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Goal Line: Draft Day
7 Plays10 months ago
The boys discuss this week's NFL Draft and discuss how the Titans and Jets will perform in 2024. Plus, Taylor Swift album review!
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Transcript
Draft Day Excitement
00:00:14
Speaker
What is up goal line listeners? We are back with a special draft day edition of the goal line. We're going to be talking about this week's NFL draft as well as taking a look at the 2024 prospects for the Tennessee Titans and the New York Jets. But before we get into all that, let me introduce my best friend, my co-host Jordan. What's going on, man?
00:00:32
Speaker
Man, this is an exciting week for football fans, dude. It's just, uh, this kind of signals the beginning of NFL season to me. Like you hit the draft, then they got a schedule release in a couple of weeks. And then by then it's training camp time. Like it is upon us, my friends. And I love college football. So this is always an exciting week for me. I, uh, consume all the draft that I can. I watch almost all of it. So very exciting for this week.
00:01:00
Speaker
Where's the draft at this year? Detroit. Okay, that's cool, man. Detroit's having a big year. They had SummerSlam last year. The Lions had probably their best season in 60 years, and now they're getting the draft. Yeah, and they had SmackDown after WrestleMania. What a year for the Lions. Motor City's on the comeback, man. All right, you ready to get into it, man? Yeah, let's do it.
Matt Ryan's Legacy
00:01:33
Speaker
Alright we're going to start this one with a topic that is near and dear to me and Seth. Matt Ryan officially announced his retirement today. Signed a one day deal with the Falcons to retire a Falcon. They did a photo shoot and stuff and they tweeted out a video, put it on Instagram, whatever you want to watch it on. Pretty incredible man.
00:01:54
Speaker
I got pretty emotional watching it. Just, I mean, the Falcons will never have a better quarterback than Matt Ryan. It's just, he's probably one of the most underrated guys possibly definitely of his era, possibly of all time. Um, he put the city of Atlanta on his back, man. And honestly, he changed the way people look at rookie quarterbacks because
00:02:15
Speaker
He came out of the gates and was just, they went to the playoffs immediately his first year. So it completely changed the way everybody looked at rookie quarterback. So yeah, one time for number two.
00:02:28
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, dude, aside from him, like Big Ben Roethlisberger did it his rookie year. But before that, it was kind of standard that guys would come in and set one, sometimes two, you know, in the case in Rogers, three seasons before they would be the starter. You really had even the guys that were top of the draft had kind of like an extended apprenticeship before they'd get on the field. Yeah, it's like.
00:02:50
Speaker
It's crazy, man. And even when they did it, I was I was kind of like shocked that they were doing it. I mean, the Falcons were in a full reset at that point. And it just so happened they got Michael Turner and Matt Ryan the same year and it just worked out. But yeah, it's a
00:03:07
Speaker
I mean, he hasn't been on the Falcons in two years, but it's still kind of a sad day just kind of watching him do his thing and retire and everything and see how much his kids have grown and everything like that. It's just, I mean, dude, Matt Ryan was huge for the city of Atlanta, even if you're not talking football, like he was really big in the community. Yeah, ton of stuff off field. And he was kind of quiet about it also, man. You know, he did not that
00:03:30
Speaker
You know, it'd be it's anything wrong with guys that do seek to kite, but, you know, put a spotlight on the stuff they're doing. But it seemed like he was always very quiet. All the money and time and support he was pouring into different different initiatives there in Georgia. Yeah, he was definitely one of a kind.
00:03:46
Speaker
Definitely gonna miss him. His jersey has got to be retired in Atlanta. Like there is no way it's not I just I think he's bet, you know, you said he was best quarterback I think he's the best player in Falcons history, man You know Dion and Michael Vick were both absolutely spectacular But they were there for just really kind of a flash in the pan in the grand scheme of things man I think Matt Ryan's got it for best Falcon ever
00:04:08
Speaker
to me it's between him Julio and probably Jesse Tuggle or Borkowski was way before me so I didn't really get a chance to watch him play but to me like that's the three that always come up in my mind when I think greatest Falcon Julio was great too man a lot of you know this is not a knock dude again like nothing I think it's you can't really criticize anybody if they want to say Julio was the best a lot of time he was unavailable though you know I mean he had a lot a lot of missed games over the years
00:04:37
Speaker
Um, I think that's why, and he's so intertwined with Matt Ryan also, man. That's why I think Matt Ryan gets it over, over Julio by just slim margin, but dude was just tremendous player, man. Like I said, I know that there's a.
00:04:50
Speaker
a belief out there, kind of like a narrative that he's just a stats guy, right? Like he's just a stats accumulator. Dude, if you actually watched the Falcons games, there were so many years where, you know, even the Falcons may ended up with a mediocre record. And if it wasn't for Matt Ryan, they would have been worst team in the league. You know, like he, he straight up drug some of those teams to basically every bit of success that they did have. And then, you know, every year, every time he had a defense that he didn't even have to have the best defense in the league, like guys like Brady had, if he had a half decent defense, the Falcons were going on a run in the playoffs.
00:05:20
Speaker
Yeah. They definitely had some stinkers in the playoffs and it wasn't all on him, but, um, yeah, he's one of a kind. And I mean, he's 2016 MVP, went to the Super Bowl, had one of the best games ever for a quarterback in the Super Bowl grad. They lost whatever. We're not going to dwell on that, but I think he had the best playoff run ever, man. If you look at a lot, if you look at some of the advanced metrics that 2016 sees the regular season by itself, but especially when you include the playoffs, it's in the mix for
00:05:49
Speaker
The absolute best statistical performance a QB has ever put up, man. And I know people want to just say, oh, rings are what matters, not stats. But if you're really comparing guys, man, stats are what you go off of. That's the measurable that you look at, man. And yeah, the 28 and 3, obviously, he's owned that. That's definitely a part of his legacy, for better or worse. But you know, he
00:06:12
Speaker
If he makes one more play, maybe they win, but if it's not for him, they're never even close to being in that position in the first place. I think one thing that goes under the radar about him too, and me and you have talked about this at length, I don't know how much we've talked about it on goal line, but we had on previous shows, he almost drug that 2017 team back to the Super Bowl. Dude, the Super Bowl hangover is real. Look what happened to the Eagles this year.
00:06:35
Speaker
That, that shit's real. When you lose, like you usually don't go back. He beat the Rams and that team was playing incredible football at that point. And then almost beat the Eagles who ended up winning the Superbowl and they should have beat the Eagles. Honestly, Eagles had a flute play that won them that game and, uh, against the Falcons in the second round. And then they would have had, they would have been playing case Keenum.
00:06:58
Speaker
Uh, in the NFC championship, man, they, we totally, yeah, we definitely got robbed of a rematch of a Falcons Patriots in the, in Superbowl 52. Yeah. It's a, it definitely should not go unnoticed what he did. The other thing too is he had to restart a lot with offensive coordinators, like
00:07:17
Speaker
Yeah. I can't even think of who his longest offensive coordinator was because it seriously seemed like they, every offensive coordinator they had either suck so bad that they had a firearm dirt cutter obviously was fucking miserable. Um, they had Shanahan who got a head coaching job. Then the next year they had a idiot drunk, Steve Sarkeesian. He had him thought, uh, I thought dirt cutter was pretty good. And he was the coordinator from 2012 that year at Falcons with the NFC championship, man. I thought that cutter was all right. He kind of fell off.
00:07:46
Speaker
off the reins after that. The only problem with him is, is like, if the game got tight, it seemed like he changed his play calling way too much. Like they had too many playmakers for you to completely go away from what worked to get you to that point. That was the only thing I really didn't like about him. Yeah. He had Mike Malarkey, the first four years, which that was solid. If unspectacular, which that's probably Mike Malarkey in a nutshell as a coach. Uh, and then, yeah, Kyle Shanahan made magic together.
00:08:14
Speaker
And after Sarkeesian, I haven't really kept up with it after Sarkeesian was there, those two seasons.
00:08:21
Speaker
I wasn't sure how much we were going to talk about him, but I just think he deserves his flowers. And for everything that he did, granted, I am a Falcons fan. So I'm biased on what he did. But I mean, they were talking about it on Twitter today and almost anybody with a brain was like, this dude is going into the hall of fame. Like, yeah, he definitely should. I think ultimately, man, where he falls out at, dude, I think he is number two behind Dan Marino for the greatest quarterback ever to not get a ring.
00:08:52
Speaker
Yeah, it's because he's better there. There's no way that someone's going to convince me that Philip Rivers is better than Matt Ryan. Like there's Philip Rivers is he's a he's a stats guy all the way, dude. Philip. I don't feel like Philip Rivers ever elevated teams. He had
00:09:06
Speaker
I give Philip Rivers props for that 2007 team that went into the AFC, he played in the AFC Championship against the Patriots on a torn ACL. That's awesome, dude. But if you just watch the games, man, the stuff Philip Rivers was doing wasn't anything close to Matt Ryan, man. I'd take Matt Ryan nine times out of 10 over Philip Rivers. I'd take him 10 times out of 10.
00:09:26
Speaker
Yeah, it's uh, it's gonna be weird. I mean, we're just getting out of this generation like a lot of the quarterbacks that me and you were watching in our mid 20s and early 30s are almost all of them are gone now. It's just weird time. It's crazy, dude. You look up, man, like I need as soon as Aaron Rodgers hangs it up, Patrick Mahomes is damn near gonna be the the freaking elder statesman of quarterbacks, man.
00:09:50
Speaker
Yeah. God, that's insane. I know. And who knows what A-Rod's really got left. You know what I mean? We've rapidly aged out of the Brady, Breeze, Manning era, man. And the guys that came in right after him with the Matt Ryans and the Matt Stafford's, man. Oh, no. Stafford's the other statesman still.
00:10:13
Speaker
Yeah, he's probably got another couple of years left in him, man. It feels like Kirk Cousins hasn't been around that long, dude, just because he didn't come in as the high draft pick. But, dude, Kirk Cousins, this will be his 13th year in the league. Yeah, I mean, he got drafted in the same draft class as RG3. And look how long he's been out of the league.
00:10:30
Speaker
Yeah, we're going on and on about Matt Ryan, you know, and being a Falcons legend, Kirk Cousins was only four seasons after Matt Ryan. That's not a long time at all. That's insane. And now the Falcons are starting over with that quarterback, like pretty insane, man. Yeah, he's, he's definitely a little bit low mileage for a guy because, you know, really his, his first two years, he didn't play a ton or he was on and off the field a lot.
00:10:52
Speaker
But yeah, Kirk cousins, he definitely no spring chicken himself. Yeah. But yeah, I just definitely wanted to give Matt Ryan his flowers and just kind of discuss them a little bit and what he meant to
Zach Wilson's Future
00:11:02
Speaker
me and you. So, um, yeah, man, a beer for Mattie ice. Absolutely.
00:11:08
Speaker
All right, let's move on to a trade that happened today. Let's go. Seth's man crushed Zach Wilson is now on the Broncos. Dude, that draft class is going to go down as the most disappointing draft class of all time. The only person in that first round that's still on the same team as Trevor Lawrence. That is insane.
00:11:31
Speaker
Story's not over yet, man. That's all I'll say, dude. The story is not over yet. I'll say this. I think the entire multiverse of possibilities are out there, dude. I could see Zach Wilson hooking up with Sean Payton and having a straight up resurgence and leading them to a wild card playoff this year. And I could see him getting cut two weeks into training camp, man. I think both of those are totally on the table along with everything in between, dude.
00:11:58
Speaker
He definitely owns a lot of it because he made a lot of bowheaded mistakes on the field. But as far as investing that high of a draft pick in a quarterback, I think the Jets did about as poor a job as you could do.
00:12:10
Speaker
just, you know, supporting and surrounding him and creating an environment where he's ready to be successful. I think they definitely let him down on that front. So I'm interested to see what he did, man. I've seen enough flashes out of him that I still, I haven't totally given up hope that he's going to turn into something. But like I said, I also would not surprise me one bit if he's just unceremoniously dumped a couple of weeks into training camp.
00:12:31
Speaker
I sent you that, that meme today. It was a picture of Russell Wilson with an upgrade over the energy on the keyboard. And then there's a picture of Zach Wilson and the next thing says, please go the fuck back. I don't do that. I'm not as much of a believer in Zach Wilson as you are. I just have seen way too much evidence of like who he is as a quarterback. I mean,
00:12:56
Speaker
Dude, on the Jets this last season, he had every chance to just take the reins and just show everybody how good of a quarterback he was. Dude, that offense was loaded to the Gills. I mean, having Garrett Wilson, Breece Hall, and all those guys, I just, I don't know, man. I mean, their offensive line was dog shit, I get it. But what are you going to in Denver? The cupboard ain't exactly full in Denver right now.
00:13:25
Speaker
I put a lot of it on coaching man. Cause it's not like anybody else went in for the Jess and like straight up lit it up either, you know, and we saw Aaron Rogers last at all of four plays. You're right. The skill position players were great. That O line was garbage. And I don't think the, the play calling was doing anything either to, uh, you know, to, to increase success. So, Oh, well, good news for Zach Wilson is he gets to go play for Adderall boy now. So he should be doing good things now. Yeah. I.
00:13:53
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, if I'm a betting man, dude, I'd say, do you think over-under, man, does Zach Wilson throw more than one touchdown pass in the 2024 season? I mean, who is their other quarterback right now?
00:14:09
Speaker
Well, you know, they've been linked to, uh, what is it McCarthy from Michigan, that that's the guy that they want to go, go get. It seems like his stock is going up. They may end up getting priced out of that market, but yeah, I mean, really what you're betting on is, is this guy going to start multiple games, dude, for, for the Broncos? I say gun to my head. I take the under dude. I say he throws less than one touchdown pass. I'll say over. I think they made the trade with the assumption that he's going to have to play a couple of games. So I'm going to say he at least throws one touchdown. All right.
00:14:40
Speaker
Let's do the team breakdowns and then we'll do draft last. All right, let's hit it. All right, we got two teams we're looking at this week, the aforementioned Jets and the Tennessee Titans. Who do you want to do first, Jordan? Let's start with the Jets.
00:15:07
Speaker
All right. So the jets last year, you know, me and Jordan were pulling the research on this right before we went on the air. Um, surprisingly, dude, went seven and 10. If you asked me off top of my head what their record was, I probably would have picked two or three wins less than that. Cause it just seemed like such a nightmare of a season.
00:15:23
Speaker
finished 32nd in offensive DBOA. So they were the worst offense in the league. Number three defense, man, which that's interesting. I don't think they were quite that good. I think they probably benefited from being in so many games where the other team knew that they absolutely did not have to put up that many points and would kind of just go into protect mode over the second half. But their defense was really, really good, man. Had some really strong performances. I think about them being the first team to beat the Eagles last season.
00:15:49
Speaker
26th in point differential so they lost a lot of only ones they went four and four and one score game So not really a lot to latch on to there.
Aaron Rodgers and Jets' Prospects
00:15:56
Speaker
Let's go to the quarterback man Aaron Rodgers, obviously one of the biggest quarterback moves in recent history after being the Packers franchise for damn near 20 years gets traded to the Jets in the offseason has all the hype has a Super emotional, you know Hulk Hogan WrestleMania entrance to start the season running out carrying the American flag on September 11th and tears his ACL on the you know, the fourth snap
00:16:19
Speaker
What do you think we're going to get from an AG and Aaron Rodgers coming back from a torn, excuse me, torn Achilles, not torn ACL, AG and Aaron Rodgers coming back off of torn Achilles this season?
00:16:32
Speaker
I just, I don't know what this guy can give you at this point in his career. I mean, I already had my doubts before he even tore his Achilles, but coming off that as well. I mean, dude, Aaron Rogers is a gamer. That's one thing I'll say about him. Like when, when it comes down to the end, there's a lot of, a lot of worse quarterbacks than Aaron Rogers you could have. Yeah.
00:16:55
Speaker
I think he'll be good enough. I mean, dude, they don't even need him to be like MVP Rogers. They just need him to be halfway decent. I mean, he doesn't even need to be all American Aaron Rodgers. He just needs to be halfway decent. I think he does. I think he's middle of the pack for quarterbacks this coming season. I don't think he's going to put up a top 10 season, but that's really all they need him to be as middle of the pack because there's nowhere to go but up for their offense.
00:17:21
Speaker
Yeah. And the division's very winnable, man. Like the Bills are in, not a rebuild, but a little bit of a regroup stage. Dolphins are kind of holding steady what they had last season for the most part. And then the Patriots are in full tear-it-down mode right now. So I do think they could totally be back in the mixture of the division. Head coach Robert Sala, you know, he survived. I think there was, you know, I don't think anybody would have thought it was the craziest thing in the world if they moved on after last season. But he's, you know, he must be pretty solid there in the organization because they hung onto him.
00:17:51
Speaker
Um, what do you see overall, man, for the, uh, the jets chances in, in 2024? Um, yeah, I'm with you, man. The division's easily winnable. So I could definitely see them winning that division just based on whoever the other teams that are in it. Um, I'm going to say, I still don't think they're going to win a ton of games. That was a problem. I'll say they win nine games.
00:18:17
Speaker
Yeah, I'm kind of right there with you, man. I think nine, possibly flirting with 10 wins. The jets are another franchise that just have heartbreak and despair baked into the very fabric of the organization. And I see them fighting for, you know, either the division or one of those last wildcard spots and get their heart broke in a week 18 next year. Yeah, it would not surprise me at all. So yeah, it's going to be going to be interesting to see how everything shakes out with the jets.
Tennessee Titans' Rebuilding Efforts
00:18:44
Speaker
All right, let's head about three and a half hours up I-40 East from me right now to Nashville, Tennessee Titans. So they had a weird year. I don't think they ever had the same starting quarterback for more than three weeks in a row. Ended up going sixth and 11, 25th in offensive DBOA, 18th in defensive DBOA, 28th in point differential, because there were some absolutely dog shit ugly games with the Titans lost.
00:19:10
Speaker
They went, uh, two and five and one score game. So, you know, you could see a little bit of swing there just on natural, you know, the little bit of luck balancing out quarterback, Will Levison, a brand new head coach, uh, Brian Callahan Titans made a lot of big moves this off season. Got Calvin Ridley, um, they traded and got a Darius need from the chiefs, man. Uh, so
00:19:31
Speaker
They're making moves. They spent a lot of money. They finally had those huge contracts of Derek Henry and Ryan Tannehill go off the books. So they've been grabbing some free agents. I think they're right to get right back in the mix with the division as long as Will Levis builds on some of those flashes that he showed last season and levels up this next year. Yeah.
00:19:53
Speaker
They're a weird team, man. They are. They're just in a weird spot right now. It was it was weird to see them make all these splash moves just because of what we watched and play out everything last season. I mean, you're kind of all in on Will Levis now, like I think.
00:20:10
Speaker
getting Calvin Ridley and a new coaching staff and all that stuff. Like, I mean, for at least this season, you're all in on Levis. I don't think Malik Willis ever materializes in anything. That's pretty much it's just over there. But
00:20:29
Speaker
They have a good team and they have a good base, but the biggest problem for them is O-line. They could not protect the quarterback to save their life last year. Yeah. That O-line took years off of Ryan Tannehill's career, dude. Like, you know, you saw that week 18 game where they knocked the Jaguars out of the playoffs, dude. Tannehill could still play.
00:20:46
Speaker
if you give him a shot, dude, but he was basically staring at a team picture most time when he dropped back to pass. And unfortunately he just didn't got the mobility like he used to, to be able to overcome that. The good thing is though, they got Bill Callahan to coach the offensive line and he is the best offensive line coach in football. So that'll help. I'm assuming they're going to draft a tackle with their top pick. Like, yeah, I mean they got to like, what else are you drafting at this point? Yeah.
00:21:12
Speaker
Uh, there, there is some, you know, a lot of pressure on the team, the coaching staff from ownership. They got that brand new, super nice, expensive ass stadium opening up in a couple of years. And there's, you know, a mandate up above to put, you know, an exciting winning brand of football on the field. Um, you know, the Titans have generally been a winner over the last, you know, five, six years, but it hasn't really been exciting, dude. They've been, they like to get into rock fights with other teams and just freaking
00:21:37
Speaker
duke it out, you know, win 18 to 16 and OB games like that. So I think they want to put something really appealing more in line with the modern NFL to start, you know, being able to sling some of those super expensive seat licenses and season tickets before that new stadiums ready to open up. Yeah, they definitely got a swing for the fences these next couple of years. So yeah, it's going to be interesting to see what the Titans do.
00:22:01
Speaker
Kind of similar to the Jets, I see these guys ultimately being a fringe playoff contender this season. I do think they'll be improved from last year, but not tremendously. I think they're going to kind of be, you know, they're right in the mix of going into week 18 and then just, you know, see where the chips fall. It wouldn't shock me to see them make the playoffs, but I don't think they're going to be a slam dunk. I think they're going to have to battle it out till the, you know, the last play of the season to get in.
00:22:24
Speaker
their defense is going to be the key, man. They just, they got to be able to keep people from going down the field so easily. Um, that's going to be the key to their success. And obviously the growth of Will Levesque, like, what does he give you this year that, uh, he didn't give you this past year? Again, keep him upright. And I think the guy can shine, but that's her thing, man. Protect the quarterback. That's the biggest thing in the NFL, man. It seems like the easiest thing, but
00:22:50
Speaker
It's not, it's harder than people think. So, Oh yeah. They had some great performances last year. He married that Monday night game against the dolphins where they came back from two scores down in the closing minutes. Um, you know, week 18, they knocked their rival Jacksonville Jaguars out of the playoffs. When the Titans had nothing to play for in the Jaguars had everything to play for. I was in the house for that one, Derek Henry's last game. And then who could forget when will Lewis's debut game and he just rained hell down upon the Falcons.
00:23:17
Speaker
Yeah, thanks for fucking reminding me of that. I mean, DeAndre Hopkins flashback to like 2013 for one day. You know what? The good thing though is that game plus a few others ended up costing Arthur Smith his job. So I'm not going to shed any tears over it. Um, probably did us a favor honestly, but yeah, I just, it's going to be weird, man. I'm, uh,
00:23:40
Speaker
Not looking forward to watching the Titans without King Henry, but I will say I also on the same hand am really looking forward to watching the Ravens with King Henry. So it's going to be interesting, man. Yeah, the Titans. I mean, so much of the their identity as a team and a franchise over the last.
00:23:57
Speaker
You know, damn near decade at this point has been built around Derek Henry and his playing style and just the force of nature that he is. So yeah, it's huge not having him on the field anymore. Did you say it already? Or am I just imagining that they brought in a running back? Did they bring out a veteran running back? Didn't they sign? I thought they, did they not sign Tony Pollard? Oh yeah, yeah. You're right. You're right. That is who it was. I just couldn't remember, man, this off season has felt like it's been 18 months already.
00:24:24
Speaker
Yeah, they signed Tony Pollard and then they still got Taji Spears who showed a lot of flash last year.
00:24:32
Speaker
Derek Henry is still outstanding. As far as actual on field production, I don't think it's going to be a huge drop off. I think the drop off is going to be just on the way defenses approach you. Because I feel like when Henry's on the field, he's one of those guys kind of like Michael Vick in his prime that the defense is starting off back on their heels. He strikes fear in the harder defenders if you're looking across the line at number 22. I agree. That's going to be one of the things is
00:24:57
Speaker
there they were built on a power run game with Derek Henry and their entire team was built around that which yeah I mean I think they're gonna run the ball but like dude Tony Pollard is a far stretch from King Henry like yeah it's not the same at all man it's just you know Derek Henry special dude he's a freak he's one of those you know six or seven guys in the league that
00:25:18
Speaker
when he's on the field, all, you know, all eyes of the defenders are watching him to make sure he's not getting the ball. Yeah, it's going to be interesting. Titans are in for Titans fans are in for some interesting few years here, I feel like, but again,
00:25:33
Speaker
The only problem is, dude, you got the Texans in your division. That's not good. They loaded up. Yeah. You're really banking on a sophomore slump out of the Texans. It is on paper. We talked about it a couple weeks back when we were just talking about who won the offseason, man. Texans got a good shot at grabbing the number one seed in the AFC if they can handle their business. Yeah. And you just never know what you're going to get out of the Jaguars either. I mean, that's still a good team.
00:26:00
Speaker
I don't know, man. And the Colts too. You know, the Colts were a damn tough team last season and they're, you know, and they're getting Richardson back. We think he's supposed to be, they're going to be improved. So yeah, it is going to be a tough division, but the Titans always seem to play, you know, they've always seemed to compete good with the other AFC South team. So I think that's actually going to, that's going to be a sneaky, fun division to watch this season. Yeah. Ready to do some draft talk. Well, let's predict what we think the Titans are going to do record wise.
00:26:28
Speaker
Um, I say they go nine and eight, man. I think, I think the most Titans thing possible would be for them to go nine and eight and just miss out on the playoffs. I think they go eight and nine. Um, I just, what'd they go last year? Seven and 10. No, they were six and 11 last year, but they two and five and one score games. So yeah, I'll stick with eight. I think they win eight games.
00:26:51
Speaker
Yeah, I think they're going to be right around there, dude. If they can get lucky on some of the close ones, man, then I definitely think that they could sneak in the playoffs easily. But if I had to lay money on it right now, I'd say they'd probably come up just short. Yeah, I agree with that. All right, let's hit the draft.
NFL Draft Highlights and Predictions
00:27:12
Speaker
Yeah.
00:27:25
Speaker
All right. So as mentioned earlier, Jordan is way more up on all things college football than I am. So he's going to kind of be running point on this segment, but we will, uh, we'll run through some of the big stories heading into this week's NFL draft. Um, so I think the biggest story around this draft honestly is how many quarterbacks end up going in the top 10. There's three guaranteed that are going to go in the top 10.
00:27:49
Speaker
Uh, Caleb Williams, it's no secret. He's going number one of the bears that they have not hidden it at all. Like they've been called about the first pick. They're turning every trade down. They're taking him first overall. Um, I think Drake may is safely the second quarterback taken, uh, Jane Daniels, third quarterback taken. I can flip flop those two guys. Um, but I think that's the safe first three picks of the draft.
00:28:16
Speaker
There there was a rumor that I read today, though, that was talking about the Patriots were pretty high on J.J. McCarthy. OK, let me be the first to say if someone takes J.J. McCarthy in the top five, they're making a mistake. I agree, man. The couple of Michigan games I saw, like he was he was solid. Like he struck me as, you know, good college quarterback. I didn't see like, you know, first round NFL prospect out of him, at least not like a high first round NFL prospect out of him.
00:28:42
Speaker
That offense was good, but they were good because they could hammer the ball and their offensive line gave him four and a half hours to throw the ball. Yeah, they had an NFL offensive line, man. I mean, his stats are nothing to sneeze at. I mean, he threw for 3,000 yards, rushed for 202, 25 touchdowns against four picks. I mean, it's not like he had a bad season, but then you go up to Caleb Williams, 3,600 yards, 121 yards rushing.
00:29:10
Speaker
41 touchdowns to five picks like that seems more like a top five pick to me and just the eyeball test man Kayla Wilson just looked like a much more explosive athlete like yeah I don't know I think I think McCarthy is a good QB but I think he definitely benefited from
00:29:26
Speaker
the talent around him and the coaching. I mean, he had, you know, one A and one B best coach in college football with, with Jim Harbaugh along with, you know, aside from Nick Saban. So I think he had had a lot of stuff going in his favor to help him out. Whereas a lot of times, you know, felt like Caleb Williams was carrying that thing out in USC.
00:29:43
Speaker
I do think somebody does trade up into the top 10 to get JJ McCarthy, no matter what, though, I think somebody is going to take him in the top 10. I don't think it's the right call, but I think somebody is going to do it. And this is a win now. Like, if you have a chance to win, you got to go for it. You got a chance to get a quarterback. I just pulled up just like a random mock just because I wanted to see what what they had going on. There's a ton of trades in this one, which I don't know if there's going to be this many trades, but
00:30:10
Speaker
mean anything's possible I guess but this one has JJ McCarthy going third overall Drake made two and then the Cardinals trading back with the Giants and Jane Daniels going fourth over all the Giants that is a trade I 100% could see happening I do not want that for Jane Daniels to you I don't know if it's just
00:30:34
Speaker
I don't know if it's just because the brand of football the Giants have put on the field for the last 15 years man I just I don't see Jane I could see Jane Dan's being really good in the NFL I just cannot picture it in a Giants jersey for the life of me man. Yeah
00:30:48
Speaker
And then Brian Davall is a great coach, dude, so I could totally be just way off on this man. But I just feel like that's it just doesn't seem like a fit to me, man, in my mind's eye. Yeah, the first non quarterback that's going to get taken is going to be Marvin Harrison Jr. I don't think that's even a remote stretch, honestly, at this point. Yeah.
00:31:08
Speaker
Then you got that Joe all offensive tackle from Notre Dame. That's who, if I'm the Titans, I would 100% be targeting him. That should be who they're after. This draft has the Titans taken a wide receiver, which would be the dumbest fucking thing the Titans could do right now.
00:31:26
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, they had a decent little wide receiver core last year, and then they added Calvin Ridley to it. Yeah, and they just drafted Trailon Burks in the first round two years ago. Like, dude. Yeah, and he's been good when he's healthy. I kind of agree with you, man. I don't think that they have a top five wide receiver core by any means, but I feel like on the listed, their wide receivers are definitely good enough to get it done right now. I don't think that, I think there's other spots I'd rather see them invest in. Yeah.
00:31:52
Speaker
Um, pick eight is the Falcons on this one. It's got, I'm trading with the Vikings. So I'm assuming the Vikings would be giving up their 11th pick and probably a second round pick. It's got the Vikings taking Michael Penix out of Washington. Dude, I think this draft is going to be insane because there's so many, uh, quarterback needy teams that I feel like someone's going to pay the ultimate price to move up and get a quarterback. So.
00:32:17
Speaker
I think it's gonna be interesting, man. There's three really good receivers, there's the really good tackle, but there is a shit ton of good defensive players in this draft. A lot of these guys are gonna fall far just because people are so...
00:32:33
Speaker
Everybody, this is an offensive league now, like offenses win games. I mean, that's just kind of where we're at in the course of the NFL. So everybody tries to reach for offensive players. So I think teams that need defensive help are going to do well in this draft. Falcons are 100% one of those teams that need all the defensive help they can get. So hopefully somebody good drops to them and they actually make a good pick. So
00:32:56
Speaker
I'm excited though, man. This is a really fun week for me. Like I said, I love college football, so I think it's going to be really exciting. The other thing is, I think depending on if somebody does trade them to the top 10 for PENIX, if they don't, I think somebody trades back into the first round to take a quarterback at the end of the first round. I don't know who it's going to be, but
00:33:20
Speaker
Bo Nix is out there. So somebody's going to trade back into the first round. I feel like somebody's going to pick twice in the first round. Um, that's not slated to right now. Somebody's going to fire up the inspector gadget arms and reach and take Jill Milton, dude, just off of that strong arm. But he has, there's, there's some offense coordinator out there that's saying it's already licking their chops saying, you know, I can fix this guy. Just give me, give me somebody that can throw the ball 80 yards and we'll figure out the rest.
00:33:45
Speaker
Now that one I could see, but the only problem is dude, Hendon hooker, I know he was coming off an injury, but I felt like he was the best quarterback prospect out of Tennessee in a while. And he was, yeah, he was definitely the better QB. I mean, he beat out Milton, but dude, he don't got the, Milton's a freak physically, man. Like if you look on field, Hendon hooker is probably twice as good as Joe Milton do. Like if my, if my life's on the line, I gotta have somebody win. I'm picking Hendon hooker every time over Joe Milton, but Joe Milton does have,
00:34:13
Speaker
He may have like the strongest arm I've ever seen, dude. Like it's ridiculous the way this guy launches that freaking football, man. And we know, dude, there's still, even though I think at this point, man, people should know like arm strength really is slightly overvalued. I think there's still some coaches that are like, just give me that physical tool and we can, we'll figure out how to make it work on the field for us.
00:34:33
Speaker
Jamarcus Russell still has the biggest cannon I've ever seen on a quarterback. That dude could throw it like 70 yards from his knees, but again, arm strength isn't everything, man. You gotta be able to have it upstairs too. So it's gonna be interesting. I feel like this is gonna be a fun draft to watch. I know a lot of people love watching the draft. I don't think you're one of them, but I'm very much into this. And I think you should be too, honestly, dude. The Titans with the top 10 pick is at least interesting if nothing else.
00:35:01
Speaker
Yeah, it was really kind of once I had kids, man. I stopped getting into it. I used to be at all three days of the draft. I watched the whole thing because, dude, every couple minutes, especially when they went to the new time frame where it was shorter time between picks, you're getting awesome highlight reels, man. I love seeing about the guys that I'd never even heard of before. Then you see these crazy highlight reels and you're like, all right, let me earmark this guy away as possibly like a deep sleeper for fantasy or something in case they blow up.
00:35:30
Speaker
So it is good content do you like if you love football this is right there with you know The playoffs for some of the most fun or just most enjoyable viewing that you can have all season long Yeah, I'm very excited But yeah, that's really all we need to talk about for the draft I feel like we've kind of touched on everything these last couple of weeks But I at least wanted to to put it down on paper what we were talking about. But yeah, I feel like we're good Alright, you ready to get some listener mail. Let's do it
00:35:58
Speaker
All right, so we've got a few questions here. So Zach Kerster says, do you think we'll see any crazy trades during the draft? I think the two names to watch out for are T Higgins and Brandon Ayuk. I think of the two, I think it's much more likely we see T Higgins traded. I feel like the one, the Bengals have just traditionally been more comfortable moving on with guys. And I think Ayuk is much more important to what the Niners are doing than T Higgins is to what the Bengals are doing. T Higgins is great, but Brandon Ayuk is possibly the best route runner
00:36:27
Speaker
in the NFL. And when you got a QB, um, you know, like the Niners, who's not necessarily the most physically gifted, having a really, really skilled, uh, route runner like that is just super important for a guy like Brock Purdy. So I think T Higgins is probably the name to watch out on for big names getting moved during the draft.
00:36:44
Speaker
I think as far as like big trades go, I think the Patriots are the spot for everyone to look at. I don't think that team is just a quarterback away from being good. So I would look at them to possibly trade out a three and maybe stockpile some picks for next year. But yeah, as far as like player trades go, I think that's the only two that really have even been discussed. And I really don't think either one of those guys gets traded honestly.
00:37:14
Speaker
Yeah. Sam Rosenthal. He asked boldest predictions for the draft. We kind of already talked about that. He also says, do you watch every single round? So Jordan, will you be watching all seven rounds this weekend? I will. I will not miss a round. I every once in a while get up and go do something else. And there's NBA playoffs off on this weekend. So I'll be flipping back and forth. But I mean, I'll watch every round at some point in the round.
00:37:36
Speaker
Uh, you know, speaking of which, dude, I, I meant to bring that up, dude. Let's, let's, you brought up NBA playoffs. Let's make a finals prediction, man. I say nuggets, get it done and beat the Celtics, man. I know Celtics have been a historically great regular season team this year, but I feel like when it gets to nut cut in time, they're going to come up just short and yoga is just too damn good and ends up taking them down in the finals. Dude, the nuggets, that team is
00:37:59
Speaker
They lost so much from last year as far as like their bench unit went and everybody just assumed it was going to be the fall off. Dude, I don't think that team is ever going to be bad as long as they got your kids. That dude is just he he defies logic. Honestly, they're the closest thing we've seen to like the Duncan Spurs. You know what I mean? Where it's just.
00:38:19
Speaker
It's not the most exciting thing in the world, but they're just, they're going to make this, they're going to play super smart and like clockwork. They are just going to straight up outscore you, man. They're going to, it's going to be on spectacular, but you look up and yoga just got, you know, 30 points and 16 rebounds with along with, you know, seven or eight assists, man. Um, did you just such a tremendous passer and he just unlocked so much for that team. So yeah, I'm going nuggets over Celtics, man, for my finals pick. How about you?
00:38:42
Speaker
Sadly, I actually went with the same thing before the playoffs even started. I said nuggets over Celtics and six. I just, I feel like they're the best two teams in the league. Someone could get hot and take out the Celtics. I think the nuggets are going to the finals, no matter who they play. Honestly, like I just, there's nobody in the West that I can see beating them in seven games. I just, I just don't see it.
00:39:04
Speaker
Yeah, agreed. I think the Nuggets are definitely coming out of the West. Who do you think is the biggest threat to the Celtics in the East, man? Do we think the Bucks, if Giannis can come back something close to 100%? Yeah, because I thought it was going to be the 76ers, but I think Embiid is banged up way more than they went on. He's not looked like Embiid since he's come back. So I would probably say the Bucks just because they got Dame and Giannis. I mean, those two guys can just take over a series by themselves, but yeah.
00:39:33
Speaker
I mean, dude, I could see the Celtics losing though. Like they've been known to have a choke after they've had such a good regular season. And I mean, they still have not proven anything since they've had Tatum. Like what have they proven over the past six years, seven years, hour long has been the league. Like
00:39:49
Speaker
They give the vibe of a team that's not the mentally toughest. Like that's kind of the, you know, year after year, that's kind of what they seem like. I mean, they had the Warriors dead to rights that year. They had, they made it to the, you know, the finals against the Warriors. They didn't last year getting beat by the eight seed heat after you come back and force the game seven. Like, yeah, I feel like they're definitely a team that's going to let you down more times than not. It seems like. Yeah, I agree.
00:40:12
Speaker
Alright, and last but not least, we had the lovely Ari Jordan's wife. She said we need an update on what you guys think of Tabric Swift's new Tortured Poet Department's album. I've only given it one listen through so far. I haven't really been able to really like get deep into it. I think it's a good album. I don't think it's going down. It's one of her like three or four best. I think it's just another good addition to the discography man. Have you listened to it yet, Jordan?
00:40:35
Speaker
Okay, so I've obviously heard a couple songs because Zoe and Ari have listened to it so much, and it's been on the radio a lot. Yeah, you can't get away from it, dude. It just sounds like a sad album to me. Maybe I'm off on this. Yeah, it's a breakup album. This kind of just seems like her album where she's just kind of letting everything off her chest that's happened to her. Because like, dude, usually you associate Taylor Swift with those happy vibes kind of songs. Shake it off, stuff like that. This is definitely not that.
00:41:05
Speaker
No. Yeah, it's definitely definitely a good breakup album. So if you're going through it right now, it's a good one to vibe to, but I kind of, I reckon is one of her good ones, not one of her great ones off my initial listen. So that is it for the pre-drack episode of the goal line. Uh, Jordan, man, his was some closing thoughts and we'll get out of here. Yeah. Enjoy some, uh, NBA playoffs, some NHL playoffs and some NFL draft this week. And we'll talk to guys in a couple of weeks.