00:00Call up a story that Mary Kay Cabot updated six minutes ago, posted it last night.
00:06The headline, Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson, who's on the Browns' radar,
00:12is better than Fernando Mendoza, according to one NFL draft expert.
00:18The lady who wrote the story joins us right now on the Make It Right Call Kyle Wright hotline.
00:23She is Mary Kay Cabot from the Plain Dealer and Cleveland.com.
00:26So, Mary Kay, are the Browns going to add another quarterback to this mix?
00:32You know, you can never say never in this situation.
00:35Right now, I don't think that it's going to happen.
00:38I really don't.
00:39I don't believe that they're going to draft Ty Simpson because I think he's going to go in the first
00:44round,
00:45and I don't know if they view him that way.
00:48Now, if he started to slip or fall a little bit and he's there at number 39 or later for
00:53them in the draft,
00:54maybe they do that.
00:55Right now, at this moment in time, I'm thinking that they're not going to seriously take him at number six
01:03or perhaps even 24, but I can't say with any certainty that there's no way that that's going to happen
01:11because they still have to do their work on these guys.
01:14They're still working through their process,
01:18and you just never really know what is going on in their minds at this point.
01:25Outside of Ty, is there a quarterback you think, and knowing this just from maybe, I don't know,
01:30Combine and Senior Bowl, is there a quarterback that you think they might be looking at in the draft other
01:36than Ty?
01:37I think there are some other intriguing quarterbacks that they are doing their work on as well.
01:43There are a number of them, of course,
01:45but what I don't know is would they seriously consider drafting one?
01:51Where would they draft him?
01:52But I do think that there are a number of guys that they might think about drafting in the third
01:56round,
01:56fourth round, where you might get some value.
01:59So I don't know if that would be a Drew Aller or maybe even they look at a Talon Green
02:06at some point.
02:06He's got a tantalizing skill set, and he's a guy that can be developed or might be worth developing.
02:13So there are some guys in this draft that are definitely worth looking at.
02:18I just don't really know exactly what their thinking is on this,
02:21and we should know a little bit more.
02:24We have the owners' meetings coming up.
02:26I'm leaving Saturday for Phoenix.
02:29It's going to be hot there.
02:31They've already moved Cactus League games because it was too hot, Mary Kay, so be careful.
02:35I know.
02:37Sunscreen.
02:37I just looked at the forecast, and I think it's 98-99 right now.
02:44And, yeah, they're breaking records out there.
02:47It's going to get a little cooler when we're there.
02:50But we have an opportunity there to talk to the Haslams.
02:55We talked to Andrew Barry there.
02:56We talked to Todd Munkin and the other coaches at the coaches' breakfast there.
03:01And it's a really nice event to cover because you have a lot of time with those people in the
03:07organization,
03:07and you pretty much get to ask anything that you want.
03:10It's a small setting.
03:12You can get your questions in.
03:13You're not shouting over people to get your questions in.
03:16And you really come away with a pretty good feel for what the organization is thinking on a lot of
03:23topics.
03:24Well, I look forward to your coverage of that.
03:26With the story that you have out there right now, it's Dan Orlovsky of ESPN who said he thinks Ty
03:33Simpson is the best quarterback in this group.
03:35That was interesting.
03:37Mike Tenenbaum, former general manager of the Jets, you have him saying he's heard from teams that they think Simpson
03:44is better.
03:46Combine that with what Ty has said about the Browns, the connection that he has to Todd Munkin, the connection
03:54that Todd has to Ty Simpson's dad.
03:57And I just wonder if they would stun us all, Mary Kay.
04:01And if he would be there at 24, okay, I wonder if they would make any kind of a move
04:09to trade up to get him.
04:11I'm with you.
04:11I don't see it happening, but, boy, there's a lot of smoke around this.
04:17Well, there is.
04:18And I think ultimately in the end he will end up somewhere else.
04:22But I think you at least have to look into it.
04:25You have to at least consider it.
04:27And the reason why I would consider it is because he does have a really nice skill set.
04:32I've watched a fair amount of his film by now.
04:36And I do like what I see.
04:38And he's only started 15 games in college.
04:42So the upside, I think, is absolutely tremendous.
04:45And what you have to ask yourself is, do you think that he has more upside potential for you than
04:54Shador Sanders has?
04:55I think that it would probably come down to that.
04:58Or do you think, how do you think he stacks up with someone that you might be able to land
05:03in next year's draft?
05:05So you can kind of look ahead a little bit as well.
05:08And in the end, I'm guessing that they'll probably see what Shador has for them this year.
05:14And then if that doesn't work out exactly the way they hope that it will, then maybe look to next
05:18year's draft to find their quarterback in the future.
05:21But I think there are plenty of things about Ty Simpson that cause you to say, let's look deeper into
05:27this.
05:28Mary Kay, we were talking about this yesterday for a second.
05:31When you look at what this team is all about right now, and knowing that there were six guys that
05:36basically start or could start next year out of the draft from last year,
05:41what is this year's draft all about then just beyond getting one or two wide receivers or one or two
05:48offensive linemen?
05:49Is this draft all about depth?
05:53No, I think this draft is about key pieces, mostly guys that you can bring in here to start for
06:02you.
06:02I don't think it's just about depth.
06:04I mean, they've got some really, really valuable draft picks there, especially those top three.
06:09And they can parlay those into more draft picks if they trade down.
06:12And I still think that unless they decide that Ty Simpson is the guy for them, then I think they
06:20will look to trade down from number six.
06:23So I don't think it's about depth as much as it is adding some more starters, some key pieces that
06:30will continue to lay the foundation,
06:32as I've been saying, for what is basically Super Bowl window two under this regime,
06:37where you're trying to build the roster that can take you the distance.
06:42You like what they've done on defense in free agency, Mary Kay?
06:46Obviously, the big emphasis is on the offensive linemen.
06:48But I think they've made some nice minor additions on defense, guys who could end up playing some pretty big
06:54roles.
06:55Well, that's where you can talk about the depth.
06:58They have added defensive depth and special teams depth, or some key pieces on special teams, actually,
07:04but defensive depth in the second wave of free agency.
07:08So they have Kalia Davis now who can step in and be a good rotational piece for you at defensive
07:15tackle.
07:16It might mean that Shelby Harris isn't coming back now, which I thought he probably would.
07:21And that's not completely out of the question now, but I think Kalia gives you the freedom to not have
07:29to do that
07:29if it doesn't work out that way.
07:31And then they added a defensive end that can be part of the rotation there, and I think that's key.
07:40So if you just look at pretty much every level of the defense,
07:44they have added guys that can come in here and be part of your rotations.
07:50Mary-Kate, are there any free agent wide receivers that you would look at right now
07:56that might be tempting for this organization to try to bring in?
07:59You know, right now, I don't think so.
08:02For my money now, I'm looking at the receivers in the draft.
08:05This is a deep receiver draft.
08:07They've brought a lot of those guys in for their top 30 visits.
08:10They're looking very, very hard at these guys,
08:12and I wouldn't be surprised if they draft two receivers in this draft
08:16or at least one premier receiver that can start for you and then maybe a premier tight end.
08:22So I'm looking now in the draft, and then, of course, you can always supplement later
08:27depending on who shakes out after the draft or after June 1st or in the final cuts.
08:33But as of right now, I would say they're primarily looking at those draftable guys.
08:40Mary-Kate Cabot joining us from the PlainDealerCleveland.com.
08:43Jarvis Landry made some comments on a podcast the other day about Kevin Stefanski
08:47that weren't overly flattering.
08:50Did they catch you by surprise?
08:53Well, a couple of things about the Jarvis Landry comments.
08:56First of all, he did say – I saw a clip circulating around everywhere yesterday
09:01where he said that Alex Van Pelt – that Kevin turned play calling over to Alex Van Pelt,
09:06but he never did that.
09:07That never happened.
09:08Alex Van Pelt called the plays in the playoff game when Kevin was in the basement
09:14after having tested positive for COVID,
09:17and then he probably called some in maybe some preseason games.
09:21But he never turned play calling over to Alex Van Pelt.
09:24Kevin retained play calling duties the whole time Alex Van Pelt was here.
09:28It wasn't until Ken Dorsey came in that he turned it over midway through the season to him,
09:33and then he turned it over midway through last season to Tommy Reese.
09:36So that is not an accurate statement.
09:41So I just would like to set the record straight on that.
09:45And then as far as the other stuff,
09:46I really wasn't 100% sure where he was going with some of it
09:52because it seemed to me – and maybe you guys felt differently about it –
09:56but it seemed to me like he was going back and forth a little bit
09:59between he knows a lot of offense, but he doesn't know what he's doing,
10:03he was a good guy, and then maybe he wasn't.
10:05It didn't make any sense.
10:07I just don't think he really took a stand on anything there.
10:12I didn't really understand exactly what he was trying to say.
10:16Are you trying to say Kevin Stefanski wasn't a good guy
10:19and we didn't like him and whatever, or were you not saying that?
10:23So I really wasn't sure.
10:26But the other part of it that kind of stood out to me was
10:28you've got Leonard Fournette saying that he would never play for Kevin Stefanski
10:34because of how he sabotaged Shador Sanders.
10:38And I've been trying to say this since last season,
10:40but a lot of people don't want to hear it, and I understand that, I guess,
10:45that Kevin worked very, very hard to help Shador Sanders get up to speed
10:51and be able to go out and start those football games.
10:53It took a lot of work on Shador's part and Kevin's part
10:58and everybody else's part to make sure that he could go out there
11:01and play as well as he did.
11:03And it involved two spotty in practices with extra work out on the field,
11:08extra reps outside on the grass, and then plenty of extra film work
11:12inside the building, which Kevin never revealed to us
11:15because he's not like that.
11:17But Miles Garrett revealed that when I come in in the mornings,
11:20Kevin and Shador are in there going over film together.
11:23So, the narrative that persists, that Kevin tried to sabotage Shador,
11:31I feel like it's unfortunate.
11:33It's unfortunate because we were out there watching with our own two eyes,
11:38and that is not how it went.
11:40So, the only thing that I do think that they should have done and didn't
11:43was when Shador Sanders became the backup quarterback,
11:47he should have been given some first-team reps.
11:49You know he's a play away, and you know he can be pressed into service at any time.
11:54So, go ahead and give him the reps that he needs.
11:57Mary Kay, thank you.
11:58Thanks, Mary Kay.
11:58We will be paying attention to everything,
12:00building up to those owners' meetings and beyond.
12:03So, thank you.
12:03Appreciate your time.
12:05Thank you, guys.
12:05Mary Kay Cabot, PlainDealerCleveland.com.
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