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Transcript

Patriots Draft Prospect Review: Linebackers · Patriots Unfiltered

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: This is the Draft Prospect Review podcast on Patriots dot
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  Speaker 1: Com Radio.
• 0:04
  Speaker 2: Welcome to an NFL draft.
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  Speaker 1: The Draft Prospect Review Podcast is your source for all
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  Speaker 1: the latest news and information on the NFL Draft. The
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  Speaker 1: New England Patriots like now here to preview the linebackers.
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  Speaker 1: The writers of Patriots dot Com.
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  Speaker 3: Time once again for another draft podcast review. We're going
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  Speaker 3: to talk about linebackers today, and we have a full
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  Speaker 3: house here at Jellette Stadium with Mike Dussau, Evan Lazar,
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  Speaker 3: and Tisse Matisse Bauman in the house. I'm slacking a
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  Speaker 3: little bit, taking a couple of positions off, but that's okay.
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  Speaker 3: I know you were busy doing other stuff. So let's
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  Speaker 3: jump right into it and we're going to talk more
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  Speaker 3: traditional linebackers today. Earlier in one of our previous podcasts,
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  Speaker 3: we discussed the edge guys, which in a lot of
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  Speaker 3: cases are outside linebackers, you know, for lack of a
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  Speaker 3: better term. Today it's strictly the off the ball, off
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  Speaker 3: the ball inside kind of old school thumpers. Paul might say,
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  Speaker 3: game has passed them by. Linebackers so much like running back,
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  Speaker 3: it's a position that once in a while there's a
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  Speaker 3: special prospect who comes out, he gets first round consideration.
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  Speaker 3: A lot of years now you don't always see that.
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  Speaker 3: This seems to be one of those years where you
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  Speaker 3: don't really see first round talent at this position. Would
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  Speaker 3: you guys agree with that?
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  Speaker 4: Yeah? I actually have a trivia question.
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  Speaker 2: For the trivia question, I will not get when was
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  Speaker 2: the last time?
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  Speaker 4: When was the last time the Patriots took a linebacker,
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  Speaker 4: an off ball linebacker in the first four rounds of
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  Speaker 4: the draft? Bail not that far back.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, I guess it depends on how qualified tower
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  Speaker 2: right close.
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  Speaker 4: One year off was Jamie Collins thirteen. So it's been
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  Speaker 4: a decade almost since the Patriots have really invested in
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  Speaker 4: an off ball, true inside mike linebacker or leon and
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  Speaker 4: the draft in the first four rounds. Cameron mcgroen was
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  Speaker 4: drafted in the fifth round, Bentley's sixth round, Robert's sixth round.
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  Speaker 3: What Bentley was a sixth round pick?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, that was a good one.
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  Speaker 3: I would have had to look that up.
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  Speaker 4: So the question that I have for the group is
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  Speaker 4: is it I think it's twofold right one. I think
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  Speaker 4: that they recognize that their specific skill set of the
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  Speaker 4: thumping Juwan Bentley style linebacker can now be had in
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  Speaker 4: the sixth round instead of taking that in the second round.
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  Speaker 4: But I also think that it's like Paul was saying,
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  Speaker 4: kind of like running backs now, they're just devalued and
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  Speaker 4: they're really not seeing the I would say, mostly the
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  Speaker 4: contract value of drafting a linebacker in the first round,
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  Speaker 4: but in general, just the position.
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  Speaker 2: It's such a flash point.
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  Speaker 3: I was just gonna say real quick, and it is
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  Speaker 3: a little different than running back because I think also
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  Speaker 3: the body type is changing and they're not for everybody.
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  Speaker 3: So as an example of what Evan just talked about
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  Speaker 3: with the history for Bill Belichick, you know the the
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  Speaker 3: roal Kwan Smith's, you know that the smaller, speedy athletic sideline,
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  Speaker 3: the sideline guys. Bill hasn't really embraced those guys yet.
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  Speaker 2: No yet, And I think it's worth pointing out too that,
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  Speaker 2: I mean, they resigned Julani Tavai in season. This offseason,
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: they've resigned mac Wilson again, They've re signed ray Qua McMillan.
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  Speaker 2: I know, these aren't the things that move the needle.
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  Speaker 2: This this position is such a flashpoint going into the
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  Speaker 2: draft every year. Everybody wants them to go get Patrick
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: Queen or you know, you just every year Kenneth what's
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  Speaker 2: his name, Kenneth Murray from Oklahoma? You know every year
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  Speaker 2: that mobile Now it's Simpson type. Hear people talk about them,
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  Speaker 2: and I think for me personally, I've just kind of
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  Speaker 2: resigned myself that they don't. They don't. Really, I think
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  Speaker 2: they got their guys. I don't know if this is
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  Speaker 2: going to be a high, high round pick. There's certainly
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  Speaker 2: some guys I think that they could plug in that
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  Speaker 2: fit that we'll get to, but I have trouble seeing
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  Speaker 2: them doing anything more than maybe a Day three special
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  Speaker 2: Teams developmental six feet two twenty. Uh, that kind of
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  Speaker 2: guy is probably what I.
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  Speaker 3: Would love that if we embrace the six feet two
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  Speaker 3: twenty guy, But at the Day three one it's I
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  Speaker 3: don't when you don't want Yeah, I don't care, but
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  Speaker 3: I like those kinds of guys. I like the profile
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  Speaker 3: of that kind of player.
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  Speaker 2: Tease.
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  Speaker 3: You know, we talked a lot about what the linebackers
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  Speaker 3: are now, but how about specifically for this class anybody.
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  Speaker 5: The highest guy like is Jack Campbell just because he
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  Speaker 5: seems like a green dot guy, you know, old school thumper.
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  Speaker 5: That's it.
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  Speaker 3: And immediately we go to the two and fifty pounds.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, well yeah, to be fair, vegetables.
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  Speaker 4: So Jack Campbell is my number one rated linebacker in
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  Speaker 4: the draft, and to be fair, he had a great combine.
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  Speaker 4: So he's not just a two hundred and fifty pounds thumper.
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  Speaker 4: He's not a Jwan Bentley. This guy can move. But
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  Speaker 4: when I saw him on film, I I don't think
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  Speaker 4: that he moves quite as well as the athletic testing showed.
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  Speaker 4: I think he's a little stiffer in the hips and
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  Speaker 4: in his change of direction. Then, But does he play fast?
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  Speaker 4: Yeah exactly. But what he does do is he goes
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  Speaker 4: gap to gap as a you know, scraping at the
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  Speaker 4: second level with his shoulders parallel and kind of you know,
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  Speaker 4: that basketball stance and then meeting the line the running
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  Speaker 4: back in the hole. He does that better than anybody
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  Speaker 4: in the class. He is one of those guys that
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  Speaker 4: I think, by the end of his rookie contract, health permitting,
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  Speaker 4: all that kind of stuff, it's gonna be one hundred
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  Speaker 4: tackle guy in the league before it's all said and done.
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  Speaker 4: He's got that type of POTENTI.
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  Speaker 2: Do you think he's just an inside guy or do
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  Speaker 2: you think he has some flexibility, because that was to
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  Speaker 2: me that that would make him like a real Patriots
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  Speaker 2: kind of guy if he had that flexibility.
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  Speaker 4: I think he's got some flexibility to play to rush
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  Speaker 4: interior in the inside, sort of like what they used
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  Speaker 4: to do with High Tower when they'd put him in
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  Speaker 4: the B gap and have him rush from a two
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  Speaker 4: point stance.
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  Speaker 2: With those guys.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, but I don't know if he's really got the
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  Speaker 4: juice on the edge to necessarily be a guy that
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  Speaker 4: rushes off the edge. So that's my hesitation with him
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  Speaker 4: is that I'm not sure if he's quite as athletic
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  Speaker 4: in space as maybe the combine suggested, And is he
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  Speaker 4: going to be somebody that they're gonna look at and
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  Speaker 4: say we can keep him on the field on all
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  Speaker 4: three downs because he's athletic enough to hold up in coverage,
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  Speaker 4: or maybe they find a rush roll for him to
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  Speaker 4: keep him on the field in third down. But I
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  Speaker 4: don't know if I necessarily saw the coverage ability that
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  Speaker 4: the combine suggests that he has.
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  Speaker 3: So I know a couple of the guys that a
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  Speaker 3: lot of these draft sites have highly rated at this
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  Speaker 3: position are Jus Sanders, who is a little bit. It's
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  Speaker 3: kind of a tweeter. He's big in terms of his height.
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  Speaker 3: He's six four ish, but not like the two hundred
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  Speaker 3: and fifty five pound you know, Brandon Spikes type, you know,
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  Speaker 3: hammer in the middle. Trenton Simpson is a little bit
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  Speaker 3: more of the athlete that we're talking about. I know
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  Speaker 3: you've been talking a lot about the Alabama kid is
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  Speaker 3: a toto.
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  Speaker 4: Barth has been telling me about Totoe for like four years.
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  Speaker 3: I mean, I know the player, I just don't know
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  Speaker 3: how to pronounce his name. But and he's another smaller
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  Speaker 3: athletic guy, you know, so different kind of body types
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  Speaker 3: for these guys that are mostly at the top of
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  Speaker 3: these guys list.
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  Speaker 2: I like Dr Sanders. I mean, I think in another
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  Speaker 2: universe he would be a guy that you like and
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  Speaker 2: you want to hear and that is enough of their
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  Speaker 2: kind of guy. But enough athleticism and smaller and versatility.
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  Speaker 2: You know. I asked Evan about Jack Campbell. I think
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  Speaker 2: Drew Sanders has some of that. I think he could be,
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  Speaker 2: you know, a little bit of a pass rusher off
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  Speaker 2: the edge in the NFL, But I just don't think
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  Speaker 2: he's gonna match up with what they need second half
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  Speaker 2: of the first round maybe where he's gonna go top out.
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  Speaker 2: It's just that that seems like a little bit of reach.
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  Speaker 2: But I like him. I think he's a good fit
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  Speaker 2: and he's a Patriots kind of guy to me. Experienced
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  Speaker 2: at Alabama too. You can't you discount that as well.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, if you're looking for Deuce's versatility, like a guy
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  Speaker 4: that can just line up in multiple spots and maybe
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  Speaker 4: that makes it worth it for them to pick him
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  Speaker 4: in the top fifty, then Drew Sanders is more of that,
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  Speaker 4: I would say than Jack Campbell. He can line up inside,
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  Speaker 4: he can line up on the ball, he can line
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  Speaker 4: up over the slot at times at Arkansas and sort
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  Speaker 4: of like an overhang roll, and he really does all
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  Speaker 4: of that pretty well. And you look at his open
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  Speaker 4: field pursuit speed just to go in a straight line
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  Speaker 4: at somebody from sideline to sideline. It's a good, good
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  Speaker 4: attribute of his as well. So you saw him in
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  Speaker 4: the SEC sometimes playing some mobile quarterbacks and spying those
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  Speaker 4: mobile quarterbacks and being somebody that could keep up with
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  Speaker 4: those people. I had to really, you know, highlight real
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  Speaker 4: type of tackle against Bryce Young where he you know,
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  Speaker 4: Bryce Young broke the pocket and Drew Sanders was able
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  Speaker 4: to go and get track him down and get him down.
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  Speaker 4: So there is evidence on film of him being a
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  Speaker 4: very explosive straight line can.
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  Speaker 2: I just had one thing, like I think that I
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  Speaker 2: just just generally that's an element that they need. That's
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  Speaker 2: an element that they need. And I like Juwan Bentley,
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  Speaker 2: and I understand why they like Jawan Bentley. I even
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  Speaker 2: understand why they like Jolannie Tevai and I think Joelnnie
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  Speaker 2: Devias turned some heads last year. We spent so much
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  Speaker 2: time talking about Cameron mcgron, ray Qua McMillan, mack Wilson
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  Speaker 2: was really I thought gal Jeelani to Vai that that
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  Speaker 2: emerged as and I don't want to overstate how good
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  Speaker 2: he was, but I thought he was solid. But the
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  Speaker 2: ability to track down mobile quarterbacks, it's just something that
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  Speaker 2: I don't think Joean Bentley is great at that. I
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  Speaker 2: don't think that any of their sub linebackers. And I
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  Speaker 2: remember I was talking about mac Wilson against Lamar Jackson
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  Speaker 2: and just saying he looked like he was in a blunder.
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  Speaker 2: They need one of those guys. And so if you
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  Speaker 2: that's why we pound the table for these mobile middle
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  Speaker 2: linebackers who can get these mobile quarterbacks down, chase them down,
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  Speaker 2: get to him. So that element, I just I can't
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  Speaker 2: ignore it. That's an important thing they need.
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  Speaker 4: The one thing about him and Paul, you mentioned his height.
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  Speaker 4: He's six foot four, he's high cut, and he's somebody
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  Speaker 4: that if you're looking for him to take on a
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  Speaker 4: guard and stand him up in the hole, it's the
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  Speaker 4: wrong guy's not that's not your game. So that's gonna
• 9:14
  Speaker 4: be an interesting thing to them is how much do
• 9:16
  Speaker 4: they still prioritize that ability to just come down and
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  Speaker 4: smack the guard in the face. Because Drew Sanders plays
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  Speaker 4: a little bit taller, doesn't have that that that thick
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  Speaker 4: butt in the lower half to really squat in a
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  Speaker 4: gap and things like that. And I still don't think
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  Speaker 4: they're gonna give up on that. I still can't believe
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  Speaker 4: that they're gonna go completely away from that in a
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  Speaker 4: big draft. I agree, if they draft a guy like
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  Speaker 4: him in the top fifty, he's gonna play seventy five
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  Speaker 4: eighty percent of the snap, So you're going away from it.
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  Speaker 5: I got some late round guys I like.
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  Speaker 3: I love the late round guys, you're still my question,
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  Speaker 3: which is great.
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  Speaker 5: I've in pace Cincinnati. I like the Dogs, and he
• 9:54
  Speaker 5: recorded two hundred and sixty two tackles in two seasons.
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  Speaker 5: I mean, he's not afraid to get in there and
• 9:58
  Speaker 5: make some contacts. So I think that might be a
• 10:00
  Speaker 5: late round guy we could use.
• 10:01
  Speaker 2: Yep, yeah, I would. I'd throw Isaiah Moore in there too,
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  Speaker 2: who liked to me, is like Jawan Bentley, light like
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  Speaker 2: not quite as much of a big, you know, two
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  Speaker 2: forty two fifty, maybe more like two twenty five, two thirty,
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  Speaker 2: but I feel like the same kind of player. He's
• 10:15
  Speaker 2: that downhill inside linebacker, you know, ready to meet the
• 10:19
  Speaker 2: fullback in the hole, that kind of guy. I believe.
• 10:22
  Speaker 2: Was he one of the Shrine Bowl guys.
• 10:23
  Speaker 4: Yeah, so they loved him. Supposedly they told the broadcast
• 10:27
  Speaker 4: that they loved him. I don't know. They told the
• 10:29
  Speaker 4: broadcast they loved everybody, so I'm not sure, Captain, I'm
• 10:32
  Speaker 4: not sure how much they really loved one guy versus another.
• 10:35
  Speaker 4: But Isaiah Moore was one of those guys that the
• 10:38
  Speaker 4: broadcast that the coaching staff was gushing about. So I
• 10:41
  Speaker 4: think he's certainly on everybody's radar. Just going back up
• 10:44
  Speaker 4: to the some of the top one hundred guys though,
• 10:46
  Speaker 4: really quickly. I just want to mention Noah Sewell from Oregon,
• 10:49
  Speaker 4: who's Penny Sewell's brother. He's more of like that throwback
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  Speaker 4: six one, two forty five, two fifty.
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  Speaker 5: Uh.
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  Speaker 4: He's a throwback linebacker, and maybe in today's NFL he
• 10:59
  Speaker 4: gets to the fourth round because you know, teams don't
• 11:01
  Speaker 4: prioritize that skill set as much anymore. The one guy
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  Speaker 4: that really excites me for them that they won't draft
• 11:08
  Speaker 4: because he's too small is Dion Henley from Washington State.
• 11:11
  Speaker 4: If you really want that sideline to sideline athlete, the
• 11:16
  Speaker 4: guy that he gets compared to a lot is Fred Warner.
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  Speaker 3: And I don't want any of those.
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  Speaker 4: I don't know if he's gonna be as good of
• 11:27
  Speaker 4: a pro as Fred Warner, but Fred Warner was drafted
• 11:29
  Speaker 4: in the third round. Fred Warner wasn't one of these
• 11:32
  Speaker 4: guys that was, you know, a top ten picker or
• 11:34
  Speaker 4: anything like that, so the league didn't necessarily see it
• 11:37
  Speaker 4: with Fred Warner becoming an All Pro linebacker coming in,
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  Speaker 4: and I think Henley's got the same type of jacked
• 11:43
  Speaker 4: up safety playmaking ability in space and and coverage. And
• 11:48
  Speaker 4: he's everybody's Fred Warner in this draft. So he's someone
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  Speaker 4: that I think that they're gonna go away from it
• 11:53
  Speaker 4: then know his name.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, Now, I mean I like that idea of getting
• 11:59
  Speaker 3: you know that maybe a middle round, third round, you know,
• 12:03
  Speaker 3: fourth round. I like the idea of getting an athlete.
• 12:06
  Speaker 3: So maybe it's a compromise. Maybe Bill Belichick can't quite
• 12:09
  Speaker 3: embrace the fact that it's going away from those old
• 12:12
  Speaker 3: school thumpers, but is not necessarily willing to say, well,
• 12:17
  Speaker 3: I'm so sure that it's gone, you know, away from
• 12:21
  Speaker 3: what I what I feel, I'm gonna take somebody really
• 12:23
  Speaker 3: high in the draft. Yeah, make a compromise and get
• 12:26
  Speaker 3: one in the middle rounds.
• 12:26
  Speaker 2: Like mcgroon kind of. I mean that's what we were
• 12:28
  Speaker 2: thinking one macron. He's not even here anymore. But you
• 12:30
  Speaker 2: know that was the idea or what people wanted it
• 12:33
  Speaker 2: you projected onto Cameron mcgron.
• 12:34
  Speaker 5: Oh.
• 12:35
  Speaker 2: You know last year at this time, we were saying
• 12:36
  Speaker 2: we got him coming in as you know, an unknown.
• 12:38
  Speaker 2: But I think that's so I'm gonna.
• 12:40
  Speaker 3: Keep my my eyes on that Noah Soul just for
• 12:44
  Speaker 3: that reason. When you know, with the way Evan described,
• 12:46
  Speaker 3: because I think that's a good mix of those kinds
• 12:49
  Speaker 3: of abilities, and you wouldn't have to take him in
• 12:51
  Speaker 3: the you know, in the first first day or two,
• 12:54
  Speaker 3: and maybe not even in the first two days.
• 12:56
  Speaker 2: And you don't really need to thrust somebody into the fire.
• 12:58
  Speaker 2: And that's why with some of these positions, you know,
• 13:01
  Speaker 2: you probably would love to get a cornerback that you
• 13:02
  Speaker 2: can thrust into the fire, or you know, maybe an
• 13:04
  Speaker 2: offensive lineman that can be the swing tackle into the
• 13:07
  Speaker 2: fire kind of thing. So wide receiver, love a guy,
• 13:10
  Speaker 2: you know, those kind of positions. It feels like, get
• 13:11
  Speaker 2: somebody early. But it's just this is a Bill Belichick
• 13:14
  Speaker 2: linebackers day three. It feels like a lot they're going
• 13:17
  Speaker 2: to take one of these.
• 13:18
  Speaker 3: He's also a duck, So if he walks like a duck,
• 13:22
  Speaker 3: if that's going to put a rap on the the
• 13:25
  Speaker 3: off the ball linebackers and also guys is gonna put
• 13:28
  Speaker 3: a rap on the defense. Because I believe that's our
• 13:31
  Speaker 3: last position to discuss on the defensive side of the ball.
• 13:35
  Speaker 3: But we're not done. We still have some more offensive
• 13:37
  Speaker 3: positions to get to and we will do that on
• 13:39
  Speaker 3: our next podcast.
• 13:49
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