On the newest episode of Patriots Daily, Taylor Kyles from CLNS Media is joined by Rookie Scouting Portfolio creator Matt Waldman to break down Patriots rookie wideouts Ja'Lynn Polk and Javon Baker!
This episode of the Patriots Daily Podcast is brought to you by:
Prize Picks! Get in on the excitement with PrizePicks, America’s No. 1 Fantasy Sports App, where you can turn your hoops knowledge into serious cash. Download the app today and use code CLNS for a first deposit match up to $100! Pick more. Pick less. It’s that Easy! Go to https://PrizePicks.com/CLNS
Take the guesswork out of buying NBA tickets with Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code CLNS for $20 off your first purchase. Download Gametime today. Last minute tickets. Lowest Price. Guaranteed. Terms apply.
#Patriots #NFL #NewEnglandPatriots
This episode of the Patriots Daily Podcast is brought to you by:
Prize Picks! Get in on the excitement with PrizePicks, America’s No. 1 Fantasy Sports App, where you can turn your hoops knowledge into serious cash. Download the app today and use code CLNS for a first deposit match up to $100! Pick more. Pick less. It’s that Easy! Go to https://PrizePicks.com/CLNS
Take the guesswork out of buying NBA tickets with Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code CLNS for $20 off your first purchase. Download Gametime today. Last minute tickets. Lowest Price. Guaranteed. Terms apply.
#Patriots #NFL #NewEnglandPatriots
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00What's going on, everyone? Taylor Kyle's here for CLNS Media, coming at you with another
00:22episode of Hats Daily, brought to you by our good friends at PrizePix and GameTime. We're
00:27still going through the Patriots rookie class, trying to get all the inside info and insights
00:32that we can into these guys' games so we can best appreciate them and also have some idea
00:37of how they're going to fit into this new version of the Patriots. And today, we're
00:41talking wide receivers with one of the most detailed analysts in the game, someone whose
00:46clips I regularly go to to make sure, like I said before the show when we were behind
00:50the scenes, make sure I'm up to stuff and I know all my stuff about these guys. So without
00:55further ado, Matt Waldman, the creator of the Rookie Scouting Profile, one of the absolute
00:59best resources if you're trying to understand these draft classes. Matt, how you doing,
01:04brother? And welcome back to the show. Hey, I'm doing great, Taylor. Thanks so much for
01:08having me again. And you know, I had such a good time last time. I'm glad that I got
01:12to do it again. It's a pleasure. It's a pleasure, brother. So before the Patriots got their
01:17shiny new weapons, they drafted a shiny new quarterback, Drake May out of UNC. Now, at
01:23first glance, it seemed like Polk and Javon Baker were the perfect fits for someone like
01:27Drake May, who likes to go downfield. Accuracy is a bit up and down at times, but really
01:32looking at his college tape, it's just like this guy needs some ball winners. You got
01:36Ted Walker, who brings a speed, but really some guys who can go up and win at the catch
01:39point. And it seemed like the Patriots checked those boxes. So from your perspective, how
01:44well do you think Polk and Javon Baker are going to fit both with Drake May and his skill
01:48set and what we might be seeing with Alex Van Pelt and the kind of offenses he's historically
01:53I mean, I think that it's a good fit in theory, for sure, because whether it's going to be
01:57May or it's a quarterback down the line, I mean, let's just let's be real in the fact
02:03that, you know, first round quarterbacks don't have a high hit rate. So you may be looking
02:07at six to eight years before you find that quarterback who is going to be the guy. It
02:12could be May. May certainly has enough skill sets available to maybe turn into that guy,
02:17even if I haven't been as high on him as some other people are. So when you look at, you
02:22know, when you look at what Polk does really well, he's he's very strong at being able
02:27to earn position to win the ball. And that's one of the great strengths of his game. There
02:33are a lot of guys who can extend and and catch a football with an athletic, you know, an
02:39athletic extension, but they don't know how to position themselves to keep the ball between
02:44themselves and the defender and they open up their bodies to the defender too much.
02:49Polk doesn't do that. He's very good at really earning that position and then transitioning
02:53downhill to earn to earn additional yardage. And he's someone that I think the light switch
03:00kind of goes on and off with him in terms of some of the artistry that you want to see
03:05with some of his releases and routes. But it's that the tools are there, the techniques
03:11are there, but maybe the artistry in terms of being able to execute with that patience
03:16and suddenness. You have to have a contrast of patience and suddenness. Watch someone
03:20like CeeDee Lamb or Devontae Adams, and you're going to see someone who's slow. It's like
03:24a running back, slow to the hold and fast to it. You want to see him be able to like
03:29set the guy up with a little bit of a slower pace and then just hit the hit the gas, you
03:35know, whether it's in the short area with a couple of steps. So he's just got to learn
03:40how to really develop that in that level. But I think what he does after the catch,
03:44you can put them in situations where you can scheme Polk to get the ball in space and
03:49he can get yards for you. You can get, and the same thing with Baker, really, both those
03:54guys are good yards after the catch producers. So you don't necessarily have to just have
03:59them run timing routes all the time. And that's good because early on in their careers, you
04:04know, they're not going to be the best at timing routes just like most rookie wide receivers,
04:09but they do have the ability to develop into starters rather quickly. I think that both
04:15of them can at least be good contributors for the offense and be rotated in and out
04:20and get enough volume that by the middle of their rookie contracts, they're going to be
04:25reliable starters.
04:27That's exciting. It's funny. You also mentioned the patience with Jalen Polk because I actually
04:32got to speak to his trainer, Delphonte Diamond, who does an excellent job. That was one of
04:35the things he highlighted was that patience and being a little more consistent in his
04:39routes. And when it comes to yards after the catch, Gerard Mayo did touch on that with
04:43Jayvon Baker, which was kind of surprising because when you look at his profile, he wasn't
04:47really a short target when he was at UCF. He was more of a deep guy and one of the more
04:51productive guys in the country in that vein.
04:53But when you look at the tape with Polk, is he the most explosive guy? Not necessarily,
04:58but you see the toughness. He also mentioned like using his stiff arm and using his physical
05:02gifts to be the best yards after catch guy he could be. That's definitely present there.
05:07And with Baker, there are some throws where he'll get targeted in the flat. A corner will
05:11have him dead to rights. And there's one, I think it was against Kansas where he eats
05:15the contact. The guy slides off him, he stiff arms somebody else, and then fights for even
05:20more yards after that.
05:21So I like that you brought that up because the downfield stuff again with May is what's
05:25exciting and that's what kind of pops into your head, but kind of that well-rounded skillset
05:29as they develop, as you mentioned, the timing routes, that'll be really interesting.
05:34Now I want to get into role a little bit, starting with Jalen Polk, because he's someone
05:38where I kind of have compared him to Jacoby Myers, less route running savvy just because
05:43Jacoby is so good in that department, but a little more juice where Jacoby, I felt like
05:47it had to be like every once in a while you could throw him a little fade from inside
05:51the numbers.
05:52But Polk, as we saw in that explosive Washington offense, it felt like he really could win
05:56not only from different spots, but really be able to challenge vertically.
05:59So how do you see his fit?
06:01Do you think he is more of a Z slot or do you think he could be an X receiver in certain
06:06personnel packages and has that true type of versatility?
06:09That's a great question.
06:10And I love the comp to Jacoby Myers.
06:13I wish I could have that pre-draft because I compare players on spectrums.
06:21And so to me, Jalen Polk was kind of like a better version of Marquez Calloway, who
06:28I think a better version of Marquez Calloway is Jacoby Myers.
06:33And I think the guy that both he and Myers would aspire to be if they had, I think Jalen
06:38Polk doesn't quite have that level of athletic ability, but he has more than Jacoby Myers
06:42does.
06:43The aspiring guy would be CeeDee Lamb.
06:45CeeDee Lamb would be the top guy on the archetype.
06:48You know, the guy who could play all three positions, really thrive in the slot.
06:52But if you need him as a flanker, he can run after the catch.
06:55If you need him as a split end because of his positioning skills, because of his leaping
07:00ability and timing, the ability to block out defenders and earn position during a stem
07:04at the top of the stem and having enough speed to do so.
07:08I absolutely think Polk can be a split end in certain packages.
07:12Is he the ideal split end at 6'2"?
07:14Probably not.
07:16He and Baker are kind of interchangeable in terms of physical types.
07:21You know, you're seeing one at 6'2", 204.
07:23And then with Baker, you're looking at a guy who's 6'1", 202.
07:27And Baker to me is a little bit more of a net.
07:29Right now, they're still developing.
07:31So if you look at Polk, he's more of a natural split end as a positioner to the ball, where
07:39Baker can do that, but he's maybe not quite as good as Baker as a route runner.
07:45I actually like Baker more than Polk, if you're judging them on a wide spectrum of players.
07:49They're not far apart, but I was higher on Baker.
07:53So Baker to me is a more complete route runner at this stage, who can give you some of that
07:58contested catch ability.
08:00He's a little bit, he has some highs and lows with his hands positions with certain plays
08:06that may be at the high end level of like comparing him to CeeDee Lamb.
08:10He would fall short a little bit.
08:13But to me, again, the guy who would probably be below CeeDee Lamb, but above Jacoby Myers
08:21would probably be Jeremy Macklin, and that's who I comped him to.
08:25I comped Baker more to a Macklin type of player.
08:28And then the guy that everyone looked at, or a lot of people looked at, and thought
08:32he was somehow going to become that next guy was Van Jefferson, but Van Jefferson never
08:37really worked out because his hands were not great, and he's not a great separator.
08:41He's more that guy that gets lost behind the third level of coverage based on long
08:46developing play action looks, and that's how he gets deep.
08:50Baker's more of a guy that you can probably win, he can probably win against a lot of
08:54guys in man coverage, maybe not the top guys all the time without really getting his skills
09:00up to snuff.
09:01But I'd say Baker's better with breaks, some setups, whereas Polk is a little bit up and
09:06down with those, and that's just the small difference.
09:09And I would say that Baker, Polk is probably better at the catch point, though Baker has
09:14some real highs in that category.
09:16He's just also a clap attacker at times where Polk isn't, and some of those are just difficult
09:24to do.
09:25Sometimes you're just making adjustments, and sometimes I would laugh because some receivers
09:30are probably like, forget it, I'm just going to use one hand because I'm probably going
09:33to do better just getting one hand up here than I am trying to get two up at the same
09:38time without clapping it.
09:40But Baker's a little better after the catch, whereas Polk, I think, is one of those guys
09:44that can win after the catch, but sometimes the way he reads the field is a little wonky,
09:50like when you ask him to go against the grain, sometimes he doesn't recognize those opportunities
09:55as well as I think Baker does, and Baker's a tackle breaker.
09:58Baker's very good at transitioning, like you want your receivers, the minute they catch
10:03the ball with their back to the downfield defender, is to turn tight and head downhill
10:08immediately and not try and go east-west, and Baker's great at that.
10:12He might be the best receiver in this class at transitions where he pulls through a tackle
10:19because he's violent with the turn downhill, and he heads straight through and pulls through
10:23contact, and he can pull through multiple points of contact from defensive backs.
10:29So you get him in space, and I think that's why he's a natural as a flanker to me.
10:37But if you need him to be split in, it's kind of like he and Burton, Jermaine Burton, are
10:46very similar players, if you ask me.
10:48I think Burton's a little more advanced as a route runner, but Baker and Burton have
10:53a similarity in terms of being tough after the catch, they're capable of being physical,
10:59and they're capable of giving you opportunities to play all three roles where you need them.
11:03So the fact that they're interchangeable makes it maybe harder if the coaching staff tries
11:11to make them all-around three-position players right away.
11:16You might get that Brandon Iup type of slow adjustment level or what the Chiefs are looking
11:20for, and now you're looking and you go, well, I thought these guys were going to hit right
11:25away, and if they're asking them to play all three positions, that might be too much
11:30because not only are they figuring out where to align, but now they're having to read defenses
11:36in multiple ways and have the adjustments that are position-specific, and they're having
11:41to do it with a rookie quarterback, possibly, who is also learning that stuff.
11:46So that's why it would be nice to see May sit, and if they make good on their promise
11:50of, yeah, we can let May sit all year and let Jacoby handle it, I'd like to see them
11:54do that because that gives Drake May a fighting chance to be confident on these types of small
12:01details where he's not having to do all that and learn the playbook and learn a new city
12:07and learn a new practice regimen and learn a new development regimen and the speed of
12:13the defenses and being famous and having money and all those things that just take up bandwidth.
12:21They're just natural things.
12:22You go to a new town for a new job, and you've got eight million things going on, and you're
12:27probably going to be beat that first day when you travel, you go back to your hotel, and
12:31you're like, I don't want to do anything right now, I just want to lay down.
12:34That's what he's going through year one.
12:36So that minor little adjustment for the X or the Z on the slant that could possibly
12:42go for running a different type of route, that's one of a million little adjustments.
12:48So these guys trying to be on the same page, I'd rather the quarterback be confident about
12:52all that stuff, or at least his footwork, the offense, all these other things.
12:57And then these little adjustments with routes can be minor things.
13:03That's what Jordan Love got to do, because he got three years, and then he inherited
13:07young receivers.
13:08I'm hoping Elliott Wolfe has observed that part and gets Kraft to sign off on the idea
13:16of, let's let May sit at least a year, at least a year.
13:20So all these little things that won't regress, all these little things that he has to deal
13:24with, he won't regress in areas where people are like, well, Matt Waldman, I thought you
13:29said he could do this, but he's not doing this on the field right now.
13:33I'm like, yeah, because he's thinking about eight million other things, and this thing
13:36falls backwards.
13:37So Baker and Paul getting to work with Kobe Brissett would be a nice thing, because Brissett's
13:44also been in a room with Amari Cooper, who is a consummate technician, and Amari Cooper
13:50would be at the top of the chain of both of these guys in terms of archetype in either
13:55direction you want to go, as an X, who's the ball winner, who can run after the catch,
14:01or the ROP technician, who can also give you after-the-catch stuff.
14:05Matt, one, this is why I come to you, because in terms of the mental things that they all
14:09have to go through, I didn't even really consider how tough it would be for them to really try
14:12to be those true multi-positional players.
14:15And then obviously the mental hurdle of being a new quarterback, you think about learning
14:19the playbook and all of that, but you're right, there's stuff about just moving, the guys
14:22from North Carolina spent his whole life there, being famous, those are things that I never
14:26really even considered, but you're right, I literally moved to Boston a year ago, and
14:30just as small as that was, being on the beat, new lifestyle, moving to a new apartment,
14:34it felt like I really didn't settle in until about four or five months in, when the season
14:39had already picked up, so that's fascinating.
14:41Some of the things you said about Javon Baker also, one, I love the guy, I kind of agree,
14:46I think he's going to probably be more of an impact player than Polk, whether it's early
14:50on or down the road, just the separation I feel like gives him a higher ceiling, and
14:54that mentality, this dude's different.
14:55But when you talked about the Amari Cooper, I'm actually writing a piece right now, and
14:59I alluded to that, where with the Browns, that was their guy, where it's like, all right,
15:02it's man coverage, we're just going to Amari, because we got an easy answer on the backside,
15:07which was something Elliot Wolfe said the offense didn't have before the draft, and
15:10on top of that, the yards after catch, I think I tweeted it a couple days ago, where
15:14I forget the team they were playing, but Javon Baker's coming back downhill against zone,
15:19he jumps up and makes the catch, and you see how quickly he does turn on that, I'm a runner,
15:24as soon as it comes in, you see him look at where the defender is, he already feels like
15:29he knows, adjusts his body, and that makes it tough on the tacklers, because if you're
15:33not in position, he knows where you are, he spins out of it, and then has that toughness
15:38where he fights through contact, where I'm excited, knowing that you saw the same thing,
15:43that's awesome, because it was very impressive for a guy who, again, wasn't really a short
15:47target in college.
15:48No, and it's one of those things that you're going to get the social media high school
15:55football coach, or former high school football player, who's going to say, well, yeah, guys,
16:00but everybody gets taught that in high school, yes, if you have a decent high school coach,
16:07you're going to get taught what a good transition is.
16:10It's good that you remember that, okay?
16:13But the best football players, the highest level, they're just executing fundamentals
16:18on the most consistent level, and know how to apply them in ways that you should apply
16:25them in theory, and they do it tirelessly.
16:28The thing is, is that there are a lot of players who don't have that level of high school coaching,
16:33who are just very talented athletically, or have certain skills down, or they just
16:38weren't always good.
16:39Not every receiver's good at everything.
16:42Just like you could name your favorite guitarist, and there are some studio musicians who could
16:49play country music, bluegrass, and jazz, and R&B, and they could kill all of it, and sound
16:56like all the guys who are the leading stylists in those genres.
17:00And then you have some people who you just hire for heavy metal, because that's what
17:05they can do, and they do it better than anybody else, but that's all they do.
17:09Now, in the theory of what you should learn as a guitar player, there are certain things
17:13that you're supposed to learn, but some people work at some things more than others, or weren't
17:18made aware of it.
17:19So there's a lot of guys, like Marquise Lee back in the day with the Jaguars, great after
17:25the catch receiver, when he was in the open field, but he didn't know how to transition
17:31well.
17:32And he was one of those guys that would lose three yards trying to gain another 30, when
17:36he could have just gained five.
17:39And it's just like the running back, like Lawrence Maroney back with the Patriots, when
17:42he bounced everything outside.
17:44When there are certain plays that you're like, dude, I'd rather you gain two or lose two,
17:49rather than rather lose five trying to gain 50.
17:55And that's what the value of transitioning is.
17:58So the fact that Baker does that, it's unusual, even if it seems like a just mundane technique
18:07point or conceptual thing that's taught even in the lower levels of football.
18:14We got a lot more to talk about.
18:15I'm already fired up.
18:16I got to make sure we pay the bills.
18:18So quick word from our friends at Price Picks, be right back.
18:21Get in on the playoff action and win up to a hundred times your money on Price Picks,
18:25as you and the world's best players take the game to a new level during basketball's postseason.
18:30You can win up to a hundred times your money on Price Picks with as little as four correct
18:33picks.
18:34You can turn $10 into $1,000 with basketball and hockey entries today on Price Picks, America's
18:40number one fantasy sports app.
18:42Price Picks is the best way to get action on sports in more than 30 states across the
18:46country, including California, Texas, and Georgia.
18:50I personally love Price Picks because they're super easy to use, easy to navigate, and they
18:54offer injury insurance.
18:55So your entries stay live, even if one of your players gets injured.
18:59Quick withdrawals, easy gameplay, and an enormous selection of players and stat types are what
19:03make Price Picks the number one fantasy sports app.
19:07Download the app today and use the code CLNS for a first deposit match up to $100.
19:12That's code CLNS for a first deposit match up to $100.
19:16Price Picks.
19:17Pick more, pick less, it's that easy.
19:25So Matt, you mentioned Javon Baker and how there's parts of his game that you could really
19:29easily overlook to kind of make him stand out.
19:31I'll say when I was going through the process, a lot of the time I'm just trying to make
19:35sure I have an understanding of what these guys are good at.
19:37I can't really do the deep dives I want to.
19:40So before this process, I thought Baker was an exciting guy.
19:44I really liked him as like a third, fourth round target for the Patriots.
19:47But because I think a lot of people do like him, when I saw some of the drops and some
19:51of the, like, I think it's kind of like Drake May's turnover where he plays, where they're
19:55so bad.
19:56They don't happen a ton if you're watching like game after game, but when they happen,
20:00it's like, oh, that was really ugly.
20:01I understand why people think that's kind of your old profile, but with Baker, I feel
20:05like you can nitpick the inconsistencies for sure.
20:08And every young player has those, but I also feel like there's so many little details in
20:12his game that do set him apart and why I think he's going to end up being, like I said
20:17earlier, one of the bigger contributors, especially for a rookie, but likely is going to be that
20:22X who they rely on in those one-on-one situations.
20:24So one, you kind of touched on it already, but if he does end up being, you know, they
20:29say, hey, we're going to stick you in one spot and make sure you learn this.
20:32If he is in that X receiver role, why do you think he could succeed or struggle in that
20:36role?
20:37And then any of the small details that you see in his game that you want to make sure
20:40that Patriots fans can appreciate?
20:42Yeah, I mean, I think that part of it is, is that we have to contextualize where guys
20:46make errors and prioritize how important or how much gravity those errors have, because
20:53it's easy to point out errors.
20:55And you'll see this a lot with draft analysis out there is that whether it's amateur draft
20:59analysis or whether it's professional draft analysis, you're going to see people say,
21:03oh, that was a mistake.
21:05How did you not see that?
21:06And then when somebody makes a pivotal mistake later on, you go, see, I told you this guy
21:10does this.
21:12And this is awful.
21:13This is why he's not going to be any good when really it's far more nuanced than that.
21:20So when you look at Baker, he's one of those guys that he gets his hands together as he
21:26begins to attack the ball and then kind of has the second thought where he like the hands
21:32drift.
21:33So like ideally you want your hands to be together.
21:36What he ends up doing is his hands are together.
21:38And then at the last minute he does this.
21:41It's like that quarterback who pats the ball before he brings it back and throws it.
21:46So it's a little bit of this thing that he's just got to kind of iron out of his game,
21:50but he makes a lot of tough catches.
21:52So when I look at a player like this, if he's dropping the ball a lot and he's not making
21:59the tough plays, he's not making plays against contact and it's due to forced and unforced
22:07errors, but the unforced errors are his technique.
22:10That's an issue, but he tracks the ball really well.
22:13He can make some spectacular grabs, make some really tough catches.
22:17So this is more about lapses where if you see him, he's probably going to do well in
22:24camp.
22:25He's probably going to do well in the preseason, but when he has to face like the top corner
22:29on the opposing team in a contested scenario and he has to earn the ball with perfect technique
22:38because the guy's glued to his back, that's where you're going to say, can he shore this
22:43up?
22:44This is the difference between him being, you know, your reliable ex for a long time
22:50who earns a second contract and at maybe mid-tier being a Cortland Sutton type who you have
22:58to feed him the ball multiple times, but you know if you feed him enough, he's going
23:02to give you big plays, but you hope there's enough surrounding talent there that can pick
23:07up the slack in case he gets off to a slow start and your team doesn't suffer for his
23:13slow start, that you find someone else can make a big play.
23:18Or is it really a top guy like a Brandon Aiyuk is starting to become or what Stefan Diggs
23:24has been in your division for a while, which is third and 16 timing route, Jalen Ramsey's
23:30covering him, Jalen Ramsey knows it's coming, you know, and he still hits him on that timing
23:38route, contested play, perfect first down late in the game and nobody could stop it.
23:45Antonio Brown late, you know, mid-career, you know, that kind of thing can, you know,
23:50if Baker can shore up his hands, he can be more in that, closer to that tier.
23:55If he can't shore it up, then he may be more in the range of a Cortland Sutton type who
24:01you're like, okay, he's good enough, but you know, he wants more money.
24:06We want to trade him because he's not great.
24:09Nobody really wants to take him because they know they got to feed him the ball eight times
24:13for him to catch it five and those three big drops we might not be able to make up.
24:18Yeah.
24:19Also another comparison that you brought, not a comparison, but other name that you
24:22brought up that reminded me of Javon Baker when I was watching him, Donna Stefan digs
24:26in a much less consistent and refined step on digs, which is the difference.
24:30Like that's what makes digs such a great player.
24:32But when you're looking at an X receiver and you're building them in a lab, they don't
24:36really look like Baker or digs.
24:38They don't have the elite size and they're not the fastest guys, but it's the mentality
24:42in the route running.
24:43And then that worked at the catch point where it's just like, even if they're covered, they're
24:47probably going to make the catch, but also they can separate and get a lot of room against
24:52some of the less nuanced guys where you can see how they can beat both levels of competition.
24:57Now with Baker, I agree if I'm thinking about like him against Gonzo, it's like, yeah, Gonzo
25:01is probably going to lock him up.
25:03He'll make a couple of crazy catches, but with someone who's not afraid of his athleticism
25:07and who could probably stick in his hip with the routes because he just doesn't really
25:10have any fear.
25:11I feel like that's where you're going to maybe see Baker be more human.
25:15But at the same time where I really believe that this guy is going to be a star is in
25:19the mentality.
25:20I don't know if you saw C Smith's episode where he kind of broke down Baker's game and
25:24Baker came on.
25:25They were talking about Pat Sertan and how it kind of changed the way that Baker thought
25:29he had to prepare for guys.
25:30And one thing that he mentioned was kind of like how Kobe back in the day would like play
25:35with his offhand in tournaments because he wanted to get better.
25:38Baker said he doesn't want to attack a guy's weaknesses.
25:41He wants to attack their strengths so he can see how he matches up.
25:45And that kind of mentality, you don't hear that from most people.
25:47I heard it was like, oh, this dude, he's off in a good way where you're like, this dude
25:53is about football.
25:54He's going to try to be better and he's going to be relentless.
25:57And that's the kind of thing I think about where he's going to be going up against a
26:00good corner in practice and then he'll see on a pretty minute level, all right, I can't
26:05do this or I need to get better at this and slowly start to build and kind of be that
26:09more complete receiver where again, like a step on digs, he's elite because he doesn't
26:14lose and he just does the right thing so consistently.
26:17Well, one of the things that he does really well that you just highlighted is that he'll,
26:21it's called stealing a release.
26:23And what that is, is that when you're facing a defender and one-on-one in coverage, when
26:30it's a play that you know you're not getting the ball or it's a run play, that type of
26:33thing, you're going to try and use certain release packages to gauge how the defender
26:39reacts to them and then you use that to set them up later with routes.
26:44And that's a lot of what you just heard, what you described, there's a lot of that of what
26:49Baker's doing.
26:51And I would say of the two receivers we're talking about today, Baker's the more nuanced
26:55route technician with being able to use that patience and suddenness contrast to set up
27:00routes.
27:02He's also, I think he's a little better with releases with his hands in terms of how to
27:08use them to earn position.
27:11And I think he sells his routes pretty effectively at this point.
27:14And I'll just joke because it's kind of fun to do is that, I'll do, first of all, I love
27:21Steve Smith.
27:22I revere Steve Smith's game and the way that he played and he's absolutely one of my favorite
27:27all-time receivers.
27:28I haven't had a chance to watch those, but I'll joke as someone who has had my YouTube
27:33channel for a long time and has known Josh Norris for quite a while over at Underdog,
27:39Josh will probably be the first to tell you that he would see me every year and go, just
27:44so you know, I'm going to steal from you again this year in terms of what I do, in terms
27:49of what's going on.
27:50So I like the fact that he stole the idea of watching film with people and had the financial
27:56capital to, with the help of Mark Cuban and folks like that to get football players on
28:02to do it.
28:03So good on him that that's working out that, you know, whereas I would occasionally get
28:07a Jamal Williams, he's permanently got a Steve Smith or a, you know, or, or a quarterback
28:12on there doing their thing.
28:14So, you know, if you're going to steal something, you might as well like make it work to your
28:18maximum and he's done a great job of building on that.
28:21Game recognized game, man, that's just great to understand.
28:24And hey, I took a page out of your book too, during the season I tried, I also got to get
28:28you on for a film room episode, but man, you blazed the trail, you did a great job.
28:33And now we've gotten to learn from that.
28:34We are going to have one more question before we get you out of here, but first quick word
28:37for our friends at game time, right back.
28:39With the NBA playoffs in full swing and the Celtics looking like the best team in the
28:43East, I'm trying to go to a game so I could witness their greatness in person and get
28:47those tickets.
28:48I'm going to be using game time, an authorized ticket marketplace of the NBA, which makes
28:53getting playoff tickets even faster and easier prices on the game time app actually go down
28:58the closer it gets to the tip off.
29:00With killer last minute deals, all in prices, views from your seat and their lowest price
29:05guarantee, game time takes the guesswork out of buying NBA tickets.
29:09Buying tickets on game time is extremely easy.
29:12All you have to do is click on the team that you want to see, browse through the available
29:16options, then click on those games.
29:18Then you can go through filters like price, where you want your seat to be, all that good
29:23stuff.
29:24Click, get a panoramic view of the seat that you're going to buy, and it can be as easy
29:28as a one click purchase for your ticket.
29:32Take the guesswork out of buying NBA tickets with game time.
29:35Download the game time app, create an account and use code CLNS for $20 off your first purchase.
29:42Terms apply.
29:43Again, create an account and redeem code CLNS for $20 off.
29:48Download game time today.
29:50Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed.
29:53All right, Matt, last thing before we get you out of here.
29:57Let's set some realistic expectations.
29:59We've sung the praises of Jalen Polk and Jayvon Baker, but of course, these are still young
30:04guys who are coming into an offense that's going through a lot of change.
30:08What do you think we can expect from both Polk and Baker, and what you think the roles
30:12are going to be, at least early on in the season, before they really start picking up
30:16steam?
30:17Yeah, I mean, I think first of all, you know, DeMar Douglas has earned his way into that
30:20slot role, so he's kind of cemented in there.
30:24And then, you know, Juju, certainly a worthwhile veteran who, you know, when he's healthy and
30:31he's on his game, he can be a very helpful player also in his own right.
30:37Kendrick Bourne's coming back from injury, might be the best player you have outside
30:42right now in terms of what he offers as a veteran who understands the pro game.
30:50And then after that, everything's up for grabs.
30:52Keishon Butte, certainly as a player in terms of ability and what he's capable of being,
30:59he could somehow be a spoiler in all of this if he gets his game together.
31:05But we don't know whether or not that's going to happen at this stage.
31:08Does he get to play it a little bit, made some mistakes, get the Ramondre Stevenson
31:13treatment and then comes back and, you know, he's working all that time behind the scenes?
31:18Well, we always knew Ramondre was a worker.
31:20I'm not sure.
31:21We'll see about Keishon Butte.
31:23We'll see whether or not it clicks for him.
31:25So with that in mind, I think realistically what you're going to see is Javon Baker is
31:29probably going to get a shot to probably start, I think, as a flanker.
31:33I could see that possibility happening or to be able to play two roles.
31:38And then I think Polk is going to be that guy you use in four receiver sets who's going to
31:42play inside and have him run routes that break to the outside, you know, deep flag routes,
31:48corner routes, out routes, and then also occasionally you're going to see him on deep
31:54crossing routes, areas where he can kind of win the ball off play action, match it up
31:59against safeties and earn position or win against zone.
32:03And then with Baker, depending on how well he adapts quickly, could be that guy that
32:07earns his way into a flanker role, you know, early on in camp or at the very least is put
32:13in three receiver sets.
32:15So for me, if you're going to comp a type of player, I would say Baker is going to be
32:19kind of like an upgrade to Van Jefferson immediately off the bat.
32:23Like if you, Van Jefferson at his best would say with Matthew Stafford, with the Rams,
32:29where you could get 500 to 700 yards out of him and maybe four to six touchdowns at best,
32:36you know, year one, that, that would be realistic if he has a good, good preseason.
32:41I think that's a realistic ceiling.
32:42And then with Polk, I think you're seeing more of a Marquez Calloway type of role right
32:47off the bat.
32:48You know, that's, and what I described for Polk is that Marquez Calloway role where you
32:53use them inside out occasionally, maybe you'll use them where you can get them outside and
32:57match them up on some fade routes and things like that.
33:01And so I think he's also a guy that's probably going to give you probably more like three
33:06to 500 yards, you know, two to three touchdowns.
33:11And I think that you'll see bright spots with him and you'll have folks who are like,
33:15you know, forget about those bright spots and tell you that he stinks or he's not good
33:20enough.
33:20And then there'll be other folks who will tell you, no, did you see this game here and
33:23this one play there?
33:25And they just won't know how to weigh it with the gravity that you need.
33:28But Polk is, Polk to me still has, you know, good opportunities there.
33:33You're going to see more maybe in three receiver sets where they scheme plays and let him run
33:37after the catch and do some of what Juju did early in his career with the Steelers,
33:42where you can get him be a runner after the catch like that.
33:46And they'll both get those on RPOs and short, quick hitting routes and maybe some double
33:51moves down the field that end with or play action that end with them matched up against
33:56the safety, hopefully.
33:57Those all sound like Alex Van Pelt.
33:59He doesn't get a lot of credit for how creative and how versatile his offense is, but especially
34:04he's been emphasizing play action.
34:06I think those are the opportunities, like you mentioned, where these two young guys
34:09are really going to thrive, kind of make their lives easier.
34:11Just stay ahead of the chains and make sure you're not forcing these guys into tough situations.
34:16Matt, pleasure as always, brother.
34:17Thank you so much for coming on again.
34:19Please let the people know where they can find you and what great stuff you got coming
34:22down the pipeline that we should be looking out for.
34:24Sure.
34:24If you're a fantasy player, the Rookie Scouting Portfolio has a post-draft edition that comes
34:29out a week after the draft.
34:30I put it out Saturday.
34:32It's 120 pages of re-ranking players based on player fit.
34:36You get a cheat sheet that's of 220 players at the skill positions that are tiered and
34:42give you a sweet spot between where I rank them.
34:44So if I've, in the past, liked Lamar Jackson or Patrick Mahomes or Nick Chubb or Cooper
34:50Cup better than most people and maybe had them rated number one overall or top five
34:54overall, I didn't tell you that's where you should draft them.
34:57I show you based on their average draft position of leagues that I track and show you what
35:01which ones I've tracked, what their average draft position is and where the sweet spot
35:05is of where you can take them.
35:07And I do DeptGuard and Alex and things like that.
35:09And if you just want the straight money in terms of how players get scouted, the RSP
35:14is one of the two most purchased draft guides for independent research by scouts and NFL
35:20people, according to folks like Alex Brown, who was a recruiter at Ole Miss, used to be
35:25the head of recruiting at SMU.
35:28You know, I contribute my scouting reports to Will Hewlett, who is a quarterback coach
35:32who works with Brock Purdy, pre-draft and currently still with him, with Anthony Richardson
35:38and with Kayla Williams.
35:40He and Tom Gormley, who's a biomechanics expert, they read my reports to get prepped for what
35:44they're going to work on with these guys.
35:47So you can get that there at mattwaldman.com.
35:51And I'm a senior football, senior staff writer at footballguys.com, one of the oldest fantasy
35:56websites out there.
35:57Great group of people.
35:58And I'm always honored to be able to contribute there.
36:01One of the absolute brightest in the business.
36:03A pleasure as always, brother.
36:04Thank you so much.
36:05And thank you all, as always, for watching.
36:07Now, take care of yourselves.
36:09Take care of each other.
36:10Stay on YouTube.
36:11We got Patch B coming up next, and we'll see you next time.
36:13Thanks, y'all.
36:26you