The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 04/27/2021 - HOUR 1 - Mac Jones, Niners, Brady

Episode Date: April 27, 2021

If the 49ers draft Mac Jones it's because of fearLook for the Niners to trade Jimmy G soonTom Brady takes care of his body and is always restructuring his contractGuest: Peter King Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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As a draft starts in two days, it's Tuesday. Live in Los Angeles, it's the herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening. Iheart radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. A lot of stuff out there. You know, it's funny, Joy Taylor joining me. A lot of people talking about, you know, some of this draft talk, it's just endless, endless, endless. Yes, but what it is is hope.

Right. Which is great for fans. Baseball, bottom third of the league has no hope. NBA, bottom third of the league, no hope. But the NFL does better than any league. Jacksonville gets Urban Meyer and Trevor Lawrence. Wouldn't be shocked if they made the playoffs in that wacky division. Yep.

Selling hope is really important. I think it matters for presidents. Yeah, I was going to say, what do politics do? They sell hope or fear. That's right. Equally as powerful. So whereas in the other states, sports. I mean, it just understood baseball didn't have a salary cap. So the bottom eight, nine

teams, I love my Mariners, but they're not winning the World Series, right? You know that. And that hurts the sport. Bottom NBA, if you don't have good enough players, Washington, you just don't, you have no chance to win the championship. So the draft really is symbolic of the future. And in the NFL, we know that you can get, you can go from bad to good fast. Miami, where you're from was one and 15. They bring parcels to be the GM. I think they were 11 and 5 the next year. It's just very hard to do that in other sports. I want to start with this. It does look like Mack Jones.

Going to go number three to the San Francisco 49ers. And we all admit, kind of a low ceiling. And start a lot of games in college. Oh, no. But it's interesting about the ceiling discussion. And that's what I want to talk about here. In the NBA, it's always been understood. you really are going to draft

ceiling guy, huge ceiling. Not ready to play now. Kobe Bryant, Joel Embed. The bottom line is, we all know that the team's drafting at the top of the NBA draft in most years. They're not going to win for years. It's understood.

I mean, good God, how long did the Philadelphia people get with a process? Like seven years? It wasn't until the end they got fired. It's understood. Embedds the next shabed. He can't play for two years. Kobe's the next Jordan. He can't play.

It's understood. Jerry West is like, I get it. That's understood. Coaches understand it. GMs understand it. You get a longer runway on the rebuild. And the NFL, it's different. The NFL is different.

You draft who can help me now. If you do take a guy who's not going to play for two years, Green Bay Jordan Love, they're still getting crap for it. Last year, the 25 first drafts, staff picks in the NFL. All played significant time. One team two years ago said, we're going to go with the ceiling guy. Green Bay is still getting. The quarterback was mad. The fans were mad. The media crushed them in the NFL. And why is this? Because in the NFL, a coach and sometimes a GM, you don't get a four-year rebuild. You don't get a three-year rebuild. Right now, John Gruden

has the longest runway in the NFL for a rebuild. He's got the longest run. He's got the longest run his teams have gotten better every year. We understand he plays in the division with like Andy Reed. And he won a Super Bowl? And he's still getting crap. As a lot of people, myself included, we're about ready to go off it. And he's gotten better every year. And he's got a Super Bowl.

But in the NBA, it's different. You can be fired two times as a head coach, sometimes three. And not only get a job, get a great job. I mean, Frank Vogel couldn't win at the highest level in the Eastern Conference with the Pacers. And then he goes to Orlando. It's a mess. He not only gets a job, he gets the LeBron Laker job. That's a great job.

That's the best job in the market. And I love Vogel. But in the NFL, also, Mike Dan Tony, good God, folks. How many times does that not work? He literally doesn't like Biggs or defense. Now he's got the best assistant job in the league. and if Steve Nash doesn't work, he'll get that job too. Tibbs. Tibbs not only lost, but he was starting to get a narrative like he burns everybody out.

He's a retread. I mean, when he got hired, Joy and I were like, what? He got the most valuable franchise in the league job, the Knicks. That's harder to do in the NFL, and coaches know it. I mean, in the NFL, as a GM or a coach, if you don't win in your first job, and it's kind of ugly, Ryan Grigsden, GM of the Colts, you don't get interviewed for a GM job again. If Ryan Pace in Chicago gets booted after drafting Tribesky, it's over.

He'll never be a GM again. Like if you bomb as a coach, like Freddie Kitchens, it's over, it's done. In the NBA, you get more chances. So in the NFL, what does that mean? There's fear. These are great jobs. You can make like $10 million a year. It's fear that I got to win now.

Now, the fear is so palpable and so real in the NFL, and this is why I think Mac Jones is going to get drafted by Kyle Shanahan. Think about Kyle Shanahan. Dad's a Hall of Famer. I mean, he's understood. He beat Sean McVan in the same division head-to-head with backups. Nobody would argue that Kyle Shanahan can't coach. In the one year he had a starting quarterback, they go to the Super Bowl. But I think it's real for Kyle Shanahan. The Seahawks look better next year. The Rams have Stafford, Arizona keeps adding pieces. He's sitting there thinking, I need to start winning like now. I can't go with a developmental guy. I can't go ceiling guy.

How do I go ceiling guy? I don't have time for Trey Lance to develop. I don't have time. Everybody likes Trey Lance. I've been doing this now 30-some years. I got a lot of NFL contacts. All my guys love Trey Lans. The only question is he hasn't played really in a year and a half.

Mac Jones has only started one year, too, but it's with NFL coach. He just played. We just saw it. It was against the best defenses in college football. There's some recent tape on him. That's why I always show the same four plays for Trey Lance. We don't have any tape. But here's what gets interesting.

So the NBA is ceiling guy. You draft the ceiling guy. Don't worry about now. NFL's, I got to win now. But what happens in the NFL when guy that can't help you now but has a big ceiling is on a pretty damn good winning streak. Josh Allen, Tyler Murray,

Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson. They were ceiling guys. They weren't ready to start. And they're like winning 75% of their games. Uh-oh. That's the problem. That's what fancy.

That's the dilemma for Kyle Shanahan. Is that he's always been in the league. Can you play and help me? now. And I do think Mack Jones, according to people I trust, can walk in with that offense and win games. And I do think Tray Lance has a higher ceiling and Justin Fields has a higher ceiling, but may not quite be ready to go right now in the NFL's toughest division. But boy, you look around the league, and there's an NBA field of the NFL. A lot of these can't help you now, guys, are running the league. And I really do think about this. Think about Jimmy Garoppolo. And pretend you and I,

We run the NFL team. Let's say Jimmy Garoppolo had never been hurt, but, and we're all watching, he's not, he's not great. He's B. He's like a thicker Matt Wright. He's B. And he'd never gotten hurt in San Francisco. And he did get to one Super Bowl. But in the end, Kyle Shanahan was like, listen, I go against Stafford.

I go against Russell Wilson. I go against Kyle O'Roury. And Kyle was just ready to move on from him. And he'd never been hurt. I think he would draft Tray Lance because then you could say, okay, I'm going to get hit in the chops for a year. I'm fine.

But with Garapolo getting hurt, Garapolo controls this. We all think Shanahan's running the team and John Lynch and a lot of it's Garoppolo is that if Garoppolo never gets hurt and you go to a Super Bowl still and you're winning games, but you're not, you've decided inside the organization, listen, his judgment's not great.

It wasn't great with the adult film star. he misses throws, was decisions, and you were moving off, it'd be much easier to go with a higher ceiling guy. But that's not the league we live in. Like, I'm not a Mac Jones fan. He looks small to me. His arm is average. Like, if Joe Burrow couldn't move and Tony Romo couldn't move, that's Mac Jones.

Yeah. What made Romo and what makes Burrow to me is their escapeability. Burrow, Romo feel like the same guy to me, Burrow a little higher ceiling. But in the end, neither has a great arm. Mac Jones doesn't. Mac Jones doesn't. But I think this league is built on fear. I think the NFL is built on fear.

Is guys knowing if they, even Kyle Shanahan, he may be looking and thinking, I'm not going to get another George Kittle. I'm not going to get another Bosa. I'm not going to get another GM I like. That will let me pick the quarterback I like. So I think Mac Jones is going to go three. It is not the pick I would make, but a lot of times, I, you know, like I've always said this about

Adam Sandler movies. They're not built for me, but I get why they're made. Barstool Sports. It's not really built for me. I'm in my 50s, but I get the business. Like, I get the Mac Jones pick. I just wouldn't do it. And I certainly wouldn't have given away multiple picks to get Mac Jones.

And I will say this, that here's the interesting thing, to show you how much. much Garapolo's injuries are controlling it. I'll just throw this out there. I'll talk about it more later. But what's really interesting about Garapolo is that there's a story today with Peter King is they're going to move him now in a week. Like they're going to move him fast. And think about if you're Kyle Shanahan. If you want to move Garapolo now if you're going to move him, right? Because he has an injury history. If Garapolo got hurt one more time in September, you're going to move him. You get nothing for. There's no value on the market for him. None. Today, according to Peter King, multiple calls, most will give up a second round pick. Denver's like, he's ready to play.

Justin Fields, we don't want to wait anymore. Again, Big Fangio doesn't want to wait to win either. He wants to win now. Jimmy Garoppolo can win now. Denver very interested in the Jimmy Garoppolo thing. But Garopalo could literally go from getting you a second round pick if you traded him to Denver today, to getting nothing. In the NFC West, I can't go with nothing. I can't lose my quarterback and have nothing. So the feeling is,

Peter King will join us this hour is they're taking calls and they want to move him and they want to get a peck. Because if he gets hurt again, they get nothing. And in the NFC West, you can't get nothing for your quarterback. You got to get something.

It's too competitive. So I think the whole ceiling thing and the fear, like we talk about this all the time in the show. Fear drives. so much of our decisions. And I think a lot of the Mac, and by the way, those are often bad decisions. But I do think the Mac Jones thing, there's some fear in this that we've got to get something for Garapolo.

The division's getting better. I know where ceilings lower. I got to win now. It's not who I would do it. I hate doing stuff. I mean, I just don't like fear-based decisions. But I get them. I get why people make them.

All right. The GM of the Packers is talking again. He seems like such a nice guy. Every time he talks, he's like it seems like a swell guy, very Green Bay. Actions speak louder than words, though, and there's still some friction with Aaron Rogers. Also, I love Bucky Brooks. He made a suggestion this morning. I could not disagree with more on Lamar Jackson.

We'll have that coming up. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart 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. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying.

Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement

to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment,

and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream,

this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, Follow at Clifford and a TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking.

What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jek. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s.

To be clear, 84 was big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you all know. I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really?

Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Keer Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark.

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Order ahead, skip the line, cut to the chase by Jersey Mikes, B a sub above. So it's interesting. Two general managers yesterday, this is not a coincidence, the Packers General Manager and the Falcons General Manager, they both have very expensive quarterbacks.

because of that, Terry Fontenow had to talk about, hey, people are calling on Julio Jones, and we've got to listen because, quote, we're in a difficult cap situation. And you think to yourself, well, why would Atlanta doesn't have that many stars? Where the quarterback is like a $35 million cap hit. Brian Gutakunst, real nice guy, looks very nice, sounds very smart, once again talking about Aaron Rogers, and it all comes back to the cap. Here's Brian yesterday. Aaron's our guy.

He's going to be our quarterback for the foreseeable future. We're excited about the things we're going to try to accomplish here over the next couple of years. So we certainly think that with the contract that you're kind of talking about is something we'll work through. We're going to have to do probably a few things with different contracts as we head towards the season and through the season to make sure that our salary kept situation, not only this year, but in 2022,

is square. So the GM of the Packers and the Jam of the Falcons, we don't think of those as star-studded teams. They're both like, listen, we got this cap thing. We got to let go of Julio Jones. And we'll get away. Why? Because your quarterback's $37 million.

Look at the offseason of Kansas City. Mahomes is a $7.4 million cap hit. They rebuilt their offensive line. Joe Tuny, they paid a fortune to. Orlando Brown Jr. next year. They're going to pay a fortune to. They just go look at the offensive line numbers they brought in this year.

And they already paid Tyree Kill and HoneyBanger and Frank Clark and Travis Kelsey. Look at Tampa's off season. Nobody got a pay cut. Everybody. They paid everybody. They even franchise guys.

Chris Godwin makes a fortune. Shaq Barrett, Levante Day. And I agree with all of them. But there's two teams in the NFL, Seattle and Green Bay. who have what we perceive to be A-plus quarterbacks, and they're always like having to try to move stuff around. I mean, Seattle had to let go of Carlos Dunlap, bring him back to just fit him in on a reduced deal.

Why didn't Tampa, Kansas City have to do that? Folks, everybody wants to know the secret of Tom Brady's success and longevity. It ain't coaching. It's A, he takes care of his body to a level nobody ever has, and B, he's constantly restructuring his deal. You can't tell me it's coaching. What about Big Ben? Big Ben's got more natural talent than Brady,

but he doesn't take care of his body. Aaron Rogers, Russell Wilson, have more natural talent than Tom Brady, but they don't restructure their deals. You can't tell me Brady's success is tied to Belichick. He just went to Bruce Ariens and won a Super Bowl, and Belichick can't win without him. You can't tell me it's tied to coaching

because Mike McCarthy has a more impressive resume than Matt LaFleur. The difference is Matt LaFleur gets, expensive Aaron and Mike McCarthy got mostly cheap Aaron. You can't blame coaching. We know Pete Carroll can win a Super Bowl. Mike Tomlin won a Super Bowl. It's not the coaching thing.

And I'm not saying coaching doesn't matter. You can't have a grease fire as a head coach. But Big Ben Russell Wilson and Aaron Rogers have not achieved Tom's success. It's not about the coaching. And in a Pete Carroll, Matt LaFlewer, Mike Tomlin thing. It's a one guy didn't take care of his body. That's why it's so bad now. And especially at the end of a season, Big Ben looks shot.

and the other two guys won't take a pay cut. Just look at what Kansas City has done. First of all, Mahomes signed a very team-friendly deal. When he signed it, we all said. Everybody said. Even the Capologist guys were like, oh, boy, Kansas City got a deal. Then they already restructured it. And now he's only making $7 million.

They just gave him an all-star offensive line. Tom Brady's got an all-star defensive unit. And so you get to a point on all this. I got Green Bay in Atlanta. Those are not star-studded rosters. but once you pay a quarterback 35, 37, 38, this is what you're dealing with. All they can talk about is the cap. And so, like, I'm so over the Green Bay story.

It's like, I don't think Green Bay's anti-Aren. I think the GM knows he's great. The dream of every general manager in this league is to draft somebody as talented as Aaron Rogers. That is the dream for every GM. The nightmare is the years, you have to pay him $39 million. Because then you can't build on it. I don't think anybody's against Aaron in Green Bay. I mean, actions speak louder than words.

You know, they did take Jordan love, but I think it comes back to one thing. Aaron's smart. He does take care of his body, so check that off. That's not the thing. But Aaron's not going to take any pay cuts. He's not married to his supermodel. Okay? You didn't have somebody making $500 million.

NFL. He didn't have a shoe deal like an NBA player. They're not going to take any pay cuts. He's had a couple injuries, so he didn't know how long it's going to last. But if you want to look at Brady's success, we have all tied it to Belichick. That has been our argument forever. Yeah, he just won with Bruce Ariens. No, no, no.

It's Tom takes care of his body, and Tom constantly restructures his deal. Russell won't and Aaron won't. For reasons, it's up to them. It's not my call. It's your money, not mine. Joy with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news.

This is the herd line news. Trey Lance is anxiously waiting to find out where he will be drafted on Thursday night. He joined first things first this morning and showed how confident he is in his potential compared to the other four prospects at quarterback this year. Yeah, I mean, I think I'm the best quarterback in the class, and I'm excited to prove that, get to an organization and have an opportunity to prove it. Those guys would say the same exact thing, and I actually do that. As a quarterback, I think that's the mindset you've got to have.

I agree. And he's also probably, as we've said before, if he does drop, look at the teams he could drop to. Better rosters. Well, yeah, I mean, that worked out pretty slimingly for Lamar Jackson and many other Patrick Mahomes. Patrick Mahomes, many other quarterbacks throughout league history. It's not always the worst thing to drop. Now, there is, you know, some esteem and ego involved in going at the top of the draft.

But, yeah, you're generally going to go to a worst team and a worse roster. Listen, here's the thing for anybody upset if Justin Fields or Trey Lance drops. Never forget this. You make your money as a quarterback with your second and third. contract. Yeah. You don't make it with your first. And if you get over drafted, Baker Mayfield, and you end up going to a bad organization

that can't get the coach right for three years, you may never get that big second contract. You get a fifth year option. So, you know, Trubisky, oh, he's overdrafted. He ends up with a GM who I don't think knows what he's doing. It's not a very good roster. And Trubisky's done. Yep. And Baker, but all these drop guys.

You know, Lamar drops, he's going to get an option. Well, there's also a lot of talk about, you know, Tray Lance not, obviously he has the same amount of starts as Mac Jones, but Mac Jones has played more frequently and he's playing against better competition in the SEC and he's with better coaching. But I don't think that the small school quarterback thing is as important as people. Totally agree. I think we're past that. If you, well, I don't know. A lot of people really feel like Mac Jones is a better prospect than Trey Lance because he played in the SEC and he played for Alabama. I actually think it's. It doesn't hurt him, but I look at it as, well, you had incredible talents around you, not that you didn't elevate it. Well, you also had incredible coaching talent. Yeah, like, how do you really evaluate how good you are as an individual when you have that kind of support system around you? It's not his fault. Like, that's where he went and that's where he played.

But I think if you elevate a smaller program with less talented players around you, I think that matters as well. I mean, we've seen guys like Josh Allen, obviously, Carson Wentz came from North Dakota State. Jimmy Garoppolo, Tony Romo, Joe Flacco, Kurt Warner, Northern Iowa, Steve McNair, Alcorn State. Like, it really doesn't matter where you go. It's the potential. It's the raw talent. It's the development.

Where you go to college. Where you go in the NFL is what determines your success. It's really happening in the NBA. Steph Curry went to Davidson. I mean, what's happening, you're seeing in the NFL and in the NBA, where you go is not as a big a deal as we think. The bottom line is, it's the same in recruiting.

Your cousins know this. If you're talented, you will be found. Right. And you will be given a second chance. I mean, Sam Darnold is not winning games. He's going to get a second chance. Like in the end, if you work hard, whether you go to school, Alabama could be great for certain positions. But at Alabama, you may not play as much early because they have so many good players.

Whereas Trey Lance can literally walk in with very little quarterback history and take over the program. So the good news for all young people, if you're good, if you work hard, they'll find you. NBA will find you in Davidson. I mean, Clay Thompson went to Washington State. And I mean, think about that. Right. And sometimes your profile not being as big as somebody who went to a bigger school works in your favor. Because as we said, you can drop to a better NFL program, which really determines how successful you're going to be, not your college program.

So the Eagles already traded down in the drafts from number six to number six to number. 12, but they could be on the verge of making another move. Philly reportedly has made a lot of calls to try and trade back up into the top 10. Now, this could be a little bit of a strategy on their part to try and feel out how committed people are to those particular draft slots because they might be taking certain players. So it might not be that the Eagles necessarily want to move up because they don't want to get up any of their first round pick.

So if they can move back up into the top 10 without losing any of their first round picks that they got in the trade down, then it would be a value. But I think it's also because they want to poke around and see, you know, oh, you know, the lions really want to stay there. They're probably taking, you know, this player that's been rumored to go there, like that position. So they are trying to kind of do their due diligence to see what's going to be available for them at 12. I don't think that they're going to give up one of the picks they got to move to move back in the top time. Detroit and Philadelphia, I feel like to me, I would try. back. I mean, I think Philadelphia is in a much bigger rebuild than they want to admit. Because for Howie Roseman to admit we're in a rebuild, you have to admit you haven't done a very

good job drafting. Like, Philadelphia to me, is not one of the 10 to 12 most talented teams. They're not even close to a Baltimore roster. I think they're the worst team in their division. Well, some of that's going to be coaching. But I don't know. If I'm Detroit and Philadelphia, get me out of here. I want to get more players. Yeah, I don't see Detroit moving. Philadelphia could possibly move down. But, well, I mean, I could see, I wouldn't see Detroit moving down dramatically. I could see them trading one or two spots, but I don't think that they would move out of the top 10.

I can't wait for this. This is crazy. Finally, the Browns picked up Baker Mayfield's fifth year option, which will keep him with the team through 2022. He's also eligible for a long-term extension, but this year he's focusing on winning instead of his new contract. We win games. Everything will happen how it should.

You know, that's my mentality. And I truly do believe that the fifth-year option just happens. So a long-term deal, I think, is a little bit on the back burner for me. I'm not worried about it. I want to go out and win games. And I think everything happens for a reason. So we'll see what happens. That's a very mature answer.

That's right. Win games, it'll happen. It'll be fine. That's really it for him. That really is his career. Win games this year? Win 12 games? You're going to get a big contract.

I like this answer from Baker. I mean, there's not really too much else he could say. He could say he's frustrated and that he was, you know, really would have felt better if he had the long-term contract and all those things. And I'm sure he feels that way. But at the end of the day, this was the best option for the team, and the team's always going to do what's best for them. Like, they don't have to pay him right now. Why would they do that? So I agree with you. I think this is the Browns division this year.

He has probably the most talented roster he's ever going to have his career. Oh, my God, this offensive line for them is outstanding. And we can go on and on about this roster. So, yeah, I'm with you. I think he's going to have a great year and all this is going to be behind him. I don't think we're going to be in a situation where we're talking about it, Prescott like contract standoff with Baker. No, I think they'll make a decision after this year.

It'll be real quick. He wins 12 games. They're going to sit down and probably give him a long-term deal. As they should. Yeah. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by.

As I've said, the bet in the NFL this year is Cleveland's over under and wins is nine and a half. I've already bet it on the over. Rarely am I seen as the defender of all thing in Cleveland, but I actually I think they have a really good football team. And I think Baker finally has a grown-up as a coach. He's going to win a bunch of games. Peter King Football Morning in America, NBCSports.com,

joins us brought to you by Mercedes-Benz, the best or nothing. Okay, so I'm reading your stuff and I'm seeing your picks. I'll throw a theory at you, and I talked about it earlier. I'm Kyle Shanahan. And I know I can probably, for a few teams, get a second-round pick for Garoppolo. But if he gets hurt again, The value goes to not. You could not as a GM.

He'd been hurt four times in five years in September. And so if I'm Kyle Shanahan, I do under, I don't agree with it, but I kind of do get the Mack Jones thing, whereas they're saying, if Garoppolo gets hurt again, we get nothing for him in the toughest division in football. And I got to win now. So let's just talk Garoppolo for a second. Your thoughts on when they would move him and their thought process, Peter, on moving him. Well, Colin, honestly, I had thought that, and I think it was their John Lynch, Kyle Shanahan, I think it was their strong feeling that they wanted to keep Jimmy Garabolo for the season. The reason being that the last two seasons that Kyle Shanahan has had a healthy number one starting quarterback for the full season,

season. Both years, he's gone to the Super Bowl. The first time in Atlanta with Matt Ryan, the second time in San Francisco with Jimmy Garoppolo. So what that means is, let's say they take Mack Jones and let's say he's the starter. Do you think they want to backstop them with the way they backstop their quarterback in the last, you know, four years? I don't think so. So that's why I thought they were going to keep them. But now, I'm not so sure, Colin. And, you know, to me, I think it'll be tempting for them if they get a good offer in this draft to take it. What is a good offer? They're not going to get a one. But who knows? They might get a mid-two. What if New England doesn't draft a quarterback in the first round? And they're sitting there at

46 and they can get Garapolo. I, you know, I don't know, Colin. I think. this is a difficult call internally for the Niners. And as I said, it wouldn't surprise me, but I'm not expecting it. You know, it's interesting, Peter. When John Lynch took the job, one of the most important things was there was no leaks. And he tested the organization, so there'd be no leaks. And there wasn't a leak on Trent Williams. There wasn't a leak on the Garoppolo trade.

There was no leak. They've made a major moves, no leaks. now on the Mac Jones thing, every 15 minutes there's a leak. And it feels like to me, Peter, they're testing the water. They want to see because I think they want Mac Jones, but I think there's a little division between the scouting department and Kyle and John. There's a little division. And maybe they're doing these test balloons out to the market.

But I am cynical that a very tight organization that didn't leak the Garoppolo move or the Trent Williams move or the move up to three. Now every 15 minutes, I got an NFL reporter. I respect saying Mac Jones is three. I'm cynical that they're testing the water. I mean, are you sure they're taking Mac Jones? No, not at all. I agree with you about how they have been leakproof.

And I think a lot of the things that are coming out of there are not necessarily facts. They're feelings from people who cover the NFL and who have friends inside that organization. But, you know, Colin, you know, one of the reasons I think most people think they're taking Mac Jones is because Mac Jones was a guy who really fits exactly what Kyle Shanahan likes, which is a guy who's got a good enough arm who's got an excellent, who's got excellent accuracy and very good accuracy downfield, too. And so all of that stuff, plus he's a coach on the field, all of that stuff fits what Kyle Shanahan wants to do and wants in his quarterback. But I'm not going to be shocked if they take somebody else, you know, if they take Trey Lance. But I'm like probably most people in my business. I think they're going to take Mac Jones. I want to look at Peter's mock draft and notable picks.

I do love mock drafts. I did one. It's already completely inaccurate. it, and I know that, but I think they're fun. I think fans like them. You have Mack Jones 3 to San Francisco. You have Justin Fields 8 to Carolina. That's interesting. And then you have Denver taking Trey Lance. I've met Trey. When I threw out Denver, he smiled. He liked that.

So that's interesting. So you would have Carolina taking another quarterback. That'd be a crowded quarterback room. What's your theory on that? Well, my theory is, you know, I look for little clues a lot of times. You know, somebody in Columbus told me that the Panthers have been very interested in Justin Fields. And I find it interesting. They haven't picked up the fifth year option on Sam Darnold. And I don't think they will pick up the fifth year option on Sam Darnold until after the draft, if at all. So, you know, and remember, when he got traded, when Darnel went to Carolina, everybody said, yep, they're going to pick up his fifth year option.

Well, you know, they haven't done it yet. so we'll see there. But I just think it sort of fits, unfortunately, for Sam Darnold. And again, this is based more on what I think they'll do rather than somebody in the organization saying this is what we're going to do. You know, Denver, you have them taking Trey Lance, which I think would be great. I would love to see him there. You know, it's interesting. Their GM came out the other day and just said, listen, we want a quarterback competition. with translation, Drew's not long for the mile high city. But it's, I'm like you. I don't, I think they solve some of their cornerback issues.

I'm not, I don't feel they'll move up. For some reason, I have a strong New England move up feel. I don't feel it with Denver. Let's talk New England for a second, because I have this feeling. There's no real plan long term. And next year's supposed to be a bad quarterback college draft. What is your gut on New England? Just your gut feeling on what they do and why?

Well, first of all, with Denver, you know, I think that if they don't take a quarterback, they're going to trade for Teddy Bridgewater. So that could very much be part of what George Peyton is saying in Denver. As far as New England goes, look, they have not picked a quarterback in Bill Belichick's 25 drafts higher than number 62 overall. So that would make you say, well, there's no way they're going to take a quarterback and they're not going to get aggressive in the first round, certainly to move up for one. On the other hand, the New England Patriots just spent $96 billion in free agency. And Bill Belichick's never done that before either. Right. So I just think with Belichick, all bets are off.

I don't know what they're going to do. I would be surprised if he ruined this year's draft and perhaps next. next year's draft to move up into the single digits to take a quarterback. But again, that's just an absolute gut feeling on my part. It's not based on anything other than it's very, very un-Belichikian. By the way, Peter, go back to your first couple years covering the NFL and two today. The draft now, I could argue, is the third biggest sport in America. I mean, it's gigantic.

Do you think it's folly? Do you like, I'm a mock draft nerd, I get it. But you're kind of macro 30,000 feet in the air view of what the NFL draft has become. I can't listen to any more crap on the draft. I can't. And whenever I hear it, it is either white noise or I put on NPR. I can't hear it anymore. It's just, it's enough.

It's just way, way too much. Hey, Colin, the first year I ever covered. the NFL was in 1984. I was a young kid for the Cincinnati Inquirer, rookie coach Sam White. I am sitting in his office the day before the draft. And he goes, hey, if you don't call anybody in any of the other cities around the league, I'll tell you who we're going to draft. I said, you will? He goes, yep. All right. First round, Ricky Hunley, linebacker, Arizona, blah, blah, blah. And he goes that, he said, they had three ones. He said, Last pick in the first round, Boomer Osceison, quarterback Maryland.

And he went down, Stanford Jennings, running back, third round. And the next day, I wrote it in the paper. And the next day, as the draft was going on, my editor calls me and he goes, that's one of the most incredible performances I've ever seen. How'd you do it? And I said, Sam told me. I mean, and so, Colin, that's how much it's changed. You know, a guy like Will McDonough, who was the godfather of mock drafts very, very early, used to have an incredible, do an incredible job because he had coaches who he knew for 100 years.

And they tell him, here's probably what we're going to do. And nobody does that anymore. No, no. They actually do the opposite. They leak false stuff. Yeah. Great seeing you, Peter. Thank you so much.

All right, Colin. Thank you. Yeah. Isn't that funny? Like years ago, you could just do it. And now you just don't do that. It's so much fun to me. I like mock drafts.

I think I was on them last night. You know, listen to everybody like something and we all like. Oh, God. It's a, well, and again, there's a hope tied to it that nothing else. Everyone, everyone feels amazing about the draft when it's over. Everyone. Every team on Monday is like, we got significantly better. We filled every hole.

When you sell hope, it goes a long way in America. You sell hope. All right. We'll take a break. We're back in a second of the herd. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, I'm John Middlecoff, 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. I used to work for Andy Reed as a scout. Now I give you my unfiltered and raw opinions on everything that goes on the NFL. And you know we're talking college football because of how important the draft is year-round.

Listen at the three-and-out podcast with me, John Middlecombe, on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. 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 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. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball. basketball to college football or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined.

And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger.

So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do a little kill?

Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed cracks.

So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Now you're finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history.

Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark.

Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it, and we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross.

you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app.

Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Terry Bradshaw and Fox Super 6 are giving away $5,000 for each day of the NFL draft this week. Download the app, play for free, and tune in to NFL Network Thursday at 8 p.m. Eastern to follow along live. One of the day one questions is, which player will be selected with the third overall pick in round one? The options are Mack Jones, Justin Fields, Trey Lance, or other. Colin, what do you think? I think San Francisco is going to take Mac Jones. Yeah.

And trade Jimmy Garoppolo really quick. It's looking that way. Yeah. So, you know, it is interesting. The thing about Mack Jones, he's gotten that label. He's the most ready to play. So if you go back in the last several years, what is the most ready to play guy, how's he done?

So let's go to last year's draft. Tuo wasn't the most ready because he had a health injury. Burrow had only really started and excelled one year. Jordan Love was not ready to play. He was a total prospect. Herbert was probably. four-year starter. He played 43 games. He played with some NFL guys. He'd played SEC teams, Pac-12. He's probably the most ready to play. Probably it worked. The previous

year, it was Kyler Murray, who was kind of a baseball guy, only a one-year starter. Dwayne Haskins was totally raw. Daniel Jones was actually had a great college coach, David Cutliff, three-year starter, pro-style offense. Daniel was probably the most actually. you could make an argument ready to play, but Kyler's clearly the best. It didn't really matter. Go to the 2018 draft. I would argue Josh Rosen intellectually. He also had Jim Moore at UCLA, an NFL coach, an NFL offense. I could argue Josh Rosen was the most ready to play. Lamar and Josh Allen were considered projects. Sam Darnold, almost everybody said,

didn't get great coaching at USC. So Josh Rosen was ready to play. with a lower ceiling. That didn't work at all. You go to the previous year. To that, Mitchell Trubisky, only one-year starter. Mahomes, kind of a big 12 offense. Deshaun was viewed as, okay, this guy's ready to play. He's played with NFL guys, against NFL guys, against Sabin, biggest stage it, and it did work. The other thing is, what is most ready to play now mean? Like, does it mean your college starts? Well, when I look at it, I think that's a component to it.

Do you have some starts? But I also think most ready to play. Did you have really high-end pro-style coaching? You know, did you play against NFL players with NFL players? That argument, Mack Jones is Sark, Saban, SEC, throwing to NFL receivers, facing NFL DBs and linebackers and linemen. in practice. That you could make an argument, that's ready to play.

He doesn't have a ton of starts. Trey Lance has the same number of starts as Mac Jones, but he didn't have NFL coaching. He didn't play against NFL guys. He didn't play with NFL guys. And he hasn't played much in the last year and a half. So what does it mean most ready to play? I think it's complex. I think there's a lot of context to it.

I mean, I do think Alabama players, I think Alabama is an NFL franchise. in the state of Alabama. Those guys come out. It's an NFL weight room, NFL coaching, NFL coordinator. I think most Alabama guys are ready to play. I don't know what their ceilings are, but NFL Bama players,

that feels like those guys are always ready to play now. Hour 2 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 helped make you funnier.

This week, my guest, and L's Mikey Day and head writer 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 suits. 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 IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we

survived it with our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show.

This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.