00:00Let's go out to the Make It Right Call, Kyle Wright hotline.
00:02Conor Rogers, NBC Sports, the NFL Stock Exchange Show.
00:05He joins us here on 92.3 The Fan.
00:07Conor, how are you doing today?
00:08I'm great, guys. Thanks for having me. How are you?
00:11Oh, we appreciate it.
00:12All right, let's start there and get your opinion on this
00:14before we dive into some Browns convos
00:16and what to do with pick number six overall.
00:18What do you make of the idea that Kirk Cousins, now a Raider,
00:21seems like they're going to go Kirk Cousins
00:23and then I don't even know if Mendoza's going to play this year, Conor.
00:26What's your take on that?
00:28Oh, man, I would think that's a giant mistake, honestly.
00:31I would go into camp with, you know, and who knows what they told Cousins
00:34and ultimately how he feels at this stage of his career
00:38if he's ready to accept that second life of a quarterback position
00:41where it's like I'm going to be the older mentor,
00:43I'm going to be the veteran, and when somebody gets hurt
00:45or somebody needs a breather, I'm ready to go.
00:48But Fernando Mendoza should be playing out of the gate.
00:50This guy has played a lot of college football.
00:52He drastically improved from his last season at Cal
00:56to his season at Indiana.
00:57He does pro aspects that Kubiak is going to ask him in this offense
01:01and want to play action, and they're going to throw the ball vertical
01:03and throw it outside the numbers with timing.
01:06And I don't – this isn't the guy that have to do that.
01:09Like, this isn't Jackson Dart.
01:11This isn't even Tyler Shuck.
01:12This is somebody that, man, I'm drafting him
01:15and I'm using up that rookie contract,
01:16and let's get him all the experience he needs.
01:18So I hope the Raiders start him week one.
01:21All right, well, while we're on the conversation of quarterbacks,
01:23a lot of buzz surrounding the Browns and Ty Simpson.
01:27We have people here saying that it's possible that Ty Simpson goes at six
01:30to the Browns.
01:32Is that something that you would believe that the Browns are actually interested?
01:36Got a laugh.
01:36Do you hear that?
01:37I heard the laugh.
01:38I heard the laugh, and I like the laugh.
01:41But is it something that you see as, like, reasonable
01:43for the Browns to actually like him,
01:45and does it make sense for their situation in your eyes?
01:48It's okay to like him and even draft him.
01:50I just – you've got to know how to play the board,
01:51and I don't have the feel that Ty Simpson is going to be –
01:55you know, I get asked this a lot with the Jets at 16 being in the New York market,
01:59and I get it.
02:00It's easy to draw.
02:01Like, you look – Aaron Glenn needs to sell hope.
02:03The Jets haven't had anything at quarterbacking forever.
02:06But at the end of the day, you've still got to assign grades to these guys
02:09and projections.
02:10And, you know, I look at Ty Simpson.
02:11I think the high-end outcome of Ty Simpson is a Bo Nix-level quarterback.
02:15That'd be great, right?
02:16You take Ty Simpson at this draft, and he turns into Bo Nix down the line,
02:20and, you know, he can win games with him.
02:22He's not going to move the needle for you as a top five to eight quarterback
02:24in the league.
02:25But that's a high-end outcome, guys.
02:27I mean, that's – and I don't see that player going in the top 20 picks
02:31of this draft.
02:32Like, the Browns don't need to do that at six.
02:34They can get a really dang good player at six.
02:37And the Browns could get a really dang good player at 24.
02:40I find it hard to find a home for Ty Simpson in the first round of this draft.
02:43As somebody that writes and does way too many mock drafts on podcasts,
02:48it just consistently kind of falls to, okay, the Jets are at 33.
02:51Aubrey, the Cardinals are at 34.
02:54If one of them really like him, do you pay the Jackson Dark trade to go into the
02:58back end of round one and get him?
03:00The Browns pick at 39.
03:01They could do the same exact thing.
03:03I'd rather use him as a crafty lotto ticket at quarterback instead of,
03:08you take Ty Simpson in the top 16.
03:10That's your guy in your regime, and he's going to define you one way or the other.
03:14And I don't talk to a lot of people that view him as that kind of bet.
03:18What's your dream draft scenario for the first round for the Browns at six and then 24?
03:23If it goes how you'd like it to go, what is that?
03:26Man, I'd love to get an offensive difference maker at six,
03:29how they stack that up between, I would imagine, Carnell Tate and Jordan Tyson.
03:34Tyson is always going to come back to the health.
03:37If he didn't have that, he would be, I think, the consensus top receiver in this draft.
03:41But that's a fair concern where you take Carnell Tate and maybe you just feel good
03:46about that kind of pick where you sit there and go, we know he's going to be healthy.
03:50You have the aspect of local-ish in a way.
03:53We can ask him to play on the outside.
03:55He's got great tracking.
03:56Todd Munkin can really use his perimeter game to get the ball to Carnell Tate.
04:01And then, because we've seen it both ways, a lot of people talk about Monroe
04:04freeling at six.
04:06I think you can get tackle at 24 or even move up the board a little bit if you feel
04:10like one of your guys is going to be gone.
04:12So you get your number one pass catcher at six.
04:14Well, let's see how the tackle class ultimately falls at 24.
04:17Does Monroe freeling make it there?
04:19We'll see.
04:20Even if he doesn't, you have other options in this class.
04:23And guys like, I like Caleb Lomu more than most as well.
04:26I have no problem taking a Caleb Lomu at 24 and coaching him up because he's a
04:30really, really good athlete.
04:31He could probably play on both sides to talk to him.
04:34And he said he's trained to play on both sides as well.
04:36If you look at that, you show up your offensive line.
04:38You get a number one pass catcher for your offense.
04:41And you're kind of free at 39 to improve the team the way you need to.
04:45I mean, do you look to add another cornerback to this defense?
04:48Is that a Keith Abney-level player from Arizona State?
04:51I don't think a Colton Hood from Tennessee makes it that far down the board.
04:55But if he did, his ability and man coverage in the kind of season he had,
04:59that would be a really, really big-time add.
05:00So, yeah, I think the Browns were positioned really well in the first round with those
05:04two picks to get the final piece for their offensive line.
05:07They did a great job rebuilding it in the pro market and then get somebody that you
05:10could run the pass game through beside Terrell Fannin.
05:14JP and I were sitting here talking, and we had a conversation sort of about what the ceiling
05:18for Carnell Tate is.
05:19If you put a ceiling and a floor on him, because we understand he's a, you know,
05:23whatever a safe prospect legitimately means, but what is the height for him?
05:27And then what is the worst outcome that you see legitimately for him?
05:31I think the lower end is probably a mid-range number two, right?
05:35I mean, because he's so detailed in everything he does with the footwork and the size and
05:41the route running, that guys like that, and he's got to get a little bigger and stronger.
05:45I was a little surprised to see him sub 200 pounds at the NFL Combine.
05:49Now, to be fair, he's also trying to kind of check a box at the 40th time that I doubt
05:53he
05:53actually plays that low of a weight.
05:55But I think, you know, that's kind of the floor for him is that mid-range number two.
06:00And then obviously the ceiling, he's not as big as this player, but when you watch the
06:04play style, he can really have a play style of a Tee Higgins, where he's got that tracking
06:08and the ability above the rim.
06:10And that, you know, a lot of people get this mixed up when they get obsessed with 40 times.
06:15The way you alter the tempo in your routes and the ability that some guys need three steps
06:20from a corner to make a play on the ball.
06:22Some guys need a half a step.
06:23And Carnell Tate is more in the lineup.
06:25I need a half a step because I'm going to have a better read on this ball.
06:28I have late hands and I can climb the ladder if I need to.
06:32So I think for that, that's what you look for in a number one wide receiver.
06:35Now, Tee Higgins doesn't have to be a number one wide receiver because he plays with Jamar
06:38Chase, but ultimately you guys get the play style situation.
06:43Connor Rogers joining us here on 92.3 The Fan on the Make It Right Call Kyle Ride hotline.
06:47Let me ask you, you said you like Lomu.
06:49What do you like about him?
06:50I just got lower half.
06:52He's very springy.
06:52He's somebody that everything's natural to him, right?
06:55When you watch him in his pass sets, he can match movement.
06:58He's able to mirror like an actual true left tackle.
07:01I mean, he needs to get stronger.
07:02He's a very young player in this draft.
07:05You know, he's only got a couple years starter and he started very early in his career at
07:08Utah.
07:09They had to bookend to tackle between him and Spencer Fano.
07:12And, you know, for the Brown situation, even with the short arms, I just can't see Spencer
07:16Fano making it to 24 because somebody will take him even earlier than that to play guard if
07:20they love the player.
07:21But, yeah, Lomu, to me, he just has a lot of gifts that natural left tackles need where,
07:27man, if you can just get that anchor a little bit stronger, get him to consistently play
07:31and protect with a flat back and time his hands right and get those inside hands.
07:35And he's somebody, once again, for a young guy, like really, really will take the coaching
07:38and development that you look down the road two or three years from now and that play
07:42strength matches what an NFL tackle looks like.
07:44You could be looking at one of the better tackles in this class because, you know, we went through
07:48this group, right, like Monroe Freeling is also on that trajectory of a developmental
07:52guy that there's a lot of upside.
07:54Now I know it's a true right tackle that some teams like the right guard.
07:57Fano, I really like Fano, but some teams will tell you they think he's an interior player
08:01only.
08:02So it's a weird group where you have the top end tackles, some of them are asked to kick
08:07inside the guard.
08:08While the mid-range guys like Lomu, Freeling, Maxi Honachor from Arizona State, they're viewed
08:13as guys with big upside but might be a year away.
08:18I'm going to take it back to a receiver for just a second because I think that a lot of
08:22people got wrapped up early on in this thing with the top three type of receivers.
08:27Who is kind of your favorite out of that second group of guys and does he potentially transcend
08:33that top three where he's drafted before a Makai Lemon or a Tyson?
08:38I have one more Cooper Jr. over Makai Lemon and I know that's not popular but, you know, this
08:43comes down to me for just the physicality and speed.
08:46And Makai Lemon's a good player, he's a bit of a slot-only player for me, and you know,
08:50a smaller wide receiver that's not really fast that has to play in the slot, that's
08:54not going to be for everybody.
08:55And that's okay, because he'll be a really valuable possession player.
08:58He's fearless over the middle of the field, he catches everything.
09:01But with Omar Cooper, you watch his ability with the ball in his hands, his ability to
09:05create explosive plays after the catch, and he'll run slant and shallow crossers over
09:09the middle of the field and break multiple tackles.
09:12But he's also got the body control and that acrobat nature to, once again, kind of climb
09:18the ladder, the hang time, and make plays on the outside as well.
09:21He doesn't have to play the slot for you.
09:23He's got the 4-4 wheels, the concentration, and once again, a bigger body as well.
09:28Not that much bigger than Lemon, but he's a bigger, faster player.
09:31So, I think that's why Omar Cooper, you know, you, once again, you love to make it to the
09:36Browns at 24, but you hear a lot of chatter about the Jets at 16, the Panthers at 19, where
09:42he can come off the board in front of them.
09:44And then, you know, Denzel Boston is kind of in this group as well, because of the size.
09:49He's just physically imposing Washington's offense.
09:52He used him in a variety of ways.
09:54Like, if the Browns instead sat there and were like, we think Spencer Fano could play left
09:59tackle, we're going to take him at 6, because we value the offense.
10:02And we couldn't get Carr, we didn't take Carr and Alcate at 6.
10:05We'll take Denzel Boston at 24.
10:07He's bigger.
10:08I mean, he's a bigger player.
10:09He's not as polished in terms of the detailed footwork, but he makes plays all over the field.
10:14So, that's why I'm so fascinated with Cleveland, is we kind of know, at least I feel like I
10:19have a good feel of what they need, but how do they view the class of when to take those
10:23guys?
10:25Is there a quarterback in, like, the second or third or maybe even fourth round you think
10:29the Browns should be interested in?
10:30And we spend so much time talking about, is it Ty Simpson or not?
10:32But, like, the reality is, is they're taking a quarterback in this draft class and likely
10:35be someone in the second, third, or fourth round as just more of a flyer.
10:40Yeah, I don't love this group, honestly.
10:42It reminds me a little bit of the Kenny Pickett year where, you know, not in the same sense
10:47that, like, we actually have a top guy.
10:49Take Mendoza out of the picture, though, right?
10:50You know, Ty Simpson will probably go late 20s to early 30s, and then we might just be
10:58sitting there a really, really long time.
11:00Garrett Nussmeyer, if he made it to the fourth round, yeah, the Browns should take a flyer
11:04on him, right?
11:05I think the film in 2024 showed a guy that really had it between the ears, bigger arm
11:10than his size would indicate.
11:12And then he gets hurt in 2025, and he makes bad decisions, and he's not a great athlete.
11:17Like, the foot speed is kind of mediocre.
11:20You know, you look at Carson Beck, more of a point guard now.
11:22Carson Beck at Georgia had this power arm, but he's had the UCL surgery on the throwing
11:27elbow that, you know, now he has more of an average middling arm, but he's gotten these
11:31kind of smarter players, well, where he just knows how to distribute the ball, but more of
11:35a guy that you can win with, not a guy that kind of pulls the trailer and wins the games.
11:40And then you're just looking at projects galore, like Drew Aller, Cole Payton from North Dakota
11:44State, Joey Aguilar from Tennessee.
11:46If you take a flyer on those guys on day three, it's just hard to really sell, you know, that
11:51they're true needle movers in this offense.
11:54Connor, we'll check you out at the NFL Stock Exchange, as we always do.
11:57We appreciate you giving us a few minutes, and we'll catch up with you later.
12:00Thank you so much.
12:00Thanks, Connor.
12:01Thanks.
12:01Thanks for having me, guys.
12:03All right, good stuff right there.
12:04Connor Rogers on the Make It Right Call Kyle Wright Hotline.
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