The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 2 - NFL Power Rankings

Episode Date: March 19, 2024

Colin brings you a special NFL Power Ranking edition of Herd Hierarchy With the NFL draft coming up, Colin looks at draft possibilities   Guest Nick WrightSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Nick Wright in five minutes. So, J-Mack, we do over the course of the non-football season, about five times we give you a herd hierarchy. We gave one when the coaching staffs all changed. Now we give you one with the free agencies all done. Hollywood Brown today goes to the Chiefs, is kind of what they do. They've got Rishi Rice, Kelsey.

They roll the dice in a juju, Smith, Schuster, Hollywood Brown, Lederious Tony. It's kind of their business model now. You know, they can't be great everywhere. The young defense allows them to go pay for an occasional receiver. Some hit, some don't. But now I'm going to give you a herd hierarchy based on all the moves. I've got to tell you, I do believe the last three years I felt the AFC is significantly better than the NFC.

I do not feel that way. think Detroit, Minnesota, Green Bay, and the Rams have tremendous, tremendous coaches and young talent. So the front offices in the NFC have had three and four years in a row. Detroit's hit, Green Bay's hit, Rams hit on a lot of good players. And so I think I feel they're also going to land some of the quarterbacks, Washington, Chicago, we think Minnesota is going to move up. So I'm just telling you, I think the NFC, and this is what happens, for years.

the NFC was better. The AFC had really bad teams, and they hit on several great quarterbacks. C.J. Stroud and a Trevor Lawrence and a Patrick Manout, Kansas said he's always been good. But Buffalo then gets to Josh Allen, and all of a sudden, the best quarterbacks are almost all to the AFC. Can I ask, how much did you factor in, A, the quarterback of the Jets coming off the Achilles, and B, the quarterback of the Falcons coming off in Achilles, and C, did you put Caleb Williams into discussion since he's going to the Bears? you're going to watch right now. All right.

You ready to go? Here we go. Here's our herd hierarchy post-reachings. Heard hierarchy. Time is now. Let's go. The top 10 NFL teams, according to college. Number 10.

I'm calling my shot Minnesota Vikings. Just go look at their coach and their offensive weapons. Number one receiver, number two receiver, tight end, running back, left tackle, O-line, top 12. I think Kevin O'Connell, the tall Sean McVeigh, is the best coach in the league that nobody talks about. I like them. They saved money, getting off Kirk Cousins, coming off the surgery.

They bolstered their pass rush with those savings. They did like the Houston Texans did last year. They quietly made their defense better with a lot of B-to-B-B-plus moves, Vikings at 10. Number nine. The Rams, I don't know how you replace Aaron Donald. If Aaron's coming back, I probably have them at five or six because I love their young players. They did bolster their interior O-line, and they bolstered their back-end defense. and I think Stafford and McVeigh, outside of Reading Mahomes,

you're talking offensive coach and quarterback. Stafford McVeigh may be number two in the league, but I don't know if you can replace Aaron Donald. He is the first, second, or third best defensive player I've ever seen. He had a better pass rush rate last year being double-team than everybody else had single team. That's how good he was. Number eight. The Buffalo Bills, really pulling back.

Now, they were better. Joe Brady took over as the OC, and they went six and one after Brady. replaced Dorsey, Ken Dorsey. But too many losses for me. White, the cornerback, Leonard Floyd, Gabe Davis, Mitch Morse, and leaders on the back end defensively. So I don't think they'll be bad.

Josh Allen will guarantee you win games. But I said, your window to beat the Chiefs may have been this year. You got him at home. Kansas City was young. Didn't have a defined number one receiver. I think Buffalo has hit their ceiling. They'll be good, not special going forward. Number seven.

Cleveland. But listen, the Deshawn Watson contract has some limitations. You know, I kind of feel like they are what they are. They could maybe win a weaker evasion, but I just don't think they'll be as good as Baltimore. I don't think they'll be, you know, I think because I don't know what Joe Burrell's going to look like, I'm going to put them in at number seven. I do think defensively, especially at home last year, they were special. They've added now Jerry Judy, the wide receiver along with Cooper.

And I love Stefansky. So I'll put him at seven, but a bit of a mystery. Number six. The Ravens, again, a slight pullback. They've lost multiple offensive linemen and Patrick Queen, the linebacker. They'll be good. They got Derek Henry. But again, the offensive line for Lamar Jackson, the run game is so crucial.

They're very well-run, so I don't think they'll be a huge drop-off. But multiple offensive linemen gone, your young athletic linebacker gone. I think they're good. I don't know. after that playoff performance, I don't know with these losses how great they are. I know they'll be good.

Number five. I don't know what to do with the Philadelphia Eagles, but new information, new opinion. I love the Sequin Barclay move. I think he's arguably the first or second back in the league to Christian McCaffrey. I don't know, like Aaron Donald, I don't know what you do when you lose Jason Kelsey.

The offensive line will not be as good, although it's good at the tackle spots. They've got two star receivers, always good at tight end. Now a star running back, I like Jalen Hurstststst, rebound. They have two new coordinators. You know, if you'd ask me three months ago, I don't know how I feel, but I think Saquan Barkley matters. They also went and upgraded their defense by moving away. They saved some money. Bryce Huff, I think, is a real help on the defensive end. So I put Philadelphia, a team that like Baltimore, I know they'll be fine. Will they be really fine?

I put them at five. Number four. The Packers. I love their young talent. I really do. I think they're really special. I think Jordan loves last eight, nine games. Go watch him. I thought he was spectacular. Matt Lefleur finally now, he's got his team. Aaron Rogers' contract off the books. They have 11 picks, the most picks in the entire draft.

So, and they have a history of hitting on draft picks. They don't miss a lot of their early picks. Now that Jordan loves a hit, they don't miss on their top picks. I think they're really good. I think they're only getting better. They move Boktiari. Aaron's now out the building for over a year. They've got it oiled up.

I watched them go and dominate Dallas. I watched them go toe to toe with San Francisco. I like them. Number three. But not quite as much as Detroit because Detroit's best players are older than Green Bayes. They're more established. Penae Sewell, Amaran St. Brown. A lot of Green Bay's best players are kids.

They addressed their weakness in free agency, and they went and got a corner in Carlton Davis, who I've liked for a long time. So I think Detroit, if they can get corner plugged up a little bit, I think it's a great front office. Gough is more than capable to me a top 10 quarterback lions at three. Number two. Listen, San Francisco's roster is still really, really good. I think there's limitations with Brock Purdy. But I, you know, they went out.

They got to find a defensive coordinator. But what happens when I like the GM and I like the coach and I like the roster? Now, I think it's getting old. I think it's arguable They have peaked And they're going to have to have a strong draft And I think if you ever had to pay Brock Purdy It would feel different

But God, you start writing down Their seven or eight best players If I like Detroit Why wouldn't I like San Francisco? They have players like Detroit Except they're like four and five years old We're already established So I think I'm going to put them at number two

Number one The Chiefs, the salary cap increase From the NFL allowed them to sign Drew Trankel Is going to stay there and Chris Jones. Now, we still don't know what we're going to do with Sneed at Corner, but that McDuffie's a great corner.

So I thought the winner, when the NFL gave everybody another $30 million, I thought the winner was the Chiefs, because they didn't have to move off two of their best defensive players. And they have a way of making wide receiver eventually work in the postseason, even if they don't really have anybody behind Rishi Rice that I trust. So, again, it's, it's, I don't know what to do with Philadelphia. And I do think Buffalo and Baltimore feel like this was the year to beat Young Kansas City. This was the year.

And Baltimore had a squirly game plan in the playoffs, and Buffalo butchered it at home in the playoffs. So let's bring in Nick Wright. Co-hosts first things first. First of all, J. Mac, anything bother you much before I get to Nick? Yeah, well, the Bengals have the sixth best Super Bowl odds, and they're not in your top ten. Okay, okay. And the Cowboys have the eighth best of the ball. I'm done with Dallas.

Okay, Nick, he said Bengals count. Well, give me something that bothered you. All right, well, after all last year, your herd hierarchy was like a college student who aced everything until the final and then just bombed it. Because it was so good consistently like 10 through 3, pardon me. And then your refusal will put the chiefs at the top, ruined it. Now you've gone the other way where the top is great. You ace the final. you know if you passed the class because every other assignment was amiss.

So I agree with J. Mack that Cincinnati's got to be on there. Also, what is the argument for having Philadelphia, forget five, ahead of Dallas? I understand Dallas had a terrible three-hour afternoon in January. The Eagles had a terrible two-month stretch and lost their offensive leader and defensive. leader and their solution to having one of the three worst defenses in the entire league last year was adding a running back. So I don't understand the love for Philadelphia, and I would say I don't understand the love for Minnesota, because what you're telling me is you think Caleb Williams and the Bears are going to finish last in the NFC North. I totally disagree with that, but that's fine.

I didn't get the Minnesota thing, and then I was reminded that Minnesota signed one of your first true loves and Sam Darnold. And so, of course, you're going to be the only person in America that is buying the Vikings right now. But listen, at least you got the Chiefs right at the top for the first time in, you know, a summer solstice. Well, hopefully the professor takes into consideration that I was an improving student, and I was really good on my final, even though I butchered the rest of the curriculum.

So, you know, it was interesting. I said this. You got to be fair. And I have always questioned Chicago Bears' ability to get offense right. I don't question defense. That's their culture, like Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh's missed on a billion quarterbacks. They got Bradshaw and Big Ben.

They're always good defensively. But I looked at the Bears. And Ryan Poles, the Claypool and Velas Jones draft picks, I was kind of out on him. I'm like, this isn't working. But I have new information. Shane Waldron, D'Andre Swift, Keenan Allen, Gerald Everett. By the way, Poles is a former offensive line. and I think he's got both tackles right.

And my take earlier today was new information, new opinion. This offense, if Caleb doesn't work, this is on Caleb. This is a really nice set of, this is the best set of offensive pieces. The Chicago Bears have had that I can remember. I think more talented potentially than the Jay Cutler years. So my opinion on the Bears is, this is a pretty good. This, I mean, this is better than C.J. Stroud had it. It's much better than Bryce Young had.

You want right? I agree with everything you're saying. What people have to remind themselves is the Bears are getting to draft Caleb Williams number one because the Panthers were terrible, not the Bears were terrible. The Bears were bad, but not awful. They won seven games. So this is why I'm so high on the Bears. Even if you don't think Caleb, and I think you probably do think Caleb is a generational

prospect. as I do. But if the audience thinks he's just your average number one overall pick, those guys are worth about three wins as a rookie. Well, that's usually how teams go from 2 and 14 or 2 and 15 to 5 or 6 wins. He's walking into a 7-win team. So if he's worth your traditional 2 or 3 wins, you're a playoff team. And what people also have to keep in mind is the bears are going to draft Caleb 1 and then at 9.

They are either going to take Roma Dunes A. Yeah. Brock Bowers, the second best tackle in the class or the best or second best defensive player of any position in the class. And so they are going to add an immediate impact starter along with Caleb. So I really like where the bears are. and I've never really known how to weigh the fact that the Chicago Bears didn't develop quarterbacks in the 70s, 80s, 90s, and 2000s against where they are right now. It always feels weird to me like things that happened well before Caleb Williams was born

is a reason he shouldn't want to go to that franchise. Yeah, I think we both agree. This is a much bitter situation for Caleb than it was for Justin Fields three years ago. and Caleb, to me, is a much better quarterback prospect than Justin Field. And there's no great defense in that division, to be honest. You're not going into the AFC North. Detroit, Green Bay, and Minnesota are not unique or special defenses. You're not going up against the wall every Sunday.

If I can just add to that two quick points. One is, and you guys can maybe pull it up later in the show, we obviously don't know the Bears' schedule, but we know their opponents. We don't know the order, but we know who they're playing. Right. If you go through it, Colin, you're going to count. 10 games against defenses that you believe are bad or mediocre and two games all year against excellent defenses the Niners and the Patriots and that's it you

then add to it people are saying oh Caleb's not gonna be able to do what C.J. Stroud did well I don't know if he will or he won't but he won't have to CJ had to take a three-win team to the playoffs CJ had to add half a dozen wins Caleb needs to add three three wins for the Bears to be firmly a playoff team in the NFC, and I fully expect him to do it, especially if he gets two games against Sam Darnold and those Vikings. My goodness, start off two and oh, my guy.

I know. Maybe it's the coach, a little Sam Darnold, I admit. So I saw a story I thought it was so weird. Todd Haley, former Kansas City guy, right, comes out and says, man, my own buddy. Yeah. Man, if I was a defensive coordinator, I wouldn't want to face this combo of

Russell Wilson, Justin Fields. And my take is, you won't have to, because Russell is the number one quarterback, and unless he goes on a three-game skid, Justin's not playing much. I just, I would not have picked this if I was Justin Fields if I had multiple options, which one reporter claims is true. I have no idea to think he's not being honest. I don't think this job is up for grabs. I think it's Russell Wilson's, and he's got a powerful agent, a pedigree to Super Bowls,

endorsements. What do you make of the Justin's? Fields landing in Pittsburgh, platooning potentially with Russell Wilson. Well, with respect to my old drinking buddy, Todd Haley, who I like and miss, and Todd, if you're watching, give me a call, it's been too long. This is a bad take by Todd. That's fine.

He's had some hits and misses. I don't think it's going to be a platoon. But I also think what you're saying is wrong as well. This is a great spot for Justin Fields because Russell Wilson is not good anymore. I don't know why folks still want, they're like, man, somebody put out a highlight, a package of Russell Wilson. They're like, this is what the Steelers are getting. And the second clip in the highlight, you know who missed a tackle on Russell Wilson?

Gerard Mayo, who's now the coach of the Patriots. Yes, once upon a time, Russell was dynamic. So I expect Russell to be the week one starter, and I expect Justin to be the week's seven or eight starter and the start of the rest of the way. And that is not so much because I think Justin is a great player. I think he does have a lot of potential and we'll see if he can finally harness it on a consistent basis.

But I know what Russell Wilson is right now, and I think Russell Wilson is a quarterback who will be benched by the Pittsburgh Steelers. That's a good take. I like that. All right, finally. It's obvious. Yeah. Michael Jordan didn't make every teammate better. Magic Johnson did.

And that's indisputable. There are players, and I think LeBron falls into that. And that's not to say that Michael's not great. But there are players. Kobe Bryant didn't make every teammate better. He made Kobe better. Isaiah Thomas did. Right.

And so one of the things that LeBron is such a profound score that you forget, that he's made quirky, erratic, inconsistent guards excellent. Kyrie Irving, before he got there, a lot of people thought, nobody liked him, and he was a bust. He couldn't stay healthy. He became a star in the league. J.R. Smith got benched by the Knicks. Went to Cleveland for good years. Austin Reeves is untrafted.

DeAngelo Russell has always been gifted, but somebody that's considered, as a former GM told me, just kind of a squirrely guy. You don't know what you're getting night tonight. Enigmatic, sure. So he gets benched in December. and obviously LeBron was frustrated with him. Since he's reemerged as a starter, 22 and 7, a legitimate number 3,

we know they already match up size-wise with Denver, Austin Reeves now can be pushed to the 4, which is what he truly is. He's a good 4 on a conference championship team. And I said, LeBron doesn't get credit for this. Because we glom on to, oh, he joined D. Wade. No, he saved Kyrie. he saved JR.

He's made Austin Reeves in Los Angeles beloved. And I watched Deelow and I think people had given up on DeLo in the league. People in Minnesota. People get warriors. So I've got something on this that I think you'll like, Colin. And listen, I still have my concerns about Deelow in the playoffs because his career in the playoffs is not great. His defense and his offense takes a hit.

But LeBron, I think being a teammate of, LeBron James is the best thing for everyone on the team except for the third best player. And here's what I mean. So if you look at LeBron stops, people will be like, ah, Kevin Love was minimized, Chris Bosch was minimized. And it's because if LeBron is handling your offense, here is how it will work. He will make sure the second best guy, whether it's Kyrie, D-Rate, D-Wrae, Wade or in this case Anthony Davis gets their opportunities.

And then do you know who the third best guy on every LeBron James team is every time? The open man or the hot hand. And that's why Kyle Corver or J.R. or Mike Miller or whomever or whomever can have career years or reemerge as big time players. And so there is a hierarchy that exists within most teams that does not exist within LeBron teams, which is we know the best guy is, we know the second best guy is. And then that third guy can change on a night to night, week to week, a series-to-series basis.

And so it's not great if you're an established All-Star, that's the third best player on a LeBron team. Your numbers are going to go down. But that's because guys four through nine might be that third best guy on any given night. And so if you look back at the 2020 Lakers, they had LeBron AD and then a bunch of guys who any given night could be that player. Last year in the playoffs, you had LeBron A.D., then it's like, my God, it's Lonnie Walker tonight.

It's Ruey tonight. It's Ruey tonight. It rotated. And right now, D.L.O. is taking advantage of that. I don't think it means it's D.L.O. from this moment forward, but I think that's what it is. But there is not a, you're the third best player, so you have to get the third most looks. That's never been how LeBron operates. And I think that it, you know, it may be hurt Bosch and love a bit, but everyone else has benefited from it.

That was thoughtful. You put some time into that. Probably stronger than my Philadelphia at five hurt hierarchy. I mean, come on. Colin, listen, man, you got a lot going on. I understand. But right after you debut a take, if you're first. first justification of it is, I don't know what to do with this team.

Then the answer probably is not what you did with them. That's the devil on your shoulders saying this ain't the right place for Philadelphia at five, but that's all right. Good seeing you, buddy. Nick Wright, first things first. You too. Yeah. What do you do with Philadelphia?

Because there's so much I like about the organization. What do I do with Philadelphia? I move out of Philadelphia. I moved here to L.A. from Philadelphia. I don't know. TBD. I'd probably have them in the 90. Nine to 12 range.

Okay. I think it's a travesty with the Bengals. Giants rookie quarterback or giants amass. They look at Philadelphia, Washington rookie quarterback. Dallas didn't do anything in free agency. Hold up, hold up. I just thought of another team. You keep saying rookie quarterback.

We're the Houston Texans on your list. I've said, awesome offseason. Tougher schedule, I have them at 11. So where the Bengals are the Bengals? 12. 12. Dallas 13. You out on Glass Joe Burrow, your guy?

No, I have, I had Houston right outside, Cincinnati right outside, and then Dallas. I think I said before. I think Anthony Richardson's going to play, so the culture are going to be better. I also think Trevor Lawrence will be healthy. Jacksonville will be better. It's not that Houston will be worse. I just don't think they'll win as many games. I think the division is going to get noticeably better. That's my take. Tennessee's a mess right now. Well, we know that. I just, listen, I'm not a Texans fan. I know you got a big Texans guy on the staff. They had one, if you looked at just free agency, I would say they've had a top five they've done a top five job plugging minor holes.

Remember, they faced the Ravens in the playoffs, and I think in the first half it was a game. The juggernaut. I thought my herd hierarchy. I thought the takeaway was, my takeaway was the NFC now dominates the top five and six except for Kansas City. I love Green Bay,

San Francisco, Detroit, Green Bay talent, I think is substantial. All right, let's just be clear. Jordan Love had half a season that was great. You're all gaga. He had about nine games, 10 games. Oh, right, nine? That's half the season. season, man. Come on. And he wasn't just okay. He was pretty special.

Then he against San Francisco, he was special. Then the playoffs against Dallas, he was special. Again, I... Four? That's a little rich from my blood. Come on. I just, I think by five, I know the first four I like. By five, like, I don't know. Aaron Donald. You can't replace him. I think Sam Donald's going to have a Baker year. Buffalo and Baltimore do not feel as good today. I don't know what to do with Cleveland other than they got a lot of good players. I can't believe Nick didn't see this. How are the Vikings at 10?

They don't have a quarterback. The Chargers have Jim Harbaugh and Justin Herbert. They automatically should be ahead of the Viking, like 100%. Well, they lost all their receivers. So what? Well, we mean, so what? It's a receiver league. Receivers are replaceable into the quarterback and coach.

Chargers, I think, will be a much better team. But they don't have any receivers. They lost their best tight end, both their best receivers. And their first round picket receiver last year looks like a bust. So they're going to have to hit on two receivers in the draft, and they can't spend all their draft capital on receivers because they need a center, a right tackle, a defensive tackle, a corner, a safety,

hold on. A tight end. I know you didn't get a lot of sleep last night, but I just noticed there's three teams from the NFC North in your top 10. How? I think it's going to be next year. That's crazy, Tom. I think it will be the best offensive division in football.

I think Chicago, Minnesota, Green Bay, Detroit will all be exceptional on offense. exceptional. And I have a feeling that the AFC North, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and Cleveland will be exceptional on defense. But I think the NFC North is going to... You have three offensive coaches. You have a couple of really good old lines. Just go offensively as a game. Go to the NFC North and build a pro-bowl offense

on the NFC North singularly. Look how many good players they have. A lot of them come from the Lions. You just take their offensive line and play. Well, Justin Jefferson is your starting star receiver. The Vikings are a whiff. Come on, let's just cross the Red X. Like, it's going to be on your bracket Thursday.

Just put an X on the Vikings. I'm sorry. And I know Sanchez is in with the Vikings. No, we can't put the Vikings tent. They don't have a quarterback, Colin. They have one. An undervalued one. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app.

Pauli Fusco here with Tony Fusco. You know, as the host of the number one rated Pauly and Tony Fusco show, we get tons and tons of fan mail every day. Piles of it. In fact, Tony, why don't you open up one of those letters right now and read what's inside? Yeah, listen to this. Dear Paulie and Tony, your sports takes are the dumbest and most terrible... Wait, not that one. Open this other one. Dear Paulie and Tony, you suck more than anyone.

Not that one. Wait, try this one. Dear Paulie and Tony, you guys are the absolute best. There you go. At coming up with the stupidest takes possible. You know what those clowns say. Just listen to the Pauli and Tony Fusco show on the IHot Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

Yeah. 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball. 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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So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-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 a 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 all day, but just so you all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed cracks.

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All right, welcome back. It's not waste any time. J-Mack with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the Herd Line News. Start with the NBA. The Celtics. No Jason Tatum last night did not matter against the hapless Pistons. Jalen Brown, 31 points. Derek White with the trip dub, 2210 and 10. Seltics just keep on motoring. Derek White's pretty good player.

I would say the Celtics are more likely to go to the finals than the nuggets are to go to the finals. The West just has more landmines. Yeah, I think that's fair. You know, I was talking to somebody who, loves the NBA last night. And he said the Eastern Conference is kind of boring. Well, and Bede went down. Yeah, and so it's like there really is no challenge. There's no challenge for the Celtics. I mean, their record is, I mean,

what are they like, 35 and 6 against the East? Probably, but let's just remember, Janus is still one of the best players in the league. He single handily can wreck teams. I don't think they match up terribly well. I don't think they're athletic enough on the wings to beat Boston.

I think Milwaukee's a bad matchup. They just don't match up with Boston. The Middleton stuff. We don't know what's going on there. I think Boston's better, and I think Boston matches up better. Next up, let's go back to the NFL. We haven't talked about the Chicago Bears this hour,

so we've got a crowbar in a mention. Keenan Allen, traded to the Bears. I really like this move a lot. This offense is going to be good. He said he's excited about a fresh start. So he's a lot of potential in Chicago's offense. We can be really special. Like you said, you got weapons.

You got guys who can beat man all over the field. So double team and one guy is going to be, cost me for the defense and I think we can you know use that as our advantage and um like having a running back that can come out of the backfield make plays and beat one-on-ones that's that's uh it's kind of big so when you start to see you know the roster shaping up you know the way it is I think I think we're gonna have a good shot yeah and you know what's interesting is they didn't break the bank with any of these guests like the Andre swift Gerald Everett Keenan Allen are nice players uh you know keenan was pretty expensive but keenan's only 31 and he's coming off his best year but you usually

there's a team, Jacksonville, New England that just breaks the bank and just spends. And Chicago really made really nice, specific upgrades. They've got a one, let's get a possession receiver. Let's get a running back with good hands. Let's get a veteran tight end with Cole

Commit willing to block. Like, they went out and got specific. I mean, I like Darnel Mooney, but I'd take Keenan Allen a much bigger target than I would Darnel Mooney. So I don't think they lost, I mean, I, again, I think their gains are much better than their subtractions.

The only issue here, it's extremely difficult to make a quantum leap when you've got a new OC, new DC, new quarterback. It's not, so I'm excited for the Bears, but like, let's be realistic, Chicago. Six, maybe seven wins would be, you take that and then you build on it for the following. Well, yeah, Justin Fields in his third year won seven. I think if Caleb Williams won seven as a rookie, seven to eight, you'd have to feel great. He's got no starts in the NFL. So September could be rocky.

Also, I think the division's better. Detroit brings everybody back, and they're young. Green Bay brings all the key pieces back. And I think, despite what everybody thinks, every year there's a team that we go, wow, go look at Minnesota's free agency and their offensive pieces. They are, they got dudes, they did a really good job. When Kirk left, they did the Texans.

They went and got two or three passers. rushers and linebackers, quietly below the surface. Minnesota's defense got better. And the Texans, people will say, well, Jake, the Texans got a new head coach. They had a rookie quarterback. First time play caller. All that newness, they went to the playoffs. In the tougher AFC.

But that division was a joke. We know that. The Jags pulled back. The Titans are a dumpster fire. I don't even remember who the other team is in that division. But bottom line is the Houston Texans. There you go. The Colts who lost their quarterback.

The Texans, that was like a charm season. I don't see the bears duplicating that, facing the lions twice. Yeah, I mean, I think happiness is based on expectations. If you come in and think Green Bay is good and getting better, Detroit's good and getting better, Minnesota's going to be good. I think seven to eight wins for Caleb, I would take it today. For sure. Now, the question is, does that keep Iberfluse as a head coach?

Maybe when the wins are. I think, yeah, that's exactly right. You can't start one and six, like Denny might be gone. I think it'll be situational. Do they finish strong? Is there some buy-in? He can't start slow and he can't end slow. Remember?

So, like, if he ends losing four straight, he's gone. You're going to say, well, Caleb's excellent, but he's, I mean, he's got to stack his wins. He's got to win some games early and he's got to win some games late. That's not going to matter if he wins five in a row in the middle of the season. If they're bad in September and bad in December, Iber Fluse is done. And then it stinks because then you're like, oh, a new head coach, probably a new system, new everything. and it's like, you know, that's tough on a young quarterback, although it worked out for Trevor Lawrence, right?

They got rid of, what's is Urban Meyer, and they brought in Peterson, and they did make a leap. So we'll see with the Bears. Final story is Russell Wilson. Headed to Pittsburgh for next season. Has that one-year deal for just over a million dollars. With that smallest salary, he thinks the Steelers are set up to win now. It's a blessing, you know, because really for me, you know,

when you think about it, to be released, but then to come here and to know that it's not going to cost very much. And also, too, the best part about it as we get to add more players and do more things. And really, you know, go win. Go win now. And that's our focus. So, you know, it's a cool thing, you know, to be a part of this. All right. I mean, now, Nick Wright thinks he's completely washed. I don't. I think there's limit. I think completely wash is harsh.

But, okay, Dak. He's certainly trending downward. Dak or Russell Wilson? Dax coming off the best season of his NFL Kirk Cousins or Russell Wilson? Kirk's coming off in Achilles. I don't know what he's... I don't know what to make it.

Aaron Rogers or Russell. Ditto Kirk Cousins coming off the Achilles. Okay. So you guys all think he's washed. He's not a top 15 quarterback right now. He's not a top 12. He's around 15. Okay.

All right. Here we go. Where's Brock Purdy? Is he top 12? Look at that laugh. I can't believe it. It's not a laugh. Guy nearly won the Super Bowl.

He had, what, two playoff come from behind victories? He's chopped liver. He's worse than Russell Wilson? Well, you guys, you know, it's funny. Nobody likes Jared Goff. People like Jared Goff. I feel like I defend him every day on the show. For me?

Or just... Everybody. So you think Russell... So Nick thinks he's done. You think he's just average. I would say he's in the 15 to 20 range at the quarterback. I mean, we just talked yesterday that Justin Fields could replace him by... Well, I think C.J. Stroud obviously looks like that special.

I think that's... I rank the quarterbacks in that division. Burrow, Deshawn Watson, Lamar Jackson, Russell Wilson. Go ahead. Burrow, Lamar, Russell, Deshawn. You're not making sense. So you didn't have Burrow and the Bengals in the herd hierarchy.

You just said he's the best quarterback in the division over the MVP. I want to see... Joe Burrow has started slowly in his career. He's coming off a surgery. I didn't have the Jets. I don't have Atlanta and Kirk Cousins. I don't know what I have. have in these quarterbacks that are coming off

major injuries. I have to see it. I would take Russell over Deshawn Watson. Deshawn Watson's got these weird mysteries where he just decided I'm hurt and didn't play and it was like, what? It's too much, too many questions around him. I know what I get with Russell. He'll show up on Sunday

and play. It's funny you mentioned Watson. Somebody texted me, a Browns fan that I'm buddies with. Why do, why does Cleveland have so many quarterbacks? So they add James Winston. They added Tyler Huntley. Yeah.

And they had DTR from UCLA who, like, started a couple games last year. And they have Deshaun Watson. What's going on there? I know. That, I don't. But the thing is, love the coach, love the offensive line, love Miles Garrett, excellent wide receiver. Like, there's so much about Cleveland I like.

They're a top 10 roster, and I love their coach. Nobody carries four quarterbacks. That doesn't happen. So my buddy was speculating, are they looking to get off Deshawn Watson? I'm like, there's no way. Impossible with that contract. way. But something's going on in Cleveland. Why do they have four quarterbacks? And they just added Rable as like a, not a quality control guy, but he's in some capacity,

like an assistant overseeing things. Something weird happening. I don't know what it is. I'm just spitballing. If anybody knows, hit me up. But four quarterbacks calling? And your boy, Deshawn Watson is allegedly number one on the depth chart? All right. That's fair. Good question. Good journalism there. Jay Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lie News.

A mock draft, I actually think is really good coming up. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. 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.

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So Daniel Jeremiah is a former scout for multiple teams. And now he's a charger broadcaster and he works, NFL network. So he came out with the mock draft. Like, I like mock drafts. I always have. Some of them are just not terribly accurate. I know certain things. You know, I text back and forth to people in the league.

There's just certain teams that aren't going to do certain things. This is the best mock draft I've seen. So, first of all, he does not have Bo Nix as a quarterback getting drafted in the first round. So there goes my Bo Nix love. But he's got the Bears taking Caleb, commanders taking Drake May's second pick, Patriots taking Jaden Daniels, Vikings trading up and getting J.J. McCarthy. And then the Raiders getting Michael Pennix at 13. So this is his mock draft. And he's got a lot of different trades in it.

The reason I buy into this, see, he has the Jets, for instance, moving up to get Marvin Harrison, which I think with Garrett Wilson, the Jets are all in right now. If they don't win, the coach gets fired. So you're going to get a coach and a GM, they're going to take a big swing. And, you know, for the Jets to say, you know, we're going to give up most of our draft to get Marvin Harrison because the defense is mostly set and they don't have a number two receiver. I sort of get it. Also, the J.J. McCarthy to the V.

Vikings is a poorly kept secret in the NFL. There's a lot of people that think Kevin O'Connell is fond of J.J. McCarthy and wants to move up. And no, he doesn't want to have to move up to one, two, or three. And his feeling is, with his coaching and those weapons, if J.J. McCarthy is the third or fourth best prospect, he's okay with it. He doesn't need to move up to one, two, or three. And so I buy into the Vikings moving up. J. Mack pushed back this morning. I said, I buy the Jets moving up because that would move them up, the chargers are absolutely, and Daniel Jeremiah does charge your games, the chargers

want to move back because they've got four or five absolute needs, and Harbaugh's college experience gives them a draft advantage the belief is in personnel. So they would love to move back multiple times and have a first, two thirds, three, fours, because they think Harbaugh is going to win the draft because of his acumen and knowledge and personnel proximity in college. So if anybody's going to move up, I don't think the Jets are a bad call here. Well, Jeremiah also knows Joe Douglas,

the Jets' GM, very well. They work together in Baltimore. So if you're into conspiracy theories, you know, Jeremiah knows his buddy. Maybe he wants Marvin Harrison. Listen, if you give Marvin Harrison and Garrett Wilson to a healthy, what's his face? Well, Tyron Smith at left tackle,

there is an argument they don't need to go left tackle until like the third round. It's an incredibly deep tackle draft. And then Brees Lightning in the backfield? You want to go skill position. Breece Hall, Garrett Wilson, Marvin Harrison. That's top five in the league. That's good position. But it's a 40-year-old quarterback off a surgery and it's a bottom 6-0 line. Also facts. Yes. That's accurate. Yeah. So there's a lot of things here. But again, if we show the top 16, I'm sorry to the radio audience. They have the Bears at nine taking another receiver, Rom Adunze. The feeling is Keenan Allen's got two big years left.

You bring in Rome Adunzee from Washington, who's terrific, saw him live, with Keenan Allen, with Gerald Everett, with DJ Moore. Caleb Williams has a bevy of wide receivers, young, old, experienced, rookies. He doesn't have Denver taking a quarterback in the first round. He has Brock Bowers, the Georgia tight end going to Denver, and no quarterback. Yeah. Where's your buddy, Bo Nix on that? He's not in the first round. Very disappointing.

Hopefully we can get Daniel back on the show someday. Maybe not. I don't know. So he doesn't have Bo Nex. He has Pennix in there. I think I saw that last night. Penix to the Raiders at 13. He throws a pretty ball. I don't wish that on Peddix. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and friends.

Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's. Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with

Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

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