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00:00But we've got, by the way, Nathan Zagura joining us right now on the Weiss Heart Right.
00:03We make it right.
00:04Call Kyle Wright Hotline.
00:06Nathan, Browns Radio Network.
00:08So excited to talk to you after just a couple of days of practice so far for training camp.
00:12How's it going, Nathan?
00:14Everything is good.
00:15How are you guys doing today?
00:16Well, we just finished a conversation about the differences between how training camp
00:22has looked from Kevin Stefanski to the new head coach, Todd Munkin.
00:26We played some of the Andrew Barry comments about Todd Munkin.
00:31And Coach Riz said something I thought was important.
00:34He said, different, not necessarily better.
00:37And I'm wondering from you, are you seeing a lot of different?
00:40And how do you think it corresponds with this football team, especially with so many young
00:44guys in the fold?
00:46Well, I think that it's different in the sense that you're getting full maximization of the
00:51time and the reps.
00:53And I think what he's doing, where you're doing the kind of the two spotting, which we did
00:56do some of that last year.
00:57But it's been really cool to watch how it's been kind of the same stuff happening, literally
01:01the exact same plays on both sides.
01:03You get a sense of who's getting in and out of the huddle quicker.
01:05You get a sense of who's been able to kind of command the offense a little bit better.
01:09So that part of it's been fun.
01:10And then the other thing I would say is it's very clear, for example, on the defensive
01:14side of the ball that our starting defense is very, very good.
01:18And for people who love quarterback trackers and all of that, you're going to see significantly
01:21better stats for whichever quarterback went against the second team defense both days.
01:25But doing that two spotting, getting all those reps, that's going to help these young guys.
01:29We have linebackers that don't have a lot of reps on their resume in the National Football
01:33League.
01:33We have a cornerback room that outside of our top two cornerbacks do not have a lot of
01:37reps playing cornerback in the National Football League.
01:39And so getting these guys as many reps as possible, I think, is very good.
01:44And that's kind of one of the big changes with Todd, obviously, is that you're going to get
01:48a full maximization of whatever time is allotted by the league and by the CBA to make sure that
01:54these guys are getting as much work as they possibly can.
01:57Nathan, we've been watching the quarterbacks first couple days, obviously, through the
02:01spring and summer.
02:02I've been, you know, obviously, there's lots of people who attract the throws and the completions.
02:06I've been very impressed, specifically with Shador.
02:09Obviously, Deshaun's been around a long time.
02:17Why, for me, I think the footwork has gotten better.
02:20Is that for you two?
02:21Do you see the footwork for Shador getting better each and every day through his last
02:23seven starts last year and through the first two days?
02:27He's been there all offseason.
02:29I mean, he's put in a ton of work to improve.
02:31And yeah, you're seeing his footwork is getting better.
02:34His understanding of timing is getting better.
02:36I think he still needs to speed up some of his process, certainly in the huddle, in terms
02:40of getting the plays out and getting that operation.
02:42I think that's one of the things we know Todd Munkin hates.
02:44And yesterday, there were three kind of pre-snap procedural penalties with that first-team offense.
02:48So, that's got to get better.
02:49But yeah, you're seeing his footwork.
02:51You know he's a very good natural thrower of the football.
02:53And so, it's not surprising to me.
02:56With his work ethic and what he's done, has made kind of big strides here, you know, early on.
03:04All right, Nathan.
03:06Might have to get reestablished contact there.
03:08I know Nathan seems a little distracted.
03:11We've all been there.
03:12Every call that I make in the afternoon show, I call in with the greatest of intentions.
03:17Yeah.
03:18And then my kids want nothing to do with it.
03:20And even if I go to my kids and I say, I got two toddlers, and I go, guys, just
03:25dad's got some work.
03:27And I know I'm living a blessed life that that's the work.
03:29Can you just be quiet?
03:31I'll put on a show that you want to watch.
03:34Okay.
03:35The minute I start talking, it's they come over here or they start arguing.
03:40Well, it's funny because I tried to stop my question there because I was trying to give him, as a
03:45parent, you know.
03:45I was trying to give him a second there to adjust or feed or do whatever he had to do
03:50there.
03:50So, totally understand.
03:52No big deal there for sure.
03:53Well, it's a perfect segue as we reestablish contact with Nathan Zagura.
03:58Speaking of fatherhood, Deion Sanders was at camp yesterday, and I thought it was an awesome thing.
04:05People, like, preemptively came after me, like, what are you going to say now?
04:09And I'm like, cool.
04:10I think that's awesome that he went there.
04:12He sat and watched the whole thing and then came down after practice.
04:16Like, I think that's a really cool situation.
04:19It had to be kind of surreal for, you know, some of the older guys who remember watching Prime and
04:25probably had the poster on their walls growing up.
04:28No doubt.
04:28That was awesome.
04:29And sorry about that earlier.
04:30Yes, you were right.
04:31That was a little 13-month-old Lucas maybe radio debut there with a little of his noises in the
04:36back.
04:36But now we're in a good spot.
04:37But, yeah, it's so cool to see Deion there yesterday and came in and really kind of was there just
04:43to kind of observe.
04:45And I know he got to talk to Coach Munkin, and Coach Munkin was juiced about that because he certainly
04:49remembers the greatness of Deion Sanders as the best quarterback to ever play the game.
04:53But just kind of sat up in the bleachers himself, took in all the practice, and afterwards spent some time
04:59with his son.
04:59And I thought it was very cool.
05:01You know, it's funny, I just played in a member guest golf tournament, and one of the teams that we
05:06played against was a father and son duo.
05:08And, you know, the dad is in the 70s, and the son's about my age.
05:11And, you know, whenever the son had a good shot, he'd be like, great shot, champ.
05:14And I'm like, that's just what it's all about, right?
05:16And so to be able to be, you know, a father, a coach, and all of those things, but get
05:21to come in and do that and check out your son the first day at training camp that he's getting
05:25reps with the ones, I thought it was very, very, very cool.
05:29And Deion did not make it in any way, shape, or form.
05:31It was not a distraction or anything.
05:33I think it was just a really cool scene to observe him kind of watching practice and being a part
05:39of it all.
05:40Nathan, as the pads go on here in the next couple days, this offensive line has been addressed.
05:44What are you going to be looking for in terms of what they do and how successful they're going to
05:50be, and how long do you think it's going to take?
05:51You've got five new guys, new system.
05:54You know, Todd likes to run a lot of gap and zone and different things.
05:57How long do you think it's going to take this kind of offensive line to gel?
06:00And do you think in this Munkin kind of system where he's a lot of 11-on-11s, do you
06:04think it'll happen faster than people think?
06:07I certainly hope so.
06:08And it's very hard for the offensive lineman when there are no pads on.
06:11I always talk to Hoff about that.
06:12He goes, there's nothing to grab.
06:13It's very difficult.
06:14So, you know, it's been the defensive line has looked good, and quite frankly, that's, you know, probably still the
06:19strength of this defense.
06:20The one thing that's really jumped out to me that I think should be encouraging, and I don't know if
06:23you feel the same way being out there, but Mike Hall looks incredible.
06:27And I think he has been, you know, you've put the tape on even of these practices.
06:30He is flashing a lot.
06:32Mason Graham is flashing a lot.
06:34So the interior there, and then that kind of turns into what I'm really looking at, it's going to be
06:39the interior because that's the part of it that is the least settled.
06:42We know Zion Johnson is going to be the left guard, but we don't know who's going to play center,
06:46whether it's going to be Elton Jenkins, whether it's going to be Parker Brailsford, whether it's going to be Luke
06:49Whippler, who played pretty well down the stretch.
06:51And then we don't know at right guard.
06:53My guess would be obviously if it's Brailsford or Whippler at center that Elton Jenkins will go to right guard.
06:57But Elton Jenkins, yes, he's been a Pro Bowl guard, but he's a two-time Pro Bowler at left guard.
07:02Hasn't really played right guard at all in the NFL, save for a little bit in a preseason many years
07:08ago.
07:09So that part of it to me is what is going to be fascinating.
07:12Yesterday we saw KT Leveson get reps with the ones at right guard.
07:16We've seen Kevin Jenkins get reps with the ones at right guard.
07:18It would not surprise me with as good as DeJuan Jones looks that if he's deemed to be one of
07:23our five best linemen, that at some point in this training camp, they decide to kick him into guard and
07:29give him opportunities, much like the Philadelphia Eagles did with Mekhi Beckton in their Super Bowl run.
07:34So I think that's the part of the line to me that is still a little bit unsettled.
07:40And that's going to be what's interesting.
07:41Stefano went in there yesterday at left tackle.
07:44And DeJuan, by the way, has been very good so far in the early portion of camp of left tackle
07:47as well.
07:47But he drafted Spencer Fano to be your starting left tackle.
07:50He's going to be the starting left tackle.
07:52And I thought yesterday in his first time out there looked very good.
07:56And it's funny watching him move between drills.
07:59It's like you're watching a tight end, even though he's a giant man who was a left tackle.
08:03And so I think the Browns are pleased so far with his early development and what they saw yesterday in
08:07his first day with the ones.
08:09Nathan Zeguro with us.
08:10Did the pursuit or does the pursuit of Jadeveon Clowney surprise you?
08:18I don't know in terms of them pursuing another veteran edge rusher.
08:23Maybe a little bit in terms of it being specifically Jadeveon Clowney.
08:26But look, the fact of the matter is he was with Todd Munkin in Baltimore a couple of years ago.
08:31Todd likes him.
08:32It's a different staff.
08:33It's a different regime.
08:35You know, and as Andrew Barry said, he's still a very talented player.
08:38And, you know, you stayed in touch.
08:40And I liked Clowney when he was here.
08:42I didn't like the way that things ended, obviously.
08:44And I'm sure he didn't either, but he can set the edge.
08:47He can still get after the quarterback.
08:49He had eight and a half sacks last year down in Dallas.
08:51He's a good player.
08:52And the fact that the Browns went after A.J.
08:54Epinesa early in free agency, now that didn't work because of medicals, it told you that they wanted to add
08:59somebody else to that defensive end room.
09:02And so, you know, Verse and Alex Wright, your starters, Clowney now becomes a rotational piece that can be fresh
09:08all the time.
09:08I like the sound of that.
09:09Isaiah McGuire, you know, and then all of a sudden you feel pretty good about your top four defensive end.
09:13So I'm not surprised that they're looking to add there.
09:17And I'd be thrilled, honestly, if it was Jadeveon Clowney.
09:19I got along with him very well when he was here.
09:21He has a fun personality.
09:23And he still has, obviously, a lot of gas left in the tank.
09:26Obviously, Nathan, things change when pads go on.
09:28We all know that.
09:29Rookie impact.
09:30Let's talk about these receivers, Casey Concepcion and Denzel Boston.
09:33What do you think their impact is going to be?
09:35Watching them get in and out of routes, I thought Casey Concepcion had a really good day yesterday.
09:39Kind of learning when you run routes against Denzel Ward, the things you have to do to get open.
09:44Obviously, he's watching that film last night saying how he was covered like a glove by Denzel most of the
09:50day.
09:50What do you think their impact will be this fall?
09:52I've been very impressed with their work ethic, ability to catch the ball, ability to run after catch at the
09:58catch point, et cetera.
09:59What has been your impression of those younger rookie receivers?
10:03Yeah, I'm excited.
10:04And that's what I kind of tell everybody.
10:05I said, look, we'll see how this season shakes out.
10:08You know, there's so many things, health and all of those that factor into what the ultimate win-loss record
10:12is.
10:13But with Casey Concepcion and Denzel Boston, and I've liked what I've seen from Isaiah Bond as well, Judy, Fan,
10:18and Judd, Ken, Samson, we've got a lot of young, skilled talent.
10:22And I think those receivers, Denzel Boston, I thought he was the star of the early portion of the offseason.
10:27I thought yesterday, you know, that's one of the things that's fun to watch when you have kind of the
10:33two fields and they're running the same place.
10:35There was a play where Deshaun was with the twos, and yes, Denzel Boston in this case was going against
10:40one of the backup corners.
10:41But he basically ran a deep curl out of kind of the slot, and he got wide open, comes back
10:47to the ball, catches it, makes a move, and made a nice gain on the play.
10:50And it was perfect in rhythm, got in and out of his breaks, coming back to the quarterback, great hands
10:54catcher.
10:54And then you saw on the other side, it was Judy going against Tyson Campbell on the same route, and
11:00they were not able to get open.
11:01And Tyson Campbell obviously played great last year, 19 passes defense.
11:05But Denzel Boston has stood out to me the entire time, and I think we're seeing more and more every
11:09day from Casey Concepcion.
11:11And I think he's a guy that, in particular, when the pads come on, and not only when the pads
11:17come on, but when it's football, that he needs to be tackled to the ground for a play to be
11:21over.
11:22That's where I think what makes him truly special is going to really pop and really shine.
11:26And so you haven't really gotten to see some of those things, but you see the way he gets in
11:29and out of his breaks.
11:30You see the ability with the route running, the explosiveness.
11:32I like the fact that he doesn't really throw down at all to get in and out of breaks, and
11:37his shoulders stay very level, similar to the way that Jackson Smith and Jigler runs his routes, or even Dave
11:42Flowers.
11:43And that, I think, with Todd Munkin's offense, is going to be very productive for him.
11:46So I expect both of them to have a big impact.
11:48The question's going to be, you know, I know we're going to be in 11 a lot, but what's that
11:54mix look like?
11:56Because Bond is clearly the best at taking the top off the defense.
11:59Boston's the biggest guy.
12:00Judy's been a pro bowler.
12:01And then you've got Casey Concepcion.
12:03So, you know, they're going to rush.
12:04I think they're going to rotate through a lot in certain situations.
12:07But, you know, is anybody actually going to get the chance to be the number one guy week in and
12:12week?
12:12I think that's going to be a fascinating thing, whether it's Judy, whether it's Concepcion, whether it's Boston.
12:17And certainly from a vertical threat standpoint, that's going to be Isaiah Fox.
12:20Well, Nathan, you talk about 11 personnel, 12 personnel, even 13 personnel with this tight end depth.
12:27Tell the fans, for me, I have watched, you know, I watched that injury last year with Judkins, Quichon, and
12:33you think there's going to be kind of a ramp up.
12:35I've been telling everybody, I got to watch him last year as a rookie.
12:38I think he's more explosive right now than he was coming in as a rookie.
12:42Is that fair to say?
12:43Are you seeing the same things?
12:45Absolutely.
12:46And you have to remember, though, when he came in as a rookie, he didn't have training camp.
12:50He came in and started practicing and then played, I think, against Baltimore week two.
12:56So that was, you know, he kind of was just thrown into it.
13:00He looks great.
13:01And any concerns about that injury, I would certainly say to our fans who are going to get to come
13:05out to the cross-country mortgage campus in Berea today for the first day of open trade camp practice, yeah,
13:10he looks explosive.
13:11And he's doing something on a lot of his runs that reminds me of something Nick Chubb would do, where
13:16he busts through the gap and he's gone, gets through the hole, and takes it all the way to the
13:20end zone on every run.
13:21And I think that's fun to watch.
13:23But, yeah, he looks incredibly explosive and powerful.
13:26And I know that with George Warhop here, with Travis Schweitzer as the offensive coordinator, you know, and people think
13:31of Todd as quarterbacks, receivers, they like the run game.
13:35And I think you're going to see a lot.
13:36Quintan Jenkins is going to be a huge, huge part of what the Cleveland Browns do this year.
13:41All right, Nathan, while I have you on, I don't think there'd be anybody, maybe perhaps in the country, that
13:48would have as much experience as you do breaking down everything Baker Mayfield.
13:53And so I have to ask you how you feel about yesterday's, let's just say, dispirited Baker Mayfield over the
14:02contract situation with his Buccaneers.
14:06Baker is Baker, and I like that about him.
14:08I'll tell you what, watching the quarterback show, you can see, I think, in many of the ways that he's
14:13grown and matured and the way, the affection that his teammates have for him, just like they did, you know,
14:18while he was here.
14:20I'm not surprised that that's the way that he approached that at all.
14:24Baker Mayfield feels like he should be, you know, in that $50 million a year club.
14:29The Buccaneers did it.
14:30I'm sure he's probably frustrated because it probably feels eerily similar to, you know, maybe what he went through at
14:35the end of his tenure here.
14:37He's clearly one of the top half of the league quarterbacks in the National Football League.
14:42And then the questions are, is he, from an organizational standpoint, can he take us to the promised land?
14:48Because he's going to have, you know, a third of the games every year where he's a top five quarterback
14:52in the league.
14:53Because he's got that kind of talent that he's going to have somewhere that's not as good.
14:56And that's kind of been what teams are trying to figure out as it relates to Baker.
15:00But that was right on brand for him, and I love it.
15:03And Baker is a guy, we used to call him Aria Stark when he was here.
15:06He likes to have a lift.
15:07He likes to have a chip on his shoulder.
15:09He likes to feel like there's a slight against him, whether it's real or perceived.
15:13And that typically has historically brought out the best in Baker Mayfield.
15:17So, you know, to quote the great Tim Minney, he's like, I'm going to make them pay.
15:20Right?
15:21And I had no problem with it.
15:23He feels disrespected, but he's going to go out there.
15:25I like the fact that in the middle of all of it, he feels like, hey, you guys really should
15:29be paying Vita Vaya as well.
15:31And so, I like it.
15:33Baker is, I think, very comfortable with who Baker Mayfield is, as he should be.
15:37He is a talented quarterback, and I like that firiness from him.
15:41He's betting on himself.
15:43And it would not surprise me at all at the end of this year if he's in a good spot,
15:48whether that's with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers,
15:50or if he hits the market and is looking, you know, to drop himself into a ready-made situation,
15:56kind of like Sam Darnold did last year in Seattle.
15:59And you also heard that our GM, no problem with reunions.
16:04He said that about Genevieve and Clowney.
16:06Just food for thought.
16:07Thank you, Nathan.
16:09All right.
16:10Thank you, guys.
16:10See how I did that?
16:13Yeah, slid that in there.
16:14You kind of slid it in.
16:15On the way out.
16:15I like it.
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