00:00Head out to the Make It Right Call, Kyle Wright Hotline, and welcome on Chris Trapasso, NFL Draft Analyst and
00:06Founder of the Draft Gradebook.
00:09Chris, welcome to the show.
00:11Hey, thanks for having me, guys.
00:12And it actually was a good segue because I'm from Buffalo, so I, like, deal with similar weather, and up
00:17until the last seven or eight years have dealt with similar sports failures in my neck of the woods.
00:23So me coming on the show being a Western New Yorker certainly feels for and has a respect for everything
00:29in Cleveland.
00:29Well, then, I guess I'll just rip the Band-Aid off then.
00:32Do you think the Browns should trade Miles Garrett after the news came out that they had adjusted his contract
00:38with his blessing?
00:40I think they should.
00:41Are you saying that because you want him on the bills?
00:43Because I'm sussing something out here, friend.
00:46No, no, it's not necessarily that.
00:48Like, I'm really saying that from a team-building perspective as a draft guy and looking forward to the Browns
00:56having two first-rounders.
00:58Like, this class in general is not great from the top all the way through, you know, the last couple
01:04picks in the first round.
01:05It's not that marquee draft.
01:07Next year feels that way, not just for the quarterbacks, but obviously some of the wide receivers that you guys
01:13know well.
01:13Jeremiah Smith, Ryan Williams at Alabama.
01:16Some big-time defensive players as well.
01:18So, I think at this stage of the Andrew Barry era, it would make sense.
01:23And given that Miles Garrett is now 30, I think it would make sense to see, man, we almost had
01:28an NFL where the Baltimore Ravens traded two first-rounders for Max Crosby,
01:34and we're probably going to give him a monster deal.
01:36What could you get for Miles Garrett?
01:38Probably, or almost assuredly, more than that.
01:41Now, it would be, he's a force multiplier on the defensive side, and it would change things a lot in
01:46what's been a pretty good defense over the last three or four years
01:50with him in his prime and entering kind of the twilight of his career.
01:53But I think at this point, it would make more sense to see how much draft capital you can get
01:57for someone like Miles Garrett.
01:59So, all right, so how far do they go?
02:01If, like, next year is, well, let's start this way.
02:03Do you think next year actually is a transition year until we get to 2027, and that's what this is
02:07all about?
02:10Um, it's a bummer to come on and say that, and in March for Browns fans to be like, oh,
02:16another transition year.
02:17But, and certainly when it comes to an offseason in which they had all five offensive linemen impending free agents,
02:24and they did bring in Zion Johnson, I love the Elton Jenkins signing, and even Titus Howard.
02:29But I think without a stable long-term future at the quarterback spot,
02:36unless you're really big on Jadier Sanders or Dylan Gabriel, I'm not really high on either, necessarily.
02:41I think it would make more sense to try to, obviously, build as good of a team as you can
02:45this year
02:46and, obviously, try to be competitive because it's been a while,
02:50but really lean into that 2027 draft where it feels a lot more, that it will be a lot more
02:57top-heavy,
02:58especially at the quarterback spot.
03:01All right, Chris, Alabama's Pro Day this week.
03:03I know Ty Simpson's been a talk of many things this week,
03:07but I actually want to talk about Caden Proctor because he showed up.
03:11He's down to a brisk 358 now, and apparently he's been holding strong at that.
03:17It's not just that he's down, but he's been down to 358 for multiple months,
03:22which has people impressed.
03:23I wish people were impressed when I was down to 358,
03:26but I'll ask you, he played his entire career at left tackle.
03:31If the Browns feel like he's the left tackle, does that make him more of a choice at six
03:38than maybe, I don't know, Monroe Freeling?
03:41So I think Monroe Freeling has more upside because I think he's just a better athlete.
03:47I think there's a lot of, like, Colton Miller or Joe Alt to him,
03:51but Caden Proctor, like you're mentioning, down to, like, 360
03:56and is a pretty freaky mover at his size.
03:59I think he's a better prospect, obviously, than the current left tackle, DeJuan Jones, was,
04:05and I think he's even a better prospect than Jedrick Wills,
04:08obviously another former Brown that was at the same college as Caden Proctor.
04:13So that is a position that you get that huge surplus value.
04:18If you pick a player in the first round, even though he's getting a fully guaranteed contract,
04:22you compare that contract to the top of the position, those offensive tackles,
04:26the best ones, are making huge money, and obviously it's just a premium position in its own right.
04:32And even if Proctor is not a completely finished product because he's not one of those,
04:37you know, COVID year holdovers that's 25 years old, let him get a year in the system,
04:42and then for 27, he's entering year two with presumably your first-round quarterback selection,
04:49I think that would actually make a lot of sense.
04:50I think he should be in play for the Browns at six overall.
04:55It's interesting because, I mean, he's a three-year starter, though.
04:57I never thought of him as, like, some sort of big project.
04:59Is that how I need to be thinking about Proctor?
05:01No, I mean, not necessarily.
05:03I guess, though, just with age, like, I factor in age so much in my evaluations,
05:08and it's obviously kind of had a wrench thrown into that consideration with all the COVID stuff
05:12and the transfer portal the last few years, but the fact that he is a three-year starter,
05:17I don't think he's super developmental, but I think when it comes to maybe even slimming down
05:22a little bit more at the next level and, you know, ironing out some of the rough, like, edges of
05:29his game,
05:30I don't think he's totally a finished product at this point.
05:34That doesn't mean that I think he's a bad prospect.
05:35He's actually my No. 2 offensive tackle behind Freeling, so I really think highly of Caden Proctor,
05:41maybe more than most, but it wouldn't be crazy if he's good as a rookie,
05:46but then really comes into his own in year two and year three on that rookie deal.
05:50Chris, obviously, Ty Simpson has been the, oh, just every conversation anyone's had
05:57about the NFL draft this week.
05:58I guess I'm just curious about your take, not necessarily on even Ty, but just kind of the discourse
06:04around Ty and just how all over the place it was this week.
06:08Well, I think the biggest point or the biggest thing that I took away from Dan Orvlowski
06:12making that reference on Get Up that he has Ty Simpson evaluated, or he thinks Ty Simpson's
06:19a better prospect on film than Fernando Mendoza.
06:22What I took away from that was the fact that Fernando Mendoza is not so impressive that he's
06:29untouchable as this No. 1 overall pick.
06:32Even think back to 2024 when there was Jaden Daniels and Drake May alongside Caleb Williams,
06:38there was never really a threat for any of those other quarterbacks to go No. 1 overall.
06:44It doesn't seem like Ty Simpson will be that No. 1 overall pick,
06:48but we weren't really hearing much of, hey, is Jaden Daniels actually better than Caleb Williams?
06:53Is Drake May better?
06:54So I think more so than anything else, these are two middle-of-the-first-round quarterbacks
07:00or even back-end-of-the-first-round quarterbacks in most draft classes
07:04who are probably going to get pushed up just because, obviously, how important that position is
07:09and the need at that spot for a team like the Raiders and potentially, say, the Browns
07:14or the Arizona Cardinals.
07:15All right, what's your thought on wide receivers?
07:16We're basically, at this point, as a show, I feel like we both like Tyson a lot,
07:21but then Carnell Tate's obviously there as well, and I think a lot of people listening
07:24really want an Ohio statewide receiver.
07:26What did you read on there?
07:27And if you want to dash a little bit in there with Lemon, we wouldn't hate it, too.
07:32Yeah, I mean, 24 would be really interesting for a few other names.
07:36Like, I love Casey Concepcion, which any of his detractors will say,
07:40hey, he had like a 10.5% drop rate.
07:42He also had a contested catch win rate of over 60%.
07:47And if you're, it's funny, we always call those 50-50 balls, but really, the receivers
07:52in college that are at 50% or higher are those awesome contested catch receivers.
07:57So with Concepcion, he's someone that if they do go offensive tackle, they go another position
08:03at six, I think he would make a lot of sense.
08:05Even Omar Cooper, I think, could be someone that could be in the mix at 24.
08:09And with Lemon at six, I think that would be a little bit rich overall, but he, to me,
08:16is one of those high-volume slot receivers.
08:19Reminds me so much of Amin Ross St. Brown.
08:21Same school, same type of player, super twitchy, catches everything, awesome after the catch.
08:27And even Carnell Tate, if he ran a little bit faster at the combine,
08:32I thought he was going to be the next Ohio State wide receiver to run in the 4-3s,
08:35and he ran 4-5-3.
08:37So I was a little surprised by that.
08:39He comes down with everything down the field as well, and is super smooth.
08:42He's kind of similar to me to, like, a Terry McLaurin-type player,
08:47although the testing numbers aren't really the same.
08:49So I think that is a clear need position for this team that does still have plenty of needs.
08:54And I think this is actually a really good class for wide receivers.
08:58It doesn't have the even Tedaroa McMillan or the Jamar Chase or the, you know,
09:03big-time Malik Neighbors type, but I think we will see four or five quality receivers
09:09who end up having good careers go in the first and the second round of this draft.
09:14Chris, what would your reaction be if the Browns win with, like, a Reuben Bain
09:18or a Caleb Downs at six?
09:21I wouldn't love it.
09:22I think it would be a little bit too much of a risk that I would like to take
09:28if I'm picking inside the top six, let's say.
09:31That I think Bain looks the part on film in terms of his production,
09:38although whenever there's been, you know, over the last couple of weeks
09:41about, like, everyone coming to his defense that, oh, hey, the short arms don't matter.
09:46It's not a big deal.
09:47When you watch his entire 2025 in entirety, you're like, oh, there are some games
09:53where bigger, longer offensive tackles really are able to slow him down.
09:57And then if you're picking inside the top six, I think you have to be getting someone
10:01as close to checking every single box as possible.
10:06And I think last year what they did, trading out of that Travis Hunter pick
10:09to pick Mason Graham, who had the production, who had the size,
10:13who had multiple years of high-level production and tested extremely well,
10:17that was a sensible pick.
10:19And obviously they got all that extra draft capital as well.
10:22Caleb Downs would probably be someone that would be more universally praised,
10:26I think, because he was just kind of felt like since his freshman season at Alabama
10:30that, oh, man, this is going to be a top ten overall pick.
10:33I don't know if you see a ton of, like, splash plays on film.
10:37And I think he's more high floor than, like, all pro, you know, perennial all pro upside,
10:43which I think is what you really should be aiming for when you're picking that high in the draft.
10:47There's been a push within the Browns community to take Jeremiah Love if he's there at six.
10:51I doubt he'll be there at six.
10:53But if he is, is that a bad pick by the Browns, already having Judkins
10:56and already having the running back position kind of secured?
11:00Isn't that crazy how, like, what you said is true?
11:03Like, oh, man, there's no way this running back will be there at six in 2026.
11:08But I think the success that we've seen with B. John Robinson, with Jameer Gibbs,
11:15to go back a couple years, Christian McCaffrey, these really early,
11:19very either elusive or explosive running backs that can be the heartbeat of your offense.
11:24Like, I've almost turned around a core philosophy that I've had as a draft analyst
11:29where I'm never wanting to pick a running back in the first round.
11:32But you are getting that player in the prime of his career at a reasonably cheap price.
11:39I mean, at six overall, it wouldn't be crazy cheap relative to the other running backs.
11:43But it would be kind of a luxury selection because even though Judkins will be coming off
11:49somewhat of a serious injury later in the season,
11:51I think he showed that he can be a feature back in the NFL.
11:56And it's a team that certainly did decent work in pre-agency,
12:00but I don't think they are a running back away from even competing in their own division.
12:05So it would probably be tantalizing for them if all of a sudden Tennessee passes on him at four
12:11and he's sitting there at six.
12:12They could maybe even trade out for a team, which to me would be inexplicable to trade up for a
12:19running back.
12:20But it would be fun.
12:21I just don't think that would be the best allocation of the sixth overall pick
12:25because of the positional value that that spot still holds.
12:28All right, Chris, we started with Miles.
12:29We'll end with Miles.
12:31Give us, if he is, wink, wink, available,
12:35what teams do you think would be in the hunt for Miles Garrett?
12:38Well, I would assume the Chicago Bears.
12:40They have a very, very clear edge rusher need.
12:44They were rumored to be in on Max Crosby.
12:47It seems like the Philadelphia Eagles are in on everything,
12:50and Howie Roseman is unafraid to have like $400 million in void years over the next two or three years
12:58on his cap.
12:59He doesn't really seem to mind.
13:03It's hard to, I mean, I guess you could throw in the Bills.
13:05They were seemingly in on Trey Hendrickson.
13:08Even San Francisco has a pretty big need to pair with Nick Bosa.
13:13They've kind of been looking for that player for a long time,
13:15and I think you would start at a Micah Parsons-type offer.
13:21You would start with two first-rounders and a high-caliber player.
13:24Like, if it's Philadelphia, I'm asking for two firsts, and I'm asking for Jalen Carter.
13:28And, like, that might seem too rich for the Philadelphia Eagles,
13:32but we're talking about someone that is a perennial defensive player of the year
13:36and showed no signs, obviously, of slowing down last year.
13:41So I think they could get a very hefty package that could really position them well for the next couple
13:46seasons.
13:47Chris, we appreciate you, buddy.
13:48Thank you so much, and I'm sure we'll bug you down the road for more draft wisdom.
13:53All right, thanks.
13:54Chris Trapasso on the Make It Right.
13:57Call Kyle Wright, hotline NFL draft analyst and founder of Draft Gradebook.
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