The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out - Ravens Lamar L, Moving Mac Jones, Tyreek Retirement Talk, Panthers #1 Pick

Episode Date: April 8, 2023

John explains how the Ravens botched their public handling of the worsening Lamar Jackson mess, why Belichick is apparently ready to move on from Mac Jones, why the Panthers trading up to #1 could pay huge dividends, why the Panthers trading up to #1 with the Bears could pay huge dividends for both teams, and why he’s not buying Tyreek Hill announcing he’ll retire at the end of his contract. Subscribe NOW and follow Middlekauff and The Volume on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest content. It's always FanDuel for the best wagering action! #volume #HerdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. 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, SNL'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'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 IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The volume. What is going on, everybody, John Middlecock, Three and Out podcast recording this Thursday afternoon, postmasters, what a day.

We're going to talk football today, though. We're going to talk a lot of football. Lamar, Mac Jones, the ramifications of that big Panthers, Bears, Bears, Bears, Bears, trade, a theory I have with the story that's been leaked out about the Cardinals and ownership and some weird stuff's going on there, as well as some other NFL nuggets. So we'll go football podcast here. Middlecoff mailbag at John Middlecoff is the Instagram. I'll put one out this weekend.

I'll probably have a master's reaction come Monday after Easter. Happy Easter to everybody, especially those with kids. Always cool to plant the eggs and watch them run around and find a, eat a bunch of chocolate. Good times. Good time to hang out with family. So hopefully everyone's having a good week. Going to have a good weekend. And we'll talk a little football here for a little while.

Very, very easy, quick show, light show. Nothing too crazy. Just a couple months. Not a couple months. A couple weeks still away from the draft. Keep rocking and rolling. And you want to get out of the house? Do you want to just do something?

You tired, especially you work from home people? You want to take a friend? you want to take your wife to a concert, comedy show, to a ball game, baseball, full swing. You're only there for two and a half hours. Get a couple of bruskeys, go home. I got you covered. Download the official ticketing app of this podcast, game time. Right now, Fastest's growing ticket app in America, no big deal. Use the promo code John. That's J-O-H-N, that's my name, get $20 off. And these inflationary times, throwing you a bone, saving you a little cash. I've been watching a lot of baseball. I plan on getting to the yard this summer, having a brusky, enjoying some raise. If you live somewhere

where there's a major league baseball team, do it and use my promo code. You want to go to a concert this summer? Want to save a little money? Promal code John. Love my friends at game time. They love you. Keep hammering that promo code. Appreciate everyone who has. I wanted to start with some NFL quarterback talk. I don't know if you had a chance to see the video that went viral of the NFL. We've talked about this, you know, the last couple weeks, mandates in the offseason, coaches and GMs talk. And it's smart.

Like, the reason the NFL is king, because they have all the drama like the NBA, but we actually watch the games. So, you know, they have this off season of movement, of trades, of people pissed off. But then when the season starts, we consume the games, the regular season, does historic numbers, playoffs, Super Bowl. And before the draft, every team, their general manager and coach, technically your GM just has to talk, but a lot of teams go up with the GM and the coach, show a united front are mandated to talk.

It's positive, right? It gets headlines, it keeps the NFL when nothing is going on, right? The draft is still a month away in the headlines. Now, most people do this press conference because, I don't know, everyone just talked to the owners meetings closer to the draft. But for whatever reason, the Ravens, Eric DeCosta and John Harbaugh held their press conference early in April. A little head scratcher. Maybe it's the Lamar deal. But there was a video that went viral of their PR guy basically screaming at reporters to shut up. Right. You can't ask that question about Lamar.

We are not addressing that. Like anyone cares who you're going to draft in the fourth round. But let me just, for those of you that don't understand, in football, there is a head of PR. And he basically is in charge of coaches and general managers, their interviews with the press, whenever they go to a press conference, letting them know, you know, kind of what's going on, some potential questions that are going to be asked. He's kind of the conduit of the media and the brass, even though obviously a lot of GMs and coaches know a lot of us. I don't consider myself media, but you know what I mean? People that talk about football, write about football, on TV about football.

But they play a key role. So forever, like with the 49ers, I went to practice. I got a player on our radio show, then our podcast. I would go through Bob Lang. You wanted to talk to, you know, the head coach, a coordinator, a position player. You would talk to Bob. He would take care of you to get, you know, a credential if you wanted to come to practice. For all the media that travels, he takes care of them on the road.

That's his role. He's now actually with the Eagles, and Bob Lang's the best. But that's their role. It's hard. But ultimately that guy, and I saw a lot of people in the interweb, talking shit about the PR guy who is screaming at the media to stop asking about Lamar. He works for John Harbaugh makes, I'm going to guess, $10 to $12 million. And Eric DeCostom makes, I'm going to guess, $2 to $3 million.

The PR guy does not. You know, probably if he's doing well, $250, $250K. So his job, he answers for those guys, right? If they want something, they're telling him what to do in that situation, specifically with Lamar. Because overall was a pretty embarrassing moment for the Ravens. And honestly, like, the Ravens are great when they can dictate the terms and leak stuff through the media. Eric Acosta specifically. Yet he's fumbled now multiple times.

Remember, it was at the Combine when he talked about the wide receivers not doing a great job when he literally just drafted a wide receiver in the first round and that guy started tweeting like he kind of fumbles on his word sometimes and in that moment when you're having a press conference and i understand that it is a draft press conference but there are three teams right now in the league if they are going to have a press conference whether it's about the stadium whether it's about the draft whether it's about fucking the cleats the only question and the elephant in the room that matters is the quarterback situation. That is the Packers. That is the Jets. And that is the Ravens. So when your coach and your GM get in front of a microphone with the assembled quote

unquote press, I hate that word. I think it's a little archaic and outdated because, you know, it's like a blogger oppressor, a presser, is a member of the press, is us podcasters or we a member of the press? It's more eclectic group. But my point being is no one inside. that room gave a flying you know what about your needs on the third day of the draft. There is one main situation in that franchise that trumps everything by a country mile. And that is this current Lamar situation. He is literally tweeting calling you guys liars. So this notion that no one in that room could ask about Lamar to me is either, I just think it's beyond stupid.

It doesn't make any sense. And it ended up being a pretty, just kind of a joke moment for a franchise that, you know, historically is pretty buttoned up. Like, these guys know what they're doing. But this situation, and it feels both sides, I've been critical the way Lamarst handled stuff, but I'll be critical the way the Ravens. It doesn't feel like, you know, are we sure Eric DeCost is good at his job? That would be the number one thing I would ask. Because this situation just is not going well. For anyone involved, it is very, very clunky.

And that was a moment a couple days ago in the Ravens facility that I think they'd like to have back. Because it's easy. Like I understand what can really be said. Just make a blanket statement at the beginning. But to just attack people for asking about it, I'm sorry, guys. We don't care about your need in the third round. Like, are you going wide receiver or linebacker? Like, what are you going to do with your star quarterback?

You're going to trade them? You're going to sign them? What is the update? Because right now, that is the. only thing that matters with the Ravens. And then another situation that feels, let's face it, it's the most noisy, I would say six months that I ever remember with the New England Patriots. Now, part of it is when Brady was around, they were constantly winning, and even drama

didn't stick to them long, because then they would just win, and they would just get to the Super Bowl. So winning trumps everything. And I think now that the paths are not some dominant organization and a team that's been of the playoffs once in three years, stuff when it gets noisy kind of sticks to them. And there was a Florida report that they're shopping Mac Jones. And listen, I was on record from the moment the draft happened. I was not a Mac Jones fan. Under no circumstances would I take it him in the first round. I thought it would have been a fireable offense if Kyle

Shanahan would have taken him number three overall. Listen, I don't even think Trey Lance is that great anymore either. But I understand like a high ceiling guy. You can't take a lower ceiling guy when a High floor is not guaranteed in the draft. And now the Pats have the situation with Mac Jones where I think it's a double-edged sword here because the Patriots are to blame and Max to blame. Belichick hired Matt Patricia to be his offensive coordinator. That was, you know, one of the low moments in the franchise in a two and a half decade span. Honestly, probably the biggest head scratcher of that time might not be a close second, right?

but Mac Jones, one, didn't play very well, and two, acted like a baby. And I think a lot of times during the draft, a huge part of this process is about doing your due diligence with guys to find out maturity, focus. And we use this word a lot in the scouting terms. Honestly, I think it parallels a lot of industries. Like, can you be a pro? and being a pro, I think means, we say it a lot in sports, but I think it would carry over,

whether you're in finance, whether you sold, you had car dealerships, whatever, things are going to go bad. And when things go bad, do you throw a fit, do you act like a little baby, or do you just kind of handle it?

You're allowed to get mad. You're allowed to get frustrated. We're all human beings. No one's going to hold that against you. But every time we looked up, Mack Jones was freaking out. like he was Aaron Rogers, Drew Brees, or Peyton Manning. It's like, bro, you're in your second year, you haven't proven anything.

You were lucky to be the 15th overall pick. Let's just try to handle adversity a little bit better. So I understand Belichick being a little down on the guy. Because part of Mack Jones, if you were going to like Mac Jones, and be in the business of drafting him and making him your starting quarterback, he was going to have to hang his hat on several things. He was going to have to be like the best game manager in the league. his accuracy was going to have to be elite.

And a huge reason for drafting him was like the character, right? Super focused, super locked in, comes from Bama, like thinking what you get with Jalen Hertz. Like a guy that's just no nonsense, not messing around. It's not really what they've gotten. And let's face it, when you watched them last year and you watch Bailey Zappy, I don't know, I didn't see a difference. Albert Breer wrote in a mailbag writing about the situation

that coaches on the staff didn't think the gap was that different. So listen, you could knock me for some of my takes on Dack Prescott last year with Cooper Rush, because I didn't think the gap in talent was that different. And ultimately, like, I don't think Dax talent is that immense relative to the top guys in the league. I mean, relative to most of people that play quarterback, of course. But relative to the top, like 10 guys in the NFL, he's not as talented as a lot of those guys. He's simply just not. His arm is just average.

But the one thing Dak brings to the table is ultra focus, ultra being a pro, ultra maturity. Just he's elite in all the intangible characteristics. And if Mack Jones was ever going to peak, because ultimately his peak is somewhere between like 10 and 15 in the NFL, which you can be competitive with. Like we're seeing with Dak Prescott. We've seen with cousins with the Vikings. It's got to be the intangible stuff. And I think for the first time, we're like, what the hell?

hell is this with Mac Jones. And we know Belichick does not play with that type stuff. So do I think they were going to trade him? Who's trading for him? He just drafted him 15th. What could they get for him? Third round pick at best? So it doesn't necessarily make sense to trade him. But clearly there's a schism there. They're not on the same page. I don't think Bill's that high on them and I don't think Max's that high on the Patriots. So kind of feels like a little bit of a make or break year. And again, I don't believe that Belichick could win seven or eight games. He quote unquote, like deserves to get fired. There are a lot of guys in the NFL who have accomplished, I mean, a hundredth of what he has and have job security.

But like there does come a time, you know, when things just kind of run its course. And it does feel like in this year, that's kind of rocky, you look at the AFC, if you get 10 or 11 wins, like, of course, he's not going anywhere. But if this season goes a little bit like last year, which is somewhat hard to see given that they have a credible offensive coordinator now. I don't know. I think the paths are a fascinating watch come this fall. 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 I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver 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 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-tapped 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? I 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 crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS. on the table right now. Thank you for 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. I read an article, Bigger Reader, on the Athletic. I forget who wrote it. Sorry, but you can find it on the athletic. And it's basically a deep dive into how the trade between the Bears and the Panthers came to fruition. And obviously, once the Bears got the number one overall pick, they decided the best thing for the franchise was to trade back after just kind of going through some different scenarios.

And one thing Ryan Poles did is he reached out to the Blackhawks general manager. Not a big hockey guy, but if it's the same guy that was the GM for some of the, those titles, obviously, you know, done a pretty good job. And one thing he was going to be adamant in doing with the trade was they wanted a player as well as draft picks. And then the first team to ultimately reach out to the Bears was the Carolina Panthers. So they immediately start talking and basically polls told them that we're going to need picks clearly for you to go from one to nine.

But also, we're going to need one of three players. We're going to need either Burns the past rusher, brown the interior defensive tackle or DJ Moore. And on the Carolina Panthers side, and I give them credit for this because I think DJ Moore's a stud. But they came to the conclusion and they, based on this article and based on everything I've read and heard, like they really are high on DJ Moore. How could they not be? Big time player.

They decided to keep like the only guy they were going to make available of that group was going to be the wide receiver because one, it's very, very difficult to find sweet pass rushers. And it's very, very difficult to find high-end inside defensive linemen. So while DJ Moore sure looks like a high-end, you know, top 10-ish receiver in the league, they are more replaceable than the defensive lineman. So they made the trade. And I think a lot of times when these trades happen, we just go, and I know this, I've seen it with Tray Lance,

you could have had this pick, this player, and this player. And it's like, in theory, if things were just binary black and white, white, that would be true. But there is an extra variable to a trade like this that we never talk about. And I've seen it on the flip side with the Niners, because ultimately that pick, they could have had Micah Parsons. They could have had traded for Bradley Chubb. It ultimately led to Tyree Kill. Like, in a weird way, it led to all these other players, some of them being veteran players, obviously some of them being draft picks. But one thing making that trade allows you to do, and whoever the Carolina Panthers pick.

And it felt like C.J. Stroud. Now it kind of feels like Bryce Young. I wonder if there's still a curveball in there with Anthony Richardson. But, you know, let's say they take Bryce Young. And you go, well, you just traded multiple first round picks and DJ more for Bryce Young. Well, that amount of having a quarterback now under a five-year contract, right, four years guaranteed and then the fifth-year option, gives you a lot of wiggle room with cap space. And the 49ers who have no veteran quarterbacks right now, just Trey Lance, Brock Purdy, even last year Jimmy Garoppolo came back for $6 million.

Because they haven't been allocating any money, despite missing all their picks, they were able to sign Charverius Ward, who was easily their best corner and was one of the better corners in the NFL last year, and then this offseason signed Hardgrave. So the bears who were able to trade for DJ Moore easily, and they were able to trade for DJ Moore easily, and they have a ton of cap space. Why? Because they have a rookie quarterback. And they're another team that traded an extra first round pick to get up and get Justin Fields.

Now the Panthers, over these next several years, while they are not going to have draft picks, especially high-end draft picks, they are going to have extra cap space because they're no longer, not that they necessarily were, but even last year, they were paying two fifth-year options with Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold. I guess Cleveland ate some of the fifth-year option. but they're going to have a very, very cheap quarterback who's going to start making like when the season starts next year, $8 million. And by the end of the deal, it would be like $11 million. But relative to some of these cap hits, well over $40, that's a $35 million difference.

So they're going to be able to allocate it in signing players that a lot of other teams, especially competitive teams, aren't going to have the room to sign. And think about it on the flip side when a guy like Russell Wilson or Deshaun Watson gets traded or they're, the team that trades for them, they trade a bunch of picks, but then they also double down because they give these enormous contracts. So not only do teams like the Browns and the Broncos not have any picks because they've traded for the quarterback, their cap space has limitations because they're paying a quarterback 40, 43, 38, whatever the cap hit on a given year is, it's enormous. So you better get that right. That's why there's so much pressure on Russell Wilson and Deshawn Watson to play at a pro bowl level.

I've allocated all my resources to acquire you, and then I've allocated a bunch of cap space to pay you. It's why when you trade for Jalen Ramsey and then he's immediately a pro bowler, it costs a lot because you've got to double dip. I got to give you first round picks and I got to pay the guy. But when he plays at a high level, it's like I can stomach it. Last year, the Miami Dolphins, you give up a one and a two.

Will I get arguably the best receiver in the league? Rader, same thing. Devante Adams. Well, he plays like an elite player. So I can't really complain. It's not an ideal way to do business. But if I'm going to do that, give the picks for a veteran player and then pay the veteran player, he better be elite.

And most of the trades in recent memory, right? Tyreek, Devonte, even Stafford two years ago, they trade for him, wins it. But then they pay him and now he's injured. So it's a problem. And that's what I think makes these rookie quarterback contracts just unique. You can really take advantage of it if you hit on the right. veteran players, you know, throughout the league. There's a former executive, I'm fired up on this story with the Arizona Cardinals,

a long time basically assistant GM to Steve Kime, who is currently stewing the Arizona Cardinals for basically cheating, breaking rules. And I don't necessarily, like my spidey sense went on when I saw this story break. because I don't necessarily think it's random. And once that the NFL gets Dan Snyder removed from the NFL and gets that franchise sold, I think they're going to zero in on two teams, the Arizona Cardinals and Las Vegas Raiders. And I think these two areas are going to be the greatest beneficiary over the next 20 years. And I've been saying on this podcast for a while, if you could buy stock in Scottsdale and Vegas,

From a business standpoint for the next couple decades, I'd go all in. I'm born and raised in California and my life's going well. My income flows keeps growing. People like me, my family's all there. A lot of friends are there. In the history of the state, never leave. And honestly, I couldn't, I can't say this strongly enough. Leaving is not only the best thing I've ever done.

I actually regret not leaving sooner. and I think forever one thing, the California economy, and listen, my dad was a farmer, my brother's now farming. Farming is a huge part of the California economy, right? The farm community alone economically is bigger than like the majority of the states in America, given the amount of money that they generate. And obviously another huge factor in the state of California is Silicon Valley and techs and startups. Well, it is so expensive. It's one thing back in 2002 or 2004, still expensive, but relative to the other neighboring

states that are now pro-business inviting these people to come, if I was a company, I would never start in Northern California in 2023. It's so much more cost effective to go to Vegas, to come to Arizona, and that's currently happening. My brother, I was bullshitting with him within the last month, and he was telling me about obviously through their company in the farming world, meet with a lot of different insurance people, and one of the insurance companies said,

we're just leaving California. We spend so much money, we lose all of our claims, it just doesn't pencil anymore. It's not worth it. And I'm not one to act like the amount of money in California is just stupid. And this notion,

I think a lot of you that don't live there, if you just read on the internet, it's just crumbling. The guy that kind of runs, now my property manager for my condo was also the guy that sold me in my condo. He's a real estate agent. He's like, you know, I just had a property. It was listed for $2 million. And within less than a week, we got $2.5. So, and now, granted, it was about around St. Mary's in the suburbs of the East Bay. But the point

is, like, it's not quite crumbled yet. But in terms of the potential of where things are going, these startups are not going to start there anymore because it makes no sense. So if me or you If we had a company or an idea, we couldn't afford to do it there. We would go to Nevada and we would go to Arizona. I see it in Scottsdale, it's already booming. So what's that going to be like in 10, 20 years? I was telling my girlfriend when we went to the Dodger game. And the Dodger Spring Training facility is right across the street, basically,

from State Farm where the Arizona Cardinals play and where they host Super Bowls, kind of out in the middle of nowhere. from where I'm sitting right now, it's like 40 minutes away. And I'm like, you know the one thing Glendale kind of reminds me of? And they just had several major companies moved there. It reminds me of Sacramento like 25 years ago. There is so much room for growth. I'd probably bet on this area, Glendale, because, I mean, even Scottsdale is so expensive to be.

Like, so everyone's moving to the outskirts. And I think the NFL, clearly they're not dumb. They know this. Like, they already got California on lock, right? The 49ers own Northern California and Southern California is just taking care of with the stadium, the teams and just the rotation of teams that come in there now to play. But the Raiders and the Cardinals are just not living up to what they should be. And their ownership, like Michael Bidwell is a clown. You see that NFLPA survey that said that he charged his players to take dinner home?

Do you know how low level that is? we know Mark Davis from a cash standpoint would not be their first choice, right? If they could choose, like, would they want Mark Davis to own the team or not own the team? I think they would gladly choose not own the team. And unlike Oakland, which where they used to play was just a complete dump, where their facility was was kind of a joke by the Oakland airport. What they got going on now is fucking awesome.

Anyone that's been to Vegas the last couple years, seen that stadium, It's badass. There's no state income tax. The Phoenix Suns just sold for $4 billion. What would the Arizona Cardinal sell for? Seven? Eight? What would the Vegas Raiders sell for with that stadium,

with the facility, which even Belichick's been like, it's the greatest thing I've ever seen. Seven, eight. So the league, and listen, this is not easy. You can't just kick someone out

for not doing anything wrong. but I think the league's kind of circling Mike Bidwell. And it felt like they've been circling a little bit. Mark Davis for a while. So it's just something to keep an eye on. There's a theory of mine, there's just too much, these two areas,

Vegas and Scottsdale and just the general area in Arizona, is just a rocket ship of cash, what it was to Northern California and Los Angeles over the last 20 years. So the league knows this, and they have two of, of the owners that would probably be their first picks to boot out.

So just keep an eye whenever these stories come out. They're coming out for a reason. Okay, a couple other quick NFL nuggets. I always like when a young player in like the prime of his career is just kicking ass and kicking names, like you know, just a couple more years than I'm going to retire.

You know, Tyree Kill said on a podcast that he would retire after the 2025 season. I don't put much, you know, merit when younger star players say things like this. Not that he hasn't said he's, you know, to his friends or behind the scenes. Like, I'm not going to play forever.

But like, it's pretty hard to stop doing something if you're still kicking ass and you're still making, you know, enormous amounts of money. So if Tyree Kill is still really good in 2025, which basically over the last five years, he's shown zero slow. down, I would not expect him to just randomly retire. If you're so really good at football, most guys continue to play. Cool sound bite, headline. That is still technically three seasons away.

But I know this. I think Tyreek is on a short list of most unique players we've ever seen in the NFL. He's just an elite Hall of Fame player. Hall of Fame production. elite player who's had success at the highest level, who's dominated at the highest level, you continue to do that. He's a winning player.

People are willing to pay you. A lot of money. So I would pump the brakes to just put this like in Sharpie. One thing, and I think we talked about it earlier in the week and anyone that just is on the internet sees, the Raiders are doing a lot of work on quarterbacks, man. They've brought every guy in. I would imagine they've worked them out.

They are doing their due diligence on this. I would imagine there's a chance if one of the guys they really like is there at three, they would trade up from number seven with the Arizona Cardinals. And the Arizona Cardinals need a lot. To me, they are by no means stuck at number three because there is some generational position player there. There's not. the best player in this draft by a wide margin is awful lot of draft boards. I'm a big Will Anderson guy, but, you know, I think you talk to people in the league.

His ceiling's probably a little lower than maybe the hype. Now, I still think he's going to be a good NFL player, but I don't think we're dealing. We're not. I mean, he's not, you know, Micah Parsons, Miles Garrett, Nick Bosa. He's not in that vein, right? Really good player, solid. I think he's going to be a long-time starter and a winning player. But I don't know if he's ever going to be some elite all-pro.

I just think he's really solid, really good guy, and you want him on your team. But, you know, I'd rather get him at probably eight or nine than three. Because when you draft really high, you like to get all-pro-level players. Now, we could argue maybe there's just not that many all-pro-level players. Like I've been saying, from everything I've been told, this is the worst draft. it doesn't mean in five years it's going to be the worst draft ever, right? Because that's not the way it works. We always go, oh, this is the greatest quarterback draft ever.

And then you look, you're like, well, three of the five quarterbacks aren't even starting quarterbacks three years later. So things change. But going into this draft based on their college film, I don't think this draft is viewed as great by any means. It's not. So you just got to be, I think this is a year about accumulating picks and trying to get to next year.

And I think you're going to see a lot of teams attempt to do that. And one thing I've heard, the reason for that, and I think we've mentioned it on this pod, is that it's because of the COVID year, you know, a lot of the elite players already left. And some of the guys that are now in this draft are guys that are actually like fifth and six year guys because they just stayed around because they got extra time. So it's diluted. And next year it'll get back on path. It all has to do with 2020 and 2021 and kind of the ripple effect and the domino effect of why we're here.

but, you know, we'll eventually be past it, which we will, I think, in next year, which is viewed as a much more talented group of players. But I got my attendance up on the Raiders. You know, I would keep an eye on them come draft time to make a move for a quarterback, especially a guy that doesn't have to play right away because you got Jimmy Garoplo. And I think they signed Brian Hoyer, but that might have been to coach. It's hard to keep up with Josh McDaniels. maybe Danny Amandola is the coach

and Hoyer's the backup. So last but not least, I think this guy got a lot of shit his last several years running the Broncos, and rightfully so, they were struggling. But I also think it almost diminishes and undermines how awesome he was during the Peyton Manning era.

Like, obviously landing Peyton Manning, John Elway deserves a lot of credit for that. Because remember, Manning was flying to the Titans, he was meeting with Jim R. Bollick. Every team in the league wanted them that needed a quarterback. There were teams that kept it under wraps. They were really interested in Manning.

And John Elway kind of had his LeBron Pat Riley moment where quarterback to quarterback, remember Pat Riley showed LeBron the Rings and got it done. But a huge reason Peyton Manning went to the Broncos and had a lot of success, that team was loaded.

Remember, Elway's the guy that drafted Vaughn Miller, Derek Wolf, Trevathan, Brandon Marshall, I think was an undrafted free agent or a late round pick. Bradley Robey, who was a starter, signed Akeep to leave. Got an undrafted free agent. You get credit for that. Chris Harris. T.J. Ward, signed.

DeMarcus Ware, signed. Remember, old over the hill. Not for the Broncos. Julius Thomas. Demarius Thomas. C.J. Anderson. Like, their offense signed Emmanuel Sanders. If you remember, was going to go to the Chiefs and backed out and went to the Broncos. A lot of people thought it was kind of shady.

But Elway built, and I saw that team back-to-back years live, the Super Bowl team, the team previously, they got knocked out. I thought they were defensively, it's got to be one of the fastest defenses of the last decade or two. Best defense, you know, we could argue that Seattle probably a little bit better. Maybe the Ravens back in the day a little bit better. but top to bottom speed, I think that's, it's the fastest defense I've ever seen live.

I don't know if the Seattle, I think Seattle was a better defense. I don't think they were as fast as that group. Probably they were more physical, and Denver was physical. But this team, everyone acted like, oh, no way,

can't find a quarterback, and he couldn't. Once Payton retired, they fell apart. And he hired Vance Joseph, and he hired Vic Fangio. It did not go well. His lows were low.

But their highs were pretty damn high. And he deserved a lot of credit for a lot of those draft picks that turned into really, really good players. Impact, pro bowler, second contract. Just obviously, Von Miller's a Hall of Famer, but a lot of other guys who were just, every other team in the league wouldn't hesitate to add to their team if they could. And John Elway now has probably career in the NFL being involved with teams. He's not going to work for another team. It is over.

Pretty unique career, right? one of the greatest players of all time and then went on to win a Super Bowl as a general manager. How many people can say that in sports? Right? One of the best players in the history of a sport

and then a Super Bowl winning general manager. Magic Johnson couldn't do it. Like Ozzie Newsom? It doesn't happen that often, right? It'd be like if Theo Epstein was also Alex Rodriguez as a player. it's very now he's a little unique because he won multiple places but you know what I mean it's it's very very difficult to do doing either one is very hard right being a great GM is

very very hard there's a small percentage of guys that we view is good and obviously being a top five quarterback ever is the hardest thing possible so he accomplished that went to five super bowls and then the other thing is like they did lose in the Super Bowl went to multiple Super Bowls. Let's face it, Peyton, in the one game against the Ravens, did not play well. That team was really good. Payton kind of blew that one for Elway. He also, if you remember that offseason when Peyton, we didn't know yet, but had fallen off a cliff, Elway made him take a pay cut. Proved to be pretty good. Appreciate everyone listening. Enjoy the Masters. Have a great weekend. Talk to everyone soon. Adios.

The volume. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite on human. 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 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 I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but in

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