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00:00We've been also looking ahead to rounds two and three, which start here in about a half hour with our good friend Greg Cosell on the River Islands guest line from NFL Films.
00:10Hey, we've got some more callers that want to throw stuff at you, Greg.
00:14I wanted to do this, though, just based on something you already said today, which is that Walter Nolan was your favorite defensive tackle.
00:22And then you mentioned that Mason Graham, he goes number five to the Cleveland Browns.
00:27His counterpart, another defensive tackle from Michigan, Kenneth Grant, goes 13th.
00:34You also had their tight end, Colston Loveland, go before Tyler Warren, who I thought was going to be the first tight end taken.
00:43What the hell's going on with all this Michigan love, Greg?
00:47Well, I think the Loveland pick is a good example of what we talked about in the previous half hour of scheme fit, because Loveland went to the Bears.
00:55They have Cole Komet. Now, one could argue that Warren has more traits than Komet, but in the context of Ben Johnson's offense in Chicago, Cole Komet and Warren would be very similar players.
01:08So they were looking for a different kind of tight end.
01:11So to me, that's where Loveland comes into play, because Loveland is kind of a big wide receiver.
01:18Now, obviously, he blocked at Michigan because Michigan runs the football.
01:21They put the quarterback under center, which not many college teams do.
01:24But Loveland is a guy you can detach. He can do anything.
01:27And he's a vertical guy.
01:30You know, he fits what the Bears need at the tight end position when they line up with two tight ends better than Warren would have.
01:37So it might not be a case of anything other than that, which is normally the way it works.
01:42And I know the 49ers have greater needs than tight end, but is there a tight end that you see still on the board that might be a good scheme fit as a possible, you know, guy who can work in a 22 personnel now, but also an heir apparent to George Kittle?
01:56You know, there's two tight ends that I really like.
02:01I think one would probably be a better fit than the other.
02:03I think Mason Taylor from LSU would probably be the better fit.
02:08I think the best is yet to come with Mason Taylor.
02:11For whatever reason at LSU, he really wasn't used as an intermediate and vertical threat, even though he can do that.
02:18And he's a good blocker.
02:19It seemed that whenever they needed an important conversion, that he was the guy they threw it to.
02:25He had a great feel for settling into zone coverage and finding the voids.
02:31And he can run.
02:33So Mason Taylor is an interesting player.
02:35I think he'll probably come off the board tonight for sure.
02:38The other guy, and again, he had a block, too, because of the nature of the offense.
02:41But there's Elijah Arroyo from the University of Miami, who may be the best vertical dimension of any tight end in this draft.
02:50He can really run.
02:51He really is a one-year player at the University of Miami.
02:54He was hurt in 2022 and 2023.
02:57But this kid is definitely the guy that, if you're looking for a seam stretcher, a vertical tight end, then he's a guy that you'd definitely be looking at.
03:06Greg Cosell, NFL Films, taking your phone calls as we get ready for day two of the NFL draft.
03:12Let's go to Nick in Berkeley.
03:13Hi, Nick.
03:14Thank you for calling.
03:15What's your question for Greg?
03:18Based on being injured last year, do you think the Niners will go after a wide receiver like the one you just mentioned?
03:24And I just want to know, like, what are the names of the two cats that you have?
03:30The names of what?
03:31I missed out last part.
03:32The two wide receivers are the two people that you think that they might be most likely to take here in the 11th pick of the second round.
03:40Oh, are we talking wide receiver or just in general?
03:43Any position.
03:44But I think the caller was curious about an Iyuk replacement.
03:47And you mentioned Higgins before as a guy.
03:50Is there somebody else other than Jaden Higgins that you think might be somebody who could fit in place of Iyuk and Debo, who's no longer here either?
04:00Right, right.
04:00Well, Iyuk obviously is still there.
04:02I don't know.
04:03What's his status as far as when he's supposed to be ready to play?
04:07My medical people tell me October.
04:09So he likely will miss the first three or four games for sure.
04:13Yeah.
04:14Receivers are interesting.
04:15Receivers.
04:16I mean, I think there's a receiver from TCU named Jack Besch, who I really, really like.
04:21And he's physical and he's tough and he's competitive.
04:24And he works the middle of the field really, really well.
04:26I think he'd be a really interesting pick for the Niners as well.
04:30And, you know, he strikes me just watching his tape.
04:33I don't know the kid, but he strikes me as a kid that that has the right attitude just by watching him play.
04:38He certainly would be a guy that I think will come off the board tonight.
04:44I don't know where that is.
04:45And again, you know, so much of this is dependent on what a team's board looks like, what the Niners board looks like, which, of course, I don't know the answer to that.
04:53I think another really interesting player who's got physicality to him in good size is Jalen Royals from Utah State, who very much reminded me of Rasheed Rice when he came out of college.
05:05And we saw what Rice did in Kansas City before he got hurt.
05:08He's another guy that's physical, worked the middle of the field very effectively.
05:12So those are just two names that if they're interested in wide receiver in the second round, I would easily see those guys as legitimate second round picks at the receiver position.
05:21And that would, in my view, anyway, be scheme fits.
05:25Greg, just in the interest of covering all the bases, because we couldn't hear that caller really well either.
05:30We're not sure he might have actually been asking you not for the name of some cats that the Niners would go after, but the actual names of your cats.
05:39Oh, yeah, yeah.
05:44You really want to know that?
05:46Yes.
05:46Well, they asked.
05:48And so, you know, we're just here to serve.
05:51My guess would be Whiskers and Mittens, Greg.
05:54I got you as a Whiskers and Mittens.
05:56You'd be wrong.
05:57Oh, darn it.
05:59I was going to go with Wolverine and Buckeye.
06:01What is it?
06:02It's Ruby and Pip.
06:04Ruby and Pip?
06:05Yeah.
06:06Like Gladys Knight's mates?
06:10Well, I'm not sure about that, but it was definitely Ruby Tuesday.
06:13Okay.
06:14Oh, nice.
06:15Nice.
06:15I just wanted to make sure I was hearing that correct, that it was Pip.
06:19And short for Pippi Longstocking, probably an orange-haired cat, if I'm not mistaken.
06:24Probably you would be mistaken, but that's okay.
06:260 for 2, Greg.
06:27I'm having a rough segment.
06:29It happens when Greg comes on.
06:32All right.
06:32Let's go to Will in San Jose.
06:35You're on with Greg Cosell.
06:36Hi, Will.
06:39Hey, what's going on, guys?
06:41What's up?
06:41Hey, I was watching some tape yesterday after the Niners took Mikel Williams, and I saw a
06:49little comparison to Alden Smith.
06:51Just wanted to see what you guys thought about that, and maybe also, what number do you think
06:55Mikel Williams is going to pick?
06:57And also, I just want to say, Greg, I love your work.
07:00Always do a great analysis.
07:01Appreciate it.
07:02All right.
07:02Thanks, Will.
07:03What do you think about a comparison to Alden Smith with Mikel Williams?
07:07Well, I think Alden Smith, and it's funny, every position, you hear the word instincts
07:12a lot, you know, and that's one of those overused words, but, you know, Alden Smith, and it
07:16was unfortunate, you know, how his career played out due to other issues, but he just had a
07:21feel for how to rush the quarterback.
07:23And I think if you talk to offensive linemen who had to play against him, some might tell
07:27you he was the best pass rusher they ever faced.
07:29He just had a feel.
07:31Now, size-wise, they're similar.
07:33I don't remember every measurable for Alden Smith, because, you know, it was a few years
07:36back, but they certainly were both long, athletic, with really long arms.
07:41I'm not sure Williams quite has that feel that, well, I know he doesn't have that same feel
07:47as Alden Smith, who was just, as you guys remember, just a really great pass rusher.
07:52Can Williams get there in terms of production?
07:55That's a different question, and that's possible.
07:57But Alden Smith was, it's a shame, because he just was one of those guys, he just knew
08:03how to rush the quarterback.
08:05And he was on a Hall of Fame trajectory through his first, I mean, four seasons, he was putting
08:10up numbers that had never been seen.
08:12So, Greg, the Niners are picking 43, 75, and 100 today.
08:17If you look at their needs, and you look at the fact that they have these three picks,
08:21for Niner fans, what should they be looking at positionally?
08:24And maybe players that you think might be scheme fits for what they're trying to do.
08:30Yeah, I mean, I would look, I would still look at the corner position.
08:34I think they probably feel pretty comfortable with Renardo Green at one outside corner,
08:39given, you know, how much he played down the stretch last year, and I thought he played
08:42well.
08:44But, you know, they signed Trey Brown from the Seahawks.
08:47Again, you know, obviously they signed him, so they wouldn't sign him if they didn't like
08:50him.
08:50Um, I'm, I'm not sure if he's truly a full-time starting outside corner.
08:56I, I, my assumption would be in their base defense, if they had a lineup and play tomorrow,
09:01it would be Green and Lenore playing at corner in the base defense.
09:05I think they'd like to move Lenore inside, uh, in their nickel.
09:09Um, so as of now, I would guess that it would be Brown playing on the outside.
09:14Um, I would think that would be a position they might want to address.
09:17Um, I think D-Tackle would be a position they might want to address as well, and there's
09:22a lot of D-Tackles in this draft.
09:25Um, you know, I think if you're looking maybe at scheme-type fits, I think someone like T.J.
09:30Sanders from South Carolina at D-Tackle is someone that has a lot of juice to him.
09:35At this point in time, you know, he's a more athletic guy.
09:38He'd probably be a sub-pass rusher to start his career.
09:42He's just under 300 pounds, so he's not one of those inside maulers, but he's got a lot
09:47of athleticism and movement to him.
09:49I think he's a guy that you could easily look at at the D-Tackle position.
09:55Um, you know, D-Tackle, like I said, there's a ton of them in this draft, so I'm just trying
09:59to think of the list, um, of guys that are, you know, uh, D-Tackle that are still available.
10:05Uh, I'm trying to, I'll tell you a guy that I found really interesting, too, that he didn't
10:14have a lot of production, and I don't know how teams feel about production, but his tape
10:18was fun to watch, and I don't know if he'd be viewed as a second-round-type player, but
10:24Jordan Phillips from Maryland is another guy.
10:27I believe he was a wrestler in high school, and he's about 320, so he's bigger.
10:33He is twitchy for a guy 320 pounds.
10:36Now, I don't think he recorded a sack in two seasons at Maryland, but his tape is a lot
10:41of fun to watch, and sometimes with D-Tackle's production is not necessarily the number one
10:47thing you look at when you evaluate them for the NFL.
10:50You mentioned corner, Greg, and Will Johnson's a guy that many people thought was going to
10:54be a first-rounder, and here he sits.
10:56I mean, I don't know if he makes it to the 11th pick in the second round, but what's your
11:00take on Will Johnson out of Michigan?
11:01Yeah, I did him last summer when he played essentially a full season in 2023, and to
11:07be honest with you guys, I saw not quite as good, but I saw shades of Patrick Sertan,
11:13and this year he played the first five or six games.
11:16I didn't think he played as well as he did in 2023.
11:19I don't know the reason for that, and then he got hurt.
11:22So, again, I don't know why he fell.
11:25Maybe he's still battling an injury.
11:26Maybe teams are nervous about an injury, but for whatever reason, he did not play as
11:31well, in my view anyway, based on tape study, as he did in 2023, when I thought he could
11:36have been a top-10 type player.
11:38So, you know, if you feel, and again, you could be right that he might not be there 11 picks
11:43in, depending on how the early part of round two shakes out, but he's certainly got everything
11:49you want.
11:50He's long.
11:50He's athletic.
11:51He can play off coverage.
11:52He can play press.
11:53There's really nothing that he can't do at a reasonably high level.
11:57He's a pretty complete corner.
11:59Greg, I don't know if this is a fair way to ask it, because I know you don't know exactly
12:03what each team feels are their needs and whatnot, but the Cleveland Browns are about to be on
12:09the clock.
12:10If you were them, who would you take?
12:12Oh, you know I don't like those questions.
12:16You know, that's why I ask, Greg.
12:19I love getting at least one uncomfortable laugh out of you every time you come on.
12:23Oh, boy.
12:23I mean, I have to...
12:25No, but who does...
12:25How about a couple of good fits, you think?
12:27Well, I guess the big question is what they think of Shadur Sanders.
12:30That's the big question.
12:32Or Jalen Milrow.
12:34I mean, I guess theoretically, you know, we don't know what their board looks like, because
12:38right now their two quarterbacks are Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett, and obviously they
12:42signed Flacco two weeks ago.
12:43They wouldn't have signed him, I think, to be a backup, so my guess is he's...
12:48Well, I shouldn't say...
12:49I would assume that Pickett and Flacco would really battle for the number one quarterback
12:53spot, particularly to start the season.
12:55So the question is, what do they think of the quarterbacks?
12:58That would be the number one question, I think, for that team.
13:02And if you give me a sec, I'll tell you what I think of the rest of their roster.
13:07They lost some players, I know, and I'm trying...
13:09You know, because the free agency, it seems to me like that happened about six years ago.
13:15But, I mean, they need receivers, so they could easily take a receiver.
13:20You know, I'm looking, they have Jerry Judy, who I think at his core is probably a number
13:23two, not a number one.
13:24They've got other guys that they, I think they feel could step up and become good players,
13:30but they're not yet.
13:31So, and they need a running back.
13:34You know, right now, they do not have a feature running back.
13:37And I think Kevin Stefanski, as we all know, would like his offense to start with a run
13:42game, particularly behind a good old line, a very good old line, actually.
13:46So they don't have a running back.
13:49There's a lot...
13:49Running backs are an odd lot.
13:51I mean, you know, think about someone like Kyron Williams, who came out of Notre Dame,
13:55what, three years ago, four years ago?
13:56No one would have said, this guy's a foundation back in the NFL, and he carried the ball 316
14:01times last year.
14:03Absolutely.
14:04Greg, remember, it's the Browns, so next to the word needs, it just says all.
14:09Oh, come on now.
14:10Oh, there you go.
14:11Yeah.
14:12Oh, come on now.
14:13It's the Browns.
14:13Are we moving into stand-up comedy now?
14:15Should we start telling jokes?
14:17There's a reason they've got four of the first, the 40 picks here.
14:22That's right.
14:22Anyway, back to the phones.
14:24Let's go to David in San Jose.
14:25Hi, David.
14:26You're on with Greg Cosell.
14:27What's your question?
14:30Wow.
14:30Hey, Will, first of all, thank you so much for sending this.
14:33This is amazing.
14:35Greg, long-time listener and reader of yourself.
14:38Awesome.
14:39I would say, speaking of needs, we might not be too far away from the Browns because it
14:45seems like we have needs at every position.
14:47And so my question is, are the Niners essentially BPA throughout the rest of the draft?
14:53And then I've got a couple guys that I'd like you to speak to.
14:56Safety, obviously, Emanura.
14:59I hope I pronounce that correctly.
15:01I'm thinking kind of the Cam Chancellor vibes.
15:03But my favorite safety is, I hope I'm pronouncing it right, is Mukaba from Texas, a hitter.
15:09And then if there's one position or one guy that I feel really, really fits for Shanahan
15:14and this team, it'd be J.J.
15:16Pegasus and his versatility.
15:18I was hoping to get your thoughts on that.
15:20Thank you so much, gentlemen.
15:21This is awesome.
15:21All right, David, thank you.
15:23Thank you for calling.
15:23Greg, what do you think?
15:25Let's start with the safety position.
15:26I felt Emanwari was the number one safety in this draft class based on tape.
15:31I understand why the Ravens took Malachi Starks instead of Emanwari at 27, I believe it was,
15:37because in a sense, Kyle Hamilton and Emanwari are similar players stylistically, and they
15:42needed a true back-end post-safety.
15:45And Starks is more pure in that regard.
15:47But I think Emanwari was the best safety in this class overall.
15:52But I got to tell you, I love Andrew Mukaba.
15:55And the only issue with him is he was 186 pounds at the combine.
16:01Now, I don't know if he can get up to 195 or 198 or 200 and be the same player.
16:06But, you know, if, if, you can always say if about a lot of players, but if he was a 205-pound guy,
16:12he would, he would have been a first-round pick.
16:14So I love Mukaba.
16:15But the 186 pounds is going to be a, will have been a conversation in draft meetings.
16:22I can tell you that for sure.
16:23But the tape is good.
16:25The guy, he can pretty much do anything.
16:28And he plays physically.
16:30He plays competitively.
16:31Really like the player.
16:34Who is the other guy?
16:35Oh, Pegasus from Ole Miss.
16:36Yeah, he's a guy that definitely is kind of position versatile.
16:42They used him at Ole Miss at times on offense.
16:45But he's, at his core, he's a D-tackle.
16:47And he's a very athletic kid.
16:48You know, he's, he's another guy.
16:50I mean, I think, you know, you could look at the D-tackle position as we have
16:54and say that they probably need something there.
16:56Because, I mean, if they had to play a game tomorrow,
17:00would the starters be Elliott and Anderson or Elliott and Given?
17:03I mean, that's who they have right now, right?
17:05Yep, yep.
17:06That would be it.
17:07And it's probably not good enough.
17:09Before we go back to the phones, Greg,
17:10I just wanted to ask you about a guy I'm fascinated with,
17:14Cam Scadabo at Arizona State.
17:17What do you think about Cam and his adaptability in the NFL
17:20as a runner and as a pass catcher?
17:23Well, you know, that almost relates back to the Kyron Williams question.
17:26Because, you know, people would probably look at Scadabo and say,
17:28nah, you know, he can't be a feature back.
17:30But, you know, no one said that about Kyron.
17:32Everybody said that about Kyron Williams.
17:34And look what's happened there.
17:35So now what you get into, again, is that team and scheme stuff.
17:39I mean, he is 219 pounds.
17:41He's not a little guy.
17:42He's not purely explosive.
17:43But neither is Kyron Williams.
17:45And he's a very good receiver.
17:47And he's tough.
17:48You know, he's one of those guys that in many ways is kind of a tempo setter
17:52because he's an attitude runner.
17:53You know, you wouldn't call him purely explosive.
17:56His athletic testing measurables were pretty good.
17:58But as a player, when you watch him on tape, you wouldn't really call him explosive.
18:02But he's physical, he's competitive, he's urgent, he's determined.
18:07He's a fun watch.
18:09You know, he's the kind of guy, and you hear this all the time with coaches, you know,
18:12talking about their rooms.
18:14You would want him, I'm sure, in your running back room.
18:17So it's hard for me to say because it's going to be very team and scheme-based what he will ultimately be in the league.
18:23But he's going to be in the league.
18:26Let's go to Thomas in San Mateo with a question for Greg Cosell.
18:30Hi, Thomas.
18:30Thanks for calling.
18:31How are we doing there, gentlemen?
18:33What's up?
18:35First of all, Mr. Willard, Fox City is proud of you from Bouters.
18:40Go Bouters, Mr. Zante.
18:42Oh, man.
18:43Thank you, Thomas.
18:44Thank you for bringing up those names.
18:46Appreciate it.
18:47Absolutely.
18:47I'm going over to the 92 right now, so I hope I'm going to lose you.
18:49I wanted to ask Mr. Cosell, just for all Niner fans, 35 years of bad special teams.
18:57We have this many picks.
18:58Do we send a pick on special teams?
19:01Can we do something?
19:02We have to do something with special teams.
19:05I love you guys.
19:06You guys are awesome.
19:07Dibs are awesome.
19:09Please, let's take it off the air.
19:10All right, Thomas.
19:10Thank you very much.
19:11What about special teams?
19:12Go ahead, Greg.
19:13I hate to disappoint Thomas, but I don't do special teams.
19:18I don't have enough time in my life.
19:19So I don't have an answer for that.
19:22I can't really speak to special teams, and I'll be the first to admit that's not my area
19:27of expertise.
19:28I don't know a lot about that, so I just can't speak to it.
19:33People who know me know that I try not to talk about things I don't know about.
19:36Well, Greg, what if we asked it this way?
19:38I don't even know.
19:39To what level do NFL teams even go into a draft thinking about special teams?
19:44All those special teamers have other positions.
19:47Well, that I can answer.
19:48That I can answer because I've had that conversation.
19:50I just can't answer specifically.
19:52Once you get past, once you start getting into rounds three, let's say, very often players
19:59will be, if there's, let's say, a tie, so to speak, between players, that kind of thing,
20:05very often teams think about who will help us on special teams.
20:09You know, and don't forget, they just changed the kickoff rule again with the hope that there'll
20:14be more returns because I think the ball would come out to the 35-yard line now if it's not
20:19returned, and that's, you know, that's pretty far.
20:22You know, it's not like the old days.
20:23So, you know, they're hoping there's more kickoff returns.
20:26So there's a lot of coaches that are probably thinking that special teams are becoming even
20:31more important, particularly your kickoff team, both as a return team and as covering kickoffs.
20:36So my guess is that once you get into the third, fourth, fifth round, that the guys you draft,
20:42they may not be the number one priority, but it will factor into how you evaluate a guy that you
20:48want to pick.
20:48Greg, just awesome to have you today.
20:51Awesome to have you for a whole hour.
20:53Do you want to have some fun on the way out the door?
20:55And just with this 9 or 11th pick, the 43rd pick in the draft, do you want to predict a position
21:01of need?
21:02A position, not a player, just a position.
21:05Well, I would say that given the quality in this draft, to me, and I could be dead wrong
21:11and it wouldn't be the first time, guys, I would say wide receiver and D-tackle.
21:15And I think D-tackle in particular would be a position that they would, that to me, okay,
21:20I don't know what they think of those players.
21:22I'm not in meetings.
21:24But to me, as I'm looking at their roster right now, they need a D-tackle.
21:29I had it as punter and holder.
21:30So, I mean, maybe you're going to be right.
21:32Whoa, whoa, whoa.
21:33What about Longsnapper?
21:34Yeah.
21:35They just signed one, as you know.
21:36They just found one.
21:37He's about your age, Greg.
21:39You and me.
21:39Greg does not do special teams, Dibs.
21:41Wait.
21:42Is that John Weeks?
21:43Is that John Weeks?
21:44Yes.
21:44Weeksy.
21:44Oh, okay.
21:45He's our age, Greg.
21:46Weeksy.
21:46Yeah.
21:47What do you mean, our age?
21:49Well, I mean, I'm...
21:50Nobody is my age who's playing football.
21:52Fair enough.
21:53Yeah.
21:53I was trying to bring you down to my late 50s level, Greg.
21:57I apologize.
21:58You got me again.
21:59I was in my late 50s once.
22:01Yeah.
22:01Back in the late 50s, I believe.
22:03Yeah.
22:04That's my guy.
22:05I got to laugh.
22:06That's all I needed.
22:07That's all we needed.
22:08Hey, Greg.
22:08Greg, thank you so much.
22:10All right, guys.
22:11No, this was a lot of fun, guys.
22:12I loved it.