Transcript
Ninja: Ladies and and gentlemen, welcome back to another edition of the ZNG Dynasty Podcast.
Dakota Zeigler: Yes.
Ninja: And I am so grateful to have the one, the only, the glorious host. My backseat to my front seat, if you know what I mean. I don't even know what that means myself.
Ninja: Gary, the Lord Hankey. How you doing, buddy?
Dakota Zeigler: I'm doing good, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you. Thank you very much. You're far too kind. Very busy weekend for myself.
Ninja: I
Dakota Zeigler: You know, we just did some adulting things, moved into a little bit of an upgrade, a little bit of a townhouse situation. So, yeah, on the up and up family wise. And I couldn't be more excited to be actually sitting on my couch and just recording a podcast with, you know, dear friend of mine, Ninja here.
Dakota Zeigler: So, yeah, excited to get into this one.
Ninja: Definitely. I definitely do have to come up with a better intro for you. I'll figure it out. Don't you worry. Soon enough, I'll figure out a great intro for you. But until then, podcast I've been teasing. I've been absolutely tickling your balls with.
Ninja: Top comment.
Ninja: we're doing the afc north today and i'm throwing a caveat out there before we even start if you want your division done because we do have a lot of prospect scouting to do and me and gary are very busy guys
Dakota Zeigler: Yes.
Dakota Zeigler: Yes.
Ninja: top comment Of what division you want to see. We'll get done next. That's a promise. That I can make to the people. But until then.
Ninja: We start with the AFC North. And the Pittsburgh Steelers. Who finished ten and seven They were bounced in the wild card round. Mike Tomlin stepped down as head coach. I think he would have got fired. But you know. Who cares. And then Mike McCarthy was named as a new.
Ninja: Steelers head coach. God he looks so gross in all the interviews. But anyways.
Dakota Zeigler: It's so gross.
Dakota Zeigler: So old.
Ninja: so So gross. Just like a like a chicken without its head cut off.
Dakota Zeigler: Just so old.
Ninja: Have you ever heard the saying, like, chicken with its head cut off? It was a chicken, and it was just, like, bulging at the head. Gross.
Dakota Zeigler: It's
Ninja: Hate to see it. The Steelers have 23 pending unre unrestricted free agents. And five restricted free agents.
Dakota Zeigler: a lot.
Ninja: It's a lot of free agents. Not a lot of the rest are set. So some of their notable free agents that I have dissected. is quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Cornerback James Pierre, who I do think they will re re-sign.
Ninja: I think he's a decent outside corner for them. Offensive guard Isaac Ciamalo, who we are very familiar with with the Birds. Kyle Duggar, safety.
Ninja: Jabril Peppers, safety. Kenny Gainwell, very familiar with with the Birds at running back. Calvin Austin at wide receiver. And then Cam Hayward at defensive tackle. He could retire. He's a big cap casualty if they cut him. I believe if it's a post-June 1st, they save $14.2 million on the cap. Linebacker Patrick Queen, I think if he is also cut after June 1st, post-June 1st cut, he saves $13.3 million on the cap. And then Jonu Smith, I believe if they cut him any time,
Ninja: is $7 million off the cap, which makes them 32.1 effective cap space without any of the cuts we mentioned, Junior. is Is there anywhere you want to go here where you see guys who are i brought out and they're promising open free agents, or are you just letting all these guys walk and just bringing your cap space into the next year?
Dakota Zeigler: That's a great question. See, in my head, there's two answers to that. One, it's what I would do if I was a general manager of the Pittsburgh Steelers. And what I would do is I would cut everyone.
Dakota Zeigler: But that's not what the Pittsburgh Steelers do. What they do is they hang on, they claw, and they they stick around and they finish 9-8. So what I think they're going to do is I think they're going to re re-sign Aaron Rodgers to another year.
Dakota Zeigler: If Aaron wants to play, which I think he will, I think he'll play one more season with Mike McCarthy, run it back with the Steelers, and you know they'll finish 9-8. I think they should bring back one of the safeties, either Kyle Duggar or Jabril Preppers. I'd probably prefer Kyle Duggar. He's a little bit more versatile and he's younger. Kenny G is an interesting free agent. I don't know if they want to bring back a backup running back or like in in his case, it's more of like a one, a one B situation with, the running back for the Steelers whose name is escaping me. But,
Dakota Zeigler: Other than that, i I think they hang on. If Cam Hayward wants to play football, he'll play football with the Pittsburgh Steelers. They're not going to cut him. Patrick Queen, I think they'll probably just run it back because they think they can win neil win a playoff game this season, they're just going to keep Patrick Queen.
Dakota Zeigler: I just see them sticking around like they always do and just hanging on to these old assets, and then we'll talk about the Steelers a year from now going, what's the future here in Pittsburgh? And we still won't now.
Ninja: Yeah, I'm actually surprised. You said the one name who I would have cut, you said they would have kept this, Patrick Queen. I think that's the easiest cap casualty that there is on this list.
Dakota Zeigler: They do save a lot of money.
Ninja: I do look for them to re-sign Kenny Gainwell. I think that was a good point. As for safety goes, I don't know. I think they moved Jalen Ramsey back to safety, and I'm very fond of them re re-signing James Pierre at outside corner to bump Jalen Ramsey to safety.
Ninja: But, you know, it's Steelers, we never really know, but we can guess, which is what we're doing here.
Dakota Zeigler: Yeah.
Ninja: Which leaves them, if they cut none of the guys I mentioned before, it leaves them with $32.1 million. dollars And obviously if they cut, you know, Cam Hayward, Patrick Queen, Jono Smith, they can save a lot more.
Ninja: But some free agency targets who I'm looking for, and might I say, some of these guys are dynasty buys.
Dakota Zeigler: Yes.
Ninja: Malik Willis. For one, is my my number one Dynasty buy.
Dakota Zeigler: So interesting.
Ninja: And I don't even know what I'm getting.
Ninja: And then at wide receiver, you have Jawan Jennings, Alec Pierce, I'm also a very big fan of, Romeo Dobbs. And then at offensive guard, you got Elijah Vera Tucker, John Simpson, and Tevin Jenkins. Is there any other free agents you were looking at for this Steelers team?
Ninja: Because I think they could swing big and get a Malik Willis, and then it's just how can you figure out this draft?
Dakota Zeigler: I don't have any other free agents off the top of my head, but I think my favorite one I want to talk about is Malik Willis. I think Malik Willis is a way better option than Aaron Rodgers is as a free agent currently quarterback that they can acquire because Rodgers is going to be a free agent.
Dakota Zeigler: i would I would choose a Malik Willis type player. i know you might think he's like Justin Fields 2.0, and he might be, but yeah at least he's younger. You have some potential. He's shown flashes of you know being able to perform in the NFL. He played very well as a Green Bay backup behind Jordan Love and a few spotty starts. I think he performed pretty pretty well for Malik Willis' standards. And like you said, as a dynasty buy, i think that is so interesting to me because we've talked we've talked a lot about how this 2026 draft class is not all there.
Dakota Zeigler: if you can send a late second-round pick for Malik Willis, and you might end up getting, you know, he's he's a rushing quarterback. If he starts anywhere next season for a team, if you get Justin Fields-type numbers from Malik Willis next year where he, you know, doesn't perform super well for his team, his team sucks, but he rushes for, like, 600 yards, seven to ten touchdowns, like, you're going to get, like, a low-end QB1 situation,
Dakota Zeigler: if he ends up starting somewhere next year. So I think it's his situation very, very intriguing. And the other one I love that you brought up was Alec Pierce.
Dakota Zeigler: I think he'd be he feels like a Pittsburgh Steeler. I think he'd play well next to DK Metcalf, another deep threat where you can kind of throw DK Metcalf over the middle more where he kind of you know does his best work.
Dakota Zeigler: But other than that, I think he did great. They definitely do need to upgrade that off offensive line. if not the guard position, guard and center.
Ninja: Yeah, I definitely agree. Although I do think they have one of the best centers in the league with the draft pick they took last year. But in my synopsis of the Pittsburgh Steelers, I think Roger stays with McCarthy as the new head coach for at least a year. i would love Willis to be here for the Steelers.
Ninja: And they sign him in free agency. Whatever the cost, you bring in a bridge quarterback who I think could be your actual legitimate franchise quarterback. I think Romeo Dobbs to bring in a familiar weapon is okay if you can't afford Alec Pierce after Malik Willis. And then in the draft, you have to get a guard or a tackle.
Ninja: And hopefully you get one of the names that guard mentioned where you're not relying on a rookie. They also need to look at linebacker because I do believe they cut... Patrick Queen for $13.3 million.
Ninja: And I won't be surprised if they move on from either Alex Highsmith or J.J. Watt to shed more cap and get younger, whether that's by trade or however they have to do it. I won't be surprised if the Tampa Bay Bucks made a move for Highsmith this offseason.
Ninja: But in this draft, they have a 26 first, a 26 second, three 26 thirds, two 26 fourths, a fifth, two six and two 26 sevenths. And that's plenty capital to fill in for aging guys on this roster who I'm looking to replace. And especially in later rounds, if they somehow don't get a Malik Willis,
Ninja: Look for them to sign Garrett Nussmeyer, Klubnik, and Aller in the later rounds, in the third, fourth round. And then early on in the drafts, I'm looking at cornerback, wide receiver, and linebacker. Depending who falls to them, and I think they have picked 21 or 22.
Ninja: It all depends on that. 21. Is there any notes there, Junior?
Dakota Zeigler: No, I think you hit them all well. They actually have surprisingly a lot of draft capital. For me, the one takeaway with the number of draft picks that they have is with the three-thirds and the two-fourths, I would expect them to be making moves.
Dakota Zeigler: early on in the draft to either move up to get a guy that they want or moving into like the early second round to get a guy that they want. So i have a feeling the Steelers going to make a move this year. I don't know what it is or what it's for. I don't assume it's going to be a quarterback unless they fall in love with somebody in like the second round that they kind of wanted to get up into like the 40s to make sure that they can get.
Dakota Zeigler: But yes, I think they have plenty of draft capital to fit some of these holes and get younger. This team desperately needs to get younger.
Ninja: Yeah, definitely. And that moves us on to our next team in the Baltimore Ravens, who finished 8-9. They did not make the playoffs and fired John Harbaugh because of it, and they brought in Jesse Minter to be their new head coach. Obviously, we have takes about him already. Not really sure if I'm a fan, but guess what? That's what's happening. They have 18 unrestricted free agents, and the biggest of whom... are Kyle Vainoy, Edge, Tyler Lindenbaum, Center, who will be a big free agency target for every team, Patrick Card at fullback, Joe Noteboom at left tackle, David Ajobo at Edge, Chidube Awuzie at corner, Tyler Huntley as a backup quarterback, and then Daniel Fale'e,
Ninja: At guard, I think out of any of these guys, Valet is out of the NFL after this year, played horrifically, but his size is like hard to like replicate.
Dakota Zeigler: Awful.
Ninja: So I wouldn't be surprised if he said a one or two year deal with the team.
Dakota Zeigler: Yeah, he'll be like it'll be like a camp guy where it's like, yeah, let's bring him in on like the minimum, see how he does in camp, and then probably cut him.
Ninja: But out of these guys... Yeah.
Ninja: Yeah.
Ninja: Definitely. Is there any guy here other than Fale? Because I don't think either of us are high on him that you would want to kind of go after for in free agency. Or if you're the Ravens, who would you want to bring back?
Ninja: Because for me, it's one particular guy.
Dakota Zeigler: Yeah, I mean, there's a yeah there's a whale here, and we have to make sure we secure him.
Ninja: That's it.
Dakota Zeigler: It's Tyler Landerbaum.
Ninja: Yep.
Dakota Zeigler: He's one of, if not top three center in the NFL, probably number one for me. The guy's a stud, and he is the core of your offense. You don't want to get rid of incredible offensive pieces when you have Lamar Jackson at you at quarterback.
Dakota Zeigler: We need to bring back Tyler Linderbaum. The last I heard, I heard some news earlier today that the Ravens actually did offer him a contract that would make him the highest paid center in the league, and he has yet to sign it. So I don't know if he's still going to hit free agency, or maybe he's just playing a little bit of hardball, kind of wants to see what happens. But I'm assuming Linderbaum's probably going to be back with the Ravens, and it's probably going to be for a hefty, thick paycheck.
Ninja: As he deserves. And as I got into my free agency targets. The main note was Tyler Linderbaum. A must bring back. You have to do it. I don't care the price tag. I don't care how far under the cap you go to do it. You need to do it.
Ninja: And then other positions I'd be looking at is corner. Offensive line anywhere. i don't care if it's tackle or guard. Wide receiver and then edge rusher.
Ninja: And then I don't really have a list of guys. I think you can kind of find a list of guys. Depends on what they do in free agency. And then obviously the draft will reflect that. i think they bring in a lot of veteran guys on minimums.
Ninja: Whoever that is, wherever. I don't know.
Dakota Zeigler: Mm-hmm.
Ninja: But my synopsis is a small retool is needed. Minter, I think, will uptake the same draft strategy as John Harbaugh and take a corner or safety.
Ninja: In the first round, i think there's a slight regression for all Ravens here. i don't like their OC, and I think I talked about that before. i think it's going be some darker days before lighter ones. And it's just, can this team finish, I would say, above 500?
Ninja: Can you make the playoffs after a new head coach, after an offensive? Franchise-altering culture boom there. I don't know if they can do it. I trust in their draft philosophy before. i don't know if they can change it up now with a new head coach, Junior. Is there any thoughts there about the Ravens?
Dakota Zeigler: I think you're a little bit pessimistic on them. I think they're still a good football team. I mean, they have Lamar Jackson, a quarterback. They have Derek Henry.
Dakota Zeigler: They have a good offensive line. They have a couple weapons. The defense isn't great. It's not great. they need a They need two corners. They need a They need to get younger on defense. So the defense definitely needs some work. But I don't think they're a bad football team. And if you have one of like the top five quarterbacks in the league, you're going to be competing for the playoffs a year in and year out. So I don't think they're going to be too bad, but I do agree that they need a small retool. And for me, it's like mostly on the defensive side.
Dakota Zeigler: For me, I think they kind of that first round pick they have around 14, I've seen a lot of mocks that have the guard out Penn State, Ioane, going there. And I think that is a perfect fit for them if they can't sign anybody in free agency, but if they can, i think they're kind of sneaky to grab a weapon there at 14 to see where they go.
Dakota Zeigler: I think there's a lot of edge players in this reagency class that are fine enough, but also not going to demand a high price tag. Like obviously there's like Jalen Phillips is like the top of that list. Trey Hendrickson is at the top of that list. They're going to get some pretty hefty paychecks, but there's a lot of like younger players that just kind of haven't worked out. And even like oging ag oh old aging veterans that kind of haven't panned out that I think the Ravens can bring in as like platoon guys and just kind of band-aid a couple edge spots. like
Dakota Zeigler: For example, I was kind of scrolling through a list like Khalil Mack's going to be a free agent. Kaleas Campbell's going to be a free agent. I think they can maybe bring back kind of like one of those type of players where bring him in on a one-year contract, pay him a little bit of money, but now you have this like leader, edge player that might not be great anymore, but he's still you know still got a little bit of juice left. so I think they have options, they have opportunities, but they definitely need to retool this defense.
Ninja: Yeah, actually, I just saw a mock today where they take Jordan Tyson at their first first round pick. And we'll see if we get there today. ha. ha We'll see.
Dakota Zeigler: Wink.
Ninja: Wink, wink. And then for the next team in this division, it's the Cleveland Browns. They finished missed the playoffs, fired one of the best coaches in the NFL, in my opinion, in Kevin Stefanski.
Dakota Zeigler: Yep.
Ninja: Brought in Greg Roman to be their new head coach.
Dakota Zeigler: yep
Ninja: I hate it. I think it's absolutely disgusting. changeing Jim Schwartz officially out as defensive coordinator. He resigned. I think he's just off of football now. I don't haven't saw that he signed with a new team.
Ninja: And then they have 18 unrestricted free agents, the biggest of whom is mostly on their offensive line. Joel Petonio at guard, Wyatt Teller at guard, David Njoku at tight end, Cam Robinson at tackle, Tevin Jenkins at guard, Ethan Poisek at center, Devin Bush at linebacker, Jerome Baker at linebacker, and Martin Emerson center.
Ninja: At cornerback. There's so many holes here, buddy. Who do you think out of these few they can bring back with what little cap space they have?
Dakota Zeigler: None. I do want to throw a little bit out there. i think you said they hired Greg Roman as their head coach. They hired Todd Munkin as their head coach for the Browns.
Ninja: Oh, I messed that up in my notes. That's my bad, guys.
Dakota Zeigler: Yeah, I was like, Greg Roman, he's like an offensive lines coach or something, isn't he?
Ninja: My bad.
Dakota Zeigler: I think he is. But for me, they have to bring back one of the guards. But I don't think – I think Wyatt Teller's gone. He's been pretty negative about the Browns, at least in the media. So I think Wyatt Teller's gone. They have a chance to maybe bring him back Batonio. But then again, do you want to?
Dakota Zeigler: i think Njoku's gone. i think Cam Robinson's gone. And after that, it's like, what's the what's the root why would you bring back a linebacker in Devin Bush and Baker?
Dakota Zeigler: I like Martin Emerson. I don't think he's a bad corner. He's young. I think he still has potential, especially be like a know number two, number three corner on this team. But I don't know if he's necessarily worth what he's probably going to ask for and for agency. So i i think they have a i I think there's a chance that they just let everybody walk and they kind of see what happens next year, especially with a new head coach, a new regime there in Cleveland.
Dakota Zeigler: That would be fun.
Ninja: But the effective cap space as of now for the Cleveland Browns is $3.2 million. Keep in mind, they are still paying Deshaun Watson that gross contract.
Dakota Zeigler: Jesus. That guy still exists.
Ninja: He still exists. He's still out there affecting many, many franchises for what he is doing.
Dakota Zeigler: Wow.
Ninja: That's why for the free agency targets for the Browns, it's very simple. I think they have to bring back one of the guards, and I think you said that, and then a wide receiver and an offensive lineman. And it doesn't even have to be anyone good.
Dakota Zeigler: Tackle.
Ninja: You just have to kind of... try and fill a hole here. Is there any person you would necessarily recommend for these guys?
Dakota Zeigler: Mm-hmm.
Ninja: or Maybe on a minimum deal? Is there a guy out there in the world that you can think of for these guys to go grab?
Dakota Zeigler: a good That's a very good question. Off the top my head, a wide receiver that I think won't demand a but pretty high paycheck, and I think is still decent, is Wanda Robinson, a free agent from the Giants. I think he could be interesting. Jawan Jennings I think would be an interesting free agent, wide receiver. And I don't think they're going to demand like super high paychecks, but I do have a feeling that they're going to be comfortable. You'll talk about their picks later, but I feel like they're going to be pretty comfortable drafting a wide receiver.
Dakota Zeigler: And then on the offensive line, there's not a lot in free agency. Like even like the players are letting not great. There's a few young players. There's one. What is his name? Zion Johnson guard formerly of the Chargers has not played great. Obviously, everyone talks about how bad the Chargers offensive line has been last season and it was bad. And yes, Zion Johnson was a part of that offensive line. But He's still young. I think he still has potential. So I think if I'm the Browns and I stink, I'm probably taking a chance on a 26-year-old guard with his kind of like intangibles. So I think Zion Johnson could be an interesting sign if they maybe can't bring back one or maybe if they even lose out on both guards.
Ninja: Yep, and so for my synopsis, it's more dark times ahead for the Browns. I think Shadour is good enough to start for a year. i don't think they should look at quarterback this draft or in this free agency.
Ninja: Keep in mind, they're still paying Deshaun Watson. O-line is a major concern, and they need to remedy that whatever way they seem fit, whether it's a draft or free agency. and then they need to find more firepower on offense. Harold Fannin isn't enough.
Ninja: You need to have a wide receiver one or at least someone who you think could be wide receiver one. And I think they'll get to that in the draft. Can't wait for that. But any final thoughts here about the Browns and their free agency aspirations? Because honestly, I think they should save money and just let the draft run.
Dakota Zeigler: This is all I got.
Ninja: love everything about it. And we keep that running for the Cincinnati Bengals. who are just one of the saddest franchises in the NFL. They finished missed the playoffs.
Dakota Zeigler: No.
Dakota Zeigler: Yeah.
Ninja: All of whom I said are defensive guys. I don't think this changes anything we already known from the Bengals. They need defense, defense, defense. It's just how can they afford it when they're paying 60% of their salary cap to offensive players.
Dakota Zeigler: Yep. Yeah, I mean, it's crazy. They have no money to pay tray Trey Hendrickson, and I don't think he wants to be there either, so I think that's going to be mutual.
Dakota Zeigler: But for me, if they can bring back Geno Stone, I think he would be my next notable free agent. Like, hey, you got you got to salvage a little bit of the secondary. Like, obviously, his defense wasn't great, but I think he was – you know, a brighter spot of this, you know, dark abyss. So I would focus on maybe bringing back Geno Stone if I was the the Cincinnati Bengals, but you you need like, you need 10 other starters on that defense. And it's just, you you can't do that in free agency.
Ninja: Yeah, surprisingly, actually, I think I'm going surprise you here. The effective cap space of the Bengals is $54.5 million, which is actually one of the most in the NFL.
Dakota Zeigler: Whoa. whoa
Ninja: It's because Trey Hendrickson himself is a free agent. He's not under contract. So if they don't bring him back, they can make a lot of moves happen, whether that's for the better or the further worse. They need defensive line, cornerback safety, and then offensive line.
Ninja: Obviously, any of these holes they need to fill. And then if they don't bring back Trey Hendrickson, I think it gives them more room to do okay things. I don't even know if it's great things. Just sign more players to see what happens.
Ninja: Is there any thoughts there?
Dakota Zeigler: Yeah, I think I was kind of looking to – I am shocked that they have $54 million dollars in cap space. I would i'd have not assume that with how much they're playing paying T. Higgins, Joe Burrow, Jamar Chase. But I guess, you know.
Dakota Zeigler: if you're not playing anybody else for me, like I was looking at the top of the list. I'm like, man, but like, can they throw Jalen Phillips, like a blank check and just pay him a bunch of money. But then I was kind of thinking it'd probably be better for them as a team to kind of spread that money out into a lot of positions that they can feel like grab a guard, like a Elijah Vera Tucker, like you were talking earlier, or like if Tyler Linderbaum doesn't sign with the Baltimore Ravens, like,
Dakota Zeigler: give Tyler Lindenbaum all the money he could possibly want, improve that offensive line in front of Joe Burrow, keep him healthy. And then it's like there's – like we said earlier, there's a lot of young defensive edges that just kind of haven't worked out for teams. I'd take i take a shot on a couple of them, like a Quiddie Pie, an Arnold Ebiketti. Like there's there's a lot of potential out there for the defensive lineman to kind of work out somewhere else.
Dakota Zeigler: If I'm the Bengals, I'm taking a shot on a couple of these guys.
Ninja: Yeah, I love that you only mentioned two Penn State guys, you bum. I'm kidding. I'm sure you didn't know that when you said it. I would love for them to get contracts.
Ninja: But I think they're going to spend – I don't think they're going to bring back Trey Hendrickson, which is why he was such a big bullet point here. But I think they're going to allocate that money to the entire defense. And it's just, what do they want in the draft? If Caleb Downs falls, obviously I think they can take Caleb Downs. But if he doesn't fall, are they okay with an Akeem Mesidor?
Ninja: i don't think so. I wouldn't be. Are they okay with the Kendrick Falk? I wouldn't be. it just all depends how this draft falls, but obviously they can predict that with the free agency see before the draft.
Ninja: And speaking of such, as we are such fine gentlemen, for these four teams who we have so advocately discussed, we have a two-round mock draft that our boy Junior is pulling up right now.
Ninja: And obviously...
Dakota Zeigler: Yes, sir.
Ninja: Leave your comments out there. We did the one division. I knew someone would talk about. Ty, love you, buddy. Steelers are there. i did the most work. Took about an hour and a half to figure out all the money figures. So, you know, leave a like for the boy.
Ninja: It takes a lot, you know.
Dakota Zeigler: Yeah. We tried our best, especially with that god-awful Steelers team.
Ninja: Yeah, geez, it was so hard.
Dakota Zeigler: Horrendous.
Ninja: I did do that on my day off, believe it or not. I don't have many of those. And I had to write up a Steelers free agency Whatever. Terrible.
Dakota Zeigler: Sounds like a waste of a day off.
Ninja: Sorry, Zig. It was terrible. But anyways, have you booted up that two round mock draft for all our AFC North teams, buddy?
Dakota Zeigler: Yeah, so just so everyone knows, we're using PFF's mock draft simulator. Please sponsor us and please give us a free subscription. PFF, thank you very much. But like you said, we have only selected the four teams in the AFC North. So we have the Cleveland Browns in their two first round picks at six and at 24.
Dakota Zeigler: We have the Bengals 10th overall pick. We have the Ravens at 14 and then we have the Steelers at 21. And then we're also going to be doing a second round. Do you want to do three rounds?
Dakota Zeigler: I feel like we have a little bit of extra time than we thought we would.
Ninja: We could do three rounds. I'm just not as perverse in a three round mock.
Dakota Zeigler: yeah we can maybe just look at you know fill in some holes but just talk about some players but anyways we're going to kind of get into this draft and obviously we are only picking those four teams so the picks that go around those four teams are just going to kind of be either you know random but also the simulator is a good simulator there's a reason that everyone in the world uses pff so So here we are We're going to get this draft started. Obviously, Mendoza goes one to the Raiders in this mock. Arvel Reese goes two to the Jets. Caleb Downs goes third overall to the Arizona Cardinals, which is very interesting.
Dakota Zeigler: Reuben Bean goes fourth to the Tennessee Titans. David Bailey goes fifth to the New York Giants. And now we are up with the Cleveland Browns at sixth overall.
Dakota Zeigler: And no wide receivers have went. No offensive linemen have went. We have the pick of the litter of the two biggest needs for this entire team.
Dakota Zeigler: Damon, early thoughts. Are we looking wide receiver here? Are you looking off offensive line? We can take the first wide receiver off the board. We can take the first tackle off the board.
Dakota Zeigler: Where are you leaning here early on? what are your first initial thoughts?
Ninja: and Early on in stuff I'm watching, i think I'm okay taking Caleb Lomu here. As what I'm seeing right now, he's the tackle one on this board.
Ninja: I'm seeing a lot of people pass him over Francis Maui Noah, and the Cleveland Browns just need to get better on the offensive line. You take the best one you think is available, and as of what I'm hearing right now from a lot of people I trust,
Ninja: it's Spencer Fownau. Or, yeah, that's what I said, right? Spencer Fownau?
Dakota Zeigler: You said Caleb Lomu earlier, but I was assuming you meant Spencer Fano.
Ninja: I meant Spencer Fownau. Yeah, I meant Spencer Fownau. Obviously, I'd be game with, you know, Cornell Tate, but I'm definitely okay with, and where the mocks are going as of right now from what I'm seeing is Spencer Fownau.
Dakota Zeigler: Yeah.
Ninja: I'm okay with Spencer Fownau here at six.
Dakota Zeigler: So, yeah, I agree with you. I think it is a kind of a toss-up between, you know, Carnell Tate for me would be the pick. Even though I like Mekhi Lemon more, I think Carnell Tate fits what Cleveland needs more, and you can kind of keep him in state as well there in Cincinnati. For me, I think Francis Maunoah is still my tackle one, so i would kind of I would kind of hesitate to take Fano here, especially because I think Maunoah – even if he doesn't stick at tackle at right tackle, I think he can be an incredible guard. I don't know if Fano can play guard. I think he is just a straight tackle. So that makes me kind of want to just take Carnell Tate and not have to worry about it.
Dakota Zeigler: How do you feel about that?
Ninja: Perfectly fine with that. It's whatever way you want to choose, and I'm perfectly fine with my wide receiver one as of right now.
Dakota Zeigler: Yeah.
Ninja: It has changed, guys. Got to say has changed. It's not no more Denzel Boston.
Dakota Zeigler: Yeah, we're making moves.
Ninja: It is Cardinal Tate.
Dakota Zeigler: We're water, if you will. Mm-hmm.
Ninja: I am water. I'm very liquid. Cardinal Tate off the board with the Browns.
Dakota Zeigler: Very liquid, he says. yeah So, yes, we go Carnotate at six to the Cleveland Browns. Probably going to be looking at a tackle later on in the first round or some kind of piece in that offensive line, but we'll see how it goes.
Dakota Zeigler: So following this mock draft, seventh overall goes Jeremiah Love to the Washington Commanders. Very interesting pick. No more JCM there, buddy. Sorry about it.
Ninja: Tough.
Dakota Zeigler: Sonny Stiles, linebacker at Ohio State, goes eighth to the New Orleans Saints. Peter Woods goes ninth overall to the Kansas City Chiefs. That's very interesting.
Dakota Zeigler: Him and Chris Jones are going to be one hell of a pairing. But now we are back up with the Cincinnati Bengals. And to be honest, I'm a little sad because a lot of the top defensive players are off this board.
Dakota Zeigler: I would have loved to have one of the edge rushers or even Sonny Stiles. Even a Caleb Downs falling to the Cincinnati Bengals at 10, I think would have been incredible. But even with that being said, I'm still looking defense for this team. I don't think there's any way we take any offensive player unless – we take one of these tackles that are still on the board.
Dakota Zeigler: what are your thoughts?
Ninja: As you should. You need to take Maui Noah or Spencer Fownau. Whoever your preference is, i don't care who, you need to take them here.
Dakota Zeigler: I think my preference would be Francis Maui Noah because i think he i I do think he can stick at right tackle and be a good starting right tackle. But if even if he can't, I think he'd be an incredible guard, and Cincinnati needs all of it. So if you're cool with it, I'm cool with it. I think we take fra Francis Maui Noah here, probably the best player available and at a position of need.
Ninja: I agree. Just keep in mind for your mock drafts later, a lot of people are higher on Lomu or Fownau than they are Maunoa. Just so we get into future mock drafts. Maybe I'm leading that way. But I'm down for Francis Maunoa here to the Bengals at 10.
Dakota Zeigler: All right, so man know it goes 10. Mansour Delane goes 11 to the Miami Dolphins. See that a lot. Jermon McCoy goes 12th overall to the Dallas Cowboys, so back-to-back corners off the board. And then Mekhi Lemon goes 13th overall to the l L.A. Rams, and we are back up with the Baltimore Ravens.
Dakota Zeigler: What are you kind of looking at here? Are you thinking about defensive line at all?
Ninja: With Jordan Tyson on the board, no.
Dakota Zeigler: I think I agree. I don't really like the edge pieces here. I do like Caleb Banks. I do kind of like Keldrick folk, but not at this point. I think for me, it's between going wide receiver and taking Jordan Tyson, or it's going guard and taking Ione.
Dakota Zeigler: And for me, i and for me i think wide receiver is a much more valuable position than guard.
Ninja: I agree.
Ninja: Therefore, I disagree, but
Ninja: I'm willing to... It's a 50-50 draw for me. And if you would rather Jordan Tyson here, I'm happy with it. But Ione needs to come off the board. If it's not now, then it's very, very soon.
Dakota Zeigler: This is tough.
Dakota Zeigler: This is very tough.
Ninja: Because, like, the Ravens always needed a number one option. They just never drafted a Jordan Tyson type.
Dakota Zeigler: Yeah.
Ninja: Ever. Ever.
Dakota Zeigler: I think I'm going to go Ione, guard out of Penn State. It just feels like a Ravens pick, and it feels like something that Jesse Minter would do. especially as a first-time head coach. You can never go wrong taking offense alignment, especially studs like Ione. He is going to be incredible in the league. He's a run-blocking mauler.
Dakota Zeigler: So, yes, we go Ione at 14 to the Ravens. 15, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers take Jordan Tyson. What? What?
Ninja: That's a rough look.
Dakota Zeigler: i mean mean they're gonna have So that means they moved on on Mike Evans. That's a crazy pick to me. Caleb Banks goes 16 to the Jets. Keldrick Folk goes 17 to the Lions. Kaden McDonald goes 18 to the Vikings. Denzel Boston goes to the Carolina Panthers.
Dakota Zeigler: Avion Terrell goes 20th overall to the Cowboys. They double dip on corners in this first round, and we are up with the Pittsburgh Steelers at 21.
Dakota Zeigler: Spencer Fano is still on the board. Pittsburgh has a very obvious tackle need. I feel like that's an easy pick for me, but if we're just looking down the board a little bit, if we wanted to take a wide receiver here, we're kind of looking at Casey Concepcion, Chris Bell, my guy Omar omar Cooper.
Dakota Zeigler: Don't really love that situation. Are we even thinking about taking a quarterback here?
Ninja: No, it's it's Spencer found out and you better not think twice.
Dakota Zeigler: Ninja.
Dakota Zeigler: i was I was trying to find a reason not to pick him, and I can't find one. So I think the fact that Fano is here at 21 is stupid, and we're goingnna we're going to make the right decision, and we're going to take Spencer Fano. 21 to the Steelers, then 22, the Chargers take Cassius Howe. The Birds take CJ Allen, the linebacker, at 23. Ew, and we are back up.
Dakota Zeigler: With the Cleveland Browns, but their second first round pick at 24. We took Carnell Tate earlier in the draft. So we're kind of looking where are the offensive linemen.
Dakota Zeigler: Caden Proctor, still available.
Ninja: It's...
Dakota Zeigler: Caleb Lomu, still available.
Ninja: It's... Yep. That's it.
Dakota Zeigler: Monroe Freeling, still available. lot of good tackles here. Do you have a preference on any of these three top offensive tackles?
Ninja: Lomu, and it's far and away.
Dakota Zeigler: Yeah, I think I agree. I think Caleb Lomu is the pick for me. he's and i He can play the left tackle, which is I think is perfect. Because Monroe, Freeling, I like.
Ninja: Yes.
Dakota Zeigler: Out of these three, it's between Lomu and Freeling for me. I think Keaton Proctor is just a little bit too much of a a project, in my opinion. So I'm going to go Caleb Lomu here for the Cleveland Browns, and I think they killed it in that first round, getting Carnell Tate and Caleb Lomu.
Dakota Zeigler: All right, moving on to the second round here. Not going to go through all the picks that kind of got left over, maybe just hitting some top ones, but we are back up with the Cleveland Browns with their with their second round pick at 39 overall.
Dakota Zeigler: We just took Carnell Tate at six overall. We took Caleb Lomu tackle 24th overall. So at this point, I'm even maybe looking again at offensive line. If I can maybe grab a guard here, maybe even grab another tackle. I really like Emmanuel Pregnon, a guard out of Oregon. I think he is very good.
Dakota Zeigler: Max Iannachor is a tackle out of Arizona State with a lot of potential. He's a right tackle. Blake Miller, right tackle out of Clemson. He's been getting some buzz recently.
Dakota Zeigler: I know Ninja really likes Caleb Tiernan, tackle out of Northwestern. He's kind of having some technical difficulties right here, it looks like. So he's going to kind of have me for now, but
Ninja: Wrong guy.
Dakota Zeigler: I think he's back.
Ninja: Wrong guy. Wrong guy.
Dakota Zeigler: Who are we going here, buddy?
Ninja: Give me a guy like Jennings.
Dakota Zeigler: Oh, no, you like you like the Iowa guard.
Ninja: Yeah, give me Jennings Dunker.
Dakota Zeigler: That's who it is. Or a tackle. Okay.
Ninja: I think he's a first-round guy.
Dakota Zeigler: That's your guy.
Dakota Zeigler: I got confused with lower-level Big Ten guys.
Ninja: Yeah, sorry. Yeah. Am I taking a Northwestern guy in the first round? Absolutely the not. Sorry, Zig. Edit that. No. It's not happening.
Dakota Zeigler: any Any thoughts on like taking a non?
Dakota Zeigler: I think the pick is going another offensive lineman. For me, it's probably Emmanuel Pregnon, but you can talk me into one of these tackles.
Ninja: Can I talk you into Jennings Dunker? If not, Emmanuel Pregnon's fine. I'm okay with that because I think he's a borderline round one guy.
Ninja: So I'm okay with both.
Dakota Zeigler: I think I like Pregnant just going guard and kind of splitting up instead of drafting two tackles. And in this mock draft, I think there is a slight chance that that that Dunker would fall to Cleveland with the 70th overall pick in the third round.
Ninja: Okay, so with their 24th pick, the Browns took Lomu, like we talked about, right?
Dakota Zeigler: Yes.
Ninja: And then they're getting... i don't hate this. Emmanuel Pregnant in the second round.
Dakota Zeigler: Emmanuel Pregnant, yep.
Ninja: I don't hate it
Dakota Zeigler: Yep, 39th overall. I think it's a good pick, and I think we're going to make it. So Emmanuel Pregnone goes 39th overall to the Cleveland Browns. They kind of patch up that offensive line piece by piece. We are back up with the Cincinnati Bengals here, and we took Francis Maui Noah in the first round.
Dakota Zeigler: Fell to us at 10th overall. Kind of had to. We're going assume he's starting at tackle for us, and now it's anybody on the defense. And for me, there's kind of two, three-ish players. Four actually now that kind of scrolled on the board and look at them, but we can kind of go any position, right?
Dakota Zeigler: We need anything on the defensive side of the ball.
Ninja: There's one guy.
Dakota Zeigler: I look, I really like Dylan Thienemann, safety out of Oregon. Anthony Hill is a good player. I think Gabe Jake is a good player. I also really like Zion young.
Dakota Zeigler: Kind of had a little bit off the field issues edge out of Missouri, little bit of a DUI situation, but,
Ninja: so
Ninja: We don't know anything about that.
Dakota Zeigler: lot of...
Ninja: But there's two guys who I have highly in this spot.
Dakota Zeigler: Don't know anything about it.
Ninja: And obviously my mock draft is different from yours because Thienemann is still on the board for me. But it doesn't change who I would take. Zion Young is one of them. The other person still on the board is EMW, Emmanuel McNeil-Warren.
Ninja: I think he's...
Dakota Zeigler: He's taken.
Ninja: a Oh, is he? Oh, that's why our mock drafts are different.
Dakota Zeigler: Well, if we're... good
Dakota Zeigler: Yeah, if he was going off mine, he was taken. He went to the Chiefs, actually, the pick before this.
Ninja: Oh, that's so stupid. So I look like a fool.
Dakota Zeigler: Yeah.
Dakota Zeigler: That's kind of why was giving you my names.
Ninja: Gross. I was following along and every pick hit until now. like I was able to make those picks.
Dakota Zeigler: Yeah.
Ninja: I like Zion Young as another edge. And for these guys, Colton Hood is a good shout.
Dakota Zeigler: I was going to say that Colin Hood would be another guy i would look at. Keontae Scott I think is okay, but he's just a slot corner. and I think they have way bigger needs.
Ninja: And then even...
Dakota Zeigler: it Can't really go wrong.
Ninja: No, and then Jake Golday is also a good shout here. He's going to be an early second down guy.
Dakota Zeigler: Yeah.
Ninja: Like, he's an early day two guy. Jake Golday is out of Cincinnati. So, wherever you want to go I'll go. Because obviously my mock draft is a little bit different than yours as of right now.
Dakota Zeigler: Slightly. i'm I'm going to kind of pass on Zion young right now. I'm going to assume probably the off the field stuff, maybe moves him down a little bit in the boards. I'm going to take my player here and I'm going to go Dylan Thienemann safety out of Oregon.
Dakota Zeigler: i think he is just a very good player. i think he has a chance of being a late first round pick this safety class top to bottom.
Ninja: It's deep.
Dakota Zeigler: very, very good. I think there's a chance three safeties can go in the first round. Obviously, Caleb Downs are going to the top of the draft, but I love Thienemann. I love Warren. I think they're both incredible players. The safety at LSU, Halsey, I think is very good.
Dakota Zeigler: And there's a few other names kind of later on in the draft. Obviously, Penn Stater, Zaki Wheatley. Probably going to be a late late second, early third kind of pick, but Very, very good safety class. And now, after taking Thienemann, Zion Young went off the board. Safety, A.J. Halsey went off the board. Colin Hood sadly went off the board. And we're back up with the Ravens here at 45th overall. We took Ione, guard out of Penn State at 14. So now at 45, we patched up our offensive line.
Dakota Zeigler: We can peak at wide receiver here, but I don't think a wide receiver makes a difference for me. there's only The only ones available right now at the top of the board are Jeremy Bernard, Elijah Surratt, Zachariah Branch, Malachi Fields.
Dakota Zeigler: Nothing I'm really too excited about. I don't think there's going to be any difference makers for me at wide receiver. So I'm looking defense, specifically edge, maybe interior offensive line, also linebacker.
Dakota Zeigler: Gabe Jakus, edge at of Illinois, sticks out to me. I think he fits the Ravens defense pretty well as well. He can be kind of like a 3-4 edge, almost kind of play the interior role because he's a big dude. whole lot of man, 6'3", 270.
Dakota Zeigler: Like him a lot. Like you said earlier, Jake Goldie, I think he'd be an interesting pick here at linebacker.
Dakota Zeigler: Edge out of Michigan Derek Moore I think could be an interesting pick I think he is just a straight edge So he'd probably have to play outside linebacker in this defense so Is there any defensive players for you Damien that are kind of sticking out Anthony Hill as well is still here linebacker out Texas
Ninja: Anthony Hill will be a third round guy. The guy you're missing here is the guy we talked about already. It's Zion Young. There's no way he passes past the second round.
Ninja: There's no way. I don't know what off the field issues he has. He will be a second round guy. Like that's...
Dakota Zeigler: Yeah, he he went earlier in this draft.
Ninja: Oh God. So you and me are way far off. Oh my God.
Dakota Zeigler: Yeah, I did say that already.
Ninja: So even so, I'm trying to follow two mock draft guys.
Dakota Zeigler: Mm-hmm.
Ninja: Forgive the guy. Forgive the ninja. Romello Height is a good edge at this spot, who I think could see some work. Let me look at defensive interior, who I also think they could go after. Because for me, they could also go tackle, and I won't be mad at it.
Ninja: But let me go with defensive interior. they They don't go big O here. i don't think they go Corleone. Do you have offensive tackle Max Inachar off the board yet here for the Ravens?
Dakota Zeigler: No, he's still available.
Ninja: I think he would be a good bet here.
Dakota Zeigler: That's a very good shout.
Ninja: Yep.
Dakota Zeigler: Yeah. Play him at right tackle. I do like Iannatio. He's got a lot of potential. He's only been playing tackle for three years now, I think. Like, I think he came into college as, like, a hey, I'm going to figure it out when I get there kind of guy because I'm 6'6", 300 pounds, and I'm just going to figure it out. And he turned out to be a pretty decent right tackle with a lot of potential, so I'm cool taking Ionachar here at 45, especially even falling into the mid-second round.
Dakota Zeigler: So, yeah, we'll go ahead and do that. A lot of picks go in between the Ravens, and now we are back up with the Pittsburgh Steelers at 53 overall.
Dakota Zeigler: At 21, we had Spencer Fonu fall to our lap. No chance he falls there at 21 in the actual draft, but we'll see. A lot of buzz around Fonu, like you said earlier. He's looking like he's kind of competing with Maunoah to be the top tackle in this class. So Steelers here at 53.
Dakota Zeigler: Yeah,
Ninja: You said Fauna fell in your draft?
Dakota Zeigler: yeah we took Fonu at 21 with the Steelers earlier in this draft.
Ninja: Oh, okay. Cool. I was going to say he's still somehow there on your board? What the
Dakota Zeigler: No, no, no, no, no.
Dakota Zeigler: But for me, we already took a tackle, so I'm i'm picking QB on the board. I'm peeking at it. Garrett Nussmeyer is available.
Ninja: Don't you dare.
Dakota Zeigler: Carson Beck's available. key Club Nick, Drew Aller available. We have three third-round picks, excuse me, i that I think we can probably take one of those guys there. But I'm peeking at it, and then I'm looking at wide receiver.
Dakota Zeigler: Same names are kind of available. Jeremy Brown, Elijah Surratt, Zachariah Brandt, Skyler Bell, CJ Daniels, all still here. Don't love any of them, but some of them are not bad.
Dakota Zeigler: Now I'm looking at defensive backs, maybe a corner, maybe a safety if I can't bring any of my safeties back.
Dakota Zeigler: For me, Chris Johnson looks like a pretty good option at corner at a San Diego State. D'Angelo Pons, cornerback on David Indiana. Little undersized, but he's not bad.
Ninja: Closer? You're getting a closer who to who I want you to take? Yeah, closer.
Dakota Zeigler: Ooh. You're going to say a name that's not available because that's what you've been doing this whole time, so go ahead and say it.
Ninja: I don't know. Maybe. i don't know. I have Kamari Ramsey. Safety at the USC.
Dakota Zeigler: He is available.
Ninja: Is he gone for you?
Dakota Zeigler: I was going to say him next. I do like him.
Ninja: I think he's a second-round guy. And for the Steelers, do you want to play Jalen Ramsey at safety or corner? Like slot?
Dakota Zeigler: Yeah, don't play him at slot.
Ninja: Ramsey can play slot now, and then you move Ramsey up to safety, as he should be as a run-stopping safety. I would love everything about that. I don't hate them taking an edge player here. I can't imagine them taking wide receiver here.
Dakota Zeigler: No.
Ninja: If they go and take Kamari Ramsey, I'd be very happy if I was Steelers fan here.
Dakota Zeigler: yeah I think the only edge I'd be looking at taking for the Steelers would be Derek Moore edge out of Michigan. I think he kind of fits the Steelers well. So for me, it's between Derek Moore and come Kamari Ramsey.
Dakota Zeigler: going to let you make the pick. What do you think?
Ninja: I'm going to go with Kamari Ramsey.
Dakota Zeigler: There it is. Safety out of USC goes to the Steelers at the end of the second round. And we are on to the third round. Plenty of picks in between the Steelers pick and now back up with the Cleveland Browns, seventieth overall.
Dakota Zeigler: We took earlier in the draft, Carnell Tate, sixth overall. We took Caleb Lomu, 24th overall. And then beginning of the second round, we took Emmanuel Pregnone, guard out of Oregon. So passed up the offensive line, that got us a top wide receiver. Now we're kind of looking at just...
Dakota Zeigler: filling up spots, getting younger. We can do, we can do a lot. We can really go anywhere. For me, there's one name that kind of pops off the board. i don't know if you've heard about him yet, Ninja, but, Sam Height is a center out of Kansas State. He's probably one of the better centers in this class, and for me, I think they can use anybody on the offensive line. You just you take three offensive linemen in this draft class and you just completely revamp the entire situation there.
Dakota Zeigler: I think it'd be incredible for them. I think they can even go with another wide receiver. I like Zachariah Branch here as a wide receiver available for them. Jake Slaughter is a center out of Florida. He could be a good option for them.
Dakota Zeigler: Not really looking at running back. There's a couple of players like Jonah Coleman, Emmitt Johnson that available, but we got quinch on Judkins and we took Dylan Samson last year as well. So we're not looking there. Another tackle is available out of Iowa.
Dakota Zeigler: Jennings dunker. Do we double?
Ninja: Should have been a first-round guy.
Dakota Zeigler: what Do we double tap tackle and a guard in this draft? What do you think?
Ninja: Yes. For the Browns, yes.
Dakota Zeigler: matt Malachi Fields, wide receiver at in Notre Dame. Chris Brazel, wide receiver at Tennessee.
Dakota Zeigler: Jacob Rodriguez, linebacker at the Texas Tech is available. A lot of options here for the Browns. But I think I agree with you. I am between either taking the center, Sam Height, or the tackle, your guy, Jennings Dunker.
Ninja: I would take Jannick's dunker and I wouldn't have a second doubt about it. You can play my guard or tackle.
Dakota Zeigler: Yeah, 6'5", 315. Feels like a guard, but he can play both. Jennings Dunker goes off the board to the Cleveland Browns there at 70 overall, and I think that is three offense alignment in the first three rounds. Get Shador Sanders exactly what he needs. Let those guys develop a little bit and then come back in a year or two and just see what he got you got. Get some weapons, build some weapons around them, patch up that defense. You got some options there. I like what i like what we did with the Cleveland Browns in this draft.
Dakota Zeigler: Back up with the Cincinnati Bengals here at the 72nd overall pick in the third round. Earlier on in this draft, we took a Dylan Thienemann, 41st overall, safety out of Oregon. And at 10th overall, we took Francis Minoa. Tackle for me, I'm looking at either the center from Kansas State is still available, Sam Height, I think is very good, or I'm going back to a defensive player. Yeah.
Dakota Zeigler: A lot of options there.
Ninja: love
Dakota Zeigler: Go ahead.
Ninja: I love this talk we're having because Sam Hite went three picks ago in my mock draft.
Dakota Zeigler: Did you?
Ninja: Who I would have loved.
Dakota Zeigler: Yeah. So he is still available.
Dakota Zeigler: I
Ninja: Give me Big O. Big Citrus to meet Dominique Orange. I think he's a great interior player. I love saying Big Citrus.
Ninja: I just wanted to get that out on a podcast.
Dakota Zeigler: think Citrus is a good nickname.
Ninja: Alright.
Dakota Zeigler: He is not available in my mug.
Ninja: Oh my goodness. We gotta get this together.
Dakota Zeigler: So good.
Dakota Zeigler: Hang on.
Ninja: But I love him. I love pretty much any defensive player here. And if they weren't going to go defensive player, because a lot of offensive guys are in the same kind of like rung for me.
Ninja: I like Skylar Bell at wide receiver.
Dakota Zeigler: okay Yeah, I was looking at him too.
Ninja: i don't think they go running back. And like receiver is very like top heavy for me. Like Chris Basil is in the same kind of conversation with me as a as Skylar Bell. Maybe they go Danny Sutton out of Penn State, Jacob Rodriguez out of Texas Tech.
Ninja: It's just so who do you go after? And obviously our mock drafts aren't completely in sync, but I think they have to go defensive here. and But for that to happen, it's either Big O or you wait.
Dakota Zeigler: yeah For me, I kind of like the idea of getting Jacob Rodriguez there and just having him kind of set the culture there in Cincinnati.
Ninja: I don't know.
Dakota Zeigler: Just kind of turn it around there for the defense because he's obviously a leader. you know he He had the entire Texas Tech team vouching for him to be the Heisman.
Dakota Zeigler: Last season as a defensive player, he has the he has the respect of that entire organization.
Ninja: Me too.
Dakota Zeigler: I think he can be a culture builder there. i wouldn't mind taking Jacob Rodriguez here, throwing him in the, the you know, giving him the mic, making him, you know, your quote unquote middle linebacker and just letting him run that defense for you.
Dakota Zeigler: What are your thoughts?
Ninja: I'm okay with that. I'm very okay with that. I love Jacob Redd because coming out, he should have won him. Or Heisman, whatever it is. Out of the college level. He was the best player there.
Ninja: By far.
Dakota Zeigler: I agree. So, yes, Jacob Rodriguez goes off the board there to the Cincinnati Bengals. So I think that's a great pick for them. And now we have the first of three Pittsburgh Steelers third round picks.
Dakota Zeigler: And I'm looking at quarterback.
Dakota Zeigler: I got Garrett Nussmao on the board.
Ninja: You can.
Dakota Zeigler: I'm peeking at it I'm looking at Garrett Nussmeyer, quarterback at LSU, Carson Beck, and Drew Aller, quarterback at the Penn State, and I'm i'm between Nussmeyer and Drew Aller for the Pittsburgh Steelers here.
Ninja: think you're in the wrong choices here.
Ninja: I don't know if it's a hot take.
Dakota Zeigler: Talk to me.
Ninja: Luke Altmaier needs to be somewhere in that consideration. and In the third round. Give me Luke Altmaier.
Dakota Zeigler: The third round.
Ninja: I'm not saying he's better, but he's shown more. You know what I mean? Like it's neither of those guys you told me have shown anything but dog poop.
Ninja: At least Altmaier, I'm getting something. I'm getting a floor.
Ninja: Is there any sense in what I'm saying?
Dakota Zeigler: not Not my brain. It ain't clicking, buddy. It's not clicking at all.
Ninja: So I'm going to put it out there.
Dakota Zeigler: Sure, i like...
Ninja: Altmaier is above Nussmeier for me right now.
Dakota Zeigler: That's crazy. I feel like this is a... Who's the guy from like two years ago? Seth Hennigan? This is a Seth Hennigan situation.
Ninja: Nussmeier got benched. Nussmeier got benched.
Dakota Zeigler: He...
Ninja: What are we doing?
Dakota Zeigler: i think it's I think it's a little different being like you know the starting quarterback at LSU and in Illinois.
Dakota Zeigler: I think there's a little bit of a difference there. So if we...
Ninja: I thought we stopped discriminating on jerseys. You know, we finally draft Washington wide receivers.
Dakota Zeigler: It's not jerseys.
Ninja: You know what I mean?
Dakota Zeigler: it's not It's not jerseys. It's organizations. It's cultures. It's, you know...
Ninja: Oh, so I got to fight for this all again. we don't We don't draft jerseys. We scout players, not jerseys.
Dakota Zeigler: we don't But you draft programs. There's a reason Ohio State players and you know Indiana players and Clemson players are better than Illinois players. There's a reason for that.
Dakota Zeigler: Georgia. like You want a Georgia and Alabama player before you want somebody from Georgia Tech. And I'm not scouting Jersey. I'm scouting an organization. I'm scouting a culture.
Ninja: You're in the wrong process there. That's not how we do film analysis here, buddy. You're biased before you even go in. We don't like that.
Dakota Zeigler: It's that biased.
Ninja: I'm to need you to pick your pick here and I'm to disagree just because I need to. I don't care who you pick here.
Dakota Zeigler: Fair. That's fair. I'm looking at a corner for the Steelers. I guess we can talk about who we took earlier in the draft. I'm mad. I'm furious. We took Kamari Ramsey, safety out of USC, and then we obviously got Fonu follow us in the first round.
Dakota Zeigler: I'm kind of looking defense. I'm kind of looking to patch holes. Wide receivers, I guess I can peek at them. Who's available here? Wide receiver. Zachariah Brands and Skylar Bell are still available. Malachi Fields is available. Notre Dame, Chris Brazel. I think one of these wide receivers does actually make a difference for me.
Dakota Zeigler: Who do I want to take here?
Dakota Zeigler: Do you have a preference on any of these wide receivers? CJ Daniels, Zachariah Brands, Skylar Bell.
Ninja: Skylar Bell.
Dakota Zeigler: I agree. Skyler Bell, Y-WC-Ready UConn, goes to the Steelers with their first of three third-round picks. And we're up with the Ravens. Third round, earlier in this draft, we took for them Big O Iawane in the first round. Second round, we got Ian Nachor. We actually double-tapped offensive line for the Ravens.
Dakota Zeigler: Kind of nuts. So, for me, I'm looking defense.
Dakota Zeigler: Got to kind of change the culture there.
Dakota Zeigler: Not a lot of big names available. Danny Dennis Sutton, edge rusher out of Penn State, kind of speaks to me. Zaki Wheatley, safety. that I don't think they need a safety. They took one in the first round last year.
Ninja: It's because they shouldn't take defense if they made it this far.
Dakota Zeigler: Yeah.
Ninja: It's Chris Basel here.
Dakota Zeigler: Ooh, you think you go wide receiver?
Ninja: You have to. At this point, if you don't go defense in the first two rounds, there's no reason for you to go defense in the third. Because there's no one here left.
Ninja: And I think their defense is okay enough.
Dakota Zeigler: I don't mind taking Chris Prisdell.
Ninja: Chris Brazel...
Dakota Zeigler: Yeah.
Ninja: Let me put the ninja steak down.
Dakota Zeigler: i am
Ninja: He's going to be a guy.
Dakota Zeigler: Ooh. I don't have the sound effect or I would.
Dakota Zeigler: i don't have the sound effect.
Ninja: I love me some crisp razzle.
Dakota Zeigler: Interesting. We're going to go him here for the Baltimore Ravens. Wide receiver out Tennessee. Back up with the Steelers in their second of three third-round picks. I'm looking at quarterback again, and I'm not looking at Luke Altmyer.
Dakota Zeigler: I'm going to make the pick. I think it's Garrett Nussmeier, QB out of LSU, or it's Drew Aller, QB out of Penn State.
Ninja: to who are you pick it.
Dakota Zeigler: Mike McCarthy would take the big bodied Drew Aller out of Penn state. He'd, he'd take the, keep them in state.
Dakota Zeigler: Drew Aller is going to lead the Pittsburgh Steelers. Him, him and Will Howard are going to be battling, battling it out in camp for the backup position to Aaron Rogers. What a, what a quarterback room that would be. That'd be incredible.
Dakota Zeigler: We have the last pick of this mock. Steelers have a late third-round pick. We just took quarterback for them. We've kind of been patching up their offensive line. Probably looking best player available here. You kind of have a comp pick to do what you want with.
Dakota Zeigler: No names are really screaming out to me right now. Let's see. Ooh, Nicholas Singleton. Do we just keep taking Penn Staters?
Dakota Zeigler: Davison Igbenosum, cornerback Ohio State, is available. I think that's probably a pretty good choice for them.
Dakota Zeigler: Let me see if they're available. Will Lee is available, and ex Xavier Scott is available. I do think they can go corner here. I think that that's kind of where the draft has fallen for them.
Dakota Zeigler: Yeah.
Dakota Zeigler: Will Lee is a little skinny. Xavier Scott's little under size as well. Minosem, he has way too many penalties, but I think he's got the size that the Steelers are probably looking for. I'm going to go Will Lee, cornerback out of Texas A&M, and we're going to finish off this mock draft.
Dakota Zeigler: I think that was a fun one. I think three rounds might have been a little bit too long because towards the end, they're kind of getting bland. We talked about it before the for the podcast went. But, yeah, I think we did pretty well there, filling in these rookie needs for the AFC Norris. Obviously, we're doing this before free agency, so you know taking a bunch of offensive linemen for the Ravens might you know come back to haunt us when they sign two of them and Tyler Linderbaum. But as of now, I think we did pretty good for them. I think the the Cleveland Browns, we completely revamped their offensive line, taking Lomu,
Dakota Zeigler: Pregnant in the second round, and then your tackle out of Iowa in the third round in Jennings, Dunker. But, yeah, I think this was fun. I would love to do this again with you, buddy. These are like little quick little mock drafts after fixing the division.
Dakota Zeigler: We'll see after the combine, which I guess we can talk about is this weekend. I can't wait for that. That would be one side to see. How did you, i got to ask, how did you fall in love with this kid?
Dakota Zeigler: Ankle biter.
Dakota Zeigler: He's a dog.
Dakota Zeigler: I don't think I would have taken anything too far off the bat. I think for me, I think it would have been fun giving Ravens Jordan Tyson at 14. I was kind of going back and forth between that pick. I feel like I want to use very chalk right now, but I think it would have been fun taking Tyson and then seeing what kind of fell them later in the draft. Obviously, I think we ended up taking Brazel for them later on in the third. So I guess that's a fair enough trade, getting a stud guard and then another pretty decent wide receiver.
Dakota Zeigler: But yeah, I don't think I would have changed much. I think the Steelers, I think we have realized in this mock draft that there are plenty quarterback A quarterback is available in late day two for the Steelers to consider, especially with three third-round picks. So I would be very surprised if they took you know a Ty Simpson at 21 or even in the second round. I think it's pretty obvious the Steelers should go QB in the third round for me.
Dakota Zeigler: Mm-hmm.
Dakota Zeigler: Yeah, this was a lot. We've talked about it even before and during while you were making this, how in tune and detailed it was. I'm excited to see which one we end up doing next, so please leave your comments behind. Tell us what division you want us to fix next, and then we'll do another mini little mock draft, just talk about some prospects.
Dakota Zeigler: But no, this was fun. i'm good I'm glad to get back to doing the podcast. I kind of missed it after being busy last couple weekends and with the move and all this stuff and packing. So i was glad to just kind of hang out, talk to the boy, and chat about some football and some prospects, and you know disagree on some backup quarterbacks.
Dakota Zeigler: Exactly. Exactly.
Dakota Zeigler: well
Dakota Zeigler: Maybe we'll trade you A.J. Brown in the Elite first.
Dakota Zeigler: Yes, please.
Dakota Zeigler: Oh, my God.
Dakota Zeigler: Mm-hmm.
