The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out -  Tannehill Mentor Debate, Insider Post-Draft Nuggets

Episode Date: May 6, 2022

John weighs in on the debate surrounding Ryan Tannehill and if he has any responsibility to mentor rookie Malik Willis. He also shares his post-draft thoughts, insider nuggets he’s heard from his sources around the league, and why next year's draft will have more juice, Follow John and The Volume on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest content and updates and check out FanDuel for the best wagering and daily fantasy action! #herdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Hopefully life is good. is great. Everything is going well. There's the sun is shining wherever you may be. Like I said, I'm John Middilkoff. That's me for all you new time listeners. Welcome to the podcast for you for you long time road dogs. How's it going? Subscribe to the three and out podcast. If you listen on Collins feed, please subscribe to the podcast separate from his feed. Leave a review. Greatly appreciate everyone that has. And if you hate me, you can leave a negative review. I don't care. I don't check them. But it does help with the promotion of the pod. selling of the pod.

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Have some thoughts on Ryan Tanny Hill. I accumulated some draft nuggets this week talking to different people. Just wrote down some of my thoughts. Some of what's buzzing out there on the NFL streets. And then a little forward thinking, you know, I think next year has a chance to be a lot different, but I think we're over, potentially overhyping one guy and we'll see when it comes to the college quarterback crop. And then of course, the Middlecoff mailbag at John Middlecoff is my Instagram, fire into the Instagram and get your question answered on the weekend mailback.

We do a mailbag on Tuesday's podcast, and then we put another mailbag on Saturday and Sunday's podcast so you can consume it there. Let's start with Ryan Tanyhill. because OTAs now are kind of starting. You know, guys, I think the coaches after the draft are allowed to begin to get on the field. For basically the last month, give or take, depending on when your team's allowed to start the voluntary phase one. It's mainly just guys working out and then doing Zoom stuff with schemes. So now they're on the field, or at least starting to acclimate to the field and do football stuff.

after the rookie mini-camp, we will start actual football. So whoever your team is will be on the field with the players and the coaches doing football stuff. Now, it's not ultimately football because you're just wearing a helmet shorts and a t-shirt, but it's as good as we get during the spring. And, you know, after the draft happens, the one thing that's unique about football, unlike definitely basketball and even baseball because they got the minor leagues, is in football every year your team's adding,

really regardless how many draft picks you have, whether you have five or whether you have 10, you add a bunch of undrafted free agents. So you are bringing a large amount of new people to the workforce every single year. So if you've been in the NFL any amount of time, three years plus, you have seen countless guys not only come in,

but replace others. And more than likely, if you are a guy three, four, five, six years into the league, you have replaced someone. It is the nature of the business, right? Basically, every NFL team, when you go into a locker room or within the locker room, will have somewhere posted up on the wall, on the double doors entering, the statement of you are either getting better or you are getting worse, nobody stays the

same. Basically, like, your ass better be improving or you will be replaced. That's just a fact. Now, sometimes, even if you're not improving, you're so damn good. Tom Brady, Devante Adams, Aaron Donald, obviously not getting replaced. But those guys are the outliers in the league. Those guys are like the two or three percent of the league. The majority of the league are all fighting for their jobs most seasons.

And definitely as they age. It's just the nature of the business. Now, listen, we're all human beings. I have been replaced in the NFL, on radio. Now, life's turned out pretty well. but at the time, both individual times, and I am so glad both things happened to me, I was really fucking pissed. Because you know why, when you are replaced or told you're not good enough,

or even like you start feeling vibes of they might replace me, we're all humans. Any human worth their salt, any competitive person is going to take stuff personal in the moment. It's easy to have perspective. I can give you a lot of perspective on the situations I've failed at now, you know, looking back over things that have happened. At the time, it's not as easy to not be emotional. And, you know, it's easy to get caught up.

But here's what I will say. There are certain jobs in this country while you are the incumbent, while you have the job, that pay a premium for you to act a certain way. I would say CEO of public companies Elon somewhat of an outlier. You would say he can get a little off the reservation and say whatever. Most times these public company CEOs kind of operate like a politician. And regardless of if they're angry, if they're happy, whatever they are,

they kind of have to, you know, ride a certain line. Because they're very dependent on their stock price. I hope if you didn't check the stock market today. It was a bloodbath. But just in general, like you have to swallow your pride and swallow. your ego. If you're the CEO, Wells Fargo, when you're on, was CNBC some days, right? Just part of the gig. They are held to a different standard. In my job, I'm allowed to say whatever I want. That's literally the job, whether you're emotional, negative, happy, positive, whatever.

Say what you want. That's great for business. Most jobs are not that way. You all can relate. There are times whether you are listening and you own the company or whether you work for the company that you just have to kind of keep your mouth shut. Hell, anyone that's married knows you got to pick your battles. And I do think that when you look at an NFL roster, you can say whatever you want at a wide receiver, defensive line linebacker, even though none of those guys ever get that caught up during the draft because multiple guys play. So it's easy to celebrate.

And I see a lot of guys on social media saying that, you know, they've had guys drafted their position. Well, yeah, if you're a corner, I would say basically, if we looked at the draft, what percentage of teams drafted a corner this year in any round, whether it be the first or whether it be the seventh? I bet if we really looked into it, it'd be 30 of the 32 teams. Or if you're a offensive guard, starting offensive guard in the NFL, how many teams this year drafted a guard?

Every single one? Some of them might be tackles, but those guys will eventually play guard. So it's like they're used to it. You become numb to it. So it is easy to say, hey, listen, bring them on in. I'll mentor them. The quarterback position is different. But the quarterback position is also held to a higher standard.

And we have recent examples of two guys that handled situations of guys getting drafted in the first fucking round. Jimmy Garopla, the way he handled Trey Lance and obviously Alex Smith with Patrick Mahomes. Now, you would say that Alex Smith had accomplished less on the feet. than Jimmy in the sense of his numbers might have been a little bit better. But Jimmy Garoppolo, when they drafted Trey Lance, had already won multiple playoff games, had won

an NFC championship game as a starting quarterback. Now, we can debate all we want about his importance to the given team, and it is definitely debatable. But I would say both those two guys had a pretty damn good resume, even though they had some flawed attributes as a player

and ultimately you would want to do better. But I would say both guys, handled it completely flawlessly. Like that is exactly how the quarterback position, it's why they get paid the most money. Because they got to take the most crap. They have to be able to handle, they're not getting paid the most just for the good times.

They're getting paid for the bad times. I just took a shower. Sometimes when I'm in the shower, I'll take my little Bose eternal or external microphone, or, you know, it's kind of like the little music player. And it's a Bluetooth and it connects. and I'll listen to a podcast or whatever. Today, there wasn't really anything to listen to,

so I just went to YouTube, and I saw Rich Eisen popped up, and I went to Rich Eisen Show, and I listened to Mike Tomlin. He had Mike Tomlin on today. And Mike Tomlin said one of the things that they felt very good about Kenny Pickett was just there's a high expectation about the way to handle yourself off the field at that position. And one of the things he mentioned was like, we got a front row seat the way he just kind of handled his media responsibilities in college.

That matters. and I don't know much about Ryan Tanyhill from the outside I always thought good guy, high character guy. And I don't think any less of them on this statement. But I did think that like, hey bro, you are paid a premium to shut your mouth in this situation. No one blames you for getting mad. Now, I definitely don't blame John Robinson and Mike Vrable

for getting mad when you threw three interceptions at home in the second round of the playoffs when you were the number one seat. But here's the thing. they didn't draft Trey Lance number third. They didn't draft Patrick Mahomes number 10. This guy's a third round pick. So they ask you, could you mentor them? It's pretty easy if you can just swallow your ego

and swallow your pride to fake it right there. And listen, I'm not a huge believer in faking it because I hate it when politicians do that. I hate it when quarterbacks do that. But in this situation, you're faking it for the betterment of the team. My issue with Russell Wilson is I just don't even think he's being a human. You know, I have no issue with Draymond Green saying what he thinks. Did he flip those guys off because he makes $25 million?

So F you to the fans booing him as he's bleeding or cheering him as he's bleeding. Like there's a difference. And part of being a quarterback is understanding to be tactful in certain situations. Like there is times during the season where you can't answer a question about a player who's in trouble. even though you have an opinion. And certain jobs tell you at certain times to not allow your true opinion or your true beliefs out to the public in this situation.

So was Ryan Taneyhill wrong to believe like, yeah, I don't want him to beat me out? Of course not. Ryan Tanyhill doesn't want to lose his job. No human wants to lose their job, specifically ones that pay $35 million a year. Because here's what we know. if Ryan Tanyhill is not good this year or average and they move on from,

Ryan Tannihill will never make $35 million again in his life. He's no dummy. He understands that. But to say that in a team situation when you are the leader of the team, I always go back to this thing. Carson Palmer told me the thing he missed it most in retirement was the weight of the franchise on his shoulder when he entered the building. That feeling of like this franchise goes as I go.

Like that's a lot of pressure. It's why that job pays a premium. It's why only a small percentage of people, even the starters in the NFL, are actually good at it. I think we talk all the time, like, how many truly really good quarterbacks are there in the NFL? Like eight? Then there's the group of like the next five

who are really good who still make a lot of money, but you're always like picking them apart. So it's very, very difficult to be in those situations. But do you think Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen, let alone Tom Brady or Peyton Manning would have handled it like this, Bruce. Now, you can say Aaron Rogers didn't handle it great, even though he's never been critical of Jordan Love. And you'd be like, yeah, well, Aaron Rogers takes a lot of crap for the way he

handle stuff. And you would say Rathesberger obviously took a dump a couple years ago when they drafted Mason Rudolph on his comments about helping him out. But I would say this about Rathusberger. No one acts like he's Mr. Character, one. And two, he has a lot more peltz on the wall than Ryan Tanniel. Because last time I checked, Ryan Tanniel has zero peltz on the wall. absolutely zero. They won some playoff games a couple years ago. I don't know when they're running back turned into Superman and ran for like 700 yards a game.

So like there's a reason Jimmy Garapolo and Alex Smith handled it the way they did. One, they weren't. They ain't Rothersburg. They ain't Rogers. So they know deep down like I don't have the clout to handle it like that and two. They're just good guys. Like it's just, yeah, man, I'm not going to try to

make this human the greatest quarterback ever so I can go of the unemployment line. But hell, I'll do what it takes. Like, I'm a good teammate. Part of being a good football player is being a good teammate, specifically at quarterback. We're being a good teammate, the greatest quarterback of all time, who is still going at 45 years old, is easily the greatest teammate in the history of the league. Like, it goes hand in hand.

A couple guys have been able to get away with it. And even as clear, Rogers has really tried more the last half decade. to be a really good teammate. But most of the, all the good young quarterbacks talk to anyone in their organization. Mahomes, Alan, Lamar, they're beloved by their teammates. Herbert.

It's just part of the deal. And that includes the quarterback room. And I'm not saying, I'm a huge believer that words can be overrated. I judge you on actions. You can say whatever you want, but if you do something different, I don't care what you said.

So Ryan Tanyhill may be super nice to this guy, but he's already made it awkward. He's already created a, story. And this is where from the Belichickian ethos of where Mike Vrable comes from, like, this is unneeded. Just wear it. Just be like, yeah, man, I'm here. Bring it on yourself. I'm here to improve. I have to improve the way the season ended. I'm excited to have them in the room and we'll do whatever it takes to be a really good football player. Like, again, as someone who hates the fluff BS, there are times in that industry where it's unavoidable and you have to do it. And that was a time, I

I see a lot of some people defending him on social media. To me, the comment's not defensible at that position. If another position said it, nobody cares. Also, but multiple guys are allowed to play. Like, when the 49ers draft Drake Jackson as their first pick in the second round, or their only pick at the end of the second round, no one, Nick Bosa gets to play too. No one asks all the other players.

You add Khalil Mack to the Chargers. No one has to ask Joey Bosa like, they're both beyond the field. Same with wide receivers. Chase Claypool, when the Steelers drafted George Pickens, literally announced the pick. But you know what he's thinking? He'll just be on the other side of me.

No big deal. At quarterback, like kickers or a head coach, it's a little bit different. There's only one of them. So I just think that Ryan Taneyhill screwed up with his messaging. Not that he's a human. We all can relate to him being perturbed.

But I'd also say, hey, Ryan, I bet the organization's a little uneasy, that you have the highest cap hit in the league this year. Because you clearly aren't worthy of that. So it's a two-way street. The biggest horse race of the year is quickly approaching, and you can bet the derby risk-free up to $200 with TBG. That's right.

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1-8-8-8-8-1-800-Gambler.net, West Virginia. 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, 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,

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follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. talk. Let's get to draft nuggets. One thing I said leading up to the draft is I said that Trayvon Walker you know, the bulky, I appreciate and I admire anyone with big balls,

with big stones. Like, those are the type people I admire in society. Regardless, you don't have to be some maverick in business. Just anyone that is unafraid. Whether you're unafraid to go into business on your own or John Robinson, you're unafraid to make a trade that it's going to be viewed as not a great trade when you do it.

It takes balls to do a lot of things in life. And most people are afraid to do those things. It's just a reality. And I said bulky, I understood why he was taking a swing. Now, my scouting days are long over. I'm in a different world. I'm not slamming all 22 tape like I once did. So I rely, and I'm lucky that in my time in Philly and doing this job,

I've been introduced to a lot of really high-level people in the NFL, guys that have multiple Super Bowl rings as guys that assistant GMs, college directors, on top of general managers. And doing a little bit digging on Trayvon Walker, when I first got out of the NFL and got into radio, I obviously went to a lot of 49er stuff with Jim Harbaugh. I used to go to practice. Alden Smith, while he's huge, was a very, very fluid athlete.

He had fluidity is to me the best way to describe him. He was not a robotic stiff player. While he was almost 6'6 and 260 and 70, long arms, he moved like he was Vaughn Miller. He didn't quite have Vaughn's Ben, but he was closer to that than some of these big stiff athletes. And I was asking some of my buddies that evaluated this guy and they said, The one thing with Trayvon Walker, Alden Smith is not a good comp. This guy, if you just isolate his past rushes and his sacks, which were few and far between, he's very robotic.

He's not like Mr. Fluidity, but his testing was. And that is always the balance in scouting. When the numbers and you quantify a guy and you go, God, his three cone was awesome, his movements on the combine were awesome, his pro day around the company. he looked and then you throw on the tape you're like well he doesn't look like that when he plays and you have to be very careful with that because once the season ends all you have to judge is the offseason stuff right the pro days the workouts the combine and i people i trust and i rely on for all my information said they thought the pick was pretty nuts because they do not see some

alden smith level athlete even though the testing numbers are very very very positive and conducive in terms of how it should relate to him being an NFL player. But sometimes testing numbers don't always translate. Now, I do not blame Balkey for looking at Aiden Hutchinson and thinking, like, I'm not taking the safe route. Because I like people that don't take the safe route. But a lot of times when you do take the risk, like part of being a risk takers, you're okay with failing. You're okay with losing. And maybe Balke just was like, hey, I'd rather strike out or hit a home run.

I'm not looking to get doubles. Now you can argue when you suck as bad as the Jags, and God, they suck. I mean, they've had the number one pick back-to-back seasons. They basically drafted in the top 10 the entire last decade beside the one season. Maybe hitting doubles isn't the worst thing, and I know I'm kind of, you know, I said the opposite a couple weeks ago, but I didn't have as much information on this guy. The Minnesota GM, I lived with a guy when I first got the West Coast job for the Eagles, when I moved back to San Francisco, who worked at Credit Suisse.

And this guy's an Ivy League guy. And I just remember watching the work you have to do in Wall Street, even though technically if you, you know, San Francisco or L.A. in finance, it's not Wall Street. But you're working for Wall Street. Is NFL level stress, NFL level time? Now, the difference is, is that early on when you're in your 20s or even early 30s, a lot of times in the NFL, you're not making big money.

I mean, most guys, once you go Ivy League and you work for these big banks, you know what you're doing, you hit a couple bonuses. You know, you can make seven figures pretty quick. But this Minnesota GM on paper, you know, you could argue just on paper, most impressive resume as a human being, any GM in the league. But the job of a GM is not to have some sweet resume, is not to be the smartest guy in the room. It's literally to pick the best players, run the best draft, run the best friend. free agency. And this Quessie guy, no one will dispute intellectual capacity and the schools he went to and the banks he worked for are impressive. But that's no longer his job. His job is to pick sweet NFL players. That's the only thing that any Minnesota Vikings fan or any Packer fan

or Bears fan that's going to be judging that franchise very closely is going to care about. no one's going to care that he helped lock up a $700 million building deal in 2012. He's going to be judged on who they draft. And everyone said it, and I'm going to say it again, I haven't talked to one person that goes, the trade they made in the first round makes no sense. To go from 12 to 32 and not get a future first round pick is borderline laughable. I don't care what you tell me.

They flop second round picks. The value, the value chart, what are we talking about? Like that's just, that's a head-scratching trade. Especially when you have other needs. In 12, like there were a couple sweet players remaining. I don't know, why not draft Jordan Davis right in there? Hell, it's like, they already have two receivers.

Well, Adam Thielen's getting up there in age. Why not draft Jameson Williams? There were premium players on the draft board and they didn't draft them. And they made a trade that's just a big-time head-scratcher. So again, smart guy already pretty questionable moves. and he'll be judged on the players, not his SAT score. Are we sure the Cowboys are going to be that good? One, I think we all agree, even Cowboy fans.

Their coach might be below average, right? Aaron Rogers literally might have carried them. Last year, I mean, the Cowboys had a really good roster, and I know they won the division, even though the division was really down. We saw the playoff game. They were completely overwhelmed. If it wasn't for a Jimmy Garoppolo,

one of the worst interceptions you'll ever see, that game would have been blowout city. And for the Niners to blow you out, they blow out people 28 to 10. They don't blow people out 50 to 7. So that was a 49er blowout. Now their team is not as good. I don't know, man.

I just, I might short the Cowboys. I don't think the Eagles are some powerhouse yet because I don't totally trust the quarterback. But you can convince me the Eagles are going to win that division. And the Cowboys might not make the playoffs. And it mainly starts and stops with Mike McCarthy. Because their talent is just clearly less, and I just don't trust him. I simply just do not trust him.

And hopefully Jerry Jones is all right after his little car accident. I got an argument with people on Twitter, they're like, Jerry Jones, he has a driver everywhere he goes. Why is he driving a car? Jerry Jones is not some Ivy League elite living in New York City or San Francisco. Jerry Jones is an oil maverick that went to school in Arkansas that lives in Texas. I text someone a day that worked with him. He said Jerry Jones, and he hadn't worked with him for a while,

but like in his early 70, he said he drove to work every day. He lives in the suburbs. Whether you're rich or poor, if you don't live in like one of New York, Chicago, San Francisco, why wouldn't you drive? Like I like control.

If I was worth 500 million or $500, I'm still driving certain places. Now obviously you might not do things that you would do that us normal people can do, go out to dinner or whatever. It might become a little bit different, but you still drive a car. So when I saw that he got in a car,

accident, I just made this kind of joke on Twitter. Maybe it's time to take away his keys. Kind of a joke. Kind of not really. I mean, sometimes you get there late in your 70s, early 80s. Hell, I saw it with my grandpa a long time ago. You just got to, sometimes you got to take away old people's keys. Now, I'm not, I'm kind of being tongue and cheek, but this notion that just just because Jerry Jones is super rich that he doesn't drive, he doesn't live in Manhattan. He lives in fucking Dallas, Texas. Of course he drives. Uh, the Jets. They love Soss Gardner. I listened to a couple interviews with Joe Douglas.

One thing I was told about Joe Douglas a couple years ago from people that have worked with them is he was born and raised from a football mindset in the Ravens system. And they love swag. Like legit, cocky confidence in a football player. Because you know why? They had a lot of success with it over the years. Terrell Suggs, Ray Lewis, Ed Reed. Now, they had guys that could back it up. they signed Steve Smith

like Anquan Bolden They like that type mindset Even though you'd say Anquan's probably a little different More than those guys But I've been around Anquan when he played for the Niners Like he has a quiet confidence to him And Zach Wilson One thing that I was told by people last year

I'm like why do you think he liked Zach Wilson More than some of the other guys? Zach Wilson is a cocky dude And Joe likes that And the difference between sauce He loves sauce Gardner And I personally like I don't know.

I would take a lineman high over a corner, but that's just me. I think corners, maybe I'm wrong. I'm not acting like I'm Bill Walsh, Bill Belichick, Bill Parcells on this. I think DBs can be a little overrated if you can dominate in your front four. I've seen it with the 49ers. Their DBs have been terrible and they've made multiple conference championships because they annihilate the quarterback. Kill them.

Now, you have to, obviously, they would like to have better corners they've invested in it. And if I can get Dorel Revis or Richard Sherman in his prime or Jalen Ramsey, I will take them. But I think it's pretty risky. Most guys don't turn out to be that way. So when I'm drafting in the top five, I would always lean lines, O line, D line, over corner. But I get it if you love the player. But one thing, if you've watched anything, a sauce gardener, he has a chain with sauce. It's like a, you know, probably worth $200,000.

and he actually put sauce in the chain. And he was joking about it with Woody Johnson, but he's just, I mean, he's got some shit to him. And I understand it. I get, because Joe told, I was listening to his interview, who did he talk to, Rich Eisen or Colin? And he was just saying when he came in, we loved him. And I get it.

I see it. Listen, Kyle Shanahan said in his press conference, they love Cole Strange. I talked to people that had Cole Strange in the fourth and third round, regardless of what round you could have got him in. My issue with Belichick on that pick is Belichick for a guy that probably no head coach in the history of league has a better understanding of value and prices. Yet in the draft, he doesn't view it like that.

He views it like, this guy is an immediate starter for me. I'll draft him now, even though I get the guy later. and he drafted Cole Strange, why? Because he really needs a guard. But Col Strange, by no means, was the best player, I'm sure, even on his own board. But he bade that draft for need. And here's my issue with that position.

Guard, like center, is the one position I can get all throughout any draft. But you can only, like, corners, he needed a corner. My thing with Belichick, looking back at that draft, when he made the trade with the chiefs, Belichick just lost J.C. Jackson. Why not take Trent McDuffie,

who everyone universally agreed, really good player, really high character guy. You know what he'll be? An immediate starter for the Chiefs. You know what the Chiefs are? Better than the Patriots. Why didn't he just take Trent McDuffie right there?

And then take a guard in the next round. Now, just because a guy tells me they had him in the third round doesn't mean that Bill wasn't wrong or was wrong that someone wouldn't have taken him in like the next 15-20 picks. Probably could have.

But just take another guard. One of the thing Bill Hanks' hat on is he's not like emotionally tied. I don't believe Bill was emotionally tied to Cole Strange. He's like, I got to have a guard, there's a guard. And I think that's for this, the smartest guy in the history of the league, kind of meathead thinking. That is my issue with the pick. I can't pretend to like, Cole Strange might be a fine starter.

But the value of the way he played it all didn't quite, it's just wrong. I mean, it's just, and just because people are like, you can't be critical of Bill. He's got all these Super Bowls. No one is arguing that Bill Belichick is not one of the greatest coaches in the history of sport. That Bill Belichick is not the greatest game planner in the league. That Bill Belichick is a genius. No one's arguing that. Or that he's not great at signing free agents and understanding the league.

No one, we're talking about the draft. And you can argue that Bill in the draft gets a little weird. and this pick was a little weird. What thing the Steelers are just adamant about, I call him Teddy two yards, Teddy two gloves, but Teddy Bridgewater wore two gloves. Kenny Pickett's a two glove guy. And I know Tomlin,

they think he's had a lot of success playing in weather games in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh doesn't play in December and January. The season is over. And for the most part, their season is over in the middle of November. And then they play a bowl game somewhere else. So this notion that he's consistently played in inclement weather is just patently false.

Like if you play for the Steelers, you are always playing in December and basically a couple games now in January. So you have and you play outdoors in, think about this too. Every team that you play, the Ravens, the Browns and the Bengals, all outdoor stadiums, all in inclement weather places. Yet in that conference, you got Miami, you got Florida State, You got Clemson, you got Duke. Like, you're not playing in the Big Ten. You basically play in the AFC South, you know? You play in a warm weather conference.

So I don't like two glove guys. And I think this notion that he's excelled in inclement weather, maybe he's played in a couple games. And let's face it, he's had one good season. So the other seasons was not going well. in his one good season, the season was over by Thanksgiving. Now, they played in a bowl game somewhere else.

So I just, again, I'm not trying to hate. I like the Steelers. I love Mike Tomlin. Just don't like the pick. I've talked to a couple people that, and this goes back to the Patriots, the Chiefs. They had multiple first round picks. They trade Tyree Kill.

They clearly need a wide receiver. It's evident to everyone on the outside, let alone Veach and Andy. Yet they did not force one in the first round. They needed a corner to, and they got an excellent corner that fell to the 20s, Trent McDuffie. Everyone liked them.

They take a pass rusher. I can't pretend to know that much about, but check Andy's history of drafting, you know, defensive linemen. I would say decent chance he's going to be pretty good. Right. So, and then they wait to the second round to get Skymore. And it texting around, everyone likes the guy.

I think it's like, yeah, wouldn't shock me in a couple years. I had someone tell me, and we'll get into Atlanta here in a second. I still can't get over Atlanta taking Drake London eighth overall. And I'm a West Coast guy. I'm naturally going to root for guys for the Pac-12.

I like Drake London when I watched him play. To me, Drake London should go in like the 20s. Drake London refused to run a 40. Good business decision on his side, right? Because if he would have ran a 40, he would have ran over a 4-6. What happened to Kyle Hamilton? Kyle Hamilton was viewed as a top 10 player,

ran slow, fell to 14. Drake London refuses to run. Why? Because he's slow. And then goes eight overall. And I had someone tell me the other day, and listen, I don't think it's disagreeable, especially when you just factor in the quarterback, that if you tell me in two years, people around the league view Skymore as a better player than Drake London, I could believe that.

I'm like, yeah, I could too. Obviously, you play with, hell, you could put any random wide receiver with Patrick Mahomes. He might have a better chance than they don't have a quarterback in Atlanta. So the Chiefs, man, they didn't force anything. They just took really good players, and they had desperate need. They're an offensive team with a superstar quarterback, and they waited at the second round. And that's my thing with, I said this last week after the draft on Watson, the wide receiver from North Dakota State. I did not realize he was viewed as a top 50 prospect.

And then texting around, I was told, yeah, we didn't have him that high either. but I acknowledge, like I said last week, when you are tall and can run really fast, you're going to get drafted pretty high. And he got drafted 34th. And he gets to go to a really good quarterback, and they've had a long history of developing guys, even though not everyone developed at the same pace.

Devante Adams took several years to get going. That's a bold pick, the information that I have acquired. It doesn't mean it's not going to work. And I would bet if Aaron Rogers doesn't retire, go host Jeopardy or move to a watch, or something weird. If he's a quarterback for the next three years, the guy will be pretty good.

But I don't think the expectations on this guy, like I would not expect him to just be super productive, super early. From what I've been told, he might need a little time. 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, 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. I talked about this last week and I'll talk about it again. It's just the way coaches and general managers talk about when they draft a guy from the SEC or we evaluated this guy.

the teams that he played. This guy was from school X, but he played multiple SEC teams, so we got to see him go up against the best competition. The arguments are over. Listen, I'm a Pac-12 homer at my heart, even though I've kind of moved to the SEC. Why? It's better football.

It's way more talent. The draft speaks for itself. 65 players were drafted from the SEC. The next best conference had 25. That's a 40-player gap. The argument ended years ago, and there's only a couple guys still arguing, and I would consider them trolls at this point. But it is so clearly superior right now that it's really not even funny. And the one thing you've seen is because of the explosion in football is the money has permeated all throughout the programs.

Do you ever just flip around television on a random Friday or Saturday and stumble upon an SEC baseball game and see how many people are at, Arkansas or LSU or Georgia. These places are packed. And then look at the rankings. All their teams are ranked high. I'm a golf guy. You know how good all their golf programs are becoming? If you're a college basketball guy,

how much money they're paying their college basketball coaches? Football is the tide that rises everything in the business. And it's why when I was at Fresno State, we had this athletic director who was a complete clown and who like always pushed these non-revenue sports and it was so unfair to Coach Hill that if they would have doubled down on football financially it would have made everyone so much more money

and the SEC has got that and they got that before TV really took off in terms of revenue and they have really benefited from that now obviously Nick Sabin being the lead dog in the conference has really helped but remember Urban Meyer was there before Nick Saban same with Steve Spurrier right same with Nick was at at LSU

they add Oklahoma and Texas. Like they're coming for all the money. They're coming for all the players. Literally, all of them. All the sweet ones in California, they're coming for them. And they've been getting them. And adding Texas and Oklahoma, to me, might even widen this gap. It really might.

I know people in Oregon are fired up about Dan Lanning. If Dan Lanning is good, the SEC will hire them. It just happened with Mario. Even though Miami's not in the SEC, let's face it. When Miami is good, they might as well just be. be an SEC program because they're recruiting SEC players. Like Phil Savage told me once about Florida State,

it's an elite Jimbo realized until he left because he had some off the field stuff. He could recruit SEC players but play an ACC schedule. And that's what Davo did when he started winning national championships. He had an SEC roster, but he played an SEC schedule. So all the top

players are playing in the South right now. Now, it doesn't mean the Big Ten and the Pac-12 can't get some and the Big 12. But the gap is, is as wide as the Grand Canyon, and it's no longer even arguable. I mean, look at the two best quarterbacks coming into this year. It is viewed next year as a way better draft. Why?

Because Will Anderson would have been the consensus, 100% agreement, number one overall player this year. He would have been on a tier by himself. He plays at Alabama. But the reason he's viewed as he won't even go on the top two next year is because of two quarterbacks. And that's the reason this draft lacks some urgency. and just some firepower, right?

It didn't have star quarterbacks. It had one quarterback going the first round, which, you know, I think the last time that happened was 1997. I said it earlier this week on the podcast, Jim Drunken Miller, Niners pick 26. And it was Kenny Pickett, who, let's face it, we weren't really that locked into Pittsburgh football. But C.J. Stroud, to me, is the number one guy

coming into this season at Ohio State. He just looks like a legitimate NFL player when he's playing. Now, a little like Mac Jones and a little bit like Tua, he is playing with NFL elite wide receivers. I mean, Garrett Wilson is going to be a really good player. The dude in Java, number 11, who returned, might not be number 11. That might be a lobby's number. Might get him flipped up. Is a better player than Chris Alave.

And Chris Alave just went, what, top 12 in the draft. And they also got Marvin Harrison Jr., who's Marvin Harrison's son, who was just based on genetics, I believe he'll probably be a pretty good player. So the only big knock on him is going to be, he has so much talent around him, it's too easy. But just based on the eye test,

watching him the last couple of years, he looks freaking awesome. Same with Bryce at Alabama. The irony is they're both LA kids and they ended up at the two sweetest programs. That's why USC paid all this money for Lincoln Riley. To make sure that in the future, minimum one of those two guys is coming to your school.

But as I texted a scout during the season, who obviously you spend a lot of time at Alabama, if you do that area, and said my one issue with Bryce is, and there was a picture at the Heisman ceremony, and it was C.J. Stroud, it was Aiden Hutchinson, and it was Bryce. And obviously Aiden is huge.

He's like 6'5. And then Bryce standing next to him was a little shorter. He's probably 6, 2, 1⁄2, 6.3. And then Bryce was dramatically smaller. I think you could probably guess, you know, just based on the picture, you can Google image it, 5-10-ish. And I know we've had a couple outliers in recent memory. Russell is a great example. Russell is built like a tank.

Russell is not your typical 5-10 player. And we'll see if he still has it for a long period of time. He was one of the most athletic quarterbacks we'd ever seen. Feels like it's diminishing a little bit, but he still can move. And Kyler, who's much smaller than Russell, probably in a lot of, inch and much lighter is you would put him on the short list with Michael Vic and Lamar Jackson in terms of athleticism. He is one of the greatest athletes we've ever seen at the history of the position. He's probably just pound for pound one of the best athletes in the league.

So to me, Bryce, he's a good athlete. I just based on watching him, I wouldn't call him an elite athlete. But he is really small, but he is really good. And you watch him in that Georgia game and the one thing that stood out to me because to me, CJ is clearly the top guy. I saw Albert Breer wrote like a little Q&A, an executive said the same thing. Bryce can play. I am not trying to like talk shit about Bryce

because I watch him. I love his stuff. I love any player who can take a shot right in the jaw, get hit right in the helmet and get shoved down by that Georgia defense who as we just saw is basically an NFL defense and hop right back up. So toughness, which is the most underrated quality

that we never talk about in quarterbacks, he had spades. And he made some throws in that game where his backup wide receivers, because Mechie and Jameson were hurt, they were awesome, threw some dimes. But he's not very big. So that is going to be the question next year is just size, because he's just small. Now, maybe coming back into the season, he's added a little muscle, but you know, you can't teach height. And I think as you see, like, it's hard for Kyler Murray to see.

It's hard for, too is a good example. Now, Tua, I don't want to make some bold statement on Bryce's athleticism, because I'm just basing off like, he's a better athlete than Tua. But Tua can't see out over the line. And he's really a pocket quarterback, but he's a shrimp. So it's hard for him to play in the NFL. It's why you'd say his NFL career so far has been very, very underwhelming. I like to lean at minimum like six two guys and up. Because look at these linemen.

They're huge. Look at the linemen coming into the NFL. See how big Jordan Davis is? You see how big, hell, even just how tall all the top guys that got drafted are? You see how tall all the offensive linemen that got drafted are? There's no, here's the other,

I say this all the time. Wide receivers and corners, like all the tall, good corners go high. All the shorter corners go in the fourth, fifth, sixth round. But offensive linemen, like even if you're a six-round offensive lineman, you're not 6-1-2-80, you're still 6-4-3-10. You just probably aren't as athletic.

You're probably not as powerful. You're just probably not as good. But if you Google or just watch the draft, the offensive linemen late in the draft have similar size to the guy that goes in the second round. It's not like, well, we got this offensive lineman little undersized, only 5-11. That doesn't happen.

So it's very, very difficult to see. Basically, every offensive lineman that I see. saw that they got drafted, especially guards and tackles, are all pretty tall. Not many 6-2 guys getting drafted. That's not the way it is. And these defensive linemen, there was a defensive lineman, I think, that went to Minnesota.

Or maybe he played at Minnesota. I forget what team drafted. Maybe Minnesota did draft him. I heard Peter Schrager say this. Biggest player in the history of the draft. 6-8-3-90. What a bohemath. Where do you find these humans?

Think how many times? if you're 30 years older, you've just walked around wherever you live. Any city you've gone to, any travels you've had, there's a decent chance you have seen only a handful of human beings, 6-8. And I would say most of them probably are skinny or a little thinner. Do you know how big 6-8-3-80 is? That is an enormous man. Do you see how big when Jordan Davis got drafted that human being is? they just, it's hard to find.

It's why you always draft them high. Looking back, like, there's my issue with the Falcons. Why not take Jordan Davis right there? Your defensive line blows. Put him with Grady Jarrett and start cooking with gas. Take a wider seat for the second round. I'm not acting like I got all the answers, but let's just, sometimes some things just don't add up.

Some things can be head scratchers. No one's acting like on the outside, even, fans, they're all knowing all the time. But that doesn't mean some things are like, yeah, it kind of seems kind of stupid. Because it does. Appreciate everyone listening. Have a great weekend. Enjoy the fam.

Hug your kids. Hug your wife. Have a few pops. Put your feet up. Summer's right around the corner. Actually, not even supposed to be great weather when I'm at. But enjoy the weekend. And I'll talk to everyone soon.

Peace. The volume. Are you looking for the hottest gambling advice out there? Check out the Moneyline Monaco podcast powered by Fandul every weekday. Our guy Alex Monaco will give you his best bets, including game picks, props, same game parlays, and much more. Monaco is in another groove and is won nearly 60% of his bets all time. So don't miss your chance to make some money by downloading the Moneyline Monaco

wherever you get your podcast, only on the volumes podcast network. 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 I-Hard Radio app. or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun,

thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tontons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the I-Heart Radio, 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. 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 Cliford Show. This is a place for raw, unfills of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clivert Show, 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.