We'll go right out to the ka Common Spirit Else hotline. Bring on.
My friend Jeff Schwartz, former NFL offensive lineman, works the Fox Sports Serious
x am and basically I just love his Twitter feed at Jeff Schwartz on Twitter,
but important for this conversation Oregon Duck alumni Jeff Schwartz, Jeff, I
you done, man, Yeah, man, It's good to hear your voice.
We we got a couple of ducks here. It's like the quack attack
is back here in in Denver as bo Nick Troy Franklin become the latest Denver
Broncos. I I liked what I saw out of bow Knicks looking at him
during the pre draft process better than I liked, for instance, Michael Pennix
or you know JJ McCarthy, who was rumored to be the apple of the
Broncos eye. But of course that was a smoke screen for Sean Payton.
What can you tell us about bow Nicks? Yeah, you know, I
think he's got a bad rap for some of the you know a dot stuff
and short passes. I put out a tweet at Courts on my Twitter.
There was a stat that someone play out that said, you know, Bonnicks
had a thousand yards of receiving when the ball was thrown at or behind the
line of scrimmage, and five of those players encounted for twenty percent of that
thousand yards. Like, it's not a lot of throws he made behind the
line of here was a lot of we're in rhythm. I think the things
that you like about bon Knicks are he's very decisive with the football. If
you watched Orgers Austins last season, they did a lot of kind of two
things, a lot of play action pass and then they went empty production.
Right, they had five wide receivers out and they let bone Knicks chose aside
pre snap balls out quickly. He processes very well for six needs to work
on, but he can make all the throws. If you have the strongest
arm, I would say no, but you can see all the all the
pro throws he made, and don't look at the advanced numbers, the amount
of ends and curls and comebacks and go routes, things that you're going to
see him have to do on Sunday. And I think if you look at
the top three guys, who is the most kind of able to fit with
Sean Payne to wanton offense from a quarterback, and that is Bonnicks, and
so I think that pairing makes a lot of sense here. Well, yeah,
I think the pairing does make a lot of sense. And I think
if you look for the qualities that Sean Payton is looking for at a quarterback,
a guy like Bonix just fills those out. You mentioned the quick decision
maker, but I think some of the other things there that this sort of
you know, add to that. Sean Payton's offense is a schedule offense.
Boknicks doesn't take sacks, he doesn't fumble the ball, literally did not fumble
the ball at all at Oregon, and those are two things he's He's previously
called out about. The last quarterback here, Russell Wilson. Yes, he
will get the ball out. I think that one of the negatives on him
that I've seen and I'm serious to see, you know, in the NFL
was different. And he's very good pre snap and then post snap. If
he doesn't get exactly what he thought he would get, then there's a little
hesitation, and so I think just kind of growth in his game from that
perspective. Obviously, wish Sean Payne what he's done for so many years with
Drew Bridges, and that's a good fit there. I didn't go Aliable to
learn that. Also, it's worth noting that Oregon had a very pro style
passing attack mixed in with you know, some of the college RPOs and flagship
pass stuff. You watch the offense, they had a lot of what we
would call triangle reads, where he's reading a triangle, he's reading one,
two, three, and he's looking at the leverage of linebackers and corners and
safeties to figure out where the ball should go. That's a very pro Stout's
a West Coast offense type of thing. Or you read the triangle if you
notice, if you ever stop like a Chiefs play and you can see there's
a triangle formed typically by the weapons. Mahomes is looking at it, maybe
even four guys at times. Feel for me, they fought for strong So
it's a very pro style offense you ran at Oregon. They will translate well.
Kean I fol Plus you get the leadership part of it right, and
I know that you know he's older, that's certainly true. And the last
part of it, he's really athletic. He can run. He doesn't run
to run like. He runs very very specific situations that you can use that
in the red doone especially, that's where quarterback runs I think are a big
benefit. Well, Jeff, you hit on something that is really important.
I think bon Nikes has been criticized for but I think it's an advantage.
But I would like to get your take on it. And it's his level
of experience. Both he and Michael Pennix are guys who are you know,
twenty three to twenty four. But you tell me, as a guy that
played the game, how does that actually help bo Nicks opposed to hurting him?
Well, he just he's seen a lot of football. We have to
sort of Okay, so you know what happened with all these older quarterbacks we
obviously know is the COVID year, right the COVID year and this next draft
and twenty five will be to the last COVID year. Guys, So all
the duds is older right now. And I'm not sure that it's a bad
thing. You look at the age of pennex, at the age of necks
like, it takes guys a little bit longer to matureim times We've seen it,
certainly at the quarterback position that maturing is that happened in the NFL is
wort have happened in college. And he has seen a lot of football sixty
one starts, I believe, And so he goes in the NFL not be
intimidated. He's seen everything. Now, of course he's not seen NFL defense
and the speed and whatnot, but he's seen a lot of football. He's
played a lot of big football that he's played in, you know, in
big games at Auburn, he's played in big games in Oregon. And so
when he goes to the NFL, is not getting intimidated by the moment,
by the environment. And I think we just have to sort of get over
the age thing. It's it just is this class right now, sort of
just that this is what it is. Jame Gamis, by the ways,
were older too, right He's a twenty two. Pesson was twenty nineteen and
he beat Organ there to the end of that season. So these guys just
older. Because of COVID year, it will kind of reverse back next couple
of years. But that's just the guys you're getting right now. Another player
of the Broncos got and came away with on draft days beginning of days are
you trading up for wide receiver Troy Franklin. I enjoyed watching Franklin plays guy
who you get the ball in his hands and you know, and he creates.
Sean Bayton says he looks at him as a as a Z receiver in
this offense. What can you tell us about Troy Franklin. Yeah, man,
he can, he can. He can really run. He uh,
he's a weapon on the edge and he caught a lot of big past this
organ this past year. He is able to just straight line speed to get
by a lot of corners. I think you've got to learn to play more
physical. If you watch against Washington, especially the title championship game, Mohammed
and at the corner at Washington was able to kind of press them again in
his face. And those are things he used to work on, just sort
of the physical part of it and just learning I think a little bit more
of the route trade. Oregon. He was a lot of comebacks, a
lot of slants, post goes, you know, not a lot of kind
of deviation off those those four routes. So uh, look again, just
supremely talented player. And there's reasons he dropped and that's the draft, right,
You're gonna get guys with value at certain points. But I like the
idea of reuniting the cornerback in a wide receivers what he's I think it just
gives a comfort level for both those players, especially for Go Knicks, to
have someone he knows and someone who knows him and you can really work with
Franklink. There's a lot of upside because of this speed. He's just he's
fast. I know that he didn't run fast to combine, but you had
to play this year against usc that I think they caalked him a like twenty
two miles an hour you could run. I think there's this play street.
Obviously there's combine speed. I just kind of prefer what they play, you
know, working pads. So, Jeff, what do you say for those
who kind of look at both Nicks and say, well, and it's time
in Oregon. He spent a lot of time in shotgun and in NFL if
you want to run play action and what Sean Payton's even to do with Drew
Brees and the wall is a lot of that is from under center. So
how does a quarterback, in your opinion, kind of graduate and learn to
adjust now being forced to play more in the center than he did in college.
It's a great question, you know, I don't it's it's difficult,
right, And I think the part that's difficult about it is and this is
what people have said, I don't imagine. You know, you you turn
it back to the defense, right, so you know, you see one
thing, you see too high and uh, and you turn your back to
the defense. All of a sudden they're in one high right and you thought
that the zone coverage. Now it's a man tubag. And so the ability
to think on your feet and understand it, and Bonus is able to do
that again, like when you watch him play, his ability to recognize things
in the field is high. It's a high it's a high level trade of
his and so he just be able to do that now with his back,
you know, to to the defense potentially. And I think, look,
Sean Payne has had no quarterbacks before. He's going to figure out an offense
early in his tenure there that works for Bonis and then they'll build it out
from there. And so you know, it might take him some time to
learn how to do that, but that's just kind of part of the Woking
learning process is figuring out you things, and I mean this look I'm off
its lineman. Obviously, I didn't playing a three point stance at all on
college in the NFL, and you learned to play a three point stance like
that's just part of growing in being an NFL. So I think it's gonna
be fine because he's shown the ability to make those adjustments in college. I
don't know if you know much about the Denver Broncos last pick in the draft,
but I wanted to talk to you about the offensive lineman Nick Cargulio out
of South Carolina by way of Yale. And I don't know if you've seen
this man's headshot prior to cutting his hair off. I was devastated when he
got rid of that glorious mullet. But he this mustache mullet combination that he's
rocking where he looks something like a young mel Kuiper if mel Kuiper lived in
Alabama in the nineteen seventies. This guy's a double major economics and political science
out of Yale. And where's jersey number sixty nine? This guy has all
the personality in the world. I am sitting here saying we need more of
this, We need more offensive linemen with mega personalities like this. I had
to figure you'd be a big, big fan of the pick. Yeah,
well him and him and put right. I'll tell you what. So deep
Mannyweather is everybody in min my best friend. He trains all the offensive lineman
down a Dallas for combat and he's in you know, we have a text
with him and play named Brandon Thorns. I just follow Brandon two on social
media and he's been talking up Nick for a while now. Just to the
ability, I think that to be kind of under the radar and a guy
that Look, sometimes you find those seventh round players other sermons around player you
just fall through the cracks a little bit, especially at the center position.
Right, it's not a position that and even plays center guards and it depends
on who he's tall enough to do both. But you know, like they
just fall through the cracks sometimes, especially that position. And so to be
able to get a player like that, who I think has a lot of
upside in the round is good. I mean, look, you need death
players. I think we won't talk about that enough anyway. Jordan Ellis,
I watched him a lot at that conference due to Russia passer like he he
he did after it, like he has polished passwords. He has a spin
move, which is the hardest to defend if your offensive lineman, he's good
at it, like he comes to the NFL being able I think to use
that immediately. And we've seen through the careers of many defensive ends that if
you keep spin man like that's as it's really, it's a valuable tool to
have, and he hasn't already. Now tell me how big is the transition
for offensive linemen trying to go from the college level to the pro level.
I know there's somewhat of a learning curve learning the system, but just the
fundamental parts of it. Because the reason I'm asking his question, we watched
the Broncos offensive line last season when Sean Payton came in and he made some
adjustment adjustments bringing in Mike mcglei to the right tackle and Vampius had the left
guard. But they had their issues, they had their struggles. But how
was that transition for some guys? Meanings though, that's from the technique,
in the footwork and putting all that stuff together. You know, it just
takes work, you know, and it's hard, I think now because you
just don't get that practice time like you used to, you know, and
it's I think it's difficult to get all the working you need. And so
it takes a get off of the line coach, It takes an offense works
you off of the line to figure it out. If you have two days,
it's again, we don't have two days anymore, you know. Then
I think in those days you're able to figure it out a little faster and
more practice. And so it's just a matter of reps, getting reps.
We often see right like young players that just get better throout the season because
again there's more reps to be had throughout the year. So it's just reps,
it's a repetition. It's playing together with each other. It's really to
communicate with each other. And look, I think we all agree clearly offense
will just function the last season. And you bring Bone Nixon. He's a
quarterback, I think from probably day one, looking at your quarterback room,
and they'll be able to sort of, you know, kind of rolld that
offenses offensive alignment around what they want to do with Nix. You know,
we saw when Seun paid work in New Orleans. You wanted very specific consumers
offensive liignment. He likes big guards because he wants you to be able to
put those big guards, sort of keep him firm in the front of the
pocket, have the tackles, kind of worry about the width of the pocket.
And so that system works. There are a lot of teams like to
do that, and I think they'll be just fine. It just takes reps,
man, It just reps and going to the offense, and they don't.
You want to go with your quarterback, understand where the quarterback is going
to be, getting rid of the ball. All those things matter for the
offensive line. Jeff Schwartz Jeff Schwartz on Twitter. Jeff certainly appreciate you taking
the time out tonight. Thank you guys. Have a good one. Absolutely
take care. Jef Schwartz, former offensive lineman University of Oregon football, analyst
to Fox Sports and Sirius exam