ESPN NFL draft analyst Matt Miller takes a timeout for some pre-draft Q&A with Post columnist Steve Serby.
Q: What do you think of the Arvell Reese-David Bailey debate for the Jets at 2?
A: I think it’ll be Bailey. If I were the Jets, I would take Reese because I don’t think this is a team that needs to win in 2026. Aaron Glenn might need to, but if you’re thinking long term and if [GM Darren] Mougey’s thinking long term, it’s, “Who’s the best player for us in 2027? Who’s the best player for us in 2028?” I would go Reese based on that.
Q: Reese’s ceiling is …
A: Abdul Carter, Micah Parsons.
Q: Bailey’s ceiling is …
A: That’s a tougher one. It’s like Nik Bonitto, someone who can be a 10-plus sack player in the right scheme.
Q: Giants: Caleb Downs, Sonny Styles, Jeremiyah Love or Sisi Mauioga?
A: I would go Downs, especially with [coach John] Harbaugh. You need a culture-setter No. 1, he’s been a winner everywhere he’s been, back-to-back national champion from Alabama to Ohio State … freshman All-American, All-American as a sophomore, All-American as a junior. I think the leadership, the football IQ, the toughness, and then the impact that he has on a defense because of the way that he can erase players on offense. Every offensive coach I’ve talked to in college said, “You have to know where No. 2 is.” He’s an eraser, and so I think with Harbaugh you go from a guy who had Ed Reed and he had Kyle Hamilton. If you can add a leader like Downs who is also a really good playmaker, you have to do that.
Q: Does Downs remind you of anybody?
A: I would say Budda Baker, and Budda’s an All-Pro. They’re similar size, similar range. I think Downs plays a little bit more in the box.
Q: Will Ty Simpson be drafted in the first round?
A: I’m like 50/50 on that one. I don’t think that he should be necessarily, but I think there’s a chance someone like the Cardinals trades back up.
Q: Are you concerned about the medicals on CB Jermod McCoy?
A: I’ve heard mixed bags on this. I talked to a team the other day, they said, “He’s our No. 1 corner, we’re not worried about the knee.”
Q: Jordyn Tyson’s medical?
A: Those are a little more concerning because it’s persistent. He’s missed 34 percent of his games in college. … At some point, you just wonder, “Is he gonna be able to stay healthy?”
Q: Do you think he’ll slide?
A: You would think he would slide based on the injuries and the drop issues that he’s had, but I think teams are desperate for playmakers, and when he’s on the field, he’s great. If you look at the 34 games that he did play instead of the 17 he missed, you could get excited about it.
Q: Do you see Rueben Bain Jr. falling at all?
A: I think he could slide just based on the arm length, but if you’re running a 3-4 defense, he’s not a fit for you. Dallas at 12 doesn’t make sense for him. He’s more power than he is speed. I do think he goes in the top 15, it’s kind of hard to know exactly where that is.
Q: Of these three receivers, how do you have them rated: Omar Cooper Jr., Denzel Boston and KC Concepcion?
A: I have it Cooper, Boston, Concepcion.
Q: Why do you prefer Cooper?
A: I love route runners who can get open on their own, like uncover themselves, basically. He does that so well, and then he’s tough over the middle, doesn’t drop passes, he creates missed tackles, he has great body control. I think that’s where the NFL’s at right now with receivers. We went through the phase with the Mike Evansea, super-sized guys, we went through the phase with the Tyreek Hills, and now we’re at a point where it’s like guys who are just great route runners who catch the ball — JSN [Jaxon Smith-Njigba], Amon-Ra St. Brown, Puka [Nacua]. … Cooper’s in that same type of category as those guys.
Q: Speaking of JSN, were you surprised the Jets drafted Will McDonald instead of him?
A: I was very surprised, yes. He was my top receiver that year. I had a really, really high grade on him, I want to say like top five player overall.
Q: Boston and Concepcion?
A: Boston is an above-the rim wide receiver. Fantastic size, he’s probably the best red zone target in this entire class. He reminds me a lot of Cortland Sutton with that ability. He’s never gonna be super twitchy as a route runner, but he’s gonna win with size and what he can do over the top. … I think in Concepcion you’re getting that sudden, explosive ability, drops are an issue, he’s a great punt returner.
Q: What do you think of Eagles exec Howie Roseman?
A: I think Howie’s the best general manager in football. From a draft perspective, from a free agency, salary cap, all the things that make up that job, I think Howie’s the best.
Q: Seahawks GM John Schneider?
A: John would be right up there, too. Their ability to reinvent on the fly has been so impressive — to go from Legion of Boom with Marshawn Lynch to where they are now. They’ve nailed draft picks. They know who they are, I think, as well as any team in the league, and do a really, really good job of identifying players.
Q: Darren Mougey?
A: It’s tough to watch a GM come in and trade away their two best players. It takes some courage to do that, so we’ll see if it works out. He’s got all the capital in the world. You gotta prove yourself now, right? We’ll see what type of drafter he is, I think that’s important.
Q: What is your most memorable draft night?
A: For me, it’s Kansas City [2023]. That was my first assignment on the desk for ESPN, and to have it happen an hour from home, my entire family got to come up and come to the draft and watch me work.
Q: Any memorable draft nights as a kid growing up?
A: I remember being late to my senior prom because the draft was that day. So this was 2001, right? Having to tell your date like, “Hey, we can’t go to dinner yet, I gotta see who gets picked here.” Her dad thought it was hilarious. “I gotta see where LaDainian Tomlinson goes after the Falcons traded up to take Michael Vick.” Her mom is doing her hair, we’re standing in the living room. I was very torn, I wanted to skip it. But my parents wouldn’t let me.
Q: What is the player evaluation you’re most proud of?
A: I was wrong on my ranking of Patrick Mahomes, but my scouting report of him I’m very proud of because it was dead on. It was, “This guy could be Aaron Rodgers, he could change the NFL,” if X, Y, Z.
Q: One worst evaluation?
A: Trent Richardson [2012], without a doubt. I was convinced he was like the next Walter Payton.
Q: What did you think when Saquon Barkley was drafted second overall by the Giants?
A: I loved it. I was a big Saquon fan, and still am, obviously. I liked that for the Giants at the time. It’s fun to remember the NFL was even a little bit different in 2018 than it is now. I thought Barkley was ***** the ***** best running back prospect I’d ever seen. He was a unicorn, I think is what I used to say. And I thought he could have been the No. 1 pick that year.
Q: Your thoughts on drafting a running back in the top five, vis-à-vis Jeremiyah Love?
A: I’m OK with it. I think the team has to be ready for it, right? I would never advocate for drafting a running back when you don’t have your quarterback because what’s the point, right? I think we saw that last year with Ashton Jeanty. So with Jeremiyah Love, whether it’s the Titans or the Giants, those teams that have a young quarterback in place, they have some assets on the offensive line, I think it makes more sense for them than some of the other teams that we’ve seen try to build around a running back instead of understanding that their job is to supplement the offense, basically.
Q: Your thoughts on the Jets drafting No. 2 Zach Wilson in 2021?
A: I was at his Pro Day. It was one of my first assignments for ESPN. I was enamored by him because of the highlight-reel stuff, but I was very cautious, I thought he was more of like a Kyler Murray kind of guy. So I had him ranked pretty highly ’cause I knew he was gonna go pretty highly, but I think at that time also we were all looking for those off-platform guys, everybody was looking for Mahomes, everyone was looking for Kyler Murray as to playmakers, and he fit that to a tee. I had it Trevor Lawrence, then Justin Fields, then him.
Q: Evan Neal, who went No. 7 to the giants in 2022?
A: I liked him as well. The concerns were there about him, maybe kind of lacking some of that competitive toughness, but I thought his run blocking skills were elite. He was a lock to be a top-10 pick, so if it hadn’t been the Giants, it would have been someone else.
Q: Deonte Banks, 24th to Giants in 2023?
A: I thought he would be quite a bit better than he is.
Q: Mekhi Becton, 11th to Jets in 2020.?
A: I was not a Mekhi Becton fan. Yes, he was massive and he had really, really good athleticism, but I don’t remember being super high on him.
Q: Kadarius Toney, 29th to the Giants in 2021?
A: I liked Kadarius, but I’m very skeptical of gadget guys. You almost have to go back in time and remember what the league was looking for at that point in time, it’s like everyone wanted Tyreek Hill. It’s a copycat league, right? So everyone’s looking at Toney and saying, “OK, this could be Deebo Samuel, this could be Tyreek Hill.” You learn lessons from players like that, that sometimes just draft receivers who can get open and catch the ball. Like, don’t overthink it. These offensive weapons guys, generally it’s much harder for them to find a role and carve out something bigger.
Q: Jaxson Dart at No. 25 to the Giants and Shedeur Sanders sliding to the Browns in the fifth round in 2025?
A: I had Dart as a second-round pick, I had Shedeur as a second-round pick, so I had them graded really closely together. I watched Dart play his best game ever, it was against Arkansas. I remember writing that night in my notebook, it was like, “If he can do this consistently, he’s gonna be great.” Coming out of Lane Kiffin’s offense, I think guys struggle to acclimate, he played a lot better than I expected. He’s gotta learn to take care of himself a little bit better. With Shedeur, I was low on him compared to the guys I work with, but no one would tell you they thought he was gonna go as late as he did. He’s a really good football player when the light’s on. He’s never gonna impress you in a practice session. He’s not very big, he’s not super strong arm, he’s not super fast, he’s just a playmaker. I genuinely hope he gets the opportunity to show that in Cleveland. I think also I’m rooting for [Mel] Kiper to have the moment of “I told you so” when it comes to him (chuckle). You want to see your friend be right.
Q: Do you play fantasy football?
A: Oh, yeah — not well. I do, though. And my friends love the fact that they beat me ’cause they’re like, “Aren’t you supposed to be good at this?” (Laugh)
Q: What do you recall about the 2011 Joplin, Mo., tornado?
A: I live in Joplin now, at the time I lived a little bit north of Joplin. I was about seven blocks away from the north edge of the tornado. I was actually going on vacation the next day, so I was down here doing some shopping. And went into a department store, and my oldest brother called me and was like, “Hey, there’s a tornado headed for downtown, you need to get out of there.” And I was like, “Ben, it’s like 85 degrees and sunny, I have no idea what you’re talking about.” So we go to this department store and they come over the speakers, the tornado sirens are going off, “We have to lock you guys in the back room, in a bathroom.” So they did that and we waited it out. It was really scary because you could hear it, it just sounds like that rumble of like a train, but amplified. It felt like it took 30 minutes for it to pass, and walked out of the department store and drove a little bit south, and came over the top of the hill and everything was gone. And so, the people I was with, we drove to a Walmart, and it had been almost flattened, and people were walking out of the Walmart into the parking lot bleeding. … It’s like what you see on TV, right? It’s people are stunned, they’re just in this daze and they’re walking out. So given my training as an EMT, we started helping people and driving people from that area to … they had set up like a Red Cross staging area at the mall. And then that entire night volunteering at the college here that the Red Cross set up. Unfortunately, then going on vacation the next day driving to the airport and just seeing miles worth of power trucks, like linemen driving into Joplin to restore power. It was one of the most, I think, humbling moments to see how many people were rallying to this area.
Q: Did you know people that lost their lives?
A: I did not. A lot of the people that lost their lives were at a nursing home, and then at a hospital. I think everyone from Joplin has that story of like, “Where were you when it happened?” But I guess fortunately, I didn’t have a personal connection that lost their life.
Q: How did your love of football begin?
A: I remember being at a playoff Royals game with my older brother, and Peter King was there with us, and Peter asked him the same thing — he was like, “How long has he been like this?” he asked my older brother. He was like, “As long as I can remember.” I don’t remember a time in my life when I wasn’t obsessed with football or obsessed with the draft. I can remember riding to church on Sunday mornings trying to memorize the backs of football cards when I’m like 6 years old. I was in the third grade writing mock drafts pen and paper because I wanted to be Mel Kiper Jr. when I grew up.
Q: Who was your boyhood idol?
A: Other than Kiper, Jerry Rice. My first plan was to play in the NFL, and then I realized that I was probably gonna top out at about 5-[foot]-11, and I was struggling to play for a 1A football team in Missouri.
Q: Tell me about New Era Scouting.
A: I was working overnight at a hospital, it’s basically like a triage nurse. I went to school to be an EMT out of high school. 9/11 happened, I was like, “Oh my gosh, I want to do something to help people.” I was working overnight at a hospital, and I had a lot of free time. I was obsessed with football, obviously. I had some good connections through some message boards and forums at that time, and it was like, “You know, I’m just gonna start my own draft website.” We also sold scouting services to teams. No pro team ever was interested but the Arena Football League teams, the Canadian Football League teams were actually interested because they needed help finding those guys that weren’t quite good enough for the NFL but were still players we were watching. It got like a cult following, and then it allowed me to go to Bleacher Report and say, “Hey, I have this website I’ve been running for a couple of years, I understand how to run the business side of it, I know how to run the content side of it, I’m very, very self-motivated, I just need an audience, basically.” And Bleacher Report at the time had an audience but needed good content, and so it was like a perfect marriage.
Q: 9/11 had quite an impact on you.
A: I wanted to join the military in high school but my parents talked me out of it. My dad is a veteran, and so they talked me out of it. My parents once a week would go to a homeless shelter and volunteer, and they would make my brothers and I go and really like telling us how important it is to give back and to serve and to help people. I was going to school [Missouri Southern State] for journalism at the time, and I was like, “No, I don’t want to do this anymore. I don’t want to write about what’s happening, I want to be involved in what’s happening.” I took a detour but you still end up right back where you eventually thought you were gonna be or where you wanted to be.
Q: The Joplin Crusaders.
A: Man, that was the glory days. So that’s the Central Football League in semipro football, and I think I coached there for three years and we won three league championships, so it was a lot of fun for me. I coached the secondary and I was the recruiting coordinator. I needed an education in football. I was 23 years old, some guys were right out of college, some guys were in their 30s. … I learned a lot about scouting because my job was to go recruit players ’cause we were basically the same age, so understanding what the coaches wanted and then being able to watch the film and say, “Here’s the defense we run, I gotta find an outside linebacker that can do the things that my coach wants,” and then I gotta watch college film to see if there’s any of these guys that just graduated from Missouri Southern or Pitt State or JUCO tape to see if there’s any of these guys that fit what we’re doing and then try to get in touch with them and recruit them to come play for us for like $100 a week, basically (laugh). It was a grind but it was a really, really good introduction to some of the things that I still do now.
Q: Describe your children, Hayley and Emmitt.
A: I had my daughter when I was 17, so she’s an adult now. She works as a therapist. Super smart, accomplished, successful, driven, everything that a dad could hope that their daughter becomes. I think she’s more of an adult most of the time than I am. … Emmitt’s 12. He’s a ball of energy but also like the most curious person ever. I have no idea what he’s gonna be someday, but he will be great at it whatever it is, he has the best personality, he’s everyone’s best friend, he’s, like, full of charisma, but also he’s like a little old man at the same time, that’s kind of funny.
Q: Three dinner guests?
A: Bill Belichick, President Obama, Bill Murray.
Q: Favorite movie?
A: “Shawshank Redemption.”
Q: Favorite entertainer?
A: Jason Isbell.
Q: Favorite meal?
A: Steak and potatoes.
Q: Your best Kiper story?
A: My first day at ESPN, I hit the ground running and did like 12 hours of TV that day, and I finally get on TV and I’m gonna go have a beer and decompress, and my phone starts ringing, and it’s a Maryland phone number that I didn’t have, so I answer it, and it’s that iconic voice, and we’d never spoken before, and just to have him like cold-call me and be like, “Hey, I watched you all day, welcome to the team, you did such a great job,” and we talked for like 45 minutes. To who Mel is as a person, I don’t think a lot of people know because they just see the TV version of Mel. That energy and that excitement and that happiness, that’s who he is all the time.
Q: Jordan Reid?
A: Jordan’s one of my favorite people. Like at the Senior Bowl, we share a rental car, we stay at the same hotel. Jordan is so incredibly intelligent. If I ever have a question about football, Jordan’s the person I ask. The way that he sees the game, his background as a quarterback, it’s like he’s always thinking about football, and about what works and what doesn’t work.
Q: Field Yates?
A: Field is the nicest person in the world. When my son met Field, he was like, “Is he that happy all the time?” Salt of the earth, like great guy. He’s so versatile. He can do everything. He hosts “Draft Daily” and then flips around and works as the analyst on “NFL Live.” To have that range as a talent is so incredible.
Q: Daniel Jeremiah?
A: He’s similarly like the nicest person ever. He’s so humble, and easy to talk to. I think Daniel is like the standard right now as draft coverage has evolved to what our job is now, I think he’s the standard for how well the job is done.
Q: What drives you?
A: I’m 16 years in professionally, and so I think there’s that competitiveness is always something that drives you to live up to the job that I have, to be good enough for ESPN. You want to have respect for the job and make sure you’re doing the work, right? It’s also, like, I love doing the job, I love watching football, I love looking at team needs, I love breaking down the salary cap to see what’s hidden in there, that curiosity of how things think they’re gonna fix themselves versus how I think they should fix themselves is something that I’m always incredibly passionate about.
Q: Biggest obstacle you had to overcome?
A: I think it was that I don’t have a big background as a player. I work alongside people that played in the NFL or played at least at the college level, or worked for an NFL team. Just at ESPN, there’s Field Yates, who played some small-college football and then interned with the Chiefs. And then Jordan Reid, who played college football. And then even when [Todd] McShay was here, he played college football. Daniel Jeremiah played college football, worked in the NFL, and so, I’m definitely an outlier in that regard. I kind of come into this through a different path. I think trying to build that credibility of like, “Sure, I didn’t play college football, I didn’t work in the NFL, but I spent those years learning in a different way.” But I think that allows me to have a different perspective than some of my colleagues and a different set of skills as well.
