today is skill position day at the NFL combine the quarterbacks the running backs the wide receivers work out a number of players though you know are bypassing drills a Colorado’s Travis Hunter Arizona’s taroa McMillan and Ohio States a Mecca abuka the top three receivers in Mel Kyper position rankings on espn.com are reported to be skipping drills also the case for his top running back Prospect Boise stat Ashton Genty who will take part in interviews with teams and the top two r quarterbacks in
the draft Colorado shador Sanders and Miami’s cam Ward will not be throwing during today’s workouts lur Rutledge anchors our coverage from Indie big weekend here for the NFL at the scouting combine in Indie field Yates Lewis rck here and we know that shador Sanders cam Ward they’re not going to throw Phil do you have any issue with them not being out here on this field tonight throwing yeah Laura there’s a part of that would like to see both of these guys throwing tonight because they are two of the most
electric players in this entire draft class at the most important position in all of team sports but do I understand it I do wholeheartedly in the case of these players they have nine combined college football seasons if you don’t know what kind of thrower both Cambo and shador Sanders are by now that’s because you haven’t been doing your homework we are very much in a different age of the NFL combine it won’t surprise me if we have headlines similar to this every year with the top quarterback so I would
have loved to have seen it myself although I do understand why these guys are opting against yeah look i’ I’ve always had an issue with this simply because look all these guys regardless of position have tons of tape you can study but the reason why they bring you here is not just necessarily to really ascertain whether or not you’re a good player they like to just kind of measure your level of competitiveness on an equal playing field where no one’s really familiar with anybody and look to me especially when it comes to
quarterbacks look you’re not going to hurt yourself here if you have a bad day cuz every Scout knows that you’re kind of the deck the deck is stacked against you what they want to see is quickly you could get on the same page with someone do you want to like really compete against the other guys and just kind of again measure you against another guy on a Level Playing Field of course it’s not going to affect their draft status I would I I really don’t care in the grand scheme of things I just would have liked
to see them compete because these guys are alphas and you would have hope that they would accept the challenge that’s all yeah cam Ward told me that he feels like his tape speaks for itself to the points that you’re both making you will of course see them both at their Pro days those are the top two guys but fi there are plenty of quarterbacks that we will see throw tonight who sticks out to you who were you excited to see I’m looking forward to watching Dylan Gabriel who may have thrown more footballs in his lifetime than the rest
of these quarterbacks as he played six seasons of college football UCF then Oklahoma then finally finishing up at Oregon we don’t have many left-handed quarterbacks as a matter of fact we have one in today’s NFL but this guy I think the arm strength has perhaps been overd discussed with Dylan Gabriel I don’t think there’s a significant lack of zip or ability to drive the football down the field very accurate passer during that one season at Oregon as well very competitive guy we saw him down in
Mobile at at the Senior Bowl looking forward to seeing him showcase once again tonight and I’ll say this in the right fit it wouldn’t surprise me if there are teams that feel like Dylan has a chance to become a starter at some point early on in his career yeah for me it’s Tyler shuck from Louisville for sure because look this is a guy who who gets overlooked in in the general conversation simply because he’s a seven-year College veteran he’s been at three different programs he’s had a lot of injury history and people go well
automatically that disqualifies you for me you can’t be good if you had those kind of things surrounding your career I caution you against doing that tonight he will show that he has maybe the biggest arm here he has some of the best touch here for a guy who’s 65 235 240 he has some of the best athleticism here and he’s been coached by some of the best coaches in college football and Jeff and Brian Bron turn on the tape outside of this you’ll be totally impressed I can’t wait to see what kind of show he puts on he actually said he
thinks being 25 is an advantage that experience that’s led him to this point good point cannot wait to see how it all shakes out here are some players on this field some quarterbacks have a chance to make themselves a lot of money tonight and potentially make some franchises better and and Ryan back drinking coffee oh yeah that looks good this time of day uh well quarterback questions Ryan at least one we know has been answered Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford has agreed to stay in Los Angeles on a restructured
deal the adjusted contract was agreed upon after his agent Jimmy ston had discussions with the Giants and the Raiders about contract parameters the New Deal keeping staffer with the Rams for at least one more year according to our Adam shefer who has escaped from the combine at this point uh Shey how many combines is that for you by the way I believe that was my 32nd Hannah 302nd so I’ve been going to the combine Hannah longer longer than you’ve been alive Adam oh yeah spot on Adam I love it spot you are
correct what I love your math um okay so we have seen the first domino fall in this quarterback Carousel Stafford sting in La so a lot of other teams obviously have to re-evaluate their pursuit of a quarterback how might what happened yesterday benefit 41-year-old Aaron Rogers actually I don’t think it benefited him in the way that he would have liked in a perfect world Aaron roders would have seen Matthew St Stafford traded to either the Raiders or the Giants freeing up the spot in the musical chair world of quarterback
Carousel in Los Angeles I think in a perfect world Aaron roders would have loved to have stayed where he has a house played for the Rams the Rams would have had interest but the Rams got the deal worked out with Stafford he stays there’s no opening in LA and that means Aaron Rodgers if he wants to play is going to have to look elsewhere and that means he’ll have to look at the New York Giants he’ll have to look at the Pittsburgh Steelers there’s only so many spots open now I think both those teams
could have some level of Interest the Giants are investigating various options about what they do the Pittsburgh Steelers are talking primarily right now to Russell Wilson and Justin Fields but Los Angeles would have been the ideal landing spot for Aaron Rogers but Matthew Stafford took that spot on Friday Hannah yeah which definitely will serve the Rams well the fact that they got that done uh meanwhile the Raiders were interested in Stafford I mean apparently he and Tom bre were hanging out in Montana uh they do draft sixth
overall what are their options at this point at quarterback I think that they’re going to take a number of swings in a number of ways to fill that quarterback position now the first way will be through free agency and they’re going to look at veteran quarterbacks like Sam darnold like Russell Wilson like Justin Fields I think one of these quarterbacks is going to find his way to Las Vegas to potentially play for Tom Brady Pete Carroll and the Las Vegas Raiders but I don’t think that that’s going to be the
only quarterback that the Raiders add this off season I could see them potentially maybe even trading for one drafting one when Pete Carrol was in Seattle in the same off season he signed Matt Flynn away from Green Bay he drafted Russell Wilson he traded for Charlie Whitehurst he took a number of swings at the quarterback position and I think it wouldn’t be a surprise this off season if we saw the Raiders do the very same thing yeah you think back to him bringing Russell Wilson in and then Wilson earning that job in Seattle who
knows if they’ll reunite it’s a lot of fun right now uh glad you’re back home safe and sound from the combine rest that voice from talking to a million people and we’ll chat with you soon thanks jefy quarterbacks running backs and wide outs getting set to show out at the combine today but who won’t be putting on a show there Colorado star shador Sanders won’t be throwing but he has been meeting with teams and he is speaking and he’s not lacking for confidence so what could he do for a franchise and how does he handle the
critics listen to this from yesterday if you ain’t trying to change the franchise or the culture don’t give me so you you should know history repeats itself over and over and over and I’ve done it over and over and over so it should be no question why NFL franchise should pick me you think I’m worried about what critics say what people got to say you know who my dad is they hat it on him too so it’s like it it’s almost normal without people hating it’s not normal for us so we like we like the diversity we like everything
that comes with the name that’s why we are who we are I like the confidence right oh I do too I love I like this guy’s confidence too his co-star Colorado two-way star to be exact Travis Hunter not participating either at drills today label db15 at the combine also label him a wide receiver tuned up the college game last year to a tune of 92 catches 1100 plus yards and 14 tutes he says it’s one of his dreams to go first overall but what does he say about being compared to baseball’s best what what’s more difficult yo
do uh probably me what I do in football because it’s a lot on your body you know Tony he’s a great player but you got to do a lot of your football what a weird question it’s kind of apples and orang yeah right but I think Shi heard him and said try doing this coming off a surgically repaired shoulder he crushed an opposite field Homer in his first first at bat this spring Otani said his biggest takeaway for him that he got through three ABS with no issues he spent the rehab the winter rehabbing after surgery to repair
a torn laum in his left shoulder that he suffered diving into second game two of the World Series and we look at we look we all look forward to Otani being back on the mound this season he’s going to be part of a star studded rotation which includes the addition of two times sa Young Award winner Blake Snell and Japanese Phenom Roki suzaki according to ESPN bet the Dodgers are currently the favorite to win the World Series NFL analyst Lewis rck is with us now live from Indie and Lewis I’ve heard
you say that you would take cam Ward ahead of shador Sanders um the last couple of drafts you’ve been absolutely right about the quarterbacks so tell me what separates these two in your mind yeah when it comes to caman I think it’s just raw horsepower in his arm I mean he has the ability to put the ball wherever he wants to put it at whatever point in the down that he wants to put it there which kind of leads me into the second thing that I think separates him which is his release quickness and it
doesn’t always have to be with his feet set it doesn’t always have to be with his arm at the you know prototypical angle he can throw it with a classic over the top 3/4 sidearm sidearm he can throw it rolling right he can throw it rolling left so really what his arm strength and his release quickness does for him is it allows him to sometimes extend plays from a timing perspective to a point where some other players couldn’t do that because they couldn’t then fit it in the window that they want
to and I’m not saying he plays in that way all the time it just allows him a certain margin for error that the greats always that that the greats have I mean it’s the same thing with Patrick Mahomes it’s the same thing with any of the other great quarterbacks that you see in the NFL Any Sunday so with him I think that’s what separates him that’s what’s going to make him a shire I think uh Superstar immediately in the NFL as he gets himself up to speed and everything else around him to velops the way that
you needed to I’m I’m I’m just disappointed I don’t get to see him here today but I’ll be down in Miami for his pro day to see him put on a show I know you will and I can’t wait to hear your take on that and I remember you raving about Jaden Daniels and I remember you saying that CJ strad would be a terrific Pro so I can’t wait to hear your Insight about these quarterbacks as we progress through the well listen as we progress through these workouts I know there’s a third guy though that you really like
tell us about him yeah shuck from Louisville he’s he’s someone who I got to see in the fall twice live I got to see him play at home against SMU and then got to see him play in Death Valley and Clemson and I’m telling you Jeff Braum who’s a who’s a good friend of mine a former teammate of mine from way back in the day really raved about this young man he’s a twice trans he’s a two-time transfer started at Oregon then went to Texas Tech and then finished his career in Louisville you know entered the transfer portal
last year and played one season there and I’m telling you Hannah he is the classic body type 65 6 for about 225 230 lb and I’m telling you this he has got an absolute cannon with a quick release as well you see him making throws three quarter sidearm classic over to the top rolling left throwing back across his body he had a touchdown pass against your Notre Dame Fighting Irish about 18 yard just laser exactly I mean they lost the game but he he made some throws in this game where if you put together a reel of of
his 20 best throws you’d say is this guy the best quarterback in the draft because it matches up with W to matches up with shador Sanders and he’s he’s throwing today so to watch him I’m telling you Scouts are on him though he is starting to move up draft boards if he gets to the right place this kid could surprise everybody yeah he has 32 career starts through that long journey that you told us about 25 years old and and I know that’s something that he sees as a benefit in his game um and I really
liked this segment until you reminded me that he threw a imp pass Fighting Irish well yeah but but no Notre Dame was fine they wound up winning that game as a matter of fact they turned him over a couple times and you know how Marcus Freeman is I mean Notre Dame they had a heck of a season I know by the way he’s our celebrity picker tomorrow on college game day for women’s Hoops just thought I’d throw that in you’re the best Louis can’t wait to hear what you say uh after today appreciate you always fi Yates
he’s right there in his element and field I know you have Cam Ward going third overall to the Giants but regardless of where he ends up what do you see him needing to work on in order to succeed long term at the NFL level yeah by the way Hannah new mocks coming out before you realize that kimw has got an immense amount of talent there are some things he does have to clean up though at the NFL level the good news is I believe they are fixable traits but let’s start with his tendency to make some careless decisions it
happened often during games early for Miami this past season which is why it felt like every Saturday afternoon the collective heart rate of Miami Hurricanes fans raised now camart also showed the Brilliance of bringing that team back into many of those games but I felt like there were times this season he was trying to get it all in on one play also needs to work in the footwork that probably ties together with the decision-making sometimes the ability to step into and drive throws down the field will eliminate some of those often
unforced errors yeah we’ve seen some of the best situations where teams start off with what a quarterback does well call the plays accordingly and then back fill it uh as they go on and get more experience and you’re projecting shur Sanders to go six to the Raiders what does he bring to Vegas that could make him unique yeah he won’t throw later on today at the combine Hannah but I do believe he’s the best pure pocket passer in this entire draft class and what goes into that well it’s arm strength to
degree he does not have an overwhelmingly strong arm but it’s strong enough when you combine it with his ball placement and his overall touch at as well that the way in which he was able to operate the offense at Colorado these past two seasons was simply remarkable he understands when he has a receiver who has a step or inside leverage or outside leverage where does he have to place the football so that his talented Playmakers let of course by Travis Hunter at the Collegiate level had opportunities to run after the catch
now not a great athlete shador sers but he makes up for that by being so pristine with his accuracy in the pocket I just love his confidence love his attitude as well give me a third quarterback that could potentially get taken in that opening round yeah I think it’s Jackson Dart from Old Miss who broke Eli Manning’s School record for passing yards this past season he’s got a ton of experience he began his college career at USC he finished up at Old Miss and he had a brilliant game to cap his college career
against Duke in the bowl game he’s a good athlete he can throw on the run as well it’s going to be a transition because the offense he played Old Miss does not look a whole lot like most NFL offenses that being said when you combine the athleticism and the accuracy I do think there’s a chance that by the time it’s all said and done he sneaks into the first round I had him going 21st overall to the Pittsburgh Steelers in my most recent mock draft again more mock drafts for forthcoming but that might be a pick that I redo once again
in mock 3.0 whenever that does drop over there on espn.com you know you mentioned his experience too I know he’s the youngest quarterback in the draft but he does have 41 starts uh field Yates can’t wait to see all the information that you gather and how that plays out in future mock drafts thanks my friend [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music]
