There you go. All right, shoot, I appreciate you guys waiting.
We'll talk about the safety. You know, I'm sure, but taking a kicker in the third round, uh.
John, as a safety, Uh, I'm it's not easy, but but they're really important and and we've had a very good one uh here in our tenure, and so uh, you know, I think you put this much work into making your roster as competitive as we have, You're gonna be in a lot of close games and and the kickers matter, and uh, you know, we we knew that we'd be looking this year, and our special teams coaches really got out and about and really studied this thing hard, and we put a lot of thought into it.
Uh.
When we felt like there was one who separated themselves from the rest, we became very convicted. And we were fortunate to have three third round picks, and you know, we felt like he was worthy of one, and we're happy to have done it.
So did you until that somebody else was close to taking him?
No, no intel there.
The intel that we had is that there's a lot of teams in the NFL right now who seem to have.
A need at kicker.
And I think you know that there's a couple good college ones this year, but consensus, I think this was the guy, and so we put a lot of work into it. Ultimately decided with you know, one of those three. If he's there, we were going to go there. And you know, right down to the end, we decided to do it at ninety nine because we felt that good. We didn't want anyone going to that Vegas pick and doing it. So we did that, and you know, you know he's.
There.
Wasn't the applause that we got when we took the Gira Brown in our own room, but I think everyone knows it's necessary and everyone feels really good about this kid.
Robbie has been someone of a mentor to him, and he spent some time with him. He felt he wanted to pass the torch.
Did you talk to Rob about him? No, we didn't.
We didn't talk to Robbie about him. I know they share the same agents. Brian Schneider got out and worked him out, and I think that's you know, that was our interaction with Colin and I are going to be completely upfront, just as we were with Mitch.
Uh.
You know, we really rely on our special teams coaches when when it comes to those things, and and uh, you know, Schneid's and his group did a great job of of really vetting these guys, doing a thorough process involved O R and D department, and Jake was the consensus guy for us. He's a baller. He's uh, he's a baller. I think he's got the components of what make up a Niner. We had consensus, uh, you know, coaches to scouts, it was all around the building. He
really solidified that with his tape. But then he came here on a thirty visit and he's just got this infectious personality and you know, I know something's been made about him not running a real fast forty R and D department as you know, some of the fastest times amongst the safety stack. So I think he plays fast. He's good up towards the ball and ball production ten interceptions over the last couple of years.
He's just a really good football player.
And then when you add the person he's a team captain, it's just like Steve Wilke said, that's my dude right there. And you know, we everybody in the building wanted that guy our top target of the guys we identified that we thought had the best chance of being there in the third where we picked. We didn't think he'd be there at ninety nine. I didn't think he'd be there.
Quay said no once, But then we got back on the phone and thank thank you to Quacy and the Vikings for letting us get up there, and you know, really happy to have gay R.
Brown.
But I feel like Kicker is probably in a position you like to think spent a lot of time thinking about it.
How important is it for you to kind of have somebody that you don't you can trust and just have that piece of mind that you don't have to worry about it.
Very important because I don't want to have to think about it, which I've been fortunate in that area for the last six years. So it's been awesome with Robbie. You know, we haven't had to worry about that spot. How consistent he's been with making field goals. I think I've said before it was, you know, the first time in my career that I always actually just energy wise,
always felt like the kick was going in. And you're hearing that with us, and probably starting with our first year when he didn't missed one, but it's not fun to have to go replace that. I still can't believe we didn't take a running back, but you know, it was a necessary need. And but if you're gonna do it, you better do it with the right one. And you know, we felt like we got the best kicker in the draft and one that you know, I can't say that I study kickers every year, but the people who do
felt very good about it. And you know, I think it's all about you know, you know you need one, so where you're going to get it and you think you're looking at you know, there's probably five to six teams who you feel need to kick her, and so the whole debate is where to go get that guy because it's someone you.
Need to get.
And you know, when you look at the history, the majority kickers go in the fourth round. We didn't have a fourth round pick. The guy was not going to be there in the fifth round. And when you look at pick ninety nine, I know they call it the third round, but to me, it's seven picks after the third round ends, so I feel like it's the start of the fourth round. So to me, that was like that was the spot that we felt would be the
spot to get them. But that's why we're also nervous that someone could come up to hundred and take them. So I'm very glad that we got them. But yeah, it's it's not quite as fun as some other things can be, but I think it would be if we'd had a bad kicker for the last six years. I think everyone be like, all right, we finally invest in.
We got one.
But you know, when you have one who's been like robbing so consistent, it's a little anti climatic, but it was something that is extremely important.
Did you guys get any texts good or bad from other draft rooms after the kicker bick?
Other special teams, coaches, coaches who coached me throughout the career. So that's always good that dude, you stole.
That guy, or like great, great pick, great spot.
Uh, So that that meant something to me because I respect this guy.
He's one of the better ones. And uh, those guys tend to.
Know my friends made fun of me. Most my friends made fun of me, trying to make me feel insecure about it.
We don't so and ar things like you know, bad weather, U.
It helps yeah a little bit, you know, Uh, of the story that was shared with us too. There was a guy who had arrived there before him. It was a really highly recruited guy, more heralded than Jake. And and you know, uh, Jake came in was pretty good. Harball put him through, you know, a competition you know, has explained to me that only Jim.
Harbor you know, could do.
And it was it was pretty intense, and and the kid was nails and and really you know, kind of fought through that to win the job over or a guy who was a really big recruit and all that. And so they really speak of him glowingly there and you know, Schneide's got to be there.
Brian Schneider got to be there, spent some time with.
Him and and you know, really became convicted that not only the way this guy kicks the ball, both on his kicks and kickoffs, but the personality, which is important for that position.
The confidence, you know, the steadiness was all there.
The brown pick was that kind of looking ahead a year when you're not you know, when it would give on a one year deal and his age and everything like that, or is that is it something where you think he can be for a starting job.
Now you know, I think, you know, we feel pretty good about Gip and Huff.
They played really well at a really high level.
We'll never you know, we're not just you know, giving people jobs, and Kyle can speak more to that, but we felt like we could add to the depth of that position. And JayR is a guy he can come in play special teams right away and learn the safety position. He's got good versatility to his game, and I think he'll be a great compliment to those guys.
Moody was the highest draft of kickers since Roberto Olio twenty sixteen that did not work out well.
It's like he's just a cautionary tale of you know, when you yeah, be careful.
I'm sure you're aware of that history. But I mean sometimes it's hard, just because kicking in college is differently kick in the NFL.
I guess, what do you know about his makeup or anything that suggests he's.
Gonna be able to handle this?
Yeah, I just think you know the things I described. You know, he's he's an extremely confident kid. He's you know, he's been through you know that competition I spoke of at Michigan. You know, the way he kicks he's an extremely aggressive kicker, all the things that you know, we just became very convicted. Yeah, you have to look at history and study it. We didn't pick him in the second round, like Kyle said, we see that as a fourth round pick, and we felt it was worthy of.
The pick, and so you know, we're convicted on it. I think his mentality.
I think he's a versatile player in that he's good in both the run and the pass. But he went to Bama as a as a linebacker and I think he plays like that. You know, I think he's got a you know, he he's an aggressive player.
He's a competitive player.
When you're watching film with him, you know, he's a guy who as soon as the next play, his recall is really good. And he you know, coach just not a good one. You know, He's just he kind of grew on you from that standpoint. I know Kyle got to talk to sark Over at Texas who had coached him right when he was transitioning over to the tight end position.
You know, got some information.
But you know, just we like the skill set and we like the mentality.
Is he more future for or you see them playing right way?
Why do you look at the same way as as Jair.
I mean, when we're sitting at ninety nine, we we're trying to get the best player, and that's gonna be our first you know, ninety nine and one on one, one O two, we looked at almost all the same. We're trying to get three players who can make our team. We feel we have a pretty good team, but we had a lot of hopes on guys who could fall to there that can not only just make our team,
but could fill spots to potentially be a starter. I didn't it was so nice going into the draft this year that we didn't feel like we had to find a starter at any position except kicker. Everything else. We feel we can win with our guys in. But we're going to do our best at every pick. We have to first of all, find someone who can make the team, and then someone who can compete to make the guys we have better or to beat out the guys that we have. So we played two safeties. We have packages
where we can have three. In last year, our starting safety got hurt pretty early and we ended up starting a safety who we got in a workout three weeks in a training camp who is now our starting safety this year. Huff just got to start last year for the first time. We were fortunately there with health and everything, but to add some depth and also a guy who we believe could have gone in the second round have been a starter somewhere else. We we feel we've got
a real good player is gonna help our team. And the tight end is the same situation. I think is really the safeties, and I think we have a number of other number of other positions like that that hopefully we can address tomorrow.
You said that you.
Haven't you hadn't talked yet. A couple of days ago, you hadn't talked yet to Brandon or Javon came out. Whether you talk to those two.
Yeah, talk to both of them. Brandon, we're going to exercise that fifth year option. We won't with Javon. I talked with Javon. Uh still looking for great things from Javon. Javon's having an outstanding off season. He's in a great place, and you know he's excited about what's to come as our as are we for him.
That you getting stronger as the as the year went on. It needed you guys, see the same thing that this was a guy who was coming from an injury and getting better.
Yeah, I think it's one of the things we liked about on the most that he looked like a good player, but also how much better he got throughout the year and how much more we thinks in his body. And then you look at his history and knowing he was he came in playing linebacker the first two years I think switched over, so he's late to the position, and as you watch him throughout the year, we think he can get a lot better in the run game and the past game. And it's hard to say whether he's
a usually designate guy one or the other. He's a run blocker or a pass blocker I mean, or a past game guy. And we see this guy's both and he could accelerate in both and that's important to us with all our titands.
Thank you all right, Thanks guys,