Pod Fodder: Neil Stratton

RebelGrove will be adding a new periodic content item, Pod Fodder, that will recap guests and interesting topics of note from the Oxford Exxon Podcast in order to allow those who do not have the availability to listen to the show on a daily basis, the opportunity still to obtain insights from the show.

Neil Stratton of Inside the League was the guest on today's show, offering many insights and opinions primarily about the forthcoming NFL Draft, which begins with the First Round selections on Thursday (7 p.m. NFL Network/ESPN).

Ole Miss will have three former players - Robert Nkemdiche, Laremy Tunsil, and Laquon Treadwell - in attendance at Roosevelt University's Auditorium Theatre in Chicago for the festivities, a first for the program.

Barring completely unforeseen circumstances, Tunsil will be the first former Rebel to hear his name called, but his specific selection has become muddled in recent days as both the Tennessee Titans and the Philadelphia Eagles have made trades to move up to the first and second spots in the draft, presumably to select quarterbacks, a fact that makes the San Diego Chargers the first realistic possible destination for Tunsil.

“I think Tunsil makes the most sense," Stratton said of the Chargers selection. "Until the Titans made their deal, Tunsil looked like the odds on No. 1 guy. I don’t know why you don’t take a Tunsil. Again, you go back to taking the best player on the board, and everyone has got to protect their quarterback. They’re not going to have Phil Rivers much longer, and they’ve certainly had some issues with their offensive line. I think that (pick) is a slam dunk.”

Other possible destinations for Tunsil are rumored to be Tennessee, who would have to make a trade to move up to select the tackle, and Baltimore, who has reportedly told the Florida native that it intends to select him should with the sixth pick overall should he be available.

BETWC currently lists the over/under for Tunsil’s draft position at 3.5 with under that number listed as the Vegas favorite.

One former Rebel who appears to be far from a slam-dunk draft selection according to many sources around the league is Nkemdiche. However, the defensive tackle has started to see his name more consistently in the first round of the latest mock drafts.

“If you have a team that’s secure and has been winning and has a culture of winning and a great locker room that can keep him in line,” Statton said, “then I think it works, but if you’ve got a team that you may have a few guys that you’re not sure about and you’re always having trouble managing them, you can’t take a Nkemdiche because he can easily blow up on you. You don’t want to miss in that top 20. Those guys have got to be step in and start kind of guys.”

Stratton continued to expound on his point about Nkemdiche by explaining that the issue with selcting the defensive tackle is deeper than simply overlooking off-the-field discretions.

“I’ve always heard when I have talked to scouts and when I have talked to coaches and (other football people), defensive line are the hardest guys to manage in the locker room because their inertia is always kind of to stay put,” Stratton said. “They don’t move a whole lot. You have to kind of push them a little harder to get them to work. You have to stay on them any way.”

“For example, look at the Cowboys,” Stratton continued. “They spent a lot of money on (Greg Hardy) that has become a pariah across the NFL. Even though he has been productive, they let him go. They drafted a guy early in the second round that everybody knew had drug issues, and lookee here. Those have come to fruition, and now they’ve got another defensive lineman that has been suspended. Nkemdiche is a guy that can become all three of those players.”

Peter King of Sports Illustrated and the MMQB has the Buffalo Bills, who hold the 19th overall selection, selecting Nkemdiche in his latest mock draft.

“If they can get a clean bill of health from the scouts, the scouts probably in this situation will realize that Rex (Ryan) is the kind of guy that will roll the dice on a player like that, and maybe it works,” Stratton said. “You also have to measure the market too. Buffalo is probably a place where he gets in a little less trouble, so maybe that does make sense. I think Rex Ryan could pull the trigger on him.”

The talent has never been the greatest concern amongst front-office executives, but that fact doesn’t pardon reality that drafting the Georgia product is still a risk.

“If Nkemdiche is right, he’s a mauler,” Stratton said. “He’s a difference maker, but you’d better be prepared to stay on him all the time and really keep him on the straight and narrow. Otherwise, he could get in trouble, and then you’ve got nothing to show for it.”

BETWC currently lists the over/under draft position as 26.5 for Nkemdiche with the same odds for both the over and the under’s selection.

The third former Rebel, who will be in attendance in Chicago, expecting to hear his name called by commissioner Roger Goodell is Treadwell. According to Bet Online Treadwell is currently the favorite to be the first wide receiver taken in this year’s draft, a fact that is agreeable to Stratton.

“I still think he’s the first receiver,” Stratton said. “I know that there’s been a lot of talk about that his 40 time was not the most impressive thing out there, but come on. He’s the best receiver. I mean he’s shown it, and if teams are going to fall that much in love with 40 times, that’s a copout to me. I think Treadwell has got to be the No. 1 receiver. Where he goes, I don’t know, but he’s got to be the first receiver off the board.”

Currently Treadwell’s over/under draft position is listed at 20.5 on BETWC with both selections having equal odds.

As always, thanks for reading and listening, and please remember to use the banner on this page whenever making purchases from Amazon.