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The DiCecco Daily: Takeaways From Eagles Drafting WR Makai Lemon In Round 1 · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

• 0:10
  Speaker 1: Hey, what's going on? Everyone? Welcome into another episode of
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: the check O Daily.
• 0:14
  Speaker 2: It's Andrew to Checko here, Eagles beat reporter for insidethebirds
• 0:17
  Speaker 2: dot Com.
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: Well, it was draft night and it's been a late
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: one here.
• 0:21
  Speaker 2: I'm driving home now from the Jefferson Health Training Complex.
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: But I wanted to make sure that I gave you
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: all my thoughts on the pick while it's still fresh
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: in my mind and give you my immediate reaction. So
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  Speaker 2: the Eagles trade up three picks from twenty three and
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  Speaker 2: they draft wide receiver Makay Lemon. And interestingly enough, Mackay
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: Lemon wasn't a name that I even considered because I
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: expected him to be long gone before the Eagles were
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: on the clock. Now, there was a run on offensive
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: tackles early, especially when Monroe Freeling went to.
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: The Carolina Panthers. As I'm trying to remember this because
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: it was all blur, he goes to the Carolina Panthers.
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: And then the Eagles trade up, presumably to get ahead
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: of the Steelers, and I immediately thought that it was
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: going to be maxianach Or because I didn't think that,
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: I mean, it was clear that the Steelers were going
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: to be targeting a offensive lineman given their needs there,
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: and it felt like that was going to be the pick.
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: But the Eagles take a wide receiver and they get
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: tremendous value there. Now the compensation is another thing altogether,
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: because they gave up the two fourth round picks they
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: had one fourteen and one thirty seven, and Dallas gets
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: that and they get picked twenty three and the Eagles
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: get a twenty twenty seven.
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: Seventh round pick, and so that's a pretty steep.
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: You know, that's a pretty steep compensation when you consider everything. Now,
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: Makai Lemon the player, he is five to eleven hundred
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: ninety two pounds, a a very razor sharp route runner
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: and can separate. Kind of reminds me of aman Ross
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: Saint Brown in his physicality after the catch. I think
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: he's going to be most lethal in the slot when
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: he looked at his body type and his route running
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  Speaker 2: prowess and twenty one years old, he was a twenty
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: twenty five Belitnikov Award winner, had a very productive final
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: season there at USC and was one of the top
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: receivers in this draft class. So you should be excited
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: that the Eagles added to the wide receiving corps.
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: And they added a premier player.
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: Now, personally, I didn't necessarily view the remaining receivers. I
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: didn't see a huge discrepancy between Mackay Lemon and let's
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: say a Chris Bell or a Jeremy Bernard who didn't
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: get drafted on opening night and they're expected to go
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: fairly early in round two. But I thought that there
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: was really good value at wide receiver there. Now, Maxianachor
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: is a developmental player and maybe the Eagles had some
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: reservations there. They obviously liked the player. Howie Roseman after
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: the draft said that that was a top fifteen player
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: that they had. Well, they kind of had fifteen players
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: that they believe we're going to go in the top fifteen,
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: and one of them didn't, and it was Makay Lemon,
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: and it was probably a player that they didn't expect
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: to get and they wanted to get up there to
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: secure them. And they add a receiver who's now going
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: to be joining Davonte Smith and Dante Van Wicks. And
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: obviously it amplifies the likelihood that a j. Brown will
• 3:41
  Speaker 2: be moved in June. So I'm really interested to see
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  Speaker 2: how how this all is going to work now. I
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: think that when you look at body type, he's kind
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: of similar in terms of Davante Smith, and that they
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: can they can be moved around and they could work
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: as a slot. I think they really need an ex receiver.
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: They don't have that dominant presence there. Maybe Dontavian Wix
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: can be that. But right now you have two surefire
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: starters and Devonte Smith mckaye Lemon, and a quarterback friendly
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  Speaker 2: option in McKay lemon and his ability to find the
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  Speaker 2: saw spots in the zone. He runs routes with precision,
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  Speaker 2: which I think will lead to establishing an early trust
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  Speaker 2: and rapport with Jalen Hurts. And I'm curious to see
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  Speaker 2: how Sean Mannion, Eagle's offensive coordinator chooses to utilize makayle Lemon, because.
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: I think they can move them around. I think they'll
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: be able to get him in space.
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  Speaker 2: Where they can take advantage of his ability to create
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  Speaker 2: yards after the catch.
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: And there's a lot to like with the pick.
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  Speaker 2: Not to mention, he also has return background where he
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: was a kick returner and had He was the primary
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: kick returner for USC in twenty twenty four and he
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: in total return thirty two kicks for over seven hundred yards,
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  Speaker 2: so you like the ability to help on special teams
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  Speaker 2: as well. The Eagles don't really have a definitive answer
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: when it comes to kick returner, and I'm not suggesting
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  Speaker 2: that your first round receiver is going to all of
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  Speaker 2: a sudden inherit that role, but it does give you
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  Speaker 2: more optionality there.
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  Speaker 1: He's quick, he is going to be.
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  Speaker 2: Someone that I think will have an act for getting open.
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  Speaker 2: And what's really going to be interesting and I think
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  Speaker 2: really intriguing when whenever he gets the football, is that
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: he doesn't go down easily. He makes defenders work for everything.
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: He makes them work to bring him down. And he's
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: not the biggest guy in the world. I mentioned, you know,
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: five eleven, one hundred and ninety two pounds. Now, he's
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: also not a burner. He runs a four or five
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: at one hundred and ninety two pounds. That's not to
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: say that that that that should be perceived as a knock.
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: It's just when you look at the body type and
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  Speaker 2: he's not.
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  Speaker 1: A speed a speed guy, you have to look at
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  Speaker 1: what he brings to the.
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  Speaker 2: Table, and I think is a real to separate his competitiveness,
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: and Nick Sirianni said his toughness, and you know, competitive
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: competitiveness and toughness go a long way.
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  Speaker 1: It's it's qualities that the Eagles typically come and look for.
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  Speaker 2: And by all accounts, a high character kid and someone
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  Speaker 2: that I believe is going to have an early impact
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  Speaker 2: on this Eagles team and should be able to get
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: off to a fast start in this offense, because I
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: do expect Sean Manny to find creative ways to get
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: him the football.
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  Speaker 1: But where does this lead? Where does this lead the Eagles?
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  Speaker 2: When it comes to Day two and offensive line.
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  Speaker 1: You could say.
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  Speaker 2: That maybe you're a little skeptical of the pick because
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: you believe the Eagles need add an offensive lineman on
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: Day one, and I'm there, I agree with you, but
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: you also have to look at the players who are available,
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  Speaker 2: and axially not sure was the next best offensive tackle
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: on the board and he went shortly thereafter.
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: But there's a reason why the Eagles didn't take them.
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  Speaker 2: And there's also a lot of offensive tackles on Day
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: two that I think are really intriguing in their own right.
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: Mark kel Bell from Miami, at six foot nine, has
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: an eighty seven and a half inch wingspan, I believe,
• 7:12
  Speaker 2: which is incredible.
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  Speaker 1: The Eagles brought him on an a thirty visit, I believe,
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: which was.
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  Speaker 2: Reported Travis Burke from Memphis, who I have pegged as
• 7:20
  Speaker 2: a third round pick. Both of those guys may go
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: a little bit earlier than they've been originally slotted because
• 7:27
  Speaker 2: of how quickly those tackles are coming off the board.
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: Then you have your Caleb Tiernan's from he went to
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: he went to Northwestern, and he's a player that I like,
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  Speaker 2: but I think I view him more as a guard
• 7:42
  Speaker 2: because at six foot eight, three hundred and twenty three pounds,
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  Speaker 2: he does have thirty two inch arms, So I'm not
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  Speaker 2: necessarily equating him. I'm not putting him into that equation.
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  Speaker 2: There's Jennings Dunker from Iowa who was a right tackle
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: for the Hawk Gys, but at six foot five, three
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  Speaker 2: hundred nineteen pound I think he profiles more as a guard,
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  Speaker 2: and he did play guard actually earlier in his career.
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  Speaker 1: So just because.
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  Speaker 2: Eagles didn't take an offensive tackle in the first round
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  Speaker 2: doesn't mean that they're content with that position or that
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: they won't make alterations to that group. But it's also
• 8:16
  Speaker 2: worth noting that they did resign Fred Johnson to a
• 8:20
  Speaker 2: one year deal. They also drafted a pair of Day
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  Speaker 2: three tackles last year in Cameron Williams and Miles Hinton,
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  Speaker 2: and I thought Cameron Williams did a nice job when
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  Speaker 2: pressed into service.
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  Speaker 1: Now I'm not suggesting that he is all of a sudden.
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  Speaker 2: Viewed as the right tackle of the future or anything
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  Speaker 2: like that, but the Eagles pride themselves on developing their
• 8:38
  Speaker 2: prospects and they're not going to force a pick if
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: it doesn't match the value. And the value was too
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: great to pass on a premiere wide receiver that and
• 8:50
  Speaker 2: by most accounts, shouldn't have even been available at pick twenty.
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  Speaker 2: So I credit the Eagles for being aggressive and getting
• 8:56
  Speaker 2: the player that they wanted rather than maybe reach at
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  Speaker 2: a position because it was the best remaining tackle.
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: On the board. There'll be other opportunities to add to that, And.
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  Speaker 2: Again, it really heightens the likelihood that aj Brown isn't
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  Speaker 2: going to be here, and that really shouldn't be a
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  Speaker 2: surprise because now that you look at it, you have
• 9:15
  Speaker 2: DeVante Smith, Mkaye Lemon, and Tavian Wicks. Now you could
• 9:20
  Speaker 2: also look at it another way and say that Kayle
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  Speaker 2: Lemon has a lot of pressure placed on him because
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  Speaker 2: in essence, he's replacing AJ Brown. I don't necessarily do
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  Speaker 2: it that way because he's a different type of receiver.
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  Speaker 2: He's going to have a different role and be asked
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: to do different things, and he can do different things
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  Speaker 2: that that Aj wasn't really doing in this offense. He
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: Aj is one of the best receivers in the NFL
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  Speaker 2: when he's playing at peak levels. But I do believe
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  Speaker 2: that Makayle Lemon's going to add a different dimensioned to
• 9:53
  Speaker 2: the offense. And it's also important to note that with
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  Speaker 2: the offense expected to look a lot different than the
• 9:59
  Speaker 2: one we've seen over the past several seasons, maybe there's
• 10:04
  Speaker 2: a different body type of different skill set that the
• 10:06
  Speaker 2: Eagles are looking for. They believe Sean Manning and this
• 10:09
  Speaker 2: offense can accentuate and when you talk about a young
• 10:14
  Speaker 2: wide receiver and there are certain qualities you look for,
• 10:17
  Speaker 2: at least I do, and I would imagine the Eagles do.
• 10:20
  Speaker 2: That could lend itself to having an early impact or
• 10:25
  Speaker 2: I guess.
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: Lesson the learning curve, if you will, and that is
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: the route running.
• 10:32
  Speaker 2: Precision he's used to running the full gamut of routes
• 10:35
  Speaker 2: on the route tree, and he knows how to separate.
• 10:38
  Speaker 2: He has a good feel for spacing, and he catches
• 10:42
  Speaker 2: almost everything. I think he was credited with only three
• 10:45
  Speaker 2: drops in his three seasons at USC, So that's something
• 10:49
  Speaker 2: that shouldn't be taken lightly. Look, we have no idea
• 10:53
  Speaker 2: how the player will ultimately fit in the offense. What
• 10:57
  Speaker 2: they'll do or what they're upside is ultimately gonna be.
• 11:03
  Speaker 2: All you can judge is the value. All you can
• 11:06
  Speaker 2: judge right now is the player that you know from
• 11:09
  Speaker 2: the collegiate level and try to project that into this offense.
• 11:13
  Speaker 2: And really, we have no idea what this offense is
• 11:15
  Speaker 2: gonna look like. All you have to go off of
• 11:17
  Speaker 2: is the influences that Sean Mannion has with Sean McVay
• 11:21
  Speaker 2: and Kyle Shanahan and some of those other coaches, those
• 11:23
  Speaker 2: brilliant offensive minds that he's coming to Philadelphia with. And
• 11:27
  Speaker 2: when you take all that the consideration you look at
• 11:29
  Speaker 2: some of those receivers, I think it's a really good fit.
• 11:33
  Speaker 2: You can look at the compensation and things like that,
• 11:36
  Speaker 2: and in the fourth round there would be good opportunities
• 11:39
  Speaker 2: to add, whether it be another quarterback or defensive tackle.
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: Or maybe another tight end.
• 11:46
  Speaker 2: But Hallie Roseman's not gonna stand pat and I would
• 11:49
  Speaker 2: expect Eagles or I would imagine, given the history, that
• 11:52
  Speaker 2: Hallie Roseman will find a way to recoup some of
• 11:56
  Speaker 2: those Day three picks and add to the art shuttle there.
• 12:00
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• 13:01
  Speaker 2: Day two set sets up to be a fascinating one.
• 13:04
  Speaker 2: And we'll get to speak to Mkay Lemon tomorrow. He'll
• 13:07
  Speaker 2: be in Philadelphia in person, so that'll be great.
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: You know, to see him, to get the chance to
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: get a chance to talk to him.
• 13:14
  Speaker 2: He did a zoom call right after the draft, but
• 13:17
  Speaker 2: we'll get a chance to actually ask him questions in
• 13:20
  Speaker 2: person tomorrow or if you're listening to it.
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: It'll be on Friday, and I really look forward to
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: hearing what he has to say.
• 13:27
  Speaker 2: But it was a it was a night that I
• 13:31
  Speaker 2: don't know anyone could have envisioned.
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: It going this way for the Philadelphia Eagles.
• 13:35
  Speaker 2: But they get their guy, they get an impactful wide receiver,
• 13:39
  Speaker 2: and they've now added a young player that when you
• 13:42
  Speaker 2: look at the receiving position long term, it was always
• 13:45
  Speaker 2: going to be in need. You have a couple of
• 13:47
  Speaker 2: players there that signed one year deals and Hollywood Brown
• 13:51
  Speaker 2: and Elijah Moore, and I still would say that Elijah
• 13:54
  Speaker 2: Moore is not a lock to make the roster. They're
• 13:57
  Speaker 2: the AJ Brown's You know, it seems like it's a
• 14:01
  Speaker 2: foregone conclusion that he's gone. You have Devonte Smith, but
• 14:04
  Speaker 2: you don't have a lot of long term.
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: Options there at the position.
• 14:07
  Speaker 2: Now you do where Now the big question becomes where
• 14:11
  Speaker 2: do the Eagles go from here? But right now, I'm
• 14:15
  Speaker 2: not gonna give a grade on a pick. It's not
• 14:17
  Speaker 2: fair to do that immediately. But I can tell you
• 14:20
  Speaker 2: that I thought the compensation was a little steep on
• 14:23
  Speaker 2: the surface. But the Eagles are going to find ways
• 14:26
  Speaker 2: to add to these other positions that you need. And
• 14:29
  Speaker 2: you can't address all of your needs in one draft.
• 14:32
  Speaker 2: That's important to note. But it's only day one. There's
• 14:36
  Speaker 2: still a lot of a lot of a lot of
• 14:39
  Speaker 2: time to alter the roster. There's maneuvering that the Eagles
• 14:44
  Speaker 2: are known to do, and Howie Roseman is as aggressive
• 14:47
  Speaker 2: as any general manager in the NFL. So there are
• 14:50
  Speaker 2: gonna be other ways to add depth at edge, your
• 14:53
  Speaker 2: offensive tackle or tight end and things like that.
• 14:56
  Speaker 1: So I'll keep you posted.
• 14:58
  Speaker 2: I'll there's a story of story up on the kaylamon
• 15:01
  Speaker 2: on inside the birds dot Com. Right now, I'll have
• 15:04
  Speaker 2: my Day two players to keep an eye on that
• 15:06
  Speaker 2: I think would be good fits for the Eagles. That'll
• 15:08
  Speaker 2: be out tomorrow, and there'll be another to Checko Deli
• 15:11
  Speaker 2: podcast tomorrow after the Day two selections, but for now,
• 15:15
  Speaker 2: that's gonna do it for this episode of the Checko Deli.
• 15:18
  Speaker 2: I'm Andrew de Checo, and I'll catch you all on
• 15:21
  Speaker 2: the next one.