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2024 Draft: Top-Heavy but Talented | The O-Zone Podcast · The Jacksonville Jaguars Official Podcast Network

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: This week's Ozone podcast, and I'm pleased to be joined
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: this week by Matt Miller of ESPN, who, in the
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  Speaker 1: last ten years has developed into one of the more
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  Speaker 1: respected draft analysts around. First of all, Matt, I appreciate
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  Speaker 1: you joining us.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, of course, thank you for the kind words.
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  Speaker 1: Well, it's here, it's the truth. You've earned your way
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  Speaker 1: up and I'm very happy for you.
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  Speaker 2: Overall.
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  Speaker 1: The draft this year, I guess first question to a
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  Speaker 1: draft analyst is how strong is it top to bottom?
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  Speaker 1: One of the better ones? How would you assess it.
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  Speaker 3: One of the better ones, especially at the top. You know,
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  Speaker 3: I think it's a unique year in which there are
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  Speaker 3: ten or eleven really really good players, you know, guys
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  Speaker 3: who would be top ten picks in almost any draft
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  Speaker 3: of the last decade.
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  Speaker 2: What's also interesting is those.
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  Speaker 3: Players happen to come at your core foundational positions quarterback,
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  Speaker 3: wide receiver, left tackle. There's a pass rusher in there,
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  Speaker 3: there's a corner and there. So those are your you know,
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  Speaker 3: first five positions you want to check off when building
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  Speaker 3: a team, and that gives it a chance be an
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  Speaker 3: all time draft all times work. Absolutely, I think what
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  Speaker 3: is interesting on the other side of it is this
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  Speaker 3: is the shallowest draft pool that I've covered. I started
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  Speaker 3: doing this in twenty eleven. This is the shallowest pool
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  Speaker 3: of players because of the twenty twenty COVID year, because
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  Speaker 3: of a record low number of underclassmen during that time,
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  Speaker 3: only fifty four declared for the draft because of transfer
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  Speaker 3: portal and nil opportunity.
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  Speaker 2: So it is a really.
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  Speaker 3: Good draft at the top, where it does fall off
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  Speaker 3: kind of sharply, and I think we'll see a lot
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  Speaker 3: of Round five to six seven players where teams are
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  Speaker 3: going to have huge variances in terms of their grades
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  Speaker 3: on those.
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  Speaker 1: Players, and teams trying to trade out not being able
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  Speaker 1: to because nobody wants to get in. So you mentioned
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  Speaker 1: nil before we get deep into the Jaguars, you kind
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  Speaker 1: of mentioned how it's changed this year. Do you see
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  Speaker 1: any way that the changing dynamic of college football is
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  Speaker 1: going to change the draft or No.
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  Speaker 3: I don't know that it will change the framework of
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  Speaker 3: the draft or the idea of the draft. I don't
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  Speaker 3: know that we're ever going to see a players associations
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  Speaker 3: say Hey, the draft is collusion. We're not doing this, Samemore.
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  Speaker 3: It's too important to everyone. But I do think it
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  Speaker 3: has changed again just how many players are entering the
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  Speaker 3: draft pool every year and to where you know, if
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  Speaker 3: you're a player who maybe in the past you'd had
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  Speaker 3: a good college season, you are eligible to enter the draft.
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  Speaker 3: Maybe you felt that pressure because of financial constraints, or
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  Speaker 3: maybe you're just ready. You know, I can remember being
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  Speaker 3: young and I was ready to have my own money,
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  Speaker 3: you know, so you're ready to make that jump now
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  Speaker 3: because of nil you can have those financial opportunities and
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  Speaker 3: continue to improve as a draft prospect. Jayden Daniels from
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  Speaker 3: LSU is a great example of that. Someone who would
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  Speaker 3: have been a third or fourth round pick last year
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  Speaker 3: is able to stay at LSU and improve his draft stock,
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  Speaker 3: win a Heisman Trophy, and now is in the running
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  Speaker 3: to be a top three pick.
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  Speaker 2: Got you.
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  Speaker 1: Strongest positions in this year's draft? You you mentioned that
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  Speaker 1: there is u, you know, a good balance at the
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  Speaker 1: top of premier positions. As you get on down, are
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  Speaker 1: there positions that are stronger maybe uh to at that spot?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah?
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  Speaker 3: No, absolutely So wide receiver is really really talented, and
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  Speaker 3: I feel like we could say that every year now.
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  Speaker 3: It's the amount of talent coming out of college at
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  Speaker 3: wide receivers is amazing. Corner as well, a really deep
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  Speaker 3: class this year and in most years. But I think
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  Speaker 3: when you get outside the first round, running back is
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  Speaker 3: a really deep class, but it happens to be in
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  Speaker 3: rounds three and four. You know, linebacker, there's a lot
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  Speaker 3: of really good players. It happens to be in rounds
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  Speaker 3: three and four. So that's that's kind of where the
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  Speaker 3: tears are falling this year, where early it's those you know, receiver, tackle, corner,
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  Speaker 3: and then as we get later in the draft, there's
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  Speaker 3: some really good depth at those other positions.
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  Speaker 1: You mentioned, uh, wide receiver. We were talking to Bucky
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  Speaker 1: Brooks earlier this morning. Is there a potential as we
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  Speaker 1: move on in this next three or four years because
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  Speaker 1: wide receivers are so plentiful every year, and it's got
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  Speaker 1: to the point where every four, I mean every year,
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  Speaker 1: say it was the best wide receiver class that you're saying,
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  Speaker 1: could it eventually devalue the position.
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  Speaker 2: In the draft? I think so I do.
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  Speaker 3: And I think also when you look at how expensive
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  Speaker 3: it is to draft someone, especially in the top five picks,
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  Speaker 3: it's a lot of money that you're giving us someone
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  Speaker 3: right out of the gate. So it wasn't that long
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  Speaker 3: ago that there was a school of thought in the
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  Speaker 3: NFL and teams were studying this of are we better
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  Speaker 3: off waiting for the second round because there were so
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  Speaker 3: many wide receivers coming out of round to aj Brown,
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  Speaker 3: Michael Thomas, you know, those guys were coming out of
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  Speaker 3: the second round and being great. Deebo Samuel was another one.
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  Speaker 3: So there was that thought process for a while. And
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  Speaker 3: then you know the Jamar chases come around, and that
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  Speaker 3: justin Jefferson's and Jalen Waddle, and I think what's happened
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  Speaker 3: is those players are just given such high grades by
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  Speaker 3: team because they're so talented that we're seeing those players
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  Speaker 3: push up the board. But I wouldn't be surprised if
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  Speaker 3: and maybe we even see that a little bit this
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  Speaker 3: year with some of the teams early in the round
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  Speaker 3: who have maybe they have a need at tackle and
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  Speaker 3: wide receiver. Take the tackle first because there's depth at
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  Speaker 3: wide receiver as opposed to Well's draft a receiver, and
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  Speaker 3: we'll get a tackle in the second round where there's
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  Speaker 3: not as much talent.
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  Speaker 1: And may be ready to contribute, if not be great. Absolutely,
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  Speaker 1: I got you different positions. The Jaguars fans are thinking
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  Speaker 1: about Ryan Nielsen coming to board. Corner has become a
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  Speaker 1: hot topic issue. People think they're going to go there
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  Speaker 1: out at seventeen. Tell me how strong it is around seventeen,
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  Speaker 1: and then if they decide to wait into second round
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  Speaker 1: or third round, if they don't have to ridlely pick,
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  Speaker 1: just assess that in those two spots.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, I think the great thing about corner at seventeen
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  Speaker 3: is you might be looking at the second corner in
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  Speaker 3: the draft. You know, Quinnon Mitchell from Toledo, who had
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  Speaker 3: a great senior Bowl, could be right there in a
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  Speaker 3: Strake Straw from Missouri, a player, he's my number fifteen
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  Speaker 3: overall player.
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  Speaker 2: I can love his ability. He could still be on
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  Speaker 2: the board there.
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  Speaker 3: So I think in round one a lot of people
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  Speaker 3: and I get torn on this too, how many corners
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  Speaker 3: actually go in the first round. It might be it
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  Speaker 3: might be four, you know, and those two are certainly
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  Speaker 3: right in the there and play at seventeen. You get
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  Speaker 3: into round two and it's you're you're kind of wondering
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  Speaker 3: who could fall?
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  Speaker 2: You know, could of Kamari.
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  Speaker 3: Lassiter from Georgia fall a little bit? Because we're going
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  Speaker 3: to see quarterbacks offensive tackles and wide receiver dominate the
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  Speaker 3: first round. Could that push a kool Aid mckisstry or
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  Speaker 3: a Kamari Lasser to the second round.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, it could absolutely happen.
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  Speaker 1: There's a school of thought that if you're gonna take
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  Speaker 1: inter your offensive lineman in the top twenty.
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  Speaker 2: Hed better be great.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, Oregon kid Jackson, Powers Johnson, He's great.
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  Speaker 2: I don't.
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  Speaker 3: I would hate to put that label on someone. You know,
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  Speaker 3: he had one really really good year at Oregon. You know,
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  Speaker 3: he's battling a little bit of an injury in the
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  Speaker 3: pre draft process, so that that kind of makes our
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  Speaker 3: to evaluate. At the Senior Bowl the day and a
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  Speaker 3: half you practiced, they were great, great days.
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  Speaker 2: I think for me, I just want to.
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  Speaker 3: See a little more consistency before I would put that
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  Speaker 3: label on him. I think he could be a really
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  Speaker 3: really good NFL starter, and he could play center or guard,
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  Speaker 3: so there's some versatility there. He's a little bit of
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  Speaker 3: an outlier. You know, three hundred and thirty four pounds,
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  Speaker 3: you're one of the biggest centers in the NFL immediately
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  Speaker 3: at that size. So there are some things that you
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  Speaker 3: really like. There's some things that are a little bit
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  Speaker 3: question marks too.
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  Speaker 1: At seventeen, it feels like this is the year and
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  Speaker 1: you always hear every year whether it's X number of
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  Speaker 1: great players X number here. But it seems from talking
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  Speaker 1: to people that at seventeen, if they go corner center,
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  Speaker 1: they're gonna get a good player, maybe even defensive line there.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, absolutely, I think because we're gonna see quarterbacks get
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  Speaker 3: pushed up. You know, there might be four quarterback There
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  Speaker 3: will be I think four quarterbacks off the board by
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  Speaker 3: that point, potentially five. We're gonna see four wide receivers
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  Speaker 3: potentially off the board at that point, maybe five offensive tackles.
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  Speaker 2: So that is gonna push down.
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  Speaker 3: Maybe Byron Murphy, the d tackle from Texas, so I
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  Speaker 3: think will be the first one of the first d
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  Speaker 3: tackle off the board. Maybe he's still there at seventeen
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  Speaker 3: if we see runs at those other positions we were
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  Speaker 3: talking about. Corner, there's a very real world in which
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  Speaker 3: the number two corner in this draft is still available
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  Speaker 3: at seventeen. And then I do think, you know with
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  Speaker 3: JPJ the center from Oregon, also very very real possibility
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  Speaker 3: that he's there at seventeen.
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  Speaker 1: Give me a couple of third round corners and maybe
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  Speaker 1: in third rounders at other spots because they may skip
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  Speaker 1: the second round pick because really situation, the potential for
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  Speaker 1: third round impact. Maybe at corner offensive line guys who
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  Speaker 1: could step in and play.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, corner, I think again, we'll see where the run happens,
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  Speaker 3: sure at that position. Jarvis Brownlee Junior from Louisville as
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  Speaker 3: a player I really really enjoy watching. He's physical with
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  Speaker 3: the line of scrimmage, but he's got the ability to
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  Speaker 3: run and bail. He's just a little bit undersized. Mike
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  Speaker 3: Sanders still from Michigan, probably going to be an inside
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  Speaker 3: guy in the NFL and in a nickel corner, but
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  Speaker 3: just a complete playmaker. Anytime you watch Michigan play, he's
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  Speaker 3: coming up huge in their secondary for them.
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  Speaker 2: So those would be the two corners. I'd be pretty
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  Speaker 2: excited about.
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  Speaker 3: Offensive guard Dominic Puney from Kansas, who played left tackle
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  Speaker 3: for them. He's going to play guard in the NFL.
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  Speaker 3: Really really good athleticism, His ability to get out and
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  Speaker 3: attack linebackers to play in space is phenomenal.
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  Speaker 2: The Kansas run game.
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  Speaker 3: If you ever get bored and like watching run game,
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  Speaker 3: Kansas run game is fantastic.
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  Speaker 2: Man, He's a huge part of that.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, you might not, but if you do, it's
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  Speaker 3: a long summer after the draft.
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  Speaker 1: You obviously you study a lot of minutia and a
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  Speaker 1: lot of players, but you also talk to people about
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  Speaker 1: the draft constantly. Where do you see the draft, Maybe
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: it's in scouting players how it's going to come. Is
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  Speaker 1: there anything to you that seems to be changing that
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  Speaker 1: you're going to see some changes in the next couple
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  Speaker 1: of years.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, I think you know, right now there's a really
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  Speaker 3: big conversation happening about how much experience matters in the draft.
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  Speaker 3: You know, it used to be they draft the traits,
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  Speaker 3: you know, you draft that guy early, but especially at quarterback,
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  Speaker 3: there's been so many misses because you're drafting players who
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  Speaker 3: just weren't experienced. And it's sure they had big arms
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  Speaker 3: and they were really fast, but then played a lot
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  Speaker 3: of football. And so I think that is even carrying
• 9:34
  Speaker 3: over now to offensive line play, especially offensive tackle.
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  Speaker 2: You want guys who have experience, who.
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  Speaker 3: You've got a bigger window to see what they can do.
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  Speaker 3: And it's why you know, players like bow Knicks and
• 9:44
  Speaker 3: Michael Pennix Junior are being elevated this year because of
• 9:47
  Speaker 3: that experience factor.
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  Speaker 1: What are your thoughts on that.
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  Speaker 3: I think it makes my job easier obviously. If I
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  Speaker 3: can watch a guy who's played like bo Nix has
• 9:54
  Speaker 3: started sixty one games, that helps me do my job,
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  Speaker 3: right his dad unfortunately, So yeah, yeah, so I do
• 10:01
  Speaker 3: think that it helps us all to our job the
• 10:03
  Speaker 3: more information we have about a player. But you know,
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  Speaker 3: if I were, especially a team that is a playoff
• 10:07
  Speaker 3: contender like Jacksonville, I want guys who can come in
• 10:10
  Speaker 3: and play right away. Sure, you want upside and you
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  Speaker 3: have to draft those players that you're going to develop,
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  Speaker 3: but I think, especially you know, those core foundational positions
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  Speaker 3: experiences is really hard to come by.
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  Speaker 1: Matt Miller, You're a busy man and knowledgeable man. I
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  Speaker 1: appreciate you sharing it with the Jaguars of course listeners. Yeah,
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  Speaker 1: fantastic stuff. I appreciate you.
• 10:28
  Speaker 2: Thank you,