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Touchdown Jaguars!
Touchdown Jaguars!
Episode 110: First-Round Focus - Six Prospects for the Jaguars
The future of the Jacksonville Jaguars is brighter than ever with the hiring of a new General Manager and the approach toward the upcoming draft. We explore the key players that could shape the team's future while analyzing the impact of recent organizational changes.
- Introduction of the new General Manager and his vision
- Reflections on past management and the need for change
- Top prospects to target in the upcoming draft
- The importance of strengthening offensive and defensive lines
- Discussion on how to support quarterback Trevor Lawrence
- Insights into the evaluation of the combine and its impact on draft stock
- Revisiting the team's overall assets and needs
- Predictions on the implications of drafting specific players
- Overview of the youthful direction of the current front office
Listen in as we dive deep into player analysis and discuss how these picks could propel the Jaguars back to contention.
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.
Still running. And no, that is a no no. Touchdown Jacksonville 109 yards Incredible Play action. Portals Upstairs Wide open. Tommy Bohannon, touchdown Jacksonville. Looking for Jimmy in the end zone. Touchdown Jaguars. Touchdown Jaguars. Touchdown Jaguars.
Speaker 1:Welcome to the Touchdown Jaguars podcast. Here are your hosts, james Johnson and Phil Smith. Hey, everyone, welcome back to the Touchdown Jaguars podcast. I am your co-host, phil Smith, and joining me, as always, is your other co-host, james Johnson.
Speaker 1:Jay, good to be back here with you after another hiatus here over the last couple of weeks as we kind of let everything play out. Of course, there has been some very exciting news here in terms of the Jacksonville Jaguars, but more importantly, jay, we are recording here on the evening of March 3rd. We've turned the corner into March, which means we have draft content. So very excited to go over some prospects with you here today. And also, because we haven't talked about it since the Super Bowl, we'll also talk about, you know, the Jacksonville Jaguars new general manager. It's been obviously a few weeks now since that news came out and we learned who will be taking over the front office and who will be pairing with Liam Cohen to kind of bring this new vision of the Jacksonville Jaguars together. So, jay, excited to touch on that and also one of our favorite times of the year. Talk some draft prospects.
Speaker 2:Yeah, man, it never gets old, right, although, admittedly, if Trent Baalke was still here, we would have been depressed and maybe contemplating ending the podcast would have been depressed. Um, and maybe contemplating ending the podcast, we we've had that discussion before. But, yeah, as you mentioned, it was some. You know, we got some great news with, uh, the hiring of a new GM. We'll talk about that and that has reinvigorated us, you know, if you will. So it's giving us a another win and another, uh, more of a desire to do this than we previously had with Trent Baalke in the house. So, yeah, man, as you said, like now, I'm excited for the draft, man, even though you know, my job has, you know, kind of kept me away from covering it as much as I, you know I normally do, and all of that good stuff Missed the combine a good majority of it, unfortunately, but nonetheless, man, I'm still excited to talk about the new direction we'll go in in terms of our player acquisitions in the draft.
Speaker 1:Man, can't wait yeah, you know, obviously we did not want the jaguars to once again be picking this highly in the draft, but you know, here we are off-season champions. Per usual, things are off to a very exciting start when you talk about the new staff and then, of course, the general manager, which we'll touch on here in just a moment. So a lot more enthusiasm than we usually had around this time of year, like you said, jay, when Trent Baalke was unfortunately still around. But before we dive into the episode, I want to welcome back to you listeners. I know it's been about a month since we put out an episode. Now that we have turned the corner into the draft season and free agency coming up as well, jay, we plan on putting out episodes weekly once again, as well as bringing in some guests to have on to talk about the free agency process as well as the draft process. So make sure you click the Linktree link in the show notes of this episode and you'll find everything you need in terms of social media pages for both the podcast as well as Jay and I's personal accounts. And make sure you check out the website touchdownjaguarscom, as I'm sure Jay will be updating that here over the next couple of weeks with some draft content for you guys.
Speaker 1:But, jay, let's start with the news of the next general manager for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Again, this was all the way back on February 21st, so a couple weeks now removed from James Gladstone being hired on to be the next general manager of the Jacksonville Jaguars. In a statement Shad Khan released, he stated it is my honor to introduce James Gladstone as the new general manager of the Jacksonville Jaguars. James emerged as my choice and our choice following a painstaking but energizing interview process that left nothing to doubt. Every candidate delivered and I am grateful to them all for their preparation and time spent with us this week in Jacksonville. In the end, we found James to be a class ahead and exceptional in every regard Vision, new ideas, communication, chemistry and a keen understanding of the league and our team, to name a few of many virtues he will bring immediately to the Jaguars. It's going to be fun watching James work with our football leadership team of Liam Cohen, tony Buscelli and Tony Kahn, but most of all, it will be rewarding. I am confident in that, of course. Gladstone had been with the Rams for eight seasons and had been the director of scouting strategy for the last four seasons he worked very closely with Rams GM Les Snead and played a key role in the team's draft process, an area where LA has found quite a bit of success, even at times with limited draft picks.
Speaker 1:And this is from the Jags wire, from Paul Brettel. So, jay, full-on youth movement here in Jacksonville very, very much long overdue. And this was a job. If you had asked us and polled a lot of people about a month ago, it seemed like this job belonged to Ian Cunningham, right out of Chicago, but in those weeks leading up to the hire, james Gladstone closed that gap and then eventually overtook Cunningham. So what was your initial reaction now that we're a couple of weeks removed from it, and how do you feel about the prospect of James being the guy to lead this team going forward in the front office?
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, I'll start by saying this man, his first name alone. I mean, if you're basing it on myself, you won't find any harder worker.
Speaker 1:The second most talented James in Jacksonville.
Speaker 2:now, right, right right, there you go. But one thing about, uh, people with that first name, james, they're, they're hard workers, man. So, if I must say so myself, but, um, yeah, all of that said man, um, I'm excited about it and although I would have been happy with ian cunningham too, we had this discussion I wasn't as high on Ian Cunningham as some others, right, so this definitely doesn't bother me and I like the youth movement and the youth aspect of it. I know a lot of people and shout outs to Studge. We talked about this in the space with a few people. I know a lot of people have concerns about the youth movement and particularly his age. I think he's what, 34? He's like you know, he's our age, phil, so that's young for a GM. But that being said, I know you know there's a lot of concerns about the. You know his age and what have you. But I mean, as I said in the space, it's not as if doing the opposite work, right, we had these older, you know archaic GMs and Trent Balky, and then before that the EVP was Tom Coughlin. So it wasn't like that was necessarily working for us and kind of as Shaw had said in his statement, or not even that statement, but it was beforehand. They need to try something different, right and try something, try and reinvent themselves or whatever the case may be. And I think this is a, you know, a step in the right direction when considering what we were doing, you know, wasn't working. So I'm very excited about having James in, I'm excited about the young coaching staff and I mean, just when I look at it overall, man, in terms of going from James Gladstone to Trent Baalke, it's so many things we could get excited about. Right, phil?
Speaker 2:I was pulling up my notes here that I wrote for the spaces and you know I have three big takeaways from it and I won't go into them in depth or in deep detail, but you know, one of them was, you know, you look at the Rams history as opposed to our history Over there in LA. They weren't scared to take risks, right, it felt like Trent Baalke, and one of the things that ultimately made him that got him fired was he was a little bit risk adverse or he was. He was scared to take risks like that. We're talking about a Rams team, on the other hand, who didn't have first round picks for years. Right, and it actually worked too. It wasn't like they were throwing their first round of picks away and it didn't work. They got a Super Bowl out of it, right.
Speaker 2:And then after that they built up a bunch of draft picks and they took that approach that you know we took some years ago and just took a whole boatload of players to to revamp that roster after they had to let go a lot of high-priced veterans and stuff. I'm excited about that aspect of it, right, we got a GM that isn't scared to take risks and, yeah, I think down the road, especially with this roster already having some pieces, that'll be a very, very valuable thing that we'll revisit sometime soon because I think you know that is something that will help propel James to. You know, propel this roster to the next level is, you know, when you add what he can bring to the table in terms of not being scared to take risks, and add that with the roster we already have, that's when you start getting closer to a Super Bowl level and Super Bowl caliber team.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and when you talk about a team that had truly reinvented itself after they went all in for a Super Bowl, right, when you're talking about the Rams, gave up all their draft capital and it paid off. They got what they wanted out of Matthew Stafford and then to now find themselves once again back in the position to win another Super Bowl. They've been talking about this essentially this entire time, while this whole Matthew Stafford thing was kind of unfolding over the last couple weeks. Jay, with the Rams, they were really the only team that challenged the Philadelphia Eagles and they're probably the only team in the NFC, outside of a healthy Detroit Lions team, that probably goes, you know, blow for blow with Philadelphia in terms of their roster. And now they're very young, I mean, they're in a position where you can let a Cooper Cup walk, you know, because of Puka Nakua, because of some of the other moves they've made and because you've also drafted very well on defense. So you know, I know, obviously at the you know the Combine, he looks looking very young up there on the podium, but this is a guy that can command a room and also this new wave of young guys that we're seeing here in the league where, when teams are going younger, we're seeing a lot of success.
Speaker 1:And, like we said, jacksonville has just been so overdue for this type of youth movement. They kept going back to what has worked in the past, right to what has worked in the past, right Going back to Tom Coughlin or bringing in, you know, the older coaches Doug Marones, the Doug Pearsons, the retreads, you know and now they've really finally bought into hey, let's get younger from top to bottom and see what these, this new generation of football coaches and front office guys, and see what they can do here. So really, really excited about that prospect. And not only that, jay. I mean the Rams. If you kind of look at their history, they're also not afraid of draft day movement or just moving draft compensation around. So, like, do you have any anticipation that we'll? We'll see some type of movement in the draft that is not just moving back two picks to acquire a fourth or fifth round pick. Like I think we might actually see genuine, meaningful draft day movement from gladstone and and the people he brings in yeah, I'm glad you mentioned that.
Speaker 2:I'm gonna going to circle back to that field actually. But real quick, something I wanted to add to what you mentioned in the youth movement and things of that nature GM, real young GM, and then Gus Bradley as the coach. But, as you mentioned, you're right, for the most part they've gone with what's worked in the past. They've gone with the older guys. But I think that's what scares a lot of people about Gladstone is how the Dave Caldwell thing went, should I say. And I'm here to tell people it's a lot different than it was then. Dave Caldwell was working with a bare roster, no talent at all. He had to find all of the talent to revamp that roster through free agency and a draft. Whatever the case may be, it's a lot different. Here we at least have pieces in place and that's a lot of why Gladstone was thrown at this job. Right, les Snead recommended him for this job is because it was a good place to go, because the roster wasn't bare. He's coming into a situation where he has his two defensive ends set, you know which. That's rare for a GM to come into that situation. He's coming into a situation where we believe quarterback is set situation. He's coming into a situation where we believe quarterback is set. He's coming into a situation where we believe that brian thomas jr is a top. Probably. You know, if you ask most jazz fans or you know, ask most people around the league. In general, a top 10 wide receiver, typically a gm, doesn't inherit that kind of roster. When it comes to the premium picks, all of the hard things to find on a roster, all of those things are figured out Phil for him. So he just has to, you know, build a roster between that. You know, get us right in the trenches. But the premium positions are fine.
Speaker 2:Now you mentioned the draft and you know them not being scared to maneuver around the draft. You're right, and I think that I wouldn't be shocked if they traded back from five, because liam cohen has kind of mentioned it in the press conferences or you know, just anytime he popped up to do a cameo for tv, right, I think he spoke with pf, pro Football Talk and Mike Florio and them during the combine, right, and he was saying that, you know, if it wasn't them it might have been NFL Network. But he was saying that you know you can't rule out trading back, you know, especially if the opportunity presents itself and you can stockpile some more picks. And I'm just paraphrasing here. But you know he was open to it is how I would put it. It sounded. He sounded very open to trading back.
Speaker 2:So no, I wouldn't be shocked at all, especially, you know, if things don't go according to plan. We keep hearing all this stuff about hey, mason Graham will be gone by pick number five. Hey, you know some of these other guys will be gone by pick number five that we've mentioned, travis Hunter, which you know we'll talk about that later. So yeah, I mean I could see them maneuvering back, especially with the number five overall pick going back and maybe, you know, trading back into that 10, 12, 11-ish range somewhere in there, which I mean I would still be excited about the draft if they did trade back. It wouldn't change my excitement about it.
Speaker 1:I mean we did it last year, right, and we were still very excited and we were happy with the results and not to get too far ahead of ourselves in terms of just talking about, you know, the draft and the positioning and all that. But I think it's really going to depend on how these quarterbacks fall. So, and I think specifically Shador Sanders, I think Cam Ward goes in the top two whether he goes number one to Tennessee, or if somebody trades up to jump New York to get him at number one, or again if he just goes number two altogether. I do think Tennessee is going to take Abdul Carter.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's really going to depend on those quarterbacks, because if we get to pick five and Shador is still on the board, then I think that's where they they really start fielding calls pretty aggressively, because I think that's the guy that you know a lot of people are going to keep an eye on to see if he falls. What do you think about that, jay? Because that's what I'm hearing a lot in terms of a guy you know, because the Raiders the Raiders would love to see him drop down so they could take him. So the concept of the Raiders swapping picks with Jacksonville to get up one spot to prevent someone else from getting him.
Speaker 2:Right, right, you make a good point, phil. And coming out of the combine, I think it was Jocena Anderson, and love her or hate her, uh, jocena anderson works hard, right and um, she puts her heart and soul into her job. And she was mentioning I think it was her that mentioned that shador. You know, coming out of the combine, there are some teams that this could just be teams stirring the pot so he can fall right. You know, we see that all the time too. But coming out of the um the combine, a lot of people feel that, um, how he interviewed that, he came off as a little, I guess, like maybe arrogant or whatever the case may be, and it might scare some teams or what have you and um, that then falls into your formula right of how many quarterbacks go in the top four picks, so he could find himself outside of it. Maybe, possibly Then, as you said, the Jaguars get that call from Oakland to ensure they get the pick, because we've all heard the rumors about how, you know, tom Brady has worked with Shador in the past and how he likes Shador and, by the way, I like Shador as a prospect too, not that, you know, the discussion is about him as a prospect but I like him personally.
Speaker 2:If I was a team I wouldn't be scared to draft him. I've seen what he's done and turned, you know, multiple programs around and you know he mentioned that and rightfully so. But yeah, I can see where. Yeah, oakland calls us and you know we get a little small fortune maybe to trade back one spot and they take Shador and everybody's happy. And you know we still can, you know, get one of the guys we like, depending on what's available.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think it's funny that people are surprised that Shador Sanders is, you know, a little arrogant or confident in his abilities, as if we don't know who his Sanders is. You know, a little arrogant or confident in his abilities, as if we don't know who his father is Right. So I think that just kind of comes with the territory and it's like what do you want, you know? Do you want your guy to be confident in their abilities or do you want them to be soft spoken? I mean, it's a tale as old as time when it comes to these prospects, right, jay, so I. Either way, it'd be good for us if, uh, you know, shador starts falling a little bit down the draft board yeah, phil, especially at that position.
Speaker 2:Right, you want confidence at that position, especially with how young he's going to be, coming into a situation where he's going to probably have to uplift a very bad team.
Speaker 2:Let's face it.
Speaker 2:And I mean, like, if you're like a team for example, you look at a draft for your team like the New York Giants, right, or even even the Jets, who are at seven, but more so the Giants, right, that shouldn't scare you because look at what kind of media market he's going to be dealing with.
Speaker 2:Right, you want that confidence. You want that guy who can take the arrows and the darts that will be thrown at him at that media market. So, all of this talk about some teams being, you know, scared away by how he interviewed I certainly hope the New York Giants aren't one of them, because they should be running to the podium to get him because he has the personality and mindset that's needed and, as you said, of course Deion Sanders is his father. He has the mindset needed to take on that market and, you know, flourish, you know things might not go well that first year, but everything that we heard, he has the confidence to overcome that and overcome whatever adversity is thrown at him in year one and look, you know, maybe you come out of that with a Jalen Daniels like uh situation, like what Jalen Daniels did for the commanders.
Speaker 1:So time will tell and we'll see where he ultimately ends up yeah, it's definitely going to be one of the top stories of the draft season, so, and Jacksonville has quite a few reasons to keep an eye on that. But let's move into our primary topic here. This evening, jay and if you see it there in the title Jay and I will both be selecting three prospects that they would like to see the Jacksonville Jaguars target, primarily at pick number five, but, as you'll see, with some of the other selections or some of the other players we have on here Also, if you know there's some movement, you know there are some players on these lists that we don't necessarily think should go as high as number five, but would still like to see the Jaguars try and target them, you know whether it be via trading back or something along those lines. So, jay, I'll let you kick it off here.
Speaker 1:There will definitely be some names that people are very familiar with and also just some names that, over the weekend at the NFL Combine, made themselves some money, especially in the case of one of the guys that I will mention as a unapologetic Homer to give you guys a little bit of a teaser about what we're going to talk about. I do want to ask you this, jay, because I believe I know the answer to this, but just for our audience, how much weight do you put into the underwear Olympics, as sometimes people call it, when it comes to the combine, because I know you as much more of a film guy? But what kind of things do you try and take away from the draft when it is I mean from the combine when it is, you know, a pretty controlled environment? What kind of stock and value do you put into this weekend?
Speaker 2:yeah, of course. Yeah, you know me, I always go back to the eye in the sky, go back to the film, right the sky, go back to the film, right. But I think the purpose of the combine, or one thing that it really helps with, is, you know, it helps you realize you might have missed something on film and it gives you that alert to go back. I think that's like one of the key aspects of the combine. And also too, man, I think you know the combine does hold some value in terms of raising a draft stock. A lot of people disagree with that. But, kind of going back to what I was saying, sometimes you'll see a guy in the underwear Olympics run a fast 40 or change directions and the agility drills a little bit better than you thought they could, and you go back and look at that film and you start wondering like, hey man, like we might need to move this kid up on our draft board. You know so I think it does.
Speaker 2:You know it's a, it's an event that, while a lot of people will say you can't necessarily improve your stock in the combine because the film is already out there on you, I disagree with that aspect of it. But again, ultimately I'll always be a film guy. But it's been plenty of times, phil, where I saw a kid show out at the Combine. I go back and look at the film of him right and it's like, oh my God, you know what I'm saying, this kid might need to be shot up on draft boards. I'm going to watch him more. It's been plenty of times where I've looked back at somebody who you know tested well at the combine and that resulted in me starting, you know, to put them in my mock drafts when they previously weren't so. You know, I guess that's what I'll say about the combine.
Speaker 1:I'm curious on your opinion though. Yeah, you know, in doing this podcast with you for so long and as somebody who didn't play football, you know I always defer to you guys and you know the guests that we talk to when it comes to just watching film and what to look for. I will also always be a you know what does the tape say kind of guy, but you also just can't help but be astounded by when you just break this thing down to a who runs the fastest, who jumps the fastest and who changes direction the fastest. There's just something fascinating about it when you break it down to just the very bare bones of athleticism and seeing some of these guys go out there and perform the way that they do. I mean we're talking about like a Gunnar Helm who twisted his ankle on a false start in the 40 and still ran pretty well for a tight end and then completed the rest of his drills. You know. You're talking about like a, like you said, in terms of draft stock, like how much can change over the course of, you know, a few seconds right, like in the case of a guy we'll talk about here in just a moment. So I also still refer to the tape because it's like, how are they when they're playing football, right? Like that's the most basic question you can ask and get an answer for, because you have the tape on these guys. But again, there's just something really fascinating about the week in Indianapolis and you know why it has become such a, such a spectacle.
Speaker 1:You know, I don't know that I would. I think you would definitely take the chance, but I don't know that I would ever want to go just watch the combine. I know you, you would eat that up, but like I feel, like me, I would get a little bored. But it's just kind of fascinating. This has become such a such a big thing, and for good reason. Because, like you said, you know guys come out of here and some of them lose themselves quite a bit of money, but also some of them gain themselves quite a bit of money. But you know, just curious about what your again, what's your philosophy was for maybe some of our newer listeners. But, jay, why don't you kick us off? Who is the third? Third? These aren't in. I don't believe these are in any particular order. I think we just both picked three players, but correct me if I'm wrong, but who is um third on your list in terms of a player that you'd like to see Jacksonville target here in the upcoming draft in the first round?
Speaker 2:yeah, I'll start with Mason Graham and uh, mason Graham is a guy that you know when you watch him on film and when you watch us on film last year, you can't help but be intrigued by him. Because we were terrible in terms of in the trenches and getting what we needed to get done. Like last year was probably the hardest film to watch of our defense that I've seen in quite some time, if not the hardest. Like it was worse than the Gus Bradley early in Gus Bradley's days. Like it was bad man. Like because you knew when people lined up, you know that they were going to have our their way with our defense. And it was crazy because not to harp on Trent too much, because that's in the past but it's crazy because one of the things I always hated and one of the things that was always the most disheartening about our defense field is when you watch us on the film. If we were to stand our defense up pound for pound against the opposition on offense, we would totally look like the more dominant team in terms of height, weight and speed, because that was Trent's thing. We looked like a bunch of. We looked like the Monstars out there. So when you line us up against the offensive side of the ball, whoever we were playing. A lot of times we would look like we have the height, weight and speed advantage, but when we get on the field it's the total opposite and that really, really, really annoyed me.
Speaker 2:And the reason I mention that is because you know, here you have a guy that Trent Baalke might not even touch. You know, in Mason Graham, who could be a difference maker for the defense, right? I mean, he's got. He has that wrestling background we keep hearing about and you can see it is evident as clear as day on the film that he has a wrestling background. I like how he uses his hands and his upper body movement. I like his ability. If you pretty much put him one-on-one with somebody, he's probably going to win that easily with speed um alone if you put him in a one-on-one situation.
Speaker 2:So many things to like about this kid and I've only seen, like you know about, three tapes of him. It's like still a lot more that I can watch on him. But, um, I just love all of those things about him and how he can disengage and I think pff you could probably research this film PFF had him down with like a 90 plus against the run, something we desperately need here in Jacksonville, because, man, did I get tired of seeing people have their way in the run game with us on defense. So yeah, he would bring so many needed things to our defense, despite some you know know, there's been a few saying like they think he's a little on the smallish end, but I mean he's fine to me. Like I forgot what he weighed at the combine, but I think it was over 310, right. So I'm not like as worried about that as some people may be.
Speaker 2:I think it was priscoe who kind of mentioned the size, even though I don't think priscoe's worried about it either, but he mentioned the size. Uh, but though I don't think Prisco's worried about it either, but he mentioned the size. But yeah, would love to have Mason Graham and that tenacity in this defense. I mean looking at it from the James Gladstone perspective, right? You coming off a team where you had Aaron Donald for many, many years, right? So this kid will definitely intrigue somebody like James Gladstone, who we've heard in interviews say he wants somebody intangibly rich and all of that good stuff. It feels like he might be a match made in heaven when you look at it from a GM perspective and what we have in Gladstone.
Speaker 1:Yeah, mason Graham, currently number four on DJ's big board and, I believe, number three on Kuyper's for what that is worth, six foot three, 320 pounds. He is primarily going to work out at his pro day on March 21st for Michigan, but he did still do the bench press. I believe he got 24 up for. He repped 225 pounds 24 times and you know he is almost certainly a lock Jay for I mean bare minimum, I think top six. I'd be surprised, I'd be very, very shocked, if he gets past that and, yeah, I would love to see him.
Speaker 1:You know Mason and Mason Smith, you know the two, the two Masons in the middle, and then Josh Allen and Trayvon Walker. Uh, rushing the edges, I think that would be, uh, that would be great. And and bring you back to the days of, you know, obviously not the same, but like having those two guys in the middle you can depend on, uh, similar to the Stroud and Henderson days. But Mason Graham would be a pick that I would be very, very excited about and I think probably one of the more I don't want to say safe picks, but I think the one that I would have the least amount of. Well, the second player is another one second to another player we'll talk about here in just a moment. But one of the guys that they could target and pick at number five and have no movement whatsoever, just stay, stand packed at number five, and I'd be like, yeah, that's perfectly fine, I think I'd be okay with that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, me as well, man, Me as well, man Just watching him on film and how he disengaged. And you know, I wish I would love to have seen him in more SEC competition, but nonetheless, that's OK that he wasn't. I would be very excited about that. Yeah, and you know I would have a lot of confidence in that pick as well if we made it. It would be very little concern on my end if that's the decision that they made to get Graham. I mean, look, though a lot of people are saying like he won't be there, you know there's a lot of. I think Mina Kimes and some others, you know, mentioned that he might not be there. That wouldn't be shocking either. But I think, like we kind of got to, just as you mentioned earlier, we kind of got to monitor that quarterback market right and what's the deal there, before we can kind of say what'll happen.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the quarterbacks are always the first dominoes to fall and you know, who knows what's going to happen with Jackson Dart maybe finding his way up pretty high. I don't think he's going to go in the top 10. But I mean, stranger things have happened. They happen each and every single year. But let's get to my first pick here.
Speaker 1:Jay, there is a little bit of a theme with a couple of my guys, if you know anything about me, and let's go to the trenches again, but on the opposite side of the ball, and that is with Kelvin Banks Jr. Offensive lineman from Texas. I'll just read the blurb here from Daniel Jeremiah, who has him ranked as the number 24th prospect on his board. Banks is a thick, sturdy left tackle. In pass protection he launches out of his stance and shows the ability to sink and bend his knees. He keeps his hands inside and is patient with his punch. When he struggles it's because he sets up too deep or his feet settle too early. Both of these areas can be cleaned up the run game. He has the initial knockback power but he doesn't always strain to drive, slash, finish. He's nimble to adjust and pick off defenders at the second level and on the perimeter. Some teams see him as more of a guard, but I believe he can hold up a tackle. Overall, banks has some things to clean up, but I like his core foundation of strength and agility.
Speaker 1:Now this is another. This is one of those situations here where I do believe that if banks could be the pig you could trade back and take advantage of again a falling shador sanders, maybe another player that people want to target, the like the defensive end out of, uh, texas a&m, whose name is escaping me right now. You know one of those guys that people didn't think was going to be there but people are going to start scrambling to maybe move up a little bit. I know that Banks has kind of dropped down on some draft boards for some people again because he may be more of a guard than an offensive tackle. But you have heard over and over again, the one consistent message from Leon Cohen and from James Gladstone is this is about Trevor, protecting Trevor, getting him in the right position and making sure that he is protected, and this is one of the top guys. I did see him struggle against Georgia twice, but again it was Georgia, but they've invested the money at Walker Little. I think they're pretty happy with Anton Harrison for the time being.
Speaker 1:Slide Kelvin banks to the inside. And you know, I know there's this thing about people not being super high on people taking guards in the, you know, super early in the draft. But if you end up getting a guard, jay, that's around here, that the sticks around for the entirety of Trevor Lawrence's career, then that is an absolute win. I would be very happy with Kelvin Banks as the pick if they traded back a little bit, but he is still another guy that I would be pretty happy with him taking a little bit later in the draft. And was it Kelvin Banks, jay, that the quote that you shared with us in the group chat who said you know, if it came down to being a backup as an offensive tackle or playing as a guard, he would absolutely slide in the guard? Was that Banks or was that the? Was that Campbell?
Speaker 2:I don't think that was me that posted that. It might have been on Twitter, but yeah, I'm not sure if that was Banks or Campbell. I'm not sure on it.
Speaker 1:I'll have to look it up, but I'll check. I'll check on that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, look it up, but uh, I'll check, I'll check on that. Yeah, well, I mean, what I'll say about banks is you know everybody keeps talking about in jazz, in the jazz twitter realm. You know they want a people mover and you know somebody who moves bodies and that's what banks does to me. Now you mentioned a very interesting quote there from daniel jeremiah. When you read that blurb from his top prospect rankings about his feet and I pulled it up as well here where it says that when he struggles it's because he sets his feet too deep. It says when he struggles it's because he sets up too deep or his feet settle too early.
Speaker 2:And it's funny that he mentioned that, because one of the things that I think kind of differs him from Campbell, if you're looking at him as guards right, that is, is is defeat, right, so it is. I find it ironic that you know Daniel J Meyer mentioned that as well. I do think Will Campbell might have him beat in that department, but you know, that's OK, that's. You know, nonetheless, man, he's a guy that every time I watched him on film, for the most part, as you said, he struggled with Georgia. But I mean, like, as you said, phil, it's Georgia man and he was dealing with, you know, people on the other side like Jalen Walker you know what I'm saying Like one of the most athletic people in the draft for crying out loud Like I think we can shoot him some bail.
Speaker 2:But yeah, he's somebody who the power shows up immediately. I wouldn't mind having that power at guard personally, especially when we keep having these conversations about one to. You know, provide better for Trevor Lawrence. So I would absolutely be gaming. He's one of those picks that you could probably trade back to maybe 8, 9, 10-ish, maybe even later. Maybe you can get some more picks and you're also helping out your quarterback and you're getting some more power in the run game too, for Travis Etienne, for Tank Bigsby. So you're killing a lot of birds with one stone if you can get him and you can trade back.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and we keep talking about how Liam Cohen is just really going to unlock the full potential of Travis Etienne Tank Bigsby they're probably going to bring in another running back in the draft or in free agency. So getting the interior locked in, I could definitely see them prioritizing that. And yeah, banks I think would be an excellent addition to this offensive line. I do think it would be at guard, but then you know, if there is an injury you could slide him out to one of those tackle spots. And you know we have definitely seen that as a trend here in Jacksonville in terms of having offensive linemen that can play multiple positions. So I was about to say that.
Speaker 2:Phil.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I didn't mean to cut you off.
Speaker 2:Not even that, not even often, not even linemen. But also what was? What was the key thing I mentioned last year about Brian Thomas Jr? The first thing out of my mouth when we drafted him was the ability, and it was because Daniel Jeremiah put me on game when I asked him about this. It was about his ability to help this team from many spots, especially a team, right, that had dealt with a lot of injuries at receiver and look how it helped us. Right, because we, lo and behold, you know, didn't want this to happen, but we lost Christian Kirk, right, and you know. That being said, you know the thing I kept harping on. I didn't think it got mentioned as much as it should have, aside from us and DJ. But Brian Thomas Jr can help you from the slot, right. You know. His quote was he would give you death by slot fades.
Speaker 2:So versatility, you know, in this day and age, especially with me you talked about this beforehand right, phil, on, you know, on the side. But with it being 17 games a season, you know the season can be rigorous, especially in the trenches. You're going to need that person that can kick out the tackling. Hey, you made a good point there, phil. From the perspective of Walker Little's dealt with injuries too right, so I would absolutely be game for that from that perspective too. You got somebody who can kick out to tackle in a pinch and you know you're providing depth for that offensive line, which is a big. It's not just that we need starters field, we need depth on the offensive line too, like depth that can actually get us through a game or two.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that has been something that this franchise has been big on, no matter who was in charge, no matter who the general manager was, the head coach was that they have always found guys that can kind of move around on the offensive line. And you know, I think banks would be a really good fit for that. But let's get to our next pick here A J we'll. We'll go snake draft here and I will go again, just because I'll stick on theme and talk about another Texas guy who, as I talked about just a moment ago. You know the NFL, the draft combine, can make somebody a lot of money, and Matthew Golden made himself a lot of money this past weekend when he ran a four to nine at the scouting combine. It was kind of funny because you know my other guy, isaiah Bond, who I'm still a big fan of. He came into the combine saying he was going to break Xavier Worthy's 40-yard dash record and he did not come anywhere close. Not only did he not come anywhere close, his teammate, the aforementioned Matthew Golden, outpaced him by quite a significant amount.
Speaker 1:And there are reports, jay, that some people think that Matthew Golden could be the first wide receiver off the board. Now we're going to mention a couple of receivers here in just a moment, but I want to get your thoughts Again. When we talk about the combine, it's always something that's very interesting when it comes to, uh, you know, just watching these guys run in shorts. But I mean, matthew golden also has game speed, like I know. Obviously I watched a little bit more of him than you did, but uh, seeing him in the college football playoff and sec championship game like this is a guy some people think he is.
Speaker 1:I believe he was todd mcshay. I saw him on instagram say that he thinks Matthew Golden's the best route runner in the class. And if he were just six feet, you know, and a little bit heavier, then he would be the undisputed number one wide receiver in this class. But because I believe he comes up at 511 and a little bit smaller, that may may cause him to slip a little bit Still going to be a first rounder, but maybe not a top 10 guy. So to be clear, I don't think they should take Matthew Golden at number five. But if there were some movement, I mean, listen, you love to see speed like this on the football field and then imagine pairing him with BTJ. Now we haven't seen TMAC run to give you guys a little precursor. We haven't seen him run the 40 yet. We'll see what happens there on his pro day. But, jay, what did you think about Matthew Golden's performance at the Combine and what do you know about him at least going into this process.
Speaker 2:Yeah, golden is one of those prospects. I have to lean on your expertise, for I haven't gone that far down the receiver rabbit hole yet. But what will say? Because you know you mentioned him and T-Mac right is, I have my reservations about the Jaguars drafting a receiver in the first round and this is something we mentioned in our text thread for the simple fact that you know, we're kind of dealing with the unknown with James Gladstone, but at the same time're kind of dealing with the unknown with James Gladstone. But at the same time, when you're dealing with the unknown, what have I always said, phil, about dealing with the unknown?
Speaker 2:In football, you always go back to history. When you don't know what in God's name you're looking at, or what to predict for the future for a GM or a team or offense or a defense or a coordinator, whatever the case case may be. When you're trying to project what things will look like in the future, you always go back to history. And when you look at the history of the rams, right, they haven't drafted a receiver in the first round. Now, admittedly, they a lot of years. They didn't have a first round pick when James Gladstone was there, but they hadn't drafted a receiver um in the first round while he was there at all. You know they, I think they drafted Atwell in the second round, they got Cooper Cup in the third round and then they got uh, puka Nakua in the fifth round.
Speaker 2:But you know, I think when we look at, look at James Gladstone, history history says that he's coming from an organization that really believes they can find receivers outside of round one.
Speaker 2:So that's something that's kind of been lingering in my head. For, you know, the last day or so is like, could we see it happen? You know like where you know they might get this guy in the second, third, fourth round that takes off, which you know Golden could slip to guy in the second, third, fourth round that takes off, which you know golden could slip to us in the second round. Maybe we'll see. I guess, like when you coming off the combine that he's coming off of that's probably unlikely, but if he does, you know like could he be one of those, another one of those guys that just you know gives james gladstone and that organization of feathering their cap from the perspective, perspective of their ability to find receivers outside of round one. But I'll watch some of Golden, as a matter of fact, when we get off the podcast, since you mentioned him and I'll post notes on Twitter about what I think of him, so he'll be the next prospect I evaluate.
Speaker 1:Yeah, to give you DJ's little blurb here, once again from his big board. Now, this is before the combine, so this was back as of the let's see, I think February 24th. But yeah, to give you what he he wrote down for Golden, who is his 22nd ranked prospect. Golden has average size but he plays with tremendous polish instincts and toughness. He spends a lot of time operating out of the slot. He can defeat press coverage with quickness and or strength. He understands how to tempo routes and sets up defenders down the field. He can change gears with when the ball goes up and he tracks it naturally. He does a nice job of staying grounded through the catch. When working on crossers. He has the utmost confidence in his ball skills. After the catch. He is very strong and sturdy to pull through tackles and he can make defenders miss in space. I love his temperament on the field. He plays with an edge. Overall.
Speaker 1:Golden doesn't have dynamic traits, but he's a natural football player and a quarterback's best friend. He's dependable and you know who doesn't like it. What quarterback doesn't like a dependable wide receiver, right, jay, jay. So I think he'd be also saying you know standing there that he plays a lot out of the slot. With the future of Christian Kirk up in the air, you know, all the more reason. I think Matthew Golden would be a solid target in the case that they you know he does fall a little bit and they find themselves in the position to take him. But let's get back to your second selection here, jay. Who do you have on your list? Another prospect you'd like to see the Jaguars target in round one.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we'll keep it in no particular order and we'll keep it on topic what you said, right, or receiver, although you know I said you know I don't think they go receiver, although you know I said you know I don't think they go receiver. But still, it's about who we would like for the Jaguars to draft and you know just, I guess, a personal type of thing. But yeah, I went with TMAC and you know TMAC. When I think about, like the possibilities of what him and Brian Thomas can do and he actually talked about this at the combine I feel like that Brian Thomas is one of the the top receivers in the league, top five receivers and he would love to work on the other side of him. So that's something to be excited about. You got a kid who wants to be a Jaguar and wants to, you know, join Brian Thomas Jr and learn from him. Right, that's huge, that's always huge. But yeah, just when I think about, like what they could do in a Liam Cohen like offense, you know like the possibilities are endless, right, I mean, you kind of talked about this beforehand. Like we talked about this back in January when we thought Balki would still be here, thought balky would still be here. And you know we said you know, at least you know, if we do decide to continue the podcast, at least if they choose cohen, we'll have some kind of exciting offense to look forward to and, um, you know what he can dial up and and all of that good stuff. And that's where I'm at. If they draft t-mac man like I, like, I mean, I'm already excited without T-Mac, but if they can get T-Mac I would be very, very elated about that, Even though, as you said, phil T-Mac, of all these prospects that we're mentioning, kind of scares me the most, you know.
Speaker 2:But still, as you all know, being scared by a prospect has never shied me away from saying I would still take that kid Right. So T-Mac is in that boat. He's a guy that, like when I watched him on film, I just loved, like the body control for his size Right, which I'm sure we'll see that when he tests. You know we'll get to witness that firsthand. Real curious about that 40. I wish he would have tested. And, and you know, sometimes with the combine man, I do dislike not seeing these kids testing. You know, electing the past. But look, you know their money's on the line right and, um, you know they have to make the best decision that's best for them financially, so you can't be mad with that, but he's one of those guys. I really wish we could have saw it at combine, but still, you know, when his pro day rolls around we'll still, you know, get to see it down the road, just not as early as we would have liked.
Speaker 2:This is a guy that you know work with. If I'm not mistaken, isn't Jed Fish, the coach over there at Arizona field. I don't know if you can look that up for me real quick Former Jacksonville Jaguar guy and a guy that I think has ties to Liam Cohen. So they probably get some intel on him from that perspective. But yeah, man, for those of you who haven't seen T-Mac on film yet, man, or even those of you who have man go and watch his body control at his size, man, it's insane. And that's kind of one of those things that kind of, I guess, intrigue people with Brian Thomas, you know. So that's one. That's my number two on my list, phil.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think he was there for what you're thinking of. He was there the last few years up until like 2023 or something like that. Brenton Brennan is their head coach now, so but yeah, as far as a team that goes, this is a prospect that I wasn't really too familiar with until you know the season it ended and you guys started talking to me about him. Ranked 14th on Daniel Jeremiah is pre combine big board and 13th on Mel Kuypers. Uh, here's what Daniel Jeremiah had to say.
Speaker 1:With him, mcmillan is a tall rangy receiver with a Drake London like skillset primarily lines up outside, though he'll take some reps in the slot. He lacks ideal suddenness or burst in his release, but he's a smooth, easy mover. His tape is littered with contested catches. Some of that spawns from an inability to consistently create separation, but it's also because he's so comfortable using his plus size to win 50-50 balls. He has outstanding body control and high point skills. His catch radius is a real weapon in the red zone. He's been productive after the catch because of his strength and physicality.
Speaker 1:Overall, I thought London played with more urgency as a prospect, but McMillan has the potential to provide a similar impact at the next level and, I think a lot of Jaguar fans will be locked into McMillan because of the, his ability to essentially do what Gabe Davis was supposed to do, but much better and obviously much younger. So I would certainly be okay with this pick as well. Do you feel like and not only because the you know, when you look at the Rams draft strategy, do you think that five is too high for for him, based off of some of the things that are listed there from dj? Or, again, is it really just going to depend on his pro day?
Speaker 2:yeah, I'm glad you pulled, uh, you brought it up about dj's blurb. Yeah, that, and that's when I say he scares me. That's one of the things right, there is suddenness, right, and we've seen in this league, if you don't have Sutton is sometimes, you know, it don't work out well for you as a receiver. So, uh, there's that and again, you know, this is kind of stuff we might get to see during his pro day. You know how he changes direction, how you know how quick and sudden he is out of breaks, all of that good stuff. But, um, yeah, yeah, you're right, phil, the Rams strategy says that's not, you know, a route they would go, in my opinion. Now, that's not to say they don't like him and they don't have him high on the board, and you know, liam could very well be very high on him.
Speaker 2:But I, you know, just looking at history and what history says no, and also just looking into what they're inheriting. Right, phil, we we mentioned it earlier, I mentioned it earlier is what they're inheriting is a team, that they are set at the premium positions. Right, they're set at receiver, at least not as a whole group, but receiver in terms of your number one guy. They're set at other premium positions edge rusher, probably quarterback. You know that, at least we think they are. But yeah, all of that being said, man, like it's the.
Speaker 2:What I mentioned in that whole segment was like it's more so with this team. You got to build this team up in the trenches. That's going to be James Gladstone primary job here. It's because they have the skill guys. They just don't have the big guys and the guys to get it done in the trenches, and that's why I say like that kind of veers me even more towards, uh, a Mason Graham or a Kelvin Banks or another guy we'll mention later down the road as well. It's not just the history from the Rams with receivers, but also they've inherited a team that needs so much help in the trenches and something that they need to attack with urgency for the sake of Trevor Lawrence.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they've made it very clear, as we already mentioned, that this thing is going to run through Trev, but the idea of pairing the potential of a mcmillan with brian thomas jr I'm sure is going to get quite a few people very, very excited. Uh, jay, let's get back to your next prospect here, as we wrap up this episode with my last pick and yours. Who do you have third on this list of players that you'd like to see the jaguars target in the first round?
Speaker 2:yeah, the last one is a guy that's gained steam in, um, you know, the jags realm, whether it's twitter, whatever the case may be but will campbell, and I think mia o'brien kind of ignited this, she started it, um, if I'm not mistaken and if I'm crediting the wrong person, forgive me y'all, but you know, you know a lot of people think that they like will campbell fromSU and they more so like him as a guard. Of course he plays tackle, have watched a lot of film on him, watched the South Carolina film of him twice, maybe even three times, and I watched his film against Ole Miss as well, and you know he's a guy. Now, admittedly, if they passed on him, I don't think it's the end of the world, like some people might think in terms of fixing the offensive line, because I also, like you know, as I mentioned Kelvin Banks we already mentioned him, right, tate Ratledge, right, and we all seen a viral clip of him Shout outs to the Georgia Bulldogs Go Dawgs. Right, we've seen the clips of him running you, you know, one of the fastest 40s, um, if not the fastest one at the combine, and that that mullet just going in the wind, right, like I would love tate ratlidge too, which I shocker or surprise here. I put him in a mock draft that I recently did that I may or may not post. Um, I guess the combine kind of screwed it up so I might not need to post that one, phil, but you've seen it, phil, and Boogie and Vez have seen it as well.
Speaker 2:But going back to the point ahead, the topic at hand, will Campbell, one of the things that came out of the combine his arm length right Like not to sound like Trent Baalke here, but this is something that matters at the offensive tackle position, not just like Trent but in general. And you know I forgot his arm measurements, but somebody put out a tweet and I don't know if it was fact-checked or not, but he would have the shortest arms of a tackle if he played tackle in the league. Aside from I think it's a kid from the Colts, it might've been Reinhardt from the Colts. That being said, a lot of people are projecting him to be a guard, and I can very well see James Gladstone viewing him as a guard. He is a guy that I will say this.
Speaker 2:I think it's some guards out there that have showcased a little bit more power than him, but at the same time, you know he's playing tackle. So you know, a lot of times it's not about power, he's relying on agility and you know he's dealing with as we've said in the past feel like defensive ends and edge rushers, who are arguably some of the most athletic people on the planet, not just in football. So you know it's not sometimes when you're dealing with the left tackle position, it's not really about like you don't get to see a prospect's power like you would like to, but I think he would be just fine at guard. All of that said, and he's a prospect that if they take him at five, I totally understand it. Some people will be like Campbell at five and you're going to put him at guard. That's probably not the best usage of your resources or a top five pick, but we've seen Trevor Lawrence beat to a pulp.
Speaker 2:I'm at a point where I'm just ready to start protecting my quarterback man and keeping him upright and if that requires a fifth round, fifth overall pick, that's fine. I mean, like you look at how guards can change the dynamic of the run game and not only just that, change things in terms of protecting Trevor Lawrence, right, you look at guards who've been taken early within the top 10 picks, like Quentin Nelson, right, and while the Colts have their share of issues, one thing their quarterback hasn't had to worry about is getting the crap knocked out of them from the interior. You know not, at least when Quentin Nelson's, you know on whoever he's on. So you know I'm ready to have that for my quarterback right, and I think well, will Campbell would provide that. I think that's you know I'm ready to have that for my quarterback and I think, well, will Campbell would provide that. I think that's you know.
Speaker 2:The Jaguars mindset. And also, again, as we said, man, getting that run game going that Liam Cohen just reinvigorated over there with the Bucs Right, they were like 28th in the run and then, you know, liam gets there. He puts emphasis on a run game. They jumped to like top five, top four, something like that. Will Campbell is the kind of guy that I could see them exactly looking at and saying like that kid's a guard. He could do good things for us and he could change the dynamic of this offense and for that reason I put him on my list.
Speaker 1:Yeah well, campbell, a number 10 on Kuyper's pre-combined big board and number eight on daniel jeremiah's uh. Daniel jeremiah said campbell has ideal height, bulk and athleticism for his position in past pro. He stays square, bends well and keeps his hands in tight. He will expose his chest at times due to his lack of ideal uh length, but he's able to recover after giving up some initial ground. He can slide and redirect with ease. He flashes the upper body strength to torque and control defenders In the run game. He can wash defenders on down blocks and he stays attached to and through the whistle.
Speaker 1:Some teams will be more concerned than others with his lack of length, but I don't see it as a major issue. More concerned than others with his lack of length, but I don't see it as a major issue. He is just scratching the surface of his potential and should start a tackle for a decade, provided he stays healthy. Again, I would be very happy with this selection, even at number five, as opposed to Kelvin Banks, where I think you should trade back a little bit if that's a guy you were going to target. But yeah, I'm right there with you, jay Campbell. I think you can slot him in at guard and again fits the mold of a guy who I think you could move around in terms of either tackle or guard or, you know, if things don't work out with Walker Little. What was his deal? Walker Little's deal was just a what was like a two or three year extension, right, so it's not like we're locked into Walker Little permanently for for an extended amount of time.
Speaker 2:If you bring in a guy like campbell, he could very well be the left tackle of the future yeah, yeah, and that blurb you mentioned, you know, something that I saw too in terms of what impresses me about him. Yeah, the ability to slide and and, uh, redirect really stood out. Um on, that's definitely something that I agree with DJ on. And yeah, man, I would be again man with what I saw Trevor Lawrence go through these last two years. Man, I'm ready, man, I'm ready to start investing high picks into the you know, and not to say Trent did it but didn't do it, but I'm ready to, you know, to start investing, if it takes it, top 15 picks in, you know, getting what we need for Trevor Lawrence. So, look, they take Will Campbell. I'm all for it, especially when considering Liam Cohen's expertise with offensive line and offensive lineman. I really trust his decision making there and his thought process there. And yeah, man, I'll be, I'll be, so game to get Will Campbell, man. So I don't know about you, man, but this draft can't get here fast enough.
Speaker 1:Yeah, this would, like I said, be a really, really great pick for Trevor and for the team overall. But let's get to the last guy, jay. We left him for last as we kind of wrap up this episode, because I think it's probably the most obvious guy on pretty much everybody's list the Jaguars draft position down the stretch because you know we didn't want to fall too far out of the range of getting one Travis Hunter, who I think, if you ask a lot of people, draft experts is the crown jewel of this draft. Now that's kind of shifting as well to Abdul Carter from Penn State. We obviously didn't really talk about pass rushers here in this episode. I'm sure that will probably come out through this whole process as we lead up to April. But J Travis Hunter is the prize not for just Jacksonville but for a lot of teams and I don't know. I mean you're looking at the four teams that select before Jacksonville Tennessee, cleveland, new York and New England and you can make the argument that any of those teams could take him before five and each one of them would. You know you'd be totally fine with them making that pick. So we know what Travis Hunter brings to the table. I will read the Daniel Jeremiah blurb, which I think is the longest one he has on here on his big board.
Speaker 1:Hunter is a lean athletic playmaker who started on both sides of the ball for the Buffaloes, winning the Heisman Trophy in 2024. He has a narrow frame and is a very smooth, flowing athlete. On defense, he was much improved in 2024. He didn't take as many unnecessary risks at cornerback, relying more on discipline and technique to stay in position. He can locate the ball and picked it off seven times over the past two seasons.
Speaker 1:On offense, he is creative in his release to escape press. As a receiver, he is constantly changing gears to keep cornerbacks off balance and he never wastes steps. At the top of his route he drops his weight and explodes out of the break. He has elite body control and hands. He can pluck balls well outside his frame with grace and ease After the catch. He is silky, smooth and elusive. He doesn't have elite top speed, but he's fast enough to not get caught.
Speaker 1:My only concern is the question of how long will he be able to physically hold up if he continues to play both wide receiver and a cornerback full time at the professional level? I believe there is a way for him to make an impact on both sides of the ball, but it will likely require him majoring in defense with a minor in offense. So, jay, I don't know that they can stand packed at five and get him, although I have seen mock drafts where they get him at number five. Do you think that there is any possibility of that happening? Once again, I think it's going to have to depend on those quarterbacks, right? So any realistic possibility that he is there at five and they can take him without making any moves.
Speaker 2:Man, look, phil, we've seen it. We've been doing this long enough to know that anything can happen, right? If you would have asked us many, many years ago if we would be expecting Jalen Ramsey to be there for the taking for us when that happened, we would have called you crazy, right? I don't think beforehand we had Jalen Ramsey falling to us in any of the mock drafts we previously did or discussed, or any discussions we had previously. If you would have told us we would have got Josh Allen at what it was like seven, eight, um. When we got him back in what? 2017, whatever it was that we got him as well, we would have called you crazy. We just sat there and literally he just fell in our laps.
Speaker 2:Man, you just never know with this league, especially when you're dealing with a league that's so infatuated and rightfully so with fixing the quarterback position, um. So if we roll around a draft day and he does fall to us, I wouldn't be shocked. I don't think it'll happen, though. Kind of going back to that conversation we had about the combine, I didn't read anything about how he interviewed at the combine, so I'm just gonna let him say that he interviewed fine, but I think like that's what will shoot his draft. Well, what will prevent him from falling to us? He probably interviewed so well at the combine. If I had to guess again, I haven't seen anything about how he interviewed, but he probably interviewed so well.
Speaker 1:He's just a good kid, you know. He's just he, he does everything the right way. One thing that really stuck out to me was remember two years ago where the Colorado State kid, you know, hit him. There was a late hit and that kid was getting like death threats and stuff like that and Travis brought him on his YouTube channel, the Colorado State player, so they could show that there was no hard feelings Like right then. And there I was like oh, this kid's different. That's the one thing that I always thought about and that when I really recognized, like oh, this is a, this is a special person too.
Speaker 2:Right, exactly Phil, and he's a better man than me because I don't think I could have did that.
Speaker 2:I don't think I could have brought Dool on, you know. Oh man, I don't even want to discuss how that would have went if I had the athletic ability and the teammates to fix that situation. That would have ended up with a big-time altercation on the field, you know. But all of that said man, yeah, you're right, he's just a good kid and I would think he interviewed. Well, now, I did see, and I don't know who this was. It could have just, it might not have been anybody major. But now that I'm thinking about it, I did see one person say that owners might be concerned about him having like a Jalen Ramsey mentality in terms of being kind of hard to deal with from that perspective. But I don't get that. I don't get that inkling from him. And, as you just said, I forgot all about that situation where he had the situation with the Colorado State kid and they patched it up. That speaks volumes about what kind of a person you're dealing with now as a, as a player. Oh, man, if he's there, you know, by all means run up to the podium, throw the podium and just announce the pick, you know, to us because, um, I would, I would love to have him, man, especially. You know I've always said this. We we've had this discussion in the past. Um, I've always said this. You know, if he has to choose a position to settle at, yeah, I'm with Daniel, settle him at cornerback. That'll be his primary position in the league. I think he's a phenomenal cornerback and when you look at just how our cornerbacks have performed too, it's a big time need there. You know what I'm saying. Like Tyson Campbell, you know I'm a Georgia Bulldogs fan, but I can admit that I don't think they should have gave him that contract. They gave him and, lo and behold, I was right about that. Right, because he wasn't healthy for some of the season, right? So he keeps having these soft tissue issues and what have you? And look man, I'm hopeful that Tyson will become a good player one day. But he has to show us that right, he has to be available. The best ability is availability. Right, and you know all of the concerns I had about him are kind of showing up when they gave him the contract at least. Again, his potential is through the roof. But you know they need a quarterback back.
Speaker 2:I mean that secondary was. We talked about earlier this defense and how they looked in the trenches. That secondary was hard to watch too. It was god awful, like you know. I could argue they should just go ahead and replace the whole secondary, but you know they can't do that, obviously because they got money tied to Tyson, a lot of money. They just got Savage last year, so it's probably some money there tied into him Significant money as well. But you know like it made me. I was so disgusted with what I saw out of that secondary that I, you know, if it was me, I'd be trying to replace the whole secondary.
Speaker 2:That being said, I like Travis Hunter as a cornerback prospect. I like Travis Hunter as a cornerback prospect, love him as a receiver prospect too, but I think he could really help us tremendously patch up a need at cornerback. Because you know we've seen you know somebody who I've tried to praise and give a shot and you know be hopeful on Monteric Brown get too many shots out there right because of injuries and it hasn't gone great. We've seen all these other cornerbacks out there get attempts and shots at and then just fail at it as well, not to say that they aren't good cornerbacks from the perspective of your number. You know three to four or five guys, but in terms of stepping in as a starter, they fell miserably at it, you know, and it hasn't been great.
Speaker 2:But yeah, um, as, as daniel jeremiah mentioned, you know, always has his eyes on the ball when it's up in the air, which you know, and it hasn't been great. But yeah, um, as, as daniel jeremiah mentioned, you know, always has his eyes on the ball when it's up in the air, which you know. That's been something that we've griped about with tyson right. So from that perspective, he's the exact opposite of tyson with locating the ball. Um, and you know the, the body control, the athletic ability to just do both things play both receiver and cornerback. You know that speeds volumes about him.
Speaker 2:Again, yeah, he'll have to be limited to very little offensive snaps on the offensive side of the ball, but that excites me too, like the few offensive plays he's out there. I'm excited about what Liam can dial up for him when he is out there offensively, if they do that, if they choose to, and I think that would kind of be something Liam had to fight with himself internally with, like, do I put this kid out there and risk him getting hurt on offense, or would the payoff be worth it Would he could provide to us in offense or on offense. But yeah, man, I love Travis Hunter, the cornerback, and I would be more than happy if he fell to us. And don't rule it out, phil, to answer your question, do not rule it out because the Jacksonville Jaguars have had significant luck, great luck when it comes to a prospect falling to them in the top seven or so picks.
Speaker 1:That shouldn't be there yeah, that is absolutely true proof of concept right here in the building. So stranger things have happened in the draft. And, yeah, to add him to your franchise again. I know the term generational talent, generational athlete has kind of fallen out of popularity here in the last few years. People don't like to throw that around as much, but Travis Hunter is one of those guys. Again, what he does for you in the football field and, I think, what he does for you in the community.
Speaker 1:I will say there is one thing, jay, that he did over the weekend and you can attest to this as a big baseball fan. He did say that what he does is more difficult than what Shohei Itani does over there with the Dodgers, and that is just untrue for those of us and for those of you listeners that have played baseball or even just watch baseball. You know that hitting a baseball is probably the most difficult thing to do in sports, and then also turning around and being a top tier pitcher. I don't know that we're going to see that again anytime soon in baseball. So, travis, respectfully, that is incorrect. I want to know if you're going to see that again anytime soon in baseball. So, travis, respectfully, that is incorrect.
Speaker 2:I want to know if you're on the same page, jay absolutely, of course, hitting the ball was the first thing that came out of like. To my mind, it's like no travis, you don't know how hard it is to hit a baseball and if you don't, please go to somebody's batting cage and quickly find out. Um, and I mean, even you mentioned the pitching too. Man, like I know they didn't use him a lot as a pitcher, if at all. Last year the Dodgers did, but when he was a pitcher, when he was pitching with the angels dude, he was smoking people throwing straight gas. Man, like he was a legit pitcher. So to say, you can match what that man did as a, you know, a two-sided athlete, offensive and, um, you know, offensive. Well, yeah, offensive and a defensive athlete for the baseball, for the diamond, um, side of things is that's kind of insane travis, but I like your confidence, I like confidence, so he's not lacking there.
Speaker 1:Listen, man, I just saw Paul Skeens throw a nasty cutter in spring training. So when Travis Hunter can do that, then he can let me know, because yeah, it's not even close, travis, you know what. Yeah, it's, it's not even close, travis, you know what. That statement, just right there, should have him fall to at least number five in the draft.
Speaker 2:I think he needs to be, he needs to be reprimanded for that and no one Right. That's his punishment. That's his punishment. Any team in the top four pass on Travis Hunter for that statement alone for that take.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, undraftable before number five. So, jay, those are some picks or some players here that we would love to see the team target, you know, maybe not necessarily at number five as we mentioned, but just kind of in the first round. In general, as we'll kind of wrap up this episode, we're running a little bit longer than we wanted to here, but again we had a lot to catch up on and also I wanted to talk about these players To end the episode, to kind of wrap up here, I want you to talk about what we discussed before we started recording and also what he reported himself. This player at the Combine is he did not meet with the Jaguars.
Speaker 1:It seems like Jacksonville's not interested in Will Johnson. I mean, I'm wondering, maybe people were expecting us to mention him here in this episode cornerback out of Michigan, and it seems like you know, obviously the saying is where there's smoke, there's fire. There seems to be not even any type of kindling or even small embers about the Jaguars being interested in Will Johnson. What do you, what did you think about that?
Speaker 2:Yeah, man, as we discussed beforehand, that threw a fork in my whole like list here, because I love Will Johnson. Y'all heard me talking about him in the thread and what he would offer at the cornerback position and he didn't work out at the combine. So I don't know, you know, if that hurt him as well. Um, normally that doesn't hurt a prospect, but I don't know, maybe it was. You know, something that was said in interviews that that hurt him. Whatever the case may be, but yeah, that's a red flag man because, as we mentioned um and I'm I'm blanking on his name the jaguars have a coach in house that they brought into the staff that worked at michigan, right? Um, and, that being said, like it's a red flag from the perspective of you know, some people will be like, oh, maybe they don't want to tilt their you know their hat to what they might do, or you know, maybe they're trying to remain low-key, like they did with Blake Bortles.
Speaker 2:Remember we were real low-key and discreet about drafting Blake Bortles and showing interest in him.
Speaker 2:The only thing that kind of indicated we would do it was Gus Bradley shaking his hand at the combine, but nobody put it together then, or I think it was the combine or his pro day.
Speaker 2:It might have been his pro day, but I digress from the point. But I don't think it's a situation like that where they're trying to, you know, not show interest in him. They'd like throw teams off, because I mean, eventually, with where the Jaguars are. You know, you're still gonna have an opportunity to meet with them, whether it's, you know, not necessarily at the combine, but you can also meet with them in terms of one of your in-person interviews at the facility or whatever the case may be. So yeah, man, I thought that was a very interesting situation. I'll say that they didn't interview him and you know I would love to be a fly on the wall in the war room as to like why, or if he's on the draft board, or he's lower on a draft board than he should be, because that is an intriguing situation when looking at it from the perspective of his ability at the cornerback position, and the jaguars need at the cornerback position.
Speaker 1:That definitely raised my antennas when it, you know, when that news came out yeah, you know, just hearing his name consistently uh, you know, through draft twitter and obviously, and also on jaguar Twitter in terms of a guy that we'd like to see them target, just doesn't seem like there is any type of traction there. Plenty of time left, obviously, before the draft and things could happen. Who knows what happens when it comes to these pro days and free agency and all that kind of stuff. So just a very interesting thing. I felt like it was a good idea to close out on if people were surprised to hear us not mention him in this list. But, jay, I'm sure we're going to have a lot more to discuss in terms of, also, free agency.
Speaker 1:We didn't even start off with free agency. That's how excited we are about this draft, but I'm sure we'll have some lists coming out here in the next few weeks in terms of content. But is there anything else you'd like to mention before we wrap up here? As we gear up to get back to, you know, the weekly format, as much as we possibly can? Again, there will be no shortage of content to discuss.
Speaker 2:So anything else you want to mention to our audience before we get out of here for tonight? Nah, nothing else, man. This was a great episode. Man, it's good to get back into draft content. It's always exciting, but especially now that Trent's gone and we got a new regime to look forward to and like we're kind of in the dark right, we're kind of left guessing and assuming, you know, with this new regime. So, yeah, man, like I think this was a great episode. I enjoyed this one man, and I can't wait to talk free agency. I forgot to mention, you know and plug everything earlier in the podcast. I'll do it now. Of course, you can follow us in terms of our website, wwwtouchdownjadwarscom. We'll get written content up on there eventually. Of course, Phil will have it all linked so you all will have a link to go to and check that out. But yeah, man, great episode, Can't wait to get back to it.
Speaker 1:Absolutely Everything you need is in the Linktree link in the show notes of this and every single episode, so make sure you keep up with us on social media, as we will keep you guys up to date with everything. Jacksonville Jaguars. But folks, that is my co-host, james Johnson. I am Phil Smith, and do not forget to tune in to Touchdown Jaguars for each and every Jaguar Touchdown and we will see you next time.