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00:00All right, it's time for Brian Baldinger.
00:01He joins us on the River Islands Guest Line.
00:04Odyssey NFL insider calls are brought to you by Liberty Mutual Insurance.
00:07Only pay for what you need.
00:09Baldy, no Spadoni, no Lubman.
00:11That's Shasky.
00:12I'm Mark Grandy with you today.
00:14Good morning.
00:15We appreciate your time.
00:16What did you think of that Niners draft over the weekend?
00:20It was a little confusing, a little confusing.
00:22I mean, to trade down twice the way John did
00:25and then to take Deshaun Stribling,
00:27I don't think anybody thought that was going to be their guy.
00:32You know, and look, all these draft guides and all these experts,
00:36there was a lot of choices at receiver,
00:39but I don't know that anybody had Deshaun going there.
00:44Like, look, he's a big, fast guy, played a lot of college football.
00:47We know that.
00:48We'll just see how quickly he can adapt and become a starter.
00:51But to trade down twice, to have the whole night to think about it,
00:55to have the first pick of the second round, and you come out with that,
01:00I think that was pretty much a shock to everybody.
01:04Wow, a shock.
01:06So do you like the player if I took away where he was taken?
01:11Yeah, I like the player.
01:12I mean, that's the thing.
01:14You know, like, the 49ers like him.
01:16So they like his size.
01:17They like it.
01:18You know, he runs into four threes.
01:19He's, you know, he's a big target.
01:22He played a lot in different programs.
01:25And so I like the player.
01:29I don't know what's – everybody has their own different criteria
01:33for how they stack every player at every position.
01:37And so if you like the player, go get the player.
01:40You know, they got extra picks.
01:41You know, they used them.
01:42And so we'll see how quickly he adapts to what they like.
01:48You know, you've got to be a good route runner in this league
01:51or you've got to have great size
01:52or you've got to have a combination in order to be successful.
01:56And so, you know, did they miss on Pierce?
02:00You know, maybe.
02:01You know, he's not been a productive player yet.
02:04And we know Mike Evans is probably in his final year.
02:06So you better keep bringing them in and seeing who hits
02:10and who becomes part of the fabric every Sunday
02:14when you, you know, go out there into that stadium in Seattle
02:18or Los Angeles and you're going up against elite teams
02:21with elite players on the edge.
02:23So you think he fits with Mike Evans?
02:26I mean, I don't know what to make of Pearsall right now.
02:28I know he's got a – when he's out there, he's been good,
02:31but he hasn't been out there enough.
02:33You look at this wide receiver room and do you think he starts right away?
02:37Do you think one of the other guys?
02:39Like, how are you viewing that?
02:41I know the question, Joe.
02:44And I don't know what to tell you.
02:45I really don't.
02:46Because the college game is just so different.
02:49You don't get pressed.
02:50You know, you don't see press coverage, you know, in college.
02:54Like, they're going to see – you know,
02:56you're going to see Trent McDuffie out there.
02:58You know, he's going to have his hands right in your chest.
03:00He's going to – you're going to see some coverages he's never seen before.
03:04If you're playing at Oklahoma State, like, in the Big 12,
03:07I can tell you every defense that every team plays in the Big 12.
03:10Like, it's not that difficult to get open.
03:13You know, they're 3-3, double clouds, corners are off.
03:16You know, it's going to be – it's going to look a lot different.
03:19You know, and so I've got to see what he's like against, you know,
03:24good corners right now in this league.
03:26Brian Baldinger with us here on the Morning Roast.
03:28Baldy, a lot of talk about this Niner draft class because of quote-unquote
03:32reaches, and I know we define reaches for players that haven't played a snap
03:36in the NFL yet just based on what all of our opinions are on these players.
03:41So who the hell knows how good these players are going to ultimately be.
03:45But what's your opinion on a team essentially ignoring everybody else's opinion
03:49and kind of just drafting whoever the hell they think is good,
03:52regardless of when he might go if they don't pick him there?
03:56Well, I mean, look, I could go through the whole thing.
03:58Romello, you know, I mean, everybody concentrated on David Bailey
04:02when you watch Texas Tech.
04:03They watched Lee Hunter.
04:05They watched Jacob Rodriguez.
04:07Like, Romello didn't get a lot of attention because all those other guys did.
04:11And so, you know, it's not really fair.
04:14Romello is a brand-new defensive line.
04:15They played very well.
04:17He's got ability.
04:19They just keep drafting these defensive linemen.
04:21They drafted three last year.
04:22They drafted two more in this draft.
04:24Like, you just keep adding bodies because eventually you've got to get
04:29to an eight-man rotation.
04:30And you've got to be able to – and when Nick comes out of the game,
04:33you can't have this drop-off where quarterbacks have all day to throw.
04:37You've got to keep throwing these Alfred Collins, all the guys that they drafted.
04:40You know, Williams will come back this year.
04:42But you've got to get to an eight-man rotation where you can't have a drop-off.
04:46Like, that was the strength of this 49ers team for a while was, you know,
04:51you could put Arden Key out there and you didn't get a big drop-off, you know,
04:55when you had these rotations going.
04:57And, you know, they drafted players that Drake Jackson, right?
05:01Remember Drake Jackson was a second-round pick.
05:02Didn't work out.
05:03Got hurt.
05:04Like, I don't know where he's at.
05:05I don't even know if he's in the league.
05:07You know, but there you go.
05:09I mean, so that was a second-round pick.
05:10So, you know, like, you just keep throwing chips and throwing, you know,
05:15bodies out there and see who hits.
05:17You've got a new defensive coordinator this year.
05:19Same, you know, defense line coach, but different defensive coordinator.
05:23We'll see what it looks like.
05:24But, honestly, if you're Romello, you want to get it.
05:27You might not start.
05:28You won't start.
05:29But you've got to get into that rotation.
05:31And you've got to make rookies, all rookies, have a learning curve at that position.
05:36It just is.
05:37It's just a completely different game than college.
05:39And so you've got to understand schemes, how to beat people.
05:42You've got to, like, work on an array of moves.
05:45You've got to work on snap counts.
05:48It's a difficult transition for most rookie defensive linemen.
05:53How about the running back they took from Indiana?
05:55I think most of us watched a lot of Indiana this year because of how great they were.
05:59And the kid made a lot of plays.
06:01Do you think he fits Kyle's scheme?
06:04Well, look, it's his own stretch scheme.
06:06That's not really what Indiana did.
06:09But, you know, again, you're looking at traits at that position.
06:13There's a lot.
06:14You know, none of these running backs outside of Jeremiah Love, Tadarian Price, Tadarian Price.
06:19Like, they thought they'd be the only two go.
06:21Like, it was a little drop-off between from those two.
06:24Now, I happen to like, you know, Mike Washington Jr. a lot.
06:29I liked a lot of these guys.
06:31I thought Mike Washington Jr. was a much better prospect than Kalen, you know, black.
06:36But, you know, they rotated two backs.
06:38They kept them fresh.
06:39They had a one-two punch in Indiana this year.
06:42They won a championship with them.
06:44Does he catch the ball as well as you like?
06:48Excuse me, Kyle's scheme.
06:50I don't know yet.
06:51I don't know.
06:52Because there's McCaffrey and there's everybody else at running back that catches passes.
06:55But I know this.
06:58How many times have they been drafting these running backs forever?
07:01You know, like, none of them are there.
07:04The kid from Louisville, Jordan Mason.
07:06Like, they keep trying to find somebody that sticks.
07:10They've had a hard time.
07:12Yeah, Baldy, I agree with you there.
07:14I mean, it's Ty Davis-Price.
07:16There's a number of other examples of it as well.
07:18It's Trey Sermon.
07:19And a lot of them have been in the third round, which is where Kalen Black, the running back from
07:23Indiana, was drafted as well.
07:25I mean, obviously, this is a Niner team that's found some steals in drafts.
07:29In, you know, relatively recent memory, you go back a number of years, it's Fred Warner, it's George Kittle, it's
07:35Dre Greenlaw.
07:36I think even Debo Samuel you could consider a great pick in the second round.
07:39The right guard that I love.
07:41The right guard.
07:42Dominic Cooney.
07:43Yeah.
07:44Of late, though, it feels like they haven't been as successful in the draft.
07:49Are you concerned at all with their draft record, say, the last four or five years?
07:53Or is this just kind of what happens when this is such a crapshoot, no matter what?
07:58No, I'd be concerned.
08:00Like, you have to be concerned.
08:01You look at what Seattle's doing in the draft.
08:03You look at what the Rams are doing in the draft.
08:05Like, the Rams don't have a single first-round pick in their offensive line and haven't the entire time that
08:12Sean McVay has been there.
08:14They've never used a first-round pick.
08:17That's not what they do.
08:18They trade him away.
08:19You know, obviously, they got McDuffie with their first-round pick, one of them.
08:22But, you know, they draft a quarterback.
08:24But, like, they have struck gold repeatedly.
08:28You know, you look at, you know, Kyron Williams, you know, in the fifth round.
08:33I mean, you just go through the list of guys, you know.
08:35Kobe Turner in the third round.
08:37You know, the guy's got 20-something sacks the last two years.
08:40You know, like, they have drafted very, very well.
08:44So, to say that the 49ers are drafting on the same pace that the Rams and the Seattle Seahawks are,
08:51it would be crazy.
08:52Like, you can't stretch it like that.
08:55Baldy, I'm just looking at all the guys the Niners took.
08:58And, I don't know, you do this for a living, so I would very like your, you know, input on
09:03this.
09:0525, 26 years old, 24 years old for some of these guys.
09:09Three schools, two schools minimum, what it seems like for every draft pick.
09:14Is that just the modern NIL landscape?
09:17Or is that something that the Niners are looking for, more experience, players that are a little more polished, more
09:24plug-and-play?
09:24Because that used to be kind of a red flag, and I guess it's more the modern game now.
09:29I'm just curious.
09:29Is that a Niner thing, or is that an NFL draft thing?
09:33No, it's a good question, Joe.
09:35And I think John Lynch, you know, addressed a little bit of the whole NIL thing.
09:40And, you know, it's hard if you're David Bailey to leave Stanford to come in the draft if Texas Tech
09:47wants to pay you $4 million.
09:49Like, he took a pay cut to come play for the Jets right now.
09:53You know, Romello got paid a good amount of money.
09:55You know, they got a billionaire oil tycoon at Texas Tech giving out checks.
10:00So, some of these kids, they're staying in, like, to me, some of these guys came out too early this
10:07year.
10:07Honestly, some of the offense linemen, Caleb Lomu, like, I would have stayed.
10:11You know, Monroe, Freeling, I would have stayed and played.
10:14But, you know, there is part of me that says three years is enough in college if you played a
10:20lot.
10:20To come in, you're 21 years old, go to a professional strength coach, right, get into a system, get into,
10:29you know, and start playing the NFL because there is a 100% injury rate.
10:33Like, Fred Warner got hurt for crying out loud.
10:36Fred's never been hurt in his whole life.
10:37It can happen to anybody.
10:39But part of me says go to the NFL.
10:42Get NFL money.
10:43If you get hurt, like, you got the whole medical team.
10:47You get, I think some of these guys, you know, like Stribbling, spend, you know, five years, five years starting.
10:54Like, if you're a good player, come out, you know, let your talent, let your size, speed, like, work for
11:00itself, go to the combine, get drafted.
11:02So, I think it's, honestly, Joe, it's a case by case.
11:06I don't want to, I don't, the question is very, very valid.
11:10But 24 and 25-year-old rookies, I don't know that that's a good thing.
11:14Yeah, that's kind of where I'm looking at.
11:16And, like, Romello Hyde's a good example.
11:17I don't know if this guy's going to be good.
11:19He played for six years, you know, and it's like, okay, the first, I think, four and a half years
11:24of production, he's got, like, six sacks.
11:26And then he goes to Texas Tech.
11:28And you referenced all those other playmakers on that team.
11:30And he has a really good breakout year.
11:33Is he closer to the player that didn't show a lot of production for the couple years prior?
11:38Or is it more fair to judge him off of what happened at Texas Tech?
11:42Like, I don't know how I should be evaluating that.
11:45What would you say if I asked you that question?
11:51Well, the, what I said earlier, Sticks barely jumped out.
11:58Lee Hunter jumped out, right?
12:00Rodriguez jumped out.
12:01Cole Wisniewski.
12:02But Romello didn't really jump out.
12:03You had to go really study him.
12:05Why didn't he?
12:06He didn't, like, you turn some of these tapes on, I'm like, that's a player.
12:09Like, you can tell.
12:10Like, that doesn't jump out.
12:12Like, Romello doesn't jump off the page at you.
12:15You're noticing the first step quickness of David Bailey.
12:17You're looking at the size and ability to split double teams like Lee.
12:21You're looking at the playmaking ability of Rodriguez.
12:24So if you didn't notice Romello, like, no offense, but there's, he didn't pop.
12:30Now, maybe, you know, John Lynch and his staff went and they did a deep dive and they talked
12:35to him and worked him out and they said, wow, these are the traits that make a great
12:40defensive end.
12:41All right.
12:42But I kind of, I kind of like, like, I'm not doing this for a living.
12:46Like, those guys have to do it for a living.
12:48But I'm doing enough to know what my eyes see.
12:52And I don't know, if you said to me, what's the greatest trait of Romello right now, I
12:58couldn't really tell you.
13:00Ball, the Niners are done with their draft.
13:03There is an opportunity to do a little bit more, of course, in free agency.
13:06But as you see the roster right now, I mean, they don't draft a tight end.
13:10They didn't draft a safety.
13:12They drafted a couple of offensive linemen.
13:14Both play tackle in college, but at least probably the Carver Willis kid from Washington
13:19maybe projects more as an interior offensive lineman.
13:22Maybe he competes at left guard.
13:23What do you think is the biggest hole or the biggest question facing the Niners as they
13:28get ready for the offseason program?
13:31Well, they couldn't take the ball away last year.
13:33Like, you know, I want to see Tigg.
13:35You know, look, I'm a fan of Tigg's.
13:38And I know he gets mad when I say things about him.
13:41But at Penn State, I think he had 10 takeaways at Penn State.
13:44Like, I'm not seeing the same production right now.
13:47But they need to take the ball away.
13:49Now, I know Fred, you know, missed the season and Nick went out.
13:51And you're going to take two of the best players in the league at those positions.
13:55The takeaways are going to drop off.
13:57But, you know, so that's one part.
14:01But I would say just playmaking ability.
14:03Did they add playmakers to the team?
14:06We know what Jackson Smith and Jigba is.
14:08We know what Puka is.
14:10We know what, you know, obviously McCaffrey is an elite playmaker.
14:15And Mike Evans might still be a great playmaker.
14:18But I'm looking across the roster.
14:21Like, when you go, when the 49ers go to SoFi Stadium, you're coming out of the tunnel.
14:27Like, who's going to be the difference makers against that Rams team?
14:31And so, you know, maybe these defense linemen they drafted last year pop, you know, in their second year.
14:36That's usually when a player makes their greatest jump.
14:39But who's the playmakers on this 49ers team right now?
14:43I know you can count on George and, you know, Christian and probably, hopefully, Mike Evans.
14:49And, you know, Nick and Fred obviously are difference makers.
14:52But who else is going to join that group that are going to, like, you know, look, the biggest play
14:58any 49er made last year was an Alfred Collins strip.
15:02Kaelin Williams or Kyron Williams of that ball at the goal line to win that game.
15:06Biggest play of the year for the 49ers.
15:09But, you know, they couldn't score a touchdown against Seattle, you know, in a playoff game when it mattered most.
15:14Like, you needed playmakers, you know, to, like, compete with that team.
15:18So that would be my concern right now.
15:20You know, Baldy, it's interesting that you bring up the Seattle game.
15:24Because the first game, or whatever, the second game, week 18, they failed to get into the red zone but
15:31only one time.
15:32And the second time they threw an interception.
15:34It was off McCaffrey's legs.
15:36Playoff game, they didn't get into the red zone once.
15:37It felt like they kicked, like, a 50-yard field goal.
15:40And so you bring up playmakers, and I'm looking at tight end, and I'm like, there's no way George is
15:44going to be ready to play.
15:45Like, he's coming off a torn Achilles that he suffered in mid-January.
15:49I'm shocked they didn't just take a tight end.
15:51Are you as surprised as I am?
15:54Yes.
15:55Yes, because there was, look, there's nobody in this draft.
15:59Maybe Noah Kowski at Indiana, who I really loved.
16:03But there's nobody that could block like George in this draft.
16:06Okay.
16:06Now, you know, but there was a lot of, you know, wing tight ends, flex tight ends, slot tight ends.
16:16There was, you know, Stowers.
16:17There was a bunch of them.
16:18But there were some talented guys in that group.
16:21Raritan, obviously, Sadiq.
16:24But I am surprised that they did it.
16:26Because, honestly, when you, you know, when you get to the red zone, like, it's good to have Mike Evans.
16:32Like, he's a red zone threat.
16:33Always has been.
16:34Got over 100 touchdown catches up at 70% of them are inside or five yards in over his career.
16:42Like, but sometimes it's good to have a big tight end in the middle of the field when they're dropping
16:46seven into coverage.
16:47And they're sitting in these quarters coverage.
16:50And, like, there's no holes.
16:52You got to throw it up high to go get it.
16:54You know, George was excellent.
16:56You know, Jawan was excellent, you know, in that part of the field.
17:01Like, it's hard to design offense against some of these teams in that part of the field.
17:06The tight ends really, like, Sean Payton has always said it.
17:09You know, like, he's, like, all these coaches, Kyle, Sean, like, these guys are, they are maniacal when it comes
17:16to red zone offense.
17:17And scoring touchdowns and not kicking field goals.
17:20And tight ends help you in that part.
17:23Baldy, you were talking earlier about the way the Seahawks and the Rams have drafted of late.
17:27I'm curious your thoughts on the Rams drafting Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson 13th overall.
17:31It seemed like Sean McVay was maybe a little frustrated.
17:34Maybe we're reading into that a little bit too much.
17:37But, at least from our perspective out here, it seemed like a confusing pick for a team that's in the
17:41middle of a Super Bowl window.
17:42What did you think?
17:44I think, honestly, McVay was putting on a sad face so that his quarterback, the MVP of this league, wasn't,
17:53like, giddy about taking a quarterback instead of helping Matt Stafford.
18:02Just the way Aaron Rodgers felt the same way when they drafted Jordan Love.
18:05Like, we're right on the cusp here.
18:07You know, like, let's get another productive player that put the ball in his hands.
18:11You know, and there were so many good players.
18:13I mean, you could have taken, if you wanted a tight end, you could have taken Sadiq.
18:16You know, you could have taken, you know, Makai Lemon, whoever.
18:20But, you know, I think McVay and Les Snead are in lockstep in this whole draft process.
18:26Like, they've drafted very, very well.
18:28So, it's hard.
18:30But, honestly, there's just not a good history of quarterbacks that have started 15 games.
18:34They come to the NFL.
18:36And if you look at that pick, okay, he sat for three years at Alabama.
18:41He got a chance to play a year.
18:42Now he's going to sit for another year, right?
18:45So, over the next five or six years, he's going to play one year of football.
18:48And you tell – don't tell me that any quarterback is getting better by sitting.
18:51Like, they're not.
18:52The only way you get better is by playing.
18:54So, like, I had kind of an issue with it.
18:58But maybe they feel like the roster is so complete, which is dangerous, that it's so complete that we can
19:05afford this luxury pick.
19:07That's how the Niners picked Jake Moody in the third and Cam Lotu right after him.
19:11I mean, they fell into the trap that they were loaded.
19:14It's a trap, Joe.
19:15It is.
19:16It's a trap.
19:16It really is.
19:17100%.
19:17100%.
19:17It's a trap.
19:18Going Star Wars on you.
19:19All right, Baldy.
19:21Now that the draft is coming on, you don't have to surrender any comp picks if you sign any of
19:25these free agents now before training camp.
19:29Njoku's out there.
19:30Jennings is still out there.
19:31Deebo's still out there.
19:33Joey Bosa's still out there.
19:35Is there a guy or two that the Niners should bring in?
19:40I would look at Njoku for sure.
19:44Like, the guy's been a good player, man.
19:46Really good player.
19:46He's a different breed of cat, which is fine.
19:50The locker room welcomes all kinds of – but he's still a productive player.
19:55They just had a rookie that, you know, popped last year in Cleveland.
19:58They didn't have a quarterback situation.
19:59But he's still a good player, and he's a big guy, and he's strong.
20:03And I would look at Joey.
20:05Joey just got married in San Francisco a couple weeks ago.
20:08Really?
20:09You know, I would look at – yeah.
20:11In San Francisco?
20:13He just got married in San Francisco to a Lebanese girl, man.
20:17So, no, I was all over the wedding.
20:21But, you know, he was just out there, you know, with Nick.
20:26Like, I would take a look.
20:26He had a good season last year.
20:28Like, I know he's had this injury history, and, you know, he gets bummed out.
20:31But, you know, he works out right here, I don't know, a mile away from where I'm at right now
20:36in Fort Lauderdale.
20:37They're out there on the field, him and his brother, every day.
20:39Like, he's still a worker, still loves the game.
20:43Like, I would take a look at Joey for sure.
20:45Who's your favorite day three pick to what team that you think will actually have special impact in year one?
20:52Could be any team.
20:56You know, honestly, like, I love – I love that kid, Heidenreich, from the Naval Academy.
21:03Like, that kid went to Pittsburgh.
21:05He's from Pittsburgh.
21:07Like, you just – like, look, my dad went to Naval Academy.
21:09My mom watches Navy every weekend.
21:11So, I've always got an eye for the Naval Academy.
21:14They had two kids, Landon Robinson drafted, and they had Eli Heidenreich drafted in the seventh round.
21:19Like, I got goosebumps when those kids got drafted.
21:22They do everything the right way.
21:23They're tough as can be.
21:25That kid catches everything.
21:26Like, he's got good speed.
21:27I don't know.
21:28I like that kid.
21:29But I'm telling you, if I was John Lynch, I would look at this kid from – he's a running
21:33back from Toledo.
21:34This kid, Chip Traeanum.
21:37Look him up, Joe.
21:38Chip Traeanum from Toledo.
21:40He's 5'11".
21:42He's 2'25".
21:43He runs in the 4'4".
21:46And he is powerful.
21:48Like, I just think that kid – we see these free agent, you know, running backs.
21:52We see these seventh round picks.
21:54You know, Menungai last year in Chicago.
21:56Like, these kids – like I said, like, some of these times you try to stack these kids,
22:01you don't know you should put the ball in your hands.
22:03But that kid, that's a good football player.
22:06I know that.
22:07That's how they found Jeff Wilson Jr., Moster, Breida, Jordan Mason,
22:10you referenced earlier.
22:12Like, all those guys were random practice squad UDFAs.
22:15But I think, you know, that's when – that's when, you know, Mike McDaniel was there.
22:24And, you know, he was – no, that was his thing, finding these running backs.
22:27Raheem, like, that was his guy.
22:29You know, he took him to Miami with him.
22:31Like, he just had an eye for that stuff.
22:33I'm just saying this – this Chip Tran, watch who signs him today or yesterday.
22:37I don't – I haven't checked it today.
22:38But somebody signed him yesterday.
22:40And it won't surprise me to see him make a roster next year.
22:43We'll keep an eye out for him.
22:45Baldy, we appreciate your time as always.
22:46And I'm sure the guys will – they'll catch up with you throughout the offseason.
22:49He's the best.
22:50Let's do it.
22:51All right, guys.
22:51He's the best.
22:52That's glowing.
22:53That's Brian Baldinger.
22:54I know, in his tank top.
22:55He's glowing.
22:55This is Brian Baldinger.
22:58NFL Insider Calls have been brought to you by Liberty Mutual Insurance.
23:01Only pay for what you need.
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