Round 1 Safeties? + Higher/Lower on Draft LBs | Chris Simms Unbuttoned (FULL Ep. 608) | NFL on NBC

We did it! Chris (@CSimmsQB) and Ahmed (@ahmedNBC) have finally reached the end of our 2024 Draft prospect previews. Simms reveals his top safeties with 2 names you might remember from our CB rankings. Then the guys play higher or lower with the draft stock of the other big S & LB names. It's all in the eye of the beauty of the beholder...or something like that. #NFL #NBCSports #ChrisSimmsUnbuttoned #NFLDraft
(0:00) Chris is done with his draft film and feeling fine
(4:40) Scouting Safeties: The game has evolved to multiple positions within one.
(10:20) #1 S Cooper DeJean (Iowa)
(21:00) #2 S Ennis Rakestraw, Jr. (Missouri)
(28:20) S Tyler Nubin (Minnesota)
(34:55) S Javon Bullard (Georgia)
(40:55) S Jaden Hicks (Washington State)
(46:50) S Cole Bishop (Utah)
(52:55) S Calen Bullock (USC)
(1:00:15) Scouting Linebackers: "Our old school thumpers are not a thing anymore"
(1:06:40) LB Edgerrin Cooper (Texas A&M)
(1:13:25) LB Payton Wilson (NC State)
(1:19:50) LB Junior Colson (Michigan)
(1:26:15) LB Jeremiah Trotter Jr. (Clemson)
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Round 1 Safeties? + Higher/Lower on Draft LBs | Chris Simms Unbuttoned (FULL Ep. 608) | NFL on NBC
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[@michaelconnor3560]

Can the draft just get here already...

[@jesselawson224]

No joke, I’m getting to the point I’ve heard enough of the draft stuff. I’m ready to see how it plays out, could be a very interesting draft.

[@Freshprince6o9]

Right lol, 1 more week my boy

[@nickrosario7804]

It’s here, hope you’re enjoying it

[@sportislife4012]

"The beauty of the beholder" Simmisms are those unplanned gems that just add an extra layer to this amazing content

[@justfoldprech]

"reading between the tealeaves"

[@CJStew06]

I can't believe how many "Jr's" are in this class of former NFL players. I can't remember this many in one draft class.

[@RunBayou]

Obi Melifonwu is one of the freakiest guys I've ever seen

[@NathanDean79]

They must put something in the water up at UConn because one of the freakiest CBs I’ve ever seen came from UConn. 2015 Byron Jones. 6’1’’ 195 lbs ran 4.43 40 and 1.50 10, 3.94 20 yard shuttle, a 6.78 3 cone, 44.5 inch vertical, 18 bench press reps and a world record in the standing broad jump of 12’ 3’’! Lol. Not just a combine or pro day record but a WORLD record. No man has ever jumped further than jones in the standing broad jump. When I saw this scores my jaw dropped. If he had just run a 4.39 that would have completed it. But 4.43 is very good. Not amazing but very good very solid. Everything else was amazing. The 1.50 10 is among the best but I’ve seen guys with a 1.49 or 1.48 even but I have never since not before Byron Jones seen anyone who has that high of a vertical or broad jump. There was. Some CB from Utah State that had a 44 inch vertical this year and Ja Morant has a 50 inch vertical BUT Ja Morant weighs all of 165-170 pounds. Let’s see what he jumps when he is holding another 25 lbs of weight. It won’t be 50 inches.

[@buddysteele7624]

Here we are: yet another day of Ahmed rendering happiness extinct, simply by his mere presence

[@brendonn1997]

daiyan henley is with the chargers chris, not rams

[@brent415ful]

15:55 "heavy jointed" 😂

[@tomaspenna2815]

I saw a lot of hard hits on Payton Wilson's tape. His aggressiveness and high-cut build with short arms is what made him miss more tackles than he should, but not because he isn't physical.

[@dustinlaratonda778]

Can’t wait till DRAFT DAY‼️

[@ColdTakes585]

Chris refusing to say CJGJ is maybe the funniest quirk of his to me 😂😂

[@viznshock4361]

Cause it sounds corny people are trying too hard to make acronyms out of every name.

[@robesterd8132]

I would love to hear simms vs Trevor Sikema of PFF on this topic. Trevor has him as Corner 1

[@dodu8281]

trevor is not that good evaluating and rankings players. connor is a lil bit better.

[@ReallyGotMotion]

Silver lining here is that he sounds like an all pro saftey.

[@davidnelson6874]

I think Cooper DeJean is going to be very similar to Harrison Smith but probably more athletic.

[@robesterd8132]

That would be a hall of famer for sure

[@SunnyDz26]

Cause he’s white?

[@emballer7344]

Dejean reminds me of Minkah, he can play corner especially in spurts but his best position would be safety. He can be moved around.

[@sheldonator]

Dude reminds me of honey badger

[@danielbamigbade3074]

Love the pod but can we go back to ranking everyone

[@chadclark321]

I think Arnold can be use similarly. Not just as a corner but slot work and safety if you have a good corner group

[@BLGClipsx]

Welcome to Philly, Cooper and Trot Jr 🦅

[@7se7entp]

Damn didn’t talk about Kam Kinchens

[@jwolf7778]

If the thumpers (linebackers/safetys) keep getting smaller to be faster to cover these more athletic tight ends and slot receivers then that makes a team like the Chargers that are going to get big and be downhill runners a competitive advantage and run over them.

[@alexamerling79]

Can it be April 25th now?

[@joshprout1726]

Insane eagles got his #2 safety last year and then #1 safety this year. And with CJGJ back there too, hopefully they can dominate

[@smyers9052]

Strongly agree on Cooper and Wilson. That Notre Dame performance should kill any idea of Wilson in the 2nd round. His instincts are solid but not elite, and he legit needs everything around him to be clear. Very, very poor take on player. Cooper is inconsistent, interesting to see if he can develop. For me it’s all about Colson in this class, and I have concerns about him in coverage. I love Trotter, but he misses too many tackles at the college level for me to trust him in the pros.

[@ToastHund]

CJGJ is wit Philly now, not Detroit dawg

[@adamdavis4928]

Did Chris do olineman rankings?

[@jakkeday1]

If he can stay healthy, I think Payton Wilson is going to be awesome in the NFL!!! Fair enough, Chris isn’t a fan of this type of linebacker but his speed is elite! Similar to Fred Warner, his cruising speed is flat out speed for most others.

[@denniscarney5249]

"If he [DeJean] is such a good safety then Iowa would've played more man-to-man" might be the most absurd thing I've ever heard Chris Simms say. I mean, I can forgive EVERY hot take about a draft prospect and where players should be ranked, but this completely ignores reality of who Ferentz is as a HC!

[@davidmork8000]

Agreed, I love Chris but it feels like picking and choosing. I remember him saying d-ends, like Dallas Turner, didn’t line wide because of the scheme. This could be the same thing.

[@denniscarney5249]

@davidmork8000 not the same category imo. Again, I'm not disputing the evaluation of DeJean. Chris said essentially the same thing about Kool-Aid and Terrion Arnold -- and he's right. The difference is Ferentz isn't Saban. Expecting him to abandon zone schemes is like expecting Harbaugh to switch to an Air Raid scheme just to show off McCarthy. Neither option had a greater than 0% probability, ever. Dabo will start recruiting from the portal before either one of those things occur.

[@aarontracy5160]

Where was eval on Sione Vaki?

[@halilsrealfootballtalk]

Chris, saying DeJean projects better to safety is all finde and well. To me he could be a top-tier nickels. BUT - for the love of god - stop with your "context clues". If they had freaking Jalen Ramsey they wouldn't have played more man - they've run this scheme for as long as I can remember, where they play a ton of off-man. Same with the Bama corners, as Saban has transitioned to a lot of their version of quarters, etc. - And Qinyon Mitchell (who is also my clear CB1) didn't even play man at a higher rate really than any of these guys. You can say whatever you want, but if you want people that actually work in the sphere or study the tape themselves to respect you, you can't simply throw this kind of stuff out there without the ACTUAL context. Also on Calen Bullock, I have no idea how you can come to the conclusion that he wants to stick his face in the fan as a run-defender. I'm not sure if there's a safety among the consensus top-20 who actively avoids collisions when possible more than that guy. Ahmed as the novice film watcher even noticed that.

[@matthewmatt5285]

Yeah,.If I draft Calen Bullock I'm trying to get him on a few Offensive plays~

[@sheldonator]

Cooper dejean is josh Metellus mixed with honey badger

[@NathanDean79]

Hmm hey was just wondering why you don’t have the Thorpe Award winner on your top 5?? Trey Taylor the safety from Air Force. He won the Jim Thorpe award as the BEST defensive back in the country. So was wondering why you didn’t include him. If he was good enough to win the Thorpe he deserves to be in the top 5 at the very least.

[@AddMiller221]

Awards are based on a lot of things that aren't strictly playing ability. Look at the previous winners of the Thorpe award. Not exactly a murderers row of the top DBs in the league today.

[@vb9150]

Just because a player wins an award in the college or has a great PF grade doesnt always mean the player is going to be a top draft prospect on drafts boards going into the pros. A ton of factors go into draft rankings such as quality of game tape, competition they played against, conference they played in, scheme fit, athletic/physcial traits, skill set/versitility, mental traits to mention a few...maybe actually try watching the game tape of the player instead of just blabbering in the comments.

[@blayworld]

Disrespectful to Nubin

[@matthewmatt5285]

He didn't run at the Combine~

[@jonlamenza4121]

Wilson I'll bet proves him wrong he say patterns his game on Kuechly will see

[@spoogtastic]

Cooper will be a top cb. Safety later in career. He's athletic enough especially in a zone heavy defense.

[@connorkillane7457]

What top corners play in a zone heavy defense?

[@glow4417]

If he cannot play man and run low 4`4, he's not a top corner period. Speed and agility kill at corner.

[@TheZehahaha1]

He is a safety. Film don't lie. Any team that drafts him as a CB will regret it

[@cameronholmes7424]

Saftey

[@picknspreads]

@@connorkillane7457a lot of them

[@amosking611]

Let's gooooo eagles 🦅🦅🦅

[@NathanDean79]

Hey Chris you didn’t have Jordan Battle in your top 5 last year. He made the PFWA All Rookie team on the strength of 1/2 a year of play. He was also PFFs highest graded rookie safety since Derwin James in 2018. Battle had 71 tackles 2 sacks 5 pass break ups and 1 interception in 8 games he started. So just double those stats and you have a Pro Bowl Strong Safety. He is big at 6’1’’ 210 and can run 4.54 and he can hit. Brian Branch, his teammate from Alabama, had the best year but he started ever game for Detroit. Battle was better than Martin Brown Smith and Ward last year. Like I said he made the All Rookie team and his overall PFF grade was 79.8. That’s not elite yet but it’s getting close. So I just wanted you to know that you VERY much underestimated Battle. That’s ok. No one is right all the time and I always like and respect your rankings. We are usually in agreement with how we rank people. But a safety for Alabama I would have been higher on simply because he was coached by Nick Saben who is the best.

[@cameronholmes7424]

FLY EAGLES FLY!!!

[@Coop95]

Cooper Dejean woulda easily been the #1 corner if he was black 😂

[@cameronholmes7424]

As an Eagles fan, he's not even close to being a top 5 corner in the draft. He's gonna be a great safety in Fangio's scheme.

[@michaelv2774]

Please stop the “clap it up”

[@winebuyah]

Please don't stop the "clap it up"

[@michaelv2774]

@@winebuyah do you like it? It’s like nails on a chalkboard to me.

[@winebuyah]

its a very European thing to do; they're applauding us for being fans of the pod & tuning in... Soccer players "clap-up" their fans for coming to their matches which is a classy move... also...Lighten Up, Francis!!

[@mca217]

Basically, if you combine the strengths of De Jean and Rakestraw, you'd have a cornerback.

[@hawaiiguykailua6928]

Ahmed saw what I did on Bullock, reluctant yackler😂

[@kaptainkush4351]

LOL Columbo

[@Why_Do_We_need_These_Handels]

Thank God Somebody... (That famous quarterbacks Nepo Baby) Has Finally confirmed to me that Chris Sims is the Dumbest Click bait Sports analyst Today,!