The Bobby Bones Show - Lots to Say: Mini Camps Underway and NFL Analyst Bucky Brooks

Episode Date: May 6, 2026

Bobby Bones and Matt Cassel reveal some early brushes with the law as teens.   Onto NFL minicamps, Matt talks about life as a rookie and being intimidated by veterans.  Bobby gives his thoughts on Fernando Mendoza changing styles with the Raiders.  What are you expecting from Diego Pavia with the Ravens?  Fmr NFL player Bucky Brooks looks back at the Draft and the teams that 'won' or were questioned. How should the Chiefs handle the return of Patrick Mahomes with their issues on the offensive line. Bobby asks about the practices of 'consistent' organizations.  Bucky talks about the rookies he expects to succeed early with their new teams.  How can Dak Prescott and the Cowboys improve this season? As an UNC alum, Bucky talks about what's next for Bill Belichick's Tar Heels.    Wrapping up, Matt is wondering who will be the Browns' starting QB with their roster.  Plus, where do you think Anthony Richardson will play? Lots to Say with Bobby Bones and Matt Cassel is part of the NFL Podcast Network See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Lots to say with Bobby Bones and Matt Castle is a production of the NFL and IHart podcast. We got lots to say. Here's Bobby and Matt. I reached my pocket just now. I have a pacify on my pocket.

Like right as the song was playing, I was like, oh, no. My wife probably brought two. But we were coming up here today. I try now to leave when I do the radio show. We worked there all morning. and most of the time I would just go from there and drive over here, not go home.

But now that we have a baby, I try to go home for a little bit of time, 30, 45 minutes just help the wife out, or at least be there to support her if she needs it. And she will walk the baby around in that carrier. The baby loves sleeping in the carrier. And so she was like, I'm going to go walk. She goes, I'll go walk around your new studio. Right.

And so I was like, great. I said, well, I don't think any of the guys ever met the baby before either. And so we just had her in here. Oh, my gosh. You talk about precious in the head of hair. and those cheeks and her eyes are open. I mean, I remember those stages. There's nothing better, other than maybe the sleep time

and when she's a little cranky. So is there really nothing better, or is that just what you say? Well, at that moment in time. At that moment, every moment that you have as they get a little bit older, every stage gets a little bit better. But it is one of those that I look back now, and I've got a 16, she's going to turn 16 this week,

and it feels like it was just yesterday that she was in my arms and I was holding her, she's falling asleep. Like, you miss those days, but you also are able to put outside your mind that some of them are torturous just because of the strain of putting them to sleep, of the eating patterns and everything else. But, yeah, soak it in, brother. Because what sounds fun is when you talk about your son hitting home runs and you're like,

you knocked it, I'm like, that sounds like, it gets better. That was awesome. That's what I'm saying. That was awesome. But you also have, as your girls grow up, as your boys grow up, they hit a stage. when they're not that little kid that wants to come up in their world and you're their Superman, they want to hug on you and cuddle with you instead. They're like, hey, dad, look, when we get to school, just let's put up the windows,

turn down the music, and just make sure you don't embarrass me. Okay, so it's a different mode of operation as they get a little bit older and they start to get a little independence. You see that innocence start to leave a little bit. Does it make you wish that you'd have been nicer to your parents in that 15, 16, 17, 17-year-old phase? Oh, I was a helion. Starting at 12 years old, we used to go egg cars. We used to do all the different bad stuff that kids did back then.

And I remember getting in trouble all the time. And my parents would ground me. I was like, gosh, it didn't register to me that I was just a deviant at that time. But looking back, I was like, I can't believe my parents and just send me off to boarding school. Did you ever get any real trouble as a kid? I could get arrested for something like don't exit cars. I didn't get arrested. So we were at a Dodger Stadium.

game and I was with three of my buddies. I wasn't even driving and we picked up some beer beforehand, drank some beer, went to the game and we're leaving Dodger Stadium. We missed the first entry point on the freeway so we had to go down and we're in Echo Park and there was this guy walking down the street. His pants were sagging like down past his past his butt and I of course puts the window down and says, hey, where are you from? Like that just messing around because I knew we were in the turn lane. Well, of course, as I'm yelling out at this dude, a cop is pulling through the intersection. You could kind of see them start to break lights. And I was like, Reggie, go. This is my buddy who's driving. So we get up. We're about two miles and I think we're in the clear. Next thing I know,

sirens hit. Pull off to the side of the road. They instruct us to go turn around the block. And it's like a movie scene. It's like the lights are flickering, dark, desolate alley. And there's three cops in this car. They get out and pull their guns on the the car. Because they didn't know what because they were in. I came to find out their gang crash unit or something like that. So we have to put our hands out the car. We're walking

backwards for them. They tackle me, put me in handcuffs and put me by the car. No way. Yes. So they then all of a sudden bring my buddies out. None of them get handcuffed or throw into the ground or anything like that. They get lined up. They find the beer. They make them throw it out.

And the guys are coming up to me. Is this going to be your first night in Juvie Hall? I was like, what? What did I do exactly? That was so bad. But I think that they're just proven a point, helping me learn a lesson. Long story short, after all this goes on, they let those guys get back in car. And I really do, at this point, I'm convinced that they're taking me into Juvie Hall. Like, I'm like, what is going on?

Finally, the guy undoes my handcuffs. I can't believe you're a handcuff, by way. That's crazy. That's crazy. For 15 minutes. And I was sitting in red ants, and I told the cop and he says, oh, just shut the up. I was like, oh, God.

I am in serious trouble. A lot of story short, minor consuming alcohol. Give me a ticket. We go home. I go to the court date. It's in Echo Park. Walk in, and I think I'm going to get to give my sob story. Wrong element of guys.

These guys were all my best buds, but I had to throw them on their bus to get out of trouble. Didn't get to say a word. This old guy looks at me and goes, okay, minor consuming alcohol, your license is suspended for a year. You have to pay $350. You have to go to a drug rehabilitation class. Drug rehabilitation class, guess where that is? in Echo Park. I go in.

There's 10 people at a like round table. First thing you have to do is introduce yourself and tell them why you're there. I mean, first dude gets up, says, my name's this, that, and the other. I took PCP and stole a car. Next guy says I had an arm robbery while I was on. How old were you? Dude, I was 16, just turned 16. Just got my license.

So they're going around this room. And these dudes look hardcore. I mean, you talk about like the tier top. drop tattoo, necks. I mean, they looked apart. And then they get to my d'u-do wore like a polo shirt, trying to think a polo shirt and like khaki shorts.

And the next thing you know, they get to me. And I'm like, oh, yeah, my name's Matt Castle. And I was minor consuming alcohol. And that's why I'm here. And they start cussing at me in all different languages and stuff. We literally had to sit there the entire day. I don't think one of the conversations was about alcohol abuse. It was all about what these.

Hardcore drugs, heroin, Coke, this, the trade, what it does, how it impacts you. And I just was sitting there sucking my thumb. Were you scared straight? I was very scared shit. I was like, wow. Never thought having a few pops before Dodger game was going to get me in this situation. But you could only imagine how fulfilled my mom was at that point. Because she liked you went through that hardcore.

No, she hated the fact that I did, even got to that point. that I was stupid enough to be in a car and doing all that. So she's like, yeah, you actually get with you. You deserve. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I had to have my mom drive me to the class. Because you didn't have a license for a year? For a whole year.

They literally just said, but I just got my license. Because you yelled at a dude. Because I yelled at it did. But then you had, you had been drinking. Yeah, I think they would have let me go if they didn't find any beer or anything like that. But because I fessed up when they found the Coors light in the back of the car and they made them throw it out. They're like, all right, be serious. Were you guys drinking?

I was like, well, I only had two or three beers. This on the other end. He's saying, all right, mine are consuming alcohol, boom. Did any other friends get in trouble at all? Not at all. Dude. I was even driving. I mean, nobody got in trouble.

Everybody. You weren't driving. No fights. Nothing. You just admitted it. If you were to go back, would you say, nope, I hadn't been drinking? Um, I think I was so frazzled at that point being handcuffed and tackled. I can't believe you're handcuffed.

And put by the car and being threatened with Juvee Hall that I was like, man, I'm just going to tell you, yeah, I'm innocent other than I had a few beers. And so. The handcuffing thing's wild. I've never been handcuffed. Anybody? Yeah, one time. Really? Yeah.

Yeah. Would you do? A short story of it is gotten a fight with a few friends. Cop showed up. We all took off. And I'm running and running. And all of a sudden the cop was chasing me. And then I hear, as I'm hopping a wall, I hear him say, you know,

get down, I got a taser pointed right at your back. That would have been awesome if you got taser. Did he have one eye? And as soon as he said that, I said, I'm done, I'm coming down. So I did not want to get taser at the top of the fence. So I came down and then sat in handcuffs on the curb, waiting for them to do all their work. I didn't get in trouble, but I did get handcuffed, just never got taken in or anything. Yeah, what did they tell you when they let you go?

They were to say, basically, I was probably about Castle's age 16. They basically said, just stop being an idiot. And they arrested one of my buddies because he's the one that got in the fight, and he drove off and got a DUI. but everyone else, they just kind of let us go, have our parents come pick us up, and we were good to go. He had to call your parents, though? Oh, yeah. A couple times I had to do that.

How'd that go? Not fun. No. No. The silent treatment is what I got on the way home. Yeah. I just got a good, you know, verbal lashing. And it just so happened that before the court date,

I was driving my brother over to his girlfriend's house, and I was speeding 54 and a 40, get pulled over. I remember we had a VW bug that I was driving, and the cop pulls up, well, my mom hadn't, unfortunately, had not done the insurance recently, so I didn't have insurance. And I had a paper license that the other license hadn't come to our new house yet. So he's told me, well, you're driving with an expired license and you don't have proper insurance. We're going to impound your car. I had to walk down to the McDonald's and call my mom from a pay phone and tell her, hey, mom, I know I just got that other thing, but also your car just got impounded.

Wait, so they ended up impounded the car? They impounded it. I thought they were threatening you. I didn't know what they actually had to sit at the McDonald's of my older brother, dude. I thought that was a threat. No, literally impounded the car, took it, and I watched it get on the tow truck and leave.

And I was just like, oh my God, I'm in so much trouble. I couldn't do anything for months. I'm jealous of those stories. I'm sure at the time it wasn't fine. But you know what I did as a kid? I read books. That's what I did. And I don't have good stories.

I'd love to hop in and be like, oh, you never believe it. One time I was a climbing to fence. We were burglarized in their house. And I don't have any of that. I got nothing. I bought encyclopedias one at a time at the grocery store and read them. Yeah, they're funny now, but you definitely have the time. At the time, yeah, you're just sitting there going, oh, boy, this is not good.

Yeah, so there was quite a few of crazy stories growing up where I was just like, I can't believe I did that. And then I think about my kids. and I can't imagine any of my children being in those type of situations, a lot of other situations that I was in when I was that age. But could your parents have imagined you in those situations? Probably not. They probably gave me too much credit for being a good kid, which overall I'd say I was a good kid, just had a wild side,

and there was a lot of opportunities to go off the reservation. One other kid question. When did you know, like, your girls were going to be athletes? Not because they wanted to, but because you would notice hand-eye coordination or speed, et cetera. Hmm. That's a great question. It probably was around four or five when you start to see that, oh, they can catch a ball. Or you'd put out the little plastic golf ball and see if they could hit a golf ball or do anything like that.

And that's when you kind of start to see, oh, they've got some hand-eye coordination. Now, you really don't know until they grow up a little bit more where you start to see them compete against other kids. Because so much of this now is specialized. He's like, there's kids getting private lessons at seven, eight, nine years old. Well, they'll accelerate early, but it might cap out at a certain point. And then maturity catches up to them, right? But, yeah, I think at a young age, probably four or five, you can tell that they've at least got a foundation of athleticism. That's too long to wait.

The thing that my baby now is seven weeks old and she can just now do an 11-minute mile. And so it's a little slow for us. We're going to get her running coach. Yeah, yeah, get her running coach. Yeah, around 12 weeks. We expect the running coach. to be, they're going to live with us. I really want this.

Yeah, I want this. Stay away from the hills. Flatland. Okay. You're going to talk football or now? Let's talk some football. When you go to minicamp and everybody is a rookie, is that like freshman orientation?

Absolutely. Because I, you know, went to college and it felt a little safer because everybody else with me was a freshman. And we all knew we were going to get pounded later or it was going to all the upper. But it was like safety with the other freshmen. You're all learning, but it's a little nervous. racking, but you're like, okay, there's no seniors or anything here. Is that what rookie mini-campus like? Yes, and it's also baptism by fire. They get you in there, they bring you into the locker room. And in New England, where we were, they bring in temporary lockers. And I think

I told you this before. So if you're a rookie, you get a temporary locker amongst all the vets lockers. And at that time in New England, when you'd walk in and you'd see Teddy Bruske, Mike Frable, Willie McGinnis, Richard Seymour, Rodney Harrison, Tom Brady, you can go down the list and you're just a little bit intimidated by the moment. But like you said, they're not there yet. So as rookies, you kind of have this natural bond all coming in together. And they even bring in free agents as well. And some of the guys that were veterans that maybe are going in their second year that were on practice squad to fill up kind of the practice space so you can get out there and run drills. And then from there, it's jump right into meetings. You have Belichick obviously come doing introductory

speech, what the expectation level is, this, that, and the other. And then it's jump right into, if you're on the offensive side of the ball, we're going to do an install. Now, it's very minimal, but it's a foundational approach to, look, this is what we're going to run, this is what we're going to do, and then you go out, do drills, and then you get into team period, and you're just kind of, you're rolling. You're hoping that you retained enough information over these meetings and understand a little bit conceptually what they're trying to achieve, that you go out and have a little bit of success. But it's much, much different the moment those veterans step in. At rookie minicamp, is it an understood hierarchy, though, of the

first round, second round, third round draft picks versus the free agents, the later round picks? To a certain extent. I mean, because usually when you all come in as rookies, they draft to needs and wants. And a lot of times those needs were, it could be an offensive lineman Logan. Mankin's

our guard, all pro, maybe potential Hall of Famer, was our first round pick. We had a guy Alice Hobbs, who was a cornerback. So we had a bunch of different guys from different positions. And so you're not necessarily competing with them, but you also understand, hey, this guy's got status. He's a good player. He's a first rounder. Like, Logan was my

roommate in camp. So we would, we'd hang out all the time, but great guy. We were both on the same side of the ball. But they're also going through the same struggles because really, it's about how much knowledge you can gain over these installs and how you're able to apply it, because the biggest part of rookie minicamp is understanding the system and then getting a feel when you're watching the film of Tom Brady doing it, of how it's applied. Right. And so you start that learning curve. I was watching some of the Raiders camp and watching Fernando Mendoza. And I think one of the, I almost a struggle,

but one of the things he's dealing with now is that he was in shotgun the whole time. Right. And now he's having to be under center. I think around 75% is what they said. And it's so different for him that him and a rookie center or two are in the hotel, away from the facility. Like they got all the reps in the facility. They got extra reps in,

but they're just snapping the ball. Is it that different to take snaps under center when you've been just in shotgun for the last couple years? It is because it's such a feel thing and then also so much of playing the quarterback position, especially in the past game, is your footwork. So when you're in the gun, say you have a three step under center,

so you're taking three steps like in the short game and stuff like that. In the gun, it's usually a catch and gather. When you're throwing on rhythm in the outside, it could be a speed out on the outside or what we call a stop route, nine yards, turn around, and the ball should be out. But it's five in rhythm, let the ball go. And so so much of that, if you haven't done it a lot, that is very difficult to just try to pick up and start at that point. Now, I'm sure he's been drilling it all offseason working up to this moment, but there is so many little nuances that happen under Center in terms of timing and how you see the defense and how. you have to be in rhythm, get from one to two to three, and the hitches and everything else that take place with just the bottom half of your body, that is absolutely a huge adjustment for

somebody that's only been in shotgun. I think what I just learned from this is that my mind goes, well, they're just taking a lot of snaps and they haven't done that. It hasn't been about footwork to me, but it seems like that would be the biggest, because you've learned none of that. It's not even about taking the snap or catching it from shotgun or being there and taking it from the center. It's literally about the footwork that you've never had to do. Right.

And that's a lot of times that's muscle memory for guys that have done it for a long time. If you've never done it and you've only been in gun, then that transition, like I said, can be difficult at times, especially when you're doing it in live action for the first time. You just, how even you see the field. You're five yards away in the shotgun. You're under center and now you're getting five to six yards. away from center. It's just different. Some of the guys, and I have four of them, a list of the top quarterbacks

from this year's draft class who are taking a pay cut to go pro. Because of NIL, Diego Pavia, $2 million at Vandy last year. Now, his year one, Ravens salary is 885, but none of his money is guaranteed.

Right. He's still got to make the team. Yes. And now what these agents are doing is announcing a three-year deal when It's literally just if the team keeps you, they have the ability to keep you for three years. Right. No guaranteed money. So, yeah, he has no money.

He does look small. He is small, but he does look. Do you guys see the videos? Yeah. He does look small. Yeah, tiny. He moves really well, though. I don't think anyone question that.

Right. And I think if there was a system that he was going to be in and have a shot, it would be the system that he's in, which is why they chose him, which is Baltimore. Right. But, and his hair is blonde? You guys see he got a little... Yeah, like an old, like Eminem look. Oh, really? He reached it? If I were Diego Pavia.

Try to bring as much attention off of yourself. That's exactly it. I'm doing everything possible to be as square, no attention. I'm not dyeing my hair. Everybody, sir, yes, sir. I'm saying nothing unless needs to be said. I'm trying to prove not just on the field, but off the field that I can be the person that people don't think I am.

When I saw the blonde hair, it's screaming attention. It's people are going to talk about that. comments. I don't want the comments talking about anything other than, hey, this is a guy working hard. Right. And that's always Belichick's thing is you should be seen but not heard as a rookie. And that's part of it is don't come in and be a distraction. You're a big personality, your big storyline anyway, just because of the success that you had in college. And everybody was like, is this guy going to get drafted, Heisman trophy finalists, all those things and all those components. But at this point, you're starting at ground zero and you've got an uphill climb. So instead of

doing anything that brings attention toward you other than you're on the field productivity, I just think it works against you. Yeah, it's even less than ground zero. Like he's coming in with a reputation and you don't want a backup or a third string quarterback to get any attention.

Right. None. You don't want them to be somebody that the reporters are at their locker when the game is over. Because they'll be it Diego Pavia's because he will be a distraction like it or not based on all the distracting things

he did pre-ravens? Yes. And then you dye your hair blonde? Who is not telling him? Because somebody's doing him wrong. Even if it's his mom, if it's his agent, and he was like, I don't have an agent, he does have an agent. Or lawyer, somebody's got to say, stop doing stuff that brings any attention to you. It's crazy.

I couldn't believe it. It's just, some of these guys just don't get it. Carson Beck. And Carson Beck has a real shot to play. He does. Yeah, because, I mean, he was also drafted, what, round two, three? I believe three. He made $4 million with Miami.

His year one salary is $1.3 million. Now, a lot of people go, well, why would they leave and make less money just in general? But it's not so much about what you're making year one, year two. It's getting to that second contract. Right. Your first contract's your first contract. Even if you're the number one pick overall, you're going to make some money. It's the fifth year option.

If they pick that up, you'll make some money there. But that's just a negotiating chip that you'll have in your back pocket to say, Okay, I've done enough to where I'm going to get to the second contract, and that's where you break the bank. Nussmeier made $4 million at LSU, his year-one salary, if, because I don't think he's guaranteed either. I couldn't believe the Saints didn't take him in like round six or seven because his dad's the OC there. Right. I'm sure that that is an interesting dynamic to have your dad be the OC and then you draft your son. Round seven, though.

Yeah, that's true. And Nuss-Mire was hurt last year. Right. You know, they say his interviews turned off a lot of people. I don't even know if that's true, right? People say all kinds of stuff. Right. But he was a good quarterback.

He was hurt. A good quarterback. All last year, I just would have thought, maybe his dad's like, come on, just save him, man. We can cut him, but just pick him. It's embarrassing for him. And Kate Klovenick from Clemson made $2.1 million, and he's with the Jets for $1.2 million. I think any warm body on the Jets, even if you're not a quarterback has the opportunity to win the quarterback job. No doubt.

Yeah, you can be a defensive lineman. You could win the quarterback. It's a job. Yeah, it's wide open. It's wide open for sure. All right, we're going to take a break, and we will come back with the wonderful, super intelligent, Bucky Brooks. Pride is like love. You feel it in your heart.

I-R. Radio, Canada's number one streaming app for radio and podcasts, including IHart Pride Canada, your favorite hits and must-have party bangers, plus personalized and curated playlists. Like Back in the Day Pride. Come together, celebrate love. Take pride with you, anytime, anywhere. Just ask your smart speaker to play iHeart Pride Canada. Stream us on your phone or listen now at iHeartRadio.ca. Hey, let's welcome in Bucky Brooks, NFL network analyst, former NFL player, former scout, one of the best voices in football when it comes to draft, roster building,

team philosophy. Bucky also co-hosts the Move the Sticks podcast with Daniel Jeremiah. So make sure to check that out. We've talked about that podcast a bunch, even with Daniel. Bucky, we appreciate you. I want to start with something I was talking about with the guys a second ago. And it's kind of random, but we were talking about Garrett Nussmeyer. And I was like, round seven, maybe his dad would draft him.

Round six, maybe his dad would draft him, like just to throw him a lifeline. Why didn't Nussmeier go any earlier? You know, it's such a weird thing. Sometimes the drafts has weird ebbs and flows where a player that you have rated much higher just happens to be sitting there in the seventh round. and sometimes it can take one or two random decisions by someone that's picking ahead of you to kind of change your focus for a minute.

But I'll say this. He certainly is not a guy that was viewed as a seventh round pick when you check the consensus around the league. To me, and I think this is true of all former players. If you ask them, would you rather go higher, go to the right spot? You'd rather go to the right spot. And I think for him, he might have landed in the best landing spot

in terms of his own individual development and how it can play out and really help his career. career going forward. Bucky, now that the dust is settled, who would you say were some of the big winners in this year's draft and maybe a few teams that you'd think you'd consider them losers? Yeah, that's tough. I would say this. I would think the first team off the rip that people are talking about would be the New York

Giants. And I think this is part of a bigger thing where they've kind of made over their team. From a cultural standpoint, inside out. One, you get a coach in John Harbaugh, who has done this for a long time. He's been a Super Bowl champion. in. He's probably motivated, given some of the noise that came out of Baltimore when he left. You look at the players that they were able to pick in the draft. You think where R.V.O. Reese coming over, Francis Mount Noah, helping them out on the front line.

They get Colton Hood, who is a terrific player on the corner. And then even Malachi feels their third-round pick should be someone that helps. You think about what they have defensively. They have a dominant defense in the works. That gives them a chance to make one of those jumps into the playoffs. I think the Cleveland Browns also deserve to be celebrated. the job that Andrew Berry and his staff did bringing over Casey Concepcion, having Spencer for No, those first two picks.

But then EMW, Emmanuel McNeill Warren coming over and giving them kind of some juice in the back end. And some of the picks that they took later that I absolutely love, Joe Warrior, the tight-in from Cincinnati, who was a transfer to Ohio State. I think he gives them another playmaker to work around. They have two tight-ins that he took this year. Then let's talk about Taylor Green, six-round pick, super athletic, does a bunch of things that can make it happen. I think the guys, the teams that people have said losers, I don't really refer to them as that. I would say some are questioning.

I would say obviously the team that people are always talking about is the Jacksonville, the Jaguars. I'm close to that situation, so I understood what their intent was. They would tell you that they're trying to find Duval DNA cultural fits. And so they took a tie-in in the second round that many people didn't have. at that point, but if you look at the draft, there's a run on tight-ins, they went right after that. And so that's one.

I think when you go and look at the San Francisco 49ers, that's another one that has been questioned. People talk about, why would you take straddling at the top of the second round? He wasn't viewed at high, even though I had a bunch of people tell me that he was going with the next 10 picks. They take a running back,

Catam Black, who some people didn't favor. So the thing about all of this, it's all subjective until we see him play. The one thing that we never, know on our side is what is the plan to utilize them what were they looking to do what are they looking to become as a team and how does that player fit into the fabric of what they do all those things kind of matter more than when the players are picked and how they pick but i would say there's certainly some controversial or some questionable picks that were taken that have been the conversation

here we are a week and a half two weeks fast to drought how do you feel about the raiders quarterback situation and how does that decision get made as in you got a great rookie when does he played, does it depend on how good the Raiders are playing? Yeah, now, that's interesting because we go all the way back to number one overall pick, as much as we talk about the quarterback development in the league and how it is always better when they sit. We haven't seen one since, since I think Carson Palmer, 2004. Like, that just doesn't, it just doesn't happen in our league, not the number one overall.

Now, if Kirk Cousins can play and play well, look at it to Fernando Mendoza's benefit, if he can sit and kind of just slowly acclimate to the game. Kirk Cousness had his best seasons of his career under Clay Cuviac. First, as a quarterback coach, Dan, as a bit of an offense coordinator when Kevin O'Connell was there. That said, the natives are restless when it comes to wanting to see the number one overall pick. I think a lot of it would pin on Fernando Mendoza. If I am the rate, as I'm giving him a heavy workload in preseason and joining practices to see how he handles it.

And if he shows us that he can handle it, he's going to play sooner rather than later. regardless of what Kirk Cousins does. Are you one of those people that believe that starting a quarterback maybe before they're ready is the right approach, or do you feel like it's just the nature of the beast at this point? I would say normally the player in me would say, like the only way you really get better is by playing. But I also know that once you put the quarterback out there,

the noise is loud if he doesn't play well. And I would say the difference now is we don't give young guys, young quarterbacks, an opportunity to grow through their struggles. And if it's so overwhelming early, it's not about him losing confidence or the team losing confidence in him. The noise is so loud that do you have the gravitas to just stick with the process and say, hey, man, it doesn't worry. We're not worried about what it looks like now. We're worried about down the line. most people don't have that, so you kind of want them to be ready to go.

And if you could, put him in more of a managerial role where the team around him is good. He doesn't have to throw it 30 times. You can kind of ease him into it, but that's pine in the sky stuff. Once they play, the clock is on because everyone is going to make a judgment right away if he can or if he can't play.

Internet's trickling a little bit about Patrick Mahomes and his health. Seems like he may be pretty healthy. Like, if so, Adrian Peterson style, you think he plays early? And like science is amazing To think about like tearing the ACL They're talking about him being ready for Minicamp, that's bananas

I would not put him on the rush To get on the field I would really try to help him Help himself Like protect him from himself So he doesn't go out there too soon But I know this It's going to be tough to stop him from playing

Get past from Holmes One shows that he can protect himself He can run around and do the things that he needs to do at the position and if he is adamant about playing, it's going to be hard for the chiefs to keep him on the sideline. Talking about Kansas City, they went heavy defense in this draft. Do you have any concerns that they didn't address that offensive line from last year?

Yeah, I mean, I know that was a big thing. A lot of us had talked about right tackle being in a concern, particularly after they let Juan Taylor go. I think for the chiefs is this they probably believe internally. Patchman Holmes and a big-time running back solves a lot of their issues. If we really pinpoint the offensive struggles, one, you lost the ability to push the ball down on the field when Tariq Hill left.

But part of the reason we really lost that is because the running game doesn't force the defense to respect it. So all those teams that are playing too high looks, they didn't have a runner good enough to force them out to look. And that's no disrespect to Isaiah Pacheco or Kareem Hunt and those other guys that played it. If Kenne of Warker is effective enough on the ground, then it changes the way the defenses play them

and either they're going to get run through where Kenneth Walker is going to chew up a bunch of 100-yard games or they're going to drop somebody in the box and then you get the one-on-one coverage on the outside that you want. To me, this is about Eric B. Enemy and Andy Reed being committed enough to the running game to force defenses to make tough decisions on would we rather die of slow death

or are we willing to drop somebody down and say, hey, we're not going to allow them to run all over us. In the past, when teams would play that in their prime years, they would run it successfully up and down the field of late they haven't been able to do it and so people just sat back in that umbrella coverage. You've been able to do it on different levels, player, scout, analysts,

so I think you'll have a good perspective into this next question. It does feel like the organizations that win, win a lot most of the time, and those that don't lose a lot most of the time. What's the through line on the good consistently winning organizations? What you said, consistency is in everything,

Consist in your approach, consistency in your preparation, your process. Normally, the greater coaches that I've been around, they stay the same, good, bad, or indifferent. They don't waver. They believe in what they believe in. And they have a way of selling it to the team that the team believes in it. Whether that was Marty Schadenheimer, whether there was Marley-Rlevy, Tom Coughlin, John Gruden, Mike Hongran. All of those guys deeply believed in what they were doing. And I would say the other part of it is complete alignment from top to bottom, meaning

the general manager and the head coach are in lockstep. They understand what kind of players they're looking for, what they want, and they don't waver. When the noise on the outside is loud, they double down and go even hard and recommit to what they believe in. So when you're talking about the front office and a GM, the scouting department, what separates somebody like the Howie Rosemans of the world or Brett Veach and Kansas City? Do they do it differently than other organizations?

Look, I would throw John Snyder. I think they all do it. You kind of do it the way that you're brought up, right, in the business. So a large part of, like, how you played as a play of your preparation process came from your formative years, whether it be in New England or going on Kansas City. Like, you kind of have your thing. And the same thing when it comes to being a general manager. I played in Green Bay.

I understand a lot of the Ron Wolf stuff. So the way that John Snyder does it is very similar to the way that was done in Green Bay. You put your own spin on it, but it's very, very, very. successful. How he took some of that that he learned from Andy Reed, which was a big part of the Green Bay stuff, and he put his own spin on it. I think you have to have tremendous confidence in what you're doing. You have to have a clear

vision for how you want your teams and your players to play and what kind of players are needed to play that style. And then you have to have a coaching staff that, one, you're in lockstep with. Two, they're committed to developing the players. The secret sauce in this league is not talent acquisition. It's talent

development. How? you develop the players when you get into the building. We have all played where guys come in and they lead the same way that they were when they came in skill level. But then we've seen other teams take a lesser player and he plays as a much higher level because of the extra commitment to practice and the details and the fundamentals. Look, it takes a billet, but everyone has to be on the same page. And I think the general manager has to know exactly what the head coach wants.

And he has to be able to make sure that they not only bring the right players in, but they challenge the coaches to develop the young. players so they get better. Pride Months, Toronto. Pride is an opportunity for you to create your own space, to celebrate your existence. Iheart Radio is proud to be an official sponsor of Pride Toronto Festival, and we won't stop. Celebrate Pride. Turn up the love and listen to IHeart Pride Canada, your 24-7 radio stream and the only playlist

you need for your Toronto Pride celebrations. Pride is so great because it gives a whole bunch of people this visibility that they've never had before. We have a ton to celebrate Toronto. Happy pride. I heart radio. These rookie mini camps are opening and have opened in the past week. What are teams looking for early? And what do people overreact about?

Well, I think the first thing that you're doing, when you're a scout and you're not a high-ranking scout, but when you're a scout, the first thing is the players that you bring in, man, you wanted me at least look back the guy that you saw on tape. Like, that's the most anxiety that you have that first weekend when you're seeing him, you're like, come on, man, make a play. Please. Please make a play, so I can justify or whatever. Outside of that, really, some teams approach you where I think the most realistic approach is like, hey, this is the teaching phase.

We're going to teach you what you need to know. So when we come back in OTAs and eventually training camp, now you can compete. But you can't compete if you don't know what you're doing. So you give them the outline in terms of this is how we work out. These are the standards on and off the field in terms of how we go about our business. You need to find a vet that you can model a good vet that you can model. model his behavior and have someone kind of show you the ropes. And then when it's your time, whether it's two reps, four reps, six reps, man, you need to make sure one, you know what to do

and you do it with maximum effort. And then you hope that that buys you another day and more reps. But ultimately, man, we talk about the game. The game is a meritocracy. No matter how we spend it, you have got to be able to perform when you get your opportunity. And it doesn't matter what team you're on and how many reps you're given. You better make the most of them. were to make a prediction on the first rounders that all got drafted in terms of their organization and system fit, who do you think is probably set up for success, the most success early in their career? Man, it's funny, right?

Because scheme fit is everything when you come to it. And I look at the Ravens, Venga, Yone, the guard from Penn State. He just screams Raven to me. And it's something about when you look at him and you look at the way that he plays and the way they want to play, how they want to bully people at the point of attack, that works. But I will also say, look, man, I think Fernando Mendoza lucked out. I had a lot of questions about him coming in and whether he could take it over, whatever. I would say that Clint Kubiak in the system is perfect for him.

It alleviates some of the pressure on him. The stretch bootleg, misdirection passing game works for him, the way they're going to be committed to the run game. I think he certainly is the beneficiary of a scheme that matches. how he needs to play, given his skill set. And this from other guys. I love Ruben Bay and going to Tampa Bay, like Minnesota Delane, playing in Kansas City. To me, this was one where I don't think people were out of pocket

in terms of matching the players with the fit. But I will say the most intriguing of them all is how is Todd Simpson going to eventually play when he gets his opportunity in L.A. I think that's the million-dollar question because that ended up making a breaking how people view the Rams draft. I understand everyone.

supposed to be professional, but when a player doesn't want to be on the team and is requesting a trade, let's use Anthony Richardson as an example. Is there awkwardness in the building with that or is it everybody just gets it? It kind of depends on how good the player is. I would say that if Dexter Lawrence requested trade from the Giants, the panic around the building is a little different because you're talking about a pro bowl player. Anthony Richardson requesting a trade, people are probably looking around like, who cares? Like, I'm just saying, like, just just what it is given how he's performed, it's a performance-based business.

And if the team believe that you can play at a high level, they can live with that and they'll chalk it up to, hey, that's business, we'll stay out of it. But if you're a guy that hasn't played or hasn't kind of earned the right to be the guy, they just kind of go on and move on. Like, the locker room would tell you exactly what the team feels about a player,

the way that they react to those situations and circumstances. In your opinion, how long does it take to truly validate a draft class, because obviously we're talking about all this stuff, but is there a time period that you'd put on it? Yeah, it takes two to three years to really know if people can play. Like, let's do the simple math. If the league average for players is three and a half years,

what we're saying is most of the people in these classes will never even get to their second contract. So it's not even about, all of, you know, five, six years down the line. In that two to three year window, the players that we took, can they help us get to where we want to go? Is there a noticeable change in our team given the contributions of this class?

And so for players, look, you get more flexibility given how high you're drafted. And so, like, the first round pick is going to get every opportunity to show that he can play. Second and third round is maybe they get a little leeway, but after that, you've got to be able to hit it right now.

You have to be able to make a contribution immediately, whether it's on special teams, where they're showing enough on the practice field that they can prime you for a role the next season. But no free lunches. Like, you have to be able to make a contribution in some way, shape, or form, or it's kind of deemed to be a failure.

So hopefully in two years, you've got to know if a guy can play or not, but they need to start making contributions right away. What's the expectation on a guy like Dak Prescott who's had different expectations over the years, but they haven't been able to do it? How many more years do you think he's got in Dallas? Well, look, I think he just got paid, and I think they'll continue to do it because it's very hard to find a quarterback in the league.

And I would say that for Dak, I mean, last year, obviously, offensively, they were lighting it up. And I would say that was probably even a surprise, knowing Brian Schadenheimer as well as I do. Like, this offense was rolling with George Pickens and C.D. Lamb, and they were running the football, effectively, with Giovante Williams. Dak Fred Scott played really well. And whenever, there's a common link, whenever he has a legitimate running game, he plays at a high level. You look at the division titles that they won. Whenever they've had a big time back, they have been able to win

because the compliment of the running game and the passing game helps them out. Yeah, they're under pressure because the star is big, the amount of people that watch that team creates a lot of noise and a lot of interest. But I think he is right. I think really it's about getting the rest of the team

to play up to his level, and then he has to deliver when it matters most in the postseason. How much Lien-Cee do you think that they're going to have with George Pickens as this kind of drags on and a little bit of the saga about whether he's going to sign the franchise center or get a new contract? I think he's in his best interest to sign it just because, like,

George Pickens hasn't made, like, significant money in this league. You're talking about whatever, $27 million that they're pushing across the table. He needs to sign that. And it's unfortunate because you talk about, look, I proved it last year, but you got to prove it again. I mean, that's just what it is. If they're not going to commit years and long-term money, then he has to go out there and do it again.

It won't be a distraction because at the end of the day, man, you've got to play to make it happen. And I think he and C.D. Lamb work well off of one another because it's one of the rare situations where you can say they're probably code number ones in the passing game. And so as long as George Pickens plays and have that impact, he'll get the money and what worked in his favor, I know people always talk about the injury. More times than that when someone plays on the tag, they always get their money. He can look to the quarterback deck Prescott. He got hurt playing on the tag and still got a blockbuster deal. So he is going to get paid. It's just a matter of how is he going to get paid, but I know he can drive the price up.

If he plays really well, he'll push himself into that $40 million category, which the Cowboys certainly don't want to pay, but they have to pay if he plays really, really well. Let's stay expectations, but let's go to North Carolina, your team. Year two with Belichick, what do they got to do this year?

What do they have to do? I will say this. Talk to people in the program. I think everyone has to adjust to the new game of college football. And I think Coach Belichick has been great. I went back, did something that he asked me to do for like official visits. And I would say that he has a great perspective on the game. I think the main thing is you've got to get the right players in there.

And some of that is talent, but some of that really is temperament. And just kind of understanding it is a blue-collar program. You're going to have to work and get after it. And if you're not about that life, it's going to be hard for you. They can be much better. And I say this is almost like a cop-out. I think they can be a much better team, and their record might not be noticeably different,

meaning that they can play well and buy in. But, I mean, they have 40 freshmen coming in. Like, that's a ton of young players. And 18-year-olds in the college game, it doesn't work. I think there would be a better team. I just don't know if the record has changed much this year, but I think at some point he'll turn it. Do you think with the change of college football,

with NIL and Transfer Portal and all these things, does that have an impact on the player in terms of how you scout them? And is it harder evaluation process? Well, yeah, it is a harder evaluation process in terms of you better really know if they like it or love it. I would say actually love it. Most of the things that scouts talk about now is trying to figure out if a guy really loves the game or if he just kind of likes the fame and all the things that come with that. So it requires more digging, more asking, more investigating to see who he is and what's around.

What is he into? How much time does he spend in the facility? Does he really care about his craft? Or is he a guy that, look, he took the money early and he's content? That's really what happens because we all know. When you throw dollars at some of the players that we've played with doesn't change them at all. If anything, the more you plan, the harder they even work at, whatever it is. other guys, you throw them a little money, it's over.

They're content and they become complacent. It's really about making sure that the guys that you're bringing into the building are workerbees and they really love to work because the game is hard. And I don't think young kids know how hard it is. When you play professional football, it's hard, not just physically, but the mental grind of being consistent day in, day out and really focusing on your craft is really hard. And so it's the difference between playing a boys' game and a man's game. The league is about men. And you have to be equipped to deal with all the stuff that comes with that. Last question.

I'm looking at your shirt. Is that CHC athletics? No, no, no. That is G-HC because old Matt. Granada Hills Highlanders. Yeah. How did you get hooked up there? Well, I was coaching for a decade with someone that you actually know,

Cindy Kramer. Oh, yes. As a trainer. So I think y'all go back to a little. Little League. Little League. She was our little league coach. She is unbelievable.

Get after us. Cindy Kramer. She's probably, well, I mean, five foot tall, maybe. If five foot. And she just rip into all of us. So I was coaching at Notre Dame for a decade. And Cindy Kramer used to always bring your name up. And the strength coach at Notre Dame is married to the AD at Granada.

And so I had it in there. So when a job opened up, even though I went from Southern Section, the City section, it was an attractive. appealing thing for me. And I think if you coach this game, everyone wants to see what it's like to have to whistle. Because we all can theorize and say, oh, I would do this and that. It is a completely different ball of wax when you're the head guy. And there's a disparity. Most of the guys that I coach have never played tackle football until they get to ninth grade. And so it is a bit of a, I would say, a passion project to teach a bunch of young kids who haven't played, how to play, but to do

it with the expectation. Oh, no, we're going to win. Like, we got to figure this out. We still have to win. We may have to do it differently. But now, that's been a lot of fun. And as Maddeno's as a CF champion, we won the city in 2022. There's nothing like winning. And there's nothing like kind of being celebrated as being the best. And so it just drives all of us to do what we can when you got a bunch of them kids to do it. Did you meet my chance for chancellors? I mean, yeah, we're in the same league. We have to. Dang it. We have to beat a butt. They won the title a couple of years. It brought back the yo.

I mean, you may not know that, but you're over there with a city section legend. Like, Matt Castle is, he's the city section legend. I don't know about that, but I don't want to curse on the program. Yeah, to do that. No, it's cool. It's been great. Like, coaching and playing in the city has been a lot of fun. I look forward to it.

It's one of the best things that I do. Everybody, check out the Move to Sticks podcast, Bucky and Dana Jeremiah. They're great individually, awesome together. You guys do a great job on the podcast. We really appreciate the time. and just the knowledge. I hope you have a great rest of the day, Coach. Hey, thanks for having you all.

All right, thanks, coach. Pride month, Toronto. Pride is an opportunity for you to create your own space, to celebrate your existence. IHeart Radio is proud to be an official sponsor of Pride Toronto Festival, and we won't stop. Celebrate Pride. Turn up the love and listen to IHeart Pride Canada,

your 24-7 radio stream and the only playlist you need for your Toronto Pride celebrations. Pride is so great because it gives a whole bunch of people, this visibility that they've never had before. We have a ton to celebrate Toronto. Happy Pride. I heart radio. All right, anything you're dying to talk about before we go? Not really.

What do you got? What I do have something. Okay, well, do quick. I know, you got like that thing. Brow's QB competition. Who's going to start week one? Deshawn Watson. He's back in the fold, but hasn't played a full season in three plus years. But also, what does that say?

I mean, shoulder ain't the guy. Hard for me to say. Dylan Gabriel, probably not the guy. Tailing Green. Arkansas quarterback really good. I think he could be a guy. He can be a guy eventually. Yes, not a way.

I think it's Deshaun Watson. And the question to me is, are the Browns going to lose a lot again to get in the mix for all the quarterbacks next year? True. I think that could possibly. They've got a pretty good roster, though, and their defense is always going to play tough. Yep. So if they get any productivity whatsoever at Deshawn Watson? I don't think they want it.

I think you want to get with those quarterbacks. I think you've got to get a quarterback, and they don't have a quarterback. Yeah, if you don't have, if you've got four quarterbacks, you don't have a number one quarterback. And that's kind of where the Browns are at right now. So quick note, what else you got? We don't have to get into that. Let's see, what else we got? What else we got?

Oh, well, we already just talked about a little bit of it. Colts declining Anthony Richards' fifth year option. Potential trade partners for him. Don't say the Browns. Where would he want to go, right? 49ers. Okay, he only should go to a place where he's not going to start, where he doesn't think he has a chance to start, or he should be developed like a 49er or a Minnesota. Yes. I heard those two on the top. That's where you go. You can now tell by the Sam Dardo. We could go through the quarterbacks that just did this.

Right. Go somewhere where he never was fully developed. He wasn't developed out of Florida. No, he only played one season. He didn't really get a chance to develop with Indianapolis, and he was hurt. So yes, you go to one of the teams. that can develop you as a backup. And I feel like that's the only way you resurrect your career. Because you have to go learn how to be a professional and play that position at a high level from people that have been successful doing it and can develop quarterbacks.

You just hope the ego doesn't get in the way. I can understand if you really think you're that and you're going, I want to go somewhere where I have a shot to play right now. It's probably an organization that's not going to give you a best shot at a long-term career. Right.

Because those teams are not going to win if you have a shot to actually play right now. Right. They're not looking at him right now to come in and be a bridge guy. or anything like that. They're looking at him strictly to be a backup and develop.

San Francisco, Minnesota. Try to get the backup spot there. Try. Anthony, that's our instruction here on the Bobby Burns podcast. This is not the Bobby bones podcast. I know, but Matt Castle's here too. It's literally not.

Give me one more of your headlines. All right. We just saw your beautiful daughter a little while ago. Okay, you're a huge Arkansas fan. Would you allow her to go to a school down the road like Texas? Oh, no. Texas isn't

No. But what about if it's her dream school? It won't be a dream school. It won't be a dream school. No, no. Like the big deal was Marais Jones Drew just came out. His son is following his footsteps going to UCLA. But then we had to pivot there and I think about my kids going somewhere else and I wanted to ask you that question

because you're a diehard. I don't, I'm not going to say absolutely no to every other school. Just not Texas. What is another school that you may allow her to go to? Anywhere in the SEC? Yeah, sure. I would love her for go to Arkansas. My wife, I was talking to her last night,

she says to me, and I think my wife has wonderful awareness of the situation, she says, you love Arkansas because you grew up in Arkansas, and that's what you had. She's a massive Oklahoma fan. She grew up in Oklahoma or her parents. She goes, our daughter is going to grow up in Tennessee. So it wouldn't be crazy if she wanted to go to Tennessee.

Or Vandy. Or Vandy. I want to pay for that. Oh, gosh. No, no, we're done. sorry. I don't want to pay for that. I'm sure he's already got her college fund taking care of, and he's bitching and complaining, like he's got to work harder for it. You just have to sell one of your Bentley's, and she'll be all right.

You're one to talk. You can't. I got five, you. Okay. I just know to Texas, would love Arkansas. I'm okay with Oklahoma. Really anywhere in the SEC would be fine. Anywhere but Texas. No, there's no Texas. Texas doesn't exist as a place to go. Texas is... It's not really a state. Texas is Australia years ago where they sent the criminals.

That's what I'm going to teach her. Because Australia was that. Yeah, Fear Factor. Just breed it into them young. Penitentiary Island. Yes. That's what Australia was. So dangerous in Austin.

In Texas, they only send the people that have done bad things there and you're not going, I'm going to teach you that early. So, yes, it is anywhere of Texas, hopefully Arkansas. But we, when we were talking about buying the house, that we bought in Fayetteville. My wife, not super keen on going to Fayetteville a whole lot, but she knows I love it. So we bought a house really close to the football stadium.

And I was starting to have second thoughts because I knew my wife didn't want to spend a much time in Fayetteville. She didn't have to because why? I mean, it's not her thing. And I said, hey, maybe we don't. We can always just go in Airbnb. And she said to me, we're going to get the house because I think you and our daughter will have great times there going to games through the next 10, 15 years.

That's so solid. That's solid because I know it wasn't in my wife's best interest, but it wasn't about that. No, but she loves you and she knows that you're passionate about it, and she gave you that opportunity to create memories with your daughter. It'll be incredible. If there's a single piece of burnt orange clothing in my house, I'll burn the whole house down. It's not even, I'm going to throw it away. It's done. Yes, I will burn the whole house down.

I'll throw out the baby with the bathwater. There will be no burnt orange. I know what I'm getting there for first birthday. Yeah, it'll never make it inside house. Goe, Sagine. Okay. That's it. Thank you guys for being here. Thanks to Bucky. That was great.

That's Matt Castle. That's kick off Kevin. That's Brandon Ray. I'm Bobby Bones. I got a pacifier right in front of me. There's in my pocket before we started. We have had lots to say. Goodbye, everybody. Lots to say with Bobby Bones and Matt Castle is a production of the NFL and IHeart Podcast. For more podcasts from IHart Radio, visit the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast.

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