This is Drivetime with Travis Wingfield. What is up Dolphins and welcome to the Draft Time Podcast. I am your host, Travis Wingfield. And on today's show, we continue previewing the NFL twenty twenty five season. We go to the AFC North and a bunch of movement in that division over the course of the summer. We'll talk about the Steelers, the Browns, the Bengals, and the Ravens. Plus a pair of interviews. Will bookend it with Jalen Wright and if Emela Fund will all of that and more from the
Baptist Hell Studios inside well my actual house. This is the Draft Time Podcast. Heye gaffe, All right, join us here on the Draft Time Podcast. Today is Dolphins running back Jalen Right, Jalen, what's up man? How you doing well? Good? Go?
How you doing?
I'm doing good. I'm excited to talk to you here today a little bit. You know, I just rookie year to second year. I love asking guys this question about the process of you know, you go from bowlgar aim to Pro Day, to combine to all that stuff that involves like track workouts, and then you get here. You got to learn a playbook and go back out for practice and you don't really get much time to yourself.
But now that you've had a full year as a Dolphin and an off season to digest all of it, how valuable was that first year and how excited are you for the second year here in Miami?
Very valuable? Valuable? Of course, the first year was a little long for the fact that I had to go through combine training and you know, doing hope and stuff to get to this point. So and then not only that, in the long season, longer season than I'm used to and used to in college. So I mean, it's good to get that first year out the way you know, experience it. I mean, I'm glad to experience it and blessed, you know. I'm just very excited, you know, for this year.
So I think we heard a story or someone talked about this on on a podcast for somewhere otherwise about your dedication to being here first and last out type of guy. I'm curious where that mindset comes from and how you feel like it's kind of benefited you at this point of your football career.
I mean, it's just just what I've what I've learned, and you know, just what I've did, and you know, in college, you know, I just took that mindset, you know, just being the building, you know, just outwork everybody, you know, just and eventually all this stuff's gonna pay off, you know, just focusing on myself, focusing on everything I gotta do, be detailing everything I gotta do.
So that's really important to me. So, yeah, when you.
Talk about details from the running back position, because I feel like, you know, a fan turns on a game and sees a running back and it's like, oh, there's a hole. He just ran through the hole, like whooped to do right? Or like you don't hit the hole and it's like, oh, he didn't have the proper vision. But I feel like there's way more that goes into
and what a fancy's on TV. So when it comes to like all that work that you put in dedication, like what do you what are you trying to Like you're trying to learn how to play faster, right, but what does that look like in terms of how you prepare yourself to to be able to read blocks and read the right tracks and make the right cuts. Like what all goes into that?
Just knowing what you're doing.
I mean just really preparing, knowing what the defense is, uh want to do, just taking what they give you, you know, just pressing your aiming points right right, Uh, you know, stretching the defense, you know, just to puncture. You know, that's what the offense is about. So just doing taking the details that we learned in the in the in the in the room and taking out and putting it on the field.
So and the comfort level and year two probably takes a pretty big jump for you to imagine.
Definitely, uh comfortable, I'm definitely more comfortable. Confidence is definitely more, way more confident. The game has definitely slowed down, and I feel like that's that's that's that was the main thing, just the game slowing down, you know, slowing down. So you know, I'm just excited for you know this shure.
So you're you're a pretty unique back in the sense that you can hit the home run, You've got a good speed, you can run guys over, Like, what do you think is your calling card as a runner? And you can say it's the versatility of my game, but I'm just curious, what do you think makes you like special?
Just my explosiveness, not being able to not not getting hit by the not being being taken down by the first defender, being able to know just be I jail, you know, you know, just a good agility, good feet, h in and out of holes, you know, and then like you said, being able to hit the home run when I'm going, I'm going, you know, just being versatile, you know, being able to catch the ball out the backfield, you know.
Ryn Roulson, you know, do all things like that. So I feel like that's my you.
Know, yeah, I feel like we had a couple a couple of big runs called back last year right to get a chance to really see you open it up like you did. Was it the Georgia game, first play of the game at Tennessee for seventy five yard touchdown run That was fun to see. But in that Patriots game this year back in Week five, that was kind of the first time you got some real run. How valuable was that to kind of get called on there and and you know, Devon went down early in the game,
which I imagine increased your role of that game. What was that entire moment like for you to get hey, Jalen, you're up. And then also the way you played out did that kind of hit you.
I mean, it's just like I said, being prepared. You never know, Like nobody ever knew the vin was gonna go down at that moment. It's just me being prepared throughout the week, knowing what I got to do, knowing the plays, knowing the runs and everything got to do. So when that time had came, I mean, I was just ready for the opportunity. I mean, of course it was a little nervous energy out there. I mean it's just the game of the nature. But so was I
got that one snap, wanted two snaps. It all settled down and I was able to play how I'm you know, going to play.
So you don't have to get ready if you stay ready, right, that's the old saying. So Coach McDaniel talked about this in one of his recent press conferences about exit interviews and kind of challenging you and and you know, just having you to take the next step, and then he said that he's seen you respond in a really positive way, and then two days later we see you in the orange jersey at practice, like, okay, that's that's probably another
good sign. I'm just curious what not that what McDaniel's message was, But how you've kind of approached this season and how you put yourself in position to you know, take that next step.
Just just just me knowing who I am, knowing when once I walk into that get into that mode to where I'm I feel like you know that that I'm just working working so hard. Like the off season, you know, I took upon myself to get bigger, get stronger. I might be around the same weight, but I lost a lot of body fat, you know, put a lot of muscle on. I still got my speed. I feel like
I probably got a little faster maybe. Uh you know, just take just what I did in off season, you know, and putting it into like real practice, you know, like I said, stay in detailed and everything, you know, doing everything that asked me to do.
So that requires a lot of discipline, right to go from to keep the same weight. But it's all muscle versus fat. Like you gotta say no to that ice cream or no to that like snickers bar. Right, is that tough the challenge?
I mean it's tough, but uh, I mean it's just it's definitely tough. I love I love eating like sweets and you know, you know, good food. I love doing that, but you know it's it's a sacrifice that you got to make at the end of the day.
Yeah, It's one of those things where like I think, the less you eat it, the more you don't crave it, right, Right, Like you get like a week away from your last suite,
you don't really crave anywhere. Almost almost kind of sounds like reals right, Maybe not gross, but I was saying, all right, So last question here for you, jialing Right, Dolphins running back this offense, you know, going back from the Shanahan days, you know, even even to Mike Shanahan, Denver has produced really quality running backs and they've always looked for a certain type of back right and it's a you know, outside zone with some variation to it.
What is about this offense that really excites you and how it fits your skill set?
Just how they use utilize running backs, how they like to get running backs out in space. I was not just like ground and pound down heel. You know, they like to get us outside, you know, utilize our talents, utilize our speed, you know, just do it, you know, just utilize them to us our skill set. You know, That's what I like about this offense, and you know, just not only in the running backs. You know, we got weapons on the outside that brings attentions off the
running backs. So you know, I just love it. I'm really blessed, you know, being this situation, to have this opportunity. You know, I thank God for everything. So I'm really excited for a big year this year.
So really good stuff Dolphins running back dealing, right, appreciate your time, day man, Thank you sir, and away he goes. We're going to come back on the other side and get to four teams in our AFC North preview, Brown, Steelers, Bengals, and Ravens. That's Next Draft Time podcast, brought to you by AutoNation. Really kind of into the concept of the primetime music to queue up the next divisional preview, and
we moved today. We're halfway done. We're getting to the first part of the second half of the series here with the AFC North. We'll have the NFC North and both East divisions still to go after today. But today we're talking about a team that let's go ahead and rip off the spoiler banded right away, probably gonna pick him to go to the Super Bowl for the third straight year. I'm zero for two on that. It's the
Baltimore Ravens. I just love love this team, love this roster, love this quarterback, and I'm I'm looking towards doing it once again continuity. They're not gonna be working on a new play call this year. They're not gonna be working on all this new offensive lineman in Todd Monkin has seventeen year, seventeen games and a couple of playoff games
with proof of concept under his belt. With Lamar Jackson loaded all up and down the roster and the coaching staff, they brought in DeAndre Hopkins, Chiudobi, a Woose, JayR Alexander who was like, I mean, a wuose was like a consolation prize to Alexander, who you know, he's had his issues, he's missed his games, but I mean, if he makes a play against Buffalo in January, you're not going to care that he missed ten games. This is a team that could afford to make a move like that. Joseph
Noteboom's a really good swing tackle option. Cooper Rush a good backup quarterback. Malachai Starks was the raven of the draft. They get Mike Green, who fell because of some very questionable personal issues in his off field character stuff. But if he's on the field, he's got really good twitchiness and kind of can be like the Chop Robinson of sorts in terms of just the on field playability of his skill set. So they go out and they have
a Ravens draft on the way out. Malik Harrison and Josh Jones and Patrick McCarry all I thought were good players. Marcus Williams I thought really kind of fell off this last couple of years. Arthur Maulett. Michael Pierce was the big one to me, that big defensive tackle who was kind of unicorn in terms of how this system operates. And we talked about trying to find that guy, you know in Miami with Coach Weaver, and you just don't
get three hundred and sixty pound guys like that. We got a three hundred and forty pound guy that could move as well as a three hundred and ten pound guy, which I love, But Michael Pierce was kind of a unicorn that way. They also lose Brandon Stevens, who had a really rough year last year. They cut Justin Tucker for obvious reasons. The big loss to me is art
Darius Washington tearing his achilles back in spring ball. I was a guy that I talked about a lot for the Dolphins, for a fit for safety and free agency. Should he make it there, he goes back to the Ravens, gets hurt, and it bumps me out for him and for the team. As far as the film, the calling card, I mean it all starts with a complex run scheme that operates behind the core power concept. With the best power runner of all time. We willing to go that far.
The old heads disagree, the young guys probably agree with me on that. And then the best running quarterback of all time. You can argue to a wall about that, because Lamar Jackson is that Mike Vick. I played behind Mike Vick at Plantation Preserve golf Course a couple weeks ago. Kind of weird. He was in the group in front of me. But I'm giving this Lamar Jackson. And if that wasn't enough, that quarterback is a great decision maker.
He's incredibly accurate with the football. He can whip it all over the field from any platform, from any arm angle, on and off. Script is possible to stop the way our offense manipulates and creates passing windows. They do the exact same thing with angles in the run game through a myriad of shifts influence concepts. That's where you you know, show one thing and give you the the old you'll
pull the rugout from under a type of deal. And personnel diversification with the full back that can play anywhere and tight ends that can burn you in the passing game but also condense down and kick your butt in the running game. Can you guys tell I'm a huge fan of this team. I think if they have a healthy Za Flowers, they probably be probably beat Buffalo in the playoffs last year. Mark Andrews, despite that drop, is a top five tight end for me. Isaiah likely I probably,
I likely like him better. They returned the same offensive line that took all of four to five weeks to gel last Maybe that big concern, like, oh no, they lost some guys up front, but okay, they were like decent for four weeks and became awesome for the final
twelve weeks of the season. Ronnie Stanley, Andrew Vorhees, Tyler Lindenbaum, Daniel Filele, who kicks inside after some years at tackle, and then Ryan Rosengarten, the rookie last year was awesome, big athletic, mean group that finishes their blocks defensively, you know the drill, Mike McDonald offshoot that struggled early. That's kind of the theme for this team is they figure themselves out, kind of akin to the Patriots of old, but really click down the stretch. I'm really curious to
see what they have or what they get. Rather with the changes of cornerback again, the Packers outright cut Alexander. I think he'll probably start for them as long as he's healthy, but he's also missed those half of his career games. Basically, they'll be without Washington, without Stevens, without Malette. Again, that Washington injury changes things. I think that was going to be like their ideal big Nickel package which Miami now has with with Minka Fitzpatrick in store. But Kyle
Hamilton and Malachi Starks. You can still make it work with just those two guys. But now you imagine Marlon Humphries move inside with Nate Wiggins, who had a good rookie season, and then Jy you'r Alexander on the outside, and then Cheetoh wuose the depth piece like, that's a lot of new parts in the system that requires a lot of versatility and communication. But they're getting like veteran guys they can do it, you know, and guys that have the football IQ and acumen to do it outside
of maybe a piece or two here or there. But that front has a big loss to overcome and the retirement of Michael Pierce. They're deep as hell across the board, justin Meda or sorry, Nomdi Matabuike, Travis Jones, Broderick Washington, Kyle van noy, odell odell o'daffe o Way, Okay, adding Mike Green, Roquan Smith and Trent and Simpson, They're going to be just fine. The question for this team, if there is one, it's offensively and at the receiver depth position.
But you've got Derreck Henry and those two tight ends, So do you need more than two or three receivers? Really, the one thing they have to figure out is how do they get the same production in January versus Kansas City and Buffalo. This is one of those teams where their season doesn't start until like January fifteenth, and I envy that in a lot of ways, but also it's probably kind of frustrating for that team throughout the course of the season, like when they started off zero to
two last year and fans were panicking. It's like, just wait, wait until January twenty first, when you're playing in Buffalo for a chance to go back to the AFC Championship game, because that's where their seasons end. It's buffer lower case. Basically, Lamar finished three of the last five seasons. The two years they didn't, they win the playoffs once, missed the playoffs once. But the three years that he finished two
losses in Buffalo won at home to Kansas City. The miscellaneous factors here, The Ravens and Bill's capsules will be pretty brief because they'll be back there again. That's a team that we're gonna have to find a way to beat. If you want to get, you know, to the big to the dance, they just have to The Ravens have
to get past that final boss, so to speak. The opening schedule is pretty insane, which again, if they're five hundred, they'll be just fine, right Bill's Browns, Lions, Chiefs, Texans, Rams. Five of those teams were in the final eight last year. I'm not sure anything else. Pertains in this category of this team is pretty locked and load. As long as the mars available, that's your trapdoor scenario. As always, if he plays seventeen games, he'll be a top three MVP finisher.
They'll win twelve thirteen games and be right back there again. The conclusion, they'll win the division, they'll get home playoff games. Can they beat Kansasity and can they beat Buffalo? That's it, dash all, folks. And the team that I think most folks will predict as a challenger, the Cincinnati Bengals. I'm not quite there yet in terms of being the Ravens level. Let's go ahead and talk about this team. The changes,
maybe the most interesting team in football to me. Historic offense, historic defense in the wrong way last year results in a nine wins season and missing out in the playoffs. And you know, it's fun. It's fun to root for a quarterback like Joe Burrow when you have to have that team win because they always feel like you were in those games. Remember that, was it the Pittsburgh game down the stretch last year or no, they're playing Denver right the week seventeen game. You always feel like you're
in the game with Joe Burrow. But now they have a new summer directive with earlier practices, more playing time in the preseason, and hopes of mitigating what has become the norm for them, these slow starts. They lost of the freaking Patriots in Week one last year. That was a bad Patriots team, right, And there's another oh and three start. They go one in four total. They damn near skated by the Giants. In the other game they won.
In twenty twenty three, it was a one in three start with a loss of the Browns and the opener, and in twenty twenty two and oh and two start, including a loss of the dakless Cowboys. This year they get Cleveland and Jacksonville. So it's like the NFL saying, hey, we want Joe Burrow in the mix in January. Get off to your hot start, and then Joe can get hot and you guys can get back to winning games. And there are a lot of changes for this team
in the personnel world. New defensive coordinator lou and Aarumo is out. Al Golden is in interesting to say the least, I guess not that surprising from a team that's in danger of losing their first round pick. Over a unique contract stipulation. I am team Shamar Stewart all the way on that. By the way, I'm gonna have to do some research on the scheme because before our next segment, because there's some retention on defense. But I don't know
what to expect here. Before I got into the tape, our old friend Charles Burks coaches the corners there and former Dolphin Jordan Kovacs coaches the safeties. The rest of that defensive staff has changed, though the offensive staff remains the same. The big thing right now is going to be the availability of Trey Hendricks and Shamar Stewart. I think that Bear is watching because that's likely their top snap takers off the edge. One two there they most like.
They mostly kept their own with deals for Joseph Aside, Jackson, Kirkland, cam Sample, Marco Wilson, Cody Ford, Mike Kasiki, bj Hill, and then of course the big one was t Higgins there the last two with the only players I thought were like, really, you know, priorities for me. They brought in samajp Ryan and to Daryl Slayton, who was a good pick up, or in Burks and Lucas Patrick. They lost a Keeam, Davis Gaither and Jermaine Pratt, who were
the middle linebackers there for a long time. Trent Williams has gone, Mike Hilton, Sheldon Rankins, Alex Kappa, and the big one that really makes hendricks and Stuart so vital, Sam Hubbard retired, one of the most underrated players in the league for years. You know, Davis, Gaither and Pratt were eighty five percent snap takers there for a long time.
And then the kind of like the last of that Super Bowl defense outside of Hendrickson, and it appears Burke's and second round linebacker Demetrius Knight will be the replacements for with Logan Wilson also in the mix there too. As far as their film, the calling card offensively, I could recite this in my sleep. Defensively, I had to watch some coaching clinics here Zach Taylor outside zone run scheme, but a passing offense that more closely resembles what Burrow
had at LSU. And if you get into the weeds of the Bengals content, you know, the drave time of Bengals content one of the areas of contention, and Borough's
preference to play from the gun and empty formations. Is that it reduces their options from a run game standpoint, and we've talked about that at length for different teams across you know, Aaron Rodgers podcast or we're going to talk about him in a second, actually, but also the entire off season of trying to find ways to take some of the workload off of Tua's plate, you know, lighten the load off his shoulders there a little bit.
And I think if Burrow would maybe be more accepting to that, maybe it reduces some of the big passing numbers, but maybe you become a more winning operation that way. I'm not knocking Burrow at all, but I think that a lot of quarterbacks have to kind of go through that, especially nowadays, where you've been playing seven on seven camps your entire life, and it's kind of a different beast at the NFL now. But this is also why this is one of the few places where I think Mike
Kasicki actually works as a player. You have to accept that you will get nothing from him in the blocking game, right I think Joe Burrow prefers it that way, so maybe it does work out that way, and they listen to their quarterback I'm super curious if some extra reps and attention to the slow start kind of comes with some more variety and formations and grouping. And look, I'm
not monishing it at all. They scored thirty points per game, right, I think the argument of running the ball and controlling the clock is a slippery slope too. The offensive job is a score points. However, you have to do that, you should, you should do it, and when you play when you paid Jamar Chase and T Higgins and rightfully so, I totally get spreading the ball out forty times a game. In fact, last year was a change. They ran sixty
percent of their offense from eleven personnel. That's down from seventy five percent twenty twenty three and eighty three percent the year prior. The big change came with more twelve personnel, which was just six percent three years ago, twelve percent two years ago, and then last year thirty percent, So big jumps there. However, sometimes the numbers live that's directly led to or tied to Mike Kasiki. And while yes he is listen is a tight end. He's a slot receiver.
They do not ask him to block. Drew Sample did out snap Kasiki forty eight percent to sorry fifty eight percent to forty six percent. So there you go, and they know what they like. They have a type, right, we all have our types. They like big bodies on the perimeter, big body pass catchers. Andre Josi Evash played eighty percent of the snaps last year. Chase is the only one of the players on the top four that's
under six foot three. He's six foot and plays a lot bigger than doesn't he The line has been the question here for years, and we'll cover that in the questions portion of the show. The Al Golden move makes sense because of the familiarity of the position that has the most retention for the Bengals. They're cornerbacks. Golden wants to play man. He wants to disrupt you at the line of scrimmage, and that suits Cam Taylor Britz game. It suits Dj Turner and Dax Hill a safety convert.
They'll deploy something called the viper think like Jabrill Peppers and Josh Mattelis at Michigan, where Al Golden was most recently at. I think that suited for Jordan Battle, but could see Dax Hill doing some of that as well, and Golden is also famous for saying that his Mike linebacker is the problem solver in the defense, and that might wind up falling on the shoulders of rookie Demetrius Knight. So those two positions will be critical to get sorted out.
But they also have Logan Wilson there that can do that stuff as well. I really think them bringing back bj Hill and signings Late and his big body guys that can two gap is going to make life a lot easier on those linebackers. The question for them, it's been the offensive line for the longest time and they're going to go into the season with a lot of unknown there. Dylan Fairchild expected to start as a rookie, and free agent Lucas Patrick is supposed to be the
other guard. So that's I don't know what you're going to get there. Ted Kerris still anchors the pivot. He's kind of find his home post Dolphins career. Orlando Brown is the left tackle, and this is why you have to draft tackles. They're paying Brown seventeen million dollars a season and he's been like replacement level for the last
couple of years. He also or then the other guy that liked the most on the entire offensive line of Mariusmim's got hurt last year, but I think he has the biggest upside to be like an actual Pro Bowl player. Their swing tackle is projected to be a rookie who played guard in college. That's Jalen Rivers. I don't know. I think if you're looking for it to change, then you're not going to find it. But then again, Joe Burrow makes it work. So I get the investment and
the resource allocation for that reason. But the way, I'm glad we saw Tua get some more, you know, support in the interior offensive line in the run game and off the edge of tight end in terms of the blocking game, I wouldn't mind seeing more of that for Burrow as well. But again it works for them. And then all the changes on defense, Let's not sugarcoat it. They have to have Trey Hendrickson. Without him, nothing on
this defense I think works. The miscellaneous factors here. I don't think they can afford a slow start this year. I mean they couldn't afford the last two years, right because they missed the postseason. But since that Super Bowl season they've made the playoffs just one time out of three seasons, and Burrow ended up one of those years on IR the second time in his five years, which brings a college coordinator up, or bringing a college coordinator
up as a fascinating concept. And I don't think the stare down with Stuart and Hendrickson is nothing. But I also think the Higgins signing and listening to Burrow has the opposite effect a positive ones. So it's kind of an interesting team man the trapdoor scenario. Burrow's missed fifteen starts in his career and that's not nothing and broken record. But if they don't have those two pass rushers, I
don't see this defense getting any better. And this probably belongs to the miscellaneous portion category of the pod here, but they play against goff Love Rogers twice twice to Alan Kyler, Drake may Boenix. It's eleven games against quarterbacks that I would say are either top of the league or right there in the top of the league. The conclusion here, any team with Joe Burrow is a threat to go all the way, quite frankly, but can that defense keep up with all the guns in the AFC?
Is there enough balance on offense as confident as you are in the quarterback. I think there's an equal number of questions elsewhere. But if you play seventeen games, they're gonna win seventeen or they're gonna win ten games. Right now, seventeen to no. That's the Bengals. The Pittsburgh Stealers are next, and they just got a big, big jolt in the arm with John News Smith and Jelen Ramsey as two of the biggest changes this offseason. I'll write this down.
I'll go to this part that I wrote down first. I'm glad that Aaron Rodgers saga got resolved before I recorded this, and I was gonna record this podcast on Monday, June thirtieth before the Ramsey and Smith trades came down, So I'm glad that happened as well. But they have continuity on staff Tomlin, Arthur Smith, Tarrell Austin, but major changes to the personnel in Aaron Rodgers. You guys know
about that. DK Metcalf, Robert Woods, Mason Rudolph, They went Derek Harman in the first round, they signed Darius Slay, and they pick up Jalen Ramsey. So between Rogers Metcalf, Woods, Slay, and Ramsey you're averaging like age thirty four across the board there. I like the depth signs a lot. Actually, I probably like this portion of the team more just in terms of what you're paying and what you're getting in terms of playtime with Malie Harrison, Brandon Eckles, Wan
Thornhill and Daniel Ukulele. You CALLI that's not how you pronounce that. It's a team that well, it's not unlike Rodgers last team, right, they felt they've been a quarterback away since Ben retired on the way out Nause Harris, George Pickens, James Daniels, Minka Fitzpatrick, Russell Wilson, Justin Fields, Mike Williams, Nate Herbig and Larry Ogan Joe. That's a lot of losses man, big changes for Pittsburgh this year.
They're calling card. Nobody loves twelve personnel quite like Artie Smith does, and that's part of why they got John new Smith now and now they're gonna have Darnell Washington and Pat fryar Moose. So I imagine you're going to stay in your twelve personnel grouping pretty much every single snap,
and maybe even some thirteen there as well. I think this pairing with Rogers is super interesting because Rogers had that career regression around twenty seventeen with some injuries and some of his lowest career passer ratings prior to Matt
Lafleur's arrival in Green Bay. But then he wins back to back MVPs, and I think you can point to a little more emphasis on the run game, playing under center, and subscribing to the ideals the system can what they can do to reduce the number of high stress reads and reps from the quarterback. I say all of this because I think that he had that with the Jets, or I don't think he had that with the Jets,
And I think he'll get it here. I really do, and have a hard time believing the things that he says, but I think he'll be more open to it than he was with the Jets. So it's probably going to be this giant melting pot of concepts of power football, quarterback autonomy, big bodies in the run and pass game, Rogers having complete control over the run screen, quick game that developed shots off of all of that, I think Rogers will play well and then call it a career.
It's kind of I think he wants to go out, and I think it's how he will go out. I think the line will be very good. Roderick Jones has a lot more development to occur and has not been the player that I think a lot of folks thought he would be and be included, But he has all the tools. Isaac Somalu, Zach Frazier, Mason McCormick have all played at a high level in the league as recently as last year, and then right tackle Troy Fatana was a guy couldn't shut up about the entire last draft
process and he missed his whole rookie season. But the depth there solid too. And again Friarmuth and Darnelle with Artie Smith, I think that they're going to be fired up about the offense there with DK metcalf Rogers on the back shoulder conversions and the go routes that convert off of that, like that's what DK does best. I think it's a good pairing there for them, as long
as they're on the same page. It's interesting their first matchup with the Ravens featured a really good scheme defensively of using a safety as a robber, a delayed spy to kind of jump crossers and then account for the quarterback run. But the Ravens adjusted to that by rolling power down their throats in that season finale, and they're
pretty beefy and deep across all three layers. I think Austin will adapt accordingly to what teams show him this summer, and I think that makes for some interesting choices in the back end with Deshaun Elliott and one thorn Hill. And I had Minka here as a capable starter as well, but he's not there anymore. So it's going to be too safety with thorn Hill and Elliott obviously, but then obviously Joey Porter, Junior, Darius Slay and Jalen Ramsey is
a really good one two three. Where does Beanie Bishop wind up? Where does Brandon Eckles want? Maybe we go back to the Steelers for more depth at cornerback and make more deals there. I don't know. Ideally they sit back and coverage with light boxes and put a lot of those state on those safeties plates, but injuries to Cam Hayward and TJ. Watt have really challenged that. Patrick
Queen and Peyton Wilson's a nice linebacker duo. Nick herbig is back and Alex high Smith is the best player and no one talks about in all of football, although Keanubenton might be in that category as well. The question here can Rogers seamlessly fit into a new team. I don't think it's gonna look like the Jets, where he was essentially a GM there to go along with that and the OC gig and the quarterback gig. I think he does. I think it's gonna work for him this year.
I think that line is good. I think his top receiver fits his game. Robert Woods will be where he wants me to be at all time. So I guess I don't really have a lot of questions about the offense right now, but the age and health of that defense has been a question for a while. I think they brought in so much secondary help to move to I wrote this down to move Minca around, but that's not gonna be the case anymore. So Ramsey probably figures to,
you know, slot into that role. But they got steam rolled down the stretch in the ground game, and can they fix that. I don't know if they made enough move to fix that. I think the questions are fewer, especially compared to the pass because of the quarterback. They have miscellaneous factors here. They have to start fast. There's a lot of volatile personalities from Rogers to Pickens, to Slay to Elliott to Patrick Queen who had questionable effort
down the stretch at times. Those injury issues have seen the defense fade down the strets and it's essentially the same group. But I do feel the schedule sets up for a fast start Jets, Seahawks, Patriots. That could be a three to zero start very easily, and then Vikings and then a bye and then the Browns like four and ones, not crazy. After the bye, they get Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow twice, Tua Herbert Allen, Goff Love Rogers and Artie Smith's relationship is worth mentioning here. They'll go as
far as those two take them. But I also think this is the type of thing that Mike Tomlin was built for. So I'm bullish from the Steelers this year. The trapdoor scenario, quarterback injury, defensive age and injuries. If Metcalf starts slow to become vocal, as much as I like it, there is some projection on the offensive line. If Broderick Jones is not taking another step, and Troy Fatanu's injury, he kind of develops or regress stunts his growth,
that's the word I wanted. Then they're gonna be in trouble off the tackle position. My conclusion bullish on this team. I think a playoff spot's gonna come down to Bengals and the Steelers for me, and I'm not sure who I would taken that spot just yet. But I don't love the early buy for a team with an older defense that has so many parts that have missed a lot of games. But man, if they had Rogers any of the last five years, I think we view the Steelers a lot different. Is it too late for that?
Maybe I think he's got one more ride left in him. Let's go to the Cleveland Browns here and put a bow on this thing. The Browns are synonymous with change and they deserve everything they got the last three years, but that all appears to be over after Deshaun Watson suffered an achilles injury. It sets back his recovery from
an achilles injury for twenty twenty five. It's that whole year in question for him, and the Browns went after his replacement, not once, not twice, not thrice, but four times. That's the biggest change. Kenny Pickett trade. Are they gonna start with Kenny Pickett, Dylan Gabriel in the third round and then Shador Standers in the fifth round and the return of Joe Flacco. It's got to be Joe Flacco, right,
That's my almost certain pick for Kevin Stefanski. And speaking of the coach, the staff is the same Tommy Reese back at OC, Jim Schwartz back on that defense. In those quarterbacks I mentioned Tevin Jenkins, Cornelius Lucas, Maliite Collins, Jerome Baker, Julian Aquara, Joe Tryon, Shoyinka Mason Graham and Carson Schweschinger and Quin Shawn Judkins. I love that one, two three punch of draft picks on the way out, Nick Chubb, hakeem Adenji, James Hudson, Elijah Moore, Wan Thornhill,
Dalvin Tomlinson, Mike Ford and famous Jamis Winston. The film calling card a return back to the Stefanski roots from which which come from you guessed it, the Shanahan McVeigh tree. And they got away from that with the Watson move which we've discussed. Don't need to belabor that point beyond
just a totally different approach. They're offensively less, big play hunting, more quick game, ball out of the quarterback's hands, playing off the outside zone, stretch game, and a quarterback that has seen everything in Joe Flacco doesn't like TikTok dances, which I'm with the old man on that one. And the way he's younger than me, and the way they were able to mitigate the offensive line injuries is he hell is Fleck, I'm thirty seven, I'm a man, I'm forty.
The way they mitigated offensive line injuries at the end of twenty twenty three is a testament to the system and the play caller and coach, and for that reason, I think it'll be better, But will it be good enough to disrupt a loaded AFC? They did hit on the Jerry Judy reclamation project. He's become what we thought he would be in college, and they are who we thought they were. The depth beyond him probably goes in the questions category. Deontay Johnson slated as a starter. I
like Cedric Tillman. DeAndre Carter like one of the best tight ends in the game and David Nijoku in that line, Dwan Jones, Joel Botonio, Ethan Posk, Wyatt Teller, and Jack Conklin, they've all missed more games than any offensive line of football last three years, but they're good players when they're healthy. On defense, Jim Schwartz wants to blitz, blitz and blitz
some more. Everything he does is designed to create one on ones for Miles Garrett, which makes sense, duh and Mason Graham adds to that in a big way, especially with Malite Collins. But who will step up as the other edge presence on this team. They passed on the possibility of Abdul Carter or Travis Hunter for that matter, to move back for a future one, which I like because they're not going to win anything this year. But man, I love their back seven. I love the Schweeshinger pick.
Jordan Hicks is a good player they missed. They've really missed Jeremiah Owusu Coromo since his injury. He's going to be out for the entire year. Again, that that just sucks. Sometimes football sucks. But Denzel Ward, Greg Newsom, Martin Emerson, Grant del Pitt, Ronnie Hickman. It's a decent backfield, but Ward is the star of that group. The question, I think,
my biggest question is what's the planet quarterback here? Because Flacco obviously, you know, we spent three picks in the third fifth round range, and if you count Kenny Pickett because they traded for him, they have a future. One that I am is for a quarterback next year if it doesn't go well, and that would likely come after a complete detonation, right like if they win four to five games again, the offensive line is going to see
a major change, the coaching staff probably two. It's why I think I might just like bite the bullet and start Shador because like, what good does Joe Flacco winning you games? Do you know what I mean? Your your best player wanted out until you gave him more money than anybody else. And the Watson decision ruined a pretty good core and quite frankly, I think they're, you know, they're going to be getting out of it for within the next year or two. They have to get out
of that so weird times in Cleveland. The miscellaneous factor here, it's fair to ask whether Shador as quarterback two or even quarterback three. Looks like is that a distraction? I mean, the guy got a freaking speeding ticket and it was like the story of the across the league. They play in a really good division. Is anybody going to pick them to win any of their first seven games? Bengals, Ravens, Packers, Lions, Viking, Steelers, Dolphins. I don't. I wonder if they're starting to Flacco by
that game against US trapdoors. There isn't one for teams of this caliber. Conclusion feels a lot like the twenty nineteen Dolphins. To me, think of a transition year in a very good division and conference. The division superlatives give me the Ravens to win the division. The best quarterback is Lamar Jackson. The best non quarterback offensive player is Jamar Chase. The best defensive player is Miles Garrett. The
best coach is John Harbaugh. My favorite rookie is going to be Malachai Stark, so I think we'll look just like Kyle Hamilton did as a rookie there. And the best under the radar stud is Alex high Smith. This was the easiest division to do the superlatives for, so there you go. Let's go ahead and get to my last part of this podcast, my chat with Dolphin Safety I fat to Mela fam Wu. That's next Draft Time podcast, brought to you by Auto Nation. Joining us today on
the Draft Time podcast is new Dolphin Safety. If I Mela fan Wu, if he I fought to, what do you prefer to go buy?
If he?
Honestly, it doesn't really matter to like, people call me ify. Most people call me if he My family will call me both. I just like for one announcers to say my name, I say you fought to, But in the building, outside of the building, people can call me ife.
Okay, good to know we're on the same page there with all of that. So you arrive here and we haven't had a chance to having the podcast quite yet. But what kind of led to UH coming to Miami in the free agency process?
What kind of led to it?
Just you know, talks with with my old team Detroit and then I just you know, got a lot of interest from Miami. And obviously my old coach, coach Duker, he was there with me in Detroit for three years. He was my position coach. So that led to that relationship already being there. So that was like a big factor and making it and making a decision coming to Miami.
Yeah, what was it about the relationship with him that you guys were air twined there in Detroit? But you guys were pretty close, it sounds like.
Yeah, So when I had got moved, I was a corner and then when I got moved to safety, he was my coach. And in my first full year at safety twenty twenty three is when I had a really good year. And I think a lot of that is,
you know, credit to him. And then now that he's the passing games coordinator here, I pretty much like know all the coverages and stuff he's installing because it's a lot of carryover from Detroit and a lot of you know, from where he was in the past, So the terminology, a lot of it is the same, and schemes and things like that.
Does that kind of give you a different level of almost like voice in terms of the way you communicate because obviously, you know, oftentimes a new gut in new system you kind of have to like, you know, learn from the other guys that have experienced it, but you have experienced in the defense. So does that kind of empower your voice right away? As a new player here?
I would say so a little bit.
Yeah.
Obviously, the guys that were here last year, you know, they learned the defense and there's stuff that's a little bit different, like some terminology and things like that, but the overall scheme has a lot of similarities. So I guess it does give me a little bit of a voice because it's not completely new to me.
Yeah, that it makes perfect sense. And you talk about that experience in Detroit and the idea of going from corner to safety. I know it's not totally form like a lot of guys do it, but I feel like, you know, offensive linemen do it all the time, like year to year, game to game sometimes. But from the cornerback to safety position, how did that, I guess help you. How does playing multiple spots throughout the secondary improve the way you kind of see the field in that position on the back.
End, Yeah, it definitely helps.
You know, from corner you go from kind of just seeing half the field, you know, focus on your matchup essentially, and then now safety you're seeing the full field. But now, because I played both, I kind of know pretty much what everyone's doing on the field the whole back seven. I'm able to know, you know, what kind of stresses a corner out and moving from corner to safety. I know, like what can stress out with a safety If a corner doesn't you know, do x y Z might stress
out to safety and stuff. So I feel like I just have a you know, overall comprehension of all the positions that maybe someone who just played one position the whole time wouldn't wouldn't have, like if.
Like he's playing this leverage and I know when I played that leverage that this is where I was like kind of vulnerable. So you kind of have that knowledge of stuff like that. Yeah, Yeah, that's really cool. I'm excited to see how that how that works out here. You mentioned your four years during Detroit with Coach Duker, and I know, like you had some really good, you know production when you were there, but missed some time with some injuries as well. Just the entire experience in Detroit.
What did you take from that? How did that kind of teach you and make you the man you are?
You know here today sitting with me, My time in Detroit just taught me like resilience in my individual journey.
You know, I had you know, some injuries and I came back and I just never gave up, and I was able to show what I could do in the times I was on the field, but also overall, like when I first got there were thirty thirteen and one and I was, you know, there for the change and I was a part of the change.
So I just, YEA had resiliency. And I've seen the lowest of the low and I've.
Seen you know, I've been to the NFC Championship as well, so I've seen both sides of it, and I feel like it's helped like me kind of just block out noise and just be resilient and you know, just keep going and you know, attacking the day, being grateful for every opportunity and being intentional with every time I step on the field or in you know, in the building.
That the experience of going from a like you mentioned a three and thirteen and one team to NFC Championship and seeing that growth and the process, because that was that was kind of your guys' idea. There was like that this is a process, we're going to build towds, We're going to stay on this track. And it worked out and that the Lines have become one of the
powerhouses in the NFL. What did that teach you in terms of, you know, being committed to the process and seeing how a team can go from you know, a team that's picking top five of the draft annually to a team that's competing for Super Bowls every year.
Like I said, I think it taught me resilience and just you know, discipline and just what can happen when everyone buys in, even though, like you know, the outcome you know at the time may not you know, be what you want, but just the just the faith and belief in buying into a program and a coach and the system, and it just shows you, like what the benefits could be when you trust the process.
And when you do that, you wind up here in Miami with with coach Weaver in this defense? What is it about this defense do you think accentuates your skill set as a player.
I feel like there's just a lot of you know, hungry, younger guys, especially in the back seven that I think we're all just extremely motivated. And not to say that it wasn't like that in Detroit, but when when you're in a place like that, I feel like it just you know, it's a lot of competition.
Everyone just feeds off each other.
And then I would say, just up front in the front seven, I feel like we just got dogs all across the line, the linebackers, and I just feel like we're just you know, hungry and very very competitive group. So I just feel like we're all gonna thrive together.
So it sounds like and just being here for a few months like you've kind of gotten pretty close to teammates already and kind of had that bond and that relationship developed across the board there with those guys.
Yeah, I mean it's always going to be like mainly your position position groups the closest. That's just naturally how it happens because you spend the most time with them. But yeah, I feel like I definitely have gotten close with other teammates, you know, on offense and even just you know, d linemen and linebackers and everything like that.
What are you most looking forward to? Last question here for you, if you, what are you most looking forward to here in your first season with the Dolphins.
Most looking forward to? I'm honestly just most looking forward to stepping on that field and just stepping on the field, honestly, and just playing with a new team. And just getting this opportunity. You know, pretty much most of my season last year, I was out most of the season. So I'm just grateful to be here, grateful for a new start, and I'm just excited to just step on the field. And it's a blessing and I thank God for it and I'm just just ready to ready to go. It's ready to play again.
We're looking forward to seeing you out there as well on Sundays. A Fatumlafama, new Dolphins safety, appreciate you time.
Today, man, Thank you, thank you. I appreciate it, and it is.
The most wonderful time of year. That's right, Miami Dolphins training camp right around the corner, and you can reserve your tickets right now. The Dolphins are back on the field for Back Together weekend on July twenty sixth, a Saturday, first Dolphins practice open to the fans in the public. The Dolphins will take Sunday off and be back on the field for a Monday practice on the twenty eighth, as well as the twenty ninth and thirtieth, all open
to the fans. After a Thursday day off on the thirty first, Miami's right back to work for the first, second, and third of August. All those practices open to fans as well. The next practice available to the fans August the sixth, and then a pretty good gap there with the joint practices up in Detroit and Chicago. Miami's back for three more practices in front of the fans here at the Baptist Hill Training Complex August eighteenth, August twentieth,
and August twenty first. That twenty first date is a joint practice against the Jacksonville Jaguars. So July twenty sixth, July twenty eighth, twenty ninth, thirtieth, August first, second and third August sixth, August nineteenth, August twentieth, and August twenty first against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Book your tickets now on
Miami Dolphins dot com. In the meantime, you all please be shared, subscribe, rate review the podcast, follow me on social at WINFL NFL, the team at Miami Dolphins, check out the YouTube channel for Dolphins HQ, Drivetime, content, media availabilities, and so much more, and last but not least, Miami Dolphins dot Com until next time. Bins up Carolin Cameron and Willow Daddy he's already home.