Mel Kiper Jr. & Field Yates debate the Bears No.1 pick! | 🏈 First Draft

The Bears may have the hardest decision in NFL Draft history, do they draft Caleb Williams and trade Justin Fields? Or Keep Fields and cash in on that No.1 pick? Mel Kiper Jr. and Field Yates debate the decision, provide trade options from other teams for both the No.1 pick AND Justin Fields. Plus Mel drops the guys he’s finding hardest to rank on his big board.

00:00 – Intro
6:00 – Trade #1 – Washington Commanders
16:00 – Trade #2 – New England Patriots
20:00 – Trade #3 – Atlanta Falcons
28:00 – Trade #4 – Pittsburgh Steelers
33:00 – Trade #4 – Las Vegas Raiders
36:00 – Mel’s Top 25: Hardest Guys to Rank

#Nfl #NFLDraft #football #FirstDraft

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Welcome back into first draft we are exactly 10 weeks away from the start of the 2024 NFL draft but who’s counting other than us I’m field Yates and he needs a introduction Mel Kyper Jr Mel good morning my friend great to be with you field we got a lot to go over with

This trade possibility with the number one pick overall then we have the ratings board coming out tomorrow so we’ll have some guys that are the toughest to really figure out where they belong on our ratings board even on our positional ranking for that matter it’s going to be a big spirited show because

Yes we are going to dive into some offers that were part of a piece that I worked with Courtney Cronin our great Bears NFL Nation reporter on the dove into ideas Concepts possibilities for the Bears to consider both in terms of offers for the number one pick and also

Offers for Justin fields and then as Mel mentioned will’ll go into five or so players that despite the fact that they might end up being first round picks or might be top 25 players on our big board Maybe a little bit outside of that are really tough players to rank a reminder

This is much more of an art than it is a science for those that are watching this on YouTube thank you be sure to check us out on the podcast version as well first draft every Monday every Thursday Monday Live on YouTube at 11:00 a.m. eastern

Time and 2 p p.m. eastern time on ESPN 2 for those that want to watch us up on the big screen but M let’s dive into it Justin Fields the number one pick the number one pick Justin fields that has been perhaps the most banded about storyline throughout the entire

Pre-draft process so far so before I start to pass along my hypothetical trade offers M let’s dive into this Bear’s decision do you think this is a decision that is easy and straightforward or do you think this is one where 48% of the Bears stakeholders within the office in the Personnel

Department are pulling Ryan poles one way and 52% of them are pulling him the other way incredibly complicated probably one of the more difficult to decisions field and we always say this in the history of the draft right uh yeah you always try to do that and

Embellish it a little bit but it’s really not an overstatement no overreaction to this and and really is not uh trying to you know push this into a Stratosphere it shouldn’t be in this is a tremendously tough decision for a couple reasons when you guys were talking you and Courtney about this

Trade right you didn’t give the Bears much in return for Justin Fields I didn’t see much coming the Bears way yeah okay I see a lot coming their way for Caleb maybe even more than you think right sometimes you over you give up a little bit more you go a little crazy

Because that’s the guy you deem the next Patrick Mahomes so you get a lot more for the number one pick which represents Caleb Williams okay than you would by trading Justin Fields then you say okay you know so that’s right there complicates matters immediately because

If you say it’s a push well it’s really not a push because Justin Fields isn’t bringing you back much and then you have to decide soon about what you’re going to be paying Justin Fields is he going to be elite is he just going to be good

K you have time to figure that out and maybe he could be a grand slam so there’s all kinds of arguments both ways I’ve said all long field and I don’t know if you agree if you can’t make this decision you’re sitting there and we’re going back and forth in our war room

Saying you think we should trade Fields you think we should keep them but you’re not really strong on either case you just have to at that point draft Caleb Williams it’s there was no strong convictions in that room and everybody’s kind of waffling a little bit and you

Can’t get a consensus built you have to take Caleb Williams as long as somebody in there the decision Mak say hey we don’t like him for whatever reason we don’t feel strongly about Caleb we’re not buying into the Patrick Mahomes comps we think there’s a quarterback

Maybe as good or better we think Justin Fields would rather roll with Justin it just depends on how they feel but if they can’t make that call and they just don’t know what they’re going to do with Justin if he’s the guy or he’s not the

Guy you got to take Caleb Williams if you like him and you believe strongly in him you better believe equally a strong and Justin so there’s got to be a to figure it out moment in that room field at some point yeah Mel if this was easy

It may have already happened or there might be more traction on it or the Bears might have been a little more transparent about which way they were leaning at this point but Ryan P to his credit has done a very good job of keeping things close to the vest other

Reasons why I think it’s complicated Mal and this is not straightforward is that Justin has done enough to convince you that there could be greatness in there the problem is that hasn’t been consistently enough right you see these moments of Brilliance from Justin that make you think this guy could be close

To the player he was at Ohio State and then you have moments that kind of leave you feeling cold right plays where he holds on to the football too long or doesn’t see the field as well as you would like a natural pocket passer to see it so there’s been some good and

There’s been some bad but for a franchise whose quarterback history is not the worst that we have ever seen in the NFL Mill but when was the last great SU stained Chicago Bears quarterback it has been a long time since we had a player at that position for this

Franchise so it’s tantalizing because of the history not just because of the player to me there is no obvious easy outcome but I do lean towards trading Justin Fields recouping whatever draft Capital you can get Mel and then using that number one pick on Caleb Williams and I’ll lean into this Dynamic and

We’ll talk about it more as we sort of evaluate these offers the timing of when a potential Justin Fields deal gets done is very very important because right now there are a lot of teams that feel like they need a quarterback and there’s not that many great options available be it

In free agency or beyond the first three quarterbacks in this year’s class but a couple of things could spin the wheel during the first week of free agency trades players changing teams and all of a sudden a couple of teams that might be Justin field Suitor smell all of a

Sudden are off the the table and The Leverage the Bears and the teams competing for Justin Fields have changes so there’s a lot of factors to dive into so I figure let’s do this melt let’s begin and we can kind of go back and forth um and ter and evaluating these

Offers but I want to present each offer that I WR wrote for Courtney for her to evaluate to you and we can talk through it let’s do the number one pick offers first these are picks uh offers made for the number one pick in the 2024 NFL

Draft and Mel after I submitted them my general feeling was that I went way tooo light on these offers that may sound jarring to fans when they hear what I offered but my belief is that the tax could be even more significant than what I presented to Courtney but here goes to

Move up from pick number two the Washington commanders to pick number one the commanders would send pick Two the 40th overall pick in this year’s draft which incidentally was Chicago’s pick that was traded in the montz sweat trade and a first round pick in 2025 the only way that Washington would

Do this m is that they’ have just one quarterback that they like and that would be their primary target you think it will be Caleb Williams what do you say about this three for one swap to move up one pick well you figure it’s you’re you’re going up to get Caleb

Who’s a local product if you’re Washington you have the NBA influence there so maybe you can get more than people think field for that pick from Washington uh in terms of going down to that second spot and then you say okay could you move again to somebody like

Drake or Jaden enough to say we got to go up and get that guy uh so I think if you’re a two can you move again you did it last year obviously we’ll get into you know how they feel about the number one pick which would be Caleb obviously

If you’re moving off of there you’re saying okay we have some concerns we feel Justin’s a guy we’re going to roll forward with uh so we’ll see how that goes but I think in terms of the pick that you’re talking about you’re getting in return the second round pick the

Montes sweat trade cost you that too montz sweat was a heck of a trade to let two teams in sacks he’s going to be a heck of a player moving forward that’s what you need it’s like a finisher off the edge they had that didn’t work out

With Claypool worked out with sweat so let’s end that that was a really good trade for Ryan po the other trade was not this one was made up for in terms of what you get in return I think bottom line here is field you gotta Believe

Justin Fields is the guy and and if you believe that then and you feel he can be and I don’t have a problem with that I like Justin you said what he did Ohio people kept question him significantly had significant questions coming out of Ohio State over didn’t believe in him

Then and probably don’t believe in him now I’m not a qbr fan so I don’t really care about that but they always throw that into the equation but I saw what Justin Fields was doing on that football field this year and I liked it and I lik

The progress he made love the way he competes is he perfect no are there many that are no there are not so again Mahomes is in a separate category from everybody else in this league okay there’s a there’s a distance between Patrick and everybody else he’s special

He’s one of the greatest of all time for a reason already yeah he’s still a young quarterback so we can’t compare that we have to look at where we are with Justin can he be in that next grouping can he be in that Josh Allen Lamar Jackson Mick

That’s what you have to decide here forget Patrick Mahomes he’s once in a lifetime yeah okay don’t don’t you got to get there Patrick’s gonna be around you gonna have other things going on to beat him Tom Brady at the end of his career beat Patrick Mahomes right so

Let’s worry about can Justin get to the Lamar Josh level let’s decide that yeah do we feel internally he can be that kind of quarterback if we feel he can be and we know the players in that locker room believe in him we know that that’s

A again yeah players that the Bears does that mean is that the end all Beall no but all that that locker room believes in its quarterback and it only puts more pressure by the way on the organization if you do trade him it better be a home

Run trade because the players would be saying wait wait we were cool with Justin we supported Justin we thought Justin had a really bright future if you trade him you’re going to have to deal with the potential Wrath of the locker room in the initial blowback but also if

It doesn’t work out B the locker room will be very well we’re adding to that locker room with Marvin Harrison Jr and that’s what we’re doing that’s just what we’re doing here by moving if we draft Caleb we don’t get Marvin we don’t get Odun we don’t probably get neighbors we

Don’t get any of the top three receivers at nine okay more than likely Nine’s not going to get you one of those guys so we have DJ Moore we need another receiver now we got Justin getting the big timer and we’re getting next another first all right and we’re getting a second round

Pick so we’re getting things going here by making that trade for Justin to get the help he needs we draft Caleb we don’t get that receiver at nine so that’s the discussion here if you believe Justin Fields can get to that Lamar Josh level you believe that how

Old is is Justin field 2 was his fourth year now so what gota be 25 yeah I mean he’s Young quarterback Young quarterback their quarterback’s coming into the draft as a rookie they 24 years of age yeah so to me if you believe that then you trade you you don’t trade Justin

Fields you trade the pick you trade the pick and get that Monumental return that bananza of a trade and help Justin Fields with better players around him yeah this may not be like a total Bonanza in the eyes of fans that are listening to this offer but it certainly

Is you know it’s something right it’s an extra first round pick you get that 40th overall pick coming back to you and you’re still in that cat bird spot at number two I think what’s interesting about this deal and the next offer that I’ll lump into it mail because I think a

Lot of what we just said in regards to this Washington offer applies to the next offer which is from the Patriots a pick number three it will be the Patriots plus their second round pick which is number 34 so even better than what a Washington offered and then their

2025 first which it’s so early M that it feels ridiculous to be forecasting how 2025 first round picks are going to look but I kind of think Washington is going to be better than the Patriot this upcoming season so that 2025 pick might in the eyes of Ryan poles be more

Valuable than the Commander’s 2025 pick but you can do either of those trades and still be in the quarterback market right like you could move from one to two because you say while Washington is fixated on just one quarterback maybe we evaluate Caleb and Drake May close enough Caleb and Jaden Daniels close

Enough that hey let them make the choice let them have the difficult choice at number one we’ll take the leftover of number two and still be able to trade Justin Fields would that be something that you would entertain at all two trades one in which move down from one

And also eventually trade Justin Fields yeah that all depends on how you evaluate the quarterbacks field you nailed it I mean it’s it’s how you feel about Drake May and and Jadon Daniels is there are they equal is one of those quarterbacks you’re not going to believe

Both of them are yeah GNA believe one of those two is right there with Caleb I don’t think they are myself in terms of rating they’re there on the board but in terms of a ra Caleb has that Elite rating okay Jaden got there this year

Where he’s a high pick but he’s not that super Elite Drake would have been and maybe could have been but he I look at how he played and nobody’s gonna sit there and tell me they didn’t see what we saw I didn’t see it on one throw or

Two throws I saw multiple throws where and games multiple games where he wasn’t playing like the second third pick in the draft so you’re basing him on excusing away some of the things we saw believing in the talent the approach and all that that we can get him to that

Level he didn’t play at that level if Drake May would have played at the level he did a couple years ago or improved on 2022 he would have been in that discussion but he didn’t people say well Caleb didn’t either well the first five games he did and then he had some

Struggles but he was I would say who was better in 2022 Drake May or Caleb Williams yeah Caleb Williams and Drake May was terrific but it was Caleb Williams for sure by I wouldn’t say miles but significant margin there Jaden Daniels wasn’t even in the discussion

Sure yeah okay so let let’s throw let’s go to 20202 I had a detractor of Caleb who says they should keep juson and trade that pick and not tra Caleb say I said well what did you see in 2022 did you not like him there oh no he was Sensational he was spectacular

And I go always go back to my Bill Walsh conversation a late great Bill Walsh when he sat with me at that expansion draft for an hour and said no when you see greatness you see something special if you see it on the field and it’s not

Consistent it’s up to us as coaches to make it consistent once he shows that Caleb showed it for a whole dag on year and end of his season through five games where we’re saying Caleb’s gonna win the Heisman he’s clearly the best player in college football okay so I I don’t know

Where if you if you said you admit that it wasn’t Caleb last year 2022 bothering you with something he did wrong or you saw something you didn’t like when we all loved them but you saw something that that that shi you away from kale if

That’s not the case then it’s up to your coaches to maintain that great level of Sensational unbelievable momes like sure okay I’m just giving it up on Mahomes saying we’re never gonna get there no quarterb well we were saying maybe Caleb could and now we’re not because of a

Couple games at the end of the year when things went aai for USC I’m going to put it all to blame on a quarterback I just think hey if Caleb would have finished out like he did 2022 we wouldn’t be having this discussion the only reason we’re having this discussion is because

People the Notre aim game a couple games the cow game where he wasn’t completing high percent they’re they’re going to a couple games with Caleb and they’re throwing away The Sensational that’s what they’re doing okay and that’s why this discussion is so fascinating because you can maybe I would say you

Can definitely argue each case and I could give you a strong argument as you should could do one and the other but they have decide which case is the strongest they both strong cases but which one is the strongest case fi all right so I want to plant my flag on this

Now and I don’t want to spoil the entirety of the podcast we l have a lot of other offers to consider here Mel one more for that number one pick and then three for Justin field which have some similar tenants to them but I would be on this track having evaluated these

Quarterbacks this year with the fundamental belief that kayy Williams deserves the number one pick in this year’s draft and a lot of subsequent drafts that have already taken place or a lot of Prior jobs that have already taken place excuse me my belief is that Caleb Williams is a worthy number one

Overall pick he allows the Chicago Bears to reset the financial clock which is a factor here and that his upside is better than Justin Field’s upside and I get it we haven’t seen it at all at the NFL level but that’s what the draft is every single year we are talking about

Players and projecting I project Caleb Williams based off what I have seen in two and a half Seasons a starter to become a better NFL quarterback than Justin Fields thus I would make the trade of Justin Fields recoup whatever I could get the best available offer out there and put every subsequent resource

Into surrounding Caleb Williams with the pieces he needs to succeed they’ve done a nice job in terms of finding two offensive tackles that can play DJ Moore is a star receiver they’ got you know a bunch of guys in the back field no star but they got a bunch of sort of a

Collection of backs your Mel it might come together sooner than people realize if they can find a way at pick nine to add one more offensive playmaker so I am of the Mind trade Justin Fields take Caleb Williams number one and I I suppose if there is an offer that has

Literally never been seen before you could persuade me otherwise Mel but I’m on team trade Justin Fields that’s the thing field you just said what is the trade gonna be is it g to be more because just because the chart says something doesn’t mean that Washington says a Gonzaga quarterback and we’re in

The NFC and we have the NBA influence where there’s five not 22 let’s give it all up if we if Caleb is that Mahomes like quarterback what do we care about an extra draft choice yeah all right we’re in a division here with the Giants who have Daniel Jones but they’re still

Wondering about that right we’re in a division with Dak Prescott really good quarterback and we’re have Jaylen Herz but the NFC isn’t the AFC in terms of quarterback so if we get this this Mahomes quarterback we’re set so we’ll give up the ranch okay uh to get this

Quarterback if we have to over you know give up more than everybody says we should so be it so if you can entice Washington to do that then it changes a little bit of dynamic but it doesn’t change this field yeah if you feel Caleb is a special quarterback y then it’s

Hard how can you pass him up I mean you this is the most important position in any sport you name the sport the most important position is QB in the National Football League and it’s the hardest thing to find Mel so when there’s one there for the taking in the same way

That every other quarterback comes with risk Caleb William does but when there is one sitting there for the taking at number one there’s no further effort required you write his name down you submit the pick Roger Goodell makes the announcement on April 25th at about 8:15

Eastern Time to me that’s the way to go you mentioned these ideas of potential massive draft uh potential massive offers that involve tons of draft it I don’t think this is you said if you get the ranch this might not be one of those 50,000 acre ranches that you see on

Yellowstone Mel but this might be like a nice cozy Ranch in like Upstate New York beautiful landscape got a lot of amenities to it you know it’s got I mean who knows thousands of cattle maybe not hundreds of thousands of cattle but you get what I’m pointing to how about this

Offer the third one that I came up and this one here might make Falcons fans either very excited or kind of maybe quiver a little bit the eighth pick in this year’s draft a first round pick next year second round pick next year a first round pick in 2026 and a second

Round pick in 2026 so 31s two tws for pick number one overall that’s a big price right there Mel if you’re Ryan PS are you saying take it I’m I’m going with Justin Fields going forward it’s a lot and you Atlanta gets the the local

Product they get the K who was from the Georgia they get Justin fields in a division that’s I said this Atlanta division with New Orleans iffy you think about Carolina iffy right you know where are we right now with Tampa Bay and Baker Baker probably back but Baker’s

Not spectacular right so you know if you do get that quarterback that is spectacular like you think Justin Fields can be I mean we still think Justin G be really really good I’m talking about him can he be in the Josh Allen Lamar Jackson category now some say no that’s

Too lofty an expectation but can he be good I thought he was pretty good this year I mean no he was Justin Fields has has his definitely got a unique skill set he’s one of he’s the second most dynamic runner in the league right now amongst all quarterbacks and on the

Short list that may sounds like I’m exaggerating but on the short list for the best ever running quarterbacks right I mean there’s what three total that have had a 1,000 yard rushing season he’s one of those three well it’s just the consistency right I mean it’s like

The clock often moves so slow as just in it’s processing State field it was the same at Ohio State yeah yep I remember the Indiana game where he threw three picks I remember I was doing back and forth with radio with the Darian Mel show and you’re running back another interception

Another intercept because he waited too long y so it’s got to process faster yes exact so the same problem at Ohio State is still there at times and to me that’s where but if you’re Atlanta I’m a big in the divisions I say it all the divisions dictate everything totally you got to

Have the best quarterbacks in the division you gotta have one of the best in that spot to be able to get to the playoffs and in that division of Justin fields in Atlanta which they don’t have a quarterback right now let’s face they have nobody all right yeah so to me if

You can make that move is it too much to give up yeah it’s too much to give up but Justin field is just an average Quarterback yeah but if you think he can be really good you make that deal because right now what is your option at

Atlanta kurk cousins what which what are you gonna do if you’re Atlanta if I said you that’s straight doesn’t happen what who’s Atlanta’s quarter are they gonna draft JJ McCarthy at eight are they bone Knicks at eight Choice mail that’s right yes and their GM Terry fno has not hid

From this at all right like not at all the tenor has right like last year they were we think Desmond Ritter’s got a shot we think Desmond Ritter can be our long-term answered quarterback well a year later they’re saying our number one priority this sub season by far is

Getting a quarterback so they are not mincing the message whatsoever by the way this scenario the Falcons trading for Justin Fields the offer made was for pick 43 so the other offer was the Holy Grail offer to go up to number one for Atlanta which we can Circle back to here

In a second but as I said Justin Fields has enough good skill sets to the 43rd pick in the draft now that to me me is a borderline it’s it’s not a no risk move but relative to what it would cost to move

Up from 8 to One 8 to2 or 8 to3 the risk is so severely limited over the next two years including the fifth year option Justin Fields will make in terms of the money he would make from the Falcons under 30 million total dollars obviously

You want that money to be well spent but even if it’s not 15 million bucks a year for a quarterback right now in the NFL I know that sounds crazy that’s like a bottom third of the NFL quarterback at best Mill so I don’t think it’s a crazy

Amount for Atlanta’s Ascend in terms of the draft compensation or the total cash and cap allotments that they would be committing to Justin fields to not make it worth that 43rd overall pick for all the factors that you just laid out would you consider the the full Monte though

The five picks for one for Atlanta to go up from 8 to one and take your pick of Caleb Williams jayen Daniels and Drake Manny that feels like a pretty steep price to pay it is and I think that’s again where it just gets down to and

We’re still early now people say where are we teams usually know who their quarterback is prior to Pro days prior to Pro days fi I I think Pro are a joke I really do they’re so ridiculous M ridiculous I know for a fact for a fact that number one pick overall

Quarterbacks the decision was made before any pro days they go to the pro days because they don’t want to tip their hand right show up for all the quarterback Pro days why because they have to but they in their mind you already know the see last time I checked

They stopped playing college football a while ago like three months ago for some of these guys season’s been over for a while you can do a lot of so due diligence since then to now and know what you have are you gonna talk to them at the combine yeah you’re gonna talk to

Everybody but the bottom line is I think they should already know is Caleb AR guy or is Caleb not our guy yeah do we like Drake or Jaden enough or do we like another quarterback back you like JJ McCarthy Bo Nix or Michael penck Jr there’s talk from people I speak to

Close to this situation that say that are in ch they’re gonna maybe draft another quarterback if they if they don’t take Caleb and they move forward with Justin yeah make that trade right and still take another one yeah that if they trade that pick overall and they move forward with Justin they’re still

Gonna look at a quarterback well okay what is that telling you okay that you know you want to say okay we want to kind of say let’s SP all our eggs in one basket here okay and have a chance that if we like another quarterback to maybe

Get him who knows if that other quarterback could be available when they’re picking who knows that but the bottom line here is the Caleb Williams evaluation in my opinion should be over certainly the Justin Fields evaluation is over you had him you know him right okay so you know enough about your guy

You know enough about that guy Caleb to be able to sit here right now and figure out within that room what our decision has to be now if they if if you say Caleb we’re a little if you on we loved you then let’s see if those offers let’s

Try to get a little bit more let’s play the game Ryan P is done a great job as you said not sipping his hand one way or the other nobody knows now could both of them be really good yeah Justin Fields could be really good maybe not great but

Be really good Kay Williams could be really good but not momes like but be really good and we look back and say hey they’re both pretty good going good sure but it right now you that decision is made I’m taking Caleb you said you’re taking Caleb because I can’t figure it

Out I don’t really know if Justin’s ever going to be that Caleb has shown he can be as the word was or even a detractor that says you got to keep Justin yep Sensational in 2022 unbelievable great well I’m gonna trust the Bill Walsh commentary and his philosophy on if you

Saw greatness then you got to coach and maintain greatness they call him Coach for a reason coach in front of the name for a reason Mel that’s what you taught me here um I’m gonna quickly address the offer from the Falcons going from 8 to

One and this is my stance on it it actually is not a player evaluation Mel it’s an asset management evaluation in my opinion I think Caleb Williams is a worthy number one overall pick if Atlanta trades up from 8 to one and they don’t take Caleb Williams to me they

Should have taken Caleb and they would have taken the wrong player at number one despite my love for Drake May and Jaden Daniels but there is a chance as there is with every prospect that enters the NFL draft that that player does not hit and if you pay the price of a eighth

Overall pick two extra first round picks and two extra second round picks and that player does not work out Mel that number one overall pick your franchise has been set back for a decade so maybe it’s a 10% chance maybe it’s a 20% chance maybe it’s a 40% chance who knows

But we have seen this book at least one year into it with the Carolina Panthers right who knows Bryce could turn things around he could look like an absolute star this season that would be great for Carolina and the league at large M but you have to be careful because if things

Continue like they did in Year One W in Carolina then we will look back at that deal last year as one of the worst in NFL history it’s about Asset Management the risk incurred by paying everything to move up to me outweighs what you can gain unless you know the guy is Patrick

Mahomes and nobody other than Patrick Mahomes is Mahomes himself so um I feel like it’s too much let’s focus in on deals that potentially could be made beyond the Atlanta deal for Justin Fields similar one here Mel the Steelers who are eight spots behind the Falcons

In round two would trade pick 51 plus a fourth round pick so two picks rather than just one but a worse second round pick if you were Ryan PS does this move the needle relative to 43 and maybe more importantly here do you think that the Steelers should be acting as or more

Urgently than the Falcons to acquire Justin Fields I think the Falcons should be the number one team for me because they have no quarterback they’re in a division where you can get that guy that can be the best in the division I’m talking about Justin field

And to me it’s cheap I mean you’re talking about Fields Fields not you you’re not giving up a lot to get Justin Fields yeah if you’re Atlanta the eighth pick overall is not in play here okay so you’re not talking you still have that eighth pick overall so when you get

Justin fields that to me is the best move if I’m Atlanta I understand the local I don’t care about local products not prodct it could be from Alaska I don’t care where you’re from it doesn’t matter to me he could be a California Kid it doesn’t matter he’s Georgia so be

It you know like Justin there’s a lot of pressure when you’re a local guy too right so the end of the day that’s how do they feel about y I’m Atlanta that’s the guy I Target to go up to one I it’s it’s too much it’s a lot it it costs I

Love Caleb if you can do it fine but then if say if you’re Chicago and Caleb’s your guide you’re not trading that number one pick the Justin Fields trade happens in I’m Atlanta I’m gonna let him go somewhere else for you’re talking about field give me the be give

Me the best offer somebody may give Chicago for Justin Fields give me give me even pay pay a little more you have to pay a little more what’s paying a little more in a trade for Justin Fields G to cost you all right now here’s the perfect scenario for the Chicago Bayers

Right now the perfect scenario in my opinion the first three teams in the draft are committed to taking a quarterback so that puts off the board Caleb Williams Jaden Daniels Drake May again you choose the order beyond that Kurt Cousins stays in Minnesota Baker Mayfield stays in Tampa Bay so

That leaves teams like the Steelers like the Raiders uh like the Falcons that’s three already right there who are saying to themselves we need a quarterback upgrade and the other thing that has to happen here m is well I don’t believe these guys are the kind of players that

I would want as my long-term Solutions quarterbacks like Jimmy garoo who we expect to be released by the Raiders Gardner mchu who did an admirable job filling in for Anthony Richardson this past season and by the way has started multiple years and been pretty darn solid you don’t want either of those

Guys to be the answer in Te in cities like Denver uh or Atlanta or Pittsburg right you don’t or or the Raiders and obviously Jimmy G would not be the answer in Las Vegas but what I’m saying is you don’t want those those teams to say all right well you know we could

Trade for Justin but you know we just do a one-year deal with with with Gardner muu instead we’ll give him one year and and 10 million bucks and we’ll be good there right if that happens if those guys either end up as backups somewhere else then you have potentially four

Suitors four Mel four Justin Fields as the most obvious Target amongst n-draft prospects and while you and I know the tale it’s oldest time is that quarterbacks are going to go earlier than they should in the draft mail if teams say the track record is not great

The track record is not good when you force quarterbacks up the board history has shown us that generally when you force a quarterback up the board it ends up being an inval an asset you wish you could have done differently so those teams buy into that mindset and say all

Right let’s talk turkey again with Chicago and it’s that second round pick plus more Mel I don’t think as a one is on the table for any of those teams because between Denver Las Vegas Atlanta and Pittsburgh the worst of those first round picks is 20th and I think that’s

Too rich Mill and I certainly wouldn’t pay the eighth overall pick if I were Atlanta so I think it’s whoever you are talking to their second round pick plus some more that is like the royal flush outcome for the Bears the Justin Fields trade yeah and then you get into the

Whole Kenny picket in Pittsburgh and I say how do you feel about Kenny picket it seems like they I think I know the answer you drafted him you know you you develop him he had the injury but he’s shown flashes he’s shown he can be a maybe if he’s Kirk Cousins and your

Pittsburgh you happy feel if he develops into a Kirk Cousins type of quarterback can he pick it I would be thrilled I would do I I can’t do a backflip but I would do several backflips somehow I’d find a way yeah so so for Kenny picket that’s what you’re if you’re saying

You’re the Steelers and you’re Mike Tom that’s what you’re hoping he can be Y and I said before this division are you kidding me Joe burrow Lamar Jackson Deshawn Watson in the AFC Kurt Cousins type with Kenny picket and I’m saying best case scenario that’s what I see is

The best case scenario for him if they feel like then they say hey let’s give him and see what he can do is can Justin Fields be better than that yeah he could possibly be because you talk about him as a great dual threat Runner right is

His pass going to get to that point when you help him a little more with another receiver to help at DJ Moore KT keeps developing all these things come together so again I don’t remember a f I’ve been doing this for 46 years and I remember back in 83 when the Baltimore

Coast drafted John Elway and basically gave him away to the Denver Broncos show that number one pick remember that number one pick John Elway one of the greatest of all time yep goes to the Denver Broncos for Chris Hinton because it was that was the first round pick to

Year John went number one he went early like fourth pick to to den so Chris Hinton an offensive lineman from Northwestern yeah the number one pick the next year which became Ron Sut a guard from Maryland a guard from Maryland and Mark Herman a backup at best quarterback that’s all that’s all

The Colts got for John Elway think about that that’s asset M mismanagement right there that was a 198 that was a giveaway that was a giveaway that was a Christmas present of the Denver Broncos and how’d that work out multiple super five Super Bowls and two Super Bowl victories for

John Elway and what did they get because of John Elway trade the Baltimore Colts Le Baltimore right that led to that because look what happened so the bottom line is when you think about where we are right now the fascination and the Intrigue of a number one pick overall I

Haven’t ever seen it to be to this where it’s that difficult because you have a quarterback that’s shown and you have a quarterback that has drawn comparisons to Patrick Mahomes and you’re a team that is on the cusp of really being good they’re kind of with the bear the Lions

Or the Bears are right now but the lions were a few years ago you make that argument right so this is you know this is unbelievably intriguing for me I I haven’t seen it in 46 years I go back to when the Elway I was here when you knew

This guy was special but you had other factors involved but and the other factor involved here is Justin fields which complicates it and makes it a very difficult decision for the Chicago Bears all right last offer and I’ll just make it I’ll spell it out for people we don’t

Need to Hash it out too much it’s by far the least likely in my opinion it’s the Raiders who would offer their 2024 third plus wide receiver Hunter Renfro on a massively reduced contract probably a non-starter I I tell this to people who ask me about the Raiders all the time

Their offensive coordinator Luke gy of course the Bears former offensive coordinator has very strong opinions about Justin one way or the other right there’s no way he’s in the middle on Justin he either thinks Justin is the second coming of Patrick Mahomes or he thinks that Justin Fields is not the

Kind of starter you can win with so um I’ll mention it I think it’s extremely unlikely but uh the Raiders absolutely need a quarterback upgrade somehow some way this offseason let’s PIV into our next topic here m which is interesting in so many ways you would think that the

Guys at the top of the board should be easy players to rank right they’re the best ones but sometimes that’s not the case so let’s dive into some prospects and I have not heard your list at all this is your list I am just simply reacting off of them grab my list right

Here right yeah say that does that mean it’s a lengthy one let’s dive through a handful of players that you find to be extremely difficult to evaluate the season and we’ll dive into why I’ll start out with wide receiver Keon Coleman yeah Florida State because we

Want to see there was some quiet games there was a couple drops on catchable balls he had Jordan Travis who was a Heisman candidate till he got hurt right he had Johnny Wilson on the other side he had Trey Benson running the football he had the Abel being the all-around guy

There was a lot of weapons in that offense for Jordan Travis he was a key guy and it’s got the basketball background you think about to be able to High Point the ball win contested situations be the Red Zone guy I had him really high when it started and what

Happened that first game boom he popped wow Keon Coleman but there were some games where at the Collegiate level you should be taking over those games and he really didn’t some games where he wasn’t as productive wasn’t I say a little quiet then the couple drops so for me

How fast is he what’s his 40 time going to be that’s one of those guys at the combine we’re going to wait and see and that’s going to determine we talk about speed and testing out with those measurables Keon Coleman is either going to be coming out of that combine saying

Wow put him in the middle of the first round or let’s put him in the second round that he has a lot riding on that combine pro day for Keon so I would say Keon Coleman for that reason field Leu latu okay because I don’t know how the

Medical is gonna be I don’t know how teams gonna feel about a neck he played he played great he’s a natural pass rusher which everybody wants how high you put him J Jaylen Phillips won 18 I have a little higher than that is that that’s the tough one for me so I’ll

Start Outfield just I don’t want to go all five or six but those two Keon Coleman on the offensive side wide receiver Florida State and latu outside linebacker PES rusher from UCLA on the defensive side all right so to address Coleman M people just need to understand

While he’s awesome he is that power forward in the Red Zone size great speed who knows as you said like next week is massively influential for Keon Colman if he runs in the four fours m game on right that might change the way that people view they might say all right

This guy is a first round pick because the catch radius the Red Zone stuff is so good he was a pun Turner earlier in his college career like that shows Vision it shows ball handling it shows change of Direction a lot of things that are very important but if he runs

Something in like the low 4 sixes M how many wide receivers are cracking the first round with that kind of 40 time Leu latu I’ve decided on something now I’m waving the White Flag medically because I have no idea I’m not a doctor never claim to be one I have no idea but

As I thought about I updated this in my recent top 25 that was updated last night it should be on the site by Friday at this week I have is my highest ranked defensive player and it’s not like he was low my board prior to this he was

Just below Dallas Turner but every time I go back and watch him I think to myself what can’t this guy do isn’t this a league in which we would do anything to acquire a pass rusher the second highest paid position in all professional football right now is pass

Rusher the guys at the top of the Heap the TJ watts of the world the miles Garrett the Nick Bas etc etc they’re making the second most amount of money behind the quarterbacks we to to is a readymade pass rusher I get it the athleticism is not going to be as Elite

As Dallas Turner but there is an art to pass rushing as well he’s mastered it already I mean the stuff that he did this past season when teams were constantly giving him a ton of attention led to a guy like you know the Murphy twins who are also draft prospects here

Had good Seasons this year not because they aren’t good players M but also aided by the fact that those guys are being blocked by like running backs and tight ends left and right leat latu is the best defensive player in the draft and I can’t call the medical one way or

The other M but I’ve decided that until someone tells me it is absolutely going to impact his draft status I’m leaving the top of my defensive board and not thinking twice about it yep I can’t argue with you on that one all things being equal he’s the best offensive

Player in this draft Yeah so we’ll find out next week so we’re two for two on guys that have big combine weeks ahead of them who else is difficult for you I’m gonna go right to a multitude of players at defensive tackle I was trying to rank because I’m mine’s going to be

Up Friday as well my new top 10’s the new top 25 up Friday tomorrow on espn.com along with yours field I’m anxious to see how where we differ where we agree yep defensive tackle position was supposed to be great it turned out to be very average it kind of recovered

A bit and it’s going to recover if a couple things happen and I can’t figure out Johnny Newton at Illinois yeah loved him in some games thought he could be moved in other games I thought he was a little I would say onedimensional but I think he’s got some versatility three

Technique all that how does he fit in scheme wise is going to be up to the D line in the system you have in place and I get to the two Texas kids yeah here we go this is the big problem I have I know what tanre sweat is he’s a mammoth

You’re not running up the gut against us and we’re going to I’m going to free up my linebackers to flow the football type Sam Adams type defense hod NADA that type of guy the late great Tony saragusa right he’s that kind of guy remember when Ray Lewis was making all those

Plays man goose and you had Adams and you said well we got to get n once they now we got to get n we got to free Ray Lewis up right that’s what you need that’s tanre sweat Byron Murphy the second he is one of those guys you get

You dream about as to what he could be in terms of disruptive we can coach him we can develop him he’s got the explosiveness and the quickness he has more upside in terms of being disruptive and getting sacks right then tandre sweat does okay tandre sweat if we were

In the 90s it’d be a top 15 pick yep oh yeah iron Murphy the second fit fits what guys want what defensive line coaches want what you need in this league but was he dominant no there were games at Texas where I was underwhelmed so I’m sitting there with Byron Murphy

The second saying wow I see what everybody’s saying I’m dreaming about what he can be I’m I’m sitting there thinking oh now I see Von Murphy the second I can see what he can be but I haven’t seen it yet at Texas in the Collegiate ranks where there’s aogs I’ll

Say it for the first time this year another occupation guys the AOG okay NFL the best in the business so there then you get to another guy Mason Smith from LSU I love the potential they raved about him dominating fall practice Brian Kelly did he gets hurt the first game

This year he’s banged up but then he’s playing well late in Wisconsin game Mason Smith Michael Hall Jr at Ohio State under siiz but he’s quick and he pops and he can on the Notre R game or you kidding me but then he can get rooted out because he’s under size so

He’s kind of little onedimensional there right I you I’m I look at the defense Leonard Taylor III based on 2022 he’s going to be a first-rounder guaranteed he where’s the production so the defensive tackle spot to me has a host of tough guys to a number of tough guys to evaluate so I’ll

Cover I covered a lot of them feel they’re all tough yeah I’ll pick a few from there that stand out to me we’ll start with dandre sweat the biggest man of that entire group by the way the biggest player probably he’s up there for biggest player in the the entire

Draft 362 PBS was what his listed weight was down at the University of Texas he did not weigh in at the at the senior bll Mill and that to me is sort of one part of this story is that if you’re looking for a player who if you went to

YouTube and just looked up the devre sweat highlights it’d be the best highlight tape of any defensive player in all of college football right as a matter of fact during the Senior Bowl week there were reps there’s a rep against Bo limmer that has continued to

Make the rounds Bo is a you know probably what fourth round pick or something like that uh from Arkansas Center guard Prospect who had a good career for the Razer backs and by the way Bo limmer one of the strongest players in the entire Arkansas program this past year I’m talking weight room

Strength and functional strength too sweat just runs right over I mean he it just like he he looks like the wind like blowing over a branch or something it’s unbelievable he can do that to you in small doses the question I have Mel is

Am i g to get a guy who’s an A+ on some number of snaps and then a c minus on other snaps because of the fact that at his size it is simply difficult to stay on the field for a huge number of snaps per game hod natas are like rare birds

Now like you can’t find guys at his size that are playing 65 70% of the snap so even if dandre s is playing 45 50% of the snaps for a team what efficacy are you getting on a snapin snap out basis which is why when I’m evaluating those

Two Texas players I take the player and Byron Murphy who maybe he’s more of an A minus than an A+ but you’re getting that much more consistently that’s been my big drawback on Deon Dre s which is why I have a hard time using a first round

Pick on him yeah keep in mind they pick their spots all the great ones even pick their spots yeah you can’t go 100 miles an hour in every snap in the NFL you can’t when you’re when you’re 300 plus pounds can’t do it yeah so you know you

Have to pick your spots and they all do all of them do but they pick it at the right time I’ll go to Chris Jones he always shows up at the Go critical moment no doubt right okay why’d he go a second round of the draft because he

Picked his spots right they picked their spot you that’s why he wasn’t a top 10 people like Chris Jones went in the top 10 at his draft he went the second round okay and the only reason he’s a Chan City chief to reiterate is because they didn’t get Paxton Lynch yeah who they

Wanted okay they traed back and got Chris Jones next year they got Patrick momes about that enough but the bottom line is defensive tackles has always been difficult to evaluate for that reason they do have to because of their phys their physical stature pick when they are going full steam ahead when

They see a play on the other side I’m not going to give it one I got to come back for the next snap and and and try to maybe get in there and wreak some Havoc so they’re not the the linebacker the s that you see flying around every

Play and doing things and going 100 miles an hour so that’s where you got to think put it all in the perspective field and realize there are times where you’re going to be wondering what but that’s just the way they have to play the game yeah he but that to me is why

He’s a second round pick a guy that if you took him at 42 I’d feel great about it if you took him at 22 I’d be nervous about tandre sweat and every single snap getting what you need to justify that level of investment the only another one

That I want to mention for right now Mel because we could do an entire defensive tackle rip is Johnny Newton who we love I don’t think anybody who watches Johnny Newton for a second does not love the player seven and a half sacks this past year the Big 10 defensive player of the

Year all the accolades were welld deserved the huge huge question will be disruptive as I’ll get out against the pass what’s he going to be against the run and I get it we are in a passing league but still as you know Mel one of the great offenses do when there’s a

Player who’s vulnerable they say fine we’ll just chunk run you to death right the Chiefs this year were a defensive team first they were a passing team on offense to a degree but they also have this Dynamic running game now with Isaiah Peko seventh round pick of course

Just a couple of years ago where they see a vulnerable defensive lineman they’re going out they’re going to attack that player snap in and snap out that to me in in my evaluation and also just hearing from scouts is probably why if Johnny ends up being more of a fringe

First round pick as opposed like a top 15 pick which I might have thought coming into the year that might be one of the big Roots behind it and we’ll see on the arm length next week as well because the arm length uh in Indie will

Tell you part of the story I’ll give you one more guy field for me Cooper de yeah the Iowa Corner people say well he’s a safety he’s not a corner love the player and of course he was injured late in the year I’m probably gon to be end

Up being higher on Cooper dein and some because I love the fact that if you can’t get it done here he can go there so you got a security blanket wrapped up in Cooper Dee okay so for me and he when he’s healthy he would test off the charts so

Here’s a kid an Iowa defensive player we saw Jack Campbell go Mid First everybody was surprised right Lucas vaness Riley Moss list goes on and on of these Iowa players right the Kirk fence and that staff coach up Bill Parker coaches up and Cooper deine is a guy NFL Ready

Player heck of a play I’m probably going to have him rated higher than a lot of people field I don’t know I see for Jackson’s late I I think NFL team’s going to be want say all over the mat but I’m anxious to see where Cooper dein

Comes off the board come late April cuz he’s a tough guy to to mock he’s a difficult guy to rate uh when you stack him up against the true cover Corners that you know are locked into that spot whether it’s you know you know Wiggins at Clemson whether it’s Arnold at

Alabama you know whether it’s Mitchell at Toledo whoever it may be rake straw at Missouri whoever you’re talking about that where does Cooper dein safety he’s the best safety in the draft want to project him to safety he’s better than nuben at Minnesota or kenchin at Miami

He’s he’s the best safety you put him there and say that’s where he’ll be I think he can play corner I’m not giving up on on dein being a really good corner so I have him right there pretty highly rated because I love the security blanket that that option becomes I’m

Playing him MC corner and I know that the functionality is there for him to be the versatility is him for there there for him to be a safety my game plan if I draft him is let’s keep it at corner because he was terrific there Mel like

He is such an impact player at corner who can do a lot of other things uh this is going to sound I hope it doesn’t come across as like as like setting too low of a bar even though I think this guy’s a heck of a player but as a corner you

Can do some Mike Hilton type stuff Pittsburgh Steelers uh and then eventually the Bengals Mike Hilton like the kind of guy who can impact the game as a Blitzer he can make plays in the running game as well on top of being able to really cover I think that the

Ceiling is much higher for Cooper deine um I think more so than any other players at the top of their class at their respective positions the quarterback groom Mel the the margin between one and five is like this I think I have the highest rated of those

Five that you mentioned those are my top five I believe the highest rated in My overall top 25 is 13 and the lowest rated is like 21 so it’s a quarterback run right it’s hard to figure him out and to go to your Mike Hilton comp I

Think Mikey s still from Michigan is a Mike Hilton type of guy there’s a great one too I that’s the guy that’s gonna probably because of Hilton who went undrafted out of Old Miss after having a career where he just was a thorn in the side of an offense he always showed up

And he popped the critical moments Mikey still a Jim harball don’t be shocked if he’s an LA charger oh third if you Mike were still heading one day three to the Chargers because Jim Hardball loved that kid yeah love him former wide receiver a total star on

Special teams as well so yeah Cooper Jee I hear you because it’s hard to like the hard part for me is just sussing out which player deserves to be quarterback one versus quarterback five I don’t think there’s a Christian Gonzalez or Deon Witherspoon in this year’s Class M

But I think there are five guys who are all fantastic that all have a very comfortable grade anybody else any last player that was difficult for you I Sav The Best For Last I think I terms of the most difficult player in my opinion to evaluate and put a grade on and that

That is JJ McCarthy I am all over the place on JJ love everything about his makeup love the way I know he’s going to test athletically because I love those kind of I love what he did how he responded in that national title game when they were up against it momentum it

Swung you know they were getting back in it they they had guys open penx just never found his rhythm but the bottom line was they were challenged and when he used his legs at the most opportune moment he threw the ball when he had to delivered some perfect strikes that were

Not were not caught they were drop one by Loveland one by Johnson yep I love the way he come hey he didn’t care about handing that ball off in the Penn State game he’s a team guy whatever it takes to win Tome Boors calling run plays hey

I we’ll run it down your throat right we got Blake Corin we got this offensive line we got Edwards hey we’re fine we got we got seven eight offensive linemen we hey play to our strength right not saying I’m a weakness it’s just hey if

We can win a game how the last time I checked it’s winning the game it’s not worry about the margin winning the game so for for for a team guy tough guy super competitive athletic is all heck he’s going to test out really athletic at the combine pro

Day does he have a hoetzer no but can make every throw yes but he didn’t have to carry the team you never and you wouldn’t the wow moments I thought saw a couple in the national title game but it wasn’t something you saw over a four quarter

Period he jumped at as as a franchise quarterback to me JJ I’m at 23 on my big board 23 24 area field I don’t think I can move him any higher he go higher possibly yes he will I’ll ask you where’s he on your on your board

How do you feel about JJ he to me is the most because he’s a quarterback and that’s the most important position in all sports he’s the toughest player to put a ranking on let me make sure that I didn’t as I judged these last night so I

Want to make sure that I have this correctly before I say something inaccurately about where JJ ended up he ended up not ranked for me in my top 25 here M uh and I thought about it he was he was 25 in my most recent Edition my

Uh new player at player 25 is Darius Robinson from Missouri who feel great about him right I I love that guy chop Robinson became my 25 this week God chop is going to be awesome at the com by next week different conversation for a different day but I’ve talked to people

At the highest levels of evaluation general managers around the NFL and they’ve all told me the same thing Mel nobody knows on JJ McCarthy anybody who tells you they know exactly what he’s going to be Mel is lying to you you’re right the sample size is just so much

Smaller on him I’m not saying that JJ McCarthy is going to be a better player or a worse player than B knck I’ll have him ranked a little bit higher I think by the time we get to draft but if you don’t know what B knck is by the time we

Get the April 25th it’s because you haven’t worked hard enough the guy started more games than any other quarterback in FBS history JJ McCarthy is incredibly difficult to find out on top of the fact that he’s basically a full-time starter for two years Mel as you mentioned didn’t have to do that

Much relative to other players I’ve used this stat before on the show but I’ll reiterate it in his last six games of the season with you know that was the meat of the schedule you got Ohio State Penn State Iowa and the Big 10 championship game and then of course the

Two playoff games Washington and Alabama 847 passing yards 847 that’s like 145 a game Mel that’s just different that’s again 145 yards that’s a that’s a half of Michael penck Jr right let me ask this fi let me ask where where and who was his Elite wide receivers um he

Didn’t have a well I think Roman Wilson is a h good player really gooder but where was where was the Marvin Harrison Jr Rome dun where was the Malik neighbors where was the Brian Thomas Jr Jad had two of those guys right of course so again where was they didn’t

Have that was the best player Centric offense run oriented offense offensive line he didn’t he didn’t have that you know he really never had that Elite wide receiver who he could say I gotta go-to guide I got to feed that ball eight to 10 times a game too I completely agree

The the receiver talent I mean every quarterback prospect that we’ve talked about has amazing wide receiver talent that being said I don’t think it was bad players he was playing it’s the best offensive line in college football you know it should to me it should have won

The Joe Moore award for the third straight season this year great season for Washington I thought Michigan’s offensive line was even better they’ve got a I think a future you know top 50 pick maybe a first round pick next year Clin level a tight end you know they’re

Gonna have like Robin Wilson’s probably going to be a top what 75 pick at worst right somewhere in that range Cornelius Johnson could be a day three pick as well right I mean not a star AJ Barner transfer from Indiana maybe a day three

Pick as well right um but I I hear you on the argument that way but I still have a hard time saying that like his his proficiency as a passer was on the same level any of the guys that we have talked about this is why it’s

Complicated Mel is that like I can sit here and tell you some traits that I do like and by the way there’s a really good chance he goes in the top 15 picks in the draft really good chance and the throws matter when you don’t throw the

Ball you know like a lot of these quarterbacks college quarterbacks they make a bad throw you forget about it because the next five passes are coming out of his hand right you’re not run throw throw throw throw throw and when you’re doing that the error you don’t

Notice right you notice an error when even a shortstop he gets a ton of ground balls hit to him in the course of a game right he’s gotting a lot of action he’s getting a lot of action the one he booted in the first inning right do you

Remember that when he made a great play going even the ho he went yeah made made things happen did his job the rest of that game JJ had had to be on and you remember I remember the Maryland game right before the half yeah they got a

Chance to extend after Maryland got back in the game get a touchdown on the board throws a pick in the end zone right didn’t see the tender bad read he throws three picks against Bowling Green the two pick sixes against TCU in the in the semi-final game a couple years ago he

When he made an error you remembered it because he wasn’t thrown the ball 50 times a game you okay so he was back in the Troy Amman days 25 passes game right yeah 15 for 25 was a pretty good day back in the day in the NFL it was okay

That that’s where JJ was with Jim Harbaugh was kind of old school where the passes mattered and you remember the error more than you would with a guy who throws it all over the yard yeah here’s where I land this is where I land on

This one thing I know for sure Mel the gap between quarterback three and quarterback four is large in my book it’s a gap it’s a it’s a golf right whether you think it’s Jaden Daniel as quarterback three Caleb Williams as quarterback three or Drake may as quarterback three I feel terrific if I’m

The Patriots and I take any of those guys quarterback three third player over I feel great about my investment if I take JJ McCarthy eighth overall or 11th overall the Vikings 12th overall the Broncos 13th with the Raiders 20th with the Steelers makes me queasy he I’ll throw names out remember Christian

Ponder remember EJ Manuel remember remember Jake Locker yeah yeah I mean we go back in the history of the draft and say all these guys like say were overdrafted may can he pick it yeah maybe yeah yeah so again you’re talking about teams have to have them can you

Talk yourself into some of these guys sure you can I wouldn’t do it yeah you can talk yourself into a lot of these guys field you can do it and again that’s why it’s going to be real interesting to see you know who as you

Say is qb4 is it JJ Is It Michael penx Jr is it B Knicks you know it’s it’s still a battle but I do think ath atically at the combine and I I said does combine really matter but I think it will show how how athletically gifted

JJ McCarthy is man it really is a fascinating player to discuss we could do an entire JJ McCarthy segment a show probably just on the quarterbacks I’m sure we’ll do that and so much more but we are back here on Monday another edition of first draft coming around the

Corner he is Mel Kyper Jr he is a legend enjoy your second football free weekend mail which actually means that you and I will be diving in I got mock draft coming out Wednesday I got work to do pal I got calls to make people to speak

To information to be had Mo 2.0 for me will be out on Wednesday the I believe it’s the 28th 28th that’s right yeah and I actually called my most difficult grading teacher back from elementary school and I I said you know what are the trick of your trade here because I

Got to make sure that I come with a hammer on Wednesday from my grade for Mel’s mock 2.0 we will talk to you all then Mel have a great weekend we’ll talk to you guys on Monday the next first draft can’t wait He