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SHOULD THE JAGUARS SIGN A LINEBACKER?! · Duval Daily: A Jacksonville Jaguars Podcast

0:00
[SPEAKER_00]: Jacksonville Jaguar's fans, welcome in to Dove All Daily, presented by Genjag.com.
0:04
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm Jordan Luger, thanks so much for tuning in here Monday, March 16th.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Right now, we're taking a look at free agency once again.
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[SPEAKER_00]: The big wave one of free agency is kind of settled down, but the Jaguar still have some holes to fill on their roster in my opinion.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So we've been kind of going through that the last few days, obviously looked at some past rushers, both interior and on the edge, and now it's time to shift our focus to off-ball linebacker.
0:29
[SPEAKER_00]: This is still a position that I think needs at least one more player to come in and solidify and compete at off ball linebacker.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And so, we're gonna get into that today, really appreciate y'all tuning in.
0:41
[SPEAKER_00]: If you enjoy the content, please like and subscribe.
0:44
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0:49
[SPEAKER_00]: And also hit that high button.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So the Jag Boars obviously lost Devon Lloyd, who is going to, you know, recoup them a fourth round compensatory pick in 2027, which, that's great, right?
1:02
[SPEAKER_00]: Getting, I mean, it's like when you lose these guys in for agency and you play the comic game, it's basically like trading for a future draft pick, which things could be much worse.
1:13
[SPEAKER_00]: I know a lot of Jacks fans want to definitely lead back.
1:15
[SPEAKER_00]: In a perfect world, Devin Lloyd would be back, but unfortunately, the Jack Wars have to work within the restraints of the salary cap and look, if it was just up to shotgun and his wallet, yes, all the
1:32
[SPEAKER_00]: But you have to work within the restraints of the cap and you have to make the best decisions for your cap resources, the Jaguars, James Gladstone believed.
1:44
[SPEAKER_00]: Unfortunately, letting Devin Lloyd walk and not paying him to be a top five-off ball linebacker in the league was the best course of action.
1:52
[SPEAKER_00]: My opinion is that,
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[SPEAKER_00]: I never thought that they were going to pay Devon Lloyd that type of money because where James Gladstone has grown as a evaluator in this league and somebody who manages a football team, Los Angeles Rams, they never spent big on off ball linebacker.
2:14
[SPEAKER_00]: You also have the fact that Anthony Campanylee seems like a guy that can get the most out of just about every off-ball linebacker that he works with throughout his career.
2:23
[SPEAKER_00]: You have seen that consistently.
2:25
[SPEAKER_00]: So yeah, I think that it made sense that the Jaguar has probably weren't going to, again, pay Devon Lloyd as a top 5 off-ball linebacker, which I think he was to be clear in this system last year, top 5 off-ball linebacker in the NFL.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Very clearly.
2:42
[SPEAKER_00]: The question is, how can they replace that production?
2:45
[SPEAKER_00]: They believe they can do it cheaper, and maybe not get the exact same results.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Like you're not gonna have an off-ball line by five interceptions every season, but can you have somebody who is effective when asked to blitz?
2:58
[SPEAKER_00]: Can you have somebody who is effective against the run?
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[SPEAKER_00]: And somebody who can do their job more often than not in a simplified,
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[SPEAKER_00]: coverage assignment, which is that's one of the big reasons, like they simplified the coverage assignments for Devon Lloyd last year, which I don't know why any coach wouldn't have done that the last four years before those got or three years before those guys got here, but it is what it is.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Now,
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[SPEAKER_00]: on the team, you have foyer, Luke, and he's a starter, he's a leader, he's a captain type player, right?
3:32
[SPEAKER_00]: So you feel good about that.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And he's more of that green dot, my climb backer type player, right?
3:38
[SPEAKER_00]: His backup right now is Jack Kaiser, according to James Ladston.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And that makes sense.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Like, Jack Kaiser, archetype wise, you know, mentally, all that stuff fits as like the backup for foyer, Luke, and
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[SPEAKER_00]: Then you have Ventral Miller, who right now would be penciled in as the starter where Devon Lloyd was last year and let's not forget Ventral Miller has had some really good moments in this league.
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[SPEAKER_00]: He has shown he can be a very good run defender and a very good blitzer.
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[SPEAKER_00]: He is a good candidate to replace Devon Lloyd.
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[SPEAKER_00]: He absolutely is and he was competing with Devon Lloyd for the starting job up to week one of the 2020-25 NFL season, right?
4:26
[SPEAKER_00]: that that was not a closed competition.
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[SPEAKER_00]: whatsoever.
4:31
[SPEAKER_00]: You look at 2025, first week, he had 16 snaps in week one.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And so he's a good candidate.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Another thing I like about his projection here is that he is in a contract year.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Right?
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[SPEAKER_00]: He was drafted in 2023, missed the entire season.
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[SPEAKER_00]: 2024 second year, 2025 third year, 2026 is the fourth year on his rookie deal.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I like the potential of having a player that is playing for a contract.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And that spot.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Would you like to have things locked up a little bit longer term?
5:15
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
5:16
[SPEAKER_00]: But maybe Vintro Miller doesn't have the type of season that Devon Lloyd had.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And you feel like you can actually bring him back at a more reasonable salary following the 20, 26 season.
5:27
[SPEAKER_00]: If he ends up being your starter, right?
5:30
[SPEAKER_00]: Just a thought.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I do think Vintro Miller ends up winning the Jaguar's job next to Feier.
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[SPEAKER_00]: He will earn a starting job, whether it's in Jacksonville or elsewhere, the following season.
5:45
[SPEAKER_00]: I think he has that type of skill set.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Again, as a run defender, as a blitzer, and as someone who can execute in coverage, again, I think he can execute what Devin Lloyd was asked to do last year, strongly believe that.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So I'm pretty bullish on ventral, but that doesn't mean they should not add competition.
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[SPEAKER_00]: to that position, to that position group.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, bottom line that they should.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And they can do that in the draft.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And I'll tell you, even though we're going through free agents here today, I've been a bigger fan of potentially doing that through the draft because the cost implication, right?
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[SPEAKER_00]: The actual cap hit.
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[SPEAKER_00]: from a draft pick compared to a better infre agent signing.
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[SPEAKER_00]: The draft picks just going to be cheaper.
6:32
[SPEAKER_00]: You're going to have them under more control for the next four years, right?
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[SPEAKER_00]: So those are the reasons I think that the draft makes sense beyond the fact that I just think there's a lot of really, really good linebacker prospects in this draft.
6:47
[SPEAKER_00]: But there are also some free agent linebackers that make sense.
6:56
[SPEAKER_00]: wanted to get in on the veteran linebacker market.
7:00
[SPEAKER_00]: They already would have.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, as soon as they lost Travis C.T.N.
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[SPEAKER_00]: or Travis H.N.
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[SPEAKER_00]: as he's wanting to go by now, which cool.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, I always knew his name was that.
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[SPEAKER_00]: He had mentioned that before the draft and stuff, but then he was like, E.T.N.'
7:15
[SPEAKER_00]: 's fine.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And so everybody just rolled with E.T.N.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Even the Jaguars PR team went with E.T.N.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So we went with what they were telling us, right?
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[SPEAKER_00]: But Travis HM, after the Jaguars lost him, they went in immediately brought in Chris Rodriguez at the start of the league year.
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[SPEAKER_00]: They did not do that at linebacker.
7:39
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know, I think a reason they didn't do that is ventral Miller.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I really do, but I also think a reason they didn't do that is because they're confident they can get somebody in the draft to compete as well.
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[SPEAKER_00]: That does not mean they will not sign someone before the draft.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It just means they didn't make signing a off-ball linebacker, a priority the way they did with making running back, a priority as soon as they lost Travis H.M.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So there's a good list here of guys that we're gonna get into.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Absolutely.
8:13
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8:15
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8:17
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8:22
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8:23
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8:29
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8:33
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8:36
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8:40
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8:44
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9:32
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9:36
[SPEAKER_00]: So, take a look at these linebackers.
9:40
[SPEAKER_00]: Drone Baker, this is my number one fit for the jacks.
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[SPEAKER_00]: If you're talking about bringing in competition for ventral Miller, excuse me, Jerome Baker, what is his connection to this coaching staff?
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[SPEAKER_00]: 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, his linebacker coach in Miami, none other than Anthony Campanylei.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And he is 29 years old, so he's not like one of the older dudes out there.
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[SPEAKER_00]: There are older players on this list that we're going to mention, but Jerome Baker, he had a couple of big time seasons in Miami under Anthony Campanylei.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I know it was 22, 22, 23, that camp was there with him.
10:37
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it was 22, 22, 22, 22, 23.
10:40
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So, drum baker in my mind has shown the ability to play the run at a fairly high level.
10:51
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't think he's the same level of run defender as a ventral miller, as a devenloid.
10:58
[SPEAKER_00]: But he can play the run.
11:01
[SPEAKER_00]: He can blitz, like he has been a very productive pass-rusher and blitzer throughout his career.
11:08
[SPEAKER_00]: He's had 692 pass-rush reps, which is mostly just blitzing for him.
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[SPEAKER_00]: He's not like rushing off the edge, right?
11:18
[SPEAKER_00]: On those reps, he's had 106 pressures, 30sax.
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[SPEAKER_00]: 22 hits 54.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, he's been very productive when asked to get after the quarterback.
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[SPEAKER_00]: He can still run.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I've always liked him as a player, spent last season in Cleveland.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Overall, did not play like a full-time starter's role, but good player, very good player.
11:46
[SPEAKER_00]: And again, has that connection with Anthony Campanile?
11:50
[SPEAKER_00]: From an archetype standpoint, like if you're looking to go one to one with Devon Lloyd from a size and all that athleticism length, there's not a ton of guys available that really make that much sense because like Devon Lloyd plays in between the two 30s and two 40s.
12:07
[SPEAKER_00]: He's six three.
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[SPEAKER_00]: He almost looks like an edge player out there from a size standpoint.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Drone Baker certainly not in that
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[SPEAKER_00]: He can do some of the things.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And we don't know that, like, camp is just like, we gotta have a guy who's just like Devon Lord.
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[SPEAKER_00]: That might not be the case.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And I would guess that camp is probably a pretty big fan of drone baker.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So that's definitely somebody I will be keeping my eye on for the jags.
12:41
[SPEAKER_00]: Another thing we mentioned earlier with the compics, but I don't think the jag wars are going to sign anyone
12:46
[SPEAKER_00]: that could potentially disrupt the convict formula.
12:49
[SPEAKER_00]: So whatever contract they do out to an off-ball linebacker if they even bring one in, because again, I'm fine with just leaning into the draft and ventral miller and saying, all right, let's roll.
13:02
[SPEAKER_00]: But if they bring one in,
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[SPEAKER_00]: I think it's got to be under whatever that line is for comp picks and impact in the comp pick formula.
13:14
[SPEAKER_00]: Because they want that fourth for Devin Lloyd, they want that fifth for Travis ETN, they want that sixth for Greg Newsome that they are slated to earn.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And I think that they're going to be banking on having those.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So absolutely got to come in lower than that.
13:26
[SPEAKER_00]: Another interesting one is Bobby Wagner.
13:31
[SPEAKER_00]: And look, to me, it just sounds almost like funny to even suggest this, but let's, let's be real.
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[SPEAKER_00]: He did play for the Los Angeles Ramps in 2022, and while he cannot run, the way he used to be able to run.
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[SPEAKER_00]: At 35, almost 36 years old.
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[SPEAKER_00]: There is a connection here.
13:54
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, look, he literally played on James
14:01
[SPEAKER_00]: It's not completely unfounded there with that part of it.
14:05
[SPEAKER_00]: And he can do some of the things they want to do at this spot.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Like he can run and hit.
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[SPEAKER_00]: He's still a great tackler.
14:15
[SPEAKER_00]: He's still a really good run defender.
14:18
[SPEAKER_00]: And he can blitz.
14:20
[SPEAKER_00]: And you want to talk about being able to blitz.
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[SPEAKER_00]: 1,090 career pass rush rep, which again is mostly just blitzing.
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[SPEAKER_00]: 245 pressure is 47 sacs.
14:29
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, come on.
14:31
[SPEAKER_00]: It could make sense, and he is more size wise, you know, in terms of the, you know, mass and strength and all that stuff, more in line with Devin, I would be surprised, but skill set wise, look, not, not, not winning a 40 yard dash, not winning a race, but.
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[SPEAKER_00]: can do a lot of the things that you wanted, and he's still obviously incredibly smart player.
15:05
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, we'll be watching him, see where he ends up.
15:09
[SPEAKER_00]: Matt Milano, Buffalo Bills, he's dealt with a lot of injuries throughout his career.
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[SPEAKER_00]: He's not a big or dude, like he's a smaller guy compared to a Ventral or a Devon.
15:22
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, Ventral is shorter,
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[SPEAKER_00]: He's a strong, very strong, and Matmalon is a strong player too.
15:33
[SPEAKER_00]: But Matmalano has dealt with injuries throughout his career.
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[SPEAKER_00]: He's not what he once was.
15:37
[SPEAKER_00]: What's his connection in Jacksonville?
15:38
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, the, you know, weight training staff from Buffalo and Jacksonville.
15:46
[SPEAKER_00]: And obviously, Jaguar Special Team's coordinator, Heath Farwell.
15:49
[SPEAKER_00]: I think would be a pretty big advocate for Matmalano.
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[SPEAKER_00]: He coached him on special teams for several years.
15:56
[SPEAKER_00]: And so maybe that could work.
15:59
[SPEAKER_00]: I think he's more of the middle linebacker green dot archetype.
16:05
[SPEAKER_00]: But maybe you put him in a role like this.
16:08
[SPEAKER_00]: It could work.
16:09
[SPEAKER_00]: He can rush the passer as a blitzer.
16:12
[SPEAKER_00]: He can defend the run.
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[SPEAKER_00]: We've seen that.
16:14
[SPEAKER_00]: He's not playing at the same high level.
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[SPEAKER_00]: He was before some of these injuries, but maybe Christian Roseboom.
16:21
[SPEAKER_00]: He's been a year with the Carolina Panthers and
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[SPEAKER_00]: It didn't go super well last year.
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[SPEAKER_00]: He's back on the free agent market, but he played a long time in LA with the Rams.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So he's somebody that they're definitely familiar with.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I don't think that that would be a super exciting signing.
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[SPEAKER_00]: But if you're talking about bringing in somebody who can be familiar and somebody who James Gladstone probably feels very comfortable with, just as like competition or depth, maybe that potentially makes sense.
16:55
[SPEAKER_00]: Ben Traumiller, I really do not.
16:57
[SPEAKER_00]: That would surprise me, quite frankly.
17:01
[SPEAKER_00]: So, yeah, when it comes to some other guys, Bobby O'Kerrake, and these next two don't have as much connection as I'm aware of with the current staff, but I think Bobby O'Kerrake, probably, gonna be the guy who gets paid the most out of the remaining free agent off ball linebackers if I had to guess,
17:24
[SPEAKER_00]: can play the run, can blitz.
17:26
[SPEAKER_00]: I think that in coverage he's been a good player too, and he's a smart player, so he could make sense for this football team in my opinion.
17:32
[SPEAKER_00]: Probably would end up going somewhere where there's more of a connection, but you never know.
17:37
[SPEAKER_00]: And again, if he ends up getting
17:40
[SPEAKER_00]: a little bit of a bag that might eliminate him as a, as someone who the Jaguars would pursue because of the Compick formula.
17:47
[SPEAKER_00]: Alandon Roberts is another player who can play the run and blitz, who's been around the league a little bit, good player.
17:53
[SPEAKER_00]: And then the final player I put down on the list here was Troy Reader, who
17:59
[SPEAKER_00]: Again, I think would just be depth and special teams.
18:02
[SPEAKER_00]: I just don't think that he would be able to compete with Ventral Miller to start, but he has spent so much time in LA.
18:11
[SPEAKER_00]: This guy, since 2019, he's been a Los Angeles Ram except for one year where he was with the Los Angeles Chargers.
18:19
[SPEAKER_00]: So yeah, former Delaware, Blu-Fightenhand.
18:27
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't think that that would be the move that would make sense really, but another player that I found that does have a connection to the staff.
18:34
[SPEAKER_00]: So that's kind of my look at the off-ball linebackers.
18:38
[SPEAKER_00]: I would be really excited about Jerome Baker.
18:43
[SPEAKER_00]: If they were able to get him and it not impact the compact formula, I would be excited about that.
18:48
[SPEAKER_00]: Same thing with Ocarick, okay?
18:51
[SPEAKER_00]: Everybody else, like I can see the vision a little bit with most of them, but I wouldn't be as excited and like I think if it's okay or or Baker, like Ventrell is in trouble.
19:06
[SPEAKER_00]: Good luck, but that's going to be a stiff competition.
19:11
[SPEAKER_00]: But anybody else, I think Ventrell probably has the inside track, and they might want Ventrell to have the inside track for
19:19
[SPEAKER_00]: 2020 six because look he's got experience in this system now.
19:25
[SPEAKER_00]: He's a good run defender.
19:26
[SPEAKER_00]: He's a good blitzer.
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[SPEAKER_00]: He's on a contract year.
19:29
[SPEAKER_00]: So again, that leads me back to the draft.
19:32
[SPEAKER_00]: But we want to keep all the options open and we want to prepare for everything here on the channel.
19:35
[SPEAKER_00]: So really appreciate y'all tuning in.
19:37
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19:39
[SPEAKER_00]: Y'all's a good one.