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Graham Barton Coverage

WRAL Triangle and Two's Mark Bergin and Louis Fernandez discuss which local players will have their named called in the first round of the NFL Draft.

<p>Hey there folks. Happy NFL draft week. Yes, we made it for all the, the football nerds out there. It is a fantastic time. Welcome to another edition of Triangle and Two Wrel Triangle and two. I'm Luis Fernandez. He is Mark Bergen. Uh Mark. Congratulations on making it to another NFL draft. Um Thoughts before we get into the actual show here. Hey, what's up, brother? It is a Tuesday, Tuesday edition of Wrl Triangle. Two Lewis. I'm fired up, special teams, special plays, special players, Thursday night, prime time, baby. I'm always, you can always count on Mark Bergen to make the, the fun pop culture references. I appreciate that, man. We got a lot to talk about. Let's get into it, Drake May. So you're gonna go number two. What's gonna happen here, Lewis? What should happen here? Here's where I stand, right. I think he goes to New England at number three. I don't believe the hoopla saying that Washington isn't gonna pick Jaden Daniels. But if I were in Washington and shoes Drake May would be my pick. That's the argument that I'll have. That's what I'm sticking to because I look at it from what did we learn from a year ago with Bryce Young? It's not that a small player can't have success in the league. But traditionally, what is your best chance of success with Drake May? The prototypical size, the arm talent, the college experience, Jane Daniels has a lot of upside. He slide a frame, he doesn't know how to slide if I'm Washington and I need to paint a new picture. New ownership on down Drake May would be my pick number two. But I think Drake May is gonna be there at number three for the Patriots. Do they hang on and select him? This is the conversation we're gonna have Luis Fernandez. Yeah, because I i it's interesting be because there's that word again, interesting. I said it again. Um For, for those who, who listen, I say interesting a lot. Um You know, I think what's tough is like going this entire college football season, right? The conversation was Drake May or Caleb Williams number one and I think Caleb Williams showed number one. Ok. Yes, there we go. No concern, no question there. Um With Drake, obviously, his, his season was a little more up and down. Um There were some inconsistencies. I do think context is important and uh part of that context is the age for better or worse. Drake May is being compared to a lot of players who are older who had more years in college who were able to grow and develop and become the players. They are. So the, the conversation I, I hear around Drake is ok. He needs a year to sit, he needs some time to develop and to kind of season a little bit. I, I, I, I just feel kind of like, I'm like, are we watching the same stuff here? Because I, I do think that Drake did have a couple of accuracy issues, but all of his issues are, I think very fixable and very easy and he just needs that consistency of a professional program. So I, I don't think there's any way Drake slides out of the top five though, whether it be, you know, the commanders, whether it be the Patriots, whether it be the Vikings trading up, II I, Drake may is not gonna be there for long. It's just a matter of which of those top picks. Does he go? Let's provide this context, Lewis, I'm gonna use that word. That's, that's the word that stuck out to me. There are people saying, well, he had a better 2022 season than 2023. Ok. Had a different offensive coordinator from year to year. That's number one. His best playmaker was Josh Downs two years ago is now an NFL receiver and it is proven to be a good NFL receiver. He did not have his best receiver in Tes Walker for the first several games of the 2023 season. I'm not making excuses. I'm just simply providing context for why was there that drop off Lewis? That's information. That's just like glossed over by national media. I'm not gonna name any names. But again, it's the prototypical size of how he projects into your point about the age too. His best footballs ahead and like Jaden Daniels is much older. So like all these arguments, it's not a knock on Jaden Daniels. He could be a fine NFL player as well. But if I have to make the decision between the two, some guy who has a George Washington, like figure in his 642 30 is built, I can show you other quarterbacks, the Justin Herberts of the world, the Josh Allens of the world that are similar in that size and stature and built of what this success look like and how this player projects in the NFL Hop and Lewis, did you say George Washington likes? Is, is that because of the com the commanders are involved? I don't think I've ever heard of a comparison to a founding father. That is, that is a first, that is a first mark. Um No, I, I think um when, when you talk about drafts, right? I think a lot of times you want to draft for potential. Um It's not like Drake May is just like, you know, super raw product or anything like that. No, like he, he was good. It's, it's we, this is kind of like one of those things where when we get into the draft season, you can tell who watches college football and who doesn't watch college football, not to gatekeep essentially. But like those little things that you've heard throughout, throughout the draft process. Oh, UN C, their quarterbacks don't necessarily work out in the NFL and blah, blah, blah. And it's there, there's a lot of like those things that are thrown out there. I'm like, oh, so you just didn't watch Drake may play football in his college career then? Um I, I just, I, I view it as the ceiling is higher with Drake May because he is younger because you have all of that. So, you know, if, if the commanders want to draft Jay and Daniels number two overall, you know, good for them. Um But I, I just, I, I don't think Drake May is falling out of the top five, whoever New England selects at number three. I just say good luck to them because from the skill position players, Lewis, I think you and I would get some time on this current New England Patriots roster. You give me, you give me too much credit maybe five years ago. Uh You know, it's, it's, it's bad. It is. It is. Um I, I like Dro Mayo a lot and I think that the Patriots could have success down the line, but they have to build that offense from the ground up. It's, it is like wild how few skill position players they have. That was one of the main, like, um, you know, pieces of criticism against Bill Belichick in his final years there is that he just, they just couldn't do anything. They, they drafted players that didn't work out. Um They just, they were not gaining any kind of um you know, skill position players unless it was tight end. Um And so I, yeah, it's gonna be when you, and when you compare it to the commanders too, right? You've got like Terry Morn. Um You, you've got, um gosh, what's his name? Uh Wide is zero of Penn State. Um Either number Dotson Dotson. Yes, thank you. Uh Dimie Brown is still there. You know that you've got, you've got a lot of really talented players there. They're starting to build up their offensive line a little, but it, it feels like that commander turnaround will be faster than like a Patriots turnaround would be. So, um, and, and same thing goes for the Bears, right? They've built up the skill position players, they're trying to build up their offensive line a little bit that, that difference between the environment in one and two picks wise versus pick. Number three. It's interesting if you're Drake May though, like the thing you want is to fall a little bit and then have the Vikings trade up and get you and then you're throwing Justin Jefferson, you know, from day one but, but you, you see so much about the Vikings targeting jj mccarthy too. So um yes, I because like we talk about context, the place you go as a prospect at any position is so important to your success in the NFL for most quarterback prospects. I'd argue that that's more important than what it is that you bring into the league. Unless you're a Peyton Manning, Joe Burrow, John Elway type. I could name a few more names. Andrew Luck where you go and the, the fit of the franchise is heck of a lot more important. So what I want to ask you as well, Lewis and this is a good transition is if May falls out of the top three, you mentioned the Vikings potentially moving up before yesterday, I would have said the Broncos would have been in that mix. They just trade for Zach Wilson, who else could potentially trade up? Like maybe the Raiders, maybe the Raiders. Is there anyone else that could trade in to say the top three or top four to go get a quarterback? Whether it's May, whether it's Daniels, whether it's JJ mccarthy, because I think we'll see quarterback quarterback quarterback. We haven't seen that since 2021. If it's four straight quarterbacks, we've never seen that before. Who are the teams that could potentially trade up? Am I missing any of the teams that I haven't already named? Giants is another team that I've heard thrown around there. Um, a, a little bit but the Giants pick top 10. Um, so they wouldn't be having to move up too much more. I think it's, it's less about the teams and it's more about which spot would the trade happen. Right. I know the, the Patriots have talked about how they're looking at all options and things like that. I, I don't love the notion of them kicking the can down the road and waiting to see what happens at quarterback. Um, you know, then, yeah, number four, you've got the Cardinals who I think it would make a lot of sense for them to go get that Marvin Harrison Junior, that Malik Neighbors that, that, that receiver type. Um, but that could be another option of someone they're trading. Um, you know, the Chargers at number five, with, with, uh Jim Harbaugh coming into the picture now, um, you know, there's, there's a lot of questions about, ok, they have Justin Herbert already. They want to try and get more picks. That roster has to have a lot of changes also that, I mean, they could get a Marvin Harrison junior or Malik Neighbors like immediately Roma do a Joe alt. I mean, it's, it's one of those things where this, this draft class is very good offensively, especially you're gonna see almost likely a record number of offensive players picked in the first round. I think the number is 21 offensive players that is the, the record. Um So you got a ton of offensive talent early on, especially. Um Yeah, I, I look at those, like I said, picks four, pick five, whether it be the Giants or the Raiders or the Vikings, those teams that have multiple first round picks or that have high, first round picks that can trade into those spots. Um I, I don't think Drake Maye falls out of the top five. Let me be on record. I'll say Kayla Williams number one for the Bears, Jay and Daniels number two to the commanders. And I think Drake May goes to the new England Patriots with the third overall pick. That's how I think it's gonna shake out on Thursday night. Ok. There you go. And then we'll see if jj mccarthy gets thrown into that mix there with, you know, a potential trade up or anything like that. Um So when we look at local products, Mark, right? We've got, we've got Drake May as bona fide first round pick and then you start to look at the rest of the players that are kind of from the triangle and there are, there are a lot of talented players but guys not necessarily who are gonna be picked in the first round except for one Duke offensive lineman Graham Barton, um who played left tackle for the Blue Devils, played a little bit of center in his career. Um And he just kind of viewed as like a, a Maher is a good prospect and he's someone who could fit for a lot of different teams, especially in the back half of the first round. Mark. Let's say you, I'm calling this right now. I'm gonna call my shot 20th overall pick. The Pittsburgh Steelers are on the clock. They don't have a center on the roster. Graham Barton is gonna be the selection for the Pittsburgh Steelers at number 20. This was floated out last week to national media, you know, outside of Wrl Triangle and two I host Believe in Steelers with two time super bowl champion, Ike Taylor. He's a scout for the team. And here's how we describe Graham Barton. Are you ready for this? Lewis? Describe him as part grizzly bear, part lion, part ballerina and the ballerina part is because he's light on his feet, being able to get to the second level and hunt opposing defenders to block linebackers to block defensive backs downfield. He played center early on in his career like you said, Lewis. So he's playing a little bit out of position in college because when you go up against the Florida States and the Clemson's of the world four and five star athletes, you've got to make do. But the reason why Mike Elko has a new job, the season fell off with Riley Leonard's injury. Yes, I'll concede that college game day came to Durham for football for the first time ever predicated upon the success of winning the line of scrimmage battle. That was Graham Barton on the offensive side of the ball. Dwayne Carter. Another guy we'll talk about here in a little bit on the defensive side of the ball. Duke beat Clemson on Labor Day. Monday night. Prime time is a three touchdown underdog saying we're gonna play ball control football. We're gonna dominate the line of scrimmage. We're gonna win time of possession. we're gonna win the takeaway battle and we're gonna run the ball down your throat and there ain't nothing you can do about it. That to me sounds a lot like Pittsburgh Steeler football. I'm telling you right now. Graham Barton 20th overall pick Pittsburgh Steelers. If Pittsburgh doesn't trade out of that pick, that is what my prediction of what will happen on Thursday night. Yeah, I it's a part of what makes Graham Burton so intriguing too as a prospect. You mentioned all the physical things, but it's his versatility. It's the fact that he can, you know, essentially play almost any position you want on the offensive line. And when you look at the offensive line play as a whole in the NFL, right. So much you need depth because just about everyone is struggling with offensive line play. There are a lot of reasons for that, whether it be the athletes on the defensive end or defensive line or whether it be just the, the way practice schedules have changed. You're not able to get into as much of a rhythm as quickly, the more depth you have where, hey, if someone goes down, you can move this sixth guy into a guard or tackle position. Oh, hey, you know, our normal starting center. Ok. Well, we got a backup. Ok, so let's move him to left guard because of this injury. Let's move a backup and like you have those type of options. Um And so that's gonna make Graham Barton very valuable top of the fact that he's just a good prospect in general. Um So and versatile Lewis, let me say one other thing too, the Steelers have a tremendous track record traditionally, when it comes to the center position, Mike Webster Hall of Fame player, Germany Dawson Hall of Fame player, they've struggled since the retirement of Marquis Pouncey multi time all pro potential future Hall of Fame player. So when the Steelers have been good, if this is the guy that they've identified and Mike Tomlin, the head coach, spoke of this yesterday. He was not specifically asked about Graham Barton, but he was asked of, oh, of players that have played either tackle or guard in college that then move over to the center. What characteristics do they have? It's a high football IQ and it's the ability to play the center position, whether it was earlier on in his career when he was an underclassman at Duke or even in practice as well. Maybe something we don't always see in games. I'm telling you right now. If the Steelers stay at 20 I would be very surprised if Barton is not the pick with Pittsburgh Steelers at 20. And, and I think it speaks volumes to what he accomplished in his Duke career for how the program turned around. We talked about it in previous episodes here on Wrwrl Triangle Two where it's like Duke in football. Mike Elko took over a program where they had lost like 13 consecutive AC C games. Lewis turn things around to where now he has a new job. I could go on and on and on about this. But again, I get me to Thursday night, man. I'm not one to wish my, get me to Thursday night. I am. I'm such like, I, I love, I love the NFL draft. It's so much fun. Um In college I used to, I'd make like my own like top 100 type list and I just sit there and like cross off as, as it goes through.</p>

Which Triangle players will go early in the NFL Draft?

WRAL Triangle and Two NFL Draft 2024

Drake Maye, Tez Walker and Payton Wilson are among the 321 prospects invited to the 2024 NFL Combine in Indianapolis.

Here are the UNC, NC State and Duke players invited to the 2024 NFL Combine

Drake Maye

Duke offensive tackle Graham Barton addresses the media before the Blue Devils' road game at Florida State. 

Yeah, yeah, I mean, there's no hiding from it. It's a big game, you know. Um Everyone knows that uh both sides know that uh we're, you know, we're just, you know, we're preparing, how we'd always prepare, but obviously we're adding in the crowd noise element. Um Obviously, we know that that stadiums has uh host a lot of really good football teams and it's gonna be a loud environment, um if we know it's their homecoming, so it's gonna be packed out, night game ABC, all those things. So, so we're, we're, you know, we're preparing for, uh you know, a really loud uh uh away environment, you know, but we're excited, we're just excited for the opportunity. Um You know, just playing all these ABC games this year and, and getting these primetime slots is, is a great opportunity for us. Um You know, it's come a long way from uh from when I was younger. So it's just, it's awesome to see. We're excited for the opportunity and, and, you know, we're gonna go show the show the country what we got in regard to prime time going into those games, play in the north, how can you apply that? Yeah, I mean, you, you kind of know, you know, what to expect and, and you know what it's, it's gonna be like out there and, um, you know, obviously this will be the loudest environment uh this year that we've played in but, but I mean, you know, we, we know how to handle it uh now and, and kind of manage, you know, your mentality end of the game and, and, and like, we've got a veteran group who's played a lot of college football. So, I mean, that's not, you know, we're, we're ready to go and it's just, you know, it's a football game, uh, still at the end of the day when you take all the hype around it. Um, so we're gonna go out there and, you know, we're gonna try to get a win. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, Henry just was so calm and collected all week, um, even leading right up to the game, you know, it's really impressive to see. Um, not, not a lot of people can do that. Um, and, you know, he's been here a long time, you know, behind Riley and, and, um, he's learned, you know, a ton from those guys and, and he's worked really hard, you know, he's prepared like the starter for a year and a half now and, and so, you know, it was really cool to see him go out there and handle the moment, you know, we, we started, uh, rough, you know, we had some miscommunications up front and he had some pressure and through the interception, but, you know, it didn't rattle him at all. It didn't rattle us at all. Uh, we came right back and responded and, and so to see, you know, you don't always get that, you know, the first time starter and young quarterback, but, you know, Henry wasn't, wasn't shaken at all, you know, and he came right back and, and threw that touchdown to, to Calhoun. And so, I mean, we were, you know, I was very impressed with his Moxie and, and how calm and collected he was, it's, you know, really exciting for the, for the future here at Duke, uh quarterback position. I have a question. We don't know who starting quarterback is gonna be. You don't want to do. Uh Yeah, I mean, we have full confidence in Henry. We did before last week, you know, before the, before the outcome of the game and, uh, we have free stuff, full confidence in him today, if not even more, you know, and, and so we'll, we'll be ready for, you know, whatever quarterbacks out there. Um, you know, we'll, we'll have a good plan and, and we'll be ready to go and we're gonna execute. Um, you know, whether it's Riley or Henry or Grayson or whoever, you know, we're, we're gonna be ready to go and, um, you know, we're just, we're looking forward to it and, and I know that that quarterback room is looking forward to it as well. I just think, you know, that was, you know, Henry's played a few games here but, you know, just being the, the, the field general and, and having, you know, it, it's your, it's your offense, you know, at that point, like you're the starter, you know, you're, you're in there from snap one to the last snap. And, and so I think just getting that feel for having total control of the offense and, and being the general out there and making the checks and seeing um, different coverages and different blitzes and being able to, you know, check us in and check us out of certain things. And, um, I think, you know, he saw some of that live for the first time and, and sort of see, you know, him, you know, learn from that and, and, you know, we, we, you know, get it right and get it corrected is I think that's the biggest thing is him commanding the offense now. And I think, I think he got a little more confidence, um, as that game went along and, you know, expect to have, I think he'll have full confidence in himself in this one. So you guys did a great job. So, you know, it's kind of helped him out with, uh getting his Matis, is that something that's going to be a focus going they control, I, I mean, you know, that's always, you know, a, a mentality of ours if we wanna, you know, own the line of scrimmage and, and obviously that's gonna be a big challenge this week. You know, they've got a great defensive front and, and we know that and, you know, we're preparing, um, you know, we're practicing hard and, and so, yeah, so, you know, to win this game to win any football game, you've got to control the line of scrimmage. You've got to be able to, you know, give our quarterbacks and receivers time and, and create lanes for our running backs. And so, I mean, that's, you know, that's how you, you start with any football game and, and any successful offenses, you can control the line of scrimmage. Obviously, you know, it's a big test for us this week with this D line but, you know, we're ready for it and we're excited avoiding these penalties are to. Yeah, yeah, I mean, that's what we're, you know, we're, we're doing out there this week as, you know, we, we obviously got the, the loud music playing as I'm sure you guys heard as you walked in and, um, you know, that's kind of, you know, focusing in on those little details that, you know, when, when you're playing, uh, you know, just a game with not as much crowd noise you can, that kind of comes easy to you. It's almost second nature but, you know, when you get into this environment, you know, you've kind of got to re lock into the, the cadence and, and the things that, you know, the keys and stuff and, and so, you know, that that's, you know, it's been a test these first couple of days, but I think we've, you know, we've made huge strides, um, just over the past couple of weeks, you know, getting ready and kind of knowing this game was coming, um, you know, throughout the off season and now, and, and, you know, having, I think where we're at now with our, with our cadence and, and trying to avoid pre snap penalties. I really, you know, I have a lot of confidence, confidence in us and, um, and yeah, I, I think we'll be able to handle it. Wait, sure you agreement. Yeah. Uh, I mean, we've played far from our best football, um, for sure, just, uh, I think, you know, we've been able to come away with a lot of wins and, and, you know, pretty big margin of victories in, in most of our games. And I think, you know, that's a testament one to our defense, um, you know, keeping teams at really low scores and, and, and, um, and then I think we played well on offense but at times, you know, we, we hit ruts and we make boneheaded mistakes or someone's not on the same page or there's communication errors and and, you know, well, that's a part of football, you know, I think it happens a little too much for where we're at this season and, and, you know, as far as we're end of the season and so we're, we're, you know, looking to put our best game together, but that starts out here, you know, we're, you know, getting better each week in practice and, and getting on the same and, and honing in on the little things I think will help us, you know, play our best football, but Dwayne, you know, hit it on the head. This, this group has got, you know, a really good is due for a really, really good performance. Um And, and we're still trying to put that full, you know, 22 guy performance, you know, out there for the, for the world. See, I was no one really practice this week considering the challenge that he knows that is ahead with you guys going on the road for the first time and basically what it is going to be, uh, get one of you a leg up. The change is he being a little bit more intense or pay more attention to detail? Like, um what's his man like? So, uh yeah, I mean, you would think, uh we're playing the Super Bowl every week. Uh, you know, with coach y'all go out there, it doesn't matter if it's game one or game two or, or game six, you know, we're, we're locked in on the details. He's, you know, everything's got to be up to standard and, and, you know, that starts with him, you know, he, he makes sure and then, you know, that that falls on to us as older leaders um to make sure everything's up to standard. Um And so, you know, it's no different than any week, you know, obviously you always want to practice well and you're always trying to improve week on week. And, and so I think, you know, that's a focal point any week. And I think, you know, he's, he's the same this week as he is any other week. You know, it's, it's expects, you know, a lot from us which he should as, as a, you know, veteran group and, and, uh, as a, as a, you know, good football team and, and he's gonna continue to be that way every day. So that's why he's a great coach. No problem.

Graham Barton Coverage

Which Triangle players will go early in the NFL Draft?

Here are the UNC, NC State and Duke players invited to the 2024 NFL Combine

Barton: There's no hiding from it, FSU is a big game