NFL Draft Reactions, Lion's Future, and A Major Announcement!

The PlayAction podcast announces their major announcement of launching an official website with a shop and constant updates on new episodes. They also discuss news like the Aaron Rodgers trade, fifth-year options, and recent player moves. They then recap the first round of the 2023 NFL draft, highlighting picks like Bryce Young to the Panthers, CJ Stroud to the Texans, and Jameer Gibbs to the Lions. They also mention players like Broderick Jones, Emmanuel Forbes, Christian Gonzalez, and Jack Campbell. Robbie expresses disappointment with some Lions picks, while Ryan remains cautiously optimistic. They end with picks like Kalajah Canty, Jackson Smith, and Jigba, and Zay Flowers. Hello everybody, and welcome back to episode 6 now of the PlayAction podcast. I'm joined yet again here by... Robbie. Yeah, uh, he... Big surprise. Big surprise. He's been our only special guest so far because, like, he just likes me that much, I guess. He's almost a guest. Not really. But, um, let's get into the show today. We are, uh, we have a major announcement to get to that we will get to in a second. And, um, after that we're going to get into some non-draft related news. And then we're going to get into the main chunk of the podcast. Recapping the draft. Recapping the draft. The draft, as I've said on a previous episode, is my favorite time of the football year. And, uh, it's so fun to see where the prospects go, mock all kinds of cool stuff. See what they did at the combine. The draft season is the best time of the year, and this was just such an exciting payoff. So we'll get into that in a little bit. But first, Robbie, would you like to break our major announcement? We have an official website, and it will be up and running any day now. And there will be shop on it with merch. Yeah! And constant updates when a new episode releases with easy links to them, to Spotify. And, um, socials are coming out soon, too. Social media. We're trying to expand our operation outside of just making episodes. Yep, that's right. We are going to have a website coming out. One thing that he didn't mention, we're going to have a link and an area on there to contact us to submit listener questions, feedback to the episodes or the website, and any other questions that you have. Plus we'll have a little page on there about why we made the podcast. So if you want to go give that a read, it's a good read, and I spent some time on that thing. And if you have any feedback for the website itself that you think we should make changes to, leave it on the website, and we can always update it. Exactly. All right. Now, let's get into the actual show here with the news, all right? So first, before the draft, a lot of news went down. The Aaron Rodgers trade finally happened. Aaron Rodgers is now a New York Jets. Robbie, I think you've got to say it. Classic Jets making bad decisions. We can have some classic Jets merch on there, actually. So if you want to get that, we can have shirts and hoodies for it. So that's going to be kind of dope. But they ended up swapping first-round picks, so the 13 and 15. So the Packers got pick 13, a second-round pick, and a conditional second next year that becomes a first if Rodgers plays 65% of the snaps. So barring injury, it's going to be a first next year. And the Packers got Aaron Rodgers and a later pick, plus pick number 15. So swaps first, Packers got a second and a first next year. And the Jets got Aaron Rodgers. So they have their new quarterback. Now let's get into the fifth-year option news. Justin Jefferson's fifth-year option was picked up, as expected. Joe Burrow's fifth-year option was picked up. Brandon Aiyuk's fifth-year option was picked up. And Justin Herbert's fifth-year option was picked up. So all those guys' fifth-year options have been picked up. Chase Young's fifth-year option was declined. So I don't know what that signifies. Maybe he won't be a guy long-term. But my brother actually is a huge Commanders fan. Chase Young's his favorite player. He wears his jersey all the time. When I told him the news that his fifth-year option was declined, the look on that guy's face, that's so bad for him. All right, next we're going to get into our latest Jaguar drama. Robbie, you can break this one. Devon Hamilton has signed a three-year contract with the Jags for $34.5 million. Yeah, so big-time defensive tackle staying in Jacksonville. And on to the bad, Cam Robinson is under a PED suspension. Yeah, their left tackle, you saw them draft a tackle with their first pick that we will get into in a little while. But maybe that has something to do with it, drafting Antoine Harrison because of the PED suspension. Now let's get into two players that were moved during drafts. This kind of just puts them in the news section here. DeAndre Swift is now a Philadelphia Eagle. And Adam Troutman is now a Denver Bronco. So Swift, fantasy managers rejoice. He's out of Detroit because Detroit does not know how to use running backs besides Barry Sanders. And then Adam Troutman reunited with Sean Payton. So a new tight end for Denver. That was your news from around the league. And we're going to take a quick break, and we'll get back with our draft recap. Hello, everybody, and welcome back to the Play Action Podcast. And now we are going to break down the first round of the 2023 NFL draft. So first, Robbie, any broad thoughts on the draft as a whole? It was a pretty QB-heavy draft, and I wish the Lions made a little bit better decisions than the Lions did. But, I mean, they still have a chance. I did not like their decisions at all. They still got a chance. Drafting Jameer Gibbs at 12. I mean, Jack Campbell at 18. They could have won. Kevin Hooker was a good steal in the third round. They still have a chance. To be the new QB of the future, but not great. Not great. I mean, real quick, actually, we might get into this a little later, but the Lions are probably a top-five team in the NFC. I mean, who's ahead of them? The Eagles, the Cowboys, the 49ers, the Seahawks. I don't think I would put anybody else ahead of them in the NFC. But that's a topic for another time. We are currently going to get into the draft recap. And we'll get more into some Lions talk a little later. Spoiler alert, we're going to get into that with a quick question. But let's get into it with the very first pick of the draft where the Carolina Panthers selected Bryce Young, quarterback out of Alabama. The QB of the future there in Carolina. And, Frank, I forgot how to speak. I'm still learning English, okay? Frank Reich said, this is a bit of a no-brainer out there in Carolina. Robbie, you were a bit, you, like, thought of Young as a good player. You were just a little concerned about his size, if you remember back in the QB draft show. That is true. What do you think of his pick? Of course, a little concerned about the size. As you stated on the last show, go check it out. And a little concerned about Carolina's weapons. Yeah, like, they don't have many good receivers out there, do they? But QB of the future, this is who I would have taken. This is who I had him taking in my final mock. That's not the one I briefed with you guys. So before you guys go, hey, Ryan, you mocked it wrong. In my final mock, I had Young to Carolina. And I had the next pick, C.J. Stroud, the quarterback out of Ohio State, going to Houston at number two. This was the best pick for the team. They get their franchise quarterback. As I said, I do really like Stroud. He's very agile, just doesn't use it. So we'll have to see what happens out there in Houston with C.J. Stroud. But QB of the future. I mean, it's an exciting time to be a Texan fan. New coach, new quarterback. And they traded back up in the draft to get to number three to make this next selection. Will Anderson Jr., the edge out of Alabama. He's a great pass rusher, gets a lot of sacks. What did you think of him, Robbie? He's very fast, great tackler. He's going to be a great asset to the Texans. Yeah, I think if he had declared last year, he would have been the number one pick last year. I honestly believe that. Number four, Indianapolis held their ground and took their quarterback, Anthony Richardson. Quarterback out of Florida. Robbie's number one quarterback in the class. He loved him because of the potential. He loved him because of the athleticism. Tell us what you think of the pick now that he actually has a landing spot. He's very fast. Like I said before, a lot of potential for a great quarterback. Robbie last time said he might have the chance to be the best quarterback in the league. I don't agree with that. Just putting stuff out there. Putting stuff out there indeed. Next at number five, a bit of a surprising pick from Seattle. They took Devin Witherspoon, the quarterback out of Illinois. He was my corner two in this class, actually. He's a great tackler, hard hitting. I keep seeing that one highlight of him just smashing the running back as he tried to catch the ball. I just don't think he's the number one corner in this class because he's not as good at coverage as Christian Gonzalez, who we'll get into in a little bit, really fell in the draft. No idea why because he's an absolute beast. One of my favorite prospects in the whole draft. Devin Witherspoon, scary tandem out there with Tariq Mullen. Why have I forgotten to speak? Tariq Mullen. It's not hard to say. Coming in at number six, Paris Johnson Jr. is going to the Cardinals. The lineman out of Ohio State. Very versatile, good pass blocker. They gave up a lot in the move up, though. What do you think of the trade, Robbie, first of all? They traded down to 12 with Houston and then moved back up to 6 with the Lions, Robbie's favorite team. What do you think of the trade? I don't think they gave up that much. I think it was a good decision to move up. Wow, Robbie just said the Lions made a bad decision. Unfortunately. Robbie's trashing the Lions this episode. Bad draft, bad decision. Lions football. Well, it's because I want to see them win. Maybe we need to make a classic Lions make a bad decision. I don't know about that. I just want to see them win, so. So, are we going to have to make a Lions to the Super Bowl shirt start going? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, we will. It's coming soon. It's not coming soon, everybody, because the Lions are not going to the Super Bowl. This is so off topic. Paris Johnson Jr., great player. I'm excited. I think they gave up a little too much to move back up, especially for a lineman, but it's all good. And now let's get to pick number 7. At number 7, the Las Vegas Raiders took Tyree Wilson, the edge rusher, out of Texas Tech. It's a surprising move, as the Raiders always are. But Tyree Wilson, I mean, he's a great player. Probably best player available mentality. This probably was the best player, but Christian Gonzalez would have been so much better of a pick, because he fits the positional needs so much better. They did not need an edge rusher, and I think, as I said, I love Christian Gonzalez. We're going to be a, Christian Gonzalez is such a better pick, like, this whole frickin' time. So, I'm not a huge fan of the pick, but this is the Chandler Jones replacement right here at number 7 to the Raiders. At number 8, we have Bijon Robinson, the running back, out of Texas. Bit surprising to see him take a running back here this high, but he's a generational prospect. I mean, you've heard writers and analysts all over the place just in love with Bijon, and this is a great landing spot for him. He'll get so many yards, so many touches. It just comes down to, why do you take a running back so high? So, Robbie, what did you really think of the pick? What's your analysis? It kind of proves that Arthur Smith likely values running backs more than the average coach does. That's fair. I mean, you see him in Tennessee with Derrick Henry. Like, he loves that guy, and he loves running the ball. You saw it with Algier last year. Any further analysis? I don't know if this pick just kind of proves what I just said. I mean, yeah. What's wrong with it? Yeah, do you like Bijon as a player? Do you think he's generational talent or a bust? I could see it going either way, but he's certainly talented, yes. I don't know about bust. Yeah, bust might be a little far. Do you think he'll live up to expectations, though, in layups? Hopefully, but I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't. Again, not bust, but yeah. Robbie's going to make a lot of people out there in the media mad with that take. All right, now at number nine, the Philadelphia Eagles. Yup, Jalen Carter is correct. They moved up one spot with Chicago to take Jalen Carter, the defensive tackle out of Georgia. He's had some off-the-field issues. Otherwise, he would be way higher in this draft. Mel Kiper had him as his top prospect in the whole draft. A lot of people are saying the Eagles won the draft. That would be a good quick question, but that is not today's quick question. Somebody out there, ask us that. That would be a great question. Why don't you read the question, Ryan? From Ryan S. Now, Jalen Carter, he's a great player, obviously, but his off-the-field issues might limit him a little bit. What do you think? Well, he's just a freak athlete, I think. That's definitely true. He's just a great fit for the Eagles. He could be the Fletcher Cox replacement. Fletcher Fox, everybody. Fletcher Fox, defensive tackle for the Eagles. At number 10, the Bears moved down and got a fourth-round pick and got maybe who they were going to take anyway, Darnell Wright, the tackle out of Tennessee. Robbie knows his college football over there, apparently. So, Darnell Wright, a bit of a surprising pick for him to go here, but he got here as, I forget who the analyst on ESPN said this, so sorry about that if you're listening. But they said he got picked here because he's a mauler, and that's 100% correct. He just blows you up, and maybe that fits the Matt Eberflew scheme. That might be what he wants. He hits hard. He's powerful. He's gritty. So, what did you think of the pick? Bit of a reach, maybe, but are you a Darnell Wright fan or not so much? Very effective athlete. Very physical. I think it was a good pick. Yep. Next, at number 11, actually what we're going to do is I'm going to list off picks 11 through 14, and then if Robbie has anybody on there he wants to talk about, which the Lions picks in here, so that's who he's going to want to talk about, and then I'll pick somebody to talk about, or maybe multiple people, I don't know. But at 11, the Titans picked tackle Peter Skoranski out of Northwestern. At 12, the Lions picked running back Jameer Gibbs out of Alabama. At 13, the Packers picked edge rusher Lucas Van Ness out of Iowa. And at 14, the Steelers traded up with New England to get tackle Broderick Jones out of Georgia. The player I want to talk about is actually the last one I just mentioned, Broderick Jones, the tackle out of Georgia. Pittsburgh moved up to get this guy because he was really the last quality tackle available. And, I mean, he is a baller, I will say. He hits you, and he hits you hard. I actually thought he had a good chance of going to Tennessee because he really fits what Mike Rabel would want to do there with Derrick Henry, but he really fits Pittsburgh's scheme, and I think they got a good pick, especially since they traded up for him. I think that's pretty big. So Broderick Jones to Pittsburgh, unfortunately, is a Ravens fan. You got anybody in there you want to talk about, Robbie? You already know, Jameer Gibbs. Let's expand on him a little bit. I think he was a good pick for the Lions. He'll make life very easy for the Offense. He'll definitely boost that a lot. Yeah, pass catcher, pass catcher. So he'll help Jared Goff or Hedman Hooker or whoever's playing there at quarterback. His game is very reminiscent to me of Alvin Kamara's. Yes, that's a cop he's getting a lot. Want to expand on that? Alvin Kamara. I've been hearing that a lot lately. Yeah, Alvin Kamara has been the cop because he's a pass catcher. He can still run you over. He's a smaller guy, but he's a powerful runner. So that's why he's got the Alvin Kamara cop. But I thought you didn't like the Lions' picks, Robbie. Well, the ones that I think were good, I'm excited about, and the ones that I don't think were too great, I'm just disappointed. All right, so I'm very scared to see what you have to say on Jack Campbell out of Iowa. Well, we're getting there in a little bit. Let's run through 15 through 18 real quick. Will McDonald IV, the agent of Iowa State, is going to the Jets. Emmanuel Forbes, the quarterback of Mississippi State, is going to the Commanders. Christian Gonzalez, the quarterback of Oregon, is going to New England. And Jack Campbell, the linebacker out of Iowa, is going to Detroit. I can see on Robbie's face he is not a Jack Campbell fan. But I actually have two players I want to cover here the most. The two quarters at 16 and 17, Emmanuel Forbes and Christian Gonzalez. Emmanuel Forbes, I mean, not my favorite player. I think Christian Gonzalez, as I've said so many times, would have fit there much better. They needed a quarter, and Emmanuel Forbes is still one heck of a player out of Mississippi State and would be a great fit for them. And Christian Gonzalez, you guys already know how much I love him, to New England there. Patriots, yet again, get a big draft deal. I don't know how we let it happen every year. And they need some defense really, really badly. After, I mean, the three quarterbacks and the other three teams in that division, Eric Rodgers, Josh Allen, and Tua Saga-Voloa. So, Robbie, you got any picks? I already know which pick you want to get to here. Number 18, Jack Campbell, the linebacker out of Iowa. You look so disgusted. They literally just took him because he has the same name as their coach. That's not confirmed. I did not like him as a prospect. I don't even want to talk about this anymore, Ryan. You take it away. It's a sensitive subject. When Robbie and I were scouting, every time we were going through the linebacker class, he was all like, oh, I love Noah Sewell. Oh, I love Trenton Simpson. I was like, hey, what about Jack Campbell? He won the Butkus Award this year for the best linebacker in college football. The look on his face after he scouted Jack Campbell. He's not a Jack Campbell fan, and now Jack Campbell is on his favorite team, the Detroit Lions. So, a little insider information there. We'll see. We'll see. We'll see. I'm cautiously optimistic for the Lions this year. Cautiously optimistic. I'm actually just optimistic. I know they're going to win easily. How much does Jack Campbell play into you being cautiously optimistic instead of fully being optimistic? It's all his fault. Wow. He's going to lose to Jack Campbell. I'm kidding. This guy. All right, moving on. Let's go into the next five picks. 19, Kalijah Canty, the defensive tackle out of Pittsburgh to Tampa Bay. 20, Jackson Smith and Jigbo, the wide receiver out of Ohio State, surprisingly to Seattle. Quinton Johnston, out of TCU. Quinton Johnston, the wide receiver out of TCU, goes to Minnesota. Zay Flowers, the wide receiver out of Boston College, is going to the Baltimore Ravens. And Jordan Addison, the wide receiver out of USC, is going to Minnesota. I already know who I want to talk about. I have two players. I don't really have anyone. You don't have anyone in here. All right. You're going to talk about Zay Flowers. I'll talk about three players then, because there's three guys I do want to cover. I was going to turn it back a little bit so you could get some action. But first, let's go to 19. Kalijah Canty, the defensive tackle out of Pittsburgh. The comp everyone's given him is Aaron Donald, because they both are almost the same height and weight. They both went to Pittsburgh. They both play the same way. If Tampa Bay gets Aaron Donald, holy frickin' moly. Like... I was so scared. I was like, what is he going to say? Then I came through with moly. Holy moly. But Kalijah Canty, if Tampa gets Aaron Donald, that'd be insane. Jackson Smith and Jigba, at 20 to Seattle. I really wanted Jackson Smith and Jigba. I was watching this draft with my dad, and he can testify that I was legit just sitting there with my fingers crossed, praying that JSN gets to 22, and he almost did. Until Seattle ruined my dreams. Just like they ruined the Broncos' dreams. Seattle, no, it was so good of a decision that I hid them for it. But Jackson Smith and Jigba at 20. That receiving core with Jido Smith, I mean, that's insane. Like, that's the best receiving core in the NFL, easily. With D.K. Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, Jackson Smith, and Jigba. It's like, stupid good. It's incomprehensible. It's stupid good now. It's immaculate. And then the last guy I want to talk about is Zay Flowers at 22. Of course. To Boston, out of Boston College, to the Ravens. Zay Flowers. Replacing Lamar Jackson. No, Lamar signed a new contract, Robbie. Still with the program. Oh, I didn't break that in the news, did I? I guess not. Lamar Jackson signed a five-year contract. I thought you forgot. I didn't forget. You saw Eddie's text. More background information. I texted Robbie when Lamar went through. Those messages may or may not have been in all caps. I may have had a not very manly scream when Lamar Jackson signed his new contract. But it happens. It happens. But Lamar Jackson signed a five-year, $260 million contract to be back in Baltimore, including $185 million in guarantees. Anyways, Zay Flowers has the potential to be the receiver of what I've seen, the Tyreek Hill comp. I did not think that when I watched his tape, but I still think he could be a great player and could be the superstar receiver the Ravens have been looking for. Now let's get to the next five picks. Deontay Banks, the corner out of Maryland, go Terps, is now a New York Giant. At 25, the Bills moved up in the draft to get tight end Dalton Kincaid out of Utah. At 26, the Cowboys took a surprising pick. Lozzie Smith, the defensive tackle out of Michigan. 27, the Jags, as I mentioned earlier, took tackle Antoine Harrison out of Oklahoma. And at 28, Miles Murphy, the edge out of Clemson, is now a Cincinnati Bengals. The one guy I want to break down is a tiger. I'll be looking at Robbie. I know who Robbie's going to want to talk about. But first, I have a player I want to talk about. At 24, Deontay Banks, the corner out of Maryland. If the Ravens weren't going to draft a receiver, I wanted us to draft Deontay Banks because he's a freaking baller. He's such a great player. I actually had him as my corner three in this whole class outside of Witherspoon and Gonzalez. At 24, that's a steal for the Giants. Everyone's talking about how, like the Ravens, everyone's been talking about the Giants needing a receiver so much. They really just need a corner just as much. So, good pick there for the Giants to go get Banks. Who is it you want to talk about, Robbie? I'm interested in the Jags pick of Antoine Harrison. But I'm more so just curious on what your opinion is. Do you think that he's going to help the Jags at all this year? That they're going to continue to get better? Yeah, I do. I think he's a good prospect. He's a bit raw, but he's very athletic. So, he's a very boom-bust prospect for Jacksonville. What did you really think of him as you were watching him on tape? When we were scouting together, we went through offensive linemen separately. So, I have no idea what Robbie's thoughts are on him as a player. I mean, I think he has potential. I kind of feel like I'm repeating myself with all these players. I'm kind of in between. But, I could see him helping the Jags a lot. But, like you said, raw. I mean, it's still too early to tell. Yeah, totally. Three more picks to get to here in the first round, and we're not going to really break anything outside the first round. Brian Berset, the defensive tackle out of Clemson to the Saints. Nolan Smith, the edge out of Georgia to the Eagles. And Felix, oh my God. Every time I see this guy, I cannot pronounce his name. I'm going to go Unadike Uzoma. I always know the Uzoma part because of CJ Uzoma. But, Unadike always gets me. Enudike? Enudike. That's not Enudike. That's not it. It's not Enudike. It's Unadike. Enudike Uzoma. You have a whole outfit there to get into pronouncing the players' names. Edge out of Kansas State. I have one player I want to talk about. I don't know if Robbie sees anybody out here you want to talk about. I'm good. You're good? Robbie's tired. But, I want to talk about Nolan Smith, the edge out of Georgia at 30 to the Eagles. Heck of a player. Should have gone earlier. I actually had him mocked at 13 to Green Bay in my final mock. He falls all the way to 30 here to Philly. And, that is why people are saying Philly won the draft. By the way, they didn't. The Ravens did. Because they re-signed LeVar. And, they had a good draft. Trenton Simpson in the third round. Big steal. But, the Eagles had a great draft. Jalen Harder, Nolan Smith, the Philadelphia Bulldogs are going strong. And, Nolan Smith is a big part of that. He's a heck of a player. But, that concludes our draft recap. We're going to take a quick break. And, then we'll get back with a quick question before we wrap this thing up. But, again, another reminder. Make sure to check out the website. We poured our heart and soul into this thing. And, I'm so excited for it. And, we're back here with our question. This comes in from Brandon out of Jacksonville, Florida. Oh, what's the question? And, his question is, is Hendon Hooker the future QB for Detroit? That's a great question, Brandon. I said we're elaborating on the Lions quarterback situation later. And, here it is. So, a bit more on the draft. Hendon Hooker was taken in the third round to the Detroit Lions, the quarterback out of Tennessee. Is he the future for the Lions? That's a tough one. I mean, Jared Goff will probably play this whole year. The issue is he's very old. He's 25, which means he probably won't start until he's 26. Because Jared Goff, again, will probably play this whole year. I think he's the short-term future. I think he has a five, six-year window where he's great. And then, after that, he's not that good anymore. I could also see a Geno Smith career path. But, I love Hendon Hooker coming out. He was my third best quarterback prospect. I nearly put him at second ahead of CJ Stroud. So, big fan of Hendon Hooker. So, yes, I do think he's the midterm. We're going to create a new term today, Robbie. Midterm future. For the Lions, again, meaning five to six years he can be the guy. But this year, he's not the guy. After that, again, five to six years of good quality play for Hendon Hooker. But Goff's the guy this year. What do you think, Robbie? It's an intriguing prospect. I'm going to be optimistic no matter what because it's the Lions. Yeah, Lions fan. I think he could definitely be the future, possibly. Interesting, Jared Goff. He's getting older. He's active. I think Goff will be the guy this year as I've said five million times. I could see him playing all year as well, too. Yeah. I don't know. I say that a lot. Do you think he's the future of the team, though? Yeah, yeah. I'll go with yes. I think he is. You think he is the future of the team. So, me, he's the midterm future. For me, he's the midterm future. For Robbie, he's the long-term future. All right. Detroit Unites for 1000. We got our hopes up. All right. That's going to wrap us up for the podcast. Again, our longest episode yet. They keep getting longer. I'm so stoked. Is it really? Again, make sure you check out the website. It is so cool, and I hope you guys enjoyed the episode. PlayAction Podcast Official. PlayAction Podcast Official website is what it is called. Check it out. We made it using Squarespace. Hashtag not a sponsor, but a shout-out. And I hope you guys enjoy the rest of your day and whatever you got planned this week. Have a great day.