NFL Combine's best

 Join us as we dive into the excitement of the NFL Combine and discuss the standout players, including quarterbacks Jackson Dart, Quinn Ewers, and Will Howard. We also break down the surprising results from running backs and wide receivers. In addition, we touch on the NFLPA's player grades, the best and worst team facilities, and the recent franchise tag decisions. We also cover major moves in free agency, including Debo Samuel joining the Commanders and Sam Darnold's potential future with the Vikings. Tune in for all this and more football chatter!

Chapters

• 0:40 MLS Season Kickoff and Charlotte FC's Performance
• 2:05 Rivalries and Regional Sports Dynamics
• 3:53 Hard Knocks and NFL Offseason Drama
• 7:27 NFL Combine Player Selection Process
• 16:15 Packers' Offseason Moves and Jair Alexander's Future
• 19:04 NFL Combine Highlights and Standout Performance
• 32:02 QB Highlights and Rising Star
• 33:05 WR, RB, and Surprising Performances
• 40:08 NFL PA Player Grades: The Best and Worst
• 47:14 Free Agency Updates and Speculations
• 1:00:00 Final Thoughts and Wrap-Up

Transcript

Jason: 0:00

Welcome, welcome to another edition of the Pond Pony podcast as I got me, the OG and the fantasy Persian

pershin: 0:10

what's happening. Howdy, howdy.

Jason: 0:15

Glad to be back for another installment. I hear you. I hear you, man. Oh, excitement level just exuberating off the screen. Yeah. So, well, without further ado, we're going to talk about some combine and some other things happening around the leagues. So let's start the show.

0:35

The Pied Pony Podcast.

Jason: 0:40

To get the show started, we'll hit up with, you know, some things that I did around the weekend, the following sports MLS is back, which is awesome. So I went from one football to another football and my team is good. Charlotte FC is really good. So very excited.

pershin: 1:03

The season just kicked off, right?

Jason: 1:06

Yeah, we're two weeks in, but when you say

pershin: 1:08

that they're really good, that's just because last year they were so good, right?

Jason: 1:14

Well, it's because last year we were every year. We've improved last year. We went to the playoffs We added some more pieces this year and we kept like the like in my opinion The really good pieces so we added better players. So theoretically we got better on paper And one of those players that we added Zaha in his set in his first game, he accounted for two goals. So,

pershin: 1:45

Oh, nice.

Jason: 1:46

You know, right off the bat, instant, instant help immediately. So it very excited for the season, looking forward to it. You know, I mean, you know, start off the season with a win and a draw. So you're no losses yet. One on one. One on one. Can't argue with that. Undefeated, baby. That's right. And we beat our, our, you know, Atlanta. You know, Charlotte. So for in the southeast of the states, you know, Atlanta and Charlotte are like rivals in every major way that can be possible. Sports, probably politics, city growth. Whose city's cleaner than the other city?

pershin: 2:26

They got a Florida team too, I imagine, right? Orlando or Miami or something.

Jason: 2:31

Yeah, they got, I mean, yeah, but those rivalries are like Charlotte versus Atlanta, you know, Falcons versus Panthers, Charlotte FC versus Atlanta United. The Hawks versus the

pershin: 2:43

Hornets.

Jason: 2:44

Right. Thank you. I was like trying to think of like the third one there. I'm like, I don't mean there used to be like, is the thrashers still around? I think they're not, I think they're gone, but there used to be a hockey team there. But our charlotte's is in Raleigh anyway, so it doesn't really matter. But yeah, I mean, just exciting to get a rivalry win at home at the bank opening home game. So, you know, MLS is back. It's exciting stuff, man. I'm very excited for the season. They have multiple like in season cups that charlotte's going to be a part of. So it's just what I really like about the MLS is just. There's so many opportunities to watch your team play and, or other teams for that matter, because guess what? You pay for the package. You get every team, no blackout, doesn't matter where you're at, doesn't matter where you're at in the world. You can watch it.

pershin: 3:40

Yeah.

Jason: 3:41

So

pershin: 3:42

another happy customer.

Jason: 3:44

That's right. That's right. That's what I tell my clients.

pershin: 3:49

So, hey,

Jason: 3:50

don't worry, you pay for the

pershin: 3:51

package, you get the package,

Jason: 3:52

my friend. Oh my gosh, this guy, this guy, moving on from the MLS hard docks off season or is it off season? I'm not sure which one, but the giants fumbled the bag so hard last year. That they came back to him, right? No, there were No NFL team wanted to do it. No NFL team wanted to do offseason. they all were

pershin: 4:20

afraid of getting embarrassed like the way the Giants got?

Jason: 4:23

Because of getting rid of Saquon Barkley.

pershin: 4:27

Oh wow, that's wild. See, I thought you were going to say the opposite. I thought you were saying like that the Giants were so butthurt about the coverage. That they, that they specifically asked Hard Knocks to give them a re do. No. And, wow.

Jason: 4:42

You know where they're going with

pershin: 4:44

this now. They're doing college? They're gonna do like the draft coverage, basically? It's like kids, kids as part of the cycle or whatever. Bill

Jason: 4:55

Belichick and UNC. Ah. I am, I am low key interested. Because A, I don't know how like college is like, how the recruiting process, like what actually goes on, you know, I'm not in there every day. In the recruiting process, you know, in these meetings, you know what they're talking about at each college campus. So it will be interesting to see that process of how, you know, kind of an off season for a college works versus the NFL.

pershin: 5:29

I do think it's a, it's a really like good case study. Like it's a, it's a good, a good spot for them to go to because. There's been a lot of coaches who have made it to the NFL for a year or two or even longer and then kick back down to college and Nick Saban, so many of them feel like college teams could actually you could actually get used from a more pro structure. But it's always been the, the athletic directors that have pushed back against that. And so UNC actually gave Bill Belichick the green light to form his own front office. And so he, he really wants to do it as transactional and as like pro. NFL style as possible. And so I think it'll be interesting, not just from the, the behind the scenes drama that comes with Belichick and those other sort of NFL names, but then also just to see how, how well it works or doesn't work, a lot of people are forecasting that he's basically going to force. The, the college scene to sort of evolve because no one's actually stepped up and made a front office with executives the way that he has. And if it's successful, then of course, everyone's going to want to copycat. So we'll, we'll see how it goes. But

Jason: 7:00

I mean, between, between the way he's going to do things in the way Dion Sanders does things. With like, just, you know, you, if, if you're not cutting the mustard, you're going, you're, we're getting rid of you. We're going to the portal. I mean, college is going to have no, no choice, but to figure things out, I think. So yeah, super, super interested in in that as we said last week, that we would figure out how the players are selected for the combine. And I have figured that out.

pershin: 7:38

All right. Let me

Jason: 7:39

Yes, so the process itself is pretty democratic now that I have my notes pulled up the basically what happens is the player selection committee gathers input from all 32 teams teams provide feedback on the players they want to evaluate further so The the selection committee includes scouts 32 teams general managers who serve on a rotational basis Then there's a director And I mean, they evaluate the inputs from third, from NFL scouts for over 300 players. You know, the goal is for every player selected in the draft to attend the combine and this and that. So, I mean, you know, I, I don't, you know, I mean, that's pretty much what you asked for last week was like, every team should submit players and, and I mean, so that's essentially what happens is every team submits players that they want to look at further. And then obviously because the combine has become so popular, there's more and more what's happening now is more players are being invited that are kind of there to move the needle a little bit to kind of bring the attention to as far as like TV viewerships and stuff like that, but a general, most of the players are there. Have been selected by teams to what they want to see more.

pershin: 9:09

Yeah, well, that's good. It is certainly much closer to what I was asking for. Anyways, I think the big difference that I still think would be good is basically like if you're going to declare for the draft, then certain things should be like mandated by the NFL. Say like. Certain parts of the draft process. You can't opt out of, I think it would be nice to have them. You know, forced into certain things. And I mean, we could, you know, they could argue later or we could argue later or whatever and decide what should be allowed to be opted out or opted in or whatever. But to me, I think that there's every, every sort of aspect of it is like you can opt out of. And I just think that the NFL should probably say like, all right, look. You know, you have to do X, Y, and Z because not only will it be good for the NFL itself, but also the fans will like it. So there's, there'll be more money to be made. People will be more invested in it, interested in it, entertained by it, you know, so it's, but that's when you

Jason: 10:21

say opt out of something, are you speaking just specifically on the combine or just. In general things. Cause like, I don't know, outside of that, like, I don't know what you're talking about.

pershin: 10:33

What else are they

Jason: 10:34

opting into?

pershin: 10:35

Like a lot of the top players will, they'll meet with the teams and they'll do special workouts for the teams. And most of the big schools will have their own pro day where the scouts can show up and whatever kids that they're interested in seeing from that school can see like that. But, but those things. Are also up to like the agent's discretion where a lot of times the agent, for whatever reason, we'll tell the kid, nah, don't do that. Don't do, don't do your pro day. We're, we're going to tell them that your ankle is still, still in rehab. And don't, don't meet with them physically tell them that you have to be away and tell them that you'll do a remote. Sort of video thing with them and probably most kids, most of these things they do want to do, but I just feel like the NFL should just make it to where like, there's certain things you have to, you know what I

Jason: 11:31

mean? I mean, I agree and disagree. Like, yes, there are certain things you have to do, but I don't think like, because you're talking about making for lack of a pro day or a combine mandatory. Not every player declared for the NFL draft is even invited or is even getting a look at mandatory. So in order, like we're talking like, I mean, how many players get drafted in one draft? Something like 260, I think. 260, you know, and I mean, there's probably. I mean, there's already over 300 that go to the combine. So then there's probably, however, another, another two, 300 people that have declared, maybe, I don't know. I don't know the numbers for that, but I just think it's, I just don't think if you declare for the draft, you should have to do the combine because I am completely. I think the, as I've already said before, I think the combine is a complete waste of time for a talent that's within the top tier. Cam Ward, I'm fine with you not doing the combine. In fact, you shouldn't have even been invited. There was no reason for you to be there. You know, Shadier Sanders, same. No, I don't, I don't need to see anything from you. I've already seen it all. Shiloh Sanders. I could, I would have liked to see more from him. He should have been invited to the combine, not his brother. His brother didn't even do anything yet. He got an invite. So what was the point? That's where I think the changes need to be made. We don't need to make things mandatory. We need to invite the right people because. It's become more like we said about television So if you do want it to be television then have those people come but don't make them do the combine If you want shot if you want chador and cam ward and all those cats to show up for those tv times and all that stuff That's fine. Have them do press conferences at combine Do whatever, but they, but let's not go, Oh, Cam Ward's not doing the combine kind of more, it's not doing this. It's like, you guys put them in that position by inviting him. Like, you know what I'm saying? Like, yeah,

pershin: 13:44

I mean, I hear, I hear you're coming from, and I don't want to rehash this. Same exact argument we already did last episode. But I will just say like, when you think about even when it comes to like weighing in and having your height measures, like even that stuff, they can opt out of, which I just think is crazy. It's like NFL teams should be able to know what the real thing is. If you, if you're a college, well, no, they could opt out. Like the thing is like. But that's my point is they're not only being measured at the combine well, this isn't the only place that's happening Well, the thing is that their their colleges a lot of times will lie about the stuff though. Basically, right? I don't be a couple

Jason: 14:29

are going to the colleges. You don't think at any point in time. They're like, hey, man What like what's your height? Like? Hey, I'm talking to you face to face. What is your height? You're and you're gonna sit here and lie to me and tell me it's six five when really I'm six Like if I'm six foot and you're six foot one, and we're standing face to face and I asked you your height, like, let's say I'm a scout, you're a player, you tell me six, five, and I look at you and go. You ain't six five, man, you're six, you're, you're barely six one or whatever.

pershin: 15:00

Well, I, I think the height is a little harder to hide than stuff. I mean, I'm just saying,

Jason: 15:03

I'm just, I'm giving an a, an an. Yeah.

pershin: 15:07

I, yeah, I, I see what you're saying. But, but also you get my point where it's like literally there's every piece of it can be opted out of, you know what I mean? And it's just like, ah, I don't, I don't, I don't know if I like that, but,

Jason: 15:22

Again, I, I just think it's this day and age. There's. The data's there already. I don't need to, I don't need you to reweigh yourself in front of 100 people. Like, that's just silly. It's the same with like the UF, real quick, tangent, the UFC weigh ins. Like, that's fucking stupid. That is purely for TV. It's like, we don't need. You know, homie, you know, the ice man getting on a scale naked in front of 400 people in the TV cameras going on just so he makes weight for a fucking fight. Like this shit is stupid. Like, and that's what it's all for. Like, all right, done. Done. I'm done. Okay. But the democratic process. So let's, let's go ahead and get into the combine since we already talked a little bit about it. Let's talk about what came out of the combine real quick on a Packer's note, Goody, Goody Kess was, was spoken to. And he had some things to say about Jair Alexander specifically. And it's interesting the way he says things and, and how, and what he says. The terminology he uses in the past, he's one of the, it's kind of like the coaches, like website, you read, who's a liar and who tells the truth, you know, that kind of, whereas like,

pershin: 16:47

I need to get back on there actually. I haven't been there.

Jason: 16:51

Is asked about a player. He'll say things that it's like Aaron Jones last year at all year, you know, what, what's going to happen? Well, we want Aaron Jones back. We really want Aaron Jones back. And I believe that. And they tried to make things happen, but there are other players like with Rogers, where it was, we really want Rogers back and then next season. Well, we really want Rogers back. And then the final season, it kind of was like. Yeah, I mean, we'd like to have him back. Like he could definitely be on the team next year. Yeah. And it's like, you kind of start seeing the writing.

pershin: 17:25

I remember us talking about that when it happened, where it was like the first couple off seasons, it was so black and white. It was like, yeah, he's our number one option. We really, really want him back. We don't want any other quarterback. For our team, this is the one that this is the situation that we really want. And then like before he eventually left, like the language had definitely softened, you know, so they were still saying that they did in fact want him back, but it wasn't like so black and white anymore. So, yeah.

Jason: 18:00

So with, I think Jair is probably on his way out in green Bay. Yeah. It sounds like Which, you know, he was injured all pretty much all of last season. So as much as I love Jair Alexander, green Bay typically has a way of getting rid of people before they go on that downward trajectory. So I'm gonna let my man good cash to do his thing. And this is a good draft to, to do that and to get rid of a corner back in, just saying.

pershin: 18:33

Yeah. And particularly when you talk about the kind of numbers you're going to have to pay, you know, it's like if you're trying to avoid like the downslide, you, you definitely don't want to pay top dollar, which I'm assuming he's going to get somewhere close to top dollar. So.

Jason: 18:50

Yeah. Oh yeah. He'll still get a good car. He'll get somebody. Yeah. And then some other news that kind of came out this Oh, excuse me. We're on the company 2015. Edit that. So talking more about the combine couple notes, one of the fastest running back groups since 2003, this, this combine yeah. Bravo for the running back groups, which is interesting considering the workhorses, the old folks that we got in the running backs. NFL now, we'll see how these young cats get in there.

pershin: 19:25

Yeah, it'll finally be a changing of the guard.

Jason: 19:29

No, no, not happening.

pershin: 19:31

They've been saying it for like five years in a row. It's the same fucking dudes, man. That's wild.

Jason: 19:37

A couple of players that I, I thought had a really good combine. Most of them actually quarterbacks. I thought the three quarterbacks. Jackson Dart, Quinn Ewers, and Will Howard. Threw the ball well. Will fucking Howard is huge by the way. Have you seen him? Oh yeah. You're talking about the Ohio

pershin: 19:58

State guy, right?

Jason: 19:59

He is an absolute monster. You can

pershin: 20:05

tell how big he is when he's got his pads on. He's in the game. I just, I

Jason: 20:09

just, I just couldn't, you know, I just never really saw him. And he's just a, he's just a big dude, dude. He's like He's gonna, Big Ben, I see Big Ben written, like this guy is gonna be able to break tackles, sling the rock. I, I'm really, I am liking his size. I like, like, his deep ball is a little sus. So he needs some work on that, but

pershin: 20:38

yeah, I, I apparently he was struggling more so early in the season. And then by the time that I saw him, like in, in the bowl game in one of, one of the playoff games I watched, I remember us talking about it on the pod where I was like, I was actually really impressed by Will Howard. I didn't realize like how good he was and, and how, how strong of a runner he is. He, he can actually like truck some of the, some of the defenders, you know, linebackers and that, and made some really good down the field passes a couple of times. So I, I was impressed with him with the game that I saw, I guess for most of his college career though, he. He never really turned it on and it was just at the, at the, toward the end of this past season. So it, you know, I think that's why a lot of people are not as excited about him, but you got to think he's got some upside.

Jason: 21:44

When you're looking at his, this year's.

pershin: 21:50

Yeah.

Jason: 21:50

I mean, he's right up there with everybody else. I don't, you know, I didn't, I didn't watch his whole first, you know, half of the season, like you're saying, or anything like that. I really just saw the end of his, but I mean. He's got, he's got better stats than Shadur, and Shadur is projected to go ahead of him. Hell, they even have, I mean, I'm, I know stats aren't like, you know, the, the whole picture.

pershin: 22:18

Right,

Jason: 22:18

right. But, like, you can clearly see, okay, this guy can throw the ball, he can score touchdowns, he doesn't turn the ball over a lot. You know, Shadur Sanders threw 10 picks, Will Howard threw 10 picks. You know, Cam Ward through seven picks. So it's like, he's right there on the same plane as those guys that are considered one, two, but then even that people are saying Jackson Dart is had a great combine and that he could be number three quarterback off the board. And I'm sitting here like, Oh, there's

pershin: 22:47

no doubt. He's number three quarterback. I mean, people are starting to talk about him now. Like. Like maybe he's right there with Shadur. Shadur took a hit this, this past week

Jason: 22:59

at the

pershin: 23:00

combine.

Jason: 23:00

I mean, Dart is good at Ole Miss, but I, I think that's, I like, look, Dart's good. I am suspect on Ole Miss just because of their system is designed to score a lot and to score quickly. And, you know, so we'll see how that plays out. But they, you know, Ole Miss. If they were down, it felt like they could never really come back. Like once they were losing in the game, they never had that comeback ability, in my opinion. And you know, I just, yeah, I mean, I don't want my quarterback to have a little bit like

pershin: 23:42

Jackson dart. Like this time last year is JJ McCarthy, where it was like. The season ended, nobody was talking about J. J. McCarthy in the first round, and then every week, it just seemed like, like, people kept bumping him up and bumping him up in their mock drafts, and people kept saying that NFL teams like this guy more than we think, and yadda yadda, and that's what's happening with Jackson Dart right now, so it's like, maybe he doesn't go quite as high as J. J. McCarthy went, like in the top six, I think it was, but at this point, I would not be surprised if he ends up going round one. He just, apparently he impresses everyone every time that the coaches meet with him. And I think a big part of it's just his really big arm. He's, he's such a strong thrower. And every time that, that teams actually get to see him throw in person, they're like, Oh my God, the velocity. He could, he could put it anywhere on the field, yada, yada, yada. I mean, I could see the upside there. I get it. He's a gunslinger. He's a big, strong guy. He's kind of like, when you look at Jalen Hurts, when you look at Josh Allen. Even Big Ben that we referenced before, it's like those guys were able to basically cut down on the errant passes, you know, we, we, we haven't seen Anthony Richardson get to that place yet, but you could see where the upside would be if they did. And so I, I could see teams moving him up more than we would think. You know, I think there's no question at this point he's ahead of. Jalen Milrow, he's ahead of Quinn Ewers. He, you know, there's really just Shadur and Cam. That's ahead of him at this point. I think.

Jason: 25:36

Yeah. If I, if I had it I am, I got him. Yeah. Cam Shadur. And it could go, for me, Will Howard or Jackson Dart, 3rd quarterback off the board. But I think both of them are 2nd rounders. I think the only quarterbacks that go in the 1st are Cam and Chador.

pershin: 25:57

Yeah, I think, I think if Jackson Dart doesn't go in the 1st, he definitely goes in the 2nd. I think he's a lock for the first couple rounds.

Jason: 26:05

Cause the Titans might not go QB round, so. What do you

pershin: 26:08

think of Milrow, real quick, since we're talking Like combined quarterbacks, he did well in the athletic stuff, but then once again, he underwhelmed actually passing the ball. So it's like, I'm not impressed. I'm actually thinking, I'm actually thinking his arrow probably went down if anything.

Jason: 26:27

If anything, I think he is a prime candidate for a Packers draft in like the sixth round.

pershin: 26:35

Just try to develop him over a couple years or something.

Jason: 26:38

Just, just, you know, keep in the interest of taking a quarterback in every draft. Yeah. If we're, you know, maybe take him just to see what you could do with him. And maybe try to develop him to trade him. That kind of thing.

pershin: 26:54

Yeah, I just, I just think he's,

Jason: 26:57

I mean,

pershin: 26:58

he, he's literally worse than Richardson was as a pastor coming out worse than Jalen hurts worse, worse than all of these. Super athletic sort of guys with high upside. I mean it's it's only high upside if he completely Becomes a different quarterback, you know what I mean? It's like right,

Jason: 27:19

right. Yeah He's got that run ability I just There are,

pershin: 27:25

there are a couple like day three QBs that I think will be interesting as sleepers, but we'll, we'll have a different episode about that later. So,

Jason: 27:33

yeah, I mean, Hey, look, there's, he could definitely be a fifth six rounder that turns into a fucking Tom Brady stud Jalen hurts, you know, whoever, Patrick Holmes, Brock Purdy, whatever

pershin: 27:46

irrelevant.

Jason: 27:46

So yeah, exactly. You never know. I mean, just. If he gets a shot, then I mean, you know, I ain't mad at him. Yeah, so that was kind of the QB talks. Some other key positions that stood out and there wasn't really a whole lot that stood out in this combine. But Trevor ATN, I think was faster than I think people projected, especially because he is still a little banged up. So I think that was kind of surprising, which, you know, if he's any, I don't think he was like his brother as much in college in the sense that like. He scored a lot and was kind of like, it took him a little bit to get going. Cause you know, he ended up at UGA, but he was, I think he started at Florida. Right. So, but I think this guy, I mean, if he's anything like his brother, I think this guy is a beast. I think he's a worthy running back to consider in like a late first round, maybe second, but I could also see him go into a third round pick because.

pershin: 28:53

Oh, I don't even think he'll get in the top three. I just think there's so many running backs this year. Like I don't know where to put them. He

Jason: 29:00

really, I think the combine helped him.

pershin: 29:03

Yeah, it definitely didn't hurt him. A lot of people were expecting him to run slower than his brother ran. And he actually ran faster than his brother ran as far as the 40 times. So it was like, Whoa, Hey there. People weren't really expecting that. I mean, he, he did underwhelm after he went to Georgia. People were expecting a bit more from him, but he's another guy with good size, speed combination. Did this draft class though? Unfortunately for guys like him, it's just so stacked with guys, guys who are both big and fast for their size. It's, I, I, I'm pretty sure you're familiar with the speed score, which is just weight adjusted score. And this year we had 15 different running backs. that had over 100 speed score. And that was the first time ever that we had that many running backs with over. And it's just, it's just ridiculous. And the, the top guy was actually basal tootin who. Was a lesser known guy expected to be at the, you know, like round six, round seven sort of draft pick. And now people are like, maybe he shot up to day two, you know, it's just so ridiculously stacked that it's some of these guys are going to get pushed back. You know?

Jason: 30:23

Well, not only at running back, I mean, this draft is a trenches it's, it's deep in the trenches, but the trenches did not surprise on combine day. So Wide receiver wise Donovan Edwards out of Michigan looked really good That's kind of it I'd like I said, I just wasn't really that impressed with the skill positions Except for the speed at running back. Yeah Is there anybody you wanted to add on about wide receiver running backs any any any? Yeah, I actually thought I

pershin: 30:57

I actually thought maybe we were supposed to do where you were going to talk about all your guys. And then I was going to talk about all my guys, but I,

Jason: 31:04

I did. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Well, I got two more. We can do that. Okay. Okay. And then the last two guys that I w that I wrote down here are some that I'm looking at specifically for green Bay. I don't think that one of them will make it our mod Mimbu. Out of Memphis. He's an offensive lineman. He's looking pretty good. I, like I said, I think he'll be the top offensive lineman to go. And I would love to have him on green bay, but I just, I don't see it happening. And then Jihad Campbell out of Alabama linebacker. He is being compared to Edger and Cooper for Green Bay. And so, you know, Edger and Cooper had a pretty solid season last year. That would be good. So that's kind of, those are kind of the highlights that I had. I mean, like I said, wasn't a lot for me.

pershin: 32:00

Yeah, I hear you. So for me, when it comes to QB, we already talked about the Jackson dart thing. I just think that this combined with the fact that he already had basically arrow up coming into this. It's just really good for him. Basal tootin I talked about, he kind of came out of nowhere and was just so fast and he's not even a small guy. So that's pretty cool. Omarion Hampton did really well in all of his drills, and he is one of the biggest running backs. I think that he might make a push into the first round as well. Everyone's expecting Gente to go in the first round, and I think that that makes sense. I would not be surprised if Omarion Hampton is the second RB off the board, and if he sneaks into the first round himself. Quinn, Sean Judkins also surprisingly fast. People thought he was going to be considerably slower than his running mate at Ohio state. Travion Henderson, no, he had almost the same exact 40 time at 20 pounds heavier and so it's like You got to think he's getting pushed up boards, too when it comes to the wide receivers Matthew golden this guy was somebody that was in most scouts analysts top four or five wide receivers as it was just cause he regularly, reliably gets open. But then he also had the second fastest 40 time. People didn't really expect him to be that fast. He really was faster than expected. So when you combine the fact that he's already pretty skilled as a route runner with the fact that he's actually faster than what he's shown I think that's gotta be arrow up for him. I would not be surprised if he basically is in the same bucket as. Ted Tedoro McMillan or Luther Burden for, for a lot of these teams, probably going to be in that, in that same upper echelon. I think he definitely goes round one couple of guys that impressed me specifically that when I was watching the drills, Jalen Noel, I hadn't really heard a lot about this guy. I thought he was pretty good from Ole Miss. I believe I thought he was pretty good. And one last running back that sort of shocked me, Taj Brooks, don't know a lot about him. He had like the third fast 40 time, but he was actually number one in all the other drills. Like this dude's a an athlete, like a really elite athlete. And it's like, Man, that's, it's just crazy how many good running backs are in this. I don't know that he gets pushed up that much because he wasn't very productive in college, apparently, but

Jason: 34:59

Well, that's like how many teams need a running back?

pershin: 35:02

Yeah, I know, right? There's gonna be I think there's two reasons why a lot of these guys are gonna get pushed back. That's the first one is that there's just a lot of them. But also the second one is that when teams do want running backs, Now they feel so much more confident that they could just get one the next round, that they could just get one the next round. Cause they're going to be looking at their board and they're going to have so many options they like at running back that they're actually going to keep putting it off. I think. So I think it's actually working against a lot of these guys, but certainly as someone who's into fantasy football, and of course you and I are, are in a dynasty league. A lot of these guys are going to be work taking shots at, you know, at the back of the, at the back of these rookie drafts, you pay really cheap price just to do a dart throw on a guy. That's, you know, obviously a really great athlete. As far as like guys who I thought would actually took a down arrow, Cam Scadavoo refused to do any of the drills. Everyone really wanted to see him do the drills. The only one that he did was the high jump. And he did do pretty well at that above average everything else. He opted out. Yeah, he said that it had to do with it an injury that he's nursing, but I don't buy it because he actually like came out and made his decision like 30 minutes late and He, he like showed up and then he, he went to go talk with his agent and then he came back to do his presser late. See, and that's how you get, that's how you

Jason: 36:40

make a bad look.

pershin: 36:41

Yeah, exactly. And then you say that you're injured, but you do do the one thing that you're confident that you're gonna look good in. You know what I mean? It's like, ah man, that It, it just, it's just

Jason: 36:53

don't draft him.

pershin: 36:54

It's just so transparent that he's hiding. He's hiding how slow he is. You know what I mean? It's like, it's also Gunnar Helm tight end that was expected to go day two, I don't think there's any chance he could stay too. He was horrible in all of his drills. He was almost the worst. It's supposed

Jason: 37:12

to be a pretty solid tight end draft too.

pershin: 37:14

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. On the other side of that coin Ferguson Ferguson came out and looked really good guy. People say in round three, round four, I think he's probably more like a round two guy, pretty cool. Yeah, him, but back, back to the guys I thought were down arrows. Shadur Sanders apparently did not do well on the white board or in the interviews. People were saying that, that Cam Ward, Jackson Dart, Quinn Ewers, that all of these guys were, seemed really intelligent about the plays and understanding behind the plays and, and, and the interviews and stuff. The buzz about Shador is not good, that he came off arrogant and ignorant, like he didn't actually understand. A lot of the plays he was running at Colorado as well as people were expecting. I think that that's bad. Bad look for him. Isaiah Bond promised that he would be Xavier Worthy's 40 times. He

Jason: 38:13

didn't even come close. Yeah. And he's like a whole 10th of a cent. His teammate Matthew

pershin: 38:19

Golden actually did better than he did, considerably better than he did, so it's like, oh man and then Tez Johnson, coming in 10 pounds lighter, and he was already, like, in the, the risky area, if Tez Johnson were to get drafted, he would be The lightest wide receiver drafted in the past 15 years, 154 at some point. It's like, that's just too small for the NFL, bro.

Jason: 38:50

Too small, man.

pershin: 38:51

So I think, I think even though he's he's very fast, he's quick, you know, he's good with the ball in his hands. I think he might not even get drafted or, well, he'll be like a day three guy when. Maybe before he was considered more like a round two, round three sort of guy. So that's unfortunate for him. I don't understand why you wouldn't just drink so much water that you added 10 pounds or something. I don't know what he was thinking, but he, he actually came in lighter than what was expected. So

Jason: 39:23

that's not, he thought this was like a wrestling tournament. He needed to make weight. He was in the car chewing gum and had the heat on and stuff.

pershin: 39:31

I'll get to play against NFL players, my own size. Yeah,

Jason: 39:36

he's out there like running track and a fucking wind suit or something. Yeah, those days.

pershin: 39:44

And that's about it. For the most part, everyone else, I feel like didn't necessarily impress me or like disappoint me for the most part. Most of these guys are still what I thought of them before. These are basically the only ones that I kind of changed my mind on a little bit.

Jason: 40:00

Well, there you go. The Combine Recap. All right. So after the combine talk, NFL PA has released their player grades or for the teams, coaches, owners. Facilities, what have you? And I have that list right here and we'll just, you know, touch on. So treatment of facilities, the worst team this year is Cincinnati Bengals with an F minus. Oh man. Jacksonville moved up. I think they got rid of the, what they had rats last year. I think they got rid of the rats. That's good. They're they're at a solid F. I don't know who had the rights. It was either them or the commanders I can't remember who had rats.

pershin: 40:55

Oh, I remember the commanders were bad like two or three years in a row They were like worse than the

Jason: 41:00

treatment of facilities, right?

pershin: 41:02

No, for like everything

Jason: 41:03

players hated. Oh, well playing for them. Look, the commanders have made a big jump. Okay. Oh, we are in, yeah, we're in a B plus for a treatment facility B plus at food and dining area C plus for nutritionists and dietitians. So we need to do some work there. An F for the locker room. Need to do a little work there. Oh, geez. C plus for training room. That was the kind of the bad, now the good stuff. Training staff is a B plus. Weight room is a B minus. Strength coach is A. Team travel, head coach, ownership, all A's. Head coach was actually an A plus.

pershin: 41:42

Oh, don't hurt him.

Jason: 41:46

Dan Quinn with his

pershin: 41:47

cap turned around.

Jason: 41:49

There you go. So the best facilities were Minnesota Vikings, Falcons, which by the way, that makes total sense, both of them, A, got a new stadium within like, you know, recent. Relatively recent. It would make sense that along with that new stadium, they got, you know, nice facilities. I don't know if they've, apparently Minnesota has been good every year for their facilities. So no shocker here. I don't think there's really much change in some of these dolphins are up there. Cowboys, Seahawks. Green Bay is kind of middle of the road. We'll see. Where's the Broncos at?

pershin: 42:33

They're usually like middle of the road somewhere. I know what I guess

Jason: 42:38

it. Yeah. C minus for facilities. Fucking bums.

pershin: 42:43

Damn. And they got the richest owners too. There's no excuse for that.

Jason: 42:47

I know. See the Bengals, like

pershin: 42:49

everyone knows that their owners are like. I guess they're rich, but they're not as rich as most owners and they're cheap about everything. But like when your team is owned by the same people that own Walmart, like, come on, bro, like get it together.

Jason: 43:04

So yeah, right. No kidding. So for locker room, the lions have a, or the Rams have a C plus for locker room. Like. That stadium is like super new. Like that locker room should be bad ass. You, you shouldn't have a C plus locker room for a stadium built in what? 2023, 2022.

pershin: 43:24

Yeah, that's a newer one.

Jason: 43:25

Come on, man.

pershin: 43:26

For

Jason: 43:26

sure. The Cardinals have an F minus Brown's F minus Denver F for locker room. But F stands for fun. It was a fun locker room.

pershin: 43:39

No, they, they probably give it an F because they have to deal with McVay or with, they have to deal with Peyton in the locker room. Oh my gosh.

Jason: 43:49

They didn't get their own third floor office like Russell Wilson did. Head coaches. Let's see some ones that stand out here not surprising, you know, Washington Falcons, Minnesota Chiefs, I feel like they all love their coach.

pershin: 44:05

Yeah, people usually like McDaniel's in in Miami players say that they love to play for him.

Jason: 44:14

Hey, this is cool though The worst coaching grade is a C. So and that's the Bears I think Ibrafluz deserved an F, but that's just me. Doug Peterson, you know, maybe these guys are great people, but the grading should also account for how well the season turned out, okay? Not on how you personally feel. I don't know how they grade. Yeah,

pershin: 44:40

I think this just proves that the players don't really care about winning. They just want a paycheck. Like, if I get rich, I'm happy. They don't give a shit. Oh man, we, we won too much. Now I got to keep training. Fuck this.

Jason: 44:56

Yeah. Right. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's surprising. Like what, like, what would be like Indianapolis Colts got an a. Or for

pershin: 45:06

head coach.

Jason: 45:06

Yeah. For coach, like the Raiders got an a minus, which, I mean, that's not surprising. I mean, the coach, I guess, I

pershin: 45:15

guess I could see people liking Shane Steichen. I mean, it's hard, it's hard to tell from the outside because you listen to these guys in the press conferences, especially when you like look at

Jason: 45:26

coach

pershin: 45:27

speak index and shit like that. It's like. These guys are all bullshit artists. Who knows what they're really like behind closed doors. You know what I mean? It's like

Jason: 45:36

Yeah,

pershin: 45:37

they they can literally be any type of person. They're basically like politicians Marketing guys when they're actually like in public, you know, so

Jason: 45:49

and last thing ownership worst Ownership in the league who you think it is

pershin: 45:56

Worst ownership in the league.

Jason: 45:58

That's voted on by the players I guess. I don't know how like if it's just the team, but anyway, worst. It's the worst grade. Worst ownership grade in the league

pershin: 46:10

probably. Got it. Jacksonville or New York Jets.

Jason: 46:13

Wow. Not even close on the first one. Spot on, on the second one. Jet's got an F. The jet. It's the next. People think Jacksonville's owner's great. Their owner, well not people, players. The players gave the owner of Jacksonville a B

pershin: 46:33

Oh, wow. Okay. Oh, well hey, I got one of them hit though.

Jason: 46:41

Yeah, yeah, the next highest, the next lowest ownership grade is a D with the Panthers, the Cardinals,

pershin: 46:49

Oh, I forgot about the Panthers. I would have guessed Panthers.

Jason: 46:52

and the Patriots got a D. The Steelers even got a D. Crazy. What are these players thinking?

pershin: 47:00

Damn. The Patriots. They don't like Kraft? They must have got upset about that documentary where Kraft threw Belichick under the bus or whatever.

Jason: 47:12

Yeah, man. Fucking Kraft. Alright, well, so we're getting down to the nitty gritty, so let's go ahead and wrap this puppy up and let's talk a little bit of free agency real quick. Things that happened over the weekend. Franchise tag ended today. So with that being said, nobody got tagged. Did anybody get tagged?

pershin: 47:34

T Higgins. I think

Jason: 47:36

that's

pershin: 47:36

right. But we already do that ahead of time though. Yeah, we knew that ahead of time.

Jason: 47:40

So no surprise taggings, but Matthew Stafford is sign is going to sign with the Rams. So

pershin: 47:48

they restructured his deal. They didn't actually give him an extension, which I thought was interesting. They've given him basically more of his money this year than next year. So they restructured it to where he gets it up front, which leads me to believe that he might, he might dip after this coming season, rather than at first they made it sound like they were going to extend him. Or he could be retiring. Oh,

Jason: 48:15

or maybe he already plans on it after next year, it could be maybe they, maybe they've had a talk like, Hey, let's do, let's do one more run, give me a lot of my money up front and then we can, we can part ways I'll retire and you guys can, you know, get all the cap back. Yeah, it could be that, but I mean, that's pretty cool if that's what it is like, Hey man, it's a mutual understanding, like we want to do one more ride and let's pay you. So if that's the case Saquon Barkley got extended, which per our previous conversation, you think is a terrible idea. And so I'm going to go ahead and put you on NFL hard knocks off season with the Giants ownership. I mean, GM Joe Shane, you can go hang out with him. Because you're out of your mind. Saquon Barkley has proven that you're out of your mind. And I am not going to naysay Saquon Barkley ever again. Well, here's the thing though,

pershin: 49:16

is they they've already got guaranteed money through next season, right? This coming season. So the thing is just that they didn't have to sign to him to extension right now. They could have done it next up,

Jason: 49:30

but why not? But why not next off season? It could be more.

pershin: 49:35

It could be more, but it also could be less. He could have a major injury, the offensive line might take a step back, and so he's not as productive, all kinds of stuff could happen. Bro,

Jason: 49:48

he was behind the Giants offensive line. I don't give a shit what offensive line you put him behind, that dude is an animal.

pershin: 49:57

Big difference in production with the Giants versus with the Eagles,

Jason: 50:00

right? But there was also a big, regardless of offensive line, there was a big difference in quarterback play and, and coaching and wide receivers. And,

pershin: 50:09

but that's the whole thing with running backs is that even when they're really good, you still got to have an offense around them. That is kind of true. He was like, he was like the entire offense when he was with the Titans, a couple of those years.

Jason: 50:24

Look, man, every year to run backs, just going to keep proving you wrong. Yeah. Keep getting older and keep playing.

pershin: 50:31

Yeah. Yeah. Even the really good rookie class that's coming in, they're all going to be backup. It's still going to be fucking James Conner, like just still beating out these supposed hotshots, right? Ashton Gentry is going to be backing up fucking Joe Mixon and shit.

Jason: 50:52

Yeah. Joe is going to come back for another ridiculous season.

pershin: 50:57

Oh, I forgot. I forgot to say in our combine talk to an interesting thing. It was in the presser. A lot of a lot of reporters were asking gentee about the teams that he talked to. And that he said that the first team that he talked to Was actually the Broncos. The Broncos were really interested and they told him straight up that we're not satisfied with our running backs, we have a big need of running back. Which I feel like, damn, that's fucked up. Y'all, y'all ain't had to talk shit on, on the, the, the current roster, right? But,

Jason: 51:28

he said Why'd they give up the cards? And what's up with all these people trying to give out all the playing cards before they even play the hand? Oh, all of our running backs suck. We desperately need a running back now the entire nfl Teams all know denver wants a running back.

pershin: 51:45

I know yeah, I know right? But here's the interesting thing, though, is that a lot of people that have been doing mock drags, you know, Mal Kiper, Todd McShay, and these guys, that they actually have him go into the Cowboys. And he said that the Cowboys did not meet with him. He said the Cowboys did not meet with him. And so, what's interesting here is that Omari and Hampton, Travion Henderson, and Judkins, they all said that they did meet. With the Cowboys. So it's, it's almost like, I feel like maybe the Cowboys are not going to take a running back in the first round. And maybe just maybe Ashton, Genton Gentee falls to us, the Broncos, and we get to take them. I would love to see Ashton Gentee on the Broncos, man.

Jason: 52:33

You pause this for this, for this pie in the sky. Hope and a prayer dream that you get Ashton Gentee.

pershin: 52:41

Yeah,

Jason: 52:42

move it on move it on Denver Broncos Hot mess hot mess Express Debo Samuel went to the commanders that was kind of surprising but also like I like the move for what they got him for But for me, like he doesn't move, he doesn't make them exponentially better. Like he just makes them like, he just kind of shores up that they're going to be as good as they already are for me.

pershin: 53:10

Yeah. I, I, I thought the same way it was just the fifth round pick. So it's not the end of the world and they're not even taking on his contract. San Francisco is going to pay most of the money for this season. And then I guess he, he doesn't have any cap hit next season. So they get to get out of the money when they next season, they got to pay Brock Purdy and shit like that. So it makes sense for both teams. But the thing is that I, my expectations for Devo have just gone way down after this past year, he put on weight, he got older. Eh, I don't like it. I don't like it. Oh,

Jason: 53:48

oh my God. I don't like it. Not only did he get older, he put on weight's, like he put on

pershin: 53:53

weight. I'm sorry, but that's not a good thing for a player. Like No, no.

Jason: 53:56

I, I meant, I, I, well, maybe I meant it the other way. Not only did he get put on weight, he got older, and that is like. If you're talking the Persian age is a death.

pershin: 54:06

Yeah. You, you could, you could fuck around and be bad, but don't fuck around and be old. Dude. Don't, don't, don't do that. Don't be old and

Jason: 54:12

bad. Don't be old and bad.

pershin: 54:14

Yeah. You're lucky if you're old and good if I still trust it. Shit.

Jason: 54:19

and some players to get cut. Devonte Adams finally got cut. He'll probably join Aaron Rogers. In New York giants, speaking of the giants, they cut Darius lay and Daniel Bradbury. I mean, I know those cats are a little old, but I would not mind picking up at least Darius lay on green Bay to, you know, kind of coach up some of these younger cats. And in the big kind of news, I guess, for free for for franchise tag is that Sam Garbo did not get tagged. I did not think he would get tagged. I, I thought they would either sign him or release him. So TBD on that, it looks like they're going to do that. I think it's in Sam Darnold's best interest to try to make that deal happen because you weren't very successful. In Carolina. I know that was your first team. You were okay in the 49ers. I forget the other place you went, but this by far is the best stop that you've had since being in the NFL. And I think you should try to do everything to stay in Minnesota. Don't care about that paycheck, bro. Because if you go somewhere else in our booty. You're going, you're not going to be there anymore. So

pershin: 55:46

yeah,

Jason: 55:47

try to get an extension or something with Minnesota. But I also think this could play into Minnesota's hands very well too, because. You know, I understand you want to maximize your rookie quarterbacks contract, but also at the same time, I'd rather have a quarterback for the future. So if you can have JJ sit back there for another year and learn, learn more, maybe another two years. Minnesota is setting themselves up to have a quarterback for 10 years, in my opinion, just like, you know, like a Green Bay would, you know, those old school teams that like to, you know, draft and develop QBs, you know, I mean, Love sat for three years, Roger sat for three years, you know, there's nothing hurting it by letting a team, letting a quarterback marinate. For two, three years.

pershin: 56:44

Yeah. Just let him sit in a tub. Just let that

Jason: 56:48

man marinate, man. Just

pershin: 56:49

sit him in a tub of Robitussin for three years. And just watch the magic happen. Yeah, I, I I kind of feel what you're saying about Darnold. I was expecting them to tag him, but they didn't. So, now, being, Well, it was a 40 million dollar tag. Given what the situation is now, I think that, if you're Darnold, You really should give some, some thought to trying to sign like a one or two year deal with Minnesota because at the end of the day, you know, KOC's system is QB friendly. Okay. It's similar to the Shanahan system where it tends to make guys look good, even if they're not good. And it certainly doesn't help or certainly doesn't hurt. So it really would come down to if I'm Darnold, what sort of offers am I getting on the market? It's possible that a team seen enough and they're like, Hey, we'll give you a four year. You know, three years guaranteed sort of deal, big money sort of thing. Okay, go ahead and take it. But if not, I think it makes sense to do another year or maybe even two years in Minnesota work on that resume instead of having several bad seasons and one good season. Now you got two, three good seasons in a row. makes it much more likely that a team's going to give you that big payday that ultimately everyone's looking for. So I think if he's not, if there's, if there's teams that, that aren't wanting to give him a big guarantees this off season, then I would literally take less money. Stick with, with the good wide receivers and that, that, that passing scheme in Minnesota for another year or two makes a lot of sense. Long term

Jason: 58:39

couldn't agree more. And then the last thing I'm going to mention here is Seattle is they're just cutting everybody. They cut four players today. It looks like they're going to let go of Tyler Lockett. They just, I don't know what they're doing.

pershin: 58:58

Changing, changing of a guard, man. They're,

Jason: 59:01

they're,

pershin: 59:02

they're trying to cycle things out. They, they got DK on the trade block apparently. I mean, they're, they're really trying to remake the image of that team. I, I guess the, the new, the new coaching staff really wants to bring in more of his sort of guys. And so that's probably what's going on here. But Indeed. I, I did see that Jamal Williams got cut. Not surprising. He hasn't done shit the past couple years, but hopefully he'll land third string. He'll land on a team somewhere just because I just love watching a guy in interviews. I think he's just a great guy to have around the league. Absolutely, man. He's not quite as unhinged as Jameis, but he's like second place if you had to, if you had to think of like entertaining players that you would love to talk to outside of football.

Jason: 59:58

I mean, I, as long as I don't have to ever imagine 11 ostriches running at me with a piece of corn stuck on my chin ever. I'm okay with it. Okay. All right, man. Well, that's all the scoops we got for the NFL and around other leagues. We'll return next week with maybe a little free engines, free agency, frenzy, and you know, fantasy yeet, no yeet, something of that nature. We'll see what happens with that being said, you can reach us at pondponypodcast22atgmail. com. Or threads and Instagram and blue sky. Oh, yeah. Podcast as always. Adios adios.