 And welcome back into a, I will call it a brand new podcast because it is a brand new studio. Okay, it's not a brand new podcast. It's the Falcons Audible, still presented by AT&T. It's still Derek Rackley, Dave Archer, and DJ Shockley, but it is our first Falcons Audible in our new digs, in the new podcast suite and Ticketmaster Studios. It smells lovely. It smells fresh in here. Now granted, to the average viewer, I mean, you know, we all look good. We still probably look good in the last studio, but if you guys could just really see what we were sitting in, which you're not gonna be able to see the whole thing, but this thing is beautiful. It is lush, it is luxurious, and we are in it. Yeah, the one thing I'll say about it is that I'm probably the shortest at 6'2", Shock, 6'2", and a half, maybe 6'3", you're bigger than that. None of our feet are touching the floor yet. I just wanna let you know. We are jacking up on these chairs here. We're swinging. It's great. So if you see one of us just slide out of the picture, the rolling chairs are working. All right, let's get into what we are gonna discuss today because we are post-draft and we are excited because as we talked about Arch last week, we've got some new blood in the organization. We've got some new talent that we've gotta talk about, and it's the first time that us three get to break it down. So here's what we're gonna discuss. We're gonna get our first reactions of Bijan Robinson at number eight to the Falcons, along with the rest of the Atlanta Falcons draft picks this year. We're gonna get a grade on the Falcons draft this year. I know Arch cannot wait. He loves draft grades. We'll get him going here in just a second. State of the NFC South, and then we will look ahead to the 2023 schedule release. So that's the schedule. Fellows, let's get to it. I wanna start with the draft for the Falcons, DJ, in three words. Now I know that sometimes Arch shocked, we deviate from the rules, but let's see how good you guys follow it. Atlanta Falcons draft in three words. I'm usually not the one that breaks the rules, by the way. It's usually Arch always and try to put it off on me. See, see, but I'm gonna go three words. I'm gonna go smart, versatile, and productive. How about that? I like it. I like it. So he went with strictly three words, commas, like TCU and the actual title game. I'm done, I'm done, I'm out. I like it. One more time. Smart, productive. Versatile. Versatile, yes. That'll be a word that we'll use a lot today. Versatility here in just a minute. All right, Arch your turn. Three words. I'm gonna use a short phrase. Yes. Woo! Was very effective. Yeah! Was very effective. I like it. So we got just three words. We got short phrase, I'm with you. I'm going short phrase. My three words, let's freaking go. Okay, because we got some playmakers that came into the organization. This follows up on free agency, which we have broken down at Naja. I want to see this team on the field. Let's freaking go. Get them on the field and let's start playing some football games. All right, let's just dive into it. Obviously, we have not gotten a chance us three to really break down the picks. I wanna start, we're gonna go with our first round pick. Bijan Robinson, polarizing pick to some arch because everybody wants to say, why do you pick a running back in the first round? You can't pick a running back in the first round. It's too early to pick a running back in the first round. Okay, it doesn't happen very often. Highest drafted running back since Saquon Barkley. Give us your take on Bijan Robinson at number eight. Sorry for knocking your phone over there. That's okay. Bijan is a transcendent player. A lot of people said he's a generational player. You and I were doing a show last week. I don't even know what that means, but I do know that he was the best offensive player in the draft. And the things that he brings to the table are obviously you can see it. When you're watching him play at Texas, he had three years at Texas. The thing I love about the guy, obviously the start, stop, the acceleration, the home run ability, catch the ball out of the backfield, a willing blocker in protection, knows all of that stuff. Patience in the run game, vision, all the things you like. He broke 104 tackles, which led the nation last year in broken tackles. Only 539 carries rack in his career at Texas. You compare that to a Jonathan Taylor who I know played four years in Wisconsin, 1200 carries. You're talking about a dude that comes in, those tires are brand new. Yeah, half the amount of tread. Exactly, he's ready to roll. And I think he fits exactly what they want to do. Oh, by the way, the DNA of a player. This guy was a captain on the football team, which you'll find throughout the guys that the Falcons drafted. Leadership and the guy wants to, he's already got a plan for what he wants to do here in the community. So he fits the DNA across the board. Absolutely, Arch, you hit it on the head. What's your take on this? Because you hear a running back in the first round, coming on the heels of a pretty good player they drafted last year that proved his worth in Tyler Algier. So you add another running back to the room, but this guy is a phenomenal talent. You mentioned best offensive player in a draft. There are people saying he might be the best player in a draft, which is saying something over quarterbacks. What's your take? I had no problem with it. And obviously, I think we look at it from a different lens as far as what this guy can add to a team, the value that he brings right away. And I don't care what's been said over the years about running backs, you have things that have happened and it happens five, six, seven years down the road. Are we worried about that right now? We're worried about this upcoming season and the productivity that he can have for this team. And when you look at some of the things that he can do and then you think about some of the things that's been said about it, I went back and looked at some of the things that people were saying about him. And one thing was an impact football player. I heard Arthur Smith say the contact balance that he has when he runs the football, a complete player, a home run hitter, all these are things that if you're looking to draft a guy and you hear all these things about a guy, you're gonna say, nah, I don't really want that kind of player on my team. I don't want that kind of guy who can do all those things on his team. And there you go and you talk about, I heard his head coach, Sarkeesian, talk about him. He said, he is everything that you like, want, and need on and off the field. He said, you can run inside, can run outside. He's the guy that if I need to talk to a player, he can talk to a player. If I need him to talk to the media, he can do that. If, you know, he's gonna date my daughter, I wouldn't mind that. Like he said, he's everything you want in a football player and a person. And for me, when people say, I don't know if I want that guy and somebody presents you with all these characteristics of a guy, why would you not want him on a team? And I know you guys are here. Everybody got a chance to probably hear him speak the guy is so likable. The guy is one of those type of guys that you want to have in your locker room. And he doesn't come in with that aura of I'm this big, huge number eight overall pick and everything is coming to me so humble. And that's the kind of guy you want on your team. So I love the pick. I love Arch broke down all the things that he can do within a game. And it's only gonna add value to having Tyler Algier when now defenses come up and say, all right, we got to worry about Algier who's the sledgehammer of our offense. And then you got this guy who you can line up in the slide. You can put him outside. You can, you know, do so many different things with him. I just think the value that you get with him exceeds anything that you may have thought about running backs over the years. Think about this personnel group guys. They go 23, which is two tight ends, three backs. And you think, wow, what do we run their wishbone? Okay, you got CP in the game. You got Algier in the game. You got Bijan Robinson the game. Johnny was at one tight end. Kyle picks to the other tight end. You got that group in the huddle. So if I'm on defense, I'm saying, wait a minute, that's big. I got to get big people in. I got to, I got to, I got to, all of a sudden you get a shift call at the line of scrimmage and all of them explode out into an empty set because you've got five guys on the field that can catch the rock. I thought you were going to run the wishbone. Now you're going to throw the rock at me. That's a preparation problem. Okay, because if you could put that personnel group on the field and we know the receiving abilities of both Bijan Robinson and CP, by the way, Tyler Algier, outstanding receiver out of the back of which he proved a number of times. And then you get those two past catching tight ends that explode out. And all of a sudden those are your two wide receivers. That's a problem. And teams are going to have to try to adjust to that. What package do you have on the field? That's a major plus as you start talking about preparation. Yeah, how do you match up against that group, guys? We could probably, no disrespect to the rest of the draft. We could probably do this entire podcast on just Bijan Robinson. But I wanted to finish with this point because I thought a lot about the running back pick throughout the weekend. Because a couple of people text me on Thursday saying, who do you think the Falcons are going to pick? I gave my selection. They said, well, what do you think about Bijan Robinson? I was like, you know, I'm not usually high on running backs, that high on the draft. But the more I thought about it is this. Here's for the people that are listening, here's the nuts and bolts of it, in my opinion, okay? You got draft pundits out there. Well, Kuiper, Todd McShea, pro football focus, us three. Everybody wants to give you their mock draft, who they want to get. Nobody gets to spend as much time with these players as the NFL teams. No doubt. As the Atlanta Falcons. The coaching staff took a trip to Austin. They brought TQ Graham, who's a Texas long one with them. What it has with the barbecue. They went and had barbecue with this guy and they just wanted to spend time with him and then they worked him out. People that are doing draft grades don't get that. Number one, that's the first thing that I thought about. Number two, Mel Kuiper does not have to put football team on the field in the fall. He is not being graded on wins and losses in the fall. These guys are, right? And they felt with their eighth pick that this guy changes the game for them. Just like you said, make some matchup nightmare problem for other teams. At the end of the day, that's all that matters. It doesn't matter that he's a running back that was picked eighth. This organization felt like Bijan Robinson was the guy that's gonna make them better. End of discussion, right? Here's one other thing I know Archwell agree with me on this, as a quarterback. And we're talking about Desmond Ritter walking into this season as the guy, Garth Smith has already said it and the way he improved last season. But you think about the personnel grouping that Arch just talked about. And as a quarterback to come to the line of scrimmage and to have the answer before the ball was even snapped, does wonders for any quarterback let alone a guy who is stepping into that role. So if I walk to the line of scrimmage and now I can see dysrael the defense and they're not sure what's going on but I know exactly where I want to go to football because of all these different matchups that I can go with. It makes your life that much easier as a quarterback. So they went into this process. No, hey, I got a good guy that I can absolutely put into this role. But how is this guy gonna help all other 10 guys on the field? How is it gonna help that guy standing next to him on Sundays? That's a huge deal. Yeah, so kind of back to my three words, let's freaking go. I wanna see these guys on the field. Like I said, we can talk about Bijan Robinson for probably 30 minutes on his own but let's get to the rest of the picks. All right, Arch, I wanna go now to Matthew Bergeron. There was some talk that has been leaked out that a certain NFL team in the state of Texas was essentially gonna draft this guy in the first round but Atlanta ends up getting him in the second round. What does Atlanta get out of Matthew Bergeron from Syracuse? You get a guy that's played a lot of football. One, another captain of his football team another one of those kind of guys but a guy that has the ability to road grade in the run game was outstanding in the past protection. Now he played left tackle which when you start talking about teams that draft specific guys whether it's a left tackle, edge, rush or quarterback those kind of are the three that jump out. This guy, most your best offensive lineman in college play left tackle. Yeah, yeah. Okay, so now you've got a guy that's the best player on that team. They ran the ball with extremely good efficiency up there for Dino Babers at Syracuse. In fact, won their first six games out of the box. This guy was a big part of that. Now what he does and it's been already stated he's gonna slide to the inside. He's gonna slide inside Jake Matthews. He's gonna play at that left guard position. This guy was coveted based on what my grades were. I had him the number four or five tackle on the board. We saw four tackles go in the first round. He was the next one. In fact, he was being bandied to bound about late first round as coming off the board. That was some of what was going on, some Scuttlebutt and Atlanta decided to trade up. Let's make sure we get our guy. They did a lot of research on this dude from a playtime standpoint, from a leadership standpoint and then from a just, I get it standpoint as far as understanding what they're doing. Then you factor in the measurables at six foot five, six, six, 320 pounds. You like the way that looks. DJ, I'm gonna go back to one of the words you used at the beginning, versatility. No doubt. So Matthew Bergeron, as you mentioned, Arch played left tackle. A lot of the offensive linemen that come out that high are tackles, but he is probably slated to move in to play guard. They're getting a bigger physical, as you mentioned, road greater, six, five, 323 pounds. They're getting bigger up front. So you get a guy that maybe is going to be the opening day starter at guard. Who knows, just kind of spitball in here, but something happens. He's got the ability and comfort level to jump out and play either tackle position if they need him to. As we go through the entire drive plays, I think we're gonna look at every single play on here and say they could probably play something else. They could probably do something else within the offense or the defense. And this is no different. Talking about 31 games at left tackle, another eight and right tackle, 39 starts. It just tells you that this guy for one is durable. He's an dependable, consistent. He's there for you. Like Arch mentioned, being a big part of what the Q's did last season. But I think the biggest thing is his ability to come inside. He spoke about it. He said, I think it's a lot easier to go from outside to inside, but also I think you know from the inside standpoint, things happen a little bit faster. On the outside, you know, guys are trying to, you know, they got moves and all this kind of stuff on the inside. You got to be quick. You got to think about he's gonna go against Grady Jarrett every single day. So you know, he's gonna sharpen that iron every single day when he goes against nine, seven. You got, you know, on your mother coming in, another guy who can definitely kind of baptize him before he gets to the regular season. So there's gonna be a lot of guys that he can absolutely learn from early in his training camp. But I love the fact that he's one of those guys that's willing to move down inside. But also like you, but you're right. Can't go outside if you need him. So this gives you so much depth at this particular spot up front that gives you different options to say, all right, if we have a guy that's maybe not playing well, we got a guy that's, you know, we want to try something else. He could be one of those kind of swing guys for you. And I was looking up some stuff on him and the guy played defenseman and hockey growing up in Quebec. He says, it gave him great balance and helped him when he, when he played O-line. Personally, I don't know what the defenseman is, but he played hockey. So I know obviously this guy's got some feet work about him, this guy is versatile. So it's, it's fine. Body control. Can you imagine if you're a, you're a, you're a winger or something coming down and that dude standing there at six foot five, on skates. I mean, my man's six, eight, six, nine standing back there. I mean, just head busting out of his helmet, right, his hockey helmet. So we, we go to offensive players early on, flexibility with Bergeron. Let's flip it over to the defensive side. They get a player out of Ohio State, obviously played in some very meaningful football games. Zach Harrison addresses another immediate need. Kind of comes on the heels of free agency. As you mentioned, DJ, they add David on Yamada. They add Calais Campbell. They add Kayden Ellis, guys that can get after the quarterback. You're getting a guy now that is a traditional defense event. He's got size to him as well, Arch. Six, five and a half, 275 pounds. They're getting a big guy to rush the passer. He is going to put his hand in the ground and get after opposing tackles. May still have to kind of find his way, refine his skill set a little bit, but what do you think Atlanta gets in Harrison? Well, I think you get versatility. Again, that seems to be the operative word. You're talking about a guy at six, six, two, seventy, two, seventy, five. So now, all of a sudden, is he playing four, three conventional defensive end? He could kick inside and rush as a three technique off of the inside in a NASCAR type package when you're rushing the passer. Maybe Malone and Ebecati are coming off the edge. Lorenzo Carter coming off the edge. And all of a sudden, he kicks inside. Now, you've got a problem with the guy. It's a little bit quicker that still has the strength. He's got heavy hands against the run game. If you watch him in the run game, he puts hands on you. You feel it. That's what's cool about it. Now, did the numbers didn't necessarily match up? You had a guy like Chase Young come out. He had Bosa come out of there. And so a lot of elevated numbers out of those guys. He was supposed to be the next guy. Numbers didn't necessarily match that. What I interpret that is he's going to be a late developer. We've seen it. We've seen a number of guys develop late in their careers to get up here. JJ Watt, three-star guy, went to Wisconsin. Next thing you know, he's defensive player of the year. Not saying he's JJ Watt, but this guy has a huge upside to him size. And think, Cam Jordan, when you start thinking about guys that are bigger defensive ends that kind of fit in both the 4-3, 3-4 scheme as you ebb and flow back and forth, this guy's got the similar size of Cam Jordan. Who coached Cam Jordan? The guy's the defensive coordinator here. So I love that mix. And oh, by the way, Kaleas Campbell, who's a big defensive end. That's a nice guy to be able to learn from as well. Well, you talked about learn from Kaleas Campbell. Learn from Grady Jarrett. Learn from David Anyamata. He's coming into a pretty good defensive line room, DJ. Yeah, you talk about even Bud Dupriyan as well. You talking about trying to make sure that he honed the skills of being a good pass rusher. You got a guy coming in here who's been around, been a veteran, like Kaleas Campbell, like Bud Dupriyan. On your mind, I mean, you got so many guys in here that he can learn from. And then you just talked about having Epicady Hilasha, who came on for us late in the season. Malone, another guy who is a young guy who last year, we talked about the kind of same way is going to have to develop into that kind of role. Now you bring guys around him that can help him. He doesn't have to come in here right away and say, OK, I got to be the guy. I got to try to get eight, nine sacks in my rookie year. He can learn from these guys and kind of benefit from that. And then, hey, you get two, three, four sacks coming here. We saw Malone come in late in the year, have a couple play during the season. This is, I think, a really good pick because we mentioned the value that you got from other two guys. The value comes in with the guys that's in the room with it. So I think he will learn so much from those guys. And that will elevate his game going into, I think, this season. So it's going to be fun to see what he turns into. But you know he has the skill set. You know he has the ability, he has the size, but you just want to see it kind of molded a little bit more. And he's got guys in there who, he will instantly come into that room and say, OK, this guy, Khalees, has been in here 16 years. You know exactly what he's about. We got 100 sacks in his pocket. I got to learn from him. So it's fun to have those kind of guys in the room where you got a mix of young, got a mix of guys who's been in it for a little bit, like Bud Dupree, and then you got guys who have absolutely done it and can set the standard. So it's going to be cool to see that. I think it's such a great point that Shock makes in the fact that he's not expected to come in here and lay 10 sacks on the board. OK, you'd love to have it, right? Sure. But he comes in here, and now he's got the opportunity to learn from these guys that Shock just talked about. And the expectation level, albeit you want to want that pressure on you. And he'll feel some of it because he's a draft pick. He isn't expected to come in and have 10 sacks. Will Anderson, when he gets to Houston, if he doesn't have 12 sacks, it's a problem. 10 sacks, right? That's not going to be laid at the feet of Zach Harrison, so he's going to have a chance to learn. And let's not forget now, when we're talking about sacks, Ryan Nielsen's defense in New Orleans, 47 sacks in 2022. 14 different guys contributed to 47 sacks. 47 sacks put him in the upper seven or eight teams in the national football league, which is where you want to be. That was led by Cam Jordan with eight and a half sacks. So it can be done by a variety of players. I think this guy gets his as a part of what Schach's talking about, a group of players getting half of the pass. You guys, a variety of players, a group of players. I'm just trying to quickly do the math. Epicadie, Malone, Dupri, Harrison, Anyamada, Klairs, Campbell, Carter. I mean, you've got Grady Jarrett, TQ Graham. There's only so many roster spots, fellas. You think about the competition that's going to go on in training camp. These guys are going to be balling because they know that they got to earn a roster spot. There's just many roster spots on the 53 man. So it's going to be exciting as we get into training camp. Speaking of exciting, maybe one of the most intriguing picks of this draft, fellas, is Clark Phillips III out of Utah. They get him in the fourth round. And I mean, many people saying this is first or second round talent player. And the only reason he slipped is size. NFL is about measurables. And Clark Phillips comes in at 5'9", 190 pounds. But you know what that kind of spells to me? You might have just got your slot player for next year. You might have just got your corner that's going to kick inside, play the slot, and this kid gets after the football. He has shown it time after the time. Arch, what does Atlanta get in Clark Phillips III? Well, you get a dog. You're going to get a guy. Whenever you're that size and people keep talking about it, but you're the first team all America corner, then you got a little something about you, right? Again, another captain of his football team. This guy was a captain at Utah. Nine career interceptions. Four he took back for touchdowns. He's got a knack, as Rack said, about getting his hands on the football and then the versatility to play corner if he needed to and to kick inside and play in the slot. Which we, you talk about how crowded the D line room is. The DB rooms getting pretty crowded at the corner spot with those two guys you signed in Hughes and Akuta that are going to join AJ Terrell and Oby D. Alford, corner Armstrong. So that's getting pretty crowded in there as well, but he'll come in and mix in there. But what I like is go to AtlantaFalcans.com and listen to this guy talk because he understands all the things they're saying about him. Well, you went into fourth round because you're five nine. Okay, okay. Well, I'll get you a place to sit, watch me play. He wants to come in and lay it down on the field. He says it verbatim on the interview. Go watch it. It's a fun watch. The dude's got more confidence than anybody that I've talked to or watched say anything in the draft this year. And even with that size, you turn on the tape, he's playing press man. He can play off. He can play it like you meant to play inside, play outside. He don't care. He wants the action. When they say, Hey, I want some smoke. Clark Phillips says I want to smoke anybody. And it's going to be fun cause guess what? He's going to be able to go against Drake Lullan every day, McHollins who are all giants when it comes to receivers. But guess what? I guarantee you day one, he's going to step up there. He's going to be a yard away and he's going to be trying to get in that grid. That's what you like about one of these kind of guys. They're scrappy, but they're also savvy enough to understand how to use that frame, how to use that body, how to go against these guys. This won't be the first time he's going to get big, tall physical receivers. He'll be ready for it. So I love this pick. I love it. Again, for the versatility we talked about being able to do a lot of different things. And then the dude gets to football his hands. He wouldn't put some numbers up. And that's the best thing you like to. Yeah. I think he had 240 return yards. It's unbelievable. So this is not just a guy that's picking off the ball and falling to the turf. He's making something happen after the catch. You know, I think it's great that you guys kind of outlined the captain, the leadership. You see the trend on from free agency, Calais Campbell, Jesse Bates, David Anyamata to now in the draft. You see what Terry Fontenot and Arthur Smith are going after. High character, amazing human beings. That means something to them. Again, it doesn't matter what draft pundits think you should pick with a certain pick. It matters what those guys think is going to mesh the best in this building. They're getting really good football players that are extremely high character young men. That's kind of the theme that we're seeing so far. The other thing that I'm going to say, the last thing about Phillips, when you've got size and everybody's, that's all they talk about, you know what they play with? Chip on their shoulder. No questions. You won't keep talking about my size. Okay, I'm going to match up against Drake London and Matt Collins at 6-4 in training camp every day. I'm going to be right there. Watch me ball, okay? That's what I'm excited to see out of him. All right, final, I want you guys to sum together or pick one, DeMarco Hellams and Jovanne Gwynne, the last two picks Atlanta ends up getting in the draft. Okay, I'll jump on Hellams. Hellams was again a captain, led the Alabama in tackles. I don't, maybe people don't know that, but he was the leading tackler for the Crimson Tides this last year. Hellams is a tough kid, very competitive kid. And what happens to me with Hellams is does he contribute on defense? Absolutely, all of a sudden, when you start upgrading your talent, that upgrades the special teams as well. 100%. And Hellams is going to be a core special teams player. We already know he can tackle, he led Alabama in tackling. So we know he can do that. His ability to cover, his ability to block in some of the return teams. I think that what he does is, yes, he elevates the safety room because of his abilities. And if you do have an injured or two, God forbid you got to plug a guy in. He's ready to do that because he played a ton of snaps at Alabama at safety. But look what happened to Marquise Williams' group. I mean, this dude steps in the room and all of a sudden, again, by the way, I keep repeating myself, captain of the Alabama team. Another guy, a leader, as Rack was talking about, that steps into that special teams room shock and immediately upgrades you. Love Hellams. I mean, obviously as a guy who watches the SEC a lot, two, number two is that the guy you always saw when Alabama was on defense. And a guy out there making all the calls, making all the adjustments. And a guy who ain't afraid to put his hat in there and make a play. He will be an outstanding special team player, as you mentioned. Who we wanted to, Javon Gwen, the first thing I'll start with is, two-time captain. I mean, leaders. I mean, it's right down the board. I mean, it's not even, I mean, you talk about the strategy, there is a clear vision of what this staff wanted to do in the draft. And here's another two-time captain. This guy had 49, 47 starts, excuse me, 47 starts and 49 games. Tells you what this guy's about. Play center and guard. Another word we'll use again, versatile. Can be inside of that. I think he's similar to what we talked about, a guy who can be kind of a developmental guy, like we talked about with Harrison, a guy that gives you really good depth, but a guy who has some experience, but you hear him talk, the guy wants to come in and compete right away. And that's what you want. Obviously going in the seventh round, he's gonna be excited. He's gonna be one of those guys that has a chip on his shoulder. Probably felt like he should go early, playing five years inside the SEC, having 47 starts, playing both inside and outside a two-time captain. So that tells you, this guy has the moxie to go out and be the guy and consistently do it. And that's what you like too. So he's gonna be fun to be around, a funny guy to add depth to, but also he's gonna be ready to go if you need him. Yeah, don't dispel the seventh round too, because the last day, oh, he's a late round pick. So if you get something from him, so 47 consecutive starts now at South Carolina, which Jacques pointed out, but plays center six to about 300 pounds. Another seventh round pick keeps coming to mind. Didn't we just put him in the ring of honor this last year? Not saying he's gonna be mud duck, but don't discount a seventh round back there. Yep, one of the better offensive linemen that we're playing this franchise. You guys have played a lot of football in your career. And I would say that in my experience, some of the best teams have been player led teams. Okay, so can you see here what Terry Fontenot and Arthur Smith are trying to do? They bring in Calais Campbell. They bring in Jesse Bates. They bring in all these guys that are captains of their college teams. They're bringing in leaders. They want these players to lead the organization. Yes, Arthur Smith's gotta be the head coach. Yes, the assistant coach has gotta get him in the right places. But the leaders need to take control of the team. And that's where special things come. All right, DJ, let's wrap this up. I need you to give me a grade on this draft class for the Atlanta Falcons. I gave it a A. I mean, obviously this is a group of individuals that I think will add so much value. There's depth. There's the leadership part that we talked about. There's productivity in college that you like. Played at some major universities, did some really good things. And then there's guys that you know are gonna show up every single day and bring it. They're guys that you know are looking for this opportunity. And if you had a chance to hear any of these guys talk, you know what kind of guys they are. And you know, when they step in, step up here to fly on your branch, they're gonna be giving you something that obviously it's a reason why they went and drafted. So I love this draft class. I thought their production in college is definitely gonna match what's happening once they get here, once they figure out exactly what the pro game is all about. But these are all quality individuals first off. You don't have to worry about things that are gonna go on with them off the field. But you know, on the field it's gonna go down because they want all the action and they're gonna bring it. Love it, Dave. I just don't know how you do the grade thing. How do you do the grade thing when they haven't played yet? So if we graded them based on what they did in college, it's an A plus because they were all really good in college, right? I'm talking about Phillips being a three, it was an all-American, first team all-American. He went in the fourth round. Does that mean he's not as good? I don't think so. If I had to put a grade on it, I'd put a B on it. And the only reason I'd put a B on it is there's some developmental pieces here. Okay, Matthew Bergeron is gonna have to slide from tackle inside. Can he do it? Absolutely, that's why they took him to do it. But it's gotta develop. It's gotta happen. It might be a learning curve. Okay, Zach Harrison comes in, third round graphic. He's gonna have to develop and learn like we talked about. Now if he's willing to absorb that information, I mean the sky's the limit for this guy. Big dude that can come off the edge. Could he be a Cam Jordan? Maybe he could be one of those kind of guys. But still there's a developmental process that I think Bijan Robinson is the goods. I don't think there's any question about that. If you're downgrading that draft pick, you're an idiot. I mean the guy can completely ball. And then the guys in the back end of the draft with Phillips and the guys we just talked about of how they can contribute, there's a developmental piece to it. And so instead of giving it an A and everybody's gonna start and all that kind of stuff, I'm gonna go ahead and give it a B and give us some room to grow, which I think this team will do. I like that. And here's the other thing that I think is hard to grade the draft is because it's a piece that just followed free agency. So to me, I don't think you can just grade the draft because I think you need to grade free agency and the draft. Because think about the players that they brought in in free agency and then the draft just complimented or helped fill the gaps that didn't get filled in free agency. So as we do sometimes, I'm not gonna grade the draft. I'm gonna grade the draft in free agency and I'm gonna give it an A minus. And the only reason is maybe I would have liked to see a wide receiver come in and the draft at some point. It didn't happen. They bring a couple of undrafted free agents. Maybe they strike gold in those guys, right? But just another young wide receiver added to this core would be my own. But other than that, thinking about what the guys want, what the guys in this building want and what they brought in, how can you criticize it? That's the way that I look at it. I like it. I like it. All right, so now let's move on real quick. I know we're probably getting close to time here, but state of the NFC South, you guys have had a chance to kind of see some of the other teams in this division and how they've been able to upgrade their teams where they stood on free agency prior to the draft. So DJ, I'm gonna start with you. How does Atlanta stack up with the rest of the division now as we've gone through the majority of the personnel process of this off season? I think you look around the league and you look at some of the things that other teams have done. Obviously, the Panthers go out and get bright young. Obviously, that's a big must for them having a quarterback. We've seen it the past couple of years. They've had a couple of guys in there trying to fill that void. Now they get their franchise guy, bringing Jonathan Mingo a big physical receiver. And we talked about the depth at corner. Guess what? Every team you play this year is gonna have some big nice receivers on the outside. If you don't have guys who can cover those guys as we've seen over the years, that can lead you to having some issues. Obviously, we wouldn't address some things up front, getting after the quarterback. That's a big deal. I think they try to address some of the voice that they left with Ellis on Yamada gone. They go out and get Brian Breesy, a guy from Clemson who, Arch, I know you've seen a lot. They go out and get Kendrick Miller, who I know you've seen a lot from TCU. It's going to be a battering ram. It's going to be tough. And I think that's why the Falcons went up and wants to solidify that defense. Because overall, you look around, not just in the South, but every other team, they're always going to have weapons on the offense. Similar to what we're trying to do here is put up tons of points. They're going to continue to do that as well. And obviously, the Bucks had eight picks, a bunch of different guys that I think they're going to feel the world for them. One guy I liked from them was Yaya David from Louisville, who's a sack artist in the seven, nine sacks, coming out of Louisville. And I think it's similar to you look around the league. Everybody's looking for guys who can get after the quarterback, guys who can make plays on the offense, which is the name of the game. But I think they'll see South and what those three teams are trying to do are similar to what we've done here. So it's going to be exciting to see how all the pieces come together. But I think you guys are right when you say you just don't know until Sunday rolls around and those guys get a chance to put that on the field and it all comes together to show the complete product. Yeah, I mean, there's definitely been some change in this division over the last few years. You think about two first ballad hall of famers and Drew Brees and Tom Brady coming out of this division that are no longer there, right? So teams have had to retool their quarterback position. Atlanta Falcons included in that conversation. How do you feel like the rest of the division stacks up? Well, the narrative that there's a whole bunch of pressure on Desmond Ritter is one that I find comical in the fact that there's always pressure on the quarterback. Okay, I don't care. By the way, there's pressure on Derek Carr in New Orleans, Baker Mayfield in Tampa and the new guy, Bryce Young in Carolina. And you could probably go to the other 28 teams in national football, they can say there's pressure on the quarterback. So this whole narrative, boy, there's a lot of pressure on Desmond Ritter to come in and get it done. Yeah, that's what the position goes with. That's part of it. Okay, he understands that. I don't think that there's any more even keel. We've all had a chance to talk to him. Is as even keel a guy as there is. I think all the teams did stuff to adjust. I think New Orleans did a really good job. You mentioned some of their draft picks. I think AT Perry, the kid they drafted at a Wake Forest in the sixth round, outstanding wide receiver who lit it up with Sam Hartman up for the Demon Deacons. I think he's gonna add to what they've got in their wide receiver room. Colisea Kansy, can he be Aaron Donald in the interior with Vita Vaya right next to him? Can he step in and be that guy that's a problem like Aaron Donald is for the Rams coming out of the same college you pit for Tampa Bay? And then of course, can the young quarterback, they need to find a different podium for Bryce to stand behind. Oh, my goodness. He's a press conference. I guess they still have the Cam Newton, bro, Cam Newton. But anyway, I think I talked about him. I think he's a savonic quarterback. I think the guy understands the game to the highest possible level. I think it's really cool how exciting and really uncertain things are. Make no mistake, Atlanta's additions, as you mentioned in free agency, puts them right in the mix to win this thing. Okay, and that's what's fun about it. Well guys, you look around the NFL to your point Arch, is that you got divisions like the AFC East, right? Like you think about around the league, there's certain divisions because they already have that established quarterback. They've got the laundry list of talented players behind them that you just expect them to be able to take that division. Like it's theirs for the taking and if anybody else wins it, it's a surprise. It's still wide open in the NFC South. And that's why this off season became so important because everybody's kind of on the same playing field here, like what players are you gonna bring in and which of those players are gonna step up and really take over and start winning football games. That's what it's all about. Speaking of winning football games, we'll close on this. One of the biggest, next biggest moments of the off season will be the schedule release. We already know the Falcons opponents for next year. We just don't know when we're gonna play them. It's a time when a lot of teams try to build excitement with their free agency additions, with their draft picks. And this is your chance to see them on X, Y, and Z date against the New York Jets who are on the schedule for the Atlanta Falcons next year. They've got a new quarterback. One that we all know in Aaron Rodgers. But let's DJ, I'm gonna start with you. What kind of excitement are you seeing in the Falcons 2023 schedule as it's gonna come out here in a couple of weeks? You know what's ironic that we're talking about the schedule. We talked about the different additions around the league. Ars just mentioned the quote unquote pressure on different quarterbacks. Well, guess what? We get a chance to see all the top young draft picks at quarterback this year. You're talking about Bryce Young, obviously we'll see him twice. CJ Stroud played Houston this year. How about Anthony Richardson with the Colts? We're talking about playing him from day one. And then possibly seeing Will Leviss in Tennessee, if you know, depending on what happens with Tannehill. But you got a chance to see the new crop of young Cubies. Talk about Aaron Rodgers, a guy who's been around for a while. Obviously we'll get a chance to see him. We've seen him before, we know what it's like. But how about these young guys going against our Falcons and it's gonna be fun to see how they kind of develop as the season go on. But also how much pressure we could put on these young bucks to maybe give us a few here and there. So I'm excited for those matchups when the season rolls around. DJ, you mentioned the quarterbacks. Yes, CJ Stroud, Bryce Young, Anthony Richardson, maybe Jordan Love with Green Bay, Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields. There was a little bit of, speaking of running back, pushback, Jameer Gibbs going to the Detroit Lions. We'll face Detroit next year. And then Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals. A lot of really talented quarterbacks on the schedule. What are you excited for? Well, we might see Kyler Murray. I'm not sure where he's gonna be. He ends on, if it's early in the year, or it depends on if he decides the player or not. But Will Levis out of Minnesota, as you mentioned, Shock, Minnesota. So you're gonna get all four of the new quarterbacks or all come to Atlanta, as you just talked about. Let's not forget Hinden Hooker, who went to Detroit. He could potentially be on the field, not wishing anything on Jared Goff, but Hinden Hooker with an opportunity there. You're gonna get Carter'sville on in Trevor Lawrence. You're gonna see him down in Jacksonville or may see him in London. I'm not sure, I'm hearing some vibes about that. And stay tuned on that one so you find out where Atlanta's gonna actually play Jacksonville this year. But great opportunity to see all the young stars that are coming into the league. Some of the young promise that's coming into the league. And we've got it right here in Atlanta as well. Guys, I know it's hard to answer this question. I'll finish with this. But, and maybe it's just cause we're having so much fun on this and there is excitement. But do you guys remember a time when there was like optimism like there is right now? I feel like there's a ton of optimism with this team going into next season. Yes, they had money to spend in free agency. They were able to add some really critical pieces. But so far, again, you're hoping everybody stays healthy. You're hoping these guys grow, develop, turn out to be the players that you thought. But this looks like a really good roster going into 2023. Before you jump in, Archie, add to that, I think the optimism comes in from, we think about the last two years where everybody's talking about the Falcons have been in salary cap, just a blessing. But now you're able to add and bring more value to the roster. And nothing against the guys who built this roster the last two years, but you have absolutely upgraded this roster. So now, and you look at what Arthur Sweth and his staff has done the last two years. Last year, they said the Falcons would win how many games? Two games, maybe? Three games, at the most? And you end up absolutely getting 70 wins last year. Now you bring that same kind of attitude that Arthur Smith brings the last two years and you upgrade it with the roster. Oh man. Oh, it gives you pause to think, hey, this team can absolutely make some noise this year with what they've done the last two years without being able to have value at upgrade that roster. Well, people talked about how Arthur and Terry put this roster last two years together with bailing wire. Okay, bailing string and trying to string a bail here or there and trying to keep it from falling out, they've bolted some things in. Things, some things have solidified. They've locked some things down. Optimism have to go back in broadcasting the games for the last 20 years. Probably have to go back to the 17 team. There was a lot of optimism coming out of the Super Bowl and the 17 team went to the playoffs. It was the only team in the NFC that repeated a playoff trip from the year before, lost in that second round to Philly. Philly goes on and wins it, but it's probably, you gotta go back to maybe 18. So it's been about five years since there's been some optimism around this football team. It can go do some damage. I can't wait for it to look like this again. Yes. This right here completely packed out, rocking people. That's what you want. In the seats. No doubt. Do you have the same kind of optimism? Let us know. This is a pretty good roster and things are looking bright for the 2023 Atlanta Falcons. That's gonna do it for the Falcons Auto, presented by AT&T. I'm Derek Rackley. That's DJ Shockley, Dave Archer. So glad to bring you all of the draft, recap and everything, and we will bring you some of the next, biggest moments for the Atlanta Falcons when they come up. Thanks so much for joining us, everybody. Take care. What'd you say? Let's freak it. Let's go! Yeah!