The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Colin Cowherd Podcast Prime Cuts - Best Of NFL Draft Reaction!
Episode Date: April 26, 2025Colin’s top takes from the NFL Draft! Colin’s joined by John Middlekauff, host of “3 and Out” to break down the NFL Draft! They start with the Jaguars giving up WAY too much to... draft Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter and believe unless he is a two-way pro bowler… the move isn’t worth it (2:30). They debate whether Cleveland reached for DT Mason Graham at #5 and believe there’s a real chance the Jags pick they received could be a top 6 pick (6:30). They react to the Raiders selecting RB Ashton Jeanty at #6 and point out that Geno Smith has played very well with a solid run game and play action, but John adds the caveat that Jeanty played against subpar competition in college (9:30). They argue that few 2nd year quarterbacks in the history of the game have had more weapons to work with than Caleb Williams after the Bear drafted TE Colston Loveland at #10 (12:15). They point out that high character led to Emeka Egbuka moving up draft boards to land at #19 with the Buccaneers and that Baker Mayfield will now be working with a stacked offense (23:00). The project that the Titans and Raiders will be the two teams that gain the most offensive juice (27:35), and Colin argues that the pick of Omarion Hampton makes the Chargers a “Jim Harbaugh football team” (30:00). Finally they react with pure SHOCK that the Falcons traded a future 1st to draft James Pierce Jr. (35:30) (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.) Follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates! #Volume #HerdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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All right, John Midlakov, former NFL Scout.
We do this every year, obviously.
We go through the first round picks, and let's not waste any time.
Let's get past Cam Ward at number one.
That was an easy one.
The most interesting one, and boy, my eye.
my phone blew up. Cleveland got a haul, I think way too much for a non-quarterback. So Cleveland gets three of the top 36 picks now. If you add all the picks they got in from the Jags next year, they're just doing that to get a quarterback next year. So next year of the top 36 picks, Cleveland has three of them. They got a haul and then they go down to number five and, you know, getting a starting defensive tackle. I'll get to that in a second. But the GM for the Jags, who I was told actually worked from.
home in St. Louis a lot, even when he was a Rams employee as a young kid. So this is the
adult table, being a GM, I don't like the swing. Travis Hunter's a great player, but unless he's
a pro bowler on both sides of the ball, it feels like way too much to give up. And I think Cleveland
was clearly doing it to get ammo for next year's quarterback draft. Yeah, I mean, I think it's the
easiest trade that Andrew Barry and Kevin Stefanski will ever make. They might have just got contract
extensions from Haslam sitting behind them in the draft room. I'm with you. How
can you make this trade, Colin, when you don't know your team? You know, part of anyone, whether
you're taking over a football team, taking over a business, you got to let it settle and see what
you have. Well, there's obviously no way they haven't even been on the field in shorts and
t-shirts. They don't know if their quarterback's any good. They don't know how talented their
unit is. I get the ownership there is, you know, flush with money and aggressive and everything,
but I think being this aggressive for Liam Cohen and Gladstone,
the young, 34-year-old GM, when they have never worked with the players on their team.
It's one thing if you had been around for a couple years and you have a pretty good feel,
like, we're a player or two away.
Well, let's swing for the fences.
That's insane, Colin, to throw away your next year's first round pick.
And I get it.
He had a front row seat there for Les and Sean trading all those first round picks over the years.
they were typically a player or two-o-way, though, with the ramp.
So I thought it was for a non-quarterback.
I mean, we've seen some all the 49ers made one for Tray Lance.
I think it's one of the craziest draft day trades I can remember for a non-quarterback.
I'm trying to think of the last time I got three texts from NFL employees and all went mistake by the Jacks.
Like all landed on the same spot.
And this is a very young GM.
And again, Travis Hunter is going to be a really sensational talent.
There's no question.
But there's also going to be some growing pains on the fact that he's not going to be in meetings for one side of the ball on a regular basis.
So, and I mean, listen, this really isn't as much about the Jags.
It is Cleveland.
They're trying to get out from this tonnage of Deshaun Watson's contract.
And the way to do it is get a star quarterback.
I mean, that's how the Broncos got out from the tonnage of Russell Wilson.
They got Bo Nicks, who will be free.
for four years. So, yeah, I didn't, I didn't like it at all. I just think, you know, we could
always take shots at Cleveland, but I've always been a Stefansky fan, and I have people that
really like Andrew Barry. I think this is a really easy deal to make. And then, by the way,
you slide down to five. Now, a lot of people think Mason Graham is more in the eight to 12 range
as a draft pick, because it's ceilings low. And I think in most years,
that would be fair. One of the people that loved what Cleveland did didn't love Mason Graham
as a number five pick. He said he's closer to 10 than he is to five. But again, he's going to
start in that division. It's a northern division. It's a rugged division. Did you like what
Cleveland did at five with Graham after making a pretty shrewd move to get all those picks?
Yeah, to me, the note that I wrote down, I mean, Travis Hunter for Cleveland doesn't do that
much, right? I mean, they're several players away in their quarterback situation is a disaster.
When you think Mason Graham and you watch the way Michigan's played the last couple years,
obviously in that area, too, ideal for the AFC North.
Like that, that'd be my thing. Like, that guy is just made to play in cold weather against Pittsburgh,
against Baltimore, teams that want to play physical, slow down the game.
So, listen, this is draft. I mean, McMillan went eight. Kelvin Banks went nine.
I mean, this wasn't exactly Tony Bisselli and Miles Garrett coming off the board here right in this range.
So I have no problem with going Mason Graham.
To me, they could have taken me and you, Colin.
The moment they made that trade, Cleveland won the draft.
Yeah.
They get next year's, to me, the likelihood of Jacksonville, first time head coach, young coaching staff.
I mean, they could easily be a five, six win team.
We do not know if their quarterback is good.
And he has struggled to stay healthy.
And I get Liam Cohen had a big year with Baker Mayfield.
But Baker, he didn't resurrect.
Baker Mayfield was good the previous year too.
That's how Dave Canales got a job.
So it's not like he just made Baker Mayfield.
Baker Mayfield's now two good years in a row.
Yeah.
So I think that the Cleveland, again, could have taken anybody the moment they got the future one and the second.
Think how often we see good players get drafted in the 30s.
Happens every year regardless how good the draft is.
Because the same type player is there in the mid-30s.
It can be impact starters that you get for like $1.5 million a year.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And that's what, to your point is Cleveland gets Jacksonville's first round pick next year.
What's crazy about that is that could be a top six pick.
Easy.
I mean, that is nuts.
We've seen it happen a couple years in a row where the Lions benefited the one year when they had the Stafford trade and the Rams had that awful year.
and McVeigh thought about quitting football to go work at Amazon.
They got a top, what they got the sixth pick that they turned into LaPorta and Gibbs.
We saw it the year when Denver was awful in Seattle got a really high pick and took Witherspoon.
We have seen these future ones on, it's usually a player trade, Russell Wilson, Matt Stafford, whatever.
But sometimes on a draft day trade, remember, Chicago traded from 20 to 11 with the Giants.
And then they were terrible the next year.
And the Giants got multiple picks in the top 10.
Now, you still got to make the right pick with that selection.
But the amount of flexibility, if you, let's assume Cleveland isn't going to be that good.
I mean, their quarterback situation is disaster.
If I tell you next year, they have pick five and nine, you got a lot to work with.
That's why they made the move.
This was a real obvious one to me, and I had mentioned this multiple times.
Gino Smith, with a run game, throwing on playoff.
is actually a pretty good quarterback. He's very Sam Darnold. When he gave Sam a little protection
and a run game and he can throw when nobody's quite sure he's throwing, he's very effective.
When you force Darnold or Gino Smith to throw on third and 11 or they have to throw it a beat
fast, that's when you get the mistakes. I thought, Gentie, and I also wonder this,
if you look at Pete Carroll's history, he's old school. Yeah. Marshawn Lynch, Reggie Bush, Lendale White,
his great teams have had stars in the backfield, which sets the table for his offense.
Pete hates mistakes by quarterbacks, and Gino doesn't make a ton when he's throwing on play
action.
So I think Genty, I love that pick for the Raiders.
I have been probably one of the counterculture movements here with this Aspen Genty, like, hype.
I mean, people have been comparing to Barry Sanders or, you know, Lidanean,
I think any time that you compare a player to the greatest of all time, it's like when you're comparing Cam Ward to Patrick Holmes, we've got to tell you to pump the brakes.
Yeah.
But, you know, listen, Kenneth Walker, who was picked later when he was healthy for Seattle with Charbonade, their run game was good. Like you said, Gino was really, really good.
Yep.
My issue here is, like, I have experience in the Mountain West. I know the difference in the competition relative to the Big Ten and obviously the SEC. It is dramatic. Now, in an individual, like in a, in a,
vacuum, he is a special talent, and he had the opportunity to surely go to Texas or Ohio State.
He turned down money. So it wasn't like people didn't want them. But like playing against Washington
State, New Mexico, Fresno State, and San Diego State is going to be a little different animal than
the Chargers, Denver and Kansas City, which you could argue is the best defensive division
in the sport. We know Minter and how good the Chargers are. So it's just going to be difficult for
him. We saw this year, you know, the Raiders offensive line's okay. But it's, it's,
It's going to be tough.
I just, I get it.
I honestly thought they would go with a lineman there, especially a defensive lineman.
You know, remember Pete Carroll over the years has, now it hasn't always worked out.
Bruce Irvin.
I thought he would be aggressive there, but, you know, they swung for the fences.
It gives them some star power.
There's no disputing.
It makes them more interesting to watch because they were an unwatchable product the last couple years.
So, Austin, Gentie, Pete Carroll, Gino Smith.
I'll pay attention.
I still, I mean, I'm not picking them to win that.
many games based on what we have on the roster right now. Colston Loveland was plus $6.50 to be the number
10 pick. He's a very unique player. So I know three, I mean, the Rams and Chargers both liked him.
The Bears obviously liked him. And even with Cole Commet, they now have DJ Moore,
Keenan Allen, Cole Comette, Colston Loveland. They went and got Dahlman the center from Atlanta,
Joe Tooney. They liked their right tackle. I was texting somebody in the league about this.
and one of the things we both landed at was the future of this franchise.
They've never had a great quarterback is Caleb Williams.
You have to make it work.
You know the talent's there.
And this is like weapons plus plus plus plus plus plus.
You have to make this work.
I don't remember a young quarterback on a second year of a rookie deal getting more help.
They go outside Ben Johnson, who's I would say one of the more hyped OCs of the last decade.
Yeah.
You mentioned, you forgot the Rams offensive linemen that they also traded for that Ben Johnson had coached in Detroit.
So they get a new center, two new guards.
They already had invested in tackles.
DJ Moore is one of the more versatile players in the league.
They invested the ninth pick last year into Roma, Dunez.
Yeah.
So it's like if you're a Chicago, their defensive personnel is already good,
and they have an established defensive coordinator in Dennis Allen coming.
You know, the hype that was behind the Bears last year, I thought was crazy.
I do think there's some substance now behind this.
Now, I don't know if it's going to work.
I've got to let it breathe here for a month or two.
But there is, you know, legitimate pieces on the offensive and defensive line,
a play caller that knows what he's doing.
A defensive coordinator, you know, Iber Fluse had to be the defensive coordinator
and the head coach.
He was completely over his head as a head coach, good defensive coordinator.
Now Dennis Allen can just focus on the defense.
Ben can just be the head coach slash the offensive coordinator and really just focus on Caleb.
To me, the question is going to be.
and I think this is the working thing
with all these young quarterbacks moving in the league.
Can they teach them to get rid of the ball quicker
and play in a more rhythm, timing offense,
run the ball more like they did in Detroit
because, and the one thing they got going against them
is the division's really, really good.
So it's not like it's hard to win 10 games,
especially a franchise that has not been winning.
But I would feel much,
I know the hype was so crazy last year behind the Bears.
If I was a Bears fan right now,
I would just feel like we have a really,
real identity and team right now.
Well, and I also think if you go look at what happens at the end of the year,
it is really hard, even if you have a great defensive team.
Remember, statistically, defensive players get hurt more than offensive players.
It's a more reckless side of the ball.
And so what, if you start looking at the end of years,
great Niner defenses two, three years ago, can get carved up.
good Philadelphia defenses can get carved up.
And my takeaway is if you're like Pittsburgh's got all sorts of defensive talent.
The bears are like, listen, historic, I would go over the last 15 years.
They've had very good defensive players.
If you're going to be, if you're going to be heavy on one side of the ball, if you're going
to make mistakes, if Roma Dense is a mistake, it's the right side of the ball to make a mistake,
not a safety or an off ball linebacker.
Like I look at it and I think to myself, there are not a lot of teams in this league, John,
that have Colcomit Colston Loveland at tight end.
And by the way, for a young quarterback, tight ends are a great ally.
Yeah, two things.
You know, we talk so much the hype on Tyler Warren, I mean, his team, because Michigan was bad this year and Loveland had gotten injured,
he became kind of the apple of everyone's eye.
He's massive.
Well, it's not like Loveland small.
He's basically 6-6-250.
He's huge. How about Harbaugh as a talent evaluator? I mean, I think they sent a record last year for guys getting drafted in a class. They just, they had an awful team this year. They had three guys get drafted in the top 13 picks. Two of them were defensive tackles. I mean, Harbaugh, say what you want. That guy can evaluate young men to play football. Holy moly.
Well, and by the way, that's why when the Charger, I remember talking to Dean Spanos about this. I said, you're going to get the next two years.
guys will draft as well as anybody because Jim recruited all these players. It was about the
third year, the first two years for Pete Carroll in Seattle, probably the first two to three years.
Pete crushed the draft. And then by year four, five, and six, you just lose a connectivity
to college football. But Harbaugh last year, great draft. This year will be a stupendous draft.
And he's probably got them one more year where you recruited guys and saw him on tape.
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Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers.
And guess what?
We have some big news.
What's the news, name?
Huge news.
We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas.
We invented a podcast?
Well, we didn't invent it.
We just contributed to it.
We're the first people to do podcasts.
Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there.
But this one's extra special.
So how do we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys?
I honestly don't remember.
I think it was on a call about what we should call it.
And, well, we were thinking, I'm originally.
calling it one of the early
names of our band
before Jonas Brothers
was...
This is how you guys remember it going down?
Yes.
I have a very different memory of this.
We were talking about a thing,
a bit for the podcast,
people could call in and say,
Hey Jonas, and then I wrote down
on my little notepad,
Hey Jonas, and offered it up
as a potential title for the podcast.
But thanks for remembering that, guys.
Listen to Hey Jonas
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You know I love the general manager
of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Have I told to this before?
They went and drafted
Emeka
Egbuka,
the wide receiver at Ohio
state. I
I believe, most general managers believe he is one of one, the best receiver or the only receiver
to be a first round receiver.
I think the Texas kid is a late first rounder.
Everybody I talk to love him.
And what's great is he can play sideline, but he didn't take that many snaps outside for Ohio State
for obvious reasons.
They're stacked at quarterback with Jeremiah Smith or at receiver.
They're stacked.
They don't need sideline receivers.
He would be a sideline receiver or a slot receiver in any other program in the country,
except like Ohio State and Alabama because they have so many great players.
So he'll come in and immediately play for them.
I think he is a prime example because he's not a burner, John.
He's a prime example of maturity, interviews, professionalism that could have moved him up 10 to 12 spots.
He was considered a second round talent the minute the season ended.
his value beyond being excellent is he is considered a mature in a league where we're having
wide receiver divas emerge like every weekend.
I think his personality is a huge part of him going this high.
Well, one thing I remember the stat last year when the week one is that Tampa had like
43 or 44 drafted players on their 53-man roster.
Jason Light has been, if not the best, a top two or three,
after over the last five or six years. And when you look, and, you know, the Baker that you
originally started talking about back at Oklahoma is a completely different human being now.
Tampa's got a really high-level team, you know, from Worf's to Mike Evans to Vita Vaya.
I mean, their guys on their squad are just like, honestly, Jason Light comes from New England.
And I'm talking the Vrable-Bruski New England days with Tom Brady. He's kind of built that
version with Baker Mayfield as his quarterback.
Super smart, super tough.
Steve Kime told me he thought Jason Light was one of the best scouts he'd ever followed.
Kime told me, because I always told, we, Kime got into a discussion with me about two years ago.
We're smoking cigars and I said, you ever noticed every Buccaneers team is stacked?
They just couldn't get the quarterback right before Brady.
But like, and he goes, oh yeah, it's Jason.
He goes, that he is, he is as good as scout as we've had in the,
this league. He goes, he just didn't miss. He was so good. You know, and that's how you become a
GM. You're a great scout initially. Well, they built their offensive line from taking smaller
school tackles and turn them into guards and centers. And, you know, obviously they've had Mike Evans
to kind of settle in Vita Vez as like stalwart players minus, you know, separate from Tom Brady.
But yeah, I mean, you tell me he could have drafted anybody. I'd be like, yeah, I like the pick.
Now, like you said, I mean, this guy, didn't he set records at Ohio State for yards, catches, games?
I mean, he's a stud.
The other thing is when you go to a team that has, I mean, they re-signed Godwin.
They got him on a cheaper number because remember he shattered his ankle.
Obviously, they still have Evans.
This guy, the pressure on him to, they're not going to need him to catch 70 balls next year.
They're running game last year with Bucky Irving.
I mean, their team, honestly, they, in.
a weird way underachieved because they had so many injuries the second half of the season on
defense. They couldn't stop anybody. To me, if they are healthy, there's a pretty big gap in that
division, if they're healthy, like between them and the number two team. Like, the only reason
it was close between them in Atlanta this year is because they had a million injuries on
defense. But, like, they're a much better run organization. You know, what Baker's turned into.
There's no disputing. Baker's really become the last two years a top 10 quarterback. Yeah.
And clearly just his maturation, like a lot of us guys, you know, in the late 20s, it kicks in, he gets married, has a kid, and he's a different guy.
And as a player, he plays much faster, slim down, his arm's always been great.
And now he's got three with Obuka, with Mike Evans and Godwin, and running backs and a good offensive line.
I mean, their offense should be really good, Colin.
Now, if you look at the draft so far, there's only two players that I believe.
can turn losses into wins.
Cam Ward at Tennessee replacing Will Levis.
If I told you they won four more games,
just simply because of significant upgrade at quarterback,
in that division, I think we both go, yeah, yeah.
I mean, Cam Ward to Will Levis is a D to a B.
And the other player that I, I mean, this draft is not exceptional.
I do think Ashton Gentie will be a pretty spectacular player for the Raiders
and with Chip Kelly's brain,
Brock Bowers,
Dino Smith,
this is not a draft
where people are changing outcomes.
And Jaden Daniels changed outcomes.
We thought Caleb Williams would have,
Bo Nicks changed outcomes.
I could argue that
Tennessee and Vegas
will be,
because of their first round players,
would you agree,
noticeably more dynamic offenses
in an offensive league?
Yeah, I think there's been
one team,
minimum from the top five that has made the playoffs over the last five years.
And, you know, I remember when the 49ers had the number two overall pick and they took
Bosa and then all of a sudden they had a 13 win team and they were in the Super Bowl in 2019.
I don't know if there's one of those teams here, but I'm with you.
I mean, they lost Josh Jacobs last year, the Raiders and their running game was a Joe.
I mean, they were just, they were in bad shape as an organization.
So anytime you get a guy that is that good.
But like I said, you know, going from the mountain west,
He's a fantastic prospect and a fantastic.
His tape this year looked like a high school kid going to Nick Sabin in his prime.
But it's a pretty big difference.
I mean, their division is really, really hard.
And, you know, Cleveland, I think is cool with setting back.
I do think there's a lot of pressure on Will Campbell.
He is a guy that if we assume that the Patriots are going to be a viable, you know, low, like kind of like Denver was this year operation.
They're going to need Will Campbell to, they don't need to be Trent Williams, but.
But can he just be a starter, a solid player that you can kind of rely on immediately?
There's going to be, listen, the arm length thing, people push back, but it's, I know it's crazy
to sound like an inch is a make or break deal, but historically, it is difficult out there on edge.
I think how many teams now have good pass rushers.
Okay, the Chargers select Omerian Hampton, the running back from North Carolina.
Okay, so this is interesting.
So I went to dinner with Greg Roman, the offensive coordinator for the Chargers.
I think it was on Friday night.
And, you know, he's not going to give me any intel.
But we really talked a lot about football and what the team needed.
And I wasn't going to pry information.
But the one thing that we, you know, we agreed with, I said, I wouldn't be shocked if you guys didn't go tight-end, running back interior
offensive lineman wide receiver.
And, you know, Greg acknowledged he goes, listen, we got good players, but we probably need a little juice
we probably need a little bit more juice.
And I said, do you like Colston Loveland?
He's like, everybody likes Colston Loveland.
Do you like Hampton?
He goes, everybody likes Hampton.
So, I mean, this to me, Naji Harris and Hampton, okay, now with Joe Alt last year,
Mershan Slater at left tackle, John, this is a Jim Harbaugh football team.
I picked them to win their division this year.
This is a Jim Harbaugh football team.
between those two pick, a power running speed guy,
Najee Harris, by the way, similar.
Now, he didn't have the burst of Hampton,
but Najee Harris is a power running back.
I mean, even last year, J.K. Dobbins,
who's got some girth to him, got some size.
This is really starting to feel like a Jim Harbaugh team.
Well, if you had to bet right now,
who's going to have the better career,
Omerian Hampton with Harbaugh,
who's, I think, going to retire as the Chargers coach,
and Gentie with the Raider situation,
you would have to bet on Jim Harbaugh and his running back.
So, you know, I think a lot of teams in the league thought that Omerian Hampton was a big-time player.
Now, Gentie got all the buzz and all the hype.
This guy's a stud, Colin.
They gave Najee Harris some money.
I mean, think about the discussion when D.K. Metcalf was on the block that the chargers are going to go trade for them.
It's like, guys, I never understand these people making these.
these guesses about what Harbaugh is going to do that is just so different from what he's done for 15, 20 years.
Offensive linemen running backs, he'll take another linebacker.
I mean, it's the way he builds his team.
They're going to be good.
I mean, it was pretty clear last year with Denver and with the Chargers.
That was going to be the worst version of those two teams, Sean Payton and him moving forward.
That's why the pressure on, you know, Veach and Andy feel it.
Like, we got to stay, we got to keep nailing picks.
We got to keep being good because these guys are.
coming. And listen, I'm not trying to be a Raider hater here. They're going to be better. But from a
roster standpoint, to me, they're clearly the fourth operation in this division. So if you look at what
they have now, they have their quarterback and Justin Herbert. They have their left and right tackle,
Slater and Joe Alt. They have Najee Harris, who was clearly underutilized and undercoached
in Pittsburgh. I mean, he even admitted, Najee Harris acknowledged we didn't really have, we didn't
really have an identity in Pittsburgh, which they don't offensively. Now you've got Hampton,
the breakway runner, and Najee Harris, the power runner, the offense now, now they're going to go
interior all lineman, sideline receiver, and tied in. At some point in this draft, that's
where they're going. It feels like, it feels like to me, this is one of the more predictable teams in
the draft, because the defense, let's face it last year, it overachieved, or at least achieved
to the level it should have with Brandon Staley.
I think the Chargers, I think everybody in the ballpark knows what, that Greg Roman needs juice,
and he just got a powder keg of it.
Yeah, I mean, I saw Greg Roman a decade ago with Frank Gore kicking everyone's ass.
And that Harbaugh team, their best receiver was Michael Crabtree.
And I think we all believe that Justin Herbert has a chance.
I know he had a really bad playoff game.
Peyton Manning had a bunch.
I mean, the NFL, you don't get a seven-game series, so you have a bad playoff
game, it leaves the stink at everyone's mouth.
Do you want to sell Justin Herbert stock?
I'll buy some. I would imagine Greg Roman says, like, we like this quarterback a lot.
And I don't blame him.
So I think the Chargers, listen, I mean, if I was a betting man, I would say that Jim Harbaugh is going to end his coaching career as a Super Bowl champion.
Now, it might not happen in 2025, but they are going to be a major, major factor, not just in the AFC, but in the NFL, I think over the next several years.
I mean, this guy is basically six foot, 225 pounds, run a 4-4-5.
This guy's a stud.
I mean, this guy, part of when you draft this player, he's going to be with the nucleus of
Alt and Slater and Herbert now for the next five, six years.
Like, this is part of that nucleus with some of the guys they drafted last year.
And to me, of Najee, you know, for a while, he got overdrafted.
Yeah, looking back.
You know, he's a first round pick, but he's not that good.
But he's a good role player.
And I think sometimes in Pittsburgh, they were very dependent on him.
Now he just gets to be a role player for Jim Harbaugh,
who will mix these running backs in with Greg Roman,
and they will run the ball down your throat.
They're going to play defense and run the ball down your throat.
He's been doing it.
I mean, he probably wished he could have done it when he was a quarterback,
and he's been doing it ever since he was a coach.
So I couldn't be any more bullish on the Chargers.
Least shocking pick so far the night.
Harbaugh took a running back in the first round.
The Rams?
So there were two.
Leafs with the LA Rams.
They really like Colston Loveland, and they really liked Brock Bowers last year.
So McVeigh, who has a history with tight ends, would like to get a tight end.
But I had talked to Les Sneed during the season.
I talked to him probably two months ago, and we just had a text exchange, and he said,
listen, it wouldn't crush us if we moved out of the first round because they don't have a
second round pick.
So,
yeah,
hold on.
They traded with Atlanta.
So the Giants traded with the Texans.
So the Falcons at 26 take James Pierce,
the edge from Tennessee.
So Atlanta's had a lousy pass rush.
Forever.
So that,
I mean, they have struggled with a pass rush.
So that is predicted.
Remember they got Matt Judeon last year from the New England Patriots, they thought would help.
Listen to this, Colin.
Listen to what Les Need just did.
So they traded with the Falcons.
They get their second round pick, which is pick 46.
They get next year's first round pick.
Oh, Jesus.
So the Rams have two ones next year.
So the Rams now have, you said they did not have a second round pick?
Yeah.
The Rams.
So the Rams get a second round pick now, pick 46.
That's their first pick of this draft.
And they get next year's Falcons won.
Wow.
And that will be a top 15 pick.
You would think that that seems to get to trade up to get James Pierce.
Holy shnikes.
I think that's insane.
I mean, some of these trades, Colin, I just.
I don't understand that.
I'm at a loss for word.
You just got Atlanta's first round pick for James Pierce, the third to fourth best edge rusher in not a great edge rusher class.
At least if you're trading a future first round pick and you get Travis Hunter, a guy that's never unprecedented what the guy just did, probably since leather helmets, someone playing both ways, right?
So it was that, you're looking at it.
I think it's crazy, but given a future first round pick to do it, like at least you could justify it in the room, James Pierce, decent rush.
I mean, at pick 25, you don't trade a future first round pick to trade up for a player in the 20s.
That can't happen, especially a DeLiman.
Holy God.
What defensive lineman is he off the board?
Six or seven?
Think how many guys have already come off the board that all these teams passed on?
Jesus.
It would be one thing if someone was falling because of a, you know, like a Laramie Tunzel bong issue or something, you're like, well, this guy should have been the fourth pick in the draft.
We're going all in.
most talented guys.
That's crazy.
Well, also, so the Rams will have two number one picks next year.
There's in Atlanta.
So you're going to probably get one that's a top 15 and one that's somewhere in the 20s.
But remember, Stafford, there's a sense in the room, Stafford's got two years with the Rams left.
So next year is the year you would draft a quarterback or later in this round.
Later in this draft, like fourth round, Kyle McCord, Syracuse,
Again, I feel like Cleveland took Jacksonville to the cleaners, and I feel like the Rams took Atlanta to the cleaners.
How often I don't ever remember a team getting another team's first round pick.
In a bad draft for the fifth best edge rusher.
It was drafting 26.
Usually when you accumulate those first round picks, you're drafting really, really high.
That has to be a first in the internet.
era. I'm drafting 26 and I trade back and I get to the team's first round pick. And I'm not
trading a player, right? I'm not, I'm not trading, you know, for D.K. Metcalfe or Tyreek Hill or
something. I'm literally just trading you pick 26. Now, the Rams also gave their third round pick
this year. Well, they have two thirds and a fourth. So they have a second, now, they have a second,
a third, a fourth, and four sixes. They don't have a lot of needs. John, they need a corner,
an inside linebacker, they could use a tight end and an offensive tackle.
They have four needs.
And I understand that Sean and Rahim are good buddies, but that felt like taking advantage of everybody.
Now, I do wonder for the GM, Terry Fontno, for Rahim Morris,
I mean, that owner's mid-80s, he has unlimited amounts of money.
and you've talked about this for a long time.
These owners now in basketball and football are firing guys.
Paying you $30 million away is couch change to them.
I wonder if these guys pissed off the owner last year
because they got overaggressive with cousins,
and then they fell in love with what's his penics after,
and then cousins suck.
Now the owner's meeting with cousins, you know,
because he's pissed off.
He just gave him $90 million.
And cousins got a no-train clause,
so it's not easy to just deal them.
He's kind of got them by the balls.
And then they missed the playoffs last year.
year. You know, they hire the biggest staff in the league and Rahim goes, well, we plan on
losing coaches because he's acting like we're going to be really good. They go under 500.
I wonder if that owner's like, you guys better win and win now. I don't know how much longer
I have. There's pressure on you guys. This felt like one of those, like there's pressure from above.
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