Episode 40: NFL Draft First Round Reactions

In this episode we give our initial reactions to round one of the 2026 NFL draft

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

All right, welcome to the season, episode 40. This is NFL Draft First Round Reactions. This is the Friday morning after uh what ended up being a pretty eventful first round, Nick. I think going into the draft, um, there was there was like I would say a lack of hype in this draft because mainly because I think the quarterback situation had been solved for the most part. Everyone knew Fernando Mendoza was going to go first. Less intrigue there. And so it just didn't feel like there was as much hype. But yesterday was an eventful night, and Fernando Mendoza go goes first overall. What are your thoughts there?

SPEAKER_01 0:31

Yeah, I mean, I'm obviously watching the draft, obviously in tune because of what we do, but it it it wasn't that interesting. Duke, my son, did not think it was very interesting. Before I knew it, we're we're on pick like six or seven, and all of a sudden the TV switches to Amazing Spidey and Friends. And he's like, I don't want to watch that. And then Tori stood up and was like, Hey, well, your dad and Ev, and you know, they have the season, like he needs to watch it. And I told him, I was like, you know, it's awesome for these guys, but if you want to watch Amazing Spidey and Friends, like I'll put it on over here. I gotta track this a little bit, see what's going on. The thing that amazed me too, and it's always the style every year. You know, now it's the sunglasses, the and I laugh because this is such a special day for all these guys. It's amazing, it's really, really special. They're going to uh you know, Roger Goodell, giving him a hug, they're on stage, and then we still have all the rounds left. And then I think like, but then it's time to get to work, right? You're gonna be a first-round pick, uh, face of a franchise. Uh what an amazing opportunity. Changed your family, generations, so many amazing things you can do with it. But then it's time to get to work. But it was uh it was interesting, you know. Fernando Mendoza, first pick. We all we all knew that. He knew that they had the Raiders hat. He probably only had the Raiders hats at his house ready to go. He probably already has the playbook. He probably got it from Tom Brady somehow. Um, he's probably dialed up and ready to go. But you know, I'm really excited for all these guys getting drafted, as we talked about in previous episodes. What a special time for all these young men to enter the NFL and live out their dreams. It's really amazing.

SPEAKER_00 2:00

Yeah, I mean, he had the basically a dream season last year, right? Undefeated uh national champions. He had over 3,500 yards passing, 41 touchdowns, six interceptions. He was an over 72% passer. Um, he's got toughness, he's got character, he can throw it. I mean, he checks every box. And so when guys like this get drafted and they're that it's that obvious, uh, you can't wait to watch him play. And Kirk Cousins is there in uh in Las Vegas, and the assumption is that Kirk will start for part of this, but um Fernando Mendoza is a smart kid, and I gotta believe he's gonna be ready sooner rather than later. Like we said, I think the key point with Fernando and when he's gonna play is not so much okay, like you know, mentally when is he there with picking up the offense? I think he can get there pretty quickly. It's do the Raiders have the pieces around him to allow him to flourish? Because part of the deal with Kirk Cousins, you're gonna pay him 20 million bucks or whatever it is, he understands he's gonna have to absorb some of that stuff if the pieces around him aren't ready. Right? I and I mean it. It's like, hey, Kirk, you go take it. We don't want to ruin Fernando. And so Kirk's gonna have to run out there if they're not ready to protect the quarterback and just deal with it. I know you've dealt with that at times in your past. That just comes with the territory, and I don't suggest them putting Fernando on the field unless the pieces around him, not just him, but the pieces around him are ready.

SPEAKER_01 3:13

Yeah, I mean, if I'm Fernando Mendoza, I I'm, you know, just what an amazing young man. Just everything he's saying. My mom was sending me different articles yesterday, just from a mother's perspective of like just giving her chills that, you know, talking about his mom and everything that their family's gone through, and just what a great head on his shoulders, how he speaks, you know, just he's a really bright light. He's a guy that can change a locker room with his attitude. It's contagious. You saw what he did at Indiana. Obviously, there's other pieces, but what an amazing player for the Raiders to get. And if I'm him, I'm also excited I got Kirk Cousins there. He he reminded me last year, watching him do interviews, watching him play a little bit. He reminded me of Kirk, just the personality. And I feel like everyone has to feel that way. High energy, um, high character, uh, man of faith, all those things. And that's going to be important throughout his career. That's how he changes the locker room. But having Kirk there to learn from him, I know Kirk's very regimented. There's been a lot of things, you know, whether it's the Netflix series he did or different uh soundbikes that go out on social media or ESPN of him speaking about football. I mean, what a great guy for Fernando to learn from. And Kirk can go play in that situation if they don't have the pieces right there to like put Fernando in. Kirk knows how to deal with that. He knows how to get the check downs. Uh, sometimes he probably gets the check downs too much, but he knows how to like take what the defense is giving him, stay inside the chains, play smart, not turn over the ball, play a good team game. Something that the Raiders can really build on throughout the course of this season. And then, hey, there might we we all believe that at some point Fernando's gonna take over this year, right? Yeah, I mean, I feel like we all feel that the NFL wants that, the fans want that. But my hope for him is it's in the right situation where he can get thrown in there and he can really take off.

SPEAKER_00 4:54

Yeah, I think it's a good point. Um, another interesting one was the Cardinals at three with Jeremiah Love. Jeremiah Love's a very rare combination of size and speed. Uh at the running back position to go that high, obviously there needs to be something that jumps off the charts about you. You can't just be, I know Ashton Chenty went high last year, but to go this high, you know, he's a 4-3-5-40 guy. He can run, amazing acceleration. He's great after contact. Uh, he's good catching the ball out of the backfield. Like he pretty much checks every box. And so I think the Cardinals looked at this and thought, you know, we lose Kyler Murray, we get rid of Kyler Murray. This offense doesn't really have an identity. I mean, Michael Wilson popped last year, really good receiver, but doesn't really have an identity and something to rally around. And so I think Jeremiah Love immediately gives them a playmaker at a key position, but also gives these fans something to look at when they go, like, why would I go to a Cardinals game next year? Are we gonna be any good? Well, it's gonna take some time, and Jeremiah Love's not gonna turn into 15 wins for them, but it is someone you're gonna pay to watch. And so it generates some excitement in a key position for the Cardinals, which I think is a good thing, right? Because there wasn't much there offensively.

SPEAKER_01 5:58

Yeah, I mean, they needed some star power and they got it. Um, Kurt Signetti said this a few weeks ago when Sonny Dykes was sort of, you know, having some comments about his former quarterback that went to Indiana, and then Kurt Signetti came out. I was like, hey, you know what? He met his best friends at practice, a great defense and a great run game. And I was like, that's really a great foundation for you know a team is hey, obviously you got to have a great defense. Um, offense and defense has OTAs and training camp to make each other better. Going into the season, it's really hard to win a championship without an amazing defense. I don't even know if it's possible. You've got to have a defense that can go out there and be threatening. And then having a great run game. Why do you want a great run game? Well, you're gonna stay inside the chains. First, second down, you're gonna have some good play calls, then you get to second and six, third and short, higher percentage of continuing the drive. Um, and it opens up your play action and your bootleg game. Um, having the ability to not just have to drop back when the defense can just tee off on you and do like hard play action, seven-man protection, take shots downfield. Hey, it's not there, you're gonna check it down to the back. The reason you can do that at a high level is you have a great run game and a threatening running back. So that's what they wanted to get here to really build this Arizona Cardinals team up. So I'm excited for him. They got some star power. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:08

They honestly did not have a huge need at running back. I mean, Tyler Algier signed in free agency and James Connor's back for another year. So it's not like there was this huge void. The guy's just a playmaker. He does everything at the position. He can split out, he can play some receiver, like really good player that would be fun to watch in the NFL. Jeremiah loves a stud. All right, this was the we're gonna jump forward to the 13th pick. The Rams trade with Atlanta and jump on uh Ty Simpson, the quarterback. So I wondered about Ty Simpson coming into this draft because I felt like ultimately, as a finished product, which he only has 15 starts, that he maybe is a first-round talent, but he's a project, right? He's not quite there yet. He played well at times last year, and then I thought towards the end of the season tailed off a little bit, didn't look great. But this is where this was no question the surprise of the draft last night is is the Rams that uh for at least for what I perceive, Sean McVay to be in win now mode because you're year to year with Matt Stafford. And Matt Stafford is still playing at a level where he can win you a Super Bowl, right? Now I now be to be clear, I give the Rams credit because they did make moves on the defensive side of the ball that were necessary. Trent McDuffie, Jalen Watson, they went and grabbed for the secondary that were big moves that signal we're ready to take a move now to chase a Super Bowl, right? So those moves were key. We can't overlook those. But this move for a quarterback is a is a classic philosophical rub within an organization, the friction that's always there philosophically. We saw it most notably with Jordan Love and Aaron Rodgers when he was in Green Bay. It felt like Aaron needed another weapon. Instead of doing that, they drafted Jordan Love, and Aaron wasn't happy about it, and a lot of Green Bay fans weren't happy about it, but now they are happy about it. So the philosophical rub is Les Sneed at the GM and head coach Sean McVeigh, who by the way, Sean McVeigh appeared pissed off last night. Call it what you want, but that's the fact. Like he in their press conference, he did not look pleased. Now, I'm not suggesting, Nick, that Sean McVeigh didn't know they were taking Ty Simpson. That's absurd to suggest that. Because Sean McVeigh, being the offensive guy that he is and your head coach, one of the best head coaches in football, is going to be involved in all these decisions with less need. But I am suggesting that maybe there was a little bit of a headbutting on it, and Sean finally kind of gave in and Les jumped on Ty Simpson, thinking more for the future, and Sean still just doesn't love it and wasn't pleased with it. I think that's very possible. And that's what it looked like watching this. A reminder Ty Simpson, 15 starts, um, definitely a project. And if you're Stafford or McVeigh, like this is this is the rub and the friction within an organization. It's tough because like three years from now, we might be saying, Man, that was a genius pick. You didn't need to do it at the time, you did it, now you have a quarterback in Ty Simpson. Or we might be looking back and saying, not only did Ty not pan out, but man, Matt Stafford back in 2026 could have really used a weapon. So this is just a really interesting thing to look at and discuss with regard to how these organizations make these decisions in moments where it feels like we're in win now mode with a 38-year-old quarterback.

SPEAKER_01 10:02

Yeah, let me let me throw a question back at you, Ev. Like, all right, Matthew Stafford, you know, after this year is gone, who's taking over for quarterback for the Rams? Who's the future quarterback? Well, they did it. Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 10:12

So like that's my Jimmy G might retire if you're gonna be able to do that.

SPEAKER_01 10:15

So it's like I just they they know that, and this was a pressing matter, and they probably had discussions. Hey, Ty Simpson, you know, we all expect him to be the second quarterback off the board. He's probably not gonna be there at our pick, but if he is, that's who we're going with. So Sean McVay's probably like, all right, cool, he's probably gonna be gone, then I can get my guy with Matthew Stafford probably, and you know, who knows how much longer Matthew will play. But you know, they they're going year to year, so they have to approach this. This is his final year. That's just the mindset. So Sean McVeigh probably had a new little tool for him, whether it's, you know, a skill player, offensive, whatever it may be, but then Ty Simpson's there. So then they take him. And the big thing with Ty is only time will tell. I mean, he gets to learn from Matthew Stafford. I doubt Matthew cares. He has that mentality. He's a gunslinger. He's gonna go out there, obviously a brilliant quarterback, brilliant mind, how he sees the field, how he, you know, constructs the offense. They must have seen that in interviews with Ty Simpson. It's so hard to tell from college to the NFL how you're gonna you know react to defenses, how you're gonna read defenses, how you're gonna conduct the offense, how you're gonna step in the huddle, call the play, call the cadence, get up to the line, be able to audible. Sean McVay has this offense that has probably grown in difficulty because of Matthew Stafford being there. So he must have, he must have really impressed them in the meetings when they were talking ball, and they felt like, hey, from the mental aspect, this guy can get it and he can rise above like Matthew Stafford has, and this is a guy that can take over for him. Like they had to. This isn't a second-round pick, this isn't a third-round pick, this is a first-round pick. So you're saying this guy, this guy is expected to be the future. And uh, they must have just really liked what they saw in the meetings from a, I'm saying from a cerebral standpoint, nobody's talked about throwing and moving around and stuff. That's great. But for that offense with Sean McVeigh with taking over for Matthew Stafford someday, you better have a high IQ and be able to function at a very high level mentally to be able to run it.

SPEAKER_00 12:02

And going back on my comments on Sean McVeigh not appearing not to be pleased in the press conference with Les Sneed, I'm also gonna say I I strongly believe that Sean McVeigh likes Ty Simpson as a player. Their evaluation would have included Sean McVeigh's opinion, and I and I strongly believe that Sean's opinion was inserted as like, no, this is a guy that we consider to be draftable. I just don't know if we should do that right now. And they ended up doing it. So it's possible. What I'm getting at is it's possible, I would say it's likely that he's irritated about it, but that doesn't necessarily reflect his thoughts on the player. I think he likes Ty Simpson. Otherwise, there's no chance Lesn Les Sneed pulls the trigger if his coach, who's like kind of a quarterback guru type, is sitting there being like, I've never liked this guy. No way they go for him. I think he likes Ty Simpson. I think it's very possible, though, he looked at it and said, Why are we doing this right now? This is not what I had in mind. But to your point, what's the plan? Long run. Here's the interesting thing about the Rams with Devontae Adams and Puka Nakua in the mix, uh, there were thoughts that, like, man, if you added one more weapon, they'd be incredibly deadly. A lot of people thought they would go for Mikai Lemon, right? And at 13, Mikai Lemon was there. Two receivers had already gone. Uh, the kid from Ohio State, Carnell Tate, and Jordan Tyson from ASU had already gone. And Mikai Lemon's sitting right there, and when they when they were trading up, you're like, this could be it. And then it's Ty Simpson again. Surprise of the draft. And we're gonna come back to Mikai Lemon in a moment, but surprise of the draft for that reason.

SPEAKER_01 13:24

Yeah, I mean, they watched the season, so they know that that wasn't where Makai was gonna go. Uh, we said where he was gonna go back in November, so they knew we're not gonna touch him. It was already predicted. We got a hands off him. Let's go get Ty Simpson and we'll we'll build up for the Q quarterback of the future. I mean, getting a quarterback for the future right now, when it's year to year with Matthew Stafford, to me is a brilliant decision.

SPEAKER_00 13:45

Now, is Type the discipline move for sure.

SPEAKER_01 13:48

You have to because like you can't just all of a sudden bet like everything, like especially if Matthew goes down. Like, obviously, we don't want him to get injured, but if he goes down, who's gonna take over? I mean, I guess if Jimmy G's there and you know, you said he'd potentially retire.

SPEAKER_00 14:00

Stetson Bennett's the one I think they're really thinking will be the backup. Jimmy's he's he already said he'll Ty Simpson will compete with Stetson Bennett, who was the former Georgia quarterback.

SPEAKER_01 14:09

And you know what? Like Stetson has sort of been he's been an underdog like his whole career, right? Like what he did at Georgia, even in the NFL, like you know, they're drafting a guy in the first round. So I I think he's also a guy like you can't count out because he's shown throughout his career, like in these situations, like no one expecting things, and looks what he look what he did at Georgia. I mean, truly amazing.

SPEAKER_00 14:27

Here's what I wonder, too, because there's been rumors for a while about Sean McVay getting burned out and you know, possibly like taking it taking some time away from ball and maybe even retiring, like that. That's been out there, right? Like going to TV or whatever. Does Sean feel year to year? Does Sean feel year to year? Like, obviously, we know Matt Stafford's year to year because he's 38 years old. Like every year could be his last, right? Does Sean feel the same way? And so therefore, is Sean like, I don't care about three, four years from now. I don't even know if I'm gonna be coaching anymore. Very possible.

SPEAKER_01 14:57

Are you are you making a like you sound like you want to make a prediction right here? What's your prediction?

SPEAKER_00 15:01

No, I really don't. Like, I like I really I really wonder with Sean how long term his thinking is. Less needs thinking, I want to be the GM here for 20 years, right? Is Sean really thinking I want to be a head coach? Like, he's almost retired before. Maybe not, right? Maybe that's why he's sitting there like, I couldn't care less about who's replacing Matt Stafford right now. All I care about is winning a Super Bowl this year. Understandable.

SPEAKER_01 15:22

Yeah, and I mean contextually as I think about it, and it's not for everyone, but you gotta think about he's already felt that way, he's expressed that publicly. Um he's now he's married, he's now a dad. So life has changed, and we know as being fathers, like it our our kids are very very important to us, like being in their lives, being around. Uh the coaching world's like very difficult in many aspects, not only from a coaching front, but from what the sacrifices your family go through, where you don't get to see your kids that much, right? Like they get to see their kids if they come in during the week for maybe a lunch with dad, um, play in the indoor facility, you know, Friday's a shorter day, Sunday after the game, like it's not that much time. So you have to think like I'm sure all that's weighing into it. And then Matthew Staffords is quarterback. Uh when Matthew's done, is it like, hey man, like I'm gonna go do TV? TV is still a lot of work. You're on TV, you're preparing, you're doing those things, but I'd have to imagine you know this more than I do. You did some broadcasting and you've done some uh in-studio work, you have a better work-life balance and you can still make a living and you can still be a part of ball. So I feel like all that's on the table, but the fact that Matthew's coming back and all that, he's like, nah, not yet, not yet.

SPEAKER_00 16:31

And look, yeah, I'm just not convinced that even Sean is really a long-term thinker in this regard because especially if they win a Super Bowl with Matt. Um, another one, I should say, with Matt. Very possible. All right, before we get to the Eagles pick, one thing to note this was a big night for offensive linemen. Really big. There were nine taken in the first round, seven tackles and two guards. Now, granted, some of these guys might switch positions in the NFL, but seven tackles, two guards went in the first round last night. That is tied for the record of the most offensive linemen drafted in the 21st century. So basically, since the year 2000, it's tied for the most drafted in the first round with nine. Um, teams that needed an offensive lineman and didn't go there, i.e. the Eagles for depth, um you know, there's gonna be hindsight, there's gonna be revisionist history on this looking back and thinking that this should have happened or this should have happened. Time will tell if they should have. But uh, I bring that up because there were good offensive linemen in the first round. And the Eagles at number 20, they jumped up to 20 in front of the Steelers. Uh, the Eagles grabbed a young man by the name of Makai Lemon. And before we start this conversation, we're gonna go back to a season episode from November 24th of 2025, where Nick and I were talking about some needs uh that the Eagles had, and specifically like owning the middle of the field as a slot receivers, uh, finding a guy that really has that style of play to own the middle of the field and be a good weapon for Jalen Hurts on the inside of the field. And there was a certain guy back on November 24th that we suggested. Um take a look at this. It's it your point about the slot receiver, I think it's a really important one because there's also a body type and certain route types that these guys are good at, right? And I some people might say, well, what do you mean? We've got AJ Brown and Devontae Smith. You're right, you do, but there's a certain willingness and body type and skill set that goes with being a really good slot receiver. That is where I think this offense lacks personnel. And I think that's something Howie needs to address moving forward. Um, some something I think Eagles fans can keep an eye on. If you watch college football, um out here on the West Coast, USC has a kid named Mikai Lemon. He's an Orange County kid, grew up in Orange County, number six on USC. So when when Amon Ross St. Brown came out of USC, I thought he was crazy undervalued. He was like a third or fourth round pick, and I was looking around like I've watched this kid play for four three, four years. How is he not going to be a first or second round pick? And you look at him now, he's one of the most productive receivers in football over a long period of time. And I think Makai Lemon has the chance to be that guy. And so Eagles fans, like, if this kid, Makai Lemon, just an example, ends up in a good offense with a good quarterback, he's a hundred catch-a-year kind of guy out of the slot. And he can also move outside if you need him to, but I think in the NFL, he'll be mostly utilized in the middle of the field. So there you have it. I'm not saying, Nick, I think it's possible, but I'm not saying do folks in the Eagles organization watch the season? Or is this just like, do we just let me just we're gonna let them know?

SPEAKER_01 19:27

Oh, there's definitely some people in the Eagles organization that watch this show or get sound bites from the show. There's no doubt about it. It might not be Howie, but there's definitely people. I mean, what an amazing prediction. I mean, it's one of those things where like good good for the Eagles, good for Howie to realize like, and he's a great GM. We know that with the decisions he's made, but like he knows with the AJ Brown saga, everything, all the predictions, you know, June 1st coming along, potentially being traded to the New England Patriots, all those things, like they have to get another receiver in the room, slot receiver. Why do you want a slot receiver? We talked about throughout the course of the year. Obviously, you don't want to run hitch routes every single play, but we're not gonna go down that road anymore. Sean Minions now the coordinator, but you want a slot receiver, third down. He's one of your best friends. Hey, you're hot. Shot uh slot receiver, hot route. Um, you want a guy that can read coverages, that can, you know, find the opening in the middle of the field, attack the middle of the field where they liked last year, someone that Jalen Hurts can trust and build around a really amazing receiver that is physical, can do those things. And that's what they feel, that's what you felt like back in November with Mikai Lemon, and now it came to fruition last night during the draft. The the I mean the Philadelphia Eagles could have drafted anyone, right? There's a lot of players. The percentage chance of you being right back then with everything that happened the rest of the season and in the offseason with all the coaching changes and then going to get this player, that's got to be a 1% chance like you're gonna be right in that situation. So kudos for you on the season for predicting that, Ev. And then I know the comments we posted that last night. A lot of the Eagles fans or fans in the NFL that follow this show were saying this is why we follow the show. These guys are are trying to be diligent, they're talking deep about football, they're really thinking through all this. So, what an amazing prediction. I do think what a great player, what a great pickup for the Philadelphia Eagles. I think the Eagles fans should be really excited about Mikai Lemon. I think this is gonna help them a lot. It's gonna help Sean Manning as a play caller. It's gonna be a lot of fun to watch.

SPEAKER_00 21:22

Yeah, so uh what's funny about Mikai Lemon, as many of the fans saw, he had been on the phone with the Steelers, who were gonna take him at 21. And it's funny because the Steelers need a guy like that. It would have been a great fit for the Steelers, right? Whoever plays quarterback, if it's Aaron Rodgers or um, or if it ends up being uh who's our backup, Will Will Howard. Yeah. So you know it's interesting they couldn't even get a hold of him, and then they trade up and end up taking him before the the Steelers can do it. Uh I credit the Eagles scouting department and I credit Howie Rossman for identifying kind of guy who's who's really undersized and then from a measurable speed standpoint is not a burner. Right. So there's things about his just on paper where you Look and you'd say, Is this really going to carry over the NFL? But then you watch him play and you see the kind of dog he is. At really all, it's not just slot, also on the outside. I'm going to make a comp here, two comps for him. The first would be the obvious one because he's an SC guy is Amon Ross St. Brown. So Amon Ra's become one of the most productive receivers in football. And I mentioned on the video we just showed there's some similarities there with the way these guys play. The other one, hear me out on this one. Because and part of it's because they're the exact same size. I went and looked up Steve Smith of the Hall of Famer of the Carolina Panthers, right? 5'9, 195.

unknown 22:33

All right.

SPEAKER_00 22:34

Makai Lemon, 5'9, 195. Now, I think Steve is a little more of a strider on the outside, maybe a little more of a burner when it comes to running away from people. Um, but and Steve really is like a true number one on the outside, which Makai like may develop into that, but I think they're going to use him a little more over the middle of the field. I'd hate to label him as a slot, but he's going to really own the middle of the field. I think there's some similarities in their game. Um, the way at 5'9 they can go up and win contested catches, how good they are after the catch, their willingness to block, um, toughness over the middle of the field, all those things are really difficult to find in guys that are this size. And what this results in, excuse me, what this results in when you have a guy that's willing to do these kind of things, there's a lot of run game replacement stuff that goes on. If you end up in third and three right now, a lot of the 50-50 balls on the on the on the perimeter that the Eagles utilize, whether it's hitch route, hitch routes or go balls or whatever it is, they're low percentage throws, no matter how good your quarterback is. They're not throws where you're like, hey, this is like a 90% chance of a completion. And those are the those gimme throws are the ones that I thought the Eagles really missed on last year. Like they didn't, I shouldn't say they missed on, they didn't take advantage of very much last year. And I think it hurt Jalen. Part of that is Kevin Patulo. But I think a big part of it is I don't think they had the right personnel. And I think Makai gives them like that guy to be there and fill that void. And he's gonna become Jalen Hurd's best friend right off the bat. He's a volume receiver, he's a hundred catch a year kind of guy, right? Whether you want him taking off down the seam and making a big play down the field, or whether you want to throw him a jerk route where it's like three yards and he ends up getting 10 yards with his run after the catch. So what I what I've really liked about what they've done here with the receiving core is this. This receiving core is now built to win. There's a good variety of skill sets with Devontae Smith, Makai Lemon now, Duntavien Wicks, who they traded for, Hollywood Brown, who they traded for, Elijah Moore, who they traded for, and there's other guys on there as well. Good diversity of skill sets there. Now they can even go get, or the assumption now is they'll go, they'll move on AJ Brown. It makes it a little more obvious he's probably not in their plans. They can go get good value for him, especially at after adding the three veterans this offseason. And then for someone like Sean Manion to do some really cool things offensively, it gives him another piece in a future, I think a future star in Makai Lemon to work with. Hear me out on this, though, with regard to the pro the plans of AJ Brown and what this can mean for AJ Brown. This is super interesting, and this theory has kind of been floating around out there. So they can't trade AJ Brown officially until after June 1. Why? Because it cuts their cap hit in half if it's after June 1. So for economic reasons, it makes way more sense to wait and do it after June 1. I wonder if going into this draft, there's an agreement in principle basically already in place with the Patriots. I wonder that. Like everybody wonders that. That's not unique. And I wonder if Howie told the Patriots, here's who you're gonna draft, and we're gonna trade you for him on June 1. Because the Patriots went and drafted Caleb Lomo. And look, I get that the Patriots are all in on Drake May and building the protection around him. But what's interesting about that is the Patriots took Will Campbell last year in the top 10, who's a left tackle. He struggled this year, but he's a left tackle. And when asked about whether Will Campbell will move to guard, Mike Vrabel and everyone everyone in this organization has said, no, no, no, he's a left tackle. Now they might be BSing. Like eventually they move Will inside. It's possible he becomes a guard because he has short arms and all that. Caleb Lomu is exclusively a left tackle. That's where all of his experience is. He's not a swing guy. He's like been a left tackle his whole college career. What do the Eagles need? What do they need to address today in the second and third round of the draft? They need to address depth in the trenches, both at edge rusher, because there's really only two of them in Nolan Smith and Jelix Hunt. And also they've got an aging offensive line. Lane Johnson obviously missed some time. Landon Dickerson missed some time. Tyler Steen's going to be his rookie year rookie deals up in 2027. Is it possible that they've got a deal in place already with the Patriots where they say you draft Caleb Lomu and then on June 1, we're going to trade you for Caleb Lomu, AJ Brown, and possibly even more compensation? It's I think it's possible. Or could it be Will Campbell? But it well, I wouldn't put it by Howie to pull something like that off. But I wonder if they're already dictating terms for a June 1 trade and telling the Patriots what to do and they're going to they're going to make that swap. It's very possible, but I'm not sure.

SPEAKER_01 26:50

No, I feel like that's really fair. I mean, that sounds like something Howie would do, and especially with a player like AJ Brown, you're not just going to be getting a six-round pick for him. Like you're going to get some some something substantial because he's worth that. He's one of the top receivers in the NL. We've always felt like AJ Brown's a great player, right? Yeah. It's just things weren't working out with the Eagles this last year. There's a lot of frustrations, a lot of growing frustrations, and that's something they don't they don't want to keep going on in the locker room for them or for AJ. So all that makes sense. I think that's really fair. Is it going to be who the Patriots drafted, or is it going to be Will Campbell who struggled last year and they trade him and then take the new tackle? Good point. You know, because they have tackles in Philly. They need other players. So maybe you move him, Will Campbell to guard.

SPEAKER_00 27:30

Will can go inside, possibly. I I mean, if they were going to trade Caleb Lomo to the Eagles, I do think it's more likely than not that they it's more likely than not they won't do that and they'll find some other way to compensate the Eagles, but I think it's possible. But if they if they're doing Caleb Lomo, you have it's effectively you're giving them like what what pick was that? I think it was like late 20s. You're giving them the late 20s first round pick. And some people have already said that like the Patriots and other teams have already said they won't give up a first round pick for AJ Brown, right? Because you're taking on his you're taking on his contract and you're helping the Eagles get rid of him, and like maybe they're giving him a second round pick. I don't know. Just remember that's effectively what they would be doing, and there's been rumors that that or reports that that is not what teams are willing to give up. I don't know. But I do know that AJ Brown fits perfectly with what the Patriots are trying to do, and they drafted a left tackle last year. What's their plans with Caleb Lomu? Maybe it's to send him to Philly. Hard to say. But it's that's a side note. But to focus more on Makai Lemon and what he means to this team, he's the first wide receiver drafted in the first three three rounds by the Eagles since Devontae Smith in 2021. And it's the first time the Eagles have traded up in the last six drafts in the first round. Okay, so previously when they did that, so it's been it's been six drafts since they traded up in the first round, it resulted in them getting Devontae Smith, Jordan Davis, Jalen Carter, Jihad Campbell. Okay, so um what I would say is like Howie probably needs to, I don't think jihad should be concluded in that mix, right? Because he was a couple years ago, so that wouldn't be in the last six, but it means that Howie should trust his instincts because in the past it's worked, right? When he's got when he's got kind of first round thoughts, whether they do, whether they trade or don't trade, because some of those guys were involved just by not trading, sticking with those guys. It means he should trust his instincts and go with what he feels. All right. And obviously with Mikhail Lemon, this is what he felt was the right one. He moved up in front. He traded with Dallas, gave up a couple fourth-round picks, and moved up in front of the Steelers to make the pick. So I think if you're an Eagles fan, you trust the instincts, and we gave you reasons why you should like Mikai Lemon.

SPEAKER_01 29:37

Yeah, I mean, uh like you said, now the wide receiver room's complete. The next thing is um, you know, obviously finishing a draft, there's going to be some new players on all 32 teams, but you know, Philadelphia, I mean, that's a we talked about it just like in the situation. I mean, draft is experien uh very special. And the Eagles have also done a great job with undrafted free agents, right? We we talked about our draft stories. You were undrafted free agent. I was drafted in the third round. Um, there's a lot of fun, a lot of excitement for a lot of young men coming up. The Eagles should be very excited about Mikhail Lemon with what he brings to the fold. He's gonna help their offense this year with a young coordinator and Sean Manion. Uh, they should be really excited and it should be fun to watch.

SPEAKER_00 30:17

Let's take, I want to talk about his game a little bit as we keep going, then we're then we'll then we'll sign off here. But I want to give you a chance to look at some of his highlights. I mean, this guy's a total stud. Um, if this video loads correctly, we're having some hiccups on the loading with some of these videos.

SPEAKER_01 30:35

Yeah, if you're watching if you're watching on YouTube, you can see it all.

SPEAKER_00 30:38

Yeah, I mean, if you're if you're listening on audio, we're we're playing a kind of highlight video here of Mikhail Lemon and all the things he does really well. We got to look at him look at him here in the slot here. He's got plenty of game speed, right? Like I know he ran a four or five, like mid-four or fives 40, which for a receiver is not what you'd anticipate, but is his his ability to separate and play fast, right? Like there's like there's time speed and then there's game speed. And game speed always shows up in waves compared to time speed. Like you got guys that can run four threes, but you're always like, God, it never seems like he's separating from guys, though, right? And a lot of times it's it's the suddenness at the top of routes in and out of breaks. Like that quick suddenness is ultimately what you're looking for. And they get they'll get plenty of that out of Mikai Lemon. I think Jalen Hurts is gonna have a ball. Look at this, look at this ball. I have a 50-50 ball out of the slot. It was like that that slot fade look. And the guy's five foot nine. Again, this is right. I think the Steve Smith part shows up, right? Here's the fade ball out of the slot. He separates, puts his foot in the round, goes up and win, and wins the 50-50 ball at 5'9.

SPEAKER_01 31:34

Yeah, he does a great job right there with late hands, right? I mean, late hands, receivers are taught. Hey, balls in the air, you see it. Don't put your hands, keep pumping your arms and wait till you put your hands up at the last second because defensive backs are taught to split the hands and like put the hands. Once they see the hands go up, they put their hand right in between them or try to make it more difficult to the catch. That's why great receivers always have late hands. You know that more than I do from playing receiver and playing tight end, but that's how you catch those 50-50 balls is you you get body position, but then your hands go up late, they go up strong, and then all the way to the ground, like strong hands, strong grip, strong fingertips, bring it all the way down to the ground. I mean, that's what we saw in those clips. And once again, obviously base downs first and second down, but like you want those guys on third down. You want uh the four or five speed, like you said, game day speed is so much more important. Like tracks, like 40-yard dash. I mean, that's hard. I mean, uh, it's not everyone's a track star, but having that separation, having uh the ability to make those contested catches when it's when it matters the most is what the Eagles need. So, you know, I'm excited for them. I think they should be excited about this. And now Mikai Lemon is officially a Philadelphia Eagle. You heard it first in November of 2025, the prediction. So there you go.

SPEAKER_00 32:40

Yeah, I I think ultimately, Nick, I think he'll outperform the number 20 slot in the draft. Um I know he's a third receiver taken, but he's different than those other two guys. And I honestly think like for the Eagles, let's say Carnell Tate and Jordan Tyson, who went ahead of him as receivers, and Makai Lemon at the time were all available. I think Makai Lemon, given what the Eagles already have, I think that Makai Lemon fits what the Eagles are trying to do better than the other two. Um, so like this is the best case scenario for the Eagles at receiver. If you told me they could take any receiver in this draft, this is the guy I thought they should take, as we talked about back in November. And I think this is gonna be a win for them. Um he's gonna be a lot of fun to watch this year, especially look, he's not like a direct replacement for AJ Brown if AJ ends up leaving. Not a direct replacement because he's a bit a little bit of a different player. But I think he will easily replace the production in a different way in what I think is going to be a different offense, which is gonna be a lot of fun to watch. Um, naturally, given what the Eagles did with Mikai Lemon, naturally there's gonna be questions about whether they should have used the first round to build trench depth, offensive and defensive trench depth, instead of going after a playmaker or a wide receiver. Uh they need help on the offensive line, which we mentioned like maybe ends up coming in the form of a Patriots trade. Um they have not drafted an offensive lineman in the first two rounds since 2022. Okay, so it feels like it's time to do that. That could happen today, right? They have a like they have I think they ended up um they entered this draft with six picks in the top 137 spots, and now that is four remaining because they used one on Mikhail Lemon and they traded one. Um, so they're gonna have a chance today in the second and third round to make a move and do something. Key things to remember on the offensive line. Lane missed seven games last year with Liz Frank, right? But he's coming back. Landon Dickerson missed two, but played through a lot of pain. Uh Tyler Steen's rookie deals set to expire in 2027. Okay, that's offensive side. Defensive side, Nolan Smith needs to become that guy, like a very legit pass rusher, right? And Jalex Hunt needs to take another step, especially with Jalen Phillips gone, and they need to add somebody. Uh they didn't do it in free agency, and so the assumption is they'll do it in the draft. So those are two offensive, defensive line, depth on the edge, but also on the offensive, offensive line, maybe a swing guy. That's something I think they should target today, and I think they will target today. Or it maybe it comes in the in the form of a draft or or excuse me, in the form of a trade with the Patriots at some point by June 1st. We'll see.

SPEAKER_01 35:04

Yeah, I mean, Howie's got a couple things up his sleeve. So stay tuned for the next two days of the draft. The second through the seventh round are going to be really interesting. And then what they do in undrafted free agent. I mean, they always do an amazing job and find some hidden gems. So there's still a lot of fun new players that are going to be a part of the Philadelphia Eagles. So I know Howie has some things up his sleeve, so it'll be entertaining to see what they end up with.

SPEAKER_00 35:25

All right. Reminder to everybody who watches on YouTube to please hit subscribe. Uh, and then if you're on Spotify or Apple, please follow. Uh, and then check us out on Instagram too. We post a lot of fun reels from the show. Um, sometimes stuff that doesn't end up on the show ends up on Instagram as well. Um, various like clips or reels that we'll post. Uh so check those out. And here's another big reminder. So Monday, today's Friday, uh, Monday, April 27th, when the draft is totally over, um, we're gonna have Joel Clatt in studio. If you watched the coverage of the NFL draft on NFL Network, um, Joel Clatt, who you know works for Fox, teams up with NFL Network and is at that desk uh with those guys on NFL Network and does a fantastic job in the early rounds of the draft uh providing coverage. We're gonna have him in studio on the show on Monday to dive into first round and then some other happenings of interest that have taken place and some key takeaways from the draft, which will be a really, really fun show. So we'll have that up for you Monday afternoon. Make sure and check it out. Kind of appointment television for you. And as always, thank you for listening. This has been episode 40 with some cool NFL draft first round reactions. Thanks for listening.