As the 2021 NFL Draft approaches, the New York Giants and Carolina Panthers are at a pivotal crossroads regarding their quarterback situations. The Giants have made headlines by declining the fifth-year option on Daniel Jones, who is now in a contract year. This decision raises questions about whether Jones can solidify his status as the franchise quarterback. Despite showing flashes of potential, Jones has struggled with consistency, and the Giants are looking to bolster their offensive line to provide him with better protection. Key players like Saquon Barkley and Kenny Golladay will also play crucial roles in supporting Jones, as the team aims to enhance its offensive capabilities.

On the other hand, the Panthers are evaluating their options concerning Baker Mayfield, who has shown he can win games when supported by a strong running game and defense. The Panthers' draft strategy will significantly impact Mayfield's future; if they select a quarterback early, it could signal a shift away from Mayfield. Conversely, if they opt for an offensive tackle or another position, they may consider retaining Mayfield and exploring veteran quarterback options later.

In terms of injuries and roster changes, both teams are relatively stable, with no major injuries reported prior to the draft. However, the Giants are keen on making strategic moves to ensure they have the flexibility to address their quarterback situation in the future, potentially looking to trade back in the draft to accumulate more picks for next year.

Coaching dynamics also play a vital role, as both teams are under pressure to make the right decisions. The Giants' coaching staff is focused on maximizing Jones's potential, while the Panthers are weighing their commitment to Mayfield. With the draft looming, the stakes are high for both franchises, as they seek to lay the groundwork for their respective futures.

Ian

Rapoport

joining

us

right

now

from

across

the

pond.

Figuratively.

Here

in

Las

Vegas.

What's

the

deal

with

the

Giants'

decision

about

Daniel

Jones

and

how

that

might

fit

into

any

draft

plans

tonight?

Daniel

Jones

is

suddenly

in

a

contract

year.

The

New

York

Giants

declined

to

pick

up

the

fifth-year

option

on

Daniel

Jones,

which

means

he's

only

under

contract

for

next

year.

Now,

This

was

a

financial

decision

not

to

lock

themselves

into

a

fully

guaranteed

season.

But

it

really

underscores

one

of

the

big

themes

for

the

Giants

next

season,

which

is:

they

need

to

know

if

Daniel

Jones

is

their

franchise

quarterback.

If

he

is,

he

probably

gets

the

franchise

tag,

He'd

get

about

million

more

than

he

might

have

otherwise

gotten.

If

he

does

not,

Then

they

simply

move

on

from

him.

This

is

why

some

of

the

focus

is

going

to

be

on

the

offensive

line

for

the

Giants,

to

make

sure

that

they

protect

him

and

that

they

get

the

best

version

of

Daniel

Jones.

And

then

there's

the

question

about

Baker

Mayfield

and

his

future,

How

might

tonight

play

into

that?

Or

is

tomorrow

night

really

the

time

that

might

factor

into

Baker

Mayfield's

future?

Now,

what

the

Carolina

Panthers

do

tonight

will

no

doubt

factor

into

Baker

Mayfield's

future.

If

they

come

away

tonight

with

a

quarterback

whether

it's

six

or

they

slide

back

and

take

one

it

doesn't

seem

likely

they

would

trade

for

Baker

Mayfield.

If

they

do

not

leave

tonight

with

a

quarterback,

If

they

take

the

top

offensive

tackle,

And

perhaps

tomorrow

they

take

a

look

at

some

of

the

veteran

quarterbacks,

Baker

Mayfield

or

Jimmy

Garoppolo.

So,

Yes.

What

happens

tonight,

Who

leaves

with

a

quarterback

will

go

a

long

way

in

determining

where

Baker

Mayfield

is

going

to

play

next

season.

All

right,

Thanks

very

much.

Ian

Rapoport

with

the

latest

on

that.

Okay.

Guys,

This

just

in:

there's

intrigue

involving

the

draft.

And

there's

subtext

and

messaging

around

the

draft

that

might

be

an

okey-doke

for

the

benefit

of

the

team.

Is

it

possible

the

Giants

let

it

be

known

today

that

Daniel

Jones

won't

have

the

fifth-year

option

picked

up?

They

have

until

next

week

to

make

that

decision.

They

make

that

announcement

today

just

in

case

it

makes

anybody

jittery.

Come

up

and

take

a

draft

choice

from

them.

And

get

the

quarterback

they

want,

because

the

Giants

are

thinking

of

taking

that

person.

Is

it

possible?

I

think

the

Giants

are

on

a

tackle.

They're

hoping

that

whoever

can

go

in

front

of

them

who's

not

a

tackle

is

what

they're

in

favor

of.

But

Ian

talked

about

trying

to

get

somebody

to

protect

Daniel

Jones.

I

also

think

they're

going

to

try

to

protect

themselves.

So

you

take

a

tackle

early

to

help

Daniel

Jones

out.

Then

they're

going

to

hedge

their

bets

and

try

to

trade

back

and

get

picks

in

next

year's

draft

so

that

they

can

be

in

the

quarterback

market

if

they

need

to

be.

We've

seen

some

other

teams

use

that

strategy,

trying

to

invest

in

next

year's

draft

class.

So

are

you

talking

about

the

Cincinnati

strategy

from

last

year?

Instead

of

going

to

get

the

offensive

tackle

on

that

second

pick?

Right.

They

got

them

with

the

first

pick.

They

come

back

and

get

a

receiver

to

help

out

Daniel

Jones.

Try

to

get

more

explosive

on

offense.

Try

to

create

some

plays

for

him.

And

make

sure

he's

the

guy

who's

going

to

pilot

their

ship

going

forward.

I

love

where

you

were

going

with

it,

though,

Rich.

Could

someone

get

antsy

and

come

up?

We

talked

about

this

earlier.

There's

going

to

be

quarterback

fever

at

some

point.

Did

the

Giants

help

initiate

some

of

that

with

someone

saying,

'Hey,

if

I'm

going

to

get

my

guy,

that

might

be

the

team

to

talk

to?'

This

is

all

about

winning

football

games.

And

the

question

is

still

there

with

Daniel

Jones.

Does

he

have

talent?

Yes.

Does

he

have

ability?

Yes.

Is

he

a

great

guy

in

the

locker

room?

Yes.

Can

he

win

football

games?

And

have

we,

as

an

organization,

given

him

an

opportunity

to

win

football

games?

Baker

Mayfield

has

proven

that

he

can

win

football

games.

He

needs

a

running

game.

He

needs

to

be

protected.

He

needs

a

great

defense.

When

those

three

things

are

there,

He

can

take

a

team

to

the

playoffs.

Kurt?

Yeah.

I

think

this

is

intriguing

from

both

standpoints.

Daniel

Jones

I

think

we

all

understand

that

we

haven't

seen

what

we

want

to

see

from

him.

So

we've

got

to

put

the

pieces

around

him

because

nobody

wants

to

admit

when

you

go

and

get

a

guy

that

high

that

you

made

the

wrong

pick.

But

the

Giants

are

saying,

"Hey,

we're

not

so

sure

yet.

We're

going

to

give

him

one

more

shot

with

some

pieces

around

him."

Joel,

on

the

other

side

with

Baker

Mayfield,

the

one

that

really

intrigues

me

is

if

we're

not

in

love

with

any

of

these

quarterbacks.

Some

of

these

quarterback-needing

teams

are

just

saying,

Maybe

we

go

and

build

our

team

and

we

get

a

chance

to

get

Baker

Mayfield

after

the

fact,

because

here

is

a

guy

as

Coach

Shaw

was

saying

he

went

and

in

his

first

year;

he

went

and

last

year

before

he

was

injured

this

past

season.

This

is

a

guy

that

has

won,

He

can

win,

and

we

know

what

he

is

as

a

quarterback

if

you

get

the

pieces

around

him.

Remember

how

Coach

K

used

to

talk

about

Christian

Laettner?

He

can

be

the

furnace

of

your

organization

or

he

can

burn

the

house

down.

Similar

about

Baker

Mayfield.

This

guy

is

a

warrior.

And

yes,

He

was

injured.

I

don't

think

he

played

his

best

football.

I

think

he

would

be

the

first

one

to

tell

you

he

didn't

play

his

best

football

last

year.

But

when

healthy

and

when

right,

He

can

win

football

games

for

you.

Positive

locker-room

presence,

and

he's

not

that

expensive,

so

while

teams

are

looking

at

these

quarterbacks

in

tonight's

draft

they're

going

to

be

weighing

whether

to

spend

this

ammunition

to

get

Baker

Mayfield

with

some

of

their

picks

or

to

take

an

unproven

commodity

like

Malik

Willis

out

of

Liberty;

I

think

it's

a

fascinating

discussion

the

question

I

want

to

ask

you,

Daniel

and

the

rest

of

the

guys,

is

if

you

are

building

your

team

and

you

have

an

opportunity

to

take

one

of

these

quarterbacks

in

this

year's

draft

and

have

a

fifth

year

of

contractual

control

if

you

get

him

tonight,

or

just

four

years

if

you

get

him

tomorrow

night,

Would

you

rather

have

that

guy

on

your

team

or

Baker

Mayfield

with

one,

Maybe

two

years

if

you

franchise-tag

him

after

that?

It's

a

much

more

expensive

proposition,

potentially.

You

might

get

him

on

the

cheap

this

year

if

Cleveland

eats

some

of

his

salary.

What

do

you

make

of

that

question?

I

think

eating

the

salary

is

the

key.

If

you

can

get

them

to

eat

a

good

chunk

of

that

salary,

I

think

I

would

be

intrigued

by

Baker

Mayfield

in

knowing

that

when

he's

at

his

best,

when

we've

seen

him

at

his

best

in

this

league,

it's

a

winning

quarterback.

You

can

go

to

the

postseason

with

Baker

Mayfield.

You

can

win

a

lot

of

football

games.

And

while

I

like

the

ability

level

of

some

of

these

quarterbacks

in

this

draft

class,

there's

a

lot

of

unknown

for

a

myriad

of

reasons.

I

feel

like

when

Baker's

at

his

best,

we've

seen

that.

We

know

what

that

looks

like

at

the

NFL

level.

And

when

is

he

at

his

best?

When

he's

doubted

the

most.

This

is

another

opportunity

for

the

Baker

Mayfield

we've

known

for

years

to

truly

go

Baker

Mayfield,

meaning

when

he

came

out

of

high

school,

They

didn't

really

want

to

give

him

a

scholarship;

he

won

the

job

his

freshman

year

in

camp.

And

then

when

he

transferred

to

Oklahoma,

He

had

to

earn

a

scholarship

there,

became

a

Heisman

Trophy

winner,

and

earned

his

way;

he

ended

up

being

the

number

one

pick

in

the

draft.

Put

it

all

together.

He

has

all

the

things

you're

looking

for,

but

you

guys

know

that

a

chip

on

his

shoulder

is

what

drives

Baker

Mayfield.

Now's

the

time

to

go

look

him

in

the

eye

and

say:

Here's

a

team

for

you.

Be

that

guy.

And

what

you're

getting

to,

CD,

is:

he's

the

same

guy.

He's

always

been

the

same

guy.

It's

up

to

us

to

know

who

he

is

and

what

he

does.

And

as

I

said

earlier,

He's

his

own

worst

enemy

when

he's

trying

to

do

it

all

on

his

own.

When

he's

got

a

running

game,

he's

got

a

defense,

and

he

has

a

play-action

pass,

and

he

can

use

his

movement,

This

guy

can

be

a

winning

quarterback.

And

take

a

team

to

the

playoffs

and

beyond.

The

second

half

of

showed

us

everything.

That

offense

clicked

with

Kevin

Stefanski.

Just

like

Coach

Shaw

articulated.

The

three

tight

ends.

They

were

able

to

push

it

to

the

outside.

The

running

game.

Baker

Mayfield

was

nails

down

the

stretch.

There's

no

way.

By

the

way,

They

can

bring

Baker

Mayfield

to

training

camp

with

Deshaun

Watson.

No.

There's

no

way.

I

mean,

We'll

see

where

Baker

Mayfield

will

go.

Hopefully

Baker

Mayfield

will

be

just

as

good

as

Terminator

Who

knew—apparently

he

looks

like

his

statue

in

Oklahoma.

All

right.

We're

getting

ready

to

send

you

inside

the

draft

hall

for

the

pre-draft

festivities.

It's...

We're

so

close

to

putting

the

Jacksonville

Jaguars

on

the

clock

and

getting

all

the

answers

to

these

questions

we've

been

posing.

We're

about

minutes

away

from

the

Jacksonville

Jaguars

being

officially

put

on

the

clock

for

a

second

consecutive

year,

the

first

team

to

be

placed

on

a

clock

at

a

draft

in

consecutive

years.

The

last

time

that

happened

was

with

the

Browns

a

couple

of

years

ago,

when

they

took

Miles

Garrett

and

Baker

Mayfield

in

back-to-back

years.

It'll

be

Trevor

Lawrence

and

then

one

of

those

guys

on

the

stage,

unless

it's

Trevon

Walker,

who

is

one

of

the

prospects

not

here

in

Las

Vegas

tonight;

the

prospects

who

are

here

are

currently

being

introduced

inside

the

draft

hall,

where

we

are

about

to

send

you.

Former

Ohio

State,

Washington

Commanders

and

Pittsburgh

Steelers

quarterback

Dwayne

Haskins

tragically

lost

his

life.

Please

join

us

in

a

moment

of

silence

as

we

honor

his

memory.

Ladies

and

gentlemen,

to

honor

America,

The

presentation

of

colors

from

the

nation's

capital.

Tonight's

colors

will

be

presented

by

the

Joint

Armed

Forces

Color

Guard.

And

the

drummers

from

the

United

States

Army

Old

Guard

Fife

and

Drum

Corps.

Please

join

in

the

singing

of

our

national

anthem,

performed

by

a

star

of

America's

Got

Talent,

Las

Vegas

Live,

Cody

Lee.

Here

he

comes.

The

flyover

from

the

Nevada

Army

National

Guard.

In

Las

Vegas.

What

a

scene.

Chiefs

fans,

They

better

get

ready

to

be

booed

for

the

first

time

at

a

draft.

This

is

Raider

country

right

now;

there

is

a

ton

of

silver

and

black.

There's

the

commissioner.

Who's

going

to

run

me

over?

Is

somebody

going

to

jump

on

me

tonight

and

hug

me?

Yes.

Okay.

He's

trying

to

figure

out

which

one.

He's

going

to

meet

everybody.

Which

ones?

Which

ones,

plural?

Okay.

They're

making

their

way.

Nearby

the

Ferris

wheel.

That'll

wake

you

up

in

the

Ferris

wheel

when

you

see

the

choppers

go

by.

Yeah,

Look

out,

right?

Okay.

How

high

are

we?

I

wonder

if

they're

coming

in

to

hit

Terry

Benedict's

vault,

too.

Is

that

part

of

something?

We

never

know

here

in

Vegas,

Right?

Did

you

store

your

valuables

in

the

vault?

Yes.

I

did.

Were

you

able

to

get

in

there?

I

mean,

It's

safe

there,

Right?

Tell

me

if

it's

not.

Terry

Benedict

said

it

is.

Very

good.

Get

nervous

if

you

see

the

grease,

man.

About

minutes

plus

until

Jacksonville

is

put

on

the

clock

officially

here.

They

could

get

that

same

opportunity.

Absolutely,

And

right

now

I'm

taking

my

analyst

hat

off

and

I'm

putting

my

coach's

hat

on.

It

depends

on

what

kind

of

job

security

I

have.

If

I

need

to

win

right

now,

Give

me

Pickett,

Give

me

Howell.

They're

ready

to

play

right

now.

I

need

to

save

my

job.

I'm

trying

to

get

to

the

playoffs.

I'm

trying

to

make

something

happen.

If

I've

got

some

time.

I

hear

you,

Daniel.

Give

me

Malik

Willis.

Let

this

young

man

grow.

We

see

what

happens

when

you've

got

a

quarterback

that

can

change

games

with

his

legs,

Who's

got

a

cannon

for

an

arm.

You

see

the

teams

in

the

playoffs

all

have

a

guy

with

similar

tools.

But

if

I've

got

to

win

right

now,

I

don't

know

if

I'd

go

down

that

road.

Coach,

We've

seen

your

career.

All

right?

You've

got

time.

You've

earned

time

on

that

contract.

So

right

now,

Coach

can

go

ahead

and

take

a

look

at

Malik

Willis

if

he

wants

to.

Well,

An

interesting

aspect

of

this

is

that

Carolina

at

six

is

technically

the

first

team

up

that

potentially

needs

one.

And

what

they

do

there

is

fascinating

because

their

next

pick

isn't

until

Saturday.

They

don't

have

a

pick

tomorrow

night.

And

part

of

the

reason

why

is

they

chose

to

acquire

Sam

Darnold.

So

they

used

a

two

in

order

to

do

that

in

this

year's

draft.

So

they

don't

have

somebody

to

maybe

replace

Sam

Darnold.

They

may

not

particularly

care

for

him

anymore

in

Carolina.

In

a

perfect

world,

Rich,

I

bet

the

Carolina

Panthers

would

say

if

we

could

trade

back,

get

an

extra

pick

on

day

two,

which

we

don't

currently

have,

or

we

could

address

the

tackle

position,

maybe

some

other

needs

on

our

roster.

I

call

it

the

Pickett

plus

plan

or

the

Willis

plus

plan.

I

don't

know

that

they

just

want

the

quarterback

by

himself

because

they've

got

some

other

holes

on

this

roster

right

now.

And

talking

about

needing

to

win,

The

Carolina

Panthers

need

to

win

right

now.

And

you

talk

about

a

coach

that

might

be

on

the

hot

seat

as

well.

You

know,

You

and

I

have

been

talking

about

Sam

Darnold

for

years

now.

Yes.

And

I

think

he's

in

the

same

category

as

Daniel

Jones.

We'd

love

to

see

what

happens

if

this

young

man

stays

upright

for

an

entire

season.

I'd

love

to

see

him

play

with

a

healthy

Christian

McCaffrey.

Christian

is

on

fire

right

now.

He

feels

so

great,

He's

ready

to

go.

So

now

you

give

him

protection.

You

address

the

offensive

line.

You

address

the

defense.

You

give

him

Christian

McCaffrey.

And

you've

got

Robbie

Anderson.

You've

got

some

weapons.

It'd

be

interesting

to

see

what

happens.

Joel

Kirk.

I

tell

you

what,

Guys,

Let's

just

talk

about

these

top

two

guys,

Joel

and

Pickett

and

Willis.

And

I've

heard

a

lot

of

people

talk

over

the

last

couple

weeks

and

kind

of

knock

them

down,

and

they're

not

first-round

talent.

So

I

went

back

and

watched

the

tape

again

and

go,

Okay,

Let

me

just

verify

what

I

saw.

When

I

turned

the

tape

back

on,

I

felt

they

were

better

than

when

I

watched

them

the

first

time.

I

mean,

You're

Kenny

Pickett.

You

go

touchdowns

and

seven

interceptions.

Okay.

It

was

one

year.

Whatever

you're

talking

about.

That

means

you

can

play

football.

The

question

simply

becomes.

Does

it

translate

to

the

speed

of

the

NFL?

But

there

is

so

much

to

like

with

Kenny

Pickett.

His

feel

in

the

pocket.

How

he

plays

the

game.

And

then

you

go

to

Malik

Willis.

And

I

understand

the

upside.

I'm

going

to

leave

the

athleticism

to

athletic

quarterbacks

like

you

and

DJ.

And

I'm

just

going

to

talk

about

the

things

that

I

look

at

to

translate.

And

that,

To

me...

I

talk

about

the

consistency.

The

decision-making.

But

it's

also

about

second-level

throws.

Great

quarterbacks

in

the

NFL

consistently

make

second-level

throws.

That

was

the

thing

that

jumped

off

the

tape

to

me

with

Malik

Willis.

His

ability

to

have

touch

and

make

different

kinds

of

second-level

throws

on

a

consistent

basis.

You

give

him

that

time.

You

add

the

athleticism.

He's

got

a

chance

to

be

a

good

quarterback

in

this

league

as

well.

Well,

Think

about

what

we

saw

in

the

tail

end

of

the

playoffs.

It

was

quarterbacks

putting

their

team

on

their

shoulders

and

elevating

themselves

above

the

X's

and

O's.

We

saw

that

with

Patrick

Mahomes.

We

saw

that

with

Josh

Allen.

We

saw

that

with

Joe

Burrow.

Even

Matt

Stafford

in

the

Super

Bowl.

But

when

you

really

look

at

the

league

right

now,

And

granted,

There

are

some

great

players

who

were

selected

number

one

overall.

But

the

league

is

littered

with

great

quarterbacks

who

had

major

question

marks

surrounding

them

coming

into

the

league.

Go

down

the

list.

Aaron

Rodgers.

His

mechanics

were

all

screwed

up.

He

slid

to

Tom

Brady,

That

picture,

We've

all

seen

it.

Tom's

trying

to

scrub

it

from

the

internet,

Guys.

Pick

We

thought

he

was

going

to

struggle

with

accuracy.

He

was

the

seventh

pick.

Patrick

Mahomes,

That

offense,

It

didn't

translate.

He

couldn't

succeed.

He

was

picked

Herbert

was

picked

sixth.

I'm

the

idiot

that

wouldn't

have

taken

him

in

the

first

round.

Trust

me.

Ducks

fans

tell

me

about

it

all

the

time.

Jackson,

Wilson,

Prescott,

Watson.

of

those

guys

were

selected

high

in

the

first

round.

So,

Guys.

The

league

is

littered

with

quarterbacks

who

are

playing

at

the

highest

level

who

had

major

question

marks

on

their

draft

night.

Their

draft

night.

And

maybe

tonight

it's

one

of

these

guys

that's

going

to

be

playing

at

the

highest

level

in

years

to

come.

That's

right.

Seattle

is

picking

in

the

top

ten

tonight

because

they

traded

away

one

of

those

quarterbacks,

Russell

Wilson,

who

was

not

a

first-round

quarterback

and

became

a

face

of

the

franchise

and

a

Super

Bowl

champion.

He's

now

in

Denver

and

Seattle

is

picking

in

the

top

ten

tonight.

Ian

Rapoport,

Your

two

cents

on

the

subject,

sir.

Rich,

So

much

of

what

happens

tonight

in

the

draft

as

it

pertains

to

quarterbacks

is

going

to

be

centered

around

the

Carolina

Panthers.

They

pick

at

number

six.

And

from

what

I

understand,

they

are

going

to

consider

taking

a

quarterback

here

depending

on

how

their

board

falls.

How

it

shakes

out.

They

could

also

be

a

trade-back

possibility.

Maybe

they

take

a

quarterback

in

the

teens

if

they're

able

to

move

back.

I

know

we've

spent

a

lot

of

time

talking

about

Kenny

Pickett.

It

may

not

be

just

him

in

consideration.

Malik

Willis

is

someone

I

know

they

like

a

lot,

and

Sam

Howell

is

too.

Matt

Corral

is

among

the

quarterbacks.

Are

there

quarterbacks

that

they

really

like

and

think

have

good

futures

in

the

NFL?

Say?

Come

up

over

the

Saints

and

take

their

quarterback

of

the

future?

It's

an

interesting

question

that

we're

going

to

finally

get

answers

to

shortly

here

in

Vegas.

Just

looking

at

the

history

of

the

draft

gives

us

clues

as

to

what

might

happen

tonight.

The

last

time

two

defensive

players

were

chosen

one-two

in

a

draft

was

back

in

Just

defensive

players.

Any

position.

It

was

back

in

when

the

Browns

took

Courtney

Brown

and

Washington

took

LeVar

Arrington.

That

was

also

the

last

draft

that

came

off

of

a

draft

in

which

quarterbacks

went

one,

two,

and

three

to

start

the

draft.

Two.

And

three

to

start

the

draft.

Just

like

it

happened

last

year.

And

the

only

other

instance

of

that

happening

was

back

in

And

in

That

draft

was

the

last

one

that

started

with

two

defensive

ends

going

one

and

two.

Is

that

the

two

Walt

Potolsky?

Walt

Potolsky

and

Sherman

White.

Wow,

we're

sitting

here

thinking

it's

going

to

be

defensive

end.

A

defensive

end

to

start

tonight.

Law

of

averages.

And

it

looks

like

the

league

does

this

every

time

there's

a

draft

in

which

quarterbacks

went

one,

two,

and

three

the

year

before.

Two.

And

three

to

start

the

draft.

Market

correction.

I

don't

know.

It

could

be.

Well.

You

get

the

quarterbacks

and

then

you

get

the

ones

who

have

to

hunt

them

down.

Or

it

just

so

happens

that

a

bumper

crop

hits

one

year

and

the

next

year

it's

a

bit

more

fallow.

For

lack

of

a

better

phrase.

Yeah.

Look.

Next

year's

a

long

way

away.

And

we

can

be

excited

about

what

we

think

those

quarterbacks

are

going

to

be.

But

that

doesn't

always

turn

out

that

way

when

we

fast

forward

a

year

from

now,

so

we'll

see

what

happens

with

these

guys

tonight

and

where

they

land

is

huge.

And

then.

Of

course.

You

can't

assume

history

will

repeat

itself

in

this

league

right

now.

Let's

not

forget

what

happened

last

month

in

this

league.

It

was

insane.

And

we'll

see

if

the

draft

follows

suit.

We

are

back

from

Vegas

with

the

Jacksonville

Jaguars

soon

to

be

put

on

the

clock.

This

draft?

Ikem

Ekwonu

is

one

of

the

top

pass

protectors

here

this

evening.

It

is,

I

guess,

if

you

will,

The

don't

pass

line

country

of

the

United

States.

We

are

situated

in

a

lake,

My

goodness,

With

fountains

behind

us,

prospects

all

around

us

and

fans

from

around

the

world

here

in

Las

Vegas

for

the

NFL

Draft.

Thrilled

to

be

part

of

the

one

of

these

on

NFL

Network.

I

am

Rich

Eisen,

Pleased

and

proud

and

humbled

to

be

your

host

here

tonight.

Daniel

Jeremiah

is

at

the

end

of

the

set,

Along

with

Charles

Davis

and

my

head

coach

from

Stanford

football,

David

Shaw.

Good

to

see

all

of

you

gents

here

tonight.

You're

looking

forward

to

seeing

what,

Daniel?

I'm

looking

forward

to

seeing

these

pass

rushers,

and

it's

going

to

start

early,

potentially

with

the

first

two

picks

of

the

draft.

Four

of

the

top

ten

players

in

the

draft,

in

my

opinion,

are

edge

rushers.

We're

going

to

see

them

all

fly

off

the

board.

And

when

we're

not

picking

edge

rushers,

guys,

wide

receivers,

they're

going

to

go

too.

Looking

forward

to

the

consensus

rankings

taking

a

tumble

and

also

looking

forward

to

quarterback

fever.

We

say

there

won't

be

any

quarterbacks

in

the

top

ten.

Who

might

make

that

move

and

start

it?

Yeah,

in

a

quarterback

passing

league,

you've

got

to

protect

the

quarterback.

And

there's

a

bunch

of

pass

protectors

in

this

draft

that

are

going

to

be

really,

really

good

football

players

early

on.

And

so

the

Jaguars

are

soon

to

be

put

on

the

clock

for

the

first

time

in

a

draft

since

last

year.

Let's

ride.

Russell

Wilson.

He

has

a

new

home.

It's

going

to

be

rocking.

This

is

an

incredible

divisional

playoff.

We're

back

here

in

Las

Vegas

for

a

highly

anticipated

draft.

It's

the

first

one

we've

ever

seen

in

the

Western

time

zone

on

television.

There

is

Aidan

Hutchinson

from

the

University

of

Michigan.

Will

he

be?

The

first

name

called?

Or

will

it

be

somebody

who's

not

here?

Trevon

Walker.

If

it's

Walker,

Then

Hutchinson

may

not

have

far

to

move.

The

Lions

would

be

on

the

clock

after.

Then

you've

got

another

team

after

the

Lions

that's

had

two

choices

in

the

first

round,

And

the

Texans,

And

then

another

team,

The

Jets,

And

then

another

team,

The

Giants.

Lots

going

on

here.

It's

time

for

the

commissioner

to

get

it

all

started.

I

brought

some

friends

here

with

me

that

you

might

recognize.

Raiders

Hall

of

Famer

and

Super

Bowl

MVP,

Marcus

Allen,

And

current

Raiders

players.

Pro

Bowlers

Derek

Carr

and

Darren

Waller.

Thirty-two

sections

out

here

of

some

of

our

season-ticket

holders.

We're

proud

to

have

all

of

you

right

here

around

the

stage.

Thank

you.

We

also

have

already

well

over

people

here

in

Las

Vegas

tonight

for

the

draft.

So

congratulations

to

you

guys.

Thank

you

for

being

here.

And

as

I

look

around

in

this

fan

section,

I

see

the

Raider

fans

right

here

in

front

of

me,

the

Raider

Nation.

And

I

see

someone

special

right

down

here.

Ice

Cube.

The

NFL

draft

is

now

officially

open.

The

Jacksonville

Jaguars

are

now

on

the

clock.

All

right.

There

you

go.

Odd

to

hear

Cube

speak

on

a

Thursday.

Kind

of

a

day

early.

He's

a

day

early.

But

this

is

a

big

draft.

Very

good.

There

is

the

draft

room.

Good

to

see

Doug

Pederson

back

in

the

mix.

There

is

the

Jacksonville

Jaguars

draft

room.

Not

much

action.

What

are

they

doing?

Just

sitting

around?

Just

catching

up

on

what's

on

the

DVR?

Come

on

now,

the

clock's

going.

So

the

Jacksonville

Jaguars

there's

their

fans

at

their

draft

party,

and

as

we

know,

they

were

in

this

position

last

year

with

a

completely

different

head

coach

and

a

thought

about

the

future

with

Trevor

Lawrence,

and

the

Jaguars

are

looking

to

No

longer

picking

this

spot.

So

the

best

player

to

ensure

that

would

be

who?

Daniel?

It's

one

of

these

pass

rushers.

Aiden

Hutchinson

would

be

my

selection.

I

think

he's

the

best

edge

rusher

in

this

draft.

If

you're

trying

to

support

your

young

quarterback

they

took

number

one

last

year,

In

free

agency,

They

were

aggressive.

They

tagged

Cam

Robinson,

Cam

Robinson,

their

left

tackle.

They

brought

in

Brandon

Scherf

to

shore

up

the

interior

of

that

line.

They

gave

a

bunch

of

money

to

Christian

Kirk

and

Evan

Engram.

Now

it's

about

the

defense.

They've

got

to

get

this

defense,

Keep

the

score

down

so

Trevor

Lawrence

isn't

having

to

throw

the

ball

times

a

game

in

a

trailing

position.

But

there's

also

another

guy

in

consideration

who

they

think

can

do

the

same

things.

That's

Trayvon

Walker

from

the

University

of

Georgia.

And

you

saw

how

there

wasn't

a

lot

of

activity

in

that

Jacksonville

Jaguars

draft

room.

There

shouldn't

be.

You

should

know

who

you're

taking

by

now.

You

shouldn't

still

be

furiously

doing

things

like

it's

draft

day

and

asking

for

more

information

and

more

tape.

You

should

have

conviction

that

that

is

your

guy.

We

will

find

out

whether

it's

Aiden

Hutchinson,

the

consensus

number-one

edge

rusher

and

number-one

player

in

this

draft,

or

Trayvon

Walker,

whose

traits

and

upside

Jacksonville

seems

to

be

leaning

toward

according

to

the

intel

we're

getting.

You've

got

what

we

all

believe

to

be

a

franchise

quarterback.

We

all

loved

him

last

year.

He's

got

so

many

great

positive

traits.

But

then

how

can

you

help

a

young

quarterback

be

successful?

You

approach

the

offensive

line,

Which

they

did.

You

get

him

some

weapons

on

the

outside,

Then

you

get

him

the

ball

back.

So

get

some

guys

on

the

field

that

can

get

some

sack

fumbles,

convert

on

third

downs,

Get

him

the

ball

back

so

he

can

be

special.

I'll

be

very

honest

with

you,

I'm

sure

teams

that

choose

first

overall

are

kind

of

told

by

it.

The

higher-ups,

if

you

will.

Take

your

time.

Let's

get

this

draft

underway.

Let's

get

things

moving.

Let's

get

our

feet

wet.

Let's

get

all

the

analysts

talking.

Let's

keep

this

thing

a

little

bit,

on

the

edge

of

your

seat,

Best

you

can.

Joel

Klatt

and

Kurt

Warner

are

part

of

our

broadcast

inside

the

draft

hall.

We're

outside

in

front

of

the

fountains

just

off

of

Las

Vegas

Boulevard.

Gentlemen,

Take

it

over.

As

our

guy

said,

It

seems

the

consensus

is

they're

probably

going

to

go

with

a

defensive

end,

with

a

pass

rusher.

And

the

question

becomes,

is

it

about

production?

Is

it

about

possibility?

And

when

you've

got

that

number

one

overall

pick,

what's

a

team

looking

to

do?

They're

looking

to

get

a

Hall

of

Fame

player.

They're

looking

to

get

a

guy

that

they

believe

can

change

the

game.

Aiden

Hutchinson

may

be

the

safer

pick

based

on

the

production

he

had

in

college.

But

it's

Trayvon.

Walker,

as

Charles

was

saying,

is

the

guy

with

the

upside.

The

guy

that

fascinates

you

with

all

his

athleticism.

And

if

you

can

turn

that

into

production

at

the

next

level,

maybe

you

feel

you've

got

a

Hall

of

Fame-type

player.

Inside,

if

you're

sitting

at

the

blackjack

table

and

you've

doubled

your

money,

you've

done

a

nice

job

it's

probably

time

to

cash

your

chips

in

and

go

home;

you

take

the

sure

thing.

The

sure

thing

here

is

Aidan

Hutchinson,

his

production

is

off

the

charts.

That's

been

clear

from

the

get-go;

he's

been

the

number

one

player

for

me

for

a

lot

of

people,

for

DJ

throughout

this

entire

process;

he's

an

elite

pass

rusher

and

make

no

bones

about

it,

the

Jacksonville

Jaguars

need

double-digit

sacks

out

of

this

pick

whoever

it

is

that's

why

I

would

be

surprised

if

it

was

Trayvon

Walker,

only

because

he's

a

hybrid

style

player,

guys.

And

they

don't

need

a

hybrid

style

player.

They

don't

need

a

guy

that

can

drop

back

in

coverage.

They

need

a

guy

that

can

go

get

sacks,

be

a

threat

against

the

run

game,

and

more

importantly,

be

a

catalyst

in

that

locker

room.

And

let's

make

no

bones

about

it:

the

leader

of

the

Michigan

team

that

ended

the

drought

against

the

team,

the

Buckeyes,

was

Aidan

Hutchinson.

So

that

leadership

should

not

go

unnoticed.

All

right,

about

five

and

a

half

minutes

now

until

the

Jaguars.

run

out

of

time.

We

don't

expect

that

to

happen.

In

the

meantime,

let's

check

in

for

the

first

time

with

the

draft

open

with

Ian

Rapoport

here

on

NFL

Network.

Ian,

what

can

you

tell

us,

Rich,

Owner

Shad

Khan

came

into

the

building

on

Wednesday

to

discuss

this

pick

for

the

final

time

with

general

manager

Trent

Baalke

and

coach

Doug

Pederson.

But

the

reality

is,

from

my

understanding,

this

was

not

a

difficult

decision

for

the

organization.

You

guys

talk

about

traits,

you

talk

about

upside.

That

is

why

so

many

people

in

the

NFL

around

this

pick

believe

that

it's

going

to

be

Trayvon

Walker.

The

name

Aldon

Smith

comes

up

all

the

time

with

his

length.

His

upside,

perhaps,

Trent

Baalke

ends

up

with

his

version

in

Jacksonville.

Not

too

many

people

on

a

phone

right

now

you

don't

see

it

in

that

draft

room.

The

pick

is

in.

The

pick

is

now,

in

fact,

in.

And

the

way

it

works,

for

those

who

might

be

new

to

this,

is

that

pick

is

sent

in

officially

to

the

NFL,

and

they

immediately

let

the

Lions

know

who

has

been

selected.

So

the

Lions

know

what's

going

on.

That

card

is

now

being

written

on

in

the

back.

Off

to

the

side

of

the

stage

to

be

handed

off

to

the

commissioner

of

the

NFL

and

read

out.

The

fact

that

it

could

be

Walker,

could

this

be,

again,

mentioned,

you

know,

a

hybrid

player

and

how

he

can

drop

into

coverage.

He

can

go

hunt

the

quarterback.

He

can

do

a

lot.

In

this

copycat

league,

his

selection

First

overall,

Could

that

be

a

Micah

Parsons

effect

in

a

way?

Different,

Though.

To

me,

He

drops

a

little

bit

in

coverage.

He

doesn't

do

that

nearly

as

much

as

Micah

Parsons.

He's

not

going

to

play

off

the

ball.

He's

actually

going

to

slide

in.

He's

going

to

rush

inside

over

a

guard.

He

might

be

the

best

interior

pass

rusher

in

this

draft.

And

then

he's

going

to

be

able

to

rush

off

the

edge

as

well

that's

his

versatility.

Joel

made

a

good

point

about

what

he's

done

in

college,

but

when

you

draft

him

here

at

number

one

they're

going

to

ask

him

to

do

something

else:

they're

asking

him

now

to

go

be

that

edge

rusher

you

didn't

see

as

much

of

in

Georgia,

where

he

played

inside

in

a

five

technique

or

three

technique

and

dropped

into

coverage.

They're

going

to

say,

"Hey,

this

is

what

you're

going

to

do

where's

your

pass

rush

coach?

Let's

get

to

work."

The

most

interesting

thing

is

every

place

he's

been

he's

done

something

special;

he

just

hasn't

been

in

one

place

very

long.

So

if

they

can

put

him

in

one

place,

you

think

those

unbelievable

abilities

are

going

to

show

up

and

this

kid

could

be

a

dominant

football

player.

So

the

Jaguars

are

about

to

make

their

selection

known.

We're

seconds

into

the

Lions

mulling

over

their

first

of

two

first-round

selections;

they

have

this

one

that

they

earned

based

on

their

record

from

last

year,

and

their

final

first-round

pick

is

currently

slated

to

be

the

last

one

of

the

night

since

they

acquired

it,

along

with

Jared

Goff,

for

other

than

Matthew

Stafford,

who

was

sent

to

Los

Angeles.

And

it's

entirely

possible

we're

about

to

see

another

Georgia

Bulldog

selected

first

overall.

Or

it

could

be

Aidan

Hutchinson

or

a

complete

surprise.

Let's

see

what

we've

got.

The

first-ever

draft-class

announcement

of

And

the

first-ever

draft

choice

announced

in

Las

Vegas,

Nevada.

With

the

first

pick

in

the

NFL

Draft.

The

Jacksonville

Jaguars

select

Travon

Walker.

Linebacker,

Georgia.

All

right.

There

he

is,

A

Georgia

Bulldog.

What

a

season

it

was

for

the

Georgia

Bulldogs,

winning

a

national

championship.

And

now

they

have

the

first

overall

pick

in

the

draft

to

celebrate.

And

he

is

the

first

Georgia

Bulldog

chosen

first

overall

since

Matthew

Stafford,

who

is

a

Super

Bowl

champion

now

in

Los

Angeles.

And

this

is

a

wonderful

moment

for

him,

and

the

Jaguars

select,

as

we

were

suspecting

over

the

last

hours,

the

Georgia

Bulldog.

And

he's

going

to,

from

day

one,

dominate

against

the

run.

And

when

you're

in

this

division

with

Derrick

Henry

and

Jonathan

Taylor,

that's

a

nice

bonus

here.

We

talk

about

his

pass

rush

and

what

he

can

be

there.

Right

now,

he's

already

a

dominant

run

defender.

Here

he

is

coming

off

the

edge.

You

can

see

this

in

flashes,

the

quickness,

the

burst

off

that

edge

when

he

got

those

opportunities.

The

power,

we

talked

about

rushing

over

a

guard.

Here

he

is.

Watch

him

dump

this

guard.

Get

your

hands

inside,

walk

him

back,

dump

him

on

the

ground,

and

pick

up

a

sack.

How

about

can

he

set

a

physical

edge?

We've

talked

about

his

dominance

against

the

run.

He

resets

the

line

of

scrimmage.

Those

arms,

that's

where

those

come

into

play.

The

athleticism

and

the

effort.

Here

he

is

working

against

Alabama.

This

is

an

Alabama

wideout.

And

watch

Trayvon

Walker

at

pounds,

chasing

him

down

from

behind.

And

this

is

one

of

my

favorite

plays.

You

drop

him

in

coverage.

The

change

of

direction

there,

that's

like

a

linebacker,

except

that's

a

defensive

end.

I

think

when

you

look

at

it

all

and

put

it

all

in

total

and

all

the

things

we're

talking

about

with

projections,

is

there

upside,

all

those

things,

Josh

Allen

is

there.

as

the

opposite-side

edge

rusher.

So

you

can

play

a

few

extra

games

with

Trayvon

Walker.

And

the

Lions

have

made

their

selection.

The

Texans

are

now

a

minute

into

their

process.

They're

on

the

clock.

Ian

Rappaport,

you

have

the

floor.

Rich,

two

weeks

before

the

draft,

Trayvon

Walker

suffered

a

serious

scare.

Sources

tell

me

and

Tom

Pelissero

that

he

was

in

a

car

accident,

running

into

two

parked

cars

in

Athens.

He

somehow

emerged

unscathed.

No

injuries,

no

citations,

but

a

scare

for

sure.

Wow.

So

we've

got

Trayvon

Walker,

well,

at

least.

He

could

afford

to

buy

himself

a

new

car

based

on

being

the

first

overall

pick

in

this

draft.

Do

you

think

this

is

Aiden

Hutchinson

coming

up

here?

Aiden

Hutchinson

ran

fast

at

the

combine.

I

think

they

ran

that

card

up

even

faster.

I

mean,

That

card

was

in

in

a

second.

It

feels

like

it

has

to

be

the

hometown

guy,

Aiden

Hutchinson.

Rich,

That's

the

post-it

that

Sonny

Weaver

Jr.

had:

Aiden

Hutchinson

no

matter

what.

Well,

we'll

find

out.

The

Michigan

Wolverine

from.

The

legacy

family,

his

dad,

Chris

Hutchinson,

We

saw

him

earlier

on

our

broadcast

with

his

son.

It

was

his

sack

record

at

Michigan

that

Aiden

Hutchinson

broke.

And

what

Aidan

Hutchinson

meant

a

lot

to

the

Michigan

program

this

year,

coming

back

and

doing

what

he

did

was

incredibly

special.

We'll

see

if

he

doesn't

have

to

move

his

stuff

very

far.

The

Detroit

Lions

have

the

second

overall

selection

in

this

draft.

It's

time

to

hear

it

from

Roger

Goodell.

With

the

second

pick

in

the

NFL

Draft,

the

Detroit

Lions

select

Aidan

Hutchinson,

defensive

end,

Michigan.

So

the

hometown

kid

is

being

drafted

by

the

hometown

team.

The

Detroit

Lions

take

one

of

the

most

decorated

Michigan

Wolverine

players

sent

to

the

next

level

that

we've

seen

in

quite

some

time.

And

Aidan

Hutchinson

is

a

Detroit

Lion.

This

team

was

in

the

league

in

third

down

defense

last

year.

They

were

in

sacks.

This

is

going

to

change

with

Aidan

Hutchinson.

He

is

a

polished

professional

pass

rusher.

He

can

beat

you

with

speed.

He

can

beat

you

with

power.

He's

going

to

get

a

handful

of

them

just

purely

off

of

the

maniacal

effort

that

he

plays

with,

Charles.

And

this

is

more

than

just

what

you're

getting

with

all

of

that

as

well.

The

Detroit

Lions

continue

to

talk

about

their

culture,

changing

their

locker

room,

changing

the

forces

that

are

there

in

Detroit.

And

I

get

the

sense

from

management

there,

David

Shaw.

that

this

is

a

management

that's

willing

to

work

with

Dan

Campbell,

Brad

Holmes,

the

GM,

build

this

locker

room,

build

this

group.

Aidan

Hutchinson

fits

everything

you're

looking

for.

And

one

last

thing,

He

journals

all

the

time.

You

guys

know

he

writes

every

night.

You

think

going

number

two

when

he

thought

he

was

going

number

one

won't

be

in

his

journal

as

well?

Give

this

guy

a

little

extra

motivation.

Yeah,

And

here's

a

guy

who

doesn't

need

any

motivation,

But

he's

got

another

chip

on

his

shoulder.

This

guy

is

violent.

He

is

passionate.

He

is

a

game

changer.

We

can't

wait

to

watch

him

play.

All

right,

Let's

go

to

the

tape

here

and

show

you

why

he's

my

top

player

in

this

year's

draft

class.

You

talk

about

highlight

plays

in

big

games.

That's

what

he

did

this

last

year.

How

about

power?

Watch

his

takeoff

right

here.

Get

your

hands

inside.

A

little

push

and

pull

move

right

here.

And

get

over

the

top

and

finish.

He

is

an

outstanding

finisher

with

heavy

hands.

You

want

to

slip

blocks?

He

saw

doubles

all

year

long

with

tight

ends

and

backs,

showing

you

the

instincts

to

be

able

to

work

through

all

that

traffic

to

get

home.

Against

the

run,

much

like

we

said

with

the

first

overall

pick,

this

is

an

outstanding

run

defender.

He's

going

to

crush

tight

ends.

Here

he

is,

lateral

range

and

effort.

I

can't

stress

it

enough.

Every

time

there

was

a

big

moment

for

the

Michigan

football

team

this

year,

Rich,

As

you

know,

This

guy

was

in

the

middle

of

it.

Yes,

He

got

me

off

the

couch

more

than

anybody

else,

Let's

put

it

that

way.

And

then,

Of

course,

He

is

the

highest-drafted

defensive

player

out

of

Michigan

in

the

common

era

of

the

draft,

Beating

Charles

Woodson,

who

went

to

the

Raiders

fourth

overall

in

Time

for

Welcome

to

Primetime,

Melissa

Stark.

If

you

will,

Former

Silverdome

lining

right

in

that

jacket

for

Aidan

Hutchinson,

Who

is

a

Michigan

Wolverine

legacy,

back

in

the

day

at

the

Big

House

with

his

father.

There

he

is,

growing

up

in

maize

and

blue,

Eventually

playing

for

the

Wolverines,

Breaking

his

dad

Chris's

sack

records.

And

then

in

high

school,

Moments

ago,

that

dream

was

realized

him

in

the

draft

room

hugging

his

dad

as

the

second

overall

pick

in

the

draft.

Staying

in

the

state

of

Michigan,

playing

his

professional

football

for

the

Detroit

Lions,

trying

to

change

the

culture

and

fortunes

of

that

hard-bitten

franchise.

Aidan

Hutchinson.

Second

overall

pick

in

the

draft.

The

Texans

have

made

their

selection.

It

will

be

announced

shortly.

The

Jets

are

now

on

the

clock

here.

In

Las

Vegas.

All

right,

Now

in

Las

Vegas,

What

do

you

think

the

Texans

are

going

to

do

here,

Daniel?

Well,

There's

been

talk

about

offensive

linemen.

And

with

Ikem

Ekwonu

being

there,

Derek

Stingley's

been

the

name

you've

heard

come

up

over

the

last

week

as

well.

The

corner

from

LSU.

I

got

a

text

from

an

NFL

personnel

person

who

said

the

draft

starts

at

three.

Everyone

always

thought

six

with

Carolina,

three

with

Houston.

We'll

find

out

here.

Okay.

Lovie

Smith

now

back.

In

the

National

Football

League

as

a

head

coach.

Houston

Texans

with

David

Culley.

One

and

done,

as

we

all

know.

Davis

Mills

is

sitting

right

there

right

now

as

the

quarterback.

I'm

not

in

the

room.

But

if

I

have

a

vote,

I'd

say

protect

Davis

Mills.

Well,

They

have

every

possible

pass

protector

on

the

board.

They

have

every...

Defensive

player

not

named

Travon

Walker

or

Aidan

Hutchinson

on

the

board.

The

commissioner

of

the

NFL

is

about

to

come

out.

Here

he

is

with

the

Texans'

choice,

while

the

Jets

are

almost

three

minutes

on

the

clock.

With

the

third

pick

in

the

NFL

Draft,

the

Houston

Texans

select

Derek

Stingley

Jr.,

defensive

back.

LSU.

Okay,

So

the

first

corner

off

the

board

is

Derek

Stingley

Jr.,

and

he

goes

to

the

Texans.

Yeah,

This

one's

a

surprise

to

me.

I

thought

Sauce

Gardner

would

be

the

first

corner,

But

you

go

back

to

and

that

version

of

Derek

Stingley

is

as

good

as

anybody

in

this

entire

draft

class.

Very

fluid,

smooth

athlete.

The

speed

to

be

able

to

carry

these

vertical

routes

without

any

issues.

Plant

and

drive

on

the

ball.

You

see

the

burst,

the

change

of

direction.

Watch

him

finish

here,

pick

off

the

football.

That's

something

he

did

in

six

times.

He's

got

that

my-ball

attitude

once

it

goes

up

in

the

air.

balls.

We

talk

about

those

with

wide

receivers.

It's

not

odds

when

you're

going

up

against

Derek

Stingley

down

the

field.

And

then

here's

some

of

the

toughness.

This

kind

of

came

and

went

a

little

bit

this

year.

That

was

a

glimpse,

the

flashes

of

the

good.

There

was

some

that

wasn't

so

good

in

terms

of

aggressiveness

and

toughness

against

the

run.

Well,

You

talk

about

competitiveness.

How

about

against

Ja'Marr

Chase

in

college,

in

practice?

He

got

to

work

against

him.

He

got

to

work

against

Justin

Jefferson.

He

worked

against

some

top

receivers

that

freshman

year.

And

you

notice

the

tape

when

he's

wearing

versus

when

he's

wearing

This

is

a

big

deal

for

Derek

Stingley

there.

The

most

talented

corner

in

this

draft

came

Off

the

board.

All

right.

There

he

was

putting

on

his

new

lid,

Derek

Stingley

Jr.,

right

here

in

Vegas.

He's

celebrating

the

moment

with

family.

We're

back

with

the

Jets'

choice.

Five

minutes

and

counting.

So

we've

gotten

three

defensive

players

to

start.

Okay.

We're

back

here

in

Las

Vegas.

We're

not

in

front

of

the

New

York,

New

York

Casino,

but

the

draft

is

figuratively

in

front

of

that

right

now,

as

the

Jets

and

Giants

go

back

to

back,

and

then

the

Giants

pick

again

at

and

then

the

Jets

pick

again

at

A

very

New

York

state-of-mind

moment.

In

this

draft,

the

Jets

giving

out

a

nice

Sopranos

meme.

The

late

James

Gandolfini,

a

diehard

Jet

fan

right

there.

All

I

know

is

that

if

I

don't

get

sauce

now,

I'm

going

to

go

all

Paulie

Walnuts

on

everybody

on

this

set

and

everybody

else.

So

the

Jets

took

about...

Almost

eight

minutes.

What

do

you

think

the

debate

was

in

that

draft

room

that

they're

now

celebrating

their

selection?

Well,

Having

worked

with

Joe

Douglas

in

Baltimore,

this

decision

was

made

several

days

ago.

They

have

their

board

set.

They

don't

vary

from

it.

So

they're

just

checking

off

the

names

as

they

come

off

the

board.

Guys,

in

the

first

three

picks,

Two

of

the

picks

favored

traits

and

upside

over

the

consensus

ranking

going

into

it:

Walker

over

Hutchinson

at

one,

Stingley

over

Gardner

at

three.

I

think

Gardner

comes

off

the

board

here

at

four

for

the

Jets.

And

you

get

the

guy

that

many

people

said

was

the

consensus

number

one

corner

in

this

draft.

Absolutely.

I'm

with

you,

Charles.

I

mean,

the

athleticism

of

Stingley

is

unquestionable.

A

supreme

athlete

when

he's

healthy.

But

now

you've

got

a

chance

to

get

a

big,

long,

physical

corner

that

is,

based

on

this

year's

tape,

is

the

best

corner.

We

saw

him

walking

in,

didn't

we?

And

we've

seen

him

before,

and

still

we

went,

my

goodness,

that's

a

big

corner.

Stingley

is

incredibly

athletic.

Sauce

Gardner's

arms

are

three

inches

longer,

and

he

looks

like

a

giant

out

there.

So

I

think

they've

got

a

chance,

if

that

is

the

pick,

to

get

all

those

traits

with

all

that

production,

and

the

next

touchdown

he

gives

up

will

be

the

first

one

in

a

very

long

time.

Yeah,

he

was

on

my

show

the

other

day.

I

asked

him

when

was

the

last

time

you

gave

up

a

touchdown.

He

said,

I

don't

Remember.

That's

what

he

said.

It's

important

for

corners

to

have

a

short

memory.

But

for

a

different

reason

than

that

one.

I

hear

you.

Even

if

he

had

a

long

memory.

He

still

can't

remember

it.

It

didn't

happen

at

Cincinnati

where

he

was

part

of

the

Bearcats

championship

run

this

year.

But

this

is

the

Jets.

You

never

know.

They

have

every

offensive

player

on

the

draft

board

available

for

them

to

select.

Let's

see

what

the

Jets

do

with

their

first

of

two

top

ten

picks.

With

the

fourth

pick

in

the

NFL

Draft,

The

New

York

Jets

select

Sauce

Gardner.

Defensive

back.

Cincinnati.

Guys,

I'm

going

to

get

emotional.

It's

misty

here.

And

it's

not

because

of

the

fountains.

I

think

this

guy

is

exactly

what

the

Jets

need.

Not

just

defensively.

But

for

the

team.

For

the

locker

room.

For

the

mentality

to

try

and

start

winning

now.

I

absolutely

adore

this

kid.

I

think

he's

going

to

be

a

star

in

the

NFL.

And

it

starts

right

here

with

this

stroll.

We're

now

a

little

bit

of

a

jog

to

the

podium.

And,

Charles,

They're

going

to

see

some

explosive

offenses.

We

know

what

Buffalo

has.

We

know

what

you

saw

in

Miami

with

Tyreek

Hill.

This

is

a

move

to

counter

those.

And

look

at

him.

See

the

change

of

direction?

I

mean,

It's

really

strong

right

there.

Coach

Shaw,

When

you

watch

Sauce

Gardner,

Well,

Two

things

come

to

mind.

First,

When

you

watch

him,

You

know

the

traits.

But

the

second

part

is

his

college

coach.

Luke

Fickell,

wouldn't

call

him

Sauce.

He

wanted

to

call

him

Ahmad.

Right?

Didn't

he

ask

his

defensive

coordinator

at

the

time,

Marcus

Freeman?

Marcus

Freeman

said,

I

will

not

call

you

that.

I

am

this.

The

commissioner

just

rolls

right

to

the

podium.

He

breaks

out

Sauce

right

away.

Well,

Marcus

Freeman

said

that

he

wasn't

going

to

call

another

grown

man

Sauce

until

he

got

into

the

game

against

UCF.

He

was

pushed

into

a

game

when

they

thought

he

was

still

too

green

for

it.

He

returned

one

to

the

house

and

Freeman

said,

I'm

going

to

call

you

Sauce

now.

He

told

him

that

on

the

sideline.

But

Fickell

still

has

not

done

that.

He

said

he

would

not

do

that

until

he's

in

the

NFL.

And

Sauce

told

me

the

other

day

on

my

show,

I'm

not

leaving

Vegas

until

I

see

Coach

Fickell

and

have

him

call

me

Sauce.

DJ,

The

commish

cut

out

the

middleman.

He

went

right

to

it.

Yeah.

Just

get

right

to

it.

I'll

tell

you

what.

This

is

going

to

be

a

fun

player

to

watch

in

this

Jets

defense.

Long

and

rangy.

To

be

that

long,

Usually

a

little

tight,

He

is

very

loose.

Very

fluid.

He's

not

as

heavy

as

Antonio

Cromartie.

But

has

that

same

height,

length,

athleticism

and

toughness.

As

you

see

him

here,

Watch

him

close

up

in

the

flat.

He's

a

firm

tackler

out

there

in

space.

The

length

plays.

He's

always

going

to

be

in

phase.

Even

if

you

get

two

steps

ahead

of

him,

with

that

arm

length,

he's

able

to

just

cut

you

off,

find

the

football.

Here

he

is

again,

Showing

you

that

ability

to

mirror

and

match

from

off

coverage,

Drive

on

the

football.

He

got

his

hands

on

multiple

balls

each

year.

At

Cincinnati,

Three

interceptions

a

year,

and

there

were

a

few

house

calls

mixed

in

there.

And

I

love

the

attitude

and

the

swagger

that

he

brings.

This

Jets

team

has

lost

a

lot

of

football

games.

They

need

a

little

bit

of

that

in

that

locker

room.

Yeah,

I

was

with

Richard

Sherman

for

a

long

time.

This

guy

brings

that

kind

of

attitude,

that

kind

of

mentality,

that

kind

of

confidence,

the

length,

the

speed,

the

athleticism,

the

ability

to

cover

a

guy

in

tight

spaces.

This

guy's

going

to

be

a

lot

of

fun

to

watch.

Oh,

My

God.

As

if

I'm

not

jumping

out

of

my

skin

enough,

You

just

compared

him

to

Richard

Sherman.

I'll

take

that.

Can't

wait

for

this

chat.

Welcome

to

Primetime.

Melissa.

Rich

Eisen,

I

know

you

are

anxiously

awaiting

this

one.

All

right.

There

you

go.

Highest

drafted

quarterbacks

in

the

common

draft

era.

We've

seen

a

few

in

the

last

three

years.

And

as

you

could

see,

you

got

Stingley

and

Gardner

going

three

and

four.

The

last

time

we

saw

four

defensive

players

start

a

draft,

When

a

record

six

were

chosen

to

start

a

draft,

We'll

see

what

the

Giants

do.

Their

pick

is

in,

And

the

Panthers

are

on

the

clock.

Back

into

the

draft

hall

to

Kurt

Warner

and

Joel

Klatt.

We

go,

Gents.

Thanks

a

lot,

guys

and

DJ

We

were

talking

about

Sauce's

confidence

we're

going

to

need

that

confidence;

when

you

watch

him

on

film

and

the

clips

DJ

was

showing,

he

loves

to

get

up

in

your

face

and

play

press-man;

he

feels

that's

where

he's

at

his

best,

and

with

Stefon

Diggs

and

Tyreek

Hill

in

tight

man-to-man

coverage,

it

will

be

a

fun

battle

to

watch

next

year

in

the

AFC

East.

Let

me

just

take

a

view

here

real

quickly

with

Sauce

Gardner.

A

few

years

ago,

he

was

the

cornerback

in

the

country

when

he

was

recruited

by

Luke

Fickell

and

Marcus

Freeman.

Tonight,

He's

the

fourth

pick

in

the

NFL

Draft

through

hard

work,

Determination,

Yes,

Some

growth,

But

congratulations

to

Sauce

Gardner.

Thanks,

Gents.

Now

it's

time

for

the

Giants

to

go;

every

offensive

player

is

available

for

Brian

Daboll

and

Joe

Schoen.

The

new

HC

and

GM

for

John

Mara.

Whose

back

is

to

us

right

there

in

the

middle

of

the

Giants

draft

room.

What

do

you

think;

they've

got

those

offensive

tackles.

That

is

a

need

on

the

right

side.

That

would

be

an

area

I

would

look

at.

Evan

Neal

played

right

tackle.

You've

got

Ikem

Ekwonu.

You've

got

Charles

Cross.

Well,

Thank

you.

Mr.

Goodell.

With

the

fifth

pick

in

the

NFL

Draft,

the

New

York

Giants

select.

Kayvon

Thibodeaux,

defensive

end,

Oregon.

Okay.

Wow.

Giants

fans

get

their

pass

rusher,

and

as

if

there's

not

enough

wattage

coming

in

New

York

with

Sauce

Gardner,

here

comes

Kayvon

Thibodeaux.

Won't

that

be

a

fun

back

and

forth

in

New

York

for

quite

some

time?

There's

a

lot

of

personality

with

those

two

young

men.

And

Kayvon

Thibodeaux,

Charles,

the

best

get-off

of

any

pass

rusher

in

this

year's

draft.

Yeah,

and

listen.

We

thought

a

couple

of

different

ways

for

the

Giants.

Remember

the

picks

at

and

Could

they

take

the

offensive

lineman

at

That

felt

like

what

we

thought

was

going

to

happen.

I

know

I

did.

And

then

at

Was

it

the

pass

rusher

or

was

it

the

wide

receiver?

This

is

the

second

surprise

to

me

in

this

draft.

Stingley

at

to

the

Texans

and

here

Thibodeaux

at

five,

only

because

I

thought

it

would

be

the

offensive

lineman

first

and

then

the

pass

rusher

second,

Coach.

But

as

DJ

just

said,

this

guy's

got

the

best

first

step

in

the

draft.

He

is

explosive.

He

is

rangy.

He

is

long.

He

is

physical

against

the

run

when

it's

run

at

him.

This

guy

can

be

a

game

changer.

It

doesn't

matter

if

it's

rain,

sleet,

or

snow.

This

guy

can

get

off

and

rush

the

passer.

Well,

How

much

were

you

circling

his

tape

when

you

guys

wound

up

playing

Oregon,

Coach

Shaw?

Well,

Every

game

you

play,

there's

a

guy

that

you

have

to

prepare

for,

and

this

is

a

guy

you

have

to

prepare

for.

You've

got

to

stay

between

him

and

the

quarterback.

But

he

makes

that

tough

because

he

also

has

every

pass

rush

move.

He

can

beat

you

with

speed.

He

can

go

speed

to

power.

Did

you

do

extra

with

him?

Did

you

have

to

do

extra

with

him?

We

blocked

him

pretty

well,

but

he

was

close

a

lot.

He

spins

the

game

around

the

quarterback.

Look

at

this

right

there,

the

Make-A-Wish

kid.

This

is

so

neat,

So

fun.

Thibodeaux

and

Sauce.

We're

going

to

have

a

Broadway

off.

Let

me

just

tell

you

this.

Let

me

just

tell

you

this.

I'm

not

telling

any

details

out

of

school

here

on

behalf

of

New

York

sports

fans.

The

last

few

years,

it's

been

pretty

good.

And

that's

being

generous

between

the

Jets

and

the

Giants.

For

Sauce

and

Thibodeaux

to

come

back-to-back,

and

now

they've

got

two

more

picks

to

come,

is

a

nice

shot

in

the

arm.

What

about

this

kid

appeals

to

you?

Well,

I

mentioned

that

get-off.

Shawne

Merriman

was

who

he

reminded

me

of.

When

he

would

get

off

the

rock

and

get

underneath

guys,

Coach,

Give

him

the

lights-out

dance

here

off

to

the

side.

But

he's

explosive.

Again,

Upfield,

Then

he

sets

that

up.

He's

going

to

beat

you

with

an

up-and-under.

Once

you

overcommit

to

counter

that

speed,

You

open

up

inside,

He's

going

to

take

it.

Here

he

is

at

the

point

of

attack,

Shedding

blocks,

Using

that

length

to

be

able

to

free

himself.

Again,

Look

at

him

get

off

the

ball.

He

has

a

couple

offsides

penalties,

But

it

looks

like

he's

offsides

every

snap,

just

because

of

how

dynamic

and

explosive

he

is

getting

up

the

field.

Here's

the

flash,

The

power.

We

talk

about

that

long

arm,

Your

inside

arm.

Get

that

in

your

chest

and

walk

you

back

to

the

quarterback.

And

if

you

want

to

kick

him

inside

and

let

him

beat

up

on

some

of

these

NFL

guards,

He

can

do

that

as

well.

And

the

draft

party

is

on

in

East

Rutherford.

New

Jersey.

Meanwhile,

The

Panthers

have

less

than

three

and

a

half

minutes

to

go

for

their

pick

at

six.

Every

offensive

play

is

available

both

tackles,

every

quarterback.

We'll

see

what

they're

gonna

choose,

but

Kayvon

Thibodeaux

is

a

New

York

Giant,

and

as

you

could

see

the

Oregon

Ducks

since

have

been

sending

some

bold-faced

names

to

the

National

Football

League,

to

say

the

least,

and

it's

worked

well.

Take

a

look

at

that

list:

Mariota,

the

second

quarterback

went

to

the

playoffs

before

he

lost

his

job;

DeForest

Buckner

you

can't

block

him

now

in

Indianapolis;

Herbert's

a

star;

Thibodeaux's

coming

in

now.

I

mean,

Sewell

should

be

the

left

tackle

for

Detroit.

Melissa

Stark.

He

is

dancing

on

stage.

Sauce

and

Thibodeaux,

Man.

That's

the

new,

As

you

said,

Off-Broadway

act,

Huh?

It'll

soon

be

going

to

Broadway.

Yes,

Right

there.

Sam

and

Kayvon,

Though,

Enjoying

it

on

the

screen.

The

Panthers

have

picked.

We'll

get

their

pick

announced

in

a

moment.

We

are

about

to

hear

the

Carolina

Panthers'

pick.

It

is

the

first

draft

since

that

has

gone

quarterbackless

through

the

first

five

picks.

Will

that

change

here?

It's

the

Panthers'

only

selection

between

now

and

the

fourth

round

unless

they

switch

things

around

or

trade

into

it.

Here

is

the

commissioner

of

the

NFL

with

a

highly

anticipated

pick.

It's

Carolina

going

quarterback.

Every

offensive

player

is

available

to

him

right

now.

With

the

sixth

pick

in

the

NFL

draft,

the

Carolina

Panthers

select

Ikem

Ekwonu,

tackle,

North

Carolina

State.

Okay.

So

they

go

for

a

pass

protector.

And

they

choose

the

kid

from

Carolina.

North

Carolina

State.

To

stay.

Right

there

in

North

Carolina.

And

what

do

you

think

of

this

pick?

I

love

this

pick.

I

thought

he

was

my

third

best

player

in

this

entire

draft.

I

thought

he

was

the

best

tackle.

And

that

was

a

screaming

need.

Charles,

For

the

Carolina

Panthers.

They

could

not

leave

this

draft

without

a

starting

tackle.

A

lot

of

Panther

fans

were

screaming,

Don't

take

the

quarterback.

Get

us

the

tackle.

We

thought

that

they

might

have

to

make

a

decision

on

the

tackle.

As

it

turned

out.

Coach

Shaw,

They

were

able

to

pick

the

number

one

tackle

on

their

board.

Ikem

Ekwonu.

And

what

I

like

about

him

here:

we

know

he's

a

road

grader

in

the

running

game.

So

Christian

McCaffrey's

going

to

love

that.

He'll

continue

to

get

better

in

the

passing

game

and

help

them

overall.

Yeah.

As

you

mentioned,

Christian

McCaffrey's

healthy;

in

my

pick,

he's

already

the

comeback

player

of

the

year.

And

you've

got

a

violent,

Athletic,

Physical

run

blocker

and

a

great

pass

setter.

This

guy's

a

special

talent.

When

you

watch

him,

There's

a

guy

that

big,

Should

not

be

able

to

move

that

quick

and

easy.

But

he's

a

lot

of

fun

to

watch.

So

the

choice

is

not

a

quarterback.

Put

a

pin

in

that

for

the

moment.

It

is

Ekwonu,

Not

Neal.

And

it's

somebody

you

think

will

do

the

job

to

protect

whoever

plays

quarterback

and

keep

Christian

McCaffrey

in

the

pink

as

well.

Yeah,

They're

going

to

like

him

in

the

running

back

room

and

the

quarterback

room.

He's

got

the

hands

of

a

heavyweight

and

the

feet

of

a

lightweight.

He

was

around

Jason

Peters

with

the

Philadelphia

Eagles.

He

has

that

type

of

movement.

That

type

of

athleticism.

But

here's

the

heavy

hands.

Once

he

gets

his

hands

on

you,

it's

over.

He

has

the

athleticism

to

reach

on

the

backside.

Can

you

cut

him

off?

Absolutely.

He's

able

to

wall

that

off

on

the

backside.

Then

this

is

the

fun

stuff.

Get

him

up

to

the

second

level

and

watch

bodies

go

flying

with

Ickey

Ekwonu.

Linebackers,

Corners,

It

doesn't

matter

who

you

are.

He's

coming

for

you.

Here

he

goes

on

a

throwback

screen.

And

I

pity

this

corner.

You

do

not

want

to

be

in

this

situation.

Just

get

out

of

bounds

and

get

out

of

his

way.

He's

going

to

send

you

flying

into

the

air.

And

he's

going

to

jump

on

top

of

you

for

a

little

extra.

At

NC

State,

Charles,

They

give

him

bottles

of

syrup

for

pancake

blocks.

You

could

fill

up

this

lake

behind

us

with

all

the

syrup

he

collected

at

NC

State.

I

certainly

hope

they

gave

him

some

of

that

light

stuff.

Because

otherwise

his

diet

goes

out

of

whack.

So

the

Panthers.

Have

selected

Ickey

Ekwonu.

Take

it

away.

Well,

Rich,

you

talked

about

all

the

aggressiveness

and

that's

right

all

the

pancakes,

DJ,

you

talked

about

it.

One

of

the

reasons

is

his

leverage

and

his

ability

to

play

with

leverage.

Where

did

he

learn

that?

He

was

a

high

school

wrestler,

won

a

state

championship,

actually

finished

in

the

nation

at

pounds.

Very

aggressive,

smart

kid,

was

recruited

by

the

Ivy

Leagues.

That's

where

his

aggressiveness

comes

in;

that's

why

you

see

so

many

guys

hitting

the

ground

when

He's

blocking

them

in

the

run

game

take

it

away,

guys,

with

the

Carolina

Panthers

taking

a

tackle,

their

top

player

on

their

board.

This

now

brings

them

back

into

thinking

potentially

of

Baker

Mayfield.

Scott

Fitterer

has

had

some

interest

in

Baker

Mayfield

for

some

time;

we

wanted

to

see

if

they

came

away

with

a

quarterback

tonight.

In

the

end,

of

course

they

do

not,

so

don't

be

surprised

if

they

circle

back

on

Baker

with

the

Browns

in

the

coming

days.

Okay,

let's

see

a

quarterback

has

now

been

passed

over

for

six

straight

picks,

And

now

the

Giants

are

picking

at

seven,

as

the

Falcons

are

on

the

clock

with

just

two

minutes

in.

No

trades

yet,

as

the

Giants

are

sitting

here.

And

we're

going

to

get

their

pick

in

just

seconds.

So

who

do

they

add

to

Kayvon

Thibodeaux?

Two

of

those

top

tackles

still

up

there.

I

think

when

all

three

of

those

guys

are

on

the

board,

that's

why

they

went

defense

first,

knowing

they'd

get

a

tackle

here

with

this

one.

Yeah,

if

you

take

Thibodeaux

first,

a

wide

receiver

I

think

is

out

of

it.

It's

got

to

be

one

of

those

tackles,

Coach.

Yeah,

coming

out

with

one

of

the

best

pass

rushers

and

then

one

of

the

best

tackles,

it's

got

to

be

a

home

run

for

the

Giants.

Okay,

So

it's

either

Evan

Neal

or

Charles

Cross

the

name

you

think

is

coming

out

of

the

commissioner

now,

as

the

Giants

the

first

team

with

multiple

picks

to

have

finished

choosing

both.

With

the

seventh

pick

in

the

NFL

Draft,

the

New

York

Giants

select

Evan

Neal,

tackle,

Alabama.

What

I

love

about

this

is

he's

played

right

tackle,

and

I

think

that's

where

he's

going

to

play

for

the

Giants.

When

you

look

at

their

pick,

Andrew

Thomas,

and

how

he

progressed

last

year,

Charles,

how

much

better

he

played.

I

think

he's

going

to

stick

at

left,

and

I

think

Evan

Neal

is

going

to

be

your

day

one

starting

right

tackle.

Yeah,

because

if

he's

made

that

progress

at

left

tackle,

starting

to

get

his

confidence,

you

don't

want

to

switch

him

again

when

you

have

a

viable

option.

And

Evan

Neal,

because

of

his

versatility,

these

three

offensive

tackles,

Coach,

Ikem

Ekwonu

was

the

road

grader,

right?

Charles

Cross,

the

pass

protector,

the

dancer,

and

this

was

the

most

versatile

offensive

tackle

in

the

draft,

Evan

Neal.

Six,

seven

and

a

half.

and

a

slim

pounds.

This

guy

has

the

feet

of

a

ballerina.

He

is

quick.

You

see

him

redirect

in

pass

protection.

They're

going

to

love

him

at

the

Giants.

Yeah,

he's

a

player

at

Alabama.

You

don't

walk

into

Alabama

and

start

that

early

in

your

career

unless

you're

pretty

special.

And

he

got

better

and

better.

I

thought

in

pass

protection

this

year

you

saw

him

take

a

leap,

not

only

from

last

year,

but

then

as

the

year

went

on,

I

thought

he

got

more

comfortable.

You

know

you're

going

to

see

premier

rushers

in

the

SEC.

He

sees

them

each

and

every

week.

Remember

Adrian

Peterson

in

those

box

jumps

famously

lifting

the

weights

while

doing

them?

How

about

Evan

Neal

in

that

box

jump

doing

the

splits?

Yeah.

He

just

raised

his

hand.

His

full

forearm

went

off

the

screen.

All

right.

Evan

Neal.

He

is

massive.

We've

talked

about

it

his

anchor

and

pass

protection.

You're

not

going

to

get

through

him.

You're

going

to

have

to

get

around

him.

And

the

position

flexibility

that

we've

already

referenced.

He's

played

some

guard

as

well

as

both

tackle

positions.

He's

going

to

be

able

to

plug

right

in.

And

he's

going

to

be

able

to

play.

Balance

is

the

key

for

him.

He's

going

to

win

every

time.

There

are

times

he

gets

a

little

over

his

skis

and

he

can

hit

the

deck.

But

when

he's

in

balance,

he's

going

to

win.

The

awareness

is

there.

He's

played

a

lot

of

football

at

Alabama.

Twists

and

stunts,

No

problem

for

him.

In

the

run

game

at

Alabama,

You

know

you're

going

to

be

able

to

create

movement

at

the

point

of

attack,

or

you

won't

get

on

the

field.

He

shows

the

ability

to

drive

you

three,

Four

yards

off

the

line.

And

then,

working

up

to

the

second

level,

This

is

another

area

where

I

thought

we

saw

improvement

from

him.

Here

he

is

at

right

tackle.

He

just

wipes

you

right

out

of

the

screen

as

a

linebacker.

This

is

a

team

now

of

Brian

Daboll

and

Joe

Schoen.

I

think

they're

adding

a

little

identity

here

up

front

on

defense

and

now

on

the

offensive

line.

This

is

going

to

be

a

physical

group.

Again,

There

are

eight

teams

with

multiple

first-round

selections

tonight.

Barring

trades,

We're

going

to

have

eight

pairs

of

prospects

for

eight

teams.

And

so

the

Giants

are

the

first

to

complete.

You'd

have

to

think

going

in,

They'd

have

signed

for

Thibodeaux

and

Neal

prior

to

the

draft.

And

that's

that

box

jump

you're

referring

to

right

there.

This

came

at

us,

Though,

Guys,

In

reverse,

Didn't

it?

I

mean,

When

you

really

think

about

it,

We

thought

it'd

be

the

offensive

tackle

at

five

for

the

Giants

and

then

come

back

at

seven

and

get

the

pass

rusher

or

receiver.

And

it

turned

out

Thibodeaux

went

first,

and

they

still

had

their

choice

of

two

of

the

top

pass

protectors.

But

I

do

think

that

they

read

it,

And

they

read

it

correctly

and

said,

With

all

these

tackles

here,

Let's

just

get

the

pass

rusher

in

the

boat,

and

then

we

can

get

a

tackle

with

the

next

one.

Falcons

have

four

and

a

half

minutes

now

to

make

their

choice.

Every

wide

receiver

is

available.

Every

quarterback

is

available.

Do

you

think

that's

where

the

Falcons

will

go?

Or

do

they

think

that

they

need

to

jump

on

a

pass

rusher

while

the

getting's

good

right

now?

What

do

you

think?

Their

pass

rush

last

year,

They

were...

dead

last.

They

had

sacks,

and

eight

and

a

half

of

those

left

in

free

agency.

So

they've

got

to

get

to

the

quarterback.

Now,

The

wide

receiver

is

also

a

screaming

need.

Quarterback,

I

don't

think

their

quarterback

of

the

future

is

on

the

roster.

I

would

imagine

that

quarterback's

Coming

in

the

years

to

come.

I

don't

think

that

comes

right

here

at

number

eight.

I

know

wide

receivers

are

being

screamed

about

because

Ridley's

no

longer

there

helping

Mariota.

But

to

me,

You

better

go

get

one

of

these

pass

rushers

right

here,

Right

now.

Jermaine

Johnson's

still

sitting

on

the

board

right

there.

They

have

it.

Listen,

You

go

to

Atlanta,

They're

still

saying,

Where's

Chuck

Smith?

Where's

John

Abraham?

They've

got

to

get

a

pass

rusher

off

the

edge.

Jermaine

Johnson

is

the

name

that's

screaming

off

my

iPad

on

me

right

now.

tackles,

Not

just

sacking

the

quarterback,

but

this

guy

plays

the

run.

He

plays

the

pass.

He

plays

with

great

effort,

Great

intensity.

He's

got

length

and

strength.

I

think

that

would

be

a

great

fit.

So

the

pick

is

in.

The

Seahawks

are

now

on

the

clock

again.

They

traded

into

this

spot

for

Russell

Wilson

and

Evan

Neal,

By

the

way,

While

we're

just

still

waiting

to

hear

the

Falcons'

pick.

Evan

Neal

is

a

giant

because

the

Chicago

Bears

rang

them

up

last

year

and

said

we'd

like

to

trade

up

for

Justin

Fields.

So

that

pick

turned

into

Evan

Neal

and

Kayvon

Thibodeaux.

That's

the

other

Giants'

first-round

selection.

It's

now

time

for

the

Atlanta

Falcons

to

let

us

know

who

the

eighth

overall

pick

is

before

the

Seahawks

choose

in

the

top

ten;

that's

a

rarity

for

them

in

the

Pete

Carroll

era,

and

then

the

Jets

will

choose

one

more

time.

So

every

receiver

is

available,

but

you

just

think

it's

the

kid

from

Florida

State

that

they

have

to

go

get

right

now;

that

would

be

the

fourth

edge

rusher

I

mean,

they

are

flying

off

the

board

tonight.

All

right,

the

commissioner

of

the

NFL

is

going

to

come

out

with

this

pick

and

then

the

Seahawks

and

Jets

finish

up

the

top

here

in

Las

Vegas.

The

eighth

pick

in

the

NFL

Draft,

the

Atlanta

Falcons

select

Drake

London,

Wide

receiver,

USC.

So

they

go

wide

receiver

and

leave

both

Ohio

State

receivers

on

the

board

and

go

with

Drake

London

out

of

USC.

They're

going

to

play

tall

ball

in

Atlanta

with

Kyle

Pitts

and

Drake

London.

That's

a

basketball

team

they're

putting

together

there

for

Marcus

Mariota.

Guys,

He

can

go

up

and

get

the

ball

better

than

anybody

else

in

this

draft

class.

His

catch

radius

is

off

the

charts.

You

see

that

basketball

background,

Coach,

Each

and

every

time

he's

on

the

field.

I

know

you

saw

it

as

well.

We

saw

it

live

in

person.

I

thought

we

played

him

probably

as

well

as

anybody

that

ever

played

him

this

year.

But

we

still

gave

up

two

big

ones.

This

guy

is

long.

He

is

athletic.

You

just

put

the

ball

in

the

area

code,

And

he's

going

to

find

a

way

to

get

balance,

He's

a

physical

guy

now;

he's

not

just

a

basketball

player

who

shies

away

from

contact.

He's

going

to

lean

into

you.

He's

going

to

jump

up

over

you.

When

was

Marcus

Mariota

at

his

best

with

Tennessee?

Remember

Delanie

Walker,

a

tight

end

who

could

run?

Well,

Also,

there's

Kyle

Pitts

for

him.

This

guy

gives

you

extra

catch

radius

and

forgiveness

when

you're

throwing

the

football

downfield.

That's

another

target

for

Mariota

and

a

way

to

move

the

ball

downfield.

Drake

London.

The

big-body

guy.

As

you

both

described.

He

can

play

over

the

rim

and

dunk

on

you.

I'm

curious

to

see

how

they

use

him

as

a

big

slot.

Or

are

they

going

to

play

him

outside?

Each

year

he

switched.

Remember,

the

slot

came

in

this

year

with

Kerry

Colbert

as

his

wide

receiver.

Coach,

Coach,

You

saw

him

outside.

You

saw

him

in

the

slot.

I'm

telling

you.

Playing

him

in

the

slot

this

year

really

advanced

his

cause

for

this

draft.

Yeah.

You're

lining

him

up

against

safeties.

Against

nickelbacks.

He's

got

size.

He's

got

speed.

He's

also

really

good

after

the

catch

for

a

big

guy.

He's

the

highest

drafted

wide

receiver

by

the

Falcons

since

Julio

Jones

out

of

Alabama.

All

right.

Let's

get

to

some

Drake

London

highlights

again.

There

are

a

bunch.

There

are

some

incredible

catches

he

makes

down

the

field.

This

catch

radius

is

impressive.

He's

going

to

make

you

right

when

you're

wrong.

As

an

inaccurate

quarterback

that

I

am,

I

appreciate

this.

His

ability

to

go

up

the

ladder

and

make

plays.

Down

in

the

red

zone,

Look

at

the

physicality,

just

walling

you

off.

Sorry

about

that

one.

Coach.

And

then

here's

the

route

running.

For

a

bigger

wideout,

his

ability

to

drop

his

weight,

Getting

in

and

out

of

the

break

points

is

outstanding.

Here's

the

alignment

inside

working

against

UCLA.

You

can

hit

him

on

those

seams

down

the

field.

And

then

running

after

the

catch,

He's

competitive.

He

refuses

to

go

down.

He

shows

his

athleticism

into

the

end

zone

right

here.

And

the

basketball

background,

If

you're

wondering

if

it's

real

or

if

this

is

just

a

casual

basketball

player,

It's

real.

It

is

real.

It

is

real.

degrees.

Huh?

Jeez.

Now

the

NBA

could

use

that

in

their

slam

dunk

contest.

Okay.

So

there

he

is.

All

right.

So

the

draft

room

in

Atlanta

is

ecstatic.

Why

not?

There's

Arthur

Blank.

I

think

just

playmaking

ability.

I

mean

especially

with

Kyle

Pitts

over

there.

I

mean

it's

Twin

Towers.

Awesome.

Congratulations.

Charles.

For

me,

guys,

Drake

London,

Larry

Fitzgerald.

Come

on

now.

And

it's

Larry

Fitzgerald

at

the

back

end

of

his

career

where

he

excelled

in

a

big

way

because

of

his

ability

to

go

in

the

slot

and

do

exactly

what

Daniel

and

the

coach

described.

Run

up

the

seam

and

go

over

the

top

and

make

the

big

catches.

Larry

Fitzgerald,

Bruce

Arians

had

to

convince

him

to

go

into

the

slot.

Turned

into

seasons

and

way

more

touchdowns.

Okay,

so

four

and

a

half

minutes

to

go

until

the

Seahawks

run

out

of

time

and

the

Jets

choose

again.

We're

back.

From

Vegas

with

the

Seahawks

selection

in

Prospects

are

waiting

patiently,

They're

having

some

fun;

Jameson

Williams

is

hanging

out,

They're

hoping

to

hear

the

commissioner

call

their

names

sometime

soon.

Kyle

Hamilton,

one

of

the

most

highly

touted

prospects

available,

is

still

sitting

out

there.

And

Jermaine

Johnson,

Some

thought

Atlanta

might

go

get

him,

but

he

is

still

waiting

to

hear

his

name

called.

One

of

those

guys

could

be

called

right

now

by

the

Seattle

Seahawks,

making

their

first

top

ten

selection

in

a

draft

since

One

reason

they're

picking

this

high

is

the

guy

they

traded

away

to

get

this

pick,

Russell

Wilson.

This

was

Denver's

pick.

It

is

now

Seattle's.

What

do

you

think?

Well,

If

the

pick

is

in,

That's

the

surprise

to

me.

I

thought

John

Schneider

would

trade

out.

He

loves

trading

back.

Okay,

Here

we

go.

Take

it

away,

Guys.

With

the

ninth

Pick

in

the

NFL

Draft,

The

Seattle

Seahawks

select

Charles

Cross,

Tackle,

Mississippi

State.

Okay,

So

Charles

Cross

will

go

and

protect

Drew

Lock

or

Geno

Smith

or

whatever.

A

rookie

they

might

draft.

You're

expecting

to

hear

if

Seattle

might

take

one

later

on

in

this

draft,

or

maybe

Baker

Mayfield

who

knows

but

a

very

talented

kid

is

making

his

way

to

the

Pacific

Northwest.

You

can

make

a

case

the

Seahawks

need

two

tackles.

They

might

not

be

done

in

this

draft

at

this

position.

He's

gonna

walk

in

and

be

the

left

tackle.

He's

a

pure

left

tackle.

That's

what

you

see

on

tape

at

Mississippi

State.

Joel

Klatt:

Well,

When

you

think

of

the

offense

that

he

played

in

at

Mississippi

State,

Guys,

the

Air

Raid

with

Mike

Leach,

The

heavy

majority

of

his

snaps

were

pass

sets.

Obviously,

of

his

snaps

in

college

were

pass

sets.

And

I

guess

what

Joel

is

trying

to

say,

If

I'm

following

it

correctly,

Pete

Carroll

always

wants

to

run

the

football.

He

wants

to

get

back

to

being

a

power

running

team.

That's

not

what

Charles

Cross

does

or

did

at

Mississippi

State.

But

look

at

the

build.

Look

at

this

body

on

him.

I

think

that

he's

a

guy

that's

been

overblown

in

terms

of

everyone

thinks

he's

only

a

pass

protector.

I

think

he

can

be

a

run

blocker.

He

just

hasn't

had

to

do

it

much

at

Mississippi

State.

He'll

get

a

crash

course

in

Seattle.

And

you

don't

see

a

lack

of

physicality.

You

see

a

physical

guy.

You

see

length.

You

see

athleticism.

You

see

him

be

physical.

Whether

or

not

they

run

the

ball,

Just

watching

him

play,

He

is

a

talented,

young

man.

Does

this

mean

they're

going

to

let

Lock

cook?

Is

that

what

you're

saying?

Is

that

what

that

means?

Lock

to

lock

it.

Get

ready.

Nice.

Okay.

All

right.

This

is

a

big-time,

football-intelligent

player,

staying

attached.

I

write

on

my

page

OTG

if

you're

on

the

ground,

I

keep

hitting

those

little

check

marks

next

to

it.

This

dude's

never

on

the

ground.

You

don't

even

write

that

on

your

paper.

Outstanding

balance.

Here

he

is

again

just

staying

connected.

His

ability

to

react

to

counters.

You're

going

to

try

and

hit

him

and

show

the

ability

to

redirect

and

adjust.

If

you

don't,

you're

going

to

get

beat

and

be

in

bad

positions

like

this

one

right

here

watch

him

recover.

That

shows

you

the

polish

as

a

pass

protector

and

in

the

run

game.

Again,

Joel

mentioned

he

didn't

get

a

ton

of

opportunities

there,

but

there

are

examples

of

him

creating

some

movement

at

the

point

of

attack.

That's

going

to

continue

to

improve

as

he

gets

more

experience.

Okay,

as

you

see,

there

is

the

draft

room

in

Washington

celebrating

Charles

Cross

now

making

his

way

To

Seattle.

So

now

it's

time

for

the

Jets,

who

are

on

the

clock

less

than

five

minutes

to

go

for

the

tenth

overall

pick,

their

second

of

the

top

ten

in

this

draft.

You

take

it

away

here,

Rich,

The

fact

that

the

Jets

are

in

this

position,

They

are

set

to

make

the

number

overall

pick,

which

is

noteworthy.

My

understanding

is

this

was

the

pick

they

offered

in

a

package

for

Deebo

Samuel.

It

was

the

first,

It

was

the

number

overall

selection,

and

then

a

pick

swap

later.

That

trade

obviously

did

not

materialize

tonight.

The

Jets

are

now

set

to

pick.

Unless,

in

the

next

four

and

a

half

minutes,

the

Jets

logo

turns

to

a

San

Francisco

logo,

which

would

blow

the

roof

off

this

entire

city.

But,

of

course,

There's

a

lot

to

get

through:

physicals,

contracts,

and

talking

to

him

about

his

usage.

But

that's

potentially

for

another

day.

The

Jets

are

now

on

the

clock.

They

chose

Sauce

Gardner

fourth

overall.

It's

the

highest-drafted

defensive

back

selected

by

the

Jets

in

the

common

draft

era,

beating

the

sixth-overall

pick

when

they

chose

Jamal

Adams

years

ago.

Interestingly

enough,

this

is

the

pick

they're

using

now

because

they

traded

Jamal

Adams

to

Seattle.

They've

got

Sauce.

They've

got

every

wide

receiver

available

except

Drake

London.

And

some

top-notch

pass

rushers

they

might

not

have

expected

to

be

available

at

overall.

To

me,

This

decision

is

Garrett

Wilson

from

Ohio

State

versus

Jermaine

Johnson.

You

go

receiver,

or

you

go

edge

rusher

here

for

the

Jets.

Just

keep

this

in

mind,

though,

along

the

Deebo

Samuel

conversation.

Last

year,

the

pick

was

DeVonta

Smith,

a

wide

receiver

out

of

Alabama

to

Philly.

His

average

per

year

is

million.

So

if

you're

the

Jets

and

you

want

a

wide

receiver,

well,

I

love

Deebo

Samuel.

Man,

You

can

get

a

heck

of

a

discount

if

you

get

one

right

here.

And

remember,

The

offensive

line

was

still

a

consideration,

too,

until

Charles

Cross

came

off

the

board.

Now

the

top

three

tackles

are

off

the

board

for

him.

I

think

this

has

got

to

be

a

receiver

here.

That's

what

it

feels

like

to

me.

Edge

rusher

is

a

possibility,

but

it

feels

like

they

have

their

choice

of

receivers.

As

you

said,

Rich,

not

named

Drake

London.

Well,

The

other

thing

you've

got

to

think

about,

too,

is

that

we've

talked

so

much

about

quarterbacks,

what

kind

of

quarterback

league

this

is.

This

is

a

great

opportunity

to

take

another

guy

who's

going

to

start.

We

have

many

starters

right

now,

still

edge

rushers,

corners.

You've

got

receivers.

You've

got

a

lot

of

guys

that

are

available

for

you.

So

here's

the

deal.

If

the

Jets

pick

here,

it

becomes

that

much

more

unlikely

that

Deebo

Samuel

gets

traded

and

that

he

will

be

anything

but

a

by

the

end

of

the

night.

Let's

hear

the

name

from

Roger

Goodell,

the

second

Jet

to

be

announced

here

in

Vegas

tonight.

With

the

pick

in

the

NFL

Draft,

the

New

York

Jets

select.

Garrett

Wilson,

wide

receiver,

Ohio

State.

All

right,

then

Garrett

Wilson's

going

to

the

Jets

to

line

up

with

Elijah

Moore

and

Corey

Davis,

and

Zach

Wilson

gets

himself

a

top-notch

wide

receiving

prospect.

Daniel

Jeremiah,

your

thoughts?

They

also

added

a

couple

of

tight

ends

in

free

agency

as

well.

This

is

the

best

wide

receiver

in

the

draft

for

me.

He's

my

fourth

overall

player.

The

Jets,

they

end

up

coming

away,

Charles,

in

my

opinion,

the

top

corner

and

the

top

receiver

in

the

draft.

DJ

and

coach,

there

was

a

lot

of

discussion

about

if

Drake

London

was

in

this

spot,

he

would

be

the

perfect

choice

to

go

with

Elijah

Moore

because

he's

a

plus-size

receiver.

Corey

Davis

is

already

on

the

roster,

and

he's

not

a

little

guy.

So

they

didn't

have

to

worry

about

it

quite

as

much

as

maybe

we

made

it

out

to

be.

You

get

a

full

year

out

of

Corey

Davis.

You

get

Elijah

Moore

coming

into

his

second

year.

You

add

in

this

young

man

with

a

second-year

quarterback,

Crouch.

Youth

is

growing

together.

There's

no

question

about

it.

And

what

I

love

about

this

guy,

especially

paired

with

a

young

quarterback,

his

ability

to

run

after

the

catch.

You

can

get

some

receiver

screens,

quick

slants,

hitches

in

this

guy's

hands,

and

he

can

make

something

special.

He

can

be

your

fly

sweep

guy.

He

can

be

your

do-everything

guy.

I

think

this

guy's

got

a

chance

to

make

an

immediate

impact

right

now.

He's

going

to

have

to

learn

'J-E-T-S.'

He'll

learn.

He'll

learn.

Send

the

fireman

over

to

him.

The

fireman

will

get

a

hold

of

him.

This

dude

is

a

weapon.

When

you

get

the

ball

in

his

hands.

Jet

sweeps.

He

can

make

a

house

call

on

it.

He

understands

route

running,

how

to

attack

leverage.

There's

a

lot

of

polish

there.

He

turns

corners

inside

out

routinely.

He

can

win

with

his

quickness

right

off

the

line.

Watch

this

release

and

the

separation

he

creates

down

in

the

red

zone

for

a

nice,

easy

touchdown

for

C.J.

Stroud.

And

then

go

up

and

get

it.

This

was

as

a

young

player

against

Clemson

in

the

playoff.

That's

the

catch

radius

that

he

has

there.

Joel

with

Garrett

Wilson.

That

first

minicamp,

going

up

against

Sauce

Gardner.

I'd

pay

good

money

to

see

that

one,

Joe,

I

would

love

to

see

it

just

because

of

that

release

at

the

line

of

scrimmage.

Wilson

is

so

slippery.

Sauce

is

so

good

at

the

line

of

scrimmage.

But

here's

Wilson

using

that

speed

down

the

field.

He's

so

polished

in

his

route

running.

But

how

about

the

competitiveness?

In

clutch

situations,

short

side

of

the

field,

It's

snowing.

It's

cold.

C.J.

Stroud

with

a

great

ball.

He

goes

up

and

gets

it

in

a

huge

win

in

a

situation.

Melissa,

This

guy

is

a

player.

And

the

Jets

got

themselves

a

playmaker.

Yes.

A

much-needed

weapon

for

the

New

York

Jets.

Folks,

We've

got

our

first

trade.

The

Saints

just

moved

up

from

The

Commanders

are

moving

down.

Russell

Wilson

has

a

new

home.

It's

going

to

be

rocking.

This

incredible

divisional

playoff

game.

So

moments

ago,

the

Saints

moved

up

from

by

five

spots,

giving

up

a

and

a

in

this

year's

draft

to

Washington;

Washington

moves

down

five

spots

and

gains

two

more

picks.

Interestingly,

the

overall

pick

the

Saints

traded

into

this

spot

was

one

of

the

picks

they

recently

got

from

Philadelphia

as

part

of

the

Carson

Wentz

trade,

and

Washington

now

gets

to

use

that

pick

they

have

Carson

Wentz

on

their

team.

The

Saints

moved

up

for

who?

Well,

I

think

you

look

at

the

receiver

run.

Drake

London

went

at

We

just

saw

Garrett

Wilson

go

at

And

I

think

when

you

look

at

some

of

these

other

teams,

Philadelphia

being

one

of

them,

if

you

want

a

wide

out,

that

run,

you

might

miss

out

if

you

sit

where

you

are

if

you're

the

New

Orleans

Saints.

And

you

make

the

move.

And

Terry

McLaurin

is

probably

calling

into

the

draft

room

a

number

of

times.

You've

got

to

get

me

a

running

mate.

You

said

you'd

get

me

a

running

mate.

We're

about

to

run

out

of

these

guys.

And

by

the

way,

there's

another

one

from

Ohio

State

out

there.

Go

get

him

for

me,

please.

Yeah,

I'm

sure.

I

mean,

Hopefully

he

will

be

available

for

them

down

at

But

the

Saints

are

going

at

right

here,

it

could

be

interesting

enough.

It

had

to

be

somebody

they

thought

they

needed

to

trade

into

the

draft

to

get.

They

have

three

Ohio

State

players

on

their

team.

Why

not

get

another

one?

All

right.

NFL

draft

is

a

time

of

optimism

for

all

teams

and

their

fans.

Los

Angeles

running

back

Austin

Ekeler.

And

I

guess

you

can

tell

probably

it's

no

surprise.

The

Chargers.

And

I'll

tell

you

what,

Austin.

If

you

want

my

opinion

about

this

game,

whoever

has

the

ball

last

is

going

to

win

this

game.

At

least

the

way

it's

always

seemed.

Talk

to

the

fans.

Tell

them

what

you

think.

Look,

It

doesn't

get

much

better

than

this.

It

doesn't

get

much

better

than

this.

Thursday

Night

Football,

You

got

two

high-powered

teams

battling

it

out.

It's

going

to

be

epic.

It's

going

to

be

an

amazing

thing.

Even

if

you

don't

rock

with

the

Chargers

at

Chiefs,

I

know

you

got

me

on

your

fantasy

team,

so

there's

no

point

in

not

watching.

It's

going

to

be

awesome.

I'll

tell

you

what,

We're

looking...

And

that's

what

I

heard

before

the

draft.

Well,

Let's

get

the

Saints'

pick

first.

With

the

pick

in

the

NFL

Draft,

The

New

Orleans

Saints

select

Chris

Olave.

Wide

receiver,

Ohio

State.

Well,

It

looks

like

'Can't

Guard

Mike'

is

the

one

who

got

himself

an

Ohio

State

teammate

instead

of

Terry

McLaurin.

So,

yeah,

Let's

not

forget

Michael

Thomas

is

coming

back

this

year.

And

now

Olave

and

Thomas

will

be

there

with

Kamara

for

Jameis

when

he's

healthy.

And

this

is

somebody

that

can

get

down

the

field.

Jameis

Winston

wants

to

get

vertical.

Charles,

This

is

a

guy

who

can

go

get

it.

And

they've

had

Traquan

Smith

there,

but

haven't

gotten

exactly

what

they

wanted

from

him

during

that

time.

Olave

creates

space

for

Michael

Thomas.

We

know

he

can

run

this

route

anytime

he

wants

to.

But

create

a

little

more

space

for

him.

Maybe

the

slant

goes

a

little

bit

farther,

Coach.

Absolutely.

And

Jameis

Winston

is

a

great

deep

ball

thrower.

It

is

a

beautiful

ball.

And

this

guy

can

go

down

and

go

get

it.

at

the

combine.

This

guy

is

explosive.

Broke

records

at

Ohio

State.

This

guy

is

a

special

football

player.

This

division,

guys,

think

about,

you

know,

the

NFC

South

now.

It

has

become

a

division

where

you've

got

to

score

a

lot

of

points

or

you're

just

not

going

to

be

able

to

hang

in

there.

Brady

setting

the

pace

coming

back

in

Tampa

Bay.

We

know

Atlanta

is

trying

to

get

faster

now;

we

saw

that

in

the

draft

already.

But

this

team,

the

Saints,

DJ

has

said

it

throughout

this

draft

process,

and

he

is

on

target.

They

are

not

thinking

about

rebuilding.

They're

thinking

we're

there

right

now.

And

we're

still

trying

to

win.

How

many

times

have

they

beaten

Tampa?

They

beat

Tampa

four

straight

times

in

the

regular

season

since

Tom

Brady

got

there.

So

they're

confident.

They

think

they

can

win

this

division.

That's

why

they

wanted

a

couple

key

players.

Chris

Olave

is

going

to

be

one

of

those

key

players

for

the

New

Orleans

Saints

and

their

offense

going

forward.

Silky

smooth.

Everything

he

does

is

easy.

He's

got

outstanding

route

tempo.

The

only

knock

on

him,

I

just

want

to

see

him

get

a

little

bit

stronger,

a

little

more

physical.

especially

with

the

ball

in

his

hands

after

the

catch.

But

here

he

is

working

vertical.

He's

got

that

second

gear.

Once

the

ball

goes

up

in

the

air,

he

can

really

go

get

it.

The

route

running

polish,

you

can

make

a

case

as

good

as

anybody

in

this

draft

class.

Here

he

is

working

against

Patrick

Surtain,

one

of

the

best

corners

in

the

NFL,

and

getting

a

nice

move

on

him

on

a

comeback

to

finish.

Here

he

is

down

in

the

red

zone.

Again,

Watch

the

head.

Just

the

subtleties

of

the

route

running.

That's

where

you

see

the

polish

with

Chris

Olave.

And

then

go

down

the

field,

go

up

and

get

the

ball.

He

did

this

throughout

his

career,

whether

he

was

wearing

or

two

he

made

a

bunch

of

big

plays.

I

remember

him

getting

on

the

field

against

Michigan

as

a

freshman.

I

think

Joel

Klatt

might

have

been

there.

He

blocked

a

punt

and

just

made

plays.

So

there's

the

Buckeyes

and

the

wide

receivers.

Both

of

them

off

the

board

already.

Rich.

As

you

can

see,

we've

seen

this

before.

Ted

Ginn

and

Anthony

Gonzalez

in

wide

receivers

from

Columbus

being

picked

in

the

first

round.

Michael

Thomas.

As

we

said,

You

can't

guard

Mike,

He

likes

it.

Let's

run

it.

And

he

doesn't

mean

the

football.

He

means

the

offense.

Kurt

Warner,

Take

it

away.

All

right,

I

tell

you

what,

guys,

I

love

this

move.

One

of

the

hardest

things

for

any

quarterback

is

when

a

defense

can

play

downhill,

meaning

you

don't

have

the

guy

that

can

really

stretch

the

field.

Michael

Thomas

has

been

incredible

for

this

Saints

team,

but

the

one

knock

is

he's

not

the

guy

that's

going

to

get

down

the

field

and

make

the

big

plays.

Chris

Olave

gives

them

the

chance

to

be

able

to

stretch

the

field.

Open

it

up

for

both

Michael

Thomas

and

Deonte

Harris,

who

I

thought

really

came

on

last

year.

A

little

jitterbug

that

can

play

inside.

So

Jameis

Winston's

got

to

be

smiling

right

now,

saying,

hey,

I've

got

to

prove

myself.

Now

I've

got

a

bunch

of

guys

to

be

able

to

do

it

with.

All

right,

You

both

told

me

earlier

you

don't

look

at

mock

drafts.

You

didn't

care

where

you

went,

yet

the

Saints

move

Another

Ohio

State

receiver

there,

Michael

Thomas.

Trades

galore.

Everybody.

Trades

galore

because

the

Lions

moved

up

from

all

the

way

to

and

for

the

right

to

do

that,

They

swapped

second-round

picks

with

the

Vikings.

The

Vikings

moved

spots

down

in

the

first

round

but

moved

spots

up

in

the

second.

And

pick

up

a

third.

Meanwhile,

The

Eagles

and

Texans

just

struck

a

trade.

The

Eagles

were

picking

They're

now

on

the

clock

at

with

the

Texans

moving

down

to

And

we're

about

to

get

the

Lions'

pick.

You

think

this

is

for

a

quarterback?

If

you

move

this

aggressively

up,

Usually

it's

for

a

quarterback.

And

that

is

a

long-term

need

for

this

football

team.

Well,

They

already

have

Travon

Walker.

I

mean,

Pardon

me,

They

already

have

Aidan

Hutchinson

because

Travon

Walker

was

picked

first

overall.

Let's

see

who

the

Lions

really

liked

this

much

to

move

up

spots

to

go

get.

The

Minnesota

Vikings

have

traded

the

pick

to

the

Detroit

Lions.

The

Detroit

Lions

select

Jameson

Williams,

wide

receiver

from

Alabama,

moving

spots

to

take

the

Alabama

Crimson

Tide

receiver.

How

about

the

roller

coaster

ride

that

Jared

Goff

just

went

on

right

there?

By

the

way,

Thinking

you

might

be

bringing

in

a

quarterback.

No,

We're

going

to

bring

in

one

of

the

most

dynamic

players

in

the

entire

draft

for

you

to

throw

the

football

to,

and

interestingly

enough,

Using

the

pick

that

they

got

from

the

Rams

to

acquire

Jared

Goff

and

give

up

Matthew

Stafford.

Speaking

of

roller

coasters,

Think

about

our

discussions

in

the

run-up

to

the

draft.

There

aren't

going

to

be

any

quarterbacks

that

go.

Oh,

They

have

to

take

quarterbacks.

Oh,

We're

going

to

have

a

run

on

quarterbacks.

Here

comes

a

perfect

quarterback

spot.

He

doesn't

go.

I

talked

with

someone

with

the

Lions

a

couple

weeks

ago.

They

wanted

a

big

receiver

because

Amon-Ra

St.

Brown,

He

played

awfully

well

for

them

down

The

stretch.

They

just

didn't

want

a

little

guy.

Jameson

Williams

fits

the

build.

All

right,

As

you

can

see,

there's

not

much

hitch

in

his

giddy-up,

certainly,

to

go

out

and

get

his

jersey

to

join

the

Detroit

Lions.

Joel

Klatt,

Take

it

away.

Well,

I

just

love

that

he

took

his

future

into

his

own

hands,

guys.

Remember,

he

was

clearly

the

fourth

wide

receiver

at

Ohio

State

behind

the

two

guys

that

were...

just

selected,

Garrett

Wilson,

Chris

Olave,

the

guy

that's

still

in

Columbus,

Jackson

Smith-Njigba,

probably

the

first

wide

receiver

in

next

year's

draft.

So

he

goes

down

to

Alabama

and

has

a

monster

season.

By

the

way,

there

were

no

hard

feelings

in

that

transfer.

In

his

bye

week

at

Alabama,

guess

where

he

was?

Back

in

Columbus,

visiting

his

old

teammates

at

Ohio

State.

That's

Joel

Klatt

with

two

cents

right

there

from

inside

the

draft

hall

where

this

young

man...

is

going

to

collect

his

new

professional

football

jersey

joining

the

Detroit

Lions

Daniel,

yeah,

there's

fast

and

then

there's

that;

I

mean,

Jameson

Williams

is

in

that

rare

company,

and

the

GPS

numbers

back

that

up

by

the

way

that

speed

is

legit;

he

might

not

have

the

change

of

direction

that

Tyreek

Hill

has,

but

I

think

he

has

that

top

gear,

which

is

insane.

Ludicrous

speed

if

we

want

to

go

Spaceballs.

The

toughness,

you

see

that

with

him

as

a

gunner.

Obviously,

he's

coming

off

that

ACL

injury.

Rich

mentioned

it,

though.

Moving

around

pretty

well.

I

think

they

should

be

ready

by

the

middle

of

October,

according

to

the

teams

that

I

talked

to.

This

was

one

big

play

after

another

for

Alabama.

You

could

throw

him

a

little

slant

and

then

watch

what

he

does

with

it.

He's

going

to

run

away

from

everybody

on

the

football

field,

and

he

makes

it

look

effortless.

At

the

top

of

his

route,

dropping

his

weight.

Sometimes

you

get

those

fast,

front-line

straight-line

guys.

They

can't

get

in

and

out

of

the

break.

Did

a

nice

job

there.

And

here

he

is

with

a

burst,

a

double

move.

Again,

look

at

this

separation

working

against

Georgia,

tracking

the

ball

down

the

field.

That's

something

he

does

naturally

as

well.

These

are

home

runs.

For

the

Detroit

Lions,

he's

not

going

to

have

to

touch

the

ball

eight

or

nine

times

to

have

an

impact

on

a

football

game.

He's

going

to

be

able

to

do

it

in

two

or

three.

And

this

type

of

a

guy,

he

creates

big

plays

in

a

team

that's

trying

to

catch

up.

It's

his

rehab

process,

as

you

see

right

here.

And

he's

off

to

Detroit.

Nicely

done

right

there.

All

right,

So

the

Eagles

traded

up

two

spots.

Their

pick

is

now

in.

The

Ravens

are

now

on

the

clock.

The

Texans

were

supposed

to

be

They're

now

overall.

And

the

Washington

Commanders

have

moved

down

to

And

those

are

the

next

selections

coming

up

from

Las

Vegas.

Don't

go

anywhere.

The

Eagles

are

all

over

the

draft

board.

Same

with

the

Texans

in

Washington.

We're

a

dozen

picks

into

the

NFL

Draft.

Now

that

they

have

their

team,

It's

time

to

get

their

gear.

The

Ravens'

latest

pick

is

in.

The

Texans

are

now

on

the

clock.

The

Eagles'

pick

is

about

to

be

announced

because

the

Eagles

and

Texans

made

a

trade.

What's

going

on?

Ian?

It's

important

to

look

at

who

a

team

traded

over.

The

Eagles

leapfrogged

the

Ravens.

Everyone

in

the

world

thought

Jordan

Davis

from

Georgia

was

a

Ravens

pick.

Now

the

Eagles

leap

over

and

get

a

potential

replacement

for

Fletcher

Cox.

Would

you

agree

with

that

tea

leaf?

I

was

in

Philadelphia

in

the

personnel

department

when

we

traded

up

a

few

spots

years

ago

to

take

Fletcher

Cox.

Maybe

history

repeats

itself.

And

the

reason

I

like

Jordan

Davis

in

Baltimore,

Coach,

was

that

he

had

Calais

Campbell

there

as

a

model

in

the

room.

Now

he

gets

Fletcher

Cox

as

a

model

in

the

room.

He's

big,

strong

and

long.

Texans

get

a

fourth

and

two

fifths

to

move

down

two

spots.

They

now

have

draft

picks

in

this

draft.

That's

the

most.

In

the

draft,

here

comes

Roger

Goodell

with

the

first

of

two

Eagles

picks.

Again,

they

pick

overall

and

the

Ravens'

pick

is

in,

so

you're

going

to

get

some

back-to-back

picks

fast.

Then

the

Texans

are

on

the

clock.

The

Washington

Commanders,

who

moved

down

from

so

the

Saints

could

move

up

to

take

Chris

Olave,

select

next.

Then

it's

the

Chargers

and

Eagles

again,

and

the

commissioner

is

no

doubt

about

to

announce

who

these

young

folks

are.

Joining

me

for

the

Eagles

pick

are

six

high

school

tackle

and

flag

football

captains

from

teams

across

Clark

County

and

Las

Vegas.

They

truly

exemplify

the

NFL's

values

of

respect,

integrity,

resiliency,

and

responsibility

to

their

teams.

Congratulations

to

all

of

you

on

your

accomplishments

and

good

luck

on

the

upcoming

season.

The

Houston

Texans

have

traded

the

pick

to

the

Philadelphia

Eagles.

With

the

pick

in

the

NFL

Draft,

the

Philadelphia

Eagles

select

Jordan

Davis.

Defensive

tackle.

Georgia.

There

is

the

big

Georgia

Bulldog

who

lit

it

up

at

the

combine.

I

mean,

he

was

just

absolutely

fantastic

moving

around

and

showing

what

he

could

do

for

a

man

his

size

and

frame.

A

draft

that

started

with

five

defensive

players.

That

just

ended

a

run

of

seven

on

offense

as

the

Eagles

trade

up

to

jump

in

front

of

the

Ravens

and

take

Jordan

Davis.

Jordan

Davis

and

Milata,

the

big

left

tackle

for

the

Eagles.

I'll

pay

to

watch

that

one

in

practice

as

well.

Two

of

the

bigger

human

beings

you'll

ever

see.

He's

going

to

get

to

see

Evan

Neal

again

inside

the

division.

Alabama-Georgia.

They're

going

to

get

a

chance

to

tussle

as

well.

Charles,

his

ability,

everybody

just

kind

of

labels

him

as

a

nose.

You

can

move

this

guy

up

and

down

the

line

of

scrimmage.

much

like

Albert

Hainsworth

when

he

was

a

young

player

with

the

Tennessee

Titans.

Boy,

that's

a

great

comparison.

And

you

notice

you

said

Tennessee

Titans

because

everybody's

going

to

scream.

He

didn't

do

anything

in

Washington.

It's

the

reason

why

they

paid

him

million.

though.

for

what

he

did

in

Tennessee.

That's

a

big-time

reason

for

you

and

for

Coach.

He

came

in.

He

was

about

when

they

lost

to

Alabama

in

the

SEC

title

game.

He

was

about

when

they

beat

him

in

the

national

championship

game.

at

the

combine.

Coach,

we

saw

all

the

bounce.

I

think

to

stay

on

the

field,

get

down

to

get

three

plays

out

of

this

guy.

I

think

that's

the

next

step

for

him.

just

ultimate

conditioning.

Yeah,

The

big

thing

when

you

watch

him

on

film,

He

goes

forward.

He

just

keeps

advancing.

He

collapses

the

pocket

from

the

inside.

He

can

shock

and

shed.

He

can

disengage.

This

guy's

a

mountain

to

throw

the

ball

over.

He's

going

to

be

a

menace

in

the

division.

I

know

that

they

said

it

all

the

time,

DJ,

coach,

at

Georgia,

we

had

so

many

guys.

We

rotated

people

through.

We

were

beating

people.

He

didn't

play.

He

played

less

than

of

the

snaps

on

defense.

Conditioning.

Conditioning.

Conditioning.

So

he

can

be

that

three-down

menace

you

described.

DJ,

I

love

the

suit.

It

looks

like

he

just

crossed

the

finish

line

right

there,

Right

into

Philadelphia.

Nice.

I

dig

it.

Like

a

sash

of

some

sort.

I

love

hearing

the

TSOP

in

the

background.

Do

you

hear

the

music?

The

sound

of

Philadelphia.

Where's

Don

Cornelius

when

you

need

him?

Get

the

dance

line

going.

Jordan

Davis

swallowing

up

the

commissioner

of

the

NFL

right

here

as

he's

getting

set

to

hold

up

the

Philadelphia

Eagles

jersey.

Better

be

a

large

jersey.

That

one's

not

going

to

fit.

That's

not

going

to

work.

That's

not

fitting.

That's

not

enough

jersey.

You're

going

to

need

to

order

one.

You're

going

to

need

to

special

order

that.

Hopefully

they

kept

the

receipt.

You

see

my

Hainsworth

comp

there.

He's

got

tremendous

range

against

the

run.

I

think

the

potential

is

there

for

him

to

develop

more

as

a

pass

rusher

once

the

opportunities

present

themselves.

You

want

to

double

him.

He

doesn't

have

any

problem

with

that.

He

eats

double

teams

and

then

still

finds

a

way

to

make

a

play

on

the

ball.

The

quickness

to

win

right

away.

That's

very

unusual

for

a

man

of

that

size

to

win

right

off

the

snap

with

that

quickness.

The

lateral

range.

This

is

what

separates

him.

Look

at

how

much

range

he

has

to

make

plays

outside

the

numbers

and

then

collapse

the

pocket.

That's

where

he

is

right

now

as

a

rusher.

See

the

penetration

there

again

working

upfield.

The

pass

rush

is

going

to

come.

That

is

still

a

work

in

progress.

But

why

not

have

some

fun

and

throw

him

in

there

at

fullback

on

offense

as

well.

We

talk

about

a

freak.

Well,

According

to

AWS

NextGenStats,

Look

at

where

he

is,

right

up

there

at

the

top

of

the

list

of

defensive

tackles.

Rich,

He

put

on

a

show

for

us

in

Indianapolis.

That's

the

NextGenStats-powered-by-AWS

draft

score

right

there.

So

Jordan

Davis

is

now

in

the

NFL

out

of

a

Georgia

Bulldog.

We

saw

Trevon

Walker

and

Jordan

Davis

go.

Remember,

Was

it

Jordan

Davis

who

waited

for

Trevon

Walker

to

be

done

with

his?

They

were

out

there

on

the

bench

and

waited

for

it.

Wyatt

was

there

as

well,

Right?

Devontae

Wyatt.

All

the

Georgia

kids

sat

there

and

waited

for

all

of

them

to

finish

before

they

took

off

and

left.

I

wonder

if

they're

now

going

to

wait

for

everybody

else.

Kobe

Deans

is

back

there

as

well.

So

you

never

know.

So

the

Philadelphia

Eagles.

Are

going

to

be

on

the

clock

again

shortly.

The

Ravens

pick

is

in.

The

Texans

pick

is

now

in.

Washington

is

on

the

clock.

So

we're

going

to

be,

We

are

moving.

We're

stocked

up

here.

And

once

Washington

It's

done.

We're

halfway

through

this

first

round

of

the

NFL

draft

here

in

Las

Vegas.

Well,

That

Georgia

defense

was

phenomenal.

And

a

big

reason

was

Jordan

Davis.

What

I

love

about

him

is

that

he

worked

himself

into

that

dominant

player.

He

was

just

a

three-star

recruit.

He

ended

up

being

a

unanimous

All-American.

When

you

talk

with

people

close

to

the

Georgia

program,

They

will

tell

you

that

this

guy

had

a

team-first

mentality.

That's

certainly

the

way

he

played,

eating

up

blocks

and

allowing

guys

like

N'Kobe

Dean,

a

linebacker

that

we'll

probably

see

later

tonight,

to

run

side

to

side

and

be

the

force

that

he

was

at

the

second

level.

And

they're

seen

as

well

available.

In

this

year's

draft.

So

many

Georgia

Bulldogs

from

that

championship

defense

could

go

in

this

first

round.

Okay,

So

now

it's

time

for

the

Ravens.

What's

it

like

in

the

draft

room

when

somebody

trades

up

to

take

your

player

in

front

of

you?

There

could

be

a

groan.

We're

assuming

that's

the

player

they

were

going

to

take.

Right.

But,

I

mean,

When

you

look

at

Jermaine

Johnson

still

being

out

there,

He's

my

ninth

player.

Kyle

Hamilton's

my

fifth

player

in

this

draft.

And

you've

still

got

some

corners

out

there,

too.

Here's

the

Ravens

pick.

With

the

pick,

In

the

NFL

Draft,

the

Baltimore

Ravens

select

Kyle

Hamilton,

defensive

back,

Notre

Dame.

All

right,

Kyle

Hamilton

has

been

selected,

and

the

Ravens

just

traded

their

way

back

into

the

first

round,

with

the

Arizona

Cardinals

at

as

well.

We'll

update

you

on

what

that

means

and

what

they're

possibly

doing.

But

Kyle

Hamilton

from

Notre

Dame

is

now

going

to

be

wearing

purple

in

Baltimore.

Well,

It

doesn't

matter

if

it's

Ozzie

Newsome

making

the

picks

or

Eric

DeCosta

making

the

picks.

Coach

Shaw,

You've

been

their

best

available

player.

That's

what

they're

always

going

to

do.

There's

no

question.

They

didn't

miss

a

beat

if

that

was

their

choice

that

got

taken

in

front

of

them.

I

was

in

the

draft

room

when

they

took

someone

that

we

wanted,

and

We

turned

around

and

took

some

real

sucks.

This

is

that

kind

of

a

pick.

This

guy

is

a

difference

maker.

I

saw

him

as

a

freshman

at

Notre

Dame.

He

was

a

guy

that

we

wanted

to

pick

on

in

the

passing

game.

About

midway

through

the

first

quarter,

We

said,

This

is

not

a

good

identity.

This

guy's

got

range.

He's

got

length

in

the

film

that

everyone

has

seen.

My

dad

calls

it

stealing

second.

He's

got

that

anticipation.

I

don't

care

what

his

time

is.

When

that

ball

goes

up,

he's

already

taken

two

steps

in

that

direction,

and

he

can

get

there

and

make

plays.

So

there

you

go.

Kind

of

like

that.

He

decided

to

change

the

game

plan

on

the

fly,

Huh?

Absolutely.

That

happened.

The

Baltimore

Ravens

at

got

a

player

that

has

to

be

in

just

about

everyone's

top

five.

In

terms

of

consensus

rankings.

He

was

my

favorite

player

in

this

draft

for

all

the

reasons

that

you

just

talked

about,

Coach.

I

think

he

can

do

everything

on

the

football

field.

We're

going

to

find

out,

Plus

the

maturity

factor.

Remember,

How

many

guys

are

you

going

to

draft

that

are

Mensa

IQ

guys?

Mensa

Society.

Kyle

Hamilton's

one

of

them.

And

he's

going

to

go

to

an

organization

where

they

have

a

pretty

good

track

record

with

safety

play.

Chuck

Clark's

going

to

like

having

him

back.

Oh,

Yeah.

Big-time

range

in

ball

skills.

You

want

to

match

him

up

with

tight

ends?

No

problem.

He

can

handle

that

as

well.

Here

he

is

showing

you

that

range,

Working

laterally.

The

pursuit

that

he

has

is

outstanding.

Takes

great

angles

working

to

the

alley.

You

can

put

him,

As

my

friend

Bucky

Brooks

likes

to

say,

On

top

of

the

Christmas

tree

in

the

deep

middle

of

the

field.

Here's

the

most

impressive

interception

of

the

entire

college

football

season

coming

from

the

far

hash.

Coach,

He's

still

second

and

third.

Touching

down,

getting

those

feet

down

on

the

sideline,

And

here's

what

I

love.

When

you

watch

special

teams,

You

find

out

how

much

guys

love

football.

This

is

not

participating

in

special

teams.

This

is

dominating

in

special

teams.

He's

going

to

fit

in

just

right

in

Baltimore.

Well,

While

this

is

unfolding,

We'll

tell

you

what

just

happened

with

Baltimore

because

the

Ravens

traded

back

into

the

first

round,

they

coughed

up

a

draft

choice

and

a

player.

Wait

till

you

hear

who

the

player

is.

That's

called

a

tease.

Professional.

Kurt

Warner,

take

it

away.

We've

got

Chuck

Clark.

We've

got

Marcus

Williams,

who

we

just

signed

in

the

offseason.

But

you're

seeing

more

and

more

teams

go

to

these

three

safety

looks.

Tough

for

a

quarterback

to

recognize

what

teams

are

doing.

You

see

the

Chiefs

do

it.

You

see

the

Steelers

do

it.

This

is

one

of

those

'best

man

on

the

board,'

we

believe.

we

believe.

He

can

play

lots

of

spots,

and

he's

going

to

make

our

defensive

backfield

really,

really

good.

Thanks,

Kurt.

So

lots

happening

here

because

the

Texans

and

Washington

Commanders

have

chosen.

We're

about

to

get

the

pick,

but

Hollywood

Brown

has

just

been

traded

by

the

Ravens,

along

with

a

third-round

pick

in

this

year's

draft,

to

Arizona

for

the

right

to

move

back

and

take

Arizona's

first-round

pick,

and

Brown

is

back

with

Kyler

Murray.

They

played

college

ball

together.

So

we'll

chew

on

that

in

a

moment,

but

we've

got

another

draft

choice.

It's

the

Houston

Texans'

second

of

the

night.

With

the

pick

in

the

NFL

Draft,

the

Houston

Texans

select

Kenyon

Green,

guard,

Texas

A&M.

What

do

you

think?

All

right,

Kenyon

Green,

one

of

the

best

interior

linemen,

but

does

have

position

flexibility.

He's

played

four

different

spots.

Laken

Tomlinson,

We

saw

the

money

he

just

got

with

the

Jets.

That

was

my

comparison

there

for

Big

Kenyon

Green.

This

player

at

pounds

can

generate

some

serious

movement

in

the

run

game.

We

talk

about

knock-off

power

and

displacement.

That's

what

he

can

give

you.

He's

going

to

be

able

to

provide

that

at

the

next

level

as

well.

Working

up

to

the

second

level.

Climb

up

there,

take

great

angles,

wall

off,

stay

attached.

That's

what

he

does

outstandingly

for

Jimbo

Fisher

in

the

Texas

A&M

offense.

Do

you

want

to

pull

him?

Show

you

his

ability

to

get

outside?

He

can

do

that

as

well.

Here

he

is

finishing.

Nasty.

Getting

on

top

of

you.

That's

what

he

does.

Here

he

is

pulling.

Getting

out

there.

Kick

him

outside.

And

then

in

pass

pro,

you're

not

going

to

get

through

him.

He's

so

powerfully

built.

He's

going

to

stay

attached

and

keep

a

clean

pocket.

So

no

trades

in

the

top

ten,

but

once

the

next

ten

hit,

it's

been

crazy

trades.

We've

seen

four

now,

including

one.

So

the

Eagles

could

get

Jordan

Davis

to

body

surf

with

Eagles

fans.

Look

out,

everybody.

Who

would

have

thought?

There

is

a

receiver

traded

tonight.

Not

Debo,

but

Hollywood,

here

in

Vegas.

Each

team

handpicked

the

fans

who

are

here

in

Las

Vegas

to

represent

them

front

and

center.

All

right,

Chargers

are

on

the

clock.

They've

got

four

minutes,

but

less

than

four

minutes

to

go

now.

We're

about

to

get

the

Washington

Commanders

pick.

Again,

they

moved

down

from

to

netted

themselves

a

couple

of

picks

from

the

Saints

for

that,

Right?

Chargers,

then

the

Eagles'

second

selection

of

the

night,

and

then

the

Saints'

second

selection

of

the

night.

Saints

traded

up

to

get

Chris

Olave,

and

the

Eagles

traded

up

to

get

Jordan

Davis.

Washington

moved

down

and

netted

a

third

and

a

fourth

for

that,

Right?

For

who

do

you

think?

Talking

about

the

Chargers

here?

No,

The

Washington

Commanders.

The

Washington

Commanders.

The

Commanders.

Hello,

Terry

McLaurin

on

the

line.

I

know.

He

would

like

somebody.

Well,

If

you

look

at

the

wideouts,

The

wideouts

that

are

left,

you've

got

two.

You've

got

Treylon

Burks

and

you've

got

Jahan

Dotson.

Those

are

the

two

highest-rated

wideouts

if

you

want

to

go

in

that

direction.

Terry

McLaurin

says

one

of

them,

please,

because

he

needs

that

running

mate.

Everything

is

running

through

him

right

now.

Plus,

it

helps

Carson

Wentz

if

he's

going

to

be

your

quarterback.

If

you're

trying

to

make

it

work

in

the

NFC

East,

which

is

now

turning

into

a

high-powered

division.

You've

got

to

have

some

people

get

downfield.

You

surprised

Jermaine

Johnson

still

on

the

board

here?

Absolutely.

I

thought

he

would

be

long

gone

by

now.

Maybe

he's

going

to

be

gone

here.

Or

it

could

be

a

receiver,

as

requested

by

Terry

McLaurin.

Now

requested,

Demanded.

Demanded.

A

table

pound

right

there.

Okay,

here

is

the

commissioner

of

the

NFL

with

the

overall

pick.

We're

halfway

through

as

soon

as

he

says

a

name.

With

the

pick

in

the

NFL

Draft,

the

Washington

Commanders

select

Jahan

Dotson,

wide

receiver,

Penn

State.

third-team

AP

All-American.

Jahan

Dotson.

Wide

receiver.

Jahan

Dotson

has

the

best

hands

in

this

draft.

Unbelievable.

His

route

running.

Here

you

see

he's

able

to

show

you

that

polish

at

the

top

of

his

route,

being

able

to

attack

that

leverage,

double

moves.

We've

seen

this

with

a

bunch

of

these

wide

receivers

so

far

tonight.

It

looks

like

DeSean

Jackson

physically.

He's

got

that

same

type

of

build.

and

he

can

get

that

extra

gear

when

he

needs

it.

The

run

after

the

catch,

he

can

make

you

miss,

and

he

can

run

away

from

you,

showing

his

niftiness

there.

Contested

catches.

here's

where

you

see

the

best

hands

in

the

draft.

The

ability

to

adjust

down

the

field.

Outstanding.

High-pointed.

And

then

this

is

one

of

the

best

catches

you'll

see

in

this

draft

class,

the

one-hander.

against

Sean

Wade

in

Ohio

State.

Joel,

I

know

you

saw

a

lot

of

Jahan

Dotson

during

his

career

at

Penn

State.

What

I

loved

about

him,

DJ,

is

he

had

a

great

feel

for

space,

in

particular

over

the

middle.

Watch

him

climb

the

linebackers

and

play

action,

and

there

again,

those

hands

that

you

were

talking

about,

climbing

the

ladder,

going

up,

snatching

that

football

out

of

midair.

An

unbelievable

catch,

and

this

guy

was

so

productive.

Here,

another

circus-style

catch.

Just

keep

in

mind,

he

played

for

three

different

offensive

coordinators

over

the

last

three

years,

and

he

was

still

so

productive.

Second

in

Penn

State

history

with

receptions;

half

of

his

touchdowns

were

yards.

He

is

a

dynamo.

You

could

see

the

fam

cam

with

Jahan

Dotson

celebrating.

We're

going

to

get

the

Chargers'

pick,

and

then

there

is

a

major

trade

that

just

happened

in

this

draft

with

the

pick

in

the

NFL

Draft.

The

Los

Angeles

Chargers

select

Zion

Johnson.

Guard,

Boston

College.

Zion

Johnson.

How

about

his

career?

Started

off

at

Davidson.

Transferred

to

Boston

College,

Started

games

in

college.

Played

some

tackle.

Played

guard.

Goes

to

the

Senior

Bowl,

Charles.

We

saw

him

play

center

and

he

did

an

outstanding

job

there.

Got

to

believe

he's

going

to

plug

in

at

guard.

The

Chargers

feel

very

good

about

the

left

side

of

their

offensive

line.

It's

the

right

side

where

the

struggles

were

last

year.

Michael

Schofield.

Right

guard.

This

is

where

they

have

the

start

of

the

replacement.

You

talked

to

the

Chargers

last

year

about

their

game.

Left

side,

That's

where

the

plays

were

going

to

happen.

Right

side,

They

were

just

trying

to

hold

up.

Zion

Johnson

gives

A

chance

to

make

more

plays

on

that

side.

It's

a

vote

of

confidence.

Coach,

Too.

In

Trey

Pipkins

as

a

young

tackle

who

could

be

the

right

tackle.

He's

going

to

plug

in

at

right

guard.

High

praise

for

a

guard

is

the

word

'square'.

This

guy

plays

square

frontside,

Backside

in

the

running

game.

The

way

they

play

at

BC,

You

get

a

chance

to

see

all

that.

He's

a

great

pass

protector.

I

also

wrote

down

the

word

grappler.

He

gets

his

hands

on

you.

He

can

torque

your

body.

He

can

get

you

on

the

ground.

He

can

open

up

those

lanes

for

the

runners.

He

is

now

a

Los

Angeles

Charger.

Here

in

AFC

West

country

in

Las

Vegas,

Nevada.

What

a

dream

come

true

for

this

young

man.

What

a

smile

on

his

face.

Zion

Johnson,

That's

right.

You're

in

the

NFL,

Daniel.

Yeah,

Zion

Johnson,

Coach,

You

did

a

nice

job

of

describing

his

game

and

what

he

can

bring.

And

for

the

Chargers,

Balance

was

their

theme

of

the

offseason.

They

thought

they

needed

to

improve

their

defense.

They've

done

that.

They

accomplished

that

with

J.C.

Jackson

and

Khalil

Mack.

Charles,

You

mentioned

that

left

side

of

the

offensive

line

being

dominant.

Now

they're

getting

some

balance

to

that

offensive

line

on

the

right

side.

All

the

different

places

he

played,

tackle,

guard,

And

then,

as

we

mentioned

at

the

Senior

Bowl,

He

slid

into

center.

And

did

an

outstanding

job.

I

wrote

the

word

'wrestle'

down

in

my

notes

as

well,

Coach.

He'll

wrestle

you

at

the

line

of

scrimmage.

He

can

work

up

to

the

second

level

and

cut

off

linebackers.

He's

also

outstanding

when

you

get

him

out

there

in

the

screen

game.

There

he

is

at

the

Senior

Bowl.

Being

able

to

locate,

Latch,

and

finish.

Just

a

real,

complete

football

player,

Not

a

lot

of

weaknesses

there.

So

there

you

can

see

the

draft

room

in

Englewood,

California.

Right

where

our

NFL

Network

home

is,

in

the

home

of

SoFi

Stadium.

Okay,

So

the

Tennessee

Titans

have

just

selected

overall.

They

picked

overall,

But

they

held

on

to

that

spot.

They

just

traded

a

third-round

pick

and

A.J.

Brown

to

the

Philadelphia

Eagles.

Wow.

So

the

dynamic

receiver,

A.J.

Brown,

wanting

a

new

contract,

Tennessee.

And

A.J.

Brown

have

split.

And

the

Eagles

essentially

just

drafted

A.J.

Brown

overall

in

this

draft.

We'll

ruminate

on

this

one

in

a

moment.

A.J.

Brown

Brown

has

shown

in

his

first

three

years.

But

with

this

being

a

potential

walk

year

for

him,

The

Titans

sent

him

on

first-round

draft

night

here

in

Vegas

to

Philly.

which

sent

the

third

overall

pick

and

the

overall

pick

to

Tennessee,

They

still

selected

overall.

Ian

Rapoport,

Take

it

away.

Rich,

The

Philadelphia

Eagles

have

been

looking

all

offseason

for

a

big-time

big-name

receiver.

and

they

got

that

with

A.J.

Brown.

But

that

is

not

all.

Sources

say

they

just

agreed

to

terms

on

a

massive

contract

extension

for

Brown.

Four

years,

million

with

million

guaranteed.

That's

a

big,

hefty

number

for

a

receiver

with

just

three

years

in

the

league.

We're

seeing

some

watershed

contracts

being

handed

out

over

the

last

six

weeks.

In

the

NFL

now,

the

Tennessee

Titans

I

don't

know

if

these

fans

know

that

they

don't

have

A.J.

Brown

to

cheer

for

anymore

but

we'll

see:

will

they

draft

his

replacement

now?

Will

they

draft

somebody

else?

We'll

see.

The

Philadelphia

Eagles

have

traded

the

pick

to

the

Tennessee

Titans;

with

the

pick

in

the

NFL

draft,

the

Tennessee

Titans

select

Treylon

Burks,

wide

receiver,

Arkansas.

So

there

you

go.

A

big,

physical

receiver

out

of

Arkansas

to

replace

the

big,

physical

receiver

out

of

Ole

Miss

that

they

didn't

want

to

spend

million

on.

You're

going

to

be

shocked,

Rich,

When

you

see

my

comp.

Is

it?

Is

that

right?

We've

got

it.

We

can

show

you.

My

comp

is

A.J.

Brown.

That's

who

he

is.

Build

speed.

He's

got

that

physicality.

The

yards

after

the

catch.

He

is

a

monster

after

the

catch.

Guys.

Of

all

the

top

receivers

in

this

draft

class,

those

top

six

guys,

It's

him

and

Jamison

Williams

who

are

the

best

with

the

ball

in

their

hands.

Here

he

is

on

a

jet

sweep.

Philadelphia

is

going

to

be

able

to

do

that.

Nick

Sirianni

drawing

it

up,

Get

the

ball,

Let

him

go,

Jalen

Hurts,

Get

the

ball

out

to

him,

And

he

can

do

the

rest.

He

can

beat

press

coverage.

With

that

physicality,

he

gets

right

on

top

of

you

vertically.

And

he

hit

a

bunch

of

home

runs.

For

Arkansas,

A

bunch

of

touchdown

catches.

As

you

can

see,

A

little

subtle

push

there.

Here's

a

double

move,

The

separation

that

exists.

Track

the

ball

easily.

And

then

down

the

field,

Catch

radius,

Go

up

and

get

it.

This

is

going

to

be

an

interesting

combination.

He's

pounds

heavier

than

DeVonta

Smith.

Your

comp

is

Deebo.

Huh?

Well,

We've

been

talking

about

two

receivers

tonight,

A.J.

Brown

and

Deebo

Samuel.

Let's

compare

him

to

both

because

of

the

physicality.

And

the

reason

I

went

with

Deebo

is

when

you

watch

Traylon

Burks'

tape

at

Arkansas,

he's

in

the

run

game

a

lot

like

Deebo

as

well,

In

addition

to

taking

Wildcat

quarterback

snaps.

So

if

you're

an

offensive

coordinator,

and

now

he

goes

to

Tennessee.

Todd

Downing,

you're

dialing

up

those

types

of

plays

as

well,

even

more

so

than

you

did

for

A.J.

Brown,

who

didn't

run

those.

And

both

those

guys

were

baseball

players.

I

think

it's

fascinating

that

he's

part

of

a

trade

essentially

for

A.J.

Brown,

and

this

is

your

comp;

Charles,

your

comp

for

him

is

Deebo

Samuel.

Since

A.J.

Brown,

Deebo

and

D.K.

Metcalf

of

Seattle,

the

conversation

in

the

NFL

right

now

is

when

you've

got

kids

who

ball

out

like

they

have

in

the

first

three

years

and

now

it's

time

for

their

fourth-year

"walk"

year,

Do

you

pay

them

like

somebody

like

Davante

Adams

was

paid

here

in

Las

Vegas?

Pay

them

like

Stefon

Diggs.

Do

you

pay

them

like

somebody

who's

been

in

the

league

for

seven,

eight,

nine

years?

Where

Deebo's

still

in

San

Francisco,

We'll

see

how

that

plays

out.

The

answer

from

the

Tennessee

Titans

is

no,

We're

not

going

to

do

that.

We're

just

going

to

throw

him,

you

know,

and

just

cast

our

line

back

in

the

water

and

get

a

young

guy

and

start

from

scratch.

They're

going

to

pay

Traylon

Burks

million

a

year.

That

was

what

that

pick

was

worth

last

year,

million

a

year.

How

about

those

three

together?

It's

like

we're

watching

multiplicity

again.

I

mean,

You're

talking

about

Deebo.

There's

a

lot

to

keep

straight

about

Traylon

Burks.

It's

all

the

same.

A

clone

of

a

clone

of

a

clone.

Kurt

Warner,

Take

it

away.

I

tell

you

what,

I

love

what

you

guys

are

talking

about

when

you

say

the

comparison

is

to

a

guy

like

A.J.

Brown,

But

I

always

say

we've

got

to

be

careful

to

say

just

because

a

guy

looks

like

a

guy

or

plays

like

a

guy

at

the

last

level

that

he's

going

to

be

A.J.

A.J.

Brown

is

one

of

those

unique

competitors

with

his

size,

and

he

brings

A

different

competitiveness

to

the

field.

I

remember

we

had

a

guy

named

Anquan

Boldin,

who

I

believe

will

be

a

future

Hall

of

Famer,

and

you

would

look

at

him

and

go,

Well,

Maybe

not

that

fast.

Maybe

we're

not

going

to

do

this

as

well

as

some

other

guys.

But

his

competitiveness

was

different,

and

your

team

changes

when

you

have

a

guy

like

that

on

it.

I

believe

this

is

a

huge

win

for

the

Philadelphia

Eagles.

Well,

now

we

kind

of

turn

our

attention

to

the

quarterback

conversation.

No

quarterbacks

have

gone

yet.

The

Saints

are

about

to

announce

their

pick

with

some

help

from

the

military

community,

and

if

they

don't

choose

a

quarterback,

that

means

every

quarterback

would

be

available

on

the

board

for

the

Steelers

at

And

that

has

been

a

team

that

we've

been

focusing

on

as

a

possible

landing

spot

for

any

of

the

quarterbacks.

We

thought

they

might

not

have

their

full

choice

of

the

quarterback

menu,

But

they

may,

when

it

all

comes

down

to

it.

And

that's

a

Pittsburgh

Steelers

team

with

Mike

Tomlin

that

was

at

every

quarterback

pro

day

doing

all

of

their

homework

on

this

class.

And

they

might

have

their

choice.

And

what's

interesting

about

that

is

they

will

know

the

most

about

Kenny

Pickett.

Coach

is

right

there

in

the

same

building.

They

share

a

practice

facility.

They

see

him

all

the

time.

But

Kenny

Pickett's

traits

lean

more

towards

what

they

already

have

on

the

roster

in

terms

of

Mason

Rudolph.

But

Mitchell

Trubisky

is

that

change-up

quarterback

that

doesn't

get

enough

credit

for

his

athleticism.

Is

that

more

Malik

Willis?

Or

is

Desmond

Ridder

the

wild

card?

Well,

Obviously,

That'll

be

a

conversation

we'll

have

in

a

second.

But

how

about

the

Eagles,

with

Howie

Roseman

moving

around

the

board

with

Wentz

gone,

getting

some

picks,

moving

around

the

board

with

the

Saints

and

the

Texans,

and

then

flipping

a

first-round

selection

for

A.J.

Brown

and

paying

him

million

to

go

along

with

Jordan

Davis,

who

they

already

have.

It's

nice

when

you

don't

have

to

pay

your

quarterback,

you

can

afford

to

shell

out

a

big

contract

to

a

wideout.

That

helps.

All

right,

Now

it's

time

for

the

Saints'

selection.

They're

second

of

the

night.

Allies,

We

own

the

skies.

Back

to

you,

Commissioner.

Thank

you

to

our

U.S.

Air

Force

service

members

and

all

those

serving

our

great

nation

domestically

and

around

the

world.

With

the

pick

in

the

NFL

Draft,

The

New

Orleans

Saints

select

Trevor

Penning.

Tackle,

Northern

Iowa.

There's

your

starting

left

tackle.

Ideal

frame.

Remind

me

a

little

bit

of

Jake

Long,

And

this

dude

is

nasty.

There

he

is,

Trevor

Penning.

From

Northern

Iowa,

Kurt

Warner

beaming

inside

the

draft

hall

right

now.

As

the

Steelers

are

on

the

clock,

they

have

every

quarterback

available

to

them.

Will

they

take

the

first

quarterback

in

this

draft?

The

overall

pick

of

the

night

in

Vegas

is

coming

up.

Let's

ride.

Schedule

release.

Here

on

NFL

Network,

coming

up

in

just

a

couple

of

weeks'

time.

We'll

find

out

who,

We'll

know

who

plays

who

and

where.

We

just

don't

know

when,

What

day?

And

what

channel?

You'll

be

watching

it.

So

the

Steelers

are

now

on

the

clock.

overall.

Frank

O'Harris

is

on

the

draft

stage

right

now,

entertaining

some

of

the

Steeler

fans

there.

Do

you

think

they

go

quarterbacking?

I

thought

they

would

have

a

chance

in

the

mock

draft.

They'd

be

sitting

here

at

pick

number

with

their

pick

of

all

these

quarterbacks.

They

sure

did

an

awful

lot

of

homework

on

this

group.

It

feels

like,

To

me,

This

is

the

right

time

to

go

ahead

and

take

one

of

these

guys.

Yeah,

And

who's

it

going

to

be

is

the

question,

because

of

all

those

options

and

choices.

Malik

Willis

would

be

opposite,

I

think,

Mostly

what

they

have

in

camp

now.

But

Kenny

Pickett

is

the

go-to

guy

right

now.

Those

have

been

DJ's

top

two

guys

for

a

while

now.

Do

you

take

the

guy

that's

got

the

most

experience

and

the

most

production

or

the

guy

that

has

the

highest

Ceiling?

Mike

Tomlin's

got

your

contract,

so

he's

good

to

go.

I

think

he's

pretty

secure.

The

number

of

players

we

saw

on

your

top

available

players

that

the

Steelers

could

use

as

well.

They're

all

sitting

right

there.

My

highest-rated

player

is

Jermaine

Johnson.

You've

got

Devin

Lloyd.

You've

got

Trent

McDuffie.

The

corner

from

Washington.

There's

some

really

good

football

players

there.

But

I

just

don't

think

you

go

through

this

whole

process

and

do

all

this

work

on

these

quarterbacks.

Ben

Roethlisberger

walks

away.

Also,

think

about

Kevin

Colbert,

The

general

manager.

This

is

his

last

year.

And

Ozzie

Newsome's

last

year

as

GM

in

Baltimore.

Lamar

Jackson

is

the

selection

to

give

to

Eric

DeCosta.

Maybe

that's

what

Kevin

Colbert's

going

to

do.

If

you

take

Pickett

right

now,

he

competes

right

away

with

Trubisky.

If

you

take

Willis,

Trubisky's

automatically

your

starter,

You

think?

Yeah,

Trubisky's

watching

this

right

now.

I

promise

you.

Meanwhile,

The

Ravens

traded

back

into

the

first

round.

They're

sitting

there

at

It's

kind

of

odd

that

they

just

chose.

Obviously,

Hollywood

Brown

is

someone

Arizona

would

want.

You

pair

him

up

with

Kyler

Murray.

I'm

just

wondering

if

A.J.

Brown

gets

traded

during

the

draft

like

this,

and

there's

a

contract

and

a

physical

and

everything

gets

cleared,

could

Debo

still

be

in

play

tonight?

Is

that

possible?

I

would

believe

that

Howie

Roseman

had

been

working

on

that

for

a

while.

Let's

see.

There's

a

lot

of

intrigue.

The

commissioner

is

here.

There's

Franco

Harris

wondering

if

there's

a

quarterback

on

that

card

in

the

commissioner's

left

hand.

He's

showing

it

to

Franco.

He

saw

it

first.

Does

Franco

approve?

This

season

marks

the

anniversary

of

one

of

the

most

memorable

moments

in

NFL

history.

During

the

final

seconds

of

the

AFC

Divisional

Game,

Franco

Harris

made

an

improbable

catch

known

as

the

Immaculate

Reception.

He's

here

with

us

tonight

to

celebrate

the

anniversary

of

that

moment

and

to

announce

the

pick

for

the

Pittsburgh

Steelers.

Please

welcome

Pro

Football

Hall

of

Famer

Franco

Harris.

I

can't

wait

to

hear

his

reaction

to

seeing

the

name

here.

This

is

incredible.

Hello,

Las

Vegas.

This

is

great.

Wow.

I

love

this.

I

love

this.

Okay.

With

the

pick

in

The

NFL

Draft.

The

Pittsburgh

Steelers.

Selects

Kenny

Pickett.

Quarterback.

Kenny,

Welcome

to

the

Pittsburgh

Steelers.

Welcome.

Kenny.

It

is

Kenny

Pickett.

Here

we

go.

And

there

is

the

reaction.

What

a

dream.

No

doubt.

For

Kenny

Pickett

as

he

was

making

his

way

and

making

his

bones

as

a

big

man

on

campus.

For

the

Pittsburgh

Panthers

and

the

number

of

times

that,

you

know,

Mike

Tomlin

just

sneaking

into

practice.

Kevin

Colbert

sneaking

into

practice.

Just

checking

a

look

to

see

what's

going

on

around

here.

What

do

you

call

it

in

recruiting?

Coach,

the

bump-in?

Remember

the

old

bump-in?

Oh,

There

were

a

lot

of

bump-ins.

How

many

bump-ins

in

the

lobby

in

that

facility

were

there?

Oh,

Kenny,

Didn't

know

you

were

down

here

right

now.

Wow,

And

he

gets

to

be

the

Pittsburgh

Steelers'

hope

for

the

future.

With

Trubisky

and,

obviously,

Mason

Rudolph

still

there,

But

what

a

moment

in

New

Jersey

for

this

young

man.

He

gets

to

stay

put,

just

walk

across

the

hall,

right?

We've

talked

about

these

quarterbacks

and

how

high

they

would

go,

and

they

might

be

disappointed

they

didn't

go

high.

This

is

the

best-case

scenario.

You're

going

to

a

good

football

team,

the

Pittsburgh

Steelers,

with

a

great

defense,

Charles.

Great

defense.

And

don't

forget

the

building

of

the

offense.

They've

got

to

continue

on

the

offensive

line,

and

Najee

Harris

gave

him

a

heck

of

a

start

last

year,

although

he

touched

it

about

times

in

his

first

year.

Well,

Daniel

mentioned

this

guy's

going

to

compete

right

away.

He's

an

efficient,

accurate

passer.

Yeah,

To

me,

he's

outstanding

with

his

anticipation.

He's

a

slightly

more

athletic

version

of

Matt

Hasselbeck.

You

saw

some

of

the

comps

for

him

with

other

guys.

To

me,

Hasselbeck's

the

one

that

came

to

mind,

just

how

he

throws

the

football.

There

he

is,

dropping

back.

Again,

that

anticipation,

throwing

into

open

windows.

That's

his

calling

card.

The

anticipation

and

the

accuracy.

Being

able

to

see

the

whole

field,

being

able

to

ID

coverage

and

work

the

backside.

I

thought

he

got

through

his

progressions

quicker

than

any

other

quarterback

in

this

draft

class,

and

be

able

to

deliver

a

strike

down

the

field.

Then

suddenly,

you

get

a

free

rusher.

Can

you

make

a

miss?

Can

you

create

a

play?

Absolutely.

He's

able

to

free

himself,

keep

his

eyes

down

the

field.

and

throw

a

strike

for

a

touchdown.

He

can

extend

plays.

He

can

create

Something

Ben

could

do

when

he

was

younger.

Ben

hasn't

been

doing

that

much

lately.

You're

going

to

get

a

chance

to

extend

some

plays

here

with

Kenny

Pickett.

His

football

IQ

His

acumen

allows

him

to

challenge

right

away

for

a

starting

job

because

he'll

learn

the

playbook

quickly.

Coach,

The

other

part

with

this

young

man

is

that

jump

up

in

time.

He

really

used

that

bonus

year

and

used

it

well

to

put

himself

in

this

position.

I

agree

But

what

I

keep

thinking

about,

Honestly,

is

the

organizational

structure.

This

organization

knows

how

to

take

care

of

quarterbacks.

You're

going

to

run

the

football.

You're

going

to

play

great

defense.

We're

going

to

give

this

opportunity,

young

man,

to

grow,

compete

right

away,

but

grow

and

have

a

chance

to

be

one

heck

of

a

football

player.

Meanwhile,

The

Patriots

just

traded

down.

The

Chiefs

just

traded

up

from

to

choose

at

And

their

selection's

already

made,

While

the

Packers'

first

of

two

selections

tonight

will

go,

maybe

the

Chiefs

are

looking

for

a

wideout.

They're

afraid

the

Packers

are

going

to

take.

We

got

a

quarterback

off

the

board.

Now

the

draft's

starting.

Only

kidding,

It's

been

a

great

first

round

up

to

this

point.

But

what

I

love

for

the

Pittsburgh

Steelers

is

when

I

watch

Kenny

Pickett

play.

He's

got

a

feel

for

the

position.

He's

not

a

guy

that's

going

to

go

back

there

and

throw

it

miles

an

hour.

He's

not

going

to

throw

it

yards.

But

he

understands

when

and

how

to

throw

the

football.

And

that,

to

me,

is

a

big

part

of

playing

quarterback.

It's

being

an

athlete

at

the

quarterback

position

without

having

those

athletic

skills

in

a

dash

or

a

big

arm.

And

Kenny

Pickett,

to

me,

impressed

me

the

more

and

more

I

watched

tape.

You

throw

it

times,

you

only

have

seven

interceptions.

While

you're

having

to

carry

the

team

with

your

right

arm,

I

like

this

pick,

and

I

think

he's

got

a

chance

to

be

really

good

at

the

NFL

level.

The

Pittsburgh

Steelers

had

four

quarterbacks

they

would

have

considered

taking

in

the

first

round.

Obviously,

Kenny

Pickett,

number

one,

and

they

have

targeted

him

for

months,

of

course,

as

you

guys

mentioned,

in

their

building.

As

far

as

why

they

chose

him,

Here's

my

understanding.

Ready

to

compete

right

now.

His

maturity,

his

confidence,

great

mobility.

Seems

like

we

have

a

quarterback

competition

now

in

Pittsburgh.

Joel,

I

look

at

career

production.

Guys,

If

you

look

at

the

last

Super

Bowl-winning

quarterbacks

in

the

National

Football

League,

you're

going

to

see

that

their

college

career

was

somewhere

over

starts,

somewhere

over

completions,

over

touchdowns,

Right

in

there,

Right?

In

fact,

The

most

inexperienced

college

quarterback

that

has

won

a

Super

Bowl

over

the

last

was

Tom

Brady.

Kenny

Pickett

is

that

type

of

producer.

Remember,

He's

completed

passes.

They've

seen

all

of

this

in

their

building.

And

when

they

did

their

homework

on

all

the

other

players,

He

got

a

lot

of

half-field

reads,

a

lot

of

play-action

passes

from

guys

like

Sam

Howell,

Desmond

Ridder,

even

Matt

Corral.

Willis

is

a

bit

of

a

projection.

If

you

need

a

quarterback

now

with

production

as

a

career

college

player,

Kenny

Pickett

was

the

man.

Thanks

very

much.

Appreciate

it.

Now

there

might

be

some

wide

receivers

going

here.

Fascinating

enough.

two

of

the

biggest

moves

was

Davante

Adams

being

traded

here

to

Vegas

and

Tyreek

Hill

being

traded

from

Kansas

City

to

Miami.

Kansas

City

just

used

the

first-round

selection

they

got

from

Miami

and

a

fourth-round

selection

they

got

from

Miami

for

Tyreek

Hill,

along

with

a

third,

to

move

up

in

front

of

Green

Bay

to

make

this

choice.

The

New

England

Patriots

have

traded

the

pick

to

the

Kansas

City

Chiefs.

With

the

pick

in

the

NFL

Draft,

the

Kansas

City

Chiefs

select

Trent

McDuffie.

Defensive

back,

Washington.

So

they

go

defensive

back,

not

wide

receiver,

to

hop

in

front

of

Green

Bay.

Take

it

away.

I

think

those

top

wideouts

were

off

the

board.

It

came

down

to

edge

rusher

and

corner.

Trent

McDuffie

was

the

best

available

corner.

This

is

an

easy

move.

Think

about

how

great

Jaire

Alexander

has

been

with

the

Green

Bay

Packers.

That's

who

he

reminded

me

of.

He

can

play

inside.

He

can

play

outside.

He

can

even

drop

back

and

play

some

safety

if

you

want

him

to.

The

awareness

is

outstanding.

He

can

find

and

play

the

ball.

He's

not

the

tallest

guy.

He's

not

the

longest

guy,

but

he

can

go

up

and

play

it

at

its

highest

point.

He's

got

outstanding

ball

awareness.

The

fluidity

is

excellent.

He

opens

his

hips.

He

does

that

so

smoothly

and

easily.

The

change

of

direction

is

outstanding.

And

then

the

toughness

against

the

run,

they

do

this

quite

a

bit.

They'll

blitz

him,

let

him

get

involved

in

the

backfield.

Here

he

is

on

the

backside,

forcing

a

fumble

here.

And

they

should

be

excited

to

think

about

what

you're

getting

as

well

in

that

division

because

it's

the

AFC

West

now.

Russell

Wilson

is

now

in

Denver

with

some

big-time

receivers.

Davante

Adams

showed

up

now

to

help

out

Derek

Carr

and

Hunter

Renfrow.

Kansas

City

has

set

the

pace

as

a

track

squad,

but

they

need

to

replenish

in

the

secondary.

They

need

a

piece

that

they

can

use

all

over

the

secondary.

Trent

McDuffie

is

similar

to

that.

to

go

out

there.

Now

they've

got

to

cover

that

division.

Oh,

yeah,

that's

right.

Justin

Herbert's

with

the

Chargers

as

well.

Yeah,

DJ

hit

it

right

on

the

head.

This

guy's

got

such

a

great

feel

for

playing.

This

guy,

when

they

needed

plays

to

be

made,

he

made

them

as

a

blitzer.

He

made

plays

in

the

corner

position.

He

made

plays

in

the

nickel

position.

He's

just

a

really,

really

good

football

player

with

great

instincts

who

knows

how

to

make

plays.

So

Kansas

City

used

a

couple

of

their

assets

from

the

Tyreek

Hill

trade

to

move

up

and

take

a

corner.

And

that

leaves

Green

Bay

now

on

the

clock.

Their

pick

is

now

in.

The

Ravens,

who

traded

back

into

the

first

round

to

take

this

pick

from

Arizona

and

flipped

it.

Hollywood

Brown,

for

the

right

to

do

that,

is

now

on

the

clock.

Daniel,

let's

just

talk

about

what

Green

Bay

needs.

Everybody

thinks

it's

a

wide

receiver,

clearly.

How

does

the

wide

receiver

situation

look

right

now

as

they

have

finally

arrived

for

their

first

of

two

first-round

picks?

My

top

six

wide

receivers

are

gone.

They're

gone.

They're

gone.

And

we've

had

two

veterans

traded,

so

if

you

think

wide

receiver

hasn't

been

the

position

of

the

offseason,

think

again.

My

next

best

guy

is

Skyy

Moore

from

Western

Michigan,

and

then

you

also

look

at

Christian

Watson

from

North

Dakota

State,

who

has

some

real

vertical

speed.

If

you're

going

to

go

wide

out,

to

me,

I

would

think

it

would

be

one

of

those

two

guys.

The

wild

card

could

be

George

Pickens

from

Georgia.

Any

thought

of

an

edge

rusher

there

for

Green

Bay?

Jermaine

Johnson

is

still

out

there.

Jermaine

Johnson's

my

ninth

overall

player.

Yeah,

Za'Darius

Smith

is

no

longer

there.

Preston

Smith

is

there.

Rashan

Gary's

there.

But

we

know

in

this

league,

right,

coach,

the

more

pass

rush

you

can

get,

the

better.

So

I'm

just

wondering

if

that's

a

thought

process

for

Green

Bay.

What

do

you

think?

I

just

don't

think

the

value

is

there

at

wide

receiver

right

now,

given

the

success

they've

had

outside

of

round

one

at

the

wide

receiver

spot.

I

don't

think

that's

where

they're

going.

Are

you

saying

Green

Bay

Packers

fans

have

been

waiting

for

Aaron

Rodgers

to

have

a

wide

receiver

drafted

for

him

in

the

first

round?

And

they

not

only

have

one,

but

they

have

two

first-round

picks

because

they

traded

Davante

Adams

away

for

one.

They

may

not

take

one

because

of

the

value.

They're

all

gone.

I

know

somebody

would

want

to

pull

a

code

red

from

Wisconsin

if

they

don't

take

one

right

now

at

overall.

But

let's

see.

This

is

in

fact,

the

pick

that

the

Packers

acquired

in

the

Davante

Adams

trade.

Adams

to

this

town

in

one

of

the

more

shocking

transactions

of...

One

of

the

most

shocking

months

in

the

history

of

the

NFL.

Here's

the

commissioner

with

the

once-upon-a-time

Raiders,

now

the

Packers'

pick.

With

the

pick

in

the

NFL

draft,

the

Green

Bay

Packers

select

Quay

Walker,

linebacker,

Georgia.

All

right,

So

another

Bulldog

goes

off

the

board.

Yeah,

Aaron

Rodgers,

I

know

he

wants

a

wide

receiver.

I

know

Packer

fans

might

want

a

wide

receiver.

The

value

just

wasn't

there.

And

Quay

Walker

is

a

unique

player.

He

can

play

on

the

line

over

the

tight

end

or

off

the

ball

as

well.

That

type

of

versatility

stood

out

to

scouts

when

they

went

into

Georgia.

The

lateral

quickness

at

that

size

and

the

speed

he

has

are

pretty

special.

And

Kobe

Dean

got

all

the

accolades

there.

Quay

Walker

was

going

to

go

ahead

of

him

because

of

these

physical

traits,

The

ability

to

play

here

in

space.

Just

a

phenomenal

athlete,

And

here

he

is

as

a

blitzer.

Look

how

fast

he

closes

down

that

space.

They

brought

De'Vondre

Campbell

back.

Now

he's

got

a

running

mate.

That

looked

like

a

face

mask

on

that

tackle

against

the

Tennessee

player.

The

Ravens

traded

back

in

for

this

pick,

But

they

just

traded

it

to

the

Bills.

The

Bills

are

now

on

the

clock.

The

Ravens

have

dropped

down

to

The

Cowboys

are

in

between

them,

And

then

the

Titans'

original

first-round

pick

of

the

night.

As

you

know,

They

already

traded

up

for

A.J.

Brown

to

go

to

Philadelphia.

And

that

was

the

moment

that

Franco

and

Kenny

Pickett

learned

the

Pitt

Panthers

were

staying

in

Pittsburgh.

They

are

hoping

to

hear

the

commissioner

call

their

names

tonight.

Tyler

Gordon,

George

Karloftis,

Purdue

Boilermaker,

He

is

still

waiting

to

hear

his

name.

And

Devin

Lloyd,

terrific

football

players,

are

still

here

in

Vegas

waiting

for

their

moment

out

on

the

draft

hall

stage.

Devin,

on

his

way

into

the

draft

hall,

asked

me

what

my

time

was;

he

had

to

wait

until

Saturday

for

Run

Rich

Run

to

be

revealed.

We're

here

in

Las

Vegas

making

our

way

through

the

first

round.

It's

just

weird.

I'll

be

honest.

That

it's

not

completely

dark

and

we're

at

a

draft.

You

know.

And

we're

in

Vegas.

It's

a

heck

of

a

setting.

People

are

loving

it

and

the

trades

have

just

gone

nonstop.

Ever

since

we

hit

the

overall

pick,

when

we

hit

that's

when

Washington

made

a

trade

with

the

Saints.

The

Ravens

traded

back

into

the

first

round.

They

traded

in

for

the

overall

pick.

Part

of

that

trade

was

flipping

Hollywood

Brown

to

Arizona.

And

now

the

Ravens

have

traded

down

two

spots.

And

the

Bills

gave

up

a

fourth

round

pick

to

move

up

two

spots.

Their

pick

is

in;

the

Cowboys

are

now

on

the

clock.

But

we're

in

Vegas.

Hitting

on

Right?

Yeah.

Start

the

trade.

Ayo?

Makes

perfect

sense.

Like,

we

hit

the

"yo"

hit

the

"yo."

Are

we

allowed

to

say

that

on

the

air?

We're

in

Vegas,

for

crying

out

loud.

Rich,

I

think

we

just

did.

The

C&E?

We

started

hitting

the

C&E

right

around

Vegas.

Let's

go.

So,

as

you

know,

the

Bills

have

been

on

the

pass

line

quite

a

bit

of

late.

Certainly

one

of

the

most

entertaining

games

in

the

history

of

the

playoffs.

And

I

know

when

you

say

history

of

the

playoffs,

it

sounds

like

an

exaggeration.

But

the

Bills

and

the

Chiefs

this

year

were

just

so

dynamite.

I

mean...

They

changed

the

overtime

rules

because

of

it,

and

you

can

see

what

they've

done

in

this

draft

with

Josh

Allen.

And

they've

hit

quite

a

bit

on

the

defensive

side

of

the

ball.

So

let's

see

what

they're

going

to

do

here.

I

mean...

It's

an

organization

in

good

lockstep,

too,

with

the

GM

and

head

coach.

I

know

you

guys,

you

went

Breece

Hall

in

your

mock

draft.

But

why

trade

ahead

of

the

Cowboys?

The

Cowboys

aren't

taking

a

running

back.

So

you

need

to

trade

up

for

him.

See

what

happens.

The

Baltimore

Ravens

have

traded

the

pick

to

the

Buffalo

Bills.

With

the

pick

in

the

NFL

Draft,

the

Buffalo

Bills

select

Kaiir

Elam.

Defensive

back.

Florida.

Yeah.

They

need

a

corner.

Tredavious

White's

going

to

miss

a

little

bit

of

time

here

to

start

the

season

coming

off

of

the

ACL.

This

is

a

height,

weight,

speed

corner

from

Florida.

He

didn't

get

a

chance

to

play

the

football

as

much

this

year

as

he

had

previously,

but

he

can

get

up

in

you

at

the

line

of

scrimmage

as

a

physical

press

corner.

Understands

how

to

attack

the

ball

once

it's

up

in

the

air.

Find

it,

play

it,

knock

it

away.

Again,

He

didn't

get

the

interception

production

that

you

would

like

later

in

his

career,

But

he

can

play

the

football.

Here

he

is,

with

that

speed

and

physicality

across

the

field.

The

toughness,

Get

up

and

make

a

big

play.

That

is

a

face-to-face,

chest-up

tackle

for

Kyrie

Elam.

So,

Yes,

That's

a

I

don't

know

what

that

hat

is.

It's

a

bunch

of

sirens

on

a

space

helmet.

I

don't

know.

Maybe

Jerry

Jones.

The

Joneses

are

not

impressed

by

that

helmet.

Clearly.

That

didn't

capture

their

attention.

All

right,

There's

Mike

McCarthy

at

the

head

of

the

table

right

there.

Along

with

Jerry

and

Stephen

Jones.

That's

the

draft

room

of

the

Dallas

Cowboys

at

the

Star

there

in

Frisco.

What

do

you

think

the

Cowboys

do

here?

Well,

When

you

look

at

the

Dallas

Cowboys

and

their

needs,

they

go

in

a

couple

different

directions

here.

I

thought

offensive

line,

you

know,

Tyler

Linderbaum's

still

out

there.

He's

the

best

center

in

this

draft

class.

He's

available.

Edge

rusher.

Yes.

Again,

We

keep

saying

it.

Jermaine

Johnson

sticks

out

like

a

sore

thumb

on

my

list.

He's

my

highest

rated

guy

by

a

good

margin.

Yeah,

Because

remember,

Randy

Gregory

has

gone

to

Denver.

Tank

Lawrence

needing

a

running

mate

there.

And

I

don't

know

that

they

want

to

continue

to

have

Micah

Parsons

do

everything.

You

know,

Not

that

they

don't

want

to

have

him

pass

rush,

but

the

idea

of

him

staying

out

there

at

defensive

end

all

the

time,

I

don't

think

that's

ideal

for

them.

They

want

to

use

his

abilities

on

the

second

level

as

well.

So

an

edge

rusher

does

make

sense

there.

But

you're

right,

DJ,

different

ways

they

can

go.

What

do

you

think,

Coach?

You've

got

edge

rushers,

you've

got

interior

defensive

linemen,

and

you've

got

a

couple

of

really

good

linebackers.

One

is

here

at

the

draft

with

us.

Yeah,

and

Kobe

Dean

is

still

sitting

out

there.

Devin

Lloyd

is

still

sitting

out

there.

Just

think,

guys,

throughout

this

process.

We

did

say

things

would

be

turned

upside

down.

Guys

that

we

thought

would

go

earlier

ahead

of

their

teammates

have

gone

behind

their

teammates

or

their

running

mates

in

this

draft.

I

mean,

just

take

a

look

at

how

it's

gone.

Quay

Walker,

the

pro

people

knew,

But

most

people

outside

thought

Kobe

Dean

all

the

way,

and

here's

Quay

Walker

gone.

As

we're

waiting

for

the

Cowboys,

It

looks

like

Jerry

might

be

getting

on

the

phone

right

now.

Stephen's

going

to...

put

a

prospect

on

the

line

with

The

head

cheese

right

there.

Do

you

think

we've

already

gotten

our

verdict

on

what

the

league

feels

about

the

quarterback

class?

Do

you

think

we've

got

that

verdict?

Absolutely.

Absolutely.

I

said

that

the

Pittsburgh

Steelers

would

have

their

choice

of

any

of

these

quarterbacks

at

And

that's

what

happened.

I

still

think

we're

going

to

get

one

more.

I

really

do.

We're

going

to

get

one

more

before

we

get

out

of

the

first

round.

Perhaps

someone

trades

into

Minnesota

again

at

because

that's

typically

where

we're

going

to

get

the

second.

I'll

tell

you

what

I

like

DJ

talking

about

the

interior

offensive

line,

but

I

love

the

idea

of

Jermaine

Johnson

or

a

pass

rusher

to

go

with

Micah

Parsons.

We

know

how

dynamic

he

was

as

a

pass

rusher;

put

him

at

defensive

end,

but

I

thought

he

was

at

his

best

when

you

lined

him

up

as

a

linebacker.

You

could

twist

him

inside,

put

him

over

the

top

of

the

guards

on

the

inside.

If

you

can

put

two

bookends

on

the

outside

that

can

rush

the

passer

and

now

use

Micah

Parsons

as

the

chess

piece,

that

could

be

a

huge

advantage

for

the

Dallas

Cowboys

defense.

Now

Randy

Gregory

is

not

there.

so

you're

going

to

need

another

pass

rusher

to

put

into

that

mix.

I

know,

just

for

my

money,

it

would

be

fun

to

watch

Devin

Lloyd

and

Micah

Parsons,

But

with

their

versatility,

How

you

can

move

them

around

as

chess

pieces.

Dan

Quinn

did

a

phenomenal

job

last

year.

By

the

way,

George

Karloft

is

still

in

the

room

as

well.

So,

the

Dallas

Cowboys,

As

we

all

know.

They

got

a

full

taste

of

Deebo

and

the

San

Francisco

in

the

playoffs

and

wound

up

being

one-and-done

this

year.

And

now,

No

Amari

Cooper,

Randy

Gregory

has

gone.

They

did

hold

on

to

Tank

Lawrence.

The

offensive

line

is

definitely

being

affected

due

to

age

and

injury.

La'el

Collins

is

now

a

member

of

the

Cincinnati

Bengals.

You

do

have

a

wide

receiver

need

right

here,

But,

as

you

said,

that's

not

really

where

you

can

go

for

value.

The

Cowboys

have

now

taken

it

down

to

two-and-a-half

minutes,

It

seems,

before

the

Ravens

get

on

the

clock.

I

still

want

to

go

back

to

the

night

that

Zach

Martin

went

instead

of

Johnny

Manziel.

I

still

want

to

have

that

for

You

know,

That

feature

that

says,

Hey,

This

is

what

happened

in

the

room

that

night

because

the

urban

legend

was

they

wrestled

the

card

out

of

Jerry

Jones'

hand

and

what

they

did.

That

wasn't

that

room

tonight.

That

room

looked

very

calm.

They

knew

where

they

wanted

to

go

with

that

when

they

had

conviction

on

this

pick,

And

then

we

saw

Steven

Jones

calling

it

in.

I

can't

wait

to

see

who

it

is.

Was

that

part

of

the

story

that

night

that

somebody

went

up

to

Jimmy

Haslam

on

the

street

and

You

should

take

Manziel?

I

mean,

We

had

a

lot

going

on

there.

Who's

going

to

do

the

story?

What

a

scene.

That's

the

spot

where

the

red

carpet

took

place

tonight.

Now

fans

are

lining

Las

Vegas

Boulevard.

Just

taking

in

the

scene

right

here.

That's

the

draft

hall

across

the

street

at

Las

Vegas

Boulevard.

Getting

ready

for

the

Dallas

Cowboys

pick.

The

pick

is

in.

And

the

Baltimore

Ravens

are

now

on

the

clock.

overall.

First

West

Coast

draft

ever.

And

who

would

have

thought

it

in

this

town?

Las

Vegas.

Nevada.

It's

now

dusk.

And

it's...

Time

for

Vegas

to

turn

the

lights

on

and

really

light

up

the

screen

here

in

the

NFL

Draft;

the

Titans

go

after

the

Ravens

again

that's

their

original

pick

tonight;

the

biggest

story

of

the

night

is

that

the

Titans

traded

up

into

the

spot,

the

Philadelphia

Eagles

traded

them

a

fourth-round

selection

along

with

A.J.

Brown

for

the

rights

for

the

Titans

to

do

that,

and

then

signed

A.J.

Brown

to

a

million

contract

with

just

south

of

million

guaranteed,

and

the

Titans

chose

Treylon

Burks

as

his

replacement;

Hollywood

Brown

went

from

the

Ravens

to

Arizona;

the

Ravens

are

going

to

make

that

first-round

selection

they

earned

in

a

moment,

but

first,

the

Cowboys

with

the

pick

in

the

NFL

Draft:

the

Dallas

Cowboys

select

Tyler

Smith,

tackle,

Tulsa.

All

right.

So

they

go

offensive

line.

Yeah.

That

was

a

need.

Didn't

know

if

it

would

be

a

tackle

or

an

interior

blocker.

That

was

my

next

highest

rated

tackle

in

Tyler

Smith.

He

is

a

mauler.

And

some

of

that

results

in

some

penalties.

You

have

to

dial

that

back

a

little

bit

at

the

next

level.

But

I

love

the

tenacity

and

the

aggression

with

which

he

plays.

Charles

Tyler

Smith.

I

thought

through

this

process,

with

so

many

teams

having

needs

at

tackles,

where

teams

thought

maybe

we

could

get

him

in

the

second

round

a

little

while

ago,

you

had

to

take

him

here

or

you

weren't

going

to

see

him.

Yeah,

We

always

end

up

seeing

how

those

guys

and

those

tackles

go

later

on.

A

number

of

teams

still

left

on

this

board

would

have

had

interest

in

him.

Coach,

in

bringing

him

in

and

plugging

him

in.

I

wrote

four

words

down,

Big,

Wide,

Long,

Athletic.

All

right.

So

there

is

a

jubilant

head

coach,

along

with

the

rest

of

the

brass,

Ian

Rapoport,

Take

it

away.

Rich,

The

Cowboys

took

a

hard

look

here

at

Tyler

Smith's

medical.

He

had

a

condition

called

Blount

disease

that

affects

the

growth

plates

around

his

knee.

He

was

bowlegged

until

high

school.

Then

the

doctors

had

to

put

his

legs

in

cages,

re-break

his

legs,

and

let

them

heal

properly.

Teams

took

a

hard

look

at

this.

They

deemed

him

fine,

No

issues

going

forward.

The

Cowboys

have

a

new

tackle.

I

mean,

I've

heard

about

breaking

ankles

on

the

field,

but...

I

mean,

My

gosh,

That's

him.

What

a

journey

for

Tyler

Smith

to

the

NFL.

Congratulations

to

him

on

becoming

a

Dallas

Cowboy

and

a

National

Football

Leaguer.

When

we

come

back,

the

Ravens

are

on

the

clock.

Who

do

they

trade

back

into

the

first

round

for?

We'll

find

out

in

a

moment.

It's

a

party

out

here

by

the

fountains.

There's

a

party

going

on

in

Las

Vegas.

All

lit

up.

The

last

quarter

of

the

first

round

is

about

to

start.

And

it's

the

Baltimore

Ravens.

They

chose

overall,

They

took

Kyle

Hamilton

out

of

Notre

Dame.

One

of

the

top

players

on

the

draft

board

fell

all

the

way

to

for

him.

Then

about

minutes

after

that,

That

was

kind

of

a

surprise.

They

traded

back

into

the

first

round,

They

traded

back

into

the

first

round

at

overall

with

Arizona.

And

for

that,

they

flipped

a

third

round

pick,

the

overall

pick.

They

sent

Hollywood

Brown

to

Arizona

for

that

choice.

And

then,

a

couple

seconds

ago,

they

traded

with

the

Bills,

moving

two

spots

down

to

make

this

choice;

they

have

two

minutes

of

change

left.

There's

been

a

flurry

of

activity

here.

Hollywood

Brown.

It's

interesting

seeing

him

leave

the

building.

They

still

like

the

depth

they

have

there.

I

don't

know

if

there's

a

wide

receiver

that

would

be

worth

it

here

if

you're

the

Baltimore

Ravens,

but

you've

already

addressed

the

secondary

with

Kyle

Hamilton.

There's

some

interesting

corners

that

are

still

on

the

board.

Andrew

Booth

from

Clemson

and

Gordon

from

Washington.

What

about

the

defensive

line?

Devonte

Wyatt's

still

there,

Right?

You

keep

saying

there's

Jermaine

Johnson.

Jermaine

Johnson's

still

there.

He's

my

highest.

I

got

Jermaine

Johnson

and

Devin

Lloyd.

Those

are

my

two

highest

rated

players

still

out

there.

I

think

that

big

guy

inside

with

Devonte

Wyatt

being

in;

there

are

a

lot

of

really

good

players

in

that

front

seven.

Linebackers,

defensive

linemen,

interior

and

exterior

linemen

that

have

a

chance

to

make

some

plays.

But

it's

kind

of

a

head-scratcher.

You

know.

I

don't

know.

A

head-scratcher

to

trade

back

into

the

first

round

for

a

pick

that

was

picks

away

when

they

did

it,

Right?

Or

eight

picks

away

when

they

did

it.

A

long

time

away

from

when

they

did

it.

They

picked

at

and

then

got

right

back

on

the

board

to

come

back

in

at

They

must

have

had

somebody

they

had

identified.

Having

been

there,

I

think

it's

usually

a

handful

of

guys.

When

you

look

at

it

and

say,

okay,

we

like,

and

maybe

it's

Karloftis

is

in

that

mix

as

well.

Maybe

it's

a

Daxton

Hill

who

they'll

know

very

well

from

Michigan.

You

like

a

clump

of

guys

that

you

say,

we're

going

to

get

one

of

them.

And

remember,

they

lost

all

their

runners

last

year.

Remember

that

poor

day

in

the

summer?

Boom,

boom,

boom,

Right?

They

also

don't

have

a

pivot

and

an

interior

front.

Blocking

up

front.

Playing

like

a

Raven

also

means

running

the

football.

That's

also

a

consideration.

Okay,

So

the

Ravens'

pick

is

in,

and

the

Titans'

original

selection

that

they're

about

to

use,

they're

about

seconds

into

that.

Roger

Goodell

is

coming

out

for

the

overall

pick

in

this

draft,

the

final

eight

picks

of

the

first

round

here

in

Las

Vegas.

The

pick

in

the

NFL

Draft,

The

Baltimore

Ravens

select

Tyler

Linderbaum.

Iowa.

Once

upon

a

time,

I

was

in

that

personnel

department,

went

to

Iowa

and

got

Marshall

Yanda.

That

worked

out

quite

well.

There's

a

great

relationship

between

Ozzie

Newsome,

Eric

DeCosta,

and

Kirk

Ferentz.

So

I

guarantee

he

got

a

huge

endorsement

for

Tyler

Linderbaum.

Wasn't

Kirk

Ferentz

one

time

the

offensive

line

coach

for

the

Baltimore

Ravens?

With

the

Browns.

Oh,

With

the

Browns

and

the

Browns

before

they

ended

up

moving

to

the

Ravens.

But

you

remember

last

year,

Creed

Humphrey

went

in

the

second

round

to

Kansas

City,

was

an

All-Pro.

This

is

what

they're

expecting

from

him.

You've

got

the

best

center

in

the

draft.

He's

quick.

He

is

stout

in

the

run

game.

He's

stout

in

the

passing

game.

He

is

also

nasty.

The

best

compliment

you

can

give

a

guy.

He's

a

finisher.

Yeah,

I

think

he's

the

best

center

in

this

draft.

He's

a

wrestler.

There

is

an

unbelievable

video.

We'll

get

to

what

he

did

as

a

wrestler.

Quick

hands

and

feet.

Corey

Linsley,

A

guy

I

get

to

see

doing

the

Chargers

games

each

and

every

week.

That

was

who

he

reminded

me

of.

That

quickness

off

the

ball

to

be

able

to

reach

guys,

It

gives

you

so

much

creativity

in

your

offense

when

you

have

an

athletic

center

who

can

do

those

things

laterally

as

well

as

moving

up

to

the

second

level,

The

ability

to

cut

off

linebackers.

He's

got

outstanding

feel

when

you're

working

angles

as

an

interior

guy,

as

a

puller,

A

center

that

can

pull.

Again,

That's

outstanding.

It

gives

you

that

versatility

in

your

run

game.

He

can

do

that.

And

then

get

him

out

in

space.

Here's

a

glimpse

of

some

of

the

athleticism

that

he

has.

Just

the

ability

to

run

and

pick

guys

off

in

the

screen

game.

The

Baltimore

Ravens

are

going

to

love

what

he

brings.

Tyler

Linderbaum

right

below

Breece

Hall.

That's

good

company

to

take.

I

mentioned

the

wrestling.

How

about

Tristan

Wirfs?

One

of

his

Iowa

teammates

who

we've

seen

go

on

to

have

a

phenomenal

young

career.

That's

Linderbaum

pinning

him.

Come

on.

On

the

wrestling

mat.

Oh,

My

goodness.

That

plays

very

well

in

the

offensive

line

room.

By

the

way,

who

else

was

a

great

wrestler

in

last

year's

draft?

The

center,

Creed

Humphrey.

There

you

go.

Joel

Klatt.

Ravens

draft

of

all

time.

Do

you

think?

They

got

Sauce

Gardner,

He

was

my

second

player.

They've

got

Garrett

Wilson.

He

was

my

fourth

player.

And

Jermaine

Johnson's

my

ninth.

Player.

He's

still

out

there.

And

those

are

the

three

positions

that

they

really

wanted

to

attack

in

this

draft.

This

will

be

their

third

first-round

pick.

This

guy's

like,

Forget

about

it.

I

thought

I

was

going

to

go

get

a

meal.

You

know

what

I

mean?

I

was

just

sitting

here.

Now

they're

coming

back

in

with

another

pick.

Forget

about

it.

I

mean,

The

last

time

the

Jets

chose

three

first-round

picks

was

when

they

had

five.

You

know,

So

there

you

have

it:

Ahmad

Gardner

fourth

overall

and

Garrett

Wilson

tenth

overall,

and

they

move

back

in

and

the

pick

is

now

in

with

the

Bucks

on

the

clock.

So

you

think

that's

what

it

is?

What

else

could

it

be?

We've

been

talking

about

him

for

the

last

seven

or

eight

picks.

How

is

this

guy

still

out

there?

And

it's

a

position

of

need

for

the

Jets.

And

he

hit

a

certain

spot.

And

the

Jets

said,

Go

get

him.

Remember

last

year,

They

traded

back

to

get

Elijah

Vera

Tucker,

the

guard

to

go

with

Zach

Wilson

as

the

quarterback.

So

Joe

Douglas,

He

has

experience

with

this

and

likes

doing

it.

You

go

get

Jermaine

Johnson.

Remember,

You

got

to

go

chase

down

Josh

Allen

at

some

point.

Absolutely.

Coach,

Jermaine

Johnson

was

also

at

the

Senior

Bowl,

where

the

Jets

got

a

chance

to

see

him

up

close.

So

they're

going

to

know

him

as

well

as

anybody.

Why

did

he

drop

so

far?

I'm

going

to

find

out

after

the

draft.

Rich.

I

know

some

people

say,

Oh,

Maybe

personality-wise

he

wasn't

for

everybody.

I

could

care

less.

This

guy

rushes

the

quarterback.

He

plays

extremely

hard.

He

can

play

the

run.

I

thought

he

was

in

the

mix.

Maybe

not

at

four,

But

at

ten

for

the

Jets,

I

thought

absolutely

he

would

be

in

play

for

them.

The

interesting

part

was

it

was

Kayvon

Thibodeaux

everybody

thought

might

have

that

drop

because

of

personality.

He

ended

up

going

number

five.

It

ends

up

being

Jermaine

Johnson.

If

indeed

he

tends

to

be

the

pick

here.

Yeah,

The

Jets

still

have

a

second-round

pick

at

the

top

of

tomorrow

night's

draft

at

They

had

the

overall

that

they've

now

dropped

down

about

spots

to

Two

fourths

and

a

five.

And

three

first-rounders.

If

they

do

go

in

this

direction,

Think

about

Carl

Lawson

coming

back

off

the

Achilles

injury.

Quinnen

Williams

inside.

All

right,

Here's

the

commissioner

of

the

NFL

with

a

surprise

third

first-round

choice

of

the

New

York

Jets

here

in

Las

Vegas.

The

Tennessee

Titans

have

traded

the

pick

to

the

New

York

Jets.

With

the

pick

in

the

NFL

Draft,

The

New

York

Jets

select.

Jermaine

Johnson,

Linebacker

from

Florida

State.

Wow.

I

think

your

Jets

might

be

cooking

with

gas

right

now,

I

did

not

think

there

was

a

chance

in

a

million

years

that

they

would

come

away

with

three

top

nine

players,

at

least

as

I

see

them,

in

this

draft

class.

I

didn't

see

that

happening.

And

you

got

two

heavy

personalities

out

of

the

whole

deal,

You've

taken

Sauce.

And

Jermaine,

Styling

and

profiling.

As

he

walks

that

edge.

This

guy

is

a

football

player.

right?

He's

not

just

a

pass

rusher.

He

is

long.

He

is

physical.

He

is

aggressive.

And

I

marked

this

when

I

was

looking

at

him:

tackles

for

a

defensive

end,

where

you

look

for

that

guy

to

make

TFLs

and

sacks,

But

tackles

means

he's

playing

in

the

run

game

also.

And

not

on

a

great

football

team

overall.

He

had

to

make

a

lot

of

plays,

and

they

were

out

of

some

of

those

games,

and

he

stayed

in

with

the

effort.

But

I

thought

he

had

a

run-up

to

the

draft.

That

was

as

good

as

any

defensive

player

had.

They

couldn't

block

him

at

the

Senior

Bowl.

They

could

not

block

him

at

the

Senior

Bowl.

That

whole

process

was

big

for

him.

We

know

about

leaving

Georgia

to

find

an

opportunity.

Not

only

did

he

find

the

opportunity,

He

made

the

most

of

it.

ACC

Defensive

Player

of

the

Year.

So

give

this

young

man

credit.

Jameson

Williams

left

Alabama.

Ohio

State

found

his

way.

I

saw

a

mock

draft.

He

was

the

top

five

pick.

I

guess

that's

why

you

mock

it.

I

thought

he

might

go

in

the

top

ten

because

I

had

him

at

seven

at

the

Giants.

I'm

having

nine

with

Seattle.

I'm

having

a

few

different

places.

The

whole

process,

I

had

him

and

Kayvon

Thibodeaux

next

to

each

other.

They're

both

going

to

be

in

New

York.

You

think

those

careers

might

be

tied

together

as

they

go

forward

with

Jets

and

Giants

fans

to

see

who

ends

up

being

the

better

of

the

two?

Normally,

as

quarterbacks,

you

tie

together

like

that.

This

might

be

pass

rushers.

No

doubt.

He

looks

excited

to

be

joining

the

Jets.

A

lot

of

young

talent

on

this

football

team.

Big

time

speed.

He

can

crush

the

pocket.

And

when

you

think

of

that

size

and

length

that

he

has,

It

just

reminded

me

of

Danielle

Hunter

and

what

he's

done

in

his

career

with

the

Minnesota

Vikings.

The

hands,

push,

pull,

right?

Going

to

get

a

little

push,

pull.

This

is

a

sack,

force,

fumble,

recovery,

touchdown.

That's

about

as

good

as

you

can

do

on

a

play

if

you're

a

defensive

lineman.

Here

he

is

wrapping

around

the

edge.

He

can

flatten

to

the

quarterback.

There

is

a

little

bit

of

tightness,

as

with

Thibodeaux,

but

you

have

big

time

power.

He

can

beat

you

outside.

He

can

beat

you

through

your

numbers,

or

he

can

beat

you

with

an

inside

move

like

you

see

here

with

a

spin.

He

also

has

a

nice

inside

counter.

Here's

that

swipe

move

using

his

hands.

There's

polish

to

his

game.

There's

a

reason

why

he

had

all

that

production,

And

watch

what

he

does

to

Darian

Kinnard

here

at

the

end

of

his

Senior

Bowl

practice.

That's

a

well-put-together

young

man.

Darian

Kennard.

He

was

the

best

blocker

in

the

SEC

last

year.

The

Jets

got

a

defensive

front

now.

Guys.

I'm

speechless.

I

don't

even

know

what

to

say.

To

be

very

honest

with

you.

Other

than

just

saying

Joe

Douglas

should

run

for

mayor.

For

crying

out

loud.

I

mean.

Gardner.

Wilson,

Johnson.

And

they

also

got

a

second-round

pick

in

their

back

pocket

for

tomorrow

night

at

the

top

of

Friday

night.

So

the

Jaguars

just

hopped

in

to

choose

overall.

They

gave

up

the

first

pick

in

tomorrow

night's

proceedings

to

Tampa

for

the

right

to

choose

right

now.

The

Packers,

Patriots,

and

the

Chiefs

behind

them.

That's

how

we're

rolling

to

break

here

as

the

first-ever

draft

in

Las

Vegas.

Nevada.

I'm

telling

you,

the

first

picks,

they

went

fast.

And

then

the

trade

started

coming

fast

and

furious.

Hollywood

Brown

traded

from

the

Ravens

to

the

Cardinals

to

move

into

the

first

round.

A.J.

Brown.

Brown

traded

from

Tennessee

to

Philadelphia.

Treylon

Burks.

You

see

Jermaine

Johnson

and

Jordan

Davis.

Oh,

Irv,

you

are

not

being

drafted,

sir,

but

he

is

definitely

styling.

He's

definitely

styling.

He's

got

old-school

style

going.

Well

done,

Irv.

Well

done,

Michael

Irvin,

the

playmaker.

Look

at

that

scene

going

on

behind

us.

Unbelievable.

So

the

Jaguars

are

now

picking.

They

coughed

up

the

first

pick

of

tomorrow

night's

proceedings,

the

overall

pick,

a

fourth

and

a

sixth.

to

come

back

into

the

first

round

and

take

this

player

to

go

along

with

the

first

pick

in

the

draft,

Trevon

Walker.

The

Tampa

Bay

Buccaneers

have

traded

the

pick

to

the

Jacksonville

Jaguars.

With

the

pick

in

the

NFL

Draft,

the

Jacksonville

Jaguars

select

Devin

Lloyd,

linebacker,

Utah,

best

available

player,

He's

my

player,

so

to

get

him

all

the

way

down

here,

I

see

why

they

wanted

to

trade

back

in

to

add

him

to

Trevon

Walker.

That's

a

good

young

nucleus

they

have

now

on

that

Jacksonville

defense

added

with

Josh

Allen,

Charles.

Myles

Jack

no

longer

there.

Devin

Lloyd

gets

his

opportunity

to

tackle.

Derrick

Henry.

Jonathan

Taylor.

Congratulations.

He's

going

to

Duval

County

to

join

the

Jacksonville

Jaguars.

Get

Trevon

Walker

first

overall

up

front,

Then

they

move

back

in

to

the

first

round,

trading

the

first

overall

pick

of

night

two.

That's

the

home

wrecker

right

there.

Commissioner

wrecker,

Too.

Almost

suplexed

him,

Charles,

You

talked

about

his

stopping

power

as

a

tackler.

There

it

is.

There

was

a

great

example

of

it

right

there.

Chest

to

chest.

The

commissioner

stopped

right

there.

There

you

go.

A

little

chiropractic

maneuver

for

the

commissioner

of

the

NFL.

A

little

adjustment.

And

Devin

Lloyd's

going

to

Jacksonville.

Yeah,

We're

going

to

show

you

the

plays

here.

Fred

Warner

is

the

comparison

for

me

in

terms

of

that

range

and

length

that

he

has.

His

ability

to

rush

and

cover.

He's

a

unique

player

off

the

ball

for

Utah.

He's

very

physical

in

the

hole.

We

talk

about

stopping

power.

That's

what

we

referenced.

He

gets

his

pads

on

you,

You

go

down.

As

a

Sam

linebacker,

He

can

play

in

space.

He's

very

comfortable

out

there.

He's

got

outstanding

instincts.

Here's

his

ability

to

chase

on

the

backside.

This

guy's

motor

never

slows

down.

And

in

the

passing

game,

He's

done

this

a

bunch.

Jump

in

lanes,

Use

those

long

arms,

and

show

you

the

athleticism.

How

about

that

one-handed

interception?

And

sorry,

Coach,

again,

I

apologize

for

this

one.

What

are

you

doing

with

these?

Pick

six.

I

didn't

purposefully

choose

the

Stanford

highlights.

To

be

fair,

There

were

probably

about

ten

plays

that

you

could

have

put

from

our

game.

Oh,

Wow,

Look

at

that

lift.

Extension.

My

gosh.

Does

that

remind

you,

Was

it

Danny

Shelton?

Remember

the

Danny

Shelton

lift?

Very

similar.

Look

at

that

right

there.

That's

a

very

impressive

maneuver

right

there.

He

already

knows

his

new

neighborhood.

That's

for

sure.

Well

done.

Joel?

He

just

touched

on

that.

But

he

was

the

emotional

leader

of

that

team.

Remember,

He

came

back

for

his

senior

year.

Two

of

his

teammates,

Ty

Jordan,

Aaron

Lowe,

were

tragically

gunned

down

and

killed,

And

he

brought

that

team

together,

And

he

came

back

for

one

reason,

And

that

was

to

do

what

they

hadn't

done

at

Utah,

which

was

to

win

a

title.

All

he

did

was

go

out

there,

tackles

for

loss,

eight

sacks,

four

interceptions.

Defensive

Player

of

the

Year

and

the

title.

He

delivered

because

he's

an

emotional

leader,

Guys.

With

the

pick.

In

the

NFL

Draft,

the

Green

Bay

Packers

select

Devonte

Wyatt,

defensive

tackle,

Georgia.

I

know

a

lot

of

people

keep

waiting

for

this

wide

receiver,

Rich,

but

it's

just

not

there.

The

value's

not

there.

I

think

this

is

smart

by

the

Green

Bay

Packers.

Just

trust

the

board.

There's

going

to

be

more

wide

receivers

in

this

draft.

You're

going

to

be

able

to

get

Aaron

Rodgers

some

help.

The

value

again

wasn't

there

at

It

wasn't

here

right

now

either.

These

are

two

really

good

defensive

players

they've

added

to

their

front

seven.

Devonte

Wyatt

going

from

Georgia's

defense

along

with

Trevon

Walker

tonight.

Also

Jordan

Davis

and

Quay

Walker.

So

Quay

Walker

and

Devontae

Wyatt.

Two

Georgia

Bulldogs

from

the

national

championship

team

going

to

Green

Bay.

They

got

two

for

the

price

of

one

on

that

pro

day.

Nicely

done

by

the

Green

Bay

Packers.

This

is

an

interior

disruptor.

In

the

NFL.

You've

got

to

be

able

to

stop

the

outside

zone

with

penetration

up

front.

And

you've

got

to

be

able

to

rush

the

passer.

And

this

is

a

player

in

Devontae

Wyatt

who's

going

to

be

able

to

do

both

of

those

things.

What

a

loaded

group

they

had

down

there

in

Athens.

Look

at

that.

So

Green

Bay

fans

should

just

trust

the

process,

is

what

you're

saying.

Because

the

last

time

the

Packers

chose

a

first-round

wide

receiver,

it

was

Javon

Walker

in

They

find

him

outside

of

round

one.

They're

going

to

do

it

again.

Maybe

that

run

they

had

in

where

they

picked

three.

A

night

of

commissioner

hugs.

And

Devin

Lloyd

just

set

the

new

standard.

Lift.

It's

like

a

clean

and

jerk.

Like

a

lift

from

the

Olympics

right

there.

Use

your

legs.

Use

your

legs.

Definitely.

And

your

core.

The

Patriots'

pick

is

in

again.

They

started

the

evening

in

their

slot,

They

moved

down

to

so

the

Chiefs

could

move

up

to

take

Trent

McDuffie,

The

defensive

back

out

of

Washington.

The

Chiefs'

other

pick,

The

one

they

originally

had,

They

traded

away

the

one

they

got

from

Miami

in

the

Tyreek

Hill

trade.

That

pick

is

also

in,

So

we've

got

two

quick

announcements

coming

up.

The

Bengals

are

on

the

clock,

And

then

it's

the

Vikings,

Who

traded

down

from

earlier

in

the

evening.

So

the

Lions

could

go

up

to

take

Jameson

Williams

out

of

Alabama.

And

it

was

that

run

on

wide

receivers

that

has

left,

I

guess,

Fewer

first-round

draft

grades

on

receivers

on

the

board.

The

Packers'

two

picks

went

to

Georgia

defensive

players.

So

here's

the

Patriots'

pick

in

Vegas.

With

the

pick

in

the

NFL

Draft,

The

New

England

Patriots

select

Cole

Strange.

Guard.

Chattanooga.

Wow.

Wow.

I

thought

Cole

Strange,

He

was

one

of

my

favorite

mid-round

guys.

I

thought

you

might

get

him

in

the

third

round.

The

Patriots,

They

take

the

guys

they

like,

going

all

the

way

up

there

in

the

first

round.

I

had

him

in

the

early

But

this

dude

is

a

bulldog.

He's

a

coach's

favorite.

You

can

see

why

New

England

would

fall

in

love

with

him.

The

competitiveness

he

showed

at

the

Senior

Bowl,

Charles,

stood

out.

He

would

lose

a

rep,

Get

right

back

in

there,

And

win

a

rep.

Joel

Klatt,

Our

colleague,

said

that

Baltimore

had

the

most

Baltimore

draft

ever.

Is

that

not

a

New

England

pick?

Guys?

Look

at

these

folks.

They

have

no

idea.

Bill,

We

trust.

Who

do

they

know?

Remember

when

Logan

Mankins

came

off

the

board

and

everybody

was

like,

Logan

Mankins?

What

were

we

doing?

Logan

Mankins

became

an

all-pro

for

them.

Shaq

Mason

is

in

Tampa.

Starting

guard.

Michael

Onwenu,

who

they

got

out

of

Michigan,

who

looks

like

a

guard,

has

played

better

at

tackle.

Do

they

want

to

move

him

back

to

guard?

And

someone's

got

to

block

Quinnen

Williams

for

you,

Jets.

I

hear

you.

I'm

just

laughing

at

the

guy

in

the

Amendola

jersey

who

flew

all

the

way

out

to

Vegas

to

watch

Bill

choose

someone

from

Chattanooga.

I'm

like,

What?

Let

me

Google

that

guy.

How

about

them

apples?

You

know?

By

the

way,

It's

the

highest-drafted

player

in

the

history

of

Chattanooga,

The

common

draft

for

placing

a...

The

overall

pick

back

in

his

day

was

Terrell

Owens.

The

Mox.

There

you

go.

Don't

mess

with

the

Mox.

All

right,

Here's

the

Chiefs'

overall

selection

on

the

night.

The

commissioner

is

coming

back

out

again.

All

right.

With

the

pick

in

the

NFL

Draft,

The

Kansas

City

Chiefs

select

George

Karlaftis.

Wow.

Defensive

end,

Purdue.

Nice

moment

for

the

Purdue

Boilermakers.

He's

That's

going

to

Kansas

City.

That's

good

value

there

with

George

Karlaftis.

He

was

a

top

player

in

this

draft

class.

And

Kansas

City

gets

him.

A

lot

of

people

thought

they

might

package

these

picks

to

go

up

and

get

a

wide

receiver.

I

think

they

feel

just

fine

about

their

wide

receiver

core.

Joel,

They

needed

to

get

better

on

defense,

And

they've

done

that

so

far

tonight

with

a

corner

and

now

a

pass

rusher.

This

guy

has

elite

drive.

He

just

never

stops.

He

was

actually

born

and

raised

in

Athens,

Greece.

And

when

his

father

passed

away,

He

didn't

play

football

until

he

was

years

old

and

finished

his

senior

year

of

high

school

with

tackles

for

loss.

Guys,

he

plays

as

hard

as

anybody

I've

covered

in

college

football

an

absolute

monster

on

the

edge;

Coach

Shaw

noted

at

a

school

strong

in

water

polo

that

this

kid

played

water

polo

and

is

built

like

a

water

polo

player.

Big,

Long,

But

look

at

that

build.

This

guy

has

big

lower-body

strength.

He

is

strong.

He

is

physical,

And

I

love

what

Joel

said,

too.

This

guy

gets

off

blocks.

He's

not

going

to

beat

you

with

explosive

quickness,

But

he

puts

his

hands

on

you,

And

he

gets

off

blocks,

And

he

makes

tackles.

And,

DJ,

Don't

you

think

the

next

step

for

him

is

finishing

some

of

these,

Right?

The

pressures

are

there.

Completing

the

sacks

is

the

next

step

for

him.

But

I

got

to

tell

you,

He's

going

to

get

a

little

more

opportunity

to

play

with

the

lead

with

the

Chiefs.

Play

with

the

lead.

He

played

in

college

at

Purdue.

And

know

what

else

this

does?

It

keeps

Chris

Jones

inside

where

he

needs

to

be.

Chris

Jones

likes

to

bounce

out

and

play

defensive

end.

He's

at

his

best

at

D

tackle.

Karlaftis

helps

keep

him

there.

All

right,

Let's

show

you

what

he

looks

like

here

on

the

field.

Joel

mentioned

it,

Just

how

hard

he

plays.

I

thought

he

did

a

nice

job

in

space.

Some

were

concerned

about

that.

I

thought

he

went

to

the

combine,

and

dispelled

any

concerns

you

would

have

going

through

the

linebacker

drills,

He

did

a

nice

job.

He

is

a

pure

power

rusher.

Talk

about

the

ability

to

kind

of

pry

open

that

outside

shoulder.

He

works

half

of

a

man,

He

is

able

to

just

collapse

through

that

shoulder,

and

then

he

gets

home.

Again,

This

is

kind

of

what

you're

talking

about,

Charles.

These

are

pressures.

That's

not

a

sack,

But

that'll

show

up

as

an

impact

play

for

his

defense.

You

can

kick

him

inside,

Let

him

rush.

Over

the

guard.

And

talking

about

that

water

polo

background,

he's

a

member

of

Greece's

national

team;

it's

a

grueling

sport

that

requires

a

different

kind

of

conditioning

and

is

very

physical.

I'm

at

one

of

the

best

water

polo

places

on

the

planet,

and

it

is

very

physical

below

the

surface.

They're

pushing

and

shoving

under

the

water,

gaining

ground.

It's

impressive.

George

Karlaftis

now

on

the

deep

end

of

the

AFC

West

pool.

And

then

again,

Cole

Strange

out

of

Chattanooga.

What

must

his

night

be

like?

He's

sitting

around

thinking,

Mike,

can

I

be

a

first

rounder?

And

then

the

phone

rings

and

it's

Bill

Belichick

saying,

welcome

to

the

NFL.

And

then

George

Karlaftis

gets

out

of

the

green

room.

Two

more

picks

to

go

in

Las

Vegas.

As

soon

as

we

are

done,

NFL

total

access,

all

the

post

first

round

draft

analysis

and

reaction

from

Las

Vegas.

Ian

Rapoport.

You

have

the

floor.

Rich,

Malik

Willis,

the

Liberty

quarterback,

is

still

on

the

board,

and

it's

pretty

clear.

The

Bengals

don't

need

a

quarterback

unless

the

Vikings

take

him.

He's

looking

at

being

there

for

the

second

round.

A

surprise,

I

would

say

the

biggest

concern

here

is

how

ready

he

is

for

the

NFL.

A

couple

of

teams

that

could

look

to

him

tomorrow.

The

Seahawks,

Colts,

Falcons,

maybe

the

Lions.

But,

of

course,

if

you

want

a

fifth

year

of

contractual

control

on

your

quarterback,

Now

would

be

the

time

to

move

in

and

get

them,

but

the

Bengals'

pick

is

in

and

the

Vikings

are

three

minutes

away

from

making

a

selection,

so

we'll

see

what

happens.

But

here's

the

pick

of

the

AFC

champion

Bengals

with

The

pick

in

the

NFL

Draft,

the

AFC

champion

Cincinnati

Bengals

select

Daxton

Hill,

defensive

back,

Michigan.

All

right,

so

Dax

Hill

he's

the

second

Wolverine

selected

in

the

first

round

tonight.

Aidan

Hutchinson.

Two.

And

Daxton

Hill

from

the

school

up

north.

He's

going

to

be

playing

his

football

in

Cincinnati.

I

thought

there

was

a

chance

they

might

go

to

another

Wolverine

here

with

David

Ojabo.

They

go

with

Daxton

Hill.

They've

always

loved

Big

Ten

players

there

with

the

Cincinnati

Bengals.

And

Daxton

Hill,

Coach,

He

can

play

in

the

slot.

You

can

play

him

up

high.

He

can

do

a

lot

of

different

things.

He's

all

about

versatility.

Quick,

Explosive,

Can

cover,

Can

blitz.

Really,

Really

good

football

player.

Joel,

I

know

you

saw

a

ton

of

this

guy

in

the

Big

Ten.

What

was

your

take

on

him?

Well,

he

can

do

everything,

and

I

thought

one

of

his

best

traits

was

his

ability

to

tackle

in

space.

He's

got

long

arms,

he's

tough

to

block,

he

can

cover

one-on-one

in

the

slot

as

a

man

defender,

he

can

play

deep

in

the

middle

of

the

field,

he

can

blitz

off

the

edge.

He

almost

ended

Graham

Mertz's

day;

in

fact,

Graham

Mertz

in

that

Wisconsin

clip

had

to

leave

the

game.

So

he

brings

a

little

bit

of

umph

and

grit.

As

you

know,

when

you've

got

guys

that

can

make

plays

on

the

edge

and

tackle

well

in

space,

it's

tough

for

any

offense.

Just

ask

Ohio

State.

You

know,

They

were

great

on

the

edge.

He

was

a

big

reason

why

Michigan

was

able

to

beat

the

Buckeyes.

But

every

year

when

I'm

watching

tape

of

these

guys

that

are

going

to

be

drafted,

There's

always

a

guy

that

jumps

out

at

me.

Daxton

Hill

was

that

guy

for

me

this

year.

And

it's

funny.

We

were

talking

a

little

bit

earlier

about

the

Baltimore

Ravens

getting

Kyle

Hamilton

and

adding

a

third

safety

to

the

mix.

Pittsburgh

loves

to

play

with

three

safeties.

He's

looking

at

Cincinnati

and

saying,

Well,

They've

got

two

good

safeties.

We

add

a

third.

But

what

I

love

about

Dax

Hill

is,

to

me,

He

reminds

me

a

lot

of

Tyrann

Mathieu.

Or

maybe

a

Charles

Woodson

later

when

he

played

safety

best

in

the

slot,

where

they

can

use

their

instincts.

Whether

it's

blitzing,

as

you

said

Joel,

or

sitting

back

in

coverage,

he

can

do

everything

in

that

role

and

he's

going

to

make

it

really,

really

tough

on

opposing

quarterbacks.

Well,

it's

time

to

wrap

up

the

first

round

and

the

first-ever

first

night

of

a

draft

in

Las

Vegas,

Nevada.

It's

the

Minnesota

Vikings

once

again.

This

was

the

Lions'

pick

that

they

got

from

the

Rams

as

part

of

the

Jared

Goff

for

Matthew

Stafford

trade,

and

the

skull

chant

is

going

at

the

Vikings

draft

party

they

thought

it

would

happen

at

the

overall

pick

but

The

Lions

moved

all

the

way

up

to

go

get

Jameson

Williams,

flipping

Minnesota

a

better

second-round

position

and

a

third-round

pick

to

go

along

with

it.

Kevin

O'Connell

is

the

new

head

coach

there

from

the

Los

Angeles

Rams.

What

do

you

think

the

Vikings

are

going

to

do

here

with

the

final

pick

of

our

first

night?

Well,

I

look

at

the

secondary.

You

look

at

the

corners

that

are

still

out

there.

Booth

is

still

out

there

from

Clemson.

Gordon's

still

out

there

from

Washington.

I

thought

there

was

a

chance,

with

where

they

were

picking

earlier,

they

would

take

a

corner.

Now,

It's

a

different

class

of

corner

than

the

ones

they

would

have

had

an

opportunity

with

all

the

way

up

there.

But

I

think

you

can

get

some

starters

out

of

this

group.

A

lot

of

the

thought

process

was

that

Derek

Stingley

might

still

be

available

at

in

the

early

going

before

this

draft

started.

That

ship

sailed

early

in

the

evening.

That

ship

sailed

really

fast.

But

you

were

right.

Corner

was

an

obvious

target.

And

it's

interesting.

Rick

Spielman

is

no

longer

the

GM

there.

He

drafted

a

lot

of

corners.

A

brand-new

GM

there.

And

of

course,

the

new

head

coach,

Kevin

O'Connell.

They

get

to

start

their

footprint

now,

so

the

Vikings'

pick

will

wrap

up

this

night.

Oh,

Certainly

as

it

gets

later

into

the

night.

But

look

at

this

city

all

lit

up

as

only

it

can

be

home

of

an

NFL

draft.

Normally,

as

you

mentioned

earlier,

It's

nighttime

when

we

do

all

of

this.

Yes.

But

how

about

the

ramp

into

nighttime

here

for

the

first

time

ever

on

the

West

Coast?

Pretty

dramatic,

pretty

good

place

for

it.

And

guys,

Normally

this

is

the

spot

we

talk

about.

Does

someone

come

back

and

get

a

quarterback?

I

know

that

Mike

Zimmer

wasn't

a

huge

fan

of

Kellen

Mond

last

year.

Yeah,

I

remember

that

when

they

asked

him,

Do

you

want

to

see

more

from

Kellen

Mond?

No.

And

he

said

no.

Nope.

See

him

all

the

time.

That

was

it.

That

was

for

the

final

game

of

the

season.

But

now

he's

getting

to

be

reevaluated

by

Kevin

O'Connell

and

his

staff.

This

doesn't

feel

like

them

going

to

get

a

quarterback

for

a

fifth-year

option.

Tell

you

what,

I'm

already

looking

ahead.

I

know

we've

got

this

one

more

pick,

but

I'm

looking

at

some

of

the

names

that

you

still

have

out

there.

Tomorrow's

going

to

be

a

great

night.

There's

a

lot

of

good.

Throw

some

names

out

there.

I'm

looking

at

Boye

Mafe

from

Minnesota.

Booth,

who

we

talked

about.

Kenneth

Walker,

the

running

back.

Obviously.

Willis

hasn't

come

off

the

board.

Yeah,

We've

got

Breece

Hall.

We've

got

all

kinds

of

options

here

for

teams

tomorrow.

And

there's

N'Kobe

Dean,

Malik

Willis,

you

mentioned,

at

the

quarterback

spot.

And

that

will

all

begin

tomorrow,

an

hour

earlier

than

tonight's

coverage

began.

That'll

be

at

Eastern

time,

o'clock

in

the

afternoon

out

here

in

Las

Vegas.

And

then

it'll

be

an

early

rise

on

Saturday

morning.

Who

knows?

Some

of

us

might

feel

like

we

were

in

the

hangover

by

that

point

in

time

at

in

the

morning

local

time

here

for

the

final

day.

But

here

comes

the

commissioner

to

wrap

up

the

first

night.

What's

he

got

around

his

neck

right

there?

See

what's

going

on.

Sauce.

Sauce

lent

it

to

him.

With

the

pick

in

the

NFL

Draft,

the

Minnesota

Vikings

select

Lewis

Cine.

Defensive

back.

Georgia.

So

we

had

one

last

pick

to

shoehorn

in

one

more

defender

from

the

national

champions,

Georgia

Bulldogs.

And

that

brings

us

to

the

conclusion

of

round

one.

Cine.

Oh,

Nicely

done.

Wrap

up

the

first

round.

Of

the

NFL

Draft

here

in

Las

Vegas.

That

brings

us

to

the

conclusion

of

round

one

of

the

NFL

Draft.

Thank

you

to

all

of

you,

well

over

people,

for

being

here

and

watching

with

us.

We

look

forward

to

seeing

you

tomorrow

night,

o'clock

Pacific,

o'clock

Eastern.

Thank

you.

Daniel?

Yeah,

Lewis

Cine,

one

of

the

leaders

for

that

Georgia

defense.

Big-time

hitter.

He's

got

outstanding

eyes.

Really

love

the

way

he

runs

the

alley.

Some

of

the

inconsistency

was

in

some

of

the

man-coverage

stuff.

I

don't

think

he's

going

to

have

to

do

that.

I

think

you

can

play

him

high.

That's

where

he's

comfortable.

They

say

this

guy

knows

the

defense,

Joel,

inside

and

out.

He

could

teach

that

defense

to

anybody

that

came

into

Georgia.

Joel,

I

know

you

love

Lewis

Cine

as

well

here.

What

do

you

think

of

him?

Well,

I

do,

and

I

was

just

going

to

say,

like,

it's

not

really

about

the

scheme,

although

it

was

good.

I

don't

want

to

take

anything

away

from

Kirby

Smart,

but,

boys,

bye.

Five

Bulldog

defenders

go

in

the

first

round.

That

sets

the

record.

There

has

never

been

a

defense

with

that

many

players

selected

in

the

first

round.

And

we

didn't

even

see

one

of

their

leaders,

the

middle

linebacker

Nakobe

Dean,

selected

tonight.

Could

have

been

six.

There

was

a

chance

of

six.

That's

just

how

good

they

were.

Cine

is

phenomenal.

He

flies

up

through

the

alley.

A

good

tackler.

This

was

a

physical

defense,

And

I

can

tell

you

it

was

a

big

reason

why

they

won

that

national

championship.

Walker

Davis.

Walker

Wyatt

scene.

Kurt?

I'll

tell

you

what,

fellas.

A

lot

of

uncertainty

coming

into

this

draft,

and

it

did

not

disappoint.

What

a

night

we've

had

up

to

this

point.

A

couple

things

that

stand

out

to

me.

Love

what

Philly

did.

Jordan

Davis

made

the

big

trade

for

A.J.

Brown.

And

then,

Rich,

I

do

not

know

where

we're

hanging

out

tonight,

but

there

is

no

way

you're

sleeping

after

this

first

round

by

the

Jets.

They

did

an

unbelievable

job.

That's

right.

Yeah,

man.

I'll

tell

you

what.

Drinks

are

on

me.

And

thanks

to

Joe

Douglas

for

nailing

this

draft

for

all

the

Jets

fans,

as

it

seemed.

Thank

you,

Joel.

Thank

you,

Kurt.

We

will

see

you

tomorrow

night.

Well,

I

guess

luck

was

an

Aiden

tonight

to

start

off

for

the

Lions,

and

Trayvon

Walker

started

it

all

off

for

the

Jacksonville

Jaguars.

That

wraps

it

up

for

our...

First

round,

first

night

coverage

here

from

Las

Vegas,

Nevada

for

Daniel

Jeremiah,

Charles

Davis

and

head

coach

of

Stanford,

David

Shaw.

I

am

your

host,

Rich

Eisen,

signing

off

from

Vegas.

NFL

Total

Access

starts

right

now.

Welcome

to

NFL

Total

Access.

We'll

dive

into

so

much

of

what

went

down

tonight

in

this

crazy,

crazy

minutes

of

post-NFL

draft

action.

Right

now,

I

want

to

send

it

back.

To

Vegas

and

Rich

Eisen

and

the

crew.

Just

kidding.

It's

just

us

first.

See,

I

told

you

it

was

a

crazy

night.

Round

one.

Look,

they

love

Vegas

a

little

bit

too

much

around

here.

So

I

assumed

we

were

just

going

back

there

immediately,

right?

I

was

confused.

I

was

like,

why

are

we

cutting

on

and

throwing

back?

Because

that's

how

it

goes

sometimes.

Don't

you

know?

See,

now

we

will

be

going

to

Rich

Eisen.

Let

me

throw

it.

Get

us

back.

Thank

you

very

much.

Here

by...

The

fountains

just

off

of

Las

Vegas

Boulevard

that

was

closed

down

for

foot

traffic

for

a

big

night.

Here

in

Las

Vegas,

Nevada

for

the

first

NFL

draft

in

Las

Vegas.

Daniel

Jeremiah,

Charles

Davis,

David

Shaw

of

Stanford,

Rich

Eisen,

right

here.

DJ,

you're

first

up

with

your

first

impressions

of

the

first

round.

Well,

there's

a

couple

things

I

didn't

think

we

would

ever

see.

I

did

not

think

we

would

see

your

Jets

get

those

three

players,

three

of

my

top

nine

players

in

the

draft

they

came

away

with.

That

was

a

shocker

to

me,

but

even

maybe

more

shocking

to

me,

if

you'd

have

told

me

before

This

draft

started:

the

Philadelphia

Eagles

would

leave

with

Jordan

Davis

and

A.J.

Brown.

Brown.

I

probably

wouldn't

have.

Believe

it,

Jeff

there's

a

lot

of

it.

We

talked

about

uncertainty

in

this

draft;

we

weren't

really

sure

how

it

would

go,

and

did

we

have

a

feel

for

this

draft?

Boy,

that

played

out

in

a

big

way.

Now,

the

quarterback

thing:

I

thought

people

would

catch

quarterback

fever;

we

would

see

more

of

that.

They

actually

trusted

the

evaluations.

We

saw

that.

Only

Kenny

Pickett

came

off

the

board.

Very,

Very

interesting

night.

We

did

get

some

pairings

that

really

worked

for

some

teams

because

there

were

eight

teams

that

had

two

picks

when

we

started

the

night,

before

the

trades

began.

Yeah.

You

talk

about

New

York

State

of

Mind.

Right?

Daniel

mentioned

the

Jets.

And

I'm

looking

at

Brian

Daboll

coming

in

with

Kayvon

Thibodeaux,

Probably

the

most

talented

pass

rusher.

Wherever

you

want

to

say

the

most

talented

pass

rusher.

And

you've

got

one

of

the

biggest.

Most

smooth

pass

protectors.

in

the

game,

and

Evan

Neal

an

exciting

night

in

New

York.

And

so,

we

saw

six

wide

receivers

selected

in

the

top

for

the

first

time

in

the

common

era,

and

that

left

the

Packers,

as

you

kept

pointing

out,

with

fewer

options

for

the

spots

in

which

they

were

choosing.

They

wound

up

taking

two

of

the

record

five

Georgia

defenders

from

one

school

in

a

single

first

round.

Of

any

draft

in

the

common

era.

What

do

you

think

about

that?

Yeah,

I

thought

that

the

Packers

were

smart.

They

could

have

gone

and

just

been

really,

Really

aggressive

and

pushed

somebody

up

the

board.

They

don't

have

to.

They're

going

to

be

able

to

find

receivers

on

day

two.

They're

going

to

get

some

receivers

tomorrow.

You

watch.

They've

always

done

it.

They've

got

a

great

track

record

there.

One

of

the

other

moments,

Guys,

Though,

When

the

Detroit

Lions

came

all

the

way

back

up,

and

you're

thinking,

This

has

got

to

be

a

quarterback.

They

coached

Malik

Willis

at

the

Senior

Bowl,

And

it

was

Jamison

Williams.

That

was

one

of

the

surprises

of

the

evening

as

well.

It

feels

like

the

Lions

have

time

to

do

things.

Like,

There's

so

much

pressure

on

coaches

and

organizations

now

to

get

it

done

right

away.

It

feels

like

they

have

a

little

bit

of

time.

And

they're

making

moves

that

really

strengthen

their

team.

But

when

it

comes

back

to

it,

Let's

talk

about

Green

Bay

one

more

time.

I

know

the

Packer

fans

are

going,

Again,

No

wide

receiver.

I

think

DJ

made

a

great

point.

The

value

wasn't

there.

If

it

stuck

to

the

board

for

the

straight

year

they

don't

take

a

first-round

receiver,

they'll

be

able

to

do

more

of

that

later.

But

the

biggest

part

of

the

whole

thing,

when

you

really

get

down

to

it,

was

just

being

smart

about

it

not

succumbing

to

pressure.

Aaron

Rodgers

will

get

his

guys

starting

tomorrow.

The

phrase

"let

the

draft

come

to

you"

that's

a

big

thing.

And

all

the

teams

that

do

a

really

good

job

over

the

years,

they

let

the

draft

come

to

them.

But

there's...

Also

the

Aaron

Rodgers

effect.

Whoever

they

take,

he's

going

to

make

them

better.

He's

a

great

quarterback.

He'll

elevate

whoever

it

is.

But

as

a

team

you

have

to

make

the

smart

picks.

That's

what

they

did

tonight.

Last

year

we

saw

quarterbacks

go

one,

two

and

three

for

the

first

time

since

And

then

the

draft

that

followed.

That

followed

there

was

only

one

quarterback

taken

in

the

first

round

that

was

Chad

Pennington.

It

happened

again:

just

one

quarterback

taken

tonight.

It

was

Kenny

Pickett.

The

last

time

we

saw

a

draft

without

more

than

one

quarterback

taken

in

the

first

round...

It

was

just

E.J.

Manuel

in

Did

we

get

the

verdict

on

what

the

league

thinks

of

this

quarterback?

Yeah.

I

had

two

in

my

top

And

that

was

in

the

so

we

saw

one

go

at

And

we

saw

the

other

one

fall

out.

I

think

this

is

what

it

is

this

year.

This

was

the

evaluation

of

this

quarterback

class.

It

doesn't

mean

these

guys

can't

go

tomorrow

and

end

up

being

great

players.

But

this

was

the

evaluation

process

from

start

to

finish.

We

ended

where

we

started.

We

said

it

consistently

from

the

beginning.

All

five

quarterbacks

last

year

had

a

higher

grade

than

anyone

this

year.

Then

you

throw

in

the

sixth

quarterback.

Davis

Mills.

If

he'd

gone

back

and

played

for

you,

coach,

he

probably

would

have

been

the

first

quarterback

taken

this

year.

So

it

was

six

quarterbacks

with

a

higher

grade,

and

it

proved

out

pretty

much.

And

I

think

that's

part

of

it,

the

grade

of

the

quarterbacks,

but

it's

also

the

grade

of

these

other

positions,

all

of

these

edge

rushers,

all

of

these

tackles,

all

these

interior

players.

And

you

saw

all

these

cornerbacks

come

up

the

board.

So

there's

really

really

good

players,

not

just

that,

the

detriment

of

the

quarterbacks,

but

how

many

of

the

good

players

there

were

available.

All

right,

I'd

say

I'd

send

you

back

to

Palo

Alto,

but

it's

Vegas,

Right?

I

mean,

at

least

stick

around

for

a

little

bit

here.

I'll

spend

the

night.

Okay,

Great

to

see

you,

sir.

Great

to

see

you.

Great

job,

as

always.

That's

David

Shaw

of

Stanford.

Joel

Klatt

is

going

to

be

joining

us

on

this

set,

lakeside,

tomorrow

night

in

that

spot,

along

with

Charles

Davis

and

Daniel

Jeremiah

for

our

entire

top-notch

crew

here

in

Las

Vegas,

Nevada.

That's

night

one

in

the

books.

2021 NFL Draft Insights: Giants' Decision on Daniel Jones and Baker Mayfield's Future