The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Colin Cowherd Podcast - Hour 1: NFL Draft Reaction: Bears land Caleb Williams & Rome Odunze, Falcons-Michael Penix

Episode Date: April 26, 2024

Colin Cowherd and John Middlekauff react to the the 1st Round of the NFL Draft. Colin and John discuss the Bears landing Caleb Williams & Rome Odunze and what their future will be like in Chicago. The Falcons stunned everyone when they drafted Washington QB Michael Penix Jr after signing Kirk Cousins in Free Agency. The Broncos landed Bo Nix, Vikings got JJ McCarthy, Patriots drafted Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels went #2 to the Commanders. Which quarterback has the best future? NFL Draft went heavy on offense including Brock Bowers to the Raiders. Colin and John give their takes on the 1st Round. #Volume #Herd #3AndOutSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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So the Giants, Diana Rusini, reporting that the next. New York Giants were in on Drake May or nobody. So for people just tuning in, everybody's watching this. Caleb Jaden, Drake May, no big surprise. Marvin Harrison, four. Oh, Falcons go, holy moly. That is interesting. We've had our first big surprise.

This is live, by the way. Michael Pennix, Jr., going to Atlanta at 8. Oh, that's interesting. Well, what they're saying is Kirk Cousins is going to be a, he's going to be a two-year player, a one-year player. By the way, how lucky is Pennix? That old line, Drake London, Kyle Pitts, two backs. How lucky is Michael Pennix?

Wow, that is, that's shocking. I think just because a lot of people, I knew scouts during the season that had Pennix as a second rounder, I thought that was crazy. But there was a lot of talk a couple months ago that he was not a top 15 pick. And then to go to Atlanta after they just, spent all that money on cousins. They're also getting a guy coming off of torn Achilles, right, who's not a great athlete.

So I completely understand what they're doing. Maybe there's doubling, I mean, they're not, maybe, they are doubling down on the quarterback position. They feel good about their defense. They have a, I mean, they've drafted 75 offensive skill guys these last couple of years. Their offensive lines good. Hard for me to hate. Rahim Morris was an NFL coach, couldn't get the quarterback right, got fired,

goes to the Rams, becomes increasingly. incredibly great friends with Sean McVeigh made it very clear. Dude, we had golf and moved off. So if Rahim Morris, who's a really smart guy, learned something, you know, as McVeigh's best friend, you can't be good enough or deep enough at quarterback. We had goff and we moved off. And so I think this is Rahim Morris saying, listen, this is what I love about this move. A lot of these defensive coaches can struggle with how urgent is quarterback.

This is like when Washington had a chance to go out and get people. people and Ron Rivera wouldn't make the move. Rahim's like, listen, I'm not only going to get Kirk Cousins with this stacked offense, I'm getting his backup. So I got to be honest. I like the move. Well, think about this. Rahim Morris had a front row seat as the coordinator two years ago when Stafford went down and

they were completely fucked, right? I mean, it derailed their season. So you're signing a guy to a lot of money who's a really good player when he was healthy, but he's coming off of torn Achilles. Yeah. And think about one of their guys in Green Bay. just benefited a lot from having a young quarterback on the roster when the Riders things got weird.

They didn't skip a beat, and now they're a team that everyone's going to love. So this is the old Ron Wolf thing. And Andy followed it. I mean, all these Kyle Shanahan guys, just draft these quarterbacks. You could argue, you know, if you're all in on Kirk Cousins this year trying to win,

take a defensive player, especially a defensive lineman. Their sack production's been terrible. That's why a lot of people thought they would take an edge rusher or the Texas defensive tackle. But if you're going to go off the beaten path at this position, this guy's good, Colin. I mean, listen, he got hurt a lot, but he has not been hurt the last two years. To me, I love this guy.

The one concerning thing is when he did play Michigan, who turned out was an NFL team, they were rattling him and he was way off. But that is a one game scenario. He has a large body of work. No one throws a better deep ball. No one just, I would say, start to finish this last two years, probably has had a better two-year stretch. Jaden had a better season this year. Caleb had a better season last year, same with Drake May. But over the two-year body of work, you'd have to say Pennix was the best, right?

Yeah, and I also think a lot of big game experience, I've defended them on Michigan. You know, my takeaway is a lot of NFL quarterbacks faced Alabama and Nick Saban and looked awful. A lot of NFL quarterbacks can face Georgia over the last four years and not look very good. I mean, CJ Stroud couldn't beat Michigan either. So, I mean, they had a stacked deck. one of the most talented teams in the last decade. Listen, and I'm a Michael Pennix fan. He's one of my favorite players in this draft.

I think the concerning part about it specifically, though, is, right? He was sacked 11 times during the season. He had one of the best offensive. So he never got touched. So he played in somewhat of a situation like a lot of the Ohio State and Alabama guys have over their career, where it's a pretty unreal situation with awesome wide receivers, and he dominated. And then they started getting pressure. They started hitting him.

and it's not like he's small. Like I don't view him as slight quite like Jaden Daniels, but you were at the Oregon game up in Seattle, that Michigan game, a couple of times you're like, is he going to be able to get up? That's the one. Now,

get a little bigger. He doesn't have to play right away. Is he immediately one of the better backup quarterbacks in the NFL? He's making eighth pick. He's been making $6,7 million. Seems like a pretty good deal. He's the most talented backup in the NFL, officially.

We can go with that. He throws a gorgeous ball. By the way, the Joe Alt picked by the, Chargers this morning I did a mock draft until 8.30 in the morning I had the Chargers shaking Joe Alt. I said Harbaugh is just going to take the best tackle. And then I talked myself out of it for J.C. Latham, who Tennessee took the best right tackle in the draft. I thought now he's got Slater at left. And so I talked myself out. Alex, one of my producers on the herd on

FS1 can back me on this. I had Joe Alt till 830 and I said he's going to go get a right tackle. But Latham, you know, I can see Harbaugh just saying, just get me the best tackle. We'll figure out where to play him. Plus, Slater had an injury before. If Slater goes down, Joe Alt to natural left tackle. So, and the thing about Alt is he's super athletic. He was a high school tied end and defensive end. Brian Kelly told me the other day on the show, their only concern was because they get, could they put weight on him? He was just so athletic. We're like, can we get him to 310? We're not sure we could. So Alt's not a bulldozer, but he's really nimble, really athletic and just a, he's a house. But he's, he's one of those guys with good

It's like the man upstairs does not give you a lot of six, eight, three hundred, 20-pound guys with great feet and Joel, that guy. I never bought. Now, who knows, I guess if Arizona had traded and someone taking a quarterback there, and Harrison was also on the board, anyone that's watched Jim Harbaugh operate for 15, 20 years, he wants to play defense and run the football. And, you know, for a former 15-year captain comeback quarterback, if you talk to anyone in the NFL, they're like,

he's really more like an offensive lineman than he is a former quarterback. He gave that long kind of diatribe at the owner's meetings about the importance of that group. They already have the left tackle. The one concerning part is doing my research, you know, he's never played right tackle in college. Sometimes when a guy makes a transition with your feet, it can mess you a little up. But, I mean, I'm not even taking an educated guess here. I bet Jim loves that his father was an NFL player. You saw the size when they hugged of those two men.

Jim has to just be really excited. You get his GM from Baltimore, big physical guys. We all know the way that he's going to want to. Look at the people he chose. There were four question marks with the chargers, Bosa, Mac, and the two wide receivers. He found a way to keep the two pass rushers, and he got rid of the two wide receivers. I don't think that's by coincidence, do you? No, and Chicago, Caleb Williams at one.

They just picked Roma Dunseys. So back-to-back Huskies at eight and nine. Chicago goes with another receiver. I got to tell you something. I thought they'd go defense here. I thought they would trade down or go defense. So Matt Iber Fluse, I figured he would pound the table because they have a great corner in Montez sweat. I figured he'd pound the table for the edge rusher.

But right now, look at this. We don't have a defensive player through nine picks. Has the world changed in this league? So Roma Dunzee, who to me, he is the most, like there's just nothing. He did combine. He's productive. One of the things as a Husky fan, he got better every year. Like he made a noticeable leap.

He has not plateaued. The thing that was interesting, a lot of people thought the Jets would get a receiver, but Aaron Rogers and Tom Brady don't like young receivers. So I just don't see it. I just don't see it. So Roma Dungay goes to the Bears, watched him live, watched 15 of his games. I like the pick. I was texting with a buddy who's a wide receiver coach in the NFL and is one of the better ones.

and clearly most people in some order had neighbors or Harrison or Harrison and neighbors. Rome was the clear three guy. And my question to him was, who's the best character guy, you know, in terms of the wiring off the field? And his response was Rome and it's not close. And those type guys, because there are some question marks with his speed. And this guy said that there's a big difference in just pure speed, which neighbors is faster than them all, and your ability to run routes and get open.

and that's not a problem with Rome. The other thing is he's wired a lot. And this guy compared him as Devante. Very serious. Is all in on football. We'll do whatever it takes. The Bears clearly what they're looking for from a character standpoint. We've all been saying for a while,

and I don't even think it's debatable at this point, there has never been a better situation, at least in my life, for a number one quarterback to go to in terms of his roster. So now he's got Keenan Allen, DJ Moore that are established high-end players. you add a receiver in the top 10, you have a good defense with some Pro Bowl level guys. What more can a most guys go Bryce Young, Carolina, Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville.

I mean, it usually is even Peyton Manning, right? They barely won three games. This guy goes to a team. It is not inconceivable if Caleb is just solid immediately. Are they a 10-win team? Yeah, no, I think you have to feel this is the best day for the Chicago Bears since the Super Bowl win in the mid-80s. This is a tremendous day for them. by the way we have a trade the jets and the Vikings have flipped the Vikings at 11 have moved up to 10 the jets at 10 have moved to 11 that would probably signal Minnesota is not going to mess around they're going to go to the quarterback my guess would be they don't need anything else offensively maybe there's an edge rusher but they accumulated the one team even in my mock draft today on FS 1 the one team I had moving up in the top 12 was Minnesota they accumulated that second pick my thing here is they're not going to mess

around. They're probably going to go get J.J. McCarthy, who I said this, whoever Minnesota drafts at quarterback will succeed. I didn't care who it was. It didn't matter if it was Penn Expo Nix. My least favorite quarterback of all these guys is J.J. McCarthy, but I think now he'll be very successful because he doesn't even have to play. I talked to an executive about a month ago. He said he needs to sit. He may be Thanksgiving year one, but he's not ready to play right now. you don't go from that Michigan situation to running around. It's just a big, big leap. Whereas Drake may ran for his life in college at times.

He may run for his life in New England. Like he's used to that stuff. And the Jets move back. By the way, the Jets probably, do we know if they got a second round pick for that? A fourth and a fifth. Okay, Jets want picks. That's what they want. It's a deep draft and the wide receivers.

So the Jets got a fourth and fifth. They don't have a second rounder, right? No, but they want receivers and tight ends and you can get those in the fourth round and on. So let's, in review, Haleb, Jalen, Daniels, Drake May, Marvin Harrison, no surprises, top four. Joe Alt, a bit of a surprise, though a big physical player, not a surprise. I thought the charge, I was told the Chargers wanted to trade down. I was also told they were not getting what they wanted. Malik neighbors, basically Diana Rusini reported that the Giants were Drake May or bust.

All right, the Vikings have picked J.J. McCarthy. I said it a month ago. I said it two weeks ago. It's the furnished apartment for any of these quarterbacks. Add some water and Diet Coke. You're set in the fridge. He's going to sit behind Darnold. I think with Darnold, they're a decent team.

Do you? I do. I mean, I like Sam Darnold. Obviously, so does Kyle Shanahan. He knows the thing to do about football. And it looks like Kevin O'Connell does as well. So I'm always a big believer in like, who likes you, who believes in you? And the right guys are in on this guy.

It's like, yeah, the Adam Gays thing happened. but that was a long time ago, and I'm not sure Adam Gase is in the league now. So when I look at J.J. McCarthy, the thing that concerns me is my comp for him was Alex Smith. And with Alex Smith, everything had to go right in it, and it took a while. That's not like you said, he gets to go to this furnished department. It's a lot easier. It's a turnkey place. So it's unlike a lot of places where if he would have gone to New England, I like Drake May.

He's more of my type player, high ceiling guy, because we all talked about the Adam Schaefter tweet. Half these guys are not going to be that good. And some of it's going to be out of their control. Whoever New England took I was out on. That organization, the young son now running it, he's the first guy you see on top of Elliot Wolf. I'm out. And I think Drake May is going to have a very rough time.

My thing with J.J. McCarthy is he falls under Alex Smith. More Alex Smith turned into Kenny Pickett's and Mack Jones than they do Kirk Cousins. And here's the thing with Kirk Cousins. He was a mid-round pick. So there was a lot less pressure on you. Brock Purdy, seventh round pick. When you take more limitations with talent. Now, I do think JJ is probably more talented than Alex.

A little worse athlete, a little better arm, but everything has to go perfect. Now, like you said, they're pretty loaded at wide receiver. They have a good offensive line. They have an offensive head coach who's the play caller. So he has a lot of advantages. And with Sam, assuming it goes well, like there's going to be a little pressure on them too. And that division's hard. I mean, the bears are going to be good.

We know the Packers are good. the Lions are a powerhouse. The good thing, though, there really isn't a great defense. The Giants defense or the Bears defense is good, but it's mostly an offensive division. So like Sam Darnold, when he went to the AFC East, faced at a time, Brian Flores, Bill Belichick, and Sean McDermott. Yeah. It was like, that's a lot. This division is, you know, Lions defense, Packers defense, frankly, I think it's a well-run organization.

When was the last great Packers defense? I just, they just, I feel like they under, I mean, I always feel like they underachieve on defense, but they're always formidable on offense. So it's an offensive division. The bears have a very, I think they have a Eber Fluse, Montes sweat, two nice corners. But I don't think it's, I don't think it's the Ravens. I don't think it's the chief's young defense. I do think you need to factor in, and I do this too, is you got to be careful in the draft

about playing time and experience and because of what happened. and 20, all these guys got the extra year. Jay and Daniels had a huge advantage over guys like Drake May and JJ McCarthy, whose high school seasons were wiped out. Right. I mean, these guys are very, very, even Caleb, very, very young players. Like, we got a pretty good idea what Michael Pennix Jr. is, right? I mean, he's like 23, 24 years old.

And it's good. And same thing with Jayden Daniels, who's a little more of a one-year wonder. J.J. McCarthy, just a couple-year starter, 21 years old. Caleb Williams, Drake May, same thing. So part of the thing with the draft prospect is it's not about 2024. It's really about the next five years and ideally a second contract. So I think they're kind of betting on the growth. And yeah, he gets to go to a good spot.

But here's where I give Minnesota credit and maybe just fell this way because they got a lot of nose. Is mortgaging a couple first round picks and next year's one for J.J. McCarthy is that's insanity. right that's just that's awful business in any industry they really just had to trade a couple mid-round picks to get up a pick to end up getting them so the value on them uh i think it ended up playing in their favor do you agree with that like they didn't they didn't give a haul again like i i would take drake but drake's off the board so they didn't these these the first three quarterbacks obviously the bears and even watching they they weren't talking deals and even new England because their owner is desperate to get everyone to stop talking shit about the crafts.

It was like you get Drake May in here and now all anyone's talking about Drake May. So you're really getting the third or fourth quarterback off the board. And then Atlanta kind of comes in from the top rope out of nowhere and takes pennix. Who knows if they would have taken penics over JJ. Maybe they just like JJ the whole time. Well, it's interesting. Atlanta likes penics over J.J. McCarthy, it looks like. I mean, that's clearly what they, that's sure.

Yeah. He throws a much better deep ball. So, I mean, I think the big surprise through 10 picks is that Pennix is higher valuation than J.J. McCarthy, who everybody had, I didn't buy it. I don't. I think literally J.J. McCarthy succeeds in one place. And he got like he landed there. Let's do this exercise. Flip the two quarterbacks on the two teams. If you put Pennix on Michigan, they're better. At worst, they're the same. And if you put J.J. McCarthy on Washington, there's no. way they're in the national championship game. Zero chance. That's right. They'd be good.

I mean, they'd win nine games, but they don't beat Oregon twice. And they definitely, they're just not in the national championship game. No chance. 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

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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 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.

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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. So no big surprises yet. You know, there was discussions today about the Rams moving up, potentially to the Bears. to get Brock Bowers. There's a lot of talk about this. It's interesting because from what I know about the Rams is that they have a first, a second, and two-thirds. They feel they have five needs,

and those are four good picks. By the time you get, they have two-fifths, but by the time you get to the fifths, most of the NFL guys I've talked to think it's a good draft through five rounds. Late fifth round, Rams have a couple of- A lot of guys went back to school, so it hurt the depth. Yeah, so there's not a ton of depth.

It's a really, really good draft early quarterback tackle edge rusher. But mid-fifth, late fifth, it gets a little wonky. So the Rams have a bunch of six-round picks. I think they want to get out of that space and get another fifth. They'd give up all their six and a seventh. So I do think when I heard today the Rams would move up. I was surprised because I thought they were going to move back to get a fourth-round pick. So I'm interested to see what the New York Jets do here.

it's coming any second. So what does this tell you with the Jets taking time? There's some discussion in the room. Like they're probably, I think they like Brock Bowers. That's my guess. But, you know,

Aaron's never been great with young targets. But Greg Kossel told me today, Brock Bowers does some things better than anybody in 44 years covering the draft on film. His ability to transition from like pre-catch to post-catch after the ball in his hands. He said there's no transition.

He's running full speed before and full speed after. There's just no transition. So I think he's one of the best players in the draft when you just factor in. He went to Georgia in the height of their talent and dominated immediately. And it's not like he's a southern guy. They got him out of Napa, California, which last I checked isn't exactly producing Bosa brother type talents. And I'm sure he just annihilated those guys in practice every day. They take them.

Okay. Jets, take a tackle. I think this is the prudent, smart thing to do. Olu Foshanu, Penn State. Don't believe he allowed a sack this year for Penn State. He's not a dominant run blocker. He's not real physical. But I like this pick by the Jets. I said this.

If Aaron Rogers start 17 games, the Jets will be viable. Period. Make the O-line the priority. If Aaron Rogers gets a great receiver, it doesn't mean anything if he's on his ass. I don't care. So I like this pick by the Jets. This is the responsible pick to me.

you bring in a guy who's an excellent pass blocker, mediocre run blocker. You add some physicality. I like the pick. It's a grown-up pick to me. Yeah, I mean, I think the easy route would have been to take Bowers and put all your chips in the middle of the table and just pray your two tackles, stay healthy.

But I think we have enough evidence with their offensive line that by no means can Joe Douglas and these guys prepare for that situation, that you just get 16 out of 17 games from Morgan, Moses, and Smith. I also think, though, if those guys do stay healthy, here's the problem, Colin. If they do stay healthy, you're getting really nothing out of your first round pick in a year where they kind of are, I mean, if they don't make the playoffs, everyone's getting fired. And this Aaron Rogers is one of the biggest debacles of all time given, I mean, the best thing he did for him if they don't make the playoffs is giving them a discount, right? He took $30 million off his contract. But they traded a first round pick.

They traded a second round pick. Last year they sucked. I'm out. I'm out on them this year. I mean, their whole team is full of guys that are a hamstring Achilles and a pulled muscle away from missing a ton of games and all their history, including the linchpin of the whole thing.

He's a 40-year-old guy coming off Achilles. I don't care how much ayahuaski is sucking down and stretching he's doing. I just, you and I talked about it. The moment he got hurt, it was pretty clear. If you just watch those couple snaps, he's not quite as fast. And this was before the Achilles as he once was.

And remember the year with Green Bay, they got better the following year when they got Jordan Love. So I get it. Like from a football standpoint, 100% the right move. 2004, little risky. He's thinking the big picture. I give him credit for that, but he might not be around to, this was also a player who a lot of people thought was going to come out last year

and be a top 15 pick, went back to school and just turns out there were a lot of other good tackles in the draft. So it's, I mean, this is a, I don't, you know, it's fair to say a blue chip level prospect for the last 18 months in NFL circles. Yeah, the last two picks, you know, it's interesting. The first seven picks will all play, I would think, immediately. Pennix may sit for a year. McCarthy will sit for a year. Olu Foshana will play some this year, how much he starts, I'm not sure.

But I will say this, first time in NFL history, top 10 was all offense. And as of right now, the top 11's all offense as Denver's on the clock at 12 Raiders at 13. So I think this is something I've been ad nauseum on for years, probably irritating people. The last 10 coaches that have made the Super Bowl have all been offense. I think this is what, I mean, this is exactly what the draft should be. Unless you have a great edge rusher and Aidan Hutchison, you know, Dallas Turner's a really good edge rusher. I think Jared Verse, honestly, was the most dominant I saw when I saw him play.

I thought he really, like, jumped off the tell. I thought Dallas Turner was your classic, you know, Alabama athlete. I thought Jared Verst was actually the best edge rusher. When I watched him, now this may have been the AC. CCC competition against Florida State, but I watched them and you're like, oh, nobody can blow. He's just way better than competition. A lot of that, just SEC has NFL tackles. Maybe the ACC doesn't.

But I mean, Sean Payton, now, my guess is I know he likes. I know he likes Bow Necks. But here's the problem. If it's a reach, fine, but the Raiders at 13 need a quarterback, they like Jaden and Pennix, and they're both off the board. So 12 and 13 are fascinating in division, both the, need a quarterback. I think Denver's going to, I'm going to guess Bo Nix here. I just, I think in that division with Harbaugh, Herbert, Reed Mahomes, you got to get, you got to take a swing here.

To me, that's what it feels like. And they're all line, by the way, Peyton built that thing in one year. It was top seven by PFF. So you don't have a need there. Mims in Cortland Sutton, you can get a receiver later. They need an edge rusher and a quarterback for the future. I think Denver's actually, I think their roster's okay. It's not great, but it's okay. I think taking Bo Nix in the first round is pretty nuts. But the way he wants to play, let's face it, Drew Brees, the last couple years, when they were successful in the late teens, like 17, 18, was not bombing the ball down the field by any means. Get rid of the ball fast. Get rid of the ball accurately. And Sean Payton, Snicky's kind of got a little old school Bill

Parcell. He will run the ball once he got Alvin Kamara. So could you just function immediately? because let's look at their quarterback room right now. It's Jared Stidham and Zach Wilson and Danucci. I mean, if that's your quarterback room going into the season, I don't care if Sean Payton turns into Bill Walsh. I mean, is that a six-win team at best? You'd be in major trouble. You'd be in major trouble.

So I just call it. I don't know, Bo Nix. I mean, same thing with J.J. McCarthy. Before this quarterback inflation of the, you know, the Mahomes and Josh Allen's hitting, I think those type players historically have all gone after pick 50 forever. And I get it. You could say homes we're all living in now used to be 400 grand and now they're 1.5 million.

It is what it is. The difference is you've got a place to live. The quarterback, the pressure immediately, you see these guys just flame out so fast. And I had to take the other day, like I understand you get offered $90 million. I don't care if you're already rich. It's hard to turn down. But you have to wonder if the way this. thing is played out and we could all see it coming.

You said from the beginning, I don't think him and Russell are ever going to work. And he's never going to be a bad enough coach to be drafting in the top one or two. Like even if his team sucks, he'll still find a way to draft somewhere between like 9 to 14. It was a tough job the moment he took it. And I do think the money overwhelmed him. But I wonder if he regrets it. Okay. I could see Sean here just saying, screw it.

I'm taking Brock Bowers. I got, I got Portland Sutton's my one. Mims will be my two. I like Williams, the running back. I'm just going to take the best player available. And I don't think there's any question. Brock Bowers is the best player available. I don't think that would be crazy.

Wow. Denver, okay, they reached. So, Bone X. I'll tell you what, Brock Bowers is the best player. I mean, holy, somebody's getting a star. And I know the Rams want him. So the Rams have to now be thinking about,

do we just move up to the Raiders? So Bo Nicks to Denver. Well, okay. Well, again, they need a quarterback. Listen, here's the thing. I saw him play live twice. Here's what I liked about him. He's more athletic than you think.

Well, he's a good athlete. Really good athlete. Little Alex Smith. I mean, Alex gets on the run. You're like, oh, Alex can outrun linebackers. Alex's path. Bo can move. Bo's got 61 starts. The Oregon offense, to some degree, is Drew Breezes. I'm going to design a play with two options. Throw it to it. So remember, Bo doesn't throw a good deep ball. Breeze last five years. He didn't throw a great deep ball. So my take is Sean talks himself into, listen, I won with Sean, who was the best quarterback in the league with no deep ball the last four years. Let's be honest. Patrick Mahomes no longer throws a deep ball. The deep ball is great if you have Tyreek Hill and a handful of receivers.

Not a lot of teams are throwing the deep ball consistently. If you have A.J. Brown, it's great. Most teams don't have A.J. Brown. There's a lot of good teams in this league, John, that don't have an over-the-top star receiver. 49ers never throw the ball deep. Ever! And they're looking to move Bayouk. So my take on Bo Nix is he's a young breeze.

And you can say, well, that's ridiculous. But Price, the guy's been to the SEC. the PAC 12 was the best it's been in 20 years. He was very good. He was high-to-leason. He was awesome. I feel like I'm talking out of both sides of my mouth because we always talk about the importance of the wiring

and the character and all that stuff about Bo Nix. People love what he kind of became at Oregon, the way they talk about him. I also think you've got to be careful when you're evaluating the player of falling in love with that. And clearly, Sean puts a premium on it. I mean, he spent 15 years around one of the highest character guys in like league history.

and Drew Breeze. And that's where, again, you get back to the Kenny Pickett's, those type players, the Mac Jones, where you fall in love with the character and the physical attributes. This is also as simple as they were desperate. I mean, like we just talked about before they made the pit. What were they going to do? Roll into the season with Danucci and Zach Wilson. I mean, they didn't have a choice. They really did.

And the good thing is with Stidham, I mean, Zach Wilson is not even a lock to make the team. He's got to beat up Danucci. Bo Nix. people are going to want him to start week one, but there's no guarantee. You don't have to do it right away if you don't feel he's ready, right? Michael Pennix went at eight.

People had him in the second round. So people say, well, Bo Nix is a reach. Michael Pennix at eight's the shock of the draft. A lot of it thought Bo Nix would go to Denver. Nobody thought Pennix is going eight, especially to Atlanta. If you told me before the draft, Michael Pennix went eight,

I thought the Raiders would have traded up to eight to get them. Because they were pretty desperate. That's what I. did in my little mock draft. I also think, though, a little different than the last time because actually very similar. You know, five quarterbacks went in the top 12. Mack Jones year, they five quarterbacks went in the top 15. Quarterbacks went one, two, three.

And beside Trevor Lawrence, all those quarterbacks are on different teams. Little bit different, right? That draft was coming into a season when the season was all fucked up, trade didn't even have a season. the Big Ten just played conference opponents. Half the games didn't even happen. And these guys have played a lot more football than that crew. But we do have a recent example. Well, five quarterbacks went really high in the draft.

And four of them were traded before year four started. One of them didn't even make it the third year in T. Lans was traded before the start of the season. The other two, the three, I mean, the teams couldn't trade fast enough. They just couldn't get anything for it. They not only traded Colin. three of them went for six round picks. So it's not like,

well, something happened. I mean, they went for nothing. So it just shows you, the Schefter tweet, 46% of these quarterbacks, only 46 get a second contract.

I actually think that number is going to keep kind of staggering around there or even going below it, given the amount of guys coming in. Some of these guys are not only not going to work. It's going to be really, really bad. Now, you would say Kevin O'Connell,

J.J. McCart, you'd want an offensive coach. Bow Nix, Sean Payton. Part of Mac Jones was he had Belichick and Patricia. Right? Justin Fields, who might not be any good, had a weird situation. Trey Lance, Kyle just turned on him early

because he wasn't good enough. And yeah, Zach Wilson also, same thing. Character, I would say, was a defining spot for, I mean, Mac Jones turned out to be pretty immature, couldn't handle it. And same thing, Zach Wilson was completely overwhelmed. These guys are very high character, at least when you talk to NFL people, they feel very good about this group's wiring and off the field stuff. Also, this group of quarterbacks has multiple years starting, huge advantage.

The other thing is the less talented guys, J.J. McCarthy and Bo Nix go to offensive coaches. The more talented guys, Caleb, Jaden, and Drake go to defensive coaches. So generally a more talented guy will be able to overcome more issues. J.J. McCarthy and Bo Nix are not going to. a defensive old school coach and winning in this league. But you start looking at McCarthy and Bow Nix with Kevin O'Connor and Sean Payton. And by the way, Minnesota is stacked. And I'll make this argument.

I think Denver's actually got good players. I like a running back. Bowles is a great left tackle. I thought Sean did a great job to upgrade the offensive line. Cortland Sutton Mims. So I think Denver needs, I mean, they need an edge rusher and a couple of weapons. But I don't think Denver is without talent. I don't. And I think Russell may be worse than we think.

I would say this to the division. The Chargers have a long way to go talent-wise, but they upgraded. I mean, they couldn't have upgraded anymore with the coach. The Chiefs. The Raiders took Brock Bowers. Okay. So best player on the board. There's a lot of talent in that division. That's the one thing I would say. There's just there's high-end coaching. There's a lot of talent.

And clearly Denver and Vegas are looking up. Right? We all, the chiefs are the cream of the crop. And it's going to be hard not to like the churners immediately with Jim Harbaugh to compete to win, what, 9, 10 games immediately? They had Darren Waller a couple years ago. He left. He may retire. So you have Devante Adams and Brock Bowers. You know, that's that's a quarterback room right now with Gardner Minshu. Now, Minchew put up big numbers with Shane Steichen. Take a deep breath. He's not going to put up those numbers. You know, Shane Steichen is different. He is as sharp as any young offensive coach. Antonio Pierce is a rookie defensive coach.

They're going to be more of a, I think they're going to be more physical football team, a different culture entirely than Indianapolis. But Devante Adams and Brock Bowers for Gardner Minshue, those are real weapons. Those are elite, those are elite. I will say this about the Raiders. Quarterback major concern, question mark, and they don't have one. They have a lot of high end players. At the right, Devonte's.

Yeah, Max Crosby elite, Colton Miller high end. I mean, Bowers, to me, is one of my favorite players in this draft and one of the more talented tight ends in a long time to come out. Obviously, I mean, they did lose the running back to Green Bay, but they got talent. There's no doubt about that. It's just quarterback. What are you going to do? What are you going to do, play with O'Connell and Gardner Minchew against Patrick Mahomes

and Justin Herbert? So my guess is the Raiders will absolutely be in play for Michael Pratt from Tulane, the quarterback. They'll absolutely be in play. Might be their second round pick. Yeah, I mean, to me, he is the one guy after the first round that when I watch him, I think, you know, he's not, he's your classic second round quarterback. Andy Dalton is the comp. There's nothing you look at, arm size mobility and go, wow. But you look at him and think, well, he's a better version of Brock Purdy. He's a bigger hand, a bigger kid, a little bit better athlete than a Brock Purdy. Now, they don't have those weapons, but you don't have to have, I mean, let's be honest, cognitive ability, tons of college starts. that can win you games in the NFL. This is a kid with a four years, didn't transfer, got some offers, I imagine,

transfer portal, stayed in Tulane and did not have great players around him. So therefore had to elevate other players in kind of a mediocre program, which was a mess when he got there. So I saw him play against USC talented kid. So I think the Raiders go for a quarterback in round two. And I don't hate that. I mean, the last time they got a nine-year starter in the second round named Derek Carr. I mean, they would die for Derek.

So you can find, I mean, a lot of the second round historically has kind of been a sweet spot. Andy Dalton, Derek Carr, Jimmy Garapolo. You can get guys that don't have the hype, usually smaller school guys, a lot of production, kind of a sweet spot to get a guy that flies a little under the radar that we don't talk about as much leading up to the draft, but in NFL circles. Here's the other thing, Colin. How many teams now with Broncos off the board, Minnesota off the board, teams that are desperate to get a quarterback.

Think how many teams in the NFL have like established starting quarterback. Maybe if Seattle's a team to keep an eye on in the second round that could trade it. But there aren't that many teams at this New England desperate. They got one. Washington got one. There are a lot less teams right now to worry about in that second, third round. If you really like a guy, it might even behoove you to kind of trade up and get aggressive just to make sure you get it because you never know. But who are you really competing against at this point in time?

five, six, God, six quarterbacks taken in the top 12 picks. I mean, how the world has changed. So the Saints are on the clock. Saints need a tackle. So my guess is they get the Oregon State kid. Good player. Yeah, good player. So I know the, I think the Saints will go offensive tackle.

That kind of seems fairly predictable. You know what? The Bonix, Denver thing, I love that so much. I think one of the things to keep an eye on right now is would the Colts, Colts are at 15, right? And the Jags, I think, are at 17. Would either one of those teams with some of these, you know, I guess there's still some good wide receivers on the board,

would they like one of those wide receivers or would they be willing to talk with the 49ers about trading for Brandon Ayuke? Because these wide receivers, Colin, these contracts, I mean, all these guys are getting $30 to $32 million a year. And the 49ers, the way they operate their offense, you can't pay a guy $30 million a year to get 75 catches. You know, St. Brown got $28 million a year. He catches 120 balls a year.

So it's part of it. There has to be some return on investment. Now, the problem is if I'm bulky or I'm Chris Ballard, I would rather have the wide receiver at pick 15 because he cost me $3 or $4 million a year for four years. So that goes into the equation, too. but there's been a lot of smoke because I cannot envision the 49ers paying Brandon Aieftac contract. He's just, the way they operate their offense, it doesn't make sense. No, and it does.

And then they also, first of all, he's been public with his anger. Organizations don't. Wide receiver, there's a term. It's not diva linebacker. It's diva receiver. So once they get verbal, once there's volume with a description, receiver. It's like a big man in the NBA. Once they're hurt early, they're hurt often. You know, and B. gets hurt early. It's the same thing with disgruntled receivers. If they're

verbal early, they're verbal often. Stefan Diggs, eventually they moved him. I like Brandon Iuke. I think he's the fourth of the fifth best receiver in the league, but I would move him. Because let's be honest, with McCaffrey, Kittle, and Debo, and pretty moves well enough. You can move the pocket. They, those are three really, really. I mean, McCaffrey and D. Bo are such Swiss Army knives. And to your point, Purdy's not an over-the-top thrower. I could see them just saying to themselves, we want a really high-end possession guy. If you put Cooper Cup with a Niners, he's not going there.

But it's like, you don't need a deep threat. Purdy's not a big armed guy. Like Denver with Bo Nix, you know, you don't need, he doesn't throw a great deep ball. Now, by the way, one of the reasons, you know, Atlanta looks and gets panics, good deep ball. Well, their takeaway is they want to be that kind of football team. By the way, in a dome, not bad weather. Yeah, I mean, so far, hold on, let me look at it. We have not had a defensive player taken yet.

We just did? Hold on. They had to take one of the deliming, I would imagine. 13 straight picks on one side of the ball, any round any year. First time in NFL history that's happened. I'm going to guess the Oregon State tackle goes to the Saints. That's my guess. I also think it speaks to every single year there is Miles Garrett, Nick Bosa, Joey Bosa,

Khalil Mack, Clowny, and there just wasn't that guy this year, right? To me, the best defensive lineman was the Texas kid, Murphy, but he's 6-1, and he's a good player, and those guys historically go around 12 to 15. That's Aaron Donald, I think, went 13th. They don't go fifth. And all the pass rushers, I think the UCLA guy, if his medical was clear, he goes in the top 10. But when you're medically forced to retire with a neck injury, I'm sorry, it's scarce teams. Well, I predicted it right.

Talisi Fulunga, Oregon State tackle goes to the Saints. That was pretty predictable. Need, he's a right tackle. Jeff Schwartz said he looked at all his tape this year. He did not lose a single snap running the ball. He won every single snap running the ball. He is the best run blocking tackle. Some are saying, you know, in years,

just a tough, tough kids. So they go offensive tackle. That's neat. Derek Carr's not hyper-mobile. Well, I think a lot of people feel about him. He literally could play all five positions. I mean, that improves your value. Like, he could play left tackle.

He can play right tackle. He can play the guards. Makes you a pretty valuable player. He also comes from Jonathan Smith. I know some people watching might not be locked in an Oregon state. Guys runs a pretty, you know, kind of an old school Jim Harbaugh operation. Runs the ball down your thumb. wrote. So I would imagine, if you tell me in five years, this guy's one of the better players

in the first round, I think it's very believable. 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.

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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 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. John, this is crazy. So we're on pick 15. No defensive players being taken.

I feel like I'm being validated. I didn't love J.J. McCarthy. He gets drafted after Pennix. Bow, next to Denver, I thought would happen. I'm an offensive guy over a defensive guy. I feel like this is my validation. My coronation is a sportscaster. I've been so anti-defensive coach for years.

Good Lord. So we got Colts on that. So now Colts. They could take one of these defensive linemen. I mean, they're just a lot of. I, you know, when's the last? Now they have DeFourke. They have DeForest Buckner.

They've drafted some guys that haven't been as good. I think they're going to go defense. They could go with the alableness. I'm a guy. I think if the UCLA's medical was better, he'd be an easy pick. Jared Verse. The one thing I heard with Verse, and this makes sense, like the outdoor teams, you know, like the AFC North, he's a power guy.

Makes a lot of sense for like Cincinnati, Baltimore. In the Dome, think about some of these Dome teams, the great pass rushers, a Jonathan Abram, a Dwight Freeney. It's more of a speed game. The Rams forever when they were in a dome in St. Louis. So I wonder if they take the Alabama pass rusher, Dallas Turner. I also think when you have Shane Steichen, there is an understanding that Shane's going to get the most. I mean, Gardner-Menschu had a heck of a season.

He's not going to put up those numbers of the defensive. They were a drop pass away from winning the division and being in the playoffs. It's crazy. So that's nothing against Antonio Pierce. But Shane, I mean, go back to Justin Herbert's rookie year when he had Shane Stiken. Go look to Jalen Hertz's. MVP year, MVP level year with Shane Steichen. Jalen hurts the minute he leaves.

It's not the same player. So I think Indy looks at it and thinks, listen, we got a coach here. He elevates all of our offensive players. So let's go, our first round pick. This is very Green Bay, by the way. They've always had offensive coaches. First round, they go defense historically. Green Bay loves their defense because their feeling is we've had Holmgren, Mike McCarthy,

Matt LaFleur. Our coaches will elevate our offensive. The Packers never draft linemen in the offensive linemen first round. They haven't had a bad offensive line in 25 years. Well, you could also justify it by going, well, we got to play C.J. Stride and Trevor Lawrence two years away. And Trevor Lawrence probably won't be a shitty thing was last year. So we got to beat those guys four times. And now Tennessee gets an offensive, you know, coach in Brian Callahan.

They've added some offensive weapons. Levis, I mean, he's a great wild card. He's got a lot of talent. They just could get him on the straight and arrow. All of a sudden, you're playing some quarterbacks. You could also say, we got this quarterback. Manchu was much more ready to play. He's pretty raw.

The more help we could get them, they got Pitman. You could easily take one of these other wide receivers here. The other guy from LSU, who a lot of people think Thomas is. Yeah, I'm going to make a prediction here that we go on a little bit of a defensive run here. I'm going to say Indy and Seattle go defense. Indy, I think your point is great. You got Trevor Lawrence in that division.

You got C.J. Sprout in that division. You need a pass rusher. I think that's a great point. I think Seattle, I mean, come on, they got a wide receiver clearly. They at all. Now, they can probably use a tight end. There's nobody on the board here at this spot. So Seattle tight end is a need.

They got a great corner last year. So Seattle, to me, is a Nedge rusher. I think we're going to have a chance here to go on a two or three or four straight defensive players picked. So, and then after this, you have Jacksonville. Jacksonville may go tackle at 17. You do you love in this right now, Colin? is all the playoff teams.

Because what wins in the playoffs? The trenches. The playoff teams in the 20s are licking their lips that some of these defensive linemen fall down there. You know, Byron Thomas or somehow Dallas Turner falls to the early 20s, even Latu, Latu, who's tape. I mean, he's the most productive pass rusher

in the country. Now, he's got some injury stuff. The neck injury is concerning. Chop Robinson, Megalike. So I've subscribed. The corner. hasn't been picked either, which is pretty rare. Usually a top corner gets picked in the top 15. That's Nate Wiggins of Clemson, who is viewed as sort of a, he got better every year at Clemson.

He's not 175 pounds. Yeah, he's not Patrick Sertan or sauce. He's not. He's a good starting, maybe makes a Pro Bowl. But I do think generally speaking, John, you know this as a former NFL scout. Generally, in a bad draft, you got about 15 first round players. This one I've told you got about 19. The feeling is you got about 19. The feeling is you got about 19. first round picks here. So this is a really, really good draft. Again, it's very good at the top, gets a little wonky mid to late fifth, I've been told by multiple executives, but it's really good here. So if Dallas Turner goes 15 or 16, wow, that is a good, good productive player, middle first round. A lot of drafts, John, last year's draft, Dallas Turner's a top 7, 8 pick probably. for sure. Well, the quarterbacks are pushing them all down. If six guys go in the top 12, I mean, there's only six position players off the board. So think about the Raiders. They picked at 13th, and they probably got a top non-quarterback, top five player in the draft.

So even the Saints to get the Oregon State offensive linemen, there was talk about that guy going in the top 10 to the Titans. So you get a guy that easily on a given year, non-quarterback, could be in the mix to go in the top 10. It's just what happens when these quarterbacks go. They put you down. The other thing is those three wide receivers. So it's the six quarterbacks and the three wide receivers. That's nine freaking players.

I mean, shoving all these players down. So kind of crazy. All right. Here we go. Let's see what the Colts do. Oh, UCLA edge rusher. Here we go. He's the best.

A lot too. Now, dominant Pac-12 edge rusher, fiery kid, some injury concerns. But most, I mean, all the stuff I read, Lance Zerline, most people said he was the best pure pass rusher in the draft. Not even close. It's not even, you talked to scouts. It wasn't even debatable. Dallas Turner has all

I mean an all-time athlete A lot of people thought like God there should have been a little more Vers all power not speed Also I just know the way these conversations happen Even though he today is different than he wants He started Albany, Colin I didn't even know Albany had a football team And then transferred to Florida State

Change positions puts on weight He's become a really good player But like we talked about earlier But if you play in a dome you don't want that power rusher, you want the speed rusher. So Latu, a great edge rusher, he's big. It is concerning. But never forget, he went to Washington out of high school when they were in their heyday

with Peterson. I mean, recruiting high-end NFL guys. Then the neck injury happens. And listen, doctors aren't always right, especially when it comes to athletes. Told he could medically retire, he'll never play football again. Then he goes to UCLA for two years. He's one of the best players in the country. This is the hard thing about like penics.

So when a doctor looks at you and goes, I don't feel great, it's like, well, I've watched him for two years. He never missed a snap. What are you supposed to say? I've been saying this on the show. I think we both said this. If you hear a guy will return in eight weeks, John, on average, he's back in five. I mean, whenever I hear out eight weeks, no, he's not. He's back in five.

Every five to ten years in this country, we make medical advances. The quality of care today, compared to when I was 35, instead of now 60, the quality of health care I've gone through. I go to the dentist now, John. My cleaning is 12 minutes. They have lasers. Remember when you used to get your clean? It took two hours.

And it hurt. I go, I can't. My staff makes fun of me. I go four times a year. They're like, do you have a crush on a dental hygienist? I'm like, it's 12 minutes. I get free toothpaste. It's all lasers.

So it's like the quality of stuff, the quality. quality of health care is, I'm texting Ballard, he's so good. The other thing is the training of the players, I would say, over the last decade and where we are today, is so much better in college at these Power 5 programs than it was 30 years ago. When I was at Fresno State in 2009 and 2010, we would two days a week after practice go to this local, it's called Rally's. You ever heard of Raleys?

Oh, of course. Yeah, yeah. The burger joint and get like 100 double cheeseburgers. And they were not good for you. And that's what you would hand out to the players. No team is doing stuff like this was, this was 12, 14 years ago. So the level of care they have for themselves, let alone the training is just in a different level. The other thing is I had Mayock on the show a couple weeks back.

And his whole thing was when doctors would push against a player, he'd go, well, yeah, this guy was injured at 19. He's 22 now and has missed one game in three years. And you're telling me he's not a durable player. I've just watched them play in the SEC or the Big Ten or the, like you said, the Pac-12 this year was a very physical good conference. So if this guy's hanging against all these NFL offensive linemen, you know,

he's just going to my second soda, John. I don't blame you. That's a good pick by the Coles. He stays healthy. That's a big time pick. I want to go to the sauce right now so badly, but I can't. I got to stay hydrated.

I got staff here. I feel like my family's killing me. I tell my family, dad's working tonight. I got 13 messages. people. It's draft night. Why don't you do that in August 3rd? I got nothing to do. How come Adam Silver couldn't find a way to get the Laker game and the Knicks game on Friday over tonight?

What are you doing? The two biggest series, this is insane. I haven't watched a dribble tonight. And those series have been fantastic. Yeah. So my guess is Seattle goes edge rush or two. That's what I'm going to guess. Defensive coach.

This is where they've kind of got stuck, Colin, in this Gino Smith business because their roster is not bad, they've been competitive, but they can only do so much. Like, what's their upside as a team? 9-10 wins? With their downside, it could be 5-6 quick.

John, Arizona's got 11 picks. They already got the best receiver. They have another first coming up. They have three in the third and a second. Arizona is going to be a different team by Sunday afternoon. They're going to probably have seven new starters. And I like this coach.

They've got a tight end. of like a running back, now a star receiver, had weak receiving group. I've always liked Kyler Murray more than everybody else. You know the defensive side last year, despite a lack of talent, played really hard. Arizona is going to come out of this weekend, and Seattle may be the fourth best team in that division. I had a wide receiver coach buddy who I was texting with had an interesting point. He said the one thing that's difficult for these guys to get drafted really high is they go to such terrible situations where they're immediately walking the room and everything has to depend on them.

like Marvin Harrison has to catch 80-90 balls for the offense. And that's a lot of pressure for young players. A lot of guys get to go to a position. And maybe there's another good wide receiver in the room. And it takes a little off them. Like Marvin's immediately going to be treated by defensive coordinators, like all these star wide receivers in the NFL. It's going to be, and you're not getting Purdue on the schedule.

Rutgers isn't on their schedule. It's the Niners. It's the Rams. It's tough. So that's where Rome really been. benefits. He got to ease in. He's got Keenan Allen, DJ Moore. If you told me he had a more productive year just because he's going to have less, I would say eyeballs on him on a weekly game plan standpoint, right? Where if I'm playing the Arizona Cardinals next week, Tray McBride's a good

player. That's tied end for Colorado State. He's really good. But Marvin Harrison's getting double team until you prove you got anything else in your group. Where Roma Dunesay, all of a sudden, he's playing the slot with those, where he's playing outside and you got Keenan Allen and the slot and DJ Moore out, he might just sneak into 65 balls and seven touchdowns as a rookie. Well, the good news is they've got another first. My guess is they go defense with a defensive coach. Then they have a second. Again, they've got the quarterback.

So Houston turned it around and they didn't have their quarterback with all these picks and free eight players. Kyler can play. So my take is they're going to get another receiver, John, in the third where they have three picks because they need another edge rusher. I think they need another corner. I wouldn't be surprised if Arizona didn't go defense here because I actually think

they're in a pretty good spot. Their offensive lines are pretty mediocre, but I think they need an edge rush or a corner. Listen, I'm sitting here looking at, I got Seattle, Jacksonville, Cincinnati, and the Rams. I can make an argument. Jacksonville probably needs an offensive lineman. Probably.

I can see Pittsburgh lost Deontay Johnson going and getting Brian Thomas, the wide receiver from L. who doesn't have a big route tree, but his classic Steeler, big moves over the top, playmakers. So Jacksonville could take, they could take a wide receiver as well, though, because they lose Ridley to the Titans. Good call. That's why there's been a lot of smoke with them with Brandon Ayuk.

You know, Cincinnati, one thing they do is they, you know, T. Higgins, a couple years ago, they had Bates, who's now on Atlanta. They franchise. Then he walked. They're not signing T. Higgins to do a long-term deal, because it's all going to go toward Jamar Chase. Wouldn't shock me if they went wide receiver to kind of stock the cupboard when he leaves. They're just ready to hit the ground running. So, and they just lost. This could be a little wide receiver. Would the Rams go wide receiver with Cup getting a little old or

would they go on? I don't think so. I think they want an edge. I think they're, I think the Rams now are sitting there thinking, are we going to get Dallas Turner at 19? I can see Seattle with Mike McDonald's. That's what I think. That's my guess. Ozzy Newsom loved Alabama guys. He's a Baltimore guy. I could see him like in the Alabama crew. Sometimes you got to look at like where these guys come from, what they think. Now, John Schneider for the first time, I mean, this is, this is his baby now, right? With Pete Long gone. Now, no, the last two drafts have been John's drafts and I think they've done a really, really good job. So here we go. Seattle at 16. We're both guessing, we're kind of guessing edge rushers. That is kind of my guess. Let's see. All right.

I just have to wonder if they regret, I guess. Oh, they went off the board. Byron Murphy, Seahawks go get a defensive tackle with their rookie defensive coach. You know the Ravens are physical on the lines. The coach comes from Baltimore. So Byron Murphy defensive tackle. What do you make of it? Well, we've seen a lot of guys in this mold have a lot of success.

He's 6'1. He can rush the passer. I talked to a guy that goes through the University of Texas as a scout, you know, the one big guy that got the DUI, a lot of character concerns. This guy's the opposite. This guy's character, I've heard of his high level. They love him in that program. A lot of people think this guy's badass. I talked to a lot of people that thought this guy should be in the mix as a top 10 pick.

If Atlanta had not gone with a quarterback and had gone defensive line, like I thought, like most people thought they would do, I thought they were going to take this guy. So getting him at 16, LATO and Byron Murphy just based on the tape, that's pretty incredible value at 15 and 16. I mean, these are high-end impact players. I'm not going to comp him to Aaron Donald. But Donald's in that most, yeah, a little small, six foot and a half ball of explosion. He is a, the thing on Murphy is what they say is he's one of these defensive linemen. And again, God doesn't make a lot of these, like really good feet. You ever watch the Aaron Donald like tire drills?

You're like, what hell is that? Doesn't even make sense? What is he a receiver? So this guy is viewed as small, explosive, great pad leverage, kind of blow stuff up, high character. Ultimately, too, when you get a new coach, you want to play to the guy's strengths. Yeah. When you think the Baltimore Ravens defense, you think a dominant front. and one thing Seattle has really lacked,

which is crazy since kind of that Richard Sherman run. When their defensive line, I saw that team play in person three or four times, from Bennett to Avril. I mean, they had guys. It was like, how are you blocking these guys? We talk so much about Richard and Earl Thomas and Cam Chancellor.

Their defensive, obviously, their linebacker is good too, but their defensive line was awesome. The Ravens, when's the last time they didn't have a good defensive line? When they didn't have a franchise in like the mid-90s, I mean, they've had a dominant defensive line the whole time.

The volume. 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 I-Heart Radio app. 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 year, unpack what went down,

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A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which 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, unfilled conversations with athletes,

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