Former NFL offensive lineman and current NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger huddles with Post columnist Steve Serby for some draft Q&A.
Q: Why is University of Washington’s Rome Odunze your favorite receiver?
A: My comp was a bigger, stronger, faster Garrett Wilson. It’s his size, he catches everything with his hands — he dropped a total of three balls last year. He was a punt returner at Washington, I saw him take one back to the house. He’s fast, and his contested ball catch was 75 percent, which was by far the best in the whole country. It didn’t matter who he was going against, ball’s in the air, his ability to go up and get it, use his size, his leaping ability, his speed. … He’s got the whole combination that you’re looking for. He looks like he’s a faster Davante Adams.
Q: OK, you’re Giants GM Joe Schoen. The first three picks are Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye. Would you trade from No. 6 to 4 to get J.J. McCarthy, or would you just sit there and wait for Odunze or Marvin Harrison Jr. or Malik Nabers to fall to you?
A: I would not go after J.J. McCarthy. He might become a great pro. He’s just a very difficult guy to evaluate because of where he comes from. He’s the only quarterback I can remember in recent history where nobody says anything negative about him. They just say, “He’s 27-1, Jim Harbaugh says he’s the best quarterback in the draft.” Nobody says anything about the offense he played in, not throw the ball in the second half against Penn State, they don’t bring any of that up. They’re just like, “Yep, he was a five-star recruit in high school, he took Michigan to a national championship, back-to-back playoff seasons.“ Like he’s the Golden Child. Nobody ever says anything bad about him. And I can’t figure out what there is to evaluate with him. They asked very little of him to go win a national championship.
Q: Do you like him?
A: I like him, I don’t know that I love him. I can’t see how many off-platform throws he makes, or how creative he is when, I don’t know, Aidan Hutchinson’s ready to swallow him up. You just don’t see that many situations that NFL quarterbacks have to react to in real time, whether to make the throw as you get blasted, or to get out of harm’s way like [Patrick] Mahomes does weekly a couple of times every game. Or Josh Allen just uncorks a bomb to go win a game. You just don’t see those type of throws from him. If I was Joe Schoen, I wouldn’t trade up, lose assets that they desperately need, that might become a franchise quarterback, but you’re very uncertain if he will.
Q: Let’s say McCarthy falls to 6 and Odunze is still on the board, you would take Odunze?
A: I would take Odunze. Just because I think he’s more of a sure thing right now. I’d start building up the team right now around whoever is the quarterback, and just take that philosophy — get the best Brian Burns, Rome Odunze, [Kayvon] Thibodeaux, [Andrew] Thomas — like just start putting really good pieces of a team together, and when the time is right for a quarterback you go get him.
Q: So you wouldn’t trade up for any of these quarterbacks if you were Joe Schoen.
A: If somebody wanted to come up for J.J. McCarthy at 6, I might think about dropping back to take [Michael] Penix.
Q: Does Penix’s injury history scare you?
A: No, because I think for the last 27 games in Washington, he didn’t miss any time at all, and I think he got past all of those, and I think his body’s matured, he got stronger.
Q: You think he’s a lock first-round pick?
A: Yes I do. If you said to me, “Let’s put J.J. McCarthy in Michael Penix’s offense, would they go 14-0 and come within 30 minutes of winning the national championship?” I’d say there’s no chance that he could do it. It was a deep passing game offense, it was big attacking, they put up a lot of points. I don’t know that some of these quarterbacks could have played in that offense the way Michael did.
Q: The Vikings appear to have interest in trading up for McCarthy.
A: I think [Vikings coach] Kevin O’Connell knows what he wants. I feel more certain about Kevin, he comes out of Sean McVay’s system. Right now, honestly, every head coach or offensive coordinator, seems like he’s coached with Sean McVay. It’s unreal. I feel like he’s got a plan, and I think the team around J.J. McCarthy at Minnesota is pretty good. And Sam Darnold could start, [McCarthy] doesn’t have to start right away. I feel like there’s a better plan in place for J.J. in Minnesota than it is in New York.
Q: If you’re Joe Schoen, you want to find a quarterback in this draft, right?
A: I think so. I think you gotta get somebody on the roster right now, because you don’t know what the status of Daniel Jones is gonna be come August when you really have to fine-tune your team to start the season. And I don’t know that you could just rely on Drew Lock at this point. You’d love to see Bo Nix or Penix in that situation. Both these guys might start dropping, and if you’re Joe, you get Rome Odunze, and if you can get a quarterback, whether it’s Nix or Penix and give up some assets to get back into the first round, get him on a five-year deal, that could be a win-win in this draft.
Q: What did you think of the Drew Lock signing?
A: I would have preferred, honestly, to see Justin Fields here. He would have come a lot cheaper and he’s a lot more talented. I don’t know if he’s more than just a stopgap at this point at quarterback.
Q: Would you have preferred the Giants signing Russell Wilson to Lock?
A: Yes, I would have taken that, I don’t care what anybody says about Russell Wilson, he’s a professional, he’s played a lot of football. I don’t think he’s in severe decline, he might not be what he was taking Seattle to a Super Bowl, but he can still play the position.
Q: You think he would have beaten out Daniel Jones?
A: Yes.
Q: You’re really down on Daniel Jones, tell me why.
A: I’m not down on him. He’s been hurt two out of the last three years, severe injuries. Those things do have a habit of compounding themselves. Those things take its toll on any quarterback. He has shown flashes. When he does run like he did two years ago, he helps the offense, but it also has led to a number of injuries. I’m concerned about the injuries history, and then I’m concerned about his ability to elevate guys around him when he is out there. Like I didn’t see anything from Darren Waller last year, I didn’t see anything from Parris Campbell or Wan’Dale [Robinson] with him in there when he was healthy. How much more do you want to see from Daniel Jones? Can he win games for you? Yeah, he can still win games. And he is a good athlete. But I think the idea that we’re gonna run him and run these read options and do all this stuff with him, I think you gotta start thinking second about that in the offense. He’s not Josh Allen, he’s not gonna run guys over. He’s not anything close to Josh Allen as a runner. They should have just franchise-tagged Daniel and just given Saquon the long-term deal. They wouldn’t be in this problem that they have right now.
Q: Describe the current state of the Giants’ offensive line.
A: I know Jon Runyan since he came out, he’s been a really good player. Unheralded, kind of like a Richie Seubert or a Billy Ard. Probably won’t make Pro Bowls but is a really good player. He doesn’t make mistakes, he likes up every Sunday, he doesn’t get hurt. I think Jermaine Eluemunor will push Evan Neal. We’ll see how that battle goes depending on what happens to Evan, maybe he improves a great deal, maybe they move Evan to guard. Maybe you can hide him inside at guard. It’s not unusual to see a guy who struggles at tackle to go inside at guard, and he ends up being a better player there. I know Jermaine can upgrade what we have seen at right tackle. I feel like it has a chance for the first time in a couple of years, maybe a few years, to be pretty good upfront.
Q: Giants defensive coordinator Shane Bowen.
A: He’s gonna demand effort, which is good, and finding ways to take the ball away.
Q: The current state of the Jets’ offensive line.
A: I’m holding my breath. But it’s better. Look, Tyron Smith has had his share of serious injuries. Morgan Moses, they probably should never have let him go two years ago. I like [Joe] Tippmann, Ali Vera-Tucker they tell me is healthy, he’s working out every day. I would say [John] Simpson is a really good solid player.
Q: Would you be tempted to draft a tackle at No. 10 opposed to tight end Brock Bowers?
A: Yes. I like Bowers. I think they’ve got a deep tight end room. I just feel like if you draft Bowers, you’ve gotta have a real plan for him, the way the Chiefs do with [Travis] Kelce and Baltimore does with Mark Andrews. And I don’t know that that’s the way Aaron Rodgers’ offense has ever been, not to say that he can’t adjust. He is a good blocker, really good blocker, and he is really explosive. I would be more inclined to take a tackle, because I think you got starting tackles at No. 10 in this draft, that or something happens to either Morgan or to Tyron, the season’s not gonna collapse like it has.
Q: Why should Jets fans be optimistic about Rodgers, coming off an Achilles at age 40?
A: I don’t know, because you have to be. You have to be optimistic, it’s the only way. You can’t sit there and say, “Gosh, we just lost an entire year last year on the fourth play of the season.” It’s the only thing, because everything around him is really good. He just has to be really good, and this thing should all click.
Q: Will McDonald.
A: I always feel that the biggest jump a player makes is between his first and second year. I think we all see flashes of the talent last year, but I feel like he’s gonna have an impact this year. He should be bigger and stronger and have a year under his belt, understanding what his role is and how to defeat tackles and protections in this business. I think we should see that the way Jermaine [Johnson] made a jump this year, I would expect a similar type jump from Will this year.
Q: You see the Jets as the team to beat in the division?
A: I do. I think what Joe [Douglas, GM] did in free agency is kind of amazing. They might have the deepest and best defensive line in football, this whole team is built around their defensive front. They tried to do it last year but the offense wasn’t scoring any points, so it just kind of collapsed at the end. Breece [Hall] is a year removed from the injury, the offensive line is better than at any point it was last year. They threw 11 touchdown passes last year — 11. If Aaron throws 28 touchdown passes, look how much better they already are. And I think Miami and Buffalo has come backwards a little bit.
Q: It’s time to win for coach Robert Saleh, right?
A: It’s now or never. They could have easily made a change everywhere. Woody [Johnson, team owner] could have easily changed GM, head coach. Sometimes — sometimes — being patient does pay off. It might be just a virtue of just staying with it and just giving it another shot here. I mean, it’s now or never this year for sure.
Q: If you were Joe Douglas, would you consider trading down to recoup a second-round pick?
A: I would if I knew what Joe’s board says. If he thinks there are only 24-26 first-round picks, that’s usually a sign that the second round is deep and talented.
Q: What are your thoughts on Caleb Williams?
A: I’ve known him since he was in high school, Gonzaga High School. He was elite when he was going into his senior year of high school (chuckle). I put him in the film room, he knew exactly how to attack every coverage. I threw Mahomes up there, Josh Allen up, he knew the defense, the pressure, how to attack it, against certain pressures where to go with the ball, the hot read — he was an advanced student with a professional arm when he was in high school.
Q: Is he a generational talent?
A: Yes.
Q: Do you see a Jayden Daniels fit with Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury?
A: Yeah, I think one of the reasons why Kliff backed out of the Raiders after it looked like he was going there was, because I think Washington already had a pretty good scouting report on Jayden, and Caleb was gonna go to Chicago, and he was gonna have a chance to coach Jayden Daniels. I think that excited him. I talked to Brian Kelly, he really didn’t run the ball much at Arizona State, but he came to LSU, he kind of unlocked that part of his game. I only have one concern with Jayden: He’s got a narrow frame. I think he thinks he’s Lamar [Jackson], but he’s trying to run guys over in the SEC, and I would just caution: I’m worried about his frame if he tries to run like he did, especially this past year at LSU.
Q: Herm Edwards compared him to Randall Cunningham.
A: Well, I played with Randall, Randall was a freak athlete. If you wanted to compare him to Randall, compare him at the end, when Randall was playing in Baltimore and in Minnesota, when he was the MVP of the league. He really became a much more accurate passer, a much more serious student, and I think Jayden is that serious student right now.
Q: Drake Maye?
A: I’m concerned about his accuracy. He misses a lot of throws that he’s gotta make. It’s easy to like his frame, his size, his athletic ability, his arm. It’s kind of easy to fall in love with that, but I watch him in big games, the year before, last year at the end of the season, and I didn’t think he played real well in some of those games.
Q: If you were the Patriots, would you draft a quarterback at No. 3 or trade down?
A: I’d find the best possible trade partner and trade down. I think they have a good stopgap player with what they signed [Jacoby Brissett]. They looked like a bad expansion team last year. I think you start getting the talent level up to where it needs to be to compete.
Q: Do you see an Odell Beckham Jr. comp for Malik Nabers?
A: I don’t know if he’s got the suddenness that Odell played with early in his career, just a lightning change of direction that Odell had. He’s got breakaway speed, probably faster once he breaks away from you than Odell was. I think Odell had elite short-area quickness that I don’t really see from Malik. That’s not to say that he’s not quick and sudden, he is. I think he’s built stronger and I think he’s a lot more physical than Odell.
Q: Marvin Harrison Jr. is your second receiver?
A: Why wouldn’t you work out, why wouldn’t you talk to teams, why wouldn’t you do those kind of things? I understand that the tape is the tape, he’s played for three years at a high level, you could go watch him play, and maybe that’s enough, but you just want to get to know what the guy’s like, how he works, and you like to see it for yourself.
Q: So you like Odunze over Harrison why?
A: He catches everything with his hands. I think he’s as fast as you need to be on this business to be elite, and he’s about as smooth as it gets going up and to get it.
Q: Quick answers on the tackles: Joe Alt.
A: Massive technician.
Q: Olu Fashanu.
A: A younger Tyron Smith.
Q: Taliese Fuaga.
A: Polynesian power.
Q: Troy Fautanu.
A: May be a Pro Bowl offensive guard.
Q: JC Latham.
A: A human solar eclipse.
Q: Amarius Mims.
A: With the right coaching and the right place, he might be the next of of ’em.
Q: Tyler Guyton.
A: Super talented. I want you to see a fierce work ethic. If you get that, you’re gonna get a good player.
Q: Graham Barton.
A: He’s a Dookie. I think he’s gonna be a Pro Bowl center.
Q: Jackson Powers-Johnson.
A: He’s a starting center, Day 1.
Q: Jordan Morgan.
A: I think he should be a solid starter.
Q: How wild do you think the first round will be?
A: I think it’s gonna be pretty wild, because I think this is a year where teams are gonna go after quarterbacks. Does New England take one at 3 or do they trade back and gain some assets with? I don’t know. Minnesota? You name it. I think Minnesota has their eyes set on a quarterback, one or two. I think the Giants could certainly be in play for a quarterback … the Raiders, the Broncos. All these teams are in play, and it’s musical chairs. I make it a little easier with the musical chairs if Michael Penix is truly in play with a top-14 pick, and I think he is. I think Atlanta might be interested in a quarterback. Outside of Kirk Cousins for the next two years, maybe it’s time to start grooming a quarterback. Arthur Blank had magic happen when he put Mike Smith and Matt Ryan together, and they turned their fortunes around in Atlanta right away, and he remembers that.
Q: Why can’t the NFL evaluate quarterbacks?
A: I think the easy answer is that every position, from college to pros, is so different. The game is so different in college, and so it’s all a projection. And I don’t care who you’re projecting — outside of Joe Burrow and Andrew Luck and a couple of guys — we don’t know if they can elevate the team around them the way C.J. [Stroud] did last year, if they’re highly accurate, if they have this toughness. You’re in New York, you just saw Zach Wilson and Daniel Jones, drafted 2 and 6, and they clearly can’t do it, and they didn’t make anybody around them better, and so they’re just asking so much of these quarterbacks. And they just throw ’em right in there. They don’t incubate ’em at all, give ’em a chance to learn the game the way [Patrick] Mahomes did for a year, or Jordan Love did. They’re just not ready for the jump. And most of these guys taken in the top of the draft are joining bad teams, and bad surroundings, and so then you get caught up like say Sam Darnold did, or Zach Wilson did, where there’s changes at offensive coordinator, head coach, general manager, and they get up in these cycles, and you never have any stability around you.
Q: Saquon Barkley to the Eagles?
A: I think it’s the best offensive line that Saquon will ever have played behind, whether it’s Penn State or the New York Giants. And while he is not Christian McCaffrey, we might see the best of Saquon this year. I think he’s really gonna enjoy the team, I think he’s gonna enjoy the head coach, I think he’s gonna enjoy a team that’s hard to winning, even though they collapsed at the end of the season last year, that has that sort of mentality, and I think he’s gonna see holes that he hasn’t seen in New York. He needs a runway to kind of make his explosive runs, and I think he’s gonna get some of those runways.
Q: Three dinner guests?
A: I’m taking [Bill] Parcells — I need to be entertained. I want John F. Kennedy, ’cause I think he was just one of the great leaders I think that we’ve seen. Give me Joe Namath, Joe was my first superstar that I followed.
Q: Favorite movie?
A: “Jaws.”
Q: Favorite actor?
A: Al Pacino.
Q: Favorite actress?
A: Audrey Hepburn.
Q: Favorite singer/entertainer?
A: [Bruce] Springsteen.
Q: Favorite meal?
A: Give me steak, every day, all day.
Q: When and how did “Baldy’s Breakdowns” begin?
A: I started in 2017. I used to do this show at the NFL called “The Aftermath,” and I would meet Daniel Jeremiah at 4:30 in the morning in L.A. at our studio out at the NFL Network. We would watch as many games as we could together, and then we would go do the show starting at 10. We started seeing unusual plays or good plays, and we’d put a camera up and just film it, and we would just kind of maybe post it not. That was like 2015. By 2017, I was like, “Man, this is connecting with players,” and I just started going full-time with it. When I did go full-time, it just connected with everybody at every level — players, coaches, high school kids, you name it. The more I did, the more they wanted to see it, the more demand there was.
Q: Favorite Massapequa, L.I., memory?
A: Watching Brian Setzer [Stray Cats] light up our senior talent show in high school.
Q: You didn’t live anywhere near the Gilgo Beach serial killer, did you?
A: No, I didn’t … (chuckle) we’re on the map again — I thought Joey Buttafuocco was the bottom of the barrel. Now we got the serial killer.
Q: What’s it like being Brian Baldinger these days?
A: It’s fantastic. I have just the right amount of recognition, without being crazy. Like I can just still be myself. Most people want to ask me about football, which is fine, I can talk football like I am with you all day long every day. I enjoy life, I have a condo here in Fort Lauderdale, [Fla.], I’m in the water every day. I like to travel the world, I’ve been in 69 countries. I’m a traveler, I’m a diver, and I get to spend big chunks of my day in a film room watching football. It’s fantastic.
Q: Favorite city?
A: Probably Rome. You can never go wrong going to Rome.
