It's the 'Day Before the Draft' here in Las Vegas, and like they do every year, the NFL Network made some of their personalities available. Stanford Head Coach David Shaw will provide analysis, and we got a chance to speak with him. College Football Analyst Joel Klatt and Color Analyst Charles Davis also spoke.
And like we've done many times since 2010, we huddled up with Daniel Jeremiah. He played quarterback at Appalachian State in the late 1990's, worked as an NFL Scout for a decade, and in addition to handling the radio color commentary for Los Angeles Chargers games, he's a go-to guy when it comes to Draft Evaluation.
We were poolside in the sun at Caesar's Palace, and it was a far cry from the first time I interviewed him in 2010. Back then, we huddled up underneath an escalator in Lucas Oil Stadium at a chilly NFL Combine in Indianapolis.
Houston has 10 picks total this year, including the third and 13th overall.
You can check out the entire interview below, but here's a snapshot of what we covered.
-Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson is his top player, but he doesn't see the Wolverine making it to third overall. Cincinnati cornerback Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner was the next player Jeremiah brought up, and he's a fan of the defender's game. So much so, that he can't find any faults.
"I don't really know where the holes are," Jeremiah said. "He's just consistent every time you turn on the tape and watch him."
-Jeremiah thinks there are about 10 players in the Draft who are 'no-doubt-about-it' difference-makers. Compared with last year, he thinks at least 10 players from last year's Draft would be first-overall-pick-worthy this year. This year, he thinks the "sweet spot" of this year's Draft is between the 25th overall and 70th overall picks.
-He believes "it's a good group of running backs". Iowa State's Breece Hall and Michigan State's Kenneth Walker are the two best, in his opinion, in the Draft at that position.
"Those two guys kind of separate themselves from the pack," Jeremiah said. "But after that, it's just kind of what you want. If you want a big back, you've got options. (Tyler) Allgeier from BYU is a big, physical runner."
-At 13, Jeremiah shared his thoughts on the prospect of adding a talented receiver to the mix for Quarterback Davis Mills.
"I would run the card up, somehow, if (Ohio State's) Garrett Wilson was there," Jeremiah said. "I think he's my fourth overall player. I've got (USC's) Drake London up there as my seventh player. Those are my top two guys."
-Jeremiah was on the radio call for the Chargers when Mills and the Texans beat Los Angeles, 41-29, on December 26. He was impressed by what he saw from the then-rookie signal-caller.
"The command that he had there is what stood out to me," Jeremiah said. "The poise. Those are things that you can't teach. You can get better in some of the other stuff, but it didn't look too big for him at all. I'm excited to see where he goes from here. Just have to give him some more help."
The NFL Draft begins tomorrow night at 7 p.m. CT. The Texans will host a free Draft Party for fans at Miller Outdoor Theatre.
