaker 1: that conversation Austin Eckler had with Sirius XM Radio yesterday
13:28
Speaker 1: was an acknowledgement that that is probably not getting much
13:31
Speaker 1: traction from other teams around the league, not willing to
13:34
Speaker 1: pay what Chargers want in trade compensation and then pay
13:39
Speaker 1: him on top of that. We talked about the market already.
13:42
Speaker 1: He did acknowledge what Ian reference a contract extension last year,
13:45
Speaker 1: Eckler saying that that was essentially discount more of the same,
13:49
Speaker 1: something he was unwilling to do last year. And then
13:52
Speaker 1: there was the acknowledgement that he might have to play
13:55
Speaker 1: with the Chargers again in twenty twenty three and again
13:57
Speaker 1: proved his worth bet on himself, just like he's been
14:01
Speaker 1: doing his entire career. As far as how he's taken
14:03
Speaker 1: this publicly, Let's remember that Austin Ekeler is a guy
14:06
Speaker 1: that hosts a podcast during the season. He speaks publicly often.
14:09
Speaker 1: He speaks well publicly often. That's something he enjoys doing so,
14:13
Speaker 1: not necessarily negotiating in the media. This is a part
14:15
Speaker 1: of Austin Eckler, who he is, his persona in the NFL.
14:18
Speaker 1: But certainly being honest, I think when we saw that
14:21
Speaker 1: change in tone a little bit more disappointment yesterday than
14:24
Speaker 1: we heard last week when he initially asked for that trade.
14:26
Speaker 1: He truly is a businessman. He's got real estate, he's
14:30
Speaker 1: got this new app coming out, but he's also a
14:32
Speaker 1: business man, and he would like that new contract. Thirty
14:37
Speaker 1: eight touchdowns the last two years, gotcha? All right, Let's
14:43
Speaker 1: get to some other news, gentlemen, to stay right there.
14:46
Speaker 1: News out of Denver Ian Rappaport. This one isn't necessarily
14:50
Speaker 1: a shocker. I think that John Elway is no longer
14:53
Speaker 1: part of the Broncos front office, but when you look
14:56
Speaker 1: back at how long he had been there, it is
14:58
Speaker 1: really an official changing of the guard. Elway had been
15:02
Speaker 1: there since twenty eleven in some capacity upstairs. It's not
15:06
Speaker 1: a shocker that John Elway no longer works for the
15:08
Speaker 1: Denver Broncos organization, but it is significant. I mean, this
15:11
Speaker 1: is a guy who was, you know, even as a
15:14
Speaker 1: really consultant, but mostly as the general manager. He was
15:17
Speaker 1: one of the faces of the franchise. He got Peyton Manning,
15:20
Speaker 1: got a Super Bowl victory, and really led one of
15:22
Speaker 1: the most celebrated free agent classes that we've seen in
15:25
Speaker 1: some time. And it was you know, if you do
15:28
Speaker 1: a Broncos event, if you go to Broncos game, if
15:31
Speaker 1: their presence at league meetings, and it was all about
15:35
Speaker 1: John Elway, and he was the guy in charge. And
15:37
Speaker 1: obviously it went downhill extremely fast. Several tough highers, several
15:40
Speaker 1: tough quarterback situations kind of got bumped to the side
15:43
Speaker 1: in a consultant role. So this was always coming. When
15:47
Speaker 1: they hired general manager George Payton, it was really about,
15:50
Speaker 1: all right, Elway is still employed, but wasn't really involved
15:54
Speaker 1: in football decisions, kind of just let his contract run out.
15:57
Speaker 1: His contract is now out. Is a whole new situation
16:00
Speaker 1: in Denver with Sean Payton. So John Elway moves on,
16:03
Speaker 1: all right, he moves on, and we moved back to
16:06
Speaker 1: the draft. Here twenty two days away from Kansas City,
16:09
Speaker 1: and tell me where Tyree Wilson is visiting. Tyree Wilson
16:15
Speaker 1: is visiting the Chicago Bears today. This is the Texas
16:18
Speaker 1: tech edge rushers almost certainly first top ten pick. I
16:23
Speaker 1: should say him. He's basically meeting with all of the
16:25
Speaker 1: top ten teams. That's where it seems he's primed to
16:27
Speaker 1: go Chicago Bears today, Texans yesterday. And this is an
16:31
Speaker 1: intrue one because obviously teams are gonna want to get
16:33
Speaker 1: an update on his foot. Remember, broke his foot at
16:36
Speaker 1: some point during the season. Recently had a procedure to
16:39
Speaker 1: remove the hardware in his foot, which is why he
16:41
Speaker 1: did not participate in Pro Day. It sounds like he's
16:43
Speaker 1: doing really well. Did well at the Combine as well,
16:47
Speaker 1: so he has been busy. Quinton Johnston, the TCU receiver,
16:50
Speaker 1: also has been busy. He was with the Kansas City
16:53
Speaker 1: Chiefs on Monday, Pushgar really surprise there digging deep in
16:57
Speaker 1: deep potential receiver marketer during the draft. The Cowboys also
17:01
Speaker 1: that has been an area focus for them. He was
17:03
Speaker 1: there yesterday and then we met the Baltimore Ravens Church
17:06
Speaker 1: church for a receiver. Eric de Costa has commented on
17:10
Speaker 1: it many times. Johnson is with the Ravens tomorrow, who
17:13
Speaker 1: again are picking twenty second on night number one. Thank you.
17:17
Speaker 1: In Rappaport, NFL Network insider. It is still very much
17:21
Speaker 1: Pro day season, kind of sort of like a second
17:23
Speaker 1: pro day at Illinois, just for this guy who could
17:26
Speaker 1: go in the top ten. Coming up next, how Devin
17:29
Speaker 1: Witherspoon did today at his little pro day. Because this
17:35
Speaker 1: is newsworthy, straight ahead. Now, I pass Blake Devin Witherspoon
17:48
Speaker 1: at an interception that I mentioned something about Witherspoon. Yeah,
17:52
Speaker 1: he's been having an All American year. He's a physical kid.
17:55
Speaker 1: Now Weatherspoon passed nearly intercepted a tremendous corner. He's a
18:01
Speaker 1: tremendous corner. He is a potential top ten pick here.
18:05
Speaker 1: Devin Witherspoon really didn't do much in Indianapolis, had the
18:09
Speaker 1: hamstring injury. He is still though, and this is a
18:11
Speaker 1: brand new list in the top ten at number six,
18:15
Speaker 1: Daniel Jeremiah's new Top fifty. It's version four point zero.
18:18
Speaker 1: I strongly suggest you go to NFL dot com and
18:21
Speaker 1: look at the entire thing. Today in Champaign, Urbana, it
18:26
Speaker 1: was Devin Witherspoon's Pro day. Illinois already had a Pro Day,
18:29
Speaker 1: but Witherspoon was nursing that sore hammy woe that kept
18:32
Speaker 1: him out again. Of the combine, so we finally got
18:36
Speaker 1: a chance to see him run. Do you have a
18:38
Speaker 1: stopwatch at home? Can you actually can you time this? Anybody?
18:42
Speaker 1: What do you got? What do you got? Did you
18:43
Speaker 1: have a four four six? Do you have a four
18:45
Speaker 1: four two? Anybody? Don't rewind your DVR? DJ texts with
18:53
Speaker 1: his Scout buddies, Daniel Jeremiah says, four four two four
18:59
Speaker 1: six got all work. Mark Ross for an undersized corner,
19:05
Speaker 1: A guy that when he got there, high school kid
19:08
Speaker 1: out of Florida, brief stop for five minutes at a Juco,
19:11
Speaker 1: was like a hundred and forty pounds. But he hits
19:15
Speaker 1: He really hits you. What do you like about Devin Witherspoon. No,
19:19
Speaker 1: not only just he'll hit you, but he can cover. Andrew,
19:23
Speaker 1: That's what corner has got to do. It's covered. That
19:25
Speaker 1: looked like a four four five to me right there
19:27
Speaker 1: the other forty he ran probably four four two. Seen
19:30
Speaker 1: a lot of forties. But for Devin Witherspoon, look the weight,
19:33
Speaker 1: he's got the weight up. That's what you do in college,
19:35
Speaker 1: you get bigger. But this guy has unbelievably quick feet,
19:39
Speaker 1: body control and looseness. When you watch a corner move.
19:43
Speaker 1: You want to see that flexibility and looseness so they
19:45
Speaker 1: can change directions instantly and mirror what we call mirror route.
19:50
Speaker 1: And that's what Devin Witherspoon does really well there. I
19:53
Speaker 1: did when I watch him on tape have some questions
19:55
Speaker 1: about if he had that super explosive top end. But
19:58
Speaker 1: this four four four four four two should really kind
20:01
Speaker 1: of quell some of that for some scouts, and especially
20:04
Speaker 1: since he's coming off the Hamstreet so he could say,
20:06
Speaker 1: you know what, I wasn't one helping. I could even
20:08
Speaker 1: run faster than that. So with Devin Witherspoon, is he
20:13
Speaker 1: the top corner I got Christian guns allis right there,
20:15
Speaker 1: but nonetheless so being the top ten mainly because of
20:18
Speaker 1: his cover skills and for a more lean, wiry type
20:21
Speaker 1: of player, you do see the toughness and run support.
20:24
Speaker 1: You need to have a little bit of both now
20:26
Speaker 1: the NFL, but the number one priority is especially for
20:29
Speaker 1: a young guy, hey go out there and cover the guy.
20:32
Speaker 1: You don't have to know with tons and tons of coverages,
20:34
Speaker 1: but for a team that's invested in him, in the
20:35
Speaker 1: top ten right away, if you just have those instant
20:38
Speaker 1: cover skills with mira ability and ball skills and match
20:42
Speaker 1: that's what makes Devin Witherspoon so intrigued. Now. A lot
20:44
Speaker 1: of people call him feisty. It is a rarity, though,
20:46
Speaker 1: that one of your smaller players on the field is really,
20:50
Speaker 1: without an argument, your most physical player on the field,
20:55
Speaker 1: because he certainly can bring it? Is he? In the
20:57
Speaker 1: conversation at three? Maybe maybe not? Regardless, Dangle Jeremiah, Bucky
21:02
Speaker 1: Brooks and Rhet Lewis can give you some options for
21:05
Speaker 1: the Cardinals. Hey, what's up, friends, Welcome to the path
21:09
Speaker 1: to the draft. Set Lewis, Buckey Brooks back here with you,
21:11
Speaker 1: and we get to welcome Daniel Jeremiah to the party
21:15
Speaker 1: today as we assess, gentlemen, what the Cardinals are gonna
21:19
Speaker 1: do at number three. So obviously the Bears once they
21:23
Speaker 1: moved out at number one, Cardinals became maybe a big
21:25
Speaker 1: trade target there at three, DJ, what do you think
21:27
Speaker 1: they should do? Yeah, I think that's where the draft starts,
21:29
Speaker 1: and I think that's what they should do as trade.
21:31
Speaker 1: When you look at the roster of the Arizona Cardinals
21:34
Speaker 1: might be the worst in the entire league. They are
21:36
Speaker 1: in rough shape. They are not one player away as
21:38
Speaker 1: much as I love some of the options, they would
21:40
Speaker 1: have their picking at number three. Assuming two quarterbacks go
21:43
Speaker 1: one and two, they need a lot of help, and
21:45
Speaker 1: I think if you can slide back, you'll be able
21:47
Speaker 1: to get help on both sides of the ball. Especially
21:49
Speaker 1: as you look at Kyler Murray's gonna be coming back
21:51
Speaker 1: from injury. It's going to take a while to get
21:52
Speaker 1: him back up and running. I want some more pieces
21:55
Speaker 1: in front of him when he does come out. No,
21:57
Speaker 1: and take the Kyler Murray conversation because you talk about
22:00
Speaker 1: a team that needs a lot of help, and so
22:02
Speaker 1: I just think of your money awesome for maybe you
22:04
Speaker 1: have to consider a quarterback. Cool there not because Calin
22:08
Speaker 1: Murray isn't a good player. But we talk about the
22:10
Speaker 1: best way to build a Super Bowl team is with
22:12
Speaker 1: a young quarterback on a cheap deal. So maybe you
22:15
Speaker 1: have an opportunity to three to get a dynamic player.
22:18
Speaker 1: Maybe you go for Anthony Richardson, find a way to
22:20
Speaker 1: auction off Caylu Murray, and then you have an opportunity
22:23
Speaker 1: to get some assets back to build up your team. Look,
22:26
Speaker 1: it may seem far fetch it, maybe Pine Sky stuff,
22:29
Speaker 1: But if you feel like Anthony Richardson is going to
22:32
Speaker 1: be a special player. You can make the move now.
22:34
Speaker 1: And remember Jonathan Gannon was a part of the Philadelphia
22:37
Speaker 1: Eagles that benefited from having a quarterback in Jalen Hurts
22:40
Speaker 1: who replaced Carson Wentz one year. If to sign, he
22:43
Speaker 1: signed a big money seatbelt sign is already on at
22:47
Speaker 1: the third overall pick. If that happens, gonna be some
22:49
Speaker 1: turbulent water. I'm just saying in Kansas City on April
22:52
Speaker 1: twenty seven. Look, I'm only hey, reset the whole day thing, mulray.
22:55
Speaker 1: You know it's Bucky's voice goes up an octave when
22:58
Speaker 1: he swings for the fences like this. Well he always
23:02
Speaker 1: hits two, so it's not a strikeout guy over here.
23:05
Speaker 1: That was good. Just a couple of quick teams, by
23:07
Speaker 1: the way, that might trade up. If you're the Cardinals
23:10
Speaker 1: looking to get out of there, what do you think?
23:12
Speaker 1: I think five, seven, eleven. You look at Seattle, you
23:14
Speaker 1: look at Vegas, then you look at Tennessee. Those are
23:16
Speaker 1: the three teams you can make a strong argument to
23:18
Speaker 1: get up and trying to get quarterback three, perhaps at
23:21
Speaker 1: number three right there with the Arizona Cardinals. A lot
23:24
Speaker 1: of options on the table for the Cardinals franchise. Be
23:27
Speaker 1: sure to join us each and every weekday, six pm
23:30
Speaker 1: Eastern time, right here on path to the draft. Twenty
23:36
Speaker 1: two days away from the NFL Draft. Everybody get excited.
23:39
Speaker 1: Appointment viewing April twenty seven. Let's focus on the NFC
23:43
Speaker 1: North here on NFL now, the Lions are still are
23:46
Speaker 1: still still rape the benefits of the Jared Goff Matthew
23:50
Speaker 1: Stafford trade. They have six and they have eighteen. You know,
23:53
Speaker 1: the Bears could have had one they traded out. Who
23:56
Speaker 1: knows if the Packers get an extra first round pick,
23:58
Speaker 1: You never know. Vikings sitting there at twenty three. We
24:02
Speaker 1: have Dacy Dales. We have James Palmer with us now,
24:05
Speaker 1: Hellodia both to talk a little NFC North. James, let's
24:08
Speaker 1: start with you. Let's go with the Lions at six
24:11
Speaker 1: and eighteen. What do we know? Let's start with number six,
24:15
Speaker 1: Andrew And I keep thinking about something Dan Campbell said
24:17
Speaker 1: back at the combine to all of us that we're
24:20
Speaker 1: standing at his podium, and it was sometimes there is
24:22
Speaker 1: just talent that is too good to pass up. And
24:25
Speaker 1: I'm gonna look at Jalen Carter if He's sitting there
24:28
Speaker 1: at number six because many people believe Daniel Jeremiah draft
24:31
Speaker 1: guru included that he is the best football player in
24:34
Speaker 1: this draft. There's plenty of draft experts around that believe
24:37
Speaker 1: in the twenty twenty one season that Georgia defense that
24:40
Speaker 1: had five guys go in the first round, that he
24:42
Speaker 1: was the best player as a sophomore in that group.
24:45
Speaker 1: The size and athleticism that Jalen Carter has is just
24:48
Speaker 1: not normal when you talk to scouts. His ability to
24:51
Speaker 1: play up and down the entire defensive line would help
24:54
Speaker 1: out a defense that obviously was near the bottom of
24:56
Speaker 1: the league in almost every category statistically. Now there is
24:59
Speaker 1: the other caveat, obviously the character concerns, obviously the arrest,
25:03
Speaker 1: all of those things that every team in the top
25:05
Speaker 1: ten is doing their due diligence on and trying to
25:08
Speaker 1: dissect everything about Jillen Carter. What I do think about
25:11
Speaker 1: is how Dan Campbell believes he's built a tremendous locker
25:14
Speaker 1: room in terms of culture. Does he believe any question
25:17
Speaker 1: marks they have with Jalen Carter could be corrected in
25:20
Speaker 1: the locker room that he has constructed. He could go
25:23
Speaker 1: other ways if Jalen Carter doesn't check that box specifically
25:27
Speaker 1: for him, and they could still look on the defensive
25:29
Speaker 1: line because there will be edge rushers available there or
25:32
Speaker 1: potentially a corner. But this would be my pick if
25:34
Speaker 1: he does check the boxes for Dan Camp and both
25:37
Speaker 1: of those could be needs as well. Stacy Dale's for
25:39
Speaker 1: the Bears sitting at nine. It's interesting when they were
25:41
Speaker 1: sitting at one and you're like, oh, I gotta go
25:43
Speaker 1: defense here. Now they trade out of one, they get
25:46
Speaker 1: DJ Moore. Nine's a different conversation. Yeah, nine is a
25:51
Speaker 1: different conversation. That was a great breakdown by James on
25:55
Speaker 1: the Lions, who could just continue to get better. But
25:57
Speaker 1: the Chicago Bears are going to get better too because
25:59
Speaker 1: they have ten picks in this draft. They start at nine.
26:02
Speaker 1: Ryan Pulls, the general manager, has done an outstanding job
26:04
Speaker 1: this off season. I really think it's not just because
26:07
Speaker 1: he was a no lineman. I think they're going to
26:09
Speaker 1: target that offensive line because justin fields, you guys, was
26:12
Speaker 1: sacked a league high fifty five times alongside Russell Wilson
26:16
Speaker 1: last season for a loss of almost three hundred and
26:19
Speaker 1: sixty yards. It has to improve. We know he loves
26:22
Speaker 1: to move, But they want nimble, efficient offensive lineman that
26:26
Speaker 1: can move with justin fields, and I think Peter Scronsky
26:30
Speaker 1: would be an outstanding edition because of his versatility. Forget
26:34
Speaker 1: about that thirty two and a quarter inch arm length, people,
26:38
Speaker 1: He is a technician. I just used that word on
26:40
Speaker 1: the offensive line. Pat Fitzgerald, his head coach I was
26:42
Speaker 1: at their prota at Northwestern, told me he is a
26:45
Speaker 1: mark of consistency. And he grew up right here in Illinois,
26:49
Speaker 1: the same town that I actually live in, in park Ridge, Illinois.
26:52
Speaker 1: So he's going to bring that and bleed that blood
26:54
Speaker 1: for the Chicago Bears. If it's not him, I know
26:58
Speaker 1: you guys are going to love this because James Palmer
27:00
Speaker 1: went to Ohio State. But Paris Johnson, he is a
27:04
Speaker 1: massive guy who would be such a great addition to
27:07
Speaker 1: their offensive line. Six six, three thirteen and eighty five
27:12
Speaker 1: and one eighth wingspan. They have a guy who could
27:16
Speaker 1: be versatile inside or outside. But certainly you could bump
27:19
Speaker 1: Tevin Jenkins in with either one of these players and
27:23
Speaker 1: really protect on that right side or the left side.
27:26
Speaker 1: They love Braxton Jones, of course, who looks to be
27:29
Speaker 1: the starter at left tackle, but I really think the
27:32
Speaker 1: versatility and the speed. I remember being at the combine
27:34
Speaker 1: with Paris Johnson and he talked about his feet. He
27:37
Speaker 1: grew up in church dancing. He played multiple sports, I mean,
27:41
Speaker 1: you name it, hockey, he was involved in gymnastics. For
27:44
Speaker 1: heaven's sakes, this is going to be an athletic addition
27:47
Speaker 1: if they target him or Peter Scronsky at number nine
27:50
Speaker 1: overall in the local kid Peter Skerronsky there, yes, grandson
27:55
Speaker 1: of the Packers legend. All right, James, let's get to
27:58
Speaker 1: the Packers now, because they're picking fifteen. And I realized
28:01
Speaker 1: that a lot can change between now and the draft.
28:04
Speaker 1: I mean, hypothetically, the Jets could throw in thirteen for
28:07
Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers, even though that does seem for now unlikely,
28:10
Speaker 1: and they could have two out of three picks in
28:12
Speaker 1: the first round. But let's for now just stick with
28:15
Speaker 1: the Packers and Jordan Love and pick fifteen. Well, you
28:20
Speaker 1: mentioned in Jordan Love Andrew, and this is a different
28:22
Speaker 1: situation as opposed to the one they've been in with
28:24
Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers, where he just makes everybody around him better.
28:27
Speaker 1: No slight to Jordan Love, but that's just not the
28:29
Speaker 1: same with him coming in as his first year as
28:32
Speaker 1: a starter. So Matlafloor has said it that he wanted
28:34
Speaker 1: to put as much talent around him as possible to
28:37
Speaker 1: have him play at the highest ability of himself. They
28:39
Speaker 1: bring back David back tier to make that offensive line
28:42
Speaker 1: what they believe when he's playing in that group different
28:44
Speaker 1: in front of him. You could go wide receiver here,
28:46
Speaker 1: but I'm gonna go tight end, a spot that is
28:48
Speaker 1: desperately needed for some help for Jordan Love. And I
28:51
Speaker 1: look at Dalton Kincaide out of Utah, a guy that
28:54
Speaker 1: is a vertical threat, that is a great guy with
28:56
Speaker 1: ball skills fifty fifty balls if you look at his
28:59
Speaker 1: scouttering report or just something that is not really fifty
29:01
Speaker 1: fifty balls with him, and that's a big help for
29:04
Speaker 1: Jordan Love. When you look at the other tight ends
29:06
Speaker 1: on this roster, between the top two of the Manadrew
29:08
Speaker 1: and they're six seasons combined in the NFL, they have
29:11
Speaker 1: forty seven total catches, I think this is a big
29:13
Speaker 1: need for the Green Bay Packers. But I mentioned receiver.
29:16
Speaker 1: You do have Romeo Dobbs, who Lafour did say has
29:19
Speaker 1: some Davante Adams like tendencies to him that he sees
29:22
Speaker 1: thinks he can run every route, and Christian Watson was
29:25
Speaker 1: their best playmaking skill guy after week ten. They're young,
29:28
Speaker 1: but there's more talent there than there is at the
29:30
Speaker 1: tight end spot. All right, Stacy, Now the defending NFC
29:34
Speaker 1: North champions, your Minnesota Vikings are picking twenty third. Yeah,
29:40
Speaker 1: they're picking twenty third. They only have five picks guys
29:42
Speaker 1: in this draft, so they've really got to land a
29:44
Speaker 1: good player at number twenty three. We'll see what they do,
29:47
Speaker 1: and we know they've targeted their defense through free agency.
29:50
Speaker 1: I really think with the loss of Adam Thielen, who's
29:54
Speaker 1: now a Carolina Panther and hit all of his great
29:58
Speaker 1: success over nine seasons, his fifty five touchdowns, whatever, sixty
30:02
Speaker 1: six almost sixty seven hundred receiving yards, they got to
30:05
Speaker 1: go there and help Justin Jefferson. I'm looking at receivers
30:08
Speaker 1: people because there are some good ones in this draft
30:10
Speaker 1: that Jordan Addison would be an outstanding addition because of
30:14
Speaker 1: his versatility. We know he can take the top off
30:17
Speaker 1: of the defense, he can play underneath, he can work
30:19
Speaker 1: in the slot. He really prides himself as I spent
30:21
Speaker 1: time with him at the combine on his ability to
30:24
Speaker 1: control his speed. Imagine that pairing. I also look at
30:28
Speaker 1: another Ohio State player, Jackson Smith and Jigba who works
30:32
Speaker 1: so well in the slot and bring so much physicality
30:34
Speaker 1: to the position. Another guy that would I think, really
30:38
Speaker 1: playoff of a Justin Jefferson who's just still shocking to me,
30:41
Speaker 1: guys in three seasons, he's got forty eight twenty five
30:44
Speaker 1: receiving yards, just crazy. And then you know, don't forget
30:47
Speaker 1: about TCUs Quentin Johnson right his six three to ten
30:51
Speaker 1: frame and big playability down the field to stretch that field.
30:55
Speaker 1: Kirk Cousins isn't getting any younger. This was a good
30:58
Speaker 1: offense last season, and I expect anticipate they would put
31:02
Speaker 1: a little more emphasis in the run game. But any
31:04
Speaker 1: one of the those guys at twenty three to me,
31:06
Speaker 1: would seem like a slam dunk for Kirk Cousins and company.
31:09
Speaker 1: Ian Rappaport says, Quinton Johnston set to meet with the
31:12
Speaker 1: Ravens who are picking twenty two right ahead john potentially
31:15
Speaker 1: of the Vikings at twenty three. Stacy Dale's James Palmer
31:20
Speaker 1: nc NFL now is a production of the NFL in
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31:32
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