NFL draft grades: Teams that did well, Tier 2
Chris Simms and Ahmed Fareed evaluate how the Falcons, Packers, Steelers, Seahawks, Titans and Lions approached the 2023 NFL Draft and rip through each team's selections.
Video Transcript
AHMED FAREED: We'll get to the Lions because you thought they had a pretty good draft.
CHRIS SIMMS: I did.
AHMED FAREED: In tier two, how many teams you got in tier two? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 6 teams in tier two. And one of these teams is kind of similar to maybe the Eagles run first offense. The Falcons might be the number one run first offense in the NFL this year. And you like what they did with the draft because Hook 'Em Horns with their first pick, they took Bijan Robinson.
CHRIS SIMMS: I do. I love Atlanta's draft, and I'm going to explain why. One, I don't think there was one pick made in this draft that affects a team more right away than Bijan Robinson to Atlanta. He is going to directly affect win-loss records maybe more than anybody we've seen in the top 10, top 15, anything like that.
They're a running football team. They have, other than the Eagles, maybe the best offensive line in football. It's certainly top five. So now you get that running back? Whoa, I mean, yeah they're going to be a force. And of course, it's going to change their team and make them more dynamic and explosive.
But then to get Matthew Bergeron at the top of the second, who you know I love. He was our honorable mention tackle. Really, I think they could play him at guard. I think he can-- I really think he's more like Skoronski in that he's going to be a great guard in the NFL, but he can play tackle.
Then we've got a guy like Zach Harrison in the third round? Zach Harrison was another guy-- my honorable mentions, he didn't get a lot of talk in the draft process because of how he was played at Ohio State.
AHMED FAREED: Edge.
CHRIS SIMMS: Edge guy.
AHMED FAREED: Ohio State.
CHRIS SIMMS: Right, edge guy that had to do a lot of two-gapping and stuff like that, too. Wasn't always allowed to just go rush the passer. I looked at him and went, damn, you remind me of Carlos Dunlap. So I look at that, what they got going on the defensive side of the ball already. You add a Zach Harrison.
What that offensive line has, now they got Matthew Bergeron. And then that running back, and I like Clark Phillips III, the cornerback from Utah, as a little bit of a nickel/slot guy. I just thought their top four picks are really, like, they're game changers and I think under the radar are going to change their football team right away in 2023.
AHMED FAREED: And it helps the quarterback because they were sold on Desmond Ridder being a franchise guy.
CHRIS SIMMS: Right, or certainly not the guy we said like, oh, hey, Atlanta is going to drop back 40 times a game and let Desmond Ridder pick you apart. This takes that pressure away, it does. And then I think they're going to get in some two tight end sets and play action pass and bootlegs and all of that.
And that run game and how elite they're going to be at that is going to allow him to throw bootlegs and play action to Drake London and Kyle Pitts and everybody off of that. That's just going to make them a handful.
AHMED FAREED: So Pete raises an interesting question here. You did see some teams do this, where they go, oh, this team's got needs. And oh, wait, hold on. They got needs, but this is the part of the team that's actually pretty good. They had a good run game last year. Third in rush yards, fourth in yards per carry. And so, what do you think about the Falcons beefing that up even more?
CHRIS SIMMS: We talked about this two weeks ago. I talked about this with Florio a little bit of like, don't be afraid to make your elite part of your team more elite. There's something to that, there really is.
And they're doubling down they made a lot of adjustments and great signings on defense in free agency. So they improved that part of their roster. And then, yeah, I think they looked at it and went, wait, we're this close to being like, yeah, we're going to run the ball. And yeah, what are you going to do about it, like the Titans were? Or like Dak Prescott and the Cowboys were with Ezekiel Elliott that first year, remember?
Everybody was ready to go, oh, my gosh, the Cowboys are going to fall off Earth. And I remember at the time, I was going, oh, they're going to run the ball, and Dak Prescott's going to manage the game. And they became unstoppable. So they're kind of going that way, too. They're going, hey, yeah, you know we're going to run it, but good luck stopping it.
And that's the way they want to play. And then you're going to get so desperate stopping the run, they're going to go, oh, oh, you're all up here at the line of scrimmage? Sorry, Kyle Pitts is behind you. 60-yard touchdown. Bye, bye.
So I have no problem with that. I think sometimes teams drop the ball by trying to spread the wealth too much. And then I look at their team and go, you don't have one unit on your team that's elite or really good. I'm more in favor of this and going, no, no, no, we're going to be so great at this that it's going to make you change the way you have to play us.
And even that weaker part of our team is now going to be at an advantage because this part is so strong that, hey, our defense, we might not be as good, but we're going to be off the field more. We're going to be chewing up clock because we're going to be fresh. And we're going to play a style that will help the defense out anyways. I kind of like the move, I really do.
AHMED FAREED: It's like one of those situations where it's like, oh, OK, you have a team that's weak defensively in the defensive secondary.
CHRIS SIMMS: Did you really need a running back with Detroit?
AHMED FAREED: No.
CHRIS SIMMS: Right.
AHMED FAREED: Well, maybe.
CHRIS SIMMS: Well, I mean, to a degree. But it wasn't like a desperate. But just that was one of your strengths of your team.
AHMED FAREED: But I guess the danger, like you're saying, is you have a weakness on your team. You draft a guy, and you're still weak there. It's like it didn't really significantly raise the level of play of that unit.
CHRIS SIMMS: No, I hear you.
AHMED FAREED: So at that point, get better.
CHRIS SIMMS: I think what they're telling you is they felt like, hey, we re-signed Lorenzo Carter. We signed Bud Dupree in free agency. We got Calais Campbell, David Onyemata. We traded for Jeff Okudah.
I think I'm missing somebody else there, but either way, they made those moves going, no, our defense is fine. We feel good about our defense. And that allowed them to free them up to address offense with those first two picks.
AHMED FAREED: Falcons had a good draft, making their strengths stronger. The Packers had a good draft in your eyes.
CHRIS SIMMS: Yes, they did.
AHMED FAREED: And what is Aaron Rodgers feeling right now? Because three of the top four picks are offensive weapons. A couple tight ends, Luke Musgrave from Oregon State, Tucker Kraft from South Dakota State, Jayden Reed, the wide receiver out of Michigan State were taken in the second and third rounds.
But the number one overall pick, edge Lukas Van Ness from Iowa with his three girlfriends there sitting on the couch. I don't know if you saw that--
CHRIS SIMMS: I did.
AHMED FAREED: --picture out there. Two of them were his sisters, so it wasn't quite true. Sorry about that. Yeah, sorry to keep that rumor going, but I cleaned it up. I set the record straight. The Packers, you like their draft.
CHRIS SIMMS: I did like their draft, I did. First off, I'm a Lukas Van Ness fan, I am. Defensive end, defensive tackle. He can play really just about anything on the defensive line, other than nose tackle, so that's the great thing about him. So yeah, I love that.
And we've talked about them in years past, why they can't beat the 49ers. Or if they want to be the team like the Eagles, they got to get bigger and stouter up front, especially on the defensive side of the ball.
The two tight ends they got, that was a desperate need for them, and they got two guys that are freaky. Musgrave is an incredible athlete at 6' 6". So is Tucker Kraft. So they got two guys there that can-- all right, you're worried about Doubs and Christian Watson on the outside, and now you got those two being able to work down field, let alone, like we always talk about, the two tight end sets and have to worry about the power running game.
Jayden Reed. He's another guy we brought up during the honorable mention part of our wide receiver. He's one of those slot receivers that I look at like, yeah, don't be shocked in two years from now. We're like, hey, look, Jayden Reed's got 88, 89 catches here in week 17 and 1,000 yards.
He's got some Amon-Ra St. Brown to him, if you want a comparison a little bit there. So I love that. Colby Wooden in the fourth round is almost a lot like a Van Ness. Outside linebacker, D tackle, D end, can play a little bit of everything that way.
And then they got my man Karl Brooks in the sixth round, my 300-pound outside linebacker?
AHMED FAREED: Edge, yeah, and outside linebacker out of Bowling Green.
CHRIS SIMMS: Right. So he's like-- he's-- again, I love his skill level. He needs some work on his anchor as far as playing D tackle, like we talked about. But yeah, all in all, I was a very big fan of what the Packers did in the draft.
AHMED FAREED: Bodalicious D says, "Thanks for acknowledging what Florio never would. The Packers, at least at this point, had a good draft."
CHRIS SIMMS: They did, they really did. I was impressed with their draft, and I think one, yeah, got some guys that, I think on the defensive side, were needed and fit their culture. And then the tight end position, because their offense, their O line's pretty good. They got a lot of things there.
But those guys that could work the middle of the field, the Randall Cobb, the Allen Lazard, the damn tight end they lost to Chicago in free agency, Tonyan, Robert Tonyan, now they have replacements for that, and I do, I like those moves.
AHMED FAREED: Now for the record, Florio did say last week he likes the Packers' odds of making the Super Bowl more than the Jets.
CHRIS SIMMS: He did say that, which I think he's a little crazy.
AHMED FAREED: That is a little crazy.
CHRIS SIMMS: Yeah, but OK.
AHMED FAREED: I guess if you like the odds, well, that means you might like the value more.
CHRIS SIMMS: Well, I think that's what it is, more than that.
AHMED FAREED: Coming out of the NFC?
CHRIS SIMMS: Yes, exactly. I think he's like, the AFC is crazy deep, and the NFC, again, I think we're all looking at it going, there's two teams, and then who's going to be that next tier of teams that come up and challenge them?
AHMED FAREED: I can get on board with that. Can you get on board with this? Maddie Carver, saying about the Pittsburgh Steelers, "Addressed all top needs. Did so with great value at the picks taken. Omar Khan has arrived. You yourself said if anyone was going to be Gronk from this class, it's Darnell Washington. Elusive Pat F. with the sixth O line. Najee and Pickett are happy men."
So beefing up the offensive line, adding some weapons in Washington, did you like this draft for the Steelers as much as Maddie Carver?
CHRIS SIMMS: I did, I did, Maddie Carver. I'm with you right there. And again, this is where like-- hey, you know Joey Porter's not my favorite corner in this draft. But I'm not going to be mad at them taking him, a physical, tough, culture-setting DB in Pittsburgh, which they like. I can get behind that.
So that's where I don't want people to think I'm so obtuse or close-minded and I'll go, yeah, he's not one of my favorite corners. But they'll have a plan for him. He fits the attitude of their football team.
I love Broderick Jones. Like we talked about on the draft, on the night of the draft. They needed offensive line help. But it's been three years we've been working together, and we've talked about their O line not being good enough in all three years.
Keeanu Benton, one of our honorable mention D linemen in that process, out of Wisconsin, to get him in the second round, I thought that was amazing as well. I couldn't believe he was still on the board. I couldn't believe the Patriots took Keion White over Keeanu Benton.
AHMED FAREED: Second round.
CHRIS SIMMS: Second round. Did I say second? It was the third pick, second round.
AHMED FAREED: I think you said sixth round.
CHRIS SIMMS: Oh, did I? I didn't mean to. I didn't mean to. But either way, I'm a big-- and Keeanu Benton, and here's one of the reasons I like what they did. And I saw one of his picks. He goes-- I talked to Mike Tomlin. He said, Mike Tomlin wants goons here in Chicago. You know me. I like goons, too. And that's what they did.
OK, Broderick Jones. Big goon, left tackle, going to mess you up. Joey Porter Jr. come over the middle. Goon going to mess you up. Keeanu Benton, try to run over by me. Not moving me, goon. Mess you up.
Then you add on Gronk Darnell Washington, Oh, double teaming with Broderick Jones. We're going to mess you up on the end of the line of scrimmage. And then Nick Herbig, a good little player there to add to the mix as far as linebacker, edge guy there.
So yes, I like the players. And even though I don't like Joey Porter Jr. as much as everybody else, I understand them liking him, and he fits for them. And that's where I'm going to give them a lot of love.
AHMED FAREED: This could be a much improved team--
CHRIS SIMMS: Yes it can.
AHMED FAREED: --over what they were last year because they made some moves in the offseason, beefing up the offensive line down in free agency. So yes, watch out for the Steelers and Mike Tomlin.
CHRIS SIMMS: We know. They're going to compete. We know the Steelers. They got some weapons at receiver. The quarterback is going in the right direction. Their problem is like what we talk about with everybody. They're in the AFC North and the AFC in general, which is tough.
AHMED FAREED: Hawkstrologer is chiming in.
CHRIS SIMMS: Oh, here he comes, Hawkstrologer.
AHMED FAREED: Who do you think his favorite team of the draft was? It was Seahawks. He goes, "Got best corner in the draft, best, to some, wide receiver in the draft, fourth good edge rusher, and a solid power speed running back, too. Best wide receiver room and secondary in the league now. Also, great value in the trenches in day three, and a quality third down running back in the seventh. Also got a '24 third from the Broncos."
So Hawkstrologer is loving everything they did. Yeah, Devon Witherspoon, first pick--
CHRIS SIMMS: Man crush.
AHMED FAREED: --Illinois, your man crush. And then, you didn't have as big of a man crush on Jaxon Smith-Njigba, but they beefed up their wide receiver room with their second pick in the first round, that wide receiver out of Ohio State.
CHRIS SIMMS: Definitely. I mean, I'm not going to be mad at it again, either. I mean, he was my number two receiver, not necessarily, like we always talk about, my cup of tea as a true slot guy. But if a true slot guy could go anywhere, OK, this is one of them I'd go, yes, this makes sense.
Lockett on the outside. Metcalf on the outside. Now you get Njigba working the middle? It's perfect. It's what we talked about when we broke them down. He needs that space. He's great at running routes and reading the coverage that way. He's not necessarily going to beat people outside on a consistent basis all day long. So he's perfect.
And then you think about them now? And you go, damn, those three receivers. Noah Fant, a tight end, Kenneth Walker at running back. They got two young tackles that are awesome. I loved all of that.
So the first two picks killed it. Devon Witherspoon, are you-- like, come on, with Diggs and Jamal Adams and Tariq Woolen and Michael Jackson? I just go like, I mean, I don't know, it's a bunch of psychos. I like psychos. You know that. It's like Illinois. They're replicating it there.
Quandre Diggs, he doesn't even like me. He's got mad at me on Twitter for saying something about Jalen. I still got respect for him. He's a psycho in a good way. I don't know why he doesn't like me. He's mad. I said Jalen Ramsey got traded for a third-round pick.
AHMED FAREED: He went off on you pretty hard.
CHRIS SIMMS: He did went off me. It was not called for you at all.
AHMED FAREED: You wrote back to him. Did he ever write back after that?
CHRIS SIMMS: No, no, no, of course not. No, it was a sensible conversation. Sensible people aren't capable of-- or insensible people aren't capable of having sensible conversations. He blamed me because his brother didn't win the national championship when I was quarterback, all my one year of being a starter.
It was all or nothing right there. Ah, I'm just a little mad at him, he said on social media, because he didn't win the national championship when my brother was there. All one year as a starter, I didn't do it. Damn, I suck.
AHMED FAREED: You had one shot.
CHRIS SIMMS: Right, one shot. Damn, I know. Top 5 wasn't good enough.
AHMED FAREED: Pete, set up the interview with Diggs. We want to get this, hash this out--
CHRIS SIMMS: I would like that, too.
AHMED FAREED: --figure out what's going on.
CHRIS SIMMS: But to continue on the rest of the Seahawks--
AHMED FAREED: OK, sorry.
CHRIS SIMMS: You get Zach Charbonnet.
AHMED FAREED: Yeah, what'd you think of that? I mean, that was an area of strength.
CHRIS SIMMS: Yeah, but I think they can look at it and go, let's not kill Kenneth Walker. Let's save him for a few years because he's special. And then this guy's got a little bit of that smashmouth, oh, it's the fourth quarter, and now, we got to-- man, we've been tackling Kenneth Walker. Now we got to tackle him, too? He's great there. Anthony Bradford was one of the better interior guards in the draft.
AHMED FAREED: Out of LSU.
CHRIS SIMMS: Yeah, LSU. And this first second-round pick, Derick Hall.
AHMED FAREED: Edge out of Auburn.
CHRIS SIMMS: He was someone we brought up during our edge day. Again, he was one of those guys where I said, listen, I like the way he rushes the passer better than Will Anderson. There's more to me high-end potential in Derick Hall being a superstar pass rusher than Will Anderson. Yeah, for the most part, as you could tell, I really loved the Seahawks's draft.
AHMED FAREED: Seahawks are-- they're not rebuilding. They were-- what was their record last year?
CHRIS SIMMS: Yeah, in the playoffs. That's all that matters. Winning against the 49ers at halftime in the Wild Card game. What'd they end up, 9-8 or 10-7? I can't remember. It's right there. Here, I got it for you. They were 9-8.
AHMED FAREED: And they beefed up with a lot of players now. The next team we're talking about I feel like are going through a bit of a rebuild at this point. The Tennessee Titans didn't have a whole lot of draft picks. But the first two, they used on an offensive lineman, Peter Skoronski, in some people's eyes, out of Northwestern, the top offensive lineman in the draft.
CHRIS SIMMS: Sure.
AHMED FAREED: And then in the second round, Will Levis out of Kentucky. Let's start there.
CHRIS SIMMS: Yeah. I mean, got their quarterback of their future.
AHMED FAREED: Do they, though?
CHRIS SIMMS: I think they do, or at least they view it.
AHMED FAREED: Well, yeah.
CHRIS SIMMS: I think that's how they look at it. We'll see. I think this is, again, another one of those where we just talked about Jalen Carter and a perfect fit. I go, man, this is a perfect spot for Will Levis. He's not going to play. He's not going to beat out Ryan Tannehill. And the things we talked about him being inconsistent and getting better with, he's going to have a full year of working on it and getting to watch Ryan Tannehill do it.
AHMED FAREED: Tannehill will not teach him, though. He's made that clear.
CHRIS SIMMS: Well, it's not his job.
AHMED FAREED: He's not a mentor.
CHRIS SIMMS: It's not like he's not going to teach you, but it's not his-- he's not going to be like, hey, Will, come in here. Let me hold your hand, and we'll go over the plays and watch film together. No, that's not-- that's all he was saying. If Will has a question, he's going to help him.
He's going to be there for him, just same thing with what Malik said. It was overblown that he said that. He was just trying to make sure that everybody knew it wasn't his job to develop the guy. He's got to worry about this thing called being a starting quarterback, he's got to worry about.
So Skoronski-- we know they want to run the football. Their O line slowly dissipating over the last two years, whether it's free agency, age, whatever. So they needed help here. Skoronski is the most for sure offensive lineman in the draft. Tackle, guard. I think he could be a great guard.
You get Will Levis, who, like I said, could be a lot like Ryan Tannehill, except he's got a bigger arm. But it will still allow them to play the same style of football. Tyjae Spears, the running back from Tulane. Really damn good, definitely a guy I thought about putting in my top five. He just missed out.
And then they got one of my favorite tight ends in Whyle in the fifth round.
AHMED FAREED: Josh Whyle, out of Cincinnati.
CHRIS SIMMS: Exactly. So I thought all in all, it was a good draft for now, the future. But I really like those top four players right there.
AHMED FAREED: So where does that put them in the division? Because not the toughest division, AFC South. Jacksonville should be the favorite.
CHRIS SIMMS: Definitely the favorite.
AHMED FAREED: And I declared, I declared this, remember? Right at the end of the season, I go, I think Jacksonville is going to be one of the top favorites to win a division this year. And that might be the case.
CHRIS SIMMS: Yeah, I think you're right.
AHMED FAREED: Tennessee was 7-10 last year. I feel like they still could take a step back from that.
CHRIS SIMMS: Well, I do, too. I'm never going to put anything out of them. I do think their defense is still going to be a force here, I do. The way they play, Vrabel. Again, I don't look at them. I think Jacksonville, to your point, is clearly the best team in the division.
Do I think Tennessee can win the Super Bowl? Absolutely not. But do I think Tennessee could get to a Wild Card game? Yes, I do. Again, I think when you couple-- hey, Harold Landry will be back. Of course, they got Jeffery Simmons on the inside.
They got Azeez Al-Shaair at tight end. I think they got some-- Kristian Fulton and [? Caleb ?] [? McCarrey ?] are both young corners who were very good out in the edge. So I still think they're going to be a pain in the ass, I guess is what I'm saying, in the AFC. But yeah, I don't think they're a real Super Bowl contender.
AHMED FAREED: The Jaguars are -160 to win the AFC South. That is the same odds of the Kansas City Chiefs to win the AFC West, -160.
CHRIS SIMMS: Wow.
AHMED FAREED: I think those could even grow for in Jacksonville. We will see.
CHRIS SIMMS: Well, the AFC West is tough.
AHMED FAREED: You know who's favored to win the NFC North?
CHRIS SIMMS: Well, I have a feeling since you're a fan of that team is probably why you're bringing it up.
AHMED FAREED: Me and Natishi, who writes into you. "I loved the Lions' draft. It looked odd early on, but they got four immediate starters. They went against the grain, filled key spots on the roster. Hendon Hooker was just icing on the cake, the quarterback out of Tennessee. It tells you that they think that they are close to having a team that could go far."
And I think that is exactly the case for the Lions and spending some money in free agency. We saw that graphic on teams that spend a lot of money in free agency, often make that jump into the playoffs. I think it's because he seems know they're on the cusp.
CHRIS SIMMS: That's right.
AHMED FAREED: I think the Lions know that, too. So I'm ready to gush. I was a little nervous with Jahmyr Gibbs, the running back out of Alabama, not because of the player but because maybe he went a little high.
CHRIS SIMMS: Yeah, right.
AHMED FAREED: I was more nervous when they took Jack Campbell, the linebacker out of Iowa at 18. I was a little unsettled, but saying nothing bad against those players because I think those guys will help the Lions significantly.
CHRIS SIMMS: Definitely. That's where-- again, I understand we all want the best value in the draft. And we don't want to draft any guy except for the pick right before he's going to come off the board. That's the best value. Because we know that team is going to pick him, so if you got him to pick before, you got the best value.
We all get a little obsessed with that shit. We all do. Listen, did they overdraft Jahmyr Gibbs? OK, sure. But like, so? They didn't want to risk it. They didn't want to risk falling down to, what, I don't know, oh, we're here. We could take, we could take a Jahmyr Gibbs at 12, or do we want to trade down?
And now we're down at the mid 20s or low 20s, and now somebody else takes him that we didn't think. I mean, they didn't want to risk that. They had their eye on a guy that they knew at a position they needed that could change their football team.
AHMED FAREED: There were two running backs in this draft.
CHRIS SIMMS: Exactly.
AHMED FAREED: Robinson was already off the board, and it was Gibbs that was left and was in that same tier.
CHRIS SIMMS: Right. I'm not mad at them for taking Jahmyr Gibbs 10 spots too early. I mean, that's sort of like-- again, they were being viewed on that, where I want to go, if they took him at 22 that night, we would all have been like, what a pick! Oh, my gosh!
Jack Coan? I mean, Jack Coan-- excuse me-- Jack Campbell. Yeah, that's too high for me, too. I get it. I mean, he's a second-rounder to me, a top of the second round. But again, I think they looked at it and go, all right, so what? We trade down to the late first, early second, and what? Then we don't get the guy we really wanted?
See, I think they're a team that a little bit plays on the wait, here's our need, and then they have a very small list of the guys they want that they feel like fit their mold and they're, we bite kneecaps, and they'll play and do whatever I want.
So they had their eyes on these guys, and they put a premium on that. So I have no problem with that, when you break it down like that. Wait, we need a starting middle linebacker. Our favorite one was Jack Campbell. So who the
[BLEEP]
cares if they took him 20 spots too early? If he's your favorite one, you know he's going to start, and you feel that confident that he's the guy out of everybody else, I don't get mad at that. I don't know.
And same thing with the Jahmyr Gibbs conversation. And then you get into the rest of the draft. OK, so they may be overdrafted those two guys. Sam LaPorta to start the second round?
AHMED FAREED: Yeah, tight end out of Iowa.
CHRIS SIMMS: There's a reason you heard about the Raiders and other teams talking about trading up at the end of the first round. They were all Sam LaPorta and Michael Mayer. Everybody was going, oh, shit, they're going to-- the good, the top tier tight ends are going to be off the board. We got to get one of these guys, right?
So they get him, right? Now we know why they traded TJ Hockenson, right? They were going, oh, damn, it's a good tight end class. We'll get somebody in. We're pretty good there anyways. Then we know they need secondary help, and you get the free safety, maybe the best, one of the best nickels, pure nickels in the draft, in Brian Branch? And then the pick after that, you get the quarterback of the future? Yes, I'm a big fan of what the Detroit Lions did.
AHMED FAREED: Yeah, what do you think of Hendon Hooker? Coming back from injury, knee injury. Older prospect. What is he going to be, 25?
CHRIS SIMMS: Maybe.
AHMED FAREED: No, 26 already?
CHRIS SIMMS: I think he's getting close to 26. Maybe I'm wrong.
AHMED FAREED: Is that true? I think Sam Darnold is 25. That's the craziest thing.
CHRIS SIMMS: Lamar Jackson is younger than him, I think. It's right around there.
AHMED FAREED: What if Sam Darnold had been drafted in this class? Yeah, what do you think about Hendon Hooker to the Lions?
CHRIS SIMMS: He's perfect fit for you guys. I think that's like-- again, pocket passing. Oh, you want to run the ball? You want me to stand in the pocket and make aggressive throws down the field and people around me, and I'll be on point still? Damn, that's Hendon Hooker's game. I think it fits perfectly.
So that's where I love it. Let alone, I think he's got the grit and toughness they like. That's why they liked him. It shows on film. He's fearless that way. And he's a high level thrower of the football.
So again, it doesn't make me happy to say, but yeah, I think the writing's on the wall for Jared Goff. He's going to have to do something extraordinary this year to keep his job there, I think. And I was never sold that Jared Goff was the future. You know that.
AHMED FAREED: Hendon Hooker turned 25 in January.
CHRIS SIMMS: OK, so it was just turned 25.
AHMED FAREED: Which means he'll be 26 when he's starting his first playoff game for the Lions coming up next year. So that puts a bow on tier two. That's your tier two good drafts.
CHRIS SIMMS: Yeah.
AHMED FAREED: I was hoping my Lions could maybe get there in tier one, but close.
CHRIS SIMMS: Well, there just like was one team that stood out so much that I gave them their own tier.
AHMED FAREED: I get that.