Eric DeCosta Opening Statement: "Welcome everyone. Thanks for coming. We finished up last week [with] our third set of meetings, draft meetings with our coaches. It's great to get those guys together with us for the first time talking about the players. I am really, really happy with what everybody's accomplished over the last six to eight weeks, starting with the combine and then the coaches going out in the road looking at guys, the tape work, the evaluations, the interview process and all those various things. I feel really good about the process, and I am excited for [the draft] next week. Questions?"
With the needs at offensive line, some could say tight end and wide receiver, how much do you think this draft could help improve that supporting cast around QB Lamar Jackson? (Jamison Hensley)
(DeCOSTA) "Well, I think it's positioned that way. When we look at it at [pick] 14, first of all, we've only, I think, picked this high, I don't know how many times... Not that many times over the last 10 or 15 years. So, that's typically a different type of player that you can get. Looking at the board, we see tremendous value offensive-line-wise, as you allude to, receiver-wise; I think D-line, outside linebacker, edge-type players, as well. So, I feel like it's a sweet spot for us. We have a chance to address some positions early on, but also, I'm excited about what we see in the third, fourth and fifth rounds as well, and the volume of players that we like, that we're excited about. One of the nice things about getting the coaches involved in the process is they typically will come in and like some players maybe that you haven't noticed, or maybe that some of your scouts haven't liked quite as much, and that gives you a chance to start a discussion on those guys, which typically will improve the overall numbers."
As far as having a new coaching staff that you're working with here, how much has all those new sets of eyes on the process and the players been different maybe from the years past? (Pete Gilbert)
(DeCOSTA) "I think it's great. I think it's been a learning experience. I think we've been able to get ... We have a lot of young coaches, college coaches that are coming in with a different perspective on things and also coaches from other teams [coming in with] different ways of scouting. There's many, many different ways to build a draft board, and I think having coaches, a lot of different guys come in with different perspectives on things, and in some cases, valuing different traits or qualities or different things in players really does create an opportunity for us to improve as a staff."
Is there a guy, like if somebody started falling in the draft, since you went off character with two first-round picks in the trade offer for Maxx Crosby, that you'd move up to get a guy that may be dropping down that you guys didn't think would drop down? Is there any possibility that you would go get that guy? (Vinny Cerrato)
(DeCOSTA) "I think it just depends on the player and who that is and how highly we have him rated. So, if we have a bunch of guys kind of rated the same way, and we like one of those guys, the chances of us going up and giving up a ton to get that guy, probably wouldn't be something that we do. But if we have a guy that's kind of at a different level on the board who we think really comes in right away and can impact our team, certainly we'd be aggressive in that situation and potentially move up to get that guy."
Along the lines of trades, with 11 picks this year, is that a number that you like? Would you want to package those? Would you want to add more? Where do you stand on just the volume of picks? (Garrett Downing)
(DeCOSTA) "Well, I like having 11 picks right now. I think that's a starting point. And we may end up with 14, or we may end up with six. It just depends on the board and how the players come off the board and what we think of the best opportunities for us to improve as a team. So, it gives us a lot of currency to start the draft process, but I think where we finish remains to be seen."
You touched on this a little bit, but given the new coaching staff with a first-time head coach, how did you have to adapt as an organization with the pre-draft process? Is this a draft where you are maybe leaning a little more heavily on the work of the scouts just, because head coach Jesse Minter and his staff have so much going on getting ready for OTAs and all that? (Luke Jones)
(DeCOSTA) "That's a good question. I wouldn't say that, necessarily, we're going to rely on the scouts more. I do think that me, personally, I had some ground to make up given the coaching search and other things. I did lose some, probably, man hours myself in terms of looking at players. So, I've caught up, but it took me some weekends and some different things. I think one of the things we probably had to do maybe a little bit more is just kind of instruct the coaches as to the way we do things, right? The grading scale, what that means, or the deadlines, what the combine's going to entail, what the interview process is going to look like. That's probably a one-year thing, generally speaking. I think [director of player personnel] Mark Azevedo, [vice president of player personnel] George Kokinis [and director of college scouting] Andrew Raphael did a really good job visiting with the coaches, kind of one on one, talking about the way that we might do things, the schedule, the calendar, those types of things. But as far as just generally speaking, I think our coaches know how to evaluate, whether that's the college level, the pro level, combination of both. I really value their expertise and their enthusiasm. That's one thing that I feel this year with our guys – with our coaches and our scouts – there's a lot of enthusiasm for the process this year, and that's exciting."
Can I just get your general overview of this draft class and its talent? And then after that first-round talent at offensive line, what do you see? (Morgan Adsit)
(DeCOSTA) "So, the draft is probably similar in numbers to last year. As I just look at it clinically, the numbers is probably, I would say, maybe a little less than last year. I think where we have the – if there is an advantage to this year for us is we're picking higher in each round. But I think numbers-wise, we have just under 200 players that we have ranked as draftable players for us. That doesn't mean there aren't more players, but for us, about 200, I think it's 197 that we have as draftable players for us. Now that would mean that if the board came off exactly the same way as we have it, then we'd have to go outside that range to finish our draft because there's over 250 picks in the draft. But, we think it's a solid draft. First-round-wise, there's definitely a drop off probably midway through the round in terms of talent, but looking at the overall numbers and the players that we think have a chance to be starters in this draft, probably similar to the last couple of years, I would say. I do think that there's some really intriguing guys. For us, we've got four fifth-round picks, and we've challenged the coaches and scouts, I think, to hit on some of those players, which would be really good. [With] the offensive line question, I think it's a deep board, and you have guys kind of throughout first round, second round, all the way through [with] players that we think would be of good value in the sixth and seventh rounds that hopefully could fall to us. So, that's a nice thing. That's a nice position for us to be in last year. I don't think that the offensive line board was probably quite as robust, but it's very cyclical. And you see from year to year how the board changes. Some years you have some positions that are really, really strong and maybe the next couple of years, not quite as strong. This year seems to be pretty good, I think, on the offensive line [and with] interior offensive linemen – we see some centers in the draft; I'm sure people are interested in that, but I think there'll be many opportunities for us along the way."
Is it fair to ask how much value you have in the draft when you were willing to give away the first-round pick this year and next year for the first time ever? (Jerry Coleman)
(DeCOSTA) "I don't think that's really indicative of the draft [regarding] that decision. I think it's a strong draft; [there are] many different ways to build a team. We're excited to have the pick this year at No. 14. We think we're going to get a really good player. You never know what's going to happen at 14, too, right? You can move up, you can move back. We've done both over time, and I think there's going to be – I think our scouts are excited. And so, I think one thing that I would say is, I value our scouts and the job that they do, and the way that they're able to help me kind of assess the board and build out the talent. And [with] having 11 picks, I think, is going to allow these guys to really shine and to show what they can do. It's a great opportunity for us as a club, and we're excited about it."
It's your first draft as a head coach. How have you tried to help executive vice president and general manager Eric DeCosta up to this point with the process? With the draft night and those three nights, how do you see yourself, your role in the whole process? (Cliff Brown)
(MINTER) "Yes, it's been great. The personnel staff led by [executive vice president and general manager] Eric [DeCosta], they do such a great job kind of setting the table for the coaching staff. And so, we come into the process later after they've already ... They've been doing this year-round, and so we come into the process later. My vision for the coaches was, 'Let's talk about what these guys can do, whether it's a first-round pick or a fifth-round pick or a seventh-round pick. Let's find guys that have traits that we can work with, that we'd be excited to work with.' I feel like the coaching staff's done a really good job with that. Then on draft night, man, it's [to] let this guy [Eric DeCosta] do his job and be there to support and be there to talk through things and think through things, be a sounding board, but let the guy do the great job that he does, and I know that we're going to end up with a bunch of great players."
I'm guessing you probably still can't give a definitive view on DL Nnamdi Madubuike, but we're talking to director of strength and conditioning Scott Elliott last week, he says he's in great shape and seen workout videos of his. But also, defensive tackle is probably a position where you can never have enough depth, as you guys learned last year. How does Nnamdi and sort of the variability of his situation affect how you guys look at the draft board at defensive tackle? Do you feel like regardless of whether he can or cannot play that that's a position of need for you guys? (Kyle Goon)
(DeCOSTA) "So, I would say that Nnamdi [Madubuike]'s status doesn't really affect us that much in terms of like what we're going to do in the draft at the defensive tackle position. So, as you know, we just try to rank the board, and then [we'll select] whoever the best player is at that point in time. Certainly, we would love to get a young defensive lineman if we can. I think it's important to try and do that every single year if we can. It's an important position. We want to get better up front, certainly, on both sides, offense- and defensive-line-wise; it's a priority for us. I think getting a younger player in there who's a talented younger player would be ideal, and it just depends on how the board falls and who's available at that time."
You have a great scouting team, and I'm wondering, I know some of the guys will stand on their head to try and get you to draft a guy. Is there any in house sort of competition for the scouts to see who can unearth the most draft picks or get the most guys in front of you? (Kirk McEwen)
(DeCOSTA) "I don't think necessarily of that. I think I do tease [national scout] Brandon Berning, who's [from the] Midwest – he's a national scout for us in the Midwest. He lives in Wisconsin, and he loves Wisconsin players. I always tease him that he's trying to push those guys up the board, and he's been kind of leaning in Wisconsin for the last couple of years, but he's notoriously a homer for the Wisconsin players. Back in the day – we don't do this now – but back in the day, we had a prize for the scouts that could sign undrafted free agents that would make the team. It was a cash prize, and we haven't done it in a long time. [Former Ravens head] Coach [Brian] Billick used to do it, and so that would make things pretty interesting after the draft, because if you actually signed a player, and he made the team, you'd get an envelope with some money. This is going back now, like however many, 20 years or whatever it is. But that was interesting back in the day, guys were scrambling and be in competition because there's only so many guys you can sign, right? And that was an interesting part of it back in those days. They were the wild days back then. But we still, I think there's definitely – if you sign an undrafted guy that makes the team, it's definitely like a badge of honor for us. If you're the scout that recommended that guy or the coach, you guys kind of work together, work in tandem at different positions, [which is] something that we really prize and something that we really appreciate."
When you have a whole pile of later-round picks, how much can you strategize now about how you're going to use those picks? Are you thinking we want to get this, this and this from that cluster? Or is it more, you really do sort of have to wait and see what's there at that point? (Childs Walker)
(DeCOSTA) "That's a great question. There's a lot of different ways to do that, and we've tried different ways. Some years you just basically, we've thought maybe just [to] target to quote 'premium positions' maybe. Other years we're just going strictly off the draft board, best [player] available, and then some years it's probably more nuanced. It's the positions that we haven't addressed. So, if we've drafted players at certain positions, then we get into the later rounds, and we're probably not going to double dip because we've already taken guys at those positions. So, there's a lot of ways to do it. I think there's been an increased reliance on analytics in some ways, and every team does it differently, and maybe every team does it differently every year. So, that's a hard part of scouting. There's been some years where we've been very excited to get a guy, like in the sixth round, seventh round, and you're literally one pick away, and he gets picked. Then you're kind of like looking up at the board going, 'Man, we don't like any of these guys that are left.' So, that's just, it is what it is, and someone's calling you and they see somebody they love, and they want to trade. Sometimes that's the best possible scenario, especially if you could trade a pick for a future pick in another draft class where you might get additional value, you might get a discount. So, it's a hard part, [and] it's a fun part of the draft. It's a challenge, certainly, percentage-wise to hit on those guys, especially when you get into the fifth, sixth and seventh round. The percentages really kind of plummet from the fourth round – fourth round, you're OK. [In the] fifth round, sixth round, seventh round, we see the percentages really kind of go down. So, when you can hit on a guy like that, it can really make your draft class."
You mentioned you have about 200 draftable players. How much of that do you attribute to the new landscape of college football with NIL and guys staying in school? And if that's the new normal, does it make you reevaluate the value of the sixth- and seventh-round compensatory picks? (Ken Weinman)
(DeCOSTA) "There is a new, a changing dynamic that we've seen with the draft. Players are older. I think the average age of the players is not necessarily older, but I think what we're seeing now, there are more older players in the draft. So, we're seeing more 24- and 25-year-old players, and that's something that's because of COVID initially, and now because of NIL, guys are staying in, because they're getting paid to stay in. That's problematic in some ways for us because these guys are coming in older. They probably have less upside. They're probably not three-contract players, in some cases, they're two-contract players. And in some cases, they have more injuries, because they've been playing college football longer, so they've taken on more injuries. And so, we're trying to get a handle on that, I think in some ways. It's tough for us to kind of assess what that means. It's kind of something that we've really seen over the last three years. This will be the third year, so '24, '25 and '26. We've seen, actually, probably players – we might have had 4% of our players on the draft board, 24 and a half or older prior to 2024. Now that number's up to 18%. So, we've seen about a 14% increase in older players on the draft board, and that's something that we don't really understand fully and what that means. I don't think it's a good thing, certainly, but historically, we've tried to draft younger players when we can. That's been something that we feel strongly [about], but now we've got 18% of the draft board that's over 24 years old. So, that's going to change the way that maybe we target players."
You talked about analytics. How much easier is it to project what might happen in the first or second round now that you're picking in the middle as opposed to later? (Jonas Shaffer)
(DeCOSTA) "That's another thing that's really kind of an interesting phenomenon is we've seen less, well I call it slippage, but in the draft, the first couple of rounds come off pretty easy to predict, I think. I don't know exactly why that is. There seems to be more of a consensus among teams. I think part of that is because of media coverage and social media and things like that, with consensus boards and different things that you can get online. There seems to be so much interest in the draft now compared to 25 years ago, the coverage is so much that the idea of sleepers and players that are maybe kind of under the radar doesn't seem to happen quite as much. It used to be that we could find players maybe in certain rounds that other clubs weren't even aware of – non-combine guys, potentially, small school guys. You see very few small school guys now, because these small school guys end up going to big schools. They start at small schools and go to big schools. So, there's very few guys now from smaller schools that are getting drafted compared to what it used to look like. I think that in it of itself also kind of creates a consensus board where most of these players are getting drafted from these bigger schools. So, I think where you can get an edge potentially is by getting better background information, knowing these players, their drivers, their motivations, who they are as people. I think there's a real opportunity for clubs that can do that well."
In the college game with recruiting, getting to know these guys, coaching some of them, how do you think that's helped you as you go through this process? (Garrett Downing)
(MINTER) "It's great. It gives you some connection points with guys certainly when you have a chance to meet with them, whether at the combine and the formal interviews or on the [Top] 30 visits. [With] a lot of them, there's some sort of history there, [whether you] played against them, coached against them, recruited them. And so it gives you a little bit of intel into how they operate. I think having some guys that understand the college game now helps, because there are situations where 10 years ago, a guy that transferred three times, that was a major 'red flag,' probably. And now, regardless of what we think about it, it's sometimes the norm. I think there's situations where it can help a player. He's at a school for two years, he goes to a new place, he learns a new playbook, he learns new teammates for one year, and then he's going to the NFL. So, there's a little bit of an advantage on some of those guys. I think it's how you look at it. Maybe they're a little bit more ready, but it's certainly been great to know some of the guys, know a little bit about them, maybe know some of their backgrounds and help in the process of trying to figure out what's best for us."
Have you seen similarities from working with executive vice president and general manager Eric DeCosta and LA Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz for the draft? (Kevin Richardson)
(MINTER) "Yes, just the way you operate, I think [Chargers general manager] Joe [Hortiz] obviously was very well trained to take the job that he took and did a great job. He was great to work with for a couple years, but he learned how he did things here with [executive vice president and general manager] Eric [DeCosta], [executive vice president] Ozzie [Newsome], and all the people that he had a chance to work with in his time here. So, I think the process of how we operated was similar. And then obviously the individuals are their own people in their own way. So yes, I definitely think he learned a lot from Eric and the people here."
Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz has been in Los Angeles for a few years. You have Giants head coach John Harbaugh, who seems to have a lot of influence over personnel in New York. You have Browns head coach Todd Monken in Cleveland. There are a lot of guys who maybe see personnel in the same way that this organization does. Do you adjust for that? How do you kind of think about guys differently or prospects differently when you know there might be other evaluators in the league who might see that guy the same way that you do and there might be more competition for certain prospects? (Kyle Goon)
(DeCOSTA) "I feel that sometimes. I think if they're picking right around us, then I'm probably more concerned with it. We all know good football players, right? And I think the other thing is [that] I don't want to be too predictable. I think that's something I've learned from [owner] Steve [Bisciotti] that we've talked about is that you don't want to be typecasted as looking for certain types of players or doing something every single draft or whatever that might be. But I think every situation is different. I respect all those guys very much. They've all been a huge part of what we do, but I'm also excited that we have some new people here that have new ideas, and they're smart, and they're aggressive and curious and different things. I think that gives us advantages, and I think that one of the things that I try to [do] is challenge myself to be curious about new ways of doing things. Are there different approaches that might work better and not necessarily doing the same things every year. I have to remind myself of that, because it's easy to get caught in the old ways of doing things, but I'm also proud that we've been able to, I think, advance ourselves in different ways. Whether it's the way that we scout or get background information or the use of analytics and different things. I'm proud of that. And I think that our guys have done a really good job being flexible and adapting."
For a long time, we had always talked about the Ravens building the roster from the inside out. How important do you feel like this draft is to get help there in those two areas of defensive line and offensive line? And as I said, do you feel like this could be kind of a "trench-heavy" type draft where the talent allows you to have that kind of draft? (Jeff Zrebiec)
(MINTER) "I definitely think that it's a great draft for that. There's a lot of talent on both sides of the line of scrimmage, I would say. I think any good football team, it's always been that way where you're good on the line of scrimmage, obviously. And so, no matter if you're coming off of a year where you're the best offensive line or the best defensive line, I think you're always looking to keep those areas as a strength. And so, I know that's something that we're certainly working to do."
(DeCOSTA) "And I would just say that I want to be strong everywhere, right? I think you can have the best offensive line and defensive line in the league, and if you can't cover, or if you can't catch the ball or make explosive plays, you're going to get beat. And everyone's going to be saying, 'Oh, they have to fix the receivers,' and, 'They need more DBs.' And so, the idea would be to build a team that's strong everywhere. I think there's a great opportunity for us. We recognize the fact that we want to add some additional talent on the offensive and defensive lines, certainly, but we also have a bunch of other positions we have to address, as well, because we lose a lot of good players every year. We see that in free agency every single year where we lose a lot of players. And we're proud of that in a way, but it also creates challenges for us every single year, and we have to have that influx of young talent at all positions throughout."
When you forecast this draft, because of the urgent needs on this roster and because of what you just said about how it's tough to find quality players after the fourth round. You guys only have four picks through the first four rounds, so how does that kind of align with the best player available approach that you guys typically abide by? (Jonas Shaffer)
(DeCOSTA) "I think it's going to be combinations, right? And so one of the things I try to do is say, 'OK, well, if we get this position at this pick, how does that affect things moving forward?' And then who's the best player? Now, certainly, hypothetically, say you take an offensive lineman in the first round. Could you take an offensive lineman in the second round? You probably could, right? But you're probably not going to take an offensive lineman in the first round, then an offensive lineman in the second round and an offensive lineman in the third round. So, then you get into a situation where you're going to probably have – I don't know – 20 offensive linemen that essentially get cut from your sequence because you're probably not going to take them in the third or fourth round. And that really kind of changes the math a little bit. So what you do, it's not just a matter of, "Oh, it's a great draft." It matters what you've done already in the draft and how that changes things. And I think the best way that we can approach it is to be thoughtful before the draft to think about the ways that we can address these positions to make sure that we're able to fill as many important needs throughout. I don't know if that answers your question really, but I think we talk about the numbers, and we talk about the players, but it also matters what you've done already in the draft. Because we're able to sort of project what players might be available at any given pick, and we get excited, but that's not taking into account the players we've already drafted. Because once we take into account those players, then the numbers change, because we're not going to just keep drafting the same position throughout the draft."
I think just the idea that if there's a great safety, you guys already have a great safety. (Jonas Shaffer)
(DeCOSTA) "Yes, that's factored in, of course. We've sort of had some of those discussions. In some years, that would be a real problem for us. I don't see that necessarily in this draft because I think that the fertile aspect of this draft kind of adheres to our needs or what we think might be some of our needs. And so, we look at it, and it's deep. It's good. The positions we need, we feel really strong that we can address in the draft."
You talked about losing guys in free agency. Obviously, the tight end room was one of the hardest hit this offseason. How's this tight end class? (Childs Walker)
(DeCOSTA) "I think [the TE class is] good. [Offensive coordinator] Declan [Doyle], [tight ends coach] Zack [Grossi] and the coaches, they've looked at all these tight ends. I think there are a number of tight ends throughout the draft and different rounds. You have some guys that are going to go high, but then as you get into the fourth, fifth, and sixth rounds, we see guys that do something well. And I think when you get into those rounds, that's what you're looking for. They're going to have holes. All these guys, when you get down there, are going to have some type of hole. But what can they do well? I think our coaches have done a really, really good job of sort of explaining their vision for the player. And I think [with] the tight end [position], we have a couple guys right now on the roster, but I think there's a strong chance that we'll add a couple more throughout, for sure."
Regarding two offensive linemen prospects, Utah OL Spencer Fano and Penn State OL Olaivavega Ioane. With Fano, some people project that he can play pretty much anywhere. Where do you think is his best starting spot at the NFL level? And what's your impression of Ioane? I know you have a pretty good familiarity with Penn State players. (Jamison Hensley)
(DeCOSTA) "I do. I think [Spencer] Fano could play really wherever you want him to play, right? He could play tackle, and he could play guard. He's a good athlete. He's tough. He's a good player. I think [with] Vega [Ioane], I've obviously seen him play a bunch. He's physical [and] tough. He's probably a guard, but [he] sort of prototypes, straight from central casting of what you want your guards to look like. I think they're both excellent prospects. I think both guys are first-round talents. Both guys can probably come in right away and help your team quite a bit."
You've drafted a couple guys that have come in with injury concerns, with G/T Emery Jones Jr. being the latest last year. Has that had any impact on how you approach those types of situations going into this draft? (Cordell Woodland)
(DeCOSTA) "In a perfect world, you wouldn't be drafting players that have injuries. I think, in Emery [Jones Jr.'s] case, we certainly knew he had the injury, [and] we knew he was going to have the surgery. We understood that where we were picking in the third round, he was clearly the best player for us. And [we] loved his game. I had a chance to see him at the Senior Bowl, but generally, if you had the chance [with] all things being equal, you'd just draft guys that were totally healthy. As I said, it's getting tougher and tougher to do that because players are getting older, and more and more guys are having surgery, and more and more guys have medical concerns. And that's a challenge. And there's a lot of those guys in the draft every single year, and it's gotten worse. So, we have to find [information] through talking to our doctors and trainers and other people, we have to have a comfort [level] with certain types of injuries that guys are going to have. You're not going to draft 11 draft picks that don't have any injuries at all or haven't had any injuries. It's just not going to happen. In a physical game, when you're playing football for as many years as these guys have played at very high levels of football, guys are going to have some wear and tear on their bodies. And so, I think when you think about that, then you're looking at personality and you're looking at all these other qualities that might help a guy kind of navigate injuries and pain and different things like that – surgeries and all these other things. So yes, it's a hard part of the business, especially with draft prep, is sorting through [that information]. At the combine, every morning when I wake up, I have an envelope that's been slid under my door, and it's all the medical grades from the past day. And I freaking hate that day. I hate opening up that envelope because I'm going to see players that we really like that have received bad medical grades. And I always want to wait to open up that envelope until after I have my coffee so that I can just be relaxed a little bit more and just not stress out so much. But I see that envelope, and I'm like, 'Here we go again.' And inevitably, there's going to be between five to 10 players that have pretty serious medical injuries or conditions or various things that we have to sort through, and we usually take a few guys off the board. And it's just a part of the business that we're in."
Do you talk to offensive coordinator Declan Doyle and you talk to head coach Jesse Minter about what they need offensively and what type of players they want offensively and what is the most important person for them offensively and for Jesse defensively? Whether it's a pass rusher or defensive lineman or a corner, does that change your thinking going into the draft to where you'd think something like, "Declan Doyle prioritized Chicago's tight ends, and they're more important than anything else." What's your thinking after talking with them? (Vinny Cerrato)
(DeCOSTA) "That's a huge part of what we do. And I've been blessed to have watched [executive vice president] Ozzie [Newsome] for so many years navigate that with different coaches. We've only had four [head coaches], but things change, and coordinators have different needs and requirements with personnel, and all those kind of things. And being on the same page, I think, is something that has made us special over the years and something that I really value and take a lot of pride in. So, I love listening to [offensive coordinator] Declan [Doyle] talk about personnel and how he's going to use players. And of course, I've known [defensive coordinator] Anthony [Weaver] for a long time, but listening to Anthony talk about his vision for players, and [head coach] Jesse [Minter]'s vision for our defense, and all those different things. That's one of the reasons why we hired Jesse. Throughout the interview process, asking him about personnel and hearing his thoughts on things, he stood out, and he's special in that regard. So, I think my job is to assess the talent the right way, but also find the right players for our coaches. We're not going to bring in someone that might be a great football player who doesn't fit our scheme or what we're trying to do. You can bet that every single player that we draft is going to fit what we want as a football team."
I know a lot of these aspects are not that new to you, and you know a lot of these prospects well, but how do you manage sort of the inherent tension of, you're looking at your whole team, but also you're going to run your own defense. And I'm sure when you talk to Eric DeCosta, you're like, "It would be great if we had this player for what we want to do on defense." How do your new responsibilities change how you view the draft process and how you advocate for certain talent? (Kyle Goon)
(MINTER) "Even the last two years, I was a defensive coordinator, but I think anybody that worked with me [with the Los Angeles Chargers] would tell you that I was a team-first, personnel [type of] person, knowing that whatever is going to make the team better, whatever makes the whole team the best they can possibly be, is the right player. And so there are times where you're like, 'Man, this guy's available, and this guy's available.' The defensive coordinator hat says, 'Always take the corner of the pass rusher.' But now the head coach hat is saying, 'Let's find the best possible player for the team.' I feel like I've had a good experience with that the last couple years and certainly, certainly it's always going to be what's best for the whole operation. That's what you kind of crave to get in this position so that you can build a team in your vision and your image, obviously with this organization. And so, it's definitely a great part of the process."
Some of the seemingly most well-liked players in this draft play positions that may not be considered premium positions. Do you think this could be a type of draft where the whole idea or perception about positional value doesn't matter as much than in previous years? (Jeff Zrebiec)
(DeCOSTA) "I don't know. It's hard for me to say that. I know we've been a team that has gone off-script and taken some non-traditional, non-premium positions with some success, but I also understand – and we've sort of seen it – it can present some problems for you, especially if the guys end up being pretty good, because then you've got an issue, in some ways, with the fifth-year option. We've seen that a couple times now with 'P.Q' [Patrick Queen], and we've seen it with Tyler [Linderbaum], both, given the nuances of the fifth-year option and how they get lumped in together and all those things. And so, that's definitely a factor, I think, with those positions in some ways. But again, if the guy's a great football player who can change the face of your program, you're going to take him, right? If the guy's special, and you think he can really impact [your team] – you go back, and you think about the Baltimore Ravens over the last 30 seasons – some of our very best players that we've had that are in the Hall of Fame with non-premium positions, we probably wouldn't have won Super Bowls without those guys. And so, I think the idea is to build the best possible team and to get guys who can take over games for you in different ways. And if that guy ends up being in a non-premium position, I think you should still take him."
There has been discussion around University of Miami DE Rueben Bain Jr. about his arm length as a pass rusher. How do you weigh measurables compared to production? (Cordell Woodland)
(DeCOSTA) "Great question. [We] spend a lot of time talking about those kind of things in the draft meetings. I think it's challenging, right? You're sort of trained to believe in certain things, and if a player doesn't necessarily have those things, what do you do? It's one of the reasons why we probably were able to get Kyle Hamilton in the [2022] draft at No. 14 was because he ran a slow 40-yard dash time, apparently. So I think you have to look at the tape first. You have to study the tape, and you have to get to know the person, but you really have to study the tape. And you have to look at every play. [You have to look at] good plays [and] bad plays and figure out if it's going to translate. And if you think it's going to translate, and you love the player, then you should probably take the player is what I would say."
Going back to what you were saying about your increased certain reliance on analytics. How did it shape you in those Day Three picks, and what you guys have learned from it and how you used it and so forth? (Brian Wacker)
(DeCOSTA) "I can't really get into specifics of the analytics, but I would say that we do a lot. [Director of data and decision science] Derrick Yam upstairs, [vice president of research & development] David McDonald, [director of football systems] James Oncea, [senior quantitative analyst] Samantha Lazar, they all do a really good job. We have a lot of different things that they're looking at that help us parse out the different buckets of players and the nuance of 'this guy' or 'that guy.' And when you get down in there, who are the players that might have the traits versus who are the guys that are the most productive football players? Things get layered in like age and injuries and all these different things, as well. And it's really just the decision making. It's trying to help us sort of figure it out [who is] the best pick at the best time. And [it's] also [about] when we think guys might get taken and when we think guys are going to be available and not available, [with] those kind of percentages and things, as well. [It is] all kind of with the idea to take something that's very complicated and make it a little bit easier so that we can make the best decisions on the clock."
