"I love that first pick!" Patriots 2X Champ Rob Ninkovich joins! What grade does Ninko give the Pats #Draft ? What does Rob make of 4th overall pick, LT Will Campbell? #NFL
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00:00Joining us now, a man who made me look like an absolute buffoon last week,
00:06which some would say is not that hard to do, the great Rob Ninkovich.
00:10Hello, Rob.
00:12Hey, guys. Sorry, I was in New Orleans. You know how that goes.
00:15So I'm here now. I'm here now.
00:18What time?
00:18Happy to be on with you.
00:20I guess Bourbon Street got you. Is that what happened?
00:23Well, I was fishing on Thursday, then we got back,
00:26and I had a few cocktails and maybe a few more.
00:30And I woke up at, like, 9, and I missed my time.
00:33That's forgiven, honestly.
00:34It's New Orleans.
00:36It's New Orleans.
00:37NOLA.
00:37I love NOLA.
00:39So your grade, Patriots draft-wise, Robert?
00:44I'm going to go B++.
00:46Wow. Pretty high.
00:47I'm not a big A on a draft class.
00:50The whole A+, or A, that whole grade on that, to me,
00:55everything is basically potential anyway.
00:58And now it's up to the players to go out there and perform.
01:02And then maybe in a year or two, you could say,
01:05wow, that was an A-plus draft.
01:06But everybody that you have right now,
01:09they're still just rookies that played in college,
01:12and you don't know what's going to happen.
01:14So for me, we'll see what happens.
01:16It's similar to that 2010 draft where they had a ton of talent
01:22and they had great careers.
01:24So now you look back at that draft, you're like, wow,
01:26that was a heck of a draft, and those guys contributed.
01:28So we'll see what happens.
01:30You know what, though?
01:31I love that first pick.
01:32I love it.
01:34And, you know, the interviews, you know,
01:38like, it just got you going.
01:41You know, it just brought you back to, hey,
01:43I want to go out there.
01:44I want to go one-on-one with Will Campbell,
01:47and I want him to baptize me.
01:48And I'll just be laughing the whole time.
01:51You know, I'll be giggling the whole time.
01:53Wiggy hated that pick.
01:54Yeah, I wasn't a fan of it.
01:55I wasn't a fan of it all.
01:56I mean, how could you not?
01:58When you got a guy that's like, yeah, man,
01:59I'm just here to rip some heads off.
02:02You know, it's nasty.
02:04Yeah, I'm nasty.
02:06How would you define your game?
02:07Nasty, man.
02:08I'm telling you, I'm going to go out there,
02:10and I'm going to protect my quarterback
02:11like it's the only thing I have on this earth.
02:14And I'm going to go out there,
02:15and I'm going to play a offensive line.
02:18Dude, it's like, it just gets your heart racing.
02:21And for me, when you look at that pick,
02:23that's a necessity.
02:26They needed a lineman that potentially could be here for 10-plus.
02:31Now, that's all potential, like I said.
02:34But, you know, it's similar to like a Matt Light pick
02:37where you bring a guy in who's got a super talent to him,
02:41and his mentality's there.
02:44He seems like he could be a great leader, a concrete guy.
02:47So, you know, I think it's a great pick.
02:49But even to your point, Rob, Matt Light went in the second round.
02:53I would have rather seen them have gone maybe traded down
02:57and then took Tyler Warren.
02:59I know Shine was on Ashton Genthy.
03:00I would have been happy with Ashton Genthy.
03:02I feel like you could have got the lineman in the second round
03:06and one of the skill players with your first overall pick,
03:11and that's where I disagree with them.
03:13Yeah, he might be a great player,
03:15but I just disagree with them taking a lineman at four
03:18rather than a skill player.
03:20Well, if it was the fifth, we'd all be drunk.
03:23That is true.
03:24I mean, you could have done a lot of different things there,
03:27but having that fourth pick and having that guy right there
03:31to where you could say, hey, if we pass this up, if we trade down,
03:35if we get something else, we don't solidify the offensive line,
03:39which I think right now the offensive line is probably the biggest glaring need
03:44that to protect the blind side of your third overall pick,
03:49who you think is going to be the future at quarterback,
03:52having two young guys together, you could have a good run here for a long time.
03:58So I think going and getting that pick,
04:01and if you knew coming into this draft, this is what we need.
04:05If he's available, we're going to get him, and guess what?
04:07Let's not look back.
04:08I think they did that, and that's, you know, to me, it was great.
04:13This draft, to me, it looked like they knew what they needed.
04:16They went and they got it, and, you know, now it's up to them
04:18to go out there and produce.
04:19So arm length, not an issue for you?
04:22You know, it's all footwork.
04:24Offensive line stuff is footwork-based, and, you know, I'll tell you,
04:27when I go back to some of the hardest matchups I've gone against,
04:31it was guys with great feet, and he's got a great set,
04:35and when I talk about set, getting to the spot and his quickness,
04:39and, you know, I go back to when we played the Ravens.
04:43I think it was one of the AFC championship games,
04:45and it was at home against the Ravens,
04:47and they had Marshall Yonda, who was playing tackle,
04:51and going into that matchup, he was a guard, Pro Bowl guard,
04:55you know, one of the best in the league,
04:57and I kept watching film, like, okay, he's a guard,
04:59but he's going to be able to tackle.
05:01How am I going to attack him?
05:01And I tell you, it was really tough for me,
05:04because he was so quick, and he was getting to the spot,
05:07and when you're going against guys that have great footwork,
05:09it really messes with outside linebackers, past rushers,
05:14so I don't think the arm length is going to be any issue.
05:16Matt Light, you know, I think he had 33-inch arms.
05:20You know, it comes down to your technique,
05:23your footwork, and your consistency,
05:25and I think he's got, you know, all three of those things.
05:28Rob, you were in Chapel Hill a couple weeks ago.
05:33Wellness check on Bill.
05:34What the hell is going on with that guy?
05:37I don't know if you saw the interview yesterday.
05:39I did.
05:40I wish you would have put a different shirt on.
05:41Somebody said put the holy, the worst-looking Navy shirt on.
05:46I mean, it must have been, you know, 30 years old,
05:48but anyway, yeah, I went down there just to check it out.
05:52You know, beautiful campus.
05:53I've never been in that area, so it was an opportunity to go check it out
05:58and help coach a little bit.
06:00It's just, you know, the crazy part about college is you realize that
06:05the majority of these kids will never play it down in the NFL,
06:10so you're working with a lot less talent,
06:14and when you're in the NFL a long time, you're with the best of the best,
06:18so the best player on the best team in college is in the NFL,
06:22and then you go back to college, you realize, like, wow,
06:2490% of these kids won't even touch the field in the NFL,
06:28and some of them are getting paid, which is just nuts.
06:32All of them are getting paid.
06:34It's nuts to think that some of these kids that are getting paid aren't very good,
06:38but they think they're good, you know?
06:40Was your trip down there organized by Jordan Travel Enterprises, LLC,
06:46or how does that work?
06:47I did not come into contact with that aspect of the organization, no.
06:54Uh-oh.
06:55So I did not see her.
06:58I did not, you know, come across anything.
07:01You know, I went down.
07:02Steve's a good friend of mine, so, you know, I went down,
07:05hung out with Steve for a couple days, and it was great.
07:08You know, you love getting back in the swing of going into the meetings
07:13and, you know, working with guys in practice, and the one thing I would say
07:17about college athletes, they're eager to get to the NFL,
07:20so they want to learn, and they want to, you know, they want to get better.
07:24So it was cool.
07:25I really enjoyed it.
07:26What is your guess at why Shador Sanders dropped so precipitously?
07:30I would probably have to say the interviews, maybe.
07:34You know, and that's all hearsay on how he interviewed, but, you know,
07:38at the end of the day, it's still a job where you have to, you know,
07:43go into an interview.
07:44You have to represent yourself as you would if you were on the team,
07:48and if he didn't do those interviews well or if he came across as, you know,
07:52kind of arrogant and, you know, too big for certain teams,
07:56then I could see how that would be a big problem for these teams.
07:59And I was listening to earlier on the whole, like, gold chain thing.
08:04Everyone's got a gold chain.
08:05I got a gold chain on right now.
08:07You know, so the whole rap thing, too, it's like, come on.
08:12Everyone's listening to rap.
08:13Yeah, but, Rob, you know the perception of how certain dudes,
08:18they carry themselves, and especially black athletes,
08:22if they're in the perception or, like, you know,
08:24whether it's people in the front office.
08:26I've even had position coaches where they look at and you carry yourself in this way.
08:31They instantly think because you act and dress like a rapper,
08:35you act like a rapper.
08:37Well, I mean, I've been around a bunch of guys, you know, in my career,
08:41and I've seen a lot of different situations where guys were probably more over the top
08:49than some rappers, right?
08:50And they were having a good time.
08:52And, you know, they were great football players.
08:54So, you know, the whole rap, this guy's going to bring the entourage and all that,
09:01I mean, I really think at the end of the day, some of the, I think some of the modern,
09:07right now, this situation that we're in in 2025 with the cameras and the entourage
09:12and everything that you do is recorded and it's documented
09:16and they're making, you know, videos and YouTubes and, you know, your platform.
09:21I think that also could cause an issue for some guys or teams because they're like,
09:26you're bringing on not just the player, but you're bringing your entourage.
09:31You're bringing this whole thing with you and they're recording everything.
09:34And, you know, at a certain point, you're just trying to build a team with individuals
09:38and you're trying to lose the individuality to bring together a team.
09:42And it's really hard to build a team now when all these players are individuals
09:47and they're just about, you know, hey, I'm going to try and brand market myself.
09:51You know, the legendary brand.
09:54He's already branding himself as legendary before he's legendary.
09:59You have to go out and produce to become a legend.
10:02Don't you think that the college game, though, needs to figure out NILs
10:06because this is just going to continue where guys are making millions and millions of dollars
10:10coming into the league.
10:11It's getting worse and worse and worse.
10:13Now, look at the quarterback from Texas.
10:16He was going to make millions.
10:17Now he's making league minimum almost.
10:19He's the seventh round pick.
10:20So, you know, some of these guys were crying because they lost six million bucks, right?
10:25They weren't crying because they're happy to go to the NFL in the seventh round.
10:28Yeah.
10:28It was interesting, though.
10:29They're like, wow, I just listened to my agent say I was going to be drafted first overall.
10:34And guess what?
10:34I lost $40 million.
10:35I better start crying.
10:38But I think the problem now is, like, for example, you see somebody getting paid in college
10:46and they're out there and they're screaming, I am him and I do this, but they only make
10:52two out of ten plays, right?
10:55Like, to be that person, you have to make ten out of ten.
10:59You've got to be 12 out of 12, 14 out.
11:01You've got to be the man, you know?
11:03And I think there's a lot of, you know, people that are delusional, honestly, on what they
11:09really are because the majority of college players won't even make it to the league.
11:15That's it.
11:16That's it.
11:17That's what's going to happen.
11:18I think we're creating a huge mental health crisis for players because they think they're
11:24going to be these, you know, football gods and they're going to end up looking for a
11:29nine-to-five.
11:31Yeah.
11:32My biggest takeaway that I heard over the weekend that landed with me about the draft is that
11:36we're done with the middle-drafted quarterbacks.
11:39In other words, there's going to be first-round picks and, like, sixth-round picks because
11:43people in the NFL either think you could be a starter now or if you're a two- to three-year
11:47project, they're not going to take any action on that until later in the draft.
11:53Yeah.
11:54I mean, I agree with that in some aspects, but you also have to look at the way the money
11:58is trending now.
12:00And if you are a team that has a quarterback, you're paying $60 million per, you know, I
12:08mean, what is the highest-paid quarterback is what, Dak?
12:10He's making $60 million?
12:11Yep.
12:12So you're tying yourself to somebody and it's going to take four to five years before
12:17you're even thinking about a quarterback because you're automatically guaranteeing
12:22these guys massive amounts.
12:23I mean, even Cleveland, they handcuffed themselves so badly because they gave such a- they gave
12:29a terrible contract to a quarterback who didn't perform on a fully guaranteed deal and now
12:34they're still handcuffed because they still have to pay him for the next three years.
12:38And, you know, there's just such a small pool right now for these quarterbacks where if
12:45you're going to pick somebody in the first round, they better be great.
12:49Or if you're not good, you're screwed for the next four to five years if you draft a top
12:56five quarterback and he's not good.
12:58Well, Rob, what I think it is, it's really about the hype that they get when they're in
13:03college because if you look at last year's draft, for example, I mean, think about the
13:08hype that Jaden Daniels, Drake May, and Caleb Williams got, but not just them.
13:13Then you throw in JJ McCarthy, you throw in Bo Nix, right?
13:17So to me, I think it's more about how the NFL hypes these college quarterbacks.
13:24So like next year's quarterback class, everybody's already hyping up Arch Manning, right?
13:29But then what about the other guys behind them?
13:31Are they now going to say, oh, next year's going to be a really good quarterback class?
13:34Because that's to me where it goes.
13:36And I think a lot of people were just down on this year's class and that's what it ultimately
13:41showed.
13:43Yeah.
13:43Well, I mean, if you took, if you put Drake May's draft class against this year's draft
13:48class for the quarterback, I don't think it's even close, right?
13:52Like Daniels versus what's available, Drake May versus what was available this year.
13:57Um, and then all those teams that were needing a quarterback last year who picked and got their
14:03quarterback, well, they're set for the next five to six to 10.
14:07If you're, if you're lucky, you're, you're hoping that you, you hit a home run with your
14:10pick.
14:11And, you know, this year you pick, you look at the number one pick, okay, Tennessee, they
14:17pick, pick their quarterback at number one.
14:19Um, now you would have thought, I personally thought that Shador was going to go in the,
14:25like, if he was going to not get drafted in the first, first round, he would have been
14:30gone in the second round.
14:31Because after you look at the draft and the way it goes, okay, these teams needed a quarterback.
14:36Well, they picked the quarterback.
14:38Now they're not going to pick another quarterback.
14:40So Cleveland picking a third and a fifth.
14:43I just thought that that just doesn't make sense to me, right?
14:46Like if you were going to pick Shador, why wouldn't you have picked him in the third round?
14:50So, you know, I just think that there's a lot of, uh, teams right now that they, that position
14:56at quarterback is so valuable, they didn't, they looked at it and they say, Hey, we already
15:01have a quarterback.
15:02We don't need a quarterback.
15:03Let's move on and let's, let's build our roster in any other capacity that we can.
15:08Rob Ninkovich gives the New England Patriots a B plus, and he rarely gives an A that's,
15:13that's basically, so that's, I know I'll never give an A unless, until after they perform
15:18Greg.
15:18All right.
15:18Well, it's great to hear your voice.
15:20And I look, you should come to a roadshow.
15:22Join us at a roadshow this spring.
15:24Where's the next roadshow?
15:26Well, we're in Springfield this week, but we'll be, we're going to, I know you, I know
15:29you love New Hampshire.
15:32You got the shop up in New Hampshire.
15:34Maybe we could get you out at Bernie's at Hampton, or maybe we'll get you out at Winnipesaukee.
15:40Maybe join us at the guy.
15:41What are we going to the, oh, I'll go to Winnipesaukee.
15:43I've never been to Winnipesaukee.
15:45Okay.
15:45Never been.
15:46All right.
15:46We'll get you up there.
15:47We'll get you up there for the Winnipes, uh, July 3rd, Winnipesaukee.
15:50Love it.
15:51All right.
15:51Okay.
15:52July 3rd.
15:52I probably won't be there on July 3rd, but Hey.
15:54Just 4th of July weekend, Rob.
15:57You in?
15:59Maybe I'll just call in with, uh, you know, poolside.
16:02How about that?
16:03All right.
16:04Good to talk to you.
16:05There's the great Rob Dinkovich, everyday listener of this radio program.
16:08Good to talk to you.
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