Ready for the Draft Podcast

Readyforthedraft.com's Gregg Schutze shares his passion for the NFL draft and takes you on a journey leading up to the 2024 NFL Draft.

 The last weekened in February means it's NFL Combine time!  320 players have been invited to the Combine and will be working out Thursday March 29th through Sunday March 3rd.  The first two days will be all about the defense witht the DL and LB on Thursday and the DB group working out with the TE's.  This podcast is dedicated to the defense, talking through who I'm looking forward to seeing.  Laiatu Latu and Jared Verse have a chance to put their stamp on EDGE1 while Dallas Turner gets his shot later working out with the LB's.  Medicals will also be key for Latu and LB Payton Wilson as a clean bill of health will undoubtedly improve their stock.  At DB, watch the feet and transitions from CB1 Terrion Arnold while Quinyon Mitchell, Kool-Aid McKinstry and Nate Wiggins do battle to see who emerges as CB2 behind Arnold.  Those are just a few exciting narratives I'm looking forward to watching play out this weekend.

Readyforthedraft.com's Gregg Schutze shares his passion for the NFL draft and takes you on a journey leading up to the 2024 NFL Draft.

The Senior Bowl is in the books and plenty of players turned heads during their time in Mobile.  OT's Taliese Fuaga and Tyler Guyton, C Jackson Powers-Johnson, CB Quinyon Mitchell and DE Darius Robinson all put a stamp on their 1st Round status, but they're not the only ones who impressed.  I also provide an updated top 10 mock.   

Readyforthedraft.com's Gregg Schutze shares his passion for the NFL draft and takes you on a journey leading up to the 2024 NFL Draft.

In Episode 16, I take a look at the players at each position I'm most looking forward to watching at the Senior Bowl in Mobile.  QB's Bo Nix and Michael Penix Jr., WR's Xavier Legette and Devontez Walker, OT's Taliese Fuaga and Tyler Guyton, Edge defender Laiatu Latu, DT's T'Vondre Sweat and Braden Fiske, LB's Payton Wilson and Cedric Gray, CB's Quinyon Mitchell and Kalen King and safeties Kam Kinchens and Javon Bullard are just a few of the big names taking the field.  Who else should you keep an eye on?  I got you covered there too!

Readyforthedraft.com's Gregg Schutze shares his passion for the NFL draft and takes you on a journey leading up to the 2024 NFL Draft.

 Episode 15 helps put a bow on the 2023 College Football season by reviewing the performances of the draft-eligible prospects in the CFP National Championship.  Michael Penix Jr. and JJ McCarthy will definitely be polarizing and neither really did anything to solidify their standing in the draft.  Michigan's D-Line proved to be dominant, though Troy Fautanu solidified his status as a 1st Round OL.  Rome Odunze is a top-10 pick while Blake Corum is a top-five back, but where will Ja'Lynn Polk and Roman Wilson crash the party on Day 2?

Readyforthedraft.com's Gregg Schutze shares his passion for the NFL draft and takes you on a journey leading up to the 2024 NFL Draft.

The CFP National Championship matchup is set - # 1 Michigan vs. # 2 Washington.  I take a look at both teams' performances in the semifinals - Michigan's 27-20 OT win over # 4 Alabama and Washington holding on to beat hard-charging # 3 Texas 37-31.  I use those performances to talk through the matchups to look for in Houston.  Not only will we have a QB showdown between JJ McCarthy and Michael Penix Jr. in what could be a battle to be the 4th QB taken in the draft, but we'll look at the passing attacks and how they might have success against the run.  Which defensive front will be able to break through against the nation's top two OL's? Will Washington load the box to stop the run?  If so, can we expect McCarthy and Co. to try to exploit matchups down the field?  Can Jabbar Muhammad and Elijah Jackson play like they did to limit the success of Xavier Worthy and Adonai Mitchell to shut down the likes of Roman Wilson and Cornelus Johnson?  TE Ja'Tavion Sanders was effective against the Huskies so can we expect a similar performance from Colston Loveland?  Or will Michigan look to impose its will against a UW DL that has gave up yards against Texas.  Michigan will want to keep Penix Jr. off the field, so expect a heavy dose of Blake Corum.  When Washington has the ball, I expect Rome Odunze, Ja'Lynn Polk, Jalen McMillan and Germie Bernard to make plays against the Wolverine secondary, even if an ailing Dillon Johnson is limited or can't go with his foot injury.  Jack Westover will play a pivotal role.  Jaylan Ford didn't have the foot speed to hang with Westover, something we don't have to worry about with Junior Colson and Michael Barrett.  And even if Breiden McGregor, Kris Jenkins and Kenneth Grant can get a push up front or Jaylen Harrell and Josaiah Stewart can bring speed off the edge, Michael Penix Jr. showed against Texas he can manipulate the pocket to avoid the rush and buy time before setting his feet and to deliver a strike down the field. 

And with Week 18 in the books, we know what the top 10 looks like and I give my initial thoughts on how those picks might play out.  Could we see 3 QB come off the board in the top 5?  What about 4 in the top 10???  And could we see 3 WR and a TE selected before pick # 11?  With 2 OT as virtual locks to be off the board in the first ten picks, is there room at the top of the draft for a defensive player and, if so, who might crash the party to prevent and all-offense top 10? 

Readyforthedraft.com's Gregg Schutze shares his passion for the NFL draft and takes you on a journey leading up to the 2024 NFL Draft.

It's time for the second half of the bowl preview series where I take a look at the top prospects to watch for in each of the bowl games on the back half of the schedule from December 27th through the CFP Semi Finals on January 1st.  What can we expect when Michigan takes on Bama in the Rose Bowl?  Can the Michigan OL handle Dallas Turner and Chris Braswell?  Or if they get home off the edge early, will the Wolverines pivot to the run game like they did with Penn State.  And can Bama produce enough big plays against Jesse Minter's defense which has been so tough to score on?  And which defense can slow down the offensive firepower that both the Washington and Texas offenses will bring to the table?  We could expect the battle to be won in the trenches where putting pressure on the QB will be the key.

Readyforthedraft.com's Gregg Schutze shares his passion for the NFL draft and takes you on a journey leading up to the 2024 NFL Draft.

Bowl season is upon us and it's time for me to provide at least one draft prospect to watch out for in every bowl matchup.  Episode 12 dives into the first seven bowl games played during the opening weekend of bowls and look at everything from the deluge in Orlando that was the Cure Bowl to UCLA's comeback win over Boise State.  How did the 2024 draft prospects fare in those games?  And then I preview the rest of the first half og the slate of bowl games, from the Famous Toastery Bowl between Western Kentucky and Old Dominion to on December 18th through the games on December 26th which is capped off by Kansas and UNLV in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl.

Readyforthedraft.com's Gregg Schutze shares his passion for the NFL draft and takes you on a journey leading up to the 2024 NFL Draft.

We've come to the end of the regular season, meaning it's time to learn the finalists of the year-end awards.  The same trio of finalists for the Davey O'Brien and Maxwell Awards, Jayden Daniels, Michael Penix Jr. and Bo Nix are the favorites to be in New York for the Heisman Trophy.  Who's the favorite?  While Penix Jr. and Nix have had banner seasons for the Pac-12, no player has had the season Jayden Daniels has had.  Forget about the three losses, I expect Daniels to not only win the Heisman in December, but to also hear his name called on Day One of the NFL Draft in April.

Readyforthedraft.com's Gregg Schutze shares his passion for the NFL draft and takes you on a journey leading up to the 2024 NFL Draft.

After not recording a podcast in a while, I'm back and ready to talk football!  I enjoyed a trip to Peru with my family at the end of September and had a phenomenal time.  From Machu Picchu to Rainbow Mountain to the cuisine, all of it amazing!  The trip put me a week behind reviewing tape, so I've been playing catchup, but now is the time to bring the content back!  Caleb Williams and Drake Maye may be QBs 1 and 2, but the Heisman race may be down to Bo Nix and Michael Penix Jr.  And who out of the quartet of Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers, Keon Coleman and Rome Odunze will come off the board in the top 10?  Best edge rusher - Dallas Turner, Chop Robinson or Laiatu Latu?  And at OT, it's clear Olu Fashanu and Joe Alt are the top tackles, but who is No. 3?  Is it Taliese Fuaga, Jordan Morgan, JC Latham or Amarius Mims?

Readyforthedraft.com's Gregg Schutze shares his passion for the NFL draft and takes you on a journey leading up to the 2024 NFL Draft.

 The 2023 college football season appears to be the year of the QB as the spotlight was again on the QB position in Week 2.  Shedeur Sanders is proving each week to be in the conversation as a top-10 pick while Caleb Williams ended up with more total TD (4) than incompletions (3), while JJ McCarthy has just 7 incompletions through 2 games.  Quinn Ewers showcased much-improved deep ball accuracy in an upset win of Alabama,  Tyler Van Dyke appears to be returning to his 2021 form, while Bo Nix came up big in Oregon's come-from-behind victory over Texas Tech.