- 15 hours ago
ESPN's Matt Miller joins the show to discuss his full seven-round NFL Mock Draft and preview what options the Commanders have in the first round.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Joining us now is our friend Matt Miller, the NFL draft scout on social media working
00:05for ESPN, just released.
00:07Matt, I got to start here, dude.
00:09How much time and effort does it take to do a full seven-round mock draft?
00:15Wow.
00:16It takes a while, guys.
00:18It really does.
00:19I think the key is to be organized.
00:21If you're organized, it probably takes about two days.
00:24You know, so it's knowing your team needs, your scheme fits, future contract issues that
00:30are going to pop up.
00:31That's the goal, right?
00:33It's to be on top of all that so that when it's time to do the mock draft, you're just
00:36connecting dots.
00:38I get it.
00:38And I guess if you do all the scouting and put all the information, kind of sort it by
00:44position or whatever, then it's just a matter of, you know, kind of slating it out, which
00:49makes sense.
00:50But still, man, it's an impressive effort, and I salute you for it.
00:53But I appreciate it.
00:55So everybody knows it's Mendoza at one to Vegas.
00:59Now it's going to be Mendoza and Kirk to Vegas.
01:01I think Kirk will actually do well in that role.
01:03How do you think Kirk will handle kind of being there with another guy?
01:07Yeah, I think he's, I mean, he's done it, right?
01:09When he was drafted by Washington, it was him and RG3.
01:12So he's been on the other side of this, you know, of being the fifth round.
01:16So the cool thing about Kirk is not only are you reuniting him with Kubiak, but you're
01:21getting him in a situation where he's not expected to be the franchise savior, he's
01:25not the franchise quarterback.
01:26He's the placeholder, and his job is to show Mendoza what it takes to be a starting quarterback
01:32in the NFL.
01:33How long do you think they'll be trying to work that out with Kirk and Mendoza?
01:37Because I know they have a certain amount of time they would expect that young quarterback
01:41to make that step.
01:43Yeah, and I think the beauty with where the Raiders are at is there is no rush, right?
01:49Like you don't have to get this dude out there right away because there's no expectation of
01:52you being anything this year, right?
01:54So I think you can wait and see.
01:57Now, do I think we see Kirk Cousins play an entire year?
02:00No.
02:01I think we ultimately will see Mendoza be the starter at some point.
02:06This is more like an insurance policy in case he's not ready for week one.
02:10So if he is, cool.
02:12We put him out there week one.
02:14If he's not, we have someone that we know will be ready and can hold things down until
02:19the number one overall pick is out there.
02:22Talking with Matt Miller here from ESPN.
02:24You can give him a follow at NFL Draft Scout.
02:27So the draft really starts with the second overall pick because everybody knows what's
02:32happening at one, and it seems like maybe there's some consensus at two with what the
02:36Jets are going to do.
02:37But I know you just put out your latest mock.
02:39Like, how do you see kind of two and three going after Mendoza?
02:43Yeah, I think the Jets are interesting.
02:45They'll go pass rusher is the kind of information we're all getting.
02:48Who that pass rusher is is the question mark.
02:50Does it become Arbel Reese, the upside player from Ohio State who, you know, has made a transition
02:55from linebacker to pass rusher?
02:57There's going to be some shade to Micah Parsons and Abdul Carter when talking about that move.
03:01Or do you go with the proven production of David Bailey who had 14 and a half sacks last year
03:06at Texas Tech.
03:08Also a one-year starter who transferred in from Stanford.
03:11A little bit of a different guy.
03:13Not as twitchy maybe as Arbel Reese, but certainly has speed around the edge.
03:17So I think for the Jets, the question right now is which of those two guys do you prefer
03:22in Aaron Glenn's defense?
03:23Who do you like better?
03:24I don't know that there's a wrong answer, but for me in the mock draft, I went with Reese
03:29going for the upside over more of the proven production.
03:33So the big question, the wild card in this thing, Jeremiah Love, in your latest mock,
03:40it seems like the earliest he could go is Tennessee.
03:42That's where you put him.
03:44How real do you think Love going to the Titans is?
03:48I think it's real.
03:49It's a team that was really aggressive through trades and trades to see it checking off needs.
03:53You know, to go down the list and say we're going to get an edge rusher, we're going to
03:56get a power defensive end, we're going to get a corner.
04:00They checked off a lot of needs.
04:01And so I think you now see them in a position where they can say, we don't have a true
04:06need
04:06at four.
04:08So we can go best player available.
04:10You have Tony Pollard, you have Tajay Sharp, you've got a couple guys in there, or excuse
04:16me, Tajay Spears.
04:16You got a couple guys in there that are okay backs, but Tony Pollard's 29, right?
04:21We're getting to the end of that run.
04:22So I do think that you look at Jeremiah Love, he's the best player in the draft, in my opinion.
04:27Just a fantastic all-around running back, do-it-all player, home run speed, great hands, good power,
04:34214 pounds.
04:35It is a need for them.
04:37And you could say, yeah, we'd like to get a wide receiver in there.
04:39If there's not a receiver that you would draft at four, and there's a possibility maybe
04:43even the edge rushers can be wiped out if Reese goes two and Bailey goes three or vice
04:48versa.
04:49So we could be looking at a situation where not only is Love a need and a value, but he's
04:53a really good fit with what's on the board.
04:55Every year in the draft, they always seem to have this run on a certain position.
05:01Do you ever think about that when you're putting together a mock draft?
05:05Absolutely.
05:05And I think you see receivers, corners, pass rushers, when one goes, there's almost like
05:11a panic of, okay, now we've got to go.
05:14We don't want to miss out on this guy.
05:16So yeah, I definitely factor that in.
05:18And that's where I think you try to stay true to team needs and value.
05:22You try to factor those things in, but you're also looking at the run.
05:26And I think the cool thing about doing a seven-round mock draft that's a little bit different
05:29is you can say, okay, if we don't get, you know, we can take like the Raiders, for
05:34example, you know, okay, at pick in round two, if you don't get a receiver in round
05:39two, what's going to be there in round three and round four, round five, you know, so you
05:43try to be aware of those scenarios, basically of how do you stack the board to where you
05:49can get the most value as you, as you work down the list.
05:52So one of the things that's cool, especially here in Washington is the ability to look at
05:57your full seventh round mock and considering Washington doesn't have that many picks going
06:03into this draft, how they can balance it out.
06:06One thing that it's hard to say consensus, especially, you know, three weeks from the
06:10draft, it seems like there's a lot of smoke around Carnell Tate going six to Cleveland.
06:16And it makes a lot of sense.
06:18I mean, their sec, Jerry Judy was their leading receiver, I believe.
06:22But after that, it was all tight ends and running backs until you get way down the list.
06:25They could really use a receiver and Tate belongs in the top 10.
06:32I think depending to everybody you talk to it, Tate to Cleveland seems almost a certainty,
06:38would you say, or does it depend how other things go?
06:41Like he'll be there.
06:44Yeah, I think he'll be there.
06:46I don't, I don't get the sense that it's a lock.
06:48I do think there's a lot of smoke about that, but Cleveland's a wild card, right?
06:52They, last year, we were all saying, there's no way they won't just draft Travis Hunter.
06:57He's the best player of the draft.
06:58Why wouldn't you draft Travis Hunter?
07:00And they traded the pick, right?
07:01And so I think with Cleveland, you should never feel like you know what Cleveland's going to do.
07:08Would be like the best advice I could give anyone.
07:10Because like what might make sense to you and me has not made a lot of sense historically in Cleveland.
07:16So I try not to, I try not to, you know, and even with that, it's like, could you just
07:23apply logic?
07:24No, because it's Cleveland and they're going to do whatever they want, even if it's, you know,
07:28goes against what we all say should be the fit for them.
07:31Matt, the commanders did a lot in off season where I think they put themselves in a position
07:35where they're not forced to have to go to a certain position where they can try and get the best
07:40player available at that time.
07:41You have them picking Mansoor Delane and that kid has stepped up, did some great things.
07:48Do you feel that they need to lean?
07:49Why do you feel that they'll go with cornerback?
07:52Yeah, I agree with you.
07:53I don't know that this is a team that has that one clear cut need.
07:57I mean, you could look at a couple of those spots.
07:59For me with corner, you bring in Amik Robertson, but he's an inside guy.
08:05You know, Marshawn Lattimore tears the ACL last year, middle of the season.
08:08It's a team that lacks a lockdown outside corner, and that's what Mansoor Delane is.
08:15You know, and he has this, he has not great size over guys like Sander still,
08:20but he has enough size combined with speed and instincts to be that type of player, right?
08:26To be that guy that can shut down on the edge.
08:28We saw him do it at Virginia Tech.
08:29We saw him do it at LSU this past year.
08:30I think from a technique and timing standpoint, there was no better corner in college this past season.
08:36That just translates so well to what you need on the outside, you know,
08:41and to be able to do that with, I think, 4-3-9 is what he came in with speed
08:44-wise.
08:45That is, you know, 6'1", 185.
08:49He plays with toughness.
08:51He plays with, you know, he's feisty.
08:53He's not afraid to hit.
08:54He's an impact in the run game.
08:56I think he's one of the few true first-round players in this class.
09:00So if he's there, if the board kind of falls this way, man, I think that's just such a good
09:05fit for what they need on that defense.
09:09It's funny.
09:09I think since the pro day in Baton Rouge, the lane stock has kind of jumped.
09:15Is that consistent with your research and your sources, or has it always been there, and then it just became
09:20a lot more obvious?
09:22No, I think it's trended up, right?
09:25I do think that it's gone that direction where you see it continue to get better, you know, because of,
09:32I think some of it is the pro day, some of it's the combine, some of it's, we're getting to
09:36that part where team needs are starting to factor in a lot more.
09:40But, man, he's just such a fun player.
09:42And in this class, there aren't a lot of guys that are as proven as he is, you know, that
09:46are as, you turn on the tape, it's SEC football, and he's locking folks down week in and week out.
09:51There aren't a lot of guys in this class that you could say that about.
09:55Sure.
09:56So, not to skip too far ahead here, right, but it's interesting, because you went seven rounds, in your latest
10:04mock, Washington goes seven with delaying the corner out of LSU.
10:09And I think Love and Tate are off the board.
10:13So, the folks that want to yell about getting a skill position player for Jaden, there's not another guy worth
10:18taking at seven.
10:19So, then I scroll down in your latest work to the 71st pick, where you have Washington taking Malachi Fields,
10:27a receiver out of Notre Dame, previously played at UVA, a lot of production, a lot of size.
10:35What do you think of Malachi?
10:37How realistic do you think that is at 71?
10:40Because I think they will absolutely target a receiver at 71 if they can't get a skill position guy at
10:46seven.
10:47Yeah, I think it's real, and I'll say we just did, it came out today, we did a three-round
10:52mock draft.
10:53It was Malachi for Field, Jace, Jordan Reed, and myself.
10:56And if you want to read that and see kind of where player values are at, he went 80 to
11:01the Ravens in that mock draft.
11:03So, I think it's realistic that he's going to be there in that range, to 71 to 80.
11:08I like Fields, man.
11:09The size is there.
11:10Like you mentioned, the production is fantastic.
11:12He is a jump ball winner.
11:14He's not the fastest straight line guy, but I think he is faster with the ball in his hands.
11:19You know, he's a boundary receiver.
11:21He's going to play on the outside.
11:22He's going to bully defensive backs.
11:24He's going to win jump balls.
11:26And you got Terry, who's your field stretcher, right?
11:29So, here's your guy that's just going to win those jump balls, red zone play.
11:35And what he does on contested targets is really special.
11:38So, I like Fields a lot.
11:40Two other guys I've been high on are Ted Hurst out of Georgia State and Chris Bell out of Louisville.
11:47Where do you have those guys?
11:49How does Fields stack up?
11:50Obviously, you've got the injury wild card with Bell.
11:53Yes.
11:54I think if Chris Bell was healthy, he'd be a top 50 pick.
11:58He probably comes off in the early third round.
12:01Same with Ted Hurst.
12:02Like, Ted Hurst is probably right there in that 70 to 75 range, you know.
12:07And Hurst is a burner.
12:09My gosh, you know, it would be a perfect, I think, compliment to what you have in Terry.
12:14Because then you're just, gosh, let's just stretch the field and let these dudes kind of run and make plays.
12:19And they both have good size.
12:21Bell is so much fun because at 6'2", 220, he's still running by people.
12:26And just making plays.
12:28It's almost like I hate to compare him to A.J. Brown.
12:30But it's like watching A.J. Brown because guys that thick and who have that build, you rarely see that
12:36type of speed in the open field.
12:37But he has that.
12:38And then you get Hurst, who's a little bit more linear.
12:41You know, 6'4", 205.
12:43But, man, he is a sprinter.
12:46And that ability to get down the field and play vertically.
12:49I think either guy would compliment really well what you already have.
12:53It would compliment Jaden Daniels a lot.
12:54So it's like, with Chris Bell, do you want that in-breaking route runner who's going to be a yards
12:58-after-catch guy?
12:59With Hurst, you want a field stretcher who's just going to get downfield and make plays.
13:04We're talking with Matt Miller from ESPN here.
13:06You can give him a follow at NFL Draft Scout.
13:09Check out his latest full seven-round mock draft on ESPN.com.
13:15Kind of zooming out from Washington, Matt, what's your hardest evaluation of these first-rounders?
13:20Who's the guy, you know, it almost seems like inevitably there's one dude who's still sitting in the green room
13:25at the table with the cameras in his face at, like, 22,
13:28where everybody thought he was going to go top 10.
13:32Yeah, there's a lot this year.
13:34And I'll say this.
13:35For me, it's Ty Thompson.
13:36And it's the hardest evaluation because I watch the tape, I make my evaluation, and then I hop on TV
13:43and talk to my colleagues,
13:44and we are very different on our evaluation as a player.
13:47Oh, we know that.
13:48That always makes me like, okay, well, why am I different?
13:51I see a good, not great quarterback who's 6'1", 210 pounds, started 15 games in college.
13:58So you're an outlier three times over right there on size and on starts.
14:03A quarterback with under 15 starts in college has not had success in the NFL in the last 30 years.
14:09It just doesn't exist, you know?
14:11And folks are going to be listening to this and say Cam Newton, guys, he started for a year at
14:14JUCO,
14:15so I'm counting those just for a sake of argument.
14:17Like, that counts.
14:18And also Cam Newton is 6'5", 235 pounds.
14:21That is not Ty Simpson.
14:25I'll go over on it and I'll wait.
14:28Right, right, exactly.
14:29But you look at Ty Simpson and it's like, is this the dude you're going to break your rules for?
14:33And that's how I evaluate players is we have data now, really good data since 1999 on players at the
14:40combine,
14:42you know, GPS, like all the analytics, right?
14:44Is Ty Simpson the guy you break your rules for?
14:46Now, on the other side of that, there's Ruben Bain who has sub-31-inch arm length
14:51and a player has never been drafted in the first round at defensive end with sub-31-inch arm length.
14:56A player has never had 10 sacks in a season with sub-31-inch arm length.
15:01So is Ruben Bain the guy you break your rules for?
15:03Yes.
15:03I'm more likely to break my rules for him based on the film, right?
15:07And so, like, that's where, that's like a peek behind the curtain really simply of how I do my job.
15:12If you are an outlier, am I willing to break my rules for you?
15:16Ruben Bain, yes, I am because of the film.
15:19Ty Simpson, I'm not because of the film.
15:21So, and I know I'm different on him.
15:24We're on TV today at 3 Eastern, and I'm sure we're going to talk about it
15:28because I'm very different on him than everyone else.
15:30But I'll tell you, we did that three-round mock draft that came out this morning.
15:33No one else took him in the first round.
15:35He falls to the second round again.
15:36So I think it's one of those things.
15:39And which NFL team wants to throw their name on him in the first round?
15:42Because I can't find one that's willing to do it.
15:44So I think, I'm sure folks are tired of us talking about Ty Simpson,
15:48but to me it's like we're trying to prepare you for the reality
15:52that he might be that guy that's in the green room a lot later than people expect
15:56because he's a starting quarterback at Alabama.
15:58Well, I don't, his advisors should tell him not to go to the green room.
16:02Watch it from home.
16:03I agree.
16:03I just think people get so enamored with quarterbacks that when you don't have them,
16:09they try to fabricate one.
16:11And I think that's what's happening with Simpson.
16:13I agree.
16:14Yeah.
16:14And every year we're told this, you know, that, oh, you got to trade back into the late first round
16:19to get that fifth-year option.
16:20You don't.
16:21If a quarterback's good, you're never, he's never going to be playing on a fifth-year option.
16:25He's going to be locked up after year three.
16:27And yes, you get a little bit of a discount on year five.
16:30I guarantee you every team in the NFL would love to be paying a quarterback real money by year five
16:35because that means you have your guy.
16:37Means you got the answer.
16:38Jaden Daniels will be playing real money year five because he's their guy.
16:42You know, and then you look at Carolina with Bryce Young,
16:44going to be playing on a fifth-year option.
16:46No one knows if he's the guy or not, right?
16:48So I just, I think with these quarterbacks, you're right.
16:52There's the idea of if you don't have one, you have to reach for one.
16:54I think it's better to wait and miss on a quarterback than swing and miss on a quarterback.
17:00Agreed.
17:00I was talking with somebody from Pittsburgh at league meetings, and I was like,
17:03man, Simpson kind of reminds me of Kenny Pickett.
17:05And they were like, yeah, me too.
17:08I don't think it.
17:09And I also got an extremely non-biased perspective on Ty Simpson from one of our producers
17:15that's an Auburn grad.
17:16He says Simpson stinks.
17:20Very unbiased.
17:21Yeah, very unbiased.
17:22Matt, last thing from me, dude.
17:25So, Carnell Tate has emerged as wide receiver one in this class.
17:29But you've got Jordan Tyson, who, if you could consistently stay on the field,
17:33would probably be wide receiver one.
17:35And then you've got Makai Lemon, who's an absolute baller,
17:38but an undersized kind of maybe tweener.
17:41How do you look at those other two wideouts in Tyson and Lemon?
17:45Here's my hot take.
17:46I think Lemon's the best receiver in the class.
17:48So, maybe Tate's the consensus.
17:51I try to insulate myself from, like, what a lot of other people are saying about the draft.
17:55I think Lemon's – and they're close.
17:58Like, I have them, like, one player seven, one player eight.
18:01But I love wide receivers that get open on timing, on leverage, on technique.
18:07They both do that really well.
18:09But I just love the toughness and the ability to break tackles and run through contact that Lemon has.
18:15Tyson, I'm with you.
18:16But it's a hamstring issue.
18:18That's scary.
18:19And it's a guy who has been banged up a decent amount.
18:22And then the last time we saw him healthy in 2024, he had some drop issues.
18:27So, good player.
18:29I mean, he didn't come in as big as I thought he was.
18:32You know, he came in at, like, 6'2", 200 pounds.
18:34You know, and he was kind of billed as this big jump ball guy.
18:37That's not what he measured in at at all.
18:40And so, it's like, okay, what are you?
18:42You know, I think he might be closer to, like, Jerry Judy as a receiver than, you know,
18:47what he was thought to be as, like, a T. Higgins-type player.
18:50So, I like Tyson.
18:51I like Omar Cooper Jr. better.
18:53My updated rankings come out next week, and Cooper will be my number three receiver.
18:57That's Indiana, dude?
18:58So, Lemon Tate, Cooper Tyson, yeah.
18:59Yeah.
19:00So, you go Lemon Tate, and eventually Cooper.
19:04Yeah, Cooper, then Tyson, yep.
19:07I always appreciate non-group think.
19:10So, I support that.
19:12Matt, thank you so much for the time, dude.
19:14Really enjoyed getting to talk to you.
19:16We'll be watching, following all the work, all the way up until draft day.
19:20Appreciate you guys.
19:21Thanks so much.
19:22Bye, man.
19:23Thanks so much.
19:24Matt Miller, ESPN draft analyst.
19:26You can follow him at NFL Draft Scout.
19:30If the Commanders took Makai Lemon at 7, the internet would explode.
19:35But at some point, you just got to find your best player and roll with him, right?
19:38You got to go with who you think.
Comments