To on the move, going deep speedways. Peace do hell peas do. From the Baptist Health Studio.
This inside the Baptist Health Training Complex. This is Drive Time with Travis Wingfield.
Heasy my hands in the playoffs? What is up, Dolphans And welcome to the Draft Time Podcast. I am your host, Travis Wingfield. And on today's show we continue the preview series and flip it over to the defensive side of
the football with the great Trevor Sikamoff from Pro Football Focus. Plus, you guys have some questions, want to talk about Eric Azukama, the running back position in general, and also take a look at a review on the podcast up on Apple Podcasts I believe it was, and finally discuss the Tua throwing motion video. All of that and a heck of a lot more from the Baptist Health Studios inside the Baptist Health Training Complex.
This is.
The Draft Time Podcast. But it was a video that momentarily broke Twitter. It was to a throwing a football right And I don't think you know, I don't talk about this a whole heck of a lot, but one thing that I do have my Malcolm Gladwell ten thousand hours in is throwing and catching baseball's, footballs, any type
of sport ball, including footballs. All I did as a kid was get home from school, go outside in my backyard and would throw the baseball ou to myself and hit it, and then throw the ball against that net that could either propel a ground ball or a fly ball. And I would pretend like I was playing in the major leagues and play these games over and over and over again. Or I'd go to the front yard and shoot hoops for three hours and do the exact same
thing all by myself until I got older. Then my friends would come over and do the exact same thing. So all I did my whole life was play sports. And I can tell you about my own experience with changing a throwing motion. Not quite an NFL quarterback, but close right a legion. Baseball and field are close, right, very very close, so I could always.
Hit that was never a pro.
But when the field expanded to big league size, which by the way, in my day. In my day, they made us go from sixty foot base paths and two hundred foot fences to ninety foot base paths and four hundred foot fences, why where was the middle ground there. I always wondered that in my high school park actually had a four hundred foot dead center fence with a twenty five foot tall fence on top of that.
Pretty dumb.
But I wasn't getting any at bats or starts my freshman year on the junior legion team, and I asked the coach, like coach, I'm a better hitter than Jake, I'm a better hitter than Eric, the shorts top and second basement that are playing more than I am. Why am I not playing more? He said, well, we can't trust you to throw the baseball to first base. And I took that personally. So I got with the assistant coach and we drilled my throwing motion every day for
a couple of weeks. I went from a long, looping wind up to a condensed throwing motion with the ball tight high, elbow tight to the ear. Keep everything tight and condensed, and that should get the ball out faster and add arm strength, and it did add velocity and distance suddenly to my throwing arm. I became our utility guy because I couldn't get out of lineup with a decent enough throwing arm and a good bat to boot.
So that all comes back to say, from watching the side by side videos of Tua from last year to this, I see the exact same change. First, the armslot is different. It's more over the top with a very pronounced elevation in the elbow, and this maximizes the torque you can get from the arm release.
But it's more than that.
Everything becomes more compact, including the load, the hip clear and ultimately the release, which is the most important part of it. Right If you watch last year, when the ball leaves Tua's hand, his base is spread well beyond shoulder with the part. If I can compare it to a golf swing, it's kind of like clearing your hips at the same time as the contact with a clubface. If you play, you know you want to start clearing those hips before you get the club face steep and
through the zone. So it's a definitive change if you look at it. A lot of people don't remember this, but Joe Burrow actually was the one in the twenty twenty class that had arm strength questions coming out of college and he worked with Tom House and two was working with John Beck more than Tom House. Here, just to let that go by the wayside. But it's the same idea, the same shift. And look at this quote
that I found. Here's a quote Urban Meyer used to shout, you throw like a girl to Joe Burrow at Ohio State. And so Burrow went to Tom House and learned the same motion that both Brady and Breeze perfected your soul on that right. Let's go ahead and get into the article here, because Urban well, first of all, he was terrible, but he would say things like not enough velocity, Joe, you're a Division three quarterback, Joe, you throw like a girl.
And Burrow acknowledged that his arm strength wasn't up to par. He said, I completely changed the way I throw the football. The entire three DQB plane is built around four core legs of the performance table, functional strength and conditioning, mechanics and motion analysis, mental and emotional makeup, and nutrition. From there, and athlete's weaknesses are identified and a personalized program is
built to fit accordingly. Burrow's problem, the team discovered from the article had less to do with his actual arm strength that it did his footwork, lower body and core. Tom Brady, maybe House's most famous and accomplished client, said in a testimonial I've been working with Tom House on what's called ground force reduction kinetic sequencing, getting the power from the ground, which translates from the ground to your legs, to your hips to the shoulders, and all the energy
is going towards the target end quote. I mean this sounds like how I talk about I'm blocking route running everything. It all starts from the ground. Anyway, The story is on the athletic type in Joe Burrow, Tom House, and you'll find it. But just from reading that, like, yeah, it's Twua's base and JT. O. Sullivan has mentioned this. Kurt Warner has mentioned this in his breakdown videos. Two was missus can almost always point back to the same
base issue. But when he's off the top of the drop hitches up, that's when you get those dimes like we saw to Wattle versus the Jets twice, Tyreek versus the Jets, Tyreek versus the Eagles, Tyreek versus the Pats, Tyreek versus the Giants, Tyreek versus the Panthers, Tyreek versus the Chargers, Tyreek versus the Commander's twice t versus the Cowboys, Wattle versus the Cowboys.
You get it.
He's pretty good and now it should be even better. I want to get into your questions here shortly, but first I'd like to acknowledge a review on the podcast that I saw, and this comes in from ms MF nine, who says Travis works for the team, so yes, he knows more about the team itself than most fans, but isn't necessary. But it isn't necessary to act like everyone who listens are amateur, as he often states. There are plenty of people who know as much, if not more
than Travis. Every podcast, Travis likes to throw shade at other podcasts, but never actually calls them out. I find that to be unprofessional and amateur. If you have something to say, don't beat around the bush, just say it. I actually appreciate that feedback because I did not know it was coming off that way, and it allows me
to address things this way. Maybe it's maybe that's just how you feel, maybe no one else was that way, but I want to address it and take that matter seriously, because first, the amateur comments that I make are about me. I always say my amateur eye. You'll hear me in press conferences. Ask that from my amateur eye. I'm an amateur because I am. I do get paid to talk about football, but I'm not a coach. I don't get
paid to devise game plans and call plays. I respect the hell out of that and I couldn't do it, but I'm not qualified for that. Now, you say, I do have access to things that most people don't, and I.
Use the shit out of those resources.
Buddy, I'm not one for going online and bloviating about things I haven't studied up on.
I know it's rare these days, right.
That's the other podcast that I crap on, and I crapped on Twitter to his face the other day.
More on that moment.
So if I see Bradley Chubb have a rep in a game that I think is cool, but I have a question about it, I'll ask him about how did you develop that catalog of rush moves and get to that point where you exploited this from the tackle in the game. I'll go ask him and he tells me that's the best part of the job. Because I am not McDaniel, I am not Frank Smith. I do not have a PhD on this stuff. I'm trying to learn the best I can. I think I maximize the time
and resources that I do have now that set. Do other people study coaching clinics? Do they get personal lessons of NFL players and coaches? Do these people watch twenty plus hours of tape a week? I doubt it. I think that differentiates me in a little bit, just a little bit, and so I do think I have a little bit more to say than the average fan. I think I think there's a lot of I don't like for baseball and basketball. I don't care about spin rate and you know, the art of the pick and roll.
I just watched the game. I think that's how a lot of football fans are too. So I'm trying to explain to the folks that are somewhat interested but don't really like want to dive all the way, And that's kind of the needle I'm trying to threat at. The content is like, let's get smarter and learn about football, but help explain it in a way that someone that's not as well verse can understand. That's the only thing
I'm going for there, and with full transparency. The reason that I do go, you know, one on one on some of the commentary is that that's a note I've gotten from people above me that said, Hey, I don't know what you're talking about.
Try to maybe include that more in your content.
You know, not everyone knows these terms, and you have to explain things with these casual fans that don't want to be more than casual fans. And that's totally fine. I'm that way with every other sport that I watch. That's all that is. It's not meant to be a slight. I want to be inclusive as I can be. I hope that makes sense. Now you mentioned the shade, and first I thought it was abundantly clear who I call out frequently on the podcast, right, and I'll tell them
this to their face. In fact, I have I even asked. This is not who I'm talking about now, but Chris Perkins, who writes for the Sun Sentinel, I think, right, and he predicted nine to eighth this year and the team goes eleven and six. Then he has asked McDaniel, if you're like, oh, you're on the hot seat, I'm like, how did how do you connect those dust?
They exceeded your expectations?
Now you want fired to I did that in front of the entire presser room, and there was a fun conversation you know who, where you will not see me calling people out on Twitter. That is going a no goes on for me. Unless Omar says something that makes no sense. Then sometimes I'll get in there and cleared up for him, which happens just what every day, it seems like. But here's that's where I get really annoyed.
I think you, guys, the fans, I think you are served up a disservice by several voices, but in particular a couple of voices that we're kind of talking about here in our media, and I've been very clear about who that is. You know, Omar left for a year and came back and then joined another How should we say, I guess negative blowviator for clicks, type of commentator I don't know on a podcast, and I don't listen to
the podcast. I would never do that. I just see the montages y'all cut up like oh my going on the Big Oh Show and emphatically claiming that Wilkins is only good because he plays half the snaps gets corrected and then just never acknowledges it and is indignant in his ignorance, like I have no time for that. He totally made something up and had no idea about it
and tried to present it as fact. And there are so many examples of that guy's like whether it's on a show and content or just in talking like in the hallways. And I'm never ever ever going to do that. That just taking shortcuts. I think that's taking advantage of your position because you're in a trusted position where people trust your voice and what your eyes can see because no one else can see it for the most part.
And quite frankly, I view it as stealing. You're robbing people that are paying for subscriptions or for your advertising base, like whatever it is, I'll never forget. Training Camp twenty twenty back at Davy, Tua throws this dime a sixty yard bomb to Jaquem grant Omar's podcast partner, who was referenced by name on the.
Podcast last week.
By the way, tweets out that Tua held the ball too long and it would have been a sec. I will never I remember the second it was yesterday, would have been a sack. Held the ball too long, and I knew what he was doing. I saw it called out as such on Twitter and said that's not true. That ball came out as fast as it possibly could have, and he said I couldn't be trusted because I work for the team.
It's the obvious.
That's the almost a facto response that I get when someone wants to discredit my thoughts and my work mirror hours later and maybe your boy had something to do with this. The video comes out on a tweet from the Miami Dolphins, and from snap to release, it's less than two seconds from the time that the center snaps the ball ata and the time it leaves his left hand going sixty yards down the field, less than two seconds. Allen's leads the tweet, you got caught, Bro. I can't
stop the grift. I can't do it, but I hope that the audience also listens here and that's a fact check for them.
That's all I'm doing. We go with that. Maybe not, but I'm not stopping.
I only have y'all's interest in mind, and I will not stand will not stand for indignant ignorance when it comes to this team when I know better.
That's all.
Let's go ahead and take a break rate there, come back on the other side and get into a couple of questions as you guys have from Twitter.
We'll do that next year.
Draft Time Podcast, your host Travis Wingfield, brought to you by AutoNation.
Let's pick it back.
Up here on this Friday edition of the Drive Time Podcast with a couple of questions from y'all. I'm loving the feedback in the threads or the straight tweets you guys send to me. I'm bookmarking those with the intention of answering them for you, and I will keep an eye on the reviews. I hope that that review segment previously didn't turn anybody off. I just wanted to be transparent with you guys about you know what I saw one fan thought, and so I wanted to address that.
Yeah, there you go.
Let's go ahead and hear from at Mike lane Cec on Twitter. Great content. I appreciate the Dolphins focus on how you partner with the draft coverage and other news. Obviously, it depends on how the board fell. But do you see us going with depth running back late to prepare for Moster or Wilson's cliff or departure in one to
two years. I love this question because I think it's a good way to maybe attach a disconnect that I frequently see and that every year we get a draft pick, and it last year was the first pick we had right the cornerback, which two years in a row. Cornerback has been one of the most banged up positions on a very banged up football team in your Miami Dolphins. But every year there's a draft pick where it's like they didn't need X, Y or Z, they.
Needed a B or C.
And I just don't think that's how teams think, especially when you get deeper into the draft. But I always say, go into the draft with I must get this or I will not get that is a good way to have a bad draft. That's not letting the draft board
fall to you. And like every year we watch these teams, the Ravens, right like, they just let the draft fall to them and they wind up getting Isaiah Likely in the fourth round, like every damn year they do that, and it works out because some name that shouldn't be there winds up there and they're like, okay, bet we'll
take them. And while later on those lines become less rigid, but like, man, if that fifth round pick comes around and you have a perceived need and you have a running back that you think is going to be a player. Take the player that you think will be a player, because if you draft or need, the odds of that guy hitting is what like ten percent at that point
of the draft. But if it's a guy that's actually a good football player, that is a position you maybe don't need right now, you increase the odds and that just gives you a cheap player for four years if you hit on that pick. And I love that you bring up the running back because I think we could play a game tomorrow and I'd be thrilled with what we have in our our holster. Now that said, there's also a back that I think makes so much damn sense.
If you're Miami, if you make it that far down the board, maybe it's and maybe it's earlier if you acquire a pick via a trade back.
But Louisville's Isaac Grendo.
And I mean, I'm sure you guys have heard of him by now, but you'll see you'll you'll get it when I say this four three three forty yard dash was the fastest among all running backs this year in Indie. He's six foot two, twenty one interested yet forty one and a half inch vertical ten oh nine broad, a one five to four to ten split, a four to one five shuttle, and a six nine to four to three cone. He's not like, he's not a chan where he finds those small creases and hits him and explodes
through him. But gosh, there's long speed and there's power, and that really translates on tape. He does have good feel and vision and patience and he knows how to hit the track to hit the proper gap. His tackle breaking ability on the third level is there. He has some patients. I think his initial burst takes a bit to build up, which is why I think there's a chance that he hangs around until day three in the draft.
But if he's there, and I love my running back room, I'm prepared to love it even more because I have zero issues grabbing this guy and developing him for a year now. He's not the only one, He's just the top one for me in terms of late round options. But yeah, always always always keep the light on Motel six style for talented football players. Man, you gotta do it. And I think Chris Brooks is a really nice developmental piece. From a power standpoint. You mentioned hefe he brings some
of that as well. And we know what we have in Devon a Chan and Raheem Moster. Savon's a jack of all trades and special teams guy. I just think the draft is too often viewed as a way to shore up weak spots. I think you shouldn't have that in your mind. I think you should think about this is an opportunity to get guys that can be cheap, productive players for four years, and that affords me more flexibility in my contract extensions. It affords me more ability
to be aggressive and free agency. It just makes everything better. When I have a seven hundred thousand dollars player playing like a top twenty player his position.
It works out great for you.
But absolutely also just the idea of adding to a strength is also a good way to make your football team better. How can I make the team better? Do that with every decision and you'll have good results. Great question, Mike. Let's get to another one here from at fins up to A and I actually just saw this guy not fins up to A, but the guy we're going to talk about in the breakfast line, and he is chomping
at the bit to play some football. Since you were talking about wide receiver today, he asks, where do you think Eric Azukama comes into play next season? Love the podcast, Well, thank you for that. So we know that someone on this team is going to come from out of nowhere, Randy Orton right and be a big part of what this team accomplishes or does not in twenty twenty four. It happens every damn year with every team. Remember Malcolm
Rodriguez for the Lions in their hard knock season. Even the linebackers coach Kelvin Shepherd's like telling the veterans like, you guys are gonna leave me no choice. I'm gonna have to play Rodrigo because he's out playing y'all. It happens every year. You signed like Russell Wilson over Matt Flynn. Guys,
remember that. I know you guys were, I know we were all part of the Matt Flynn like get him to Miami under Joe Philbin yike, what a mistake that would have been, but would have mattered because it didn't matter what we did anyways.
Because it's terrible football coach.
But Russell Wilson was a third round draft pick who was undersized, and he beats him Ountain training camp. Do you think anyone saw that coming? You know, cater Cooho was a name that nobody outside the organization was privy to except for our guy Emory, who does the podcast and gets it right every year. But you get what I'm saying. I don't think a lot of fans would have predicted an Austin Jackson in season extension coming off of twelve weeks of damn good football or whatever it
was at that point. So it's gonna happen, And that entire preamble is a way to tell you that I think the Eric Azuokama is, if not at the very top of that list, for me, very close to the top of that list. I thought we saw glimpses last year, just like I did with Austin twenty twenty two before the injury. You know, camp in preseason, there were some
good reps there. I think there's a unique skill set in terms of getting into your screen, swing game, your backfield alignments, and then I think about him running the football on that end around going for fifty yards in the preseason or the slot fade two years ago when he mosses a cornerback as a rookie. I remember those reps in the two games last year, Remember the Texas Tech tape where he, quite frankly was essentially kind of what Malachi Corley at Western Kentucky this year is. I
think the world of Azukama skill set. I think year three in the offense may be a little bit more maturity there with coach Welker, I think you could expect probably a decent amount of mastery of what he's doing, or at least a better understanding of what he's doing where he's supposed to be.
All of that.
So I think, yeah, Eric Azukama is kind of an ace up the sleeve, and we do make the move for if we do make the move for OBJ or draft someone from this awesome class, all of a sudden reek waddle with the rookie or OBJ, and then Eric Azukama, I like that room a whole, that of a lot, and just not the top two guys, but the entire group. And you include Braxt and River creak Craft in there as well. So great stuff to guys, Let's go a
great stuff to guys today, guys. Let's go ahead and get to my guest next on the Draft Time podcast, Trevor Sikama, brought to you by AutoNation, joining us today a longtime friend of the podcast previous and current affiliation, which of course now is Pro Football Focus, and the host of NFL Stock Exchange podcast. Outstanding name by the way, Tampa Bay Tray Trevor.
What's up, buddy, God?
It is good to be with you, my friend.
I'm excited to talk a little NFL draft here with you at Little Miami Dolphins Football. This is man, this is a great time of year, getting to actually put these prospects to certain teams and talk about possibilities.
Man, I'm excited for it.
You know, you gave me two options when I asked you to do the podcast about position groups. I'm gonna go with the edge group with you. And here's why. I think there's a potential for a really, really, really good edge prospect being there at twenty one. And although we have three that I think are damn good right in our backyard behind me here accomplished players, you know, Jalen Phillips, Perley Chubb, Shaq Barrett, why not four?
Right?
I think it serves Miami and that you can get an impact player for twenty twenty four. But one of those guys is thirty one, another's twenty seven and doesn't feel like Bradley Chubb is like way old than twenty seven years old.
I feel like it's been in the league for a decade now.
I was literally just about to click on him to see what his age is, because I would have guessed. I would have guessed twenty nine, Like that would have been my guest with Bradley Chubb, because you're right, it feels like we have just been talking about him for forever, and I feel like he's been able to hit his stride a little.
Bit with Miami. So it's good.
I mean him will being only twenty seven, that's that's fantastic for them obviously.
Yeah, it's like I see, like you know the ACL can you be the same? It's like, guys, he's in the peak of his athletic like prowess, like he'll be he should be just fine there.
But either way, I digress.
So the whole point of that long winded question is to say, tell me about the edge group of twenty one, who is for sure gone in your opinion, who could potentially slide to that spot, and if they.
Make it there, who do you like for Miami at pick twenty one.
Yeah.
I mean Miami's interesting, right because you mentioned like they've got some guys there that are really talented football players, but just some injuries amongst the group. You know, Shaq Beart's getting a little bit older. Obviously, Shack Beart played in Tampa, so I watched a lot of him as
a Bucks fan growing up. So the team that I pay very close attention to, And obviously Shack was great when he first got there with the Bucks, but since the Achilles injury, you just got to understand kind of what you're getting. I think a rotational, really smart pass rusher. That's where you're getting from him. But if you want
to up the explosive is there. When you talk about Miami picking at number twenty one, it's interesting because I would tell you that there's three edge rushers in Tier one. I think Laatu Latu the pass rush specialist, just like a karate black belt master, with how he uses his hands and gets.
Into the backfield.
Best pass rusher in all of college football over the last two years, no question about it.
In incredibly productive and efficient.
He's in that category, but his athleticism is a little less than the other two guys, Dallas Turner from Alabama. He's a little bit younger, crazy athlete, super long arms, basically like exactly what you would want in a build for a pass rusher. He's just still trying to get there with the nuances and some of the technique and really master in that pass rush profile. But he's somebody to invest in more as like a stand up outside linebacker.
And then if you want more of like that heavy handed kind of hand in the dirt four three defensive end or honestly like a guy who plays I think Laikah Bradley Chubb does with a lot of power. It's Jared Verse. Jared Versus one of the most powerful defensive ends prospects in this class. So all three of those guys to me, have a chance of being available at
twenty one. I think Dallas Turners the least likely, just because you know, we talk about him maybe coming off the board at number eight for the Falcons, and so some people might be listening to this and saying, WHOA, Well, if we're thinking that you could go off the board at eight, why would we think he's available at twenty one.
Well, here's the thing I do a lot of mock.
Draft exercises, and I tried to think about realistically what these teams would go for, and sometimes just talent and overall potential. Trump's whatever like team needs you might have. But there's so many good offensive tackles, there's so many good wide receivers, there's so many good corners, there's great quarterbacks. Like we know, it's gonna define the top of the draft.
It's realistic to think these these really good edge rushers, who could all be worthy of top fifteen picks, could just slide down a little bit because of the nature of how talented this draft is and how deep it is at the premium position. So I would say that Dallas Turner probably the least likely to get there at twenty one, verse could have a chance depending on, you know, if teams pass on him because he's not as much of a stand up rusher as he is you know, handed,
the dirt type of brusher. And then with a lot two, I'm not really sure. Like I mentioned, best pass rusher in this class, no doubt about it. But you know, he had a neck injury at Washington before he went to UCLA, and that neck injury that he suffered during spring football, Washington like medically retired him. They're like, hey, you know, we we're not comfortable with you playing football anymore.
We're gonna Makeally retire you.
And I actually got to talk to a lot to a little bit about it, and he was shocked by that. Like he understood that he was probably gonna have surgery and it was gonna be a long road. But they were like, yeah, we're gonna make aally retire.
You're done.
He's like like, well, that's like all this happens so quickly, So obviously he does his research. He goes to a Great Surge and gets the surgery done on his neck. UCLA actually works with the surgeon that did his surgery on his neck, and so like they were very comfortable with the rehab process and the procedure. So he ends up transferring over to UCLA. He's played the last two years, has been injury free there. But does that neck injury being in his history scared teams.
A little bit?
Does it push him down a little bit? He's not as good of an athlete as Verse or Turner is as well. But if you want to make a major splash at edge Rusher, I think one of those guys could be available for them at twenty one.
I really do.
Gosh.
I lit up when you mentioned Lato, because first of all, I knew who he was, but my first real exposure was watching I think my Washington State Cougars were like four and oh or five and one at some point in the year, and he and cam Ward was rolling.
He was just cooking all season.
And then Law two shows up and wrecks the entire game offensively for the kopsit and they never bounce back from that. And then I watch him at the Senior Bowl and they couldn't block him there. Like he's so so dang good. I love his game so much, and like the similarities with like the injury, the medical concerns, going back to college with Jalen Phillips, the fact that you played at UCLA, the fifteen jersey, like it just right matches for me so many in so many ways.
And so he's the guy that I love. You mentioned Jared Verse.
I think that he goes early too, so like there's some good options there. Man.
Then you got like Chop Robinson is a guy that is out there.
Darius Robinson's a guy that I like a lot and they're kind of different players. But I wanted to follow up with you on that question because you mentioned, you know, Law two is so polished, like gosh, the Senia Bowl, right he was he was showing you moves, counter moves, counterra moves to the counter moves and he fakes the fake. And then you got a guy like Chop Robinson who just has like Cam wake leaping and get off in
burst ability. But maybe the tape isn't as good. How do you And then also I guess how teams might try to stack that, like how do you stack polish versus upside, especially at this junction of the draft where like it's not the top of the draft, but you're still in the first round.
Yeah, I mean it's it's always a balance, and it's
always situational. I don't say that the kind of like tiptoe around the question, but like you know, if you're drafting an edge rusher in the first round and you need to come in and you need him to come in and play right away, well, if you draft a player who is in a developmental stage, even if he has a really high ceiling, like that might not be what your team really needs or you just might have to understand, like, hey, I have to be patient here.
You know, I am wary of Chop Robinson because as much as he has a really high pass rushing grade in our grading system, he just doesn't have a lot of backfield production, doesn't have long arms, has shorter strides. Yes, he's extremely explosive, but he's not really built to defend the run.
He's not really built to set the edge.
He's really just kind of a I'm gonna win off of athleticism right now, which very clearly works for him because he is an unbelievably gifted athlete at his size, and it's working at the college level.
The NFL is a lot more difficult offensive tackles.
They get stronger, they get faster, but more importantly, they get smarter, and if you don't know exactly what you're doing with your hands, if you don't know how to set them up, they're just going to be able to blanket you.
You might get them once, you.
Know, but you need a first round dead rusher to be able to give you more of a threat in that regard. Now, all that to say, I am hesitant with Chop Robinson in the first round, but for a spot like Miami. This makes sense, right because in theory, when the guys are healthy, you've got two guys that
are studs in Bradley Chubb and Jalen Phillips. You can allow Chop Robinson to really just kind of come in in these pass rush specialist situations early on in his career, and then you know, obviously Bradley getting hurt later in the season. If you need Jack Barrett to play right away, you got a veteran presence right away who can play for you, and Chop can still be in that more pass rush specific rotational role to start off his career and you can kind of develop them from there.
I mean, I gotta say, I feel like content creators that don't, you know, wear the logo that don't work for the team, because I'm a big fan of the Dolphins. Offseason, like I think Kyle Fuller was a great addition to Jordan Brooks. The defense has made a lot of auditions up front. Tire and Tart was a nice ad, But I feel like for content creators that have seen them kind of pick apart their holes that they had going into the draft, and it creates all this flexibility for
what they could do. It could be a certain position, it could be a hit now guy, a developmental guy down the road. Like, there's so many variables the Dolphins could could throw their hat into here with this upcoming draft. And one thing I want to ask you about, because we talked about Jalen Phillips and you know we love Jalen Phillips is a stand up, like a true six, seven to nine technique guy that can play out wide
of the formation. But I've also seen him condense Trevor down to the three technique and run over a guard, you know, like just bull rush a guard. We've seen Christian Wilkins for years win from that three tech position that he primarily plays, but also play a heavy five. Like, I want to know from this draft who you think
is the best player that can do those things. Who's the guy that they can play a five technique and condense inside and be a nickel rusher, but also a guy who can do the reverse, be a defensive tackle, which gets away from the position group we're talking about here, but someone that can play inside and then maybe kick out side and play some end as well.
Yeah, there's two specific players at edge that I think of immediately when you bring up that question, Brob Darius Robinson from Missouri, I think he is one, right. He's somebody who started his career first three years when he was at Missouri, he was actually a defensive tackle.
Then they had him lose a.
Little bit more weight and they wanted to be a more powerful, like defensive end type. He's kind of lost and gained weight like throughout the draft season. You know, he lost a little bit of wait for the Senior Bowl and the Combine, but I think he's bulken up a little bit more from his pro day at least that was the reports that I kind of heard. And so he's probably gonna play somewhere between I don't know, you know, low two eighties to maybe right around the
low two nineties. It just depends what a team is going to want to do with him. And he's somebody who really powerful player. Now we saw at the Combine he's not this rare athlete, Like He's got explosiveness for his size, there's no doubt about it. But you know, he still ran one of the slowest forties of the edge rush group.
Like it's not like this dude's a total freak show.
When it comes at letticism, you still got to operate in the realistic world here and say, all right, he's a plus explosive defensive end, but he's not really this guy that's gonna, you know, get off the ball and hit outside shoulders and really like bend around the edge against some of these guys. But all that to say, he's got the defensive tackle background and the strength profile, really strong football player, really big work ethic, kind of a high energy dude to play as a five technique
but also kick inside of three. I'd say the same thing about Brandon Dorless from Oregon. He's somebody who you don't have to draft him in the first round. You could wait a little bit and you could get that type of versatility with His story is almost almost parallel to Darius Robinson, where he played defensive tackle early on for Oregon, lost a little bit of weight, played more as a sort of like a three to four end. You know, he'd play anything from a five technique to
a four eye. He'd play a little bit of three technique, and he too has this plus movement skills and explosiveness for a player who's sort of in between weights. He'd be a bigger edge rusher, but he'd be a little bit smaller of.
Intier defensive lineman.
And you can sort of get in trouble there because we all love to preach versatility, but I think on the opposite side of the onoin things that people don't love to talk about during the draft season is if you don't have a home based position, then I say that you are homeless. And that is a bad thing to be because if you are just a versatile player, but while you're honing your skills at multiple positions, if I can't go okay, okay, hold on, hold on, hold them, you're struggling a.
Little bit here.
Let's make sure that we can keep your confidence up as a football player as you go through failure and growing pains. I'm going to give you a couple of reps three tech, like, get back to three tech, remind yourself you're good enough to play this game, make a couple of plays, and then we'll kind of continue.
To expand there.
When you don't have that with these players, you get in a dangerous spot where these guys start to fail too often, they start to lose their confidence, they start to fluctuate weight because they don't know how to play best, what position, and all these kinds of things. So that is something that to me doesn't get talked about enough when you talk about defensive line versatility and really any
sort of positional versatility. But those two players, I think, Darius Robinson and Brandon Dorlyss I think can have those home position type of plays there.
That's an interesting perspective there because I always felt like offensive line kind of gave you some, you know, some security, some backup security in terms of the tackle dosn't work out, maybe he's a chance to play guard. Like Robert Gallery always comes to mind as a guy that didn't work out a tackle and became a really good guard at the top of the draft many many years ago. Dion Jordan comes to my as a guy that didn't have, you know, didn't really have a secondary option as a
guy that didn't work out here for the Dolphins. So plenty of options when you talk about all those different factors that Trevor's discussing there. I also wrote down Darius Robinson, if he's on my football team, he's first off the bus, although Jilan Phillis might be that too. So I don't have a couple of guys now if I have him,
But I think about you mentioned dor Lyss. I want to talk about a second round here in a second, but you talk about Robinson and Dorlyss, Like I keep thinking about what Anthony Weaver had in Baltimore with Brent Urban, who was like a three hundred pounds like you know, five slash three technique, or yeah, Roderick Washington, or even Justin Mattabuike who just got paid by the way, who plays a lot of de tackle but also kicks outside too, Like I think that basically, it sounds like Darius Robinson
and Brandon Dorles are kind of those guys that fit that mold.
Is that kind of what you mentioned there?
Yeah, it feels like for a long long time now, I mean, coaches have kind of come and gone, like defensive coaches and everything, But for a long long time, the Ravens defensive line identity, at least for the guys that have their hand in the dirt, has been Okay, we have our dude in the middle, like we have our nose tackle player, and then the other guys around
them are very versatile. They might be in a four eye, they might be in a three technique, a little bit closer, we might kick them all the way out the five. And so it always felt like those were the two types. You are either just a super stout nose tackle and we could put you in the middle of the defensive front, or you're somebody who we're basically gonna align you in
a lot of different formations. And so if that's the same thought process coming to Miami again, that's where we get into the guys like Rouke, guys like you know, Darius Robinson, guys like dor Liss, like where you just have so much versatility on the inside of where you might be aligned and you figure out, hey, what works best. What's the perfect spacing between you and the nose tackle.
Can you play with a lot more space than you can you take double teams with tackles and maybe a guard, can you hold up well enough?
You know, all of that still goes into it, But it's.
Really like a melding of defensive tackle defensive end because we've talked a lot of d tackle already here.
Because I think about, you know, the Dolphins signed t R.
Tart, who I think is a really good, maybe a little bit undersized, a really good nose tackle who got a lot of wins there for the Titans and Texans the last couple of years. And then Benito Jones comes back as kind of a run stuffing defensive tackle. But then you got you know, Zach Seeler, I think is one of the most underrated players in the entire National Football League. But then you also add Neville Gallimore, Jonathan Harris, like,
they just continue to add pieces of this front. So they have so many guys that can do multiple things. So that tracks as well. And this I wrote this question before we had the conversation, so I was gonna say, this is.
Where you earn your money, Trev.
But you've already been killing it for us, so you've already earned that that you know the I guess what's the theoretical dollars that don't actually come to your way because it's a I mean happy only dollars.
You're helping money.
Yeah, But anyway, I said, pay the man, increases wage. But day two edge prospects. You mentioned brand Dorlists. I haven't quite gotten that far personally. I'm just curious who you think is in play besides dor Lists at the fifty five range.
Yeah, so you know, you start to have a little bit different conversations, right, because we talked about the players who could be quote unquote edges who are bigger, who you might want to have more as like defensive linemen. So I don't know, maybe they're listed as defensive ends, but they're playing a lot more inside the five technique spot than outside of it. And so those are a couple of dudes, you know, I wonder about like Marshawn Neeland as well. I'll throw his name in there, from
Western Michigan, kind of the same thing. A little bit bigger of an edge player. I think he waited a combine right around like two seventy two seventy five, so again a little bit lighter. He's more of an edge than those guys. But his game's all about power, So I could see them maybe saying, hey, let's let's throw five more pounds on you.
You could be.
Like a Darius Robinson, like a Brandon Dorlest somebody like that. So I would throw his name into there if you're looking for more like true edge rush outside linebackers, guys.
That I don't know if they're I don't know.
These guys are gonna be like second round type of a player, but just somebody that well, I guess so for for Miami specifically, I'm kind of getting my head of myself. A second round edge that you would want to keep your eye on is Chris Braswell from Alabama. Now he's playing opposite of Dallas Turner and his.
You know, his whole thing is big.
Time athlete, is a stand up outside linebacker. But he didn't come into Alabama as a stand up outside linebacker. He actually came in his defensive end, had his hand in the dirt and a lot. They wanted to make him an outside linebacker. They wanted to rush from a two point stance. He lost a little bit of weight, but it's taken him a little bit of time to be comfortable from a two point stance. But man, devastating speed to power player. I mean, this dude's got crazy explosiveness.
When he gets off the ball, he gets those long arms into your chest. I mean he can forklift some of these offensive tackles that he's going up against and they just can't anchor because.
He's so powerful.
The rest of his pass rush profile, we're still kind of figuring it out right. I think that we're still really trying to master a club rip, a speed dip to the outside and inside move, you know, an arm over something like that is not in his repertoire as much right now, but it can be.
And again for Miami, if.
You're drafting a different position in round one and you still want to hit edge round two again, I don't think i'd love Chris braswell for a lot of teams that would want him to play right away.
But Miami is a great set up, a great situation, a great rotation.
I think he'd be a great draft and developed type of a player who could.
Even give you some stuff in year one.
This is why you got Chick got the NFL Stock Exchange podcast with Trevor Sikima, because I mean that type of knowledge of all three two teams and who fits specific He's like that really good stuff there, man.
And if you earned your money there, we're gonna earn it even more.
For the last question here, just real quick, I told you a half hour couple ments left, Go ahead and give me a couple of names. Here. We have a big gap between our second pick at fifty five and our third pick at one fifty eight, not till day three and the fifth round.
Do you have some some third some Day three. We have a fifth, two, six, and the seven.
So you have some Day three options you like at the edge group of Miami. Yeah, I mean there's a handful of names that I like, and actually I was gonna start. The reason why I had kind of went back to Chris Braswell is because there were a couple of guys like Xavier Thomas who I like for them, jaylyx Hunt, who I like for them, but they're probably gonna be like third round guys, maybe fourth round guys.
I was like, oh, wait, he doesn't have a third or fourth round or so I had to I had to kind of move on there and pivot and say, well, they're not going to go in the second round. But a guy like Chris Braswell is So when you think about these Day three rushers, now, obviously these are players who it's not all sunshine and rainbows with them.
There's a reason why they're a Day three pick. They're kind of specialized. If they get their hands on a guy like Gabriel Murphy, I'd absolutely love it. His teammates with la to lat to him and Lat two you could tell have been in the pass rush lab I mean he's so quick with his hands. He's keeping offensive lineman from really getting hands on him and staying blocked.
He's just not quite the athlete.
Doesn't have that length, doesn't have that consistency, but the hand usage is fantastic. I think he could be a good specialized pass rusher if you can get him in the fifth round. Javonte Jean Baptiste I like as well. He's a former four star outside linebacker, played at Ohio State for a handful of years. Just couldn't crack that lineup, especially once Jack Sawyer and JT. Twoey Moloow got on the team, Like those two guys were going to be
the main edge rusher. So Jean Baptiste ended up transferring over to Notre Dame. And I think he is again a really nice, stand up, explosive outside linebacker type that could be available for you in the fifth round. Is to keep going here, I mean, Braden McGregor from Michigan is a man.
Was he a former five star? I think he might have been four star or five star.
I mean it was a highly touted recruit, but he ended up tearing his mcl PCL and meniscus senior year of high school. So like the first two years of him being in Michigan were basically just rehab, like just get your confidence back. Third year he starts kind of getting in the mixes a rotational edge rusher. Last year was his first year as a full time edge rusher, and man, I mean, like, the dude play is really hard,
and I think that he's a good run defender. He's just not super long, has really short arms, so I think that like that goes against him. He's just losing that length battle too often. He's not a super strong dude either. He's more of a light speed rusher type. But again, day three guy to maybe get in a rotation there. I think he knows what he's doing with his hands. Obviously was a highly toowed to recruit for reason. It's that athleticism. But he's got to get a little bit stronger.
I really like the idea of going to that position this late in the draft because Miami, I love the top of the room. But besides, like Cameron Good, they don't really have really many developmental edge guys that they're kind of working on building into, you know, potential long term plays there. So it seems like this could be a good time to kind of replenish the youth and just kind of developmental aspect.
Of that group. And you gave us some great names there.
Thanks as always, Trevor Sekama, a Pro Football Focus, NFL's Talk Exchange podcast at Tampa Bay Tray, Three Sides Minimum. Thank you so much for your time today, Trevor. I appreciate it.
Man, appreciate it, brother anytime, and away he goes.
Big things to Trevor there from Pro Football Focus breaking down this year's class of edge rushers on Monday. I think we're gonna go. I'm not quite sure yet, detackle or running back. We'll find out. You guys will find out when the podcast comes out. But in the meantime, you all please be sure to subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Spotify, wherever you get your podcast from. Go ahead and leave us a rating, leave us every review, tell us what you think. I'll address it on the podcast.
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