It is Thursday, May Night.
This is Jaguars Happy Hour. Jaguars Happy Hour is brought to you by the Saint John's River Water Management District.
And now a guy.
Who married his wife for her looks just not the ones he's been getting lately.
Brian Sexton. That's for sure, because her birthday was last weekend. Yet Mother's Days this weekend and our anniversary is the week after. You want to talk about pressure, right, but how do you how do you do that?
Can you bundle gifts? Listen?
I did last year because it was our twenty fifth wedding anniversary. Happy birthday, Jen, Yeah, yeah, we went to Croatia.
Listen.
I can't do that again this year. Once is enough, everybody. Brian Sexton in for JP Shadwick. You know the dulcent tones of Jeff Logoman. How are you?
I'm good. I'm I'm really good. And what I'm excited about also is this time of year football is starting to crank up a little bit.
Just it just gives you the teas though, right.
Yeah, yeah, that's all you know. Look, the schedule coming out what next week I think is when the schedule's anticipated on Wednesdays, what they're talking about a lot of teams last week had their rookie men in camp. The Jaguars Rookie Minute Camp starts tomorrow, so so yeah, it's gonna be nice too. Also, the OTAs are going to be getting started after the Rookie minutie.
So how much do you get out of it? Let's go with rookie minicamp first. Because Kai asked me on jag Zam the other day, what do you expect to get out of this weekend? I said nothing.
You're not going to get a ton, you know. I think you're gonna be on the field about an hour each day, maybe a little over an hour. And I don't think they're going to have the numbers that they had in the past, right, So how much do you learn? Not a whole lot. But the one thing that you're going to be able to do is you're gonna be able to look at the athleticism of the players that they've got. Beyond that, there's not a whole lot.
So, I mean, I've done this a long time. I don't know what to look for, but you look at it through a completely different lens. So let's start with we didn't.
Have a rookie minicamp. By the way, when I got drafted.
No, you just went right to training camp.
Yeah, well, now we had we had a mandatory mini camp typically every team had won. If you had a new head coach, then you were allowed to have two even back into that early era, but there was no such thing as a rookie minicamp. I mean, the first time that I met every one of my teammates was at the mandatory mini camp, which typically was held right at or soon after the draft. And then that we didn't have a lot of what there is today, which
is the OTAs and those things. They didn't start until that.
Came in post Jimmy Johnson.
Right, he was the change, the creation of Jimmy Johnson, which he started doing it when he went to Dallas in nineteen eighty nine.
And then uh college guy coming in changing the dynamic.
Trying to bring some of that college stuff into the pros. And then when he started to have success, then everybody in the league wanted to do that, but they started to regulate it, and then they put a app on a number and all that kind of stuff to what it is today.
All right, So let's back up one more step before we talk about individuals and what you might be looking at, what do you expect from a rookie mini camp. But remember twenty fifteen, incomes Dante Fowler, right the third pick of the draft. He had been training, like all of these guys training, and all you're doing is running forties in three cone drills and explosive movements so that you can jump high and turn fast. And he he towards ACL in a non contact moment in a pass rush.
Year and it wasn't a practice that was extremely challenging from a conditioning standpoint.
There's warm to that day, really warm.
And totally wrong approach in my opinion, because you got to remember that a lot of these guys that you're bringing in right now, they were training for the Combine. They were training for all these drills with coaches. They
weren't training to do football. And so there's got to be a little bit of a period where you'd say, hey, look, let's just get them back in the football shape and let's not just come in and try to kick their rear ends and say, hey, you're going in the NFL now, and anything less than being in great shade, then it's not gonna work, is it.
Not a tough guy sport anymore. That's the old school approach, you know, look as a caveman approach. Yes, and now it's a scientific approach totally.
It's got to be a sports science approach.
So what are they going to get done this week? I mean, besides stretching and getting to know each other? What's on the to do list? If you're in charge, let alone, what.
Dock's going to ask? You know. I had a conversation with Trent Balky a little bit today and he used a word a lot called the onboarding process. And if you go back to the postseason analysis that they talked about, they felt like that they can do a better job of that onboarding process. And so this weekend is going
to be a lot of that. A lot of the rookies they all rolled in today, they're doing testing and all that kind of thing, and and so over the next couple of days it's going to be kind of an acclamation period more than anything, or onboarding period, you know, so to speak to where you're trying to get them in the best mindset so that over the course of a couple of days they're going to learn a lot
of things. One learn some of the scheme, learn some of their coaches learn what they need to do between now and the next time that they come back, and learn what they're going to be doing in the future. So I think that that's a it's a great approach because look, you're not gonna win any games in May, for God's sakes.
And really, if you figure out where the bathroom is, where the cafeteria is, the short cut to the locker room, to the field, to the weight room, those sorts of things, it's probably a win, yes.
And you're probably not going to have enough guys to be able to have like a team type of practice, right, so you're more than likely going to be having some type of controlled drills. And and that's fine. That's fine. There's plenty of time as you as you move into the off season training activities, which are the OTAs or the practice days the team has that these guys will have plenty of time in the future to get up to speed, so to speak.
Right, and before we talk about individuals, and now I want to get your thoughts on this. A couple of these guys are signing today and you'll probably see the notification at some point. The lower round guys, it's pretty much set what each guy's going to make now with the collective bargaining agreement the way that it is. The high picks in the first round, those are guys where there's some nuances to their contracts.
Yeah, but everybody else, you know where it's spotted in, you know where it's at is. It shouldn't be any problem at all for these guys getting contract signs. And I think you're starting to see the rookies around the National Football League. Some teams almost have their entire draft class sign already. Yeah, at their getting red camp, which
is great. I mean why delay? And if you're a rookie player, there's something to be said for if you don't have a contract, you shouldn't participate in any of the team activity.
We're trying to remember the last holdout, true holdout. Gabert was late to camp in eleven and that's the last one in twelve. How do you remember all this stuff? Well, you know, you know me, I'm trying to remember. I think that's the last guy that really held out. The collective Barney ger has changed.
Yeah, rookie, yeah, yeah, once a collective bargaining agreement changed, you had a rookie cap. It's very straightforward as to what the contract should be, all right. There there was a little bit of haggling over should the contract be guaranteed, but then he finally realized the teams that, look, we're not going to cut a first round pick after four years or anyway. So I mean, just go ahead and guarantee the whole thing. Which that's what teams are doing.
That's what this team did from a very early standpoint, and that's better business than my opinion.
Well, between Blaine Gabbert and Justin Blackman in twenty twelve, you had basically the rook wage salary cap come into play in that collective bargaining agreement and it pretty much set the stage and it gets everybody into camp on time.
The guy gotta show up.
It's a good thing, all right. So I know you and JP have probably gone through this, but I didn't hear it. So I'm gonna ask again. You've had more time to absorb the selection of Brian Thomas twenty third overall. Now, look, it was the best offensive line class I've seen in thirty years of covering the draft. I mean it was good. Ten first round picks, right, nine first round picks.
I would say a good I don't want to say great.
Okay, not the best you've ever seen.
I think as far as the depth of it in the first round, it it might be one of the better. Maybe not the high end superser the high end superstars. I don't know if it's that great.
If it had that guy. So I really thought this was a great value year to pick offensive line. And when they started backing up from seventeen, I realized they weren't picking offensive line. So were you surprised that receiver was the pick.
No, because I didn't really know where they were going to go. I thought maybe corner could be a possibility, and an offensive line could be a possibility. But at the end of the day, when you're in the first round, you want to take the best player that you possibly can. I mean, you're talking about the elite players. There is Latham. Latham, the offensive tackle for for Alabama from Alabama, ended up
going to Tennessee. You could make the argument that he was one of the top guys in the draft, and he went earlier than many people thought.
Because Joe All went five to Los Angeles and All.
It's an interesting case study. It's going to be real interesting to watch him. He's uh, he's got jeans. Obviously he got the trades.
You probably rushed against his dad.
I did. I played against his dad. And this young man from Notre Dame is very long in the legs and so it's going to be interesting to watch watch him. But Latham is an effortless player from Alabama, just athletic. He's big, strong, you know, could he play left? I think he can play left. I guess that's where they've got him slotted to play in Tennessee.
And Bill Callahan is considered one of the best offensive line coaches in recent memory. The dad the dad, right?
The dad? Uh is the sons? I don't I don't know. If it's not Bill is.
Bill is the dad. Bill is the dad who was the head coach at Nebraska.
And the son I don't know remember, I don't remember his first name. We'll figure that out. But but the receiver had I had Brian Thomas as the third best receiver in the draft.
Class one and two were obviously neighbors.
Neighbors and Harrison and I thought that they were interchangeable.
So you had Brian Thomas ahead of Roma Doon today.
Yes, Wow, Odosa is a is a catch and kind of go down guy. He's not one of those guys that can get the great separation that Neighbors got or that Neighbors is special, or that Thomas can get because he's got great speed.
I ran into Cortes Hankton, who is the offensive coordinator l issue. I ran into him in Detroit one hundred percent, and he sought me out to say, Hey, Brian, these are my guys, and the guy that you got might be the most physical athletics specimen that I've ever covered.
Six foot three and he runs a four three three, legitimate four three three and interesting. As part of that conversation that I had today with Trent Balk, he said that at the combine, they do all kinds of measurements, right, I mean you know, and in the forty yard dash time they have ah, they time them or they get a miles per hour speed in that twenty to forty yard range. He generated the fastest speed of any player at the combine in the twenty to forty yard range
running his forty years. And at the speed game, it's a total speed game. But this guy's six foot three. Yeah, It's not like he's, you know, five foot eleven burner. This is a six foot three burner.
Do you see a six foot three burner who's willing to go over the middle. I don't know that they're gonna ask him to do that as much here, but is he a willing physical guy?
He's willing to do anything?
All right?
Well, that's a good sty.
He's the ultimate team player. I actually got an email from a friend of mine who was a former executive of this football team, who's obviously a very still big fan, and he said, have you watched the film of Thomas where he's blocking on Jade and Daniel's eighty five yard run? So I had to go and watch it, and he's running.
Down the field and blocking.
Yes. Good.
Those are the little things that the normal, the average fan isn't paying attention to because they're following the ball.
Matters, It totally matters.
You see that kind of effort a receiver.
The interview that Cannannie Stevens had with Thomas was exceptional because it showed how humble he was, and Conan had some great questions and I think Ki did a great job. But what impressed me was some of his answers about how that he was willing essentially to do whatever it takes, and that he's there to help the team win. You know a lot of wide receiver come in. Is I want the ball? Keith and Johnson, just give me the dang ball.
Listen, dang. But I go to the draft. I get these guys if they're there pretty quickly after their draft and for the interview, for the party, and I'm always interested to see their composure level. Are they way up in the clouds? Are they calm? He was nicely balanced between two. The energy level was high in him because he was excited about being here, but he was calm and relaxed, which I kind of I'm looking through that to see how are you going to be when the game has.
Been did and you wonder where he gets it from. Did you see the interview with his parents? I sure did, I sure did.
I loved it. I was right around the corner from him at that moment. That's when Cortes is like, come on over here and need everybody.
That was the best. Yeah, good people.
They really enjoyed it.
So are you amazed at how far you've come or where you've come come from? Bat Well. We came from Baton Rouge.
Yes, I love it. Hey, just transparent. Right here we are and we're ready to go.
The dad was asked about doing a du ball and he's like, what's that? Yeah, and he'll be leading it. He'll be leading it. He's the kind of guy who will be leading it. Let me ask you about the defensive lineman in this before we take our first break.
Mason Smith. He tours ACL two years ago. I kind of liken him physically to a Jeffrey Simmons or even a Chris Jones, big strong, tall, long impact kind of player. More like Jeffrey Simmons in that you're you may be catching lightning in a bottle if he gets help.
I think Jeffrey Simmons is a little bit different player. I would compare him more to an Eric Armstead or it's a good conduct nerve, just because he's got a little bit leaner. He's got the length the size to go along with it. Was his production real high his last year at LSU No because he was still trying to find his way back from the ACL, And you could tell.
Trent said that at the end of his twenty twenty three season, you started to see the guy that they were talking about.
Yeah, and I think even still at the end, you could still tell that he was favoring it just a little bit, but not as much earlier in the year. I mean, you watched the bulk of the film that I watched, which was early to mid point of the year, it was very apparent that he wasn't back completely healthy yet.
So in the defensive line, coach, what do you want from him?
I think it's going to be interesting to see where he plays. I think he's going to be a defensive tackle. I think he could probably play both, but he could also play a big end position for this football team. I mean, he's you know, he's similar in stature as an Eric Armstead, you know, so, I mean, I think those two guys can end up, you know, being interchangeable in a lot of different ways.
With Trayvon Walker up there too, who's almost that not as heavy, but.
Yeah, Trayvon's not that you know, he's not two hundred and ninety bah. He's strong as an ox, right, So it'll be interesting to see how they end up utilizing I can tell you this, They're gonna win the Get Off the Bus Club. I mean when they get off the bus. I mean it's you know in high school when you had the other team, they get off the bus and you're just like, first, you know, the first
thing you're looking at is how big are they? You know, you have no idea how good they are, you know from a lot of teams that you played, but you just looked at how big they were. When these guys get off the bus, you want them to be first off and then your other team is going to be going, oh my god, we're in trouble.
One other guy, Jordan Jefferson, the defensive interior, the tackle, short hands, thirty four reps at two twenty five if that matters. But if you're going to be a guy on the inside, it matters.
I mean that you know, look, strength matters on the inside. Big guy, strong hands, not a you know, he's not a pass rusher, he's a he's a nose tackle, right and.
He's a crusher. You want him to crush.
Bounced around a little bit, you know. And and this team, I don't know what the contractual situation is with some of the other defensive linemen that they have going forward, but you know, or the health of Devon Hamilton. Last year, he finished the year you know where it wasn't his
best year. He didn't have a normal off season, didn't have a normal training camp, didn't have a normal in season with the with the back end injury that he had, and so where's he had I don't know, But you know, at the end of the season, I was talking to Miselli and him kind of both agreed that this football team needed to get more physical, both on the offense and the defensive lines had to be a priority, right,
And they did. They did with this draft on the defensive side of the ball and with the offensive side of the ball. They're going to have to get better from within. But remember now, okay, last year Cooper Hodges was gone on the shelf because of the knee, and then you brought in the guard from Minnesota on the trade, and Ezra ended up getting hurt because you moved in the tackle against the Cleveland Browns, which I didn't like that, right, because I'm not a big fan of weakening two positions
because of one injury. Moved him out to tackle and he got hurt and he wasn't healthy the rest of the year. So but Ezra healthy is a really good football player, right, but you got to have some competition on the inside, and you had that with Morse being brought in. Also have that with Cooper Hodges hopefully healed back up and being able to play again.
You know the problem with the show is we'll have an hour you and I could see her talk about this forever. Cant I get two quick answers from you? Stay on the offensive side. Well, maybe I know you got all you want to say. Javon Foster from a Zoo.
I like him because he's got a lot of starts under his belt. Two time captain, showed some traits of being a really good tackle, and he played in the in the best conference in college football.
And the defensive coordinator was reportedly pounding his hand on the table for Miles Coal from Texas Tech. The big physical specimen who's been He's been put in that developmental basket already.
But did you like it? I like him. Look at anything you get in the seventh round. Show me a trait, show me something. Well, he's what six foot six, two hundred and eighty pounds, and he's got some athleticism.
Yeah, seems like he likes the game too.
He's an older guy in which a lot of these guys in the draft seem to be because of the COVID years that we've had the extra time. But he's got the traits and again he's part of that get off the bus Club six and eighty pounds defense Eve event.
All right, So when we come back, let's talk about let's do the Microsoft Fan Questions right then. I want to talk to you about the division because I think when you look at this division, it got a lot better. There's a lot of talent in this division.
Now, yeah, there's one thing that Tennessee did.
All all right, I can't wait to hear it, but I'm glad they did it. Yeah, okay, fantastic. And then at the end, I want to get your thoughts in some undrafted rookie free agents. You got to sound like a good plan for the rest of the show, and I got it, all right. You're listening to Jaguars Happy Hour.
Brian Sexton in for JP Shadrick. We're back with Jeff Logoman after this, rolling right along Jags Happy Hour Brian sexted along with Jeff Logman, JP Shadwick Ooberturn next week, time for the Microsoft Fan Questions brought to you by our friends at Microsoft. I thought it would be fun just too get your answers to a couple of John.
Odry's bus today.
Since I'm not a big social media guy, are you a big social media guy?
Yeah? I'm big, a huge So.
I should have asked you to call these questions. John obviously is, and so I grabbed these and if you're interested in John's answer, you'll find them in today's Ozon mail bag. Ready perfect, Okay, So Brian from Round Rock, Texas, what's to know? What are the top three factors that will determine the success of the season. You can see his or Trevor Lawrence's development, Doug Peterson taking his job seriously, okay, Brian, and help of key players.
Well. Health is always a big factor. But at the top is the development of Trevor Lawrence and can he take that next step? You know, and that's not easy to do. I mean last year, I think what kind of kept him from taking that next step was the multiple injuries that he sustained during the season. So he's going to have a lot to work with from as far as the skill position and weapons go for offensive line, where can they be at I think that's a big question.
That's number two.
I'd say Trevor's development and offensive line. And also number three is the ability to have a new defense and to mesh quickly.
If I could add one to that, I would say the ability of the running game to be effective.
I think that's going to be really better this year because I think you're going to be committed to it. Okay, you know running. The big thing about a running game is the commitment to it. They almost for the first couple of years, they did a lot of two point stance kind of stuff, and I'm not a big fan of that, especially when it comes to look if it's third and short and this football team I think needs to get back to handing the ground and running the
football a little bit. You can still have the shotgun stuff, but you just need to cut back a little bit, I think on it to be able to have a successful running game or the commitment to it.
I know Travis etn is the big playmaker in that offense backfield, but I was excited last year after watching Tank Bigsby. He had a ten carry stretch where he averaged six yards per carry and he didn't get a whole lot of carries, so that stretch is very memorable to me. I would think that another year. And I know they couldn't get him on the field a ton because of his past protection limitations.
But ball security was you know, he comes struggled a little bit with that and then a couple of times Yeah, and then I think the confidence was affected, and it could have been his confidence in himself, but also the coach's confidence in him. Yeah, but he's a powerful guy. Hopefully everybody. Everybody learns from that. Everybody matures from that. And then you move forward.
Third and short. If they can start converting third down and short, they were near the last worst team in the league and third down and two yards or less, that's got to improve. Okay, Jason from North Pole, Alaska, if either one of our two LSU defensive lineman develops into a key player, he thinks the defensive line looks like it could be a major strength. Well, it looks like coming off the bus, it could be Holy cow,
who are these guys. It's like the guys in the Michael Jordan animated movie Space Jam when they all all the aliens get off the bus and walk into the arena. You're like, what are we.
Doing well to be that good? I think it can be a good defensive line, but I think you got to find one more dominant pass rusher. Okay. And when I say that, you know, is that Eric Armstead? Is that your second round pick? Is that Devon Hamilton getting back and giving you some push on the inside as well? Is it your further development of some guy that you have on the roster that's you know you've been working on. I don't know that, but you got to have more.
The best teams have substitutions that whether you don't lose a whole lot, is this team does they do they have the ability to do that? I don't know. I think that's going to be a big question that needs to be answered in a positive way for this team to take the next step on defense.
Would you be open to renting that, in other words, going out into the open market some point this summer and looking for someone a Bud Dupree.
I'm okay with that.
Yeah, I mean, or would you rather have it be one of those guys? Well?
I mean you go back to last year Calebon shaves On. Yeah, okay, he was your third outside pass rusher. He didn't do much. I mean, if you can find somebody that that can replace him in that role as that extra edge rusher, you know, then then do it. Absolutely. Look, there's nothing wrong with Renning.
Did you see anything from ysirab Doulah, last year's fifth round pick from Louisville.
He struggled. Look, I think he's got some trades, okay, and he's got like a really fluid movement to his pass rush. But he's got a you know, when you're a smaller guy that doesn't have the length, which is what he is, you've got to have something that gives you that difference making ability on a play. You know, you go back to Dwight Freeny, the get off the
other guy in Indianapolis. On the other side, Robert Mathis had a spin and a whole array of moves and a relentlessness that was I mean on parallel.
If you remember that first game in two thousand and nine in Indy when you had two rookie tackles and Eugene Monroe and Evan Britton look like Turnstiles and nothing against them. They were rookies starting their first game and you had those two guys and it was just like, you know, where's he coming from next? Where's who coming from next? The guy that just got by.
You, Yeah, that's David gard was running for his life that day. It's tough, you know, but if you can find again, if you can find that third guy on Answid, I think, look, I think you've got a lot of tools to be able to pass rush on the inside. Trayvon Walker a guy that can give you some inside rush, Eric Armstead, your second round draft pick, Big Roy Robertson Harris. Roy's got to get more consistent and he needs to
stay healthy. Devon Hamilton getting back to being healthy. So I don't think you really need any anything else on the inside, but if you can find a guy that you can rent to play on the outside to give you some rotational reps by all means.
Gavin Halifax Nova Scotia given the lack of depth at corner, and he says perceived lack of depth with some good corners available talking about renting again a Dorri Jackson's aving, Howard Stefan Gilmore, Patrick Peterson. The later two guys are pretty old amongst others. Do you see the Jags going corner to add depth or would you stay with the
young guys. Does mont Terrek Brown give you any hope of evolving even further than he did last year, so that you'd be willing to go into camp and say, I'm gonna go with what I got.
I think you have to start the process with with having a belief in the guys that you have, and then you kind of see where they're at. You know, once once you get into training camps, go kind of valuate them in the OTAs and then if you if you feel that there's growth being accomplished with some of
these younger players, then no, you don't do that. I think you have to be open to the possibility of running a player at any position, like we're just talking about with the edge position or at the corner position.
If you've got a quarterback every year the super Bowl window is open, right, yes, right, And if you think that your quarterback can take a jump and be that guy for you, then you've got to be willing, I guess to go out and they've got the money, they've got cap room to be able.
To do it. They got the money. You know. The offensive line would be a position also that I think you've got to take a look at and maybe say, okay, can we supplement it there? Can we can we make it more competitive? But to go back to the corner position. I really like our draft picks. I think Jerry and Jones is going to provide this football team with some some strong competition at nickel. And then the young man Prince from Prince from Ole Miss three eight. I like
him watching his film. I really like him.
Talking to different people around the league about him. In particular, they think his speed is so significant that even in a press situation if he gets beat on the line of scripts because I can recover. Yeah, I think it's like one hundred and eighty to eighty three pounds.
Yeah, he's not a real big guy, but his.
Speed is such that he can turn a run.
But he's fluid, you know. I mean, speed is one thing, but to play that position, you've got to have people a lot of times use the term athleticism. Yeah, for me, it's fluid because you know, you've got to be able to have the fluid turn and run, the fluid flipping of the hips. It's a fluidity. Is that a word? It is?
Now?
Okay?
The fluidity physicality I don't believe is a word, but we've become accustomed to it in.
Thirty years in the NFL. Jerry and Jones, I would like to see a little bit more physicality, better tackling with him, But Prince, I like the fluidness of his hips, I like his speed. I think he's got a chance.
Final question, Randy from Duval wonders if you add Mac Jones and Ezra Cleveland to this year's draft class, round six looks really good starting left guard, backup quarterback. In a kick, I'll take Jones and Cleveland over any sixth round guard quarterback any day of the week. Obviously, the Jaguars gave up a couple of picks to add a
couple of veteran players. Do you take, especially in today's day, a free agency and open windows, a holistic approach and just look at the entirety of what you've done in the offseason when you get to the later rounds. Yes, I think you have to pick stand alone.
Second, yeah, I think you have to, and I think that those are are are two especially you know, look, I'm a I'm a big fan of a physical guard who showed you some abilities with Ezra Cleveland there in the season. You went Hey, there's a guy. I mean, because you know, there there was one game in particular that he played and I think it was the game before the Cleveland game, Cincinnati, Cincinnati, and maybe it was
a game before that. Anyway, it was one of those games where you said he was the best offensive lineman on the field.
It was probably the Houston game.
In the Houston game, and I said, hands down, he was the best offensive lineman on the field in that game. And uh, and then he got the injury like two weeks later. But I I and the money. Yeah, that you resigned him for nice value. That's that's an excellent job by the organization as far as executing the trade. But then also if you didn't re sign him, you kind of okay, now, you did you really make any kind of positive investment by giving up the pick, you know,
if it was just a rental. Look, he showed you that he has the trades. Okay, So you acquired the player with the trade, which was a minimal cost, and then you got him at a very affordable contract. Compare his contract to the contract that you ended up giving Sheriff to come here to begin it's very different.
Yeah, Brandon Sheriff is making his cap hit this year is twelve million, but I think if you.
Put his salaries, not that much.
No, it's not that bad. When he came. When Brandy got here, he signed a three year, forty nine million, five hundred thousand dollars contract.
It's a lot of money.
It's a lot of money. And I'm looking for what Eveland just signed.
I think as a Cleveland signed for around nine a year.
Wow, when did you think Guards would make nine million dollars? I'm I'm not taking anything away.
Just goes to.
Show Cleveland signe of three years almost fifty million dollars for Brandon three years twenty four million, so less than half good value.
Nice. I think that's a really good job there.
All right, let's take a break.
When Cleveland's worth that every day.
Yeah, and especially for the fact that it gives you some positional flexibility if you have to hope you don't need to leave.
The mcguard by leave mcguard stop. You're the general manager. I'm just the guy on the radio.
When we come back, we'll take a look around the division and get Jeff's thoughts on each of the three teams and how they improved themselves through the Draft, and then to wrap the show up, we'll talk about some of the undrafted rookies who will be making their debut here at Rookie Mini Camp this weekend. You're listening to
Jaguars Happy Hour, normally hosted by JP Shadwick. I'm filling in instead, and we're back after this Welcome back in Jaguars Happy Hour, Ryan Sexton along with Jeff Logoman from the Miller Electric Center and the Hyundai Studios down at EverBank Stadium. A rookie class making its way in this evening. Maybe see a couple signings, they do physicals and things like that, we'll see. Watch out over the course of the weekend. I imagine you will find some we've been
talking about the Jaguars draft class. Let's look at the division and get your thoughts. The colts are where.
We'll still go too deep for these teams. Well, I promise that I'll.
Just What I really want to do is look at the top two picks, because those are guys you expect to see any impact from. And I'll throw a couple of free agent names and you tell me how much better they got. So the cults really didn't do anything at free agency. That's not sign the guys. Yeah, they did, and they added Joe Flacco as a backup to Anthony Richardson. Well, the only reason it's important is Richardson's a guy who was so physical he missed a lot of last season.
Maybe he'll learn to play differently, but maybe he's not available for seventeen games. So Flacco might be a big deal than you think.
Yeah, but I mean even if Joe plays, means.
Okay, I don't want to try to talk to you, and you're the expert. They also signed a big defensive tackle, Raykwon Davis. That's about it, Davis. Eh, okay, all right, so nothing a free agency then nothing. But when I mentioned the first round draft choice, it changes completely. That being the tone of your voice. Lattu from UCLA. I interviewed him in Detroit before the draft and loved him. Thought he was phenomenal, great story with the neck injury at Washington, which I.
Didn't know that initially when I was watching film on him, telling you during the break, Yeah, and I'm watching film on him, and as I start to get through all the supposed top defenders, you know, to me, Latu was hands down the best defender in.
The draft regardless of position.
Defender, Yeah, best defender in the draft. What did you like about him the most? He's he is. They don't they can't block him, right, He's effortless, he's strong, he's fluid, he's athletic, he's fast, he's got an array of moves, and he's smart. There's nothing that he doesn't have. He's got a great way of the football. Smarts that he plays the game with is tremendous. But he's just so productive. I think, like last two years he had like twenty
three and a half sacks. Who has twenty three and a half sacks in their last two years in college? So how many?
To your credit you said you thought he was the best defender in the draft. He was the first defensive player off the board, because remember they had fourteen offensive players offense and he was fifteen.
I was just sitting there when he got picked, and I said, Gus is gonna beat over the moon. Gus Bradley. He is.
He is the prototypical.
LEO defensive coordinator of the Indianapolis Colts former Jaguars coach. He's gonna love law To And so I remember, after watching law To, I remember you know, different times, I'm watching these podcasts of different draft shows, you know, just to hear names, to see what other people are thinking about where they kind of feel like players should go, because I like to kind of compare that on what
I see from watching film. And so I heard somebody say, you know, how, what do you think the physical condition the injury of law To will do to his draft stock?
And I went, huh, right, you didn't even know.
I had no idea, right, And so when you watch the film, you don't get any indication that this guy is playing with any kind of injury that impacts his ability to play at an effective rate. He's again, he was the best defender in the draft, all right.
So the Colts had lat too, won Ady Mitchell, the big, tall receiver from Texas.
Stiff, little stiff, okay, but he's fast. It makes a lot of big plays, but he's a little stiff, right, all right.
And then they added a big offensive lineman from pitt And you always need those guys in a center from Wisconsin. You always need those guys. So just an overall thought, they've got a quarterback issue. I don't know that I would be able to be comfortable knowing what Anthony Richardson is. All you hear out of India is well, will you see Anthony Richardson. I hope so. I mean he's a local kid from Gamesville. I hope he does well. But I question, you know how much better the Colts will be.
They'll be better on defense.
I wouldn't have taken Anthony Richardson where the Colts did right fourth. Overall, I think it was just a he's a big project. It's going to take him some time. I'm not saying that he can't get there, but I would not have taken him that high. It was interesting too. I don't know if you saw. In the last day or so, an article came out and it was quoting the Offensive Center that the Colts have the from Alabama.
Alabama, Yeah, Ryan.
Kelly, right, And Ryan Kelly was quoted about talking about and praising Anthony Richardson's work, ethic, in the way he handles himself, which is impressive. And there's no debating the athleticism and talent that he has. But athleticism and talent doesn't necessarily compute into playing quarterback. So he's got a long way to go.
Okay, So if you were to rank the Colts one through four in the Division three or.
Two, No, I'd put them at three.
Okay, three seems to be the logical place for three.
I put them at three.
Okay, all right, so that's where they are. Let's talk about the Titans. You said third four, Yeah, as you go there, because there was something that you didn't like. They added Calvin Ridley, they traded for Lagerious Snead, the two big free agent moves wide receiver in corner, and then their top two draft picks are both linemen. You mentioned your affection for jac Latham.
Yeah, I think he's a He's a really good pick. He's a He was a right tackle at Alabama. He did everything in a very effort, effortless manner. Some people don't think he can play left tackle. I think he can, but I mean this is this is a I mean I thought he was the second best offensive lineman in the draft.
Who do you think was the first? The kid from from Notre Dame, oh Jolt, the tall guy.
Yeah, I thought he was the best. He was just a mauler and he's got length and he's going to have an opportunity to still even get bigger but Latham is just he's naturally charging, He's huge, an athletic.
He was one of the thirteen guys that was in Detroit and he was a physical specimen.
Now, the part that I didn't like the second round pick that I was going to ask you about, Okay, who was Byron Murphy's cohort at Texas and this is the big powerful run stoppers, part time player at Texas because he was out of shape, not a team player by some of the reports that are coming out, had the issue with I think an out driving while in the recently. Those are all signs to me that go red alert, red alert, red alert, stay away. They pitched
him in the second round. Yeah, you don't draft defensive tackles that cannot rush the passer in the second round. I'm sorry, you don't do that. Okay.
So they are in the fore hoole.
Then, yes, okay, they belong all right.
So then I'm guessing that the Texans, based on their division title from a year ago, are the team you thinks at the top of the division.
They they've earned it. Okay, so we'll go there, and they're in a one hole. So C. J.
Stroud, obviously you have you talked about him before the draft. Last year, you talked about him through the season.
He is talked about him before he was drafted. That it's right. Mean, I was like this guy, this guy, I mean, And whenever's this debate about who should be the first overall draft picked, and I'm watching Alabama play and I'm watching Ohio State play, and I go, who are these people that are saying the prospect from Alabama should be the first overall pick?
Yeah, I think so either six, three, two twenty five and CJ. Strout obviously proved it. Here's what they gave him a free agency and then I'll give you the draft picks. Stefan Diggs, the former Buffalo bill who is enigmatic.
I would not have done that. As a general manager, I would not have done that.
Joe Mixon, the running back from Cincinnati, I would have done that, who always seems a two hundred and twenty five pounds to beat on the Jaguars.
He had to come touchdowns here. Joe's got a little bit left in the tank and he's been a consistent starter.
And then Daniel Hunter, the pass rusher from Minnesota.
Wish we had him here.
So then you add to that Hall of those three free agents. A draft class that's not deep because remember they traded the twenty third overall pick to Minnesota and the Jaguars then traded with Minnesota and the Jaguars picked twenty third. But when you look at what they added, they added a cornerback, Kamari Lassiter from Georgia. I was at Kansas when his dad played, so I know the
kind of player he is. I don't know how good he is, but he'll be a guy who's in your face, physical and not afraid to mix it up at the line of screen.
It'll be interesting, uh, to see how he does. He's a guy that I watched a little bit of film on him, didn't watch a ton because he was not considered one of the top cornerback prospects. But the Houston Texans are going to make their significant jump with the development of c. J. Stroud in that in that passing game last year, it was at a level that was really never seen before by a rookie passer.
No, they were tremendous so and Tank Dell was a big part of that. Now, Tanks, he's from Wound.
Hope you have a gunshot Wound.
Yeah, and they say that's not going to be something that's going to get in his way.
You hope that he's recovery is yeah, yea hope. But I mean that's scary. And but Stefan Diggs is the wild card I think in this and the reason I wouldn't have done it is because he's proven in the past to not have his quarterbacks back, so to speak, and that he's willing to what's the better way to put it. He's a plain diva.
And the Bills knew that when they traded for him from Minnesota, and they put up with it to a certain degree, to a certain point, and then they decided it was time to cut bait and move on and moved him to Houston. So this is feast or famine right.
Well here, you know he had he could be good and it could be bad, right, could be really bad. But they've got, uh the wide receivers that they have Tank Dell. Let's say he comes back and he's healthy. The other guy from from miss Michigan, a big, tall, long guy that runs great, and he's the guy I was saying a couple of years ago. This guy is really good.
Right, he had a big game here in Week two last year.
Love him, love him. It's from Michigan, Michigan, and he was like a third round pick or something like that. He was not a high draft pick. I can't believe we're forgetting his name.
We're getting old, Jeff. I just want to make sure I got it.
But uh, he is is. He reminds me a little bit of what we just got in the draft. Big, tall, fast.
Deco Collins.
Thank you, Nico Colin. Nico Collins. I to make sure I didn't confuse him with Noah Brown, one of the best young wide receivers in the division.
So now you got Diggs, Dell and Collins, who if they are all healthy, if and all acting right.
To be pretty dangerous. So they got pretty good.
Yeah, he just Dalton Schulz decided to stay for another year.
Be pretty good. He could have left.
So I think that they are legitimately the team that you put right there number one, And we were sort of doing a little schedule prognosticating.
By the way, Demigo Ryans give him some credit. He's a really good coach. He he has done a really good job because the general manager that has been there for a while, not Jack Easterby, but is.
Now gone, is gone, he's out of the picture, hitting me with everything, and uh, the guy who came from from New England and.
All right, anyway, he he really if you looked at some of the moves, many of the moves that he made up until Demiico Ryans became the head coach, we're kind of looked at as they went through a couple of coaches in a couple of years and right back to back years. And you bring Dimiko Ryans in and
did a from a tremendous job. Tremendous job, and especially I mean a defensive minded coach to be able to have, you know, a quarterback that come in as a rookie and to uh to coach a team to the division title, tremendous job.
Nick Cesario, who is against one of those guys who came with them.
Phil, he was from the Belichick coaching.
Tree absolutely, just like at easter Peak was as well. All right, so there's a look at the division and we'll just kind of stack at Texans, Jags, Colts, Titans.
I mean, right now, that's kind of where it's at. Okay, and and the top ones are the best quarterbacks that's, you know, the way it should be. And and here's the thing we really haven't talk much about our quarterback. Our quarterback has to take the next big step forward. He's got to take the next step. You know. Last year, I think the injuries kept him from taking those steps forward.
When they were eight and three, he still had too many turnovers, but it looked like he was in command. And then all of a sudden, you get the knee, and you get the ankle, and you get the shoulder, and you get the head, and all of a sudden, it just doesn't look.
Yeah, but whenever eight and three we were sitting there going this offense still hasn't even come close to it and its stride. The defense was one of the big reasons why that team will turnovers. They created.
Yes, well let's do this when we come back. We'll talk a little bit about Trevor. Also, we'll do a little schedule prognosticating, right, it's gonna come out next week. Get your thoughts on primetime games. Maybe where they start the season, be where the end the season. I have a couple of distinct thoughts on that too. We get one more segment. This is Jaguars Happy Hour. Jeff Loghiman is here and we will return right after this. All right, back for one more se got about five minutes here
left in Jaguars Happy Hour. So the schedule comes out.
Wednesday supposedly, Well, yeah, it was.
There was some talking was going to come this week, that we might be talking about it tonight, but they didn't get there. I come on, just let's let's go right. But I mean, you know the NFL, they liked the drama, they liked to Can you imagine trying to put that together?
Though?
You know when Val pinchback and you remember Val, when Val used to put he was the broadcast VP. He used to go into a room. He didn't have any he didn't have any technology. I mean they just kind of cut and paste on a on a whiteboard with stickers, you know.
With with venues. Now, there's just so much going on, so many und management of all of that. It's a huge task.
And the room is guarded by everything but the.
Scenes and also the international games you kind of factor them in.
And those are just becoming even more prevalent.
Yeah, just want to.
Get your thoughts on who who would you like to see the Jaguars open the season against I mean, if you were going to pick one right out of the gate, for assume it's going to be primetime. Just for this conversation, I don't want it to be a division opponent.
Okay, I just I'm not a big fan of opening up with a division opponent. So I'll choose green Bay, all right.
They opened with the Colts last year. I would like to see I'll go with the division. I would like to see that c. J. Stroud Trevor Lawrence matchup. I don't think we're going to see it. I don't want to see that right up, Uietly, that is a game the NFL is just going to love having.
Green Bay would be a good one now with I mean yeah, I mean Jordan Love and Trevor Lawrence. I mean, that's that's an attractive matchup. And then the other thing too, is it would be good for the.
Gate primetime games. How many do you think the Jaguars earned?
They didn't.
They didn't play all that well in primetime last year. You know, the Bengals game had had promised it was a good game down to the end.
Well, I mean not counting the London game, because that's you know, that's National those are going to be that. Well, that's obviously not primetime this morning. I would say, you'll get a Thursday night game, and you'll probably get a Monday night game.
Okay, so they were all home last year. You figure at least one of those is away this year. The away games are the Eagles, the Bills, the Dolphins, the Lions, the Bears. The Bills would be a good one. Yeah, they played that one in September. There's no chance of that happening.
That would be nice.
Yeah, not after we got them last year. But you start to get around November, it starts you could have them.
Yeah, I don't want to. I don't want to be there in November.
You think maybe Thanksgiving Day finally, for the first time in Jaguars history, they played the Thanksgiving Day game. They do have a scheduled away matchup at Ford Field.
That would be great. I would be for that.
I used to be able to do the math because one year it was Detroit that had the NFC opponent and Dallas had the AFC, and then they would flip flop so that each network had a game. Well, now you got the NFL network game, and and maybe NFL Network is going to see that to Netflix or Amazon or whoever. But you have three games, but this might be the year.
I'd be okay with that.
That you have a Thanksgiving Day a game. I think that would be cool to be part of the two. Never had one, No, the only two games the Jaguars have not had Giving Day game and the Super Bowl. Of course I have a both this year.
That'd be great. Not both.
Yeah, we'll see where that one goes. Also, first ever trip to Las Vegas.
Yeah, the new stadium would be cool to see. I'm not a big fan of Vegas. I'm not my kind of town.
I listen me either. I was there for the Draft and it was fun. I toured the stadium. It's it's exceptional, especially when you walk in there. I want you to put yourself in the belly of the old Oakland Alameda County Coliseum. Yeah, and of course you'll miss it because you're nostalgic and you love the history of the game. But you'll be like, wow, I mean it's a lot different Mars and Venus.
It is. So when we go to Vegas, do I need to bring a pack of cigarettes and a whole bag of coins and just sit at the I don't know what is that thing?
The slot machine?
Yeah, with handle on it? Are you kidding me?
I don't know.
Where they I.
Don't know where teams stay, the hockey teams, right, because because Tim pas who produces our preseason broadcasts, it travels with hockey and they stay right in the casinos, right, they stay in the hotel casino.
I mean every hotel is probably a casino.
I think there's one or two that doesn't have a casino in it. It's like a Marriott off the strip somewhere. Yeah, I think the NFL, because.
If they're that'll be interesting. We'll see, we'll see.
It was fun. Thanks for having me in tonight.
Yeah, I enjoyed it.
Appreciate catching up. And by the way, the pre show is the best because we talked for an hour about what we're cooking.
Absolutely, the older we get.
The more we appreciate good food and good wine. Jeff, have a great rest of your waiting to you all folks too. And JP's back in the seat next Thursday for JAG. Where's Happy Abu