- 2 days ago
Charles Davis joins the show to break down the Miami Dolphins trading Jaylen Waddle, explaining why the move makes sense for both sides with Denver in win-now mode and Miami focused on rebuilding with added picks and cap flexibility. He also weighs in on the Dolphins signing Malik Willis and how he compares to quarterbacks in this year’s NFL Draft class. The conversation expands to draft prospects out of Miami, including Rueben Bain and Akheem Mesidor.
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00:00All right, welcome back, and a good morning to everybody out there.
00:04Well, when you got a lot of draft picks,
00:06you might as well talk to guys that are covering the draft.
00:09Charles Davis, CBS NFL football analyst,
00:12and just spent a full week at the Combine for the NFL Network
00:16with the coverage as well, and got some mock drafts out.
00:20And CD has joined us.
00:22We got Kim Boecamper with us and Omar Kelly.
00:24We got a full house, Charles.
00:25How you doing, brother?
00:27I'm doing well.
00:28It's good to hear that all of you are there together.
00:30That is pretty cool.
00:32What's up, Bo?
00:33What's up, Omar?
00:35We're just here at the Joe Rose Radio Combine.
00:38That's what we got going on here.
00:40We wanted to see how long your arms are today, Bo.
00:43Bo's got long arms.
00:44I see why it was a first-round pick.
00:45It makes sense now.
00:47Yeah, you can see that with Bo.
00:48I just hope I don't get cut at this group.
00:51No, no, no.
00:52You're in good shape.
00:53Hey, so, boy, all of a sudden, over the last couple weeks,
00:59Miami Dolphins are serious about draft picks.
01:0211 picks, seven now in the first 94.
01:05First of all, what did you think?
01:06Everybody had a strong opinion yesterday about Waddle getting traded to the Denver Broncos
01:12for a first- and a third-round pick, basically.
01:15What did you think?
01:16Yeah, I think that John Eric Sullivan, when he took this job, when he was tapped to this
01:22post, there was a lot of discussion about what Miami wanted to do with a brand-new general
01:29manager.
01:30And I don't know that there was an edict that came out of it, but I think there was a
01:33philosophy.
01:34This is what we want to do.
01:36This direction we'll go.
01:37And I'm sure that's the vision he presented to, you know, Mr. Ross and crew.
01:42And he is executing it, I think, very well.
01:45When the news came down yesterday that Jalen Waddle had been traded to Denver, first thing
01:50I thought was, okay, what's the compensation?
01:52And when I heard a first and a third, I was like, congratulations, John Eric Sullivan.
01:57I thought it was a great move for Miami based on where they are right now, what they're trying
02:01to get done, where they're going.
02:03I thought it was really good.
02:05Is Waddle an excellent receiver?
02:07Obviously.
02:08Denver's coveting him.
02:09But Denver's in a position where they feel like they missed a great opportunity last year
02:14to be in the Super Bowl.
02:15You know, we use that going for it term.
02:17They're geared up to go for it.
02:19Miami's in a different spot.
02:21They're geared up to rebuild, restart, whatever word you want to use.
02:26And I like where John Eric Sullivan went with this.
02:28Well, before I turn it over to all these guys here, everybody's got a ton of questions.
02:33I want to ask you, how deep is this draft now that, and obviously I'm talking selfishly
02:38because of the Miami Dolphins, wide receiver, pass rusher, and cover corners.
02:43How do you feel about those three positions on potentially what's coming out?
02:48Yeah, wide receiver, loaded.
02:50I think we'll say that from now until we start playing football the way we played growing
02:56up.
02:57A lot of wishbone, option football, all that.
02:59If we're going to pitch it and catch it, there'll be wide receivers every year in the draft.
03:04Won't be a problem.
03:04And this year is no different.
03:06Edge rusher is a pretty deep draft of edge rushers as well as interior defensive linemen.
03:12And the corners, I think there'll be a pretty good run on corners early.
03:17And when I say early, meaning in the first round, we may have a pretty good flurry right
03:21there.
03:21And because of the way the game's played, you got to have some answers to all these
03:26receivers, right?
03:27So now we're getting third receiver, fourth receivers in college flipping over and turning
03:33into corners.
03:34Rick Wolin was a receiver at UTSA, flipped over, became a corner, and now he became one of the
03:40coveted free agents in this year's draft, just for one example.
03:43So we see the Dolphins, as you talk with Sullivan, picking up draft choices, but I think everybody
03:51knows that if Malik Willis has to be the guy that makes something happen on this football
03:56team, right?
03:57Yeah, no question about it.
03:59I mean, that's what you've done.
04:00And when I say you, meaning that that's what the Dolphins have done.
04:04What I like about picking up Malik Willis at the number you're picking him up is that
04:09you're not grabbing one of those, you know, veteran quarterbacks and essentially kicking
04:14your decision down the road.
04:16You've made a decision.
04:17You're going to go young.
04:18I think everyone has their eyes open that, yes, we are really, gambling's the wrong word,
04:24but we are predicting that he's got a chance to get better because we know the experience
04:30just isn't really there, right?
04:31We're talking about very few starts.
04:33You're going to get a lot of Matt Flynn conversations, right?
04:36You know, coming out of Green Bay and going to Seattle, I think it's a little bit different
04:41with this youngster, but Matt Flynn did have that monster game before he went to Seattle
04:45and then Russell Wilson beat him out.
04:47I think if the number they're getting him for, it's a reasonable deal.
04:51They like the development they've seen and they have their chance to develop it themselves,
04:54but everything predicates off of him to start off.
04:58But I like betting on the upside with him as opposed to one of those veteran quarterbacks
05:04that you kind of know what you're getting and now you're hoping,
05:082027, can we draft another quarterback?
05:10Well, we all thought 2026 was going to be a loaded year for quarterbacks.
05:14Guess what?
05:15It is not.
05:17Yeah.
05:18Charles, let me ask you this question because Malik Willis is so young, so green, so inexperienced.
05:23I know a lot of people see the six starts that he made the last two years,
05:26but that's really nothing.
05:28If he were in this draft class of quarterbacks, where do you think he would stack up?
05:34How high do you think he would be taken?
05:36I know he's a veteran player, but he's still a young, green quarterback.
05:40And what would you evaluate him based on?
05:45Yeah, I think that in this year's group, Omar, you'd be talking similar to when he came out.
05:50You remember his year was him and Desmond Ritter.
05:55And there was a lot of discussion that because we were so desperate for quarterbacks,
06:00that all of a sudden he was getting pushed into mock drafts in the top 15, top 10.
06:05There was also, I think I might have even said, hey, Pittsburgh at 21, 22, whatever it was.
06:11Well, they chose Kenny Pickett.
06:13And then no one else bit on a quarterback till the third round.
06:18So I think he would be in a very similar position, Omar, in what we're doing in this year's draft.
06:23This year's draft is Mendoza and Chase, right?
06:27And Mendoza proved himself out over time because going into the season, Mendoza was not penciled in as the number
06:34one overall pick.
06:35All right, we've seen this happen in recent years where quarterbacks push their way up to the top.
06:41Burrell wasn't going into his last year.
06:44Zach Wilson wasn't in his last year.
06:47Cam Ward wasn't.
06:48Cam Ward was not going into his last year.
06:51In fact, all three of them, I know for a fact, teams had third-round, fourth-round grades on guys
06:58like that, okay?
07:00So things changed, and obviously it moved.
07:04I'll tell you very quickly, I was in New Orleans to do a game Burroughs year,
07:08and it was in September, and a very good friend of mine who scouts for the Saints grabbed me at
07:13practice and said,
07:13hey, have you seen the LSU kid this year?
07:16I said a little bit.
07:17I haven't watched much.
07:17He said, you better grab that tape.
07:19This kid is making a major move.
07:21And I was like, you're telling me?
07:23I said, what did you have on him last year?
07:25He said, fourth-round grades.
07:26I said, where is he going now?
07:28He's going to push for number one overall, and I about fell out of my chair.
07:31It turned out he was right.
07:32That's what happened with this.
07:34But in this case, Mendoza has done it.
07:37I don't think anyone else is in that consideration.
07:39Ty Simpson's kind of the consensus number two guy.
07:44And then after that, Nussmeyer, who was talked about being in the first round, right?
07:49Carson Beck, who was talked about being in the first round, were into those guys.
07:54Would they go in the second?
07:56Huh?
07:56Right?
07:57Drew Aller.
07:58Drew Aller, who I would not put in that consideration at all.
08:02That's just me.
08:03I mean, he looks the part, but there's no way I'm putting him in that category at this
08:10stage, but he sure looks it, and someone will bite.
08:14I think they're all third-round guys.
08:17And Willis, in this year's draft, would be in contention, I think, with Ty Simpson to
08:22be the number two guy.
08:24That's what I think, if we were talking about this year's draft, and maybe much more in
08:30that grouping of where he went in his first draft, which is the third round.
08:33Nothing wrong with that, but that's just kind of where we are with these quarterbacks.
08:38We're trying to find a way to push them and push them up.
08:41And a lot of times, you pay the price, you end up with Christian Hackenberg.
08:44Charles, I'm just curious.
08:46We got three guys at UM as they're getting ready for their pro day next week at University
08:50of Miami.
08:50It's going to be one of the bigger ones they've had in the last couple of decades.
08:53Your thoughts on Bain, Mesidor, and Maui Noah, the two pass rushers and a right tackle slash
09:00guard from UM.
09:03A stock at the same up, down?
09:06How do you look at them right now?
09:08I think Mesidor probably gained the most ground from the college football playoff on.
09:13He firmly put himself in the first round.
09:16Bain, we had there already.
09:19Maui Noah, we had there already.
09:22And then none of the three did anything to hurt themselves all the way through that playoff.
09:25In fact, they solidified, if not helped themselves like Mesidor did.
09:30And the other part is, and Bo, you know this and Joe from your time coming out.
09:36You remember when those BYU kids were coming out of school and they were 24 years old?
09:42I played with them in the East-West game.
09:44I had Mark Wilson and half the team my year.
09:47It was hilarious.
09:48Yeah.
09:48Right?
09:49But you know what I'm talking about.
09:50They were all like 24 years old, married two kids, the whole deal, right?
09:55And they would come out.
09:56But you remember how the NFL was like, oh, my God, we're getting these older kids.
10:00And they used to have a term called overage.
10:03That used to be a scouting term.
10:04In other words, can we get more out of them or if they've already reached their ceiling
10:08because they're older?
10:09We don't even use that anymore.
10:11Right?
10:12Med store is coming out.
10:13Whatever age he's coming out and off you go.
10:15Can he play, get through the first contract?
10:17I think it's a really strong crop that Miami has, obviously.
10:21There's a reason they played for a national championship.
10:23And those three are all going in the first round.
10:27There's no buts about it.
10:29And Charles, you don't worry about the T-Rex arms?
10:32Listen, I always worry about the T-Rex arms, Omar, because history has told us that those T-Rex arms
10:39guys don't become double-digit pass rushing phenoms.
10:44But in this year's draft, who are you taking ahead of him?
10:49No, no.
10:50Yeah.
10:50But his mother and father, Bo, are going to kick Omar's ass.
10:53He keeps bringing this up.
10:54The father listens to the show in the morning.
10:56I'm just telling you.
10:57Go ahead.
10:58He might need to slide to 11.
10:59Go ahead, Bo.
11:00I'm sorry.
11:01That's a put the tape on, look at the production.
11:04Hey, so let me ask this.
11:06So speaking of these two defensive players and defense in general, you know, the trends in this league, they're like
11:13the tide.
11:13They come and they go and they come and they go.
11:15So what we saw last year in the playoffs, where you got three teams, maybe four, that played really good
11:23defense, and some of them had questionable quarterbacks that were propped up because of the defense, does that start a
11:32trend where maybe that quarterback that you've been reaching for in the first top 10 pick in the draft,
11:39that probably should have been a third or fourth round pick, you think they start falling back and teams are
11:44saying, hey, maybe we don't need this, you know, this bona fide star quarterback to make our team right?
11:51You know, it's a great point.
11:53And the quarterback still has to make plays in today's game.
11:59But it does seem like if you can put everything else around them, maybe they'll have to make as many.
12:05Because Sam Darnold shattered his narrative, right?
12:10But let's not forget that during the regular season, who led the league in giveaways from the quarterback position?
12:16Sam Darnold.
12:18What carried him through?
12:20That defense that you just talked about.
12:23So they told him at Seattle, because I did a couple of their games, look, you just let it rip.
12:29But because if anything goes wrong, we got 11 guys, 12 guys, whatever we're going to run out there that'll
12:34take care of business for you.
12:36You'll be all right.
12:36So they were able to play that way.
12:38So it's a very interesting thing.
12:40You've got to have it all, though.
12:42You've got to have the runner.
12:43You've got to have the offensive line.
12:44You've got to have all that other stuff in order to do it.
12:46I don't think we're at the stage where Jeff Hostetler wins the Super Bowl.
12:52You know what I'm saying?
12:54Because Otis Anderson ran all over people in the defense.
12:57How about Fred Dilfer?
12:58We're close to him.
12:58We've got to that point.
13:00But, you know, what's interesting about it, I always come back to this one with Dilfer, because that defense was
13:04legendary, as we know.
13:06Dilfer was the number 12 overall pick in the draft.
13:10He was expected to be one of those guys.
13:12Just at that stage of his career, that's when you do the defensive coordinator Hippocratic oath.
13:21So, first, do no harm to my defense, and we'll take care of business.
13:25Yeah, that's a good call.
13:26Hey, I think Denver right now, and I know we haven't had the draft, and the draft is a big
13:30part of what everybody talks about,
13:32and how much and how quickly young guys can help them.
13:35But I think Denver clearly right now adding Waddle and signing all their guys and how good they were on
13:43both sides of the ball.
13:45I think they're the best team in the AFC.
13:47Are you with me on that right now or not?
13:49I'm not going to fight you on that one.
13:52Here's what I'm eager to watch with Denver.
13:55Sean Payton gave up play calling to make sure Davis Webb stayed around.
14:01Can Sean last doing that?
14:06Nope.
14:07That's not the Sean Payton way.
14:11So, is Davis Webb going to really have free reign to run an offense, or is he going to have
14:17something constantly?
14:17And you have those things, right?
14:20Where is the Bo-Nick-Sean Payton relationship right now?
14:24I mean, there was a little back and forth as the season ended and the injury and other things that
14:30went along with it.
14:31How are we doing with all that?
14:32How's that happening?
14:33And you guys know better than anyone.
14:36You climb the mountain.
14:37You're right there on the verge.
14:38You don't get there.
14:40You think you're automatically going to be back?
14:43It's not an automatic.
14:44And everyone's circling you now.
14:46You were chasing Kansas City last year.
14:49This year, everyone's chasing you.
14:51This is going to be interesting.
14:52You know, it's funny.
14:53You get into this and you tie.
14:54I agree with Joe that with Waddle, it's really nice.
14:57But then you see, you know, it's the never-ending soap opera in the NFL.
15:04No matter what position you're at, no matter what city you're in, no matter what team you've got, people have
15:11this opinion.
15:13And look, they've created this soap opera that's made it the most interesting sport, certainly in our country.
15:19Oh, yeah.
15:20You're right.
15:21Always in the forefront.
15:23Always somebody on one side, somebody on the other side.
15:26It's like a gambler.
15:28You want to be the bookie.
15:30You want to be in the middle.
15:31And then everyone's got another side, right?
15:34Hey, Bo, when I was in college, I used to watch all my children and general hospital before I went
15:40to practice, okay?
15:41I probably should have been in the books a little bit more.
15:46The NFL is so much more interesting than will Greg and Jenny get together and will Luke and Laura get
15:52married, okay?
15:53How many times were we sitting on that training table getting taped and you're talking about Luke and Laura or
16:02something, right?
16:08Hey, Bo, I remember being at a basketball camp in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the TV was on in the training
16:16room.
16:16I was getting taped for an ankle.
16:17Yeah.
16:18And you know what was on?
16:20All my children.
16:22No.
16:22No, Prince Charles and Diana's wedding.
16:29And by the way, the training room was packed with 15 and 16-year-old boys transfixed on the TV
16:37to watch those two get married.
16:39Yeah.
16:39Yeah.
16:40That's where we were.
16:41Charles, hey, man, I really appreciate you spending some time with us, bud.
16:45It's going to be fun to watch.
16:47Hey, thank you.
16:48Until Mr. Bain, his son is going to be just fine.
16:51He just has to go out and keep playing.
16:53He's going to be just fine.
16:53I agree.
16:54I agree with you, too.
16:55Hey, thank you, CD.
16:56Appreciate it very much.
16:57Charles Davis.
16:59CBS NFL Football Analyst, NFL Network, draft coverage as well coming up.
17:04And you can get a lot of Charles.
17:05And, of course, his mock drafts constantly coming out as well.
17:09And it's going to be interesting to find out what happens to Simpson as well as those guys at the
17:15University of Miami where they might land.
17:17Charles is that nice guy, right?
17:19Charles is that nice guy.
17:20You know, he's a really good guy.
17:22And he comes across.
17:23No, he's not like Omar.
17:24You know, Omar.
17:24No, Omar.
17:25Omar's that brusque guy.
17:26I knew I was going to catch a stretch.
17:27Omar's that brusque guy.
17:28Nah, nah.
17:29The thing about Omar, though, I give him credit.
17:30He pisses off guys in the inner city, too.
17:33He's fair to everybody.
17:35I get it.
17:37I can hear Mr. Bain getting up this morning going, is Omar at that thing again about my kids?
17:43Listen.
17:44We need him to slide to 11.
17:47Oh, now you're on the slide.
17:50He's a definite, I need him to slide.
17:52I don't mind that at all.
17:53Yeah, he is a, I take short arms and all.
17:55I need him to slide.
17:56I don't know if I've seen a guy.
17:57Hey, if his arms are too short, put him inside, man.
17:59I don't know if I've seen a guy in high school have more sacks than he did.
18:04But how many times, how many, how many, how many other, how many other pass rushers or
18:10non-pass rushers were benefited by the pressure that he put on, you know, pushing him out of
18:17the pocket, squeezing that pocket, disrupting.
18:20He's a big body cat.
18:21He's good against the run.
18:22No, he's, he's got a lot of things.
18:24Man, he is just a tough, tough cat.
18:26Anyway.
18:26Anyway.
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