The Herd with Colin Cowherd - THE HERD - Hour 1 - Dodgers continue to dominate, new NBA player's poll

Episode Date: April 14, 2026

Colin Cowherd looks at the Dodgers dominant win over the Mets telling fans to stop complaining about LA’s payroll and look at the reason this organization continues to win consistently. He gives his thoughts on the player's poll on which teams can win the NBA titleSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Thanks for making us part of your day. Well, we talked about it yesterday on the show. Metz Dodgers, massive payrolls would meet. Star Studded Series. So what did the Dodgers do? They sent out spot starter Justin Roblensky, and he started two games last year. And Robleski last year, he's starting this year for Blake Snell, who's got some, you know, shoulder fatigue. And so they throw out old Justin, the number six starter.

And he marches through and shuts out the Mets. I mean, the Yankees and the Mets have a combined $700 million in payroll. Neither can hit. Yankees bullpen's atrocious. The Mets just got swept by the A's. They can't get a hit off the Dodgers number six starter, Justin Robleski, a spot starter, meaning a couple times a year they throw them out there for somebody with arm fatigue.

Everybody's so concerned about disparity of payroll. Dodgers' Mets, massive payrolls. Outside of the Dodgers, five of the six top payrolls, can't hit and are 36 and 44. Now the Dodgers, listen, they're good at everything. I mean, their biggest concern right now is Justin Tucker, who they got from the Cubs. And they paid a pretty penny for him.

He's struggling. You know, he's got one home run. Dodgers are still hitting 290 as a team. In fact, the Dodgers' best hitter, this shows you how well run they are and their depth is Andy Pahez, who's known as a defensive outfield. Remember in game seven, remarkable catch collies at the wall against the blue jays he's a defensive outfielder he's

hitting 400 five jacks 20 rb i think that leads major league baseball so he has been offensively shockingly effective and and justin tucker uh kyle tucker excuse me can't hit uh which is about the dodgers only concern right now but it's interesting because there's all this talk as we have this Mets Dodgers series about payroll. Oh, payroll. Well, football has a salary cap. It doesn't make the dumb team smarter. And the Yankees and the Mets aren't very well run. Mets manager may get canned before the end of the month. When you get swept by the A's, Steve Cohen's not going to sit around the owner of the Mets and keep watching this nonsense. They can't hit. They can't do anything. But it's interesting. If you look at the top of the NFL draft,

they have a strict salary cap. Oh, Giants, Jets, Raiders, Cleveland Browns. It's the same old teams. It's the same old teams. So Major League Baseball, the thing about money, it raises expectations. So even if you lose, it's interesting. It's a storyline. But, you know, I've said this.

It's like Hollywood. There's thousands of beautiful, unemployed people in Hollywood. Looks matter, but only if you have talent. and money matters in baseball if the people upstairs know what they're doing i mean look at the yankees right now totally home run dependent can't play station to station baseball don't move runners along the bullpen so far in the season is atrocious they needed aaron judge last night uh in in the night to save them to beat the angels and they're they're okay defensively but don't feel like they have a ton of team speed uh starting pitching at its best will be very very good by june or july uh cole

comes back. But I mean, are they well run? Ask people in New York, they would say no. The Mets and the Yankees combined, despite almost 700 million bucks in payroll of lost 11 of 12, nobody can hit. And the air thing about New York baseball, there's so much negativity. And maybe this is because sports talk radio is big in New York and there's a lot of newspapers. But I mean, the Mets go out and they buy Boba Chet and they spend him a lot of money on Boba Chet, very good player. But the third game, they're booing him. I mean, that's that kind of negativity. you just don't get with the Dodgers or LA media. It's just, it's not as cynical, it's not as critical, it's not as loud, it's not as angry.

So, I mean, last night, Mets, Dodgers, two huge payrolls, one great manager, one great culture, one great front office, the Mets are reeling. Andy Pahez is now suddenly the Dodgers best hitter. Their only issue is Kyle Tucker, who the Cubs moved off of. People said he's not passionate enough. He doesn't care enough. Here's what Dave Roberts said about his struggles. I think we've seen it enough as far as, you know, the last week or whatever.

There's been a lot more kind of chase down below is what I see. I see him as a high ball hitter. And so I guess a little bit just kind of getting him back into his hitting zone. That's kind of what I see. And typically when guys chase, they're trying to do a little bit too much. Yeah, the Mets third, second highest payroll, third worst slugging percentage. Juan Soto's hurt. That doesn't help. Okay, so they pulled the athletic did an anonymous NBA player survey.

So they asked like 160 players to vote 146 players voted. And they listed, oh, which teams can win the title this season. And it was Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Boston, Denver, first four. Totally agree. Then scrappy Detroit, inconsistent Cleveland. banged up Lakers, talented Minnesota, and the Atlanta Hawks. So it's interesting. Where are the New York Knicks?

This is by players. You can't fool players. So it's almost bizarre, right? You got Kat, OG, Josh Hart, Jalen Brunson, Mikhail Bridges, solid veteran coach, they're good at home. That's weird. Why is that? Because if you look at the top teams in the league,

look at their star. SGA, scoring champ. star okay c wendy san antonio denver yokech best player in the world minnesota aunt boston tatem and jaylon brown uh detroit the great kate cunningham i love jalen brunson he's not that list that that's not who he is he's small six two uh he's a defensive liability and he's not super athletic and that's why and i think they're very legitimate and i think it's a good idea that's why the pursuit of yonis for new york a lot of sense is that Jalen Brunson can't be your best player. Remember when Becky Hammond said that? She said small guys outside of Steve Nash don't win titles. She said, you know, Steve Nash,

she listed a bunch of different players. And she said, yeah, they don't win titles. She said, but there's Steph Curry is the exception, but he's the greatest shooter in the history of the planet. And that's the truth with Jalen Brunson. But when you're when you're at a sports Starve City that outside of Aaron Judge doesn't really have a lot of stars, you kind of start talking yourself into good players to really good players being stars. And the NBA players are voting and they don't think Jalen Brunson stacks up with a Wembe or a Yokic or an aunt or an SGA. Luca would obviously, you know, be on that list if he was back, may get back at the end of the first series, probably not. So, and what happens is when you don't have stars, you start reaching.

McHale Bridges, they gave up five first rounders, gave them like 140, 150 million, four or five year deal. That's like a superstar deal at the time. That's a star contract. McHale Bridges is a really good player. It's not a great player. Had a so-so year. So I think a lot of this is you sort of convince yourself if you cover or you watch or you consume teams in New York outside of Aaron, Judge, and Juan Soto when he's healthy, and not a lot of stars in the city. And what the players are telling you in the athletic poll is Jalen Brunson is not a first-tier star. He should be the second best player on your team. I agree.

Small, not hyper-athletic, defensive liability. I love Villanolva guys. I love his kind of smarts. You know, for his size, one of the great small finishers we've had along with Kyrie Irving in a long time. But here's Chris Broussard yesterday on the Knicks, a good team with a very very big. very, very good best player, his thoughts on their postseason. We've looked at this as a disappointing season for the Knicks. Because I guess with the injuries, you know, Detroit kind of came out of nowhere.

Boston, we knew Tatum was out. We expected the Knicks to kind of run away and lead the East, which they haven't done. And I have to say this. I have them as the third team in the East behind Boston and Detroit. And what's interesting for the Knicks and a little concerning is the Pistons are younger and they're only going to be better next year. The Pacers get Halliburton back. The Celtics will have Jason Tatum and Jalen Brown for the entire year.

And I still think Orlando and Cleveland have a ton of talent. So I think it's interesting when you get a players poll. We say it often on this show. You can't fool the players. You can talk all you want. And what the players are telling you, go look at the top teams. The top teams, SGA, then Wembe, then Brown and Tatum, then Yokic, then Kate Cunningham. Okay, that's who the players see.

I can never quite figure out Minnesota. They're going to play Denver again in the playoffs. That's like an annual tradition. I like Denver in that spot. J. Mack, I know that hurts a little as a Knicks fan. But I think we've said this before is the reason we called the Warriors one of the best teams ever wasn't just because of Steph and KD. KD was your best player, most talented. Steph was second best.

Dremon is arguably third or fourth best. and Clay Thompson, who was closer to his prime, was third or fourth best. I always felt about Derek White of the Celtics. When Derek White's your fourth best player, that's a championship team. If he's your third best player, you can win a playoff series. If Brunson's your best player, you're not a finals team in my opinion, even in the beat-up east this year. Interesting. So, first of all, I totally disagree.

Knicks are second in the league in offensive efficiency, Colin, eighth in defensive efficiency. if your offensive defense is top 10, you're a contender. And oh, by the way, the Knicks were plus 900 to win the finals at the start of the season. Nobody's injured. Why is everybody so down on them? I revert to your old take on the players.

Don't let them be GMs. They don't really understand. They want to get their friends, their buddies. I think they're way off on this. I think the players are way off on the... I think on my podcast last night, I said the Knicks are coming out of the East Lax and going to the NBA finals.

I firmly believe that. I think they take down the Celtics. can't defend the three and the Celtics live on the three. And also they're a finesse team and the pistons are a physical team. So actually, if you watch like the Knicks against OKC or Detroit, it's a bad matchup. They get pushed around. Boston, now, Boston is inconsistent. Boston has bad shooting nights and bad halves.

That's why the Knicks last year actually had some success against them. So we're getting close to the playoffs. Nick Wright joining us, I'll give you my five playoff predictions. in the NBA and Nick Wright, top of the hour. 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. Hey, it's Rob Parker and Kelvin Washington from the Odd Couple on Fox Sports Radio.

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Drafts starting in a little more than a week. So ESPN uses an analytical model, a quarterback grading model called Cubase. And they consider everything. They punish one year wonders. So Ty Simpson doesn't do very well. They reward improvement over time. And what they found is Mendoza's career trajectory in the last decade is closest to Joe Burrow. Now Burrow was a higher graded prospect. Burroughs, more athletic, Mendoza's bigger and stronger. They have a ton of common, though, when you think about it. Both were unbelievable their last year in college. Both won the Hysman, both won Natty's. They're pocket-based, although Burrell moves better. Both were transfers, both late bloomers, not dominant the year before they popped in college. Both had 16 touchdown passes

the year before they were drafted. They were just okay. They weren't really on anybody's radar. Both are pocket-based, both highly accurate. Burrough's number one skill is accuracy. Very rarely makes a mistake in the red zone. That's exactly Mendoza's strength, ball placement. In fact, Burrow at LSU, at the time the best conference completed 76% of his throws.

Mendoza in the Big Ten, wins a nattie, in the best conference now in college football, completed 72% both come from humble parents, their family kids. Again, the conference they did it in at the time they did it was the best in college football, humble kids, hardworking, excellent accuracy, tremendous in the red zone. And the other thing they have in common is Burrow, before he was drafted by the Bengals, was already deep diving into Zach Taylor's playbook. And we've seen two different stories or more on Fernando Mendoza before he's drafted by the Raiders is already a mile deep into Clint Kubiak's playbook. And so they're, they're, you know, humble, gracious, great last year, late bloomers, accuracy is the key, Burrow moves better,

Mendoza's bigger, Burroughs the better athlete, I believe. Mendoza, I think, has as good or better arm strength plus Mendoza gained like 12 pounds the last time we seen. at the pro day, so he's gotten bigger and thicker. I don't really see that. I see more Matt Ryan with size and power. That's my comp. It's not Joe Burrow. I always thought Joe Burrow

was a better Tony Romo, and Tony Romo was always underrated. Tony had terrible O lines and was a really good quarterback. Here's Greg CoSell on Mendoza. I think being highly efficient, playing the position being an outstanding ball distributor and an executor of a well-schemed offense is a good thing, Colin. And we've lost the ability to celebrate that because more and more quarterbacks are great athletes than ever before.

But Mendoza, just to me, plays the position the right way. He plays the position the way you have to play it to be consistent. Not to be flashy, not to be on highlight shows, but to play it the right way, snap after snap. after snap. And by the way, that's a trait too. Yeah. And the other thing with Mendoza, and we went through this weird space where size suddenly didn't matter, but you've seen guys get dinged up that are smaller. Two didn't age well. Jalen Hertz is now getting pushbacked. Tyler Murray didn't age particularly well. Mendoza is big. Look at the pictures I show you on TV. That's in a T-shirt and shorts.

6-5. Thick. You know I love Trunkey. big head, big shoulders, big butt, big quarterback, size, Marino, Josh Allen, Justin Herbert, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Andrew Luck, Big Ben, I like my quarterback's big. Jay Mack with the news. No, no, no, no, no, turn on the news. This is the herd line news. I wanted to have some Sir Mixalot jokes there, but I'll hold off. I like big butts and I cannot lie. Let's go to the NFL call. Let's start with the AJ Brown saga because it just won't go away, kind of because the Patriots and Eagles have yet to totally squash it.

Talking ahead of the draft, Patriots VP of player personnel, Elliot Wolfe didn't rule out a move for Brown or anyone else for that matter. Here we go. As far as players on other teams, again, going to keep the door open to anything that we think may improve our roster, whether that's with the player you mentioned or other players. What's interesting, Colin, is, you know, when there's a big story about you or anyone else, you squash it instantly if there's no truth to it.

Hey, hey, I got the evidence here. This is a lie. We're not doing this straight. Neither team has said that's not happening. We're not moving A.J. Brown or we're not interested. And so as a result, everybody's saying, oh, well, the June 1 date when the salary cap matters shift with Brown. I'm starting to believe that it's already a done deal. that maybe he's going to be traded on June 1 and things are agreed to already.

I don't know. Where are you on this? Well, I mean, Howie Roseman as a GM, I don't think he's the best drafter. I think there are other agents that drafts a little better, John Snyder in Seattle. But he's a deal maker. And again, if somebody offered him two ones, I mean, we just saw Jalen Waddle get a first and a third and I think a fifth. Well, then A.J. Brown is worth two ones. So I think, I think, I think A.J. Brown, it depends on the phone call.

And for the record, who did they pick up this weekend? Wicks from Green Bay. So what does that tell you? That's a receiver, 6-1, 6-2, a receiver with size, a big strong, because DeVante Smith is more, he's thinner, doesn't have that kind of intimidating body. So Wicks a little bigger, a little thicker. So is that a little bit of a tell on the A.J. Brown situation? Yeah, and let me add another layer, Colin. I know you have a tinfoil hat nearby.

You like some conspiracy theories. We've got a lot of Jalen Hertz bashing lately in the media. I wonder if maybe somebody who's getting traded or knows the deal's about to be done is starting to leak stuff to make their former quarterback look bad. I don't know. Anything's possible at this stage with the Eagles. But it's clear, Colin, where there's smoke, there's fire, right? You know that something's going on.

Like, has any team been talked about? more this off season than the Eagles? Well, why do you go to Green Bay and make that move? Now, Green Bay is deep at wide receiver. Why do you make that move? Because you know Wix is not as good as A.J. Brown. But it also tells you if you brought him in and he's 60% or 50% of A.J. Brown with Devante Smith and then you draft another wide receiver in your first two to three

picks. That's what it feels like to me. Philadelphia is saying, listen, we brought in somebody who's in the league. We have Devonte Smith will be our one. you know, Wix will be our two or our three, and we may use an early pick to go get another wide receiver. It feels like to me that acquisition, very Howie Roseman, is telling me the right phone call and A.J. Brown gets moved. Yeah. All right, let's move on to Aaron Rogers, Colin. I know we don't love talking about him. However, it sounds like contingency plans

are being put into effect, should Rogers not sign by the draft? Now, are they giving them a deadline? That's unclear. But a report says that if Rogers is unsigned entering the draft, the Steelers may consider Ty Simpson at 21. Now, obviously, people are speculating, oh, this is the Steelers' way of telling Rogers

without calling him and telling him, hey, bro, you got 10 days, decide. You know, poop or get off the pot, or we're moving in another direction. We got Will Howard. Maybe we go out draft Ty Simpson, but we need a decision from you. I assume you'll probably agree with that, right? Well, I think when you get into the Aaron Rogers business, he's going to disappear in the offseason.

And if you can't figure that out, then that's really a Steeler issue. I mean, Aaron's not doing something that he hasn't done multiple times. So I have always said, you know, Aaron, you know what you get with Aaron. he's going to make your offense smarter. He made the Steelers offense smarter, fewer turnovers, much better in the red zone. He's not the athlete he once was, but can still sling it. But you're not going to get this devoted offseason. He's newly married.

And that's, again, when you acquire people, what's the odometer say? I don't blame Aaron for taking time off. It's multiple years in a row doing this. That's more on the team that acquires him. So he made them better. He deserves credit for that. I thought he had a better year than most of your analytics said, but I don't think the answer is Ty Simpson.

I mean, again, Pittsburgh could certainly draft Ty Simpson. I don't think he's ready to play in the NFL, but I didn't think Jackson Dart would be as good as he is. Let's say the Ravens make that kick in week 18, and the Ravens make the playoffs and the Steelers miss. Is there this much of a hullabaloo about Aaron Rogers coming back? Oh, we need it back. Whether you miss the playoffs?

And by the way, they got to the playoffs and they got buried at home. I mean, embarrassed by the Texans. So I don't, I think the Rogers hype from last year, he was fine. Okay? They got that luck box game against, I think it was Detroit late this season. Let's be honest. Let's be honest. Without Aaron and Aaron, so without Aaron and with Aaron, it was the same result.

Pittsburgh was above 500. They made the playoffs and couldn't win a playoff game. So pre-Aaron and poster, they were a better offensive version. deserves credit, but it was a typical Steeler season. Right. Like, they don't feel legitimate, big time team, but they're above 500. They play their butt off. They spent a lot of money on

defense. He just made the offense in the red zone much smarter and much more efficient, but the results were the same. Yeah, and now we got a new coach in McCarthy. We'll see what he wants. We still don't know what he wants. We remember how it ended ugly with him and Rogers and Green Bay. Our final story, Colin, is to Nicola

Yolkich and the Denver Nuggets. This is fascinating. I was, you know, again, I'm on spring break last week with the kids. I did not notice this. Nicola Yokic became the first player in NBA history? Yeah. To lead the NBA in a system, rebounds in a season?

How is he not the MVP of the league? That's never been done before. When Russell Westbrook averaged a triple double first time since Oscar Robertson, oh, well, I got to vote. I got to vote Russell. Well, I think... Where's the Yokish love?

Well, I think because it's a great MVP year, I think Wemby is historically... The numbers tell you, the spurs were red hot he had massive influence on offense and is the best defensive player maybe ever and sGA is leading the best team and is an unstoppable score so it's a great MVP discussion jalen brown although i wouldn't put him in the top two or three jalen brown a lot of love in east coast voters so um you know in boston i mean you could there jalen brown's got an argument we didn't have jason tatum we moved off four of our top nine guys in the rotation and we're the first or

second best team in the east. So Jalen Brown, Jelan Brown's been good forever. I mean, so, but I think the reason he's not MVP, he missed more games than he's ever missed. And Denver, because Aaron Gordon missed half the season. I mean, Denver was, we kind of kept looking all year

at Denver thinking, what are they? Are they getting a little old in the tooth? And I think so much of MVP is, you know, Luca's got a lot of discussions. Why? Because he had a great march. And I think by the time Denver got hot late in the year, people had made up their minds on MVP.

Yeah. The weird thing about Yokic is, we remember the draft, right? It was like during a Taco Bell commercial, they drafted this Doey Serbian in like the 40s or 50s, whatever it was. Nobody thought much of him, okay? Colin, he has made some of the largest leaps

of any player in NBA history. Remember a couple of years ago we were like, wow, is he the best player in the league? Well, clearly. And then you're like, well, how good of a center is he historically? And I was saying he was better than Patrick Ewing, who was one of my favorites of people killing me. now it's like

legitimately a question, Colin. I mean, is Nicola Yolkich a greatest center in NBA history? The best center I've ever seen in this prime was Kareem. I didn't watch Russell. Wilk was great score, a bit of a flake. I didn't see a ton of will.

I saw a little bit of a Laker wilt in the early 70s when I was just starting to watch basketball and watched sports, 172, 1973, headband wilt with the Lakers. Yokicich is, You know, when LeBron came into the league, I said, I don't know if he's as good as Michael, but he does more things well than any player I've ever seen.

Yokic does more things well than any center I've seen. Is LeBron better than MJ? You guys can argue. Is Yokic better than Kareem? Kareem didn't pass? Didn't ball handle? Didn't shoot like that. Yeah, I mean, so he does more.

And for the record, all these players now are so much more skilled than the legends of the 70s, 80s, 90s, it's not even close. Yeah, like, Hakeem the Dream, Elijah won, an amazing center, an all-time great. Yes. He was not initiating offense for the Rockets, okay? That's not what was happening. He was not at the three-point line splashing threes.

He's not making behind all these amazing passes. He basically went down to the block, called for the ball, did a dream shake, and scored, and he was an amazing defender. Of all the NBA issues, lack of global talent is not one of them. The talent in the league

Last year's draft, unbelievable. This year's draft, noticeably better. The prediction markets are this is one of the best drafts in a decade. So NBA's got its issues. Talent globally is not an issue. It's stacked. It's interesting. The Yokic versus Jabbar comparison, which is probably where we're headed next with this, right?

He's going to get shafted on the MVP here despite an amazing season. And when people say, well, Jabbar won this many MVPs and this many titles, and Yokic only has one title. to be the best. You know, we just don't, we don't have a smart online discourse when it comes to the NBA. A lot of morons saying a lot of dumb things. Jay Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurdline News. A very, of all the first round series, an interesting one, which would be a great series if Luca comes back for game six and seven. Austin Reeves is not going to play for the Lakers. Luca, you know, depending on the report you here, if the Lakers could

steal one of those first couple games and get it to five or six, Luca could come back. And so I think Kevin Durant, who's had a very good year in Houston, is going to win the series. I did not like Houston in the series if Austin, Luca, and LeBron played. Houston doesn't have a pure point guard. Fred Van Bleet, injured. So Amin Thompson's not an offensive guy. Shengoon and KD.

Both good players. KD's had a great year. But it is interesting. We just talked about Aaron Rogers. And yesterday, Chris Broussard came on and talked about Kevin Durant's been a bit disappointment and there was a lot of pushback on it. You know, when people ask me about A.D., he's a better version of Dirk

Novitsky, and what he really reminds me of is Aaron Rogers, the quarterback. Both are generationally gifted, Aaron Rogers and Kevin Durant, but they feel like individual athletes and team sports, that they're kind of riddles, they're kind of independent, the leadership qualities could be debated

from both. They're both generations, generationally elite talents. I mean, KD is going to end up, you know, wherever he is now, top five, six score. I mean, he's an unbelievable. I've said before, the best catch and shoot guy ever. I talked to Mark Few, the Gonzaga coach who coached team USA and coached Durant. He said, even with LeBron and all the great players, I've never seen a basketball player, you can get the ball to two seconds on a shot clock, and he gets a great shot. He is the moat. And Aaron Rogers, by the way, is the only quarterback I've ever seen that generates massive. velocity and his feet are on the ground.

So they're very similar generational talents, but I would say this. I don't necessarily think they're foxhole guys. I don't necessarily think they have great leadership qualities. I mean, a prime example, one of the things about Kevin Durant that's just so fascinating about his personality is that when he left Oklahoma City, he wanted to go join this winning culture. That was his thing. I love the culture of the warriors.

And he was there for a couple years. And he didn't like that culture. That culture was kind of combative. Kerr and Draymond. So he's sort of like a kid who goes to like Yale Law School and then goes to a law firm for a couple of years. And it's like, I don't really like law. I don't want to be a litigator.

And it's like so he, by the way, he never took some of the dynamics with Golden State with him anywhere. He's always been just a baller. And Aaron Rogers after he won in the Super Bowl. Is this it? So they're very, very similar guys. They're all-time guys. I don't necessarily see him as foxhole guys.

They're kind of doing their own thing. And that's fine. It takes a lot of different personalities. First ballot hall of famers. They're liked, but kind of distant, respected at arm's length, very much living with a little bit of mystery, and they both lean into it.

They kind of like that you don't know what you're going to get from them. And that's who they are. And I'm not going to punish KD for that. But Aaron and KD are in team sports. And Aaron Rogers, disappearing in the offseason, is not great. And Kevin kind of bouncing around the league, I'll get you a bucket, don't want to lead is not ideal.

Here's Roussard yesterday on KD and his legacy. We've looked at this as a disappointing season for the Knicks. Because I guess with the injuries, you know, Detroit kind of came. out of nowhere. Boston, we knew Tatum was out. Here's another similarity. It was such a big deal when Katie went to Brooklyn, one playoff series win. It was such a big deal when Katie went to Phoenix. One playoff series went. It is such a big deal that he went to Houston have the same record. It was such a big deal that Aaron Rogers went to the Steelers. They were above 500, went to the playoffs, and couldn't win

a playoff game. So the hype and the expectations, it feels, and I think this is fair, is never quite met. Is that fair? Feels fair. Albert Brewer around the corner, the herd. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays at noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, it's us, the Jonas brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news? Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we did a invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts.

We're starting a trend. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Oh, we were thinking, I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about.

a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. 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. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect.

We were God's chosen, kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levant, this went to a billion-dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history.

You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where SportsSlice comes in.

I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered.

Sports slice brings you closer to the action. with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicelife-12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. It's a great edge rusher draft, offensive tackle draft. But I felt this for years and years. The NBA used to have a seven-round draft. Now it's down to two.

At some point, they're like there's just not enough talent. The NFL's got seven rounds, and you still find your Brock Purdy's in the seventh. But it has felt on a couple of occasions over the last several years, maybe football participations down in high school, that when you get to the fourth or fifth round and you're like, I don't know if there's, I mean, it's a bad running back draft. It's a bad tight end draft. It's a bad quarterback draft.

That's a lot of bad in a singular draft. One of the more intriguing stories is Albert Breer joins us Monday morning quarterback is the Jets at number two, a dysfunctional franchise. Therefore, I think you will. and I agree there is a player at number two that is highly predictable and functional, perhaps with a lower ceiling, but I think David Bailey is the pick. Now, again, if it was Robert Saul and the Titans, I would trust him to make it work. I don't trust anything with the Jets. Your take is, I guess, kind of similar is just go get the sure thing with Bailey. Yeah, I just think

they can't miss on this one, you know, and like I look at those two guys and they're both, you know, top shelf pass rushers just from a talent perspective, but Bailey has so much more proven production. And we know what he's going to be. And I think if you pulled 32 teams and asked him what role he's going to play, all 32 teams would have some version of the same role for him. Whereas with Arvell Reese, you're talking about a guy who didn't play a lot as a freshman, played some, but not full-time as a sophomore, then became full-time as a junior, but it's playing two different positions. So you have like that hybrid, that hybrid idea for him, but how do you make that work? So if you ask the 32 teams how you'd use Rvel Reese, you might get 32 different answers.

And I just think at the point that Aaron Glenn and his staff are at now, they're a really tough first year. There were a lot of questions about job security. They fired 12 assistant coaches. You know, now you're going into 2026. And I think both for ownership, for your locker room, you've got to find a way to provide light at the end of the tunnel. And it's harder to do that with a guy with the second overall pick who might take a year or two to figure it out. You know, with David Bailey, I feel like you plug him in and he's going to be able to help you juice your pass rush right away. They were one of the worst teams in the league in

that area last year, especially after the trade of Quinn and Williams. They've since traded Jermaine Johnson. Bailey makes a ton of sense. And, you know, I know there are a lot of teams across the NFL right now operating under the assumption that Bailey is going to be the picket, too. A player's interesting. Sometimes a player drops. I remember Patrick Willis dropping to the Niners because of maybe the position he plays, not because anybody questions how good Patrick Willis was going to be. I think Caleb Downs feels like that.

Listen, people in this league want quarterbacks, offensive tackles, pass rushers, or a star weapon. I think Caleb Downs could end up going down to like nine or ten, and somebody's going to get to me like the third or fourth best college football player. your guess on where downs goes. A safety. He's not a classic big thumper, but he's just great. Every big game he's in, he's fantastic. I mean, I actually just did something on this call,

and so I'm looking down at the list now. There have been three safeties to go in the top 10 since 2010. That's a really low number. So it was Eric Barry, who was the fifth pick in 2010. the only one that won in the top five. And then you have Mark Barron out Alabama who went to the box. You have Jamal Adams out of LSU who went to the Jets. That's it.

And so to take a safety in the top 10, I think a lot of people feel like he's got to be an outlier physically. And that's not what Caleb Downs is. That's right. That's right. So like I think that there are those questions for the teams in the top 10. Now the thing is it from an intangible standpoint, from a football IQ standpoint, he is unbelievable off the charts. Like I think he's going to be a team.

for somebody within a year or two. And I think you fill the position for 10 years. It's basically going to come down to how do you value that position. And so I think his range is probably somewhere between 5 and 12, right? So I think the Giants would like him. I don't know if they take him at 5, but he's a perfect fit for John Harbaugh's defense to play, like the air traffic controller role that Eric Weddle played for him

when they revamped the defense in 18 and Kyle Hamilton inherited from Weddell all the way down to 12. I don't know that he would fall beyond 12 where the cowboys are picking, but I do think there's a wide range of outcomes because positional values a question. And it's a question with two other guys, too, that I think are right at the top of the class from a potential and performance standpoint. That's Sunny Stiles, the offball linebacker from Ohio State. And of course, Jeremiah loved the running back from Notre Dame.

Okay, I'm going to make a prediction. The dolphins with Jeff Halfley give up a, they have four third-round picks, and they call the Saints and they said, you know, you're as bad as us. We'll give you a third round pick, swap from 8 to 11, and they take Caleb Downs

because Halfley wants a defensive captain. He's got a start running back. He's got a good quarterback. Chop Robinson, I think it's an interesting player, but they don't really have a defensive stalwart, a defensive captain, and the Bengals move up, they go to the Saints pick and they draft him.

Crazy or not? So you're saying, okay, so the Dolphins go from 11 to 8. Yeah, and they go get Caleb down. And I guess the idea would be to get in front of the Bengals, right? Because the Bengals you would think might want them. Okay, I could see that. Like, I think the dolphins have a ton of flexibility.

Seven picks, you know, in the first three rounds is a pretty substantial war chest to walk into, you know, the weekend of the draft with. And look, like, I think one of the big things that's been emphasized to the guys there, John Eric Sullivan and Jeff Halfieff, both coming from Green Bay, draft and developed, draft and developed, draft and developed. The Dolphins have been terrible in that area the last four years. Fewer draft picks than any team in the league. Outside of Devon, Devon H.N., the 2022 and 2023 drafts, there are only, there's almost nothing there.

There's one other player. He's his special team left. And so they just need to get really good football players in the roster. And so to me, if it were a move up to get downs, it's like you said, it's having the guy to be the leader, the defensive captain for Jeff Hathley there. It's also a middle of the fairway pick. If you're taking Caleb Downs, you're parking that one right in the middle of Fairway.

You know what he's going to be. You're probably not going to strike out on him. And you have a piece that you can build around. So I can see Downs making some sense for the dolphins. Only one minute left, one and a half minutes. Jeremiah Love, could Arizona get him at three? Because I think the Titans are going to go for him. Because I think they have a young quarterback.

How high would Arizona potentially get? love? I think it's on their radar. I think if they had their druthers, they would trade down. And I think they're hoping that, you know, either Bailey or Reese, most likely Reese falling to three is going to provoke someone to trade up. I do think that they like love, enough to take them third overall over one of those pass rushers. If they are stuck at three, I'm not as sure about that. I would say the pass rusher would probably be the pick there. That would be my guess at all, at least based on where Michael Lefleur, is coming from. What they value in Los Angeles is players for the defensive front,

offensive skill players, which love is one of those. I just see the value there as probably being the pass rusher. And then I think for the Titans at four, I think Love probably winds up being the pick. And I think the way you look at this is an investment in your young quarterback. You know what Todd Gurley did for Jared Gough in Los Angeles when golf was a young player. you know what Zeke Elliott did for Dak Prescott when when Jack was a young player in Dallas. He can be that guy for Cam Ward in Tennessee. Albert Brewer, great stuff. Can't wait about a week and a couple of days away from the draft.

Thanks, bud. Awesome. Thanks, Colin. Yeah, I mean, I think Jeff Halfley, I think Miami's got a fascinating draft. And you've got two ones, a second, four, threes, a four, a five, a six. And my take is, you need a defensive captain. Head defensive coach wants a defensive captain playing center field. Caleb Downs, everybody loves him.

And just the person, the guy, you got to get ahead of the Bengals because they'll take him just to save on airfare because he's from Ohio. And the chiefs probably are not moving down because they need a tackle. So you call the Saints and go, listen, we'll give you three. You move down a couple of spots. And I could see that I would consider doing it. What you need is not just football players. What you need is like leaders and football players. because every position except running back and quarterback is a need for the dolphins.

Go get foundational high IQ, high EQ players. Caleb Downs to me is that. Hey, guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what?

We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to be. put it, but, you know, tired and sick, tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your

podcast. 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. 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. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. And nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where sports slice comes in. I'm Timbo.

And every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headlines. And we're going straight to the source. the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicalife-Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. I'm Michelle McPhee, and I've been unraveling the strangest criminal alliance I've ever reported on. A Mormon polygamist and an Armenian businessman.

Multi-million dollar house, Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets. a billion dollar fraud. But how long can this alliance last? Tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human.