Brian Baldinger: Monroe Freeling at 6 "Seems Awfully Rich"

0:00Hey, what's up flies? This is David Spade, Dana Carvey. Look, I know we never actually left, but I'll just say it. We are back with another season of Fly on the Wall. Every episode, including ones with guests, will now be on video. Every Thursday you'll hear us and see us chatting with big name celebrities. And every Monday you're stuck with just me and Dana, we react to news, what's trending, viral clips. Follow and listen to Fly on the Wall everywhere you get your podcasts. Let's get to that. Make it right call call right hotline draft just over a month. The way Brian Boltinger joins us former NFL, NFL, Odyssey NFL insider currently NFL network body breakdowns on social media, compass media networks. He's all over when it comes to the great game of football. It is Brian Boltinger. Brian, thanks for joining us. Yeah, good morning, guys. Good to be with you. Thank you. It's wonderful to have you. I feel like I'm, I'm setting this thing up to go the way I

1:00wanted to go, but I'm going to ask a former offensive lineman. Browns are at six right now. The big question. I think this is the first real question. Browns fans have to answer this entire offseason. Should they go with an offensive lineman or should they maybe go with Carnell Tate? Why do we see her out of Ohio State? What would you do? Well, they need both. They need an offensive lineman. I don't know. I mean, Dewan Jones has had a hard time staying healthy and staying on the field. And he's kind of probably your left tackle right now. But I think they need an offensive tackle and they need a wide receiver badly. I don't think you go wrong with either one at number six right now. They've got a 20. You got to 24th pick from Jacksonville last year. There'll be both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver that will be a good player at 24. So you could possibly use your first round picks to take both a wide receiver and a tackle. Have you been able to do much study on a guy like Monroe Freeling out of Georgia? Because he's a shot up the board. Like it seemed to be first late first round. Like maybe he'd be there at 24 for the bronze.

2:01But since he is a pure left tackle, you know, there's a lot of people going, man, they may reach for him and take him at number six. Would you be comfortable with him at number six? I like Monroe fear of feeling. I mean, I actually watched him quite a bit this week. You know, he's got the size. He's almost six eight and he ran really, really well. He's on his feet at Georgia. He's just not very strong. And you're going to have to just be, I think he's only 21 years old. I mean, he's going to get a lot stronger. If you're willing to be patient with him, I think he has a, you know, the chance to be really good. But if you're saying, okay, we're going to take, we're going to take him number six and play him right away. I, you know, I think Miles Garrett, you know, in practice might destroy his confidence. You know, but I mean, I do like him. It seems awfully rich though. It's six and I don't, you know, I don't really pay much attention to mock drafts or where people are taking him. But he's going to get taken in the first round. I just think that his core strength has to get a lot better.

3:01You constantly see it. Like he just has to get, you know, his, his, just a young kid. That's athletic. I mean, I think you just have to be patient with him. But I think he could be a real good player. Boy, that patient's thing is so interesting. We're talking to Baldi right now on the hotline because if you're trying to be responsible, if you're trying to do this over the long haul, then that's why, you know, you also at times want to see where guys project, right? It's not all about whether they can play the game week one, but at the same time, you know, you're trying to win games. They've had two straight really bad years and you never know when jobs are going to be on the line, even with a new head coach. So how much of that is fair to factor in? Like how good someone will be day one, especially on the offensive line compared to where they project? Well, it's not fair to offense. It's not fair to any position to, you know, I mean, last year, look, I mean, Mason Graham, you know, swashinger. I mean, they were grown men right away and they stepped in. They played at a really high level, but that doesn't always happen. I mean, this kid, you know, that you're talking about and row, Monroe, I think he

4:04could be a good player. I don't know if he's going to be a great player because I know, I know what he lacks right now. But, you know, if he's got to work, I don't, I've never met him. But if he's got to work ethic and wants to be good, I mean, the weight room, there's a ton of things to do just to get ready for the season. They could get better at. And I think, you know, a year from now, maybe we're talking about a starting left tackle and a good starting left tackle. But, you know, you're going to have to, I just think there's a place to be patient, especially, you know, in a place like Cleveland where they had a really good class last year. And they all, you know, mostly guys pop pretty good. You know, this is a different position now. This kid could be really good. You just got to, you know, he's going to have to, you know, send him to the strength coach and conditioning coach and let him go to work and, you know, put him at the, and the right training room table and the whole thing. And you might have yourself a really good player, but, you know, if he doesn't develop in that area, I think he's going to struggle at times. How much do you think about fit Brian when it comes to a pick anywhere in the NFL?

5:04Because, you know, I hear about Monroe Freeling and there sounds like there's great potential there. And it doesn't have to be him. It could be anybody. But when we're talking about potential and then we're talking about, you know, the patients were a lot to have. We have not been a very patient organization in years past. Well, I mean, you're just talking about one particular player. There's other tackles. You know, I mean, Kate and Brockter can start for you right now. You know, he'd be your best offensive lineman. But, you know, if you're willing to take that, would take that pick at six, you know, but, you know, there's, there's guys that can step in and play that I don't think you have to be very patient with, you know, so there's, there's different, there's different body types. You know, I mean, I think, you know, Monroe versus Caden. I mean, Caden is a grown man. I know him pretty well, you know, physically. I think he can handle the job really well. Monroe Freeling might be, have a higher ceiling though. So just because of, you know, how light he is on his feet and how well he runs and how he holds his weight and the whole thing. So you have to kind of project a little bit with all these guys, you know,

6:08what they're, what they can become. And then if they can become something really, really good, that's a question of, you know, coming back to the patient's part. Um, always curious with someone like you thinks of wide receivers because there's so many every year that are talented, always seems like you can get really good wide receivers later in the first round. But the Browns are sitting at six and Cardinal Tate would be a fan favorite instantly because the fans here in the region, they certainly know him at Ohio state. And he's probably the best on the board. But he also wasn't the best wide receiver to Ohio state. So how do you factor that in? Well, not everybody has Jeremiah Smith, you know, you know, that's a plane with. So you look like the best wide receiver in the country is a freshman. You know, they just, but you know, there's, there's, there's plenty of receivers. I mean, if you like McKay lemon, I think he, yeah, he's a great, great, uh, massive production. I don't know how good he is against the jam and his releases seem to need some work. I mean, all you can pick apart all these guys in some way.

7:09But you know, Cardinal probably is going to be the first receiver off of the board, just because of where he comes from, how clean the prospect is and how productive he's been. You know, I mean, and now people want to pick a part, how fast he is. Well, I don't know, you know, when you look at a guy like, you know, if you look at a guy that the place for the Rams right now and you look at what he ran coming out of college, both, uh, you know, both receivers, that came out of college and even more of them ran a good time. But they're both great receivers. And so, uh, you know, I just think the question of, uh, can he, can he produce and really speed? I think it's secondary at that position. Can you catch the ball? Do you have great hands? You catch everything that's wrong? Can you play inside? Can you play outside? I think that's the most important thing. And Cardinal really, you know, has does both those things? Well, you mentioned the speed thing. I thought it was comical to hear the debates that rang out after his 40 time and how maybe others had different 40 times because of them doing it by hand.

8:14And then it invited the question, why is any of this done by hand? Do you ever cared about the 40 time? Uh, at times, yeah, at times, it can be important. I mean, the fastest wide receiver is never, ever the best wide receiver. I mean, you just go through history. You know, I mean, Cornell is, you know, there's 190 pounds and you ran a four, five, three, like that's not slow. Now he ran a good five, you ran a good 10 yard split. That's more important. You know, he didn't run the shuttle. I like the shuttle time. I think it was more important than the 40 time. Can you change directions? Can you, can you change direction without losing speed? I mean, that's the art of being a great, uh, a great route runner. You know, is can you change directions without ever slowing down? Like I think, you know, when you look at the history of wide receivers at Ohio State, you know, certainly when you look at, uh, you know, Garrett Wilson, he could do that. You know, there's been a bunch of guys that could do that. And I think Cornell takes capable of that. That's what Emeka Buka did really well.

9:15He's a great, great route runner Jackson Smith and Jigba, great route runner, change speeds without ever losing any speed or change direction without losing speed. Have a change of speeds like they've been well taught and well coached there for a long time. Brian Bolton, you're joining us on the make it right call call right hotline. I saw your breakdown of Ken Yon Siddeak back on Monday. We brought him up about a month ago and we got a lot of groans from a lot of fans because he has tight end next to his name and a lot of fans love the current, uh, tight end going into his second year in Harold fan in junior. Tell people why they shouldn't be groaning about Ken Yon Siddeak. Just because he's got tight end listed to his name. Well, I thought they were groaning because he does have some drops. And I thought that's what they might be groaning by. I mean, you go back and watch the whole season of every time you're starving. And he probably has four or five drops where is that concentration? Is that bad hands? Is that what what is that? Um, but regardless, I mean, he runs, he's really, really smooth. Um, he is, to me, he's a move tight end.

10:18A lot like Harold is. Uh, I don't know that he's a true why. Although he does block down the field very well. He is very strong and he's not afraid to block. They don't ask, they didn't ask me to do that at Oregon very much. But when he is, um, you know, in a move tight end and they're running sweeps and outside zones and he's got to block the force or the safety. He's very good at doing that stuff. And so I wouldn't groan like that guy is, is a talented, talented player. And, you know, everybody's looking to add more speed to both their offense and their defense. I mean, speed makes up for a lot of deficiencies in other areas. And so his speed is noticeable. He does have a good burst, but he's very, very smooth. It looks like he just glides like when I went, when I saw him run his 40 yard dash at the combine, I knew it was in the four, fours. I didn't know it was four, three, nine, the second one, but you could just tell that he was covering a lot of ground very, very fast without straining at all. It looked very natural and very easy for him.

11:18That's kind of what you want in the open field. Somebody that's just like just, you know, easy, fast. He just hits the turbo charge and, you know, without really straining at all. I have to simplify this question just because it is what it is to a lot of fans. It's Ty Simpson going to be good. I don't know, he did wasn't very, I mean, he looks like he's basically a third down receiver coming out of the backfield right now. I feel like that's his, you know, strongest suit. I think he caught over 30 passes last year. I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm the runner. I'm sorry, the quarterback out of Alabama. Oh, oh, oh, yeah, sorry. I asked it quickly and yeah, I'm sorry. We're on the phone. I apologize is I just let that ball. He had something on Samson. I know it's amazing. He does a ball. I'm sorry there is to the, because we're, we're still looking for quarterbacks here. Yeah, you're talking about Ty Simpson. Yeah, look, I, you know, I just have a problem. Like the kid has some good games and he has a lot of good plays on tape.

12:23The guy started 15 or 16 games. He just hasn't played much for the play four games in 2024. And they played the season last year. He just hasn't played a lot of football. And I always am hesitant because there's just not many guys outside of, you know, you could say there hasn't been many, many guys that played that few games and were, were great players at that position in the NFL. You just need, I mean, that's the big thing about it. If you just look at, you watch Archmaning first game against Ohio State. One very good, one very good against Florida. You watch him at the end of the year against Texas A&M and the other teams. Like he was awesome. All we did was improve. And he just hasn't, I just felt like Ty Simpson needed a whole another year like Archmaning in the other year before they came out. Just give him another 13, 14 games, some playoff games, some championship games. And let him just see everything. Bad weather, bad fields, you know, visiting crowds like all that stuff. Underman against certain teams and see how he competes.

13:27I just think he needs more seasoning before I evaluate him. But if you're saying, okay, you're, you're taking a project with that many starts right now. You know, all year, all I heard when it came to Caleb Downs was, could be a generational safety. And now that everybody has a microphone and people are pouring over the tape. They're saying, all right, really good. But not at six overall, especially when you need all the help on offense. Where are you on Caleb Downs? I like Caleb Downs. He's very, very good player, generational. I don't know. Nick Mn. Worry, you see a generational, he's a really good player. Got him in the second round last year. He has unusual traits in how long he is, how fast he is. Caleb doesn't have those traits, but he's a really good player. You know, the one one thing about watching this Ohio State defense. I've seen so many games like all of you is that when you have that many great players at every position, at every step of your defense, the line, the linebackers, the

14:28safeties, like how many great plays do they even get a chance to make? Somebody else is already making it. Our bell's already made it. Life can feel overwhelming, but on my podcast, from the heart with Rachel Brayton, we're in it together. Every Friday, a new episode brings you a new story with topics on motherhood, wellness, self-love, and more. Listen to From the Heart with Rachel Brayton wherever you get your podcasts. Sonny's made it, Lorenzo's made it. You know, if somebody's already made the play, so you don't get a chance to make this many plays. Like, if you watched Swessinger last year in college, he made every play, but he was the best player on defense, and they didn't have a lot of other complimentary players that were in his level. And then he just came in and did the same thing this year. You know, but I'm saying a lot here about Caleb. Somebody's going to be really happy with them, but generational, like, is that Derwin James? What is that? You know, to become a generational player, there's just not a lot of them, you know? And so I don't know if he's, if that's being generational, I mean, one every 10 years,

15:30you get a player like that. I don't know that he's that player. Odyssey NFL insider, Brian Boltinger, follow him on Twitter, at Baldy NFL on the make a right call call right hotline, Brian, thank you so much for the time. Hope to talk to you again soon. My pleasure guys. Anytime. Yes, sir. Thank you. Brian Boltinger on the make a right call call right hotline. He went over one of the biggest questions that everybody has and every team has when it comes to drafting. He's always looking at right versus wrong binary decisions. He's talking about projection versus where the players are at right now. And that is the biggest question everybody struggles with. And is that what the Browns should be looking at? Who should play and who's able to play on that offensive line tomorrow? Or who could be really good for the next five to 10 years to one six four seven four to below 92. I think that's a great question. Quincy Williams is going to join us at nine o'clock new Browns linebacker. Not as he intend to help this Browns defense stay in the top four in 2026 because that

16:31might make it a much more competitive team than what it was in 2025. And it's unlike Brian told us exactly what to avoid next month, which sadly sounds like everything you wanted. Ken Karm and Anthony Lyme. It takes us with it to work in the free audacity app. Hey, this is Richard Ditch, the host of the sports media podcast. If you're interested in what's happening with all the places where you consume sports, the sports media podcast has you covered. I've been turning down interviews all week. A copy reached out, Oprah, George Stephanopoulos. So I said, no, I was booked on the Ditch podcast before the Taylor Swift phenomenon. I must live up to my responsibility. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.