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Football at Four: DiCecco's NFL Combine Notebook · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

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  Speaker 1: Football four powered by the Inside the Birds podcast. Answer
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  Speaker 1: to check Go's in the house. Football four is brought
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  Speaker 1: to you by Ocean Casino and the Fanatics Sports Book.
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  Speaker 1: The place to watch all the big games, and of
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  Speaker 1: course we're there every Monday during the football season. We'll
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  Speaker 1: be back next football season. But football never goes away.
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  Speaker 1: The combine is underway, the off season is here, free
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  Speaker 1: agency will begin in just a couple of weeks here,
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  Speaker 1: and the Eagles have a lot of questions to answer,
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  Speaker 1: and of course we're starting to do that right now.
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  Speaker 1: Answer to check Go's back and I'm happy to catch
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  Speaker 1: up with him. It's been a little while since I
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  Speaker 1: got a chance to catch up with Andrew, as we
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  Speaker 1: almost flip the calendar to March already. Andrew, what's up, my.
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  Speaker 2: Mat Hey, what's going on? Mike? Just a fore warning,
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  Speaker 2: I'm in the airport right now, so apologies in advance
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  Speaker 2: if you hear any background noise.
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  Speaker 1: All right, Well, I was in the airport this morning,
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  Speaker 1: so I know it could be a little crazy up there,
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  Speaker 1: but I was reading your article this morning actually at
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  Speaker 1: the airport about sa Quon Barkley, and I think this
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  Speaker 1: is a really interesting article and a lot of people
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  Speaker 1: have talked about this, his fit, his style in this
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  Speaker 1: new offense. We've heard a lot from Nick Sirianni on
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  Speaker 1: Tuesday talking about Andrew that they wanted to take some
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  Speaker 1: you know, some concept from these respected offenses. How does
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  Speaker 1: Sequon Barkley fit into a Sean mannion uh style of offense?
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  Speaker 1: You wrote about it over at Inside the Birds dot com.
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  Speaker 2: Well, thanks for checking that out first and foremost. And
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  Speaker 2: if you ask Nick Sirianni, NICKI he believes that Sequon
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  Speaker 2: can do anything because he's a great player, and he
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  Speaker 2: can fit within any scheme or or anything that he
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  Speaker 2: hasn't done before, he should be able to in theory thrive.
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  Speaker 2: Now that sounds great in February, but you have to
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  Speaker 2: wait and see ultimately how everything comes together because it's
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  Speaker 2: not just Saquon Barkley who has to adapt to this.
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  Speaker 2: It's the offensive line, it's the new look tight end room.
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  Speaker 2: Because I do believe you're going to see the Eagles
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  Speaker 2: try to remake that group with different types of players,
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  Speaker 2: some more blocking centric players, because the entire room last
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  Speaker 2: season they were predicated on their pass catching prowess, and
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  Speaker 2: I think you're going to see them maybe shift there
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  Speaker 2: as well. But Saquon Barkley isn't somebody who lost the
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  Speaker 2: step overnight. And I wrote about that. He still had
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  Speaker 2: like forty yards on the ground seven touchdowns, but his
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  Speaker 2: yards per carry were down. He was hit behind the
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  Speaker 2: line of scrimmage at a staggering rate. And I think
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  Speaker 2: right now, when you look at some of the expected
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  Speaker 2: concepts expected to be ushered in the outside zone, the
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  Speaker 2: stretch plays, some things like that, I imagine you're still going
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  Speaker 2: to see some of the inside zone, which I think
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  Speaker 2: really caters to Saquon's strength, where you can kind of
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  Speaker 2: hit the hole and go. But yeah, I do believe
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  Speaker 2: that he should be able to adapt to it because
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  Speaker 2: he's one of the best running backs in football and
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  Speaker 2: naturally that lends itself to a seamless transition. Now that
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  Speaker 2: being said, he doesn't necessarily have the the I guess,
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  Speaker 2: the Le'Veon Bell style of patients. And you also have
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  Speaker 2: to keep that in mind because to run those outside
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  Speaker 2: type of plays, those stretch plays, you have to allow
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  Speaker 2: time for your blocks to develop. And he at least
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  Speaker 2: maybe last season it could have been that the offensive
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  Speaker 2: line was injured, sa Kuama was used to those truck
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  Speaker 2: size holes that weren't there, and you get a little
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  Speaker 2: bit hasty and you try to just instead of taking
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  Speaker 2: the three or four yards, you try to hit the
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  Speaker 2: home run. But I think now you're gonna have to
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  Speaker 2: really dial in your patients and allow blocks to develop
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  Speaker 2: so you can hit the crease. So I'm really curious
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  Speaker 2: to see how this goes because there's a lot that's
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  Speaker 2: been made about the passing game and the different intricacies
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  Speaker 2: that we're going to see there, but I think the
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  Speaker 2: running game is going to have just as much change.
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  Speaker 1: Well, you led me into something else about the running game,
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  Speaker 1: forget taquon. What about the offensive line because this style
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  Speaker 1: of run game is a lot different than the style
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  Speaker 1: that they blocked for before. So are these five guys
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  Speaker 1: who seemingly look like they're all going to be back here?
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  Speaker 1: I think how he said the other day he anticipates
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  Speaker 1: Steam be in the right guard, looks like Lane and
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  Speaker 1: Land and are all gonna be back. So you're gonna
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  Speaker 1: have the same five guys up front. How do they
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  Speaker 1: project in this type of run game.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's interesting because I'm really curious, first and foremost
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  Speaker 2: to see how offensive line coach Chris Cooper decides to
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  Speaker 2: scout offensive lineman. What qualities are they looking for? Because
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  Speaker 2: one would think that in order to really be able
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  Speaker 2: to thrive in the concepts that they're expected to usher in,
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  Speaker 2: you'd need athletic linemen who can get out in space,
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  Speaker 2: climb the second level, play really well moving laterally, and
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  Speaker 2: be a fluid mover. Now, Lane Johnson can do it,
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  Speaker 2: Jordan Mylotta can do it. Cam Jurgens. This may fit
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  Speaker 2: his skill set more than most. And I think if
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  Speaker 2: there's one player where you're looking at it and wondering
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  Speaker 2: how they might fit, it's probably Landon Dickerson because his
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  Speaker 2: skill set is that of a mull or a Roague Grader.
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  Speaker 2: I think he's more effective attacking vertically north and south
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  Speaker 2: and really knocking back defensive linemen and imposing his will there.
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  Speaker 2: All that being said, LANDA. Dickerson's a pretty athletic guard. Now,
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  Speaker 2: I think you look at the makeup of that group,
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  Speaker 2: I think they should be able to handle it. Now
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  Speaker 2: the question becomes what kind of lineman do you target?
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  Speaker 2: Because a Caden Proctor, for example, the offensive lineman out
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  Speaker 2: of Alabama excuse me, six foot seven, three hundred and
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  Speaker 2: sixty six pounds. That would seem to be more of
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  Speaker 2: a fit for the old guard, the inside zone, the
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  Speaker 2: Jeff Stoutlin style, and you may have to look for
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  Speaker 2: someone who's a little bit more athletic, a little bit
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  Speaker 2: more fleet footed, who can get out in space a
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  Speaker 2: little bit more. It's a really fascinating dynamic.
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  Speaker 1: Andrew, to check out what you in Indianapolis right now?
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  Speaker 1: You're heading back or are you going there?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah? No, I'm leaving indian now, I'm heading back to Philly.
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  Speaker 1: All right, So let's get a couple thoughts on that
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  Speaker 1: real quick. Twenty three is where they're gonna be, which
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  Speaker 1: is gonna put them in an interesting spot there because
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  Speaker 1: they have a lot of options. You can look at
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  Speaker 1: offensive line depth. They probably can start looking at something there,
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  Speaker 1: Edge Rusher always something to play second across from quinnyon
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  Speaker 1: any guys that kind of stick out, just you know,
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  Speaker 1: initially we're in February, late February. By the way, that say,
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  Speaker 1: man at twenty three, if these certain guys were there,
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  Speaker 1: I'd be intrigued.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I really like Kenyon Sadiq the tight end from Oregon.
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  Speaker 2: It might be a little rich to take a tight
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  Speaker 2: end the first round. I understand that, but if in
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  Speaker 2: the event that you're not able to keep Dallas Goddard
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  Speaker 2: in house, you need a frontline player. I don't know
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  Speaker 2: that you can bridge it with a Day two or
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  Speaker 2: a Day three pick, sign you know, a free agent
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  Speaker 2: to a modest deal and fill it out with maybe
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  Speaker 2: another blocking tight end. I think you really need to
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  Speaker 2: add a pre eminent player at that position if it's
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  Speaker 2: not going to be Dallas Goddard. And Sadiq is a
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  Speaker 2: complete player. He's just twenty years old. He can run
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  Speaker 2: the vast assortment in terms of the route the route tree.
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  Speaker 2: He's a solid blocker. I think there's room for improvement there,
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  Speaker 2: but chiseled and he's really good in contesting catches. We'll
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  Speaker 2: play through contact. I really like his game. Now. He
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  Speaker 2: has less than a thousand yards combined receiving at Oregon,
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  Speaker 2: so there's some questions there. But he really emphasized his
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  Speaker 2: today when he spoke at the podium his overall game
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  Speaker 2: and talked about just how important that is for him.
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  Speaker 2: And I think one thing was a little surprised, I
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  Speaker 2: guess not really surprising is that the Eagles. He said
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  Speaker 2: he hadn't met with the Eagles but there's still plenty
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  Speaker 2: of time for that. Where we're in February. That he's
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  Speaker 2: one of the top prospects in the draft, I would
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  Speaker 2: imagine the Eagles are going to have plenty of time
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  Speaker 2: to speak with him, whether it be Pro Day or
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  Speaker 2: thirty visit wherever. But that's a player that I really like.
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  Speaker 2: And then I know Keny I mentioned Proctor. That's the
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  Speaker 2: guy who I think you can kick inside the guard
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  Speaker 2: if you're not overly infatuated with the thought of Tyler
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  Speaker 2: Steen starting there for a second year in a row.
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  Speaker 2: And then eventually I think he can be the heir
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  Speaker 2: apparent to Lane Johnson down the line because he's pretty
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  Speaker 2: athletic despite being three hundred and sixty six pounds. But
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  Speaker 2: it's all going to be dependent on what the Eagles
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  Speaker 2: are looking for in terms of the profile and the
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  Speaker 2: skill set of their offensive line. We don't yet know that.
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  Speaker 1: So Hallie Roseman did speak on Tuesday. What did you
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  Speaker 1: What was your takeaway on how he addressed godd Or
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  Speaker 1: at his free agency.
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  Speaker 2: Well, it's not out of the ordinary these conversations. He
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  Speaker 2: mentioned that he's going to be having conversations with Dallas's
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  Speaker 2: agent over the next few days. He said that on Tuesday.
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  Speaker 2: Those conversations always take place at the NFL Scouting combine. Look,
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  Speaker 2: he was very He spoke glowingly of Dallas, that they
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  Speaker 2: were able to work things out last year almost didn't happen.
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  Speaker 2: He comes back, has a great season talked about He
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  Speaker 2: mentioned the word tremendous when talking about Goddard multiple times.
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  Speaker 2: I think, you know, it's hard to look at free
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  Speaker 2: agency and say that, yeah, that the Eagles should be
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  Speaker 2: able to work it out with Dallas Goddard. Now he
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  Speaker 2: is thirty one years old. He does historically have an
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  Speaker 2: injury played career, which may you know, shy some teams away,
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  Speaker 2: but he had a eleven touchdowns last season. He played
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  Speaker 2: at a very high level sixty receptions, which is a
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  Speaker 2: career high for him. I imagine there's going to be
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  Speaker 2: teams that are going to be able to maybe offer
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  Speaker 2: an extra year or a little bit more than the
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  Speaker 2: Eagles are willing to go. I think the Eagles are
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  Speaker 2: gonna have some really tough decisions to make, and it's
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  Speaker 2: so it's easy to say, well, they got to keep
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  Speaker 2: Jayden Phillips, they got to keep Dallas Goddard. Well, I
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  Speaker 2: mean the Eagles hands are tied to a degree. And
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  Speaker 2: that's why I mentioned ken Yon Sadik because the more
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  Speaker 2: I think about it and listening to Howie Roseman and
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  Speaker 2: trying to get a read for how things might play
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  Speaker 2: out here in the coming weeks when I was in Indianapolis,
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  Speaker 2: it's hard. It's hard to imagine that it's going to
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  Speaker 2: be easy for the Eagles to keep Dallas Goddard. I
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  Speaker 2: do believe he'll have plenty of interest.
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  Speaker 1: Andrew Chicko football for it just goes back to last draft.
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  Speaker 1: We were surprised they didn't take it tight end in
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  Speaker 1: the draft last year, right because they were kind of
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  Speaker 1: figuring that Goddard might be gone. They ended up getting
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  Speaker 1: him back. But now you're in a situation if you
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  Speaker 1: let him walk, you really are the cupboards bear there.
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  Speaker 1: You almost have to go tight end somewhere in this draft.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, well certainly, I mean you have to draft the
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  Speaker 2: tight end. But if you're if that tight end, uh,
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  Speaker 2: you know, to kind of safeguard yourself in the event
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  Speaker 2: that they're not ready to play, or if you have
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  Speaker 2: apprehension that they can step in and play at a
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  Speaker 2: high level without any you know, any semblance of a
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  Speaker 2: drop off. Well, you can also trade for a player.
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  Speaker 2: You can also sign someone in free agency. Everybody mentions
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  Speaker 2: the Isaiah likelies of the world. That might be a
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  Speaker 2: little rich if you're not able to retain Dallas Gotta, Well,
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  Speaker 2: what do you think of twenty five year old like
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  Speaker 2: Isaiah Likely who doesn't have an awful lot of tread
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  Speaker 2: on the tires, is going to command on the open market.
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  Speaker 2: But you could find sort of a middle of the
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  Speaker 2: road free agent to step in there and have a
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  Speaker 2: draft pick under under him as an understudy, whether whether
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  Speaker 2: it be Max Claire from Ohio State, who I really
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  Speaker 2: like on Day two. Oscar del from Georgia is a
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  Speaker 2: player that I think is going to impress in in
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  Speaker 2: the in the testing part of the combine. He mentioned
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  Speaker 2: that he has a formal interview with Eagles today. He
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  Speaker 2: hasn't been featured as a pass catcher. He's really dialed
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  Speaker 2: in his blocking, but he does have some pass catching
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  Speaker 2: prowess to really tap into, and he would be an
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  Speaker 2: enticing Day two option as well. But they absolutely might
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  Speaker 2: have to come away with the tight end in this draft.
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  Speaker 2: All right.
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  Speaker 1: Andrew Checko is in Indianapolis heading out from the combine,
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  Speaker 1: and there you go. We get a little draft conversation,
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  Speaker 1: getting ready to roll Eagles at pick twenty three, free
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  Speaker 1: agency and more. We're all over it right here on
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: football at four. That all rhymed. It wasn't supposed to.
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  Speaker 1: I didn't make that up on purpose, but Andrew safe
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: flight back man, take care of man.
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  Speaker 2: Talk soon