We go over the POTENTIAL DE's in the 2025 NFL Draft that could be in the mix for the Commanders at 29.
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00:00He's got a little something-something working.
00:02He's not just there to sling popcorn.
00:03This guy knows a thing or two.
00:04Doing some customer service, taking care of Jeeps.
00:06All right, let's talk edges in this NFL draft, which is 10 days away.
00:11So see if you agree to these terms.
00:13Abdul Carter out of Penn State is going to go in the top three,
00:17and so we don't need to waste any time talking about him.
00:19Correct.
00:20He's amazing, by the way.
00:21He's going to be an awesome player.
00:22He's just not a player that's going to play for the Commanders
00:24on his first contract.
00:25And then I would say Jalen Walker, the edge from Georgia,
00:30is also going to go in the top 10 probably if he doesn't any slides.
00:34He's not sliding out of the top.
00:36Yeah, it's still a teens.
00:3715 or whatever.
00:38He's just not an option.
00:39So I think you could rule those two guys out for Washington.
00:43I agree.
00:43Other than that, though, when you talk about Mikel Williams from Georgia,
00:49Shamar Stewart from A&M, Mike Green from Marshall,
00:53Donovan Ezraku from Boston College, James Pierce from Tennessee,
00:57any of the other guys, I think they are in play in the middle to back end
01:02of the first round, and at that point, it's a little bit of a crapshoot.
01:05This is the shuffle up and deal eye of the beholder type part of it, right,
01:08where you have elite athleticism, elite traits, elite production
01:14with the guys at the top that you mentioned.
01:15Then there's a wrinkle with everybody.
01:18For some, it may be an off-the-field thing.
01:20It may be a potential, I don't know, something that's kind of nagging
01:24that might lower some folks in their eyes.
01:27With Shamar Stewart, for example, it's not a ton of production
01:30that doesn't match the athleticism.
01:32The incredible scores that he put up in terms of the shuttle,
01:35the broad jump, the high jump, and everything else.
01:37One of the elite athletes ever.
01:39It almost tore at 70 pounds in 6'5", and yet he had a sack more
01:42than our show put together.
01:44So this is where it gets really interesting.
01:46But do you agree with the premise that these five guys, roughly,
01:50they're going to float around?
01:51Yes.
01:51We don't really know who goes where or what order they're going to be.
01:54Every mock, you've seen three of those guys that we're talking about,
01:58again, Pierce, Stewart, Michael Williams, maybe Mike Green or Azaraku,
02:02be in the teens.
02:03I've seen them in the 20s.
02:04I've seen guys flipping the second round.
02:06Again, this is a fascinating range.
02:08So I thought we could introduce everyone to the edges today
02:11because I think you hear a lot of talk about them,
02:14and we just drop these names like they're household NFL players.
02:17And a lot of our listeners just don't watch a ton of college football
02:20and maybe haven't seen these guys.
02:21So Michael Williams is someone whose name you've said a couple of times.
02:24This is a 20-year-old junior from Georgia.
02:27He is 6'5", 260, absolutely massive, big-time talent.
02:32He's one of these guys, though, that I will say,
02:35when you're going to look up the resumes and the write-ups
02:37on any of these players, with some of them,
02:39it's all about what they've done in college, the numbers, the stats,
02:42the production, how they've played.
02:44With him, it's what star recruit he was
02:47and how much every team in the SEC wanted him
02:51and what he looks like.
02:53He's straight out of central casting
02:54because some of the numbers just have not been there.
02:57Five sacks last year were a career best.
03:01Nine tackles for loss last year were the best it's gotten for him.
03:05His three-year sack totals at Georgia,
03:08four-and-a-half, four-and-a-half, and five.
03:12So this is not an impressive statistical resume,
03:15but I will tell you, and I'm not going to use the word tape.
03:19You know, I'm not putting on the tape.
03:20I'm going back and I'm watching highlights,
03:22and the cool thing is now that you can get actual full games
03:25and watch these guys too,
03:27but when you go back and you watch him,
03:29my God, is he big.
03:31He has a couple of plays where he just engulfs people,
03:34blows someone up in front of him,
03:36gets in the backfield,
03:37and then completely swallows up a ball carrier.
03:41I get it.
03:42I get why people dream on this guy a little bit
03:45because it's 6'5", 260.
03:46He moves really well,
03:47and he kind of looks like a traditional defensive end
03:52who could stand up and move around.
03:53Yeah, like old-school hand-in-the-dirt guy
03:55who, you know, knocks around tight ends,
03:57makes quick work of double teams,
03:58really good at setting the edge as a run defender.
04:01I mean, you can see it with that size,
04:02and he's got a frame where, you know,
04:03I've read a few different scouts
04:05and people put these things together.
04:07He can add more productive weight, probably,
04:10as he gets into the pros,
04:11if that's something that somebody wants him to do,
04:13to be kind of an every-down defensive end,
04:15or if you want to be more of an edge,
04:16you don't have to have him bulk up a little bit,
04:18but the toolkit, I think, is there for him,
04:21which is why, I don't want to say consensus,
04:22but he's the most likely to be the third edge off the board.
04:25Which is why I start with him.
04:27I think he'll probably not get past the Falcons at 15,
04:31who desperately need pass-rushing help.
04:33And have for a while, James.
04:34I don't think Jalen Walker will be there.
04:36We know Abdul-Carter will not be there.
04:38So it would make some sense to me
04:39if they took Mike L. Williams.
04:40The only way he gets past them, to me,
04:42is if, you know, one of the other guys,
04:43they just happen to like better, goes there,
04:46and then he goes shortly thereafter.
04:47But look for the Bengals, especially,
04:49if Trey Hendrickson's still on the trade block,
04:51there at 17, the Bucs at 19 would make a lot of sense as well.
04:56All right, that brings me to another guy
04:57that I think could go somewhere in the middle of the first round.
05:00But there is a real chance he could fall to Washington,
05:03and that is Mike Green.
05:04So Mike Green shares a name
05:06with the longtime former Capitals defenseman.
05:09That's kind of the end of the comparison.
05:1121-year-old edge.
05:13He actually is a local guy.
05:15He started his college career
05:16at the University of Virginia
05:18and finished at Marshall.
05:19He grew up in Newport News, Virginia.
05:22He went to Lafayette High School in Williamsburg.
05:24You ever been to Lafayette High School?
05:26I never have.
05:26I went down there for a
05:27semi-final state championship football game
05:30when the King George Foxes were playing at Lafayette
05:32back in probably 2000, 2001.
05:36Jermon Bushrod was on that squad
05:38who would go on to play for the New Orleans Saints
05:39for many, many years.
05:40But Mike Green just completely exploded
05:43on the scene last year at Marshall.
05:45He is not as big or like
05:47what I call that central casting size.
05:49He's 6'3", 250 pounds.
05:52So he's got a little bit of a tweener look to him,
05:55in my opinion.
05:56But man, oh man, was he productive last year.
05:59Super productive.
05:59Led the nation with 17 sacks
06:02at 23 tackles for loss.
06:04So if you want a guy
06:05who gets sacks at the college level,
06:08who puts up numbers in college as a pass rusher,
06:10this is your bogey.
06:13A little bit of a one-hit wonder.
06:14That is a concern I have.
06:16He had four and a half sacks
06:17and nine TFLs the year before at Marshall
06:19and did even less than that
06:20in his first year at Virginia
06:22before transferring.
06:23So it's basically one big-time college season,
06:25but it was big, big, big time.
06:28Sunbelt Player of the Year.
06:30Really, really strong dude too.
06:32He did 28 reps at 225 pounds.
06:35Grades out very well against the run.
06:36I think he'll be able to hold it,
06:38you know, anchor at the position
06:39and not get blown off the ball.
06:42I really, really liked
06:43when I watched Mike Green a lot this weekend,
06:46I really, really liked him.
06:48So this is my guy.
06:49If it happens, if it's possible.
06:50Now I will say there have been
06:51a couple off-field things
06:52that have nagged him
06:54and have been sort of a cloud
06:56hanging over him
06:57over two different stops.
06:58One is from high school,
06:59which I don't put as much credence in
07:01that one was at the University of Virginia.
07:03Exonerated of those things,
07:04but it's still kind of a cloud
07:05and something that he's had to explain.
07:06And I don't know how teams are viewing it.
07:08I don't know if it's one of those things
07:09that it's coming up again
07:10because teams want him to fall
07:12so they can draft him.
07:13I don't know.
07:13Just offering the full panoramic here.
07:15But in terms of football,
07:16I don't know anything about anything
07:17other than that.
07:18What I've watched,
07:19what I've seen,
07:19what I've read,
07:20this looks like it.
07:21This to me is the guy
07:23that somehow,
07:23some way,
07:24if he was there at 29,
07:25hyperproductive,
07:27you know,
07:27it's not as big as some of the other
07:29defensive ends that you're going to see,
07:30but doesn't get pushed around either.
07:31He can hold his own
07:32at the point of attack
07:33to get to the dessert.
07:35A.K.,
07:35you got to eat your vegetables
07:36on first down,
07:37stop the run.
07:38They're going to test you.
07:39Now let's get to second
07:39and third and long
07:40and have him hunt.
07:41Like,
07:41to me,
07:42this is the guy
07:42that I've got circled.
07:43Yeah,
07:43I'd be very,
07:44very happy
07:44if he was the pick.
07:46If you look at pass rushes
07:47with the pressure,
07:48you know,
07:48the percentage of the time
07:49when you're rushing
07:50that you get pressure
07:51this year in college football,
07:53he was fifth in the nation
07:54at about 18% of the time.
07:56In fact,
07:56if you look at pressures
07:58per game this past season,
07:59again,
07:59he was the national leader
08:01in sacks.
08:01He ended up third
08:03at 4.54 sacks per game,
08:06excuse me,
08:07pressures per game
08:08this year
08:09behind only two edges,
08:11one of whom
08:11we're going to get to
08:12in one second.
08:13But my only concern,
08:16I guess other than
08:17the one-hit wonder element
08:17to this thing,
08:19still though,
08:19when you have that kind of year,
08:20I don't care if you only do it once,
08:22you got it in there.
08:23Marshall,
08:24you know,
08:25it wasn't in the SEC.
08:26Right.
08:26It was not in the Big Ten.
08:27It was at Marshall.
08:29That gives me slight pause.
08:31Because you are going up
08:33when you're in Marshall football.
08:34Look at their schedule.
08:35You play some really good teams,
08:37don't get me wrong,
08:38but
08:38it's not like
08:40you got Florida one week
08:42and then A&M.
08:43I mean,
08:43you're playing Old Dominion
08:44and Texas State
08:45and Coastal Carolina
08:47and Georgia State
08:48and Appalachian State
08:49and Georgia Southern.
08:50Like,
08:50when you level up
08:51and have your game of the year,
08:52you're playing JMU.
08:53And last time I checked,
08:55their tackles aren't starting
08:56all over the NFL.
08:57Great program,
08:58but
08:59that is something
09:00to acknowledge,
09:01I would say.
09:02No,
09:02it's real.
09:03That's the only thing
09:03that waters it down.
09:04I mean,
09:04some guys come out
09:06of those small schools,
09:07you know,
09:07DeMarcus Ware from Troy
09:08or Troy State,
09:09whichever one it is,
09:10and other guys come out
09:11of those small schools
09:11they're never heard from again.
09:12This is where the combine
09:14and some of those testing
09:15and some of those visits
09:16and some of those workouts
09:17can really kind of play into that
09:19to supplement,
09:20as you said,
09:20against lesser competition.
09:22All right,
09:22next guy I want to hit on here
09:24who's got a chance
09:25to very much still be there
09:26because the more mocks
09:27I'm looking at,
09:28he's going in the late first.
09:30So the general consensus
09:32is Carter Walker,
09:33long gone,
09:34Mike L. Williams,
09:35almost certainly gone,
09:36and then you got,
09:37we'll get to some
09:37of these other names,
09:38but Shamar Stewart,
09:39Mike Green in that tier.
09:40One of the guys
09:41that is falling to Washington
09:42quite a bit
09:43on mock drafts right now
09:46is Nick Scorton,
09:47who is a 20-year-old
09:49defensive end
09:49at Texas A&M.
09:50He started his college career
09:52at Purdue
09:52before transferring.
09:53He's listed similarly
09:55to Mike Green,
09:566'3 and 257 pounds,
09:59former second-team
10:00All-Big Ten
10:01who broke out
10:02and became first-team
10:03All-SEC last year.
10:05Not big-time sack numbers
10:06in college.
10:0712 games,
10:08five sacks,
10:10batted a couple balls down,
10:11forced a fumble,
10:1214 TFL,
10:13so he did not dominate necessarily.
10:15Did have a 10-sack season
10:17two years ago.
10:18So there's a multiple-year
10:20stretch here
10:21over a couple programs
10:23where he has produced,
10:25but never to the level
10:26of some of the elites
10:27in college football statistically.
10:30You know,
10:30the size when he actually
10:32was measured in
10:34was as if he grew
10:35closer to 6'4
10:36and added like 15,
10:3818 pounds.
10:38I mean,
10:39some people are saying
10:39he's going to play
10:40around 280 pounds,
10:42which if that's the case
10:44with his length,
10:45there's a little bit
10:45of like a Montez Sweat
10:47action figure feel
10:48to him,
10:49I think.
10:50I think that'll help
10:51him against the run,
10:52just being able
10:52to keep people
10:53from getting in
10:54on his chest
10:54and engaging,
10:55but 78 pressures
10:57over the last couple
10:58of years for him.
11:00So this is a guy
11:00that,
11:01as you said,
11:01is falling down boards,
11:02it seems like now.
11:04Maybe the lack
11:05of production,
11:06most recently,
11:06an A&M
11:07and his running man
11:08on the opposite side.
11:08Again,
11:08Shamar Stewart,
11:09who we've referenced,
11:09didn't have a ton
11:10of production as well,
11:11so maybe there's
11:11something in the water
11:12there,
11:12but as you said,
11:13looks the part certainly,
11:15and I think a lot
11:15of teams are going
11:16to be intrigued by him.
11:17You can kick him
11:18inside on passing downs
11:20maybe as kind of like
11:21part of that NASCAR
11:22package sort of deal
11:23if you want three
11:23or four pass rushers
11:24out there.
11:25As you said,
11:26sets up pretty well
11:27against the run.
11:28Maybe not as sexy
11:29as some of the other names,
11:30but has been disruptive
11:31at times with some
11:32of the TFLs and a bit
11:33of a push inside.
11:34So that's an intriguing one,
11:35especially if they move
11:36back a little bit,
11:37right?
11:37Because I think there'll
11:38be enough numbers
11:39where you could get
11:40Skorton at 29 probably.
11:42Probably get him at 39,
11:4341,
11:44somewhere in there.
11:45And again,
11:46according to what
11:46people are saying
11:47with mocks,
11:47you never know.
11:49Here's another
11:49defensive end
11:50that I actually think
11:51if you want to talk
11:51likeliness will be available
11:53and maybe has the highest
11:55odds of being the pick
11:56if they stick
11:57and grab an edge.
11:58Donovan Ezraku,
11:5921-year-old defensive end,
12:02senior player
12:02at Boston College
12:03this year,
12:04ACC defensive player
12:05of the year,
12:06first team all ACC,
12:07listed about 6'2 and 250,
12:10tied a team record
12:11with Harold Landry,
12:11who's gone on
12:12to have a very good career.
12:13The Tennessee Titans
12:15long-time pass rusher
12:16at 16.5 sacks this year.
12:19Huge, huge season.
12:20Again, you like production,
12:22Mike Green, Marshall,
12:24Donovan Ezraku, BC.
12:26Those are probably your guys.
12:28He had 21 tackles for loss
12:30this season as well.
12:31Now, another guy
12:32who made a leap
12:33out of nowhere pretty much
12:34because he had two sacks
12:35last year,
12:36did have eight the year before,
12:37so he's got a couple years
12:38in college
12:38where he put up
12:39some big numbers.
12:40But you got to look at,
12:41I know that the sacks
12:42are not the end-all, be-all.
12:43Sometimes you're rushing better,
12:44you're not getting them.
12:46But, you know,
12:46a sandwich season
12:47that we had, too,
12:48when he played a full year
12:49is kind of odd.
12:50But Ezraku, I think,
12:51could be there.
12:52And like Mike Green,
12:52I would be perfectly fine with.
12:54Now, there are plenty of times
12:55when you watch him
12:56and he struggles
12:57getting blown off the ball
12:58against the run.
12:58He's a little undersized.
12:59He's smaller.
13:00And I think there's like
13:01a Dante Fowler feel
13:03to him for me
13:03where I'll bet you
13:05at some point in his career
13:06the book ends up being
13:07not great against the run
13:09or not someone
13:10who's going to play all downs.
13:11But dang,
13:12do I like him
13:13rushing the quarterback.
13:14And he's relentless
13:15and he's got speed
13:16and he can get around the edge
13:17and he's got a spin move.
13:18He's got some different things
13:19that I saw.
13:19Like, I actually think
13:21he could end up being
13:21a really, really good pass rusher.
13:23Yeah, all those cliched things
13:24that they're going to say
13:25on draft day
13:26about the motor
13:27and about the energy
13:27and the toughness.
13:29And, you know,
13:29it's one of those leaders, right?
13:30A four-year guy
13:31at Boston College
13:33seems like the kind of dude
13:35that might, you know,
13:36that Adam Peters
13:37might give the local 53 tag too,
13:39right?
13:39Just in terms of
13:40the things that he did
13:41in school
13:42and showing up
13:42and just doing the right stuff
13:43all the time.
13:44I do worry a little bit
13:45about the frame
13:46and, again, on first down
13:47because that was such a weakness
13:49for this group.
13:50Normally, I don't think about that.
13:50Normally, I'm like,
13:51can you rush the passer?
13:52I'll figure the rest out.
13:53But kind of thinking about
13:54what they need
13:55and what might fit well.
13:56Maybe, listen,
13:57he's got long arms
13:57so maybe they think
13:58he'll grow into someone
13:59who's serviceable enough
14:00in that regard
14:01as a run defender.
14:02But to me,
14:03the premium thing
14:04is how relentless
14:05he is as a pass rusher
14:06and some of the moves
14:07he's got.
14:07He's a little undersized
14:08in that regard
14:08but gets home.
14:10Let's see who we have
14:10not hit on here
14:11of the kind of seven
14:12in the first round mix
14:13most often.
14:14Shamar Stewart
14:15we haven't really talked about.
14:16You've named him
14:16a couple times.
14:17Stewart is a guy
14:18that just hasn't gotten
14:19sacks in college
14:20but everybody loves
14:21the skill set,
14:22the size,
14:23and the measurables.
14:24He is 21 years old.
14:26He's from Miami, Florida.
14:27He's 6'5", 267.
14:30I mean,
14:30anything you want him to do
14:31from like a combine standpoint,
14:33he'll do it.
14:33Action figure, man.
14:34Doing it.
14:35The problem is,
14:36look at the back
14:37of the football card.
14:38One and a half sacks
14:39each of the last
14:41three years in college
14:42and TFL's a 4'2", 6.
14:44Now,
14:45I could look really stupid
14:47with what I'm about to say
14:48but I'm out.
14:49I don't have to watch
14:51all 37 of your career games
14:54to know that you have
14:55a combined four and a half sacks
14:57in three years
14:58and I know that
14:58that's a silly way to do it
15:00but there's something,
15:01the dots are not
15:02being connected there.
15:03so I'm moving you
15:04down my board.
15:05You just have to have
15:05more than four and a half
15:06career sacks
15:07at that size
15:08with that program
15:09for me to be interested
15:10at 29.
15:11He's to get your fire gown
15:12in both directions, right?
15:13You pass on him
15:14because lack of production.
15:15He goes on to be a star
15:16or you invest heavy stuff
15:18because of the upside
15:18and he doesn't do anything
15:19because he doesn't produce.
15:20You never know.
15:22This is one of those puzzle pieces
15:24that's really, really hard.
15:25I always default to...
15:28I understand you don't have...
15:29You don't have to set
15:29a pass rushing record
15:30for me
15:31to be interested in you
15:33or a receiving record
15:34or a quarterback record.
15:35I just can't have
15:36that little production.
15:37I can't explain that away.
15:38Not with a second round pick,
15:40with a third round pick.
15:41By all means,
15:41you're drafting traits
15:42at that point.
15:43Let's get after it.
15:43But with my first rounder,
15:45doesn't feel right to me.
15:45So I'd be one of the passers.
15:47The last one
15:48who's a late first round projection
15:49here is James Pierce,
15:50the defensive lineman
15:52from Tennessee.
15:5310 sacks,
15:54which was right at the top
15:55of his program
15:57and was third in the SEC
15:58two seasons ago
16:00at seven and a half sacks
16:01this year.
16:0219 and a half
16:03over three years
16:04with the Vols
16:05in the best conference
16:06in America.
16:07Also had 18...
16:10Excuse me,
16:1015 and 13 tackles for loss.
16:12So a total of 28
16:13over the last...
16:13two years for him.
16:15So he lived in the backfield.
16:16Has also made a couple of plays.
16:18Had a couple of interceptions.
16:20Four forced fumbles
16:20in his career.
16:22Pierce,
16:22more interesting to me
16:23than Stewart
16:24of those huge
16:26central casting
16:27scout type guys.
16:296'5",
16:30245,
16:31played in the Orange Bowl,
16:32the Citrus Bowl,
16:33and was a two-time
16:34first team All-SEC
16:36nominee as well.
16:37Had the quickest
16:3710-yard split
16:38among any of the edges.
16:39Was the only edge
16:40to run sub 4'5
16:41at the combine.
16:43The athleticism
16:44backs it up.
16:44I mean,
16:44he's tall,
16:45kind of that
16:46like your school.
16:47And he's got some production.
16:47Yeah.
16:48Oh, yeah, he produced.
16:49Not huge,
16:50but pretty good,
16:51I would say.
16:51He's the kind of...
16:52He's like a combo
16:53of the two.
16:53Yeah, so the ideal
16:54run defender.
16:55I feel like I'm over
16:56talking about run defense
16:57for someone that cares
16:57about a lot less
16:58than pass defense.
16:59But there are two kinds
16:59of run defender to me.
17:00It's that like
17:01constant,
17:02immovable object,
17:04push people around,
17:04you can't knock them around.
17:05Or the 1A of that,
17:07the kind that I like,
17:08is you might get him
17:09on a couple times.
17:10But that third time,
17:11he's going to disrupt
17:12your play.
17:12He's going to knife
17:13into the backfield
17:13and tackle you for a loss,
17:15which he's done
17:15a few different times.
17:16That kind of defender.
17:17Again,
17:18one off-field incident
17:19has people
17:19questioning some things.
17:20It was a speeding incident
17:22where it's been expunged
17:24and he's gotten through it.
17:25But that's one of the things
17:26that's knocked him down
17:26on some boards
17:27a little bit too.
17:28But that's a guy
17:28I wouldn't mind there
17:29if he's available
17:30in the late first round.