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ESPN's Booger McFarland joins the show and he details where the Commanders can find game-changing players in this NFL draft.
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00:00Buddy from ESPN, Booger McFarlane, and get his thoughts on some of the news and notes
00:06from around the NFL.
00:07Booger, it's a big day in D.C.
00:08The Commanders are going back to their old Redskins look with their burgundy and white
00:12uniforms from the Super Bowl era.
00:14Fans are fired up here, man.
00:17Well, they should be.
00:18I'm not sure why they won't go back and just change everything.
00:20I mean, the uniforms basically look like the Redskins uniform.
00:24They appear to be the exact replica minus the Redskins logo.
00:30So it seems to me that they changed the name when not a lot of people wanted the name changed.
00:38So I guess we're going to look like the Redskins.
00:40We're going to feel like the Redskins.
00:42We're going to mistakenly call them the Redskins.
00:44But they'll just be known as the Commanders.
00:47I think that's pretty much the summary.
00:49I think you actually encapsulated it perfectly.
00:50That's pretty much where we're at.
00:51As long as you don't actually refer to them as the Redskins routinely or put the logo
00:56on the side of the helmet, we can all just do a big dance like it's still the Redskins
01:01when we see their uniforms.
01:03Yeah, it walks and talks like a duck.
01:04But it's a goose.
01:06Booker, just as one more uniform question before we do draft stuff with you.
01:11How much did you care about kind of like looking good or the threads or those sorts of things?
01:16Or was it just, who am I hitting on Sunday?
01:18You know what I mean?
01:18Like, were you a guy that cared about it?
01:21Well, I think everybody wants to look good when you go out and play.
01:23But that's not our main concern.
01:25I think the people that are on the team, you know, anytime you pay a billion dollars or more
01:30for a team, you get to kind of pick what the uniform looks like.
01:34So, you know, you would hope that it is a good look.
01:37You would hope that it's fashionable.
01:39But at the end of the day, as long as they check cash, we're going to wear it, you know?
01:42That's a fact.
01:43Yes.
01:43Before we end uniform talk with Booker McFarlane, I want to talk draft and the NFL abroad with you.
01:49When you think about the league right now, I know you're an LSU guy and the teams that you played
01:53for in the NFL.
01:54But is there a certain kit that you think stands above the rest or color scheme?
01:58Is there anything that you would say is tough to beat in terms of uniforms at this point?
02:04I don't know.
02:05I mean, I'm partial to the old school uniforms, the old Redskins, the old Broncos, the old Chargers, like the
02:15old Patriots.
02:16Like, it seems to me that the old uniforms were the best because every time the old uniforms are worn
02:22in a quote-unquote throwback atmosphere, everybody loves them.
02:26So, if we love them so much, then why the hell did we change them?
02:29That's what I keep asking myself because, man, like a lot of those old uniforms, like you throw the Buccaneers
02:34in there, like there's five teams right there.
02:37The Buccaneers, the Patriots, the Redskins, the Broncos.
02:43Like, you mean to tell me that those fan bases would not rather wear their throwbacks every week than wear
02:50the new uniforms?
02:51I think it would be unanimous if those teams would go back to their old uniforms.
02:56And you could throw the Falcons in there.
02:57Like, every time, it seems to me, every time a team comes out with a new uniform, all they're doing
03:03is going further back and getting closer to the old one.
03:08Booker McFarlane, most of his career in Tampa and then finished with the Colts, joining us on GND.
03:14All right, let's go around the league.
03:15I want to hit on the draft with you first in Fernando Mendoza.
03:18So, two-parter on him.
03:20You cover the college game very closely.
03:22What kind of NFL prospect do you think he is?
03:25He's obviously going to go 1-1.
03:27And then the Raiders went out and signed Kirk Cousins and guaranteed him $20 million.
03:31Clint Kubiak, who's tight with Cousins from their days in Minnesota, is the head coach there.
03:35How long until Mendoza starts, do you think?
03:39I'll answer the latter first.
03:41I think Kirk Cousins is going to be your day-one starter.
03:44I think there's a great sentiment that they want to get off to a good start.
03:52I think he's going to start the first four, five, six games maybe.
03:56And then they're going to look up and see where Fernando is.
03:59You know, when you pay a quarterback $20 million, when you guarantee him $20 million, that's nowhere near starter money.
04:04But that's above, that is above backup money also.
04:07So I think it's going to be somewhere in between Kirk Cousins has come out and said the best man
04:13should play.
04:14And there's no way you're going to convince me that Fernando is going to be better than Kirk in the
04:19first half of the season.
04:20And Kirk, let's not forget now, the reason he wanted out of Atlanta was so he could play.
04:25So Kirk's not coming out there just to hold a clipboard.
04:28So I think he plays at least the first half of the season.
04:31You couple that with the fact that Tom Brady has said most quarterbacks are ruined because they play too early.
04:36I don't think Fernando Mendoza hits the field before week eight, if not later than that during the season.
04:43Because this is not a play just to go out and win next year.
04:47This is let's put him out there when he's ready.
04:49And let's not forget, Patrick Mahomes played one game his rookie year, then he took over.
04:53So maybe we see another situation like that where Fernando plays, I don't know, two, three, four, five, six games,
05:00and then he takes over next year.
05:02As far as Fernando, he's six foot four, six five, two thirty.
05:07He throws it on time.
05:09He's accurate.
05:09But I think the number one quality you can't coach or you can't teach is, man, like the dude comes
05:16up big in big moments.
05:18He's tough as hell.
05:20I think those things matter when you look at a quarterback.
05:23And so I think based on what the college game has given us this year, he's the best pro prospect
05:28at the position.
05:29Does that mean he's going to be successful?
05:31Well, I don't know.
05:31We'll see.
05:32But he has a lot of the attributes that you would look for in an incoming rookie.
05:39And we'll see where it goes from there.
05:40Speaking of incoming rookies, I want to talk a couple draft prospects with you, specifically Reuben Bain.
05:46There's varying degrees of, you know, sort of, I guess, like the scouts have, you know, is he an inside
05:51guy?
05:52Is he an outside guy?
05:52He was so good at Miami, et cetera.
05:54Now we've sort of discovered, I guess, teams knew.
05:56But now we kind of hear about the unfortunate incident that he was directly involved in.
06:01What's your view of him at this point?
06:02What kind of pro is he going to be?
06:05I think the incident is separate.
06:06You know, you feel bad for someone that lost a loved one.
06:10The NFL knew about that a year ago.
06:12That's nothing new.
06:15Do with that what you want.
06:16They've already known about it.
06:17And he's still going to be a top 15 pick.
06:19Like, I think, you know, everybody's concerned about the short arms.
06:23I think there's a reason to be concerned.
06:26And then you turn the tape on and then you say, okay, he's a football player.
06:30Can he go inside?
06:31Sure, on some 30 downs.
06:32But he can't major as a defensive tackle.
06:35I think he's going to be a power defensive end.
06:38If you remember Will Allen, who played for the New Orleans Saints.
06:45If you remember Graham that played in Philadelphia.
06:51These are smaller ends, 6'2 ends.
06:54Will Smith, I'm sorry, not Will Allen in New Orleans.
06:56Like, these are 6'2, 260 to 270 defensive ends, power players.
07:03And so I think he's going to be fine, man.
07:05Like, just turn the tape on.
07:06He makes plays.
07:07He's productive.
07:10And at the end of the day, this is not the Olympics, man.
07:13Like, this is not going by what you measure by.
07:16This is about making plays.
07:17And he's clearly made enough plays to be a top 15 pick.
07:20One of the top analysts covering football, Booger McFarlane,
07:23hopping on with us on G&D.
07:25We're about a week out now from the NFL draft,
07:28eight days away in Pittsburgh.
07:30Washington has the seventh pick.
07:32One of the storylines that's dominated here, Boog,
07:35is this idea of draft value.
07:38And that's kind of all you hear when I float Jeremiah Love
07:43or someone else tells you they really want Sonny Stiles
07:45or, you know, the idea that Caleb Downs is one of the best players
07:48in the country could go top five or seven.
07:51Where are you at on draft value being a governing principal,
07:54even in a year like this, where maybe three of the best five
07:57or six players in the class are at non-premium,
08:01non-high-paid positions?
08:03You know what, I remember a time when, you know,
08:06we tried to get draft value when we drafted Mike Mamula
08:10because he was a defensive end.
08:11That worked out pretty good, huh?
08:13Like, I mean, listen, the name of the game is to get good football players.
08:18It doesn't matter what position they are.
08:21Sure, you'd love the position to be a quarterback, edge rusher,
08:24left tackle, corner, wide receiver.
08:26But, man, just get good football players.
08:28Like, I don't, you know, years ago, don't draft a running back.
08:32In the first round, man, look at the productivity
08:36that the Cowboys got out of Zeke Elliott.
08:38Look at what Jameer Gibbs is.
08:40Look at what B. John Robinson is.
08:41Like, these are all pro players that you drafted earlier.
08:47Like, that's the name of the game.
08:48Like, and when we can say, well, those players haven't correlated to winning,
08:52well, they probably don't have a quarterback either, okay?
08:55So, it still doesn't mean that B. John Robinson
08:57is not the best running back in football.
08:59It still doesn't mean that Jameer Gibbs is not a home run.
09:02Like, I like players that can change the game.
09:05I don't care what position you put them at.
09:07Like, very few players in this league can score from anywhere on the field, okay?
09:14Jeremiah Love can do that.
09:15I don't care if he plays running back.
09:17He can go 99.
09:19I need him out there.
09:20You look at off-the-ball linebacker and Sonny Stiles.
09:23Very few guys are 6'4", 240, and can run 4'4", playing linebacker.
09:30He's not a hybrid.
09:31He's a pure linebacker.
09:33I don't care if the middle linebacker is not a premium position.
09:36Put him on the field.
09:37Like, we get so enamored with these things that, and please don't take this the wrong
09:44way.
09:45We get enamored by words and catchphrases that people who didn't play the game latch on to
09:52so they can sound smart.
09:55The name of the game is productivity in football.
09:58Catching, tackling, throwing, those are the things that really matter.
10:03I don't care what position they are.
10:05If you can play football and you can do it at a high level, man, just take good football
10:09players.
10:09I think that's the whole key to the NFL draft.
10:12Don't get cute.
10:13Don't try to be analytical and come up with all these different terms.
10:17Man, if a guy's making plays in college and he's making plays at a high level, that usually
10:22translates pretty good to the National Football League.
10:25Who's your favorite defender in this class, Booker?
10:28I got several, man.
10:29Like, if you're talking my favorite guy up front, it's probably David Bailey, Reuben
10:37Bain, Mezzador.
10:39I like the defensive tackle out of Navy.
10:43Linebacker, I like Jacob Rodriguez.
10:45Like, these guys that I'm naming, all they do is make plays, man.
10:49Like, I like guys that make plays.
10:51Because if you make plays at a high level at the Power Four, then it gives me an opportunity
10:56to look at you that you can make plays in the National Football League.
11:00I need guys that are productive.
11:02Mansoor Delaney, the corner at LSU.
11:04I saw him cover the best receivers in the SEC.
11:07Everybody's talking about Jeremiah McCoy.
11:08I hadn't seen him play football in, like, 15 months.
11:11I don't know.
11:13He does the Olympics well as far as testing, but I need to see him play football.
11:18And then another thing that I'll add, football is not a game about if you're going to get
11:24injured.
11:24It's a game of when you're going to get injured.
11:27Everybody's going to get hurt.
11:29You name me a player, and I can tell you the injury that they've had.
11:32So this is not a game where you're going to have people that don't get hurt.
11:37Everybody gets hurt.
11:38It is a 100% injury rate in our game.
11:43So when I look at a guy like Jordan Tyson, the wide receiver at Arizona State, he's the
11:48best receiver in the draft.
11:49He's had a couple injuries.
11:50Well, guess what?
11:52Everybody's going to get hurt.
11:53So you know what?
11:54I just hope that he only has a couple more in the National Football League and doesn't
11:58have 10 or 12.
11:59Because it is a league, and you guys can write this down as you discuss the season throughout
12:05the year, it is a 100% injury rate league, always has been, always will be.
12:12Booger McFarlane on G&D, former 15th overall pick, a guy that plays your position, that was
12:18drafted about where you were, Dexter Lawrence, was the 17th pick by the Giants in 2019, is
12:23currently on the trade block.
12:25I saw a report today that they're at an impasse, and maybe he ends up getting dealt around draft
12:30time.
12:31How did we get here with Dexter Lawrence?
12:33Two years ago, he had nine sacks.
12:35He was kind of the closest thing in the league, Darren Donald, at one point, as the best of the
12:39rest of the position.
12:40I know it was a rough year last year, but do you really think this is going to end with
12:44the Giants moving on from him?
12:47Yeah, like, you know, it's clear the Giants don't want to pay him $28 to $30 million.
12:53And it's kind of a, it's a tough situation.
12:56Here's why.
12:58Usually, when you pay a defensive tackle that much money, they're getting double-digit sacks,
13:01and they're getting them consistently.
13:03Well, his best year, I think you said he had nine a couple years ago.
13:07Last year, he didn't have one or two.
13:09So even if you average it out, that's like six sacks in two years, and you're going to
13:13pay me $30 million.
13:13Now, I do, for the Dexter Lawrence supporters out there, in which I'm one of them, I would
13:18just say that he has the most pressures from the nose tackle position of anybody.
13:23Like, he's the most dominant nose tackle in football.
13:25How much of a value are you going to put on the nose tackle position, though?
13:29Because it's not a premium position.
13:31And it sounds like the Giants have decided, hey, we're cool with the 20 to 22.
13:37We're not going to pay you 30 to 35, though, big fella.
13:40And you know what?
13:42As a guy who played the position, I'd be cool with 20, 25, 26.
13:48But evidently, Sexy Dexy wants a little bit more than that.
13:51I don't think the Giants are willing to give a nose tackle that is not affecting the ball
13:57almost $30 million a year.
13:59So it's a change in philosophy.
14:01I think that eventually they're going to trade him.
14:04And there are a lot of teams that are lined up.
14:06And, you know, beauty has always been in the eye of the beholder.
14:09And I think somebody's going to get him and be really happy.
14:12Booger, forgive me for not remembering, but in your seven-sack season back in 2000
14:17or when you got your 22-plus career sacks, did you have a dance like Dexter Lawrence did?
14:21Sexy Dexy dance?
14:23Yeah, man, everybody's got a little couple moves that they make, man.
14:26Like, sacks are hard to come by.
14:28Like, you better have something to celebrate the small wins in our game.
14:32So they're hard to come by unless you, like, get 100 of them, like Miles Garrett and T.J. Watt.
14:38Like, those guys are used to it.
14:40But us regular folks always have something to celebrate with.
14:44Love that.
14:45But great to catch up with you, buddy.
14:46Sincerely appreciate it.
14:47Enjoy the weekend and the draft next week.
14:50Always.
14:50Have a good one, pal.
14:51Have a good one, pal.
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