Latest / 2nd City Gridiron / Making Monsters Draft Series: Georgia's Monroe Freeling, CJ Allen & Christen Miller

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Making Monsters Draft Series: Georgia's Monroe Freeling, CJ Allen & Christen Miller · 2nd City Gridiron

• 0:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: I welcome back to another episode of Making Monsters on Taylor Dog, continuing on draft talk getting very close to the NFL draft and very excited.
• 0:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: Joining today by Mark Miser, we're going to talk some bulldogs, football, several guys projected to go in the first round, some later, but another year, where we're talking about some guys at the top of that first round, Mark, are you doing?
• 0:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm doing a well-teller, how's it going?
• 0:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: It is going well.
• 0:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: I know there's a lot of familiarity with some of these bulldogs players that have been drafted.
• 0:36
  [SPEAKER_00]: The last couple years, I know McCow Williams was one we talked about a lot of Chicago last year kind of the placement of where we where we drafted and where he may go that didn't happen, but There's some guys here that I want to talk about today.
• 0:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: I want to start though with just hearing from you when it comes to the Georgia
• 0:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: football team as a whole last year, because I know a lot of people did probably watch Georgia football when you're watching, you probably watch Tana SEC football for your college football fan, but chat a little bit about that team.
• 1:04
  [SPEAKER_00]: What went wrong, what went right, what kind of what were their strengths, just some of the a few notes on those.
• 1:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I mean, they found a way to win an SEC championship again, which, you know, two years in a row and, you know, lost Alabama in the regular season in Athens ended a long home winning streak.
• 1:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: So that didn't suit well for Georgia fans, but they got a rematch with the crimson tied, you know, in the championship game and then it was a return trip to the sugar bowl.
• 1:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: So unfortunately for Georgia, they had the same fate as a year ago against Notre Dame.
• 1:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: They were one and done in the playoff after getting a first round by.
• 1:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: So,
• 1:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, the year two years ago, when it was a 14 playoff, Georgia lost to Alabama SEC Championship game and got shot out of the playoff.
• 1:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: So Georgia hasn't won a playoff game since they won the National Championship in 2022.
• 1:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: So even though they've continued to win at a high level and back to back SEC Championship games, or SEC Championship titles, you know, they want to go do something in the playoff once again, a fans are kind of hungry for that again.
• 2:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I'm sure.
• 2:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: And I think that's kind of a little bit of a conversation around the SEC as a whole since this college football playoff has been expanded.
• 2:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: You've seen a lot of big 10 winnings and that's where it's kind of trended towards.
• 2:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: I'm sure the SEC's and Georgia is ready to get back into that.
• 2:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: So let's start by talking the Georgia offense a little and with that when you talk about some of the ways what works, what did it work, Monroe Freeling obviously.
• 2:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: a left tackle for the Bulldogs and a big piece of a lot of things, we're talking about a lot of offensive linemen and whether they're good at run blocking your past protection and there's a lot of different things you're looking at.
• 2:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: But when Row Freeling is he was interesting because he appeared in eight games in 2023 on that Georgia offensive line.
• 2:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: A lot of the few attacks that year in college football and so that role just kind of grew from him from his time to getting to Georgia and then moving on.
• 2:54
  [SPEAKER_00]: So chat a little bit about that his progress through that Georgia offensive
• 2:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, he's kind of in the same boat as, you know, some of the other guys that have gone to the NFL in that he didn't necessarily start, you know, a ton of games at Georgia, he was five in 2024 and then last year, you know, he has 18 totals, so do the math on that.
• 3:16
  [SPEAKER_01]: But it left tackle.
• 3:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: He definitely showed a lot of improvement in his junior year.
• 3:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: So he's three years in college and done.
• 3:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: And so this is a guy that a lot of people think, you know, has a lot of upside that he's just kind of scratching the surface.
• 3:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: Six seven has really good frame.
• 3:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, we're in on a sub five 40 at the combine as well.
• 3:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: And then for those that are into these kind of things, his arm measurement was what they look for at that position.
• 3:46
  [SPEAKER_01]: So, you know, Monroe Freeling is a guy that, you know, came in as a five star out of Charleston.
• 3:53
  [SPEAKER_01]: And Kirby Smart says he's going to be like a 10 year type pro, you know, if not more than that.
• 4:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: So, you know, I guess a team that's going to take him in the first round and he's going to be a first round or by all projections.
• 4:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, whether he's going to come in and start right away, unsure.
• 4:08
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, it would be great if he could work behind a veteran and then kind of work his way in.
• 4:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: But he's a guy definitely with the error pointing up.
• 4:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, and I also think he's going to go a little higher.
• 4:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: The bears do not pick until pick 25 in the straft, which we're not used to talking about.
• 4:24
  [SPEAKER_00]: We've been picking in the top 10 quite a bit in recent years.
• 4:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: And so that's which is up a little bit.
• 4:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: So I do think he's going to go a little higher for the bears than the bears would even be able to select him.
• 4:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: I also don't think the bears really even
• 4:34
  [SPEAKER_00]: Select a left tackle this year.
• 4:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: They did lose.
• 4:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: They drafted a guy out of Boston College last year.
• 4:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: I was at your pillow To pillow about her in the postseason.
• 4:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's really unfortunate sounds like he's gonna miss the whole year But I think they more probably want to fan date for the year But you never know if a left tackle like this falls to you.
• 4:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: You may not want to miss out on that So I want to talk about live back from CJ Allen.
• 4:55
  [SPEAKER_00]: He's a multi-roll line-backer for
• 4:57
  [SPEAKER_00]: For Georgia, which I feel like you see Georgia do that a lot.
• 5:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: They have a lot of players that are versatile and will do a lot of different things.
• 5:03
  [SPEAKER_00]: This was a lot of the chatter with a Trayvon Locker when he was being drafted.
• 5:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: He was used in so many different places.
• 5:08
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's like, what are they going to do at the next level with Trayvon?
• 5:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: And so that's kind of still question that.
• 5:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think the Jax are still trying to answer with that.
• 5:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: But Chad a little bit about how he was used at Georgia in his time there.
• 5:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I mean Georgia inside linebacker room is kind of the gold standard around the program.
• 5:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, they have three buckets of ward winners under Glenn Schumann since he's been there.
• 5:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: That's Rhoquan Smith that is Jalen Walker and Nicobie Dean.
• 5:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: Now, C. Jalen didn't win the bucket list.
• 5:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: He was in some of my finalists, but he did what those guys do in terms of racking up the tackles and being a leader and a guy that
• 5:46
  [SPEAKER_01]: kind of what was a coach on the field to have guy.
• 5:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: They had a sternum as a freshman.
• 5:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: He played five games, had some rough moments.
• 5:53
  [SPEAKER_01]: It was forced into really playing time due to some injuries.
• 5:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: But he's a kind of guy that on the field has the right, you know,
• 6:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: mindset and is a guy really well respected around the program.
• 6:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: He takes he takes that these guys are getting paid now and he makes it seem like a business where he's not out there for shenanigans, even on the practice field, you know, he's a guy that wants to win and play the high level and it makes sure his teammates do as well.
• 6:22
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, and I really want to submit, obviously, and name Bears fans are very familiar with them as they use the draft pick on him.
• 6:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: But he started, like you mentioned, true freshman and the rotation was playing right away as that true freshman.
• 6:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: And there's a lot of good defensive players.
• 6:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: You just mentioned a couple linebackers, but we've talked about a lot of Jalen Carter's and guys like that in recent years that have gone.
• 6:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: So it does feel like at Georgia a little bit of it is awaiting games sometimes being a little patient to get your turn to be one of those true starters.
• 6:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: And so when it comes to that, when you think some of these guys at the next level, the scouts and GMs are evaluating that, do you think they take that into account of maybe they don't have as many snaps, but they were patient and you kind of saw this development happen maybe a little bit later even if it's only 34 years.
• 7:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I mean, it's not uncommon to hear kind of the talk of, you know, this guy is going to be a better pro than he was at Georgia, just because, you know, I think when I wrote Freeling, you know, made a good point, you know, even though he only had 18 starts, he was going up, he said he's had about a thousand games against NFL caliber players from the guys on the Georgia defense, he had to go up against when he was younger when he maybe wasn't.
• 7:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: getting snaps in the game.
• 7:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: So there's guys at every position like that.
• 7:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: Oscar Delft doesn't put up great stats as a tight end for Georgia, but he's a guy that maybe at the next level can get more ballstone as way to get more targets.
• 7:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: We play long block hours, long
• 7:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: When you get into a cave, I mean, there are certain positions of Georgia where you might have more town in Georgia than you maybe would, that might be a stretch to say, but I mean, look at the Eagles, they're, they're defensive from, it's a bunch of Georgia guys, right?
• 8:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it is funny, it's kind of a joke now at this point.
• 8:04
  [SPEAKER_00]: They're like, is there a bulldog in the first round because I feel like vehicles might take them?
• 8:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: I saw a quote that said, so this year, well, he had 88 tackles, eight for lost three, and a half-sax, two-force fumbles this year.
• 8:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: And I saw a quote that said he was the heartbeat of George's defense last year.
• 8:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: Is that a phrasing you would use it if it comes to leadership and some of the things him just kind of anchoring certain things on that defense?
• 8:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know about CJ, right?
• 8:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, CJ.
• 8:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, definitely.
• 8:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I kind of mentioned it before.
• 8:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, he's a guy that it's kind of not a carbon copy, but it takes a lot of the stuff that Glenn Schumer, who is the inside line backwards, Coach, as long as it is well as a difference coordinator, you know, when he have a guy like Kim on the field, that you maybe don't need to worry about the guys at that spot doing the right things, because he's going to point him in the right direction.
• 8:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: and definitely, especially in the transfer portal era, which one doesn't bring it as many guys as a lot of other programs, but having a guy like that year after year after year that you can count on to be the kind of glue in the middle of that defense is huge.
• 9:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I wanted to talk also about defensive lineman Christian Miller.
• 9:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: No tackle for you guys.
• 9:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: I saw some comps to break in Fisk, which I think will perk up some people's ears that they hear that of what we've seen from Fisk really quickly at the next level on the NFL.
• 9:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: So when we talk about the patient, it's a more patient route for him.
• 9:24
  [SPEAKER_00]: He registered it as a true freshman, peer to just board games that expanded a little bit in 2023.
• 9:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: You don't quite see the stats, the box score from Christian Miller, but everything I've read and when you watch, she's definitely, he's definitely a form.
• 9:39
  [SPEAKER_00]: You really see a force, I mean, sorry, he's a, you see a lot of really good stuff when you watch him.
• 9:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: And so maybe the film doesn't totally translate to the sum of the numbers sometimes, but chat a little bit about him in that role.
• 9:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: They're in Georgia.
• 9:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I mean, I think you can give some of C.J.
• 9:53
  [SPEAKER_01]: Allen's tackle some of the other inside backers, some credit to a guy like Kristen Miller up front, who's, you know, he's a run stopper in his own right and can affect the quarterback without necessarily, you know, racking up the stats.
• 10:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: And Georgia wanted to be more disruptive.
• 10:08
  [SPEAKER_01]: They only had 20 sacks last season, and Kristen, you know, wasn't a kind of guy that necessarily, you know,
• 10:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: got to the backfield and brought down the quarterback, but he might have taken him off his spot and you know, cause an incompletion.
• 10:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: So something like that, I don't know if that will show up.
• 10:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: That's necessarily when teams watch film, I think they'll see that kind of thing from him.
• 10:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: And he's also got that it's just going to be fun for whatever kind of film team he goes to to be around these very outgoing, always as a smile on his face.
• 10:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: And probably a little bit unfiltered, which is why Kirby Smart didn't really invite him to talk to the media too often.
• 10:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: But yeah, Chicago home race players like that big time and especially defensive ones that have the personality they love up there So when you talk what do you think he is that true nose tackle at the next level or is there versatility there?
• 10:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, this probably versatility there.
• 10:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean it depends on the scheme fit maybe But you know he definitely has you know the kind of guy that that you need to maybe pay extra attention to Just because of size and his burst
• 11:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I when you talk about some of the strengths and weaknesses, the run defense really pops out as being one of it, if not his biggest strength when it comes to that a little better than some of the other things he does, but I think that's been official mark the bears had one of the worst run defenses in the league last year and they just couldn't get that piece together and so.
• 11:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: teams kind of figured out away.
• 11:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: It felt like there was a stretch of games where every running back was coming in and having their breakout game against the bear.
• 11:36
  [SPEAKER_00]: So having a guy like this who can come in and really be a force when it comes to stopping the run.
• 11:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think it is important if you're looking at some of those nose tacos especially.
• 11:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, Georgia really put an emphasis on what's stopping around this year and then Kristen Miller obviously as a piece up front, you know, had a lot to do with it.
• 11:53
  [SPEAKER_01]: If maybe if you look at the team stats for Georgia, they're run defense in particular, he should get a good deal of credit with that along with some of the other guys that, you know, Georgia emphasized that and they delivered in that regard.
• 12:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: So yeah, that will, that's another thing that I think the bears definitely will be looking towards.
• 12:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: So are there any of the other, we, guys, we did not mention as a Kaya branch, Adelaan, and Fred Oscar Delpin, of those guys that maybe you feel like people should be talking about a little bit more in this draft.
• 12:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's never a great particular, it's a very intriguing process, but I would say he's going to be a boomer boss guy, but he's on his very little trick.
• 12:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: George Affenda, him the ball often, early in the dolphin, set a single season in school record with 80 song catches.
• 12:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: six touchdowns, 800 plus yards receiving, but they didn't take him vertical.
• 12:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: He didn't go down field very much.
• 12:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: They did a lot of behind the line of scrimmage passing, just getting the ball in his hands, which is smart if you're my bobo because the guy really can make people miss, he can turn on a dime, and he really can get the yard after the catch.
• 12:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: So,
• 12:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, how that's going to translate on the next level where the guys are faster, they're bigger.
• 12:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, we'll see, but, you know, I think depends on which draft analyst you look at, maybe which general manager is going to be drafting.
• 13:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, how high he goes, he's kind of projected in the second to third round range.
• 13:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: And, you know, if Georgia maybe had, you know, given him more film about, you know, some intermediate and some deep passing game, maybe he'd have a little more confidence by some of the teams.
• 13:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, so yeah, some interesting names a little bit deeper that they have to that bears will probably be keeping an eye on it.
• 13:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know how high they're going after a water seaver, but a couple of the wider severs in this and a Colby young and a Noah Thomas, both of those guys later in the draft mocked as potential draft picks.
• 13:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: What type of just quick notes on those two wider severs?
• 13:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: What type of receivers they are?
• 13:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I think for what we're doing to think for the most part, I'd rather have to free agent.
• 13:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: I think for the sheer and really didn't play as much of a role as you might have expected in one of the reasons as they had a guy that could be young.
• 14:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: who's also another big body and a big red zone target.
• 14:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: I think he'll be a late round draft pick.
• 14:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe somebody likes him enough to take him in the fifth round has a little bit of baggage.
• 14:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: He was suspended the year before last and missed more than half the season with, you know, kind of a domestic violence incident that ended up getting worked out in the courts.
• 14:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: Charges were either reduced or dropped.
• 14:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: I can't remember the exact specifics, but
• 14:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: He was welcome back to the team and Kirby Smart talked a lot about him as a guy that showed a lot of leadership on the team despite having that issue off the field.
• 14:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: And you know, definitely, I think, can be a guy that can move the sticks and win a lot of one on one 50-50 balls.
• 14:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: All right, Mark, well, I appreciate your time.
• 14:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: I know a last summer, I believe it was last summer.
• 14:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: One of the things that I've read about Kirby, one of his quotes really made me laugh last year and he was talking about the guys kind of being, I want to say he was like, over wait, these guys are overweight and slow right now.
• 14:54
  [SPEAKER_00]: We have a lot of work to do or something.
• 14:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: I was like, I love Kirby's Mark, because he's honest and he'll tell what that one is.
• 14:59
  [SPEAKER_00]: So I'm sure it's fun covering a guy like that.
• 15:01
  [SPEAKER_00]: And we'll just kind of be a little boy.
• 15:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's time to be in the concept of institutions, a lot of them work with different directives.
• 15:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: They'll be spending the past body and just record all the imposter they need.
• 15:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: He's not going to sit in the phone, but in a podium, I don't think.
• 15:16
  [SPEAKER_01]: But it sounds like something you would say to them during a practice like, hey, you better use weight or you can't even make any plays at it or something.
• 15:24
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, that makes a little worse since then.
• 15:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: All right, Michael, I really appreciate your time.
• 15:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: And I hope you have a good lead up to the draft.
• 15:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: We'll see where these Bulldogs land.
• 15:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: All right, good luck to the next.
• 15:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you.