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Thor Nystrom joins the show to discuss what Washington's plan could look like for the upcoming NFL Draft.
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00:00Getting back to the NFL Draft with our guy Thor Nystrom.
00:03Thor, what's up, dude?
00:04How you been?
00:05Hey, guys.
00:06How you doing?
00:06We're doing, man.
00:08Bro, I wanted to start just checking on you because you do a hell of a job covering the
00:14NFL Draft.
00:15You have for years.
00:16You and I have been doing these conversations for many years, but you also make no secret
00:20of your affinity for your Minnesota Vikings, and I know how you felt about J.J. McCarthy,
00:27and it seems like it's going sideways up there.
00:30How you doing with all that, buddy?
00:33I'm doing okay with it.
00:34You know, we're going to get an open competition here, and we'll see how it plays out this summer,
00:40but I've heard J.J.'s been locked in.
00:43You know, he was down working with John Beck in California, and he's ready for a competition,
00:47so I know that everyone's already given it to Kyler Murray.
00:51We'll see if the team is telling the truth about it being a fair competition, but assuming
00:56that it is, I think Kyler Murray's going to get everything he can handle on that.
00:59All right.
01:01You think there's no chance Minnesota would trade McCarthy then?
01:06I think the signing of Carson Wentz is interesting in that it retains optionality for the Vikings.
01:13You know, you go into August.
01:14I mean, let's just say McCarthy upsets Kyler Murray.
01:17Would Kyler Murray then want to stay as the backup quarterback, or would he want to be traded
01:23to another situation, and just coming to y'all from Minneapolis, where the Vikings, remember
01:28when they panic-traded a first-round pick for Sam Bradford in August several years ago,
01:32you know, after the injury to Teddy?
01:35You potentially open up, you know, that for the loser, whether that be Kyler or whether
01:39that be J.J., by having Carson Wentz in the room, and it could be three around as well
01:44in Brosmer.
01:45So, we'll just have to see, but, you know, obviously after last year when they had the
01:48cluster injuries, quarterback, offensive line, several positions at Submarine this season,
01:52they're pretty resolute this offseason to fix those issues, and they've started on that.
01:57Is the confidence level still high in J.J.?
02:03Certainly is for me.
02:04You know, again, we'll find out if the team is being genuine about this is going to be
02:09a fair competition.
02:10You know, I think that will speak a lot to the team's confidence, you know, if they give
02:16them a fair shot there, but, yeah, I'm still pretty bullish.
02:20I tell you what, when we came up to Minnesota, J.J. looked pretty good when the Vikings played
02:27the Commanders that day.
02:30Well, and maybe the Commanders, this offseason, I know they've already devoted some money into
02:35the defensive side of the ball, and we're going to be talking about the draft here in
02:38a second, but, yeah, obviously that Washington defense needed a makeover, and, you know, between
02:42my boy Durante Jones and between, you know, the signings that have happened and maybe even
02:47using the seventh pick for help in that regard, maybe y'all can turn that around quick this
02:52offseason.
02:52We'll see.
02:53We will see, dude.
02:54Talking with our buddy Thor Nystrom from Score North up in Minnesota, one of the best draft
02:59analysts out there, really goes deep.
03:01I could ask you about seventh round tackles, and you could give me ten names.
03:07But let's start early in this thing.
03:09The draft begins at two with the Jets.
03:11Where do you think the Jets go?
03:15I think, you know, the defensive side of the ball, you can't go like a Ty Simpson or whatever.
03:22So, yeah, I think they're going to go with defensive side of the ball.
03:25Arvel Reese, I know, has been tossed out a lot for that Ohio State.
03:29In my last mock draft, I gave the Jets David Bailey, the addresser from Texas Tech.
03:34I think he justifies that pick, both with the production profile that he's had and then
03:40also with the testing he did in the pre-draft process.
03:44And obviously, the Jets, you trade Jermaine Johnson.
03:46And I know they've done some other stuff with the edge position, but that defense could
03:51badly use a game-wrecking type edge rusher like David Bailey.
03:54But I think you're sort of in that kind of range right there.
03:58One of those couple guys would be my front runners.
04:01Then, let's talk about two names that are very popular here in Washington, starting with
04:06Jeremiah Love.
04:07What do you make of Love the prospect?
04:11What do you make of a running back maybe going top five?
04:15What do you think of Jeremiah Love in this draft?
04:18Yeah, you can definitely put him there.
04:20He's a different player, of course, than Ashton Jensie.
04:23But you can definitely put him qualitatively in the same range.
04:25And I think even a little bit above that, and in this draft class, as you guys know,
04:30there's a dearth of blue chippers at the top of the draft.
04:32So we know where Jensie went, and in this draft, it's not as good.
04:36And again, you can absolutely make the argument that Jeremiah Love's a little better.
04:39So for me, in this specific draft class, top five is certainly in play.
04:44I tend to view Washington as the last stop in the train station or whatever.
04:50Like for Jeremiah Love, if he somehow got through the wickets there, I cannot foresee that Washington
04:56would turn him down.
04:57You know, like, again, just with the other lack of blue chippers at other, quote unquote,
05:03more valuable positions.
05:04So I do think that's in play for Washington.
05:07But I would definitely put my money on he will not be available at seven if he gave me
05:11even money on that.
05:12And I don't think anyone at this point would.
05:14I think a lot of people are not.
05:16So who do you think would probably be there available?
05:19Will it be, Cornell Tate is another guy that pops up, or Caleb Downs is a guy who I would
05:25think nobody should be upset with?
05:28Yeah, Cornell Tate would absolutely be on my list there for Washington, you know, and
05:33going beyond love.
05:35Caleb Downs certainly would be.
05:37And I think the sneaky one, and there's been a reticence to this point to, like, officially
05:43plant the flag.
05:44This guy is worth a draft slot like this.
05:47So let me do it right here and right now.
05:50Mansoor Delane is absolutely worth the seventh slot in this draft.
05:54And as you guys know, Washington desperately needs a boundary cornerback as well.
05:58Delane Island is a shutdown one.
06:00So I think that name also has to be there.
06:03And of course, you know, a familiar DMV type guy, you know, started a career at Virginia Tech
06:08there.
06:08So I think that's another name we've got to add to the short list for Washington at
06:12one seven.
06:13Did you think that already and his pro day four, three, eight cemented that or did the
06:20pro day impact that?
06:23For me, it solidified it.
06:25You know, Delane was already on my big board right around there.
06:29Six, seven.
06:30I might have.
06:30I didn't mean to do that, but it might have been five as well.
06:33You know, like, you know, sort of somewhere in there, but the, that was the only thing
06:37that you were kind of waiting on because there.
06:51Ranger at that seven slot.
06:53What?
06:54It sounds like it presented the opportunity to take Caleb Downs or Mansoor Delane.
06:59Are you Delane all day on that?
07:03Yes, I, I would be, you know, and, and probably in general, but for Washington, you know, as
07:09well here, I, I would go Delane over Downs.
07:12He plays the, the more important position.
07:14And then as you guys know that, you know, with, with Downs, you had the, they discovered
07:19the, the, the partially, you know, minor tear of, of, you know, in the knee at the combine.
07:24And then also the potential degenerative, uh, you know, uh, condition there with the
07:28knee, which we need to find more info on.
07:31There was reports right after that, the teams weren't docking him for that, that it, you
07:35know, it didn't rise to that occasion for some of the, the ones that had seen it.
07:38Um, we were still waiting for, you know, definitive sort of information on that, but you add everything
07:43up in the wash and then the, the value of the position and the acute need there for
07:47Washington and I know the safety room for Washington is not great.
07:51So they're, they're both needs there, but I just like Delane more, uh, as a prospect.
07:55And in particular with him answering that last question, but last season, he erased one side
07:59of the field with LSU, you could not throw, uh, to the side of the field that Mansoor Delane
08:04was on.
08:04So yeah, I, I like them just a little bit more than, than Caleb Downs.
08:08Um, interesting.
08:09So let me ask you this because you're in Minnesota.
08:13Durante Jones was in Minnesota the last two years.
08:15It doesn't take a genius to figure out.
08:18He's going to at least run some similar concepts, concepts, if not a very similar concept to
08:23what Brian Flores has done with the Vikings defense.
08:26How important are corners for Flores and that style of defense?
08:33If you're really aggressively going after the quarterback all the time, it's a great question.
08:40And the answer is, is, you know, you do the chicken and the egg thing of like, what's
08:44the most important thing for a pass defense?
08:46Is it the pass rush or is it the coverage?
08:49Brian Flores would always answer the pass rush.
08:51And I think Durante Jones, you know, a disciple there.
08:54I think he would answer the same thing, uh, edge rusher for sure.
08:58And you guys know heading into the pre-drop process for me, that was number one need with
09:03a bullet, but with the money and the resources that Washington's already devoted to the
09:06addressing position, you have to imagine that that knocks that back in the hierarchy of
09:11needs to the point where, where, where they turn that down at seven.
09:15If, you know, let's say very unforeseen scenario of David Bailey fell down there.
09:19I assume that they would take a guy like that, but, but the resources that Washington's put
09:24into that address or position, would that cause them to turn away, let's say from Reuben
09:27Bain, if it's Reuben Bain against the lane or Reuben Bain against, uh, Caleb Downs.
09:31So, so that's sort of how I'm ballparking it, even though your point is very well taken
09:36that Durante Jones, certainly in general, if you just said the pass rush against the
09:40coverage, he, I believe would take the pass rush, man, what an interesting draft this
09:45is because it's just so different that it's not quarterback dominated, you know?
09:49I mean, generally this stuff is so quarterback dominated.
09:53We're talking with our friend.
09:54Go ahead, B.
09:54It will, I mean, throw it with the eighth of an inch on Reuben Bain's arms really affect
10:00him that much?
10:02To me, no.
10:04Um, but you guys know sometimes the NFL is, uh, ridiculously punitive about stuff like
10:09that, but you know, for, for me, having watched that guy over the years, my favorite, uh, and
10:15I forgot who said, it might've been Sam Monson.
10:17I want to shout out whoever did, but the thing of he mitigates his lack of length in the same
10:23way that early career Mike Tyson did in the ring, it is thunderous power.
10:27That is how you get through, like if someone else across from you gets to dictate the dance
10:32because they have longer arms in you, more length in you, they get to touch you first.
10:35One great way to breach the moat there is to give them an uppercut to the jaw as Mike
10:40Tyson found out.
10:41And that's what Reuben Bain, he throws the kitchen sink at you right out the gate.
10:45It's how he crashes through those, the gates of the length there.
10:48And then he has the agility as well.
10:49And of course he can bend it right or, you know, get to step on you.
10:52And so for me, it mitigates the concern there, um, it, for me, it might, you know, it before
10:58maybe top three, but you know, maybe it's, it's more like top five, you know, you know,
11:03I, I could be talked into like a little nuance like that, but this talk that he could fall
11:07out of the top 10 to me is absurd.
11:09That is absolutely an all day top 10 prospect in this class.
11:12What about the receiver position, man?
11:14Um, where are you at on Carnell Tate?
11:17What do you think of Tyson?
11:18What do you think of Lemon?
11:20Because just from a straight up roster construction standpoint, I think you're right.
11:24That corner could be viewed as, as the best place to add a, a real blue chipper, but receivers,
11:30the other one that, that could make a ton of sense in Washington.
11:33Yeah.
11:33I think Tate's the one guy that you can...
11:51Injury concerns and we had a, an athletic profile on him that was, that was at least
11:55pretty solid.
11:56He would be my wide receiver one in this class, but with, with that many concerns, I don't
12:00think you can take them that high.
12:01I think it's just Tate that you can take early on, uh, there in the top 10, at least
12:06for me.
12:06But then beyond that, there is real depth of this receiver class.
12:11Uh, to me, the receiver position in this draft, one of the very few positions that ended
12:15up exceeding our expectations from the preseason, whereas a lot of these positions, they really
12:20fell off from what we thought they were going to be a year ago.
12:23Quarterback fell way off.
12:24Running back fell way off.
12:25I mean, you could go sort of down the line, but there is very real depth at the wide receiver
12:29position.
12:30So if Washington, let's say you go a different direction, not Carnell Tate with that first
12:34pick, I, you know, and I know that Washington doesn't have the round two pick as well, but
12:38there is real depth with that wide receiver class where I think that in the third round
12:42Washington, I think they come back up at 71.
12:44One, you can get a wide receiver there that I think you could at least be comfortable with
12:48the idea that they can compete for immediate playing time in that wide receiver room.
12:52So that, you know, doing sort of the three-dimensional chess, I think that's something, um, that, that,
12:57that you need to bear in mind as well with Washington.
12:59Who are some of the receivers you, you like maybe at 71?
13:03Cause I know there's a lot, there's a lot of names that get thrown around.
13:06I wonder if there's somebody you think stands out.
13:09Yeah.
13:09And you guys tell me, you know, my situational assumptions wrong here.
13:13I would sort of shade it towards a bigger boundary, uh, uh, uh, you got a bigger body
13:18boundary receiver there for Washington.
13:21Are you guys with me on that?
13:22Yeah.
13:23Yeah.
13:23Okay.
13:24Yeah.
13:24So for me, round three, with that in mind, uh, I'll toss three names at you.
13:28Um, Ted Hurst, the Georgia state receiver is a guy that I'm a big fan of.
13:32Um, I, I really think he probably just sort of qualitatively should be a late second round
13:37type prospect, but I expect him to go in round three, but six foot four, 206 pounds.
13:42He's not going to be 22 until we get closer to the season.
13:4699th percentile size adjusted athlete during the pre-draft testing here.
13:49He was also a 96 percentile on field athlete, you know, with, with the chips and he was just
13:55so good on the field last year for a really bad team.
13:57And that's the reason that, that he kind of gets overlooked, but I think he's going to
14:01provide good value.
14:02And then, um, two other guys, Malachi Fields, another guy I know you guys are sort of familiar
14:06with coming from, um, the area initially, um, big body receiver that went to Notre Dame
14:11last year.
14:12And then the last one, Jacoby Lane from USC, I think is an interesting thought experiment
14:17because Jacoby Lane really should have gone back to college, you know, with Makai Lemon
14:22coming out and Jaden Maeva returning the quarterback for the last season with USC.
14:26We thought that Jacoby Lane was going to go back and be the wide receiver one and just get
14:30peppered with targets this year and then potentially be a first round pick next year, you know, sort
14:34of like the Carnell Tate, right?
14:36Where Carnell Tate earlier in the career, you know, you had, uh, uh, Smith and, uh,
14:39Bucca, Smith and Jigba, et cetera.
14:41And then, you know, this past year you get to be the, um, you know, a top dog with Jeremiah
14:45Smith there, but, uh, Jacoby Lane, he, uh, he declares for the draft after three true
14:50seasons.
14:51He is a polgo stick.
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