Draft Season: Episode 5- Running Backs

players to get you set for the draft. And we like to crawl behind the game, inside the xs and os on tap Heeds and bring you a different kind of podcast to get you set for the draft than maybe you'll hear elsewhere. This is not the you know, the the mock draft podcast. This is more of a wide angle lens and I think a realistic look, more realistic look at the way NFL teams actually prepare for the draft as opposed to the mock draft to see all the time on TV. So, you know, Greg, we've

done some wide receiver work. We have done a lot of quarterback work. Later this week we're gonna dive back into the quarterbacks in our episode that will drop on Thursday. Rich Gangerello, who is the UH now current offensive coordinator at Kentucky, but a twenty year college and pro coach, most recently the quarterbacks coach for the San Francisco forty Niners. He'll join us on Thursday, and we're gonna break the

quarterbacks down. But I think this week we are planning on jumping into the position that I think is the most interesting, debatable, you know, at times polarizing position when it comes to not only evaluating guys once they're in the NFL and what it should pay them and how much of a commitment you should make to them, but where you should draft them coming out of college, and

that's running back. Like growing up, I mean, we the running back was the glamor position Earl Campbell and Walter Payton and Tony Dorset, and entire offenses were just built around those guys. That's not the case anymore. Outside of Derrick Henry, I don't know that there's an offense in the NFL that is purely built around the running back. So how hard is it from a draft standpoint to properly value the running back When you see these stars

in college and you want to project them to the NFL. Well, I don't think, Bob, it's as much about the traits of backs. There's good backs every year, and there's good backs in this draft. I think it's really a thirty thousand foot macro question. What kind of resources do you allocate to the position? That's number one? Number two becomes how do you structure an offense in today's NFL? So that determines what the value of a back is to you?

You know, obviously, look at a team like the San Francisco forty Niners, David, they start with the run game as a foundation. Now they've shown, just Kyle Shanahan has shown, just as his dad, Mike Shanahan showed that it wasn't specific to one back, but it was specific to a system. So they've had success with a lot of different running backs. This past year, they had success with Elijah Mitchell, who

was a sixth round pick out of Louisiana. So they didn't allocate a lot of resources to the position, but yet they were able to run the ball exceptionally well because they believe in the run game as a foundation, which raises the next question, should the run game be a foundation in today's NFL? When all coaches talk about is explosive plays and presentage wise, you're far more likely to get explosive plays in the past game than in

the run game. The next question is every game you pretty much have to run the ball at some point in the game. So if you can't do that often you can lose games because of an inability to run

the ball. And I don't want to put any blame on the Cincinnati Bengals coaching staff, but obviously in the Super Bowl they continue to throw the ball with a lead in the third and fourth quarter, and they were six quarterback sacks in the second half of that game, and at some point many might have thought that, hey, now is the time, let's run the ball. And they

did not have a bad running game at all. But the running game is the kind of thing that people say you don't need until you need it, And you can't just snap your fingers. It's not a water faucet and say, Okay, now we're gonna run the ball. That's something that has to be practiced. I've had conversations with a lot of coaches who will actually say that teaching and coaching the run game with all the detail and nuance that is involved can sometimes be tougher than teaching

the past game. So unless you spend time in practice with the run game, then it doesn't just happen when you need it in given games. And of course this brings us then back to when do you draft running backs? Because there are good backs in this draft. There's so many branches to this tree, right, Like you mentioned the

San Francisco forty. Yeah. Um, Like they took a big, powerful, borderline tight end sized wide receiver in Deebo Samuel and they're like, you know what, We'll give you the ball out of the backfield four or five six times a game. At times, we'll make you a pseudo running back and line you up all over the field. Cor Darryl Patterson is another player that all of a sudden he's wearing you know, a number that begins with eight, and he's in the backfield sometimes just taking a standard out of

the shotgun running back play. Um. Also, I think a lot of teams now look at the screen game. Um just you know, even going five wide and having their running back as a part of an empty set. Let's just throw him a little quick slant. That's almost a pseudo running game now in the NFL, right, just a high percentage passed to a running back, which means when you're evaluating all of these guys for any NFL offense,

you have to wonder how well they can catch. Like Earl Campbell was never lining up in the slot, Christian Nakoya was never running a slant right like. It's just just not what was done with running backs back in the day. So all of that, I would assume has to be a part of the evaluation process. How much do we need a running back? How many guys on our team that don't you don't even necessarily think of as being a running back can act in that role?

Does our offense ask a running back to possibly catch the ball six seven, eight times a game? I mean, and obviously, if you're a fantasy football player, the running backs to catch the ball the most. You know, Christian McCaffrey, those are the guys that every fantasy football because Christian McCaffrey catches it sometimes as much as he runs it. So when you're evaluating all of these college players, you know how big of a how many different slices are there?

Now to the pie chart for an NFL evaluation for a running backs opposed to way back in the day where it was just can the guy run off tackle left or off tackle right? And once in a while break want and go the distance. Yeah, And you make a great point. There's so many different elements and there's

not one correct answer. I know a lot of people I believe that the run game is not really that relevant that it's it's the NFL is about the passing game, and I don't think anybody would argue that as a general statement that you have to be able to throw the ball, uh, in order to to play good offensive football week to week and to get to wherever it is you want to go. But we've also seen the San Francisco forty nine ers two years three years ago get to the Super Bowl and lose in a in

a game they probably should have won. This year get to the NFC Championship Game, um and in a game they probably should have won as well. So there's many ways to play offensive football, and there's many ways to create explosive plays in the past game. But I will say this, I think that at some point in the NFL a couple of points. Number one, you do have to run the ball, But number two, your past game

can't work solely off your run game. One thing I was fortunate enough to learn from Bill Walsh, because I was very fortunate and grateful to spend a good amount of time with him years ago, is that your running game and your passing game must in any given game be able to work independently from one another if they're dependent on one another for their success. In other words, the only way your pass game can really be effective

is working off run game principles. You're going to get to games where you need to drop back pass game and you're going to struggle. Interesting, Yeah, you're right, I mean being and also it allows you to be one dimensional when it's necessary and still win. Correct. We always talk about, you know, if you can make a team one dimensional, that's the best way to beat them. That's

a really interesting way to look at it. I think something else that really has to enter into the minds of evaluators but also how they weigh the running backs and where they want to put them on the board is it's a very unique position in terms of lifespan, in terms of how much money you have to pay one of these guys once he gets if he's a first round pick and he gets to his fourth and fifth year, right, Like, no one ever could have imagined, say Kwon Barkley being anything other than a star and

out just because he has been on a bad team and he's been banged up the second pick in the draft. There's a legit debate as to whether or not by the time he gets to year five the Giants should pay him, and and how many more years past year five will even have I've actually said in the past, I think the NFL Players Association should be obviously the union that represents the players. I think there should be

an NFL running Backs Association. There should there should be a separate collective bargaining agreement for running backs where they should become free agents after year three, right, because all these other positions you could play six, seven, ten, twelve, fifteen. I mean, Tom Brady might play thirty years in the

NFL by the time he finally officially retires. These running backs, man, they get to their second contract and already teams are like, I just don't know, Like I don't know if we want to give this guy much of a financial commitment, you'll get the odds Zeke Elliott that really will break the bank. But a lot of these guys have a lot of tread off the tire by the time they get five and six years into the league, even if

they're really good. So you know the fact that teams can find running backs in the third and fourth round, the fact that there's you know, injury questions with these guys. They get hit in a way that other positions don't get hit. They're smaller and getting hit. I mean all of those things, Like how do NFL teams weigh all of that when they're thinking about where the draft. One well, one quick point is and I think there'll be a litmus test team this year in the NFL that will

really tell us a lot. And that's the Pittsburgh Steelers who just signed Mitchell Trubisky is their quarterback. And we all know what kind of quarterback Mitchell Trubisky is. He needs a run game to be valuable and effective. And they have a back in Nigie Harris who's two thirty pounds looks like a Donas carry the ball over three hundred times as a rookie um struggle to average four

yards to carry. You can you can debate why that's the case, but is Nigie Harris in this particular offense with a quarterback that needs a run game and that you don't want to ask him to drop back times the game by choice? Where will Nigi Harris be in a year or two, no matter how big and strong and powerful he is? How many years can have back carry three plus times in today's NFL? Yeah, you're right.

And you know, when you think about the guys in this draft as well, how many guys fit that body type or how many of the guys that are in this current crop of running backs are guys that you might think of us what's become more the prototypical NFL running back? Because when we come back, we're gonna talk players. We're gonna talk who Greg has seen, what the tape says. Who are the guys that Gregg values a bit more

in this draft than maybe you're seeing elsewhere. Find that out next when we come back tape Heads Draft season. We are back on tape Heads Draft season, Bobo shoosing Greg Cosll and we're gonna get right now to where Gregg co Sell eats, and that is breaking down these players. So we're doing running backs, Greg, Let's start to get to each guy kind of one by one, give us

a little thumbnail sketch starting with Bruce Hall of Iowa State. Yeah, and and for people that know me, Bob, I'm not a big list guy because I think so many players are different and it's hard to do that. But I would say that briefs. Hall to me, if I had to make a list, would be my number one running back in this draft class. I think he's the total package. Um. I think because he's carried the ball a lot, he has extensive experience in both zone and gap scheme concepts.

I think he's got a high level combination of patience and decisiveness. He's very smooth, he's fluid. He's got a gliding feel to his running. There's a sense of pace and tempo to him, as if he has an innate feel for both his blocking schemes and for the defensive flow. Because one thing people have to remember, you know, everybody talks on defense about gaps, but offensive backs, running backs have to understand gaps what they are before the snap,

they change after the snap. I think Hall has a very good feel for gap fluidity, and he rarely ever looked hurried. He ran with a rhythmic feel that at times almost made an appeal appear that it was choreographed. And another key fact to his game. He can catch the ball well, and I think that he can be a three down back in the NFL with his soft hands run after catch. I think you can see him running a more multiple route tree in the NFL as well.

You can see him running angle routes, wheel routes, even what we call eight seam where he's all set in the backfield and runs a seam route. So, to me, Bruce Hall is the top back in this class, first round pick. And if in the first round, what do you think, I mean, where where would you kind of put them generally speaking on a board? Um, I mean I think if you're making a draft board and I haven't seen every player, so you know, that's hard for me to answer. Um, I think he'd probably be a

top thirty two player in this draft. Whether that means that he gets drafted in the first round. Uh, that's that larger discussion that we just had about the value of BacT and that becomes team specific, scheme specific, how you see him in the context of all of those things. So, uh, is he one of the thirty two best players? I would argue, yes, that by no means suggests that he

will be a first round draft choice. Yeah, it just shows how the game is evolved in the position is evolved, right, because this isn't even thought to be a quarterback rich quarterback deep draft, which would normally allow the other positions to bump up in value, and yet the top rated running back potentially in this draft a question mark as to whether or not he's going to go in the first round, and even how high in the second round.

So how about Michigan State's uh Kenny Kenneth Walker. I mean, he was a guy that kind of burst onto the scene late in the year. Not someone that was in the Heisman conversation to start off the season, but that was very much in the Heisman conversation at the end of the season. A really fun guy to watch. I don't know if you saw him much this year. Um, he's compact, he's loaded the ground, He's piston like feet that seemingly never stop moving. He's got outstanding lateral quickness

and suddenness. He makes sharp, decisive cuts. He's got really good contact balance. Um, he's very competitive, He's tenacious as a runner. He will lower his pads and he will attack defenders, and he will finish runs with anger. And there's a run to daylight feel to the to the way he he runs. I mean, it's almost as if he's a bit of a jazz musician, Bob. He's looking for space, He's looking for that next notes as it were. You know, he certainly can stay on track, but he

definitely is looking to find daylight. He's got a free flowing sense of of running. Um. He's very improvisational. He can work off script um. The big question with him, and again it comes back to the same point about the value of bacts is what can he give you in the passing game. And I think right now that's an open question. The tape does not see just that he can be a a factor at at as a

receiver at the next level. Maybe he can. That's what pro days are for, that's what individual workouts are for. But the tape doesn't show that. Another guy that is probably more of what is now becoming the prototypical NFL running back Isaiah Spiller from Texas A and m right, smaller guy, but certainly can catch and that system had to catch the ball. So what do you think about Spiller. YEA, Spiller is actually a a almost in some ways a little old school because he is big and he's powerful, um,

and he runs really hard inside. Um he's got If you're thinking old school, I mean you would talked earlier about facts, you know, twenty thirty years ago, like the George Rodgers types, Orge Drivers being a first round draft choice what I think nten eighty giver take coming out of South Carolina. I mean Spiller is in some ways

like that. He's six feet, he's two hundred seventeen pounds, he has a fee Tacher foundation, volume, back, traits profile, He's got the size, he's got a compact build, he's got patience, he's got vision, he's got short area burst, he has enough lateral quickness, and he works really effectively in confined space, which is absolutely critical in the NFL. He's got natural power, he's got contact balance, he's physical,

he can finish runs. He's an attitude runner. He's that that foundation type back that you feel good if you want to start your offense this way giving him the ball, you know, seventeen to twenty two times a game. So it returns to our basic question, how many teams want to play offense that way in today's NFL because Isaiah Spiller can fill that role. James Cook from Georgia. Obviously

it's in the gene pool, right. I mean, you know when if you grow up eating at the same table as Dalvin, then obviously there's something about whatever they were feeding those guys to turn them into NFL running back. So how about James Cook. James Cook to me is

in some ways what the NFL has become. You know, people listening to this, I don't want them to fall off their their seat if they're sitting down, because I'm going to compare him to someone He's not quite the same level of player, and he's much smaller, but he can be used the same way in the NFL, and that's Alvin Kamara. I mean, Camara is a much bigger man, and he's kind of evolved into a little bit of a feature back. But in many ways, James Cook brings

a similar running receiving profile to an offense. Just ask Nick Saban. Cook lined up split out against Alabama and then these past years and made big plays called a long touchdown split out two years ago. He is a really really good receiver and you can use him offset in the backfield as a receiver, you can detach him from the formation. Um. He lacks the size to be a volume runner, but he possesses almost all of the skills to be a really productive runner. In fact, he

runs very much like his older brother Dalvin Cook. He looks the same, He's just a smaller man. But I think James Cook is one of those players that I would not surprise me to see him jump some other backs who we might think have better overall traits because they're bigger. But he fits today's NFL if you're looking for that back that can both run the ball as an eye back but also be a receiver split from the formation, which more and more teams do now in the NFL. Tyler Algier from b y U, what do

you think about him? Yeah, He's He's a really interesting back. To me, I think he's more of the quote unquote feature back type, and I'm very curious to see if teams see him that way, because he does have a lot of really good traits and he's the kind of guy that grew on me the more I watched him. He's two four pounds, Um, he's got a subtle nuanced feel for the zone run team. He predominantly ran the zone run game at b y U. He's patient, he's disciplined,

he's efficient, he's got good vision. Um, he's got an intuitive feel for the pace and tempo of runs. He stays on his path, he he presses the whole, he leverages defenders. He's a really good back. Um. He kind of reminded me of two backs that I that I watched, and neither one well one of them did have a featureback success early in his career, Jordan Howard. I kind of thought of Jordan Howard watching Tyler als year. And the other back that came to mind was Alexander Madison,

who's the backup to Dalvin Cook. And he came out of Boise State and the Vikings drafted him in the third round. And I kind of see Algier that way. I don't believe he'll end up being a feature back in the league, but he will play in the league for sure. And one of them got to talk about

in this segment, Arizona States for shod White. Ah. So he's another guy that I think if he becomes an excellent and NFL player because he has really good receiving traits, and he's big two, he's over six ft, he's two d fourteen pounds UM. He needs working past protection, but he's an excellent receiver, Bob, and he's a He's a good runner as well, but I think his receiving ability will separate him. He's got the versatility to detach from

the formation. He has excellent hands. He can be featured on multiple route concepts, including intermedia and vertical routes, and that's really important. So White, to me, could be another one of those backs that moves up in the draft because of the receiving element to his game. He's really good at it, and you know he's got wide receiver

traits in many ways. So Cook and White, James Cooking a shot, White are the two guys are the ones we've mentioned up to this point that are really strong receivers, and I think that that could really impact where they get drafted. Yeah, and today's NFL, the ability for running back to catch the ball has never been more important, and you see that in how teams put their offenses together. Want you to send us your thoughts on these players. A lot of information in a short period of time.

If you think Greg's done with the running backs, Think again, he's just getting started. We're gonna keep it coming with another group of running back prospects. See what the tape says, and then we'll take kind of before we say goodbye for this episode, a wide angle look at how deep and talented this class is and if your team is a running back needy team, where you might find value. All of that is coming up on tapeds Draft Season.

Back on this running backs edition of tapeds Draft Season, Bobo Shoes and Greg Costell running through a lot of the top running back prospects and the guys that Greg thinks might be the most interesting fit for NFL teams. And you know there's an Alabama transfer that played at Cincinnati.

I had their games a couple of times this year, and their offense looked because there was times where he was banged up, and as good as the quarterback was, as good as their receivers were, their offense just look different when Jerome Ford was healthy and on the field. Greg,

what do you think about Jerome Ford from Cincinnati. Yeah, he's a player that to be honest with you, I knew he was an Alabama transfer, but I didn't know much about him the year prior, in two thousand and twenty, he was not really a feature back for them, so he was somewhat virgin territory for me. Bob and I really liked his tape. Um. I think he's got a really good mix of size and traits. I mean, he's compactly built. He's got a sturdy frame. Um, he's got

natural quickness and burst. He's got natural power. He's got a really strong lower half. He can run through contact, he can finish runs. I thought he's a very disciplined runner, doesn't waste any emotion, and he can take it to the house. I mean he can re accelerate, he can get to the second level cleanly. Um, he's got very tight footwork, very compact in the way he runs, and you know we see that. Uh. While he was not

featured in their passing game, I think that's there. He didn't make some catches on wheel routes, really good sign. But this kid has explosive vertical ability. Um, plays fast and his physical I really like Jerome Ford transitioning to the NFL. Let's go to Alabama then, I mean that was where Jerome Ford once was, but that's where Brian Robinson most recently was so, how about Brian Robinson? Yeah, he got his chance this year, and I actually watched all his runs from twenty as well, and a good

number from one. Um. He's an urgent, determined, physical, competitive downhill runner. He runs with velocity, he runs with power, he gains hard yards, but there's also kind of a looseness to his running. His feet are kind of light and active. You wouldn't say he's purely shifty and elusive. Maybe he's a little straight line ish, but there were runs in which he did feature lateral quickness and agility.

He has sort of that stop and start re acceleration ability. UM. I came away from his tape this year seeing a kind of a looser hipped runner with more efficient change of direction, a more fluid feel. I kind of like him as an NFL back. He has feature back size and traits. He's two pounds he doesn't really look at when you watch him, but he's almost six to Bob and that's really really good size. Alright. Karen Williams notre Dame. Yeah, Kiren Williams is a guy that there's really only in

my view, two ways to see him. He's got good traits. He's a very refined runner. He's a professional runner. He's patient yet decisive. UM he knows how to run. He's not explosive. He doesn't have a lot of juice. So to me, Kirra and Williams, because he's an excellent receiver and he ran multiple route concepts and he was split from the formation. I could see him in two ways.

He could go to a team where the running back does not carry a ton and be a quote unquote number one back in the way that Austin Ekeler is a number one back for the Chargers. He's not going to carry two hundred fifty two hundred seventy times. Or I could see him as a James White type back the way James White is used with the New England Patriots, where he's used primarily as a receiver once in a

while carrying the ball. Um. Don't forget James White when he was in college was a one thousand yard Russia at Wisconsin. So White then made that transition in the NFL to a back because he's a really good receiver and a really good blocker. I think Kirraen Williams probably falls more into that category. Damie appears from Florida. He's an interesting player, Yeah, because Damian Piercy. He's a professional

runner when it comes to approach and execution. I mean, I don't think despite waiting two eighteen pounds, my guess is he'll be seen more as a committee back or a number two back. He doesn't have a ton of lateral agility and quickness, and he doesn't have a ton of burst, but he's compact, he's loaded the ground. He's a very measured, methodical, discipline runner. He's got what we call sustaining traits. He's got an innate understanding of defensive fronts.

I mentioned earlier gap fluidity as a great feel for that. He also has a natural feel for the demanded pace and tempo of specific runs. He's got great play strength and contact balance. I mean, this kid fourth through tackles and he did not go down easy. He got hard yards. Those are two traits that are always in demand in the NFL. UM he's an attitude runner, and every coach

and every team likes attitude runners. Um. There's much more to get from Pierces to the receiver as well, and that will enhance his value as you project and transition him to the league. He's super intriguing to me, Bob, because just stylistically the way he runs, he could be seen as a guy that could get a hundred seventy carries. It would not surprise me if some teams see him that way. Alright, we we've touched on a lot of guys.

We even back in the previous segments said Breece Hall is probably the best overall prospect in this class, and yet you don't think that he is a slam dunk first rounder, which speaks also to how the NFL has changed the value that is put on running backs. But just kind of wide angle lens this class as a whole. If my team needs a running back, how talented and deep do you think this class is as a whole? Am I gonna get a good player on my team if I take one of these guys, even as high

as the second round. Absolutely, I think it's a pretty deep class. I think it just speaks to what we've been saying that teams don't see the running back position as needing to allocate major capital, either draft capital or even you know, trade capital or free agent capital. But I think there's a lot of good running backs In this draft, a lot of running backs will be talking about and again it comes back to our initial premise, what is the value of the running back in today's NFL?

Can't do Teams feel that, Hey, if they're not going to be a run first team, so they look at Damian Pierce, who may well be available in the third round. And I don't know. I'm That's one thing I'm not good at, Bob, and I'll be the first to admit it. I'm not good at knowing where guys are going to get drafted. Um, but you know, can they look at someone like Damian Pierce and say, hey, we can get this guy in you know, the third round and we'll be fine. I mean, look at New England. The New

England Patriots this year were run first football team. Okay, who were there? Backs? Damian Harris a third round pick out of Alabama a few years ago, and reminders Stevenson, I believe, a fourth round pick out of Oklahoma this year. So there's a template in place for a lot of teams in the league where they want to run the ball like New England did with a rookie quarterback, and

they ran it really effectively. Think they were in the top ten in the league in both attempts and yards, and yet they did not have a first or second round pick as one of their backs. So there's a lot of templates in place. We've mentioned the forty nine ers. You know, last year everybody mentioned Jacksonville with James Robinson gaining a thousand yards as if I'm not mistaken, was

a free agent. Um, So there's there's profiles in place of teams that have not drafted backs high and yet has still managed to have quality, consistent run games on a week to week basis. Then, with that being said, if you were running an NFL draft room, right, if you were a general manager and you it was your job to make these decisions, would you have I don't want to say a blanket rule, but at the very least like a general policy for your scouts. Because we're

not drafting or running back before the third round. It just doesn't make sense. If you think there is a transform should old guy out there that maybe folks are undervaluing that is worthy of a second round pick, bring him to me and we'll certainly talk it over. I'm gonna be as open mind. It is an about I mean you know, you don't close the door to anything, but just as a general rule, I don't want to

talk running back until the third or fourth round. Is it even necessary or is there a guy maybe in this class that might violate that principle that you think is worthy of a second round pick or a high third round pick. Where maybe teams just generally speaking as a principle, or like, look, we can get running backs later in the draft, free agency. There's a variety of ways to get a got to play that position without

having to spend high end draft capital to get him. Well, then I think what you need to do and I say this honestly, and this is what teams do you need to evaluate? Why good running teams are good running teams? Are they good running teams because they have it back? In other words, could anybody do what Derrick Henry does? I think the argument would probably be in that case, no, wouldn't you say that Derrick Henry is probably a different cat than most um? Could anybody run for the forty niners?

The argument would be seemingly yes, you could put a lot of backs back there. Why is that the case? You would have to do a deep dive into the structure and concepts and approach of that offense to figure that out because you know, look, a lot of teams run the same concepts, Bob, There's not a thousand run game concepts. As you know. It's how you get to the run game, how you teach it, how you coach it,

how you deploy it. So a team like the Niners, if you feel that running backs, if you decide, as a general rule, well I'm not taking a running back in the first two rounds. But yet you know at some point you're gonna have to run the ball because every team has to run the ball somewhere along the line. Then you better have a way of running the ball. So you have to know how you can do that effectively. It does it become a function of oh line, does to become a function of scheme, does to become a

function of back? You have to have an answer for that before you do just what you said, before you decide that either we are or we're not looking at a running back as a higher level draft choice. See. We hope people get, if nothing else out of this podcast, the realization that that is the conversation that's going on in a draft room. That's the conversation that a general manager is having with the scouting department. Not hey guys, as if it's fantasy football, let's wrap three hundred players

and just pick them off of a list. Right Like, there is a total philosophical conversation happening behind closed doors about how do we want to put our team together? What kind of a team do we have, what is our offensive system, what are our quarterback strengths, what kind of an offensive line do we have, How does a running back fit into all of that? And how much money do we have to spend? Right Like, we go out and spend money on the free agent market and

get one as opposed to having to draft one. You know this, People see the mock drafts and they see, you know, Breeze Hall's name up there, and your team might need a quarterback with the what a thirty four pick, and they don't take them, and people kind of throw their arms up like, oh my god, we passed on such a talented player. Well wait a minute, you know that's not the conversation that's happening behind closed doors with your team. They're not just sitting there going Bruce Hall

is good. People think he's the thirty fourth best player. We've got the thirty four pick, let's take him. Right. It's a much deeper philosophical conversation happening with all positions, not just running back when you're gonna draft a player, right, No, you're exactly right. And and these are the conversations that are had, and they have to be had because ultimately, I come back to to the point that I've made a few times. Every team has to run the ball

somewhere along the line. That's a given. The question is how when look bottom line, every team would like a a higher rated runner than a lesser rated runner. That's why you draft, That's why teams do boards. Is if Breese Hall is rated higher, then let's say Snoop Connor from All Miss we didn't talk about him, but he's going to be rated higher on people's draft boards. So would you rather have Breese Hall? Yes, but you're not looking at those two players in a vacuum, right, yep.

And it is a fascinating, you know way, I think hopefully for people to understand how the draft boards are actually put together by the guys that make the picks. It's totally different than maybe what you're reading you know, on websites or mock drafts um when teams you know, kind of or when when you know, the mock draft guys come up with their own boards. And coming up on Thursday, we've got a coach who has spent over twenty years at the NFL and college level evaluating teams

and players. Rich Ganzarella, the current offensive coordinator for Kentucky, will tell us what to look for and how things have changed jumping from college football to the nf FELL, particularly for quarterbacks because obviously that's the world he lives in. He was the quarterbacks coach for the forty Niners, now the offensive coordinator for Kentucky. He's got a pretty good one with the Wildcats. We will touch on that with Rich coming up on Thursday as well. Hope to have

you again on Thursday when our next episode drops. Thank you for being a part of Tape Heads Draft Season.