Mel Kiper did another mock draft, and he has a toolsy DE dropping to the Commanders. But, should they consider trading back, or improving elsewhere?
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00:00Mel Kuyper put out his two-round mock today.
00:03He's got the Commanders taking an edge.
00:06He believes at pick number 29, they stick and they grab Shamar Stewart,
00:11the defensive end from Texas A&M.
00:14The question we're asking you guys is, what would you prefer?
00:17Defensive end, offensive weapon, or trade back?
00:20You can go vote now.
00:22This is what Mel wrote for the pick for Washington.
00:25He said, Stewart's draft stock is hard to predict.
00:27As I mentioned earlier, I considered him for Cincinnati at number 17.
00:33He comes off the board here 12 spots later, though.
00:35It's the same dilemma the GMs will be struggling with on draft night.
00:39Stewart has all the talent in the world, speed, explosiveness, power.
00:42But he also only had four and a half sacks over three seasons.
00:45We just talked about this.
00:46That's right.
00:46That is a red flag.
00:48Goes on to say, if an NFL coaching staff can help him put it all together,
00:53the upside's immense.
00:54I'm betting on Commander's coach Dan Quinn unlocking that potential.
00:57Dante Fowler Jr.'s departure in free agency means there is a hole opposite
01:01Torrance Armstrong on the D-line.
01:04It is nice, not just that Kuyper feels good about the coaching staff,
01:07but that I feel confident for once that we can actually groom and develop talent.
01:13There was a time for a long time around here where you couldn't draft a guy
01:17like Shamar Stewart and expect to get more out of him or tap into the sack potential.
01:22But I think he's right with Dan Quinn and Joe Witt and the defensive line group,
01:28Ryan Kerrigan, Daryl Tapp among them.
01:31I actually think he's right that this is a pretty good coaching staff to try to take
01:36an athlete who's got all the starter kit, speed, explosive power, all those things,
01:40and then turn them into a stat compiler.
01:43That's the design, right?
01:44And that element of player development is something that you see once in a blue moon.
01:48Every once in a while, you get a Tara McLaurin, right?
01:50Who's a third rounder who blossoms and I suppose takes advantage of the coaching
01:54or whoever's there but turns into a star.
01:57That doesn't happen around here all that often, right?
01:59You get guys that either come in with the pedigree and they can already do it,
02:02or I guess it's sort of rare that it would happen.
02:05More commonplace, I think, in good programs, and you like to think that's what this is now.
02:08So you could take someone's bit more of a clay mold and turn them into something really,
02:13really good.
02:13I'd have more confidence in them than, say, the Rivera era.
02:16What's your answer to the poll?
02:18You taking an edge, you going weapon, or you trading back?
02:21It's weapon for me, and I know that's probably going to go against type
02:24or against the majority of the people.
02:26They're going to say edge rusher or trade back.
02:28To me, this is a philosophical thing.
02:30I look at what happened to Houston this past year, and that's kind of my roadmap.
02:35Year one, what Washington just did mirrored them.
02:37In fact, superseded them.
02:39Year two for Houston was disappointing by every account.
02:41They went and added a bunch of pieces, and CJ Stroud stepped back a little tiny bit.
02:45I think that's a schedule thing.
02:46It's a league adjustment thing.
02:48If it's a coordinator staying up late thing, I want to make things easier in year two
02:52than they were even in year one for Jay Daniels.
02:55So I think it's special and wonderful and awesome and all the good things.
02:57To me, if Matthew Golden somehow was there, I would go crazy.
03:01I think Tett McMillan's going to be gone.
03:02I see a lot of variance on where Golden might end up.
03:05I've seen him in the 20s at times.
03:06If he's there, great.
03:07That's what I'd be excited about.
03:08But I don't know.
03:09To me, one more wide receiver to kind of compliment the group that you had instead of going,
03:13let's give these touches to Jamison Crowder.
03:16I'm trying to make it as easy as possible.
03:18I think they've done an awesome job now with trading for Tunsil and sort of improving two
03:23spots on that line.
03:24I would love one more weapon to help this offense.
03:27I'm going to try to have my cake and eat it too, I think.
03:30I'm going to trade back for sure.
03:32And that's my answer to this poll is that at 29, I'm coming back several spots to add
03:37picks because I've only got five and I'm only picking twice in the top 125 and I'm only
03:42picking three times in the top 200.
03:44I mean, that's ridiculous.
03:46That's just not enough quality football players being added.
03:50So what is an old team, essentially?
03:53I mean, they sign a lot of guys that are on one or two year deals that are deeper into
03:57their career.
03:58This is my opportunity to add some youth and some upside.
04:02And if I'm just taking two players in the first three and a half rounds, that does not
04:07butter the bread for me.
04:08So I'm going to trade back from 29 with an eye on getting an edge, getting a running back,
04:15getting a receiver shortly thereafter.
04:17So if I can move back from 29 to say like 40 and I could pick up two picks in the first
04:26125, I think that would be perfect for me because while getting an elite weapon at running back
04:33would be cool, you know, if Amari on Hampton, as an example, fell, it would be really hard
04:37for me to trade back.
04:38I'd probably take him.
04:40I don't think he's going to be there.
04:41I think Gentee and Hampton both come off the board.
04:43I think I could probably take Henderson, you know, at 38, 40, wherever I'm picking after
04:48I trade back.
04:49If I wanted to do that, I may feel like I have to go edge there.
04:52And then later I go with Quinn should Junkins from Ohio state or Caleb Johnson from Iowa
04:58or, you know, another of the running backs that could go in the second round.
05:02But I'd like to get to a point where after I trade back at 29, maybe I trade back one
05:09more time at 61.
05:10And so it's a quantity over quality thing, but I think that you can get what you want.
05:15Danny, the wide receiver that can help if you draft well in the third round where Terry
05:19was now, are you better off drafted in the first round?
05:22Probably.
05:23Although I would say the late first round, this, this class is probably going to have
05:26three guys going to the first round.
05:28And I think late first round for receivers is kind of a dangerous area anyway.
05:32If you look at it, like in the late twenties, I don't know how often those guys end up being
05:37the really, really good players, but we've also heard, and it's been a few weeks since
05:41we had a draft expert on, but remember we had a couple of guys on that said the difference
05:46in this class between like 20 and 50 is not that substantial.
05:49So I think it might actually be the perfect year to be able to trade back at 29, get your
05:55receiver, get your running back, get your edge, and, and just add more overall.
06:00That makes a lot of sense to me.
06:01Honestly, that's probably the most prudent approach, right?
06:03And, and my view depends on a guy or two falling that I don't know how likely that is.
06:07So to me, that, that would be my one a, uh, if not even my full out second choice, because
06:13it takes pressure off in my view, right?
06:15When you're sitting there with a, with only a couple of picks and X number of holes, you
06:19get a schlub like me and they don't view it this way.
06:21They'll probably, you know, stay, this is what our board said.
06:23We stick to the board best available.
06:24But for me, I'm sitting there going, look at the glaring need here are the three glaring
06:29needs.
06:29And I've got three picks to do it.
06:30Whereas last year you could go, here's a bit of a luxury pick.
06:33We're going to take Johnny Newton.
06:34We don't need it desperately right now, this minute, but we're layering and it's going to
06:38come in handy.
06:38We got a need at corner entrance and we still, we got a need, um, you know, at a tight end
06:44potentially, you know, who knows how that's going to go, but you know what I mean?
06:47Instead of saying I've had free agency, I've got way fewer salary cap dollars to allocate.
06:53And I have fires that I have to put out right now.
06:56There's less pressure when you've got more picks to do it.
06:58You could start taking some of those luxury items.
07:00It's been six years.
07:02So I'm not even sure that this is the best way to try to get a feel for what you could
07:07get, but Washington traded up to the back end of the first round.
07:12If you remember to get Montez sweat at pick number 26.
07:15And when they did that, they gave up pick 46 and a second round pick the following year.
07:20So it was, you know, the equivalent of the pick that they gave up and then 46 and the
07:26pick the following year.
07:28I don't know how much I'd be interested in something like that on a trade back in fairness.
07:32Like if I'm trading back, Danny, I want picks this season because part of why I'm trading
07:36back is, as I said, I need the right now.
07:38I think it's important to add youth to this team.
07:41I have no problem with the veterans that they've signed because I think that, Hey, it worked
07:46last year.
07:47And I think this is what Adam Peters kind of wants to do.
07:49It elevates your floor, makes it harder to be really bad.
07:52But I also think it's the way of the league now where there's just not as many really
07:57good players coming available younger in their career, but I'm not going to trade for no
08:03to move down 20 picks this year and add a second round or next year.
08:06This is not about next year for me.
08:08Nothing about this off season has really been about next year.
08:11In my opinion, when you go get Debo Samuel for one year, when you bring in Laramie Tunsell
08:16the way that they did the picks that you've given up for Marshawn Lattimore, who's got
08:19two years left, it's about this coming season.
08:23I agree with you.
08:24I mean, the, the window at least is now ish, right?
08:28In other words, if it's, if it's not this year at a premium, maybe it's next year, but
08:31the point is, this is all short-term thinking, right?
08:34Which is fine because you've got the window now and Jaden Daniels has already crossed that
08:37bar of, yep, it's worth going all in because that dude's awesome.
08:40You can call us at 800-636-1067 like Moe did in Largo.
08:45What's up, buddy?
08:46How are you?
08:47Good afternoon, gentlemen.
08:49Thank you for taking my call.
08:50Hey, bud.
08:51Grant, I don't know if we're simpatico or I've just been listening to you guys so much that
08:56now I'm just starting to think like you.
08:58I'm totally with the trading back twice scenario if the opportunity presents itself.
09:05I understand that, yes, we do need another threaded wide receiver and I'm with you there,
09:09but personally, I've got my sights set on Ty Felton.
09:12I don't believe we have to go high in the draft to get him.
09:15I think he's an exceptional playmaker, great route runner, exceptional hands.
09:20I mean, what else do you need from the young man?
09:22But we definitely need to address the edge rushing position, but we do need to acquire
09:27more picks because like you said, it's an older team and we need to build some type of
09:31foundation of youth for the years moving forward.
09:34Thank you, gentlemen.
09:35Appreciate you, buddy.
09:35So Ty Felton, for people that don't know, is the wide receiver from Maryland.
09:39I watched him a lot this past year.
09:41He's fantastic.
09:42Had a good pro day.
09:44He is the exact type of player I'm talking about.
09:47Now, whether he's available, whether the stars align, that I can't tell you.
09:51But coming off 96 catches for 1,100 yards, not being in the first or early second round
09:56mix, in my opinion, that's exactly what I'm talking about.
09:59A player like that, where if you strike gold and develop him, and we're saying we like their
10:03staff to develop a little bit better, they added Wes Welker yesterday to the wide receiver
10:07room.
10:07They did.
10:08It was going to help them continue to coach these kids up.
10:11There are guys like him that you can get who will help your football team in mid to late
10:16round two, maybe round three.
10:18Another guy I'll tell you that I really, really like is Bashol Tootin, this running back from
10:24Virginia Tech who ran the fastest 40 among all the running backs at the combine.
10:28He ran for 1,159 yards and 15 touchdowns this year.
10:32This is not a player that is in the first round mix.
10:35I don't think there's mocks where he's going early to mid second round.
10:39Again, these are just local guys that I watched a lot that I think could help them a ton as
10:44a non-draft expert.
10:46And I know they're going to be available in rounds two and three, so to speak.
10:49So I think that's going to be there for them if they need it.
10:52And it's why trading back is a perfect solution for me.
10:56If they didn't have only five picks, then yes, stick and get your edge, stick and get
11:01your wide out.
11:02That's better than Ty Felton.
11:04But I think Felton can play in the league for a long time.
11:06I think Tootin is going to be really good back for a long time.
11:09And there's several guys like each of them at their positions that are going to be available
11:13in the mid round.
11:14The only thing I worried about if you add extra picks and start layering in a smart way, which
11:18we're all talking about, I'm not sure about the Ben Sinnott situation.
11:21Kind of as my glaring example, I've got veterans that are very dependent on.
11:24I've got this veteran laden team for my window right now.
11:27And if I'm trading back for a third round receiver, like I need time to develop that
11:32guy.
11:32Is Noah Brown getting those looks is, uh, you know, name that other veteran that's, that's
11:37TBD going to get some of those chances instead of him.
11:39That's always the hard part about trying to win right now.
11:41I mean, the caps have done it, but most teams have a hard time either kind of walking in
11:45the middle of the road between rebuilding and competing in high level.