For 34 minutes early on Monday morning, Mike Vrabel was open and honest – and his usual joke-cracking self – while sitting at a table and talking with a handful of local media outlets down at the NFL Meetings in Florida.
Usually, this particular availability had been a mumble fest from Bill Belichick (but we also got the orange juice meme from it) and Jerod Mayo got his rough year as head coach off to a brutal start at last year’s meeting when he knocked over a glass of OJ before even speaking.
This year, a cool, calm and collected Vrabel answered everything thrown his way while also giving reporters a hard time with some of their questions. Overall, it was a rather informative session in terms of what he’s thinking about certain prospects the team could draft at No. 4, where things stand with certain players working back from injury and more.
Here are some of the key answers to some of the more pressing issues for the team with the draft now about three weeks away:
On left tackle
“Veteran’s going to be coming back and he had a little procedure. I think the draft’s going to be a good option for us. There’s a lot of different guys we like at a lot of different levels and I’m confident between now and the time the season starts that we’re going to have something that we believe in and a plan that’s going to help us.” (Some audio cut off, but it’s also worth noting Vrabel brought up Caedan Wallace as a viable option there as well.)
On LT draft prospects Campbell and Membou
“I think they’re great, young, talented players that have great film. Will’s got a lot of snaps at left tackle. Membou’s played right, but there’s a lot of guys that played right and left and switched. Those are two good, young players to talk about in that conversation, but there’s others throughout the draft as well.”
On if he views Campbell as a LT
“Yeah. I think you have to. I don’t understand how you could watch him play in the SEC – which is the best conference in college football against guys that are going to get drafted at that position – I don’t think you have to project. You can actually watch and say ‘there’s the reps at left tackle,’ evaluate it and see what you think.”
On if the team would trade back at No. 4
“I think we’d be open to everything. I think we’d be open to everything we felt like could help the football team. I think that’s what we have to do. Whether it’s stick and pick a player, or if somebody has an offer for us I think we’d be willing to listen. But, there’s a lot of options to consider that could help the team.”
On if he believes Travis Hunter could play both ways in the NFL and if he has to be evaluated as a CB or a WR specifically
“I don’t know how anybody could say how hard it could be. We’ve never seen a player necessarily do it. I think there are some things he can improve on by probably concentrating just on one position. But, never going to put any restrictions on Travis or any player. We try to – as much as they can handle – we’re going to continue to put more on their plate. So, if he were on our football team and he showed a great skill at one position and was doing really well with his conditioning and didn’t fall off and it didn’t drop, we would be open to playing everybody we had at more than one position. Anything that would help the football team I would be all in favor of.”
On if the team will weigh need or best player available more with the No. 4 pick
“I just think you have to be careful. Hopefully, those two things can come together and align when you’re drafting. But, we certainly want to add premium players at the top of the draft and throughout the draft. That’s our goal.”
On Penn State TE prospect Tyler Warren
“How many tight ends can we play, right? I think that we’d love to add as many good football players…or, have a certain play style. You watch Tyler and his play style and his demeanor and having met with him at the Combine, I think he’s a wonderful prospect. I’m all for playing and acquiring as many tight ends as we can get. So, sign me up. Bring me as many good tight ends as you have out there Tommy (Curran) and we’ll find something for them to do.”
On the excitement of getting Diggs
“Well, Stefon brings an energy to him. I think it’s fun to coach players like that. Guys that have the confidence to them, that understand the game of football. That have been around. That have developed. This isn’t like a first round draft pick. Stefon went later in the draft, continued to improve and has done that and been productive each and every year. I love his energy. I love our conversations so far. Looking forward to getting him back there and helping him recover from the surgery.”
On a realistic timeline in his mind for Diggs to play or practice
“Try to stay away from timelines and predictions. I know he’s working hard to get back, which is exciting. I think it’s…by all accounts everything is on schedule and we feel good about where his rehab is and what he’s doing. But, I think with any injury, I’m never going to put a timeline on it. I don’t think it’s fair to the player. What one person’s MCL injury is may not be the same as another player’s injury. Everybody recovers differently. As long as they’re working hard to get back with every injury, that’s all we can ask of them.”
On what the leadership in the locker room could look like
“I think there’s going to be opportunities for everybody…whether they’ve been in the league eight or nine years or whether they’ve been in the league one or two years, it’ll be some rookies…there’ll be plenty of opportunities for guys to lead and create a new identity for us and this football team moving forward.”
On releasing several former captains
“I think those were all individual decisions. The captaincy is not a four-year term. It’s not an eight-year term. It’s a year-to-year term that every player has to prove themselves each and every day to the football team. There were some veteran players that have done a lot of great things. It was just…individual decisions. Some of those other players went and moved on to another team. Some, we had decisions that we made. So, that’s just all part of the roster constructions.”
On the importance of drafting a core of guys that can be long term solutions
“It’s tough. It catches up with ya. If you don’t draft well, it catches up with ya. You gotta chase in free agency and you’ve got to be perfect. So, the draft is critical. To be able to find players that fit a role and you develop them and then you decide to retain them. You build through the draft because you know the person and then the player can really excel in your program and what you believe in. You gotta draft well. If not, it catches up with ya.”
On Christian Barmore
“By all accounts I think he’s going to participate in the voluntary offseason program…he came in with an energy…he popped in the other day to see the doctors. And he…I knew Christian from when I saw him at Alabama. Haven’t really had an interaction with him and when he walked into the training room, all the trainers…just his energy and presence, I know that he’s feeling better. We’ll continue to evaluate him. It’s something very serious. We take the health of our players extremely serious, especially when you’re talking about something like blood clots. We’re going to have a great plan for him and we’re going to do right by him. Whatever is necessary, however we can get him to help us based on days of practice, based on everything he needs. We don’t have that plan yet, but we’re continuing to work through it.”
On team goals and if he’s happy with the offseason
“We want to win the division. We absolutely do (want to host home playoff games)…we won March sarcastically…amazing. Which is something that’s comical. We’re never just trying to win March. We want to be ready when the season goes. It’s a long process…I’m never happy. Sometimes. Yes. I think what we’ve done is exciting. It’s been fun to come to work. There’s an energy in the building which I’m proud of. When I hear that from people around the building that maybe have been there, that makes me happy. That there’s an energy and everybody is excited about coming to work about trying to help the players.”
On the young wide receivers, particularly Polk and Baker
“I didn’t do a whole lot of investigating on what went wrong. I’m trying to focus on what went right. So, I know that Ja’Lynn is working hard, is excited about being a new dad. He’s working to rehab that shoulder…he’s focused on what he can do on what he can’t do. He’s lifting hard, he’s lifting he’s lower body hard where he can get stronger. Where he can get stronger and make gains right now is his lower body because of his shoulder. That’s exciting to me. Javon, I’ve been communicating with. I’m excited to get these guys back and get going. We’re going to evaluate them going forward, not anything that happened. If there’s things we can try to eliminate from last year…we’ve had those conversations and whatever frustrations were or whatever things did or didn’t happen, we’re moving forward with what we see in them and the excitement they have. The more excited they are about learning, we’ll be just as excited about teaching them.”
On if the offense will be similar or different to the old Josh McDaniels offense
“There will be changes. There has to be changes, right? You have to start somewhere. To say that Drake is going to be similar to somebody else in this system after five or six years, I don’t think that’s fair to say. We’re going to start with a foundation. Those are the most important things, and building. Making sure the receivers…we’re not just gonna go past something because it says it on a schedule. If it takes us an extra day, then it takes us an extra day. If it takes us an extra week to get the first couple installs in, then that’s what it’s going to take. We’re not just going to gloss over things. We belong strongly in teaching and helping those players and figuring out how they learn best and making sure we’re doing everything we can to give them a chance to help themselves.”