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Seahawks Pre-Draft Press Conference: "It's Really Exciting Moving Forward" · Seahawks Press Pass

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: All right, appreciate everyone being here. Good afternoon. We're excited
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: to be up here talking to you. I'm excited to
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: be here with Matt and with Trent, with Aaron as
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: we kind of finalize our draft preparation. Finalizing the draft
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: preparation under the leadership and the guidance of John Schneider.
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: It's John's fifteenth draft. What makes this unique is that
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: it's our first draft with coach Mike McDonald and his staff.
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: They've been absolutely awesome from the from the moment they
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: walked through the door. We just finalized, you know, a
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: really productive free agent period with them, a free agency period.
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: It's just been really collaborative. We've enjoyed working with them
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: hand in hand and looking forward to being more collaborative
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: as we as we work through the draft process. And
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: then just wanted to make sure to recognize the contributions
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: of of everybody throughout the organization. We've got eleven members
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: of our scouting scouting staff, some of them in the
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: back I think looking for Ammo for later, but and
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: then just wanted to thank them specifically, think the coaching staff,
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: think the football operation and the organization, and we're looking
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: forward to moving forward.
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: Thank you guys.
• 1:18
  Speaker 3: Definitely, what if anything changes about the process going into
• 1:23
  Speaker 3: the draft and how players are evaluated without with having
• 1:27
  Speaker 3: a new coach and new kind of philosophies.
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: In terms of the process, I would say it's familiar.
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: There's we're gonna work forward, move forward, and work with
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: the coaching staff and maybe get a little bit more
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: specific as the process kind of develops and we get
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: closer to the day.
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: But I would say in terms of the evaluation process, this.
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: Started, you know, in the summer last year, so we've
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: maintained our consistency throughout. These guys are a huge part
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: of it, Our staff in the back is a huge
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: part of it. And I would say it's very familiar
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: and that that adds a level of comfort.
• 2:06
  Speaker 4: You send scouts out and for for the last fourteen years,
• 2:10
  Speaker 4: you knew what the coaching staff wanted, You knew what
• 2:13
  Speaker 4: scheme was going to be running here and how those
• 2:15
  Speaker 4: college players may fit.
• 2:17
  Speaker 5: How long is it going to take to mesh that
• 2:19
  Speaker 5: it's going with these two months?
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: Right?
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: Yeah, Greg, that's a good question. I would say that
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: there's only so much football, okay, So despite some there's
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: gonna be some intricacies and some changes to scheme and
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: system on both sides of the ball. But you know it, again,
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: there's only so much football, so you're really looking for productive, smart, tough, reliable,
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: you know, fast, physical football players regardless. And then again
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: you get into the intricacies, you get into the specifics,
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: and that that doesn't take long. You know, that's just
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: a pretty natural conversation. So yeah, I don't I don't
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: see that being an issue. We're loing forward to a
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: little bit of the change here and there, but I
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: don't think it's going to be a stark contrast. But
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: it's it's really positive and it's really exciting moving forward.
• 3:09
  Speaker 6: The COVID years that the extra years, guys that called it,
• 3:13
  Speaker 6: how do they play into sort of the analysis and
• 3:16
  Speaker 6: maybe the development that you're seeing of college players or
• 3:19
  Speaker 6: they a little bit more mature, a little bit further along.
• 3:21
  Speaker 5: Because they've had potentially more time in school.
• 3:26
  Speaker 7: I would say this, we're getting a lot more guys
• 3:29
  Speaker 7: in the draft class. Guys are taking that extra year
• 3:31
  Speaker 7: eligibility and having the past, so we're gonna have we
• 3:34
  Speaker 7: have more players still to kind of work through. But
• 3:37
  Speaker 7: I would think that it doesn't really change a lot
• 3:40
  Speaker 7: of ways, if that makes sense, Like the guys are
• 3:41
  Speaker 7: still getting time to develop more than anything else. It's
• 3:45
  Speaker 7: it's really the transfer portal stuff makes it difficult. The
• 3:48
  Speaker 7: guys are transferring. They haven't been in one institution the
• 3:50
  Speaker 7: entire time, So I would say more the the COVID
• 3:55
  Speaker 7: pieces is it's it's more the transfer port piece itself
• 4:00
  Speaker 7: in the COVID piece, I would say, And then you
• 4:03
  Speaker 7: know you got new coaches, uh with that as well.
• 4:08
  Speaker 7: So we're so a little lighter when it comes to
• 4:12
  Speaker 7: two numbers this year. But I think overall the COVID stuff,
• 4:15
  Speaker 7: I think it's up after this year, think next year,
• 4:19
  Speaker 7: this year, next year. Uh So then that that would numbers,
• 4:23
  Speaker 7: the numbers will be much more back to normal, I
• 4:25
  Speaker 7: would think. So I don't think it necessarily changes with guys,
• 4:29
  Speaker 7: if that makes sense, tom So.
• 4:30
  Speaker 6: The transfer is that just being able to see guys
• 4:34
  Speaker 6: in this in a system for more than one year?
• 4:36
  Speaker 6: Is it just trying to track where they're going?
• 4:37
  Speaker 5: Like what what are the challenges?
• 4:39
  Speaker 8: That's the process in itself. I don't know.
• 4:41
  Speaker 7: Kirk Parrish has been on that are our interns.
• 4:46
  Speaker 8: It's a constant.
• 4:46
  Speaker 7: Evolution, right, These guys are I mean, they can transfer
• 4:49
  Speaker 7: a couple of times during the year, so it's just
• 4:52
  Speaker 7: keeping track of where guys are going. We've got a
• 4:54
  Speaker 7: pretty good idea, you know, with social media and whatnot,
• 4:58
  Speaker 7: you can tell right away who's going in the portal
• 4:59
  Speaker 7: and who's not. Uh, pretty fast in that process, so
• 5:03
  Speaker 7: we've done a pretty good job of keeping track of that.
• 5:05
  Speaker 8: The combine helps us too, so.
• 5:08
  Speaker 9: But no one aside from maybe the scheme might be
• 5:11
  Speaker 9: a little bit a bit different. But Pete Carroll obviously
• 5:14
  Speaker 9: was a very influential voice in the organization. There's much
• 5:17
  Speaker 9: change now that you know that he's not there and
• 5:19
  Speaker 9: that John is sort of at the top of the
• 5:21
  Speaker 9: personnel decision making chain.
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: Now I don't think John, I think it spoke to this,
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: but they worked so well together that there were very
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: few times. I mean, John was really in control on
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: draft day and will continue to be. Watching him live
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: during draft day is really really impressive, and in the
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: way that he controls and commands and and operates throughout
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: the process. So again, the process stays consistent, So I
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: don't foresee there being a lot of a lot of
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: change in that regard either.
• 5:55
  Speaker 10: And well, the combine this year, you guys have been
• 5:57
  Speaker 10: through a ton of these and for a long time
• 5:58
  Speaker 10: those you guys and coaches all together, all the interviews.
• 6:01
  Speaker 5: Also, just how different did it feel this year?
• 6:03
  Speaker 11: What it was personnel guys said.
• 6:05
  Speaker 12: And I'm not there because Pete had such control of
• 6:07
  Speaker 12: the the interview room. He loved that part of the process.
• 6:12
  Speaker 12: He made a lot of fun. It's a good chance
• 6:16
  Speaker 12: to get to know the coaches better. Uh So, it's
• 6:19
  Speaker 12: just we had everything recorded video. Guys recorded that. So
• 6:25
  Speaker 12: excuse me when the uh when we came back coach
• 6:28
  Speaker 12: at the opportunity, do you watch all that?
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: What is for anybody who wants to answer it?
• 6:33
  Speaker 13: What have been your impressive impressions of Mike and how
• 6:35
  Speaker 13: have you seen like the dynamic between him and John.
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's it's hand in hand, as it has been
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: and as it has been in the past. But obviously
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: it's a different relationship it's going to be between the
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: two of them, but it's been just as collaborative. Mike
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: has a unique way of communicating and and conveying his
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: message directly but efficiently, and but also be an opinionated
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: And that's all you can really ask is in terms
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: of understanding and moving forward through the process. But they're
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: going to work really well together and looking forward to
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: seeing it as it kind of grows moving forward.
• 7:13
  Speaker 3: Bett Nolan had pointed this out earlier. While the coaching
• 7:15
  Speaker 3: staff is new, the scouting department and all you guys
• 7:18
  Speaker 3: have been together for a very long time. How has
• 7:20
  Speaker 3: that allowed you guys to refine just kind of the
• 7:22
  Speaker 3: process of what's going to happen on draft day and
• 7:24
  Speaker 3: all the conversations that you're having leading.
• 7:26
  Speaker 14: Up to We're really fortunate agenda been together, most of
• 7:29
  Speaker 14: us up on the stage over ten years, and the
• 7:32
  Speaker 14: group overall, so we know each other really well. We know,
• 7:37
  Speaker 14: you know, when we're talking about certain things having to
• 7:39
  Speaker 14: do with makeup of a prospect, what guys mean when
• 7:43
  Speaker 14: excuse me, we're talking about talent scheme fit. We're able
• 7:47
  Speaker 14: to talk the same language. That's a huge advantage and
• 7:50
  Speaker 14: it's been an advantage with us as a group to
• 7:51
  Speaker 14: be able to convey that to the coaching staff as well,
• 7:54
  Speaker 14: so that we're all talking the same language, so that
• 7:56
  Speaker 14: we can achieve alignment as we get, you know, to
• 7:59
  Speaker 14: the finish line here next week.
• 8:01
  Speaker 10: The finish line, Well, what does this last week look
• 8:03
  Speaker 10: like for you guys, and obviously you can put in
• 8:05
  Speaker 10: almost all the work already.
• 8:06
  Speaker 14: Well, you know, we we'll meet with the coaches Friday
• 8:09
  Speaker 14: and Saturday. We'll get back together Sunday, you know, Monday, Tuesday.
• 8:15
  Speaker 14: I think John is with with Mike and they're they're
• 8:17
  Speaker 14: finalizing it and we're on the phone a lot. We're
• 8:20
  Speaker 14: trying to figure out the landscape of the league, just
• 8:23
  Speaker 14: trying to button up the rest of the process. I mean,
• 8:26
  Speaker 14: we've pretty much this is the third time we've gone
• 8:29
  Speaker 14: through the board is a group, so a lot of
• 8:32
  Speaker 14: the questions we had coming out of February been answered,
• 8:35
  Speaker 14: and we're trying to get consensus in alignment throughout the building,
• 8:38
  Speaker 14: from scouting to coaching to analytics, and we're all moving
• 8:43
  Speaker 14: forward as one and that's really the goal of our process.
• 8:48
  Speaker 15: Trying to I know, you guys study yourselves and how
• 8:50
  Speaker 15: you adapt to kind of how you've done each year,
• 8:53
  Speaker 15: tweaks you try to make here and there. What's something
• 8:55
  Speaker 15: you guys have looked to change and refine on over
• 8:58
  Speaker 15: like the last five six years from a scouting department staff,
• 9:01
  Speaker 15: and kind of improve upon as you kind of evolve.
• 9:03
  Speaker 2: What you guys do.
• 9:03
  Speaker 12: I think we've incorporated analytics more and more each and
• 9:06
  Speaker 12: every year. Patrick Warden and Becka done a good job of,
• 9:11
  Speaker 12: you know, sitting in the draft meetings and interjecting when
• 9:14
  Speaker 12: they their opinion doesn't exactly match up with ours. So
• 9:18
  Speaker 12: that's been probably one of the biggest differences throughout the
• 9:23
  Speaker 12: process is just the incorporation of analytics.
• 9:27
  Speaker 16: Part of analytics specifically has been added more recently.
• 9:32
  Speaker 12: We have now they have you get more GPS from
• 9:35
  Speaker 12: colleges probably the biggest thing. There's PFF stuff that goes
• 9:39
  Speaker 12: into it. We don't care about the grades. Aaron's a
• 9:44
  Speaker 12: big component of that.
• 9:45
  Speaker 2: He likes the grades. I'm kidding he doesn't.
• 9:48
  Speaker 12: So it's it's more of just you know, in terms
• 9:51
  Speaker 12: of the yards have to catch the smaller stuff like that.
• 9:57
  Speaker 12: That's you know, it's it's been more accessible recently than
• 10:03
  Speaker 12: the past.
• 10:05
  Speaker 5: For any other four of you.
• 10:06
  Speaker 16: What advantages are there, if any of having guys like
• 10:08
  Speaker 16: Mike who coached in college not too long ago and
• 10:10
  Speaker 16: they can grub and Scott guys who.
• 10:12
  Speaker 5: Are fresh out of college. Is there any advantages of
• 10:15
  Speaker 5: all of that.
• 10:16
  Speaker 14: Yeah, I think they're familiarated with the prospects and in
• 10:19
  Speaker 14: recruiting is always big.
• 10:20
  Speaker 11: We're always We've got.
• 10:22
  Speaker 14: A bunch of questions, right, We're trying to find if
• 10:24
  Speaker 14: these guys are fit our culture and what we're looking for,
• 10:27
  Speaker 14: and so any information you can bring to that from
• 10:30
  Speaker 14: another perspective we take and we we add it to
• 10:33
  Speaker 14: the mix and try to figure out if these guys
• 10:36
  Speaker 14: are us. You know, if they're competitors, they're resilient, smart, tough,
• 10:40
  Speaker 14: and reliable, all the words that you've heard John say
• 10:43
  Speaker 14: multiple times.
• 10:44
  Speaker 4: Your careers to that end, have you had guys and
• 10:49
  Speaker 4: coaches in such dominant positions for scheme, head coach, offensive
• 10:54
  Speaker 4: coordinator who comes straight from colleges three four months ago
• 10:56
  Speaker 4: in Donald's case, a couple of years ago.
• 10:59
  Speaker 5: And how transfer is that?
• 11:01
  Speaker 17: It's this draft process and the prospects and not just
• 11:04
  Speaker 17: from Washington, Michigan.
• 11:05
  Speaker 12: He came here, right, I mean he knew he knew
• 11:07
  Speaker 12: everything basically everybody.
• 11:09
  Speaker 5: So is that given you a head started that way wise?
• 11:12
  Speaker 2: Yeah?
• 11:12
  Speaker 12: I think so, just because they've recruited, they've been in
• 11:14
  Speaker 12: the homes of kids, so plus they just know how
• 11:18
  Speaker 12: to deal with deal with younger kids. Now, you know,
• 11:23
  Speaker 12: I think Mark Mike has incorporated that here just with
• 11:26
  Speaker 12: team meetings, doing two a week instead of every day.
• 11:30
  Speaker 12: You know, So that worked for work for him in
• 11:33
  Speaker 12: the past, and I think he's going to continue to
• 11:35
  Speaker 12: do that.
• 11:36
  Speaker 13: You know, have you guys seen an il change maybe
• 11:39
  Speaker 13: like the way players come into the NFL, I mean
• 11:41
  Speaker 13: they've already gotten paid.
• 11:43
  Speaker 11: Has that change then?
• 11:45
  Speaker 17: Uh?
• 11:46
  Speaker 14: I think it just gives us more information as we're
• 11:48
  Speaker 14: evaluating makeup and character. It's the landscape round like Aaron
• 11:52
  Speaker 14: was talking about. You know, rosters are constantly changing. So
• 11:57
  Speaker 14: if we're really trying to figure out a person's makeup,
• 11:59
  Speaker 14: you're really dependent on the relationships you have in that school.
• 12:02
  Speaker 14: With the player's only been there six months, your information
• 12:05
  Speaker 14: is incomplete when you talk to who you talk to.
• 12:08
  Speaker 14: So it's just one more element to our evaluation. How
• 12:10
  Speaker 14: they handle money, you know, is it an issue?
• 12:12
  Speaker 11: Is it not an issue?
• 12:14
  Speaker 14: It can give us a lot of insight on how
• 12:16
  Speaker 14: they're going to be once they get enough for contract.
• 12:19
  Speaker 16: What's your network like the college scouts, how many your
• 12:22
  Speaker 16: staff and what's the communication.
• 12:24
  Speaker 7: Like I'll tell you this, I've been fortunate enough to
• 12:29
  Speaker 7: be here for this is eighteen years now, I guess,
• 12:32
  Speaker 7: so I've done a few different areas, did some pro
• 12:34
  Speaker 7: stuff early on, moved in the Midlands, then to the southwest, southeast,
• 12:39
  Speaker 7: and now in a different role. But so I've been
• 12:44
  Speaker 7: been fortunate enough. And then the turnover in college coaching
• 12:46
  Speaker 7: is different, right, So it's it's it's always uh, it's always.
• 12:51
  Speaker 8: New in that regard, but.
• 12:53
  Speaker 7: I feel like we've got a pretty good network overall,
• 12:55
  Speaker 7: just not myself, but the guys appear all are college scouts.
• 13:00
  Speaker 8: Such a big part.
• 13:01
  Speaker 7: Of our process is to dive into you know, your
• 13:05
  Speaker 7: your resources, the relationship part of it, because then you're
• 13:07
  Speaker 7: getting factual information, you hope, right, So it's, uh, it's
• 13:12
  Speaker 7: been cool that way to watch those guys do. But
• 13:14
  Speaker 7: our call are all of our college scouts are wolf
• 13:17
  Speaker 7: versed in that area. They do a great job of
• 13:20
  Speaker 7: grinding and finding information, asking questions, continue to get more
• 13:24
  Speaker 7: questions from those and this we talked about earlier, like
• 13:28
  Speaker 7: the process hasn't changed, it's it's still the same, And
• 13:32
  Speaker 7: we come to some more of a conclusion here this weekend.
• 13:34
  Speaker 11: We have the coaches.
• 13:36
  Speaker 7: And then you know, obviously those resources as well. You
• 13:39
  Speaker 7: know they're going to know the players like matter reference
• 13:41
  Speaker 7: and trying to reference.
• 13:43
  Speaker 8: But I don't.
• 13:46
  Speaker 7: I think all of our college guys do a great
• 13:47
  Speaker 7: job of building relationships in these schools a matter.
• 13:49
  Speaker 8: Of their area of expertise for their area.
• 13:51
  Speaker 7: They're doing and finding out information on these guys so
• 13:55
  Speaker 7: we can keep asking questions so we we understand the
• 13:57
  Speaker 7: person kind of player we're getting in this building. That
• 14:00
  Speaker 7: answers your question, And how.
• 14:02
  Speaker 4: Far are you going because of the transfer portal? How
• 14:05
  Speaker 4: far back are you going back to two and three
• 14:06
  Speaker 4: schools now? With the prospects great?
• 14:09
  Speaker 7: Like, Uh, We're trying to figure out how much of
• 14:11
  Speaker 7: the cant of these guys right, so we get it
• 14:13
  Speaker 7: right in the end as a group. The positive thing
• 14:16
  Speaker 7: about that the transfer portal thing is the guy might
• 14:20
  Speaker 7: have been in the West Coast school and he goes
• 14:21
  Speaker 7: to the southeast, and the guy on the West Coast
• 14:23
  Speaker 7: probably knows that guy better because he was there for
• 14:24
  Speaker 7: two or three years sometimes, you know, so he's gonna
• 14:27
  Speaker 7: have a little more insights. We would lean on him
• 14:29
  Speaker 7: in our case. I mean, if it did a guy
• 14:32
  Speaker 7: in Florida, I'd be you know, our money, Perez, the
• 14:34
  Speaker 7: state of Florida. Forest I covered Matt covers that Josh
• 14:37
  Speaker 7: Graft does the West coast forest. Those guys both do
• 14:39
  Speaker 7: a great job and they got a lot of resources,
• 14:42
  Speaker 7: and it's just a you know, it's a it's another
• 14:45
  Speaker 7: another avenue to work those guys. He might be able
• 14:48
  Speaker 7: to go back on a guy from UCLA that he did,
• 14:50
  Speaker 7: you know, three or four years ago if it's now
• 14:51
  Speaker 7: at Florida. So it's just a relationships thing more. And
• 14:56
  Speaker 7: it's something that that that's you know ingrained in our
• 14:59
  Speaker 7: guys to do great job with that.
• 15:01
  Speaker 2: How much is that is it?
• 15:02
  Speaker 5: I'm sorry, just finish up?
• 15:04
  Speaker 4: How far How much of a manpower time issue is
• 15:07
  Speaker 4: that that you have to know?
• 15:08
  Speaker 5: If double back instead of one school maybe three?
• 15:11
  Speaker 8: How good a player is more than right.
• 15:15
  Speaker 7: But our guys, I'll say this, we might be guys
• 15:18
  Speaker 7: that are free agents or guys we bring to rookie of
• 15:20
  Speaker 7: indie camp. Our guys are thorough now we work you know,
• 15:23
  Speaker 7: all those guys well, a lot of them are sitting
• 15:24
  Speaker 7: in the back back there.
• 15:26
  Speaker 8: It's a testament to them.
• 15:28
  Speaker 7: So be thankful for their significant others, their wives and
• 15:31
  Speaker 7: their kids, you know, girlfriends or whatever. And it's it's
• 15:37
  Speaker 7: those guys are gone a lot. So they invest their
• 15:39
  Speaker 7: time well and they travel over the country and they
• 15:41
  Speaker 7: grind and they work their butts off and speak for
• 15:44
  Speaker 7: these guys, they would agree with me.
• 15:45
  Speaker 8: I think, you know, it's it's a hard job.
• 15:49
  Speaker 7: Sometimes it's not as easy everybody thinks it is. So
• 15:52
  Speaker 7: a lot of time on the road, a lot of
• 15:53
  Speaker 7: window time.
• 15:56
  Speaker 3: I was gonna ask you this question, Aaron, but you've
• 15:57
  Speaker 3: been talking a lot so the others can. Like, given
• 16:01
  Speaker 3: everything that's happened in the college landscape and how the
• 16:04
  Speaker 3: NFL game has changed, have the characteristics you look for
• 16:07
  Speaker 3: and players changed over the years or is it still
• 16:10
  Speaker 3: going back to a football player as a football player.
• 16:13
  Speaker 7: And he looks like this, And I think it always
• 16:16
  Speaker 7: evolves to an extent, but the main points that the
• 16:22
  Speaker 7: critical factors of football don't really change, you know.
• 16:26
  Speaker 8: I would say that it's if.
• 16:28
  Speaker 7: You're a good football player, you're good football player, you know,
• 16:31
  Speaker 7: and it stands out when we watch the tape, you know,
• 16:33
  Speaker 7: we walt to practice, you got to the game, usually
• 16:35
  Speaker 7: those guys stand out.
• 16:36
  Speaker 8: It's not hard to see it.
• 16:37
  Speaker 7: So I don't I don't see a whole lot of
• 16:41
  Speaker 7: you know, the game's evolved, obviously, but I don't see
• 16:43
  Speaker 7: a lot of change. And the critical factors that make
• 16:44
  Speaker 7: guys good football players.
• 16:46
  Speaker 5: What do youach year roles look like? During the draft itself.
• 16:50
  Speaker 12: John Yellen has to find more trade partners that.
• 16:54
  Speaker 14: Pretty much, and then as it gets close, we're just
• 16:57
  Speaker 14: communicating with John. These are the players, this is who
• 17:00
  Speaker 14: things going. This is a probability this ex player has
• 17:03
  Speaker 14: visited these four teams that are ahead of us, Just
• 17:06
  Speaker 14: kind of keeping tabs on that.
• 17:08
  Speaker 11: And then we're on the phone pretty much constantly.
• 17:10
  Speaker 12: We split up the teams amongst each other and always
• 17:14
  Speaker 12: trying to find teams that will trade back or if
• 17:16
  Speaker 12: we're willingly trade up. So there's always constant communication going
• 17:21
  Speaker 12: on throughout the whole process.
• 17:23
  Speaker 13: Are you talking to GeNose are other people like in
• 17:26
  Speaker 13: your positions with other teams?
• 17:28
  Speaker 12: It depends sometimes gms, sometimes it's owners, sometimes it's uh,
• 17:32
  Speaker 12: people in our position.
• 17:33
  Speaker 11: Really depends on the team.
• 17:36
  Speaker 18: You mentioned. I think it was you that mentioned about
• 17:38
  Speaker 18: getting the board finally set the way you want. How
• 17:42
  Speaker 18: long is that process setting that board? How much does
• 17:45
  Speaker 18: it change as the draft approaches? And for any of
• 17:48
  Speaker 18: you guys that want to answer you, when is too much?
• 17:51
  Speaker 18: When is information too much information? And just say okay, enough,
• 17:56
  Speaker 18: this is what we know about this guy, let's move on.
• 17:58
  Speaker 14: We talked about our process being contented, so we don't
• 18:01
  Speaker 14: have all the answers, So there'll be information that will
• 18:03
  Speaker 14: continue to come out as we talk to people from
• 18:06
  Speaker 14: a background standpoint, or something can come up. I mean,
• 18:09
  Speaker 14: some guys just finished working out last week if they've
• 18:11
  Speaker 14: been injured. So there's always information trickling in, so you're
• 18:15
  Speaker 14: always adjusting and taking that information in and seeing how
• 18:18
  Speaker 14: it's going to affect where a player is on the board.
• 18:22
  Speaker 14: But as far as how much it changes, it changes
• 18:24
  Speaker 14: quite a bit from when we said it initially in February,
• 18:27
  Speaker 14: because one, you don't have medical you have a bunch
• 18:30
  Speaker 14: of questions on players they haven't done any of the
• 18:32
  Speaker 14: athletic testing, and really you're trying to build consensus on
• 18:37
  Speaker 14: which players can stay, which players check all the boxes
• 18:40
  Speaker 14: from scouting, from analytics, from coaching, and those are the
• 18:43
  Speaker 14: guys that stay in spots on the board. And then
• 18:46
  Speaker 14: you get into this time of year and it's how
• 18:49
  Speaker 14: do you acquire the player? You know, what's their market
• 18:51
  Speaker 14: when it comes to draft day, where do you have
• 18:53
  Speaker 14: to take a player?
• 18:54
  Speaker 11: So all those factors.
• 18:55
  Speaker 14: Come into it, so it's pretty malleable, and it's been
• 18:59
  Speaker 14: that way since. You know, John came in and that
• 19:02
  Speaker 14: first draft in twenty ten, and that was different from
• 19:05
  Speaker 14: what preceded it. I mean, we were more rigid early
• 19:08
  Speaker 14: my first few years here. So it's I think the processes.
• 19:12
  Speaker 14: I think we all buy into how we how we
• 19:15
  Speaker 14: do it, and how long and thorough it is. But
• 19:18
  Speaker 14: I think we ultimately get to a good spot. You know,
• 19:21
  Speaker 14: by the time next week rolls around.
• 19:23
  Speaker 9: Last year you had a fifth pick or yeah, last
• 19:26
  Speaker 9: year the fifth pick of the first round. This year
• 19:27
  Speaker 9: you were sixteen. Does that change anything at all? And
• 19:29
  Speaker 9: any kind of high have to approach the top of
• 19:31
  Speaker 9: the draft or.
• 19:33
  Speaker 14: It changes quite a bit. I don't know if these
• 19:35
  Speaker 14: guys want to. It's just it's it's the calculus of
• 19:38
  Speaker 14: what players are going to be available.
• 19:40
  Speaker 8: Right.
• 19:40
  Speaker 14: You had to see who the fifth player would be
• 19:42
  Speaker 14: last year, and then we also had twenty, so you
• 19:44
  Speaker 14: were trying to figure out who was going to be
• 19:46
  Speaker 14: in each spot. This year, we're at sixteen, so that's
• 19:49
  Speaker 14: a lot more factors go into that, a lot more
• 19:51
  Speaker 14: players we'll go off the board, So you're trying to
• 19:54
  Speaker 14: figure out if there's going to be a player there
• 19:56
  Speaker 14: that you want to select, or if not, if you
• 19:58
  Speaker 14: have a trade partner to slide back with, So you're
• 20:01
  Speaker 14: working both angles all the time.
• 20:04
  Speaker 16: How does the acquisition of Sam how a change, if
• 20:07
  Speaker 16: at all, how you guys perceive your need at quarterback
• 20:09
  Speaker 16: going into this draft.
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I would say, and I touched on and freegency
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: and the Sam Hall trade kind of falls into that category, right,
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: And so the goal during free agency is really it's
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: been tried and true and year after year that that's
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: not how you build, right, It's an opportunity to supplement
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: your roster. And that was the goal, including the Sam
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: Hall trade, is to supplement our roster and get to
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: a point where we don't really feel like we need
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: to force anything and all options are on the table,
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: whether we're talking about a player at a position or
• 20:42
  Speaker 1: our ability to move up and down the draft. So
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: I think we achieved that. We're excited about what we did,
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: excited about what we're going to be able to do
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: next weekend and moving forward because even after the draft,
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: we're not done, right, So all options on the table
• 20:56
  Speaker 1: and excited about that.
• 20:57
  Speaker 16: And Savans linking the equation can kind of do the
• 21:00
  Speaker 16: same thing for the offensive line kind of make sure
• 21:02
  Speaker 16: you don't have to like force a lot of.
• 21:06
  Speaker 1: And that was a really good acquisition for us because
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: all that guy does is play football.
• 21:10
  Speaker 2: We talked about the best ability being availability.
• 21:12
  Speaker 1: Right, and we're talking one hundred and thirty plus starts
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: for him, ninety some in a row. He doesn't miss time,
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: so and he's going to have been a key cog
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: of some good offensive lines that we're familiar with down
• 21:24
  Speaker 1: in San Francisco, and we're happy he's a Seahawks and
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: moving forward.
• 21:29
  Speaker 10: And obviously the focus when it comes draft time is
• 21:31
  Speaker 10: valuating all these players.
• 21:32
  Speaker 5: But where's the importance also of like the pro.
• 21:35
  Speaker 10: Guys knowing other teams. So you're going and go, okay,
• 21:38
  Speaker 10: well here's what we think this team's gonna do. What
• 21:39
  Speaker 10: they need, just that knowledge of all thirty two teams
• 21:42
  Speaker 10: you go into it.
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: Yeah, matter kind of talk to about it, and Brady
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: had asked about roles and that's the part of it.
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: Constant communication in the draft room, trying to assess based
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: on need, what player could be coming off the board,
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: and just trying to be a step ahead and understanding
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: the landscape so that we can be prepared when our
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: selection comes.
• 22:02
  Speaker 4: How successful have you been pegging that second board with
• 22:05
  Speaker 4: the rest of the league, and how do you think
• 22:06
  Speaker 4: your continuity has helped them have in your contacts around
• 22:09
  Speaker 4: the league.
• 22:10
  Speaker 2: In terms of assessing needs and where they might.
• 22:14
  Speaker 17: Predicting where the rest of the draft will go and
• 22:16
  Speaker 17: anticipating a guy won't be here for us then and
• 22:19
  Speaker 17: trade partners, and how accurate has that second board been?
• 22:22
  Speaker 17: How has your continuity helped out I'm not trying to
• 22:24
  Speaker 17: get where your state secrets.
• 22:28
  Speaker 8: Go ahead.
• 22:28
  Speaker 12: I think it's I think it's been. It's it's obviously
• 22:32
  Speaker 12: much better early on. Patrick Ward does a great job
• 22:35
  Speaker 12: of basically putting the analytics together, and you know, the
• 22:41
  Speaker 12: first round round is much more concrete in terms of
• 22:43
  Speaker 12: what players are going to come off the board, so
• 22:45
  Speaker 12: as you get into the second, third, fourth rounds, it
• 22:48
  Speaker 12: becomes less and less likely of I mean, we still
• 22:51
  Speaker 12: have a good idea what position, but in terms of
• 22:53
  Speaker 12: the player, it's not as concrete.
• 22:57
  Speaker 9: Is this draft as deep? But given all the nil
• 23:00
  Speaker 9: and all the variant things that have happened from from
• 23:02
  Speaker 9: top to bottom a drafts of the past few years,
• 23:04
  Speaker 9: or are you seeing any change there in terms of
• 23:06
  Speaker 9: like you know, the the overall kind of depth of
• 23:08
  Speaker 9: the class from first round to seven.
• 23:10
  Speaker 14: I think you've seen it the last few years with
• 23:12
  Speaker 14: all the kids going back to school using their COVID
• 23:15
  Speaker 14: COVID year, they're less and less players in the in
• 23:17
  Speaker 14: the class, so obviously that will pin out the back
• 23:20
  Speaker 14: and then the UDFA class is different.
• 23:23
  Speaker 11: So I think we've got.
• 23:24
  Speaker 14: One more year of that next year and then it'll
• 23:26
  Speaker 14: be back, as Aaron was talking about, to normal numbers.
• 23:29
  Speaker 11: But there's they're always players.
• 23:30
  Speaker 14: It's about identifying that the role fit and then the
• 23:34
  Speaker 14: the golts are fit and those guys. Those guys tend
• 23:37
  Speaker 14: to be successful if you identify both those thakes.
• 23:41
  Speaker 19: This is from Matt or for Nolan in terms of
• 23:45
  Speaker 19: a new head coach, Mike McDonald.
• 23:47
  Speaker 5: Obviously he's younger.
• 23:47
  Speaker 19: You're also going from a defensive line head coach to
• 23:49
  Speaker 19: another defensive mind and head coach. But in terms of
• 23:52
  Speaker 19: players you're looking for, how does that change with Mike McDonald.
• 23:56
  Speaker 19: We've heard players say physical and dominant over and over
• 23:59
  Speaker 19: again with the style play they want to have. What
• 24:02
  Speaker 19: kind of change if there is a minor one from
• 24:05
  Speaker 19: Pete Carroll style to Mike mcgillon's style.
• 24:08
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: Again, there's only so much football, so I wouldn't say
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: that a lot changes. One thing that I would emphasize
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: is versatility. I think they'd probably touched on it by
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: retaining Leo his ability to play up and down the
• 24:20
  Speaker 1: line of scrimmage depending on the front and personnel. I
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: know a player that we're really excited about that they're
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: excited about is moving around is Draymont Jones because.
• 24:30
  Speaker 2: Of his ability off the edge, his ability.
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: To rush anywhere from the three to the six, maybe
• 24:34
  Speaker 1: even out to the nine. And so we feel like
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: we have versatility, versatility throughout our roster. You talk about
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: the back end with Julian Love and now Rayshawan Jenkins
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: were truly nuanced at that safety position. Talk about Kobe Bryant,
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: who's a player that's going into his third year, but
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: he's played outside corner, he's played nickel, he's played dime,
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: and so they've kind of identified some of the that
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: versatility that's already here and we're excited about seeing what
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: they can do with it.
• 25:04
  Speaker 9: How do you feel about the linebacker spot with the
• 25:06
  Speaker 9: you guys you brought it there.
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: We got two good athletes, both have had the opportunity
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: to rate to wear the green dot Dodson with Fraser
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: coach Leslie Fraser in Buffalo. So you talk about communication again,
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: you talk about athleticism, You've talked about coverage awareness, uh,
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: and again the athlete, they've put that on full display.
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: And Dodds has also had value in the kicking game.
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: So yeah, we're we're we're pleased with where that position
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: group is and we've got some young deflob players that
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: we're excited about too.
• 25:41
  Speaker 11: Because of how.
• 25:41
  Speaker 16: Spread out the offenses are in college, is there a
• 25:44
  Speaker 16: significant difference in what like backers and dbs have to
• 25:47
  Speaker 16: do in college versus what they'll we actually do in
• 25:49
  Speaker 16: the post.
• 25:50
  Speaker 7: I think you're seeing more the more the college game
• 25:53
  Speaker 7: leak into the pros, right, So, I don't like it really.
• 25:57
  Speaker 7: I guess maybe they're adapting earlier than than we are
• 26:02
  Speaker 7: NFL game, but overall, but I think there's a lot
• 26:05
  Speaker 7: of carry over now. It doesn't seem a whole, you know,
• 26:09
  Speaker 7: much different to me, at least from a defensive perspective,
• 26:11
  Speaker 7: what those guys are require to do, you know, run
• 26:13
  Speaker 7: and hit, cover people tackle, Right. Other than that, I
• 26:18
  Speaker 7: think it's there's enough of the college games leaked in
• 26:20
  Speaker 7: the NFL. Now where you gotta look at the same
• 26:23
  Speaker 7: I mean, it's got to be pretty consistent. Guys can
• 26:26
  Speaker 7: cover the premium, So it's a good thing at every level.
• 26:30
  Speaker 5: As you guys have scouted them. What stands out about
• 26:32
  Speaker 5: this year's quarterback class.
• 26:35
  Speaker 14: It's a talented group. It's a it's it's a really
• 26:39
  Speaker 14: talented group. So we've we've spent time studying those guys,
• 26:43
  Speaker 14: visiting with them. Yeah, it's not without getting into specifics
• 26:48
  Speaker 14: about players, I think it's one of the stronger groups
• 26:50
  Speaker 14: that there's been the last couple of years.
• 26:52
  Speaker 11: There's a lot of them in terms of depth, what.
• 26:55
  Speaker 13: About interior, offensive line? What about it about your oppressions
• 26:59
  Speaker 13: of that group?
• 27:01
  Speaker 14: They're they're good players. They're good players at all spots
• 27:03
  Speaker 14: across you know, all position groups. I don't really want
• 27:06
  Speaker 14: to get into a whole lot of specifics about you know,
• 27:11
  Speaker 14: which which position has strengths.
• 27:12
  Speaker 11: In the class and which doesn't. That's at this point.
• 27:16
  Speaker 13: There are six Huskies that might end up going to
• 27:18
  Speaker 13: the first three rounds.
• 27:19
  Speaker 5: You got to know see that just came from there.
• 27:21
  Speaker 5: Do you find him talking those guys up a lot
• 27:23
  Speaker 5: or is he able to kind of separate.
• 27:26
  Speaker 14: I mean, you guys can chime in here too, But
• 27:28
  Speaker 14: I think he's been awesome. He's been really you know,
• 27:32
  Speaker 14: open to players at all schools, you know, and and
• 27:36
  Speaker 14: we take the information he's got on those guys. We
• 27:38
  Speaker 14: have quite a bit inside information on the Husky guys
• 27:41
  Speaker 14: with him and Scott Huffer offensive line coach, and so
• 27:44
  Speaker 14: that's really valuable to us. But as far as pushing
• 27:47
  Speaker 14: players from one school or another, that I have not
• 27:49
  Speaker 14: seen that at all. He's a he's a good evaluator
• 27:52
  Speaker 14: and really been a good part of our process.
• 27:56
  Speaker 4: The Saturday of draft weak in the seventh round, I've
• 27:59
  Speaker 4: been totally so times is chaotic like Wall Street trading?
• 28:02
  Speaker 4: Is it all hands on deck with calling potential udfas
• 28:06
  Speaker 4: versus is this guy go get drafted and hey, we're
• 28:08
  Speaker 4: gonna call you at end of the draft and all that.
• 28:10
  Speaker 5: Kind of stuff.
• 28:10
  Speaker 4: And I know there's a pictureferring.
• 28:14
  Speaker 1: To that all kind of comes to but seriously, after
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: the seventh wrong. But there is a process for it,
• 28:22
  Speaker 1: and you have to have an organization to it, and
• 28:25
  Speaker 1: I like our process for it, and we treat it
• 28:27
  Speaker 1: like another draft.
• 28:28
  Speaker 4: Everybody that's making calls and contacts or you have to
• 28:31
  Speaker 4: funnel that streamline it.
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: Yeah, we funnel it. And there's different levels of communication.
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: Who's communicating with whom, whether it's representation, whether it's the player,
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: because there's you know, there's the negotiation piece, but those
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: guys are all free agents, so there's also the recruiting piece.
• 28:46
  Speaker 1: So it's it's a nuance and detailed approach to a
• 28:50
  Speaker 1: really important part of our process. To kind of put
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: a bow on it.
• 28:55
  Speaker 13: What's it like when you guys, you know, do months
• 28:58
  Speaker 13: years of scouting on a guy and then it's a
• 29:00
  Speaker 13: couple of weeks before the draft, something comes up, you
• 29:02
  Speaker 13: get new information on him, or he gets in trouble.
• 29:04
  Speaker 5: How do you guys handle that?
• 29:06
  Speaker 2: It's just part of the process.
• 29:07
  Speaker 12: I mean, I think the probably the toughest thing throughout
• 29:10
  Speaker 12: the evaluation process. You know, these the scouts develop such
• 29:13
  Speaker 12: great relationships with all the players, and you can get
• 29:16
  Speaker 12: emotionally attached.
• 29:17
  Speaker 2: To these these kids. These players, they.
• 29:22
  Speaker 12: Know their coaches, they know their background, they know so
• 29:24
  Speaker 12: much about them, and you can just hear the passion
• 29:27
  Speaker 12: when they talk about these players and and and they'll
• 29:30
  Speaker 12: push for them or you know, sometimes they won't push
• 29:32
  Speaker 12: as much for them. But you know, the guy like
• 29:35
  Speaker 12: Armani Prez, there's probably nobody more passionate about his players
• 29:38
  Speaker 12: than him, and you can feel that in the room
• 29:41
  Speaker 12: and when he's when he's talking about him, you know,
• 29:44
  Speaker 12: you just kind of got to separate him talking about
• 29:50
  Speaker 12: the person and the player, because ultimately you want to
• 29:54
  Speaker 12: know both things right, the person the player. But I
• 29:57
  Speaker 12: guess that's probably one of the toughest things for me,
• 29:59
  Speaker 12: is just separating the emotions from the player, the scout
• 30:03
  Speaker 12: and the player.
• 30:04
  Speaker 11: Sorry, any of the four of you.
• 30:06
  Speaker 16: It seems like that as analytics become more incorporated into
• 30:10
  Speaker 16: like draft boards and everything, teams are less likely to
• 30:12
  Speaker 16: trade up a lease.
• 30:13
  Speaker 5: That's what it seems like.
• 30:13
  Speaker 16: Have you seen has analytics become more prevalent, finding trade
• 30:17
  Speaker 16: of partners is harder.
• 30:21
  Speaker 2: If we've tailored to that.
• 30:24
  Speaker 1: I mean, there's obviously like approximate value and things that
• 30:29
  Speaker 1: we talk about, but I don't know if it's a
• 30:33
  Speaker 1: definitive driver.
• 30:35
  Speaker 2: In which direction we go.
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: It's just more information and an assessment of exactly putting
• 30:41
  Speaker 1: a number on what we're doing.
• 30:45
  Speaker 19: Aaron, just a quick one does the number of times
• 30:48
  Speaker 19: of college player transfers affect.
• 30:50
  Speaker 5: How you evaluate them.
• 30:51
  Speaker 19: If it's three and potentially four.
• 30:54
  Speaker 7: Eventually you bring that up because I was looking at
• 30:56
  Speaker 7: something the other day.
• 30:58
  Speaker 8: We have some guys we have three four reports on
• 31:00
  Speaker 8: it ready.
• 31:03
  Speaker 7: Some are still in college, so I guess positive things.
• 31:07
  Speaker 7: That report's done hopefully for next year. But no, I
• 31:11
  Speaker 7: think it's it's pretty prevalent.
• 31:16
  Speaker 8: A lot more quarterbacks.
• 31:17
  Speaker 7: I would say stand out quarterbacks are moving schools. That
• 31:20
  Speaker 7: stands out. But they say there's like a position. No,
• 31:24
  Speaker 7: I don't know that, but it's it's always interesting. Now
• 31:26
  Speaker 7: we've got if you ask our college guys, you know,
• 31:28
  Speaker 7: you get two or three reports in there in two
• 31:29
  Speaker 7: different areas.
• 31:30
  Speaker 8: It's pretty funny.
• 31:31
  Speaker 12: So I would I would say it used to be
• 31:32
  Speaker 12: more of a red flag than it is now. Now
• 31:35
  Speaker 12: it's just guys trying to make more money.
• 31:38
  Speaker 13: Did you just use their own charts to determine, like
• 31:41
  Speaker 13: this pick is worth this much or when you're assessing
• 31:45
  Speaker 13: a trade in.
• 31:46
  Speaker 2: That we'll look at there we go, Thank you everyone,
• 31:54
  Speaker 2: Thank you, thank you,