- 2 days ago
Nick Baumgardner joins the show to discuss the latest prospect movement as the NFL Draft is just a day away.
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00:00I am fired up to talk to our friend Nick Baumgartner from The Athletic,
00:05draft expert on what must be a busy, busy week for him.
00:08Nick, what's up, dude? How are you?
00:11Good, good. How are you?
00:11We're doing good, man.
00:15Jeremiah Love as high as three.
00:18That emerged, I want to say, Monday when Schefter kind of put it out there.
00:23Yeah.
00:23Is that real to you?
00:25Because if you're Arizona and you're trying to drum up trade interests,
00:27the best way to do it is be like, man, we might take love.
00:31Right.
00:32Yeah, I mean, I think that that's real to me for a couple reasons.
00:34One, like you just said, I think it's either trade bait
00:37or something that you're trying to mess with people.
00:39The other thing there is Arizona is one of those teams that has an owner
00:45that has been known to just kind of be like, look, this is what I want to do,
00:49and I don't care what your scout came up with.
00:52This is who we're drafting.
00:53So it doesn't make a lot of sense for Arizona to draft Jeremiah.
00:55I love Jeremiah Love, no pun intended there.
00:58I think he's the best player in the draft.
00:59However, I think the Cardinals could get a lot more value out of that pick
01:04possibly and help for their team if they went elsewhere.
01:07I do think it's possible, though, that that's there at three,
01:10and maybe it is a trade bait situation,
01:13but given their situation there with the ownership,
01:15I don't think you can rule it out.
01:16Nick, every year we start looking at the skill positions
01:20and things of that nature, but then you get the big offensive lineman
01:24who's beginning to pop up in the first round.
01:26Do you see any chance of that happening this year
01:29and push some of those defensive pass rushes back a little bit?
01:33Yeah, I think we're going to see that.
01:36I think we're going to see possibly some receivers get pushed back too
01:40because this is really kind of a unique group offensive line-wise.
01:43I think there's probably seven tackles and one interior guy,
01:48Venga Iwane from Penn State, so there's probably eight offensive linemen
01:51who are probably going to get taken in the first round.
01:54And, you know, there's a couple of those tackles that are probably going to be
01:57graded mostly in the 20s, late 20s, maybe early 30s by a lot of people.
02:02But as we know, those guys always go higher.
02:04The tackles always go higher than sort of the guards.
02:07The offensive linemen almost always go higher than people end up projecting them
02:11unless the receivers and edges are just that dynamic.
02:15And really after the top tier of either, it's not really the case.
02:18So I think we'll see a lot of offensive linemen go in this draft first round.
02:23And we'll see how many receivers and edges stay with them as well.
02:26I mean, they'll be their fair share, but I'm not sure how many of them will get pushed down.
02:32Talking about receivers and how all of this can go, forgive me.
02:36I'll try to pull it up as I ask this.
02:39We're talking with our friend Nick Baumgartner from The Athletic.
02:41What do you make of the ascension of Jordan Tyson and specifically the connection with the Giants
02:48at maybe even No. 5 with Jordan Tyson?
02:52How real is that?
02:53What is going on with Carnell Tate?
02:55What do you make of the top of this receiver area?
02:59Yes, I think the debate there, it's one that I think is just now surfacing publicly
03:04that teams have been having for months.
03:06And it's that you weren't going to know really until you got all the medical reports back on Jordan Tyson
03:10because that was the whole thing with him.
03:12When the year started, Tyson was pretty easily receiver one.
03:16And on most boards across the league, he was a top 10 pick.
03:20But as time goes on, he gets hurt again.
03:24They're in 2025, which marked every year he's played.
03:27He's had an injury.
03:27He had a big-time injury his first year there at Colorado.
03:30Then he had a collarbone.
03:31He's had hamstrings.
03:32He's missed time every single year he's played.
03:35The availability questions are very real, but they're not the same injuries.
03:41They're all kind of different things.
03:42So I think teams were very curious to see what the medical testing
03:45and all the deep checks on that would come up with.
03:47And if teams are okay with his medical situation,
03:50then it's not going to shock anybody if he goes in front of Cardinal Tate.
03:54And it's not going to shock anybody if he goes in the top 10
03:56because as a full package wide receiver, he is the most complete one in the group.
04:00He's a little bit older than Tate, but he's also more polished.
04:03He's a better blocker.
04:04He's a better, more consistent route runner than everybody else in this class.
04:07If he's healthy and available, he could be a one, no question.
04:10I think Cardinal Tate could blossom into a number one in the NFL, too.
04:15But Tyson really, I think it's a little bit like Puka Nakua,
04:18how he was viewed when he came into the draft.
04:20And teams are now hyper-aware.
04:21Everybody remembers that with Puka inside the league where teams loved him,
04:25but he did not play.
04:26He played like four games a year at BYU.
04:28He was hurt all the time.
04:29And so people were scared of him.
04:31He falls.
04:32The Rams get a pro bowler in the sixth round.
04:34And now teams see these receivers like this, and they're a little bit more,
04:36hey, we'll wait.
04:37We'll wait and see.
04:38And I think Tyson, maybe that's the case here.
04:40But we'll see.
04:41It could be smoke, too.
04:42Teams could be throwing smoke to see how many others will bite on it.
04:45Do you see the, I mean, all of the, we heard about the pass rushers and all that.
04:52Those, the guys that they named, Bailey, Reese, Bain, will those guys be gone early on?
04:59Yeah, I think all those guys are, I think for sure that Reese and Bailey are top five picks,
05:04probably top three picks, if things are, if the Cardinals do what they should do,
05:09the Reese and Bailey should be top three picks.
05:10I think, I like Reese to the Jets.
05:12I think Bailey to the Cardinals would be really good.
05:15I think Reuben Bain is a top 10 player, but I don't know where he's going to go.
05:19You know, the length concerns are a real thing.
05:22They've been there all year.
05:23There were teams back in August that would tell you they had him as a second round three tech,
05:28regardless of the production and everything else that he was getting at edge,
05:31because they just didn't think a guy with 30-inch arms was going to be able to handle it
05:34on the outside of the NFL, and that's still an opinion of some teams, not all.
05:38So I'm curious to see, you know, if he slides, how far it will be, if he slides at all.
05:44I think he's probably somewhere, if I projected it would be bottom of the top 10,
05:47but I certainly think he could dip into the teams there too.
05:50He also had some off-field issues that teams are aware of as well with a traffic accident there too.
05:54So he could slide, but he's definitely for Trump pick.
05:58I mean, I've heard this more and more.
06:01I think a lot of people have connected the Ravens with the guard out of Penn State.
06:05Is it Ione?
06:07Is that how you say it?
06:08Ione.
06:08Ione, actually.
06:09Ione.
06:09Ione.
06:11But dude, if Bain gets all the way to 14, doesn't he seem like the ultimate Baltimore Raven?
06:19Just a badass bully with a mean attitude?
06:22100%.
06:22100%.
06:23And I think that it would be a tough conversation, and it really would have to come down to,
06:27hey, did you like, you know, Venga Ione, or do you like Bain better?
06:30And I'm probably like Bain better, and I would just be like, that's what the Ravens do.
06:33We'll just take the best guy who's available when we're picking.
06:36And at the end of the day, we will find out how to make that guy work for what we
06:40do.
06:41I feel like the Ravens do that better than any team in the NFL and have for the last, like,
06:4620 years.
06:47And so, yeah, I think that, yes, yes, exactly.
06:50Like, that's the reason why these, every year, like, I've heard people, they've joked to me,
06:54you know, the tight end from Oregon, the freaky guy, Kenyon Sadiq.
06:57Everyone's joked, oh, he's going to fall all the way down to Philly.
06:59They're going to get him at 20.
07:01I'm like, they probably will, because all you other teams in front are ridiculous.
07:04You're just going to pass on them, you know?
07:05Like, it's not their fault that you guys do this all the time.
07:08So, Baltimore's right there, man.
07:09I think that, yeah, if one of those guys starts to slide, I definitely think they could do it.
07:14And maybe it would surprise some people.
07:16But, you know, if you really pay attention to their drafts, it shouldn't surprise you.
07:18They just like the best guy there.
07:19And I think Bain's going to be good, you know?
07:21I think he would be a Raven, too.
07:22He'd be a really good player there.
07:23Isn't that exactly what they did with Hamilton?
07:25Didn't Hamilton go 14th?
07:26That's exactly what they did with Cal Hamilton.
07:27Yes.
07:28And it's the same number, too.
07:30It's the same situation.
07:32And it's like nobody learns a lesson.
07:33You know, we do this all the time.
07:35There's a bunch of safeties this year that are really good, too.
07:37Like, I don't know where Caleb Downs is going to go from Ohio State, you know?
07:40Yeah.
07:41I doubt he slides too far, but, I mean, my God.
07:44Like, if he were to fall to, like, 13 or 14, like, what are we doing here?
07:47You know, like, that's not.
07:48But that's, you know, that's how the NFL goes sometimes.
07:50As you look at this draft and you get positions that may be a little stronger than others,
07:55which one do you think is the strongest in this draft?
07:58Yeah.
07:58The defense, you know, you've got safety, linebacker are really good.
08:02This is a very strong defensive class.
08:05Edge is a good group again this year, too.
08:07I actually think the deepest position, though, is tight end.
08:10This is a really, really good tight end class.
08:12Not, like, super loaded at the tip-top there.
08:14You do have Sadiq, who's going to be a really good player in the first round.
08:17But you've got second-round guys, third-round guys, all the way through.
08:20I think there'll be guys on day three that end up getting taken that are going to be contributors,
08:24maybe as rookies.
08:26Guys, I think there'll be UDFAs that end up making teams this year.
08:29This tight end class is really, really deep.
08:30And I think it's kind of indicative of where the game is going.
08:33More college teams are using, you know, more tight ends in, you know, more NFL-ish ways.
08:39And obviously more NFL teams are loading up with more of them as well.
08:42So I do think this is a great year to dip into your tight end reserves.
08:45And if you need one, it's certainly a good year to get one.
08:48Talking with our friend Nick Baumgartner here from The Athletic.
08:51Read all of his work at The Athletic.
08:53Give him a follow.
08:55Nick Baumgartner, B-A-U-M-G-A-R-D-N-E-R.
09:00I know you're a Michigan guy.
09:03I've heard it's no secret the Lions want a tackle, preferably a left tackle,
09:09to line up kind of opposite Sewell, got to protect Goff, got to be better in the run game,
09:15all those things.
09:16You think the Lions could move up if a run on tackles happens?
09:20Yeah, I definitely think that's possible.
09:22I think that that's something that, you know, Brad Holmes is a little bit like,
09:25you know, what we see with Baltimore in that he won't take a guy just to do it
09:29at a position of need, you know, if it's not matching, you know, the top of the board.
09:33So if some of the tackles, you know, they're at 17, so some of the tackles that they like
09:38are, you know, kind of trickling around outside of 10, maybe to 11.
09:41I could see them trying to make a jump up because, you know, I think they're one of those teams
09:47that believes we're not going to be picking this high again if we have things go the way
09:52we want.
09:53So let's try to max it out and get the best player we want.
09:56And I could even see them being interested in Ioane, the guard from Penn State as well,
10:00because they've talked about, I think, moving Panay Sewell to left tackle, trying to find
10:04a younger guy to play right tackle.
10:06They signed a new center, so maybe you take the guard, put him in there, and just have,
10:09you know, a bully in the middle there.
10:10So I'm not sure what they'll do, but I would not be shocked at all if they move up.
10:14Also, I wouldn't be shocked if they move down.
10:15If it gets to 17 and their guy, they don't like it, it wouldn't surprise me if they try
10:20to get out of there and try to address it a little bit later.
10:22Yeah.
10:23What do you make of Dallas?
10:26A lot of different ways they could go.
10:28A lot of different ways.
10:30And I think it's interesting that I think all of us, myself included, were like, what
10:33are you doing when, you know, they traded Michael Parsons a year ago.
10:36But you look at the return they got and the moves they've made, and now here they are again
10:41with the two firsts, and they have a chance here now to check off a couple more boxes.
10:45I think they can go corner, maybe a linebacker.
10:48I think those are both needs.
10:49This is a really good corner and linebacker class.
10:51They could trade.
10:52They could trade up.
10:53They could go get a better guy if they want to.
10:54But suddenly, I think the Cowboys, you know, they're always interesting.
10:58You know, they've got a lot of attention on them always, and we'll see if they can execute.
11:00But they've done a nice job, I think, of maneuvering their way off a really tough situation,
11:04getting a lot of talent back in.
11:05And now they're in a situation here where they could get either one awesome player or
11:09two starters here out of the first round, which is maybe both on defense, which is exactly
11:13what they need.
11:13I don't love pointing this out, but Dallas has drafted pretty well over the last, you know,
11:19five, seven years.
11:20And I think it's helped that Steven has stepped into a more powerful role there.
11:26Something has changed.
11:27You're right.
11:28They have good scouts.
11:29Like, they tend to be smart just building up the trenches and believing in Dak.
11:34Yes.
11:35Yep.
11:35Their line is much better.
11:36Their offensive line is actually one of the better young ones in football.
11:40I 100% agree with you.
11:41I feel like they've transitioned from we're just going to run everything through Jerry to
11:46like, hey, we're going to trust these guys to do their jobs a little bit more.
11:48And you can see that when it comes to, I mean, there's still some Jerry picks, right?
11:51But for the most part, I think they've done a nice job.
11:55What do you think the possibility is Dallas stays at 12, kind of the best receivers are
12:02off the board.
12:04I'm sorry.
12:05The best defensive players are off the board and they go receiver.
12:09Yeah.
12:09I mean, I could, I could, I wouldn't do that unless it's Tate or Tyson.
12:13I would, that's too high for anybody else.
12:15If it's Tate or Tyson, I would be interested in that.
12:17But I also, for these teams that have been interested, that are interested in a receiver,
12:21I've said this to like the people with the jets and things like that, like 16, like if
12:26you want to receive like Kenyon Sadiq, the tight end is basically a receiver who can also
12:30play tight end.
12:31So it's like, I feel like he's going to go to a team that we don't expect, that it's
12:35going to be a little, a little bit of a wild card or a surprise.
12:37And people are going to be like, how are they going to use them?
12:39And then they'll be surprised to see how it goes.
12:41But Dallas, yeah, they could kind of do whatever they want.
12:42But I mean, within reason, but I really do think they've done a nice job of building up
12:47solid core players that they can build around.
12:49And now they can kind of mess around here and, and get creative.
12:53What about the Rams, dude?
12:54I feel like they get nuts.
12:57They're less, less needs like the master of all this.
12:59I feel like nobody does this better.
13:02You know, I think that they're now, they had the two to mess with, mess around with.
13:05They made the big trade to address corner.
13:09So I was, I would assume now that tackle is exactly what they're going to go get, but
13:14they're weird.
13:15They do weird stuff.
13:16And, you know, I don't, you know what I mean?
13:18Like, I don't know.
13:19I've been waiting for them to draft the quarterback.
13:21There's not one there though, this year to a, you know, long-term Stafford replacement.
13:25I almost wonder if they trade it and then try to get another extra next year to try to
13:29make a move on one of those quarterbacks.
13:30I don't know.
13:31I don't know what they're going to do, but they could kind of do whatever they would be.
13:33They would be a candidate, yeah, to take a weird, like, Sadiq or somebody crazy, like,
13:37what's happening here?
13:38And then, you know, all of a sudden it works out well.
13:39The Rams do a pretty good job with that.
13:41Young man from the area here locally.
13:42Also, he went to Virginia Tech, then went to LSU, Mansoor Delane.
13:46How do you see the interest happening with him as this draft began to unfold?
13:50He's my favorite corner in the draft.
13:52I think he's the safest one.
13:54You know, Jermon McCoy from Tennessee is a better athlete.
13:57His sophomore tape was pretty elite, but also, you know, he hasn't played in a year and
14:01a half.
14:01But also, you know, Mansoor Delane would have been right there for me with him, even
14:04if Jermon had played this year, because the last, it wasn't just the LSU tape.
14:09Like, his Virginia Tech tape was outstanding, too.
14:11He's just so comfortable in man coverage.
14:13He's so hard to fool.
14:15He's so hard to stack vertically.
14:17Really good speed.
14:18Really good in tight spaces.
14:19And just extremely confident with what he's doing.
14:22And I think that he's the top ten player.
14:24I would not, if somebody took him in the top ten, I wouldn't have a problem with it.
14:28But I think a lot of teams are really going to like him, and I don't think it's going
14:30to take him very long to be one of the more solid NFL corners.
14:34I don't know if he'll ever be like a superstar, like a whoa guy, but he's always going to
14:37be good.
14:37You know what I mean?
14:38I think that that's going to be sort of his floor, high floor player for a long, long
14:41time.
14:42I like him a lot.
14:43So, as we get closer, we keep hearing about trades, trades, trades, talking with Nick
14:47Baumgartner here from The Athletic.
14:49The draft starts tomorrow night in Pittsburgh.
14:51Brian and I will be there.
14:53What are your expectations for trades, trades, trades?
14:56I think that we could, you know, my expectation is Jeremiah Love, Sonny Stiles could drive some
15:02trades, maybe Kenny on Sadiq there in the first round.
15:06And like we said, maybe one of those tackles, maybe.
15:07But I think that where we're going to see trades are on like day two and maybe even
15:12day three, because there's so many good defensive players in this draft.
15:16And I think, especially on day two, I think we might see a lot more movement than we normally
15:19do, because there's going to be guys hanging there that are, you know, like a Malachi Lawrence.
15:24If he doesn't go in the first round, he is elite, you know, as an edge prospect.
15:28There's a lot of guys defensively that might not go in round one that a lot of teams have
15:32as first round prospects on their board.
15:34So I could definitely see a lot of movement for like linebackers and positions that we
15:38don't normally see movement for, you know, on day two and round two and round three.
15:42And then maybe even early on day three as well, because there's just a lot.
15:46This draft is deep in positions that normally isn't, you know what I mean?
15:50Like linebackers, safety and tight end.
15:52So like, I could definitely see some movement for some, some strange positions like that.
15:55And we've waited, I've waited on this one.
15:58What do you think Washington does at seven?
16:01Make the pick, who do they take, trade out?
16:03What do you think happens there?
16:05I would love to see if they could trade out.
16:07I think that would actually be kind of maybe ideal the more I've gone over it, because it's
16:11like, I feel like I've ended up giving them somebody different every time.
16:13I like Bain there.
16:15You know, I do like Reuben Bain.
16:16I'm not afraid of, you know, going with him.
16:20I also don't hate the idea of, you know, if you like one of those receivers of trying
16:24to find a way to continue to, you know, protect Jay Daniels.
16:28I think that that's something that, that is also possible there.
16:31So it's probably best player available, quite honestly, but also I would be trying to get
16:35out of there if I were them as best I could.
16:36I just.
16:49They're close.
16:50They were a playoff team two years ago.
16:51They're not that far away.
16:52I'm just, I'm curious to see where they go.
16:54I really have no idea.
16:55Dude, I don't think they have any idea.
16:57Yeah, I think it's going to depend on the board.
16:59I think for a few of these teams, like the Giants, I don't, I'm not sure they do either.
17:03I think they're kind of like, we'll just wait and see how this thing plays out.
17:05So if, if love and Tyson are there for New York, is it love all day?
17:10I think so.
17:11I think love fits everything they're about, everything they're going to be about with
17:14John Arbaugh.
17:15You know, I mean, I just, and give me love and Scadaboo together with Jackson Dart.
17:19I think that's exactly what you're looking for.
17:21A couple of hammers.
17:21Love is a superstar.
17:23Scadaboo can take off all the heavy stuff that he doesn't need to bang his, bang his head
17:26around on.
17:27And you've got some good young receivers.
17:29They're going to get fed.
17:30They got a lot of good pieces on defense.
17:31You get an X factor to put you over the top and you can make a run here.
17:34I like that a lot.
17:35Dude, I mean, if you think about love, Scadaboo, Dart, especially with the quarterback running
17:41ability, the stuff you could draw up with those three.
17:45That would be a very enticing job as an offensive coordinator.
17:48I feel like, you know, for quite a few years, because you can do a lot.
17:52You're right.
17:52You could do an awful, awful lot.
17:53And I think Giants are suddenly in a great, great spot here to get kind of get off the
17:57mat, maybe make a move.
17:58It's pretty cool.
17:59Nick, thank you for the time, man.
18:00Enjoy the draft, dude.
18:01Maybe we'll catch up with you afterwards.
18:03Yes, sir.
18:05That's our buddy, Nick Baumgartner from The Athletic.
18:07Check out his work in The Athletic.
18:09Give him a follow at Nick Baumgartner.
18:11I want to talk about Jeremiah Love.
18:13I want to talk about Jeremiah Love at three.
18:15I want to talk about Jeremiah Love at seven.
18:18What is real?
18:19What is fake?
18:19Nobody.
18:20Go anywhere.
18:20Maybe we open these phones.
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