Titan-ed Interest: Which Teams Have the Most at Stake This Offseason + A Combine Preview

18:36Nate Tice:So, I guess my question for you is, do you think they can do it? Because it's very – by the way, I love that they signed Williams because it was like such a signifier like we are. This is – I wouldn't be surprised if the entire goddamn draft is defense.

18:54Mina Kimes:Yeah, because I was saying like, hey, we're not addressing this through the draft. We're not boosting this offense anyway.

18:59Nate Tice:Great. Can they do it, Nate?

19:02Mina Kimes:They can do it in the sense that they can win their division. Can they make a run to the Super Bowl? That's – I mean, it's hard for me to say because it's just like, like you said, they only have two first-round picks. There's not some day two guys that can like, oh, okay, cool. We're just going to throw a lot of darts at it. It's just more like, all right, we got to hit these two big swings. They're kind of set up in a nice spot, though. I agree, too. Yeah, I know.

19:25Nate Tice:I'm looking at the draft, and I'm like, eh. Like, I like the other people of the players.

19:28Mina Kimes:Every time I do a mock, I'm like, oh, pick 12. Sonny Stiles, come on down. Yeah, pick 20, and a whole bunch of corners are available at 20. It's a great setup there. There's good edges in that range. There's good even some more off-ball linebackers, but maybe C.J. Allen. But that's from Georgia. but they're set up in a decent spot. Yeah, but the thing is, they need five starters. I know. I know. So even if they nail two really good ones and get maybe one more in the margin somewhere, day three or some unheralded free agent that does something or some young guy steps up. I did like Siobhan Ravel coming out of college, but he was kind of banged up.

20:07Nate Tice:Yeah. Maybe a year removed from injury. I actually thought Aziraku played pretty well year one. I liked him. So if he can become like a B-plus rusher, you feel good.

20:19Mina Kimes:He's an interesting fit in this defense. It's like I kind of like it. It's like how Nolan Smith would be used from the Eagles, but he's a different player than Nolan, even though Nolan's a lot faster. Nazaraku's kind of like a traditional 4-3 DN, but he's undersized as that, but he's strong and powerful. I don't know. But actually, I like him. I think he's a good starter. Quentin Williams is so awesome. Odegazua is great and Quinnen and Odegazua are a great pairing together

20:46Nate Tice:would be honestly gas like I love that

20:51Mina Kimes:spine it's a really it's interesting that's like I'm very optimistic about the Cowboys this year because I think their offense is about to go supernova like I think this is a what the Rams did this last year like I think they are going to be a top running back yep and I'm stoked because the stuff they were doing was so cool so I'm very excited to see it again but yeah the defense i think this team is going to be a good team this year i really do it's just that i i don't know how high i can push them because can you be yeah that's it because if the offense is top three you're you can make a run with that just stop the run just stop the run

21:24Nate Tice:and you give yourself a shot run i know and keep these guys keeping them clean so he can run and

21:31Mina Kimes:hit it's a great defense for him because he can do what zach bond does where he lines up on the

21:35Nate Tice:age or off all like it is out of state yeah i know it's like the one of my favorite fits i just

21:40Mina Kimes:keep doing it every time charles mcdonald and i do a mock uh okay you're next you got so this is my related one which is the eagles uh okay because i thought about this they were on my short list and didn't make it yeah explain why oh how much time you got uh because we got news right hold It's because my last point in my Cowboys or Eagles' bullet list was the Cowboys are starting to ramp up to at least that they can battle for the division. The Commanders are a weird team for me this year, and the Giants are trying to become more respectable, but I still think they're a year or two away. But still, you've got the Cowboys, and you've got a lot of feisty NFC teams for those wild-card spots.

22:21Mina Kimes:But the Eagles have a new offensive coordinator, which is kind of a big scheme change, potential scheme change. new offensive line coach aj brown might get traded jalen hurt's working with that offense now tanner mckee is an interesting uh figure this offseason uh no tight ends literally no tight ends under contract they need a new edge defender they need a cornerback too and like i said the cowboys are starting to ramp up so it's just they got to hit a lot and they got just it's just not the easiest decisions we're talking about the jaguars living in the margins there's every type of size of decision that the eagles have to go through there's a lot of philosophical questions there's just just a lot going on with this team right now what is the meaning of life what is what are we all here for that's it you know is this yard worth it uh on this day in this day and

23:09Nate Tice:age if i was a producer on nfl live i'd be very grateful for you because you just teed up a news peg nick sirianni was asked about aj brown today did you see his quote i'll read it to you first he said aj's a great player a good teammate does he want to be here yes do i want it to be here yes Okay. When directly asked if Brown will be here next season, Sirianni's response was not as straightforward. Quote, will AJ be here next season? I think we're still in a spot like I can't guarantee how anything is going to play out next season. I'm thinking I'm going to be the coach next season, but you can't guarantee anything past tomorrow.

23:47Nate Tice:The Kyle Shanahan, we're all going to die someday. yeah that's exactly what it was so oh that's not nothing that is that is a definitely when he repeated the question will aj be here next year i don't know we got a like in there oh yeah that's uh howie roseman also said by the way i think you go in he was uh asked about it as well and said it's really hard to find players like brown you go into the league you're listening to offers for everything and anything okay we uh there was an article on espn where um dan graziano asked everybody for trade ideas and tim mcmanis who reports for the eagles rejected all of them including like a first rounder from buffalo uh it's it's tricky because if it was a pre-june first trade it would be a pretty significant cap hit post-june they can kind massage it a little bit um but like let's just live here for a second with philadelphia are you like would you say down no to a first rounder provided that the contract money can

24:52Mina Kimes:get right oh no i i would give up a first rounder you gotta remember i mean look what he went for a few years ago and it's been a few years and depreciating assets all that um the ticking the tick, tick, tick to age 30, whether injuries and getting banged up is real, whether that's more just like, I don't want to push through this. Those are questions too. Oh, I would take it for the Eagles too, because they are a team that's going to be resetting in a lot of ways, I think soon. So might as well, this is Howie Roseman. This is a guy that's been aggressive with his quarterback. So, and I'm sorry, just with his quarterback.

25:26Mina Kimes:So you think he's not going to be aggressive with the receiver. So I, that's how I view it. So if they get a first on the table, I feel like they for sure take that. I think what they're getting right now is probably round three, maybe some round two feelers in there. But yeah, I think around one you take. Maybe the fit with the Bills is like good. It's still just like, it's like, I don't know. I don't know, Brandon Bean. I don't know. I don't know. It's like, I don't know. It just feels like, just like, oh, we're doing this again.

25:55Nate Tice:It's in their room. Why would Brandon Bean trade for a receiver? he how dare you ask that question um yeah it's a i think the eagles are a good choice i think for me like it's like the coordinator is so massive and yeah that i it's it's hard to know you alluded to like a potential scheme change coming from green bay and we're like i'm like will it be

26:18Mina Kimes:i know i don't know it's it's a great many have tried yeah right exactly but i i think the argument Manion, how I first knew about him was he played at Oregon State, and he played for Mike Riley. Mike Riley and Paul Chris, who's one of my mentors, were kind of their best friends. So I was always aware of who played at Oregon State. Brandon Cooks was on my radar very early because I was watching a lot of Brandon Cooks owning the Pac-10, Pac-12 at that time. But no, it's Sean Manion. So that's a Norv Turner offense. And Shane Steichen, that's who had success with Jalen Hurts, was a offshoot of a norv turner offense there was a lot of norv turner principles in that offense it was just kind of you know jalen hurts and and eagles personnel um so i i'm curious because it's like yeah hurts going under center throwing over the middle yeah almost tired talking points at this time it's like what do we get the best out of hurts and that's when he throws a lot of deep balls and that's overs and goes and posts yeah um and so i think that you can tie that together and I'm interested in it.

27:22Mina Kimes:I'm not totally waving away that I don't see it as a perfect circle with a round hole in the circle. I really do think – or a sphere, a ball. Sorry, I'm mixing up my metaphors here. But, no, I really do think that it's – I have a lot of questions on it, but I do see some of the ideas. The new offensive line coach is the one where I'm like, oh, wow, okay, this is wholesale changes because the run identity has been very similar no matter who's been calling plays. I mean, so that's the one to me where it's like, wow, this could be a lot of new. A lot of new. Yeah, I'm curious how it just goes.

27:56Nate Tice:From a player perspective, I've complained about this before, but sign a blocking tight end, please. Oh, my God.

28:04Mina Kimes:No more Grant Calcaterra blocking the... I mean, he's a free agent.

28:07Nate Tice:I'm interested in Charlie Kolar. I paid on. Just like... Somebody. Oh, no, I know.

28:13Mina Kimes:I totally agree.

28:16Nate Tice:My third team is the Kansas City Chiefs.

28:19Mina Kimes:Okay. I had them on, took them off, hoping that you would have them on. So perfect.

28:24Nate Tice:Pivotal, pivotal offseason. Going to be a lot of change on this team. Many defensive free agents. Two of their starting members of their secondary, Watson and Cook. We'll see who have become good players. McDuffie is a potential trade candidate being thrown around a little bit. Chenal's out. Their edge depth is being thinned. And then offensively, they need a running back, obviously. Travis Kelsey, we'll see what happens with him. And the receiving group is an absolute mess. It was already bad. Rishi Rice facing a potential suspension. Also was not just really declined last year. Thornton, Juju are free agents worthy.

29:10Nate Tice:I think we kind of have seen what we're getting out of that, out of him. and Mahomes is coming off the injury. So Brett Veach has not had great drafts. Let's just be honest here. They found some good depth, but those are really expensive positions, I just named, that they need studs at, plus starters. They're picking at nine.

29:41Nate Tice:We're going to talk about Jeremiah Love later.

29:42Mina Kimes:I was waiting for that was going to come out.

29:46Nate Tice:I guess for me, I think they don't have a lot of money, obviously. It's hard for me, Nate, to square the love smoke with the fact that this team has such massive needs at expensive positions. And I think that's why this offseason the stakes are so high for this team.

30:09Mina Kimes:And a lot of the offense more than anything does need explosives in a run game but actually that's why from i saw the travis etn smoke going to the chiefs as well and more than most teams i'm okay with that with the chiefs other teams i'll be like we're wary of it but actually for what the chiefs do and what how they would use him i actually screen game they need home runs the offense line is going to be

30:33Nate Tice:very good next year i will say that that's why the love thing is kind of tricky because i'm like no no no no no no it's not crazy well it's not crazy because they actually have an offensive line unlike the raiders or you know other from last year just saying like it's not insane right

30:49Mina Kimes:your point yeah you're putting a like i'll use the term again it could go supernova right away it could be very much like the 2016 cowboys with zeke and that offensive line like something like that uh i don't agree with it but it could be fun as as an outsider cheering yeah yeah yeah yeah yes yes yes another great one um but i look at this team it's like this team needs a lot of impact players at spots that aren't running back but they need that as well so i think they could address that in other ways or day two if there's another guy there but man i mean even guys like if leo chanel go and leave in free agency that's an important player for this defense like that it's not just guys are like oh yeah we can figure that guy out like carloftis has just been i mean i know he's under contract but like a solid starter but they need guys that are like needle movers and they don't have just a lot of assets to do that like the clock is ticking on guys chris jones is getting up there now this is i thought it was gonna be travis kelsey's last hurrah anyways now it's his last hurrah um but it's just like they they need guys that like spags's defense last year was not as impactful when they blitz it was very apparent and statistically that holds up as well that's weird to me you know because that that's like well that's usually your ace in the hole if you don't have the talent and now the ace is a deuce it's like that okay so what what what does the defense do now all right we're not creating and now we're going to lose some of these impact players wow that's a lot of questions we have to answer on defense and that's before we get to they have no receivers oh i just hit this i'm so using my hands um they have no receivers they have no tight ends all and noah gray is a fine role player but they have no guys that again that they don't have the Blake Bell.

32:31Mina Kimes:They don't have those impactful role players that can just set the edge in the run game. I don't know. Just a lot of question marks. They're smaller and they're slower. I've broken down the Chiefs a lot this season. They're smaller, slower than they've ever been, and they need to address that on offense. And on defense, they need guys that can just take over a game without any designers, anything else, like popping them open. So, yeah, I agree with you.

32:53Nate Tice:If you're sitting at 9, which is great, you're picking at 9. It's amazing. Kansas City Chiefs, wow. Shouldn't be picking there. And you're choosing between love versus one of the three edges or top two or three receivers. That's a tough call from a value perspective. If they were picking like 14, I would be a little bit more.

33:17Mina Kimes:Oh, yeah. Leaning on it. Yeah, yeah.

33:20Nate Tice:Because if it's Jeremiah Love versus, I don't know, Falk or Law. I was going to say Kilder Falk. Yeah. Yeah, I'm like, you know what? Okay. But if it's Jeremiah Love versus one of those edges or receivers, I don't feel good about that if I'm Kansas City from a roster construction standpoint.

33:39Mina Kimes:I'm just curious how they go through free agency because that's going to tell us a lot. Totally. They'll make trades. With receivers. Yeah. It's interesting to me because they had some bad luck last year. Obviously, the Mahomes injury, but just other stuff too. Regression came for close games, but just other stuff too. where they could bounce back and they have an O-line and they have Mahomes hopefully coming back fairly early in the season. It's like, wow, usually you'd be feeling really good about that. But it's just everything else can be addressed and I would totally understand why they would do it.

34:12Nate Tice:Who do you got next?

34:14Mina Kimes:Who do I have next? I was on the roster. Oh, the Buffalo Bills.

34:20Nate Tice:Yeah, they're right outside.

34:22Mina Kimes:Yeah, okay, good.

34:23Nate Tice:All these AFC contenders are like right. Like all the AFC teams with the good – I'm doing the – spoiler, the Bengals.

34:30Mina Kimes:Oh, that was another one I could have had out of here. That was my – Chiefs were my first one off. Bengals were probably my second one off. That was the walk decision was trying to decide which ones of those I wanted to talk about, so thank you. But no, so the Bills. Are you sure? That's really what I got for you, Buffalo Bills. You're betting on yourselves. You better be right. That's really what I got. But they're totally overworking the defensive personnel. which I'm actually not totally opposed to because I think Jim Leonard is awesome. And I thought that one of the prize ads by any team this whole offseason is Jim freaking Leonard.

35:04Mina Kimes:And I mean that. The safeties actually might be a better fit for his defense than what was going on in the past defense. But they need new inside linebackers. They need defensive tackles. Not defensive tackles. They need defensive linemen. I'm sorry. And they need a slot defender as well. Tron Johnson is kind of faded. That is something I've kind of gone on Brandon Bean before. it was like how have you not addressed this with depth um they were trying to do with more linebacker play last year it was up and down um mcdermott did have some good stuff scheme wise as the season went along him and bobby babbage but like i think leonard leonard's gonna be a great schemer it's just a totally different defensive style um more single hot i mean just a little bit more of everything just very it's what the bills did on third down basically gonna be every single down now they need another receiver with size they need a new center they need a new left guard they have a new offensive line coach and it's just joe brady you know getting promoted and bringing in you know some of the saints guys um you know pete carmichael and stuff which is solid like i actually am okay with that if you know hey that's my first time being a head coach i'm still going to call plays all right i need some help like adjusting to the game plan yeah i was okay with that hire just i don't know man like this losing that off a couple potentially two starters from the offensive line including your center on what was one of the better offensive lines in the entire league for the last few years that was truly one of the strengths of this team was that they could run the ball i mean down your throat and plus throw in the dragon josh allen whenever they wanted that was the formula and now we might potentially lose both starters including the center and that yeah i don't know man that that just is like that's a recipe with a new offensive line coach that's a recipe for like oh this could be a uh one of those things that at right now we're like okay whatever but then all of a sudden it's halloween or like man they're giving up a lot of pressure this year josh is running for his life so it's just do can they nail this yeah absolutely they still have josh allen they still have a lot of some cool stuff oh and they need another receiver size too i didn't even mention that um they can still do some good things i really like jim leonard and i i i'm curious where this next step is going to go with joe brady and josh allen But, man, they have just a lot more stuff that they have to patch over and figure out, especially if they want to contend this season because the AFC is wide, wide open.

37:20Mina Kimes:So I understand any team that wants to be aggressive this offseason. So I'm curious how they go about it.

37:24Nate Tice:Yeah, I think Brandon Bean, who I was going to say, should be on the hot seat, but just got extended. Promoted. Promoted. Not extended. Promoted. Sorry.

37:32Mina Kimes:And probably extended, too. Yeah, but promoted.

37:34Nate Tice:Like, you got to get younger and faster on both sides of the ball, and you got to do it in a hurry. and because Allen is such a eraser, like a deodorant, you don't have to draft Justin Jefferson or whatever. But the run game to me has been such a stabilizing force for this offense and it dictates what kind of looks they face. As you alluded to, it's been so dominant because of the line. You're taking two pieces out of that Jenga tower. we'll see if I think he really has to hit on some low to middle class free agent signings on both sides of the ball for this all to work. A player like Rashid Shahid or Kobe Bryant, I'm just thinking you're going to have to I think two or three players are going to have to walk in that door and be helpful immediately.

38:30Nate Tice:It's a lot for him. Yeah.

38:34Mina Kimes:I will give Bean credit. He has done solid in free agency that that's where he got the left guard and got these guys um the center too um but that's how he got the guys so it's just but again it's just that you have to do it again and that's what the nfl is all about you always just have to do it again and it's just down the defense just has a lot of question marks and maybe they find some personnel fits that like we don't think of right now right um so that's the thing too that they're just such a i mean it's the bills they they're gonna be pushing every year josh allen's healthy so but i'm just curious how they push this year?

39:06Nate Tice:I alluded to the Bengals. I'll just do that now. Bills, Bengals, Chiefs, right? Like the teams that got so close, you know, I've gotten close. I mean, the Chiefs obviously must be cool, but I lied.

39:17Mina Kimes:This was my team five. I lied. This was my team five. Bengals, right? Yeah, I mean, so let's go. Similar to Dallas, right?

39:26Nate Tice:The offense is just, they're running it back. They do need to get a guard, but for the most part, that's not what we're going to talk about. It's the defense. So here's your challenge, Bengals. You have over$50 million in cap space because defense has been very cheap. I don't know if anyone there is on making any money. I don't have the cap for me, but it's not a lot. You have pick 10. You have first, second, third, all pretty high. And you had some glimmers of young talent. I mentioned this on NFL Live last week, and everybody was kind of like, what? but Bengals weren't that bad the second half of the season.

40:06Nate Tice:They weren't. In fact, in the second half of the 2025 season, the Bengals' defense was statistically average. Yep. 15th in both EPA per play and success rate. They played some tough games.

40:21Mina Kimes:They were like a tough out.

40:22Nate Tice:And also, they got the Patriots offense that was rolling. They got Lamar. It was not crazy. It's not crazy to say Al Golan's defensive coordinator. Sean Desai was helping with the pass game, I believe. So you started to see, okay, the young corners I thought played well. Dax Hill was playing outside. They finally just bought into the young linebackers, Knight and Carter. And I'm not saying that they were great, whatever. but they it felt like they were kind of figuring things out and stopping the bleeding and because i keep saying oh the bangles defense was a nightmare and it's like actually they were not that bad um it's not like the commanders you know or something like like so to me nate there is potential here similar to the cowboys to get this group towards average they were average they were but like you need pass rush.

41:28Nate Tice:So Hendrickson is a free agent. He's probably gone. Asai's a free agent. Murphy and Stewart aren't enough. I'm looking at these picks. I'm looking at this money and I am just wondering if the Bengals get an impact pass rusher through some combination of drafter expenditure, can this defense get average? Because if it can, this is a playoff team.

41:49Mina Kimes:Oh yeah, with the offense. Well, that's another thing and another underrated thing about the Bengals last year is their offensive line and their run game started kicking ass.

41:56Nate Tice:Yes.

41:57Mina Kimes:And like was a top five offensive line or top five. Yeah, and everything. So some of the usual question marks were shored up. Yeah, since week 10, the Bengals were 17th in EPA per play, 19th against the pass, 12th against the run, and 17th in success rate.

42:12Nate Tice:And that's with no pass rush, really.

42:14Mina Kimes:Yeah, 8th against the run and 21st against the pass.

42:16Nate Tice:Outside of blitzing, yeah.

42:17Mina Kimes:Yeah, so average. And I think Joseph Asai is interesting. a guy he's a free agent now that I'm curious what they do with him they try to bring him back or what they do with him because I he could be a nice find for somebody talk about the bills trying to find some of these sneaky guys he's one right there but no but with the Bengals it's the defense shored up they have to still address it Trey Hendrickson seems like he never ever wants to enter the state of Ohio ever again you know but that's a lot of sacks leaving the team if they don't bring back aside either so to me it's like okay and shmar stewart didn't really show anything um the last time i checked on his stats and this wasn't december he had made one single impact play as such as like a stuff or a tfl or sack or like a forest fumble or pbu or anything um but that's what he was supposed to be was supposed to be a project but we need to address it if they can get reuben bain i would be so stoked for them because that is a guy that's plug and play we can't screw

43:14Nate Tice:this up like that that's how i look at it like she gives you a floor with him and now shmar stewart

43:21Mina Kimes:can maybe be more projecty and keep working with them because bane's gonna be a yeah be a starter

43:26Nate Tice:right away i almost wonder if they're a double dip edge team free agency in the draft where you pick 10 maybe even consider a trade-up if necessary by the way because of your timeline

43:38Mina Kimes:um you know you know who the owner is right and um because you really want one of the big three

43:45Nate Tice:and if it looks like they're not going to get past commanders that's when i think you got to start we talked about uh Tennessee but um in anyways any case yeah like a double dip like yo for a young player and then free agent one of the middle class edges um looking at them right even like I like like I don't know like a Khalil Mack if you want to go the veteran route but there's young players like OA Buffay a Quiddie Pay whatever I really think you just got to throw resources at this and whenever I think about the Bengals I think about their Super Bowl year a massive part of the reason why they went was because they hit on so many free agents that year and then they left and they were bad again but like some of them did but i'm just saying like this team is actually in solid position i think to get back in contention because as we've talked about the defense being showing some improvement you got some young players and you have such an obvious just like this is all we have to do the Saucy.

44:46Mina Kimes:It's just the mandate. I mean, offense is kind of like, okay, we're kind of good here, right? On offense. It's like Dallas.

44:53Nate Tice:They really are Dallas. The Bengals and the Cowboys really are like...

44:56Mina Kimes:It's a very similar discussion, right?

44:59Nate Tice:It's funny because the Dallas Cowboys defense has more stars, but the Bengals defense was kind of better. A little bit better, yeah.

45:07Mina Kimes:I know. It actually is kind of funny. And even if Demetrius and I was all over the place last year. So it's like if – and again, like day two could be an interesting – yeah, if we don't have more off-ball guys, I don't know. I feel better about them right now than I did a year ago, which is the funniest thing. Maybe it's because of the proof of concept with the offensive line. I don't know what it is. I really like Adam Peters. Adam Peters. Scott Peters. Scott Peters. I might be the only person that mixes up an offensive line coach with a GM.

45:42Mina Kimes:but yeah no it's no but I I'm okay with where they're sitting but I like I like where your answer was because also you know how Burrow has been talking and everything this is kind of maybe

45:51Nate Tice:the last year that's the other I didn't want to say it but it's like yeah so kind of feels like

45:56Mina Kimes:this is the last hurrah of this iteration of the bangles so yeah yeah it is a big offseason for

46:01Nate Tice:them kind of how were the bills were last year you got two more teams I got one who's your set Who's your fourth team?

46:06Mina Kimes:Do I have two more? Oh, I got the – I include the Bengals. Okay. Because you're the Bengals too. They were five for me. Both have one more team. Okay. The Vikings. The Vikings.

46:17Nate Tice:Okay. They were in my top ten. Just playing quarterback. Yeah.

46:21Mina Kimes:That's usually a big one because, I mean, they are – the coaching staff, obviously – I mean, the reporting has been so funny for me tracking with Minnesota. I don't know. I've just been – everything that comes out, I just gobble it up. but it's when I look at the Vikings all right first off JJ McCarthy obviously they want to add to that room I don't think they've they've indicated that enough they just keep saying and having stuff leak and talking and it's just unbelievable but this coaching staff has more power now and this coaching staff really believes in themselves obviously and they last year were trying to make a little mini push hey if McCarthy's ready we can make a push for this this team had finished with a winning record.

47:01Mina Kimes:And the defense was awesome. Top five defense. And the offense was kind of finding its way. They said they're going to keep investing in the run game, but they also just have a lot of questions. They don't have a GM. They don't. So that's interesting. Yeah. Yeah. Usually, yeah. Traditionally, until owners lost their minds even more than they used to, was that GMs didn't get fired until after they're – or moved on until after the draft. because that was just a cycle of personnel guys. But now it's just anything goes. So, yeah, who's playing quarterback? Hire a GM. Right now it's like Rob Brzezinski kind of doing it.

47:36Mina Kimes:He's like a cap guy. Skill players, though. They're probably going to move on from TJ Hawkinson because of a cap. So they need a tight end. Oliver I really like, but he's a blocker. Hey, hey, the Eagles could have used him. Naylor potentially leaving a free agency. Addison in more offseason trouble. They need Aaron Jones is going to be probably cut because of cap reasons. so I need another running back with a pair with Jordan Mason. I thought Aaron Jones was really fun last year. Actually, Mason had some moments too because I thought the run game was kind of sneaky good. Harrison Smith, what's going on with him?

48:06Mina Kimes:Just a lot of questions, and again, they play in a division that's going to be tight, and you can tell this team is aggressive, and so are they going to trade for a quarterback? I still want them to trade for Tanner McKee. Is it Spencer Rattler? Is it bringing a vet like Aaron Rodgers, but that also seems like he's going back to Steelers. I have no idea. But Kirk Cousins reunion. But anyways, this is just a team that's at a crossroads. Obviously, they just fired their GM after the season when they didn't feel like they were going to at first. So this is a team that's – I'm curious how far they push, if they really think they're contenders or if they're going to take a deep breath.

48:42I don't think they're going to take a deep breath. Yeah.

48:44Nate Tice:They're not. They're not. Let's see what we got in J.J. No. Yeah. They're going to have to – they're not going to have to.

48:51Mina Kimes:Onward and upward, Minnesota Vikings.

48:52Nate Tice:I think it's a good pick because I legitimately have no idea what they're going to do. The quarterback not saying like I what I mean is all the other teams. I'm like, it's probably going to be one of two or three things. Pissons probably this man. I truly have no idea what they're going to do. There's I have not seen any like clear tea leaves or that's why I'm actually interested. Please ask around and I want to ask around in Indianapolis. I don't know what they're going to do because it's such a unique position where depending on who they bring in, that could dictate whether McCarthy gets a chance.

49:29Nate Tice:That could dictate how the offseason is going to go generally. The level of investment in this current season really does depend on how aggressive they go after the position. Are they the Kyler Murray trade partner? that completely changes things from if they were to like sign Spencer Rattler as competition you know it's just like Kirk Cousins I don't know it's um and yeah like you said there's there they have some other decisions particularly on offense it's funny I I wrote I I've been watching the Oregon uh white safety uh and it would be so funny if they drafted him as the uh uh the endeman yeah that I always this is the week when I learned how to pronounce names because I just I'm watching them on tape and I don't actually um I actually I have his name well he's actually one of my

50:14Mina Kimes:answers for one of your questions so it's funny so I have his name pronunciation in there because

50:18Nate Tice:I had to look up his name okay good no uh okay uh I'll be quick here because we got to keep it moving we got to the combine uh I put the chargers as my final team I almost had the commanders um who I they're the like can you fix the defense in the single offseason question uh and they've got a ton of money and obviously uh seventh overall pick so they're an interesting one but let's go with the chargers because they're more of the uh can you tinker around the margins to get over the hump team you similar to a couple of the teams you mentioned 83 million dollars in cap space they have all their own first three drown draft picks for three rounds um they lost their defensive coordinator, which I think is going to be a bigger deal than maybe people have accepted.

51:06Nate Tice:But that's mitigated by bringing in the bell of the ball amongst offensive coaches, Mike McDaniel. They have their center just retired and Mike Mekhi Becton is probably out the door. So you have to replace the interior of your offensive line. Receiver slash tight end is something I imagine they're going to look at. uh khalil mac and odafi away are free agents we'll see if they bring back either of them um do you feel let's just do this that the offensive line has to be the main priority and do you think if they fix that combined with the addition of mcdaniel that this team could get

51:52Mina Kimes:over the hump that's what is hard for me is like actually your second part of that question might answer my first is that they're betting on mcdaniel would be better at mitigating o-line than Craig Roman is, which has been proven. I mean, just years and years of film has shown that now. So maybe that's some of it. It's like, hey, we don't have to invest as much. Maybe we can find some sneaky under-the-radar signings to maybe address it. But you have to address it. That's the thing. You can't, not even just narrative-wise, but that was just truly hindered your entire franchise. I was going to say two years in a row.

52:23Mina Kimes:But I mean, I've been in media since, bless you, since 2020. probably five of those years it's been the charges offensive line and i get it people that don't watch a lot of chargers and like into these online debates just go like oh you always defend herbert how can the offense line be this bad every year it's like well just watch and i i can i i it's unbelievable to me too but just watch um so i i think they have to like center has to be addressed and and that it's just been a thing now and and that's something that could really help this offense if you watch aaron brewer in this offense with the dolphins that was just he was a true weapon and they're going to get guys on the move but they can maybe find guys in the margins because they can maybe that's the one thing about shanahan offensive guys is that their offense is trying to lower the need of a high-end quarterback and a high-end offensive line they that's really what it is that's what their offensive system is based on we do things to make average look good so we don't need to find as much many good players we can find more average above average players it's their money ball and but like so maybe that's part of their appeal the appeal too on offense because the defense has a lot of questions too and jesse mentor was doing a lot in this defense to really help them out they're really well coached teamed up very well yeah

53:36Nate Tice:yeah okay let me put this out there because you talked about like with shanahan offenses you might not need to spend as much um could they be a sneaky linder bomb team or is that too rich

53:50Mina Kimes:they might decide it and there's the connections of course with front office and stuff like i mean that'd be awesome it'd be the perfect offense to weaponize them um but again yeah it's more of like a dream pairing but it's also one of the things they might like just my other side of the argument is just they might just go well we don't need the premium there we can spread it out

54:07Nate Tice:everywhere yeah um all right let's take a quick break come back and and get to the combine uh and let you get back to the actual combine after that as you know managing maintenance repair and operations is never easy. But for the ones who always rise to the challenge, Grainger has your back. From professional-grade products you can count on to fast, dependable delivery, they are there to help you keep things running smoothly. Plus, their technical product specialists are here to help answer your toughest questions. And because Grainger knows safety is always a priority, they're committed to being your partner in protecting both your people and your facilities.

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55:42Nate Tice:That's Amazon.com slash H-U-B Delivery. All right, we're back. Nate is at the combine. I'm flying in tomorrow. I have been cramming first rounders. Oh, you're going at it. It was me in October. Nate does this all year. So he's very, and you guys should check out his draft work at Yahoo. In addition, I should have said this at the beginning to your excellent podcast, Football 301, which is covering the combine in depth. So I'm like texting you. I'm like, hey, Sonny Styles. Wow. Yeah, it's pretty good. I'm sending you my comps. I'm like, does this guy remind you of what was the one I sent you where you're like, that was my comp.

56:28Nate Tice:And I was like, oh.

56:30Mina Kimes:Oh, I don't know. I didn't mean that. I meant that more in excitement. No, no, I know, I know, I know. I don't know.

56:35Nate Tice:I don't know who people's comps are other than Mendoza getting Matt Ryan and Jared Goff by literally everybody on earth.

56:41Mina Kimes:I mean, just look at them.

56:43Nate Tice:In part because there's no pocket passers left. So who else are we going to cough? It's the same guy. Literally the only. Yeah.

56:49Mina Kimes:And if he was thicker, it'd be Dak.

56:51Nate Tice:It was the one I was watching. Oh,

56:54Mina Kimes:that's what that was Matt. That was Matt Harmon's comparison. okay.

56:57Nate Tice:I love Josh Downs too, because I just love him. Okay. So my first question for the combine that we're going to do the biggest stories of the combine as I've decided, and this is, this is very tied to just me watching them, which freak defensive first rounder is going to put on a show. There's a lot of really good athletes. at least on tape um and uh most of them are working out um the defensive players uh then and it's it's the big names arvel reese sunny styles uh david bailey keldrick fock who we alluded to uh any of these guys could go crazy i feel like at the combine this year and the other thing i think that's kind of interesting about this especially with the pass rushers and the big three as we'll call them that i don't know what order they're going to go in nate so i feel like the combine could actually be a really big deal like if a david bailey or reese just goes nuclear could be very meaningful in terms of draft order as well yeah

58:02Mina Kimes:and more than other positions and i get it everyone goes oh underwear olympics but these data points matter um there's that's why you hopefully they do they probably won't do the three cone which is really important like that's the one thing i would look at and i want these guys stop doing three cone which is really annoying um but so if you if they do broad jump you can get nice metrics there i always look for nine feet nine inches it's kind of my parameter um uh like good or bad um but the freak that i'm looking at is a guy that was my mid-season number one player and he's dropped a little bit but i'm still more bullish on him i think than the consensus and that's keldrick falk from auburn you alluded to um that the edge defender because I just think, man, I just think he has a lot of traits that you want, the high-end traits, and he's young, and he has the intangibles that you want to grow with.

58:50Mina Kimes:Now, that glass half-empty part of that is, well, why hasn't he shown it already? If he works so hard and he's such a good athlete, why hasn't he shown it? And then my kind of counter to that would be that he moves around a lot of positions. He plays inside. He plays at a four-eye. He maybe doesn't do what he's going to be needed to in the NFL. I also think that some of his appeal is positional versatility, but I'm really excited to see that if he puts on a show, and I think he might, he can get up there with these other names. I think he's a guy that could go surprisingly higher than I think people.

59:19Mina Kimes:NFL is a traits league, and this is the guy that I was referring to with the Titans, not at four, but if they traded back and were in that kind of sweet spot eight to 14, that's a guy that these Seahawk 49er guys, the Legion of Boomites, they love guys like Keldrick Falk. or a guy like the Commanders. Dan Quinn is going to love Keldrick Falk. Even though the stats aren't there, they look – Exactly. So he's the guy that I'm trying to tell people that's like – he can go surprisingly higher than I think people realize. I view him more in that kind of range now. I'm going to do a big board after the Combine.

59:56Mina Kimes:But I think I'm viewing him more in that range anyways, and that's going to be one of the higher guys on him. But, man, he's just got length. He's fast, and I think he's just going to test like that as well.

1:00:06Nate Tice:He is a really...

1:00:12Nate Tice:Nate Tice and Mina Kimes.

1:00:40Nate Tice:go like you know like it's not quite lined up for him and also as you said the pass rush repertoire but yeah i think he's a good example of a player who could the combine could really help um styles who we've alluded to when we were talking about dallas uh so bruce feldman who works at the athletic does the freaks list everywhere and i was looking at his freaks list from the beginning of the 2025 season so before college football season began just because he puts in the athletic numbers and he says that um study styles broad jumped 11 vertical jumped 40 squatted 675 pounds he's six foot four and 243 pounds just safety at one point and it looks like it on tape like i mean he he is one where the athleticism just leaps off plus he is actually i think a pretty developed player already like he has a great vision as linebacker already and he's good in coverage too but he's one where i'm like this i think he could put on an absolute show and you know that's a positional value question for a team like dallas is linebacker do we do we want it and also a development curve issue with linebackers right like uh devon lloyd is a perfect example a guy who did not play well when he came into the league and got better and better and then was a superstar last year do you want to spend a first round draft pick on an off-ball linebacker with that in mind.

1:02:03Nate Tice:So I think he's going to be really interesting. Bain, I just want to throw out too, well, he's more of a measurement question, I think, at the Combine because he's one where the tape is so good and then you start thinking about the body type and the arm length and that could be the thing that keeps the team from taking him, thinking that do we really think he can play outside? So, well, I guess measurement brings me to my next combine question. How tall are these quarterbacks really? Not Mendoza.

1:02:40Mina Kimes:Take a picture next to him. We'll find out.

1:02:44Nate Tice:Diego Pavia. He should run away if he sees me.

1:02:49Mina Kimes:He's like, no, not the heels.

1:02:52Nate Tice:How much is he? Five nine. Right?

1:02:55Mina Kimes:Yeah.

1:02:56Nate Tice:That's not good. That's not good for you. big guy um he's not the one actually i'm wondering about it's the next the two and three qb two and three depending on how you have them ordered uh ty simpson and garrett nussmeyer so fernando we know is very tall fernando doesn't need the combine he's not you uh the comment is a big deal for both those quarterbacks and uh i do think like they're i know simpson is throwing i think nussmeyer is too unless i missed that um but i yeah so i've seen simpson listed at six two and Nussmeyer at 6 '1". Nussmeyer also I saw at the Senior Bowl came in with 8 and 6 '8 hands.

1:03:33Nate Tice:Scary. Yeah, man. I just, Simpson as well, who I think is going to end up being QB2, he don't look big. I texted you that as I was watching him. I think the question I text you is, why are his drops so deep?

1:03:48Mina Kimes:Yeah. Right? And you were like, physics. Yeah, I was like, this is I'm not saying that they're damning them.

1:03:57Nate Tice:I'll do much more in-depth conversations on both these players as we lead up to the draft. But I could see a world in which the quarter, you know, he measures the combine and he's not actually six foot two, Nate. Just throwing that out there.

1:04:09Mina Kimes:I know. And that's it's funny, like those two and then Chambliss before he went back to school, how much I grouped them together because they all the same questions. height bulk uh how you guys withstand injuries because that's the thing that came up with nussmeyer and simpson this year um you know i i have preferred nussmeyer the whole way but it's not like his film this year was outstanding um his film is pretty average because stuff was falling apart around him and he got banged up but also that's the issue is that because he's not very big that's probably why he gets banged up but um both these guys coaches kids they're both as aggressive as all get out which is always really fun um they kind of know what they need to do to win if that makes sense not not like a gritty tim tebow way but more in a i have to push the ball for explosive plays actual actual football grittiness and aggressiveness not the stuff that we coach high school kids with um but no when i watch when i watch these guys i think some of their positives and negatives are very similar um could be a little too aggressive at times i think simpson will have some more sprays than nussmeyer um they have i don't know juice and arm that kind of similar to me but as far as but the big thing like you just mentioned it's not even just height It's just size, girth, width.

1:05:18Mina Kimes:And to me, anytime you're under 205, that's scary for me. I'd prefer all quarterbacks that I'm taking highly to be 215 or above. I would even go 220 or above. But if you're under 205, you better be a freak athlete. That's kind of my, okay, that's the sliding scale. Jane Daniels kind of gets away with it. Early Lamar got away with it, and then he added some bulk. But then you see why the negatives. then you get JJ McCarthy, who was not 217, whatever he weighed at the combine. That was all water weight. But that's why that's a concern, because you see how they get banged up if they're not going to be a guy that can avoid hits and they take too many hits, they fall down the pocket too much.

1:05:55Mina Kimes:It's just, again, it's just physics. And then the tiny hands thing, so I'm glad he brought that up, because anything under nine is scary. And that's, again, it's just more of a physics fact thing. Just more arms around you, more bodies around you in the pocket. But they play a fun style of football. It's just size is definitely a red flag.

1:06:12Nate Tice:Are there any quarterbacks whose athleticism could, it's not these two, whose, sorry, athleticism could shine in your mind? Like, I don't know. Oh, yeah. Like a club Nick maybe runs really well. Like, is there anyone?

1:06:27Mina Kimes:Oh, you'll see him. Talon Green from Arkansas. He's built like Randall Cunningham. I have not watched him.

1:06:33Nate Tice:Okay, yeah.

1:06:35Mina Kimes:Yeah, him and the running back are pretty fun there, Mike Washington. But Talon Green, he's like the one day three dart throw I would take because he's just a freak athlete. Yeah, but he played under Petrino. So it's already, that's another thing. Narratively scouting, as I like to call it. He's already worked with a guy that can be kind of like a pro-style coach. And this is what he throws like already. That's a little scary to me. So it's not like he's coming from just college guys. I've never worked with a quarterback before. I said Lamar.

1:07:03Nate Tice:So for those who don't know, Lamar played under.

1:07:05Mina Kimes:Yes, Petrino.

1:07:06Nate Tice:And was people who don't watch. more pro style than all the other guys frustrating people like does he know like literally he plays

1:07:16Mina Kimes:in a process like he's throwing hot throws he's adjusting so i was not in media yet that was such a frustrating narrative to watch um no but like a guy like josh allen the narrative of you know because he was juco and then wyoming like you know he's not working with guys that coach nfl guys so um but anyways but taylor green's a guy that can maybe have a really good showing because he's going to be what 6 '6 and maybe run like a high 4 '4 or something like that he's a freak um it's just that he he if you want to be an optimist about him you're like oh there's some colin kaepernick there um you know as far as that long throwing style so that's kaepernick had a little more juice on the arm too and he's a little bigger a little thicker too um yeah but that's that's one guy there's a guy from minnesota morehouse i like as a weight round guy jack strand um but he's not going to be like a big test or anything like that.

1:08:05Mina Kimes:I know I'm looking at North Dakota State. I'm looking at Minnesota Morehouse.

1:08:09Nate Tice:I haven't even gotten past Nussmeier. I've got a long ways to go.

1:08:14Mina Kimes:Drew Aller. I don't know if he'll test well, but he has a big arm.

1:08:19Nate Tice:Yeah, that was the other thing. I was like, is anyone going to you know, like Malik Lewis, I remember the combine was just throwing it out of the stadium. Like, is there anyone who... And helping people on the streets,

1:08:26Mina Kimes:remember? Remember the videos? I do remember that. You know what?

1:08:29Nate Tice:Malik has justified. yeah there's i mean even the big three guys are the the big three the top three quarterbacks they don't have huge arms so right i mean medosa has like an nfl arm for sure but it's not like you know no one no one there's no cannons in this uh in this group in in the top that's why but

1:08:51Mina Kimes:that's why nuss and simpson are funny is that they like they throw like they have big arms like they throw down the field you know it's so funny it's like i love it but it's just like yeah i know but being realistic about it.

1:09:03Nate Tice:Okay. My third question, can Jeremiah love boost his drive stock, ensure a top 10 pick with a big performance. So Jeremiah love is working out. This is going to be one of the questions of the draft season, especially after Ashton Gentry pick the Ashton Gentry pick, pardon me, proved to be a bad one. And that's not saying Ashton Gentry is a bad player. Ashton Gentry was in running back hell. But it's so funny. People have such short memories. Already, it's like I'm seeing people say, I know I'm doing straw manning, but it is real. Jeremy Love, you can't draft him too high. He's the best player in the draft.

1:09:46Nate Tice:Yes, you can.

1:09:48Mina Kimes:Yes, you can. Look at Bajon Robinson. Yes.

1:09:51Nate Tice:There are teams for whom Jameer Gibson Lions is the most recent case study of a team that already had the offensive line and a good roster, quite frankly, and it allowed them to draft a position, irrespective of value. There's a lot of teams in the draft this year who should not take Jeremiah Love, in my opinion. There just aren't. However, he is awesome, and he is an awesome athlete, and I'm very, very excited to see him work out. He is 6 '2", 214 pounds, and his long speed in particular is insane at his size, Nate.

1:10:36Mina Kimes:Yeah, and I've been really kind of, maybe it's just this draft class, but I'm really trying to re-gauge some of my running back thresholds for stuff or what I look for. My dad's old, I asked him one time what he looked for in running backs, or what was the ideal running back. He goes, can they catch the ball? And can they take every touch to the house? And then I was like, oh, okay, that's it. And he's like, yeah, you know, size, of course. But like, really, that's what I'm looking for. And I was like, okay, that kind of stuck with me for years. And now I'm like looking at the NFL right now. And maybe it's just revision, not revisionist, but whatever happened last recency bias.

1:11:12Mina Kimes:But now I'm like, the name of the game is explosives, right? And defenses are kind of going, we're fine when you get four, five, six yard runs. It's the guy, it's the running backs that can take those four-yard runs into 40 or five yards around to 20 that are kind of really the needle movers right now. It's not just, oh, yeah, the running backs don't matter. I think it was like for whatever contracts and everything. It's more that it's just the replacement value got so high for running backs. But a needle mover is still a needle mover. And that's why what I'm saying with Love is that I could justify this because he can catch the ball and he can take any touch to the house.

1:11:44Mina Kimes:And he also has a mindset that's great for that as a team player, all that stuff. I also mentioned with Jameer Gibbs was they had David Montgomery, which was the perfect setup too, because Gibbs went from a porous pass protector to now a pretty good one. And David Montgomery, though, was able to kind of go like, hey, we're going to keep you on the field for what you're good at, and then we'll ease you into pass protection rather than like, hey, here's everything at once. Like, all right, now you got to pass protect too, because it is a transition for running backs as well, especially now with how complex protections and blitzes are.

1:12:15Mina Kimes:But no, I think Love also has that personality. Like he's going to be a good pass protector too. So to me, it's about downs impacted. Yeah. Downs impacted touches impacted. And to me, he's a true needle mover type that can take any touch to the house. So I, I'm fine with him going top 10, if I'm being honest, especially in this draft class, that doesn't have a lot of blue chips. There's a lot of green chips. Not a lot of guys are, but where,

1:12:35Nate Tice:but where, okay. So I'm looking at it. I mean,

1:12:39Mina Kimes:I don't, I don't like it.

1:12:41Nate Tice:Oh God.

1:12:42Mina Kimes:I hate that. By the way,

1:12:45Nate Tice:I'm torn on the cheese because they're, They have such strong needs at edge and receiver. However, he would be freaking gas.

1:12:54Mina Kimes:He'd be amazing.

1:12:55Nate Tice:So my take on the Chiefs is not that they shouldn't take Jeremiah Love. My feeling is if one of the blue chip receivers and edges are there, that's where I get nervous. But if they're gone, I would not rather have the second tier. So it's really about comparative. But outside of Kansas City. and then it's like who else do you really feel good about washington desperately needs no obviously cleveland come on uh cincinnati actually has a good back and a good run game yeah

1:13:29Mina Kimes:perpetually underrated chase brown that's what i'm gonna call him for now

1:13:34Nate Tice:it's tricky mate because if kansas see don't take him i'm like where's the spot

1:13:40Mina Kimes:i know and like you even look at other teams i've already invested like the the bucks already have other stuff they might need you know it depends how they feel about bucky irving but i don't think the bucks are a team that will take a running back um jets don't mines don't vikings but vikings like we already talked about got a lot of other stuff than running back um but coaches are in charge uh panthers already invested in their backs but like who knows their i don't think the cowboys i don't think they'll fall for that because javante williams signing steelers don't think so either because they just invested in guys just spend chargers just did you know cleveland eagles no and then there's the bears that picked 25 which is

1:14:20Nate Tice:they will they need so bad texans that picked 28 would be real well yeah but like that's what's so tricky about him is like yeah like he's not a great point falling i guess yeah so it's just a very interesting draft discussion and like I said, if he goes nuclear at the combine, I think it makes that discussion even more complicated and interesting.

1:14:46Mina Kimes:If he runs anything under, and I think he easily will, 445, it's like, okay, all systems go with this guy. Yeah, he's great. And his personality, I've seen a lot with him. He just seems like a great dude. I don't know. That's the underrated thing about Bajan and Jameer Gibbs too, and Gentty, is you take those guys high, they're going to take a lot of touches and a lot of beating, and they have to have the personality for that in the NFL. Or some games where they have eight touches, as opposed to their entire lives when they've been the dude. There's a big part of that to me as well. Any position you draft high, but especially NFL running backs that they want to take high.

1:15:25Nate Tice:I just keep getting told he ain't falling out of the top 10.

1:15:30Mina Kimes:I hear it.

1:15:32Nate Tice:When you look at it, outside of Kansas City, there aren't obvious to me spots. So going to be an interesting storyline.

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1:17:25Nate Tice:all right uh this one we can go real quick i just wrote who is anyone going to touch the 40 record um davia worthy of course 4.21 um is that what it is 421 yeah the names i i went back to i think bruce had some names maybe that's where i got them i apologize not but the chris helton jr out of lsu is the one who keeps coming up. But the other names,

1:17:53Nate Tice:some corners, Andre Fuller out of Toledo,

1:18:00Nate Tice:DeMond Claiborne, Wake Forest running back, Barry and Brown, also LSU, Branch at Georgia. Zachariah Branch.

1:18:09Mina Kimes:Yeah. I had two names. Brennan Thompson from Mississippi State.

1:18:13Nate Tice:Brennan Thompson is the other one. Yes. Yeah.

1:18:15Mina Kimes:Yeah. Not very big. he can roll uh branch is the only one well i say branch and hilton are the ones that probably

1:18:20Nate Tice:intrigue me because they're the ones who i could see climbing a little bit in the draft yeah because of it as like guys who are already probably going to go you know what i mean like the mid rounds

1:18:28Mina Kimes:maybe jump down so branches i mean branches whole thing is he's he's gadget type of guy but the thing is if you're going to take a gadget guy on day two all right let's point some testing numbers to kind of back that up so and yeah he could do that he's got he's got a track background as well and And ever since, I mean, this was Caleb's guy at USC, but he is kind of more gadgety type with not a ton of real receiver to him, but he's good on those screens. It's all screens. It's all screens. It's nearly all screens. It really is. It was, yeah, not my favorite watch. I know. I know.

1:18:59Nate Tice:It's so weird watching these SEC offenses and they just aren't good. At one point I hit you up about LSU, and I was saying it's so strange watching an LSU team that has a bad offense.

1:19:11Mina Kimes:Right.

1:19:12Nate Tice:separate from us. Yeah.

1:19:14Mina Kimes:Look porous. Yeah. And that like actually doesn't have like size and speed compared to everyone else. It's weird. Yeah.

1:19:20Nate Tice:Okay. That that's fine. I'm not that interested in the 40 this year. There's no one. There's like, there's no Xavier where the, like who could, I think.

1:19:26Mina Kimes:No, like actually legit get it. Yeah. Thompson might be the one, but yeah, there's some good athletes.

1:19:32Nate Tice:Well, that brings me to my final question. Like who are the supreme athletes in this draft? who could really come out of this combine, boost their draft stock. Everybody's talking about them. I'll go first. This is not a surprise. The tight end.org, Tanya Sadiq, is really a few of the tight ends. Stowers out of Vanderbilt as well. but Sadiq Feldman ID'd and I was like yeah when you watch him he's not that big he's 6 '3 but he is like chiseled from marble watching him he looks like an unbelievable athlete he's also I think quite clearly the best tight end in this class unless I completely miss someone.

1:20:31Nate Tice:No, no, no.

1:20:32Mina Kimes:Yeah, it's him and then like a huge gap and then we're getting to crop two, tier two.

1:20:38Nate Tice:And I think because of that, it'll be very interesting to see where he goes and how high he goes. And I think if he goes nuts in Indianapolis, he could really climb higher than people think.

1:20:54Mina Kimes:Yeah, I love Sadiq. Good player. Another sneaky Chiefs pick? Ooh! Right? I like him for them more than others. Him for them more than other positions. No, but I really like Sadiq. He kind of has been hovering in my top 10, like, you know, that 8 to 12 range. Every big board I've done, going back to after last year's draft. A feisty blocker as well. So even if he's, I would say his biggest negative is that he's maxed out. like there's not much weight to gain not much more size but the thing is he already has the want to he's not gonna be an amazing blocker but he could be like tommy tremble with the panthers where you can weaponize this a little bit get him on the move as a blocker um and kind of like if you have a lighter bodies we i mean defenses are lighter and lighter kind of not as much of a disadvantage as it used to be and yet like again he has the want to and the personality but that's not why you're drafting him you're drafting him because again he could take any touch to the house like He is – the game that always comes back to me for him because at first it was more yakky design shot plays, how he was used, was the Rutgers game and where I saw him attacking them.

1:22:04Nate Tice:Touchdown versus Rutgers. Crazy. Yeah.

1:22:07Mina Kimes:And that's where – because he's downfield. He's adjusting to the ball. Like he can have some concentration drops pop up. But yeah, those were the plays that really stood out to me.

1:22:14Nate Tice:The catch – the contested catch stuff is interesting too because he doesn't look very long. That measure must be interesting for him because he's only six foot three and it's not like Brock Bowers go-go gadget arms but he is able to win um contested catches because of his play strength and his um I feel like he's just very good at located the football so I am interested in seeing how that strength shows up and I mean I think he's he I think uh Feldman had some of his weightlifting numbers as well, but very, very strong player. It looks like it on tape. Very good at staying on his feet. You talked about the blocking and the yak side of it.

1:23:01Nate Tice:He's not like, I mean, he's, he's got the speed also to like win in the seams and stretch the field, but he's not like, you know, I don't know, a Kyle Pitts type or anything like that. I mean, well, he's just, I don't even know. I haven't actually come up with a comp for him that I feel good about. I think I said he's kind of like a little mini in Joku. Yeah.

1:23:24Mina Kimes:The guy who really reminds me of is Vernon Davis. Oh, that's funny. Vernon was a little bigger. But I think Vernon, when he came out of college, so Maryland, he was 6 '3 1⁄4". He was bigger. Yeah, he was 254, but he didn't have long arms, 32-inch arms, tiny hands, 8 3⁄4", but he ran a 438. and that's why Vernon went in the top, what do you got, six? Top 10 at the very least. Yeah, sixth. That's weird. I came to room. And then Kellen Winslow II was another tight end that went early that wasn't the biggest either, but he was 6 '4 and 250, and he was a little longer. But those are the guys that come up in my brain as guys that went early that maybe are not more the kind of picturesque tight ends.

1:24:10Mina Kimes:Like to me, the epitome of a tight end right now is Tucker Craft or Colson Loveland. You know, Trey McBride's really good, but he's kind of a solid blocker, not overwhelming, but he's just such a good athlete as a receiver and everything. And then Bowers. Bowers is his own thing. But you've got to use him like Bowers more than those guys Kraft and more than Loveland, those who are going to play in line. Where he's – and even Kyle Pitts. Kyle Pitts was like an isolated receiver tight end, while Sadiq is a slot tight end, if that makes sense, how you use him. He's going to be tight to the formation how you always use him.

1:24:43Mina Kimes:But I really like him. I really do. And I think the league is pretty warm on him. I don't think he makes it past 20.

1:24:53Nate Tice:I was going to say, he looks very pro-ready to me. And we have a recent history of tight ends now, young tight ends just coming to the league and being impactful immediately, which I also wonder if that could help his stock a bit. Even a guy like Faye Jr., who's sort of undersized, being so good so fast, obviously Warren and Loveland as well. It's a position.

1:25:14Mina Kimes:Coaches have gotten better at using these types of what used to be tweener tight ends. Now they've gotten so much better at using these guys.

1:25:21Nate Tice:Totally agree.

1:25:22Mina Kimes:Laporta a couple years ago. Laporta was more polished and everything. He had limitations too. He's not a good blocker. Still isn't. He was feisty. I would say Sadiq is a better blocker coming out, but that's not as far as usage comparison. Laporta isn't one like that.

1:25:39Nate Tice:Any other names you want to throw out there, guys you're interested by?

1:25:42Mina Kimes:Do I? I got an offensive line trio, Monroe Freeling from Georgia, offensive tackle. I'm very high on. He keeps rising up in my ranks, but I also think consensus-wise too, it seems like. But I had him, I mean, kind of like my unofficial big board I don't post after the season, but he was kind of like 22, I think, for me. And I think he'll go higher, but he has a basketball background. He's a great athlete. It's more his real football got better, and that's why I got higher on him the last month or two of the season. But I think he'll test well if he does test. uh killed lomu from utah all right if you're not going to be the strongest guy and we have to project that strength but i think he's a really good athlete and he's got good size but if he is if he has a good show out this week like the offense tackle class is wide open and i i'm higher on luma loma than a lot of other people yeah i i'm still i haven't gotten to it so i don't have a yeah for no who the right tackle who is the kind of consensus one guy i kind of disagree i like him but I'm in disagreement that he's a top 10 guy to me.

1:26:41Mina Kimes:The guys of that build, he's kind of a linear, straight-up build. Those guys usually don't work because they're not thick enough to play guard and they just don't have the linear agility to adjust that tackle. And also, it's interesting to me, again, narratively scouting this, why did Lomu came in and moved Fano from left tackle to right tackle? Okay, that's interesting to me because you usually put your better guy left side and I I'm just higher on low move but then the other guy that I'm really high in this class is Max I Hanisher from Arizona State he had a great senior bowl week and then I went back and watched his film his film was a lot more polished and impressive than I thought he's a great athlete I think he is um late to football juco guy didn't start playing football till late in in high school I believe goes to Arizona State and really showed up the last second half of this year at right tackle I he's a guy that if he has a good week I'm I'm I think he'll just keep shooting up he's gonna be a top 25 guy for me um but i again i'm the high guy on that but i think others will kind

1:27:39Nate Tice:of get there golic seems like he likes him too and he's posting some clips of him and i thought it was pronounced i'll anchor which is an insane name for an offensive lineman uh all anchor first but um yeah i'm interested in seeing more of him uh bruce mentioned in his um freaks list that uh Caden Proctor, the Bama offensive tackle, who's 6 '7", 366 pounds, squatted 815 pounds this summer and had a 32-inch vert, which is insane for a guy that size. So don't have a strong...

1:28:12Mina Kimes:6.2 Richter scale.

1:28:14Nate Tice:That's crazy. One other trench player on the other side of the ball I'll mention, because I have watched him a lot, is Peter Woods, the defensive tackle, because he's not perfect as a prospect, but the athleticism really jumps off the tape. His movement skills at his size are really unique to me. So I'm interested in seeing how he runs at the combine and also his jump.

1:28:42Mina Kimes:Not many 315 pound guys with quick feet like that. He should play guard.

1:28:47Nate Tice:He bounces around like a cat, man. He does. And then he overshoots the quarterback.

1:28:51Mina Kimes:And I'm like, that's what's annoying to me. He just doesn't finish. He gets in the backfield every day. time and then like i know so i had him like it's i there's the potential is really insane he was so he was my number one guy going into the season and he's been so confusing for me because i'm just like i i want to love him i really do and because i these guys typically hit like the guys that show this type of skill set or traits i should say he was a big recruit as well so it's not like he came out anywhere or out nowhere his length is that the deficiency is that why like his pass rushing isn't all there yet and he's kind of one of those guys that once he gets clamped on he stops fighting and that's always worrisome for me um but man it's just that he can he can be one of these guys that makes three plays a game that swing you the game like is he more ed oliverish um he's bigger than that but as far as play style um you know kind of just gap shooter okay pass rusher you need other guys around him but just like yeah he's in the backfield he makes a living in the backfield but is a little bit bigger than that uh but yeah he was my number one guy at in the preseason probably ends up more like low teens for me but man he could test really well um because i just think

1:30:03Nate Tice:he he's so agile for such a big man injury wise um i think i let me double check this but jordan

1:30:11Mina Kimes:yeah i was gonna say jordan tyson's gotta be one one there not not working out which i think is

1:30:18Nate Tice:disappointing because he is a guy who yeah the injuries showed out and he has the potential to go very high i think um he's i'll get into him in more depth obviously um because i i do like a lot of him but the durability is a legit concern um and then the other one i just uh jermaud mccoy the corner out of tennessee is the name i think a lot of people are gonna be watching and he's one of those guys were like the medicals at the combine or if you hear like him rising up boards or falling after you know um you'll know how those went yeah like last season um because of the acl but the prior season i haven't gotten to his tape so i'm not gonna i'm hoping to get to it soon but i

1:31:04Mina Kimes:hear it's really good um so that's why he stayed so high even without playing an entire season is because that tape was so good. It's him and Mansour Delane from LSU and Avian Terrell. Those are kind of my top three. I think that's kind of consensus, top three corners.

1:31:22Nate Tice:Yeah, that's interesting.

1:31:24Mina Kimes:But man, McCoy could still be a top 10, 12 pick even after not playing for an entire day. That's how good the film is.

1:31:32Nate Tice:If he gets a perfect clean bill of health this week, I think that's a name to keep your eye on.

1:31:38Mina Kimes:Brandon C. says the other corner that if he has a good week, because if he tests well from South Carolina, I don't know what they put in the water there. But they just get guys. Tienemann, your guy, was another one of mine that had on here.

1:31:50Nate Tice:Yeah. Can he beat the allegations?

1:31:53Mina Kimes:It's the safety. Hey, Cooper DeGene did. Nick Washington, I mentioned him from Arkansas. He can roll. Jadarian Prince, the other running back from Notre Dame. He's so good. I know. He might be running back, too.

1:32:08Nate Tice:As I started watching, because Jeremiah was one of the first players I watched, I just kept writing down, wait, 24 is so good.

1:32:14Mina Kimes:Yeah.

1:32:15Nate Tice:Could he be the next back? I've been, yeah.

1:32:21Mina Kimes:I was at consensus number two, more or less. Yeah, he's probably two, three, or four for me, but easily a day two pick. Really good player. Yeah, I know. I really like him. One of my favorite run games, Love, Prince, and Riley Leonard last year. Pound that rock, baby. It was awesome.

1:32:38Nate Tice:Who is this year's Riley Leonard? We'll find out. Oh, God.

1:32:42Mina Kimes:I've been trying to find one.

1:32:45Nate Tice:Sicko. Yeah, all right. So those are the main guys that I'm interested in. We'll get back. I mean, free agency kicks off the week after this, so I'll be back, obviously, following week to talk about free agency. Once again, you guys should check out Nate's podcast. It's very good, Football 301. You guys are – you put out a lot, too. How many days a week right now?

1:33:05Mina Kimes:We're just two. now but yeah we were three three and change and then matt harman i do stuff with him on the yahoo

1:33:13Nate Tice:fancy forecast and we'll talk some ball there too as well who's his favorite receiver he's the

1:33:18Mina Kimes:receiver guy well i mean he's gonna love me for this i mean this jokingly he's gonna hate me for this uh is he actually compared mike evans to a diet coke or i'm sorry he compared denzel boston to a Diet Coke Mike Evans. But I think Carnell Tate is his one right now. But yeah, I mean, he's lower on Tyson. Interesting. And then Mikhail Lemon, we're in agreement on this, is that his measurements are going to actually be one of the biggest measurements I'm watching this season or this week. Because if he is 5 '9", 185, he's dropping for me, even if I really like him. But yeah, just that move.

1:33:58Nate Tice:He's dense, though. He looks. He doesn't look. He's not. Yeah, he's built.

1:34:01Mina Kimes:he's a little thicker yeah i know i like him a lot i just have to be realistic stuff sorry i didn't mean to take you on a no no it's fine no it's fine i could go on the conversations we'll

1:34:08Nate Tice:have all week in indianapolis um so check that out uh i will once again be back on thursday to talk about love is blind and the traitors finale with david dennis jr viewer discretion is the name of that podcast um i just did a podcast with bill we did a rewatchables of crazy stupid love which is one of my favorite movies i'm bill and van lathen so if you guys are into that movie go check it out uh thank you as always to omaha productions kirsten sebecky owen saylor jack foster tech retention uh and i will see you guys next week i'll see you tomorrow yes whenever i land hit the grant ready