Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast NFL QB Expert, Super Bowl Champion Gives Insider Scouting Reports on All NFL Draftable QBs in 2024
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Hello, everybody.
00:03This is Hondo Carpenter, your Sports Illustrated Las Vegas Raiders beat writer and also the
00:09host of the Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast.
00:11It is great to be with you today.
00:13I am super thrilled to have this next guy back on the podcast with us.
00:19So let me give you his credentials.
00:21Coming out of high school, he was one of the most sought after quarterbacks in America.
00:27And he goes on to college where he becomes part of all of the Heisman hype and deserved
00:33every minute of it.
00:35Going into the NFL draft, more than one person said to me that he may be the best teammate
00:41that they had ever evaluated.
00:44He takes that for 14 years in the NFL, he wins a Super Bowl, retires, and now he has
00:51a service where he is evaluating quarterbacks because he was one for 14 years, where he
00:57offers that to NFL teams to help them pick quarterbacks.
01:02He is extremely respected around the National Football League, extremely respected by players
01:09for the kind of teammate he was.
01:10This is how highly thought of he was.
01:13A young Matt Stafford, he was there to mentor him.
01:17When you look at Andrew Luck, the same thing.
01:20Kyler Murray, he was brought in to help young quarterbacks.
01:24Calvin Johnson sung the praises of what he did to me personally about what he did to
01:30help him become a pro.
01:32He's, again, widely respected around the NFL and with his service helping teams pick quarterbacks.
01:38We are very fortunate today to have him on the program.
01:42Now, he and his evaluation for teams has eight guys that he believes are draftable.
01:49He's going to talk about all eight.
01:52Then there's one that he thinks is a UDFA prospect, which is undrafted free agent that
01:57could be developed, could be into something.
02:00And then one surprise that some people have going as high as the first round that he doesn't
02:06think is draftable.
02:08We're going to go through all that and get this information.
02:10Now, I'm going to challenge you as football fans to set aside your fandom for a minute.
02:17He doesn't come at this as a fan.
02:19He comes at it as an analyst who NFL teams listen to, and he's going to give you his
02:25unbiased evaluation.
02:27You may disagree.
02:28You may agree it's not the end of the world.
02:30He's not God, but it's great to hear what these people think.
02:34Now, he's going to look at his computer, so don't think if he's looking down, he's not
02:38paying attention to you because he has such voluminous amount of information from watching
02:44tape, and interviews, and watching guys, and all of that.
02:48He wants to give it all to you.
02:50Now, on a personal note, I'm biased because he is not only my Christian brother, but he
02:56is my friend.
02:58Him and his beautiful bride and his children are precious to my family.
03:03We love him and adore him, but he is the great Drew Stanton.
03:06Drew, thanks for being with us, my friend.
03:09Thanks for having me.
03:10You always give the best introductions, so I got to come on more often.
03:16I got to tell you, for somebody that met you in high school and has followed you your whole
03:21career and become friends with you and your family, I love the way you think.
03:27I love the way you process information.
03:30You see so many things that I don't see, and I know that's why you're so respected around
03:35the league, and I appreciate it.
03:37Let's dig right in.
03:38Let's talk, and I'm going to be looking at my notes because I'm going to be bringing
03:42players up to him.
03:44Drew, let's start with day one.
03:46There are three players that you have when you offer your expertise to NFL teams.
03:52There are three players that you evaluated, and you feel are day one draft picks.
04:00Guys that if you're sitting in a general manager's chair, you would consider pulling the trigger
04:05on day one.
04:06You played in this league 14 years.
04:09NFL teams listen to you, which is more than me.
04:12I'm just a nobody.
04:13I want to get you.
04:14Let's start with the guy that you have as the number one quarterback in this class.
04:19That's J.J. McCarthy out of Michigan.
04:21Yeah, well, let me preface it with this before we even start is going through this process
04:26has been eye-opening for me because I've been on the other side of the fence, so I'm trying
04:30to be respectful of his prospects.
04:32I'm trying to understand and be in their shoes.
04:34I've been in their shoes, so I understand that to a certain extent, but I think there's
04:38also a way to reimagine what evaluating this position is all about because there is the
04:44tape that you see, but then there's also so much that goes into playing this position,
04:49and that really is why I think J.J. is the number one quarterback overall because it's
04:53not just what you see on tape.
04:55It's draft time.
04:57We're gearing up for the draft.
04:58It's right around the corner, and as you listen and hear about all these evaluators, everybody's
05:03trying to put their shtick out there.
05:04Everybody's trying to make sure it's all these things.
05:06These are all numbers and evaluations as I come up with my own grading scale that have
05:11been set in stone for a while, and I feel this way, and a lot of it's just been reaffirmed
05:15throughout this process because, again, I had to learn how to hone in my mechanics.
05:20I had to learn how to be a great teammate.
05:21I had to learn how to play quarterback at the NFL level because there's a vast difference
05:25between success at the college level and then making that next job, especially to be a franchise
05:31first-round draft pick.
05:33It's night and day difference, and so I want to be very clear before we dive into these
05:37prospects.
05:38I have no ill will against any of them.
05:40I don't have a vendetta.
05:41I don't know any of them personally.
05:43The nice thing about surviving as long as I have in this league, I can make phone calls
05:47and find out about different players and know their background.
05:51You do all these things, and that's what NFL teams are doing.
05:53They want to uncover every single stone because if you make the wrong choice, especially at
05:59this position, it could cost you your job.
06:01I know it's a fad, and I'm not sitting here, and some people will say, well, he's from
06:07Michigan.
06:08He's going to pick a Michigan guy.
06:09No.
06:10Obviously, I went to Michigan State, so if I really had a vendetta against a guy, I would
06:13cross the Michigan guy off my draft board, but that's not the case here.
06:16J.J. McCarthy, to me, is the best quarterback in the draft for a lot of different reasons,
06:21and I don't care the fact that he didn't throw a pass in the second half against Penn State.
06:25He dropped back, but he didn't need to, but then you also look at that circumstance and
06:30say, well, he's playing for an interim head coach who's only caring about winning at a
06:34program that prioritizes defense and run game.
06:37You can twist stats.
06:38You can make and manipulate whatever you want to do when you want to sit here and knock
06:42a kid down, knock him off a peg.
06:45The most important thing at playing the quarterback position is leadership, and J.J. McCarthy,
06:50to me, has that in spades.
06:52The most important quality and characteristic is leadership, and the most important part
06:57of leadership is defined as followership.
06:59If nobody's following you, you're not a leader.
07:02J.J. McCarthy does that, and I think he also has an unbelievable skill set.
07:06He wasn't asked to do a ton while he was at Michigan, but at the same time, he won football
07:10games.
07:11At the end of the day, we're marked as winning and losing at the quarterback position, and
07:15everybody wants to talk about that.
07:16We get way more credit when we win and way more criticism when we lose, but we know that
07:21comes with the territory.
07:23He is comfortable in his own skin.
07:24He does all of these things, but when you watch the tape, you watch the film, and you
07:28see all of the evaluation.
07:29I was at the Ohio State-Michigan game personally.
07:32I got to see him play in person, and I was even more impressed just watching him interact
07:37with his teammates, watching him command the huddle, watching him check in and out of plays,
07:42and it was very impressive because you get to see that, and then he goes on the run to
07:46go on and win a national championship.
07:48He's mature beyond his years.
07:49Are there question marks?
07:50For sure.
07:52Every single prospect has question marks, and if you don't realize what they are and
07:55get out in front of them, then you're not going to have success, but J.J. realizes he's
07:59young, right?
08:00He's a little bit skinny.
08:01He put weight on to go to the combine.
08:03Now again, that's the underwear Olympics.
08:05It doesn't really mean a lot.
08:06You can put weight on.
08:07You can take weight off.
08:08You can do this and that, but everything that I think that you need to do to be successful
08:13to play this position, J.J. McCarthy has that.
08:16He's going to go into whatever franchise drafts him, and he's going to change it.
08:20Everybody looks for comparables in this league.
08:22Joe Burrow and J.J. McCarthy are so eerily similar that it should not shock anybody when
08:29he goes out and has success for whatever team he goes to.
08:33Wow.
08:34Okay.
08:35Now we go to the guy who you have as the second best quarterback in this draft and the second
08:40with a first-round grade, and that's at North Carolina, Drake May.
08:45Yeah.
08:47Drake was somebody that's interesting because his junior film was actually better than his
08:50senior film, and so you have to take a step further, right?
08:54You evaluate the film, and you say, okay, this guy has all the intangibles.
08:57He's big.
08:58He's strong.
08:59He has a ton of experience, but he hasn't quite reached that next level.
09:03He hasn't taken his team at North Carolina to that next level.
09:07I was that guy at Michigan State, and when you look at my stats, my career wins and losses,
09:11they weren't sexy.
09:12They were not great, and also the supporting cast around you.
09:16You take that in consideration, and we see some of this as we go down the draft board.
09:21Some of those guys, I think, have to be taken into consideration because they had so much
09:24talent around him.
09:25Drake May didn't have that luxury.
09:27Drake May had to sit in there and try and make throws against some very good defensive
09:31lines against guys rushing at you.
09:33What can you do?
09:34I think for me, the hesitation that I only have because for a long time, I thought he
09:38was the best quarterback in this draft.
09:40I really did.
09:42It's so much about who drafts you as well, and if he goes to the correct team, he could
09:46very easily be in the best quarterback in this draft from the standpoint of what he
09:50brings to the table because his upside is there.
09:53People say, well, he's a pocket passer.
09:55Yes, he's a pocket passer, but he makes plays.
09:57I don't care about forties.
09:58Forties don't matter.
09:59The 5-10-5, the three-cone drill, playing in a phone booth, that's what quarterback
10:04is about, being comfortable when you are uncomfortable.
10:07Can you get off platform and get back on platform and make a throw?
10:11Or if you don't have the luxury of getting back on platform, can you still make that
10:14throw?
10:15Drake May checks all of those boxes.
10:17He can do all of those things.
10:18I know he's very coachable talking with the people at North Carolina.
10:23Clyde Christensen was my quarterback coach in the NFL, and he said, hey, he is as good
10:26as Andrew Luck.
10:27I don't think he's as good as Andrew Luck, but I think he's a phenomenal prospect that
10:31whatever team drafts him is going to feel very confident and comfortable that the lowest
10:38amount of return that you're going to get on that investment is still going to be a
10:41quality starter in this league.
10:43Now, it could go higher.
10:44It really can.
10:45Again, the comparable guy that I look at in this league right now is Justin Herbert.
10:50He's kind of a soft-spoken guy.
10:51He goes about his business, but he's very confident in what he does.
10:54He's a sneaky athlete, but he can absolutely pull back and rifle the ball down the field
10:58at any point in time, but he can play within the framework of the offense, and that's really
11:02where I think he distinguishes himself above Caleb Williams.
11:07I want to see Caleb be able to take a three-step drop and throw it accurately on time.
11:11I want him to be able to go through a progression and stay in the pocket because guys like Bryce
11:15Young that did it at the college level, number one overall pick, we saw how much he struggled
11:20his rookie year.
11:21This is not backyard football anymore.
11:23You can't scramble around and run away from guys in the Pac-12, the SEC.
11:28This is a different animal, and to me, I think Drake May can do that.
11:32He's got to clean up his footwork.
11:33He got sloppy at times, but other than that, I would feel very confident taking Drake May
11:38exactly where he's supposed to go in those top five picks.
11:42The next guy you have is someone that I've had multiple NFL people tell me the most talented
11:48man in the draft with the most red flags in the draft.
11:53In fact, I had one executive who is considered by many one of the best quarterback drafters
11:59out there tell me, no interest, too many risks, but you've got him as a day one pick.
12:06You've got him as the third best quarterback in this draft.
12:09He's somebody a lot of people equate with Patrick Mahomes.
12:12I disagree with that, but my opinion doesn't matter.
12:15We're talking about Caleb Williams.
12:16Yeah, you know, I think the hype train's been building for so long.
12:20I mean, it was in high school that it was talking about, okay, this is what he does,
12:25and yes, the red flags are there, right?
12:27But then you're starting to write F Utah on your nails, talking about people wanting
12:30to be in your size 12 shoes.
12:33All of those things are a little bit alarming because if you're a confident human being,
12:36if you are secure with who you are as a man, you don't need to do that kind of stuff.
12:40And it goes back to what I said about JJ, and that's what I think distinguishes JJ above
12:45everybody else in this draft, those leadership intangibles.
12:48That's what that looks like because you see a team that struggled the year before when
12:52JJ was at Michigan, goes on to win a national championship.
12:56And he knew that it was on him and he said that he was going to do that.
12:59Then you look at Caleb Williams, what are his teammates saying about him?
13:02That was one thing when I was with Baker, I was in the draft waiting to see, okay, I
13:07was brought to Cleveland to evaluate or to help mentor a quarterback.
13:11It was either going to be Josh Allen, it was going to be Sam Darnold or Baker Mayfield.
13:17Josh Rosen was in there, but they weren't really only going to take him.
13:20And I was like, okay, they're going to take Baker.
13:22And everything I heard about Baker's teammates is they absolutely loved him.
13:25And I knew that's a guy that was going to have the ability to change a franchise and
13:29have that success.
13:31Is Caleb Williams that guy?
13:32I don't know.
13:33Right.
13:34He's already talking about how many super bowl rings he wants to win, or don't compare
13:37me to Patrick Mahomes.
13:39That's fine.
13:40That's a red flag, but there's also red flags on the tape.
13:42When you watch the tape, he's trying to extend plays.
13:45He doesn't need to extend.
13:46He's trying to hold on the football much longer than he ever needs to.
13:49So those are the things that you look at.
13:51Does he have a strong arm?
13:52Can he throw off platform?
13:53Can you do all these things?
13:54Yes, he can.
13:56He can do all of those things very well.
13:57And he stays in rhythm.
13:58He can do all that.
13:59Can he do it consistently at a high level over a long period of time?
14:03It's a 17 game season.
14:05And really, when you start looking at these guys, how I kind of do it is I start backward
14:09and said, okay, you look at these guys and you look at their college tape and you start
14:14to say, where can you pick and choose and implement how this actually translates to
14:18the NFL level?
14:20Very little does.
14:21He had a straight pure progression where he's going one, two, three.
14:24Okay.
14:25He's not escaping and getting out of Dodge.
14:26He's not asked to do a lot within the run game.
14:28When you get to the NFL, you're going to have to be able to make run checks and do all this
14:32stuff.
14:33It's not a hard thing to learn, but it's something to learn.
14:35JJ has been under center.
14:37He's done all of these things in Jim Harbaugh's offense, which has a sophisticated run game.
14:41He's checked run the past again, Caleb has the experience.
14:45He has all of these things and he is, believe me, I am very high on Caleb Williams.
14:50Don't get me misconstrued for thinking that he is not capable of leading a franchise.
14:56The question marks are there enough.
14:57The red flags are there enough to cause pause and say, is this really a guy that I'm going
15:03to go all in with, put all my eggs in a basket and say, Hey, if this doesn't work out, am
15:09I prepared to get fired?
15:11Absolutely not.
15:12What Caleb Williams.
15:13Drew, we then go to your day two guys, and I'm going to tell you in Raider nation, there's
15:23a lot of love for Jaden Daniels.
15:25He's a great kid and you know, he's close with Antonio Pierce and all of that and all
15:30that's great, but you're not a fan.
15:34You're an evaluator.
15:35You're giving your opinions of the players.
15:37And that's one thing that I love about this is I'm the same way.
15:41I'm not a fan.
15:42I'm just giving information.
15:43There's nothing wrong with being a fan, but in what we do, that doesn't work.
15:49So day two, these are the day two guys that you have evaluated and the first quarterback
15:54of day two, you have Jaden Daniels as your fourth best prospect in this draft.
15:59Can you talk about Jaden please?
16:01Yeah.
16:02Well, again, I tried to divide it up based off of what's going on and where everybody
16:06falls in.
16:07I think he is far and away the superior choice for a day to pick.
16:11I see the end of, you know, the top of the second round, middle of the second round,
16:15if it fits again, playing this position is different from the college level.
16:20You also need pieces around you.
16:21He had those pieces in college.
16:23This is a guy that I was alluding to earlier in the show.
16:26Okay.
16:27He had Malik neighbors who some people say, if you take the name off of who that person
16:30is that the wide receiver position, he's the best wide receiver in the draft.
16:34And these are people that I trust again, that I've talked to.
16:36He had immense amount of talent around him.
16:39Now you can't take that away from him.
16:41He made a great choice to transfer to LSU and go on and win a Heisman.
16:45He had the gaudy stats.
16:46He had all this thing where you look at this draft buzz that just grows and grows and grows
16:50over time.
16:51He's played at a high level for a long period of time.
16:54He has a ton of experience.
16:57But I think I also need at this point, we'll talk about, okay, where do I get my rankings
17:01from?
17:02There's 15 different categories that I broke everything down one through seven with all
17:06these sliders and say, okay, it's arm strength.
17:09It's accuracy.
17:10It's not just accuracy.
17:11It's short, medium, long accuracy.
17:14It's command toughness, processing eyes, vision, footwork, this capability poise it factor,
17:22which is very, very important upside, because that's also important as you translate to
17:26the NFL and then risk injury.
17:29And that's where you kind of land with some of these day two prospects is Jayden Daniels
17:33is very slight built, very slightly built.
17:36And so when you look at a guy like that, I have some concerns about his longevity, especially
17:40his style of play.
17:42Lamar Jackson has tried to reinvent himself in a certain stance because you can't go out
17:47there week in week out, even though you might be fast, those hits add up.
17:51Unfortunately, you can ask my friend, Andrew Luck, what that feels like at Carson Wentz
17:56or any of these guys that would sit there and take these unnecessary hits.
18:00It's difficult.
18:01So those 15 categories add up to 105.
18:04When you multiply that by seven, I also took it a step further and said, okay, I had to
18:09come up with a crucial score.
18:10So I talked to a general manager and the K there's, there's a lot going on here.
18:15What are the three most important things that your eyes that's going to distinguish quarterbacks
18:19having success.
18:20And that's really where I was able to land and feel even more confident.
18:24And what I picked with these guys and where they kind of fit into the draft that crucial
18:28score is accuracy because that's everything for the short, medium, and long range.
18:33And then vision vision to me is, can you see the trees through the forest, right?
18:38What are you doing when everything's out there, when all 21 other guys around you are moving,
18:43do you understand their time and place?
18:45Do you understand, you know, the free safety has to go back here.
18:48So that means that I know because of where that free safety goes, this hook curl player
18:53on the weak side, it should be in this alignment.
18:55How does that match up with the concept of what's going on?
18:58If I have to re-identify the mic and shift the mic here and flip the protection, okay.
19:02What does that mean?
19:03Does my left tackle know exactly what's going on?
19:05Do I have to relay something to the back?
19:07So he knows, do I have to communicate a hop to the X receiver?
19:10All of those things matter.
19:12And so I'm trying to look for that while I'm watching tape as well.
19:15The last thing is the it factor that I talked about.
19:17So those are the five crucial categories that add up to 35.
19:21And that's, again, those three guys that I mentioned, that 29 threshold is where they
19:26landed.
19:27Everybody below that is where I started being able to gather that and really solidify what
19:32I thought my overall raw score would be.
19:35And that's why Jaden kind of set there.
19:37Now, again, can he be a franchise quarterback?
19:40Yes, I think he can.
19:42But for me, a guy that had to learn how to change some of my mechanics, there's a mechanical
19:46thing that I think if he implements right away, and the coach will be able to do this,
19:51can get him in a proper body alignment, he's going to be more accurate.
19:56And he's also going to diminish the amount of risk he's going to put himself in.
19:58I think he throws off a front foot a lot.
20:01And when you throw off your front foot, there's a kinetic chain there that's missing something,
20:06a link in that chain, not allowing you to do that.
20:09Does he have a strong arm?
20:10Absolutely.
20:11Can he run like Lamar Jackson?
20:13Yes, he can.
20:14Can he do all these things that he went to Heisman, he did all this stuff?
20:17Is he very articulate?
20:18Can he talk?
20:19Can you say all the right things?
20:20Absolutely.
20:21To me, I want to see him process more.
20:24I want to see him have to go through a read, a progression, be able to do all these things.
20:28His accuracy is good.
20:30His vision actually scares me more than probably most people would say.
20:34And you say, okay, that's surprising for a guy that sees that because he does rely on
20:38his athleticism.
20:39I've got a little helper behind me here.
20:41Hi, sweetie.
20:42You're growing up too quick.
20:43Okay, I gotta finish this, okay?
20:44I'll be done in a little bit.
20:45Daddy, you're a sweetheart.
20:46I'm hungry.
20:47Your breakfast is over there.
20:48I'm hungry.
20:49I'm hungry.
20:50I'm hungry.
20:51I'm hungry.
20:52I'm hungry.
20:53I'm hungry.
20:54I'm hungry.
20:55Drew, she makes me feel old.
20:56Well, yeah, she's my third.
20:57So, okay, I gotta finish this up, okay?
20:58I love you.
20:59Okay, I'll be done in just a little bit, all right?
21:00How many minutes?
21:01Just go get some breakfast and close the door, please.
21:02I don't remember where I left off.
21:03You were just talking about vision and really evaluating how people look at stuff, and I
21:04love it.
21:05And really, I love it.
21:06I love it.
21:07I love it.
21:08I love it.
21:09I love it.
21:10I love it.
21:11I love it.
21:12I love it.
21:13I love it.
21:14I love it.
21:15I love it.
21:16I love it.
21:17I love it.
21:18I love it.
21:19I love it.
21:20I love it.
21:21I love it.
21:22I love it.
21:23I love it.
21:24I love it.
21:25I love it.
21:26I love it.
21:27I love it.
21:28I love it.
21:29I love it.
21:30I love it.
21:31I love it.
21:32I love it.
21:33I love it.
21:34I love it.
21:35I love it.
21:36I love it.
21:37I love it.
21:38I love it.
21:39I love it.
21:40I love it.
21:41I love it.
21:42I love it.
21:43I love it.
21:44I love it.
21:45I love it.
21:46I love it.
21:47I love it.
21:48I love it.
21:49I love it.
21:50I love it.
21:51I love it.
21:52I love it.
21:53I love it.
21:54I love it.
21:55I love it.
21:56I love it.
21:57I love it.
21:58I love it.
21:59I love it.
22:00I love it.
22:01I love it.
22:02I love it.
22:03I love it.
22:04I love it.
22:05I love it.
22:06I love it.
22:07I love it.
22:08I love it.
22:09I love it.
22:10I love it.
22:11I love it.
22:12I love it.
22:13I love it.
22:14I love it.
22:15I love it.
22:16I love it.
22:17I love it.
22:18I love it.
22:19I love it.
22:20I love it.
22:21I love it.
22:22I love it.
22:23I love it.
22:24I love it.
22:25I love it.
22:26I love it.
22:27I love it.
22:28I love it.
22:29I love it.
22:30I love it.
22:31I love it.
22:32I love it.
22:33I love it.
22:34I love it.
22:35I love it.
22:36I love it.
22:37I love it.
22:38I love it.
22:39I love it.
22:40I love it.
22:41I love it.
22:42I love it.
22:43I love it.
22:44I love it.
22:45I love it.
22:46I love it.
22:47I love it.
22:48I love it.
22:49I love it.
22:50I love it.
22:51I love it.
22:52I love it.
22:53I love it.
22:54I love it.
22:55I love it.
22:56I love it.
22:57I love it.
22:58I love it.
22:59I love it.
23:00I love it.
23:01I love it.
23:02I love it.
23:03I love it.
23:04I love it.
23:05I love it.
23:06I love it.
23:07I love it.
23:08I love it.
23:09I love it.
23:10I love it.
23:11I love it.
23:12I love it.
23:13I love it.
23:14I love it.
23:15I love it.
23:16I love it.
23:17I love it.
23:18I love it.
23:19I love it.
23:20I love it.
23:21I love it.
23:22I love it.
23:23I love it.
23:24I love it.
23:25I love it.
23:26I love it.
23:27I love it.
23:28I love it.
23:29I love it.
23:30I love it.
23:31I love it.
23:32I love it.
23:33I love it.
23:34I love it.
23:35I love it.
23:36I love it.
23:37I love it.
23:38I love it.
23:39I love it.
23:40I love it.
23:41I love it.
23:42I love it.
23:43I love it.
23:44I love it.
23:45I love it.
23:46I love it.
23:47I love it.
23:48I love it.
23:49I love it.
23:50I love it.
23:51I love it.
23:52I love it.
23:53I love it.
23:54I love it.
23:55I love it.
23:56I love it.
23:57I love it.
23:58I love it.
23:59I love it.
24:00I love it.
24:01I love it.
24:02I love it.
24:03I love it.
24:04I love it.
24:05I love it.
24:06I love it.
24:07I love it.
24:08I love it.
24:09I love it.
24:10I love it.
24:11I love it.
24:12I love it.
24:13I love it.
24:14I love it.
24:15I love it.
24:16I love it.
24:17I love it.
24:18I love it.
24:19I love it.
24:20I love it.
24:21I love it.
24:22I love it.
24:23I love it.
24:24I love it.
24:25I love it.
24:26I love it.
24:27I love it.
24:28I love it.
24:29I love it.
24:30I love it.
24:31I love it.
24:32I love it.
24:33I love it.
24:34I love it.
24:35I love it.
24:36I love it.
24:37I love it.
24:38I love it.
24:39I love it.
24:40I love it.
24:41I love it.
24:42I love it.
24:43I love it.
24:44I love it.
24:45I love it.
24:46I love it.
24:47I love it.
24:48I love it.
24:49I love it.
24:50I love it.
24:51I love it.
24:52I love it.
24:53I love it.
24:54I love it.
24:55I love it.
24:56I love it.
24:57I love it.
24:58I love it.
24:59I love it.
25:00I love it.
25:01I love it.
25:02I love it.
25:03I love it.
25:04I love it.
25:05I love it.
25:06I love it.
25:07I love it.
25:08I love it.
25:09I love it.
25:10I love it.
25:11I love it.
25:12I love it.
25:13I love it.
25:14I love it.
25:15I love it.
25:16I love it.
25:17I love it.
25:18I love it.
25:19I love it.
25:20I love it.
25:21I love it.
25:22I love it.
25:23I love it.
25:24I love it.
25:25I love it.
25:26I love it.
25:27I love it.
25:28I love it.
25:29I love it.
25:30I love it.
25:31I love it.
25:32I love it.
25:33I love it.
25:34I love it.
25:35I love it.
25:36I love it.
25:37I love it.
25:38I love it.
25:39I love it.
25:40I love it.
25:41I love it.
25:42I love it.
25:43I love it.
25:44I love it.
25:45I love it.
25:46I love it.
25:47I love it.
25:48I love it.
25:49I love it.
25:50I love it.
25:51I love it.
25:52I love it.
25:53I love it.
25:54I love it.
25:55I love it.
25:56I love it.
25:57I love it.
25:58I love it.
25:59I love it.
26:00I love it.
26:01I love it.
26:02I love it.
26:03I love it.
26:04I love it.
26:05I love it.
26:06I love it.
26:07I love it.
26:08I love it.
26:09I love it.
26:10I love it.
26:11I love it.
26:12I love it.
26:13I love it.
26:14I love it.
26:15I love it.
26:16I love it.
26:17I love it.
26:18I love it.
26:19I love it.
26:20I love it.
26:21I love it.
26:22I love it.
26:23I love it.
26:24I love it.
26:25I love it.
26:26I love it.
26:27I love it.
26:28I love it.
26:29I love it.
26:30I love it.
26:31I love it.
26:32I love it.
26:33I love it.
26:34I love it.
26:35I love it.
26:36I love it.
26:37I love it.
26:38I love it.
26:39I love it.
26:40I love it.
26:41I love it.
26:42I love it.
26:43I love it.
26:44I love it.
26:45I love it.
26:46I love it.
26:47I love it.
26:48I love it.
26:49I love it.
26:50I love it.
26:51I love it.
26:52I love it.
26:53I love it.
26:54I love it.
26:55I love it.
26:56I love it.
26:57I love it.
26:58I love it.
26:59I love it.
27:00I love it.
27:01I love it.
27:02I love it.
27:03I love it.
27:04I love it.
27:05I love it.
27:06I love it.
27:07I love it.
27:08I love it.
27:09I love it.
27:10I love it.
27:11I love it.
27:12I love it.
27:13I love it.
27:14I love it.
27:15I love it.
27:16I love it.
27:17I love it.
27:18I love it.
27:19I love it.
27:20I love it.
27:21I love it.
27:22I love it.
27:23I love it.
27:24I love it.
27:25I love it.
27:26I love it.
27:27I love it.
27:28I love it.
27:29I love it.
27:30I love it.
27:31I love it.
27:32I love it.
27:33I love it.
27:34I love it.
27:35I love it.
27:36I love it.
27:37I love it.
27:38I love it.
27:39I love it.
27:40I love it.
27:41I love it.
27:42I love it.
27:43I love it.
27:44I love it.
27:45I love it.
27:46I love it.
27:47I love it.
27:48I love it.
27:49I love it.
27:50I love it.
27:51I love it.
27:52I love it.
27:53I love it.
27:54I love it.
27:55I love it.
27:56I love it.
27:57I love it.
27:58I love it.
27:59I love it.
28:00I love it.
28:01I love it.
28:02I love it.
28:03I love it.
28:04I love it.
28:05I love it.
28:06I love it.
28:07I love it.
28:08I love it.
28:09I love it.
28:10I love it.
28:11I love it.
28:12I love it.
28:13I love it.
28:14I love it.
28:15I love it.
28:16I love it.
28:17I love it.
28:18I love it.
28:19I love it.
28:20I love it.
28:21I love it.
28:22I love it.
28:23I love it.
28:24I love it.
28:25I love it.
28:26I love it.
28:27I love it.
28:28I love it.
28:29I love it.
28:30I love it.
28:31I love it.
28:32I love it.
28:33I love it.
28:34I love it.
28:35I love it.
28:36I love it.
28:37I love it.
28:38I love it.
28:39I love it.
28:40I love it.
28:41I love it.
28:42I love it.
28:43I love it.
28:44I love it.
28:45I love it.
28:46I love it.
28:47I love it.
28:48I love it.
28:49I love it.
28:50I love it.
28:51I love it.
28:52I love it.
28:53I love it.
28:54I love it.
28:55I love it.
28:56I love it.
28:57I love it.
28:58I love it.
28:59I love it.
29:00I love it.
29:01I love it.
29:02I love it.
29:03I love it.
29:04I love it.
29:05I love it.
29:06I love it.
29:07I love it.
29:08I love it.
29:09I love it.
29:10I love it.
29:11I love it.
29:12I love it.
29:13I love it.
29:14I love it.
29:15I love it.
29:16I love it.
29:17I love it.
29:18I love it.
29:19I love it.
29:20I love it.
29:21I love it.
29:22I love it.
29:23I love it.
29:24I love it.
29:25I love it.
29:26I love it.
29:27I love it.
29:28I love it.
29:29I love it.
29:30I love it.
29:31I love it.
29:32I love it.
29:33I love it.
29:34I love it.
29:35I love it.
29:36I love it.
29:37I love it.
29:38I love it.
29:39I love it.
29:40I love it.
29:41I love it.
29:42I love it.
29:43I love it.
29:44I love it.
29:45I love it.
29:46I love it.
29:47I love it.
29:48I love it.
29:49I love it.
29:50I love it.
29:51I love it.
29:52I love it.
29:53I love it.
29:54I love it.
29:55I love it.
29:56I love it.
29:57I love it.
29:58I love it.
29:59I love it.
30:00I love it.
30:01I love it.
30:02I love it.
30:03I love it.
30:04I love it.
30:05I love it.
30:06I love it.
30:07I love it.
30:08I love it.
30:09I love it.
30:10I love it.
30:11I love it.
30:12I love it.
30:13I love it.
30:14I love it.
30:15I love it.
30:16I love it.
30:17I love it.
30:18I love it.
30:19I love it.
30:20I love it.
30:21I love it.
30:22I love it.
30:23I love it.
30:24I love it.
30:25I love it.
30:26I love it.
30:27I love it.
30:28I love it.
30:29I love it.
30:30I love it.
30:31I love it.
30:32I love it.
30:33I love it.
30:34I love it.
30:35I love it.
30:36I love it.
30:37I love it.
30:38I love it.
30:39I love it.
30:40I love it.
30:41I love it.
30:42I love it.
30:43I love it.
30:44I love it.
30:45I love it.
30:46I love it.
30:47I love it.
30:48I love it.
30:49I love it.
30:50I love it.
30:51I love it.
30:52I love it.
30:53I love it.
30:54I love it.
30:55I love it.
30:56I love it.
30:57I love it.
30:58I love it.
30:59I love it.
31:00I love it.
31:01I love it.
31:02I love it.
31:03I love it.
31:04I love it.
31:05I love it.
31:06I love it.
31:07I love it.
31:08I love it.
31:09I love it.
31:10I love it.
31:11I love it.
31:12I love it.
31:13I love it.
31:14I love it.
31:15I love it.
31:16I love it.
31:17I love it.
31:18I love it.
31:19I love it.
31:20I love it.
31:21I love it.
31:22I love it.
31:23I love it.
31:24I love it.
31:25I love it.
31:26I love it.
31:27I love it.
31:28I love it.
31:29Yeah, So he's from here.
31:31I've got a wealth of knowledge of his background off the field but also as success.
31:37Right?
31:38And you look at what he did.
31:39He started out in Oklahoma was doing really well that had to transfer with Caleb Williams
31:46coming in and unseat him.
31:47He gets a chance to go to South Carolina, reinvent himself and have success.
31:52And again, it's not a surprise that he's being talked about and jumping up draft boards because
31:57his skill set is there.
31:59He has all of these things that you look at and you say, man, this is a guy that goes
32:03out in the senior bowl and has a tremendous amount of success.
32:09Behind Michael Penix was the best quarterback at the senior bowl.
32:12I still had Devin Leary of all the all-star games ahead of him ranking wise, but then
32:17next slides in Spencer Rattler.
32:20For a lot of different reasons, he has that capability because he has that playmaking
32:24capability.
32:25As I pull up his file here and you look at it, that crucial score is 26 instead of 27.
32:32His overall score is 75 as opposed to 79 because of the things that he has and the capability
32:37that he has.
32:38My biggest hesitation with him is there's one to three plays within every single game
32:45that you watch that you're just going, what is he doing?
32:49What is he doing?
32:51That to me is why he is being slotted in where he is.
32:55Because if those don't exist, you're talking about a mid-round pick for sure.
32:59But then you also bring in the off-field stuff of what he's talking about.
33:04All of these things, what that looks like.
33:07There's also concern there of his off the field, of some of the maturity that he needs
33:11to go through.
33:12And look, everybody again is trying to figure this out.
33:15These are young men that we need to take into consideration.
33:17I was ill-equipped to step foot in an NFL locker room until I found mentors and other
33:23guys that could help me realize the business that I was in.
33:26I found out very quickly what that was like.
33:29But the best situation Spencer Little Rattler can go to is somebody with an established
33:33veteran quarterback that can show him how to be a pro.
33:36Because there's a whole different mindset that you need to do when you step in there,
33:40you're earning a wage and you're being constantly evaluated on every single little thing that
33:45you do.
33:46You look at what he brings to the table, it's Russell Wilson-esque.
33:50He can go out there and he can do a lot of different things with the football on his
33:53hands.
33:54The other guy that I equate him more than anything, the complete package, is Johnny
33:58Manziel.
33:59Because he makes plays, he can pull a rabbit out of his hat and you're like, how did he
34:01escape that?
34:02But he can also stay in rhythm and make throws.
34:04His footwork is very clean, it's smooth.
34:07Is he a little undersized?
34:08Yeah, but that's also today's NFL game, run the gun so much, it doesn't matter.
34:12You can put him under center and you can feel confident in it.
34:16But to me, the closest comparable guy is Johnny Manziel because he just scoots all over the
34:20place.
34:21He's making these plays, he understands that vision that I talk about.
34:25He has that.
34:26He has that.
34:27That's a seven that is unbelievable of what he looks like because the game is slow to
34:31him outside of the pocket and inside the pocket.
34:34You can see that and he has that playmaking capability.
34:39I was told by an NFL executive when I was talking to him about quarterbacks, he said
34:44to me, Spencer Rattler fits in Kansas City better than in Las Vegas because in Kansas
34:50City he sits behind a Patrick Mahomes who's the consummate professional and you let, literally,
34:58Patrick groom him.
35:00He said, I don't know because you've got Gartner who's young and Aiden that's young in Las
35:06Vegas that that's a perfect fit for him.
35:09Is that kind of what you were alluding to?
35:11Yes, I was, but I would take it a step further and say, I don't think Patrick's going to
35:15have any effect on him except for what he's going to be able to extract from Patrick.
35:19Patrick's focused on playing football at a high level and I think that's one thing that
35:23evaluators don't necessarily take into consideration, what the whole room looks like.
35:27For me, that veteran quarterback that can help the starter but then also build and groom
35:33his replacement has to be a secure individual.
35:35It's a dying breed because it's a dog eat dog world.
35:40When I got to that position, I was comfortable being a backup.
35:43I took very serious because Sean Hill, one of my best friends in the whole business,
35:49showed me what it was to be a professional and that is what took my career to the next
35:53level.
35:54When you're starting and you're doing all these things, it's hard.
35:57You can't pour into young guys.
35:58You can take stuff and you can follow them along and you can galvanize around and say,
36:02we're going to work out at this time.
36:03We're going to go out to dinner on the road.
36:04We're going to do all these things.
36:06But the veteran quarterback is the biggest asset and the teams that place an emphasis
36:10on that, those are the teams that you sit there and say, okay, they've got this kind
36:14of figured out.
36:15They've got a good recipe for success because you have to be an advocate for the starter.
36:20The starter has so much on his plate, dealing with media, family, and all of the scrutiny
36:25and getting the team together, the face of the franchise, all of that stuff.
36:29It's hard for a young guy to truly be able to do that.
36:32I tried to do it with John Kitna and John was great in some aspects.
36:36Younger guys have come in that I've seen that have been a starter.
36:38So I tried to kind of be that go between when I was that veteran backup, when I made that
36:42transition to help these young guys out and say, hey, this is how I prepared each and
36:47every week.
36:48And I'm going to show you.
36:49And eventually it's just going to be ingrained in your brain to be able to do that.
36:52It's very hard for a starter to be able to do that.
36:55Awesome.
36:56Great analysis.
36:57Last guy you have with a draftable grade is a guy that literally walks around with a cannon
37:04stuck to his body.
37:05We're talking about Jordan Travis.
37:06Would you break him down, please, sir?
37:09Yeah.
37:10Same type of thing, right?
37:11Like when you look at the end of the draft and you're saying, okay, what can we do here
37:16that's going to make a difference?
37:17Because the highest percentage of guys that gets drafted in this don't really make it,
37:24right?
37:25You can draft a guy in the seventh round, sixth round, and you can cut them and not
37:29feel mad.
37:30When I was drafted, if you got drafted, you had a pretty good chance of making the team.
37:33They liked you.
37:34Now they churn that roster so much, but can you find a diamond in the rough late in the
37:38draft?
37:39Can you find that Brock Purdy that everybody's looking for?
37:42And for me, Jordan Travis just wins football games.
37:46He's a winner.
37:47That's what I said earlier on the show.
37:48It comes down to winning and losing football games.
37:50He has that capability and it's etched in my mind, that Clemson overtime throw that
37:56he had, right?
37:57Didn't play great in the beginning of the game.
37:59That's going to happen.
38:00Can you have the mental wherewithal to say, okay, I got to stay the course.
38:04We're in a dogfight right now.
38:05I've got to just keep taking what's given to me.
38:07I throw an interception.
38:08I do this.
38:09I move on.
38:10I move on.
38:11I pull the team together.
38:12I do everything I need to do.
38:13Overtime, go out and win a football game.
38:14Because at the end of the day, nobody remembers the first four quarters.
38:17They remember that throw that he threw to Keon Coleman up the sideline where he made
38:21a catch to beat Clemson.
38:24That's what I want to see.
38:25That's what I want to see because I lived across the sideline from Russell Wilson when
38:29I was in Arizona and saw him do that weekend and week out.
38:32And the belief that that has in a team, again, what I was talking about playing this position,
38:37the 10 other guys in the huddle believing in you, the other guys in the locker room
38:41completely believing in you, that's what Jordan Travis brings to the table.
38:45Now, it stinks that he had the injury that he had because that was a rough one.
38:50That was tough to see, tough to watch.
38:53Sidebar, I think it was completely warranted that Florida State was left out of the college
38:56football playoffs because without him, they're nothing compared to what it was.
39:00I don't care about the other players sitting out.
39:02This position is so important.
39:04Without him out there, he is a difference maker.
39:08Now, I still think he needs to clean things up.
39:10I think he's a little finicky in the pocket at times.
39:13He doesn't protect the ball as much as you would like to see.
39:16Like I was talking about, he had to come from behind, a la Jameis Winston, right?
39:20Like in college, he'd make his own mess, but then he'd clean it up.
39:23You can't do that in the NFL.
39:24You get behind the eight ball.
39:26And I think at times, because he is athletic, he looks to escape quicker than I would like.
39:31His eyes drop to the rush.
39:33He hops into the back of his drop, his footwork, so his shoulders kind of drop into the ground,
39:38and then he's got to get back on plane.
39:40Those are all correctable things.
39:41Again, as I made my evaluations and I made these scores, I put in caption a little bit
39:45of a C with parentheses of, okay, this is what coaches can correct.
39:50So I'm trying to create valuable tools for the entire organization to then hand over
39:54this information to them and say, okay, this is the guy that I really like.
39:57In high character, everything you want about a guy that you need to be able to be successful
40:03is going to come in and work and do all these things.
40:06Different than Spencer Rattler, similar skillset, but is Spencer Rattler going to show up every
40:11day when he's not the guy getting the reps?
40:14Is he going to show up every single day when he's got to be there at 530 and grab coffee
40:18and donuts or do all these little things?
40:20Jordan Travis will.
40:21Now, how quickly can he recover from that injury?
40:23What are you going to do?
40:24Is it going to be a handed hooker type of situation where it's later than probably expected?
40:28Yeah, it needs to be because there has to be some pause there.
40:32You only have so many draft picks.
40:33They're very precious, but he's a guy that I would feel very comfortable investing in
40:38to see if you can get him to attain a higher level than you initially thought.
40:43All right.
40:44The next guy is one that you don't have draftable, but you think there's potential to get him
40:50as a UDFA and develop him into something.
40:55Keaton Sloven of BYU.
40:57Yeah, well, it's so funny you say of BYU because with all these guys right now with NIL and
41:02Transfer Portal and all this stuff, and I was like, I don't know how they identify themselves.
41:06Maybe he says USC.
41:07It looks sexier than BYU, or maybe it says Pittsburgh, right?
41:10Like all of these guys that have kind of transferred and you look at that and that's something
41:15going back to the top of the draft, J.J. McCarthy, one school, Drake May, one school.
41:20There's something to be said for loyalty.
41:22Now, if your head coach leaves and do all this stuff, for sure, Caleb Williams, I completely
41:26understand I would follow Lincoln Riley wherever he went to.
41:30I get that.
41:31So Keaton Slovis, transfer multiple times, not a big deal in this day and age.
41:36Red flag before?
41:37Yeah, probably.
41:38Now it's not.
41:39Again, a guy that's local here.
41:41So knowing him, he played for Kurt Warner in high school, had a lot of accolades, had
41:46a tremendous amount of success actually while he was at USC.
41:50Like that's the guy that you look at and say, man, he is starting to climb and do all these
41:54things.
41:55I'll break right into it.
41:57The comparable that I have is Brock Purdy.
41:59He's a guy that you watch him throw mechanically.
42:02He does all these things.
42:03And the biggest knocks on Brock Purdy were his athleticism, which now is showing up to
42:08actually be greater than most people thought, and his arm strength.
42:11Now arm strength is something that is funny to me that people talk about because you say,
42:15well, this guy's got a cannon or his arm talent or this or that.
42:19It doesn't matter how hard you can throw it or how far you can throw it.
42:24Joe Milton can throw the ball like Uncle Rico over the mountain.
42:29It doesn't matter because you don't know where the ball is going.
42:32A guy like Keaton Slovis, his footwork is so good.
42:34I was so impressed when I turned the film on right away.
42:37I was like, man, these are fluid mechanics.
42:39He seems like he has exactly the right dimensions and angles that you need to be able to deliver
42:44an accurate football.
42:45And then you say, okay, well, he didn't have great talent.
42:48He didn't have the luxury of some of these other guys that he does, but he's making throws
42:53into tight windows.
42:54He's anticipating.
42:55A timing passing game to me is what you need to be successful in the NFL.
42:59At the end of the day, you can take everything else and say, what is the most important thing
43:02for a quarterback to have when he is on the field?
43:04It is good footwork because then he can put the ball where he wants to, when he wants
43:09to and how he wants to.
43:10And Keaton Slovis has all of those intangibles.
43:14Now has he reached the ceiling of the upside?
43:16Maybe, but I think he's a guy that can develop in a very reliable backup for you that you
43:21feel confident that you can say, okay, this is great.
43:24There are some limitations there though, athletically, size wise, arm strength wise, but you can also
43:28develop some of those things.
43:30You can strengthen those things.
43:31But if you know where you're going before you even have the football in your hands,
43:34or you have a good understanding of how to get it there, you're going to be successful
43:38in this league.
43:39It's the guys that run around like chickens with their heads cut off.
43:41Those are the guys that are on the league very quickly because they look sexy in preseason,
43:45right?
43:46When you see one, two coverages and it's not a big deal and you're making plays, the biggest
43:51jumps is when you start going up the ladder in preseason and you make it to that second
43:55team.
43:56Now you're dealing with guys that are like half of them are going to have to play in
43:58an NFL game at some point.
44:00And then when you're out there with the ones in preseason, that's a true barometer.
44:03I used to love when I got to go out there and play a preseason with the first team offensive
44:07line and be able to do all that because you get a true sense of what's going on.
44:11They're still going to match up.
44:13I don't take a lot of stock in preseason games.
44:16I think that you have to look at the body of work of what's going on.
44:19And as you evaluate some of these guys, key down slow, this is a guy that's going to go
44:22out and have a lot of success in the preseason, but it's going to translate to an NFL team
44:26for a long time to come.
44:29I can't let you go without asking you about one guy that you don't have draftable.
44:35And I found that to be stunning, not stunning because it's you, but stunning because I laugh
44:42when I look at some media, oh, he's going to go in the first round and he might.
44:48The people I talk to who are the best evaluators, they think a lot like you and that's Bo Nix.
44:55Can you please explain to fans why?
44:57Yeah.
44:58I mean, this is a tough one, but again, I don't know Bo Nix personally.
45:02I don't have anything against the guy.
45:05He's had a tremendous amount of success and I was actually just back at Michigan State
45:09talking to Jonathan Smith and he was like, I told him about what I'm doing and all this
45:12stuff.
45:13And I told him about Bo Nix.
45:15He's a good against us at Oregon State last year.
45:17I was like, yeah, he has the capability to look good at times.
45:21The consistency isn't there though.
45:23And the skillset translation, as I'm talking about Keydon Slovis having the ability to
45:27run and see what that's going to look like.
45:30I look at a guy like this and I'm like, this is Stetson Bennett to me, a guy that's sneaky
45:35athletic that can make plays and do all this stuff that has really good guys around him
45:40Has a ton of experience played in five leverage football games, understands what it's like
45:44lives, breathes, dies, football, all of those things, very, very important.
45:49But then you start looking at some of the nuances of it.
45:52And within this offense, he was only asked to throw the ball a very short distance and
45:57then guys would run, right?
45:58That's alarming to me.
45:59A lot of them were at behind the line of scrimmage or just past the line of scrimmage when you're
46:03throwing bubbles, pitches and slants and all this stuff.
46:05It's important.
46:06It's good.
46:07But you've got to be able to push the ball down the field.
46:09He pushed the ball all the way down the field.
46:11Pretty well.
46:12That mid range accuracy.
46:13I have a huge hesitation on because his footwork is not where I want it to be.
46:19I watched all of his stuff from the senior bowl.
46:22He goes at different tempos.
46:24He plays the different things he plays to the drill.
46:26That's alarming to me.
46:27When you get to see all of these things and then he tries to speed it up and the game
46:31seems too fast for him.
46:32It really does.
46:33When he's out there, he's making helter skelter decisions because he doesn't trust what he's
46:38seeing.
46:39Now, does he have the experience?
46:40Yes.
46:41Does he have command of the offense?
46:42Absolutely.
46:43You can see him moving guys shifted motion, doing everything he needs to do because he
46:47has the experience of what that looks like.
46:49He's also a tremendous leader.
46:50I think those are great things.
46:52But when you've really got to put your hand to the fire and say, is this a guy I would
46:55want to draft?
46:56I'm not, I'm not feeling comfortable in saying that for a lot of different things.
47:00I also don't know how much upside he has.
47:02I think he's reached his potential because of those intangibles you're looking for are
47:07already capped out.
47:08Now, can you increase footwork?
47:09Can you do some of these other things?
47:11Yes.
47:12But his arm strength is also one of these things that you look at and say, man, I don't
47:16know what it looks like unless he's got the ability to truly step into a throw.
47:20And you can't rely on your stride all the time in the NFL, right?
47:24You're not a pitcher coming off the mound where you have to get a chance to do a repetitive
47:27motion and do that.
47:28You have to be able to get off balance, get back on balance and use those hips.
47:32And that's why everybody looks at the gold standard of Patrick Mahomes.
47:35They look at Matthew Stafford.
47:37They look at Aaron Rodgers has been doing it for a long time.
47:40That ground contact that you can create and then that twitchiness of your hips to be able
47:45to fire and explosiveness.
47:47The arm is just the mechanism by which the ball is released.
47:50And Bo Nix to me is very stiff hip.
47:53He doesn't have that capability to be able to do that.
47:56When he steps in the throws, his ball jump out of his hands.
47:59Yeah, it does at times.
48:01But then you also watch some of these other games when the game's on the line against
48:05Washington, as he has, as he had his best.
48:08Because every game comes down to the fourth quarter.
48:10Same thing.
48:11That's a little bit of the reservation I have with Jaden Daniels, right?
48:14You look back at what happened when the game is on the line, the last two minutes, I believe
48:19the number 78% of the time in the NFL, the game comes down to the last two minutes.
48:24You've got to go out and win two minute football.
48:26You've got to go find a way to win a football game.
48:28And unless you're in that position, you don't really know what's going to happen until you
48:32get out there.
48:33Some guys feel comfortable, thrive in that situation, enjoy it.
48:36Other guys consistently just can't do it.
48:39That's not going to change.
48:40I got to tell you, I took so much criticism earlier in the year back right after the,
48:48I think it was either just before the comment or just after when I had an executive say
48:52to me, Bo Nix was throwing into a three, a three foot window because his, he had great
49:00receivers who got separation in the level of competition.
49:05But they said it's a senior bowl when all the competition was good.
49:09And it's, you know, a 12 inch window is accuracy was not as good as it was in college.
49:14And they go in, in the NFL, it's a nine inch window, man, I had a lot of people, idiots,
49:21look at his completion percentage.
49:23How can you question accuracy?
49:24It's just, again, it's taking the game to another level.
49:28Before I let you go, Drew, I have two questions I have to ask.
49:31So when the Raiders hired Tom Telesco in his opening press conference, I mentioned to you
49:37and I mentioned to Tom that you had talked about, he was a guy players trusted, they
49:43respected.
49:44Can you give Raider Nation a little bit of insight?
49:46You know him, you think extremely highly, highly of him.
49:50You think it was a good hire by the Raiders.
49:52Can you tell them from a player's perspective and now as a guy who's not a player, but doing
49:57other things, what is it about Tom Telesco you like so much?
50:00Oh man, there's a lot of that I like about him.
50:04And you know, so we were together in Indianapolis, the one year that I spent there when they
50:07drafted Andrew Luck and established a good relationship with them.
50:11There's just certain guys you're around that you know, that you feel like you can trust
50:14that they're authentic, that they do things the right way.
50:17And you know, I got a chance to build a relationship with them.
50:22He went to the chargers and I ended up signing with the Arizona Cardinals, but maintained
50:27a good relationship with them.
50:28And then as soon as I got out of football, he was one of my first phone calls.
50:32And to be fair, most guys in the NFL, they don't pick up, they don't text you back.
50:37They do do all these things.
50:38And as I've learned this over time, and I know, and I understand it, Tom has always
50:42texted me back.
50:43He's always called me back.
50:44And I know everybody that I talked to thinks very highly of him because that's the type
50:48of person that he is, the type of man that Tom Telesco is, is tremendous.
50:53And so as I was, I was talking to him, he was like, you just need to get into evaluating
50:56college quarterbacks.
50:57He goes, there's not really NFL teams, NFL teams don't have a quarterback specific scout.
51:03And he was like, I love the idea.
51:04You just need to develop it.
51:05And so that's what I did.
51:06I took his idea and I ran with it.
51:09I've met with multiple GMs and been able to talk with them about what this could look
51:13like because no team has a quarterback specific scout, which is mind blowing.
51:17You would think the most important position of all sports would have somebody delegated
51:21to only doing that so they can go to college games, so they can watch TV copies, so they
51:25can watch all the film, do all this stuff and then present it.
51:29And Tom was like, I love your idea.
51:30And so I, he gave me the confidence to be able to go out and do that.
51:35But he's also very honest, which doesn't really correlate a lot in this business because people
51:41have agendas.
51:42They have all of these things of who wants to get credit or what's going on and watching
51:45his opening press conference, watching how he interacts with AP, you can see that they
51:50are lock and step, which you have to be in this league.
51:53You have to be able to join, be able to be joined at the hip with your head coach, be
51:57able to be secure enough to have your conviction when you need to, but have humility and say,
52:02Hey, you know what?
52:03I got this one wrong, or I've got this one wrong or, or grow from what's going on.
52:08Tom Telesco is not afraid to do that.
52:10And from a player's perspective, when I was around him, but also knowing guys that were
52:14in that locker room with the San Diego and LA chargers.
52:18Now they said the exact same thing.
52:20That guy doesn't change.
52:21He is who he is.
52:22And there's a lot of comfort in knowing that.
52:25Lastly, um, Aiden O'Connell, if he'd come out a year before a lot of people had a first
52:31round grade on him and then comes back for his last year at Purdue, cause he's a winner.
52:37He wanted to get them to a big 10 championship game.
52:39Purdue had never been there.
52:41His brother passes away.
52:44They lose a lot of players.
52:45So the talent is not like it was his first year.
52:48He does get them to the big 10 championship game where they played Michigan.
52:52The Raiders pick them up in a later round, obviously comes in, goes three and one against
52:58the AFC West with a no TAs, no mini camp, no training camp.
53:04They're throwing half the playbook out, trying to redo the offense in the middle of the season.
53:10All that he went through, his last three games, I mean, four games, eight touchdowns, no interceptions,
53:18his last five, nine touchdowns, one interception, and a lot of people, not all, but a lot of
53:24people at Raider Nation, get rid of them.
53:26We got to move up and get a better quarterback.
53:28Well, I asked four executives, after you saw Aiden O'Connell last year, plus what you know
53:36from college, if he was in this year's draft, and number now, you can include the knowledge
53:42of the first rookie season, where would you have them?
53:46All four, now, granted, these are four men that I respect, and you know who some of these
53:51men are.
53:52As quarterback evaluators said, they had a first round grade on Aiden O'Connell, that
53:57if he was in this draft, first round grade.
53:59I'm curious, this is what you do.
54:02You're the expert.
54:05Those men, I had to just keep confidential.
54:07I'm asking you, where would you rate Aiden O'Connell, if he was coming out in this draft,
54:12based on what you know from Purdue and last year?
54:14I would have him as a day two pick.
54:17I think that he has, yeah, I think he has the capability, look, I was on your podcast
54:22last year.
54:23I think he has a lot of things that he does extremely well.
54:27That being said, it's also about the supporting cast in the NFL.
54:31It's about who your play caller is in the NFL.
54:33But I also think you hit a couple of things that are very important.
54:37First of all, the turnover ratio, right?
54:40Your touchdowns to interception ratio, but touchdowns are one thing.
54:43I don't care about touchdown passes personally.
54:45They're sexy, they're gaudy, they are what they are.
54:47If you run it in every single time, that's where the most important status wins and losses.
54:52And three and one in conference, that's tremendously important.
54:55Then you also watch him play.
54:57Can he put the ball where he wants to, when he wants to, how he wants to?
55:00So again, I have all of these foundational truths of what I believe to play this position
55:05to be successful.
55:06He encompasses a lot of those.
55:08Now, can he go out there?
55:09I don't know him personally, so I can't grade all encompassing, hey, first round grade.
55:15He seems extremely confident with who he is.
55:17He's very comfortable in his own skin.
55:19Can he pull everybody together and say, Hey, I, this is my franchise.
55:23This is what I'm going to do.
55:24Because right now, Gardner Minshew has those capabilities.
55:27We've seen that he is going to pull everybody along with him.
55:30He's going to go sleep in a fricking bus and have everybody sleep on the bike with him.
55:34That's what it takes at this level is to be able to do that.
55:37I don't know enough about Aiden O'Connell because I don't, haven't studied him enough
55:40to feel confident.
55:41Now, as far as just the tapes concerned, yeah, it's very, very encouraging.
55:45And even last year at the NFL level, it was very encouraging.
55:49He can make multi-level throws.
55:51He can throw it quick.
55:52He can get rid of it.
55:53Is he going to run around and scramble around?
55:55No, but you don't need to.
55:57Like I said, if you can rely on a tiny passing game with a quarterback that can anticipate
56:02and know where the ball is supposed to go before he even gets it in his hands.
56:05Those are the guys I want.
56:06Not the guy that's going to run around and look great.
56:09I love that about you, Drew.
56:11That's a great evaluation.
56:12I've said since the year was over, we did not see enough from Aiden to say he's the
56:16next Kenny Stabler, but I don't think you saw enough from him to say he's trash either.
56:21And that's why I said, sign a veteran, go pick a rookie and let everybody compete.
56:27Again, my job is to give information.
56:30Three scouts said they had a first round grade on them.
56:33And I love that you give us and say, no, I got a second round.
56:36So good stuff from you, Drew.
56:38Thank you so much.
56:40For those of you wondering, coming up this Wednesday, the day before the draft, we're
56:44going to have an article with all of Drew's information in it.
56:48You're going to love it.
56:49Our Michael France is going to write, but Drew, I appreciate you taking time.
56:53Please tell Kristen hi from me.
56:55Thank you for taking the time, my friend.
56:57My pleasure.
56:58Always good coming on the show.
57:00All right.
57:01Appreciate you again.
57:02This is the one and only the great Drew Stanton.
57:04I'm Hondo Carpenter.
57:05Follow me on IG at HondoSR, an ex formerly known as Twitter, when you go to add Hondo
57:10Carpenter.
57:11Goodbye, everybody.
57:12Have a great day.
57:13God bless you.