Dolphins in the PFF Top 101

the tea. Drivetime with Travis Wingfield begins. Now let me check your pulse. If not furd of what is up? Dolphans and welcome to the Drivetime Podcast, part of the Miami Dolphins podcast network, covering your team, your Miami Dolphins. How's it going everybody? I am your host, Travis Wingfield. And on today's show, more Combine Prep, We're gonna fail the top one hundred on offense with the wide receivers

and offensive line. Plus we go around the web and catch up on some good content worth your time to go check out from the Baptist Health Studios inside the Baptist Health Training Complex. This is the Drivetime Podcast. It a lot to get to on the show today, talking combine prep, finishing up the offensive side of the football, and the players were watching for the purpose of those three day two picks, one in the second round, two

in the third. But first, I spent some time this morning on the Google machine on Twitter wherever I could find some material from some of my favorite writers and publications, and I found a couple. And first, this goes to a point that I've been making here on the podcast

really since I started, and it's just gotten better. So continuing that theme, but the process of roster building through the draft trades and aggressive approach to the veteran market on the heels of a couple of really good draft classes back in twenty twenty in twenty twenty one, and you might say, hey, twenty twenties first round wasn't great, but you also got Brandon Jones, Robert Hunt, and ray

Kuan Davis side of that, and your franchise quarterback. So a pretty good draft class there, if you ask me. But also how this team really seems to have its finger on the pulse of its own self scouting, but also what the market has to offer. And that's before we even get into the cap Whizzer Dree you know Brandon Shore shout out here on the podcast. That helps Greer and his staff maintain flexibility to address the needs that have been decided upon from the coaching and scouting staff.

And Greer is so adept at getting what his coach needs that that flexibility really helps him do that. Let's go ahead and play him sound here from Chris Greer on that one, and what was one of my favorite soundbites from the end of the year press conference and really in general and just real quick, this is Chris Greer. The question was posed to him through the lens of free agents at the linebacker position, which you'll hear him divulge on that point as well. But the laugh right

here is what really gets me. Yeah, we we always have flexibility, and we've done a lot of work to make sure we've maintained that. So what it is right now is not what it will be at the start of the season. So you know, for us, well, like I said, we're going to keep going through a process here or evaluating everything. So I think guys, especially the defense second half of the year played really well. You know,

we were just talking about when Bradley came on. You know, our analytics were just ran study for us, and we moved into like the top ten of a top eight of a like six of our like twelve metrics were really the value for defense, just as impact coming in. So and that's running past. I know we're actually look at everything, but Eason. Then on the exit meetings today, some of the defensive guys were talking about how cool it was and what a good guy and work at

the toughness leadership. So I think with all that we look at out all. You know, Landon Roberts did a nice job showing leadership. You know, Baker do all those guys channing. We're excited for his future in terms of development, which should be kind of expected that this year that it would be more of a special teams guy. And so I think where we are and Sam did a

nice job on special teams. I don't want to leave anyone out, but we're gonna at a position because I know you're asking, because there are a lot of free agents in that position. But we'll just keep doing our work and filling the holes like we always do. The reason I get a kick out of that and played that audio. Four y'alls because I mean, it's just commonplace now that you have folks that cover the game that don't understand the questions they're asking to these people that

do this stuff for a living. And so when you say all the Dolphins don't have cap space, like, understand how it works so that the Dolphins can create that cap space, which caused the GM to laugh at that question. So the point here about working hard to maintain that flexibility. It's a puzzle that frankly fascinates me across the league how all of this gets put together each year with your finite level of resources. Everybody gets the same resources,

go build the best thing you possibly can. It's fun to watch. It's a big part of why I think we're all fans of the sport and of this league. But I think the Dolphins have found their secret sauce here with Chris Greer, and the process continues to be really good. I contend that you can't give me ten teams that have drafted better since twenty sixteen and go ahead and throw your arguments about the first round twenty

twenty or the twenty seventeen draft class. But also when you do that, make sure you look at every other draft in the NFL and realize how common that is and how uncommon it is to have draft classes like Miami has had. In fact, I would push that number closer to five. You can't give me five teams that have drafted better than Miami since twenty sixteen. Tunzel X and Drake and Grant in that first year. That is a phenomenal draft class. Twenty seventeen was terrible. Twenty eighteen.

I mean, I know we traded them away, but you've got Minkah Fitzpatrick, Mike Kasicki, Jerome Baker, Durham's Smith, and Jason Sanders. That is a loaded draft class. It's fantastic. Then Christian Wilkins, Andrew Van Ginkl, Miles Gaskin. I know, you know that kind of tails off towards the end there.

But to get a Pro Bowl level defensive tackle and a really good special team or slash such situational rusher in a draft class where you kind of put your eggs in the twenty twenty basket by moving down and moving those assets to the future, it's a great draft class based upon the resources you had. Then twenty twenty two, a big rob Rae Kwon Brandon Jones mentioned that, then twenty twenty one is the coup de graw, Jalen, Jalen,

and Javon What an outstanding draft class that was. Like, you understand that most teams get one or two really productive players in each draft, right two being on the high side. Some teams go multiple drafts without getting impact players. A lot of teams get a couple of, you know, replacement level starters and no stars. Like that list of names I just gave you is full of stars. It's full of plus starters. It's full of the core of

this football team. It's why I contest that this roster we have right now is the best the organization has had in twenty years. That two thousand and two team had eight Pro Bowlers, and this twenty twenty two team was pretty close to that mark, not in the sense that we had six or seven Pro Bowlers, but how many guys were just on the fringe of making the Pro Bowl. Two was the first alternate and would have gone had it not been for skipping out because of

the injury. Waddle was right there and frankly should have gone over Jamar Chase. Christian Wilkins should have gone too. If he was a defensive tackle on defensive end, they were all right there. I thought Connor Williams, Robert Hunt, and Javon Holland all made a case to qualify as well. You get it. There are probably ten to twelve players on this roster that you could legit see in the

Pro Bowl next year. And that's why I wanted to bring this up because Pro Football Focus is unveiling their top one hundred and one players of the twenty twenty two season, and as of this taping on Thursday, they've gone through the top twenty six players so far. So Tyreek Hill has not been listed yet. He'll be in the top twenty five. But here are the players on the Miami Dolphins that you have in the top twenty

five through one hundred. I should say number ninety nine was Connor Williams, and the excerpt was that he played one thousand, one hundred and twenty seven snaps and allowed just sixteen total pressures over eighteen games. He was phenomenal all year long. Number eighty eight to Ron Armstead. Injuries prevented Armstead from playing the whole season, but his impact when he was on the field was as noticeable as

it can be for an offensive line. His ninety eight point one pass block efficiency was sixth among qualifying tackles. Number sixty six wide receiver Jalen Waddle. With Tyreek putting up records heating numbers in the Miami offense for much of the season, it's easy to ignore Waddle's continued success. Waddle almost doubled last year's yards per reception figure in the new offense, and passes thrown his way generated a one nineteen point two passer rating. Waddle was exceptional this year.

Number fifty nine Jalen Phillips. Phillips had a similar sack total from his rookie year, but was outright dominant in his second year. His seventy seven total pressures including playoffs, were top ten among his position group. He also was top twenty in runstops. Phenomenal player number fifty eight, one spot higher Christian Wilkins Christer Rourkens, one of two interior players to log more than one thousand snaps. I was

Chris Jones of the world champion Kansas City Chiefs. He led all defensive tackles with fifty five run stops and the number forty five was quarterback to a tongue of Valoa. Yeah, the quarterback that uh there's for some reason debate about out there, and I get salty on this topic every time it comes up, and we're gonna do it again today. He was number forty five in terms of most impactful

players this year from Pro Football Focus. He was leading an offense they say that was matching Kansas City and Buffalo's output until injuries interrupted and eventually ended his season. So there you go. That's a PFF has been doing these top one hundred and one list since twenty ten. The Dolphins have never had six players on the list. Tyrek will make it seven. What's the most they had in that time period? Any guesses for anybody out there,

it wasn't one of the better teams we had. It was twenty fifteen when they had Olivier Vernon at twenty one and Tom I can Sue at twenty seven, Lamar Miller eighty five, Jarvis Landry at eighty six, and Rashad Jones at ninety eight. So having seven guys on that list, thirty two teams one hundred and one spots. That's three point one five spots per team. Miami More than doubled

that not bad, not bad at all. Let's go ahead and do a ck rip around the web before we dive into pro football focuses top one hundred draft prospects on the offensive line and wide receiver. Will also go ahead and talk some quarterbacks too, and I'll give you my take on what I expect at the combine. But there's some schedule talk from Peter King's Football Morning in America column. He also quoted US in our interview with

Vic Fangius. That was cool to see. But he wrote about potential week one, the opening night options to play the Chiefs when they hang the banner arrowhead, and he mentioned the really strong home schedule for the Chiefs. So that features their division rivals obviously with Denver, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles games against the Bills and Bengals, and then US and then also their NFC games with Chicago, Detroit, and Philly. He writes it's unlikely they would do a

Super Bowl rematch. He said, they're not likely to do a top rated games which takes away possibly Buffalo, maybe even Cincinnati. So it seems to me like the choices to this game are the divisional matchups. You know, I think the Chargers make a lot of sense. The Bengals make a lot of sense if they don't qualify in that Buffalo range or that Buffalo territory, and then the Dolphins, I mean, Cincinnati to me makes the most sense. I mean, those teams have been talking a lot of trash, they've

been going back and forth. But you also see CBS tends to protect those games, or if you get NBC later in the year, because your season opener is going to do Numbees regardless of who you put on there. So I think it's a possibility that we could see Miami and the Tyreek Hill return to Kansas City. That could be a storyline to watch to a coming back. You know, Bradley chub is his first full year here. He used to play against the Chiefs twice a year.

I just think it's a possibility. Even though the schedule for the Chiefs is so good, the Dolphins could potentially get that game. Who remembers the last time we played in that opening time slot anybody two thousand and six against Pittsburgh rough night. That was huh Joey Porter and Bill Cower kissed on the sideline. That wasn't fun. To watch.

Peter King also mentions that k C has a game in Germany and since thirty of the thirty four international games of all time have not included divisional matchups, one of those one of our home games individual matchup, But I digress. He lists Chicago, Chicago, Chicago, Hackago, Detroit, and Miami as possible options there. He does rule out Cincinnati and Buffalo in those spots because he thinks those are going to be more for primetime slots, not early morning slots.

Of course, this is all speculation on King's part, but I find it interesting and how the league views these premier games within the context of putting together their schedule. It's all generated through computers. It is very, very fascinating to me. Frankly, I just want to play someone besides New England on opening Day three years in a row. I'm all about variety, and that's not very much variety. Next, ESPN produced a really good article from one of my

favorite writers out there. I didn't actually know that he wrote, but Matt Bowen is on NFL Matchup. For my money, their best show. They bury it like at three o'clock in the morning for some reason, because I guess Stephen A. Smith yelling at people is better TV. I guess I don't know. He's a high school football coach and also

now a great writer, a true renaissance man. But he wrote about the best fit for his top fifty free agents on ESPM plus, and he had just one player as the Dolphins as their best team fit, and it was running back Miles Ends of your NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles Bowen rights. We have to see how the market develops for Sanders, who sat career highs and rushing attempts, rushing yards, and touchdowns. He went two fifty nine for one thousand, two hundred and sixty nine yards and eleven

touchdowns for the Eagles. But there is an opening right now in Miami, considering both Jeff Wilson and Raheem mosted our schedule to hit free agency. Sanders would fit in Mike McDaniel's heavily schemed run game and could see more usage as a wide receiver. Interesting stuff there. I do think we obviously need to running backs because all of our guys are free agents right now, are heading into free agency in the new league year, and Miles Sanders

is a great player. I think Raheem is a great player, so interesting to see what happens this year at the running back position. And additionally, he had the quarterback carousel going this way. Lamar Gino, Smith and Daniel Jones all stay where they are with the Ravens, Seahawks, and Giants. He had Derek Carr with the Saints and Jimmy g Landing with the Jets. That would be I would like that, Let's do that. The latter portion is why I mentioned it.

I think this is as close as we pay attention to the quarterback carousel as we have in all because of the Jets involvement. I just want to see the Jets strikeout. Personally, that would be the preferred option, but also go ahead and get Derek Carr bringing on doesn't worry me either way, but be funny to see him

strike out. But it's the same reason we were so dialed on that twenty twenty one draft class, knowing both the Jets and Pats were very much in the market for rookie quarterbacks at the time, and I love the way that draft class went, especially for us. And then all right, there you go. Let's go ahead and take our first break right there and come back on the other side and do one position for each segment, wide

receivers and offensive line expected the workout in Indian. What we can expect from those workouts, Who has the who stands the best chance to improve their stock? All of that next on the Drivetime podcast, your host Travis Wingfield, brought to you by AutoNation. It's a Friday here ahead of scouting Combine week. It's already here. Just another reminder of how fast things seem to fly by these days. I think it happens with age personally. For me, the

years go by faster and faster. I think kids will do that to you as well. It just still feels like training camp was yesterday, and here we are talking, you know, flying head first towards the new league year. That always means a combination of free agent talk and draft prospect talk, and before you know it, pro days we'll be wrapping up, and we'll be onto the draft and into OTAs and then into summertime, in vacation time, drinking it all through a fire hose. Man, it happens fast.

Let's get to the offensive line first. A note, This to me is always the most interesting position group each year. It's such a need for so many teams. Really, every team has offensive line needs every year. Even the Eagles will have to find a way if they can't bring back Isaac Somalu to replace their right guard because they were sensational. All five spots this year on the offensive line spring a league. This year, you're gonna have another need.

Every team has needs. So we get this crop picked clean pretty early each year in the draft, like you're always going to see a handful of offensive lineman and edges drafted in the first round. And with offensive line, there was that pretty significan can't dearth for a few years where there just wasn't that many guys coming off the board early and being productive as pros. Like that twenty thirteen draft class. We did get Lane Johnson and Eric Fisher out of that. You know, I think Luke

Jokel was also involved. That was supposed to be like a tackle dominant draft class, but like that was it, and then there was years and years where it just didn't really produce a whole lot. And it was the same time where you saw pass rushers coming off the board and producing at high levels, and it really kind of slanted the way the game was played. I think in terms of there's way more athletic good pass rushers

and there are offensive linemen. But I think that pendulum is beginning to swing back to closer to even I won't call it even yet, but in this deep class, you're gonna see guys come flying off the board like they do every single year. I mean, just look at the balance of this year's top one hundred list. You've got thirteen total offensive linemen in there. Eight of those guys are top fifty. If the players went off and this order, that's eight players gone before Miami comes up

on the clock. So there's not really a sense, a lot of sense and spending tons of time all the guys that are pretty much locks to go top twenty five. You get surprises every year, but we know that Johnson, Scarronsky, Harrison Torrens, those guys are going to be first rounders. You get surprises, but you're going to hear those names fast and because well a their top level prospects and be again, the offensive line demand across the league is

so great every year. It's why to me landing two bonafide stars at their positions into Ron Armstead and Connor Williams last offseason is such a win at that position group. We were just unfortunate with production and injuries, you know, from the younger players on the offensive line. We saw one guy really assert himself as a bonafide you know star, and Rob Hunt and then Austin Jackson and Liam Eichenberg

battle injuries. If you can get you know, a good jump next year from one of those guys or Rob Jones, whoever it might be, that would be a massive, massive boon. But there's still some things to sort out on the offensive line. So with that, let's go ahead and get to it, and let's do these ones early, quickly, because like I said, you're gonna five or six, maybe as many as seven of these guys go off the board

in the first round. I think you could go all the way through PFF's forty fourth ranked player, Darnell Wright, which is the seventh offensive lineman on their list. The number nine player overalls Paris Johnson from Ohio State. Remember what McKay Beckton did a couple of years ago, That's

what Paris Johnson's probably going to do. He's a five star recruit and I read that when he was a junior in high school, he posted combine numbers or workout numbers that would have ranked fifth at that year's Combine twenty eighteen. It's absurd for a high school or length get off anchor. He has every single tool. He's gonna blow the combine away. Number thirteen Peter Scarronsky from Northwestern.

Now he's the second tackle off the board here for the PFF list, but he's my first because the workout stuff is nice. But he's the closest thing we've seen too. Rashaun Slater since he came out and ironically the same school in terms of plug him in and you can set and forget he's gonna be top. He's not going to be top of the charts in Indie, but his tape is the best. And watch the rabbit drill if

they still do that. That's where the defensive lineman goes back and forth and tries to knock the offensive line off balance as he changes direction. You'll see how seamless his weight transfer and balance are in that drill. Number twenty one from Oklahoma Aton Harrison. He is as smooth as they come. Man covers a ton of ground with his kickslide all of his mechanics are perfectly aligned. I think he'll test well in the jumping and running numbers,

and I don't think bench press measures applicable strength. But I am curious to see what he does there because there just wasn't a lot of head up blowing defenders off the ball type of raps at Oklahoma, and his knock has been like his strength and his anchor. So curious to see how that holds up if you see it at all, and if the combine, I don't think you really do, because it's more of an underwear Olympics Number twenty four Roderick Jones is a tackle from Georgia.

I think he's going to time incredibly well because of the training portion of the calendar. And I say that because you go back and watch his tape and he like rolls his jersey up. Dude's got like six pack abs at three hundred and whatever twenty pounds he is with no fat on him. I just think that there's functional strength on tape and the ability to kind of trim that down and run well is more about your training,

and I trust it he'll do that really well. And if he does that, he could shoot into the top fifteen probably does if you ask me. Osyrius Torrens from Florida is far and away the best interior offensive lineman in this class. Scheme diverse has the look of a classic manpower scheme road Greater, But I think if you put him in a box that would be a mistake. I think he'll show you just how athletic he is and how quick off the ball he is with excellent

jumping and running numbers. Next week. O Cyrus Torrens also was great at the Senior Bowl, number forty three Cody match from North Dakota State. We talked with Kyle Crabs about him quite a bit. Was really good at the Senior Bowl. Can play inside and out, did all of it at North Dakota State. Even played the pivot at the center position at the Senior Bowl. Incredibly athletic. He's going to time very well too. Tackle Darnell Wright talked

about him from Tennessee. Really good player. Pierre Strength. His snap trap move where our snatch trap move I should say where he just goes out and gets to the pass rusher and kind of just pulled him to the ground like use that lean against those guys. It's flawless. He uses it all the time. He was a brick

wall at Tennessee. I think one of the biggest names to watch because I don't think he'll time well, but if he does, it'll cainta pull him well into the first big week for Darnell Wright Cooper BB from Kansas State. Admittedly not familiar with his game or his tape. It'll be a surprise for me as it does for you. But number forty nine on their list here of top one hundred players. Number fifty five Minnesota's John Michael Schmitz.

He's an interior offensive lineman. I thought he showed you the quickness off the ball in Mobile with regularity, reaching some of the best defensive tackles. With consistency during that whole week of practice, he could push to be the second interior offensive lineman off the board. A good week in Indie, I think he can do it. Number seventy one overalls tackle Matthew Bergeron again, Kyle crabs you heard him. He loved Bergeron's tape from Syracuse tons of good tape

and pass probe. I think his on fill drills are the more important aspect of the combine for him. More so than his testing metrics. I think scouts are gonna want to see his change of direction and balance that you get from that rabbit drill again and also leaning and hitting those bags that they go through. Number eighty seven's tackle Blake Freeland from BYU. If there's a true outside zone tackle in this class, it's Freeland. I would

be really intrigued by him on day three. I know we don't have a pick until like this seventh round, so you'd have to finagle and move around because it's probably a fourth rounder. It's going to be required for a player like Freeland because he needs some development, seasoning and NFL strength training because he's so quick and so athletic, just not a lot of good tapes in terms of holding up against bull rushes and power and moving guys

in the running game. If he can kind of put that together as part of his game, then he can be a big time player. Good at developmental prospect there from BYU, and I I like the way those guys are always coaching, always play the game the right way. Number ninety tackle Dwan Jones. I'm so intrigued by this guy. Another guy who can really improve his stock with a

big workout from Ohio State. He's the biggest person in this class seven foot five wingspan, three hundred and sixty pounds, and that comes with sacrificial athletic ability, like you're not going to be as quick in that regard. Kind of reminds me of fill Loadholt years and years ago from Oklahoma. Probably a Day two pick right now, but if he

tests well, it's going to really increase his stock. He was fantastic with the Senior Bull two Number ninety five interior ste A Vila from Texas Christian also a great senior Bowl week. Had a good playoff run, great mechanics, fantastic pad level, and mobility within his crouch and his stance. His pure mass allows him to wall off and pass bro he was You couldn't get around him in mobile, which is obviously a great trait to have. But I'm curious to see how he tests and how that impacts

his draft stock. They have number ninety five overall, which obviously fits at the end of Day two. Number ninety six is Luke Wipeler from Ohio State. Again full transparency and not really familiar with his game. Ohio State only produces athletes and movers. The entire OSU offensive line was great, and when I watched their tape, there's like eight guys you have to watch, and when you have Connor Williams,

center's probably one of the last spots you watch. So I didn't watch much of it, but he should test pretty well because they that's what they tell me. That's what the draft community tells me. Noo deep class, full of variety, good inside and outside. And I think again, you can expect the same thing to get most years with guys going off the board quickly on Night one

into Day two. The offensive line position this year from Miami and the off season one of the trickiest ones to me because I don't know, you've got the irons in the fire for development. You know, you have three really good players that you can trust and put them in their spots and they're gonna give you good production.

You didn't get a good look at Liam or Austin this year because of injuries, and you know, it was a build for Liam to get to the point that he was when he did get injured, kind of improving his the year went along. I still think Rob Jones is a heck of a player. We've got some guys on futures contracts and guys to look at in depthwise, and we'll see what happens to Eric Fisher. But between free agency and what's out there with you know, Mike McGlinchey,

Isaac Somalu, do you go in that direction? Do you try to draft another guy to kind of add to that Liam and Austin mix. I'm really curious to what it looks like bringing back Brandon Shells, maybe a swing tackle. I don't know. I'm curious to what it looks like. But this class is one to keep an eye on because Miami's always in the market for offensive lineman, as most teams typically are. Let's go ahead and take our second break and come back on the other side and

talk about wide receivers. We'll also tuck a little bit

of quarterbacks. That's next Drivetime podcast, your host Travis Wingfield, brought to you by Auto Nation back here on a Friday, and I kind of realized going through this combine prep project that I didn't block off the quarterbacks because well, we have a quarterback and I haven't watched the tape on these guys, but I wanted to give you just a quick run through because you guys know, I used to be pretty pretty involved in this whole draft scouting stuff,

and it would put my thoughts on Twitter a lot more than I do now. I think a lot of you probably remember that and want to hear more about that. Maybe if not, let me know too. That's fine. But Dolphins are not going to draft any of these guys in the first round, right like that, That's not gonna happen. They don't have a first round pick. They have their quarterback.

But I do think it's important to have an idea about the quarterbacks coming into the league and who will potentially change the league over the next couple of years. And there's five guys in this class that stand to go. Check that, four guys that stand to go pretty early in this year's draft class. And this year's draft class kind of challenges my conventional thinking behind the quarterback position because traditionally I have been kind of a tools first,

figure the rest out later. That's why I was so amped up on Josh Allen coming out of Wyoming. I think I was telling everybody that I could this guy's gonna change the way we view quarterback play. I was a huge Patrick Mahomes fan. In fact, I told my buddy always take Texas Tech in college because Mahomes is just that kind of guy. Although the rest of that team was not very good, so I nailed those picks. I was a huge Lamar Jackson fan. The athletic ability

that he presented was phenomenal. But it seems like when I try to go towards more of the you know, playing the position of quarterback, it's that's where I get myself in some troublesome times. Baker Mayfield was really great that way. He didn't really pan out in that direction. I think I was spot on with Josh Rosen saying I didn't see it with his game. He was too late and just didn't quite get through things fast enough.

So he always come down to this thing like do you want the traits or do you want the tape of the guy. It's basically it's Tah because you know two was not Josh Allen from a physical standpoint, But I'd rather have Ta and the way that he processes and and diagnoses defenses and anticipates in his accuracy. I like all those trades from two a better than I

do from Josh Allen. So what's your preference. It's I mean the scramble off you know, off script type of broken play stuff that equates to like maybe five percent of your total plays. And I give on Sunday the true pocket passing is where the game really is one from. And you saw Patrick Mahomes do that in the super Bowl. You saw Jalen Hurts do that in the Super Bowl. So without having gone through the all twenty two on these guys and just watching their college games, you know,

on broadcast this year, I have this thought. I think, to me, Anthony Richardson is by far the most intriguing prospect. I would take him number one overall. You know the Bears have justin fields. I wouldn't go off of that, but I would take richards to number one if I was the Texans to trade up or got him at number two. To me, he has the highest upside and the most to work with. I just think that he's a freak. I don't think he's very yet in the

way c J. Stroud is. I think CJ. Stroud is the best pure thrower in terms of his accuracy and the way he can kind of get the arm to different slots and layer the football and touch the football and located the way he wants to. Having that type of control over the football is critical. He's not the big scrambler, not the big offscript guy, but I think that he would be my next guy in this class based upon that. I just think that he's he really

plays the position at a high level. He's seen a lot, he understands route concepts and how to attack vulnerabilism defense. Big fan of his game, he would be my next choice. My next guy's Will Levis, and he's kind of a blend of the two. I think he's tough as hell. I think he's a really good leader and team captain. He has that scramble ability. He is a big, big

dude that can take the NFL punishment you get. But haven't really watched the tape to kind of go through of what I like about his you know, post and pre snap acumen. But there's a lot to chew on there in terms of the physical traits. And then I'm just not really buying the Bryce Young stuff. I mean, I think he's very undersized, which usually is not a thing for me. But wait till we see what he weighs in at at the combine, it's not going to be very much, I don't think unless it's water weight.

I think a lot of the off script stuff you saw from him was really excelled against the lower level college football teams. I think you see him against the Georgia it's a little bit different in terms of how he plays against those guys. So I just I'm not really big on his game. I love Anthony Richardson, I'm a big fan of CJ. Stroud, I'm very intrigued by Will Levis. Not really into the Bryce Young camp, but we'll see. I'll probably watch that tape closer to the

draft and have a better opinion. Then That's that's my kind of bird's eye view of the scouting process there. Let's put it this way, if the Jets get in the quarterback market, I don't want to see them get Anthony Richardson. Don't really want to see him get c J. Stroud, don't really want to see him get Will Levis. That's kind of how I look at the way I view this quarterback class. When Miami's not going to be involved in it, Let's go back to the receiver position and

finish up the offense. Here, the point I made about the offensive line, how fast they go off the board. It's the same with edge defenders. I think wide receivers probably next in that regard. Now, receivers have by far had the biggest hit rate in the first round over the last half decade or so. But again, this is why I think the Tyreek and Bradley Chubb trades were just so damned smart in terms of maximizing the value of those late first round picks. I set it on

a previous podcast. We were looking at wide receiver five with that pick that we use on Tyreek Hill, who was that Christian Watson four off the board? Before? We would have picked same deal this year, that pick we used on Chub would have been twenty ninth. Care to guess how many edge defenders are ranked higher than twenty ninth on PFF's Top one hundred board. The answer is six.

So edge seven or Bradley Chubb, And that doesn't include someone like Jalen Carter, who's the number one overall player as an interior guy who can play anywhere. But for the sake of the argument, do you want edge seven or Bradley Chub? I know my answer now with wide receivers. It seems like each year we have classes that somehow topped the previous year. Twenty twenty one was the pinnacle of that. I don't think that class is ever going

to be topped. Waddle, Chase, Smitty, and Saint Brown is absurd, especially when you factor in the fact that Kyle Pitts is kind of a receiver and if he gets you know, a quarterback and an offense Taylor to his skills, we might get a chance to see that at some point give the ball to Kyle Pitts, Atalanta, what are you doing? You can make a case that all of those guys were top ten receivers in the league, the four guys I mentioned that's wild Now this year at number fifteen

overall is the top receiver. Quinton Johnson from TCU. You saw him in the playoff. He was a great player in those that Michigan win for TCU, the clear cut number one for his combination of size and downfield big playability.

Those two things don't really go together very often. I think the reason he's the top dog in this class is because he separates himself in the physical tools department, on top of being very polished in the areas that I think are most integral to good wide receiver play, release, understanding of spacing, making every route look the same but also different. Six foot four, two hundred and fifteen pounds,

eighteen point eight yards per catch. GPS clocked him at twenty one miles per hour this year, he'll jump out of the building. An indie long gone By the time Miami picks really good looking prospect from TCU Zay Flower from Boston Colleges, number nineteen overall, He's getting some freaking hype. Man. This is a guy that could have that monster workout that turns heads and absolute jitterbug in and out of breaks. Really pure natural separator, going to annihilate the short shuttle

and three Cohen times. You'll notice during the on field drills that every step he takes his intentional and he accelerates through each cut. I think he could go under four four in the forty yard dash. Jackson Smith and Jigba's number twenty overall from Ohio State. One of my favorite players in this entire class. It's funny, man, Ohio State receivers. They come into the league every year and just like kill it. Going back to Michael Thomas Terry McLaurin is easily a top time receiver in the NFL.

We got Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave last year, Now we get Smith and Jigba. Next year we'll get Marvin Smith or Marvin Harrison Junior for Smith and Jigba. To me, he's a lot like his predecessors. I don't think the combined workout will do his stock what his tape does. He's not a burner, but a short area quickness is fantastic. I think he's the best separator and the class the best route runner. If he gets in the low four fours, he's a lock to go off the board early. Big

time combine for Jackson, Smith and Jigba. Number twenty three Jordan Addison from USC. He was the Blitznacoff winner two years ago in Pittsburgh. This class does not fall far from its own tree in the sense of the skill sets to me are pretty similar. Smooth operator runs every route and produces it a high clip. His balance and total control of his body makes me think he'll do really well on the speed, balance and change of direction testing.

It's kind of Chris Chambers the way he works the sidelines might be the most natural wide receiver in this class. Number thirty h Josh down to North Carolina. Now we're talking burners. His shake, his ability to throttle down and then hit the accelerator. Very crafty. Route runner can kind of some hesitation steps to throw DB's off and then boom hits that acceleration and he's gone. He tested at four four seven and a forty two in vertical upon

first arriving at UNC. I think when he trains that forty time, you can get it closer to a true four four. Just watch his feet during the drills and indie some of the smoothest in the entire class. A couple of years ago, I was very high on two two at will Tank Dell from Houston is number forty seven on PFF's big board, and he's going to test that similar. How small is too small to play at this level? True speed. Merchant was uncoverable at the Senior

Bowl with quickness and the extra gear. And he'll need to time well because he's just five ft ten one sixty five. That's freaking my size. I'd be shocked if we don't see him get under four to four. He was pretty damn good with the ball in his hands too, So that's reasonable to assume he kills the shuttle and three cone as well. But if you can't touch him, it doesn't matter how small he is. That's kind of how he tanked. Dell has to play at the next level.

Number fifty nine Parker Washington from Penn State. He competed at the opening the Nike Testing Challenge whenever it's called out of college. Just a four six one forty about thirty eight and a half inch avert, ten foot five broad and a four one shuttle. Those are low for me based upon his tape, meaning I think he'll do much better. But he was pure electricity to this year at Penn State. I did see that he could potentially skip workouts till his pro day because he had a

season ending injury this last season. Number sixty six Jalan Higher from Tennessee. He probably saw him in the end zone against Alabama during that game of the year. Five touchdowns for him there. Watch the South Carolina tape though, and just see how much they respected his tape. Putting the roof on top of the defense. He can fly. He needs to test well because his tape against Press

coverage showed that he needs some seasoning there. He only had one catch against press all year, but man, when they created free releases for him, he was able to access that speed. Just watch out. He should be in the running for the fastest forty time this year. He can fly Number seventy eight. Rashi Rice from SMU. I think his combination of size and speed could have him near the top of the wide Receiver RAS scorecard when

it's all said and done. Six foot two and he's built, and you see that in the way he plays through contact and doesn't really get knocked off his route very often. I think his explosiveness and his movement translate to some of the most massive numbers you'll see on the Verton board this year. Or le Bron I should say, if he gets into the four fours, that would be a huge win for Rice this year. Number eighty four Jalen Highlight's teammate Cedric Tillman from Tennessee the perfect compliment to

high At Tennessee. He wins with physicality, he'll test better and the strength and speed metrics. Six foot three, two hundred and fifteen pounds will attract a team that's in need of a physical X receiver, and then number eighty nine Jalen Marino Cropper from Fresno State. Again, gotta be honest with you guys, not familiar with his tape, but he ran some wildcats and running back snaps from slot wide. The Fresno offense really funneled through his game five ft

eleven roughly one seventy five. I know that type of versatility paired with good testing times could really boost his stock. So there you go. That's the offense. The last couple of podcasts here covering the top one hundred players in this year's draft. According to PFF, it's an intriguing class for the receiver position. We'll see what Miami's room looks like after free agency. Both Shrefield and Craycraft are free agents. We've got zu Kama and Sanders heading into year two.

What does the organization feel about them? Obviously, Tyreek and Jalen gives you the best one two in football, maybe of all time. I tend to think this position group and the draft won't present the best value on Day two compared to what we talked about on Wednesday with the running backs and tight ends, and even earlier with

our offensive line segment. But that's always speculation until we get to the actual draft, and it's what always makes the draft so intriguing to me interesting class excited to see these guys work out. So we've done the entire offense, and I tend to think that will be your best

bet with the fifty second pick. Who knows, that's not our sure thing, but I think between the potential of Jamir Gibbs, Luke Musgrave, Darnell Washington, Cody Match Darnell Wright, that's kind of the vein I'm going to hop into the way this roster is set up, the way things have gone the last few years. You know, several draft picks for a couple of years, followed by aggressive pursuits

of veterans on the trade market. To me, spending your free agent cap you have available on high level players at cheaper positions like off ball linebacker, safety, tight end, guard, running back, and then drafting the more premium positions where you can inflict better cost control. That might be the best route here. So from that, I guess Darnell Right is the only one from that group that satisfies that criteria. To me, this is the trickiest off season to project

from the last several off seasons. Here for your Miami Dolphins. All right, we have one more podcast before we get to Indianapolis. I'll be on Monday. Then we are going to have a bunch of content from the combine. I have plenty of big heavy hitters in the industry lined up for interviews. In the meantime, you all enjoy your weekend, and if you're around, come out to DCC and help cheer on all of our awesome athletes and participants. It's

a great, great cause. It's Saturday. The Fish Tank guys who myself are going to be out there doing a show I believe from ten to noon doing some content, So come on out. Well hopefully we'll see you all there. In the meantime, you all please be sure to subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcast. Leave us a rating, leave us a review. You can follow me on Twitter at Winkfield NFL. Follow the team at Miami Dolphins. Check

out the Fish Tank Podcast with Seth and Juice. Check out the YouTube channel for media availabilities, Dolphins Today and all kinds of content up there, including the Big Fangio sit Down and last but not least, Miami dolphins dot com. Until next time finds up Caroline and Cameron Daddy