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2026 NFL Draft Preview · Rice on the Radio

0:00
SPEAKER_00: I guess there's only one way to find out was to do it too.
0:09
SPEAKER_00: Well, well.
0:11
SPEAKER_00: What do you know?
0:12
SPEAKER_00: That time of the year in where the multi-billion dollar franchises based their success on 22-year-old kids.
0:19
SPEAKER_00: That's right.
0:20
SPEAKER_00: The NFL draft is here again.
0:22
SPEAKER_00: You know what I love about Draft Week?
0:25
SPEAKER_00: Everybody suddenly starts talking like they've had the whole board figured out for months.
0:29
SPEAKER_00: Like they were given the script three weeks ago.
0:32
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's never how this works.
0:34
SPEAKER_00: The board moves, the noise change, one report turns into five, one smokescreen turns into a trend, and then somebody makes an actual move and the whole thing looks different than it did a week ago.
0:46
SPEAKER_00: That's why.
0:47
SPEAKER_00: On this show, we do our homework and we keep our receipts.
0:52
SPEAKER_00: I always make sure to date every article I save this time of the year.
0:55
SPEAKER_00: I like going back, you know?
0:57
SPEAKER_00: I like looking at what the draft felt like on April 7th, what it felt like in the middle of the month, what it feels like now.
1:04
SPEAKER_00: Now that we're right up against it.
1:06
SPEAKER_00: You know, early on this thing looked pretty clean.
1:08
SPEAKER_00: Mendoza to Vegas, Jets at 2, Bailey, Reese, Sonny Styles, Giants sitting at five trying to figure out whether this was a line help draft, a playmaker draft, or one of those years where you just kind of hold your nose and take the best player available.
1:23
SPEAKER_00: Then the boards started moving around.
1:25
SPEAKER_00: Love got hotter, towns got hotter, Ty Simpson became the annual conversation in the league where people think they want to buy into him, they don't want to buy into him, they have to buy into him.
1:36
SPEAKER_00: Then the Giants move Dexter Lawrence and they get the 10th pick in the draft.
1:40
SPEAKER_00: Now we got New York sitting in the middle of the most interesting part of the whole first round with four real pressure points staring everybody in the face.
1:48
SPEAKER_00: So this is not gonna be a full 32-pick mock.
1:52
SPEAKER_00: That's not what we do around here.
1:54
SPEAKER_00: This is episode 61 and a half, I'm calling it.
1:57
SPEAKER_00: You know, the draft mini, the draft special.
2:00
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna do the first 16 picks.
2:02
SPEAKER_00: You know, last year when I did this, not as experienced as I am now.
2:05
SPEAKER_00: Did a top 10.
2:07
SPEAKER_00: This year I figured, alright, let's do top 15, but hell, since the Jets are at 16, I mean what's one more, right?
2:14
SPEAKER_00: So I got Jets at 2, Giants at 5, Giants again at 10, Jets at 16, and all the picks in between.
2:21
SPEAKER_00: Also, 33 matters a little bit for the Jets here too, because you know, when you get the first pick in the second round, in your back pocket, you know, you can move around a little bit.
2:29
SPEAKER_00: We'll see how that goes.
2:31
SPEAKER_00: But anyway, we're gonna get into what the board looked like at the start, how the quote unquote experts had these guys slotted a couple weeks ago, and how that changed, and what it looks like now.
2:41
SPEAKER_00: Then we'll get into the actual players too, not just the names on the screen.
2:44
SPEAKER_00: Who these guys are, what they do, why they fit makes sense, maybe why it doesn't make sense, and which picks could throw a wrench in this thing for the Jets and Giants later picks.
2:53
SPEAKER_00: This is Rice on the Mic's Draft Special.
2:56
SPEAKER_00: Let's open the tab, boys and girls.
3:04
SPEAKER_00: So let me explain why I do this every year.
3:06
SPEAKER_00: Because I noticed some people it probably looks a little insane.
3:10
SPEAKER_00: You know, I got articles saved from April 7th, April 12th, April 14th, all the way through yesterday.
3:16
SPEAKER_00: And every single one of them is dated on purpose.
3:19
SPEAKER_00: That's not me being organized just to be organized.
3:22
SPEAKER_00: I'm trying to I'm trying to track the life of the board.
3:25
SPEAKER_00: You know, I want to know what people thought this draft was two weeks ago, last month, what changed in the middle, and what still held up once we got right up against this damn thing.
3:35
SPEAKER_00: You know, at the start of the month, this whole thing felt cleaner.
3:38
SPEAKER_00: Not easy, not settled, but cleaner.
3:41
SPEAKER_00: Mendoza to Vegas already felt like the safest call in the whole draft.
3:45
SPEAKER_00: And the Jets at two felt like one conversation Bailey or Reese.
3:49
SPEAKER_00: Giants at five felt a little more traditional, maybe some Wineheld, maybe a pass catcher, maybe just take the best football player available and sort the rest out later.
3:58
SPEAKER_00: And the Jets at 16 felt like one of those spots where you could talk yourself into a handful of names and nobody would really fight you on it.
4:05
SPEAKER_00: But by the middle of the month, well, the board started changing shape.
4:10
SPEAKER_00: Jeremiah Love stopped feeling like a fun name and started feeling real.
4:14
SPEAKER_00: Caleb Downs kept showing up higher than people are usually comfortable putting a safety.
4:19
SPEAKER_00: Sonny Styles was living in that same world.
4:21
SPEAKER_00: Ty Simpson became that classic draft conversation where one side says, there's a real quarterback there, and the other side says, we're forcing it because, you know what, we want there to be another quarterback there.
4:33
SPEAKER_00: The Giants trading Dexter Lawrence is really where this thing blew open for New York.
4:39
SPEAKER_00: You know, up until then, they were one team at five trying to answer one big question.
4:45
SPEAKER_00: But once Pick Ten shows up, now it's a completely different night.
4:50
SPEAKER_00: Now it's how do they want to split this thing up?
4:53
SPEAKER_00: Do they want to go defense first, offense second?
4:56
SPEAKER_00: They want to help Dart right away, circle back later, best player at five, cleaner fit at ten.
5:02
SPEAKER_00: Heard some rumors of Sonny Styles and Caleb Downs, both Ohio State players coming back together.
5:08
SPEAKER_00: You know, that one move changed the shape of the top half of the round, not just for the Giants, but for everybody sitting around them too.
5:17
SPEAKER_00: That's the part of the draft season that people miss out on when they only pull up the final mock draft and act like the whole story started there.
5:25
SPEAKER_00: It didn't.
5:27
SPEAKER_00: The final board is the end of the conversation, not the whole conversation.
5:30
SPEAKER_00: The whole conversation is seeing where people where people were slotted early, where they started changing their minds, where names kept coming back, which names got hot for three days until somebody asked one more serious question and suddenly the room got a lot quieter.
5:51
SPEAKER_00: You know, so that's that's what this episode is.
5:53
SPEAKER_00: It's not me sitting here pretending I know all 32 picks before Roger Goodell does.
5:58
SPEAKER_00: No, this is me walking through how the board got here, what changed, what held up, and where the first 16 picks feel like they're pointing now that the draft night is pretty much finally here.
6:11
SPEAKER_00: So let's start with one pick everybody thinks they know, and for once everybody might actually be right.
6:18
SPEAKER_00: Fernando Mendoza, Las Vegas Raiders, number one overall.
6:22
SPEAKER_00: You still got to talk about him.
6:24
SPEAKER_00: Even if, even if the uh the real drama starts after that pick, not everybody is listening and is neck deep in mock in mock draft stuff like we are.
6:34
SPEAKER_00: So Mendoza is not some mystery box.
6:38
SPEAKER_00: He's big, he's polished, he's poised, he's accurate, he looks comfortable working through reads.
6:45
SPEAKER_00: He looks like a quarterback, you know?
6:47
SPEAKER_00: He looks like he looks like a kid that can get the job done.
6:52
SPEAKER_00: He's not the freakiest arm, you know, he's not the wildest athlete, but he does feel like the cleanest quarterback in the class, and Vegas finally has enough structure around him where it doesn't feel like they're just tossing a kid into traffic and hoping that it works.
7:09
SPEAKER_00: Kirk Cousins in the building, Tom Brady in the building.
7:15
SPEAKER_00: Things should be okay for the kid.
7:17
SPEAKER_00: He's very, very smart and he understands the moment.
7:20
SPEAKER_00: Is he a little nerdy?
7:21
SPEAKER_00: Sure.
7:23
SPEAKER_00: But you know what?
7:25
SPEAKER_00: Winning cures all.
7:26
SPEAKER_00: Winning is the best of your now.
7:29
SPEAKER_00: Once that card gets turned in, that's where the draft actually starts getting interesting.
7:35
SPEAKER_00: The Jets are in the clock at two, and that's where this whole thing has lived for weeks between David Bailey or Arvell Reese.
7:44
SPEAKER_00: Bailey is the cleaner football explanation.
7:46
SPEAKER_00: Quick first step, real production, pass rush instincts there, you know, all the usual buzzwords for somebody that sacks a quarterback.
7:55
SPEAKER_00: So if the Jets want the more polished, more immediate answer, Bailey makes sense.
8:03
SPEAKER_00: Now, Arvell Reese, well, personally, that's the swing that I'd take.
8:09
SPEAKER_00: That's my preference.
8:10
SPEAKER_00: That's he he feels like the he feels like the home run shot.
8:14
SPEAKER_00: He can play off the ball, he can rush, he can run, move around.
8:18
SPEAKER_00: You know, he looks like the kind of defender a coaching staff falls in love with because there are so many ways that he can change a game once he's fully unlocked.
8:27
SPEAKER_00: Bailey feels like the cleaner answer for sure, but Reese feels like the the bigger answer.
8:34
SPEAKER_00: You know late in the process, the the buzz started sounding a little more Reese than Bailey.
8:42
SPEAKER_00: And if the Jets do go that way, I get it completely.
8:45
SPEAKER_00: That's betting on impact.
8:46
SPEAKER_00: That's not just production, that's who I want.
8:49
SPEAKER_00: Now, if they go the other way, I get it too.
8:51
SPEAKER_00: This is the good and the bad about being at number two overall.
8:56
SPEAKER_00: You're probably gonna get a good player no matter who you choose.
9:00
SPEAKER_00: Now that pick matters right away for the next two teams.
9:03
SPEAKER_00: Arizona at three feels like one of the real first domino spots in the draft.
9:08
SPEAKER_00: They'd they'd love to move down.
9:10
SPEAKER_00: And if the Jets take Reese with Bailey sitting right there, now the phone might get interesting.
9:15
SPEAKER_00: You know, if nobody moves, that's where Jeremiah Love starts hanging over everything.
9:22
SPEAKER_00: He is one of the cleanest examples of this class not fitting the usual script.
9:27
SPEAKER_00: In a normal year, teams talk themselves out of taking a running back that high.
9:31
SPEAKER_00: In this class, a lot of people look at him and just see one of the best players on the board.
9:38
SPEAKER_00: Now Tennessee at four feels similar in a different way.
9:43
SPEAKER_00: They'd they'd like options too, which tells you a lot about how teams feel about the top of this class.
9:50
SPEAKER_00: But if they stay there, edge or wide receiver makes a lot of sense depending on who's left.
9:56
SPEAKER_00: So that's why this first little pocket matters so much.
9:59
SPEAKER_00: You know, one is basically set, two is the real starting gun, I guess, and three and four tell you whether this board is gonna behave or whether the whole thing is about to start sliding around before the Giants even get on the clock.
10:12
SPEAKER_00: So now you get to five, and that's where the draft starts asking the bigger questions.
10:17
SPEAKER_00: Who will be there for the Giants?
10:19
SPEAKER_00: Who do they take?
10:20
SPEAKER_00: Who do they pair at five and ten?
10:22
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna go over those picks right now.
10:24
SPEAKER_00: Keep it right here.
10:38
SPEAKER_00: Now you get onto the part of the draft where I think this whole thing stops being about names and starts being about philosophy.
10:45
SPEAKER_00: Pick five is where the Giants walk into this thing, and I really do think that they're the most fascinating team in the top ten.
10:53
SPEAKER_00: Not the easiest to project, not the cleanest, the most fascinating.
10:59
SPEAKER_00: There is a difference.
11:00
SPEAKER_00: Early on, the Giants conversation felt a little more normal, right?
11:04
SPEAKER_00: Offensive line, maybe receiver, maybe just help Jackson Dart in the most obvious way possible and keep it moving.
11:12
SPEAKER_00: Once this process kept going, and especially once the Dexter Lawrence trade dropped 10 in their lap, it stopped feeling that simple.
11:19
SPEAKER_00: Now it now it feels like they're one of the few teams in the top ten that could justify three or four different paths and not just sound crazy about doing it.
11:30
SPEAKER_00: At five, the name that keeps hanging over this is Caleb Downs.
11:35
SPEAKER_00: That one has not gone away.
11:37
SPEAKER_00: If anything, it's gotten louder as we've gotten closer, which makes sense.
11:42
SPEAKER_00: Even if people get a little uncomfortable when you start talking about taking a safety that high, Downs is one of those players where the argument is almost boring in the best possible way.
11:52
SPEAKER_00: Smart, disciplined, reliable, sees it fast, tackles well, lines people up, moves around, doesn't feel out of control, doesn't feel like a projection.
12:04
SPEAKER_00: He's also football legacy.
12:06
SPEAKER_00: He's got his father and his uncle.
12:09
SPEAKER_00: His father played in the NFL, and I think his uncle played for the Giants.
12:12
SPEAKER_00: You know, he looks like the kind of player who steps into a defense and immediately starts making the whole thing cleaner.
12:19
SPEAKER_00: Not just flashier, cleaner.
12:22
SPEAKER_00: You can feel the coaching appeal there right away.
12:26
SPEAKER_00: And a staff like this one, especially with Harbaugh, who loves his safeties and the kind of defenses he's been around, I totally get why Downs would be the grown-up answer in the room.
12:37
SPEAKER_00: If Jeremiah is sitting there at five, that's where the whole thing gets a little more messy in a good way.
12:43
SPEAKER_00: You know, Love is the player in this draft who keeps making teams ask themselves how much they actually care about positional value when the player is just that good.
12:53
SPEAKER_00: On paper, I get why people hesitate.
12:56
SPEAKER_00: You know, running back that high, modern team building, all the usual stuff.
13:02
SPEAKER_00: But turn the tape on, and you can see why he keeps hanging around the top box anyway.
13:08
SPEAKER_00: The guy is smooth, he is patient, explosive, can catch it, can change directions.
13:15
SPEAKER_00: And he just looks like he's not losing speed no matter what he's doing.
13:20
SPEAKER_00: He doesn't feel like a guy you just hand it to and hope for four yards.
13:26
SPEAKER_00: He feels like an offensive weapon.
13:28
SPEAKER_00: And that phrase gets overused this time of year, but with him it actually fits.
13:33
SPEAKER_00: So if the Giants look at their offense and say, we need someone who changes the band for Dart immediately, I can absolutely see the case.
13:42
SPEAKER_00: That's really the question at five for them.
13:44
SPEAKER_00: Are you taking the cleanest football player in Downs, or are you taking the offensive jolt in love if he's there?
13:50
SPEAKER_00: You know, you can talk yourself into either answer and not sound ridiculous.
13:54
SPEAKER_00: Downs says culture, structure, intelligence.
13:58
SPEAKER_00: Love says help your young quarterback.
14:00
SPEAKER_00: Make the offense scarier right now.
14:03
SPEAKER_00: Stop overthinking the position label.
14:05
SPEAKER_00: There are a couple other names hanging around that spot too, and Sonny Styles is one of them.
14:10
SPEAKER_00: Styles is another one where the player is screaming louder than the position.
14:15
SPEAKER_00: Massive frame, crazy athlete, linebacker now built with that defensive back background still showing up and how he moves.
14:24
SPEAKER_00: He he's not as complete and buttoned up to me as Downs, but the upside is obvious and the physical profile is ridiculous.
14:34
SPEAKER_00: If a team in that range wants to bet on a rare traits in the middle of a defense, that's the argument they can make for themselves.
14:42
SPEAKER_00: Tyson is another one that I keep circling for the Giants too.
14:46
SPEAKER_00: I still think ten makes more sense than five here, but there's a lot to like there.
14:53
SPEAKER_00: He's got a bigger frame than you think when you watch him.
14:56
SPEAKER_00: He's got real vertical juice, great body control, and he can make those awkward adjustments look easy.
15:03
SPEAKER_00: When the ball is in the air, he plays like he believes it belongs to him, which is something you want out of any receiver you draft.
15:10
SPEAKER_00: Now, yes, the injury conversation is the whole cloud around him, and that's what stops us from being a lot cleaner than it should be.
15:18
SPEAKER_00: But if you remove the health concerns, he probably lives in a more obvious top ten conversation the whole way through.
15:25
SPEAKER_00: So five, five feels like the Giants' identity pick.
15:30
SPEAKER_00: Not their whole draft, but their identity pick.
15:34
SPEAKER_00: What do they think they are?
15:36
SPEAKER_00: What do they think they need?
15:38
SPEAKER_00: What do they want the first card of the John Harbaugh era to say about how they're building this team?
15:44
SPEAKER_00: That's what makes five feel bigger than just the name.
15:48
SPEAKER_00: At six, Cleveland.
15:50
SPEAKER_00: Cleveland is sitting there in a very Browns kind of spot.
15:54
SPEAKER_00: You know, they need a lot.
15:55
SPEAKER_00: They know they need a lot.
15:57
SPEAKER_00: Everybody else knows they need a lot, which weirdly makes them one of the easier teams to talk through.
16:05
SPEAKER_00: Offensive tackle and wide receiver have felt like big priorities there for a while.
16:10
SPEAKER_00: And the real question is whether they stay at six or move around to try and get both in the right spots.
16:17
SPEAKER_00: That part actually feels kind of smart.
16:19
SPEAKER_00: They don't need to be cued, they they need help, and they need good players and a bunch of them.
16:25
SPEAKER_00: Trading out at six wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.
16:28
SPEAKER_00: Spencer Fano makes a ton of sense for them.
16:31
SPEAKER_00: That's one of those fits where you don't need to overcomplicate it.
16:34
SPEAKER_00: He moves well, he's athletic, he's got that tackle guard conversation around him.
16:39
SPEAKER_00: And in a class where line help is going to start getting pushed up the board, I can absolutely see why Cleveland would say, you know what, let's just grab the guy we trust up front before the run gets going here.
16:51
SPEAKER_00: Myoga has also lived in that neighborhood.
16:54
SPEAKER_00: He's bigger, he's sturdier, more phone booth physicality to him.
16:58
SPEAKER_00: Less movement flash than Fono, maybe, but a very understandable projection for a team that just wants more grown man snaps in front of its quarterback.
17:10
SPEAKER_00: Seven is Washington.
17:13
SPEAKER_00: And Washington is tricky in a way that I kind of enjoy.
17:22
SPEAKER_00: On one hand, you can absolutely talk me into them getting Jaden Daniels another weapon.
17:28
SPEAKER_00: On the other hand, that defense has names floating around it for a reason.
17:33
SPEAKER_00: You know, Styles, if he falls there, has felt like he would fit it right in there.
17:40
SPEAKER_00: Same thing with Caleb Downs.
17:42
SPEAKER_00: And if for some reason Jeremiah is still there, Jeremiah Love and Jaden Daniels together.
17:48
SPEAKER_00: Whew.
17:51
SPEAKER_00: That tells you they're sitting in a pretty interesting little sweet spot where the board could just hand them something they didn't think they would even have a chance at.
18:01
SPEAKER_00: The top ten picks in this draft are gonna be really interesting.
18:07
SPEAKER_00: New Orleans at eight feels a little more straightforward to me.
18:11
SPEAKER_00: You know, receiver just keeps making sense there.
18:14
SPEAKER_00: Tate has been a name that's been mentioned a lot.
18:16
SPEAKER_00: Tyson has lived around that zone.
18:19
SPEAKER_00: You can understand it immediately.
18:21
SPEAKER_00: You got a young quarterback who kind of came out of nowhere that has really shown as of late.
18:27
SPEAKER_00: The offense is still trying to find some real shape.
18:30
SPEAKER_00: Is Kamara gonna stay?
18:32
SPEAKER_00: Is he not?
18:33
SPEAKER_00: You know, what's going on with him?
18:35
SPEAKER_00: So you're gonna need a guy who actually looks like he can become a difference maker outside right away.
18:41
SPEAKER_00: Tate is probably the safer version of that conversation.
18:45
SPEAKER_00: Tyson is more electric though.
18:48
SPEAKER_00: The riskier version of it, but more electric.
18:52
SPEAKER_00: So if Tate is there, I I would have my I would have a tough time talking myself out of it if I were the Saints.
19:00
SPEAKER_00: Nine with Kansas City is always the annoying one, you know?
19:06
SPEAKER_00: Because good teams picking high are irritating enough, and now it's Kansas City picking high with Mahomes in the building, it just feels even more unfair.
19:16
SPEAKER_00: It just feels like whoever they take, of course they would succeed.
19:19
SPEAKER_00: You know, they can talk themselves into a lot there and sound smart doing it.
19:24
SPEAKER_00: Corner makes sense, offensive line makes sense, edge rusher makes sense, receiver makes sense.
19:31
SPEAKER_00: If Delane is there, that's a pretty easy football conversation.
19:35
SPEAKER_00: You know, long, smart, polished corner, real technique, real ball skills, not a lot of wasted movement.
19:42
SPEAKER_00: If Myoga is there, well, protecting Mahomes, especially after the injury stuff last year, is a perfectly normal thing to care about.
19:50
SPEAKER_00: And if Bain is there, well, now you're talking about plugging in a violent, disruptive front player into Spaggs' defense next to Chris Jones.
19:59
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, nobody wants that in the AFC.
20:02
SPEAKER_00: That's what makes nine dangerous for everybody behind them.
20:05
SPEAKER_00: Kansas City doesn't have to draft for survival.
20:07
SPEAKER_00: They get to draft for enhancement.
20:09
SPEAKER_00: That's a terrible place to be if you're picking behind them.
20:13
SPEAKER_00: If they take the best corner, nobody argues.
20:16
SPEAKER_00: If they take the best tackle, nobody argues.
20:18
SPEAKER_00: If they take the next pass rusher, nobody argues.
20:21
SPEAKER_00: They're sitting there with way too many acceptable answers, and that usually means that they're the team that messes with somebody else's plan.
20:30
SPEAKER_00: And that brings you to ten.
20:32
SPEAKER_00: And this is where the Giants become the headline yet again.
20:35
SPEAKER_00: This is the pick that changed everything when Dexon Lawrence got traded.
20:40
SPEAKER_00: Five was already going to matter.
20:43
SPEAKER_00: Ten.
20:44
SPEAKER_00: Ten is what made the whole thing feel different now.
20:47
SPEAKER_00: Now they get two swings in the top ten, they get two bites at the apple.
20:51
SPEAKER_00: And the second swing matters almost a little more than the first.
20:58
SPEAKER_00: Because it lets them divide the draft in half.
21:00
SPEAKER_00: You know, they don't have to solve everything with one pick anymore.
21:04
SPEAKER_00: They can now take the best overall answer first, and then the cleaner roster fits second.
21:11
SPEAKER_00: Or they can flip it the other way.
21:13
SPEAKER_00: If they go downs at five, ten becomes really interesting.
21:16
SPEAKER_00: Tyson makes a ton of sense there.
21:18
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, at a receiver with the higher ceiling, the more dynamic ball tracking, and you get to pair it with neighbors.
21:27
SPEAKER_00: So Dart's not walking into year two trying to make miracles happen with one obvious target.
21:32
SPEAKER_00: Offensive line also makes sense there.
21:34
SPEAKER_00: You know, if you want to go safer, Fanu, Myoga, Yo and A, those are the names that keep feeling connected to that part of the board, too.
21:43
SPEAKER_00: You know, Yo and A is a little different from the other two.
21:46
SPEAKER_00: That's more inside tone setter than tackle protection.
21:50
SPEAKER_00: Big, strong, nasty, real guard.
21:53
SPEAKER_00: And in a class like this, where some teams may stop caring so much about the pretty positional labels and just take the guy that.
22:00
SPEAKER_00: Trust, I can absolutely see why the that name hangs around the Giants.
22:04
SPEAKER_00: You know, Fano feels more athletic, more movement, more tackle versatility appeal.
22:10
SPEAKER_00: I guess Andrew Jones gets hurt.
22:12
SPEAKER_00: Andrew Jones, Andrew Thomas gets hurt.
22:15
SPEAKER_00: Whereas Myoga feels, you know, sturdier, like more direct.
22:22
SPEAKER_00: Not as much dance to the game or put this guy here and let him just start moving people around.
22:29
SPEAKER_00: So if they go love at five, ten probably tilts defense or offensive line or trade down, in my mind.
22:39
SPEAKER_00: And that's where the board gets fun.
22:41
SPEAKER_00: If they go offense first, now maybe they start looking at the other side of the ball to balance the night out.
22:48
SPEAKER_00: If they go defense first, now maybe 10 is the offensive help pick.
22:53
SPEAKER_00: Ten is such a good pressure point because the Giants don't they don't just get another premium pick, they get another premium decision.
23:02
SPEAKER_00: And I kind of love that.
23:03
SPEAKER_00: I love that they're in that this spot because it makes them impossible to reduce to one lazy sentence.
23:10
SPEAKER_00: They're not just the uh the team that needs line help.
23:15
SPEAKER_00: They're not just the team that needs to help the quarterback or trying to replace Dexter Lawrence.
23:22
SPEAKER_00: They're all of it.
23:24
SPEAKER_00: They got choices now.
23:25
SPEAKER_00: And choices are what make draft night very fun and very interesting.
23:31
SPEAKER_00: So that whole 5-10 stretch is really the Giants chapter of this draft.
23:36
SPEAKER_00: You know, five is the identity pick, ten is the flexibility pick, and everything in between is the board moving around them and either helping them or screwing them over.
23:46
SPEAKER_00: Cleveland can steal line wing.
23:48
SPEAKER_00: Washington can grab the defender or their receiver they wanted.
23:52
SPEAKER_00: New Orleans can take the pass catcher, and Kansas City can be the good team thief that ruins somebody else's plan.
24:00
SPEAKER_00: By the time New York gets back on the clock at 10, you've learned a lot about what this night is trying to become.
24:07
SPEAKER_00: This doesn't feel like a normal top 10 this year.
24:11
SPEAKER_00: A bunch of teams are staring at the board and asking, do we care more about player or the position?
24:17
SPEAKER_00: The Giants just happen to be the team asking that question twice in five picks.
24:22
SPEAKER_00: Once New York gets through 10, the conversation starts shifting back towards the Jets.
24:27
SPEAKER_00: You'll have the Dolphins, the Cowboys, the Rams, the Ravens, and the Bucks all sitting there before them.
24:32
SPEAKER_00: And now the board starts setting the table for 16.
24:35
SPEAKER_00: Got those picks coming up right now.
24:54
SPEAKER_00: Because this is where the board either opens up for them or starts shutting doors one by one.
25:00
SPEAKER_00: You got Miami at 11, and it's one of those picks that can go a bunch of different directions and still make sense.
25:08
SPEAKER_00: Receiver feels obvious.
25:09
SPEAKER_00: You know, Tyson has lived there.
25:11
SPEAKER_00: Corner kind of makes sense too.
25:13
SPEAKER_00: They just traded both of those positions away and then signed a quarterback.
25:18
SPEAKER_00: You know, if Delane is there, that's a pretty clean football answer, too.
25:22
SPEAKER_00: The Dolphins are one of those teams where the roster has enough holes that they can talk themselves into best player available, pretty honestly.
25:31
SPEAKER_00: And if you're the Jets, you're mostly watching to see if they take a receiver that you were hoping to draft in a little bit.
25:38
SPEAKER_00: Dallas at 12 is another one.
25:41
SPEAKER_00: They got enough needs on defense where a Bane pick, a hood pick, something in that world wouldn't surprise anybody.
25:50
SPEAKER_00: If they go defense, great.
25:52
SPEAKER_00: One less team stealing from the Jets menu.
25:55
SPEAKER_00: If they pivot into offense or get cute for whatever reason, now things start tightening up a little bit.
26:00
SPEAKER_00: Dallas feels like the kind of team that could make a perfectly, perfectly rational pick that still annoys everybody drafting behind them.
26:10
SPEAKER_00: The Rams at 13 are a little interesting.
26:12
SPEAKER_00: They're a little weird.
26:14
SPEAKER_00: You know, they feel like the team that can make a pick nobody really sees coming and still have a real explanation for it five minutes later.
26:23
SPEAKER_00: Receiver kinda makes sense, but kinda doesn't.
26:27
SPEAKER_00: You know, you need somebody to replace Devontae Adams eventually with Puka Nukua, but they're stacked.
26:33
SPEAKER_00: So Lemon is an option there.
26:37
SPEAKER_00: Tyson is an option there.
26:39
SPEAKER_00: But the other one is Ty Simpson.
26:40
SPEAKER_00: Ty Simpson has floated around them enough where you at least have to keep it in the back of your mind.
26:46
SPEAKER_00: Even at even if you know 13 feels a little rich to take him, sitting behind Matthew Stafford in a Sean McVay system, it kind of makes sense.
26:58
SPEAKER_00: They're one of the few teams in this range where you can't totally rule them out being the ones who twist the board sideways completely.
27:09
SPEAKER_00: Baltimore feels a little more straightforward.
27:11
SPEAKER_00: The offensive line help has made a lot of sense there.
27:15
SPEAKER_00: Yoane feels like a Raven.
27:18
SPEAKER_00: Big, strong, nasty tackle built to move people, built to fit a team that still wants to win the line of scrimmage with Derrick Henry and Lamar.
27:28
SPEAKER_00: So if they go that route, nobody blanks.
27:31
SPEAKER_00: Tight end has floated around here a little bit too with Sadiq, and I think he's going to be a fantastic player.
27:36
SPEAKER_00: So that also tracks.
27:39
SPEAKER_00: You know, he's one of those players where the more you talk about him and the more you watch the tape, the more he sounds just like a first rounder.
27:48
SPEAKER_00: Smaller than a classic inline monster blocking tight end, sure.
27:53
SPEAKER_00: But he can block enough, move around, but he's a matchup nightmare.
28:02
SPEAKER_00: So Baltimore is another team where if they take a good football player, you usually stop arguing with them after about six weeks.
28:10
SPEAKER_00: Tampa at 15 feels like another defensive spot.
28:16
SPEAKER_00: Edge, corner, whichever direction they would trust more.
28:21
SPEAKER_00: Falk makes sense there.
28:23
SPEAKER_00: McCoy would make sense there if they're comfortable medically.
28:26
SPEAKER_00: Hood is floated around a little bit, the corner.
28:29
SPEAKER_00: You know, the point for the Jets here is simple.
28:32
SPEAKER_00: Every one of these teams between 11 and 15 has at least one path that leaves New York feeling pretty good and at least one path that starts taking toys off the shelf.
28:43
SPEAKER_00: So that brings you to 16.
28:45
SPEAKER_00: And this is where the Jets conversation gets really interesting because this pick does not exist in a vacuum.
28:52
SPEAKER_00: You know, you can't talk about 16 without talking about number 33.
28:56
SPEAKER_00: The Jets have the first pick in round two sitting in their back pocket.
29:00
SPEAKER_00: So that changes the math in a big way.
29:03
SPEAKER_00: It means they don't exactly have to panic.
29:06
SPEAKER_00: It means they do not have to force a quarterback here.
29:09
SPEAKER_00: It means they do not have to talk themselves into a receiver they fully don't love just because the room got a little uncomfortable.
29:17
SPEAKER_00: You know, if the board falls a certain way and the receiver they want is sitting there, great.
29:22
SPEAKER_00: Take them.
29:23
SPEAKER_00: Turn the card in.
29:25
SPEAKER_00: If not, they're one of the few teams that can still sleep at night knowing they're right back at 33.
29:32
SPEAKER_00: Or even trade back in if they need to.
29:36
SPEAKER_00: Now, if they do go receiver at their at 16, there are a few different flavors of that pick.
29:45
SPEAKER_00: So Omar Cooper makes a lot of sense.
29:48
SPEAKER_00: He's tough, he's compact, he's physical, really good after the catch, real edge to his game, like a real think like Steve Smith kind of player.
29:57
SPEAKER_00: Not the biggest guy in the world, but he plays like he's trying to start a fight with the defense every time he touches the ball.
30:03
SPEAKER_00: So that kind of player next to Garrett Wilson makes a lot of sense.
30:06
SPEAKER_00: Wilson gives you that polished separation where Cooper will give you the force and the attitude.
30:13
SPEAKER_00: Denzel Boston is a completely different style.
30:16
SPEAKER_00: Bigger body, more classic outside frame, strong hands, can win through contact, can give you a little more size in the room.
30:26
SPEAKER_00: Problem is he's not the twitchiest separator in the class, but if the Jets look at their receiver room and they say they need somebody with a little more size, looks a little bit different than Wilson, that's the argument.
30:38
SPEAKER_00: Boston's more go win the ball than watch me shake three guys at a time.
30:43
SPEAKER_00: Makai Lemon is another name that makes sense if they want more volume separator, more quickness.
30:48
SPEAKER_00: My personal favorite, to be honest with you.
30:51
SPEAKER_00: Look, he's not built the same way as Boston, and he's not as thick through the game as Cooper is.
30:58
SPEAKER_00: But if the Jets want someone who can just get open no matter what and keep the offense on schedule, that's Lemmon.
31:06
SPEAKER_00: Ty Simpson is the name that makes everybody start yelling, and I get why.
31:10
SPEAKER_00: Don't worry about it.
31:11
SPEAKER_00: The Jets are not going quarterback at 16.
31:13
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna make a proclamation, clip it if you want.
31:17
SPEAKER_00: Jets will not be going quarterback at 16.
31:21
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
31:22
SPEAKER_00: But that's really the whole Jets conversation at 16.
31:27
SPEAKER_00: You know, don't panic, don't draft scared.
31:31
SPEAKER_00: Don't act like 16 is your last chance to solve something when it isn't.
31:35
SPEAKER_00: This team has some flexibility.
31:38
SPEAKER_00: Use it.
31:39
SPEAKER_00: If a receiver falls, beautiful.
31:42
SPEAKER_00: If a corner falls, okay, have that conversation.
31:46
SPEAKER_00: Front seven player falls somehow and slides, don't ignore it either.
31:50
SPEAKER_00: That's part of why this whole draft has felt so interesting from the start for me.
31:56
SPEAKER_00: You know, it is not the most packed and loaded draft, but the players at the top are much better than the players at the bottom.
32:07
SPEAKER_00: So with the Jets at two, they can take a bigger swing on Reese if they want.
32:12
SPEAKER_00: The Giants at 5 and 10 get to answer two major questions.
32:17
SPEAKER_00: And then right back to the Jets at 16, they can make a decision on where they want to go with also having 33 in their back pocket.
32:30
SPEAKER_00: There's real flexibility there for both New York teams, just in different ways, I guess.
32:36
SPEAKER_00: So, you know, once you get through 16, that's kind of the shape of the night for me.
32:40
SPEAKER_00: I'll probably be turning off the draft and I'll be watching the Knicks playoff game.
32:44
SPEAKER_00: Mendoza clears the board.
32:46
SPEAKER_00: Jets start the draft at 2.
32:49
SPEAKER_00: Arizona and Tennessee decide whether it gets weird early or stays on track.
32:53
SPEAKER_00: And then the Giants sit in the middle of the whole thing at 5-10.
32:57
SPEAKER_00: And the back half of that first 16 either steals from the Jets or leaves them with a steal themselves, you know?
33:07
SPEAKER_00: But anyway, yes, that's the draft mini episode.
33:10
SPEAKER_00: That's uh that's it.
33:11
SPEAKER_00: That's we're not doing all 32.
33:13
SPEAKER_00: We're not doing fake certainty, except for the Jets will not be taking a quarterback in the first round.
33:18
SPEAKER_00: Just the first 16.
33:20
SPEAKER_00: How the board changed and where the pressure points are if if yeah, if you care about the Jets and Giants draft.
33:27
SPEAKER_00: Let's land this plane.
33:36
SPEAKER_00: Well, that'll do it for the draft episode.
33:40
SPEAKER_00: I uh I appreciate you guys hanging out with me for episode 61.5 of Rice on the Mics.
33:46
SPEAKER_00: This was a fun one, man.
33:48
SPEAKER_00: You know, a little different from the usual format, but I like doing these things because it gives us a chance to, you know, kind of really dig into one thing.
33:57
SPEAKER_00: Follow through the board, follow the movement, stay on one topic for a whole episode.
34:03
SPEAKER_00: Talk through it before the commissioner starts misreading names, and suddenly everybody pretends they saw the whole thing coming from a mile away, you know.
34:12
SPEAKER_00: As always, thank you for listening.
34:15
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for supporting the show.
34:16
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for telling your friends, thank you for continuing to grow this thing with me week by week.
34:22
SPEAKER_00: Make sure you're following along on the Instagram at Rice on the Radio.
34:26
SPEAKER_00: Tap in, send your draft thoughts, your reactions, your favorite picks, your least favorite picks.
34:33
SPEAKER_00: All of it.
34:34
SPEAKER_00: You know, I'm always down to talk ball.
34:36
SPEAKER_00: And make sure you don't go too far either because we'll be back with our regularly scheduled programming very soon with episode 62.
34:45
SPEAKER_00: We'll get back into everything happening around all the leagues, you know, all the good stuff that we put out every Friday morning.
34:51
SPEAKER_00: But as always, spread some good energy in this world.
34:55
SPEAKER_00: Tell someone you love them.
34:56
SPEAKER_00: I am Ian Rice.
34:58
SPEAKER_00: This has been Rice on the Mics, and I'll catch you next time.
35:02
SPEAKER_00: Cheers.