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2027 NFL Draft Talk - No 1st round QB's?? w/ ESPN's Jordan Reid · Scouting the League

• Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: The march towards the 2027 NFL draft is a bit of a slow one as we are just about five weeks into the college football season here, but that doesn't mean we have any shortage of things to talk about. So today, Neil and I sit down with ESPN's NFL draft analyst Jordan Reed to talk about quarterbacks. Is there gonna be a first rounder next year? We talk about edge rushers. Guys hurting their stock, wide receivers, O-line, and so much more. So make sure you stick around for this one. Really fun conversation with Jordan. Before we jump in, though, make sure you head over, like, subscribe, share this podcast wherever you are listening, and hopefully watching today as we get some really good video clips as we are talking with Jordan. That's over on YouTube. Everything is at Scouting the League. Find us there. I'm Roderick David at Right Step A B V is where you can find me. Rsafootball.com is my website. Go check everything out that I am doing there. Neil Stratton is at Inside the League. InsideTheLeag.com is his website. Make sure you check out his blog, succeed in football, and get signed up for his Friday rap. You can get that over on his Twitter. Jordan Reed, if you're not following him already, he is at Jordan underscore read on Twitter. Check out some of the great stuff he puts out there. One of the players is a clip. he put out earlier today. So make sure you go check that out. If you need to go beyond just our conversations, get a detailed scouting report from myself, head over to rightstepscouting.com. Check out this clip for a little bit more on that. Yes, whether it's full reports, one-liners, draft reports, whether you need some draft prep, that'll come along later. Whether you need a video report, Right Step Scouting is the spot for you. So go do that today. If you're a scout or aspiring scout, you love the conversations, you wanna do more, get more involved, ask more questions. These scoutingcommunity.com is a spot for you for NFL Scouts. I jumped on the soapbox last week for development. I am working to try to make that more of a factor in NFL front offices. The Scouting Community is where you can get involved and do more with that. Completely anonymous. Nothing will ever be out there, but whether you are a current NFL Scout or an aspiring scout, go check out thescoutingcommunity.com. And for the best insoles, no matter whether you're a scout coach, player, agent, no matter who you are in the world, get those blue maca.com insoles that will make your shoes more comfortable, which will make your body feel a little bit better as you are out going through the football season. yesterday was all about Trinidad Chambless as we look about our march towards the twenty twenty-seven NFL draft, last week Dan Brugler. Exciting stuff still coming out every day. So make sure you're checking everything out. But as we jump into today, let's get with Jordan. Well, I am excited to do more draft talk. We are sitting down here, Neil and I, with the man at ESPN, draft analyst Jordan Reed. Jordan, always enjoy having you on. Unique insight from the quarterback position as well as getting around to some of these games across the country. First off, welcome back to Scouting League. Jordan Reid: I appreciate you guys for having me. You know, I always enjoy learning from you two guys and talking ball with you two as well. So thanks for having me. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Good. Well, if you can learn something from this podcast from us, man, we're we're doing our job. Cause as you know, there's plenty of haters out there, Jordan, that say, hey, we don't Neil Stratton @InsidetheLeague: Checks in the middle of the words. Jordan Reid: yeah. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: know what we're talking about. Yet we put something out anyway. And at least a few people listen. So always always enjoy having you on. unique insight. We're gonna talk plenty of quarterbacks, but you also get unique insight because you don't just sit at home behind a computer. You're out calling games, you're on the sideline. This last week. Texas, Tennessee, you're gonna go see Notre Dame, Carolina, which I think is gonna be a little bit of an underrated game. Notre Dame talented, Carolina playing a little bit better under Coach Belichick. So what unique insights? Do you like doing games live in person? Obviously there's some stuff you can see from a scouting from a draft standpoint, but but what kind of unique insights does Jordan Reid: That's good for that. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: calling games live give you? Jordan Reid: Well, I love it just because I always compare it to buying a house or a car, right? They look really good online. You can see all the nice pictures of the outside and the inside. But when you go in person, that's really where you get a feel of the house. You see the foundation. You see, did they just remake the walls and do you still have to tear those down when you go in there and stuff like that? But I love calling games and I love live scouting as well, just because it gives me a unique insight to who's lying on the measurables on rosters, who's really six three. when they're listed as six four, six five, so little things like that I always love to pay attention to. But also when good things or bad things do happen in games, how do they react? There's some things you don't necessarily see from a film perspective that you can get when you're live scouting. And then I always felt like when you're watching tape, you kind of lose a feel of the situation of the game. At times just because you're so focused and fixated on the plays, being there live, you really get a feel of the situation that these prospects are in. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Yeah, absolutely. Neil Stratton @InsidetheLeague: Jordan, where I've never been in Nealand, especially not on a game night. Where's it rank in Jordan Reid: my gosh. Neil Stratton @InsidetheLeague: in in your game day experiences, buddy? Jordan Reid: So the top two for me is Death Valley, LSU, and Nealin. Both of those two are incredible to me. And I gotta this is my third time going to Nealin. This was the loudest that I've ever heard it before. Just a hundred and five thousand strong, the number one team in the country. So much drama attached to this game. And you know, they didn't have a lot to cheer about during the game, but pre-game you could really feel the energy and the atmosphere and That's what I love the most about Live Scout, just because it's not something that you can simulate with these players and just get in the up close and first person view of stuff like that, I love. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Yeah. Well, we're gonna get into a few of the really good prospects, maybe now the top defensive prospect in the country on the on the Texas defense. I don't I don't know, a quarterback perhaps that you know gets talked about here and there. But before we do that, as we're in what week four here, week five of the college season, if we count week zero, big picture thoughts as far as draft goes, as far as team rankings go, as far as kind of anything you've seen, what has been your impression so far as we said? Jordan Reid: The slow start for the top names of the quarterback class, I thought they would start a little bit faster than what we have seen. And we'll get into a few here in a little bit. But Dante Moore obviously unfortunately going out with the concussion. You hope he comes back very quickly. But even prior to that point, I thought he got off to some slow starts, speci specifically, particularly earlier on in the season. And then Arch Manning. we'll talk plenty about him. You're you'll hear plenty about him during the lead up to the draft as well. I thought both of those guys would come out firing a little bit more. than what they have done considering Dante coming back for his senior season and then also Arch Manning another year with Sark in that system. I thought he would a little bit more look a little bit more comfortable than what he has to this point. But there's been some other names that have emerged. Darium Mensah, of course, we've seen what he was capable of at Duke, but now he looks fully comfortable at Miami. Still has to play against some high quality opponents later on the season. So still kind of T B D with him with him, excuse me, Trinidad Chambless. He's been incredible so far this year. But Unfortunate lost last week in a tough environment in the swamp down in Florida. So a slow start for the quarterback class, that would be one thing that really has been notable so far for me. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Yeah. I mean, we were we were we we heard it last year, we heard it this year, greatest quarterback class we're ever gonna have. Jordan, as we are sitting here, I'm ready to move Arch Manning to 2028 draft the way he is playing. you talked about the slow start. This is a kid that w we've heard it over and over. He's not looking to leave. He doesn't need to. He needs to develop, he needs to put himself in the right spot. Texas, they're gonna They're going to come up with the money to pay him. you you you've got Dante Moore, who all of a sudden we haven't seen for a couple weeks. And now, credit to them. They went out and got a pretty good backup who's got some NFL type traits, though he has never put it together consistently in Dylan Rioli. Riola, we've got Chambliss, we've got Sellers, we've got Damon Williams, we've got Metsa. But is there a first-round quarterback that we know is for sure going to be a part of this 2027 draft? Jordan Reid: it's kinda T V D right now, honestly. There's like a yeah but with all these guys. But one I will say, and he's surging to be my QB one is Drew Mestermaker at Oklahoma State. I I I love I I love me some Drew Neil Stratton @InsidetheLeague: I knew what I knew it. I knew it. I agree. Jordan Reid: Mestermaker, man, and I needed to see it on the power four level and he got off to the rough start against Tulsa, but that kind of unlocked him somehow, some way having a bad game. He goes out, he plays really well against Oregon in the second game. he's been really sharp. These past two weeks. With him, the sample size is still small on the power four level. But now I think Oklahoma State is going to be in the mix to win the Big 12. He's got some big games coming up in a couple weeks against Texas Tech, and he's got some other big games coming up against some ranked opponents as well. So I'm really excited about Drew Mestermaker, man. He has a very one-of-a-kind story. Somebody that was a safety and a punter in high school. And then he was the sixth quarterback on the depth chart when he got to North Texas. So he was an afterthought. even from the coaches standpoint. So this is a very unique story. But what gives me so much hope about Drew is that how far along he is this early in his development, imagine where he's gonna be, you know, five, six games from now if he's showing this stuff already. Now, the sample size is still very small on the power four level. He's only started four games on the power four level. I mean, Oregon was his first powerful opponent that he ever played against in his his college career, which is remarkable considering the number of games that he has started, but If this trend continues, guys, I could see him being the first quarterback off of the board. Now, this is very premature as far as talking about the developmental process and just as far as this draft stock, but the things that he has put on tape so far, I'm really really excited about this play. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Does does does Drew end up being a conversation to what we had with Fernando Mendoza last year? Where maybe there's a lot of question marks. Fernando had a lot longer track record. two years at power four. But in all of a sudden, if things play out the way they certainly could, where it's like, all right, well, who is who is quarterback one in a normal year if Dante, if it's Arch, if some of the if Lenora Seller We're taking the steps that he was expected to do. Mensa, Shamblis. This seemed like a guy that was like, yeah, for sure he's going back and probably is having some Kamario Taylor conversations on like where else does he end up outside of Oklahoma State? is that the way you view this? Is he gonna be absolutely back in Stillwater, or is this Stillwater or NFL next year? Jordan Reid: Before the season, I would have said yes, like let's just shelve him to twenty twenty eight. But now the evidence that we have seen on tape from him so far, there's like, hey man, like we need have a conversation about twenty twenty seven, especially considering how the order other quarterbacks so far have looked. I think he's had the best tape of all the quarterbacks so far to this point. And Chambliss has been really good. Mensah has been good, but still hasn't played that high quality opponent. We haven't seen Minsah against a high quality opponent like what Drew was able to do. against Oregon. He not only played really well, but he went out and he won the game as a massive underdog as well. So Drew's putting some really good things on tape, man. And, you know, originally I shelved him to twenty twenty eight. I didn't even include my preseason mod draft just because I thought he was more so of a twenty twenty eight guy. But now I'm ready to have the conversation about twenty twenty seven with him and him potentially being in this class if things continue to trend upward like what we've seen so far. Neil Stratton @InsidetheLeague: Jordan, do you how much of this is, you know, I mean, we keep talking about Arch, and I think deservedly so, but before he set foot in Austin, he had these expectations. Whereas you've got a guy who got who got to Denton as a former safety, never started a high school football game. All right. Do you see him wilting down the stretch now or or starting to feel that pressure if he continues to have this arc? I mean, it's just it becomes so, so much a of a an anchor it seems around the necks of some of these quarterbacks when they are anointed as QB one for a draft class. I mean do you could that impact him? I guess of course anything could, but do you see it impact him, I guess is my question. Jordan Reid: Yeah, I I think it could. I I think with Arch, i there's so much heightened expectations with him, not only because of the last name, but because of the pedigree who was Uncle Zar, who, you know, his dad Cooper was successful during his collegiate career as well. There's always gonna be heightened expectations, but also, in my opinion, there's a lot of blind faith that is associated with that sometimes as well, with Arch. And he's a player that, yes, I'm still very interested in Arch Manning the prospect, but I just think he's being propped up a little bit more than what people want to admit right now, than what he has shown on tape. I still think Archman could be a first round caliber type of quarterback. He has the tools, he has the size, it's six foot four, two hundred and thirty pounds, but I think a lot of people are rushing the process with him and not really being satisfied with what they have seen or really paying attention to with what he has shown on tape. And I tweeted it out, guys. I think he's a very raw player right now, just from an IQ perspective. We saw some low level IQ moments with him. Passing the line of scrimmage, throwing the football with a legal forward pass, just not seeing some blitzes off the edge. The mechanics can be a very inconsistent. The accuracy is hit or miss as well. But in between all those negatives, you see those flashes that really catch your attention as well. So there's a wave of inconsistent moments with him right now. And prior to the season, he was another that I thought could potentially be in 2027. But now he's another that I wouldn't mind staying another year in Austin, being under Steve Sarkeesian, being in the offense as well. I'm just not in a rush to cl or really to crown him as the unquestioned number one quarterback in this year's class. I'm willing to be patient with his development and I think that's what Arts needs right now, not just propping him up as the unquestioned quarterback one in this class like a lot of people did entering the year. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Yeah. Well, patience, you you know well that college football fans, that's something that they always have plenty of is patience, NFL fans, patience. So they can all take a grain of that from you. And we'll we'll work on everybody's patience. It's you know, the the exact opposite. But again, it's again, this is just a it's an interesting quarterback group because for me talking to scouts and you know, looking back at the small sample size that we had before he became a full time starter, it was It was some of the situational football. Hey, knows how to play when the clock's right. And it never seemed too big for him, which was a good thing. And it was, if nothing else, it seemed like he had a pretty, pretty steady heartbeat. Where some of these other guys, man, you know, the the the Trinidad Chamblist, the dude's rolling at a hundred miles an hour, and it's really exciting and it's really fun. I think Damon Williams out of Washington has a little bit of that, love the way the ball comes out of his hand. Lenora Sellers, traits, traits, traits, but just doesn't play the game. And a guy in all this mix that when you start talking about consistent quarterback play is our Jordan Jaden Maiava out at USC. What are your thoughts on him? Because as we've brought up names and we talk about these guys, this is a guy that's playing consistent football. Yeah, USC can't win the big one under Lincoln Riley, like kind of whatever, but consistent, steady. NFL caliber quarter play. What what about what do you think about Jaden? Jordan Reid: I think you use the two words that describe him perfectly. And that's smooth and steady with him. It just looks effortless as far as from a throwing standpoint. He's just a natural the first touchdown pass that he made against Oregon, I thought was an exceptional throw with him. And he's really mastered that system that Lincoln Riley really has him in. And I I think something that they do a really good job of is incorporating the quarterback design and run. He's a better athlete than I believe he's given credit for. But just his reads, he's very decisive with where he wants to go. But down the field is really where he excels, those intermediate throws. as well. He does have some layups that he does miss from time to time that happened early on in the records game. So he needs to clean up some of those aspects. But from a smooth pocket presence standpoint, he definitely has that. His vision down the field, I think, is very accurate from time to time as well. You can tell that he's under the tutelage of a Lincoln Riley type of mind offensively, just because he knows where to go with the football. He's very decisive as well. I I like him more so I think he's more of a day two player. I don't see him as a first round guy like some of the other names in this class, but you know, in the third round, I would be completely comfortable with taking him. I think he's a great developmental guy that you can get something out of and hoping that his developmental curve is just at the beginning stages. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Yeah, big he he falls into like one of those conversations of different type of player, different athlete, different size, Kirk Cousins. But Kirk never gonna wow ya. But man, it's just consistent. And obviously what he's doing with the with the Raiders maybe gives you some confidence there. But he's been one of those guys like you put it on, and I I probably know what his film looks like in the other games that I had not yet watched on him. Cause it's just steady, consistent throughout as we as we go. you mentioned another one, Darien Mensa. He's gonna have to wait a little while to answer questions. He's got one big test against Notre Dame a couple weeks away. maybe, maybe Coach Belichick and, you know, the that Carolina defense gives him some challenge. Is there anybody else in this group, like, all right, maybe Julian's saying he's probably a twenty eight at this point, unless Ohio State really, you know, takes off, makes a run. is there anybody else? Maybe Carr, you're gonna see him this weekend. Who else belongs in this quarterback conversation? Jordan Reid: You know, one that's kind of grown on me over the past few weeks is Nico Iamaliava at UCLA. I think he's he's been steady so far in that offense. He has the big frame that you love to see, six six, comfortable two hundred and fifteen, two hundred and twenty pounds. He has a really good arm. Koschezny's doing a really good job with implementing him in the system. The big thing for him was just overcoming what happened at Tennessee as far as what happened with the background and the character. whether it was his fault or not, him being able to overcome some of the things that he was able to overcome during that nasty exit divorce from Tennessee and being comfortable in this UCLA system. He's a developmental prospect that I'm really, really intrigued by. He's a really good athlete and do a good job of using him on zone reads and getting him in design quarterback run game as well. So he's somebody that I'm definitely starting to warm up to. More so of a you know late day two, early day three guy. But I think he if he if he does end up coming out this year, I think he comfortable Glows in the third round somewhere in that range. I wouldn't be surprised if somebody takes him at the end of the second as a project type of quarterback if you miss out on some of these early names as well. So Nico Iamaliava is somebody that I'm definitely interested in. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Yeah. Well, you're gonna pronounce it better than just about anybody out there, which we appreciate because I'm just gonna come back to this podcast for that pronunciation when when I decide to talk about him down the road. But again, you know quarterbacks, we're gonna trust you on quarterbacks. And as a quarterback, you always love to have a go to target. And we're seeing a guy where we talk about inconsistency. What's this guy gonna do? What's this guy gonna be? There's this kid at Ohio State that's pretty good. I mean, Jeremiah Smith. We talked about it with Dane Bruegler last week. It's hyperbole talking about him. And then he goes out and does what he does in in the first Big Ten Cest is you're like, How how good is this kid? How how special? How would you still be playing in the NFL if Jeremiah Smith was your teammate, Jordan? That that may be a question right there. Jordan Reid: yeah, man. I mean, I would love to have a weapon like that guy who wouldn't want to have that dude throwing the throne of that guy on the perimeter, man. I I've run out of words to describe how special he is. And I mean, Calvin Johnson, I mean, I believe you were in the draft room during Julio with the Falcons, Roderick, and seeing him coming into the league, Andre Johnson, T.O., these are some of the comparisons that scouts that I've talked to compare Jeremiah to, but there's some people Even with Calvin, Larry Fitzgerald, there's some people that believe he's on that type of tier of receiver prospect. And I'm never someone that's going to use the word generational just because there's so many different definitions and understandings of the word. But if there was one prospect that I would use the word for, he definitely is somebody that falls into that category. And we're in the projection business, right? We're projecting what these guys can do on the next level. He's somebody that I firmly believe if his career goes as planned. He's somebody that potentially could be wearing a gold jacket 15 to 20 years from now when his career is all said and done. He's going to step into the league and be somebody that's going to be a top five receiver along with the Justin Jeffersons and Puka Nakula's Jamar Chase. Some of these names we're seeing making plays every single Sunday. He's going to be that type of wide receiver one stepping into the NFL. I'm really interested to see the team that he does go to, but he's somebody that I definitely think could be quarterback proof. Like that's how good this guy can be. And he just keeps checking box after box. It doesn't matter if it's against the Big Ten, doesn't matter if it's in the playoff. We saw what he was able to do against Texas a couple of weeks ago as well. So it doesn't really matter who he's playing. Everybody in the stadium knows that they're going to push the ball to number four. And there's nothing that you can do about it. So that's just that's really somebody that you know is an elite prospect, just because everybody knows that they're going to get the ball and you're still not able to stop it. Neil Stratton @InsidetheLeague: So Jordan, based on what you just said, does he have to be the odds on favorite to be the top pick in the draft? Jordan Reid: I mean, without question. Now, we know quarterbacks are going to be pushed up just because of the position, but if we're strictly grading on the number one player in this draft class, I don't think it's close. I I think he's the clear top player. Now, the draft rules of of a lot of teams are gonna be pressured in this situation just because we know number one is usually reserved for quarterback, offensive tackle, we're defensive end. But I wouldn't be surprised if we're looking up in April. And we have the first receiver since Keyshawn Johnson in ninety-six to go number one overall with Jeremiah Smith. Just because in a draft room, we know Roger, if you've been there before, the draft is all about hits or misses. As a GM, if I take him at number one overall and I feel comfortable about my quarterback situation, I'm gonna lay my head down Thursday night and sleep like a baby, knowing that I have this guy on my football team. So I still don't think that he goes number one just because of the position. But if we're strictly grading on who the best player is in this draft class. I don't think there's a question at all that Jeremiah Smith is that guy. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Yeah, yeah. I was I was not quite with the Falcons when when Thomas made that big at the time, blows everybody away, moves up to get Julio four overall, right around there, six overall, something like that. But I gotta see Julio on a day-to-day basis. And what what what separated Julio and what separates Jeremiah is they run routes and move and bend and break like some of these guys that are 511, 200 pounds, 190 pounds. They're doing it at 6'3, 225. I mean, it is just a different level. Again, I saw Julio do things that nobody else could do. And you say, hey, all right, that's not what we're looking for. Let's look for something else. you don't get many of those guys, which is which is fun. there's there's somebody out there, I don't even remember, who tried to put Cam Coleman, who's a really good player at Texas, maybe wide receiver two. There's a gap there. Cam Coleman is making strides coming out of Auburn where he didn't have a quarterback playing Texas now. What's the gap like? Is Cam Coleman a step down and still a top ten pick? Is he your next wide receiver in this group? Or is is maybe maybe the Tennessee kid or not the Tennessee, the Indiana kid, Alabama kid. Who where where else who else belongs in wide receiver two conversations? Jordan Reid: Yeah, there's a huge gap. Jeremiah's just in a tier of his own. But after that, I think wide receiver two is really interesting. My second ranked receiver right now at the moment is Charlie Becker at Indiana. I'm s extremely high on Charlie Becker just because of the handout coordination, I think, is elite. The ball tracking ability is outstanding. And, you know, everybody's talking about them having a soft schedule early on, but he did the same thing in the playoff last year against everybody that they played against. So he's win against top flat competition. The sample size, the only reservation that I had coming to the year was that the sample size was small. He only had eight career games, eight career starts, I should say. Indiana staff didn't even expect this from him. And I actually called the Penn State game, which was his coming out party. He caught a huge catch down the backstretch on the left sideline on the go ball from Mendoza at the time. During prep, he he wasn't even mentioned as somebody is like one of their go to targets. So just his ascension so far during the back stretch of that year and then early on this year. I think he can be a true wide receiver one on the next level. And you're gonna hear all the comparisons in the world for him, Jordy Nelson, Alec Pierce, all the all these similar comparisons as far as who he can be, but I think he can be a wide receiver Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: What what do those guys have in common, Jordan? Jordan Reid: one. Yeah, I don't know. No idea at all, right? You're comparisons for him, but I think Charlie Becker's being underrated. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Yeah. I mean i again it happens. Yeah, the the white wide receiver thing happens. it happens in scouts Jordan Reid: Ha ha ha. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: and people in front offices. Again, it's one of those things that you you kind of joke about, you laugh about, you try to separate it, but you always go to the visuals. You always go to the guys that have similarities. And that part of that's look, part of that can be jersey number. It can be kind of one of those silly things because at the end of the day, Charlie Becker's traits are really impressive and they're really good. Jeremiah, you talk Becker, you talk Cam Coleman, I mean, you've got Malachi Tony, who's really special. You've got guys across the country. Is this going to be another one of those years where we're, hey, we're tipping eight, nine wide receivers in the first round with the way the game's going? Jordan Reid: I think it's a possibility. there's a lot of guys that are surging as well. Ryan Coleman Williams seems to have his groove back. We know he's a special mover. It's just catch consistency with him. Another guy that scouts really like a lot, who's starting to buzz quite a bit, is Deuce Alexander, the receiver at Ole Miss, who has a little bit of Jamison Williams down the field aspect to his game. So we're starting to see a lot of these not only receivers emerge, but really show that they're worthy of the hype as well. So I think we could see. as many as six or seven go in the first round, like that wouldn't be surprising at all. We didn't even mention Nick Marsh, who is Becker's teammate at Indiana, another player that a lot of scouts have, top thirty to top forty grades on right now as well. So this receiver class, we're trending towards another very, very good player. Neil Stratton @InsidetheLeague: Jordan, you I think you had five offensive tackles as we switched positions a bit in your mock a month ago. Now I know that that you can kind of tear that up because that's been a long time ago. But do you still see five tackles as a possibility in the first round? And is Trevor Gooseby out of Texas still your number one guy? Jordan Reid: Yeah, yeah, Gooseby is still one. if there was one position I have some question marks and did a lot of projection with in that my draft, it definitely was offensive tackle. Just because outside of Seaton and Goosby, I think there was a lot of question marks with this class. Trevor Lauk out of Iowa, a lot of people like quite a bit. There's some people that want to kick him aside to guard as well, just because he's gonna lack some length, some arm length. there's gonna be some debates about him with that. And then the athleticism, he's got some question marks to answer. with that as well. But I think your clear top two right now are Jordan Seaton of LSU and then Goosby at Texas, who I was able to see last week. But there's some intrigue with the other offensive tackle at Texas, Melvin Ciani, who is a transfer from Wake Forest as well. I see him more so as a day two player right now, but that just goes to show you there's a lot of projection in this class. But with Goosby, the player that comes to mind, two players really come to mind with him just from a body type perspective and then just a developmental curve. One is Charles Cross at Seattle. who's gone on to be a really good player for him. He's very reminiscent of him coming out of Mississippi State, who was a little bit underdeveloped during his earlier stages, needed to gain some weight. But Goosby's seeing them this past weekend he's every bit of six seven. He's gonna come in about 320 to 325 pounds. Really, really good mover, really strong at the point of attack as well. Built like an NBA small forward, looks like the biggest kid on the school yard. Still is a little bit goofy at times, trying to learn how to control his movements. but he has every single trait that you look for in a first round offensive tackle. So really excited about him and what he can be moving forward. And then the other name that he reminds me of is Patrick Paul at Miami, for the Miami Dolphins, who's gone on he had he had a little bit of a rush stretch early on in his career, but the big thing about him is that there's gonna be some bumps and bruises early on in his career, but by year three, he's gonna be a really, really good starter for you, which he has turned out to be as well. Neil Stratton @InsidetheLeague: Now I've watched a little bit of LSU, haven't watched him extensively, but what I've seen of Seton, man, he seems like a lot more of a projection than a proven productive player right now. I mean he obviously he moves well. He's got all a lot of the things you're looking for, but as far as the pure people moving ability, I don't know. what's what's your take, Jordan? Jordan Reid: He he he's one of those guys that you're doing some projection with just because the athleticism always gives you a baseline or a foundation to fall on, and that's what you're getting with Seaton. He's a natural as a pass protector. He's one of the more athletic offensive tackles you're not only gonna see in this class, but over the past five or so years, he's an easy mover. The hands as a run blocker and then just the temperament and the physicality do need to go up a tick. You saw that a little bit in the old miss game. you would like to see a little bit more there, but What I've learned and just evaluating offensive tackles over the years is that that athleticism gives you a leeway or a runway for the other traits to catch up. And the player that he reminds me of personally is Rashawn Slater when he was coming out of Northwestern. There was a lot of question marks with him, as far as from a run blocking perspective, but the athleticism, the smarts, and just how natural he was as a pass protector, that's what made a lot of people so comfortable with him and why he ended up being a top fifteen pick. So I see a lot of similarities between those two. as prospects, but I I definitely think Seton does find his way inside of the top fifteen. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Yeah, it's it's a good group. I as a quarterback, you love to find these guys Interesting with Seaton, he is he is a true left tackle. Don't stick him on the right side. Don't ask him to run through people's faces, but ask him to drop, protect. Goosey's Goosey's got a little bit more of that. Whereas whereas Lauk from Iowa, you could see him in some different spots. in that Iowa, you're gonna run the ball, you're going to get after it and run through people's faces. It's gonna be a good, good O line group. but Seaton, man. some natural athleticism there that is certainly shows up as as you watch his film. And one of the things I really wanted to see him do, continue to polish and clean up those little things where I thought Ray Sean, coming out of the COVID year was a little bit odd, but man, so technical in what he did. that's definitely a big part of the way he wins. Hopefully we'll s continue to see those steps with with Seton there. Even though the quarterback does make it a little tough sometimes with all the ad lib, with all the off script, with everything that goes a little bit awry for him. So we'll see we'll see where it's at. Well, Jordan, let's flip over to the other side of the ball. Guys that you were used to be running away from. And we came into the year. it was Dylan Stewart, really impressive, physical specimen, all the traits. Yeah, he's got a few issues. And then we had another player, you know, that went for five sacks and kind of showed up and said, Hey, I'm the new number one edge. Let's start. In the home state, let's start for for the for the Game Cox, Dylan Stewart. How ugly is this situation? Has not put up a ton of film this year. Are we going to see Dylan Stewart play again this year? And how much does this hurt his draft stock? Jordan Reid: I would be surprised if he plays again for South Carolina. It just seems like a situation that is on the downswing right now. You know, with Shane Beamer potentially being fired at any moment now, it seems like. they just haven't been able to win the big game during his time there. And then you just see the constant bad moments in games with him, whether it's, you know, the excessive celebration a couple of years ago against Jackson Dart standing over him with the sack celebration. And then also this past game throwing multiple punches in games as well. And then he had the back injury in the spring. And then he sat out a couple games while he was recovering from that. So there's just a lot of I wouldn't say red flags, but there's a lot of question marks that he's gonna have to answer, especially in these interviews. There's gonna be a lot of scouts that wanna find out the why behind a lot of situations, whether it was the celebration, what's really going on with the medical with the back injury. And then just what happened in the situation with South Carolina in the game with the player that he was going back and forth with with Alabama. So there's gonna be a lot of questions that he has to answer, but I think he's played his last snap for South Carolina. I'll be really surprised if he does come back. Neil Stratton @InsidetheLeague: If that's the case and he hasn't doesn't play again this season, how far does he fall? What's what's the lowest he goes, presuming he's in the twenty seven draft class? Jordan Reid: That's a great question. just because of the athletic upside and what he has put on tape so far, I definitely think he still goes inside of the top twelve, if I had to guess. It's just because we know defensive ends are a premium position. He's gonna be a very freaky tester. Like he's gonna have some numbers that we have rarely seen at the position. And we've seen teams at time or some teams I should say, they don't really care about the production. And the potential the production hasn't really matched the potential. with Dylan Stewart, but just the being, the athleticism, the way he changes offenses as well, when he is out there and how he's able to create constant penetration and pressure, there's gonna be some teams that overlook some of the things or some of the mistakes that he has had in years past. So I I think he still goes inside the top twelve, but it is still a little bit early, but that's just my early assumption as far as what or early projection as far as what could happen. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Yeah, yeah. the traits jump off film. There are not enough of these guys. An edge rusher. there's plenty of coaches and front office guys. I I I like if I want somebody on my defense to be a little bit of that, yeah, the edge is not a bad spot to do it. Now, you gotta find the right staff and the right building to rein that guy in, to put up the guardrails. Yeah, you're gonna he's gonna be a little bit all over two or three lanes, but as long as the guardrails are up and we can keep him between these lines. Hey, there's gonna be a little bit of to that, but cause cause he is talented. He is he can get after the quarterback. And where he hits on a few more of the I I ideals. Colin Simmons of Texas is a guy that came in. Maybe that little bit more undersized guy. Is he gonna be a big enough to be an edge? Well, maybe he answered a question some questions with five sacks this last week at a game you were at. Is is he taking over as edge one? as far as players we're gonna see this year. Talk about Colin Simmons a and kind of what you saw from him. Jordan Reid: Yeah, I I think it's the old traits versus production debate with Colin Simmons and Dylan Stewart. Now every draft room is gonna be different. There's some that are more willing to bet on the traits if they don't have the production, while there's others, especially at defensive end, they wanna see that production. And whenever you go out and you have a five sack game, you should be able to fit on every single defense. If he doesn't fit on your defense, seems like a U problem to me, whenever you can't fit a guy that can go out and get five sacks. in one game. Now the celebration is something that he's going to be questioned about in draft rooms, but I was happy to see that he did apologize immediately after the game. But it's still going to be a question or a box that teams have to check as far as why he went out there and did that. Why was that the celebration that you wanted to use or that you declared to use or or anything like that. But just the traits with him, the aggressiveness that he plays with, the angry hands, the bend that he has, how strong he is as a run defender as well. And even though he He's going to be undersized for some, but he does look the part. I think he's going to come in a shade under 6'3. He'll probably come in at like 6027 or 6025 or 6026, somewhere in that range. Probably about 245 to 250. But he looked even heavier than that when I saw him the other day. But we know these guys are going to try to cut weight just because they're getting in shape to train. But if I had to guess, he's probably going to come in that 245, 250 range. He's going to light up the combine. He's probably going to run. And I wouldn't surprise if he runs in the high four fours or low four fives. That would not be surprising at all. He's gonna be a really good tester as well. So I think he's a top ten pick all day long, in my honest Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Yeah. Jordan Reid: opinion. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Yeah, absolutely. Out outside of Simmons, outside of Stewart, who are some other names in in an edge group where that's kind of been that's kind of been it. Those are the big guys or the big dogs in Quincy Rhodes at Arkansas who chose to come back. who who else are some names out there that you like to to be first round edge rushers? Jordan Reid: Will help Clemson is somebody that's really caught my eye. I think he's more so of a day two guy. He's about six six, two hundred and sixty pounds. I'm really interested to see him against Miami this weekend. That's gonna be a big game for him. So he's somebody that I'm definitely intrigued by. Kenyatta Jackson Jr. out of Ohio State. I think he's more so of another day two player as well. Really good power profile that scheme versatile as well. So this is a really deep edge group. I will say that. Well, those are two other names that have really caught my eye in this year's class, but I think Stewart and then also Simmons are your clear top two at the top of the class. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Yeah. Yeah, there's some there's there's some intriguing inside guys in this group as well. Eccles kid Oregon's got a couple of Georgia's gonna have a kid. Ohio State'll probably end up with somebody by the end of the year. But it's it's a group, probably the depth is the strength after you get outside of those top two. but gonna be looking to build and dig in the trenches and with Dante or with Dylan Stewart off the board as my number one. the best corner in this draft class who you wouldn't even throw at if he was on the field. He's that good. Leonard Jordan Reid: Yeah. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Moore. Talk about Leonard. You're gonna get a CM this week. What questions does he have to answer for you? Jordan Reid: Yeah, I'm really excited about this player, man. Like he's an upper echelon type of player at the position. He's going to be mentioned along with the Patrick Sertains and Derek Stingley's and some of the other guys that we have seen go inside of that top 10 range. Like we saw some of those other players go. But just he has the prototypical size, six two, right around 200, 205 pounds. So he's the prototype at the position. He has the production that you love to see. And yeah, you're right, Roderick. There's teams that aren't even attempting to throw. in his direction just because it's bad news whenever you do, which is the sign of a really, really good corner. So I'm excited to see him this weekend. And the player that he reminds me of is Christian Gonzalez. I think they are nearly identical as far as prospects. I think the athletic profile is going to be very similar as well. And you know there were some questions about Christian coming out that I don't think Leonard has with his profile. But I I had Christian graded as a top 10 guy. I was surprised to see Emmanuel Forbes go before him at the time. I was floored by that. but with Leonard, I think his profile is much cleaner than what Christians was coming out. He's an enthusiastic tack th enthusiastic tackler as well, which is always going to be a pro a plus with his athletic profile and his profile in general. But the length I think he has, he has the vision when the ball is in flight as well to not only find the ball, but also create turnovers as well. But what I love the most about him is that he accepts the challenge. And what I mean by that is If the team's best receiver plays inside, he's willing to go inside. We saw that against Ma Makai Lemon on his twenty twenty five tape of where he was able to be a true shutdown C B one and it was a great back and forth battle. So I'm gonna circle that November seventh game against Miami, him and Malachi Tony. I'm gonna have my popcorn ready for that one. That's gonna be a really, Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: That'll be a fun one. Jordan Reid: really fun matchup between those two. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Yeah. I mean that's that's the kind of matchup too where you can look at it and be like, this this isn't the idea for a big long corner like Leonard Moore. I mean, Malikatoni can be a tough matchup. He's a tough matchup for anybody, but especially when you match those skill skill sets, I mean that that it it could answer questions big time for Leonard Moore. Does it push him into the top five? Are we talking about a top five pick here? Jordan Reid: I think it potentially could. It just really depends on how these quarterbacks shake out. But to me, I think there's a clear top two players in this class and we've already talked about one at length and Jeremiah Smith at Ohio State. But the second ranked player and the second best player in this draft to me would be Leonard Moore. Neil Stratton @InsidetheLeague: So you have two safet again, I know this is it's been a month since your preseason mock, and I know that's very early. But you have two safeties in the top thirty-two. We looked at Caleb Downs last year, and again, we talked about him maybe as a number one overall. Is the game changing as the way that teams look at safeties and their value to in in the draft? Jordan Reid: Yeah, I I think it has and there's always the quote unquote positional value aspect of it, which I've d I've disagreed at times just because I've always felt that the draft is all about hits or misses. But there's always that golden rule of that you can't take players at certain positions. and safety was one that a lot of people have reservations about taking inside of the top ten. If I was in a draft room, I would have been comfortable taking Caleb inside of the top ten just because outside of Jeremiah Love, he was the best player in the draft last year's draft class to me. But There's always going to be that golden rule in teams' beliefs, just based on how their upbringing was in the scouting community or the scouting ranks, of that they can't take certain positions inside of the top 10. So safety is usually going to be one of those, even though I'm going to continue to push back and disagree. Whenever you have a special player like that, I've always felt that you should feel comfortable taking those players wherever they are on the board, especially if they're available to you. Neil Stratton @InsidetheLeague: I mean, is it time to throw away that rule though? I mean, Jordan. I I I mean just because that's p how people have always thought, that doesn't necessarily mean that's how we need to think now. I mean, what are your thoughts there? Jordan Reid: It's easy for us to say that on the media side, obviously, but on the team side, there's always gonna be a different belief and there's different specifics that come into it as well. We don't have to worry about the financial side of it either, which is something we don't take into consideration on the media side and that teams have to. So I don't think that rule or, you know, draft rankings or positionings or position of value is ever gonna go away just because of the financial side of it and GMs and assistant GMs always having that belief that there's a distinct position group that should go inside of the top three to five picks. Neil Stratton @InsidetheLeague: Are there safeties now in college that are I mean, I think the vogue thing now is to have a safety you don't really have free and strong. You've got a guy that's as comfortable the box as he is in center field. Are we seeing that in college as well? Jordan Reid: Yeah, we are. I mean, this safety group is really, really good to me. I think is one of the more underrated position groups. And I don't think we're gonna get one drafted as high as Caleb did last year at number eleven overall, but I think we're gonna see a really, really strong run of these safeties go on day two. And there's been some others that have emerged as well. Kyle has a safety. Kingston Lopa, six five guy who they kind of use like Kyle Hamilton, that a lot of people have day two grades on right now that could sneak inside in the first round. as well. KJ Bolden at Georgia, who a lot of people like. Tay Johnson at Notre Dame, who's hurt right now, but was my top ranked safety going into the year. And there's other different body types and role types that you talked about neil as well, like Jalen McLean at Ohio State, who's a true center field type of free safety as well. So it really just depends on the type of safety that you want, but it kind of works against safeties being drafted high as well, especially if I can take a Dylan Stewart inside of the top five to ten picks and then I can come back and get another safety early on in the second round as well. So that's kind of the pushback that a lot of teams have of taking these safeties early on, especially in a deep class. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Yeah. Yeah. certainly comes down to fit in the NFL defense. You gotta find guys that fit your scheme. And that's where we see certain teams prioritize or kind of deprioritize. We're gonna fit it in back in a different way, which again becomes one of the fun things about as we get into the the spring months is you can really dig into the onto these teams and start to get that board, like okay, this guy I like him better, but he doesn't fit this team here. You move around, slide around, you talk about what they're good at. Where you want to keep them away from. certainly a big part with safeties. Another position we're going to jump back to the offensive side. Running backs can be this way. The value's been pushed down. It's it's kind of the same conversation. Hey, you can find a first and second, we can find a third down guy. We find roll guys. We can find the day three guys, but there are some potentially first round, not Jeremiah Love quality backs, but some good quality, old school, three-down. They can do it all, whether it's Whether it's Fletcher at Miami, whether it's what's Squad Lacey. what about this running back class? Who's your top guy? Who do you like? Are we gonna get a first rounder, maybe two first rounders this year? Jordan Reid: I would say one comfortably right now, and that's Jaden Ball at Florida. He's just playing on another level right now. He's that old traditional Bell Cal type of running back. Every bit of 230 pounds. He does such a good job of fighting through contact. He has great contact balance as well. Doesn't fumble the ball. Never had a fumble in his career. dating all the way back to his freshman season as well. So he's extremely careful with his ball security. But the big question mark that he had coming into the year was just the explosive plays. He he is one player that you question the long speed more so with him, but he's unlocked it this year. I don't know what John Summerall did with him in the offseason to help him get faster, but he he has mastered this bust Buster Faulkner offense and he's really been able to showcase him not only his ability between the tackles, but he's now getting those forty, fifty yard runs that we didn't see previously in his career. So I think he's clearing away running back one right now and I I'm gonna go ahead and say that I think he's gonna be a top twenty pick. I think he's gonna go that high just because there's such a need for a true running back or bell cow type of player in the NFL. And I look at teams like Jacksonville and Minnesota, these teams that need that true wide or excuse me, true running back one or Bell Cow guy that not only can grind it out in between the tackles but also can be involved in the passing game as well. Jaden Ball is able to do that. But there's some really good backs in this class. I think it's a very deep class. Roger, you mentioned Mark Fletcher. Who is your more so a two-down hammer? But there's a role for those type of guys in the NFL. He runs extremely hard. I was able to see him against Wake Forest, and I was just wild at how hard that dude runs, man. He's somebody that forces those defenders to bite down on their mouthpiece when they come into contact with him because he's gonna try to run you over every single time. The top end isn't great with him, but from a r or excuse me, just a rushing perspective, there's a role for him. LJ Martin at BYU, he's another that I think is severely underrated. in this year's class that's a similar archetype to Fletcher. Keywon Lacey is another that I think probably goes inside of the top forty picks as well, who is that slashing smooth in between the tackles type of runner that I think fits best in the zone scheme as well. So this running back class is really good. There's a lot of potential in it as well. But I think Jaden Ball is the clearing away running back one right now. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Yeah. Yeah. Certainly I got some love for Mark Fletcher. He reminded me there was a time when Nick Chubb, he it's still Derrick Henry. They're not dynamic. They're not guys you're scheming stuff up for in the past game, but you check one off to him. Man, good luck in nickel and dime defense trying to get enough bodies to bring that big physical running back down because he's a fun one. Bait a big part of Miami's run last year. We're certainly seeing them utilize that again this year. And it's gonna be a fun running back group because again, it's always gonna be the push. Can we get two into the first round? Not two Notre Damers this year. I can't imagine that's gonna happen again for a while, but we're gonna have a couple of them that'll be that'll be fun. So Jordan, as we wrap up, everybody, if you're not following him already, he's at Jordan underscore read. He's gonna answer your questions, gonna have great content out there as we get into the draft and get closer, get through the season, everything like that. But There's just some fun dudes, some guys. We haven't talked about tight ends, linebackers, but there's Tradez Green. There's Jamari Johnson at Oregon. There's some fun players. Linebacker, there's some special athletes that are really popping up. Are there some guys we miss? Like, hey, this is a guy maybe a little bit under the radar that they're Jordan's guys. You love watching them if you can put on tape. Jordan Reid: Yeah, well one he's been discovered now is Chris Cole, the linebacker at Georgia. I definitely think he's somebody that's gonna be a first round player, probably the first linebacker off of the board before it's all said and done. So he was one that I was really intrigued by over the summer. But now that Kirby Smart defense is playing really well, and I'm gonna make a strong argument that he's been the best player on that side of the ball through a few game, handful of games so far this season. So he's won. Ahmad Moton. at Miami, who's a defensive tackle there. He's somebody that I'm really, really interested in as well. He got banged up a little bit against Wake Forest, didn't play last week against Central Michigan, but he's that true up the field, penetrating guy. I think there's a definite role for him. But one I've been able to see twice so far this year that I think NFL teams are going to love is Kelly Jones, who's big slender corner at Mississippi State. he's one of those old Seahawks, Richard Sherman type of corners from a body type perspective. But he's just out there. He had a big cast on his hand. the other day a few games ago. but he's just out there playing, man. He's a true zone scheme type of corner that can play man from time to time. Really good ball skills as well. So those are a few guys that I like quite a bit that I think could end up going hearing their name called in the first round. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Yeah. Well it's it's a fun group. Again, the great clip that you put up, maybe just earlier today, of Cole running something down from backside. the kind of speed, the kind of overtake Jordan Reid: my goodness. Yeah. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: stride. And the most impressive part wasn't the close, is when that quarterback broke down, he's still able to inside hip, tackle, make the play. you get a lot of those speed guys that are just running past that, relying on everybody else to make the play. So make sure that's where you're gonna hear about some of these players that maybe not everybody is privy to. maybe you can go. throw some film on yourself when Jordan gets him out there. And you can see why Jordan is so good at what he does. we always appreciate you being on. Jordan, you said Notre Dame, Carolina this weekend. Leonard Moore. Excited about that matchup. Jordan Reid: Mm-hmm. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: The quarterback, see how he does. Is there anything specifically that you're looking for in this game? Jordan Reid: Of course, I always like to pay attention to the quarterbacks in these games just because it's different getting a feel for seeing them throw live. You can see a lot of these guys how they throw on tape, but there's just a different feel when you're seeing the ball come out of their hand. I was able to see Mensah against Wake Forest, him starting 24 of 24 in that game was crazy being able to see that up close. CJ Carr, I'll get an I'll get an opportunity to see him this weekend as well. just to see the ball come out of his hand and just to see how much velocity the ball and energy comes out of the his hand. the ball does anyway. So that's what I love to see with these quarterbacks seeing throw in person is something that I pay very, very close attention to. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Yeah, absolutely. And says as you said earlier, there's so much, especially for quarterbacks, that you're seeing between the between the snaps. Outside the huddle on the sideline, pregame halftime. it is a huge part of the eval for quarterbacks that scouts across the country are spending their time. I forget the game. I need the in between the snap stuff to make sure I get my full eval on these guys. And you're gonna be right there doing that. But Jordan, we always appreciate you being on. Make sure you follow him at Jordan underscore Reed on Twitter is where he's gonna be at. You can follow him, find his games, listen to him. He talks better than most of those commentators out there and follow him, do all that kind of stuff. Be nice to him if you comment. Be nice to me, be nice to Neil as we we we can take some we can say take some body blows, but we're all in this together. And Jordan, we really appreciate appreciate you being on with us. Jordan Reid: Thank you guys as always. You know, I love joining you guys and I learn a lot of ball from both of you, whether you want to take credit for it or not. I appreciate it.