The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Colin Cowherd Podcast - Reaction to Raiders trading Maxx Crosby to Ravens, Free Agency Predictions

Episode Date: March 9, 2026

Colin Cowherd is joined by '3 & Out' host John Middlekauff to react to the latest in the NFL. They start with the blockbuster trade that sent Maxx Crosby from the Raiders to the Ravens. Where do the Ravens rank in the NFL after the move? How will the Raiders use their new picks in the NFL Draft. They talk about why Joe Burrow should be upset with the move. They discuss the other notable defensive players that have been traded recently for multiple first round picks and why teams are copying the Los Angeles Rams. Colin gives out his Herd Hierarchy. They give Free Agency predictions and look ahead to the 2026 NFL Draft. Follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates!  #Volume See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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The volume. All right, here we go. John Middilkoff and I, I don't work tomorrow on TV. So this is my, I was down in Florida all weekend and hanging out with my wife in Naples. Have you ever gone to Naples, by the way? Yeah, back when I was with the Eagles, they had these scouting meetings. at, I forget the name of the place. I mean, right on the water, I think it's about 30 minutes away from Naples.

And then they end, you have a week-long paid vacation. I'm with a buddy. I don't even think Uber's existed back in 2013. We hopped in a cab, went up there, had dinner. It was nice 15 years ago, I'll tell you that much. Yeah, it's exploded. Naples, Florida has exploded. I rented a little with a friend, a little 22-foot.

boat to kind of go around and look at the billionaire row of homes. And my friends in realty, he's like, oh, that's boom, boom, boom, boom. Some people live well. That's all I'm on a 22 foot boat looking at big time,000 square foot homes, but it was beautiful. So, you know, listen, well, let's start with Max Crosby. So I had said this before. I think he was kind of the soul of the Raiders, but they're breaking it down to the foundation.

I thought they may keep Max because they have like 12 draft picks, 11 or 12 draft picks. So if they hit on seven or eight of those, they've got plenty of money. They're not paying their quarterback for four years. So I would just keep Max Crosby. But I think, you know, they're looking at he's an older player, still great. But I think I saw a story today. They're interested in Tyler Linderbaum, the great center from Baltimore. And it's like the Giants and the Raiders, which I think would be a huge move because they drafted Jackson,

Powers Johnson. Jackson Powers Johnson, J.P.J. From Oregon. And he didn't play Center. He played Guard. So he's more comfortable at Guard. He's very good. So to me, this feels like the Raiders are doing, if they get Tyler Lindemobam,

it feels a little bit like Ben Johnson did the Bears. Here's the quarterback, and I'm going to get the interior of the whole line. I'm going to go get, now, Drew Dalman just retired after one year in Chicago. but do you like the Max Crosby deal for them, especially for the Raiders, if they get Tyler Lindelbaum because of the availability to, you know, pay him top of the market?

Well, I like it simply because it was time. You know, I think quietly he kind of wanted out. He wasn't going to do it kind of like a yon and a situation because he loves the fans. He loves the franchise. Right. Colin, they got more. Again, we'll have to see what plays out next year.

The Dallas Cowboys traded Michael. Parsons and they are lucky. I mean, it took a Micah Parsons injury and a crazy comeback in a playoff game. They got picked 20. I didn't quite realize that the moment the trade was made and then you give it five minutes. The Ravens missed the playoffs and went eight and nine, which sometimes gets you picked 18. It's pick 14. Yes. And I think I saw Warren Sharp. This is the highest amount of draft capital any team's ever had because they got the first pick in every round. You'd rather I've picked one and 14, then pick eight and nine. I mean, it is the 14th pick.

That to me is where it's like, damn, that was a lot, Colin. Yeah, no, the other thing, John, to remember is they already have, the Raiders have two ones, a two or three, three fours, two five, two sixes. Those top, that top of round two, John, you do the first round. Guys are making deals. GMs are making deals all night. You could move down seven spots and get another. another third or a fifth or a fourth.

So the Raiders really can rebuild the entire franchise. Quarterback first pick, 14th pick. You could have the top interior O-Lineman from Penn State. You could have the second best corner. I mean, you can do it. You have to probably replace Max with one of your first three to four picks. You know, but I mean, it's the first time because Jackson Powers Johnson, you've got one and Colton Miller left tackle Jackson Powers Johnson.

You add Tyler Lindembaum. It's like, oh, this is what the Bears did. So I can't tell you the last time I was, I think John SpyTech, it deserves a lot of credit for this. How many teams do you think were interested in Crosby? This is why I never understood they won't get two first round picks. Guys, every playoff team, there are 14 playoff teams. are obviously not even remotely close to one of them. They were all interested. And then you get to and you then throw in the cowboys who have that ammunition who think they're going to be pretty good

this year if they can flip it around on defense. So I think when the dust settled, you probably had five teams willing to get really aggressive, but no one could trump that 14th pick. You know, you see stories on the Jags. You see, you know, teams like the bear. All these teams are in the 20s, Colin, in the mid to late 20s. And then you go, if I give a max, if I try, them to the Jags or I trade them to the Bears. Well, if they're in the playoffs again, that's pick 25, and next year that's pick 24, where that's what the, what's the, what's the likelihood that the Cowboys pick, I guess they might have already traded it because they traded for Quinn and Williams.

But the way that they had set up the Micah deal, that was looking like pick 28 and pick 28 back to back years, which I'm not opposed, but when I see, I can't believe they, the bills gave up a second rounder for DJ Moore. Guy, guys, it's pick 60. It's not pick 37. These things are not equal. Colin, I'm in my home. You're in your home.

We're both homeowners. We're not equal. If we sold our homes, they're not the same. So it's like when I see these things get thrown around, well, they're offering a first round pick. Well, we're in the first round because pick 14 is fantastic. Pick 29, like the Chiefs, they did well, but you'd ask Andy, would you rather pick, you know, there's a big difference.

There's a big gap. If I would have told you they would have got the Rams 13th overall pick, you would have been like, oh my God, what a hole. Yeah, the DJ Moore pick to me, I thought worked for Buffalo because Kion Coleman now, there's no pressure on him to work. He had a touchdown in the game against, I think, Denver in the playoffs. So he's a big play kid. But now you've got your running bat, your quarterback, your left tackle, a very good slot receiver, a number one.

And if Kian Coleman is kind of a 50 catch, 43 catch guy, but a big, you know, he sort of was like Rashid Shahid for the Seahawks. He's just a big play guy, about twice a game. You go downfield. You keep the safety's honest. I thought DJ more to Buffalo was a great pick. And you make a great point on this, is that Brett Veach is a very, very good general manager for the chiefs.

I mean, Xavier Worthy last year at the end of the first round is kind of, I wouldn't say a gadget receiver, but he's not a volume receiver. that's a that's about as well as you can do late first round, which is get an explosive first round level athlete. But if he was a volume receiver, Mackay Lemon, USC, you'd go mid first round. And McKay Lemon doesn't have worthy speed or explosiveness. But, you know, you end of the first round. I mean, years ago, the chiefs kind of whiffed on a running back out of LSU late first round.

So it's no man's land. This is very, when you look at the Ravens, I was reading a couple stories over the last 24th. hours. They've never, I mean, obviously they've made big acquisitions on older players or veteran players, you know, historically from Anquan Boldens to Steve Smith to Roquan Smith, like they are an aggressive organization. They've never traded a first round pick for a player. And typically over the Lamar era, they have drafted what? I would 24 to 28 range, right? So they are not, this is a very valuable pick. If memory serves me correct, Kyle Hamilton was the 14th pick in the draft. Now, all drafts aren't equal, and I'm not saying there's a Kyle Hamilton in this draft.

And my point is, that's how GMs think. Like, if I'm 14, I can get a guy, I mean, Micah Parsons was the 11th pick. You know, Jalen Carter was the ninth pick where the can't, you just never know how a draft shakes out. Laramie Tunzel, the picture comes out, all of a sudden, he's there at whatever, pick 10 or 11. The weird things happen around the draft. Stories come out. Like, the Raiders have an opportunity. Now, they did this once upon a time, and I was living in the Bay Area.

they had three first round picks one year because they had traded Kalil Mack and they had traded Amari Cooper in the same year and they whiffed on basically every pick over that run except for Josh Jacobs. So it is now incumbent on them to hit the pick but listen I've known SpyTech. He left the Eagles right before I was with him and Jason Light at the Combine. I think he's really good and if you watch Max Crosby's I don't know if you watched it. It's about as genuine no notes, just him talking to have that much loyalty and passion

to a team that he didn't have any success on, besides personally, but not as a team. It was, you know, that's just refreshing to see a guy. If you're a Raider fan, this guy really cared about my organization, even though we're the butt of everyone's jokes. You could tell it was difficult for him, because he kind of asked to sign off on this as well. And I just think that, listen, you know these coaches,

he is as highly thought of as anyone you're going to find in the NFL. I mean, he's been sober for six years. He's in there every morning at 5 a.m. He is a no bullshit guy. He plays the game like he practices and he's an impact player at a premium position. The Ravens are getting a really, really, I mean, a Hall of Fame level guy. So in the last five years, the Ravens have blown the most fourth quarter leads. Now, the last two, they're 17 and 5 if Lamar is playing and they lead in the fourth quarter.

So they're better at it. But I get them saying, okay, we plan a division. with Joe Burrow, you know, probably Aaron Rogers, Josh Allen Mahomes, Herbert, C.J. Strouder in the division. I think what Baltimore is saying is, and I thought Green Bay did this as well, we're just going to go, it's our Mariano Rivera. We're going to go get a closer. Because I know what Bill Pullian told me this years ago, he said, when we drafted Peyton Manning, we knew we would lead most of our games in the fourth quarter. that's why Dwight Freeney was so valuable. I said this the other day on FS1.

Think how great Max Crosby was. How often do the Raiders lead in the fourth? Never. Never. There's nine minutes to go. Teams are running the ball on the Raiders. They're trying to kill the clock. They don't want players hurt.

They're trying to get out of Vegas and go home. Max Crosby now is going to be his last 12 snaps are going to be sacked. but his last 12 snaps with the Raiders are usually, you know, it's a run play. So I think the Ravens are going to, listen, the bottom line is if Max is a monster for two years and they get to an AFC championship, you're going to look at it and go worth it. The only thing, it's funny with the Raiders, John, and you being a former scout, so the Raiders have so many picks now. So two firsts, the second and a third, three, fours, fifth, they can have multiple picks.

But Tom Telesco told me this years ago, he said, you know, you have to be careful about being too young. You know, let's say you could trade a great player and get four picks. You said, I'd sometimes rather have three picks in a player. The Raiders are going to rebuild their franchise, and people should be patient. But with that many picks, like, I could see the Raiders if they have three, fourth-round picks. I could see them using two of them and getting a second third. Like I look at the Raiders and I think to myself in that division, it's not just about making sure your picks can play. You need impact guys.

I think one thing they have to do over the next, I don't know, three or four days is potentially overpay a high level veteran winning type guy. You know, get a guy who has been a part of a winner who is a high character, team leader. If you got to overpay them, and listen, they got advantages. people like living in Vegas, no state income tax. It's not like a tough sell. And free agency and football, this isn't basketball or baseball. Like, these guys go where you give them the most money. And I would imagine spite tech, because he came from Tampa where by the time Brady got there,

they had the infrastructure. Tom just provided that veteran leadership. And now, once he left, all those guys were equipped because they just watched Tom. And then you had the Vita Veas. You had, you know, Mike Evans was already a high-level guy. If I'm the Raiders, hey, Mike, who's offering you what? What's the most you got at? 10?

Hey, we'll offer you a 15. You know, you've already won at a Super Bowl. You're already going to the Hall of Fame. We will overpay for what you bring in tangibly to our facility. Because, like you said, you can't put that all on Mendoza. You can't put that all on Carnell Tate or whoever you take with a 14th pick. You're going to need some guys for them to look up to. And that was Max, who is probably as good as anyone.

He's like him, Fred Warner. It's a short list of like you could not meet a human that can say a bad word. word about these guys and then when you factor in how good of a player they are. But I thought that it had come to the, you know the happiest three guys in the league? Not in Baltimore. They're Jim Harbaugh, Andy Reid, Sean Payton. Because the Raiders have not been a good team, but they were a pain to play when Max was playing because he could just throw off. Those are three offensive guys, you know? Andy, I mean, talk to Andy about him. I mean, he reveres Max. I think I read something Sean Peyton set Max Crosby a text yesterday. So, I mean, these guys, they don't,

just they're pretty numb to good players, right? Yeah. They view Max as like high level respect because they also know how bad that team's been and how good. Remember, we turn on like random Friday night, Black Friday or was it Christmas Eve games and the Raiders are playing the Broncos. It's like, God, this is hard, you know, because Max. Yeah. No, they often play the Chiefs and the Broncos tight. You know, the other thing I thought about, think about Joe Burrell.

So they let Trey Hendrickson walk. instead of trading him for a really good player, like the Raiders John Spy Tech smartly did, he got two first round picks out of it. The Bengals, classic Bengals, let Trey Hendrickson, who's not as good as Max Crosby, but is a very good player,

they let him walk. So Burrow now in his division has Max Crosby twice a year, Miles Garrett twice a year, and DJ Watt twice a year, and his rush end is gone. I have theorized with, I just saw a picture of,

it was Joe Brub, I think it's this offseason in Vegas playing with some like celebrity beautiful woman. I think it was Jescalba. Yeah. Just Galba. And my take is Burrow, just for his sanity, has really enjoyed his off seasons. Because I think deep down he knows, you know, I'm not playing with the same level of scouting department. We don't make deals during the deadline.

I mean, letting Trey Hendrickson walk and getting nothing for him, it's just, it's, to me it's outrageous. And I think sometimes fans don't understand, like the most exciting thing about the Raiders is not Fernando Mendoza. And it's not Clint Kubiak. It's John Spytec. You have a competent general manager who's deal making. So I don't know. I look at the Bengals letting Trey Hendrickson walk and I look at Joe Burr and I think, God, that division. And that Bengals, for the record, have a bottom 10 offensive line adding to it. I at this point in time, I mean, he signed a contract with a pretty questionable organization. Now, you're young.

They offer you a ton of money. It's easy to say, looking back several years, you know what you're signing up for. It does inevitably have a feel of like Sean McVeigh trading three-ones, three- twos, and three-three-threes for him next off-season when he kind of makes a stink and demands a trade. I mean, this thing feels headed toward a weird spot. Now, offensively, they are pretty good. You know, defensively, some major question marks still. but I mean they were kind of in the mix in a weird way you know the last couple years with a lot of flaws so now

Joe's got to say healthy as well but I hear you I mean they I still think they could be competitive if he plays 17 games they're going to be a playoff level competitive team today's show brought to you by our presenting sponsor hard rock bet Florida sports book so it's March baby college basketball center stage stakes are high and now is the time to hit it with Hard Rock Bet. If you sign up today, double your winnings in your first 10 bets, max 50 bucks.

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help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel. Help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam?

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represent that. They are just fueling a fire that is really catching. You'll see what I mean. Listen to Rebel Spirit season two on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I was thinking about this. So the Colts Chris Ballard last year gave up two firsts for Sauce Gardner or Corner. Who is one of the more athletic corners in the league? The Ravens give up two firsts for a great but older Max Crosby. The Rams have made a habit of it, give up a first and a third next year for Trent McDuffie, which is interesting because next year you'd think they'd want the third because it's the quarterback draft. And by giving up the first year this year, the second first, they're not going to get Ty Simpson, who many speculated. And by giving

up a third next year, well, what can they what can they give up if they have to move up and get an archmanning or a top seven or eight quarterbacks? It's going to be a great draft for quarterbacks next year. And I was just wondering watching Chris Ballard and Sauce Gardner and the Ravens DeCosta do that with Max Crosby. And I do wonder, John, if this is a copycat league, if the Rams have had real influence on the way people look at first round picks is that 30% are busts, especially if it's the bottom eight to 10 picks in the first round. And I'm just looking at these organizations, you know, giving up first and second round picks. Do you think they're the Rams? Because basically, they win a Super Bowl. They have one rebuild year and they make the playoffs

since. And next year they'll be favored to win the Super Bowl. Do you think the Rams have a little bit of influence on this? I think they're more of an outlier because they have consistently won when they've made the trades. I mean, Ballard made that trade, which I respect, I would say he's known as a conservative GM. It was a little unlike his track record, right, to go all in and it blew up in his face. Sauce got hurt, Daniel Jones got hurt. Khalil Mack was traded for a couple first round picks. They never

won a playoff game. I mean, a lot of times Trey Lance, I mean, they went all in on that move. It blew up in their face. They got lucky with Purdy. I think it's more, you know, the Ravens, I view the Ravens, the Rams, and the bills are teams with all their chips in the middle of the table this year. And if you're the Rams, like,

they've been like that for a decade close. So to me, they've been operating pretty consistently like this, and especially with Matt. And I think when you look at the other two teams, they go, we got two Hall of Fame quarterbacks, it's now or never. I mean, both guys, like, are they going to be thriving at 37? I think you'd probably bet against it the way Lamar and Josh play. They're in the prime of their career now.

I think there are anything less to me than an AFC championship for either one of those two teams is a disaster. I think you look at the Colts, do you think if we were having a cocktail with Chris, you'd go, I regret doing the sauce thing knowing what I know now, right? We missed the playoffs. Daniel got hurt. It blew up in my face. At the time, I thought it was the right move.

But sitting here today, it wasn't the right move. Well, I've never, yeah, I'm not a huge, and I've said this before, I think cornerback is an ego position. So I would prefer to draft him third round down. You get a more humble athlete. Because I think if you get drafted high first round, middle first round, you know, Patrick Certan's obviously great. But I do think it's an ego position. I think you need so much confidence to play corner because you're, I mean, if you go, you get, It burned constantly, and you have to have a short memory, and it cannot affect you.

So what makes the great corners, like Dionne Sanders, is a remarkable ego and self-confidence. Unless it's a, like, no-brainer. And Soss was arguably the best athlete in his class. I remember watching him play Notre Dame at college. I said it on the air. I'm like, that's the best college football player. I saw all year was Soss Gartner when he played Notre Dame. And they're just like, we're not interested in even going to his side of the field.

But I always think it's a quarterback, left tackle, defensive tackle or edge rush, and these days, weapon. I also think centers are undervalued. Ben Johnson goes out and gets Drew Dolman. Tyler Linderbom is going to have a huge market. So I don't know, like I respected Chris Ballard doing it. I don't love giving up a lot for corners. Yeah, to me, the corner, you know, Jalen Ramsey is one of the most talented players of the internet era. right and the Rams went all in with multiple first round picks.

To me, he's dramatically better than Sauce. I had someone that was part of the Jets in previous years, say, one issue Sauce had is they started officiating, you know, the bump and run and physical corners a little more difficult where some of these guys like Patrick Sartan can do both. He could get up in you, but he could also just run with you. Sauce is a 4-55 guy. He needs to bump you.

he's long, you know, and it's like once they start throwing flags with him being really physical, it becomes more difficult. Richard Sherman wanted to get up in you at the line of scrimmage, and he's huge. He's like, I'm going to throw you around. Derek Stingley, who some consider one of the best corners in the league, is like a Dion level athlete. He's like, I don't even need to touch you. I just fall you on your hip all over the place. So to me, you know, McDuffie's got a little of that.

Now he'll tackle. And the one thing, so it's like, and again, it's easy to play Monday morning. quarterback as things go wrong. My point is, when you go all in on these moves, there's just a lot out of your control, right? I mean, Chris Bauer never thought Daniel Jones was going to tear his Achilles. I mean, he looked like he was going to win the MVP of the league. So, you know, no different. Like, they're going to need Lamar. The pressure now on these guys, like the Ravens can't just go 10 and seven. There's going to be expectation on them to be the number one seat. Same thing with the bills. And now, these are organizations that are used to winning. So it's not, but both of them

new young coaches who I think are really high-level guys, both of them. But that's, it's one thing, like, if you give a Mike Tomlin, a John or Jim Harbaugh, this is the first time the guy's ever sitting in the seat. And then it's like, hey, AFC championship game minimum, or it's going to be viewed as a failure. That's right. And so that's, it's just, these are intense environments. These are intense jobs. They're great jobs.

We talked about this with the Packers years ago. It's not very often you get the Devante Adams, all these, some defensive guys, Aaron Rogers. I think the bills and the Ravens are a different animal because they've never won with these two quarterbacks. They've never even got to the Super Bowl. And there are quarterbacks, Josh and Lamar, have taken a few hits. They're odometers. You know, there's some mileage on it.

I mean, Lamar last year did not look burst-wise like the same play. Not even close. I mean, I think I said at one time I saw on a Sunday night football broadcast. I mean, he was like three miles. an hour slower. He just looked like he looked like an athletic guy, not like the super freak that we had seen the first five years in the league. So, um, yeah, I mean, I- Dr. Josh needed surgery right after the surgery or right after the season. He was in a, he was on

the crutches for a couple weeks. So I think that's a reality. Just, it was interesting, the Trent McDuffie move, I mean, Spags, multiple players for the chiefs, uh, Patrick Mahomes is like, yikes. They all go publicly to Twitter. And the Rams and the chiefs, have never been as high, generally on corners. But I think for the Rams, the move is obvious, John, because it is the one liability of a Super Bowl team. And the minute they signed him, they had the odds increase their Super Bowl favorite. So it made a ton of sense. But I do wonder, I said it on the air and I kind of believe it. I do believe the chiefs are in a rebuild. It's not something you advertise. But if I said to you, after Chris Jones had a below

average season. Who's their second best player after Mahomes? I mean, Carloftus, I'm not sure who it is. Yeah, it'd probably be the garter, the center, you know, that's, I mean, who is it? That's not ideal. It's probably, you know, Trey Smith, who did not have a good year, Creed Humphreys, you know, in theory, if he probably played, what he could become is the left tackle from Ohio State, Josh Jimins, but I mean, the middle of the season, he just disappears. So, I mean, it's, yeah, I mean, this is a massive draft for him. They have, the ninth overall pick, and that means the ninth overall pick in every round. So they could really change the fortunes of their franchise.

I think it's going to be interesting, you know, historically in football, and Coach Reid's been a part of a lot of these, you kind of just draw a line in the sand and be like, listen, we love you. You're an extremely important player in the history of this organization, but we're just moving on. John Snyder and Howie have done this countless times, and he's done this many times. Travis Kelsey Like Travis, listen, we'd have you back But for like $4 million

Right. You know, so if someone else wants to give you 12 or whatever, we love you, we will build a statue. But like, it's over, man. Yeah. And that's what's going to be interesting these next couple days. Like if they're doing that, then I'd be like, okay, the Chiefs, they're truly kind of pivoting into this new era.

Belichick did it. They got, they kept Brady, they're keeping the homes. And then you move into McCordy, Edelman, Gronk, right, the High Tower. And that propelled them. If the Chiefs have an excellent offseason, draft, a couple of little guys here in free agency in a couple of years, they can be back to being a 13 or 14 win team. So it's going to be really difficult in this division this year.

I think the Chargers, Khalil's back now. They're going to be, I mean, they got a chance to compete for the number one seed for sure. Yeah. And the Broncos, I mean, their talent on their team speaks for itself. I mean, they were all over the place offensively this year and were the number one seat. So it's like, it'd be a little shocking, right, if they didn't win 11, 12 games again next year. So I think the chiefs, you've got to look probably more 2007. They also made a decision.

Like, from what I've heard, McDuffie is everything, off the field, he's an A plus. On the field, excellent nickel corner, good outside corner. It's like, well, we can't give, like, they're in a position now where these numbers are getting huge. Like, are we going to give $30 million? The Rams really need something.

It's not that they don't like. You know, when they got rid of Hill, they're like, yeah, we just, this, this, we don't remember. trust everything that's going on here. This was simply a financial, like we're not comfortable where the market is right now, and you're not, at the end of the day,

he's not like Revis or something outside. He's an excellent nickel, good tackler, and he was valuable to the Rams, clearly. But the Rams were also house money a little bit. Like, do they make this trade if they didn't do the Falcons trade last year and have picked 13? Like, if they only have one first round pick, I do wonder if they just trade 29 for McDuffie.

This trade was easy for them. They have the 13th overall picks. It was like, yeah, take 29. We rarely have that pick anyway when we do have that pick. So I think it was kind of a unique circumstance. This is where the SpyTech, no one came close to offering a pick as high as 14 for Max Crosby. And the Chiefs, I don't think anyone in the first round, I bet most of the teams that want to McDuffy were the good teams and their first pick they were offering were the second round, which is going to be in the 50s. So I think both teams got to a point like, hey, we love these guys.

We could keep playing with these guys. But we also have to think big picture. And they just got an amount of money or amount of draft capital. They couldn't refuse. That's why I think both these trades happened so early. Yeah. I mean, I did this a couple days ago, John. We can do this right here.

I said, you know, the great quarterback's got a lot of help. If I said to you, my herd hierarchy, my top 10 next year, I would put the Rams today, number one. Fair. I will say this. I think Gabe Davis is a really, I think he, or DJ Moore, I think DJ Moore is a really big deal for Buffalo. Totally agree. So I'll put Buffalo. Two years ago when the Bears were in shambles, he got like 96 balls.

People act, this year was weird, new offense, him and Caleb, they had a bunch of other weapons. People act like DJ Moore, some guy that's going to be in the U.S. in two years. Like, guys, he might not be Justin Jefferson here, but he's a winning, he's a good, player. Oh, he's a, I mean, listen, I watched every bear snap. The reality is Colston Loveland became such a huge player for Caleb, not shocking. He goes with another young guy. So like a lot of it's just Luther Burden exploded at the end of the year. Colston loved it. And they have a terrific run game. And oh, by the way, it's Chicago. It gets cold. You don't throw the ball down the field as much. So I would say Rams won, Buffalo two. I'd probably put Seattle.

three. And then it gets very interesting. I tend to think Detroit getting Arizona's offensive coordinator, because we both like Holmes, the GM. We like their roster.

I think Detroit is going to, you know, rebound. Then it gets really interesting. God, I don't want to sound like an L.A. Homer and a Chicago Homer, but I would probably do chargers for. Chicago Bearer 6. Am I crazy?

I'd have the Chargers really high. I think there are a lot of wild card NFC teams. I would put Chicago. I would put Philly. I would put the Niners. I think these next two months are really big for them. You know, they have some holes. They got some moving parts.

You know, I mean, the Niners, you know, curveball is always Kyle. I mean, we saw them this year play Philly in that playoff game. So it's like if they're just semi-healthy, they're going to be competitive. The Eagles are just going to have. so many good players every year because of their GM. But they're running the Shanahan system with Jalen Hertz with this young quarterback from Oregon State, you and I've been watching since the Pack 12 and Sean Mannion. Like that's good luck to the guy, but get ready for the pressure cooker, young fella because

that is what a way to start your career. I think the Giants are going to be much improved. The Cowboys have a bunch of ammo. If their defense is just decent, their offense is really good. I think the NFC is really, to me the AFC, it's pretty clear. like Buffalo is clearly top-notch. If Lamar is solid, the Ravens are going to be really good, the Chargers are going to be awesome, Denver's going to be good.

I think the NFC goes like nine or ten deep because if you tell me, again, back to the Jerry trade with Micah Parsons, they are a Micah Parsons injury away from that pick being like, the Packers looked like they were going to win 12 or 13 games. They were killing the Bears in that playoff game until it unraveled in the second half. I mean, I think the Packers are pretty good. I think Michael Parsons healthy.

They're such a well-run organization. This is my point, though. I look at the – look, I just wrote down my 10 favorite teams next year right now, and after free agency, Rams, Buffalo, Seattle, Chargers, Chicago, Detroit, Denver, Philly, Green Bay, Houston. I don't have the Niners. I mean, I honestly, which is absurd, considering I thought Sala and Shanahan were probably the coaching tandem of the year. Yeah. There are so, I mean, I think Houston going out and getting a running back.

It's like, I mean, because their defense is good, but it's, they are good. Well, they win 12 games, they started 0 and 3. I mean, it is just. You know a sleeper team, I think it was coming on at the end, who if they have a high pick in every round is the Saints. By the end of the year, that Tyler Shuck looked pretty good. And they got some weapons. Divisions a little bit easier. You know, I think Tampa's got a ton of free agents.

We'll have to see, like, what is really Baker? We've seen the good and the bad in Tampa. You know, Atlanta's got a ton of moving parts. Carolina, I just can't buy into the little quarterback. So I can see the Saints being my team this year that wins like 10 games. The division, right, their schedule is pretty easy because they finish in the last place. So I think the NFC, which it was last year, top to bottom, even Minnesota. They got quarterback issues.

They're such a well-coached team. We act like Minnesota and a little bit like Detroit, too, had these horrendous seasons because they did relative to the previous. They both went nine and eight. It's not like they won four games. Right. Ask John Morrow what he'd do for a nine and eight season, just to have everyone take a deep breath.

So it's... I've been very encouraged. Free agency officially starts Wednesday. But the McDuffie move, the Max Crosby move, the DJ Moore move. Tyler Lindyam is, I think if you're paying Lamar and Max is going to be hard. And Kyle Hamilton, it's going to be very hard to pay your center

what the market's going to offer. I think that's the next big shoe to drop. the Giants or the Raiders get Tyler Lindelbaum. Is there anything else out there, a bomb dropping that you think could happen? I do think once DJ Moore goes for pick 60, you know, how he goes, well, if I'm going to trade AJ Brown, I got to get at least a top 40 pick, right? So it gets pretty complicated. Most of the teams drafting, you know, from like 32 to 39, 40 aren't good.

AJ doesn't make that much sense to them. and then you get into the high 20s, like who's trading, you know, would Kansas City trade pick 29 for A.G. Brown? I don't know financially some of these things become a little complicated, but the other thing is Alec Pierce. I mean, when Daniel was healthy, he was really good. And I saw Albert Brewer make this point somewhere that Mike Vrable's best friend is the Wisconsin head coach, Fickle,

and Fickle was the coach at Cincinnati when he was there. I mean, this is a 6-3 guy that can run and go deep. Well, what does Drake May do well? go deep. What do they just do? Get rid of Stefan Diggs. So they're wider. Now they do have Kyle Williams, the Washington State guy who's also a vertical threat. I would be stunned if the

Patriots aren't highly, you know, interested in Alec Pierce. But there's also, you know, most of these guys, Max Crosby would talk about getting traded, right? McDuffie, there was clear some rumblings, like they probably weren't going to resign them that they would trade him. DJ Moore was clear that

they were going to pick one of their offensive guys. There has, I mean, these GMs are really aggressive. This has turned much more into baseball. And there are, Howie, when I was around Howie, he was an outlier. He was ready to do deals. No one would do deals. Now it feels like there's 25 guys willing to make moves at any moment. Big money moves. These owners have way more money so they'll trade salaries. They don't care about previous signing bonuses. I would get ready for just, there are going to be a couple wild cards these next. There have been some rumors about Jalen Carter, the Eagles guy, because he's going to want 40, $45 million a year. So it's like,

Are you comfortable investing in the human being? Because the player is excellent. But the human, it's a risky. Well, and the other thing, this is one of the criticisms I've had with the NBA. And I don't think Adam Silver, Adam Silver is so concerned about tanking and dynasties that the NBA now has been replaced by the NFL and baseball with trades. Baseball and NFL guys are GMs are wild. traders. The NBA, you can't make these big sweeping deals anymore because of the aprons.

And so it's like, God, the NBA does so many things. Like people like dynasties, we're more distracted because of our phone. It's like NBA, you want the Knicks and the Lakers to be good. You really want them to be good. I'm watching what these GMs are doing in the NFL. And John, this used to be what the NBA did eight years ago. Huge stars trading teams. I know. It's really crazy what it's become.

Even within its own conference. Like Max, and now the Raiders aren't a threat, but in your own conference you traded. Yeah, I do think the influx of money. I mean, I tweeted this out yesterday. I think one thing football obviously has a lot going for it and it's thriving right now. It does feel the majority of their players really, really care and are really, really invested. And like you say, when these trades happen, all these guys really really. Yeah, they're just very invested into the game.

They're always, you watch these guys' Twitter accounts during college football Saturday. I mean, you can't really play football without being an all-in football guy. You can't for a minute, but you will get exposed. You can't have long careers. Most of the top guys are kind of junkies, you know? I mean, and I think you watch Max Crosby talking, hearing these stories about Trent McDuffie. I mean, these guys are just all in.

I think one thing that hurts the NBA, it feels like half the people don't care. And I'm not even just talking about the players. The coaches, the GMs, they're actively trying. It's like, do you guys care as much as the people watching your sport? Because if you don't, if the entertainment doesn't care, the consumer is not going to care. And the one thing football has, we know the stories are well documented about the coaches, how they're maniacal workers. It feels like the players aren't that far behind.

So it's like, God, they're as invested as I am watching these games and fall in this sport. Here are two or three things that fans, the ratings, and the clicks prove fans love. Big trades, NBA doesn't have them. Dynasties. Baseball, NFL, regularly has them. And massive passion. Well, load management has been outrageous

in the NBA for like eight to ten years. Just think about the things that, and this isn't just a dump on the NBA, but don't overthink the room on this shit. Dynasties, big trades, guys that live that cry after losses that deeply care.

You're not getting that with James Harden. Like, you're not getting that with the NBA. So I thought that I thought the Max Crosby comments were very symbolic of why we love football. I think you really touch on something.

I think, and I've been bringing Max on a couple times a year for years. I'd see him at every UFC fight I went to. He would talk to anybody anytime. Same with Christian McCaffrey. You come up and talk to Christian McCaffrey. You'll talk your ear off.

And I think that's just a relatability that matters. And think about this. And I'm going to talk about this on my podcast is that McCaffrey, you know, comes from, I don't want to say NFL royalty, but Ed was a really good NFL player, went to Stanford. Like Christian, it would, Max to me represents the NFL. And honestly, kind of society, didn't go to a school that most people have heard about, was not draft. He wasn't even the first defensive end, his own team took in that draft.

They took Cleland Farrell in the, you know, top five. And when the dust settles, he just keeps grinding. He had issues off the field. Fix that. Became a great husband. Became a focused guy. Started lapping people. And as he got older, started taking people out in the dust because that's the NFL.

Came from a school that wasn't Alabama or USC. Then all of a sudden you look up, the guys made nine Pro Bowls and $200 million. Kaleel Mack just made eight. I Googled it yesterday. I'm like, how much money is this guy? I made. But at the end of next year, he'll have made $220 million. Played at Buffalo. And he's still great. He's in, he looks incredible. The last year, if it wouldn't have been for the elbow injury, probably it's 10 sacks. So it's like the NFL is full of guys that, yes, you're going to get, you know, you're paid Manning from the SEC number one pick. But you're also going to get a guy that was a one-year starter that's drafted in the sixth round, become your greatest quarterback of all time. You know, Joe Montana forever. He was a third round pick who's, six foot one. You know, it's like guys come in all shapes and sizes. They come all different

paths. And football, it's not like some guys have early good starts. Like, check in after four or five years because the NFL year in, year out to be a really good player, especially in the trenches or a quarterback or a linebacker. It is, and the other thing, I just think there's a nature of the sport, whether it's high school, college or the NFL, even with NIO, you're still getting yelled at at practice. There's a nature, your teammates are yelling at. you there's a humility that just comes along with being criticized by your peers and by your bosses every single day. I just think happens less and less all over, you could argue, society.

I think that helps these NFL guys. They just feel very relatable when you see them in social settings with just normal everyday people that they can interact. I'd say most of them pretty easily. Well, that's why people are so down on Kyler Murray is he's such an outlier where you're not sure he loves the sport. that's so rare in football. That's very common in the NBA

where guys at 4 o'clock call up and say, I got to, my ankle hurts. You know, I took a nap. My ankle hurts. And I'm not saying they're lying, but it's just like you don't play through certain things. So anyway, that's why to me, Kyler,

like I wouldn't be in that business. And if you are in the business, whoever does sign them, it shows that that team's pretty desperate, you know, pretty desperate. Today's show is brought to you by our presenting sponsor American beverage. If you think about some of the most iconic drinks in the country, the ones you grab at a barbecue, the ones you raise to celebrate your team that have been part of your story for decades, Coke, Dr. Pepper, Pepsi, there's something people don't always think about. The companies behind those brands are still making their drinks right here in the U.S. While there's a lot of talk about bringing manufacturing back, America's beverage companies never left. They're American companies making American products with American workers in America's hometown. So 275. thousand men and women across all 50 states, real jobs, good paying jobs, the kind of jobs you

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Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. 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.

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I actually said I would have called the Raiders with a number with a number three pick and offered like three number ones to get Fernando Mendoza because I think he's the opposite of Kyler Murray. I think there's a stink around the franchise that it's just, you know, it's, you know, like when Tim Tebow was in Denver. and he won a playoff game, he was wildly popular. They didn't bring in an average quarterback to replace him. They went Peyton Manning because they knew that he had a religious connection with fans.

He'd won a playoff game. He was wildly popular merchandise. And I feel like to replace Kyler, like Ty Simpson's like, you know, you're not going to have any issues coming from Kalen Dabor and Nick Saban. It's a big football program, Mendoza. I mean, Ty Simpson, I also think, like I think one of the more. more interesting players in the first round to actually tie simpson because i think he probably grades out at about 35 or 40 but if you're arizona and you have the third pick and you're like okay

we can get uh now noa the offensive lineman from miami or we could trade down several times and like 15 to 18 draft tie simpson and get another third fourth fifth what would you do if you're arizona or would you just take the offensive lineman from miami we're on your trade proposal i i i think SpyTech would just have to say no, even if you go, well, Arizona could have the number one pick the following year. It's almost like the bird in the hand. You know, the Raiders have been, they haven't won a playoff game in 23 years.

They've only been twice. I think him and Brady were at that in the Miami National Championship game and saw him play well. So I think that was, I'm sure they got inquiries. Remember two years ago, everyone wanted Drake May and number three in Elliott, Wolf stayed pretty. He's like, no, we're just not interested. the Giants, some of these reports of what they were offered.

These are one of those words, yeah, we'll call you back. We've got to have a meeting on this. But, you know, you got to say no. I'm not saying they, I'm sure haven't had some meetings. To me, I'm never a guy, like the Ty Simpson types. I would put Mack Jones in this world. You know, Kenny Pickett coming out of college. I can't take those type guys in the first round.

Like, I'm not a, I take, I have, like, I understand taking the swings even when they blow up in your face on Anthony Richardson. or what the 49ers did with Tray Lance. But sometimes that looks the worst possible, right? Anthony, it couldn't have gone much worse. Trey Lance was a disaster. But I get it. To me, Ty Simpson, I like, there's a physical kind of, you know, yeah, there's just, you have to check some boxes for me to pull the trigger.

One year starter, he did have a good stretch and then he got a little banged up. Well, it's like, you don't think a guy's going to get banged up in the pros? he's not the biggest guy all counts he's a high level guy to me historically got those guys went like after pick 50 yeah and I know things have changed but like I'm old enough to remember when guys like Derek Carr and Jimmy Garoppolo

went in the second round so it's like there's no way he is great at as high as these offensive linemen and defensive linemen so I don't think you're going to be able to trade down that's this draft I mean some of the best you could argue the best two players after the quarterback they might even be graded as better players, but the quarterback's value so high

would be the Notre Dame running back, Jeremiah Love, and Caleb Downs. But usually people don't take safeties and running backs at like two or three. I think there's a chance, Colin. I mean, I claimed I was going to watch the combine, then all of a sudden I found myself, especially the running backs.

Certain positions are a little more intriguing. He gave this interview after. They asked him, hey, could you do some receiving drills? because at Notre Dame, they don't throw it. It's not like they're running the Shanahan McVay offense. And he could have easily after he ran a 4-3-5 said, guys, I'm done. Everyone would have understood. He did every running back drill.

And then they asked him, hey, these guys want to see you catch it. No problem. It's like, geez, I think the Titans at 4 could take Jeremiah Love. I wouldn't even overthinking. Get this star running back. He's like a Bejan Robinson McCaffrey type. Put him right with your young quarterback. You have his defensive tough head coach.

Like I was like, whoa. The Caleb Downs thing, there have been some rumors about the knee. I haven't heard anything. But like both those two guys are going to be good NFL players. The most, you know, Arvel Reese people think is a freak athletically. But my take is right now he's projecting at certain positions. David Bailey at Texas Tech is a plug and play rush end. He's not a Bosa.

He's probably not Khalil Mack as a prospect. He's not Aiden Hutchison. But he's good. He's a starter day one for anybody in the league. He's a really nice player. Stanford at Texas. tech, good player. He already has, he is a edge rusher. He's the best edge rusher in the draft. Arvel Reese is an amazing athlete, but he needs the right coach to make it work. Robert Sala,

at four, I trust with Arvel Reese. He could say he could be a little Warner, a little bosa. I don't trust Aaron Glenn to find his way to work. I'm not asking that guy to turn a project into a great player. So my take, a fascinating picket number two is, does Aaron Glenn have any smoke in the building because I'm telling you he's going get me that guy and it's like the ownership has got to be sitting there thinking how much power are we going to give Aaron Glenn like at the end of last year John it had a Freddie Kitchens feel like David Cully where you're like wow this is not a head coach so I think the number two pick with the Jets is fascinating because I would just go get the certain thing I would get a Caleb Downs I'd get a David Bailey the offensive lineman who may be a

a great guard better than it. He's not a left tackle. He's a right tackler and an interior lineman. Arvel Reese to the Jets feels like trouble. I think the Jets are a year away from people starting doing some Eli Manning to the Chargers in 04, some of these quarterbacks going, I'm not going there. If Sam has another good year, you go, no chance. We haven't seen that in a while, but they got that written all over them.

Because the one thing, this is where Mark Davis deserves credit, branding with Brady, letting him get in with. these two billionaires. They have the number one pick, but they, SpyTech's a high level guy, but they don't feel like a number one pick organization because you, you know, Tom, that name, like he brings them credibility. The Jets, to me,

feel like, as bad as it gets. You know, they got a coach who said, he said at the Combine, calling plays was a superpower. It's like, well, then why didn't you do that last year? You hired a defensive coordinator that you didn't even know that you fired in the middle of the year. I think the Jets, they

franchise tagged, Brise Hall is a good player Franchise tagging Brise Hall I have a theory too on franchise tags like in this day and age with the size of the cap

if you get to the spot where you have to franchise tag a player I'll give the Falcons a little bit of a pass because they're new administration but if you've been there with the guy you know Jerry like

you know in October November like are you going to give this guy extension just get it done you should not be in franchise tag situations or some something you should try to avoid at all costs because you either know you want to extend this guy a big picture or it's like let's move on from. But to extend a running back, who again,

I'm not anti-Breece Hall, but I was like, you're the Jets. Like, what are we doing? That one to me kind of symbolizes like this organization is, you know, sometimes a narrative takes on a life of its own. I think the Jets have, well, this stuff is truly self-inflicted and brought upon like, you know, they deserve what everyone's saying about them. Yeah, I mean, Breece Hall, there's data out there not to sign a running back to a second contract. So I think Bruce Hall's a good player. I don't think he had a huge market. I just don't think he did.

So my take was sit him down and be like, we like you, we'll give you a reasonable contract. Yeah, I just. Look at John Schneider. He drafts Kenneth Walker high in the second round. He was like pick 40 or 41. The guy has an incredible second half to the season, leads him. I mean, he's a huge reason they beat the Rams. Absolutely.

He was obviously won the Super Bowl MVP, but he was dominant in that game. But yeah, we're not franchise tag. And you see you, Godspeed. Good luck to you. That's kind of the NFL. I mean, that's what you do. So it's like, hey, Brice, we appreciate everything you've done.

You're a former second round pick here. You're a good talented player. Probably have success somewhere else, but we're not giving you, I don't even know what the franchise tag is for running back, 12, 13 million. I was like, what are you doing? You're not a running back team.

Like, you have so many other needs, so many other issues. It made that that to me was a pretty big, scratch where the Falcons, I can understand, it's like, well, is Kyle Pitts, who's never really worked for people till last year. If I'm Stefansky, he's like, let's see if he works for me. Like, I did understand that move. Like, instead of giving him like 50, 60 million dollars guarantee, because he would have got a lot of money on the open market. Let's just play this out for a year.

If it's not going well, maybe we could trade him at the middle of the year. And if it does, we'll extend him in the middle of the season. John Middlecough, former NFL scout. So, yeah, free agency begins in earnest on Wednesday. A good 45 minutes of chat today, bud. Fun time of year. The volume. Thanks so much for listening.

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