The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 04/09/2021 - HOUR 1 - Winning, NFL draft, LeBron

Episode Date: April 9, 2021

Tom Brady is showing everyone how committed he is, Aaron Rodgers is notIt seems like only one QB is getting nitpicked in this years NFL draftLeBron James is in a great situation since coming to the LakersGuest: Peter Schrager Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go on a Friday week has flown by. Live in Los Angeles, it's the herd. Wherever you may be, and however, you may be listening. We are on IHeart Radio. We are on Fox Sports Radio. We are on FS1. Interesting stories today developing.

Interesting stories today developing. Atlanta Falcons still want to trade that number four pick. Something tells me it's getting close to happening. Joy Taylor, how are you, Joy? I'm great. It's Friday. I think I'm with you. I think we're going to hear some news about that number four pick within the next couple of days.

If you guys are nice, you'll do it on Monday. That would be great. Really appreciate it. Start of the second hour of the herd. It'd be really nice. So I want to start, you know, usually I start my show with a little rant about life or something. Nobody goes to college and majors in sales. But like 20% of the country, 25% of the country is in sales.

You're selling something. You didn't major in sales. There's nothing wrong with being in sales. People sell this show every day. My radio, my podcast, television. You made a lot of money in sales. But you didn't major in it. No kid drops out of the womb, man or woman, saying,

I want to sell hardware. Radio spots. Why do you get into it? Because you majored in something else in college. You weren't totally committed. You didn't like being poor moving cross country. And you're a pretty good talker and you can make good money. It's a fun life.

Drive a nice car. Nothing wrong with that. Nothing at all wrong with that. When I interview people, I always ask them. Young broadcasters, young podcasters, I ask them a series of questions. And all I'm trying to figure out without asking it is, how committed are you? are you willing to move cross-country four times by the time you're 36? Are you willing to be poor for several years?

You're not going to see your mom, dad, or sister for eight years. Can you do that? And if the answer is no, okay, I know you're kind of committed. There's nothing wrong with that. I'm not judging you. But Tom Brady shows us what matters to him. He's been taking pay cuts for 15 years. Number one priority is winning.

Patrick Mahomes. He's a kid. He hadn't even made the big money yet. He's already restructuring his contract. He's telling me how committed he is. He hasn't even made big money yet. Tom didn't even make big money. They were restructuring their deals. In fact, Brady restructures it so often, it's not even news anymore. You did it again this year. He does it every year. Interesting story. How committed are you? There's a story done by ESPN, and the reporter went out and interviewed an eight. agent, a scout, a coach, and an executive to try to figure out how would you handle this Aaron Rogers Packer thing? Because it's been tense forever. And the agent had a really, really interesting answer. I want to read this to you. He says, I've heard Aaron stubborn. And who knows that they're not offering up a palatable situation that is middle ground? I'm going to assume some sort of middle ground's been attempted by the Packers. And I'm going to assume right now Aaron's not listening to it, but it's screwing the Packers in a lot of ways because now there's just no cap space. He goes on to say, the Packers called me, said the agent.

And they said, listen, we'd like to do something big, but hint, hint, we've got to get through a space. Meaning they tried to make a deal. And there's no reason for the agent to lie. It's an anonymous agent. Aaron's not his client. There's no reason for the agent to lie. When you go anonymous, you get more truthful answers. Joy and I can tell you that.

Once you go anonymous, people tell you the truth. Once you quote them, they go soft. It's very interesting. Green Bay trying to do things, but stubborn is more important than winning. Ego more important than winning. I'm not saying Aaron doesn't want to win. But you're going to tell me how much things matter in your life by the sacrifices you're willing to make.

If you're not willing to move away from your hometown for 12 years, you're not really totally committed. Joy did, I did. If you're not willing to sacrifice a little money, you're not going to be Brady. You're not going to be Mahomes back-to-back Super Bowls. It's just very interesting. What do you care about Aaron Rogers?

Jeopardy, power, money, winning, leverage. If this agent and his answer is true, winning's not just the only thing he cares about. Now, nobody thinks that Aaron doesn't want to win. That is not the question here. But it's like the question I often ask young people when I created my podcast network. I ask a series of questions. How committed are you? Well, I kind of want to live around.

I grew up in this area. There's a bagel shop over there. I want to see my parents on Sunday. That is awesome. But you're not all in on being great. You want a more well-rounded life. And by the way, pro athletes have off seasons. LeBron, Brady, they have off-seasons.

You can have a well-rounded life. But it is interesting. This article, go read it for yourself. Agent, scout, executive. What conclusion do you come to? My conclusion is, if, Stubborn is getting in the way of winning, Aaron needs to see a therapist.

Because 25 years from now, you're going to look awfully small with one Super Bowl, but you won the argument with the Packers. All right, I want to segue to this. This is interesting. So we're having all these pro days. And I think there are a bunch of nonsense. I don't think you get a lot out of pro,

especially with the quarterbacks. I think they're stupid. but we have them and they're big and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But I'm noticing a trend here. Let's just talk quarterbacks and pro days. All of them get kind of surgically nitpick, but it's interesting. So Trevor Lawrence, very little criticism. Hell, we didn't even talk on this show about his pro day.

It's not even a topic on a show called The Herd. We love football and college football. We barely talked about it. Mac Jones, there appears to be a love affair currently going on that I can't understand. He is zooming up the board. Zach Wilson, he's been locked into the number two spot for what a month? Trey Lance, wowed everybody at his pro day. My scouts love him.

My sources love him. You can't find a bad word about Trey Lance. People like him. The only question is he hasn't played a lot. And then there's Justin Fields. John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan of the Niners didn't go to his first pro day. At another network, a former NFL quarterback questioned his work ethic. Greg CoSell, who I bring on this show all the time and doesn't really have strong opinions beyond tape,

said this yesterday about Justin Fields. I think Justin Fields has some issues. I really do. I mean, I've watched his tape and I've watched it several times. And I think there's things that concern me, but he's really a high-level talent. I think Justin Fields is a big physical athlete. He may not be as refined as you'd like right now, so now you have to coach him. And I've always been a believer that coaching is a major variable and a big factor.

And where Justin Fields goes will be a big deal because he will need to be coached. Interesting. And I noticed this. I wonder if you noticed this. Atlanta is number four with a pick. Justin Fields is from Georgia. That matters. It does matter.

I mean, Joe Burrow from Ohio, Cincinnati. I mean, I'm not blaming anybody, but it matters. It's kind of cool if you, Troy Aikman always felt and talked and sounded like a cowboy quarterback. It kind of matters, right? So Atlanta had the number four pick. all these rumors for six months, they're going to move off. Move off. Matt Ryan.

The minute the San Francisco 49ers appeared to be committed to Mac Jones, meaning they would get Justin Fields, the next day we'll take calls. What? So Atlanta's not into him. By the way, a story this week on Carolina that needed a quarterback, that it was after the pro day of Justin Fields, they committed to Sam Darnel.

I don't know what it is. I thought he had the best single game by any quarterback in college football this year when he rolled Clemson and made great decisions at unbelievably big downfield throws against Clemson. But there are red flags here. And I've always said in life resumes matter. Remember when Drew Brees said something that ticked off his teammates? And I said, listen, I thought, he was a little out of lockstep with the locker room,

but he had a good resume of being a good person, charity, Louisiana. You can't bury a guy because of a bad tweet or a bad moment. What's somebody's resume? It's one of my rules. Another rule is, and I talked about this with Deshawn Watson yesterday, when the volume gets big on something, I listen. Multiple women, multiple sources.

When I got Greg Kosell, Atlanta, Falcons, Carolina, Red flags, former quarterbacks, I don't know. It makes me wonder. I mean, I think he's the second best quarterback. But again, I'm in the information business. I make calls. I make texts.

I'm trying to figure out, you know, I don't do this professionally. But it is interesting. Every other quarterback in this draft is going up in the eyes of the media, the fans, the teams, and the scouts. And all of the bad stuff is landing on one. guy. Could it be that Ohio States never had a great NFL quarterback because Ohio State is so much more talented? They may not be

Alabama good, but if you took Alabama out of college football, just Alabama, Ohio State's arguably the second most talented team in college football, NFL talent. And in the Big Ten, they're so much more talented than everybody else, including Michigan and Wisconsin,

that the question is, I mean, of course, Of course, he's piling up all these winds and yards. It's easy. I mean, at least Alabama has to face Georgia and Auburn, and Florida, LSU, full of NFL people. Not like Purdue's got an NFL lineup. I don't know what it is, but it is interesting to me. The nitpicking is pretty much off everybody else.

I mean, I'll throw this at you. Apparently, there's a story that Mack Jones as a freshman at Alabama got in a little trouble. I didn't even know that. Didn't even come up. Look it up yourself. Not even brought up. And yet the work ethic of Justin Fields has been brought up. I've never heard that.

But it does make me wonder, am I just wrong on this? Been wrong before, be wrong again. But all the nitpicking has landed on one guy. There you go. I don't know. It's going to be very, very interesting. I still contend he's the second best talent. But again, I've said this before.

I think Trevor Lawrence is the only guarantee success and whoever San Francisco drafts. Whoever San Francisco drafts, I think, will succeed. After that, all bets are off. Coin flip. Coming up next. Really surprised. Yesterday LeBron had a tweet. Kind of funny.

Anybody else surprised on how well. It's gone for LeBron in Los Angeles. I am surprised. I'll discuss that coming up next. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. On Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the I-Hard Radio app. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. American Soccer is about to explode.

The World Cup is coming. Ramos sending on to earn a score at the chip. I'm Tab Ramos. I'm Tom Bow. On our podcast, Inside American Soccer, you'll get the real storylines. I'm not worried about Policicic, I'm not worried about Balagan, I'm not worried about McKinney. My only concern is what happens in the back. The biggest decisions.

If you're going to look at stats and numbers, he has no shot at making this World Cup team. And the truth about the U.S. national team. It wouldn't be a huge surprise if our team ends up in the quarterfinals or potentially a great run into the semifinals. The World Cup is almost here. Experience it all with us. Listen, Inside American Soccer with Tom Bogart and Tab Ramos on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcast. Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, actress, mother, lover, and a Gen X woman walking through life

one hot flash and hormonal crying jag at a time. You ladies know what I mean. I'll bet you a perimenopausal chin here you do. So let's talk about it. Join me on my new podcast. How hard can it be with Deanna Maria Riva, where I call on my GenX squads from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate midlife's most fantastic BS. All of a sudden, I'd had hanginess happening on my own.

I was like, what the hell is that? I was married when I had her, so I didn't even consider how empty that nest was going to be. Mood swings, night sweats, fupas, sex drive. Wait, what sex? Dating at 45. How can it be getting naked at 50 with the new guy? That one's kind of hard. Well, that's lighting.

They say we can't polish a turd, but we're sure going to try. So let's get blunt with laughs, tears, or tears of laughter. And dive into it unfiltered and unbothered and ask, how hard can it be? I cannot believe I'm about to say this out loud in public. Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Diana Maria Riva as part of my Cultura podcast network available on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and IHart Podcast presents soccer moms. So I'm Leanne. Yeah.

This is my best friend, Janet. Hey. And we have been joined at the Hipsons High School. Absolutely. Now a redacted amount of years later. still joined at the hip, just a little bit bigger hips, wider. This is a podcast we're recording it as we tailgate our youth soccer games in the back of my Honda Odyssey with all the snacks and drink.

Sidebar. Why did you get hard seltzer instead of beer? Oh, they had a bogo. Well, then you got it. Do you want a white collar something here? Just hit it. Oh, what are y'all doing? Microphones?

Are you making a rap album? Oh, I would. Come on. Could you move? I would buy it. Cut through the defense like a hot knife through sponge cake. That sounds. Oh, you're lucky. I'm not a drug addict. You're lucky I'm not an alcoholic. You are. I'm lucky I'm not a killer.

I love this team and I'm really trying to be a figure in their lives that they can rely on. Oh. Oh. Listen to soccer moms on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Supplement I take every day is MDrive, free shipping. Powerful ingredients backed by science. Don't let age beat you. Go to MDrive for Men.com. MDrive for Men.com. Peter Schroger in about 10 minutes got some interesting developments with the draft. People going after that number four spot with Atlanta. As I said earlier, I think it's really strange the minute Atlanta looked like they could get Justin Fields. The minute, okay, Niners going Mac Jones.

The minute they could get Justin Fields, yeah, we'll take calls and move the pick. There's a lot of indications that's going to happen in the next two or three days. Very interesting. So LeBron James toxic environments, toxicity is very hard to overcome. It's just, it really is hard to overcome. I mean, Brett Farr, won with the Packers. He won with the Vikings.

Even he couldn't win with the Jets. Like it's Michael Jordan, greatest basketball player most think ever, couldn't win with the Wizards. Like if the ownership is bad and the front office is a mess, it just can't overcome it. And I was thinking LeBron came out, kind of foreshadowing his return on Instagram. He said,

The Weatherman says the weather is changing soon and predicts a thunderstorm is coming. Folks prepare and take the proper cautionary measures to stay safe, basically saying, I'm coming back and we're winning games. And I've got to be honest with you. Does everybody realize how well it's gone for LeBron and how bad it was before he got here. He's already a defending champ.

He's already resting to get ready for the playoffs, and his business is exploding in Los Angeles. By the way, that movie's in Space Jam. The trailer looks great, actually. Really, I didn't watch the first one. I may watch the second one. It looks great. The Lakers were a complete mess when LeBron arrived.

The roster was full of young, immature, skinny kids. They're all gone except Kuzma. The bus family. Lee and Jim were not getting along. The front office was a mess. They couldn't even get meetings with free agents. Meetings. Forget being told no.

They couldn't get a meeting. The Lakers. It's like the Yankees not getting a meeting. The Lakers had the worst win percentage in the entire league in the previous five years before LeBron got there. Think about that. Not Sacramento, not Detroit. Not the Wizards.

The Lakers did. They were in total disarray in their front office. The owners couldn't get along. The roster was awful. And today, when LeBron and AD come back, they'll be the overwhelming favorite to get to the finals. LeBron's like a sanitizing service. He just cleans up all your messes.

It's like that 1-800 junk. You ever seen that company? You just call them. They take all your crap. The house is suddenly clean. I mean, Golden State's dynasty, done. Houston's a complete rebuild out of the way.

You're going to bet your 401K that Portland or Utah can beat them? They don't match up. Denver is interesting acquiring Aaron Gordon, but they'll be an underdog to LeBron. The Clippers? The Clippers have never shown us

any reason to believe they're going to rise to the moment and beat LeBron James. Charles Barkley said as much last night. Charles Barkley really said the Clippers weren't contenders. Well, let me tell you something, Manuel. I've been poor, I've been rich, I've been fat, I've been skinny, I've been old, I've been in the Hall of Fame,

and one thing I can always tell you, the clippers have always sucked. Now that's harsh, but they haven't given us any reason to truly believe they'll get it together and rise in the moment. But for 15 years, he dominated the Eastern Conference, and all I heard was, well, if he played out West, he not only is dominating the West, he took over the most dysfunctional royal family in sports. The owners, the front office, the roster. A couple years later,

he's joking about dominating, he's got a title, business is booming, and he's resting with AD. Resting. They can win games resting, getting ready to host some playoff series and probably vanquish whoever in the West is in their way.

Taylor with the news. No. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, another guy that seems to be able to rise above things and make things better is Chris Paul. Thank you. I know you don't like talking about NBA MVP.

I hate this topic, but if Chris Paul's involved. He is involved. So last night on inside the NBA on T&T, Charles Barkley also talked about Chris Paul and he made a strong case for him to be MVP. Listen, early in the season, LeBron was MVP and Joel M.B. Then James Harden was the MVP. You guys got to start giving my guy Chris Paul Love for MVP, man. Y'all got to give my guy love for MVP.

He was fantastic last night. He'd been fantastic all season. I totally agree. By the way, Hardin's out now for the better part of a month. People, I just talked about LeBron. what he inherited. The Phoenix Suns have been awful for 11 years. They are now, what, the number two seed in the West?

Yeah, I don't, I mean, I have a lot of statistics here in my notes that I could read you and bore you, but they're, to spoil it down to, they're way better now that Chris Paul is on the team, like in every measurable statistical category. So same roster that was awful forever. Yes, there's 36 and 15 second in the Western Conference standings. he is not he doesn't have odds for on Fox Bet for NFL MVP. I don't I don't understand it because Nikola Yokic has the best odds right now. And he's a very viable candidate. Great player. Yeah. Certainly having an MVP season. Sons have a better record than them. So I truly want to know like

I need it. I like to know like what's when I go into a job what is what is the measurement for success? We start a new project. What do we deem as success? I need to know what. I need to know what. I'm working towards. I don't like just doing things just to do them. That doesn't keep me motivated. I don't understand it. I need someone who, like, is there like a, like a pact or something, like a group? Like, because the writers obviously can't define it. So somebody needs to define what the criteria for winning the NBA MVP is. Because Chris Paul's not a good story. He's been around. He's cranky. He's feisty. He's not flashy. He doesn't dunk. Westbrook triple double. Great story. Harden. Great all time score. Great story. By the way, this is why Phil Jackson doesn't win coach of the year.

Won in his whole career. He was never a great story. After he won, you know, after he came from Albany, he wins with Jordan, you give a coach of the year. And then it's like, well, he's got Michael Jordan. NBA writers vote stories over the truth. Whatever the best story is. I just think this is a good story. I do too, but you and I... Is it because it's Phoenix? No, because Phoenix used to be a great organization. I mean like this like it's it's not it doesn't make any sense like Yokic is in Denver it's not like we're not doing like coastal elitism here or something like it just doesn't make any sense this time last year they were 26 and 39 13th in the Western Conference they were terrible they are second in the West right now in the tougher conference in the tougher conference Nicola Yokic has has the best

odds to win the MVP and his team doesn't have a better record than the Suns yeah in the fact that Chris Paul, there's not even odds on him. But this goes to a criticism I've had at the NBA MVP award. It's not about valuable. Rename it to most outstanding statistical player. Best story of the year. It's best story of the year. That's what we come.

Best story. Because last year with Janus, it was all about his numbers. So the numbers. Can't stop talking about the numbers. Janice is not the most valuable player in his own team. Drew Holiday got hurt. They went in a losing streak. Holiday is the one that makes them go.

Janice is the most talented buck. Do you know who has the second best odds? Who? Who? Yonis. Oh, I'm over it. I'm over it. He's talented.

Most talented. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Juel and Bita is the second best. Hasn't played in the month. Third. Hasn't played in the month. I just don't get it.

I don't get it. I don't know why it's like a, there's even any pushback on it. I can see if it's like, oh yeah, like he's like third or fourth. Like, just make it make sense. That's all I ever asked for. Do you just Ms. Schuster decided to test free agency. and he decided to stay with the Steelers on Michael Urban's podcast. He revealed one head coach that was pursuing him during that time.

He said Andy Reid was just calling me and sending me Lombardi Trophy pictures, like constantly. We had a good talk. So it would have been Casey after the Steelers. He texted me pictures to me while I was trying to make a decision. You know, I have so much respect for him and his team. So, yeah. So the Kansas City Chiefs were the other,

for the number two team for Juddrew Smith-Schuster. He re-signed with the Steelers for one year, $8 million. I don't get it. If I was a wide receiver and I could get Mahomes and Andy Reed or a defensive coach and an old big Ben, it's not even, I would not even, I would literally call my real estate agent say, sell the house, I've moved to Kansas City. I mean, I don't get it. I think surfacing, maybe he's more comfortable in Pittsburgh.

All right. Quality of life is obviously a factor when you're signing a one-year deal so obviously we know that the Kansas City Chiefs are in a better position to win now than the Pittsburgh Steelers. I think even Steelers fans can admit that. He also will have a bigger brand in Pittsburgh

than Kansas City because there's a lot of big names in Kansas City and he's their top guy in Pittsburgh. I don't know. It is interesting. I would like to know what was the final deciding factor for him to stay in Pittsburgh because it's not even. It's not even as far as the talent situation goes. I mean, Mike Tomlin, obviously, Mike Tom and Annie Reid, both amazing coaches, both Super Bowl winning coaches.

But Mahomes, Rathusberger. Juju's into marketing, right? Like he's all over TikTok and stuff. Well, Kansas City is going to get further in the playoffs than Pittsburgh. They're a Super Bowl favorite. That's great for your marketing if you have eight catches in the Super Bowl. Yes. I mean, yeah, I can't argue with that.

And the Kansas City offer had more incentives. He can make more money. Yeah, I do wonder what it was that made him. It's interesting day. So Tua didn't get off to the start in Miami would have hoped for, which did leave some people to believe that the dolphins might take a quarterback with six pick. But Byron Jones has faith in the young quarterback and has great expectations for him this year. This team is comprised of a bunch of young guys.

And obviously he's going into his second year. And what we saw last year was great from him. But, you know, we expect a big jump. And the kids been working. I know he's been working. He's been a great kid and really good head on his shoulders. So I'm looking forward to seeing his jump and, you know, his contributions

to the team have been great so far but looking for even something better this year. So it's exciting. I can't wait to see him just work his magic. It's very obvious the Dolphins have committed to him moving forward. Possibly if someone like Justin Fields is available. Yeah, it's interesting.

And it could get interesting. Yeah. But it does seem like they're committed to Tua moving forward. I know Dolphins fans are very upset with me for even suggesting that maybe Tua isn't the next coming of Dan Marino. But who would have thought it? You know, my thing with Tua is this. It's not that he doesn't deserve more time.

Obviously, you want to give a rookie quarterback a few years. You don't want to get into the habit of drafting a new quarterback every single year. That's not a functional way to run a franchise. However, what you did last year with Tua wasn't a functional way to develop a young quarterback either, like pulling him out of the game in big moments to do all that with Fitzpatrick. for what? You still didn't make the playoffs. So you just robbed Tua of experience and time to develop to go no further in the season than you did with him failing. My thing with Tua is, and it's the same thing we've been discussing in this draft, every single one of these guys is not going to

be successful. This is not, like statistically, it's not a me wishing that it's impossible. It has never happened. So unless it happens this year that all four or five of these guys go on to, you know, successful Pro Bowl, Hall of Fame, Super Bowl winning careers, we know that's not going to happen. So he's going to be compared to Justin Herbert, who just run rookie of the year, and Joe Burrow for the rest of his career, because that's his draft class. So let's just compare the statistics. Obviously, Herbert played a full season. Joe Burrow and Tua played the same amount of games. I mean, it's not close. It's not close. It's not close. It's not close. Yeah. So what is it that you're pitching me on? Now, I'm not saying he can't develop. Of course he

can. But you can't tell me this year that he was as spectacular as Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert. Like, are we watching the same game? I don't get it. I'm not saying he can't develop. I do think they're... I didn't see anything special that would warrant it being a ridiculous conversation to possibly move on from him. Brian Flores may be saying, listen, I'm 10 and 6. My job's secure. I can give him another year. My argument to that is next year is a bad college quarterback draft. There's about four teams in this league. Washington's another one. If you do not make a move, this is why Carolina getting Sam Darnold, even if it doesn't work,

Donald's going to be much higher rated than any college quarterback next year. Sure. So that means I talk to a scout who I trust, an East Coast Scout who I trust. He's like, and he kept advocating for Donald. He said, Donald's going to be a significantly higher graded quarterback than anybody out of college next year. Even if you have reservations, you don't have to pay Sam 29 million.

You don't have to pay him 30 million. Yeah, it'll be reasonable. Pay him 18. You don't want to get trapped for two years. Keep in mind also that Burrow did that with a terrible offensive line and the 22nd ranked defense in Cincinnati. Tua had the sixth ranked defense and a coach that we were talking about for coach of the year. That's right. Joy with the news.

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd line news. I got good. You know, I'm going to hold. I don't usually do this. Schrager's a busy guy. He doesn't want to waste any time.

but I am so, we got into this two-a-thing, I'm going to hold and give you Schrager after the break, because Schrager's got a lot of things here. I'm not going to rush Peter Schroger. You can't rush great food or great art. You don't just go to a great restaurant and just jam all the food down. You take time, you have your ambiance. They can't rush Schrager. So I'm going to take a break and go to Shreger.

And I know he's very busy. He's got stories to break, but I'm going to bring him back on the other side. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, I'm John Middlecough, and I host the three and out podcast. Do you like football? Do you like the NFL? Do you like the NFL draft? Quarterbacks, coaches. Well, I talk about it all on the show.

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Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, actress, mother, lover, and a Gen X woman walking through life one hot flash and hormonal crying jag at a time. You ladies know what I mean. I'll bet you a perimenopausal chin here you do. So let's talk about it. Join me on my new podcast. How hard can it be with Deanna Maria Riva, where I call on my Gen X squads from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate Midlife's most fantastic BS. All of a sudden, I'd had hanginess happening on my own. I was like, what the hell is that? I was married when I had her, so I didn't even consider how empty that Ness was going to be. Mood swings, night sweats, fupas, sex drive.

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All right, so let's start with this. I love mock drafts. I'm into them. About every two weeks, I bring a former scout on, and we just did one yesterday. You only do a couple, if I recall, just two. You just released one. Why do you only do two? All right.

So I never do a mock draft before the combine in a typical year. And I always wait until after free agency, because you can't determine what a team is going to do without knowing what their needs are. And then I look at my mock draft differently. There are some really good scouts and guys who grinds. the tape. Daniel Jeremiah, I think, is one of the best in the business. He watches the tape. He plays with the scout's mind and says, here's what I would do. I don't do that. I don't watch tape. I have no interest in watching tape. I use my phone, Colin, and I text to everyone I know in the

league. My first mock draft is kind of like putting it there out there in the ether and seeing what happens. The amount of texts that I get from people around the league, the day after that mock draft comes out helps me formulate my thoughts, my information steers me ways. The amount of coaches that texted me and said, you're way off on this one, or you're wrong on that one. That wouldn't have responded until I put the first mock draft out

with that information really is telling. Here was what I did with the top 10. And Joy, I know you're getting skewered by Dolphins fans for even suggesting that Tuotunga Violova

is not going to win five Super Bowls and 16 MVP's. I'm getting skewered by Dolphins fans because I've got Kyle Pitts not going at sixth overall. So you say, well, well, tight ends don't go that high. We can talk about that.

but I use the information I get from other teams and many of them saying, I don't know if Pitts is even going to be there at six. He's that highly valued. I have another team that called me and was like, you got to put Pitts higher. That's the stuff I do. I use intelligence from other teams and sources and I trust what I got. And I usually do end up with a pretty accurate mock draft when it's all said and done.

But here's top 10 from yesterday. Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, and yes, I've got Mack Jones going three to San Francisco, as I have since they made the trade. So in the last 24 hours, like I thought you had Kyle Pitts a spot low, in the last 24 hours, what have you learned? The biggest thing you've learned. Yeah, the biggest thing I learned is that it is not a slam dunk that this quarterback is going to go in this order. There's a lot of feedback, and a lot of people seem to say, well, I think Lance makes more sense for San Francisco is a bigger long-term project, but you don't need to do that with Garapolo. But other people say, I like fields not only more than I like Mac Jones, but I like.

like Fields more than Zach Wilson. It's wide open. I think the quarterbacks, we go chalk here. We're like, all right, well, the mock drafts say Lawrence, Wilson, Mack Jones, that's it. I don't think that's the case just yet. It's what I've got. But my feedback is telling me this thing is wide open. And the fact that John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan aren't just sitting on their hands right now, but they're actually going

to Ohio State to go work out Justin Fields again tells me it's not a slam dunk that Mac Jones is that number three guy. Okay. So you, and I agree with this. you have New England moving up to the number four spots. So one of the things I've learned through the years, and I guess any fan could figure this out, when a team wants to do business, nobody gets hurt if they just leak, we want to do business.

And so when Atlanta leaks the story, and they did probably, which is, hey, we're taking calls now. They're just telling everybody, call us. We're interested. Some teams are more connected than others. So you've got to make it easy for them. Hey, everybody will leak a story. We want calls.

So why New England moving up to four and why now? Yeah, it's a great question. And Colin, I got a lot of feedback on this one too, obviously, because New England's one of those teams. People raised their eyebrows and say, wow, well, first, Atlanta, you're at the fourth pick. They just restructured Matt Ryan's contract, but they didn't restructure it in a way where they're out of that contract.

They're going to be paying them a lot of money for the next three years, whether it's salary cap money they're paying or it's dead cap money. So I don't think they're going quarterback just yet. That said, the Patriots, they never want to be this high in the draft again. The last time they were this high in the draft, I think it was Gerard Mayo in 08, who they took in the top 10. That's how long it's been. They're not used to being 15.

And yet being at 15 isn't high enough to get one of these quarterbacks, the way this thing is going to play out. So I've got New England who have been aggressive all offseason saying, let's nip this in the butt. Let's get one of these guys. It might not be their first pick, Justin Fields. They might like Mack Jones more. They might like Zach Wilson more.

But let's get one of these guys. And let's finally start developing one of these young quarterbacks. and being one of these elite prospects. They don't plan on ever being in the top 10. They don't plan on ever being in the top 15 again. They wouldn't have spent all this money in free agency. They're aggressive right now. And I think the aggressor gets rewarded with big plays when they actually have to go out and get it.

I don't think this is the same Belichick of years prior where it's just sit around and wait and get these guys and rely on compensatory picks in the third round. No, I think Bill could be very aggressive this time. And I think if he likes Fields, which I'm not sure, I could tell you on the record, I don't know his thoughts on Justin Field. But if he likes him, this is the year they're going to open get them. They're not going to have that 15th pick too often. You know, I was talking to Joy about the Sam Darnold thing before you came on.

I'm sure you were listening to it as we were going to bring you on, is that the college quarterback draft, my scouts are all saying the same thing. It's bad next year. This year's great. If Trey Lance is your fourth best prospect this year, I mean, the Niners may like Mack Jones. He could be your fifth. That's a good quarterback draft. next year's not good.

It's injured guys. It's hot and cold guys. There's no huge arms in it. And I said to myself, when Carolina got Darnold, what they were telling you was, we don't know if it's going to work. But the environment's better here. You don't have to pay Sam a fortune. And what we don't want to do is get trapped next year. So take me through a little bit because you are so connected to the Jets.

the Jets, the darn old Carolina, how it played out and maybe Carolina's thinking. Carolina made no secret about it. They were very interested in Matt Stafford. I think they were very interested in Deshaun Watson before that thing went haywire. And I think they knew that the eighth overall pick in this year's draft, there's a chance they get left out of the dance and that there's four teams or maybe even five. They get quarterbacks before them. So when this thing came to, the compensation was discussed. They basically told the Jets, This is what we're willing to give up. We would love Sam Darnold.

But let me tell you something. It's not like Carolina saying, we're trading for Sam Darnold, and he's the quarterback of the future, and here's $100 million extension. It was a low risk investment for them. They did not give up an eighth overall pick. They did not give up their second round pick. They gave up next year's second round pick, which is a great unknown. And they're only paying him $11 million per year over the next two years. Yeah.

This is a no-brainer for Carolina. But it also doesn't mean they won't take a quarterback at eight. and that might cause mass hysteria on draft day. But if Trey Lance is a guy they like or Justin Fields is the guy they like, and for whatever reason those guys start slipping, you're right, Colin, the next year's quarterback class, and who knows? I mean, Zach Wilson came out of nowhere this year. We can have one of those deals this coming draft class too, and there might be that guy.

But you don't want to be drafting in the top three or four to have to get a quarterback. So it was almost security for Carolina to just go and get Darnold. They know he can play. They know that he's got an upside. and they know that they can at least audition him for a year before giving him the huge extension. But the truth of the matter is, Colin, I don't think this is a slam dunk that they're saying Sam Donald's our quarterback of the future. It's the quarterback for now.

It's quarterback for now until the next three weeks unless a quarterback falls in a eight that they really love. All right. Let's look at Peter Schragger's mock draft again, which has been accurate through the years. He's got quarterbacks going one, two, three, and four in Atlanta moving out. It all makes sense to me. Like the Penaise-Soul move makes it. ton of sense to me because the weakness for Carolina is left tackle and corner. So sometimes you get very lucky in the draft.

Well, what you need just happens to be available. By the way, and I agree with Atlanta on this. What Atlanta needs is really not available at four. They need Micah Parsons. They need defensive players. They're a mess. So, yeah. Now, by the way, you have New England going up to four.

Yep. A couple minutes left. if New England doesn't go up, do your sources tell you there's another team to keep your eye on for four? I think Denver's a possibility to move up. They're at nine right now. As you see, I've got them getting trade lands who slips to them, but who knows, maybe they like someone there. They can move up there. I would always keep an eye on Chicago who took a major swing at Russell Wilson and did not land him

and could still be in the market if there's someone willing to trade up or trade back with them. I would look at New England. And then I would look for the teams that might not want a quarter. back at four, but might want Kyle Pitts at four, which sounds crazy. We have never had a tight end in the last 60 years of the NFL be drafted in the top five. But the way people are talking about this guy is if he's some sort of unicorn, unlike anything we've ever seen, six foot six out of Florida, has all the talent in the world. I never value the tight end position in the draft. And I think it's because if these guys are our free agents, they don't make nearly the same

money as offensive tackle and defensive end and quarterback. So why would I draft one so high. But the way that the NFL responded to this mock draft with text to my phone saying, how could you have pits slip to seven? It is as if this Kyle Pitt is already Tony Gonzalez or Shannon Sharp. It is, it is hype that I have never seen before from a tight end coming out of college. And yet, if a team falls in love that much, he might be the guy someone trades up to Atlanta to go grab. By the way, I said this yesterday. Dallas Cowboys have 10 picks. would Dallas give up a pick or two, get pits, which by the way would make McCarthy and Dack better, validate Dax contract, that's for sure.

And then they could use another seven picks on their defense. I talked to somebody yesterday, texted him. And I said, he said, if Jerry loves somebody, it is being discussed now in their boardrooms about moving up to get pits. Dallas was set on a guy named Caleb Von Chason at LSU, a defensive end last year. I had it from good sources. They were set. the day of the draft C.D. Lam starts slipping, and it was within two minutes. He said, we got to take C.D. Lamb. They didn't go through the depth charts. They didn't ask questions.

CD Lamb was the guy. If Jerry wants someone, you have to restrain them really hard, especially on offense, to not take them. So if Kyle Pitts were to slip or if they thought they could trade up, nothing's off the table with Jerry Jones. Peter Schroger. We just savored that meal with Peter Schroen. Love that meal. Hey, go have a nice weekend with your fam. You're the best, Colin. Thanks. Thanks. Enjoy yours. Great as well. Thank you. Enjoy you and Shreg's getting a ton of heat on your Tua criticisms. You would think I have no rep in that city.

Diculous. I like to see somebody else get hate once in a while. I'll be honest with you. I get my fair share. Hour 2 on a Friday next. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends.

Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, S&L's Mikey Day and headwriter, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

The story I told myself can then shape my behavior, and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection. This Mental Health Awareness Month, tune into the podcast deeply well with Debbie Brown if you've been searching for a soft place to land while doing the work to become whole. This podcast is for you to hear more. Listen to Deeply Well with Debbie Brown

from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Joey Dardano. And on my new podcast, Hope from a Hypocrite, I'll be changing lives, helping people in need with thoughtful solutions.

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Do that. David O'Yelloo. I love this podcast, whether it's therapy or relationships or religion or sex or addiction or you just go straight for the guts. Dennis Leary, Gaten Matarazzo from Stranger Things. Tena Monjou. Camilla Morone. Carrie Kenny Silver. And more. Listen to these episodes of Dear Chelsea on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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