To on remove going deep Speedways, Peace Doll peasd From the Baptist Health Studios inside the Baptist Health Training Complex.
This is Drivetime with Travis Wingfield.
He's gone my hands in the playoffs?
What is up?
Dolph fans and welcome to the Draft Time Podcast. I am your host, Travis Wingfield. And on today's show, we are at the halfway point of the twenty twenty three exit interviews series and we arrive at the largest one both in stature and in quantity. We'll assess the offensive line play in twenty twenty three, an initial primer heading in twenty twenty four, and we'll talk about day one of Senior Bowl practices where two of my favorite players on the field were.
You just guessed it on the offensive line From.
The Baptist Health Studios inside the back Just Health Training Complex.
This is the Drive Time Podcast. Maggie G.
Thank you very much, Caroline, as we jump into the offensive line review for twenty twenty three. First, real quick, just want to go ahead and let you guys know I am tracking all these defensive coordinator interviews that are being reported to have occurred down here in Miami Gardens or elsewhere we'll go ahead and get you a more comprehensive look at that as we go along. I don't want to just tell you about the names that have
come across, which there are plenty. I believe five of the seven names that have been reportedly attached to the Miami Dolphins have worked in the past with head coach Mike McDaniel. But in the past, like Lockdown Dolphins, you know, my whole thing was to be the best and to be first with everything, and sometimes that's not always possible, especially in this position that I currently hold with the team, and I just like to be completely transparent with you guys.
It's always available to me to talk about reported names, So I just want to let you guys know that the work be done and you'll get a comprehensive look back once we find out who that guy is, and probably ahead of that as well as we kind of
assess some of the finalists. I think as we get closer to naming a new defensive coordinator in place of Krusty Vick, so let's go ahead and take a look at this Dolphins offensive line and review this position group and do a whole podcast out of this and talk about the Senior Bowl practice today because quite frankly, I think this offensive line class is going to a produce a surefire starter at pick twenty one on your team,
which I think this team could definitely use that. And be even more important is that I think that this class will provide not just depth deep into the draft, but man, I think there's not just like a surefire starter potential, like multiple time Pro Bowl Hall of Fame type of talent within this class. I'll tell you right now, the two guys I'm going to talk about the most are Talise Fuaga from Oregon State at the tackle and Jackson Powers Johnson, the center from Oregon, who I think
think are both Pro bowlers as rookies. I think one's going to be a top ten pick. I think the other one might be a top twenty pick. Hopefully he makes to pick twenty one. We'll get to all that here in a second, but first let's go ahead and review Dolphins offensive line from last year. We go in order of who took the most snaps, right, and that was Austin Jackson. This year, he had six hundred and thirty nine pass block snaps and twenty six pressures allowed.
That was a pbe pass block efficiency of ninety seven point five, and in hindsight, I'm not sure there was a more needed development than Austin Jackson realizing his potential this season, aside from two a tongue by Lowa and the growth that he took this year. Leap he took this year, I should say, in the growth he's shown. Let's not make this to a podcast, but you get
what I'm saying. You think about the current makeup of the offensive line, plenty of questions mark right with there are some built in solutions that you could say, well, they have these question marks, but this is what they could do. And that's true, but there are just a lot of things that we don't know right now that will have to be kind of uncovered over the next
couple of months. We go here and rebuild this roster for twenty twenty four and for Austin to go from relatively unknown off of a very tough twenty twenty one campaign where he bounced around and play well, and then a twenty twenty two season that saw him take fewer than sixty snaps with essentially a season ending injury, and then he came back from that and reaggravated it and ended the season totally and played less than sixty snaps. Stuff like this is why nobody is ever good at
predicting what happens in the NFL. This happens in every position room on every team across the entire league. You think you know, but you really have no idea. Now that's my diatribe. How about a credit to the work Austin put in so in our cafeteria here at Miami Gardens, at the Baptist Hill Training Complex, we have these massive bay windows. Like most practice facilities do, I think the modern ones at least they look out over the practice field.
I think back to the Davy facility and Ryan Tannehill staring out over the practice field after tearing his ACL in training camp twenty seventeen like his dog just died, because really it did, and our season just died that day. All off season when AJ wasn't working during OTAs or even on days we were not on the practice field, what would you see when you would go down there for your chicken thighs on a bow bun or hibachi Mongolian steak from the Great Aunt Anthony behind the grill?
What would you see you would see Austin with a couple of trainers working on the practice field, with his teammates in the cafeteria. This dude put in the time, and then when you hear him talk at a press conference, you can just see it right, not just the physical statue, which, by the way, he looked so much better this year than he ever has, just toned up, still large, but
like six pack. He kind of reminded me of Jake Long when he came in to the league at three hundred and thirty pounds and had abs like what he looked just built in a lab. But the way that he processes things and can communicate football intricacies.
I wonder if he'll want to coach in.
His post playing career because he kind of communicates like a coach does. It's the reason why I voted for him as one of my top three guys in the good Guy ballot just for your awareness. I went Jalen Phillips, I went alec Ingold, and when Austin Jackson or he most it was my fourth pick and he actually won the damn thing.
But those guys were my tops.
I thought Austin Jackson, the way he dealt with the media after the things that they all said about him was really impressive.
I digress.
So you have the body, the physical skills, the mental aptitude, how about the tape. To me, what Austin did this year was get all of the mechanics operating with an orchestra. The punch matched, the correct foot drive, the hips popped at the right time. I think that's a credit to butcher Berry. I think it's a credit to Austin for drilling it like this stuff doesn't become overnight. Second Nature's
like a golf swing, right. Repetition's the only way you're gonna be able to step up to a two hundred yard approach shot with sand and water as potential hazards off either side, with the confidence that you're gonna put that thing within ten feet on the putting surface every single time. I think the thing that stood out with Austin for me was how he recovered when he would lose reps Initially. Like in the past, a bad rep could sort of unravel and ultimately lead to big hits
on your quarter back and broken plays. But if he lost the initial leverage battle, if his base was too wide and he got displaced, he would recover, he would get back to those mechanics and compete to at least a draw so that he could keep his quarterback afloat right.
Sometimes that's all it takes.
You're not going to win every single rep against someone like Max Crosby for thirty straight pass rush naps. You're not going to just wall him off every time. Sometimes you have to find a way to protect your quarterback. And I thought Austin did that all year long, and so as one of the let's call it what it is, premiere pass protecting tackles in the National Football League this year, he harnessed something we had already seen on tape, and
that was his mauling presence in the running game. It's funny because he's so soft spoken when you get to know him and just kind of chill, but he's, for lack of a better term, he's an asshole on the football field. He finishes through the echo of the whistle. He'll just beat you up and then celebrate after he does it.
I love it. You need players like that.
I think where he can go even another step this year is just the traditional pass set victories. It was very good, but maybe we can become even better and you know, become one of the top couple of right tackles in the NFL, because if we can get to third and nine and just shut guys down to a standstill and give two up three four seconds to throw the football, we're gonna destroy teams. And he's already close. So I'm glad we got his deal done. And I'm a huge fan of this player and of this man,
and of the contract. We gave him twelve million a year for a guy that probably, if he plays like that again next year, would get twenty five or twenty five twenty million on the open market. Like that could potentially be a massive, massive boom for the Dolphins team. And to contextualize his season, I mentioned to Crosby, right, did you know that Max had one cleanup sack in that week eleven game against US didn't go against Austin Jackson,
But it was a sack. It was a scramble play where two got like he got him like a yard behind the line after a scramble, so it wasn't even a big play. They didn't charge the sack to Austin and in fact, he was hit with just one pressure in the game on forty two pass blocking snaps in that game twenty five against Max Crosby.
That's elite work there.
He also had one or zero pressures allowed games against Buffalo and Gregory Russa, the Giants Caveon Thibodeaux, Carolina, Brian Burns, Philadelphia, Hassan Reddick, the Jets with Bryce Huff and Jermaine Johnson and John Franklin Myers, the Jets again, and then Buffalo again. He allowed two or fewer pressures in all but three games this year. The opener against the Chargers, which I thought that was scored kind of weird. Baltimore he allowed four in that game. We all got beat up in that game.
And Casey in the playoffs he allowed five. We all sucked in that game too.
Fifty five offensive tackles allowed more pressures than Austin Jackson this year. He played all of the games but won right. So, out of the sixty four designated starting spots for tackles, you think all those guys play every game.
No.
In fact, the ninety seven point five PBE was twelfth among offensive tackles who played at least three hundred pass blocking snaps, and like the names ahead of him, this is left tackle and right tackle by the way to Ron Armstead, Pine Sewel, Trent Williams, Tristan Wurfs, Tyron Smith, Braden Smith, Caleb Gary, Colt Miller, Laramie Tunzel. These are the best tackle with the NFL guys. That's where he is right now. Number seven Liam Mikenberger's is not there?
Five hundred and twenty six pass blocking snaps, twenty four pressures, a ninety seven point one pass block efficiency. Let's go ahead and just rip this band aid off right off the top.
I don't want to.
See seventy four at center anymore. Fair Like, look, commendables, hell the job he did there. As much as I've supported the roster building, I mean, I mean, how can you not. I know we lost in the playoffs again, but this roster, this last couple of years has been one of the best in the National Football League. I think the biggest air this year was the negligence at backup center. And you don't have to have an all
pro there. In fact, there's like ten good centers on the planet, but to not have anyone on the roster seemed a little bit ill faded.
And look, Dan Feeney didn't like go on to be a Pro Bowl or somewhere. Didn't even play in this year.
Wherever he it was the Bears, right, But that was just a strange move to ship him off on the eve of the season because all year we saw what happened when we lost Connor. Even if I think Connor inherently gives you a little bit of a miss on something you need inside that was uncovered this year.
More on that moment.
But Liam was constantly out of play, off balance, just getting railroaded or on the ground. You can't win football games that way. I do think you have to commend him for his toughness, because this was a guy that was limping around after games and gutting it through practices to give us, you know, sixty plus snaps every single game.
He didn't miss like he was out there for us.
He was just very tough that way, and I'm sure it limited his range of mobility, but man, when he needed him out there instead of a guy that was a late season off the street for agent who hadn't played a snap in the NFL in years, Liam was there for us, and I thought where he was best
was it the guard position. When Isaiah Winn got hurt, and Connor returned for the Chiefs game back in November and he kicked out to left guard, and now, of course he had to slide back into the right guard role when we lost Probert Hunt that same week for
a few weeks. Then he went right guard, right guard, left guard for Vegas Jets in Washington, that's where I thought he was playing his best football, and it kind of coincided with mid season last year when he got hurt, playing his best ball in that same position at left guard.
And man, when I think about the lead that Austin took last year for a guy who came out one year later, albeit probably more polished product than what Austin Jackson was with a ton more snaps in full four years another dame, I don't think it's crazy to think that it's possible that Liam can take all those lessons, a full off season of training, the various spots played and get even better next year, because during that stretch I thought he was starting guard quality, backup center quality
at best. And if you can get that plus a little bit more for a guy that's on the fourth year of that rookie deal, like if you get Liam Eickenbergers.
You're starting left guard, and it's not like, oh no, it's Liam, It's like, oh Liam's there.
Good. If you get that on his contract for this year, it would be a massive, massive win for the way that Dolphins want to build the roster this year.
Do you bank on it?
I wouldn't, But I think that you can build this thing in a way that creates contingencies where Liam is afforded that opportunity, because I'm not sure if he's capable of that.
I think there's a lot to be refined. Though the technique is inconsistent.
He can get overpowered, he falls off blocks way too easily, and he's always on the ground. Another classic case of guy on the ground, right, But I deally, You know, if you spend something like, I don't know, five million on a starter there, if it's Isaiah Win or if it's you know, a free agent off the street, you re sign Rob Hunt, You let Connor Williams walk, and
you draft either Zach Frazier or Jackson Powers Johnson. Liam becomes the top interior guy off the bench, and he needs to be better, but we kind of need him. It's a weird spot to be in This is the kind of player in a league where you there just aren't enough good offensive line for Edwin to have five, much less six seven eight players that are good at this position group. And when you consider his contract, man like, that's gonna be that's gonna provide value for this team
next year, so he'll be here. What he becomes as a player could be a critical critical mission here for.
The Miami Dolphins. More on that in the Isaiah Win portion.
Let's go ahead and finish up the first second here with a quick note on the player sixty six Lester Cotton, three hundred and sixty two snaps in pass protection, twenty pressures. It was a ninety six point seven pbe pretty wild journey for him to go from not playing last year to starting a playoff game and then getting buried in the depth chart this summer, probably probably rightfully so, and then to work his way into the seventh most snaps
on the entire offensive side of the football. I thought he got better in certain things like picking up certain games and twists, but it got to a point on tape where I just like couldn't watch it anymore because you guys heard it all year long, falling off blocks, unable to locate those backside seals that provided big runs.
I think the attrition that forced this player onto the field cost you hundreds, hundreds of rushing yards and as a result, conversions points and eventually wins big big gripe with a snap count for this player, I thought it was a big hole on the roster this year. Let's go ahead and take our first break right there, come back on the other side and finish up the offensive line. That's all next Draft Time podcast, your host Travis Wingfield, brought to you by Auto Nation. Three players into our
twenty twenty three offensive line review. Several more to go here, starting with Kendall lam number seventy who again, we're going in order of snaps played, so Austin Jackson, Lea Mikenberg, Lester Cotton, Kendall Lamb. If I told you that going into the season, you would have said Travis's team is gonna go eight to nine. He played three hundred and
fifty seven pass blocking snaps and allowed twenty pressures. It's a ninety six point five pbe and it sure is nice when you see thirty two snaps of a guy in twenty twenty two and think, man, that was pretty good, and then you can roll that over into six hundred snaps and the eighth most on your offense, fourth most on the offensive line. It started in Week one right, just shut down Khalil Mack time and time again. I
think those true pass sets are his best trait. A veteran savvy to have the combination of nasty but also the little tricks of the position that you see the older heads so well versed in, like a toront Armstead, go short in the runway on a wide nine, extract the pass rush moved by a dummy punch while you get your depth and set up your pass set, redirecting on a guy in a way that gets his leverage so out of balance, he just goes to the ground and you follow him to end the rep right there.
I just think Kendall won so many of his reps before the ball was even snapped, and I think that's a valuable depth piece. And I'm really curious to see what they do here. He seems to me like the ideal perfect swing tackle. Federan presence has been largely available to you, kind of has some stuff to him, and I've got my guy seth level would say on the Fish Tank podcast with Oja McDuffie, go ahead and check out their podcast, and just his veteran experience is valuable
for the young guys as well. And again, I think the biggest downgrade we saw with the shuffled offensive lines wasn't in the past pro It was the surge in the running game or lack thereof. When we talked about it on the Monday podcast about how the Ravens defensive ability, the Chiefs defensibility to come downhill and collision at the line of scrimmage and get forward, push and not get knocked back, to give yourself second and nine, a post
a second and five. That changes the equation for the opposing offense right like you're gonna go from single high to too high with that additional.
Yardage you have in your back pocket.
And that's where I think Miami's entire operation began to fold in on itself.
The inability to.
Run the ball in early downs and the kind of thinking of McDaniel pivoting towards more early down runs, which I think was a mistake. Throw the football early, run the ball to convert short yards in that type of situation. I think Miami's inability to do so with their commitment to do so in the running game was where the offense got behind what it does best, and it put them in all these true pass drop sets, which is not it's not designed to live off of those. No
offense is. But they were consistently in those looks down the stretch, and I think the interior three offensive lines inability to get pushed in the running game was the main culprit for that. On top of not enough separators beyond ten and seventeen, with seventeen being out for so many games late in the year and practice rep so many late in the year, beyond the quarterback not playing well enough, I think this was one of the core
issues you had this year. And Kendall, didn't, you know, give us a lot of range in the in the running game or pop as that starter left tackle. But and when you went with him Cotton and Lamb or like or with him Cotton to Lium, I should say we left so many rushing yards out there with one of those three losing a rep and costing us to gain. Now again, our tackles performed super well in their pass
pro metrics. The ninety six point five Ppe was actually tied for thirty fifth among all tackles and again sixty four tackle spots, right, So for your third to finish there, that is very very very good. But also something else to consider in your off season projections and evaluations. If you add Keion and remove the snap stipulations, that's four
tackles in that top thirty five range. That's why I think the interior offensive line's more important for us in terms of getting rock solid in that position because they've shown the ability this coaching staff and this team to mitigate tackle quote unquote holes, not as much at guard and center. And that's system based, right. You can get those tight ends and wide receiver crackbacks to help those guys, and the chips and all the things you do to help on the perimeter.
Inside, it's kind of on those guys and the.
Quarterback and the running back, and we're just built so much better for helping on the outside than we are on the inside. Food for thought Number sixty eight, Robert Hunt, this is your best player and he played the fifth most snaps.
That's a problem.
Seven hundred or rather three hundred and seventy six pass block snaps, five pressures, that's ninety nine.
Point two pass block efficiency.
I thought Rob was destined for Pro Bowls the first time I plugged on his UL tape, comically steamrolling dudes, tossing them out of the club. And boy, let me tell you, four years into his Dolphins tape, we've gotten the exact same thing. Think we missed him more than anybody else when he was down with that hamstring injury that lingered like damn it. When he was right versus Washington, we rolled that game the last time the offense looked
like the offense right. Then he aggravates it and we only get in for the playoff game, Like this is what I was talking about. A guy who hadn't missed a game in three years plays just two of the final nine of this critical season.
That's tough.
But Rob's a nasty, mauling, frequent pancake artist who finds ribs and gets himself some big kill shots just Barry's.
Dudes with raw.
Strength and uses that defensive line want to rush half the man so they can just work off one of your shoulders and not try to rush through your entire frame. He uses that technique to his advantage, and guys who
don't pack the requisite power. He just has the wherewithal to bury them and say you're not gonna rush half of mem You're gonna I'm gonna win with the half of my body here and the strength I have on my left or right side, finding, you know, help when he doesn't have an assignment on top of elite one versus one work in that department. You'll venture to guess how many guards had a better pass block efficiency than Rob Hunt.
The answer is zero.
He finished a half point better than second place Brandon Sheriff among guards with at least three hundred pass blocking snaps. Win was actually next, but he didn't qualify for that. That group includes Shurf, Tyler Smith, Chris Lenstrom, Hellodi v Tie,
Quentin Nelson, and on the best guards in football. I think Rob has taken to a system that he's familiar with, that he ran in college, that he utilizes his athletic ability within it, but also gives us the pop and temperament at the position we need to really grind teams down late in the game with the running game.
I love his game. No complaints.
Actually, if there was one, it's that every like two or three games he has a big whiff on a free run, typically off of a game, like a stunt or a twist.
But you live at that because otherwise he's just dominant.
And look, I'm not negotiating deals here, but he's my priority. Re sign number seventy two t Ron Armstead three hundred and sixty four PB snaps seven pressures a ninety eight point nine PBE. I think if you asked Taran he would tell you this year was a down year for him, and in that down year, he was number one among tackles in.
Past block efficiency.
It just tells you how damn good this player is and has been his whole career. Remember when he made his debut on the season versus the Broncos and we posted seventy points with all those big plays around the corner where he's putting dutes on their back and wiping out the entire edge. He's probably the best pass protecting left tackle of the last decade. Like Joe Thomas handing over that throne. I mean, he's right there. If he's
not him, he is him. I do think there were more reps this year where he just flat out got beat for a sack, and by more we're talking about like two or three versus zero. I just think he wore down a little bit there. The body kind of gave up on him a little bit in certain spots
and especially in the running game as well. But you guys have heard it all from me, right, the smartest pass pro plan in the game, that great fake cut block he threw at Micah Parsons to essentially win the game on the Tyreek Hill screen on that Cowboys game winning drive. I think that his ripple effect to the rest of the ruin the young guys might be his most valuable asset that he features. He missed seven more games this year, missed four last year. That's thirteen and
two years, almost a full season. Basically that was coming up. And he doesn't practice too, which was a big sticking point I had in a previous podcast, right, And that was coming off a year where he missed nine missed two and one in twenty nineteen and twenty eighteen, but six games in twenty seventeen, nine more in twenty sixteen.
That's just been his career and it kind of makes you, it makes for a tricky situation because you know how great he is, but you know the inevitability of his injuries makes it so tough to value him as a player because if you go forward with him at a fourteen million dollar price tag, and that's just too much to play ten games. If it's thirteen, I'd probably sign it today if you could give me a crystal ball. But do we think he'll start playing more games at
this stage of his career? And if a left guard plan like I talked about earlier, like I could see a situation where maybe you draft your left tackle or whatever the case. Like Also, by the way, signing left tackle, signing tackles, and free agency, Kyle Krabs has a great segment on this. I'm sure he'll bring it up again this year, where like signing offensive tackles top of the market almost never works out, So food for thought there.
But if you do something at left tackle here, and if you decide that one of the positions you're gonna have to gamble with on the offensive line, if it's that like win Liam combination of we know wins great, but we know he can't play half the season. We know Liam has stretches, but we know that we can't count his technique. Like you might take a gamble there. If you do that, you cannot have Tron as your left tackle because of the gamble that he inherently possesses.
So it's just it's a lot of tough decisions are gonna have to make. I think there's lots of right decisions, but I don't envy those number fifty eight Connor Williams two hundred and eighty pass block snaps, six pressures, ninety eight points having pbe This is maybe the most interesting situation in the league. And maybe I feel that way because of my close proximity to these Miami Dolphins. But how many teams have a player who tore his ACL in December who are a great fit for their system.
But ultimately you talk about two not playing big enough in big games, or Tyreek for that matter, in the biggest games against the biggest competition, against the Ed Olivers and Daikwon Jones, against the Jordan Davis and Fletcher Cox and Jalen Carter, against the Chris Jones of the world, against the Quincy Williams. He got kind of ran over against bigger competition. And you want a top of the
market contract coming off of an ACL and December. It's tricky man I think the last two years of center play we got down here have been the best since Mike Pouncy's prime years. And look, we certainly missed Connor when he was out. One of the most athletic centers in the National Football League. Opens up your options in terms of your perimeter running game, your screen game, all the stuff we do to stretch the defense horizontally to
the absolute limit. Connor exit amplifies that. I do think there were some times against those bigger teams where he got outmatched and that caused us to not have our short yardage conversions, which has been a problem for two years in a row. And if you go back to training camp and watch Raykwon Davis, a very average player at his position in terms of his production, get a lot of pushback on Connor.
You kind of see that displayed there.
So I don't say that's disparage Connor one because think he's going to top five or six sentators in the National Football League.
But it's an area that you have to get better at.
And I think that where he opens the playbook up, where he gets you so many options, you have to take all that into account. Because again, his PBE was fourth among sentis, but at least two undred pass blocking snaps finish just behind Jason Kelsey. But that's a real thing, like we need to really be able to anchor against bigger guys up front, especially with our quarterback and his limited mobility.
Something to think about.
Number sixty five Robert Jones three hundred and four pass block snaps, fourteen pressures, ninety seven point two pbe.
What a crazy year for this guy.
Right injury in the preseason after competing neck and neck for the left guard job. Does not see the field until Week eight as a result of that injury, but then steps into the start of for the next two games. Left guard gets hurt again, comes back in week fourteen, and he plays two hundred and fifty of his three hundred and four total snaps on the year from Week fourteen through the playoffs.
Didn't miss a snap the rest of the way.
He had some of the key blocks on those critical Jeff Wilson runs to beat Dallas. I think that his that's his best trait man gap football, displacing guys with a sheer mash three hundred and twenty five pounds. Our second biggest guard in the roster now, I don't think he's a fit for us.
I think go somewhere.
He was a worthwhile, you know, reserve on a UDFA rookie contract. That's cheapest, hell, the cheapest player you can have a football now that's expired. I don't think you go after a bigger deal with him. Maybe they tender him, but I doubt it. I think for him something like Pittsburgh where he can go be a mauler for Arthur Smith makes a lot of sense. Number seventy seven Isaiah win two hundred and twenty four PB snaps, four pressures, a ninety nine point one PBE.
He was phenomenal to the.
First seven games of the year, a total free agent hit, but then he suffers what becomes a season ending injury.
Awesome.
In pass Pro, nobody gained an inch on this dude, regardless of their move He could absorb power. He had the lateral movement and strength to thwart games and rushers trying to cross his face. I thought his run game work was plenty good enough, and frankly, we saw the offense struggle to replace him when he was lost. He
played the first three hundred and ninety two snaps. Then we have three guys rotating into that position to run with the rest of the seven hundred plus snaps that we would play this season.
And the only thing that I.
Think keeping him from being a cornerstone from someone that you bank on is the injury history. He's never played a full season. He missed eight games as a rookie, six in year two, one in twenty twenty one, eight last year, and then ten this past season. Fifty games out of eighty three possible. He's played an average of six point six miss games per year since coming into the league. I am so curious about this player too. The whole line is fascinating me. But I'm curious about
his market. He can't stay healthy, right, and that's an issue when you go into the year counting on him to be one of the guys and you're short a player when he goes out for the year. But that's like, you know, one for three and a half million or something like that. Again, that would be a no bran to me. Do it?
Why not?
It's cheap and you could possibly get a starting left guard for even ten games at three point five million. At top level, guard play is worth it if he wants, like Bona fide starting left guard money, he probably can't do that. His market value at spot rack is right in line with where he was at this time a year ago, and it's probably because the injury history, But
who the hell knows how accurate that can be. Frankly, I will not hate it if it's him and Liam, as long as we have a better plan at the left tackle position. And you brought back Rob and you probably drafted a center high. But it's like it's doable if the other positions are a little bit more sturdy. So on I'm trying to say seventy one key on Smith twenty two pass blocking snaps, zero pressures, I's say one hundred pbe perhaps the player I'm most intrigued by
on the entire roster. I keep saying that right to be, frank I didn't think he was long for the league. After camp in twenty twenty two he looked awful and preseason was even worse. Now at the end of twenty twenty three, I think he could be a future left tackle that starts in this league. Another yet another example of not getting too rigid in your beliefs. But I think this speaks to his dedication to the craft and
the work of the code coaching staff. Think about this, A player who misses his senior year of high school due to an injury, gets twenty college games in his career and misses his senior year of college because of the pandemic at Fayetteville State. People throw the term raw around a lot, like just look at his measurements. He has the burst, a length, the composition to be the ideal tackle in this offense. And I think he showed you flashes of that in very brief time this year.
But the preseason tape was awesome, and then we got good again, albeit limited work, but good regular season tape this year. That makes me think he's a piece worth investing more time into. And he's near the top of my list of guys I cannot wait to watch at OTAs. We rounded out here with someone that did not play at all, Number sixty Jonathan Harrison. Didn't see him play.
I don't care talk anymore about it. Futures contracts. Ryan Hayes and Chase and Hines are guys that were brought back on those futures deals.
So there's some tires in the fire, some irons in the fire.
How do you say that whatever on an offensive line that has a lot of work to do, but feel pretty good about where they are and where they could go with the resources they have this offseason. Last break right there, come back on the speaking of the resources, two of my favorite players in the Senior Bowler offensive lineman. We'll talk about day one to Practice's next Draft Time podcast, your host, Travis Wingfield, brought to you by donation.
That's rare. Okay, girl, let's go still watch it? Who is who watching.
To watch it? Yeah?
Who is watching? Watching? Day?
So many clarifications to make here as we get into the third and final segment on this Wednesday, the last day of January, which, when your football team is not playing this time of year, feels like the longest, most pointless month of the year in a way, doesn't it. I think February probably is that way as well with regards to football fans. Like I was telling my wife, we spend so many waking moments, chasing around kids, picking up messes, making sure my one year old son, who
seems to cry about everything, is not crying. And at least at the end of the day you had football to look forward to, right, But now you don't. I love the conference championship games and divisional round weekend and all that fun stuff.
But like man, I miss Thursday night.
I miss the holiday season when you have Saturday games and then Monday night football. It's just the best time of year, and right now is kind of the worst time of year. But luckily, luckily we have some football to discuss right here, and the Senior Bowl which kicked off, which is why we give you the lead in song there. Who's Wingfield watching? And who Wingfield's watching?
Today?
Me is by the way that song falls really flat. I didn't realize that at first, but those notes lyrically, the words are fine, but the notes are god awful, which is kind of what I was going for, but I didn't realize how bad it actually was. Luckily, the players on the was it the national team or the American team? Let me check that real quick national roster
Senior Bowl. So I'm telling you this because I did not watch the entirety, or I should say I did not put the entirety of my day one notes and here for you guys, because this podcast got a little bit long. Offensive lines, the longest or deepest position group on the roster and so that happens, and with linebackers, interior, defensive line corners and safety still to go, we can get much more notes in with those smaller position groups. So today we're talking about day one of the American team.
Will do the rest of the Senior Bowl practice notes on Friday, and then I'll go ahead and get someone on the show Monday. I'm thinking Kyle Krabs haven't gotten a confirmation on that, but I want to get his perspective because the last disclaimer here before we talk about these prospects, everything that I talk about on the podcast here with regards to the draft is going to be through a Dolphin's lens. I will continue to harp on
that disclaimer. I think some shows and even myself from the past on Lockdown Dolphins had done like here's who I like, but this is what the Dolphins could do. Everything is with the lens as if I am a scout for the Miami Dolphins and thinking about who fits what we do right. That's the beauty of one team
scouting opposed to what Kyle does. For instance, with all thirty two scouting is you have your scouting for generalize like you would be a consultant that consults the entire league, which is a much tougher job than to find specific notes. And then, of course Kyle does a great job with his Dolphins notes unlocked down Dolphins, and that's what we're gonna do here. So here's my notes from the American
team practice on Wednesday. I have so many because there's so many guys on that field that I think could step in and help the Dolphins in twenty twenty four. And that being said, I don't view the draft that way.
I never have.
I've never thought that your draft purposes is to get the best football team on the field for this upcoming season. That's doing it wrong. The best way to draft is taking the best player available. I saw a tweet. I think his name is Sean Williams. You guys probably know who he is. I've never seen a tweet more right and wrong. At the same time, he was harping on how the best team in the league take the best player available, regardless of their position. That's how you draft
the best, and I agree with that. That's in two years, your needs are going to be completely different and you'll still have that player. So draft the best players and you'll turn out right in the end. But then at the end of it he said, that's why Chris Grear sucks because he only has one All Pro in his career, and what a weird bar that is. First of all, it's wrong because he did draft larry My Tunzel, he
did draft Minka Fitzpatrick. That's two All pros. I probably doesn't count Tyreek Hills two All pros, which he traded a first round pick four down here. It's misguided by people that think that Chris Greer like committed crimes against humanity for whatever reason, even though he has built one of the best rosters in the NFL. I digress, so draft the best players, and Chris Greer is doing just finding his draft classes and what he does with his picks as well. So that said, I have a few
notes here for you guys. First, Talisi Fuaka from Oregon State was my favorite player going into this game. He's not going to be available. He's a top ten pick, forget about it. He's the best right tackle in the class. He can play left tackle. He's got smooth, smooth transition. In fact, there was a report that came up with the Jets love this. I don't think he'll be available for that picked number ten. I think he's gonna be to first tackle off the board. Quite frankly, he is
an elite, elite prospect. And speaking of the Jets, there's an article by Diana Rossini that came out on Wednesday about how dysfunctional they are.
I freaking told you, I freaking told you.
I told Did I not tell you that all all last offseason? I don't like to say I told you, so, Yeah, I kind of do, actually, but this time I love saying it.
So there you go.
Tellisi Fuaga dominant dominant player to Liatu Lata.
I think I got that right. I should probably look that up.
The UCLA kid who basically ruined WSU season by having twenty four pressures like I don't know what it was, but it was a lot of pressures. He reminds me of Jeln Phillips, but with a little more technician, a little less pop and physicality. But man, he's right on that track. I think he's long gone before our pick. He's the best pass rusher out there. I had two notes or a note here about a player I didn't like because I saw a bunch of pop on him.
Brendan Rice from usc does he is he strapped to a backboard, the stiffest player I've ever seen in my entire life, like Pops did not rap off on Homie. Okay, the rest of my notes, I put more extensive notes in my notepad on my phone to go ahead and pull that up. So here's here's the guys that I had noted four or against for the Dolphins. So Oklahoma
offensive tackle Tyler Geydon. I think he'll be gone before pick twenty one because he's six foot seven, three hundred and thirty pounds and he has those laram me tons will typewriter feet. Not that good a feat, but he's pretty smooth man, easy change of direction, can doesn't lose his cleats in the ground. He throws that punch so he can really get off of his spot quickly and redirect and has a very powerful punch.
When he times that thing right, it's so deadly.
I think he's a top twenty pick and he's gonna be one of eight or nine offensive tackles taken in the first round of this year's draft class. It is loaded on the offensive line guys, and Tyler Goidon looks like one of the best ones in the entire group. Speaking of guys that are best in the entire group, I think this is my favorite.
Actually check that.
I know for a fact this is my favorite player so far, and you guys know who it is. Jackson Powers, Johnson Man JPJ. Holy crap. If he doesn't remind me of Christian Wilkins, then damn it. Like I bet if you miked him up, you'd hear him screaming football for an entire practice. During the two pag two bag punch drill where you punch right, punch left, punch right, punch left, I saw him do the drill and then run back in line to try to get on the bag. That's
not how the flow of that drill works. You're going upstream, my friend. It goes hold the bag, do the drill, go to the end of the line. But this guy wants to be doing things at all time on the football field. He was that way the entire day. He wants to play. He bounced around from every period to every period. Everything was hustle to him. His retrace, get
back to the line, scrimmage, just want to one. Everything was just on ten at all times and aside from that the football player like he's the best player out there. Everything is second nature to him. I saw Daniel Jeremiah
say it's hard to find holes in his game. In his top fifty, he just produced what you go read that if you haven't done that so far or yet so repet center where he didn't anchor super early and it allowed him to keep the feet active to reposition until he could find an acre points.
So like there's no panic in his game. It's all calm. Then he played a repiic.
Guard where he saw a move that the three technique rushed his outside shoulder and that was the only place he could get too. So he opens his hips and does this drop step once again, calmly getting to the spot before throwing the hands or getting out over his skis, and he gets into this depth to cut him off at the pass, and if he redirects the pass rusher, he can just flip the other hip and do a drop step in the other direction. He is a perfect prospect.
And the reason I love him so much is because you get.
I talked about on the Monday podcast.
I think you get Connor Williams athletic ability, but you get I think even more toughness.
I think you get.
You definitely get thirty more or twenty five more pounds, which gives you so much more power. There was a pass a Bowl rush move on the interior. It was only a two ninety five pound Clemson defensive line if forget his name, but he just completely thwart the power. So you can thwart power and goal line, you can displace a one shade and short yardage. You can lead a chan out wide and end around. This guy is the perfect player for the Miami Dolphins.
Okay, we understand that.
Let's see another thing I've noticed about these Senior Bowls or I've been doing this since twenty sixteen was my first year, like scouting these and doing reporting them every single podcast. Every year, there's at least one receiver who comes in and is immediately productive but also has a long, very good career in the NFL. And again Dane Jeremiah said, the common threat across all those great receivers to come out of the Senior Bowl is their toughness. And last
last year Puka Nakua. Two years ago, probably the down year was Romeo Dobbs, Khalil Shakur and Jehan Dotson, Like, that's.
Three good receivers two years ago or three years before.
A year before that Geez Davante Smith and Nico Collins to the best receivers in the NFL. Before that, Brandon Ayyuk the niners number one receiver, and Michael Pittman for the Colts. The year before that Terry McLaurin and Deebo Samuel blew the doors off the Senior Bowl, and then DJ Shark and Michael Gallup. And the year before that
was Cooper Cup. And I mentioned Cooper Cup because Roman Wilson kind of reminds me of his pass catching and toughness ability, Like he is a Jarvis Landry clone in the sense that he's gonna go stick his face in the fan. Let's go Oj McDuffie a better player, Oji McDuffie. He's gonna put his face in the fan in the hook zone, make a tough catch and get blown up and hang on for a first down. But wait, and Juice always loves talking about his lack of foot speed.
Roman Wilson's gonna clock a four to three eight, like that's what he ran at Michigan. He's a plus twenty mile prior runner and the way he understands his leverage and leans into guys and breaks off those routes. I think he's gonna be that next guy from the Senior Bowl that becomes an instant star and instant hit. And Jim Naggey compared him to Tyler Lockett. That's a great comp I think, And I kind of think the way he runs his routes is sort of is sort of
Gaylan Waddle and Tyreek Hill. There's a nuance and detail into those routes on top of electric electric fying speed. And I know I talked about size and the ability to go win tough balls inside. That's a big key for me this offseason, but I don't care if you can do it with quickness and with just pure route running, and that's what Roman Wilson from Michigan can do. He's only five to eleven, one ninety, but we had so
many instances this year. We had one on one matchups inside to convert third downs when Wabble or Hill was not on the field, are not available, and we just never ever could do it. This guy would be your answer, probably gonna cost you a second round pick, but I would be thrilled to go. Jackson Powers, Johnson Roman Wilson offense is done. Not quite Dune, but it's almost done to me, if you can make those two things happen. So that's my notes on the day one of the
American team practice. Friday's gonna be a lot of Senior Bowl notes. Will also break down the I Believe and Shoer your defensive line position. All that coming up on Friday. As for today's time, that is my time you all. Please be sure to subscribe, rate, review all that fun stuff. Go ahead and follow me on social at Winkle NFL.
Check out the fish Tank podcast with Seth and Juice, the YouTube channel, and last but not least, Miami Dolphins Dot comm Until next time, fins up the Carolina and Cameron Daddy, He's coming home.