Which NFL Rookies Will Make The Biggest Impact This Season?

0:10 Welcome back to the first pick with the 2026 NFL

0:13 draft behind us and the summer right around the corner.

0:15 Let's take some time to talk about some of these rookies in this class

0:18 that we expect to have the biggest impacts with their new teams in the fall.

0:21 In case you're wondering Bmac, because our eyes never stray too far

0:24 from the next crop of draft eligible players,

0:27 there are 351 days before the 2027 NFL draft in Washington DC.

0:31 I'm Ryan Wilson, that's former two-time Super

0:34 Bowl champ Brian McFadden with the Pittsburgh Steelers

0:36 and we'll be giving you 10 rookies total

0:38 that we think will make immediate impacts next season.

0:41 Bmac, thank you for joining us, sir.

0:42 How are you doing?

0:44 Man, I'm excited.

0:45 I'm excited, man.

0:45 There's a lot to talk about.

0:46 You talked about the draft just getting completed.

0:49 Now we're getting chance to kind of analyze and predict what

0:52 we will see from some of the guys that got drafted.

0:54 And as you just mentioned, leave it up to Ryan Wilson to give us

0:57 the exact number of days until the 2027's NFL draft.

1:03 Leave it up to Ryan.

1:05 No time, no rest for the weary, Bmac, as the old saying goes.

1:08 Uh I'm already digging digging into the '27 class.

1:12 And uh I think the wide receivers in that group are going to be pretty special.

1:16 And I mention that because you and I

1:18 both for our first impact rookie chose wide receivers.

1:23 Now I'll I'll sneak peek it here.

1:24 None of us Neither one of us chose quarterbacks.

1:27 Um in part because that's low-hanging fruit and in part because you don't

1:30 know how it's going to work out depending on where you land, Fernando Mendoza.

1:33 But I'll start I went with Jordan Addison.

1:35 And I went with Jordan Addison for a couple of reasons.

1:38 Number one, we saw him running those routes on air

1:41 a week before the draft and everyone got pretty excited about that.

1:44 We thought he had a chance to be uh wide receiver one.

1:46 Ended up going to the New Orleans Saints inside the top 10 there.

1:50 But I'm going to throw some names out at you

1:52 and uh tell me what you think cuz sometimes

1:54 I can I can to a little reactive and over

1:56 the top with the with these comps and comparisons here.

1:59 So, here's the thing.

2:00 2020, Justin Jefferson weighed 200 lb, was 6 ft tall,

2:05 and we know what he did when he arrived in Minnesota.

2:07 He was that guy on day one.

2:09 Then fast forward to 2023.

2:11 A fifth-round pick named Puka Nacua, 6'1, 200 lb.

2:15 And I mention that because our guy,

2:17 Jordan Addison as you see there at Arizona State, he's 6'2, 200 lb.

2:23 All these guys played about 70% outside and about 30% in the slot.

2:28 That's Jordan's last year at Arizona State,

2:30 and that's what Puka and uh we saw um Justin Jefferson do in their first years.

2:35 We know that Puka can dominate out of the slot as well.

2:38 But, I mentioned all that to say similar size, similar skill set.

2:42 I would imagine that Jordan Addison is probably faster

2:45 if they ran in a straight line than Puka.

2:46 We know that that Jet can can jet.

2:49 The only mitigating factor for me is Justin Jefferson

2:52 was catching passes for Kirk Cousins in year one.

2:54 Obviously, Matthew Stafford was throwing the ball to Puka

2:56 in year one when they went absolutely crazy.

2:59 Can Tyler Shuck take that next step in his development,

3:03 and can Jordan Addison help him get there?

3:04 Because if we see those two link up early,

3:07 it could be a big year for both those guys.

3:10 I think a reason for you to be optimistic with Jordan Addison in terms

3:15 of his production is look at what Terrace Marshall did with Bryce Young.

3:20 Remember going into the year a year ago,

3:22 many felt like what would they get from the quarterback position?

3:26 Well, Bryce Young really played good football,

3:28 and it led to really nice numbers for Terrace Marshall.

3:30 So, I I think that's kind of like the same

3:32 neighborhood when you talk about the offensive concerns with New Orleans,

3:36 similar to what we saw with Carolina,

3:37 and clearly Bryce Young answered a lot of those questions

3:41 throughout the entire season that led to a really,

3:43 really great rookie campaign for wide receiver Terrace Marshall.

3:47 So, I I see the same like similarities.

3:50 I think Jordan Addison is going be a phenomenal

3:52 player if keyword if he can remain remain healthy.

3:59 Yep.

3:58 Right?

3:59 That's the thing you're hoping for New Orleans and I

4:01 hope clearly he's able to be healthy because if he's healthy,

4:05 he is going to do numbers.

4:06 And to your point, I kept it in the same position, wide receiver.

4:11 I went with Cornell Tate, of course, the Tennessee Titans.

4:14 They surprised a lot of people, Ryan.

4:15 When we were watching the draft,

4:17 we all thought Tennessee would probably attack the defensive side.

4:21 No, they went to the offensive side.

4:23 They got Cornell Tate, one of the more coveted wide receivers in this draft,

4:28 one of the smoother wide receivers in this draft.

4:30 And this is a dire need for Tennessee.

4:33 Now, I understand Kevin Calvin really missed a lot of time because of injuries.

4:37 I think he only participated in seven games.

4:38 But look at these Listen to these bad numbers, right?

4:42 In receiving yards as a whole, total offense receiving yards,

4:46 they were 29th in the National Football League, 3,241 yards.

4:51 In receiving touchdowns, right?

4:53 In receiving touchdowns, they were 31st in the National Football League.

4:59 15 receiving touchdowns for the entire season.

5:02 Oh, by the way, Jeffrey Simmons actually caught one of those touchdowns.

5:07 So, if you talk about legit touchdown passes received by pass catchers, only 14.

5:14 Only 14.

5:15 They average per reception 9.5 yards per catch.

5:20 That was 31st in the National Football League.

5:24 And as an offense passing yards,

5:26 they average 166 yards per ball game from the quarterback throwing.

5:32 That was 30th in the National Football League.

5:35 So, when you talk about those below average numbers in the passing game,

5:41 we saw why they did what they did in selecting Cornell Tate.

5:45 So, when you talk about the bar set, the bar is extremely low.

5:49 I mean, it's low enough for a 2-year-old to jump over

5:51 at this point for Tennessee when it comes to the receiving category.

5:57 Yes, he has to provide a spark.

5:59 I do believe he will provide a spark,

6:01 especially if Calvin Ridley is healthy as well.

6:03 So, this was a dire need and I think he goes into an ideal

6:06 situation because if you look at Cam Ward and how he finished the season,

6:09 Ryan, Cam Ward was playing some really inspired football,

6:13 to say the least, when you look at how he started the season.

6:16 So, if they could put everything together

6:17 and the offensive line played much better,

6:19 Carnell Tate, I think he should have a really, really good rookie year.

6:23 Yeah, and you mentioned Tate as a comparison for Jordan Addison, my guy,

6:26 in terms of the quarterback play with Tyler

6:28 Lockett and maybe Bryce Young being on similar paths.

6:31 I would argue that Cam Ward has a chance to make a big leap in year two,

6:34 in part because you're getting him a weapon like Carnell Tate.

6:36 So, that's going to benefit both of them.

6:38 I feel much better about Cam Ward in year two,

6:41 in part because of the arm strength

6:42 and the the physical tools that he brings over Bryce,

6:45 who at 5'10" has to get everything right all the time.

6:48 Also had a new coach, which is certainly the case for for Cam, as well.

6:51 The other thing I'll mention about Carnell, B-Mac,

6:54 and our buddy Pete Prisco, and maybe you a little bit,

6:56 was giving me a hard time when I said in the days

6:58 leading up to the draft that if you're just watching on Saturday,

7:00 there wasn't a lot of difference between

7:02 Jeremiah and Carnell just watching the game.

7:04 So, I'm going back and watch Jeremiah Smith, and he is freakish.

7:08 He is not Julio Jones.

7:09 He is not there yet.

7:11 And he Here's the other thing.

7:12 Carnell Tate is a much more polished route runner,

7:14 much more consistent, had fewer drops,

7:16 and I think he's going to hit the ground running, uh knowing that.

7:20 Is he a better athlete?

7:20 No, and no one's going to say that he is,

7:22 but I think in terms of being more polished and more NFL ready right now,

7:25 it's Carnell, and I'm going to hold

7:27 that over Pete Prisco's head until I'm proven wrong,

7:28 which might only be 12 months.

7:29 But, for 12 months, I'm going to hold on to The other thing I

7:33 wanted to mention about Jordan Addison

7:35 and the injury concerns which you brought up.

7:37 One of the reasons Puka fell to the fifth

7:39 round was because he couldn't stay healthy at BYU.

7:42 And now he's been relatively healthy.

7:43 He's had some some little uh bruises here and there

7:47 that have kept him out of games, so nothing serious.

7:48 So, to your point, Jordan stays healthy, that's great.

7:51 And Tyler Shough, while a year two quarterback,

7:53 he's also older than you, so he's got a lot more experience,

7:55 so maybe that's a little bit uh more helpful in his development uh as we

7:59 look towards 2026 and what that looks like for two of the impact rookies.

8:04 All right, producer Ron, let's take another break here.

8:05 We're going to keep the conversation on the offensive

8:07 side of the ball when we come back

8:08 and talk about two more skill position players who

8:10 have a chance to be impact rookies next fall,

8:13 and we'll do that right after this.

8:26 Welcome back to With the First Pick.

8:27 We're going through uh 10 total, five each,

8:29 of our favorite impact rookies for the 2026 NFL season.

8:33 Now that the uh 2026 NFL draft is 2 weeks old,

8:36 I'm joined, of course, by my guy Brian McFadden, two-time Super Bowl champ.

8:38 And B-Mac, let's head to the division rival of your Pittsburgh Steelers,

8:43 the Cleveland Browns.

8:44 And I just want to say this quickly.

8:45 I saw this on the old internets.

8:47 I saw uh remember when James Harrison body

8:50 slammed the Browns fan that came onto the field?

8:53 Were you there for that?

8:55 Yes, I was.

8:56 So, apparently I think someone from the Browns So,

9:00 y'all were beating the pants off the Browns late in the season,

9:02 and the fan admitted that he'd had a few too many

9:05 pops and was going to go out there and mix things up.

9:07 I think he was telling some of the Browns

9:08 defensive players that he could do better than they could.

9:10 And that was right before Deebo body slammed him through the turf.

9:13 And I mention that because

9:14 the Post-Gazette Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote about it,

9:17 that story, 20 years later, the reunion.

9:19 So, Deebo sat down with the the the young

9:21 man who at the time is now 20 years older,

9:24 and uh you know, he had sort of that was a turning point in his life,

9:27 which that makes sense.

9:28 If Deebo's body slams you, you might have to reevaluate some things.

9:31 So, he's gone on to get married and have kids and have a have a you know,

9:34 it's a good story, but I was reminded

9:36 of that because that that was a crazy time.

9:38 You could not do that in 2026 what James Harrison did

9:41 in 2025 cuz there would have

9:43 been consequences and repercussions for everybody involved.

9:45 But let's stay in Cleveland cuz I'm going to talk

9:48 about one of their two first-round picks, Casey Cain Ception.

9:52 The slot receiver.

9:53 I call him a slot, but here's the thing, he's 5'11" 195.

9:56 He played 85% outside last year at Texas A&M.

10:00 The year before before he transferred to NC State,

10:02 he was primarily an inside guy.

10:03 So we know he can do both.

10:05 He's going to be a slot probably primarily at the next

10:08 level here in Cleveland cuz they also drafted Denzel Boston.

10:11 They have Jerry Jeudy.

10:12 They have Ced Tillman for now and Isaiah Bond.

10:14 But there's going to be a role

10:15 in this offense for this young man because on paper,

10:17 B Mac, this Browns team is one player away from being competitive.

10:21 And that one player, unfortunately for them, is quarterback.

10:24 So we'll see if Deshaun Watson can pretend like he's with the Houston Texans

10:28 or if he continues to play the way we saw him play in Cleveland,

10:31 which wasn't very good.

10:31 What that means for Shedeur Sanders and so on and so forth.

10:34 But in terms of possible options for what Casey

10:38 could look like by the end of the year,

10:40 I have two names for you who are similarly sized and played similar positions.

10:44 Jaylen Waddle, who's actually only 182 coming out,

10:47 but we know what he did in that offense when he arrived in Miami.

10:50 He was red hot.

10:51 And the other one is a Jaylen was a first-round pick.

10:54 The other one was a day three pick because

10:55 he ran in the 4.6s in the pre-draft process.

10:58 Amon-Ra St.

10:59 Brown, who was one of the best players

11:00 in the NFL right now and just got paid as such.

11:02 He's 5'11" closer to 200 lb.

11:04 He had 90 receptions in year one.

11:06 Jaylen Jaylen Waddle had 104 receptions.

11:09 I think Casey Cain Ception, if the quarterback can get right,

11:12 he can put up 70 plus in terms of receptions and be a game-changer on that team

11:18 like I mentioned that that has very

11:20 few holes outside of, unfortunately for them, quarterback.

11:23 Yeah, and he has a four-down impact.

11:25 We know what he could do in the offensive huddle first,

11:28 second, and third down, but also he's a returner.

11:30 He's a punt returner.

11:31 He has the ability to change the field position field position instantly

11:37 in terms of offensive play with him getting the opportunity to return punts.

11:41 And I think I hope they would allow him to return punts because he

11:44 was exceptionally gifted in doing that at NC State and most recently at A&M.

11:49 So, I love KC.

11:51 I think he's a great football player in terms of what

11:53 they need there in Cleveland and he can make people miss.

11:56 You know, we know what he can do in terms of running routes.

11:59 But when he gets the football into his hands,

12:01 boy you better swarm to the football because he can make he

12:05 can make you end up on his highlight reel if you're not careful.

12:08 So, I'm going to keep it on the offensive side as well.

12:11 Another guy that I think should have a real

12:13 nice significant impact in year one is Keion Crossen.

12:17 He was the 16th overall selection if I'm not mistaken

12:21 right in the first round by the New York Jets.

12:22 And remember when that happened, we were together.

12:25 We all was a bit surprised, right?

12:28 We knew they need to add some offensive offensive arsenal.

12:31 But going to get Keion Crossen surprised a lot of us.

12:33 But then when you look at how the entire

12:36 round one played out for the Jets, bravo.

12:38 Did a great job.

12:39 But the reason why I'm really high on Keion Crossen is because the bar

12:43 at the tight end position for the Jets is it's been set rather low, right?

12:49 Mason Taylor, he did a serviceable job when he found

12:53 his niche in the offense almost 400 yards one receiving touchdown.

12:57 But if you go back the last 13 years, Ryan,

12:59 they've only had one season when where a tight end

13:03 had at least 600 yards receiving for the entire season.

13:07 Last 13 years.

13:09 And that year was 2023, Tyler Conklin was the player, 621 yards.

13:15 Right?

13:16 And if you look at the best ever

13:17 tight end season for the Jets organization, right?

13:21 You got to go back to 1985, Mickey Shuler.

13:24 He had 879 yards.

13:27 So, if you look at what we've seen most recently, the last 13 years,

13:30 only one tight end has surpassed 600 yards for a season, a full year.

13:36 And then when you look at historically speaking,

13:38 not really getting that high-level production from the tight end position,

13:42 this is why I think Kian Saldivar should emerge

13:45 to be a big-time playmaker because of his athleticism,

13:49 the speed, the the the mindset,

13:51 and just the the the the the unique ability he has to be

13:56 able to be a major matchup nightmare for whoever it is is guarding him.

14:02 And then when you look at the first-round selections from a year ago,

14:05 Tyler Warren had a really good year, 817 yards, right?

14:10 Four receiving touchdowns.

14:11 You look at Coston Lovelady,

14:13 when he found his niche mostly in the second half, 713 yards, six touchdowns.

14:19 What about Harold Fannin Jr., right?

14:22 731 yards, six touchdowns.

14:24 And Arondae Gadsden Jr., he had 664 yards, surprised everyone, right?

14:31 And and and and marginal opportunity.

14:33 So, if you're Kian Saldivar,

14:35 that's the neighborhood you need to be in in year one.

14:38 When you look at those guys and where they were drafted,

14:40 how they helped their offense.

14:42 I'm glad you mentioned Arondae Gadsden the second because I

14:45 was talking him up cuz he was a Syracuse kid.

14:47 And I I was talking him up all last draft season.

14:49 He ended up going on day three and big athletic can block

14:53 and it feels like if he hadn't been in this draft class,

14:56 BMac, he might have been a top 75 guy

14:58 the way those those tight ends went off the board.

15:00 So, he was just a year too late.

15:01 But to your other point, talking about Kian Saldivar,

15:03 I will say this, Coston Lovelady,

15:04 once he got healthy, you're right, he absolutely balled out last year.

15:07 He's from Idaho.

15:08 Uh Kian Saldivar also from Idaho.

15:10 So, now that's tight end you in terms of Idaho being a tight end factory.

15:13 But the other thing,

15:15 when Kian Saldivar was at his best and most consistent was 2024.

15:19 Who else was there?

15:20 Terrance Ferguson, the tight end who was a second-round pick of the Rams.

15:22 He's now going to the Jets as you point out.

15:25 He's playing with another athletic tight end

15:27 in in Mason Taylor, Jason Taylor's son.

15:29 So, that that can help him.

15:31 Also going to help him, I got to call him by his full name,

15:34 Eugene Cyril Smith the third returning to form.

15:36 He is going to wear out those tight ends,

15:38 especially if we're going to see them evolve

15:40 into more two and three tight end sets,

15:41 which seems to be a a theme around the league.

15:44 The other beneficiary, Garrett Wilson, who's been begging for help.

15:46 They got that in the form of Omar Cooper Jr.

15:48 This team doesn't feel that much different than the Browns

15:50 in that they got have a lot of good pieces.

15:53 They're probably still a year away,

15:55 but that doesn't mean they can't be competitive and find

15:57 out what they have in some of these young players.

15:59 And um I love the idea of Kenny Siddique for the reasons

16:02 you pointed out because we knew they were going to take David Bailey.

16:04 That made sense at two.

16:06 Kenny Siddique in a vacuum by itself at 16 was a little confusing.

16:09 And then you could circle back and get Omar Cooper Jr.

16:12 at pick 30, trade back into the first round,

16:14 and now you were suddenly cooking with gas.

16:16 And our little sneak peek here, B-Mac,

16:18 I got another player on this Jets draft class that I'm

16:20 going to talk about later as a potential impactful rookie.

16:23 And I'm looking forward to that.

16:25 So, I'll ask you this before we take a quick break here.

16:28 Um who is more impactful?

16:30 Maybe not necessarily in terms of bigger numbers,

16:33 but who is more impactful to their team as rookies?

16:35 Casey Conception or Kenny Siddique?

16:39 Say it again.

16:39 Kenny Siddique and who?

16:42 Uh Casey Conception, my guy.

16:45 I'll go Kenny Siddique.

16:48 Oh.

16:47 I think Kenny Siddique Yeah,

16:48 because it's you talking about the tight end production.

16:51 And that's a major need for the Jets.

16:53 And with Gino being an experienced quarterback, I mean,

16:57 a tight end is usually a quarterback's best friend.

17:00 Right?

17:00 You look at what Daniel Jones did with Tyler Warren,

17:03 Coston Lovelady when he was healthy second half the season,

17:06 Caleb Williams and that relationship, Shedeur Sanders targeting Fanning Jr.

17:11 I think Kenny Siddique has an opportunity to have more of an impact than Casey.

17:16 And you mentioned the four-down capability of KC.

17:18 Kansi is also a dog on special teams.

17:20 He He's not a returner, but he can do a little bit of everything.

17:23 He ran a lot of fake punts.

17:25 He was a part of that.

17:26 He can line up at quarterback and two-point conversion.

17:28 So, he gives you that gives you that versatility, as well.

17:31 All right, let's take another quick break here, producer Sharon.

17:34 When we come back, I'm going to turn my attention to the offensive line,

17:37 and Bmac's going to turn his attention to someone who

17:39 benefits by having a good offensive lineman in front of them.

17:41 We'll figure out who those two guys are right after this.

17:54 Welcome back to With the First Pick.

17:55 We are going through our impact rookies for the upcoming season,

17:59 now that the draft is a few weeks behind us.

18:02 I'm Ryan Wilson, and of course this is Bmac.

18:04 And uh Bmac, I was already in Cleveland, division rival of yours.

18:08 Now, I'm headed to uh potentially bigger division rival in Baltimore.

18:12 Pick 14, it felt like this was meant

18:14 to happen going back to essentially the combine.

18:18 Bengali Owuane, the left guard out of Penn State,

18:20 he's sitting there on the board, they're going to take him.

18:23 And it's rare that we talk about offensive lineman having immediate impacts.

18:27 Number one, he feels like a Raven.

18:29 Number two, I'll give you some fun facts about him at Penn State.

18:32 He allowed zero sacks last year.

18:35 Allowed zero sacks the year before.

18:37 Only allowed four hurries, and allowed zero hits on his quarterback last year.

18:42 That is exactly what the Baltimore Ravens need.

18:44 And I want to read you this quote uh that he

18:47 said recently when he was asked about protecting Lamar Jackson.

18:50 Uh he told reporters, "When I'm on the field,

18:52 nobody is going to stand in front of me and survive.

18:55 Nobody's going to touch my quarterback.

18:56 It's as simple as that." Uh what does that tell you when you hear

19:00 about uh your rookie first-rounder who's going

19:03 to start at either left or right guard,

19:04 depending on how they shake out the roster?

19:06 What does that tell you about his mindset heading into uh his you know,

19:09 what's What's to be his first snap as an NFL player?

19:15 He protects quarterbacks like a parent protecting a newborn baby.

19:19 That's how important it is to him.

19:21 And hearing that is personal.

19:24 That would be music to any quarterbacks

19:26 ears hearing their guard say something like that.

19:29 Heck, Ryan hearing any offensive lineman saying that.

19:32 Like, no, we're not doing that.

19:34 No one is touching my quarterback and he has displayed

19:37 that mindset and skillset throughout his collegiate career there at Penn State.

19:41 And to your point, yes, he feels like a Raven.

19:44 And that was a dire need for them offensive line-wise, the guard position.

19:49 I mean, they had some issues there.

19:51 If they can rectify that area of their offensive line,

19:54 the entire flow will be there when you look

19:56 at what they have throughout their offensive line play.

19:59 So, yeah, man, you you know how I feel about Vega.

20:01 I think he's one of the best offensive lineman,

20:04 regardless of positions, that was drafted a few weeks ago.

20:08 He's that good.

20:11 So, I'll say this.

20:12 They didn't address needs at center and that was that's

20:14 a concern for for them and the Ravens fans voiced those concerns.

20:17 They signed John Simpson,

20:18 so they'll figure out which side John Simpson's going to play

20:21 on at guard and then Venga will will play the other side.

20:23 But, it's coming together.

20:24 They drafted Roger Rosengarten a few years ago in round two.

20:26 They have Ronnie Stanley, of course.

20:28 Um they upgraded the wide receiver room with their draft picks.

20:31 And then Lamar Jackson, former MVP, is Lamar Jackson.

20:34 So, that'll be something to monitor.

20:36 One thing you will not have to worry about, however, is Vengai Iyengar.

20:39 Another thing you won't have to worry about

20:41 if you're Seahawks fan is the run game because while Kenneth Walker III is now

20:44 in KC and Zach Charbonnet's coming off the injury,

20:48 um they did okay at the bottom of round one.

20:50 GM John Schneider said they didn't have the ability to trade out,

20:53 even though they tried.

20:54 But, a lot of us had a feeling that running back could be an option there.

20:58 And it's quote unquote the other running back from Notre Dame, Audric Estime,

21:01 who may end up being more productive than

21:03 his teammate in college in year one, Jeremiah Love.

21:06 Yeah, and that's why I have Jahmyr Gibbs as my you know,

21:10 player that I believe is going to have a huge impact in year one.

21:14 You talked about the needs because of K9 Kenneth Walker moving elsewhere.

21:18 Now he's a part of the Kansas City Chiefs.

21:20 The next best option was Zach Charbonnet.

21:23 Oh, by the way, he got injured a year ago.

21:26 He didn't even play in the Super Bowl because of that season-ending injury.

21:29 Where where will he be when it comes to health

21:32 especially when training camp is right around the corner.

21:35 I know they brought in Emmanuel Wilson, but if you're Jahmyr Gibbs,

21:38 you have a chance to play you get

21:39 an opportunity to soak up all the necessary reps you

21:42 need throughout this entire off-season regimen to be able

21:46 to be ready to go mentally once training camp starts.

21:51 So, he has a unique skill set.

21:53 He has the ability to be a big-time uh pass catcher out the backfield.

21:57 Don't sleep on his hands.

21:58 He has very very soft soft hands.

22:00 He's shown the ability to be a reliable pass catcher

22:02 out the backfield throughout his collegiate time at Notre Dame.

22:05 And the extra caveat with Jahmyr Gibbs, he also could be your kick returner.

22:11 We we saw him excel in that area of teams with Notre Dame.

22:16 So, if you talk about trying to find ways to get him to touch the football,

22:20 put him back there to allow him

22:21 to return some kicks because if you're not careful,

22:23 you're not gap sound in your running lanes,

22:26 he could take it yard for a touchdown.

22:29 So, I I love everything about them.

22:30 And then when you look at their offensive structure,

22:32 I understand I know Clint Kubiak is no longer there,

22:36 but when you look at what they did last

22:37 year and I think they will keep the same mindset,

22:40 they ran the football the fourth fourth

22:43 most in the National Football League, right?

22:45 Right behind the likes of Baltimore, uh and you have Buffalo,

22:52 and I think this is New England if I'm not mistaken if I'm not mistaken.

22:55 But, when you look at those teams,

22:57 Baltimore had a running quarterback and Buffalo

22:59 had a running quarterback as well.

23:00 So, when you talk about Seattle having

23:03 more of a pocket quarterback in Sam Darnold,

23:05 a guy who's not in any RPO activity, they love to run the football.

23:09 I don't foresee that moving their offensive

23:12 DNA knowing how successful they've been,

23:16 especially their offensive line stays healthy.

23:18 So, if you're Zadarian Price, man,

23:20 I I think he's going to he's going to fit in nicely for Seattle.

23:24 He fits what they do offensively.

23:27 A couple things that you pointed out.

23:28 He was only targeted seven times last year and only

23:31 targeted seven times a year before, so 14 total.

23:34 But, I talked to people at the pro day that said

23:36 he looked quite smooth catching the ball out of the backfield.

23:38 So, it sounds like he will be an upgrade

23:39 over Kenneth Walker who wasn't known for his pass-catching ability.

23:42 The other thing that you talked about, kick return.

23:44 He had two kick return touchdowns this year.

23:46 So, it's a one cut and go, good luck catching him.

23:48 And the other thing I want to mention, B-Mac, because I was thinking about this.

23:52 I didn't do this back in 2005, your rookie season,

23:54 uh but you had exposure to a young man in year two,

23:57 former undrafted free agent, in Fast Willie Parker,

24:00 uh who no one knew what he was in 2004.

24:03 In 2005, he just exploded.

24:05 I remember I think you guys opened against Tennessee at home.

24:09 Yeah.

24:08 He went crazy in that game.

24:10 Uh what was it like seeing I'll ask you this way,

24:12 did you know that Willie had a chance

24:14 to be good in training camp your rookie season?

24:16 Uh and how did that work itself out over the course of the year?

24:19 Because he ended up scoring a big touchdown,

24:20 I believe, in the Super Bowl that year.

24:22 No question.

24:23 And real quick, I misspoke.

24:24 It's actually the New York Giants.

24:25 I said the Patriots were the top three rushing attempt teams,

24:28 but it's Buffalo, Giants, and Baltimore.

24:31 But, to answer your question about Willie Parker,

24:33 when I saw Willie Parker in training camp,

24:35 and I just saw the burst and the speed,

24:37 I was like, "Why hasn't he been playing?" Right.

24:41 Like, cuz you all I knew of was Jerome Bettis, Duce Staley, right?

24:46 I didn't know anything about Willie Parker.

24:48 I remember him at North Carolina, but remember,

24:50 he didn't play a lot at North Carolina, either.

24:52 So, And wasn't drafted.

24:54 know about that.

24:54 Yeah, he was undrafted.

24:56 But, when I saw him and then he took advantage of the reps

24:59 because Jerome was nursing an injury and Dooce was nursing an injury.

25:03 I'm like, "Man, he got some juice with him.

25:05 He got speed.

25:06 He got burst." And that first game was against Tennessee.

25:10 He went over 100 against Tennessee, never looked back.

25:14 So, you see it instantly, Ryan.

25:15 It It doesn't take long for you to figure out like,

25:18 "Uh-oh, man, we got us one." The same with Antonio Brown.

25:22 I first saw Antonio Brown in the grass and he ran an out route.

25:25 And when he ran that out route coming out his break,

25:27 nothing but grass was following him coming kicking up in the air.

25:30 I'm like, "Uh-oh, yeah, he got something with him." You see it instantly.

25:35 And AB was a sixth-round pick 2010, I believe,

25:38 the same year the Steelers took Emmanuel Sanders in round three.

25:41 Obviously, Emmanuel Sanders was a really good player.

25:43 But, AB was different.

25:44 I think I've asked you before and you made it

25:46 clear you'd have much rather had to guard Mike Wallace,

25:49 who was fastest man on planet Earth at one time,

25:51 over Antonio Brown uh in in such situation just because Antonio,

25:55 you just didn't know what you were getting.

25:58 Yeah, Mike Wallace, oh boy.

25:59 Mike Wallace was different, too.

26:01 But, we had some We had some dogs, man.

26:04 All right.

26:04 Mike Wallace?

26:05 And you know, and Bruce Arians used to talk

26:07 so much trash and he used to be like, "Well, guys, how y'all want to die today?

26:11 You want to die fast or slow?" Meaning, if you press, we going up top.

26:16 If you play off, we going to just

26:18 work our way down the football field against you.

26:20 And we're like, "BA, you know we can't really hit cuz we not live.

26:23 So, you want to talk trash now cuz we can't really hit y'all how

26:25 we want to hit y'all." The kind of slow up the rhythm a little bit,

26:28 but yeah, Mike Wallace was was He's an unheralded Steeler great,

26:33 in my opinion, because he was phenomenal for us.

26:37 Yeah, that was It's funny.

26:39 2009, I think you had gone to Arizona for the year.

26:42 But, that's also the year, bringing it full circle with Aaron Rodgers,

26:45 there was a shootout late in the season between

26:47 the Steelers and the and the Green Bay Packers, Big Ben versus Aaron Rodgers.

26:51 And the over/under might end up being close to 100.

26:54 And Mike Wallace had a big day that day as a rookie

26:56 and he ended up catching the game winning a touchdown I believe.

26:59 And here we are 17 years later waiting for Aaron

27:02 Rodgers to decide what he's going to do in Pittsburgh.

27:05 Uh, so I don't know.

27:07 I don't know.

27:10 We will keep you waiting.

27:12 Until we get an answer.

27:14 Until we get an answer.

27:14 It may not It may not come when we want it to come.

27:16 All right, let's take another quick break here and we come back we'll continue

27:19 our conversation and this time we're going

27:22 to be maxed out of the ball the defense.

27:24 We're going to talk about some defensive impact rookies.

27:26 We'll talk about that right after this.

27:39 All right B Mac, let's keep it going here with these impact rookies

27:42 for 2026 based on the just concluded draft from a few weeks ago.

27:46 I'm going to defense.

27:48 You are too, but I'm going to start with DeAngelo Ponce.

27:52 Where did he go to high school?

27:55 He went to MacArthur High School.

27:57 You see jersey right here.

27:59 He went there, but he eventually transferred

28:01 to Chaminade right up the street in Hollywood,

28:03 Florida as well, but we claim him as a Mustang.

28:06 He's a Mustang.

28:08 You know what's funny person Sharon he was in the office

28:09 a few weeks ago when we were all there and I

28:10 said to DeAngelo I said I heard you're the best

28:13 cornerback from MacArthur and he says I don't know about that.

28:17 I said you know B Mac obviously went there and I said

28:20 also DeAngelo you may not have been born when when B Mac was

28:23 there and B Mac took it as a personal affront until he found

28:25 out that DeAngelo was not in fact born when B Mac was there.

28:29 That said he was a 50th overall pick and he would have been a top 32

28:34 pick if he were 5 10 and a half instead of 5 8 and a half.

28:38 Here's the crazy thing about him B Mac he's probably going

28:40 to play in the slot at least to begin his career.

28:43 Have a little Mikey Sanders still Devon Witherspoon action going on.

28:47 Last year, the last 2 years at Indiana, I should say, out of uh 1,326 snaps,

28:55 how many snaps do you think he played in the slot last year?

28:57 The last 2 years, I should say.

29:01 Zero.

29:01 26.

29:01 1,300 outside, 26 inside.

29:03 So, he has played primarily outside.

29:06 He has been dominant primarily outside.

29:08 And I'll ask you this, cuz I think he's going to ball out.

29:11 I think he has a chance to be uh somewhere between Witherspoon

29:14 and Sanders still in terms of how he hits the ground running.

29:16 How hard is it, no matter what size you are, to go from outside to inside?

29:20 We know his his twitchiness, his short area quickness,

29:23 all the things he can do well, and how that'll help him.

29:25 But, what about the actual move from one position to another?

29:28 Well, the difference when you play inside more so than outside,

29:33 receivers feels it feels like they have a two-way go on you.

29:36 You know, if you're playing left or right corner,

29:38 oftentimes you can utilize use the sideline as an extra line of defense,

29:43 because if they're out of bounds, granted they're dead.

29:46 They're nothing they can do.

29:47 But, when it comes to playing more of a being more of a slot guy,

29:50 most times wide receivers have an option route on you based on your leverage.

29:55 And they utilize that.

29:56 You know, you're inside, they might option and run an out route.

29:59 And that's just the command.

30:00 That's just the play call.

30:01 So, when you talk about getting more comfortable

30:03 in being able to play in more space, it it that that takes reps.

30:07 But, to your point, I understand people always want to throw

30:11 him to be a nickel corner because of the lack of height,

30:14 but he's always been outside.

30:15 He's playing against the the likes of uh Jeremiah Smith outside.

30:20 You know, he's played against those type of players,

30:21 and he's stood up, and he balled out.

30:23 You know, C.J.

30:24 Daniels of the world from Miami in the national championship game.

30:27 He's outside, you know, playing great football against those players.

30:31 So, I think they have a I don't think I know.

30:33 They have a game plan in place, and oddly enough,

30:36 I wouldn't be surprised if he's doing both.

30:38 You know what I mean?

30:38 Allow him to show you where he can benefit your defense from the most.

30:44 Instead of you just putting him to play,

30:45 putting him some somewhere and saying, "Make it work." No,

30:48 allow him to show you where he can be the best asset for your defense.

30:53 And by the way, and you pointed this out,

30:54 he and Jeremiah Smith were in high school together.

30:56 And when you talk to people that were at those practices, they went toe-to-toe.

31:00 It wasn't clear that Jeremiah was 6 in taller than he was,

31:03 because that's not how DeAngelo approaches the game of football.

31:06 So, just something else to keep in mind.

31:07 Another guy who's undersized historically, with quotation marks,

31:11 is your guy in Caleb Downs, who went to the Dallas Cowboys.

31:15 I think they traded up one spot to get him in pick 11.

31:18 But, you talk to people at Ohio State, he is the best team leader they have,

31:22 maybe outside of Sonny Styles, who's also incredible as a human being.

31:25 Incredibly smart.

31:27 We've heard Danny Kalil talk about Nick Saban when Caleb

31:30 was in Alabama being the smartest freshman he's ever been around.

31:34 Uh and then you turn on the tape and watch the athleticism,

31:37 and it just feels like it's too good it it there's too much there

31:39 to love that it's not going to work out quickly once he arrives in Dallas.

31:44 It it it won't it won't it's going to be a smooth process transition for Caleb.

31:49 And not to mention, Matt Patricia, who has NFL ties,

31:52 talked about how brilliant Caleb is as a player and how violent he plays.

31:59 That is what you want, Ryan.

32:01 If you can get a combination of being brilliant and violent on a football field,

32:08 you're going to be doing great things.

32:12 So, when you factor in Caleb and his impact,

32:15 it will be felt from day one within their defense.

32:18 I love Christian Parker being the new DC there, because he coaches with energy.

32:24 He coaches with juice, and he's going to be able to put Caleb in different

32:30 positions throughout their defensive scheme for him to be at his best,

32:34 similar to what we saw with how

32:36 the Eagles utilize Cooper DeJean throughout his tenure

32:40 so far there in Philly for him being to be able to be a dominant defender.

32:45 I think they have they will have a similar like game plan for Caleb Downs.

32:48 And then we look at their defense, Cowboy fans,

32:51 I don't want to bring I don't want to take y'all back in time and I'm sorry.

32:55 I'm not Mary J, we're not reminiscing,

32:57 but we kind of have to reminisce to prove a point

32:59 and why I think Caleb will have a significant impact.

33:03 Total defense a year ago, the Cowboys were 30th allowing 377 yards per game.

33:10 Passing yards allowed a game, they were 32nd in the National Football League.

33:14 Oh, by the way, there's there's only 32 teams in the National Football League.

33:17 Allowed 251.

33:19 Points allowed, they were 32nd, which is dead last.

33:23 They allowed 30 points.

33:24 And then first downs allowed, they were 30th in that stat.

33:29 So, you talk about those four categories, they were in the 30s.

33:33 There's only 32 teams in the National Football League.

33:36 That's why they traded up to go get Caleb Downs because he

33:39 is the best he was the best short thing in the entire draft,

33:45 especially on the defensive side.

33:48 And you know what I've been saying about Caleb Downs,

33:51 and this is a high This is high praise for me.

33:54 He's like public transportation.

33:56 You know exactly where he is going to be.

33:59 That city bus supposed to come at 4:00 p.m.

34:02 is going to be there 4:00 p.m.

34:03 And even if it's a little late, it might be 4:02.

34:06 But you better believe those elderly people ain't going to be

34:08 sitting out there in that heat waiting long for that public transportation

34:10 show up cuz they got to get in that AC and get

34:13 to where they going so they can watch their soap operas daily.

34:16 Caleb is going to be where he's supposed to be,

34:18 and when he get there, he's going to get there with a violent mentality.

34:24 They had to watch the programs and the stories.

34:26 I'll say this, I think you're you're selling Caleb short.

34:28 I don't think it if it's public transportation,

34:30 it's one of them souped-up buses with slides and the AC to your point

34:34 is cranked to 62 and everyone the big leather seats in there.

34:37 So it's it's incredibly comfortable.

34:39 The other thing I'll say and we've talked about this as well.

34:41 The Cowboys made no bones about it.

34:43 They were going defense heavy in this draft.

34:45 Caleb Downs and Malachi Lawrence,

34:47 the edge rusher at UCF were their first round picks.

34:49 They got Jay Shawn Barham out of Michigan who's

34:51 a off ball linebacker slash edge hair on fire player.

34:54 He's going to help.

34:55 They got Devin Moore, the cornerback,

34:56 the long cornerback out of Florida who has an injury history.

34:59 He may have gotten drafted higher.

35:01 And oh by the way, Donovan Wilson last year's

35:03 second round pick who once he was healthy was

35:05 getting after it and they traded of course for Kenny

35:07 Clark and uh they have uh Rashaan Gary there.

35:10 So they're in a good spot.

35:12 Quinn Williams as well.

35:13 It's crazy.

35:14 This team, B-Mac, I'll give you 10 words on this.

35:18 Are they going to win more than 11 and a half games and are they going to make a

35:21 Yeah, I'm taking over.

35:23 I'm taking over.

35:24 As long Hold on.

35:25 Hold on real quick.

35:27 As long as George is in the lineup and he's happy.

35:31 If you're telling me number three is ready to play football

35:35 and play at a high level like we know he can, give me the over right now.

35:40 That would be my surest bet when it comes

35:44 to season totals I could make with the Dallas Cowboys.

35:48 Yes.

35:50 I'm with you.

35:50 Our colleague uh um Haley Sutton is a huge Cowboys fan.

35:53 She gets nervous when we say good things about the Cowboys,

35:55 but this feels different.

35:56 We'll find out say good things.

35:59 Yeah, I never say good things.

36:00 I'm like Cowboys fans, you guys are so consistent in being a disappointment,

36:05 but I see the vision cuz CP can coach football and I'll say this too.

36:10 In two years Christian Parker will be up for a head coaching job.

36:13 So Jerry, Stephen, y'all better enjoy him while y'all

36:16 can cuz he ain't going to be there long.

36:19 I'mma tell you that much.

36:19 Everybody's looking for the next Demeco Ryan-ish.

36:22 You know, you talk about defensive minded guys who can be leader of men.

36:26 Christian Parker is the next one up.

36:29 All right, Christian Parker next one up over 11 and a half.

36:31 All right, let's take another quick break here.

36:33 When we come back, we'll hit our last two impact rookies to watch.

36:36 Again, they're on defense and we'll talk

36:37 about those two young men right after this.

36:51 All right, B Mac, let's bring it home here

36:52 with our last two impact rookies for the 2026 season.

36:57 Which uh I don't know how far away it is, but it's 351 days to the 2027 draft.

37:01 So, make a note of it down there.

37:03 Uh I'm going to stay on defense.

37:05 but you know the start of the draft.

37:08 Yeah.

37:08 Sounds about right.

37:09 what's funny?

37:09 Like I I mark time by draft events like through the course of senior bowl,

37:14 the shrine bowl, combine.

37:15 I know how far along I am in my journey around the sun for that particular year.

37:20 So, make of that what you will.

37:22 All right, let's stay on defense for these last two guys here.

37:24 I'm going out to Kansas City.

37:27 I want to talk about our Mason Thomas or just

37:30 Mason Thomas as he's known to his family and friends.

37:32 Edge rusher out of Oklahoma.

37:34 Undersized in that he's sub 6-2, sub 250, has shortish arms.

37:38 And that all to me sounds like Nick Benito, who was also a second round pick.

37:42 And Nick only had one and a half sacks his rookie season,

37:45 but he's a rotational situational pass rusher who had high pressure rates.

37:49 A couple other names that came to mind and I I'm glad that uh I dug this up.

37:54 Remember Eneking Gakpo wait, B Mac.

37:55 Uh 2016 was his rookie year.

37:57 He was 6-2, 246 when he came out.

37:59 He had eight sacks as a rookie, four forced fumbles.

38:03 And then another name is Josh Uche out of Michigan uh who only had one sack,

38:07 but his pressure rate like Benito's was also through the roof.

38:10 And I think the good news for Mason Thomas is that he's going

38:13 to a team where Steve Spagnolo is going to set him up for success.

38:16 They have George Karlaftis.

38:17 They have Ashton Gelati, who's a really good young player going into year two.

38:20 And he's going to have opportunities just to pin

38:22 his ears back and get after the quarterback.

38:24 And if you told me he had seven, eight,

38:26 nine sacks as a rookie solely in that role, I could completely believe it.

38:31 Yeah, I love his motor.

38:33 You talked about the effort.

38:34 That's one of the biggest skill set he has.

38:38 There the ability to never cut his motor off, cut the engine off.

38:42 And in this position where you talk

38:44 about having other veteran players around him like,

38:48 you know, George, like a Chris Chris Jones.

38:51 Those guys will command extra attention.

38:53 So if even if he's a situational edge rusher similar to what we've

38:57 seen with the Pittsburgh Steelers and how they utilize Nate Nate Nick Herbig,

39:02 we've seen the impact with Nick when he gets those opportunities,

39:06 especially in one-on-one situations.

39:08 So Our Mason, man, I think I'm high on him as well.

39:12 I thought he probably could have fell sneak

39:15 into the late first round, but he didn't.

39:19 Yeah.

39:18 Great great move by Kansas City bringing in Mason Thompson.

39:23 Thomas.

39:24 Uh another young man that could have snuck into the first

39:26 round and has a first round mustache is your guy, Jacob Rodriguez.

39:30 It was one of what felt like 200 picks that the Miami Dolphins made.

39:33 All players who have a chance to contribute.

39:35 But Jacob Rodriguez, I feel like B-Mac two or three years from now we could

39:38 be talking about him as the best off-ball linebacker in this draft class.

39:42 You talk about big play?

39:44 That's who he is.

39:45 He is a splash player.

39:48 Anytime the ball is in play,

39:50 he is trying to take the football away by any means necessary,

39:54 either punching it out, you know, creating interceptions interceptions.

39:59 He's just that type of player.

40:00 Not to mention he's a a sure tackler as well.

40:04 And we look at having Jordan Brooks already in that defense.

40:07 Jordan Brooks is a guy who does not receive his flowers.

40:10 He plays football the right way.

40:12 So now you got two guys that can

40:14 kind of coexist nicely in in that off-ball area.

40:18 And when you talk about one guy being more of the bruiser,

40:21 the other guy being more of the facilitator.

40:23 You know what I mean?

40:23 Being able to orchestrate big type plays to be able to create

40:27 for the Miami Dolphins and that's that's a definite need for them.

40:31 The ability to create splash plays.

40:33 So you talk about everything that he did tape wise was like,

40:38 "Wow." And then when he went to Indy it was like,

40:42 "Wow." Like we didn't know he had that also.

40:45 You know what I mean?

40:45 So we saw the great hot tape and then we saw the the athleticism

40:50 and everything he did throughout the testings that made us feel like,

40:54 "Man, this is a guy that could go in the first

40:55 round." So for him to be available for Miami,

40:59 you know, clearly it's going to take some time for him to get

41:01 fully accustomed and comfortable with this new

41:04 defensive strategy they have there,

41:06 but when he does there's no slowing him down.

41:10 He's going to be a big time playmaker for Miami.

41:13 Yeah, Jeff Hafley is the new coach.

41:14 He was a DC in Green Bay.

41:16 They also drafted Chris Johnson,

41:18 the cornerback in round one out of San Diego State.

41:20 He has a chance to be be a baller.

41:22 They also drafted a linebacker Kyle Lewis out of Pitt who's

41:24 more of a coverage linebacker and a big safety if you will.

41:28 So they're making some moves and they do have a chance to be really good.

41:31 Jake Rodriguez by the way,

41:33 former walk-on was a quarterback at UVA and to your point B Mac,

41:38 he plays like a quarterback at the linebacker

41:40 position and he is always around the ball.

41:42 You see that seven forced fumbles,

41:43 three touchdowns and that was his last season.

41:45 Nine tackles for loss.

41:47 So he can do it all and he don't sleep on his athleticism.

41:50 Um before we get out of here B Mac, I like I said in 2005 I wasn't

41:55 uh doing the draft or talking about impact players,

41:57 but I was talking to producer Sharone about this.

42:00 Um your rookie season was 2005.

42:02 I was in the stadium producer Sharone

42:04 for B Mac's first interception against Byron Leftwich.

42:06 But I want to fast forward to the playoffs.

42:09 You know where I'm going with this.

42:10 In Indy, when you guys were surprisingly

42:12 ahead to the pay the fighting Peyton Mannings, and then they came storming back.

42:16 And with I I looked it up just now, with 28 seconds to go,

42:19 you had to cover Reggie Wayne in the end zone, South Florida on South Florida.

42:23 B-Mac PBU.

42:25 The very next play, Reggie and Peyton were on the wrong page,

42:28 and you almost had an interception

42:29 to to end it before Mike Vanderjagt honked it.

42:32 So, what were you thinking on that first route in the end zone where

42:36 it was just at it like it was that close to being a touchdown,

42:38 and the game would have been over for the Colts?

42:40 I just didn't want to screw up.

42:42 I was like, man, I can't let these guys down.

42:44 These guys believe in me.

42:45 Coach LeBeau believes in me enough to be out here.

42:49 And I was like, I don't want these guys down,

42:50 but I knew Peyton was coming my way.

42:53 I knew for sure.

42:54 And I just wanted to to be able

42:56 to stand up and not let Reggie catch the football.

42:59 And then the second one, I was like,

43:01 man, this is my opportunity to win the game.

43:03 The interception, I couldn't get my hands underneath it,

43:05 but it played in our favor.

43:07 And that's the thing about what we just did,

43:10 highlighting these rookie players because at some point time,

43:13 one of these rookies,

43:14 or some rookies that we did not get to, they're going to make significant plays,

43:20 regular season play or post season play that could

43:23 lead to a championship for their said organization.

43:26 You just don't know, but that's the great thing about what we do as we

43:29 get geared and prepared to see all play out before our eyes.

43:34 That's a great way to put it, too.

43:35 You don't know when your number's going to be called, but when it is called,

43:39 be ready and be B-Mac was ready on those two back-to-back plays,

43:43 which brought the Steelers their first championship in in quite a while.

43:46 So, that was fun to watch.

43:47 Of course, B-Mac went on to win another Super Bowl.

43:49 But, that is it for us here talking impact rookies.

43:52 Check out with the First Pick We Could Talk Podcast.

43:55 Scan that QR code, and we will see you guys in the next one.