Welcome to the offseason version of Four Down Territory.
It’s going to be a little different than it was in-season. I'll post one weekly during the season, which for me is from SEC Media Days through Missouri's final game.
During the offseason, I’ll post every other week.
1. Missouri is on fire.
The 2024 NFL Draft has come and gone and several Tigers got their names called. Darius Robinson went 27th overall to Arizona, followed by Ennis Rakestraw going 61st overall to the Lions, Ty’Ron Hopper going to Green Bay 91st overall, Javon Foster went 25 picks later to Jacksonville, 31 picks after him was Kris Abrams-Draine going to the Broncos and the final Tiger to be drafted was Jaylon Carlies being drafted 151st to the Colts.
The momentum Missouri has had the last eight months has been incredible.
In August 2023, Williams Nwaneri committed. Then, the team started 5-0 and lost a close one to LSU, which sucked for Mizzou at the time but let everyone know they were a team on the rise. After that, they had three legendary games against Kentucky (fake punt), Florida (fourth and 17) and Tennessee (Cody Schrader dismantles Tennessee).
Schrader, who ironically went undrafted (signed with the 49ers minutes after the draft), had one of the best seasons in program history and became a consensus All-American. He also finished eighth in the Heisman voting.
Several players made the All-SEC team and four were named AP All-Americans in early December.
A couple of weeks later, Mizzou defeated Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl to cap an 11-2 season and now in the last two weeks, Mizzou has got six commits for the class of 2025.
This wave of momentum doesn’t include Laird Veatch being hired to be the new Director of Athletics, the coaching hires of Corey Batoon and Brian Early, the Tigers’ favorable 2024 and 2025 conference schedules they got and or the new stadium renovation plans the school has released.
2. Darius Robinson and his family were awesome.
Last Tuesday, I spent almost two hours with Robinson’s mom, Valori Robinson and his grandmother, Gwendolyn Lawson, and they were great. I talked with them for about an hour and a half and I enjoyed it.
Sometimes, it’s nice to hear elders talk about things they experienced growing up or talk about what their kids and grandchildren were like. It’s like listening to a documentary.
A couple of years ago, my mom and my sisters took a trip to where my mom grew up in this small town in Georgia, and I thought it was cool for her to drive us around and show up where she used to be and what she did as a kid.
Anyway, I seldom get to do stories like the one I got to do on Darius.
These are my favorite stories because it’s about painting a picture and allowing people to peel back the curtain on their lives. You only see what people allow you to see, right?
So, when people can be vulnerable and open up it's cool.
On Wednesday, I was with Darius for about two hours at The Corner Ballpark while he and the other prospects did an event with Special Olympians. Then, he gave me a one-on-one exclusive, and here’s what I will say about how he treated me this weekend.
Awesome.
Many of you may have seen Gabe tweet this on X the other day, but here's a little bit more detail. After Darius was drafted, I waited in the press conference room for almost an hour.
Then, his press conference was spent with mostly non-Cardinal or non-Mizzou media asking him random questions. They weren’t bad questions but some felt like questions being asked just for questions to be asked.
Seemingly, whoever could yell “Darius” the loudest could get a question in.
Anyway, Darius’ agent ended the presser after 10 minutes because it was time for Darius to handle his next obligation and as he was walking off stage, he spotted me in the first row and dapped me up.
I asked him, ‘Where are you about to go? I didn’t even get any questions in.’
He replied, ‘I think we are about to go downstairs.’ I said, ‘Alright, I’ve got to find a way down there. I got four or five questions for you.’
He smiled and told me we could do the interview right there in front of the podium and answered all my questions even though his agent was standing there.
Honestly, I know players know my face. Do they know my name? Perhaps. Do they know it off the top of their head? Questionable.
In Gabe’s tweet, he mentioned how some players can see you outside of the facility and almost act as if they’ve never met you (and I’m speaking generally across all colleges), and Darius never did that.
I appreciate him for that and made sure to let him know that.
It helped make the draft experience that much better knowing I was dealing with someone who seemed happy to see me there.
Darius is the type of person you root for.
3. Winners and losers of the NFL Draft.
Let's look at some quick winners and losers for who I think won and lost the draft without going over the whole draft.
Let me start with the winners.
Bears, Buccaneers, Cardinals, Chiefs, Eagles, Raiders and Washington.
Chicago getting Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze to team with Keenan Allen, D.J. Moore and Cole Kmet has me thinking the Bears can compete for at least a Wild Card. I like their roster and I hope they play more national TV games.
The Bucs got Graham Barton to play center and then drafted two players I like in Washington receiver Jalen McMillan and Oregon running back Bucky Irving in the middle rounds.
The Cards selected Marvin Harrison Jr. fourth overall and then picked up Robinson with pick 27, and immediately helped two positions of need. Then, they got Trey Benson from Florida State, who should be a good pickup alongside James Connor.
Kansas City fooled Buffalo again into trading with them in the first round so they could go up four slots to select Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy, the fastest man in NFL Combine history.
Buffalo infamously traded the 10th overall pick in 2017 for the 27th overall pick and a slew of other picks, which allowed the Chiefs to select Patrick Mahomes. Honestly, the trade was a win-win for both teams. The Bills got Tre’Davious White, who’d become an All-Pro cornerback, wide receiver Zay Jones, linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, left tackle Dion Dawkins and cornerback Siran Neal.
Those players helped the Bills reach the playoffs in 2018 for the first time since 1999. Then the Bills drafted Josh Allen a few months later which helped them become perennial playoff contenders.
But the Chiefs essentially got Kobe Bryant. If Tom Brady is Michael Jordan, the heir is Mahomes and Buffalo was the one to allow it.
If I were the Bills general manager, Brandon Beane, I would’ve blocked Brett Veach’s number years ago.
Furthermore, the Eagles keep finding a way to get so much value by drafting Toledo cornerback Quinyon Mitchell with the 22nd pick and Iowa cornerback Cooper DeJean at pick 40.
Lastly, Washington got Jayden Daniels with the second overall pick and Jer’Zhan Newton early in the second round. The latter was considered a mid-first-round pick. They also got Michigan defensive back Mike Sainristil and Kansas State tight end Ben Sinnott.
Honestly, Sinnott had quite the day versus Missouri last year with five receptions for 78 yards and two touchdowns. He was my TE2 entering the draft.
Let’s get to the losers.
First, the Falcons.
In one of the crazier draft moments in recent history, Atlanta drafted Michael Penix Jr. after signing Kirk Cousins for $100 million guaranteed in March.
You don’t get a win-now quarterback and sign him to a nine-figure deal and then draft a quarterback early, especially, when the quarterback is going to be 24 when the season starts.
So, if Cousins plays even half of his four-year deal, Penix will finally be the starter at 26. If Cousins doesn’t play a snap as a Falcon, they’re still on the books for his contract.
You could say, Penix is on a rookie deal so they have money. That’s true, but usually, you get position players when you have a quarterback on a rookie deal. Not a Pro Bowl quarterback. Either way, an expensive free agent or a top 10 pick will be be in a bench role for some time.
I get that Penix was the best player available and the quarterback for them in their eyes but that was a crazy gamble.
The next loser is Denver. Bo Nix is a heck of a reach at No. 12. I don’t see the value per se. He was more of a mid-round pick to me but I’m not the general manager.
There are probably more losers but that’s what I’ve got right now.
4. Let's laugh.
The draft week was hilarious. So, I want to share some tweets that had me laughing out loud literally.
(NSFW)
It’s going to be a little different than it was in-season. I'll post one weekly during the season, which for me is from SEC Media Days through Missouri's final game.
During the offseason, I’ll post every other week.
1. Missouri is on fire.
The 2024 NFL Draft has come and gone and several Tigers got their names called. Darius Robinson went 27th overall to Arizona, followed by Ennis Rakestraw going 61st overall to the Lions, Ty’Ron Hopper going to Green Bay 91st overall, Javon Foster went 25 picks later to Jacksonville, 31 picks after him was Kris Abrams-Draine going to the Broncos and the final Tiger to be drafted was Jaylon Carlies being drafted 151st to the Colts.
The momentum Missouri has had the last eight months has been incredible.
In August 2023, Williams Nwaneri committed. Then, the team started 5-0 and lost a close one to LSU, which sucked for Mizzou at the time but let everyone know they were a team on the rise. After that, they had three legendary games against Kentucky (fake punt), Florida (fourth and 17) and Tennessee (Cody Schrader dismantles Tennessee).
Schrader, who ironically went undrafted (signed with the 49ers minutes after the draft), had one of the best seasons in program history and became a consensus All-American. He also finished eighth in the Heisman voting.
Several players made the All-SEC team and four were named AP All-Americans in early December.
A couple of weeks later, Mizzou defeated Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl to cap an 11-2 season and now in the last two weeks, Mizzou has got six commits for the class of 2025.
This wave of momentum doesn’t include Laird Veatch being hired to be the new Director of Athletics, the coaching hires of Corey Batoon and Brian Early, the Tigers’ favorable 2024 and 2025 conference schedules they got and or the new stadium renovation plans the school has released.
2. Darius Robinson and his family were awesome.
Last Tuesday, I spent almost two hours with Robinson’s mom, Valori Robinson and his grandmother, Gwendolyn Lawson, and they were great. I talked with them for about an hour and a half and I enjoyed it.
Sometimes, it’s nice to hear elders talk about things they experienced growing up or talk about what their kids and grandchildren were like. It’s like listening to a documentary.
A couple of years ago, my mom and my sisters took a trip to where my mom grew up in this small town in Georgia, and I thought it was cool for her to drive us around and show up where she used to be and what she did as a kid.
Anyway, I seldom get to do stories like the one I got to do on Darius.
These are my favorite stories because it’s about painting a picture and allowing people to peel back the curtain on their lives. You only see what people allow you to see, right?
So, when people can be vulnerable and open up it's cool.
On Wednesday, I was with Darius for about two hours at The Corner Ballpark while he and the other prospects did an event with Special Olympians. Then, he gave me a one-on-one exclusive, and here’s what I will say about how he treated me this weekend.
Awesome.
Many of you may have seen Gabe tweet this on X the other day, but here's a little bit more detail. After Darius was drafted, I waited in the press conference room for almost an hour.
Then, his press conference was spent with mostly non-Cardinal or non-Mizzou media asking him random questions. They weren’t bad questions but some felt like questions being asked just for questions to be asked.
Seemingly, whoever could yell “Darius” the loudest could get a question in.
Anyway, Darius’ agent ended the presser after 10 minutes because it was time for Darius to handle his next obligation and as he was walking off stage, he spotted me in the first row and dapped me up.
I asked him, ‘Where are you about to go? I didn’t even get any questions in.’
He replied, ‘I think we are about to go downstairs.’ I said, ‘Alright, I’ve got to find a way down there. I got four or five questions for you.’
He smiled and told me we could do the interview right there in front of the podium and answered all my questions even though his agent was standing there.
Honestly, I know players know my face. Do they know my name? Perhaps. Do they know it off the top of their head? Questionable.
In Gabe’s tweet, he mentioned how some players can see you outside of the facility and almost act as if they’ve never met you (and I’m speaking generally across all colleges), and Darius never did that.
I appreciate him for that and made sure to let him know that.
It helped make the draft experience that much better knowing I was dealing with someone who seemed happy to see me there.
Darius is the type of person you root for.
3. Winners and losers of the NFL Draft.
Let's look at some quick winners and losers for who I think won and lost the draft without going over the whole draft.
Let me start with the winners.
Bears, Buccaneers, Cardinals, Chiefs, Eagles, Raiders and Washington.
Chicago getting Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze to team with Keenan Allen, D.J. Moore and Cole Kmet has me thinking the Bears can compete for at least a Wild Card. I like their roster and I hope they play more national TV games.
The Bucs got Graham Barton to play center and then drafted two players I like in Washington receiver Jalen McMillan and Oregon running back Bucky Irving in the middle rounds.
The Cards selected Marvin Harrison Jr. fourth overall and then picked up Robinson with pick 27, and immediately helped two positions of need. Then, they got Trey Benson from Florida State, who should be a good pickup alongside James Connor.
Kansas City fooled Buffalo again into trading with them in the first round so they could go up four slots to select Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy, the fastest man in NFL Combine history.
Buffalo infamously traded the 10th overall pick in 2017 for the 27th overall pick and a slew of other picks, which allowed the Chiefs to select Patrick Mahomes. Honestly, the trade was a win-win for both teams. The Bills got Tre’Davious White, who’d become an All-Pro cornerback, wide receiver Zay Jones, linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, left tackle Dion Dawkins and cornerback Siran Neal.
Those players helped the Bills reach the playoffs in 2018 for the first time since 1999. Then the Bills drafted Josh Allen a few months later which helped them become perennial playoff contenders.
But the Chiefs essentially got Kobe Bryant. If Tom Brady is Michael Jordan, the heir is Mahomes and Buffalo was the one to allow it.
If I were the Bills general manager, Brandon Beane, I would’ve blocked Brett Veach’s number years ago.
Furthermore, the Eagles keep finding a way to get so much value by drafting Toledo cornerback Quinyon Mitchell with the 22nd pick and Iowa cornerback Cooper DeJean at pick 40.
Lastly, Washington got Jayden Daniels with the second overall pick and Jer’Zhan Newton early in the second round. The latter was considered a mid-first-round pick. They also got Michigan defensive back Mike Sainristil and Kansas State tight end Ben Sinnott.
Honestly, Sinnott had quite the day versus Missouri last year with five receptions for 78 yards and two touchdowns. He was my TE2 entering the draft.
Let’s get to the losers.
First, the Falcons.
In one of the crazier draft moments in recent history, Atlanta drafted Michael Penix Jr. after signing Kirk Cousins for $100 million guaranteed in March.
You don’t get a win-now quarterback and sign him to a nine-figure deal and then draft a quarterback early, especially, when the quarterback is going to be 24 when the season starts.
So, if Cousins plays even half of his four-year deal, Penix will finally be the starter at 26. If Cousins doesn’t play a snap as a Falcon, they’re still on the books for his contract.
You could say, Penix is on a rookie deal so they have money. That’s true, but usually, you get position players when you have a quarterback on a rookie deal. Not a Pro Bowl quarterback. Either way, an expensive free agent or a top 10 pick will be be in a bench role for some time.
I get that Penix was the best player available and the quarterback for them in their eyes but that was a crazy gamble.
The next loser is Denver. Bo Nix is a heck of a reach at No. 12. I don’t see the value per se. He was more of a mid-round pick to me but I’m not the general manager.
There are probably more losers but that’s what I’ve got right now.
4. Let's laugh.
The draft week was hilarious. So, I want to share some tweets that had me laughing out loud literally.
(NSFW)
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