It is Thursday, April seventeenth. This is Jackuars Happy Hour.
Jaguars Happy Hour is brought to you by Dream Finders' Homes and now in the spirit of fairness, cause Austin is here tonight.
He's going into the octagon next week. Brian's Sexton, Hello, and welcome to Jaguars Happy Hour. Brian Sexton in for JP Shadrick and what we have a full cast in here tonight.
You know.
Jeff Logaman, Hello, Jeff, how are you?
I'm doing great?
Nice to see you. That nice to be seen.
When they said do you want to do Happy Hour? I said, is Jeff going to be there? They said yes. I said, I'll do it. Cool, glad that you're here. And then they said Austin Lane was going to come see it in and I said, even better, Austin, how are you.
I'm doing a fantastic I've stem in here because there's a custody battle between Brent Martineau and you guys right now, so it's kind of going back and forth. And now two Christmas is for me, if you will, but I've got to be here.
Well, we're glad that you're willing to split some time with.
Us absolutely well, and by the way, we got at least we got the right side of the ball.
Oh yeah, I mean defensive guys.
I mean, you know, defensive ends.
It just goes to show you.
So we're gonna lean heavily on the defense tonight.
The intelligence factor went away.
Listen, we knew that a little atayring the attitude.
I'll bring the attitude, you're bringing the intellect.
I'll try here we go, right, So tonight we'll talk about one week to draft night. We'll talk about the principle of value versus need, right, and we'll talk a little bit about players or picks.
And I want to hear a past story about draft night from Austin Lane.
Really yeah, I mean, look, we had essential Wisconsin. Oh, I have one for.
You right now, you got one, Yeah, might as well do it.
Draft story. Yeah, so obviously, So did you get invited to the draft?
First?
Get invited in the draft?
Neither? Coming out of Murray State, you know, a fifth round pick, I wasn't going to go to.
I guess at the time where it would have been? New York City? Yeah, was always there. Yeah.
So it was weird because coming from a small school, they said anywhere from the second round to the seventh round. Now, this is my agent being a good agent, I think right, Like, I think he had a more feeling of a late round pick. But I'm like, all right, second round, you never know. So we're there the first night, I'm back home Wisconsin. I owe the Scandinavia tound of thirteen hundred people. Name doesn't get called. All right, gonna have the party
the next day as well. So we're at my mom's house. She made brisket right about twenty friends were over there.
And how she cook it, by the way, in the oven.
I really, she's not saying, this is Wisconsin, man, I'm just gonna put in the oven again.
Call a day.
And obviously there's some basic beverages being passed around as well.
I was being good lining Googles live. There's some line and Googles and some point some point point.
Point points of beer. By the way, point people don't know that that's actually a beer.
Well we know.
Just to interrupt your story, because the Jaguars did training camp in Stephen's Point, Wisconsin in December of nineteen ninety five.
And that was the one, by the way, that's where I learned.
And lineing googles were the deal at the penalty box right across that.
Yeah, yeah, were you there too? You probably weren't the penalty box, right, I found many places in and he walk in.
Oh, were you a coach?
You know that's that.
I never even by the way, I never even knew what point beer encouraged was.
But that's like a big deal in It's a staple.
So here we are in Wisconsin for training camp, supposed to have cool weather. Cow's are dying in the.
Field, chickens in the shed, warm summery. Everyone.
I'm drinking point beer and eat.
Kirk.
You decided to leave New York for Jacksonville, you end up in Wisconsin.
I don't know how that was.
We go back to your story.
Yeah, So anyway, so it's the fifth round and I'm like, okay, I got a pretty good feeling here. The Raiders were on the clock, and I'm like, I didn't really hear much of Oakland at the time, but I'm thinking this might be the one. And I get a phone call. It's a nine o four number, and I answered the phone.
I'm like, okay, this is it, right?
So I answered the phone and at the time I didn't know who it was, but it was coach Malarkey, remember Mike Malarkey. It was his son who's in the skyting department. Okay, doesn't introduce himself. He just goes, hey, Austin and he get hunting in Wisconsin and I'm like, yeah.
Yeah, how he remembers the exactly. Oh I remember the exactly. I'm like, yeah, I mean I guess.
So he's like, you're hunting a lot ago when I was in like second grade. I haven't been hunting in forever. Can I ask who's calling? But he's like, I'm trying to watch the draft and to the point, yeah, exactly. Sonny goes, you've been fishing in Wisconsin and I'm like watching the TV and the Raiders are so I'm like, well, it's a nine to four number.
It ain't Oakland.
I'm like, who is This must be like prank caller, right, trying to get back at me. So I'm like, man, I haven't been fishing in.
Like twelve years. Why are you asking?
And then all of a sudden, I see there's a trade goes in and then it's Jacksonville's now on the board. And then I'm like Okay, I see what's going on here. And then finally he goes, do.
You want to be a Jacksonville Jaguar? And I go, yes, sir, absolutely.
But then after that, so you know, the town goes crazy town of thirteen hundred. They had fire trucks driving up and down my mom's street because, like, you know, Derek's the whole town. And the funny part about it is that my friends played in a beer league baseball game. What's a beer league baseball? So basically think of like
drink beer baseball. So think of like a bunch of washed up athletes who never made it to the pros and never made to minor leagues that are still trying to relive those glories.
This is baseball, baseball, This.
Is baseball, so like fast yeah, So I went to go support them after I got drafted. Well, all the TV crews were in town, like where's Austin, Where's Austin, where's Austin.
My mom was like, he went to his friend's beer league drinking beer. Yeah, So I.
Ended up getting interviewed at the beer league baseball game. They're wondering what am I doing there support my friends? And then the plan was to go to Appleton, Wisconsin. You guys have been Appleton's where that where you're staying, right, So the place to drink in Wisconsin is Appleton.
And by the way, for for everybody that did know, the Appleton, Wisconsin has some of the best two beat Yes, the yeah which I tubed down the Little Wolf River?
Yes, yeah, yeah, years ago, Little Wolf River. Yeah. Anyway, you are full in Wisconsin. I appreciate it. I don't know. Anyway, So you had him at hunting and Fishing, yeah, yeah.
So well we're getting ready to go to Appleton to celebrate obviously, throw a couple back, and all of a sudden, my mom calls and she goes, hey, the local bowling alley bought you a keg of beer, and supposedly two other like people bought you two other kegs of beer.
Do you do you want to go to the bowling alley.
I'm like, in Wisconsin, if someone buys you a keg of beer, it's like them giving you like a like a kidney, you know what I'm saying.
It's like it thought of a sacrifice.
So instead of going to Appleton, Wisconsin to celebrate, drink at the you know, the local bowling alley.
And we had fun there.
You stay true to your roots, staying true to my roots, Austin authentic that you better believe.
Three cakes, three cats. How long did that last? We started?
I think at nine o'clock and I think we tapped him out by eleven thirty.
Yes, yeah, that sounds about Yeah.
A lot of people there, and it's the first time I ever drink with my like, my mom was there too, and it's cool. It's like a high school reunion, right, so all your family and friends are there and everything. And that was the first and only time that me and my mom kind of like party to get there a little bit. And that's the last time for a reason. I'm just gonna say that much. If you ever watched Seinfeld and how like, remember Elaine Bennis was dancing that.
That was my mom embarrassing me. That's what she does though, so was.
Doing mom cut off from the bruise.
My mom.
Mom was cut off from the bruise.
And of course my friends were encouraged you to keep dancing, Juli doing a great job. And I'm just like, now get me at a Jacksonville please, and here you are and here I and you're back and you were fighting, and you were on the air with Brent Martineau.
I have a good friend. Yeah, that's where the Elaine Bennis reference, I'm sure comes in a lot of handy.
Without a doubt, you're a pop culture icon.
I try to be a week out from the draft, right, first round, fifth round. What's that like from a player's perspective. I mean, you the Haysen, the barn, so to speak, and there's not much more you can do. The visits have stopped.
I think everybody's different, but I think there's a lot of anxiety for players. And I think the one thing too that the player really is concerned about is making sure that their health and well being stays intact, uh for the for the next week, right because of anything happens, anything from you know, look falling down a step or you know, being stupid and having too many beers and then you know, something bad happens. I mean, you're you're you're highly aware that this is a critical moment, and
so you're trying to be on your best behavior. You're trying to do all the right things.
Are you're working out or you're worried about pulling a hamstring and miss.
Well, you're still working out, but I mean, but you're not killing it. You're just working out, I think more just to take your mind off of what's going to be coming up, more than anything. And uh. And there's a lot of phone calls that happen in the in the week leading up to it, because you're going to have teams constantly checking on you to make sure that you haven't been hit by a train, a truck or whatever. And uh. And then you also have a lot of
calls from friends and family. And that's okay, you know, because I mean, they're just showing that they love you and that's your support system and and so that part of it is all good. But yeah, there's a lot of anxiety. And I think the one thing too that I remember doing prior to the draft was you're you're trying to read and this was obviously pre phone internet era when I was drafted. You're trying to find out any information that.
You can just about to ask.
Totally different nowadays than for Austin. It was different from me. It was very different because you know, there was no internet, but.
Did you ever read? I mean, and I would imagine being taken in the earlier rounds, it was a little bit more narrow as opposed to the fifth round. Yes, you got an idea that the Jets were.
No, well they can't. They actually worked me out. But I was like at this time, you know, I heard that I could be drafted from maybe late first to second third, you know, so you know my window was was kind of in that range. And and uh.
When did you know teams were you I had an idea and it's kind of wild how and this was more agent driven, Like Austin was talking about where some some of his information came from.
Most of my information, that's where it came from because he.
Was on the phone.
Remember no Internet, no cell phones. Okay, the only thing we had was newspapers. So your agent really was the guy that had the information. And so the information that he had. And my agent was Brad Blank out of Boston, Massachusetts, and great guy had in my whole career, and I think he still does a little bit of stuff. But
he had heard Pittsburgh was a possibility. Uh, San Francisco definitely late in the first round, which you know the I think San Francisco en up drafting the linebacker Keith the long out of Tennessee, which I could have been that guy. But yeah, I mean there was a couple possibilities, but the Jets were on the radar, but we didn't know that it would be at the fourteenth overall pick.
So so much of the mono draft, all of the mono draft really is about the first round. Occasionally guys'll stray into the second a little bit, but it gets harder. How about you sitting there on the day three in the fifth round? Did you have an idea the Jaguars were interested in you? When you're sitting there deeper into the draft, do you know or is it just completely waiting and guessing.
So I had a little bit of an idea.
But if you're gonna tell me to name like the top twenty teams that I thought would be interested, Jacksonville might have been like thirtieth because I had an in
person interview with them at the combine. And I'm not sure if you've done this before, Jeff, but like when you do these interviews with the whole organization, you're at the roundtable and it's almost like you're like getting intarrogated by the CIA, right, because there's like a bright light in your face and there's just darkness behind you, so like I'm trying to see, like I can't that.
Okay, that's Jacktory over there. I know him and I'll talk and I see him over there.
But like, it was a very intimidating experience. And it was the first interview that I had at my combine, and.
I bombed it. It was it was the worst ever, you know. I mean, I wasn't myself.
I was nervous because here you have a kid from Murray State who obviously the deck is already stacked against me. I didn't play against a good competition, so I have to purvey the fact of hey, not only can I play against the competition at the next level, but I'm also like a good team guy. Right, So I went above and beyond to try to purvey that. And I just I was myself, and I was nervous, and even I remember Jack Thery after the interview goes, is this
your first one? Yes, sir, he goes, I can tell. So I'm like, I'm probably not going to go to Jacksonville. But then lo and behold they call me. And I'm not sure how you felt about this, Jeff, but the most stressful part about the experience for me was like, yeah, anywhere from the second, whatever, third, fifth, maybe free agent,
I didn't know. But the most stressful part for me was We're talking thirty different cities that could possibly live in, right, and that people kind of feel that to, you know, realize sometimes it's like, well, I can go to Cleveland, I can go to Hell at the time when it was Oakland, but I can go to la Now I
can go to New York. Like that always kind of stressed me out more than anything, because, well, I'm about to drop what I'm doing in Wisconsin and go make a new life myself in a new city and they play Jacksonville was a cool city.
Yeah, I kind of had some of the same thoughts. And you know, when when you think about mock drafts, I mean, and everybody has a mock draft nowadays, I mean, heck, Martin's probably got four of them.
Yeah right, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah.
So the only mock draft I think that was happening in that time was Mel Kuiper. It was the big one, I mean, and really that was the Mogs bomb did
one with Pro Football Weekly so too. So basically there was like two mock drafts that were put out at that time, and I don't even think I ever even paid attention to it, and and when I look back on it, you know, when I was drafted by the Jets, it kind of made sense because I had multiple workouts with different layers of people from that organization and it made perfect sense.
But for you and I, the mock draft, the mock draft of record, besides mel Kuiper, which was, by the way, there was no internet, so it really wasn't as big of a thing as the USA today, which was you know, back printed newspaper. On the day before the draft, they would do a big mock draft, and Rick Goslin from the Dallas Morning News was a big part of putting that thing on. The game has changed so dramatically. There's almost too much information.
There's a of information and along the lines of what you were talking about, Austin about Okay, I'm getting ready to be transported to a new city and I have no idea where, yeah, which I remember thinking, and you know, I have friends that were asked me, you know, where would you like to go? And I'm like, you know what, man, I'm kind of a small town guy, just.
Just don't send me to a big city.
Yeah, those are the biggest in existance.
Here I go. They booed you if I recall you're welcome for Yeah exactly.
Wasn't in New York that.
They replay that every year for the draft, you know, so I got a I get a yearly reminder on that.
So well, they haven't forgotten your name, now, have they.
I mean, you were afraid of the big city. But was there because I mean I can name one.
Was there one team, a couple of teams that you did like when you saw their name on the clock, You're like, please just skip me, skip by me, because I'll be honest.
When Cleveland was on.
The clock for me, I was like, that's the place where the river went on fire a couple of years ago.
I heard.
Yeah.
I never had that feeling because, you know, being the fourteenth pick, I never really got to the point where, okay, this is my.
Range, you know what I mean.
When when it got to fourteen and and I was selected, you know, and mel Kiper was right to some extent and that maybe the Jets could have traded down and gotten me maybe a little bit later. So I wasn't expecting to go that high. I don't know, I just kind of had, I don't know, maybe a different mindset at that point, and I said, you know what, I'm
going to lower my expectations. Even though people are telling me that I could go in the middle of the first round, and my expectation, like, you know, that's not going to happen. I'm going to be picked probably maybe late in the first round, and then definitely probably in the second round. So my expectations weren't for that point. So I never was when each team was on the clock on no, please don't pick me, Please don't pick me, because I'll never forget this. This is the God's honest truth.
Because I went the night before the draft. I remember looking at the financials of the year before of where the draft picks were at and what they got paid.
So that also, and it's you'll you'll agree with this, Okay, You're also in your mind, you're also thinking about if I get picked in the first round, or if I get picked the fortieth pick or the fiftieth pick, or in your case, the fourth round or the fifth round, what's the money, like you know, because I mean the reality is, I mean, you're a young man getting ready to start aunt of money and you're getting paid.
Yeah. You want to know what I wasn't yet, Yeah, I wasn't a thing.
Yeah, And you're thinking in New York, I have to pay a city sack.
I got to pay a lot of city tax, the federal income tax money here, yeah.
Yeah, Florida, Florida shines brightly there. All right, when we come back, we'll get a little bit more specific and we'll talk about some players who are going to be around when the Jaguars picket number five. The Jaguars new season is right around the corner, and the time to get your twenty twenty five season tickets is now. Be at the bank for every touchdown, secure your seats, go to Jaguars dot com slash tickets, dial them up at nine oh four six three three two thousand, and you
can do it today. Well, actually, yeah, you can do it today. We don't know what it'schedu was.
Yeah.
Uh. This is ten ten Xcel and Jaguars dot Com and we're back after this on Jaguars Happy Hour. Jaguars Football is presented by Fresh from Florida. It's always in season. Welcome back. Jeff Logoman's here. Austin Lane is here. It's Jaguar's Happy Hour from the Hyundai Studios on ten ten XL and Jaguars dot Com. Well, the Jags are coming to you join us on Thursday April. Ope, this was last week's Okay, ignore that?
Good?
Yeah, ignore that. Yeah, ignore that. We were talking the other day, and I'm sure you and BRENTA talked about it. There are three players that stand out, in my opinion elite. So I'm gonna turn it over to you and you will. How about I throw it to you and then you guys just go with it. Yeah, and we'll start with a dual carter since we've got two defensive ends in here.
Right of dual Carter from Penn State. I remember watching the Notre Dame game in the college foot I'll play off and thinking that guy could be the number one overall.
Pick easily, where's number eleven? And very similar to Michael Parsons. I think in so many different ways. Now, I will say this, all of my evaluation has nothing to do with is he a smart guy? Does he have good character? I don't have a clue, okay, because I'm not privy to any of that kind of information. I'm looking at film on an iPad and a Microsoft surface. That's it, okay, And I think he is the premiere pass rusher. And I think he's gonna have the same impact as a
Micah Parsons when he gets in the NFL. He can play linebacker, he can play with his hand in the ground. You could do all kinds of creative things with him. From a spinner package or what we call you know, Lawrence Taylor, they didn't call a spinner package. They call it like a I can't remember what do they call that. What did you guys call where you had three down and one guy that stood up and then walked around, And you can call like the joker, joker, joker spin or whatever you want.
To call it. He can do anything. He can do anything. He's he's so talented.
No, I agree, And I definitely get Micah Parsons vibes from him, simply because I still feel like he's a little raw, like he hasn't even come into his own yet.
As a as a as a right.
He was an edge rusher one year of yeah, and.
I think when you look at you know him, I mean, the biggest question and if the if he was there for the Jaguars.
How could you pass him up?
Because because hard he might be the best player in this draft. But the biggest question is, Okay, then are we taking need or are we taking.
Best player available?
Because when you look at Josh Hainz Allen, who you just paid, you have a guy in Trayvon Walker for so far, for the first couple of years, has done his thing who might be in line for new contract. It's going to be hard to justify bringing him in with Trayvon Walker and Josh Haines Allen. If that's the case, it's going to be hard to pay.
Just I go back to the Patriots Giant Super Bowl and you had Matthias Kaiwanuka and Tuck Uh you're justin Tuck and you had uh, Michael Strahan. I mean you did they just they just came in waves and could for a team that has two really good pass rushers. Two years ago they were the number one pass rush duo in the NFL with twenty seven and a half sacks. But yeah, did you feel like two years ago in twenty twenty three, they had enough?
No?
Yeah, no, yeah, yeah, I mean I think if a duel Carter was there it'd be really hard to say.
Now, you can never have enough, and there's always ways that defensive coordinators, I mean, look, you give them three guys like that, yeah, I mean, you'd have an absolute joy figuring out. And one of the things I think that impresses me about Carter is that he's got great stamina, great stamina, great closing speed, and great finish, which is which makes him special. Like we were saying, there's I believe there's three players that are lead at the top, right,
I would put him up there. Travis Hunter is in that same We're gonna talk about him next, and uh, I would view him as a wide receiver first.
All right, well let's go there. Okay, why because he clearly was very talented.
He's the most effortless wide receiver that I've arguably watched in the last fifteen twenty years really watching film.
Who needs you compare to Who else have you seen that's so effortless?
I don't That's my point. I don't think I've seen anybody that's of his caliber. He makes everything look so easy. Okay, the difficult catch, okay, you know, one hand out grabs it, no problem, body control, no problem, Okay, subtle push offs, an advanced route running, no problem. He does everything at a level that it's it's ridiculous and that people are having this conversation about he can he play both ways?
When you're an effortless athlete, the possibility of playing both ways exists because I mean the way he plays the game, it's not like he's ah, it's smooth and effortless. Where his heart rate Sometimes when you watch him he sit there to go, you wonder if his heart rate even went overall hundred.
Yeah, any position that you would call effortless. I'm trying to think this draft, no, no, no, just just to give us a player who's effortless.
In the NFL.
I played with one of them, and actually last time I was on the show, we talked about him the off the field stuff aside. Justin Blackman was an effortless receiver because there's some guys like take like Tyreek Hill. You watch him run routes like he's really chopping his feet, he's really exerting himself. I agree here with Jeff, like Travis Hunter, it's just it's like he's not even trying.
It's not fair.
And Justin Blackman was the same way where he would just go up and make these catches and come down with them, like, dude, you should be like, you know, gritting or whatever you want to do is celebrating.
And he's just like, yeah, that's what I do. And I think a Hunter fits that moult.
I would I would say that one of the uh, the Sharp brothers. You know, they're not Shannon, but Sterling. Yeah, Sterling was a very effortless wide receiver, going a little bit old school, and then had the next issue, which but I mean, he was kind of along those same lines. But obviously I think he's way, way, way more advanced than sternly Sharp is. So I think it's going to be interesting to see how teams view him and how they utilize him, because I don't think anybody can play
the NFL truly in a two way capacity. You have to have one be the dominant one and the next one be kind of a supplemental package. And if it were my decision, I would have him as a wide receiver and then find some packages to play him as a defensive back.
But Jeff, let me ask you this though.
You know, when we talk about finding that group, finding that rhythm isn't it easier to have a package or a couple packages on offense to kind of rotate him in and then get his reps on defense playing cornerback, because I feel like if you come in cold as a cornerback and you're going against Justin Jefferson, you're going against Tyreek Hill. Isn't that harder to adapt as opposed to playing the wide receiver position where you know Liam Cohin's gonna drop some packages for you.
I think it's easier to manage it. I think for the way you're talking, I think it totally makes sense. But here's my thing. Do I want to have somebody that's going to touch the ball eighty times.
In a season?
That makes a lot of sense, or.
Somebody maybe touch the ball as a defensive back maybe four or five. There's more of a game changing opportunity when the balls touch that many times. So just it's like to you, who do you want? You want Jerry Rice or do you want Dion Sanders?
Jerry Rice?
But Deon's not going to return for you know, I mean.
Just as a you know, do you need touchdowns? And listen from the Jaguars perspective, and this team needs touchdown makers. Right, I mean, especially with Christian and with Evan gone. But before we get to the touchdown maker, just evaluate Hunter as a cornerback for me, since you talked about him being effortless as a receiver, does that translate to the defensive side of the ball.
Also the ball skills, Yeah, from that aspect of it, the ball skills than and also the body control, and he is he's effortless on defense as but it's not as natural, you know, because on offense you kind of it looks more natural on offense because you know where you're going, whereas defense and is more reactionary. And he's got the skill set, make no mistake about it. And
he's the best corner on the board, period. But what I separate him from the defensive back at Texas and I can't remember his name, who's yeah, Okay, what I separate him is the gap like that from Baron No, I think the GAP's closer. But the gap from the wide receivers in this draft to Travis Hunter, it's it's like it's way, it's miles apart.
See it the same way?
I really do.
Yeah, I mean, especially in the way I look at it, is this the whole goal should be to see what we have with Trevor Lawrence now going forward, right, you have an offensive minded coach.
You know, we haven't seen the best version of Trevor Lawrence yet.
If you put him at wide receiver, that's going to help elevate I feel like the best performance that Trevor Lawrence can give you. So not only is it what's best for the team, but what's best for your franchise quarterback as well.
Why do you think that Travis Hunter was in lockstep with sdur Sanders everywhere they went?
Do you think Dion's a dumb guy?
No?
No, yeah, no, I just think that the biggest issue though going forward, Jeff, is what is that percentage going to look like? Because he's made it abundantly clear. He's been on an interview saying I want to play both ways, you know, and what's like, what's going to happen when it's you know, maybe he's on offense and all of a sudden it's fourth down and he wants to go and you know the game's on the line.
Do you put him in there then?
So trying to balance him and getting that ratio of offensive defense that's gonna be the change. He's gonna play well regardless of where he's gonna be. Can you imagine that balance?
Can you imagine Let's say let's say he is what we think he is right five, Well, it actually would be six years from now. What's his contract look like if this guy is actually not a full time two way player but at least a partial too.
Yeah, what if he has six or eight touchdowns on offense and four or five interceptions on defense.
It's gonna be monumental.
It's gonna be groundbreaking because you're essentially gonna be paying for two players.
Yeah, two top level players.
All right, let's do this. We'll take a break, we'll come back. We'll hit that third elite level player when we return to Jaguars Happy Hour on ten ten XL and Jaguars dot Com. And we're back on Jaguars Happy Hour. Take a look at a party ahead at Daily's Place, and there are some big shows coming up. Old Dominion's in on June the sixth, April Levigne on June the twenty third. Here's when that sounds good? To be slightly stupid on June twenty sixth, and Live.
I like them, By the way, Sid, you kind of got a little bit of a reggaee swing to it.
Yeah, absolutely, And Shania Twains in on July twenty ninth, Heat the Dailiesplace dot com now for tickets and show information. Welcome back, Jaguars, Happy Our Brian Sexton in for JP Shadwick this evening and we were in the Hyundai studios on ten ten Excel at Jaguars dot com. All right, now we bring to the one that is being debated in and around North Florida, and that's the running back Ashton genty Without any filter, tell us what you think.
I think he's the one of the three best players in the draft. But the question mark I think becomes is do you value that position to that level. There's no debate that he's got speed, he's got vision, he's got power. He runs throughs more, he runs through more tackles, arguably than anybody that I ever watch.
Here's the number. He had seventeen hundred yards after contact last year as part of a twenty six hundred yard season, which was more than the next running back had total. Amrion Hampton, the kid from North Carolina in twenty twenty four.
Ye and Hampton, I would put him probably at the bottom of the first second round.
He's a big guy, so Jude Jenny. I mean, he's got the size.
Even though they didn't utilize him as a receiver, he can do it when he was asked to do it, no problem. He's got home run speed. And I think the thing that impresses me is that when you watch him and pass protection, which is always a kind of a stumbling block for young running backs, no problem. When the only question mark I think that you may have
about Jenny is ball security. He had a couple of fumbles, you know, in his career, and that's an issue that sometimes when that's the only thing you can point to is maybe a weakness. Sometimes it gets talked about, probably more than it should be.
He's been compared to Austin, to Barry Sanders in terms of production. He's been compared to Ladania Thomason in terms of versatility.
See in that one.
He scores a lot of touchdowns. So, Christian McCaffrey, and then you said Saquon Barkley to me the other day, and.
So I pose this question to you, and I'll pose it to you, Austin, if if you could draft Saquon Barkley in the top five.
Would you do it?
I mean, he essentially won the Eagles of Super Bowl. How can you pass that up?
Yes, I mean yes, So, I mean there's a lot. I mean, look, and I'm not saying that the Jaguars should draft them, yeah, you know, because look, there's some other great players on the board. I mean, Mason Graham, the tackle out of LSU. There's a lot of great players there. And when you're drafting at five, it's kind of hard to make a mistake, although there's been teams
that have done that. But I think Jenny's got to be on the conversation just because again, I think he's one of those three leade players.
So I've went down a rabbit hole the past couple of days because I'm trying to put myself in James Gladstone's shoes and we hear the terminology intangibly rich. Well what does that mean? So I look back at you know, the Rams last draft that he was there, and you can look at the quote unquote intangibly rich players. Well, who do they take? They take Jared Verse with their first pick. Okay, Jared Verse in terms of production was the second highest rated in terms of production addresser that
they could get. Who do they take next? They take Fisk, a defensive tackle. Biggest thing about him was a little on the short side, had stubby arms, had small hands, had athleticism, but didn't really have the size the mold to be maybe a defensive tackle the traits exactly, but what did he have. He was second at his defensive tackle position in production. So then we go third. You take Blake Korum. Some people said, we're gonna take it in the third round, Blake Korum. You know you already
got a guy in Henderson there or whatever. They take him. Well, Blake Korum led the FBS in touchdowns that year. And then the next pick then was Kitchens out of Miami. If you remember how he all panned out, Kitchens was a safety who ran like a four to six, had a horrible combine. In terms of athleticism metrics, he was like I want to say, he was like thirty or fortieth.
It was bad. But in terms of production he was second.
This is the calling card of what the RAMS are looking for last year, and that to me is what intangibly rich means. So if we're talking about production, if we're talking about a guy who can make a difference on the field. Yeah, Hunter is one of those guys. Carter is one of those guys. But you can't bypass Ashton Denthi though, either.
Remember also, I'm sorry, but remember also what the Buccaneers did last year when Liam Gohan fixed the running game and took him from the bottom three to the top three in Baker Mayfield at the best season of his career. That would be very enticing to me. This team needs touchdowns.
I also think it's interesting that Austin, you're using the word production. Yeah.
The word that we've heard around here for the last few years has been trades.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, okay and sly smile on your face.
So I mean, I like that word production more than I do trades. And I think you have to weigh more on production of a college player than you do about traits and trying to fore because that's forecasting, you know, and nobody has a crystal ball at least, you know, we used to have those magic eight balls, right, But that's not going to tell you that I still might have the proper answer all the time. But I mean, I think that that's the mindset with James Gladstone when
he talks about intangibly rich. You want to have the production, but you also have to have the character that backs it and surrounds that production.
So let me argue for drafting genty regardless of position, this franchise needs elite players, and you said he's one of the three elite players in this draft. They also need the difference maker, the culture setter, and it sure seems this is a guy who bypassed the chance to go make a whole lot more money in the nil before his big season at Boise State. He had the opportunity that's untangible that makes him intangibly rich. I just
think this is a franchise. You can try to piece it together or you can just build it with those blocks of granted that are great players who are great people that help you get there. If this is both of those, I don't care what position he plays, I mean outside of quarterback, because you're so committed there, give me this guy. You don't have Christian Kirk or Evan
Ingram anymore. You need production in the end zone. This is the second running back in the history college football to have more than twenty six hundred yards, and he had twenty nine touchdowns. What's to argue with.
Yeah, and listen, you can say with Liam Cohen last year with that offense, Yes, you had Mike Evans, you had Chris Godwin. Yeah, but they at one point they were both hurt and they were led on Bucky Irvin, who was a fresh face.
Yeah.
And by the way, if I look at his metrics, look at his athleticism, which was I think he was like twentieth over dollars something like that. I look at his production, he was top five in production for running backs with Bucky Irvin. But my biggest thing is when Liam Cohen got in front of the media for the first time, and I told Brent this, I'm like, listen to who he mentions first in terms of the people,
like the players that he's talking about. He mentioned Brian Thomas Junior obviously, mentioned Trevor Lawrence, and he mentioned the two running backs. Now he didn't mention Evan Ingram and Christian Kirk, And I haven't told Brent, I'm like, that's not good for Evan Ingram or Christian Kirk.
If your coach is.
First press conference he gets in front of there talking about the team and he doesn't mention you that's not a good look, and lo and behold, Christian kirk Now is in Houston and Evan Ingram's in Denver. So it comes down to is how much does Liam Cohen and James Gladstone like. How much do they like Travistn? How much do they like Tang Bigsby? And if you do get a guy like Ashtroon Genty, then what's the plan gonna be? Are you gonna plan on moving Travistn? Is Tank Biggsby still gonna be here?
Those are questions I gotta get asked too. That's the problem. You'd like to have figure it out.
Two seasons ago, Etn gave you eleven touchdowns, so you've had some production. But he didn't have a really good season last year, and you wonder he's playing on a five and a half million dollar fifth year option, something just shy of six million. The counterfactual to this argument is that it's one of the better drafts for running backs that we've seen in recent years. It goes deep, but how many of them are elite?
I mean, there's none of them in Jenny's class. I mean, that's can you get a good running back in the second round. Sure, you can get a good running back in the second round. Are you going to get one to the level of genty, I don't think so. You know, offensive lineman, let's say you draft one at five. Could you get an offensive lineman that's in the same neighborhood as the offensive lineman you might get at five.
Probably, So Brandon Linder was a third round pick in seasons, you know.
So you know, there's always separation and there's elites, and those three guys I believe are the elite players. Look, I think that the quarterbacks have a lot of great things to offer, but I think they're talked about at the top because of the position that they play. Cam Ward has some elite throws and elite ability. Should R Sanders has some elite pocket ability that is very impressive. But if they weren't quarterbacks, I don't think they would be talked about in the top of the draft.
You know, we talk so much about the offensive line being fortified to improve the running game. The running back can improve running game and make those offensive linemen look
a lot better too. And I thought, yeah, I'm interpreting, but I even thought it, maybe heard that from Liam Coleman one of his answers where we talked about there were some different things we could do to open things up jet screens, and but that's where I thought, just take this guy if he's there for you, because he can take the offensive line and elevate its play.
Well, you know, here's here's a great, great question. I mean, look, if Hunter's there, and Carter's there, and Jenny's there, which one of those three would you take?
You know, I mean, it's a it's a great question. You know.
The one thing I got to help my quarterback about Jenny that's interesting to me is that he was born here.
Yeah, family.
For the first seven years of his life. Yeah.
Yeah, you know, so just a little added, little note there. But but I think if I had to have one of those.
Three, I'm taking Hunter. Yeah, agreed, I'm taking Hunter. Yeah.
You could justify that because it is a good draft for running backs and you can find a guy that can help you and you have two guys that you you know, you think can play.
And he's not going to be there. I mean, yeah, he's not gonna be there. He'd be crazy if it was there.
Unless teams get desperate for the quarterback in this this can happen every single year. But I think in terms of tangibly rich, does it get any more tangibly rich than Travis Hunter. I mean the dudes like Screet McDuck. When it comes to tangibly rich, I mean, he's he's got on both sides of the ball. That again, is a Brent Martin no kind of reference. That's yeah, No, I don't know he would say that, but it fits perfectly. We appreciate that.
All right.
When we come back, let's talk about other players that you like. All Right, this is Jaguars Happy Hour on ten TENXL and Jaguars dot Com. When we return, we go a little bit deeper into the first rout of the draft, and we're back after this, rolling right along here towards the five o'clock hour, at which point we say good night and Happy Easter to all of you. Brian Austin, Lane, Jeff Logaman here in the Hyundai Studios on ten ten XL and Jaguars and Jaguars Happy Or.
He's presented by Dreamfinders Homes, official home builder of the Jacksonville Jaguars. So let's talk about a couple of other guys. The most popular name associated to the Jaguars because mock drafts take need and marry it with value. And listen, Mason Graham, the defensive tackle from Michigan, Michigan is right there right. I mean, he he's a need and he's a guy who fits in the top five to seven.
Now we're not talking about elite level player, are we But we're talking about a really good football player, uh, really productive football player.
There we go, there we go. What do you think that's the keyword.
So when it comes to Mason Graham, you know when, because let's be honest here, you're bringing him in to get up to the quarterback.
You need himterior push.
If you want to look at this defense last year, one one of the gaping holes was it was interior push. You had on the edge, you had Josh hainz Owen, you had Treyvon Walker getting home in the backfield, but interior wise, it just wasn't there.
Mason Graham. I think when we talk about breaking down a.
Pass rusher three phases, there's the get off, there's the move area, and there's the finish. Mason Graham has the get off and the finish in spades. That's already there in my opinion. The move area part is where he has to improve a little bit, and that's you know, refining the pastors rush moves and things like that. But I think if we talk about his background, he was a pretty prolific high school wrestler.
It shows up on film a lot.
He's got great contact balance, plays with a lot of hand violence, which I come from the Joel Cullens school of hand violence. I know how important that is. And I think he just has that want to. He has that attitude, that demeanor that you look for in a defensive tackle. Now, size is a question, right, and this is where I think people have two varying opinions. I'm from the opinion of sometimes you got to put aside those preconceived notions of what a defensive tackle looks like.
He's not built like Jalen Carter.
He's not built like Jordan Davis, right, But he's also taller than Aaron Donald was. Okay, So I don't think the size is going to be an issue some people do. I think the size is going to be just fine for him, aren't The length and everything will be just fine. The big thing with him is can you get him with the coach that can refine his pass rush moves a little bit, and if you can, I think you have a game change.
On your hands.
Yeah, he's a he's a dominant player, like Austo saying strong. I don't think there's anything negative about him. But when you're talking about a defensive tackle at five, the one thing that you would like to have, because this is a passing league now, is you want to have a guy that shows that he can be a dominant pass rusher that can affect the passing game. And I think that's I don't think it's a question mark because he can push the pocket, but he's the truly an elite
player in the inside. I don't think anybody would say that he's going.
To be Aaron Donald.
I mean, there's never been a guy like that, very few and far between. But can he be a Chris Jones type?
I don't know.
I don't know if I would say that.
Well, he's not as big as Chris obviously, so you're talking about he doesn't have that lanth and Jones moves all over the line, right correct. Could you see this guy moving? I mean, he's he a three technique or.
Well he could play one. He can play a three, he can play a four, eye, he can play a five. Is he gonna be a wide you know, wide nine or or a seven? You know which is outside? You know you got a true defensive end. That's probably not where he belongs. But but he's a I think the greatest thing about him that I would say he's an ultimate competitor. Every play matters, and when you're talking about
in tangibles, there you go. I mean that right there fills the bucket up with this guy, ultimate competitor.
And people are gonna look at the sack numbers right and say it's a little low for my liking. But once again, if we're taking in the metrics and everything a production, he's first in his class a defensive tackle in terms of production, because sometimes it doesn't come from just getting quarterback sacks. Sometimes it comes from pressure, Sometimes it comes from taking on double teams and doing your job, and sometimes it comes from just you know, getting the backfield and causing chaos.
I think Mason Graham can do those things. His floor is high.
His way, it's a point I feel like, Yeah, whereas you know, one of the next best defensive tackles being talked about in the draft of Walter Nolan from Mississippi, right.
You know, he's a guy that at times shows dominance. Chris Jones dominant dominance, but the consistency, the ultimate competitor part. If you could morph the two of those guys together, oh my god, you'd have you know, then you would have a guy that would say elite player in the draft Adam to the other three.
I think if you gave him Mason Graham's mindset, he would be a top five pick himself. It's just this guy's there's a little question of the effort and the want to.
So who else do you like? Give me a player that if the Jaguars get stuck or if they trade back a few spots.
Who do you like at five?
Well, no, just let's just say the Jaguars.
I like a lot of players.
Give me more point.
Okay, we've got six minutes, so let's just say give me another player you like. Regardless of position where you are on the draft, who would you like to have on this roster?
First of all, I think there's a lot of really good edge rushers in this draft. I mean a lot of really good edge rushers, and a lot of guys are put at the top that I don't know necessarily should be at the top, but I hope they stay there because that pushes what I believe, the more productive types down to the Jaguars, which you could possibly get in round two. For example, the guy at Georgia I think is Michael Williams, right.
And Michael Williams and Jalen Walker's the other one, right.
And I like Michael Williams okay, and then Shamar Stewart another guy from Texas A and m where's that word at production?
Yep? Correct?
I mean if it keeps talking about potential and all that, look, I hope they get drafted in the first round because that's going to push guys that have had production down the Jaguars in round two, and there's a lot of guys to pick from.
I think at that position in round two.
You've got a guy in Shamar Stewart. I believe it's six seven. I think he ran like a four four or four or five of the combine. This guy is a freaking nature.
He is built.
I mean, he is built for NFL greatness. But then you watch the film from college and it's like, well, are they not using him correctly? He's not given ever because he didn't have the stats. Now he goes to the Senior Bowl and tears it apart the one on one Jills. Nobody could stop him. So then it's like you're watching him, it's like, well, then which one am.
I gonna get?
And am I getting the guy at Texas A and M who for whatever reason wasn't that productive? Or am I getting this guy at the Senior Bowl who was taking prisoners. It's just there's always a risk with those.
Type of guys.
If you're asking me and how I think this drafts could shake out, Like, listen, Hunter would be great in the first round, Carter would be great. I think they're gonna be there, right, so maybe go Mason Graham in the first round, you go defensive tackle. So then when are you talking about the second round? I'm trying to how about Trevor Lawrence, a guy, a wide receiver who I really like a lot. Luther Burden out of Missoo. This is a guy who he's kind of an anomaly
because the way they used him. He's super talented, he's quick, he's agile, but all he ran was five yard outs. All he ran was slants because they want to get in the ball as much as possible. I think in this Liam Cohen offense, with creativity and motion, you can put this guy in motion, get him open, and he can do the rest. And in terms once again production score, he was third overall in terms of wide receivers. You got Hunter, you got Ted McMillan, and then you got Luther.
The wide receiver along those lines, the wide receiver out Ohio State m M.
And who Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know you're talking about. Yeah, I probably butchered his name as well.
Yeah, I don't want butcher which I'm looking for it.
Leave it to the defensive play go for it.
But the one thing I love about him, he's got game changing speed and uh and from what I understand, he's he's character wise. He is as intangibly rich as there could possibly be when it comes from.
A character standpoint. Let me get your comment of guy that I love. I love watching him play the tight end Tyler Warren, who last year was I mean, they used him in every conceivable way except putting his hand on the ground and playing left time.
He's special. He's special.
I mean, look, I think he's got to be considered uh in the top eight.
I've seen him as highest, as high as six, I.
Believe, and what I consider him for the jack If I'm the Jaguars at five, I'd have a hard time doing that, just because I feel really good about where they are with Brenton Strange and about where his trajectory is. Trajectory is gonna go and Warren I see as more of that special pass catching tight end. I think Brenton Strange can be that. I would be looking more for an inline type of tight end if I'm the.
Jaguars and this is not a bad draft for tight ends, I think it's.
Some solid players, very solid players.
A Mecca ed Buka is the wide receiver that you were talking about from Ohio State them.
Love them, love them. Guy can take the top off the defense, touchdown maker. Pair him with BTJ.
Look at.
Position that you want to add to here on this roster that people aren't thinking of. We're talking about helping the quarterback with touchdown makers, for sure. We've talked about a lot of different positions on that side. Where else would you and listen, we spent so much time in the first round because that's that's where people's interest is. Sure, maybe second round people will go through that, but players right wherever they wherever you find them.
You got you got to get some interior offensive linemen. I mean when you're addressing a position like the Jaguars did in free agency with this, which is with as much money you got and resources at that position, that means that you've got a glaring need and you're just trying to patch it in free agency. Okay, you're not solving it in free agency. You solve issues.
With the draft.
That's the lifeblood of every franchise. You can patch it up a little bit to get you through, but to truly solve it and address it, you've got to do it in the draft. I expect the Jaguars to draft at least three offensive linemen.
And we haven't talked at all about the secondary, but obviously there's a need there too.
Without a doubt.
If you look at what this defense is going to be, and we have to see it for ourselves first, right, you have to see who you have your personnel. But if it's gonna be kind of like a Vic Fangel type of defense, because this is the coaching tree that it's coming from, you got to have smart, calculated guys in the back end, especially at the safety position, right because you're gonna be asked to play a lot of coverages, kind of switch up some things every once in a while.
And last year we saw way too many explosive plays out of the secondary. So I think safety and maybe even cornerback could be a huge need.
For I think safety's right. I think safety is going to be one of the positions that will be addressed. And when you looked at Green Bay last year, the one thing that impressed me about them they did They'd never had what the Jaguars had, which was breakdowns that led to explosives. Green Bay never had that. And so the hope is is the kay, you've got a guy from that coaching tree and that that mindset brings here, come here to Jacksonville.
Now you got to get the players deck cute, don't break.
Yeah, we're done. Who do they pick?
I'm taking Graham?
You who would you take?
They say, Jeff, I mean the punters there, but I'm taking I think I'm taking him. Yeah, because that's kind of a cough out we all know.
But we're out of time, so I gotta let this one go. I'll be in Green Bay, I'll join you guys next week. Here we go through. Thank you very much and thanks for joining us. Thank you Ev, thanks for having for joining us sub and we're back next week here on ten ten xl