Speaker 0: Lots of places can expose you to identity theft. Oh, no. That's why LifeLock monitors hundreds of millions of data points a second for threats to your identity, which is way more than anyone can do on their own. If we find anything suspicious, like new loans or changes to your financial accounts, we alert you right away, all through text, phone, email, or the LifeLock app. Get the alerts that could make all the difference. Save up to 30% your first year year at lifelock.com/specialoffer. Terms apply.

Speaker 1: How many discounts does USAA auto insurance offer? Too many to say here. Multi vehicle discount, safe driver discount, new vehicle discount, storage discount, legacy

Speaker 2: How many discounts will you stack up? Tap the banner or visit usaa.com/autodiscounts. Restrictions apply.

Speaker 3: Hey, everyone. Happy Easter. Jeff Risen coming at you with the daily DLP. Took yesterday off. Unfortunately, I wasn't in a position where I could record anything, and I'm hoping that the Internet here in the, rental where we're at, over spring break holds up well enough that this will go through. So fingers crossed. But, it is Sunday, April 5. Again, happy Easter to everyone. Let's get into today's show. We're gonna talk mock draft roundup because it has changed a little bit. The complexion of the mock drafts that are out there, from all over the place has really squared in on offensive tackle, and specifically right tackle now as the place where the lines are gonna go. Looked at a bunch of the mock drafts over the last week from, you know, from major outlets from, like, you know, ESPN, NFL network, Bleacher Report, to like independent ones that are run, you know, just by, you know, small the smaller smaller guppies in the, the massive food chain that is the the NFL draft network. There's a lot of them out there, and you can find them out there. So let's let's go with the primary two who are being mocked right now, and that is Monroe Freeling from Georgia, who ironically enough is a left tackle, and Blake Miller, the right tackle from Clemson. Because they are they represent over 50% of the projections. And in my sample size, I looked at over 20 of them. And there are pluses and minuses to each. We've talked about both of them extensively. My personal feeling is that I do think that Freeling is much more likely to be off the board than on the board at 17, but it feels like the momentum is shifting a little bit where, you know, people are starting to buy into the thing that the Caden Proctor is rising up. And I personally am a huge believer in that. I think he's going in the top 10. He did get a few mentions by the way, with the Lions, at at 17. Again, I I I see the appeal. I'm just not a fan. It's just not what I want. And I'm I'm hopeful that, you know, those two hands will come together and Dean Proctor will be off the board so I don't have to stress about it, as we approach 17. Because I I really do think that he's gonna go high because people his size that can move like him, they don't last long. Whether they can play football or not. And he doesn't, you know, he does have some some solid football tape too. I just worry about the stuff that isn't, and how well it translates. But, you know, certainly, the appeal is obvious for for a lot of folks. Then that's why he's probably third or fourth in the in the polling for for it. But, you know, Freeling, I think, his inexperience is what holds him back. And I talked about this with Chris Depasso when he was on the other day. By the way, thanks for the great feedback on that. I had a lot of fun with Chris. We're gonna get him back after the after the draft for sure, and check out his his draft grade book because it's it's pretty darn sweet. Good way to track the draft. Like, Freeling. You see that there are times where his technique is a little sloppy and inconsistent. His footwork can get a a little bit away from him, you know, a little bit of leaning. But, a lot of it is just the fact dude dude doesn't have that many starts. There's just not that much experience there. He will get better over time. At least that's that's the projection. That's the hope. That's why you would take him in the 10 to 20 overall range, which appears to be where he's headed. Will he be there at 17? I don't know. It's potentially there. Absolutely. And then you get to the opposite end of the spectrum, and it's Blake Miller, who is athletic, but isn't as athletically adept as as freely. Certainly not a bad athlete. He's a little little stiffer in space, but that that's not me calling him stiff. Don't don't misconstrue that. More power based, 47 starts, you know, ridiculously experienced. He I do think he had he made a massive jump in his all around game from twenty twenty four to twenty twenty five. He got better, at sealing off the outside. He got better at engaging targets in the second level, not just running out there and looking like, oh, I'm I'm in the second level. Look at me, you know, and then not hitting anybody. He got better at that, and that's that's important. So I'm I'm good with either of them. My personal preference given that the lions appear to want an Azul to move the left tackle would be Blake Miller because he's already played right tackle, and he can leave him there. And I think that his experience level is such that he can start right away. We're feeling to come in, and he's gonna have to learn some some of those, you know the difference between I think I think he had 16 starts and 47 starts. The the 31 starts there, he's gonna make up that experience gap in the NFL against

Speaker 2: This summer, serve up the cookout classics, craft mayo and dressing. Toss green salads with delicious ranch dressing or zesty Italian. Serve smooth, craveably creamy potato salads with mayo. We all know it's not a cookout without craft.

Speaker 4: Sierra has all the best active and outdoor brands for the super athletic stuff, like running gear for cruising up the trail. Whoo. And the super athletic ish stuff, like fishing gear for chilling by the creek. Nice cast. Fitness apparel to push for higher reps. You got this. And golf balls priced so you can afford to lose one. Or a few. Head to Sierra or sierra.com for the brands you want at the prices that let you do it all. From athletic to athletic ish, Sierra's got it.

Speaker 3: You name the pass record, but also in practice every day against Aidan Hutchinson, but which will help. But there there's a two edged sword in that. I'll I'll go back to, the the I this is actually before I covered the Browns. The Cleveland Browns had a pass record named Cam Wimbley who in I believe it was twenties I think it was 2,006, had, like, 11 and a half sacks as a rookie first round pick. Then they drafted Joe Thomas. Joe Thomas came in and was godlike right away. You might remember, the Lions went Calvin Johnson at two. Joe Thomas went third. Not a wrong decision there. They're both first ballot hall of famers. They're both the best players at their respective positions that I've ever scouted and watched. Both of those right. Easy ones. Layups. But the the way that that Thomas just shut him down, like, it it effectively ended Wimberly's career, like, shattered his confidence. And I'm not saying that Hutchinson would do that in the inverse to Freeling, but there's always that that's never gonna leave the back of my mind. And it happens with wide receivers and quarterbacks as well. Happened a little bit with Jeff Okuda, number three overall pick in Detroit. Getting beat in practice daily by good receivers, it it didn't help him. I would hope that Freeling isn't of that mindset where, you know, he might, you know, lose that that fragility of confidence and swagger, but I don't know that. And so that that that that that will never not escape the back of my mind. There are random, one one thing that I did notice. There's only one mock draft that I saw that had Caleb Lomu to the lions. And that's an interesting one because, well, first off, he is a left tackle. He is seen as more developmental. He's, not sure he's the best grit fit. Look, I like his game a lot. I think he's better than Monroe Freeling. I think he's better than Blake Miller. But some of that is theoretical projection more than actual, like, what he's done. Sort of a pass protection specialist. And like, you might snicker, like, well, that's the point of the job. Right? Like, yeah. But in Detroit, we run the ball. We need somebody who can can move some people too, and that's that's not what he does. Not yet, anyways. Needs some sand in the pants. Looks like look around and see sand on the floor here. Spring break's always fun. Sucks and it always falls in the middle of draft season, but it is what it is. We're still doing the dailies. We're getting at them. Have one for you today and tomorrow. Tuesday might be tough. It's a travel day. We'll see. But, then we got guests coming galore to, help with the draft over the rest of time. There is not much on the defensive side. There are still a handful of mock drafts that are projecting either Keldrick Falk, the the defensive end from Auburn who I, again, think is a fantastic fit, for the Lions. And again, wouldn't be my choice. I I I do like the player. I do like the fit. I do think he would do very well in Detroit, but he wouldn't be my primary focus there if they went defense. I actually like TJ Parker a little bit better. Parker scores higher for me. And there aren't any that I saw off that have TJ Parker there, which is interesting. And the the shift like, it used to be, I'd say, sixty forty, you know, offensive tackle to edge, and now it's like ninety ten offensive tackle to edge. And you don't see any other positions really represented. There was one straggler for Hakeem Mesador. There was one that had, Malachi Lawrence in the first round. I don't buy that at all. I don't think he's going in the first round. Zion Young got a mention. So the guy I don't think he's going in the first round, and I don't think Detroit is gonna have any interest in him after his off field issues. Dude had a DUI in December. Like, you can't do that when you're in the that as soon as your college season ends, you are interviewing for your job. And doing that, it's it just doesn't show highly of your character. I understand that you're gonna make mistakes and you're gonna be dumb, but the lines tend to frown on guys who are that dumb, generally. Guys do make mistakes, though. J Mo's made mistakes. Oh, we had, who knows what's going on with Terry and Arnold. It feels like that's a nonissue, but it's still out there. Nobody has projected any corners for it, but I have something I have something on that coming up in the prospect of the day. Just feels like the consensus has moved very strongly that they're gonna take offensive tackle. And

Speaker 5: Amazon Health AI presents painful thoughts.

Speaker 6: Why did I search the Internet for answers to my cold sore problem? Now, I'm stuck down a rabbit hole filled with images of alarmingly graphic sores in various stages of ooze. I can clear my search history, but I can never unsee that.

Speaker 5: Don't go down the rabbit hole. Amazon Health AI gets you the right care fast. Health care just got less painful.

Speaker 7: Right now, get up to 15% off select storage solutions. Put heavy duty HDX totes to good use, protecting what's important to you. The solid impact resistant design prevents cracking, and the clear base and sides make items easy to find even when the totes are stacked. Find select shelving and tote storage up to 15% off at The Home Depot to organize every room in your home, from your garage to your attic. Visit homedepot.com. How doers get more done.

Speaker 3: I'm with you contrarians out there, the Brad Villains, because everybody thinks it's going offensive tackle. He's gonna go defense. Right? Yeah. I feel that too. I actually think it's more likely now that they are going to go defense than offense. But just my speculation, two and a half weeks out, don't know that's gonna happen. But one of the things and and this came up because I I had to do a mock draft for a real GM, and it will publish soon. Had the, I put the wide receiver big board up today, by the way. I don't think that the Lions have any interest in any receiver before maybe the sixth or seventh round. But I ranked 30 guys there. Not a great year to need a receiver. Not not at the top. It's a great year to need complimentary receivers, but we're not really gonna talk about wide receivers. We got Isaac Tyslav. We got Dominic Lovett. That's three and four. I'm good with that. More to the point, I think the lions are good with that. You can see them inject maybe a another speed guy, as an outside guy in case J Mo gets hurt. But look. One, two, three, like the Lions, you got three distinct types of receivers who are all really good at it. I think the slot I know the production wasn't great as a rookie. I think his I think his potential is really gonna shine in 2026 and beyond. His size, his athleticism, his his transition from option quarterback to being a full time receiver, and and, you know, not coming from a very well coached college team at Arkansas that didn't really bear him for that, I I I think he's gonna rise. And more than that, I know I know No. The Lions like where he's going. So not not going wide receiver. But back to the the the mock draft thoughts. When you do a mock draft, you need, let's let's say, Keldrick Falk or TJ Parker at 17, and then you get to 50. And you're looking, okay, what are the offensive tackles that are available here? What are these safeties, cornerbacks, linebackers that are available here. And the decline at those positions is far more radical than it is if you take your offensive tackle at 17, and then you're looking at the Malachi Lawrences, the Gabe Yakis, the, we'll throw Zion Young in there. Derek Moore from Michigan fits in that range. Like, there are so many more good prospects at rush end at 50 relative to the other positions that you would get at 50. And I hope that the lions understand that and see that and feel that, which is, you know, again, I like offensive tackle first because this this goes to my overarching complaint about 20 one of my many complaints about twenty twenty five was that the lions got away from being an elite offense. Yeah. They still put up a lot of points, but they lost that mentality that I don't care how many points our defense gives up. We're going to win. We're gonna outscore you. We're gonna be aggressive. We're gonna rub your face in it with our offensive talent. And they didn't do that. They they started to limit possessions and get a little bit conservative, and, you know, they they weren't balls to the wall offense the way that they could have been, and I think it cost them games. And you can't get back to that mindset if you don't trust your offensive line, and I want that offensive line resolved. Would I be upset if they took Falk or Parker or the defense? No. I wouldn't. I I can certainly make that work and more to the point, I think the lions can. But my preference would be to go offensive line first because of the drop off at that position specifically. Now it's weird because then if you drop down further to where the Lions have their two fourth round picks and, you know, you can merge them into a third round pick, we all think that's gonna happen. Right? Like, that's what Brad does. And that range where the Travis Burks, the Markelle Bells, the Demetrius Crownovers are, I know the Lions have spent a lot of time looking at all of those guys. I've heard that from multiple places. Like, they have they have been out there looking in that, we'll call it third tier of offensive linemen, offensive tackles. And it's not a bad one. Jude Bowery from Boston College also fits into that range. He was the name that I was trying to come up with here for a second. And there there's there's others in there too. Caleb Tiernan might slide into that as well. Like, it's like two a three. Tiernan's Tiernan and it appears to be Lobo actually are the only guys that are in that that tier two range. I by the way, I don't think Caleb Bloom is going in the first round. I put that in the the bold predictions the other day, and everybody's like, well, yeah. Where you been? Like, that's not who he is. So I don't know. I I guess I missed that. Missed that memo with the combine, but okay.

Speaker 8: PACE checkout is offered by your banks and credit unions. So when you shop online at participating merchants, your cards appear in one place, ready to use, and kept up to date. And the best part, your actual card number isn't shared when you check out because boundaries are healthy. Like, no work emails after six. One small step for boundaries. One big leap for checkout. PACE, it checks out. Activation required. See pays.com to learn more. Terms and conditions apply.

Speaker 3: I just feel good about where the lines are at. I really do. Now I wanna bring up for the prospect of the day an alternative, if you will. And I hinted at this the other day, that if there was one specific cornerback available at 17 that I could absolutely see the Lions taking him and it's this guy, Jermott McCoy. And I feel that way because boy, oh, boy, his so he missed all of 2025 with an ACL that he tore in 2024 and missed all of workout season until this week. And he put on a freaking display. Athleticism off the charts. At six one one eighty eight, dynamic jumper. Look, he was he was a triple jumper and long jumper in high school. Like, you figured that twitchy athleticism looked great, looked fully recovered. And that means, yeah, you better believe he's in play because in 2024, he was the best quarterback in college football. Now we're gonna start with the cons again first because I like finishing on the positives. Missed all of 2025 and into 2026 with a twenty twenty four ACL tier. Has just one year, one year of high end film. Started at Oregon State. He was, he was okay. I watched one game. I didn't see anything special. Tennessee, he was really, really good, but he has one year of college film. It's like 12 games. Slowly lacks tacking pow tackling power and pop behind his pads. That's readily evident, even on his good tape. He is not a hitter. He is not a tackler. He is a guy who will, like, try to wrestle you around and, you know, grab legs and as an underpowered guy to try to get you to the ground, he had a astronomical missed tackle rate at Oregon State. It got better at Tennessee. Some of that was the fact that he was working more on the outside exclusively, and could push people out of bounds. It's the reality of it. He's not that physical though. He's not a physical guy, which does lead me to wonder how much the lions would consider him, because they do like physicality on the outside, but he does a couple of things really, really well there, mitigate that. And he does play the quarterback more than the wide receiver. He will get caught peeking in the backfield. He will, occasionally nibble on the pump fake. Won't say it's it's bad, but it's there. The pros, though. Man, this guy's good. Excellent footwork and route anticipation in man coverage. He always has the best leverage. Like, if the if the play is designed for him to have outside leverage, he keeps outside leverage. It's designed for him to have inside leverage. He keeps inside leverage. He pushes the guy to the sideline exceptionally well for a guy who isn't strong. It's it's uncanny how good he is at that. It really is. Dynamic athleticism, tested with elite speed and burst, and it does show on film. He can go get the ball. The my ball mentality, six INTs, all of them were cases where he looked like the receiver going to get the ball. That's who he is. It's my ball. It's not the offenses. It's mine. I freaking love that. Uses his length well, six one. He's wiry. He's not again, he's he's he I believe he weighed in the one one eighty eight. That's might be high for his planning weight. I'd I'd guess he plays more at, like, one eighty five. So, like, there are skinny concerns and, obviously, the the durability concerns. The durability and inexperience give me massive pause. However, that's Brad Holmes music, baby. Yeah. I can see the lions falling in love with Jamal McCoy and taking him. A 100%, I can. It's not gonna be what I predict, but I could like, it wouldn't surprise me if the lions fell in love with this prospect specifically at 17, if he lasts to 17. I think, he and Mansour Delaine, there's a fair chance that both of them are off the board. Sort of depends on the cornerback versus wide receiver run. If wide receivers go early, I can see McCoy being there available. If the wide receivers start a little bit later, which I think they might, talk about that in the prediction piece, then I do think that that, McCoy will be will will be around. So we'll see or would would not be around. He would go earlier. And that's that's where the safeties would also rise up. But anyways, that's Jermaine McCoy. That is definitely a name to know even if the lions don't appear on the surface to need a starting cornerback because he is the kind who is different enough and and potentially special enough to make it work. Having said that, that ACL with the complications from it scares the living crap out of me, and the inexperienced does too. I wouldn't look. I wouldn't be enthusiastic about the pick, but also, like, the players really good. That would be a difficult one for me to reconcile, but I I think I could come to terms with that. I do. We'll see how that happens. Anyways, enjoy your Easter. Enjoy your Sunday. Got got a lot of fun things coming up in the next couple of weeks as we get into the draft. So with that, Jeff Risen signing out. Be good to one another.