.jpeg)
Touchdown Jaguars!
Touchdown Jaguars!
Episode 81: Discussing the Jaguars 2024 NFL Draft Outlook With Ian Valentino
In this week's episode, Jay was joined by draft expert Ian Valentino of The 33rd Team. It was only right to start with Ian's latest mock draft where the Jags traded up for Washington receiver Rome Odunze. Specifically, Ian provided a more in-depth look at why the talented wide out could be available and how his skill set would fit into the Jags' offense after they lost Calvin Ridley.
Additionally, Jay and Ian took a deep-dive into the Jaguars' roster, accessing the team's top-3 needs. They also looked at some draft gems, the Jags offseason so far, the outlook of the AFC South, and much more.
It was another can't miss episode as Draft Day is nearing. Tune in as we're closing in on the last stretch of NFL Draft evaluations.
Segway music: "Like a Movie" by Freebeats.io
Touchdown Jaguars Linktree
Download the SeatGeek app & use code " TOUCHDOWNJAGUARS " for $20 off your first SeatGeek order!
James Johnson and Phil Smith bring you the best and most up to date Jacksonville Jaguars news. "Touchdown Jaguars!" is a tribute to the prospective ownership group "Touchdown Jacksonville!" In 1991, the NFL announced plans to add two expansion teams and "Touchdown Jacksonville!" announced its bid for a team, and Jacksonville was ultimately chosen as one of five finalists. In November 1993, the NFL owners voted 26–2 in favor of awarding the 30th franchise to Jacksonville. James and Phil have been fans of the franchise ever since and have had the honor (and sometimes dishonor) of covering the team professionally since 2017. The rest as they say, is history.
Welcome to the Touchdown Jaguars podcast. Here are your hosts, James Johnson and Bill.
Speaker 1:Smith Jaguars podcast. Here are your hosts, james Johnson and Bill Smith. All right, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to episode 81 of the Touchdown Jaguars podcast. I am your host for today's episode, riding it solo, james Johnson, aka at sportsgrind underscore done on. As you all know me slash X, as some people label it now Coming in to you all with a another solo episode Well, somewhat solo episode as Phil, my co-host and longtime partner in crime, he wasn't able to make this episode.
Speaker 1:He's dealing with a toothache wasn't able to make this episode. He's dealing with a toothache. I told my man to, you know, get some pain meds in them and, um, get some rest, have a seat, I'll take care of it. It's all good. So get well soon, phil. We'll have Phil on the next episode. Hopefully he'll be feeling a little better and, uh, he'll get to see the dentist soon. But, um, yeah, I told my man, as always, man, I got it. But despite uh, phil not being able to make it due to his situation, we still had a guest on, ian Valentino of the 33rd team, and me and him had a good long conversation which I'll play in an audio clip form in just a little bit. So it was still like a two person panel podcast still nonetheless, a two-person panel podcast still nonetheless. And shout outs to Ian for coming on and helping me avoid a situation where I was on the air ranting and raving like I always do in the solo episode. So you guys give Ian a shout out because he did probably save you a James Johnson rant or two.
Speaker 1:Nonetheless, we had a good episode, great conversation in regards to the NFL draft. That's what he does for the 33rd team covering the draft, covering all season news as well, but mostly the draft. So we discussed the Jacksonville Jaguars heading into the draft. I know a lot of you have seen his mock that is doing rounds on Jaguars Twitter because he has us trading up to. I think it was the number 13 overall spot to get a certain receiver from Washington, which a lot of people would be happy with, including myself, who is labeled as the number two wide receiver in this draft. So that would be very interesting to see if it happened. A lot of people have been quote, tweeting it, discussing it on twitter, um, especially within the jaguars fan base, and expressing how excited they would be about that. So I thought it would be a perfect guest to come on and discuss that a little bit more in depth. And not just that, but the jaguars whole outlook heading into the draft and a little bit of the AFC South's outlook we spoke on, and just a little bit of draft prospects and general draft discussions in terms of the 2024 NFL draft. That will be coming up in just a few weeks. But before we get into that, of course we have to plug all our handles and, you know, inform you all of how you can stay up to date with the touchdown jaguars podcast. Of course you can follow the website wwwtouchdownjaguarscom, where we have posted a little bit of written content on as of the last few weeks.
Speaker 1:Phil did a mock draft last week. I did four takeaways from the josh allen contract extension which is gonna be a topic of discussion. We'll save that until Phil is back on the podcast. Me and Ian talked about it a little bit. We went into that a little bit when we discussed the Jaguars offseason. But me and Phil will circle around to it and talk to it as a, you know, as a duo, as a pair, as we always do on the next episode. But yeah, phil did a mock draft before that, which he said it might be his only one, or he said it would be his only one of this year, but I think I might convince him to do one more full seven round mock, like a madman like myself, just to keep things interesting on touchdown jadwarscom. But you can follow me at sportsground underscore done on Twitter, as I said earlier, in the podcast slash X. You can follow Phil at Phil the Filipino on Twitter and you can follow the podcast handle at TD Jaguars pod. And then, lastly, but certainly not least, we must shout out our sponsor, seat Geek, who has been with us from the beginning, or very close to the beginning At least. They join us around the third, fourth or fifth episode in as our sponsor. So shout outs to them.
Speaker 1:And for those of you who are new and not familiar with SeatGeek and what they do, that is your go-to place for your ticketing needs. Whether it's for a sports event, which we cover of course we cover the Jacksonville Jaguars or even outside of the Jacksonville Jaguars and outside of the NFL, they have your ticket and needs. Whether it's for the NBA, which is in full swing they're about to go into the not the finals, but the NBA playoffs. Baseball is in full swing right now. The season just begun for them. So things are interesting from that perspective in terms of how your favorite team is going to start the season just begun for them. So things are interesting from that perspective in terms of how your favorite team is going to start the season off.
Speaker 1:And not just sports, but they also have your ticketing needs for your music festivals, uh, for your concerts, for any other events, you name it. They have it on seat geek and they got you covered in terms of your ticketing needs there, and me and phil have you covered with our special promo code that will save first time users $20 off of their first order with SeatGeek, and that promo code to get that discount is Touchdown Jaguars. Again, that's Touchdown Jaguars, all caps lowercase, however you want to put it in. Once you apply it, you'll get your $20 off and also you'll help us quote, unquote, keep the lights on here at the Touchdown Jaguars podcast. So, whether you have the app, which is the preference download the app, the SeatGeek app, or you go to their website, you can use their promotion code. Again, touchdown Jaguars, get your $20 off. Keep that in your pocket. Pocket for gas, which is kind of expensive these days, or food, which is also kind of expensive these days and enjoy yourself at whatever event it is that you would like to attend using that promotion code.
Speaker 1:So, all of that said, we'll get right into the podcast itself, or the audio clip itself, with me and Ian Valentino, who does draft work for the 33rd team and offseason work with them as well. It was a great conversation. It was a long conversation too, but that's how I like it when I'm doing a one-on-one with our guests, and we will go ahead and roll that right now. All right, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another edition of touchdown jaguars.
Speaker 1:As you all know, the draft is coming up in just a few weeks and just to get everybody ready and prepared for the draft and what the Jaguars could or may not be doing, we wanted to bring in some guests who cover the draft and who have been doing so for a long time. So, that being said, I reached out to Ian Valentino of the 33rd team. As you all have seen, he covers a lot of draft related stuff for the 33rd team, which is a site that Jags fans often visit, by the way, and I think Doug Peterson has even written articles for him. So there's that. But, yep, he covers a lot of draft stuff, a lot of offseason stuff as well.
Speaker 1:We will have him come in and discuss some questions we have in regards of some conversations we've been having on the podcast amongst Phil and myself, but we want to get an outsider's opinion on some of these things. That being said, ian, I want to introduce you and for those of you who want to follow him on Twitter, it's at NFL Draft Study and he actually put some content up within the last few days I think today as well, so feel free to go check that out. But, ian Valentino, welcome to the podcast. Just feel free to introduce yourself and let the people know about your work and what have you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, thanks man, I super appreciate it. I think I've written for pretty much every site at this point throughout my years. I've been doing this a long time and always really fun to jump on these and talk, ball and kind of project forward what's happening. And yeah, I just dropped a mock draft today over there and so definitely we're in full-blown speculation mode at this point. I think most evaluations are pretty much wrapped up. We've seen most of free agency, hopefully, I mean, you know, you never know maybe another Stefan digs type trade happens out of nowhere. But uh, barring anything crazy like that, I think at this point it's just a matter of, uh, what we think we know versus what we do know, and then reading through the smoke screens and just trying to project where guys fit the best absolutely, absolutely, and it looks like you've done a great job.
Speaker 1:I looked at your mock of doing that and that's our starting point. Actually, I'll just go ahead and start there. Um, in the mock I saw that you had the jaguars taking somebody, that fans and for the fans who haven't seen the mock draft, feel free to go check it out but fans have really really been high on this idea. And this player in Romo, dunze of Washington, the receiver, you had us train up to the number 12 spot to do so with Denver. Of course, denver would move back to our spot at number 17 in that scenario and you know it would probably cost some you know some additional compensation. It would, without a doubt, cost some additional compensation.
Speaker 1:But, that being said, yeah, as you mentioned and I'll have you kind of break down your thought process with that trade and that selection, as we all know, they lost Calvin Ridley, so that had something to do with it. And also, in addition to your thought process on that, could you break down what you think he would bring to this offense, as they've really really been looking for that guy to pair with Trevor Lawrence. And then, lastly as well, one of the more interesting things that we've had conversations about internally as Jags fans and Jags journalists is you know, why would Rome or some of these other guys that we're seeing fall? Why would they fall within striking range for the Jacksonville Jaguars? So if you would just kind of elaborate on all of those things all at once, yeah for sure.
Speaker 2:So I start with the team need, and I think Jacksonville first of all has a pretty strong roster. You look at the step chart, look at the guys that they've brought in and the guys that they've lost over the years. But that's going to happen, right, those are natural ebbs and flows. And look at the guys that they've drafted recently. For the most part it's not a perfect roster, because that just doesn't exist, right. But look at the strengths and weaknesses of the roster and I think for the most part, most of these starters are pretty well established and if not, they've got guys that they've taken in the last two years that are backup types or guys that are possibly still ascending, and it's a really good place of strength. Losing Ridley stinks, but paying that price for him just wasn't an option, and even if they brought him back at a much more reasonable number, the team still lacked a number one type of receiver. I think Ridley was fine. Was he worth the trade? I thought he was worth the roll of the dice. He just wasn't really that superstar, and so I don't blame them for not paying him. And so when I look at this roster, look at where Trevor Lawrence was last year. Look at the future of the offense, I just think that chasing that guy who can be a star makes so much sense, and it makes sense right now to push the chips in on someone who's on an affordable rookie contract, who can make an impact, hopefully right away. And that's where Rome comes in a little bit more. Even if Jacksonville stays at 17, though, I still think that this is the right draft to take a receiver pretty high, even if you miss out on those top three guys which I think most people have Harrison, navers and Odunze ahead of everyone else. I would struggle to put anyone else up in their class, just considering everything that those guys put on film and then tested as well as they did. So, um, I do think that Jacksonville could be one of those teams and even go as high as nine.
Speaker 2:Like I look at Chicago at number nine and say that team is definitely motivated to move back. Does it cost you maybe another you know second round pick to do it? Maybe, but with the strength of the roster, maybe you can get away with a pick next year instead of this year. I don't know, but it's definitely a conversation that I would have because of the needs of the team and the way that this draft class is structured, what you do want to add to this team in terms of depth. I'm okay losing maybe a day two and a day three pick, even to go up to 12. I'm going to try to get up like a third and a fifth, not like a second and more, but I think that this is the team that's in the right spot to be aggressive. And so, looking at Rome specifically, yeah, he might go number nine, he might be gone by number nine.
Speaker 2:But I do think that once things settle in and we get to draft night and we go through the draft process every year and I tend to think that Us, as predictors and analysts, we tend to overstate even quarterbacks and even wide receivers a little bit. Generally, someone falls and someone may fall further than what we think. I've had a mock where I think I had neighbors going. I think it was like 14th or 15th. It's not a's a very real possibility that all of these teams look at the offensive line class and then they maybe reach on an edge defender and maybe reach on the second cornerback. Quinion Mitchells is probably number one, then you probably have Terry and Arnold If two of those guys go in the top 14 picks, one of these receivers has to fall. It's just inevitable. So the way that I use these mocks is to say well, if X happens, then what happens at Y? And so my, my theory is, is that either four quarterbacks go in the top four or in the top six.
Speaker 2:If that happens, and if Los Angeles, at five, doesn't take a receiver, there's a very real chance that it may be Rome, it may be neighbors, but one of these guys is going to fall to nine or 10. And I think that's where you're going to start seeing like one of these guys is going to fall to nine or 10. And I think that's where you're going to start seeing like one of these teams probably try to trade up, like we used to see with uh, I think it was Chris Olave right, it was, uh, the saints moving up for Olave and then Detroit moved up for Jameson Williams. I think that's what this class will probably bear out. And so Jacksonville has a really great space because they're not as far back as maybe Kansas City, some of these teams that might make a huge trade-up, so they can give up a little bit less and then offer a little bit more stability to these teams that want to move down a couple of picks without sacrificing their target. So for me, if I can get Rome, I think he's the cutoff.
Speaker 2:Like I mentioned, he's got the size, 6'2", he's fast, he's a perfect prospect. I don't think he's necessarily as athletic as he tested. He was on Feldman's freak list. He definitely lived up to that at his combine performance. But he is very, very good and he would bring something new to this offense that Jacksonville just doesn't have. His downfield receiving ability, strong hands, his timing at the catch point, his body control these are all things that someone of his build, someone that's maybe not the quickest out of breaks, someone that's not the most explosive in the open field. He's not someone that's going to create a ton after the catch, based on what we saw in college. He's going to go vertical and he's going to run comeback routes. He's going to run out routes and he's going to run go routes and he's going to do those at a very, very, very high level, and that's all this offense really needs. Look at Calvin Ridley. Faced the second most press attempts last year. His game was totally on.
Speaker 2:I just just wasn't ready for it is uncut for that role, and so Rome can step into that role and excel into it, and so it brings a new dynamic to the offense and maybe he can even do more than what we saw at Washington. That would be an intriguing part of this. He was only asked to do those things. So maybe I'm wrong. Maybe he can come in and run a full route tree and do some of these other things.
Speaker 2:I think that that's the risk that you take, and if you can't move up for someone like that, or if Rome goes too early, I'm still looking at a move up and looking at someone like Brian Thomas Jr out of LSU or Adonai Mitchell out of Texas. I don't think you have to move up for Adonai, but I think for Thomas you might have to. Maybe just a couple of picks just to lock him in. I think Indianapolis can be pretty interested in him. So for me, it's about combining the situation and the needs and then also cashing in on these assets and operating from a place of strength. It's not desperation to move up. It's more so being confident in your roster.
Speaker 1:Yeah, a few good interesting points you made right. So the whole aspect of you know it's the inevitable that somebody will fall, normally due to premium positions right Quarterbacks, defensive ends, edge rushers, so on and so forth. But the Jaguars have benefited from that in the past multiple times. There were times where, for example, they benefited from. That's how they got Josh Allen is. He was pushed back to what I think it was seventh overall. And here we are, which we'll actually talk about this later. Here we are. He's received a contract extension but they were lucky to get him where they were. You know he wasn't supposed to be there and there's been some others. You know Jalen Ramsey. You know, if you want to, technically he fell a little bit. You know below where people expected him to fall. The Cowboys were the team that you know a lot of people were looking at for him and you know, while he's no longer on the team.
Speaker 1:What I'm saying is, my point is you make a great point that these things do happen in the draft, and normally the Jacksonville Jaguars in the, you know, the last decade or so have benefited from it in some way, shape or form. And then also, you mentioned something that I found interesting too the whole aspect of getting a receiver on a cheap deal. Right, that's something I've been stressing too, while I mean, now that they've done the Josh Allen deal, they do have a good amount of cap space. They could make a trade for one of these guys that we keep hearing about, like T Higgins, or you know, one of the other receivers out there, justin Jefferson, if he's even on the trade block, but those are going to be expensive contracts to take on when they serve those deals. Brandon Iyuk is another one. And also, you know what we're hearing is this team wants to extend Trevor Lawrence, so to have to pay a receiver what they would have to pay a veteran receiver that I just mentioned and pay Trevor Lawrence, you know that's going to be a lot of money to invest this year. So yeah, you know you're right, like that's something that I've kind of hammered home here is, you know, getting a rookie on a control contract at that Y or zero position, and you know that would definitely, definitely help the arrow to point upwards for Trevor Lawrence to get his deal this year.
Speaker 1:That being said, my next question here, ian, is so you we just discussed receiver being a need for the Jacksonville Jaguars. What are some other needs that you feel like this team needs or should attack? For me, receiver is the top one. For me, it varies depending on who you ask within the Jaguars fan base and Jaguars media, but for me, receiver is first, and that's why I love this situation of getting Rome in the first round. But you know, I don't think cornerback's too far behind. So I want to know your takes on their other needs and how you rank them.
Speaker 2:Yeah, my eyes went to the defensive backfield too, and this is where it's kind of tough because we don't have access to the practices and we have to be careful with our preconceived notions and our biases. And so, for me, I look at some of their 2023 picks. Right, like some of these guys didn't make huge impacts on a team that had a bunch of veterans in front of them and that's not, you know, in damnation on these guys and their talent. Like Tyler Lacey, fourth round pick last year, can he play? Maybe Can you see her? Abdul play? Maybe Can Ventral Miller play? Maybe we just don't know. And the guys that obviously the coaching staff is going to have a lot of confidence in their evaluations either way. And so, if they're confident in those backups and even secondary guys Christian Braswell, draft the last year. Monteric Brown, 2022 guy so we are a little bit more skeptical and I think that's what leads to draft day. Surprises is when we're skeptical or confident and then this coaching staff is telling us hey, we're actually not, we're the opposite of whatever you are. So I do look at that defensive backfield. Ronald Darby, really nice player guy, can play, but he's a one year at aat-a-time type of guy right now, tyson Campbell. Obviously I think he's ascending, I think he's an asset for the unit, but there's not a lot of answers behind that. Are they confident in Darnell Savage? I know they brought him in from Green Bay.
Speaker 2:I don't think that you could walk into the season saying this is for sure the answer to this position for the next definitely past this season. Maybe he ends up having a great year, maybe it's a better situation for him, but maybe it's not. And so I think adding some versatility back there, whether it's, I do think adding like a pure cornerback as an outside starter would make sense. I do think adding some depth at the safety position there's a lot of guys in that room, but I think that if they walked out with the right player, maybe on day two, if they don't trade up, it wouldn't shock me if they walked out with the safety. But it just might not be someone that plays a lot year one. It might be almost like a platoon type of role or a rotational type of role that as the season progresses you're going to see that guy start to take over a little bit more.
Speaker 2:For Savage, I would look at left tackle. I'm a little bit curious what they want to do there. Is Cam Robinson the answer, long-term or is Walker Little going to be on the roster past this year? If not, it makes sense and you talked about this when you're extending all of these guys, eventually you have to get cheaper at other places. So Cam Robinson's already on a veteran deal. He's already someone that he's proven himself. He's a good starter. But could you get someone similar on a rookie deal either this year or next year, maybe day two?
Speaker 2:This is a great offensive tackle class. Or do you make that pick round one and then you immediately make the financial decision right after the draft? Sometimes we see that, especially June 1st rolls around, you see some surprising guys get cut. I wouldn't say that it's the biggest need. But where the roster is, you don't need a tight end. You don't need half the offensive line positions. You've already invested there, don't need a running back. You don't really need. Ideally you're not going to need much help at the pass rusher positions. Hopefully Trayvon Walker is going to be that guy.
Speaker 2:I think that that keeps things very tight. It keeps it within scope to say probably by the end of round three, I would guess that they're going to walk away with a defensive back and maybe an offensive lineman as well, we could potentially see a defensive front seven position. But if we do that's more of a reflection on, like, if they're not super confident in Devin Lloyd, like, then that's not a good sign for where Devin you know his career is maybe heading if they take a line middle linebacker or inside linebacker. So it'll be fascinating to see from an outsider's perspective. I think it's pretty clear. But if we walk out of there and you're telling me in round two they take a tackle, then for me it's saying OK, they have a very clear succession plan that they want to make or they view this player as a potential guard.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you hit the nail on the head about the offensive line, right. Especially with Cam Robinson. You have to think, while they, you know they could want to keep him I have reminded people of this with Cam Robinson. If I can recall, back when they signed Cam Robinson to his extension, the Jaguars were looking at Teron Armstead first, if I can recall, if my memory serves me correctly, during that free agency period, and he ended up signing with the Miami Dolphins. And then that's when, you know, we heard the news of them signing Cam Robinson. So it looks like they had somebody higher up on their priority list, and specifically Trent Baalke, in terms of what they wanted to do. That you know that year. Now look, we've been two years into that contract that Cam Robinson signed and you know he's been serviceable.
Speaker 1:But another thing with him to keep in mind too is not only you know how much he costs in terms of the salary, he's also been injury prone. You know let's just call it what it is At the end of many, many years that he's been with the Jacksonville Jaguars in the month of December. You know he's been with the Jacksonville Jaguars in the month of December. You know he's been on the sideline and that's the most important month for a team in football, especially for your young quarterback in Trevor Lawrence. So, yeah, I mean, you can't take offensive line off of the table and, as you said, this is something you hit the nail on the head with as well is you know the guard situation with as well is you know the guard situation? Yeah, they, you know, restructure Brandon Scherf. But you know you, you have to think, and I think they restructure this deal to where he's just got one year on the left on his deal. You got to start looking at a plan to you know get past him who. He's one of your oldest, you know players on your roster too. So, um, yeah, I mean like, if they stay put, I wouldn't be surprised if they look at one of these offensive tackles for Wago or whoever you know. Maybe somebody slides and falls to him and you know, maybe they look at him at guard for one year or something like that. We'll see in time, we'll tell.
Speaker 1:But I do think Trent Baalke would prefer to get somebody who can be an immediate starter in round one, just looking at how he kind of operates. So that's why we kind of gravitate towards the, the cornerback position and, as you have, you know, discussed the wide receiver position, which I can definitely see them trading up if they are willing to, you know, give up the compensation. But yeah, that, I mean that cornerback position is something to look at with Terry and Arnold. Because, keep in mind, with Darby kind of going back to what I said with Robinson, right, darby has an injury history too, so he's had a few major injuries there and while he would probably be serviceable for one year he played great ball for the Baltimore Ravens last year you probably want a longer term option there. So, arnold, you know he would definitely be somebody you look at there. If he's available, as you said, he may go a little sooner, but time will tell on it.
Speaker 1:But yeah, I mean, I agree with a lot of what was said there in terms of you know those other positions worth looking at, said there in terms of you know those other positions worth looking at, especially cornerback and with the offensive line, with it being as deep as it is in this draft, that's definitely whether you need a offensive lineman or not.
Speaker 1:Teams need to be looking at that position because this is a deep group in terms of, you know, building in the trenches offensively, deep group in terms of, you know, building in the trenches offensively. So my next question is I actually go to some offseason news here, which you know you cover some offseason stuff Me and you discussed that beforehand with the 33rd team. I want to ask you what do you think about the offseason that the Jacksonville Jaguars have had so far? And, as we all know, yesterday they and I kind of mentioned this earlier and said I would circle back to it they signed Josh Allen to a contract extension. He becomes the richest Jaguar ever, second highest paid defensive player, if I'm not mistaken. I had to look back at that. But yeah, what are your thoughts on the offseason that they've had and how they've gone about things?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean they've been a little bit limited, right. So everyone knew the situation with Ridley. I think taking care of Josh made a lot of sense and it's just those costs are going to climb. If they could have taken care of that last offseason it would have been nice, but the player knew his value and he banked on himself and ultimately he walked away with a huge deal because of it. But, uh, when you're a team like this you're you've already spent a lot of money, you're working around the edges, the margins are tight, and so I think what they did they did pretty well, considering what they were working with. They upgraded at center to get Mitch Morse on a nice contract, very team-friendly, considering he's a guy that is going to be an upgrade Bringing in Gabe Davis. I probably could have done without, but the cost wasn't huge and it looks better now that Ridley has departed and maybe they saw the tea leaves there and they clearly didn't want to match that deal. I mean, ridley said it himself, like how are you going to turn down that money? That was an insane offer.
Speaker 2:So, defensively, eric Armstead awesome pickup. Another guy that has to stay healthy. That's part of it, right, they hit free agency because they're flawed or because their contracts are so big. But once that big money is paid out, you're paying for guys towards the end or guys with some of these injury concerns. I thought Darby was a nice pickup. He's had a really good career. Everywhere he's been he's been pretty good. It's the injuries it's the same thing with him. So if this group can stay healthy, it's a very nice offseason, considering where they were. Look at the guys who maybe walked out of the door.
Speaker 2:I don't think that it's one of those off seasons where it's like I'm kicking myself because we really lost a lot of talent. I think this team's going to be able to reload pretty easily. Obviously, hitting on draft picks is never simple, but I thought they made the right gambles and I thought they did it at positions that made a lot of sense. The positions that you've got to be really good is the trenches. You've got to be really good, as the trenches you got to make have like the playmaker, I think they're in position to go chase the playmaker Now. If they don't and we're talking after the draft in their current top four receivers are Gabe Davis, zay Jones, christian Kirk and Devin Duvernay I'm a little concerned. I I'm not sure if that's enough, hopefully.
Speaker 2:And you mentioned some of the other vets. Well, maybe there's something down the pike coming, maybe like a Brandon Ayuk or someone. Now, that would be that'd be a game changer, right, like that happens. And then you totally reevaluate the team's outlook, but anything short of that. I thought you know you rolled the dice on Mac Jones, like that's. It's a nice backup. Teams need a backup.
Speaker 2:It's just kind of funny that it ends up being a guy that was in the same draft classes as Lawrence, but it's an upgrade, considering. You know, I'd rather play him than CJ Beathard. So it's kind of a quiet offseason, just with those couple of headlining moves. Ultimately, I'm just most intrigued as to what's next, because it felt like at receiver there's just there was so little that anyone could do like.
Speaker 2:The only real big name that got moved off the top of my head is Diggs Buffalo. Maybe they would have traded you him, but I wouldn't want to pay Stephon Diggs, at 30, 31 years old, $25 million. I'm good on that. I watched the second half of his season last year. He's closer to not great than great, probably good for one year, but a team like this isn't in position to do that. So good offseason, I think you know it always comes down to the draft. They're like you've got to hit on these picks and bulky. I think there's a lot of pressure there to to get someone. Like you said, not only is that his MO, but this team could use a rookie impact player and I think at 17, it's pretty realistic to find that player and I think it's 17.
Speaker 1:It's pretty realistic to find that, yeah, yeah, it's funny you mentioned Balky because, um, we give him a hard time on our podcast and the fan base in general and I think the key for him right is for Trent, I'll give him this. He's been good in the first round with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Um, not as much so with when he was with the 49ers, but with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Not as much so when he was with the 49ers, but with the Jacksonville Jaguars he's been pretty good in round one. I mean, trayvon Walker had 10 sacks last year and he took a huge step heading forward. I mean, trevor Lawrence is Trevor Lawrence. I mean, I guess you kind of backed into that one and lucked up. That's like getting a winning lottery ticket, but you know that one went well for him.
Speaker 1:So, and Anton Harrison was, you know better than people you know want to give him credit for last year and he's expected to take a big step this year too. And not only that. You know people think he's the left tackle of the future. So that's kind of why you kind of question Cam Robinson's timeline with his team. But yeah, his key is going to be outside of that first round. He has to hit outside of the first round. This can't be a one contribution class like he's had Now you could say his first class, where he got Lawrence, tyson, campbell, walker, little. You know he got some contributions out of that one, but ever since it's just really just been a situation where he's just coming out of these classes with one impact player. So you know that'll be something to watch in how he fares outside of round one. And then you mentioned the backup quarterback situation with Mack Jones situation with Mack Jones, and you know, I think, what they probably were thinking there is.
Speaker 1:You look at Doug Peterson's history again as somebody who's written with the 33rd team, if I'm not mistaken, and he actually this article. He actually wrote an article about the importance of having a solid quarterback room altogether, not just a solid QB one, but a solid quarterback room all together, not just a solid qb1 but a solid quarterback room all together and what they probably were thinking there, you know, mac jones, former first round pick, all we got to give up is a six. This is a guy, as you said, a upgrade over cj pathart, somebody who's seen much, you know, and seen way more play time than CJ Bethard. This is a guy that really helps us from that standpoint and not necessarily a guy that they're looking for to push Trevor Lawrence. But, as we saw last year, trevor Lawrence was banged up and you, you know and Doug Peterson has stressed this You're going to need somebody to come in here and there and win a game or two for you as your quarterback too. I mean, look no further than what he did with Nick Foles right, and that's, you know, the best year he's ever had as a coach is because Nick Foles was able to pick up where Carson Wentz left off and get him to the Super Bowl. So you know, I totally get that pickup as well with Matt Jones there as well. He's also a Jacksonville kid, so this is somebody they've probably been looking at since high school, probably dating back to that far.
Speaker 1:We'll pivot and go back to the draft real quick, ian. I was mentioning Trent Baalke having to, you know, hit on picks outside of round one. I want to ask you this, and I know a lot of your mocks are, you know, round one mocks and nothing outside of that. But still, um, you know we've seen your work, man, we we know you got some gems in mind. So who are some gems at these positions that we mentioned of need for the Jacksonville Jaguars right Offensive, tackle guard, cornerback, wide receiver? Who are some gems that you think are worth looking at when it comes to guys that they may need to target or that they may target outside of the top three rounds, if they weren't able to address it early in the draft?
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, it's a great question, and I do have a seven-rounder coming up here soon, so I'll be starting that sooner than later, cause that's always an undertaking. Yeah, no, I think this is a great, great class to really look at that garden tackle position. Guys that can swing inside or outside. You're looking for length, you're looking for guys who are quick off the ball, but they do have the luxury here too, right, like they, they may have the luxury of developing someone in 2024. And so that opens up a whole new scope of guys you can look at. You can talk about Nathan Thomas. He's going to be a tackle out of a university of Louisiana, the raging Cajuns, right, so they can go get something like that Six, five, three, 30 moves pretty well, um, really nice in the run game, but his past pro needs work. And then a lot of these guys on day three are going to need that. Right, like that's going to be a similar talking point on day three. You want athletic guys that need real reps in practice, going against Josh Allen, getting their butt kicked for a year, adding functional strength in the weight room and working with NFL coaches. So a lot of these guys are going to have that type of MO.
Speaker 2:Garrett Greenfield he's from South Dakota State, 6'6", 310 pounds, could be a guard, could be a tackle. I know teams like him at both spots. The jump in competition is going to be the question there. Can he handle that? Delmar Glaze he was a tackle at Maryland. I think he's going to be a guard in the NFL. He's 6'4". Doesn't quite have the length. Same for a guy like Keaton Bills out of Utah. Played all over the line at Utah. I think he's going to be a guard. He's a pretty powerful guy, downhill guy, more so than an athletic person. He is athletic but he's also 330 pounds, so he's not someone that's just going to be as svelte as they come. But he can learn from Brandon Scherf and I think that's almost a natural player to take over for Scherf because the play style is so similar.
Speaker 2:If you want more of a tackle, maybe round four. It's so hard to tell Sometimes these guys don't get there. But Roger Rosengarten out of Washington he's a little bit of a younger guy. He definitely needs some reps. I think his play strength is not quite where it needs to be. He really reminds me of Rob Havenstein for the Rams. He's been a longtime starter in this league, someone that I was too low on coming out of Wisconsin when Havenstein came out. Rosengarden is very similar to that. Maybe he goes in round three, but he's a natural right tackle.
Speaker 2:Do you maybe, then, want to move someone to the left tackle in 2025? Like Harrison? Do you move him over there? Or do you see, then, want to move someone to the left tackle in 2025, like Harrison? Do you move him over there? Or do you see Rosengarden's traits being good enough? That's one of those key questions. But 6'5, 310 pounds, he's got the size, so I think he'd be a nice fit too. Do you get lucky, like, how deep do you want to go here? Do you want to take a chance on, you know, maybe, someone that doesn't quite have that pedigree? Or do you want to take a chance on, you know, maybe, someone that doesn't quite have, uh, that pedigree? Or do you want to take a chance on someone that might be an outlier?
Speaker 2:Uh, a name Dankwa out of? Uh, I'm blanking on where he's out of, but he's a guy. He's six, eight, three, 53. Um, he is really reminiscent and we went to Howard, that's right, he's Howard kid. Um, he is almost like Dwan Jones. Now he didn't play at Ohio state like Jones did and Jones was dominant and he had a great rookie year for Cleveland. But he has this massive frame and we've seen some teams, like the Ravens, really love these massive tackles and find success with them.
Speaker 2:Uh, so some of this is a little bit. You know Frank crumb Wyoming another guy. He's huge Six, eight, three, 13,. One of the most athletic tackles in the draft. Do you want to be a little bit weird and move one of these guys inside? I like that. I like moving tackles inside. But if you want a pure guard, this draft has so many of them. I mean, there's going to be guys on day three that are pretty solid starters, like I mentioned a couple of them. But do you even go to like Michigan Zach Zinter coming off of a major injury, major leg injury, it wasn't ligament related, it was broken tibula and fibula but do you want to take someone like that and redshirt him essentially for this season? I think that's pretty smart. So I like those guys.
Speaker 2:If you're looking at receiver, it's always kind of hard. I don't love the day three receivers this year. I really don't. One of these guys are going to fall, but Jalen Polk out of Washington. Javon Baker out of UCF third, fourth round options. Bigger body dudes we talk about getting off a press. Jamari Thrash out of Louisville he might be a fourth rounder. He's more of a route runner, he's a little bit more of that Calvin Ridley type of playmaker. I think that would be a good value and someone that can actually work into the rotation. It's just not someone that's going to be the quote-unquote answer right away. So I think, receiver, you have to address fairly early. I do think that's one of those. Like you don't want to get out of the second round in this draft class without really addressing. Then you start getting a little bit desperate. Secondary I would probably say the same thing. Like one of these guys are going to fall.
Speaker 2:Josh Newton out of TCU is someone that I like. Third, fourth round, super competitive guy. Not the fastest, not the strongest, not the biggest, but that dude has a lot of experience, had some good ball skills and really competes at a high level. Uh, five, 11, one, 90. So he's got some decent measurables, if you want, like a big, tall dude. Uh, I'm definitely looking at. Uh. Elijah Jones out of Boston College 6'2", 185 pounds, needs to beef up a little bit. I like DJ James too. Out of Auburn he's kind of fallen since where he was last offseason. I think he was making late first round in some of our mocks, but so he's more of like a day two, late day two guy. But he really tested well and he did well at the senior bowl too. Enough to be able to say like I think he is the talent that we thought he was. He just didn't necessarily have like the season to to kind of back it up. So there are some really good guys.
Speaker 2:If you're looking for like a deep sleeper, be looking at cornerback or safety. I do like Ohio state's Josh Proctor at safety, not the fastest but again, super competitive, pretty versatile. Trey Taylor, out of air force same thing, super productive guy throughout his career, um, cornerback, cornerbacks a little bit tough because you really get into the limitation guys Like once you hit like that fifth, sixth, like there's so many guys that don't hit on that late day three, um. So maybe you're taking a risk here. Maybe you're looking at um, you know, to Camry and Richardson.
Speaker 2:I think he's been the most popular name that I've seen because he's six, two and he runs a four, three coming out of Mississippi state coming out of the sec. So it's not like he's an unknown guy, but I consistently see him being mocked late. I think that is reflective of probably other red flags. Um, you know, young guy, you got to coach him up a little bit. You got to get the best out of him in the person. But I think Jacksonville could be in a place that you know you take that risk. If he doesn't work out, he doesn't work out. It's not a huge deal, especially on day three. This may be the second corner that you're taking in the draft.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so some interesting nuggets. You mentioned there Nathan Thomas, and I'll have to look back at his how long he's been there, um. But the Jaguars do have Rory Segrist on their um team, who used to be, uh, one of the assistants there or, uh, he may have been a head coach there, one of the two there, um. So you know they probably got some Intel on him and what have you and they, you know one of their own may have even coached him.
Speaker 1:I'll have to see if that, um, that link and their timelines match there. Another one that you mentioned, zach Zenter, from Michigan, and it's interesting you mentioned that with the injury situation. That's a bulky, special Bulky is not afraid to take a swing at a guy that had a serious injury and, as you said, it wasn't like ligament damage or anything like that. But it matches from the perspective of what he likes to do, taking, you know, swings at guys that have that injury history. And also it matches from the perspective of what we already discussed with Brandon Scherf, right, and you know his age and this probably being the last year he'll be with the team, you know, barring some kind of extension and what have you. So those two are two.
Speaker 1:I've seen a lot of film on Zinter. I will go and look at Thomas and see what he's working with. That's one that I have not gotten around to checking out. But yeah, we'll go ahead and wrap this up. I have one more question, ian, and we'll more so talk about some general NFL here or general AFC South. If you would, could you discuss, kind of, your outlook on the AFC South? I know the draft obviously hasn't occurred yet, but as it stands right now, in the moves that teams have made. We already have talked about the Jaguars moves, but what's your outlook on the AFC South and how the other teams within the divisions came out of this offseason?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm excited. For the first time in a long time, I'm pretty excited about the division and a lot of that has to do with the young quarterbacks. Like I think Trevor Lawrence has a big step that he's going to take next year. I think people called it a little bit early, for good reason. I think he probably has the season next year that most expected that he would this past season. Anthony Richardson I'm super excited about him. I think he is such a talented player. Obviously the guy just has to stay healthy.
Speaker 2:Indianapolis' roster is in a better place, a little bit more stable. I think they could use a little bit more playmaking too, but they got to stay healthy. That's their big thing. If that roster can stay healthy, they're going to be competitive again. They're going to be pushing for a playoff spot. But that's a big if and that's a big question mark with them. I think they tend of fall back. Chris Ballard he falls back on his vices a little bit too much, and so they need a lot right, I think, to overcome the competition. But the bones are really good and it's going to be a team that's fun to watch. I just don't know that they're ready to compete, uh, at a higher level than being like an eight, nine win team. That's competitive but like not quite there yet and the quarterback position may just be the difference because he's still a young guy who missed most last season.
Speaker 2:Houston's obviously the team to talk about. Right like tennessee is interesting, but they're still a pretty pretty, not great, roster. Um, and I don't dislike what tennessee did per se. Even though they overpaid ridley, it made more sense for them than the jags to pay him. I think Houston's the team to talk about. They made some very win now moves and they spent a whole lot of money to do it and it's either going to work extremely well going after a guy like Daniil Hunter. I don't really understand trading Jonathan Greenard for Daniil Hunter. It's a very win now move for a team that didn't need to do that. You raise this talent internally and then you let them walk just to pay someone else more for shorter term. It's a little bit bizarre. I like the digs move. In a nutshell, it's risky and if CJ Stroud doesn't feed him like a number one receiver, I think that that risk could blow up in their face. And I think the digs is a player on the downward slope Doesn't mean he won't have some really good games, but I think he's more of an occasional star as opposed to someone who's going to be the weekly go-to guy there.
Speaker 2:My question to them is do they have enough interior offensive line? Their running game was abhorrent last year. They didn't do anything to fix it. Defensively, I still think it's kind of like a no-name defense. I think they kind of banked on this development that's going to happen from this coaching staff and it's a good, you know, obviously it's a good coaching staff. Like we see this all the time Teams go from picking first or second to like a playoff team and then, like that, next season they take a step back. So my question for them is like well, can you build on that?
Speaker 2:Getting Danico Autry was really nice. Will Anderson's obviously a really good player, but the linebacker position is pretty weak for them. I still think that the defensive back position is still pretty weak too. I mean I like Derek Stingley, jalen Petrie they're nice players, but you're trotting out guys Jeff Okuda that guy hasn't done anything in a while. Desmond King's pretty old at this point. Jimmy Ward same thing, pretty old at this point injured a lot. So I don't think that they have the high-end talent to really compete at the higher end.
Speaker 2:I think last year was a bit of smoke and mirrors. They played a Cleveland team that was just devastated by injuries. So I do think Houston takes a bit of a step back from the peaks that we saw last year. That's just natural. It happens every year, because now they're going to be facing a first place schedule, so everything's going to get a little bit tougher. I do like Joe Mixon, that pickup, especially for giving up nothing, but he's not a guy that's super efficient either.
Speaker 2:So I don't know, is the interior line ready to build, basically, runways for running backs, who are a little bit more of road graders? I don't know. I think they're solid, though, and I do look at Houston and Jacksonville. It'd be hard for me to believe that one of those two teams doesn't hit 10-11 wins and wins the division. But I think that Jacksonville still has the advantage, because they've been building this roster multiple years, whereas Houston, this is pretty much like a one kind of two off seasons of building. Cj Stroud's a heck of a player, though, and there's no doubt about that, and they have the playmakers around them, so I don't think that the margin for error is going to be very large at all. I think this will be a very, very tight race and it may just come down to either one or two games or just injuries.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I think so too. I mean, obviously you know injuries didn't help the Jacksonville Jaguars. I mean it's still no excuse for the slide that they took at the end of the season. But you know, losing Christian Kirk, you know losing Zay Jones, who was in and out of the lineup, and Trevor Lawrence getting through the season as banged up as he was. So yeah, that could very well be the case this year where injuries are the deciding factor for this division in that two-team race, if it comes down to the Jaguars and Texans.
Speaker 1:I do think you made an interesting point about the interior offensive line. Yeah, they really didn't do anything to help themselves there and it didn't really dawn on me until you said it. So I mean, you know, for Jacksonville Jaguars team that's coming in there with Eric Armstead and you know you got Trayvon Walker with the year another year under his belt and he came off of 10 sacks and Ryan Nielsen, their new defensive coordinator, possibly trying him a little bit in the interior at times that could spell trouble for them, but time will tell. And again, you know, as I said, the draft. We got to see what happens in the draft because a lot of times you know we come out of that, what Thursday, friday and Saturday, we come that week after, come out feeling a little bit better about where these teams are, especially if they put together the proper draft class.
Speaker 1:So, that being said, ian, man, we won't hold you up anymore. I will, however, give you the floor to you know, just let everybody know about your content, which we already mentioned in the beginning of the podcast. But, to kind of close things, let them know where they can find your stuff. And I want to say, from me and Phil, we appreciate you coming on. This was a great episode. But yeah, feel free, man, to let everybody know where they can find your stuff and what you have coming up as the floor is yours.
Speaker 2:Yeah, thanks man. I'm at NFL Draft Study. On Twitter you can find me at the 33rd Team. I'm doing most of my work. I'll be contributing another place here soon, um, as well, but most of my work will be at 33rd team at least through April, um, before that change comes, um, and maybe it continues, um. But yeah, I'm super excited. I've got mock drafts coming up. I'll have a lot of draft reactions so the Thursday, friday, saturday of the draft, I'm reacting to every pick so I can find that 33rd team and yeah, I mean always happy to chat and this was awesome and I'm really excited. I mean I know it feels like people are down on the Jags, but a little that's recency bias and last season may have ended tough, but I still think that the bones of the team are pretty strong.
Speaker 1:You know what, ian man, I hope you're right. You sound a little bit more optimistic than us, but you made some good points, Absolutely made some good points there that I really you know hadn't done on me until you really said it.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, man, hopefully the Jaguars bounce back and overtake the Texans this year. But yeah, man, it was a blast having you on. We'll have you on. You know, if you, you know you're willing to come on, we'll have you on. In the future, maybe we'll talk about the draft after the draft, a few months out, you know, and maybe circle around, have you on around training camp something like that.
Speaker 1:But, yeah, we appreciate you coming on and your time. And, yeah, man, everybody feel free to check his stuff out. As he said, that is Ian Valentino, I am James Johnson and we are signing out. All right, you all. There you have it, my one-on-one with Ian Valentino from the 33rd team. We appreciate him coming on and look forward to hearing from him later in the season, whether, that's, you know, maybe during training camp or whatever the case may be, we will circle around and have him back on again.
Speaker 1:So I won't be long with it with, uh, winded with this closing of the podcast, as we always do, I'll just circle back around to how you can follow us on Twitter, follow me at Sports Grind, underscore Dunfield at Phil the Filipino, and you can follow the Touchdown Jaguars podcast handle at TD Jaguars pod. Of course, you can also follow us through our website, wwwtouchdownjaguarsarscom, where we have new written content on there. We'll have more written content on there, heading into the draft and hopefully as well. We're hoping to get credentialed, as we have for the past few years, to go to the draft and give you all some more on the spot coverage and in-depth analysis from within the Jaguars facility. Lastly, shout outs to our sponsor SeatGeek. As I said in the beginning of the podcast, you can get $20 off of your first order with our promotion code, touchdown Jaguars, so save yourself some money there.
Speaker 1:So, without further ado, we'll go ahead and close this episode. As always, you all take care of each other out there. Close this episode. As always, you all take care of each other out there, be safe, and we look forward to hearing from you all on the next episode. Again, this is going to be a week where we do two episodes, so we'll have one at the end of the week. You'll get to hear from us again, and we're working on getting another guest on in the process. So until next time, you all hold it down, take care of each other, be safe out there, and I am signing out.