0:00Welcome everybody to the Field of Podcast. I'm Bob Harris, he's Matt Waldman. It is Rookie Scouting Portfolio uh day plus six plus five. I don't know
0:10what the date is. Um and many of you out there are undoubtedly already have unboxed and unpackaged and rolled out and are perusing your Rookie Scouting
0:20Portfolio like me. It's fantastic thing.
0:23Uh and if you haven't got it, if you're out there and you're one of the few wondering, "What are they talking about this thing called a Rookie
0:30Scouting Portfolio?" It is the gift that never stops giving. It's fantastic work, Matt. Tell everybody what goes into it.
0:37>> Yeah, as Cotton uh Cotton Hill once said, "It's how I make my living." Um but it the Rookie Scouting Portfolio is
0:45um the most comprehensive look at skill position offen- um offensive prospects that you're probably going to find to the public available. It is uh a study
0:55of quarterback, running back, wide receiver, and tight end. Um for $21.95, you get a 1,267 page um PDF document that is extremely well bookmarked so
1:06that you could pretty much choose your own adventure.
1:09Um and it's very easy to navigate. So, if you want to look at um the chapters that give you um kind of a historical
1:17overview of these positions in terms of how they're drafted, how they've been drafted lately, what their fantasy impact is, what kind of fantasy advice
1:25I'm giving for um dynasty drafts, um you know, you can what kind of statistical trends are happening, what kind of positional trends are happening
1:36um in the league, and what we anticipate might happen. I share all of that. If you want to understand my process a
1:42little bit better, I define everything in writing. I have a glossary that I need to update. I've got some things that I'm a little late on updating, but
1:51you get a very strong idea of of what it is that I'm looking at and why. I even show you the checklists that I use to
1:58grade everything and they are everything's defined there and you see the the point weightings for that and the explanation for how the the
2:07different scoring works and then I even break it out by showing you by categories who's the best, who's the worst in terms
2:15of those specific categories and I give little highlights to why in terms of who who's notable that may need improvement, who's notable, who's really good at a
2:24certain thing like for instance let's say route running, you know, and I grade everything out into like what I think is
2:31a tier for elite, for starter, for a a contributor like a committee contributor, then a reserve and then basically a free agent or someone who's
2:41completely deficient and you get to see what those are all about, how I define those things and then you get a chance
2:48to see the scouting reports, you know, what I what I write up. That's what most of you will look at. I give you little
2:53elevator pitches so that if you just want the keep it simple approach to what it is, you get that. If you want to see
2:59the charting of how I charted these players out, you get that it's examples of that and if you just want to see
3:05every depth every point of the scouting report in there after the elevator pitch, you get to see those write-ups as well that kind of explain you know, why
3:14I wrote the elevator pitch and gave the score as I did. Um so you know, you get that for 164 players this year. I think that's how
3:22many I did this year. Usually it's at least 150 and it's a evergreen resource that you're going to use even in
3:30redraft. You'll find oh, Matt Waldman's high on Kyle Manangay um and this is a guy that I can get off of waivers and
3:39that you know, oh, that's worthwhile or somebody like 3 4 5 years later. Let me look back at my RSP. What did Matt say
3:46about Rico Dowdle? What did Matt say about Michael Wilson? Um you get a chance to see those things as well. Um,
3:53and then as a part of the 2195, you get a post-draft, which comes out no later than a week after day three of the NFL
4:01draft. So, you get a complete cheat sheet of rankings that and you get rankings tables in the pre-draft, too.
4:09But, in the post-draft, you get you get a one-page cheat sheet that just basically ranks all the players together in tiers and then you have these little
4:18symbols that kind of give you an idea of players that I think are overrated, underrated, which are sleepers, what are guys that are boom-bust in value. And
4:25then I give you this X value that is a calculation between the ADP of drafts that are going on of that player versus
4:34what my new ranking is based on fit and um, you know, draft capital. And so, if I liked Patrick Mahomes pre-draft, and I
4:44still like him in the post-draft as my number one overall player, but he's getting drafted at 33rd overall, well, you don't have to take him first even
4:54though I have him ranked first. I'm going to give you that X value that says, you should probably start taking him between picks 24 and 29. Like, you
5:03know, you kind of get a rank get an idea of where you should start considering him so that you don't get sniped, but
5:09you still get strong value. And so, I do that with all the players. It helps you know when to wait. These are players
5:16maybe I should let them fall unless I just think, yeah, Matt's a puke. I like Amari and Hampton way more than he does.
5:23Um, I think he's going to be the number one back right away out of this draft class. Let's put him, you know, I'm
5:30going to pick him number one overall.
5:31You know, that kind of thing. But, you get all of that for 2195, and uh, you're going to find that this
5:38is one of those things that um, it's low on frills, but it's high on substance.
5:43>> Like every every feature you mentioned, like the post-draft alone would be worth $21.95 to me. It's very useful. I mean
5:51like I don't follow a lot of people. I you're and I'm guessing 90 plus percent of you are like me. You're not a draft
5:57nick. You're not out there grinding on the film. You're not watching these things. But all that information can be available to you and if it's important
6:02to you, this is a great way to catch up.
6:04I just want to point out a couple things highlight that I I features that I love, especially the comparison tables. This
6:10goes back to my early days writing with the Pro Football Focus where Frank Coyle was a draft analyst who wrote for us. He
6:16had had what he called the Hindu theory of players like he's reading the reincarnation of as and these comparisons I mean that gives us the
6:24perspective we need but you can add to that and something I think you know there's like way maybe one of the more
6:30useful things that I found is the depth of talent rankings over the last 3 years.
6:35>> Yeah.
6:35>> Right? I mean you're looking and where does this player rank in a draft class of the last 3 years? Well, I know how
6:41the guys are doing around him and I get a little better feel for where these talents lie and and what kind of you
6:48know, gives me a little bit of perspective on them. So great stuff no matter what no matter what level you're at. If you are a draft nick, probably
6:54some useful stuff in here for you as well. So for the full range of people and as Matt said I'm highly navigable.
7:01Uh if you don't want to look at all of it, you don't have to look at all of it.
7:03You can find the pieces you want to look at quickly and efficiently as I do. I do go back. I have saved every year of the
7:10rookie scouting portfolio including print editions.
7:14Uh but the PDF's have been great. You can just go back and as Matt said if you have somebody sitting on your roster and
7:19you're want to figure out what they're going or what they're doing or how it's going to pan out and you want to revisit
7:24what the skills are that might make them attractive or not and make some close comparisons a great way to do it. So
7:30>> you print it up if you print it up and sit on it, you can go say hello to the astronauts.
7:35>> I am sitting on the last 2 years right now and I am writing camera range. So it's like it's true. If you print all of
7:42them out, you will be see the dark side of the moon.
7:47>> [laughter] >> So, let's dive in, Matt. This week a great again, great congratulations once again on another fantastic product and
7:54let's dive in. So, I work on Sundays with Jeff Mans on Sirius. I know he and we'll be doing draft coverage again this year, people,
8:01on Sirius. The usual deal, it'll be Dempsey, Ratcliffe, and Mans doing the live coverage. I will do wrap-up shows Thursday and Friday night, 1 hour
8:10Thursday, 2 hours on Friday.
8:12And then Dempsey and I will kind of close out the draft on Saturday with 3-hour show. Do a post-draft draft with
8:18all the hosts on Sunday as well. Jeff Mans always has interesting takes and something caught my eye this last couple weeks that he put out there.
8:27He says Fernando Mendoza, the Indiana quarterback, soon-to-be a Las Vegas Raider, is as as elite as it gets. Feel it or [ __ ] it. Fernando Mendoza, as
8:36elite as it gets.
8:38>> I would say that it's closer to feel it than it is to [ __ ] it. Um, you know, because he's I think he's probably out
8:46of the past 7 years of player quarterbacks I've seen, he is one of two players that I felt like could start right away and survive
8:57a really bad situation. And the Raiders are probably going to be a tough situation um for him when he does begin, but you
9:07know, though we'll talk about maybe some things that might help him out a little bit down the line. But, he's one of
9:11those players that he's played in two different programs already. He's played well in both of them. And I know that most people think of um that as, you
9:21know, what he did at Indiana, but he's had 35 college starts. And you really want to see, you know, if we're going to
9:27look at the Drew Brees idea that you want at least 50 starts between college and pro for for the quarterback to truly
9:36get what he should be doing playing high-level football.
9:39Well, Fernando Mendoza essentially a season worth of starts away from hitting that 50. That's a good thing. That tells you that he's seen enough and or will
9:49have seen enough probably within his first 15 to 20 games in the NFL to really begin to shine. And he's he
9:58has the talents you're looking for in terms of arm talent, the ability to move, the ability to run um with the
10:05ball. When he breaks the pocket, he runs with a little bit of power. He runs with more speed and acceleration that you
10:11would expect. Um he throws well on the move on and off script. He's good in a play-action offense. But if you need him
10:17to play in a shotgun or spread offense, he can do all of that. His accuracy is strong. Um and he's good in situations
10:25that are difficult, you know, the pivotal fourth quarter, third down, you know, got to make the play situations.
10:34He does that well.
10:35>> He's tough. I you know, in the national championship game, like I've not got a vast body of evidence uh eyes on Fernando Mendoza. But I did have
10:44eyes on that game and I saw him make that fantastic touchdown run. It was a testament to his toughness. And I think
10:50you know, you you know, you you get a few little highlight moments like that.
10:52But also, you know, just listening this week or in recent days and from his pro day, uh the commentary by people who follow
10:59this a little more closely than I do saying, "Looks like he's bigger." I mean, he's big enough. He's 6'5", 236, you know, is the official. But I know
11:07some of the people there who have been following along with him thought he looked like he'd added 5-10 lb in the
11:11weight room. Uh so, maybe a little more physical of a of a presence than than maybe he gets credit for. So, I'm I'm
11:19intrigued.
11:19>> Yeah. And his comp for me is in a range between Andrew Luck and Justin Herbert.
11:24So, I'd say that's a pretty lofty comparison um between those two players. I think that he moves a little bit more like um
11:32Andrew Luck and a little bit and and not quite as fluid as Justin Herbert, but I would say that he's also more of a
11:41passer in the Luck realm, but has moments that like he has some of the good moments that Herbert has without maybe the mistakes that Herbert makes
11:51as often. I think he's he's more of an Andrew Luck type of player at his best.
11:57>> I bet Bobby Know-It-All would like to it when it comes to rookie quarterbacks starting out of the shoot.
12:02I think Mendoza looks like a guy who could probably do this, but you alluded to it. We'll we'll get it out of the way
12:08right now. Kirk Cousins signs with the Raiders. He's well versed in the San Francisco style offense, Greg Knapp's Kubiak's offense.
12:16They goes back to everybody's time together in Washington. Cousins, Shanahan, McVay, that whole crew.
12:23So, will Cousins be good for Fernando Mendoza and what what's the First of all, will he be good for him, but feel
12:29or [ __ ] it Mendoza needs a year to sit?
12:32>> I would say [ __ ] it he doesn't need a year to sit, but it's great that he's going to get time to sit. And I would
12:41anticipate that he will sit at least 1 half to 3 quarters of the year as long as Kirk Cousins stays healthy
12:49and his arm his arm remains intact.
12:53But >> You're not the biggest fan of Kirk Cousins.
12:55>> I'm not the biggest fan of Kirk Cousins as a starter, but I am an absolute raving fan of this situation because
13:01Kirk Cousins became a good starter at his peak the hard way. He got He came in in Washington. He got He had to learn
13:11behind you know, a few quarterbacks or sit behind Robert Griffin. He got inserted in and he made a lot of bad
13:18mistakes. He made He did a lot of He got He did a lot of Orlovsky, Mark Sanchez type of things that you would see you know, butt
13:26fumbles and running out of the end zone and things like that that young quarterbacks often do or guys who are not unbelievably prepared and process
13:35the game well early on. And he grew from that to have to becoming a a very strong Pro Bowl caliber quarterback um in, you
13:44know, West Coast offenses. So, while I'm not the biggest fan of how he portrays himself in the media, personally, um you
13:53know, I I think it's a little I think it's a little um oh my gosh, Andy Griffith kind of like and I don't know how genuine it is, but
14:01I don't really care.
14:03>> Are you questioning Kirk Cousins' wholesomeness?
14:05>> Yes, I am.
14:07Um but, you know, that's just me. And it might be that he is that wholesome, but uh but I would say that there's
14:15>> [laughter] >> you know, I would say that when you look at the situation overall, [clears throat] he's a good quarterback. He has a
14:23a very strong knowledge of the offense that he's going to be in and he's going to be a good teacher, journeyman
14:30teacher, for Fernando Mendoza. And Mendoza seems like a smart enough dude who understands football well enough that he'll get the best out of what he
14:39needs from Kirk Cousins and probably discards the rest if there's anything that he needs to discard. Um and if he and if Kirk isn't the the sweetest guy
14:50in the locker room to quarterback competition, you know, whether he is or not, they they they often said good things about um him working with Panics
15:00in Atlanta after he blasted the pick um you know, the way that he did. But uh but I think that Mendoza is in a
15:09terrific situation there because you want your quarterbacks to sit. You want them to learn You want them to acclimate to the new town. You want them to
15:17acclimate to the playbook and to get used to the schedule of the NFL, to get used to the appearances that you have to
15:24make on behalf of the team, and to do all the and to kind of operate behind the scenes and get and get used to some
15:33things and know that you have a player behind the scenes that you can see how they work. And Kirk Cousins is a worker.
15:38We know that. And that he's he has to work to be as good as he is um at that level, but like most
15:46quarterbacks, but he's he really started from a level that was um more of a like a fourth or fifth round type of talent, even though he was a
15:55second round guy.
15:57Um And I think that he worked his way into becoming a good quarterback, and that's going to be valuable for Mendoza.
16:05>> And just take a moment, brief moment, to celebrate the businessman that is Kirk Cousins, who has now made probably the I
16:11I believe he's up he's either the second or third most money made in over the course of a career. Matthew Stafford and Tom Brady
16:18ahead of him maybe, but I think this year he'll go over 11 years of guaranteed, fully guaranteed contracts.
16:24Nobody has played the tag game. Every player is out there getting mad because if somebody put a franchise tag on them,
16:30Kirk Cousins has parlayed that into a wealth beyond imaginably 333 330 million dollars of career earnings. HOW YOU LIKE ME NOW, MATT WALDMAN?
16:39>> I I like that for him. Good for him. At least he was um at least he earned a lot of that compared to maybe a certain
16:46coach in a big white house putting his feet up on a table that you look up on Google and every you know, you look at
16:53that grand house out in LA and he's kind of Peter Principled his way up on the back of quarterbacks.
16:58>> was in Scottsdale. [clears throat] The house was in Scottsdale.
17:01>> Was it in Scottsdale? Yeah, well, there you go. But, you know, [laughter] KK can uh you know, KK can just you know, sit down
17:09somewhere. He is. He's going to be sitting, you know, behind the scenes with who uh with the Rams. You know, I
17:15think isn't that it where he's yeah, McVay. You know, he looks like a McVay staff guy. You know, they're all they
17:22all those clean-cut pretty boys, you know, but I think McVay knows what he's doing.
17:28>> So, if that let's go on to the Rams after McVay knows what he's doing. I'm guessing they do unless need all that
17:34whole crew. The Rams will pick a quarterback in 2026 feel or [ __ ] it. I'm not asking for my one dynasty shares
17:40Stetson Bennett.
17:42Probably.
17:42>> Probably.
17:43>> [laughter] >> I think I'm feeling it that they will, but I would say [ __ ] it that they're going to draft one inside anywhere
17:50inside of round four. I think that'll probably be a fifth, sixth, or seventh-round pick that they'll take a chance on and feel like let's see if we strike
17:59gold with one of these players and he turns into a good backup or maybe even surprises us as a potential starter
18:06and then we'll and if it doesn't work out, there's 2027 where there seems to be a lot of promising quarterback names
18:13out there and you know, with Stafford probably playing one more year at least.
18:19Um you know, they can they can go from there. Now, if they do pick an early guy, it would be fascinating who they
18:26would go with. Um you know, would a Ty Simpson be someone that they're that they're considering in that realm or would they would they be more interested
18:36in you know, trading up a little bit or would a Garrett Nussmeier be somebody that actually fits what they do too with
18:42that West Coast experience and Doug Nussmeier being his dad, the former CFL NFL quarterback. I could see how either Nussmeier with the big arm
18:53um and some of the experience they might go, we can get a bargain on him and see what we think and if we don't like we we
18:59don't like what we have there, we can draft another one and let them compete.
19:03>> All right. Uh so, let's move on to the running backs. Emari Demercado and I think you know, seems like he's a pretty good player,
19:10but you know, he shows up for the combine, the numbers aren't there. The relative athletic score ranked the lowest of all the running
19:17backs who were willing to test this year. Matt, is this a case where the measurable are not a true reflection of Emmitt Johnson's ability? Feel it or
19:26it.
19:27>> Yeah, I'd say feel it. It's not at all a true reflection. First of all, he's the only running back who ran the three-cone
19:33drill cuz the rest of them are scared shitless to run it because it's actually a difficult drill that you actually have
19:40to learn and kind of learn to the test to perform it. It's not a football drill. It's supposed to measure certain, you know, certain things that
19:49you see on a football field, but it's it's not it's a it's an approximation and because you have to learn how to
19:55start and how to position yourself in a way that is only is just enough of approximation of what they want to see on a football field,
20:04but enough difference that you actually have to to to train for it to do it well is tells you what you need to know why
20:14nobody does it. So, a 7.32, I think is what he ran in the three-cone, something along that line or 7.37, doesn't matter. I've seen Chris Carson
20:24run a 7.53.
20:26I've seen Kenneth Gainwell run in that in that same range as Johnson. Um, who's another one? Oh, Dalvin Cook.
20:34Let's talk about Dalvin Cook for a second here.
20:36>> Oh.
20:37>> Because Dalvin Cook has curvilinear movement. That's that movement I talk about that a lot. It's the ability to run in at an instead of an angle when
20:45you're cutting. You're bending around like you're a street motorcycle going around a corner, okay? And the and the the tighter the turn you can make it
20:53high speed, the better your curvilinear movement is. Dalvin Cook based his entire career in terms of change of direction on curvilinear movement or as
21:01I've joked on other shows shows this week, his feet patter like this and move around in this way as if he's like a
21:08rock'em sock'em robot, you know, when you turn the you turn the battery on.
21:12But uh he's uh you know, he had a horrible he had a bad three-cone drill, he had a bad vertical, and a lot of the people in the um public
21:23content oriented at uh um analytics community just jumped off that bandwagon very fast when they saw that.
21:31And they looked at his high school spark scores and they were freaking out about that, too. But when you watched Dalvin
21:36Cook and noticed that's how he changed direction was completely opposite from how the three-cone is actually what it's trying to measure, you throw out the three-cone
21:46and you realize that this kid's actually good. Emmit Johnson has curvilinear movement as the main way that he changes direction. Now, he can make lateral cuts
21:56and he does, but the three but the curvilinear movement is a big part of how he changes direction. And he's also
22:04like Dalvin Cook very skilled at reading boxes, understanding what's happening um you know, happen um for him. And uh I
22:16just got some weird message that popped up from Zoom. We don't usually use Zoom, folks, but asked me if I was running out
22:21of time, so that's why I kind of stalled here.
22:24Um and you'll probably see it on your on your recording screen. Sorry about that.
22:27We've had to use alternate uh alternate arrangements this morning. But Dal- back to Dalvin Cook um and and Emmit Emmit Johnson is that
22:36their processing ability pre-snap and early post-snap is so strong that they're kind of a step ahead in of the game in terms of anticipating where
22:45defender angles are coming from, and they have very strong footwork and pre- precise footwork that the speed of it isn't as important
22:55as it is um y- you know, on a in a in some sort of like combine situation, workout situation as it is actually on the field. And then,
23:07you know, the last thing I'll say about it is relative athletic score.
23:11It's a nice thing to have in terms of looking at a layer of information. If you just want to know, oh yeah,
23:17historically, how many players that we invited to the combine, what percentile are these players in in in certain workouts? That's great. But what's more
23:26important is the minimum um value for those particular workouts that makes him passable to be a contributor or a starter. And we don't
23:36talk about that. We'd just rather know, oh, he's in the 32nd percentile in these in this particular score. That's bad.
23:45But what if we find out that anybody who's in the ninth percentile of those scores has the minimum value to be a high-end
23:55contributor in the NFL. Then you don't really give a [ __ ] about whether it's uh you you know, 32nd percentile or not.
24:03And I think that that's the problem that we see with media is that it's the faster the better. The more reps the
24:10better. The you know, rather than what's the what's the minimum to ride the ride. And and I think that Emmet Johnson has more than
24:19enough of the minimum to do the job. And he's he's a good all-around player, and I think he's going to surprise people
24:27who wrote him off too soon.
24:30>> All right, fair enough. Uh David Helman at nfl.com, uh he compared Skylar Bell to Jamar Chase. Is that a good comparison? Is feel it or [ __ ] it?
24:38Is he a Is he a Jamar Chase clone?
24:42>> Um I would say I'm feeling that with the in terms of uh that I have Jamar Chase at the top of my
24:50comparison spectrum for Skylar Bell. Um but I would say it's not a one-to-one comparison. I'd say that there is another player uh under Ja'Marr Chase
25:02who Skyler um Bell is trying to um aspire to in terms of talent level and that fits that same style. Because um
25:14Ja'Marr Chase could play inside and outside. He has deep skills. He can run after the catch. He's a you know, he'd
25:20be an excellent return man if they wanted to use him that way. Fortunately, they don't. They let him be a ball and a
25:26he kind of an extension of the run game because he has power, quickness, and speed. And he can go up and win the
25:32football, too. He's not just a you know, a runner after the catch and he's a fantastic route runner overall. The guy
25:39that's kind of a tier below that who played in the NFL who you may not Bob will remember, but you may not if
25:46you're if you're younger, is Lavernius Coles, the former Florida State receiver.
25:51>> Coles.
25:51>> There you go. Cuz he is a Yes. Officer Lavernius Coles who played for the Jets and for the the Commanders. And you
25:59know, he's He was a Pro Bowl caliber player. Um and he certainly had some very strong seasons and a long career. And I think that
26:09Skyler Bell is aspiring to be that right now. If he really gets his game together, he might be better than Lavernius Coles
26:18within a few years, but I don't know if he's ever going to reach Ja'Marr Chase levels, but he'll be on that spectrum.
26:24And so, I I think it's when people say, "Oh, he's not Ja'Marr Chase." Well, you should look at their builds. They're
26:31very similar.
26:32Um the way they move is very similar. Um what they can do at the catch point has some similarities. It's just he's not as
26:40good of a route runner as Chase. Um and I think he lacks the the the hands are good, but not as
26:47great. And part of that is that Chase has great hands and technically sound hands.
26:52Skyler Moore Bell has great moments with his hands, but he catches the ball like Terry McLaurin, um which is good, but
27:00the the technique is awful. And we're going to have to see whether or not he can prove he's capable of catching the balls consistently as he
27:09did at UConn in the pros where the margin of error was narrower, and when your technique isn't good, oftentimes the the microscope in the NFL magnifies
27:19or the magnifying glass of the NFL kind of, you know, magnifies potential errors that come from bad technique. I think he's going to be the exception and be
27:27able to handle it, but there have only been four players I've seen um in my in the kind of the modern era from 19
27:36mid-90s on, and that's Marvin Harrison, Early Doucet, Golden Tate, and um I said Marvin Harrison Sr., I hope. That's what I meant to say. Um [laughter] and then
27:47uh and uh who's the fourth the Oh, Terry McLaurin, like I mentioned. So, he would be the fifth dude if that's the case.
27:56>> Uh Carnell Tate, Ohio State wide receiver. I'm going to go Frank Coyle here and give you the Hindu theory. Uh
28:02a reincarnation of Justin Jefferson.
28:04Feel it or [ __ ] it.
28:05>> I'm feeling that he's close to it. I think that he I he may never quite reach Jefferson's heights, but I think he'll
28:12be pretty close. He's a smooth route runner, very skilled at using being able to tell a story in terms of a
28:20disciplined story that you need to tell as a wide receiver. It's got to be within the timing of the route. It has
28:26to It has to have enough that you're selling in terms of pacing, footwork, body position, angles you're taking with your stem. He does all of that really
28:36well. I think that, you know, there's criticism about his ability after the catch, but from what I've seen, he's often catching the ball in traffic. I
28:45think that he's good enough to to you know, make the first man miss. He's just often catching the ball in situations
28:52where he's, you know, he's not the deep threat. He's catching the middle of the field. He's not Brandon Marshall with the ball in his hands or Terrell Owens
29:01or A.J. Brown, but he's certainly someone that he's not Tory Holt either.
29:06I don't think he's going to catch the ball, fall down, and just or take the few yards he can get and slide. I think
29:12you know, he's better than that. And I think that there's too much being made about the after the catch stuff. It's
29:19and I think part of it is limited by where he's catching the ball and what they haven't seen. Um and expectations that he
29:28has got to be some sort of Steve Smith playmaker with the ball ball in his hands. But overall, he is definitely a
29:36year one starter in most situations. He would have to be on the Vikings basically not to start year one. And even then, there's I would think they'd
29:47put Jordan Addison in the slot and let um and let uh Tate play on the outside opposite that. But I don't think he's
29:55going to have that problem. That would have been a nice problem. But he's going to probably be the best receiver on a
30:02really bad team and we'll see how that works out.
30:06>> My scouting system is if the second number after the four in the 40 is a four, I'm excited. If it's a three, I'm
30:12super excited. Kony Ealy is a three. I'm super excited. Am I too excited? Should he be at the top of the tight end heap
30:18based on speed alone? Feel or [ __ ] it?
30:20>> You're just throwing me softballs. And and yeah, you're having a fun time with this one. The hell no.
30:27You know, Kony Ealy is a good prospect.
30:30He is an exciting prospect because of that 4-3 speed. And there are moments in his game where he gets excellent separation. Um where he can separate
30:40against cornerbacks on whip routes and beat, you know, beat safeties on, you know, deep seam routes. But, I've also seen situations where he's not thinking
30:50fast or playing fast or reading the defense fast and he can even beat linebackers up the seam. You know, and the the thing is the mental and
30:59technical side of the game for Sedeeq right now, it's not there a lot of loose ends to tie up and I think that he'll be
31:07used as a situational threat this year who can give you some chunk plays because they'll say, "Look, mate, just do these two things on this play and
31:18we'll get you you know, yeah, we'll get you >> Run fast.
31:20>> Yeah, we'll get you set up. We'll get you set up and and help you, you know, once you acclimate we'll expand the
31:26offense for you. But, I think that between that, between some catch point issues that he has that are sometimes um they're not habitual, but they're
31:36enough lapses that you could see as he's learning the game that he makes mistakes that you won't see two, three years down
31:43the line if he's still going to be a starter and I think that's he'll probably overcome that. So, is he a top
31:49five talent if if you put him in an offense where he's a move tight end?
31:53Absolutely. Could he be top three? I would say yeah, absolutely that too.
31:59But, does that mean he's going to be a year one gang bucks buster starter? I think it's more going to be like an
32:04Elijah Arroyo situation for him year one.
32:18>> All right, if you're going to ignore all the great speed, that's fine. Fine with me, uh Matt Waldman. I know how you are.
32:24Uh I'll be looking for my friend uh Kenyon Sedeeq in the great next gen stats centerfold of greatest speeds of the season this coming year. Deshaun
32:34Stripling, will he be drafted early as a projection pick? Feel it or [ __ ] it?
32:38>> Oh, I feel it completely that he will be because for the same reasons that he'll be and he'll probably be the
32:45part of the he'll be one of the centerfolds in in one of your monthly issues there. I mean, I know though that
32:51you hide I know that you read your Jordan I mean your Mason Taylor Almanac though.
32:57>> I do.
32:57>> And the port-a-potty. So there we go.
32:59Yeah.
33:00>> It's true.
33:00>> But uh but no. Um Stribling certainly he's got the height, he's got the speed, he's a good blocker.
33:08Um he has decent hands and you see moments after the catch that can be really strong. And there going to be be
33:16people feel like that he's kind of a diamond in the rough who didn't get great production at Old Miss. Um but had
33:23moments that were really strong and they like the tape from it and they feel like that there's something more to develop
33:29there.
33:30Um I'm I feel like that he is someone that maybe is 2 3 years away from becoming that type of player. But I
33:40think he can get there. Um but he's going to he's ranked lower by me because it's not guaranteed. He does often times
33:48look like he's playing in cement. Um despite the fact that he has the athletic ability that he does. Part of that is processing speed. Part of that
33:57is just understanding certain techniques and footwork patterns that can be helpful to him and I just don't think his game is as refined as it needs to be
34:05to warrant like a second or third round pick. But I could I wouldn't be surprised if he earns a pick like that.
34:12If it's second, it's going to be a surprise to everybody. It would be a It would be one to me that I'd say, "Yeah,
34:18you you kind of you kind of um blew that one if you ask me." But third third um third round, fourth round, fifth round, I would
34:28probably be more comfortable with fourth or fifth round with him.
34:31>> All right, let's go back to a guy that you have evaluated fairly recently.
34:34Isaiah Likely now with the New York Giants, is he primed for a tight end one role in New York? Feeling [ __ ] it.
34:40>> Um it's going to be fascinating to see because are they just throwing away Theo Johnson? I don't think they are. Are
34:47they? You know, >> Well, to a degree. I mean, I you know, like John Harbaugh said this week he's expecting big stats for
34:55for I like I like Right now, you're not paying for it. If you're out there drafting the best balls like I am, you're getting a There's a
35:03whole range of tight ends in the tight end two price range that you could take a chance on or not even a chance and
35:09feel pretty comfortable with. He's one of those that maybe you'd feel like you're taking a little chance on, but at the price is the price is right right
35:16now. I'm guessing that will change as the hype builds up, but is he capable of carrying that load? Let's say they use
35:22him as the primary weapon.
35:23>> I think that it he's capable of having a strong year kind of like a you know, 8 to 900 yard, 1,100 yards
35:34tops, 8 to 10 touchdown season. That's possible, especially if they're going to use him more like a wide receiver out of the slot to replace Wan'Dale
35:46Robinson. So now you have you know, a healthy-ish Malik Nabers who will probably need another year to really feel like himself, but you'll have
35:56Nabers on the outside and him and Likely probably splitting time inside and outside. I have to think they're going to draft another um wide receiver.
36:07And so that wide receiver may help dictate when, you know, how much Likely will get. It seems to me they will want to
36:16play two tight ends because >> Yes.
36:18>> if Cam Skattabo is healthy, they're going to use that battering ram to do, you know, do the work that he does along
36:24with Tyrone Tracy. So they they should probably have a run-oriented offense with 12 personnel will be a common thing. Maybe even 13 personnel,
36:36and that could limit how much they use Darius Slayton, um and maybe use Likely more as that split receiver, and have Thomas Fidone
36:44and and Theo Johnson as the two interior tight ends, and then they can match it match up likely that way. And maybe
36:52that's why because he's going to be used more as that wide receiver too. If he gets used that way, that's the upside. I'm a little
37:00skeptical, though. I just want to see where they go at wide receiver in this draft. They pick a first-or-second-day wide receiver, it's very possible
37:09that Likely ends up the what John Harbaugh says is he's going to have big numbers. Big numbers for him may be
37:17different than what fantasy people expect.
37:19>> Right.
37:20>> So, I think there's reason for optimism, but understand that the that um that that may change on draft day
37:29when they because they uh often times pick teams pick players in free agency and say something that you know, positive, but it's that
37:39player may be a hedge for what they can't get in the draft. Um you know, in the sense of like, "Well, if we can't get the
37:47receiver we really wanted, we can still use Likely in this capacity, and we still can play the offense that I want to play." So, I think that that's
37:57that's something to just keep an eye on overall.
38:00>> So, as the Rams start gazing at the quarterback of the future, many teams will. Treylon Green, Arkansas quarterback, um is going to be
38:07somebody we probably hear more about.
38:09Does he have a chance to become a future NFL starter? Feel it or [ __ ] it?
38:12>> I feel it, but I'd say on my level of on my level of feel it, it's at the weakest level of feel it to make it that
38:19to make it that um designation. Mainly because where he's at right now, you're thinking of a Colin Kaepernick type of player who could really deliver
38:30strong stats for you and can be the figurehead of an offense that has excellent offensive line, excellent run game, you
38:40know, quality receivers after the catch.
38:43I think that in that type of situation where there's a richness of surrounding talent, he could be a pro bowl caliber
38:50player in terms of the stats that he delivers. But at the same time, if he has to be the thermostat for that
38:57offense, um I'm not sure he's going to get there. Um he the accuracy has to improve. I think the arm talent is good
39:06enough. He's going to He's got some mechanical things to work out so he can be more consistent. I like his play
39:12action game. Obviously, the athletic ability is is strong as can be. It's kind of on that Anthony Richardson level. He though he's not as
39:21much of a bull as Anthony Richardson is and doesn't have the arm talent. But uh but I think that he's kind of like
39:30in that Richardson sphere, too, of where he needs more experience. He needs more time to kind of learn and he's going to
39:38need a team that doesn't just try and thrust him in there and not do much on the development side.
39:45>> All right, fair enough.
39:47The hero ball stuff has been an issue, right?
39:50>> Yeah, can be. It can be. He's a There's a little bit of that uh processing in the black zone. He's got
39:55to be better at trying to retreat from pressure and and do some things technically that as a pocket player that it shouldn't be about just trying to
40:04run. It should be about trying to maneuver and I he can do some maneuvering, but there's times he chooses not to that he should have uh
40:12been wiser and more efficient.
40:14>> Head Hurst, 6'4", 206, 4.4 in the 40. He clicks a lot of boxes, Matt. That That at the Bob Harris
40:22draft capital center. Here, will he be drafted early as a projection pick? I don't think anyone has him high on their
40:27rankings, but is he draft worthy?
40:29>> Yes, I think he is and I think that people will be but he will be like Miss August in the
40:37in your in your in your publication that that you subscribe to for sure.
40:43>> [laughter] >> He will be part of the summer special.
40:47But he is someone that he can kind of go either way. If his route if his route game gets better, maybe he could develop into an aspiring
40:56A.J. Green. Not ever quite get there, but be that type of player who can win the ball at the catch point, who can be
41:04a reliable route runner, maybe even a decent wide receiver one for some years, but I don't think it's going to be A.J.
41:13Green caliber.
41:15At the you know, maybe Christian Watson like in a way. Like maybe a little bit you know, where Watson is trying to head.
41:23And you know, I say he might be able to get to that. But if he doesn't develop the route skills, if he can't drop his
41:29weight as good as he as he needs to or doesn't develop some of the skills that he should have within his stems to set
41:36up defenders and read coverages well, then maybe he's more Tee Higgins like where it's incumbent on his athletic ability to win the ball to get matchups
41:46for him where he can get open in zones and you know, fight the ball or fight the defender for the ball and get some yards
41:54after the catch on screens and RPOs where you can set him up in that capacity as well. A good wide receiver
42:00two who can have big games for you, but isn't the guy that kind of dictates to the defense of how they play their
42:07coverage.
42:08>> All right, fair enough. Let's look good at another tight end here. Uh, Jolly uh, North Carolina What is it? North
42:14Carolina State?
42:14>> Yeah. By way of Connecticut.
42:17>> By way of Connecticut. Um, I got, you know, I like I'll just say this. I don't want to give away all the goods of the Rookie
42:23Scouting Portfolio, but when I look at this class in the 3-year window, it is not distinctive. So, could he become a
42:29smaller Mark Andrews? Keeping in mind, like just in general, we don't think this is the strongest class.
42:36>> Yeah, it's like a it's a it's a good class, but it's a kind of a class in flux because as we've talked about in recent weeks,
42:43the, uh, you know, could the tight end situation now be valued in the NFL as we want oversized fullbacks more than we want
42:52oversized wide receivers? And if you're looking for, you know, if you're looking for more of a big blocker like Sam Rou Rauch, um,
43:03you know, there's only one or two of those guys that are available. Um, the most of them are move tight ends.
43:09And I'd say Jolly is more of a move tight end, even though he looks more like a fullback cuz he's what? 6'3" 241.
43:16>> 6'4" 240, yeah.
43:17>> Yeah, somewhere in that range. So, he's not going to become a 260-lb guy who's going to be working great in line, but,
43:26you know, which is more of Cecil Cenel Centerfolds, but, uh, >> Are Are people going to see him like as a Harold Fanin Jr. type though and maybe
43:32have higher hopes than they should?
43:34>> I I think if they see him as a Harold Fanin Jr. type, I think that they that they're on point, and I think that he
43:43could be that good.
43:44>> Um, okay.
43:45>> Yeah. I He's He has the best hands of any tight end in this class. Um, great hands, and I think he's good after
43:53the catch, kind of more of a power guy.
43:55Um, I don't know if he has the downfield capability to the extent that Harold Fanin will eventually show.
44:03Um, but I think that he's a great red zone player, and he's a clutch player who repeatedly made big plays in
44:11difficult situations.
44:13>> I think that you know, we started with the Mark Andrews comparison then the Harold Landry Jr. I think the thing
44:18those two fellows have in common is there times when they look like the best wide receiver on the field for their
44:23respective teams and and we'll see if Jo Lee can can move into that territory as kind of a versatile weapon. And I know
44:30Mark Andrews a big bulky tight end but this maybe says more about Baltimore's work at drafting receivers and it does Mark Andrews but there are times when he
44:39just looks like he's unstoppable or there have been times. I don't know if he's that guy again. We'll find out soon
44:45enough cuz he's the only game in town in Baltimore at the moment.
44:49So they moved on from likely and Charlie Kolar.
44:52Sam LaPorta, you mentioned Sam LaPorta, could he be the most productive rookie tight end in 2026 if he finds the right
44:58spot feel or [ __ ] it?
44:59>> Oh, I totally feel it because he has strong hands.
45:03He's a big dude. He can go up and win the ball. He has some skill after the catch for a big guy. I mean, he's not
45:09you know, you know, you're not looking at Rob Gronkowski like skills but he he can block, you know, in line. He can if
45:16you used him in that Tucker Kraft, Ty Warren kind of get him in the space and let him rumble, he could do that and he
45:24has he has very strong hands to go up and win it as well if you want him to run up the seam and I think there's
45:30enough speed and quickness to his game to win in that fashion in the NFL. So I think that there would be a there's a
45:37possibility for a really strong team fit there. Like if you ask me if Atlanta wanted to stick to more of a
45:45two tight end look um and really emphasize its run game more you could then you know, you could have LaPorta as the inline tight end and then
45:55let you know, let let that other dude that that people either are still hoping for ruining the time ruin the name you
46:04know ruin the time that they drafted Kyle Pitts.
46:07Um you know, he could they could let him be more of a a detached option and and continue on that front and still let him block and
46:16at times but they they could probably get a little bit a little more juice out of that 12 personnel look if they're
46:23going to get stay in that direction.
46:25>> Fair enough. Let's close it out with this Levon Moss the Texas A&M running back a media favorite will not be such a
46:32joy on NFL draft days.
46:34>> Yeah, I think that NFL draft people tend to like speed that the teams like speed and he doesn't really have that speed.
46:42He's got burst but he's a strong runner.
46:45He's a he's one of those guys that you know, kind of like Zack Moss when people like Zack Moss out of Utah there was good power out of his
46:55game. I think Levon has a little bit more um efficiency and um and wisdom with how he makes decisions and he's a pretty good pass catcher too.
47:07But I could see him winding up as a a guy that people go, oh in a year we're going to really have something here.
47:13Kind of like Ray Davis also you know, a couple years ago and Ray Davis may still have that opportunity down the line when his contract expires
47:22but probably will get labeled as a committee back back up type with James Cook you know, doing what he's done and
47:30I think that that's kind of where Levon Moss is headed.
47:34>> Zoom, feel it or [ __ ] it?
47:36>> [laughter] >> I'm feeling it today cuz you guys are getting a chance to see a show. So I definitely am feeling it. I'm feeling it
47:44when Bob Harris uses Zoom. I'm saying it when my StreamYard doesn't work and I and I give him I I do Zoom for a
47:52half hour and I go yeah, [ __ ] you. Like pay up, you know, so >> I already did.
47:59>> Yeah, I record I record locally.
48:02So, I just needed I just need a camera so that we Bob and a connection for Bob and I to get together. That's how I do
48:07my show. So, when you see all the odd things popping up on your screen halfway through the show, my apologies, but you
48:14know, we we we got the show on and that's how it goes.
48:18>> We'll make it happen as we do every week. A rookie scouting portfolio available now at mattwaldman.com. If you haven't got it, there's still tons of
48:26value to be had, not just in the immediate short-term enjoyment, getting up to speed aspect of it, but in the long-term fantasy strategy aspect,
48:36especially once the post-draft rookie RSP comes out and Matt starts matching up some of the specific skills that these players bring to the table with
48:45the teams they landed on, and their schemes, their needs, and how it all fits together. We can start turning around that Rubik's Cube of goodness
48:54that that makes fantasy prospects once we get it all figured out. So, we'll be doing that, Matt. Thank you very much.
48:59We'll do it again next week. Love you.
49:00Bye. Love you, too.
49:02>> Bye.
