Draft expert.

40 years analyzing the NFL draft.

Good morning, Mel.

Next April in Cleveland When Roger Goodell goes to the podium and he has an opportunity to say with the first overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft, the fill in the blank that needs a quarterback should select either Trevor Lawrence or Justin Field.

It's way too early.

I'm not gonna box myself into that corner.

I'm not going to do it in in early November.

That's not happening.

I have.

I used to have until early March, when I came out with the draft report, have a little longer now when Key was on the cover of that 1996 draft report that Blue Book but don't have to make those decisions in early March can wait a little bit.

And right now it may.

Trevor, you're gonna take Trevor off that spot.

I mean, you want to see him against Notre Dame?

Unfortunately, we won't.

We'll see big games down the road with Trevor.

We all remember the L s U game at 48.6%.

Not to Trevor Lawrence we saw in previous games, even as a freshman when he was on that big stage against Notre Dame in Alabama.

Looking great.

So I'm not gonna dot com for a one game.

Knock him for that one game against L S U.

So, yeah, I still think Justin Fields is right there.

And I thought that all along this notion there was a huge, huge gap.

I said that back in August wasn't the case.

There were people saying just a couple weeks ago, Always a mid first rounder, he's not in the league with Trevor Lawrence.

That was all ridiculous talk that made no sense to maybe people have their opinions and have the right to it.

But now, all of a sudden, Justin Fields was kind of one in one.

A.

I'm not ready to say that either.

He's played, you know, the two games.

Last year was his first year, so a starting quarterback.

So let's wait it out.

But let's I will tell you, this guy's it's pretty obvious to everybody.

The 1st and 2nd pick overall are gonna be those two players, So wait, Mel, because Key is over here gloating because he's saying he was right.

I'm not gloating.

I'm just I like to hear expert opinions by guys that do this from January to January.

Here, 365 days and that is, well, mildew.

Go ahead.

I hear you.

So, Mel, with that being said, if Justin feels is one B, what does he need to do to become one A Well, again?

You have two quarterbacks that are outstanding and it gets into if Lawrence keeps performing once he comes back and he's healthy and he's is over this, uh, how does he play on the biggest stage?

We've already seen him play pitching catch against cupcakes.

Okay, we want to see him against the kind of competition Notre Dame's got.

A pretty good defense would have been nice to see that game.

Unfortunately, we won't have that.

The only hiccup in in the career of Trevor Lawrence.

You could say well when Sean Way, he got ejected for targeting that game change, but he made the plays with his legs and his arm to bring them back to beat Ohio State, so he was struck a little bit.

Wade gets ejected, boy, he's rolling.

After that, then the L S U games.

That's the Onley game in his career where he didn't look like as he the number one guy.

But it's one game now.

You go to Justin Fields.

He's been lights out and he has been phenomenal.

But again, you want to see him down the road and those big, big games.

How he doesn't keep in mind.

They beat Clemson.

Krystle la.

They admitted.

What was the one?

That interception by No one turn on the engine wasn't on.

Fields was on Olav.

So you know the way the seats and ended in a thud, it wasn't on Justin Field.

So again, he's been great.

So one is gonna be one one's gonna be, too.

It's the end of the day.

That's the way it's gonna go, guys.

And I think we're splitting hairs here, even at the And even if you have to project the April, I think you're gonna be really close and you got to make that call, and that's gonna be the tough thing that somebody's gonna have to do.

But I would still say Trevor, one Justin Fields to You've been covering these things for a very long time as you mentioned mail and you go back to 1999 and you look at the Tim card or you look at the Edgerrin James Ricky Williams situation at the running back.

So close.

Adrian James goes to Indy.

Ricky goes in New Orleans and you look at Tim Couch.

Situation.

Donovan McNabb.

10.

Couch goes number one overall are Peyton Manning.

Ryan leave.

These things were so close that I was trying to tell the guys that you gotta wait until we get into the offseason where general managers in college or head coaches in position coaches could actually see these guys up close in person.

Does that make a huge difference?

Yeah, it all does when it's that close and it's gonna be a gut feel when you talk to these guys who has that it factor.

And when you talk to everybody who is the most competitive, and I don't say everybody plays football is a competitor.

You guys, you know that keep better than anybody.

Everybody is a competitors, but are you a 67 or you attend?

Okay, and that's what I think.

They're gonna also try to figure when when everything's equal.

Where is that?

Where how you gonna make that decision and I think you go back.

I remember Rick Meyer.

Drew Bledsoe was another tough decision for a lot of GM three Ryan Leaf.

Peyton Manning.

Revisionist history said everybody was Peyton Manning.

I know different because I talked to people in the league and I tell you, it's a 50 50 split.

Fortunately, I had manning at Alief, but some had leaf ahead of Manning.

I've made mistakes.

So another one to situations, but not in that case.

But I think it's gonna be tough, but hopefully again, like a trade.

It's supposed to be good for both teams, right?

Not times it isn't but supposed to be here.

One and two are supposed to be great.

Now, in the case of Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota, look what happened.

Okay.

In the case of Leaf in Manning, Look what happened.

Myron Bledsoe, Look what happened.

But I think in this particular case you're expecting both Fields and Lawrence.

Lawrence Fields, tow both.

Go 12 on both.

Be phenomenal quarterbacks in this league.

Male.

We just saw the jets take Sam Donald third overall three years ago.

Why should the jets move on, if at all, from Donald to Fields or Lawrence if, well, it is a case where you take the higher rated quarterback.

I mean, I like Sam Donald coming out.

Josh Allen Hire A lot of people didn't, but we'll see how that rolls out as we move through these careers of these quarterbacks.

Baker, Mayfield, All that group local.

Lamar when the end of the first round that year.

Josh Rosen.

Where's Josh, now in Tampa, waiting to see what happens.

His career.

Now we don't know how that's gonna get going, so it's still really early.

Sam is a franchise quarterback, in my opinion.

Daniel Jones is a franchise quarterback.

In my opinion, you could say I'm crazy about both of them, but they're in New York.

They're dealing with adversity.

They're doing with criticism.

I think that the Jets air picking number one Sam Darn, was traded.

Probably.

I thought for a late one.

I thought New Orleans, I thought, pits Berg.

Indy would be good spots, but people say now more of a second round.

Or if you get Sam Donald for a second round, do that in a second.

But I think you take Trevor Lawrence.

If you're picking number one in your New York Jets and you move Sam.

Donald, you get what you can now, you know, if you're Justin Fields may be there, too.

If he's there, then you take Justin Fields.

If we decide by March April, it's one in one.

A.

Then those two would be ahead off the Donald Jones situation for the grade that they had coming out.

The grade that Lawrence and Fields had is gonna obviously be way ahead of what those two quarterbacks were coming out of college the year they did.

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