00:00We head out to the Make It Right, call Kyle Wright Hotline.
00:02She usually joins us at 3.20, but today, getting you ready for the NFL Draft,
00:09it is Ashley Bastock of Cleveland.com.
00:11Ashley, welcome to the show.
00:13Thanks, guys.
00:14You know, draft time of year, we've got to move our schedules around a little bit,
00:19but, man, it's crazy to think that in just over 24 hours,
00:24all of these major questions are going to be answered
00:26that we've been talking about for months and months.
00:28So, it does bring us to yesterday's mini-camps,
00:36and I'm just curious, what were your takeaways from yesterday's practices?
00:41Yeah, you know, I think it sort of, for me, ultimately highlights the needs
00:48that we know are there with this team, right?
00:51We know they could use some more tackle depth,
00:54and we know they need more offensive weapons.
00:58They need pass catchers, especially.
01:01So, for me, that is really what it highlighted.
01:04Of course, a lot of the big-name guys weren't there on the offensive side of the ball.
01:08It was Jerry Judy on the defensive side of the ball.
01:11More of your veterans like Miles Garrett, Grant Delpit, Denzel Ward.
01:16None of those guys were there, but for me,
01:18it just sort of illustrated what we've been talking about.
01:21And then, I think it also illustrated that this quarterback battle
01:25seems to be, for the time being, between Deshaun Watson and Shador Sanders.
01:30So, I think it was nothing that unexpected for me, quite honestly.
01:35Yeah, and we'll get to how Deshaun looked and Shador looked in a second,
01:38but I did want to ask about Jerry Judy,
01:39because I think some of the same convos you can have,
01:41and Jerry's not Lamar, and he's not the quarterback, I get that,
01:44but some of the convos around Lamar in showing up in Baltimore was like,
01:48yeah, I had to show up because it's a brand-new head coach,
01:51brand-new offensive system, this is new.
01:54Jerry coming off a down year, we talk about Miles all the time.
01:57Miles is a defensive player, I'm sure he'll be fine.
01:59But Jerry off a down year, offensive coach, new offensive system,
02:03he's been working out with everyone, Ashley.
02:05It seems odd that he wasn't then taking the opportunity
02:07to work out with Deshaun and Shador yesterday.
02:10Yeah, you know, I do think, though, what I will say about Jerry Judy
02:13is from all of the in-house media coming out during the early stages
02:19of the off-season program.
02:21You know, Jerry, it seems like, has been there quite a bit.
02:23So I almost feel less about him not being there than I do some of the other guys
02:30we still have questions about.
02:32You guys know I'm kind of notoriously harder on some of these defensive leaders
02:37of this team when they don't show up to this kind of stuff.
02:40But Jerry, I think, at least has been there.
02:42We know he's been working out with these guys before.
02:46But, of course, it would have been nice to see him out there yesterday
02:49just because that's the only open practice we get to go to, for one.
02:53I mean, I do think these days are really valuable just because not every team
02:58gets them.
02:59And also, the way we saw Todd Munkin running this practice yesterday,
03:03he was doing a lot of team drills.
03:06There was really an emphasis on that.
03:08I mean, there were five different 11-on-11 sessions.
03:11So it definitely would have been nice to see him.
03:14But at least, I think, unlike some of the other people, we know he has been in the
03:18building throughout these first few weeks of the off-season program.
03:22All right, Ashley.
03:23I know we've got a lot of draft to get to with you here.
03:25But I am curious, is your initial read on this, and I know it's very early,
03:31but it seems like Todd Munkin wants to get a handle on this quarterback situation quickly,
03:35is the race for QB1 a close one at this point?
03:40I mean, I definitely think so because those reps between Deshaun and Shador were pretty
03:47evenly divided.
03:48I mean, we saw them both go first in the team drills yesterday.
03:53They were sort of taking turns, and that's sort of what Todd Munkin laid out to us.
03:59And also, I mean, Shador was first up in the first team drill, which seemed to be what Todd
04:04Munkin hinted at to the reporters that were at the owners' meetings a few weeks ago.
04:08So I think it's definitely close.
04:11And I mean, I'm just most curious about when we might have an answer on this,
04:16like if they will exit, my biggest question is, are they going to exit mandatory minicamp
04:22in June and know who they want their starter to be?
04:26Because Todd Munkin just seems very averse to this spilling over in training camp.
04:31And I think that's the right reason, right?
04:33I mean, we saw how that four-man quarterback battle went last training camp.
04:38I don't think it was good for any of the pass catchers.
04:40There was no consistency.
04:41They couldn't develop chemistry.
04:43So I'm really curious how long it's going to be close, but it definitely seems close
04:48for right now.
04:50Ashley, I want to read you what Coach Riz put out there and what he saw with Deshaun Watson
04:53yesterday.
04:53I want to see if you agree with it.
04:55He said, arm talent still elite, effortless release, ball jumps out of his hand, A to B,
05:00it's different.
05:01And then he said, both Watson and Sanders looked really good.
05:04Watson looks healthy, fit, and fully back after the shoulder and Achilles injuries.
05:08Do you agree with that assessment from Coach about Deshaun Watson?
05:14Yeah, I mean, I do agree.
05:15I thought both of them did some really good things yesterday.
05:19And Deshaun, like I think watching him in this practice, if you didn't know all of the
05:24surgeries he had gone through, you wouldn't know that that's what he had dealt with.
05:29Like he looked like fully healthy and good in that environment.
05:34Now, I think the caveat there is, I will say, I think basically every year I've watched Deshaun
05:38Watson in the offseason, he's looked good.
05:41He's looked like a former pro bowler quarterback.
05:45We've talked about it before that those guys just tend to look different.
05:49I think he looks very sure of himself.
05:52And that's promising.
05:54But I think it's also the biggest question about him, like, is he going to carry that
05:58confidence, that assuredness into the regular season if he is the starter?
06:02Because by the end of the, you know, his time playing in 2024, when he went down with that
06:08Achilles injury, the early part of that season, he just didn't look that confident in what
06:13he was seeing as the Browns had revamped that offense.
06:16I don't think he was that confident in what he was seeing from his pass catchers.
06:20I don't think he was that confident in terms of his feel for the rush.
06:24But you didn't feel any of that yesterday.
06:26And again, it's a practice without pads, without real contact.
06:29So that part of it isn't surprising.
06:31But I am curious, like, is this going to carry over?
06:34Does he have that sort of feel back that just felt like it was missing even before the Achilles
06:40injuries as he was coming off of the shoulder surgery?
06:43All right, Ashley.
06:44Spencer Fano right now has the best odds to be the number six pick for the Browns in the
06:52NFL draft.
06:52Do you also consider Spencer Fano the leader in the clubhouse?
06:58I don't know if I would consider him the leader, but I don't know that I could pinpoint a leader
07:04exactly right.
07:05I mean, I think they've kept things very close to the vest.
07:08And I think a lot of people are having them target a tackle with that first pick in mock
07:14drafts, whether it's at number six, whether it's at them trading back, specifically trading
07:20back to 12 with the Dallas Cowboys.
07:23I mean, I think that just seems to be the in vogue way of thinking around this football
07:28team.
07:28But look, I think what remains is this is a deep tackle class.
07:33We know that.
07:34They've had multiple of these tackles in for a top 30 visit.
07:38So to me, it could be anyone right now.
07:42It could be any of those guys that they had in for a top 30 visit.
07:46But, you know, I kind of remain, I hope that when their time to pick comes around, I would
07:52personally prefer them to target a skilled player on offense, just because I think there's
07:57a lot of tackle depth in this year's class.
08:00I think you're going to be able to get someone at 24, maybe even 39 in the second round, because
08:05it really is that deep.
08:07And some of these top like guys like like Fano, like Francis Maui Noah.
08:11First of all, they really weren't pure left tackles in college.
08:14And in the case of Maui Noah, that's somebody that people are questioning whether he'd be
08:18better off playing at guard because of his size.
08:21So there's not a sure fire.
08:24Yes, you have to take this guy in the top 10 who is a pure left tackle.
08:28Now, we know that doesn't matter left and right doesn't matter to them quite as much.
08:32I would argue it doesn't matter as much in this modern version of the NFL because quarterbacks
08:37are so mobile.
08:38But I do think it also can't be ignored.
08:40I think the depth in this year's class gives the Browns some options.
08:44What do you confidently know about this draft for the Browns?
08:48I mean, I confidently know they are going to add offensive pieces, right?
08:52That has been the messaging from the beginning.
08:55And I think the way Todd Munkin was talking yesterday after the the mini camp, the first
09:01mini camp session, like I'd be shocked if they don't come away with at least one key
09:05new piece on this O-line.
09:08But I mean, even the way he was talking about the interior of the line, I was wondering
09:13yesterday, like, are we going to see them maybe target a center later on in this draft,
09:18right?
09:18Because it sounded like Elton Jenkins, if he had been practicing, he would have been
09:22the center.
09:23But I still am curious if they would rather slide him over to right guard potentially.
09:28So that's an interesting question.
09:30But I mean, I definitely feel like the messaging from this team from day one of the offseason
09:35has been they know they need to invest in offensive pieces to help revitalize this unit.
09:41Todd Munkin is an offensive minded coach.
09:44So I really think they're going to come away with multiple offensive weapons high in this
09:50draft.
09:51All right.
09:52So some people have called the Browns a wild card.
09:55Some people say, don't sleep on Andrew Barry.
09:58Is there something that could happen tomorrow that would shock you in the first round from
10:03the Cleveland Browns?
10:06I guess it's hard to say shock, right?
10:09Because this is the Browns and we do have to consider every possible scenario with this
10:15team.
10:16I mean, Andrew Barry hasn't ruled out trading one of these picks for a veteran player.
10:21I guess that would be shocking in the sense of we haven't spent much time exploring that
10:26option.
10:27But I mean, I do think it's a possibility.
10:29We've seen him wheel and deal picks for veterans before.
10:32The Amari Cooper trade is the most famous one of those instances.
10:38So I mean, I guess that would be shocking if he traded away a pick plus a veteran for another
10:43veteran.
10:44Like those sorts of moves.
10:45I don't think there's any pick he could make that would necessarily shock me because I feel
10:50like I've accounted for everything at this point.
10:52Like if he decided to go with an edge rusher, it wouldn't be shocking, right?
10:55If they start thinking for life post-Miles Garrett down the line, if they took a safety,
11:00that wouldn't be shocking to me because they haven't made a major draft investment there
11:05since Grant Delpit in 2020.
11:07So I think just about everything has been accounted for with this football team, quite honestly.
11:14But any of those veteran moves, I think, would be the most surprising.
11:18Ashley, great stuff as always.
11:20Sorry we didn't go off the rails today.
11:22It just felt like a very important, serious football conversation today.
11:26So we'll do our worst next week.
11:29All right, guys.
11:30Sounds good.
11:30Post-draft, back to being off the rails.
11:33I'm ready for it.
11:34Ashley Bastock there, Cleveland.com, joins us every week at 3.20 today.
11:39Obviously, she's joining us at 2.40.
11:41Very grateful for her time today.
11:42Bye.
11:42Bye.
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