The Herd with Colin Cowherd - THE HERD - Hour 2 - Giants will be much better next season, what to expect at the NFL Draft

Episode Date: April 8, 2026

Colin gives his reasons why he feels the Giants will be the most improved team after the NFL Draft He talks to national NFL writer from The Athletic Dane Brugler about the top picks in the upcoming NFL DraftSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Hour two, tomorrow, marks the two-week date for the NFL draft. Dame Bugler, Athletic, coming up in a couple of minutes. So the NBA has tried multiple different ideas to stop tanking, which is worse than ever, and load management, which is still a major problem. They flatten the lottery odds. You know, they didn't make their stars play as much. many back-to-back, it's a longer All-Star break. There's the NBA Cup early to create urgency,

65 game minimums to win awards. Tanking's worse. Load management's still a nightmare. Nothing's working. And successful men are driven by money. When the Utah Jazz owner, Ryan Smith, smart guy, was fine for alleged tanking 500 grand. He's worth $3.5 billion. That's like gas for your Gulfstream for a fan. family vacation to Europe. You got to, to me, the solve and all of this is find a hell out of people. Owners, coaches, and if you have to, players. Draymond Green said last night, hey, if we're a players league, you're always fine in us.

Why not find the owners more? I get fine when I do wrong. It's fine the hell out of people. You know, we love taking money from players. Keep fine with the teams. I've seen two fines. And we all know everybody think. The punishment for players is always, let's take the money.

Well, now it becomes time to punish teams, and all of a sudden nobody don't know what to do. Why not? We don't keep that same energy. When it comes to teams, when it comes to officials, when it comes to everybody but players, we don't keep that same energy. But it's a players league.

Yeah, and I'll be honest with you. There's for most successful men and NBA owners probably qualify as that money and fines cuts through. That's what matters. And they've tried everything. None of it's working. The tanking, this is the worst the tanking's ever been. Load management, still a major problem. So it's almost like Adam Silver, I think, is smart and very well-meaning.

But sometimes he can remind me of like a naive politician. It's like, Adam, the midterms are going to. be determined based on people's wallets. Nothing more. That's not whether they like this politician or have distinct. How are people doing financially? If inflation's up, if gas is up, if eggs are expensive, that's when people in that big White House every four years get replaced, and it's when you have upheaval and pivoting during the midterms. So you can you can try to be idealistic and create the cop and the minimums. If you find an NBA owner $20 million, which takes about $35 million to make in most

provinces or states or jurisdiction, it takes about $35 million to get $20 after taxes, that would send a message throughout the league. Now, owners may eventually want to fire Adam Silver, but I don't think any owner wakes up in the morning wanting to tank. But I mean, it's so restrictive, unlike the NFL or baseball, it's so restrictive on trades with the new aprons and the CBA. What else do you do? How does Utah get good? They're about two players away and they're going to get one of them in the lottery. And with that, it's called the beast. He works at the athletic. We try to bring him on every time it's unveiled. And today is the day. Dane Bruegler is joining us NFL draft analyst for

the athletic. First of all, it's the most comprehensive. I like what it's, it says here. I like this. This is what I have on my screen. The Beast is the world's most comprehensive NFL draft guide. Now, I don't know about the ones in Brazil, but we consider it the best here in the States. So congratulations. I think the number two pick is fascinating. So years ago, the Jets, who I would argue need seven good players and shouldn't go, shouldn't go big on ceiling, just go get Bailey. Plug and play. Years ago, they went and got Mackay Beckett And everybody talked about, oh, what a ceiling. Two picks later, Tampa's like, we like the solid guy from Iowa, Tristan Worse.

People are making it sound like, and you know this better than anybody, that David Bailey is a safe pick. You can't go safe at two. And I'm like, I watched him play four times. He was the top two player on the field in every game. Is he that safe of a pick? Or is the gap with R. Velrease and Bailey miles? Or is it close? I think it's fair to say it's close.

I mean, yeah, you can't ignore what Bailey did this year. Now, I would say the Big 12 tackle play maybe wasn't the greatest. Even in the cultural playoffs against Oregon, their tackles, Oregon's tackles were not great. But Bailey had two, there were two FBS players over 80 pressures this year, Ruben Bain and David Bailey. And the only difference there, Ruben Bain, needed almost 170 more pass rush attempts to get there as opposed to Bailey. And so he's just a sprinter off the edge.

And I think you feel better about how he came along in the run game. At Stanford, he was more of a sub-package player because really they didn't trust him against the run and a lot of those looks. But at Texas Tech, I thought he got better in terms of holding the edge, recognizing run and showing up at that part of the game. So I wouldn't say that he's, you know, necessarily the most complete. defensive end where I'm going to put that quote unquote safe label on him. But if you want a guy that can just scream off the edge and going to put pressure on the quarterback, Bailey can absolutely do that. But in my opinion, Arvel Reese is the best player in this draft.

And I get there's some worries about, okay, is he in between positions? But I think there's a big difference between being a hybrid and being a tweener. And I think Reese is very much a hybrid player compared to being a tweener. and he has that same type of athleticism as a pass rusher. The way Matt Patricia used him, he was stacked on one play and then an agap blitzer the next, a spy the next. He was so valuable in that role that they didn't want to keep them just boxed in as just you're okay, put your hand on the ground, get after the quarterback.

We want to mix up the picture for the quarterback. Pre-snap, it looks like this, but post-snap, we have a guy that can really mix things up. And when you listen to Aaron Glenn, what he talked about this offseason, wanting more hybrid players to mix up, you know, your different looks that you're giving the quarterback. I think it really points to what R. Vela Reese offers. Two GMs, one former, one current, I asked about Bain. And they're like, listen, he's just too strong not the draft. He's too, he's just, I don't care about the measurables. and, you know, for years, the Baltimore Ravens, people sometimes forget, Dane, that not everybody loved Ed Reed out of college.

He was the number one pick. Like, many great players in this league, Amar on St. Brown. I mean, they drop. Or you look at Ed Reed and you're like, oh, everybody loved him. And I can remember him coming out and there was debate on certain things. Ray Lewis was smaller than ideal. I look at Ruben Bain and I'm like, every game I watched, he was the most physically imposing player. Like he, like intimidated people.

but there's the arm length thing. Where do you land on that? Yeah, I mean, Troy Palomalu was too small. I mean, yeah, there's been a lot of great players in the league that you could poke holes in during the draft process. And listen, the last 25 years, we have not had a first round pass rusher with under 31-inch arms. So this really would be an outlier, an historical outlier.

But I'm with you. You watch the tape and you just see a dominant player. I think what gives me a lot of, makes me feel better about it, is how good he is against the run. He's so strong. He understands how to use his leverage. And so even if it is a little more challenging for him to get to the quarterback in the NFL, I feel really good about just his floor because he's really good against the run.

The motor is nonstop. He's powerful. And so I think there's a lot of things that point to, okay, I'm not, maybe I'm not going to take him at two if I'm the Jets, but if I'm the chiefs at 9, I'm crossing my fingers at Bain is still on the on the board at that point or the Bengals at 10. And so even though he is an outlier,

he's not going to be for everybody. And for some teams, he's a three technique on their draft board. Right now in their war room, he's up on that board as a three technique just because of the measurements and how he fits that certain scheme. But I do think that he is too good of a player

to fall out of the top 10. It's called the Beast. He's at the athletic NFL draft analyst, Dane Brugler. We try to bring him on every year. Wide receiver is fascinating. So I love college football. You watch all of it.

I watch a lot of it. Carnal Tate, to me, is a number one receiver very quickly in the NFL. Cleveland, I think, would be crazy not to go get him. I think if you're going to give Shadour a chance, you've got to get him some players. But what's fascinating about the draft is there's guys like Mikhail Laman at USC, and I saw every one of his college snaps. The league Dane is playing a lot of zone. So run down the sideline guy doesn't, you know, I'm not as fascinated.

with that as I am fascinated with yard after the catch are you smart can you find a crevice can you get open guy not to mention especially in the aFC look at all this teams in the aFC that are good outdoor stadiums cold and windy good luck throwing you know 60 yard down the field like i like yard after catch underneath guy how do you view lemon because i hear people say well you know you run that well. You can grab them at the line and I'm like, I watched every snap. If the ball's in his stratosphere, his hand strength, he just catches it. He catches everything. What's the tape say? I mean, I think you're absolutely right. The play strength that he has is just so impressive. Throw on the Iowa tape. I mean, I think whatever tape you want to throw on, there's an example.

Maybe except for the Notre Dame game. That was the one game where he didn't have one of those impressive plays. But I think there's so many things to like about him. He's manipulative as a route runner and exactly what you're talking about with the zone defense is he has an ability to find those open spots, very quarterback friendly. The ball doesn't hit the ground.

I think a 2.8% drop rate this past year. And so really reliable when he's targeted. And then one thing that I think is really underrated about his game, all the hidden yards. So when he catches it, that's not where he's going down. He finds those hidden yards,

run after the catch, rarely tackled where he makes the catch. And I've said this before, but maybe like 1% of his rookie contract should go to Amman Ross St. Brown for just kind of paving the way for like, this is what it looks like. You know, maybe we're threading a fine needle here, but it can be done at this size and maybe not a burner,

but you know what? Just a dang good football player. And I mean, I think there's going to be a lot of teams. I mean, think about him with the Rams at 13, what that would look like. going on my mock. Yep, that's right. Yeah. Yeah, no. And I think it makes sense, especially with DeVante

entering the final year of his deal. You know, who knows what's going on with Puka and his future. And so I think adding a weapon like that helps not only for 2026, but also in the long term. Okay. So I think it's understood. Fernando Mendoza, I like it more than everybody else. It looked like he packed on 15 pounds at his pro day. He looked, I just think his humility, his gratitude, his size, I mean, I just love everything about him. I think he's a plus Matt Ryan, bigger, thicker, stronger Matt Ryan, and Matt was terrific. That's my take. But Ty Simpson, my take is, I don't see a trait where I go, wow.

I saw this morning, you said Daniel Jones. So a week ago, I said, I said he reminds me of Daniel Jones. I think he throws, I think he's a little more accurate. but I guess he feels better than Kenny Pickett mid first, late first round. Late first round's tough. Lamar was amazing. Pickett's disappointing. He's somewhere in between there.

I mean, you can't predict it, but like, Daniel Jones is your comp? Is that it? Yeah, but it's Daniel Jones with lesser physical traits. You know, he's not quite as big. He's not quite as fast as Daniel Jones. So you have to take a little bit off of that. But I think play style-wise, there are definitely some similarities. The big question is, okay, 15 starts at the college level,

there's just no substitute for experience. And you look at the track record of first-round quarterbacks who had 15 or fewer starts. We're talking about Mitchell-Trabisky, Anthony Richardson, Dwayne Haskins. Even going to, if you advance it to 17 starts, it's Trey Lance, it's Mac Jones. And really, Mac Jones might be the closest comp, who is a high, high level backup to low level starter in the league.

And, you know, I think that's kind of where I see Ty Simpson. Personally, I wouldn't draft him until the second round, just because that's that the lack of experience does worry me. And look, the first six games of the year, he was fantastic. You watch him against Georgia. You watch him early in the season, Wisconsin. He looked fantastic. But then later in the year when the running game wasn't working.

The offensive line wasn't doing their thing. And Moore was on the quarterback to overcome that. He just had a tough time doing that. And so a big part will be where he ends up, the situation around him. But when you do a mock draft, it can be difficult because, okay, if he doesn't go to Arizona, if he doesn't go to the Jets, if he doesn't go to the Rams, what other team might be looking for him at that point? So putting him in a mock draft can be tough.

Okay, I'm going to give you my every draft, there's a guy. like we like to pick, okay, who's the guy that's going to go third round, late, fourth round, and I don't know

where he's going to go, but there's a receiver for Louisville that you know who I'm talking about. Big strong, Chris Bell. And so I was reading a draft preview on him, and I'd seen him play like once,

and I went back and looked at YouTube stuff, and I'm like, well, that's a starting NFL wide receiver day one. Why isn't he, why isn't he more, I mean, you can watch three routes and you're like, oh, that's a pro NFL starting wide receiver.

Why isn't he higher on the boards? Well, I mean, yeah, ask Miami about Chris Bell and they'll tell you the best receiver they face this year. He would be a first round player, if not for the ACL. Had the ACL late in the year in November. So a little bit of a discount sticker on his tag. But no, I'm with you. I mean, even going back to the summer, he was my number two receiver coming into the year. Big physical.

The accelerations. outstanding. You feel good about the person, too, like as a really competitive kid. He told me at the combine how his freshman year of high school didn't make the team, so he joined the band, just so he could go to home games and away games. He would just, he put the instrument up

to his mouth. He had no idea what he was doing. He just wanted to be there for the football games. And so I think this is an ascending player. But again, coming back from the knee injury, hopefully, you know, clean bill of health returns to that form that he showed. But I think that once you get to the second round, there's going to be more than a few teams looking at Chris Bell and saying, okay, this is maybe that guy we're missing because,

yeah, he can take a slant and take it the rest of the way or he can win down the field, just big, physical, strong, you like the ball skills, a lot to like about him. Yeah, it's funny that we just showed some Miami footage. He's running away from Miami Hurricane DVs and you're like, oh, like running away from fast corners. He's different. AJ Brown-ish. Yeah, and those guys are hard to come by.

All right, Dane, Bruegler, this is, they call it the Beast, it's at The Athletic, his release this morning, it's fantastic. Dane, it's great having you on again, I appreciate it. Any time, thanks, Colin. You bet. It's pretty good.

No, you know, the other thing about the draft that, do you know, seven, John, seven straight years? a team drafting in the top five has made the playoffs. So you think, oh, that's the garbage pail of the league. Last year, Jaggs and New England both drafting, top five made the playoffs. So I'm going to go through this on the other end. It's very interesting about you.

You start looking at the top five. There's a couple of teams in that top five. Are the Raiders one of them that feel like they can make a big leap? Be sure to catch live editions. of the herd weekdays in noon eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Fox Sports Radio is taking over YouTube, and you can be a part of it. Just go to YouTube and search Fox Sports Radio. Hit that subscribe button and smash that notification bell,

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Hit that thumbs up icon and comment away. Hey, it's us to 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?

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I think it was on a call about, what we should call it. Well, 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.

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founding partner of iHeart women's sports it is a little chaotic in milwaukee right now what to do with the Janus we've talked about before on the show man when when the star grumbles probably privately. That's actually what happened in the early 70s, where the Bucks won in 1971. They had L. Cinder, and he told them privately here, you know, I eventually like to move somewhere. This is not the city for me. And they went and got a haul. Obviously, he'd then, Kareem went on to an remarkable all-time championship-level career. but usually when the star grumbles, get on the phone immediately. And Milwaukee did not do that with Janus. Here's John Middlkoff with the news.

No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, last year, Jackson Dart was drafted in the first round. He had a good start to his NFL career. He got his first start, you know, on the field in week four, putting up over 2,500 yards and 24 touchdowns. Heading into year 2. He'll have a new offensive coordinator guiding him in our game.

guy Matt Nagy, who spoke about what he's seen from his new quarterback. I was able to watch a decent amount of Jackson last year when I was in Kansas City. I remember coming away really impressed with Jackson and his accuracy. And I didn't know back then a year ago, or two years ago, I didn't know how tough he was and how good of a runner he was. He was a really good, sneaky, good runner, tough, physical, played the quarterback position well, accurate. and you can see he was a competitor. When I got here to New York and got to meet him and started talking to him,

it was, you could tell right away that everything was true. I mean, this kid is different that way. Yeah, and also I think there's something to be saying, he's a good-looking kid with a ton of confidence, and I think wherever the confidence comes from your IQ, your appearance, your athletic ability, New York can gobble you up, and I just think he's one of those kids.

you know, Eli Manning was so great in New York because just you grow up with Peyton Manning and Archie Manning. Eli just had a great sense of humor. Nothing bothered Eli. He could close it all off. Jackson to me has got a little bit of a, hey, I may have been in Oxford, Mississippi, but I can go to the big city and play. And I do think Lane Kiffin, coaching him for multiple years, made him very NFL ready. And I do think last year he learned a little bit of a lesson. this is the NFL, and you will get hit and you will get hit hard.

You know, he got some concussions. Think about Nagy, who spent a lot of his career now around Mahomes, who is an improviser, scrambles around. But for the most part, he's pretty safe behind the line of scrimmage. And I think you got Malik neighbors. They sign likely. Who knows? Maybe at five, they draft Jeremiah Love.

I mean, this offense could be pretty loaded. You know, with Harbaugh, and that mentality, their defense over the next couple of years is going to be solid. I think Jackson Darson is a pretty good spot getting Matt Nagy, can really use Patrick Mahomes in that film and kind of that operation for him to look up to. Yeah, I keep saying, I know a lot of people want to trade down. I could see the Giants because the Giants could use a right tackle. And it may be too early to draft the tackle there, but there's multiple tackles in the draft.

Yeah. I could see, because they have, first of all, there's plenty of good receivers, second, third, and fourth round. a lot of tackles first and second, top of the third. I just have this feeling that, I mean, if they went and got Carnell Tate because of neighbors' injuries, I would get that too. But I think the Giants are going to have a really interesting draft. I'm really interested to watch it. Yeah, I think they're going to be just a tough physical team that they've kind of got away from in previous years. Okay, to the NBA, who down the street, the Lakers, I think, are in free fall mode, Colin.

Reeves and LeBron, obviously they're injured. Well, LeBron was out. Reeves is injured. Luke is injured. What was interesting last night, there was this little moment between J.J. Reddick and Jared Vanderbilt during a timeout with Reddick brushing it off and heading back to the bench. Here's Reddick on the moment post game.

Just a confluence of things. Again, it's not, I get nothing personal with him about normal stuff from my end. I think for all of us, you know, being undermanned. and we've got a scrap and claw. We've got to all be on the same page. We've got to be great teammates. We've got to all play hard. Call the timeout to get them out of the game.

And, you know, he reacted. But again, normal interaction for me. Yeah, I mean, it's a long season. I think, listen, the season's over. There's no getting around it. It's over. And the frustration, they were a red-hot team in March. I think it's just all bleeding out.

I get it. it. They're lucky they play the Jazz who literally do not want to win and have been like that for a couple years, but they might not win another game the rest of the year, right? They play the Warriors, then they play the Suns, the Jazz, who knows, but they could easily get swept in the playoffs. I mean, this team, which, listen, they were rolling, they had two devastating injuries, but they are kind of screwed right now, Colin. They got no hope. Yeah, and I actually, in a weird way, I know nobody wants to hear this, but they weren't a serious championship team. They just don't have the depth, the defenders, enough good shooters.

They can't rebound. A lot of it was fools gold and beating up on teams that they, you know, LeBron's getting close to the end. Luca is in an MVP battle. You know, not that March was fools gold because they are very good in the half-court offense. But I think that Oklahoma City loss and the injuries are a wake-up call, they got to get younger, they got to get more athletic. And if LeBron's coming back, he has got to take, for the one time in his career,

he's got to play mostly for free, which if he doesn't want to, I totally get it. You know, I know, understand the Dodger people have a lot of money that now, you know, run the Lakers. But they were looking at a home court series right in round one as the three seed, and probably being in the second round, even if they didn't make it to the conference finals. Now they're the five seed in a free fall. they might just get the two home games and be sent packing. I think that's what's going to happen. And who knows this offseason with LeBron?

Well, okay, speaking of basketball, I watched a decent amount of this press conference last night. It was pretty cool. North Carolina, obviously shocked the basketball world, hiring Michael Malone. Colin, they gave him six years, $50 million. And they made him, he's currently the second highest paid coach

behind Bill Self at over $8 million. Here's Malone and what he had to say on his introductory presser at Chapel Hill. Really thankful for this opportunity. I do not take it lightly. And people keep asking me, coach, why would you leave a chance of coaching in the NBA again? You're an NBA coach. You won a championship in Denver in 2003. It wasn't an easy decision, but what I kept thinking about was I have a chance to be a part of something special, the history and tradition, to be a part of something much bigger than myself, as I said a few minutes ago.

This was the only college job I'd ever consider. You know, if any other job, I wouldn't even answer the phone. don't. That's a good, they want to hear that in Carolina. So I do. And also, college basketball and college football are more administrative. So for a lot of these older pro coaches, and he's not really old, but I think it works today where years ago it would not work. And so NBA coaching and NFL coaching feels like it's getting younger and college coaching's getting older because you do get a little bit. I mean, the NFL's got a little bit of a burnout feel to it where at the college level, you're on a college. campus, you're dealing with young kids. There's a lot of joy in college basketball. March is really fun. And you don't have an impulsive billionaire on top of you.

You may have a donor you have to suck up to, but Carolina, coaching at Carolina is one of the 10 best basketball jobs in the world. It's a great job. You think there's any chance North Carolina baseball hires Bruce Bochy next year and just completes the cycle? This is, and I do wonder, if you're

paying, here's the thing, you know, part of going to the pros, right, in basketball or football, historically most of my life is you got a big raise. He's making over $8 million. I bet if we looked around the NBA, there's a handful of guys making big money, but there's not a lot of guys making $8.3 million and have a five-year, $50 million.

So these college programs, Signetti's making $13 million. I'm watching Dusty May. He's got to be looking at whatever Malone got. He's like, hey, I know we just did a contract extension, but we better, at minimum, make that equal. College, the business is huge. So it's very lucrative to take these gigs. Yes.

And they're great gigs. Not everybody can do it, but the, you know, I mean, Indiana's got a top eight business school. And, you know, Mark Cuban writes a check. And, you know, but when I hear this, it's not sustainable. It is when you have a billionaire donor who is engaged with sports. It becomes much more sustainable. Wouldn't you imagine North Carolina and Duke have pretty successful alumni out there in the real world? Well, plus Carolina's got a massive.

Dean Dome. It's got a massive facility. So just game day revenue at Carolina. I mean, if you go to that region, it's like I always said this about the Atlanta Braves. If you go in the South right now, everybody's wearing either a Master's hat or a Braves hat. You know, they like dominate the South. You ever go to the Carolinas? I mean, how many times you've been to an airport in that part of the country? There is so much money at UNC. It's just, it is, man, it's just, it's just, it's just, it's, it. It's just, it's, it's just, it. It's got to be one of the more profitable places. To me, it feels like in college sports. Agreed. John with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Ly News.

I thought this was interesting. So seven straight years, as of tomorrow, it's officially two weeks to the draft. Seven straight years, a team in the top five in the draft has made the playoffs.

that next year. So last year, New England and the Jags did. So let's put up the top five teams in the draft. Vegas, the New York Jets, Arizona, the Tennessee Titans, and the New York Giants. Okay, so I'm going to eliminate two of them. The Jets, I don't think the head coach knows what he's doing. In Arizona, you're in a division with McVeigh, stacked roster, Shanahan Good roster, Mike McDonald's good roster. So let's just be realistic. I don't even know who's quarterback in the Cardinals right now. So Jets Cardinals take them out. Las Vegas, I'm going to reluctantly take them out.

Division's good. First year head coach, rookie quarterback. I think they're going to be a much improved team. But in that division with a rookie quarterback, they may not kind of get it jelling until Thanksgiving. So then you look at the Titans and Giants. One of those, if the trend keeps going, is going to be a playoff team. I like the Titans a lot.

But the Titans last year, I looked it up this morning, here are there three wins. A one point win over Arizona, a two point win over Cleveland, and they beat Kansas City without Mahomes. The Titans point differential was awful. They, Robert Saul in that front office, need two drafts. They need secondary help, O-line help, weapons help. they just don't have enough good players. So I'm going to eliminate them. Plus the Jags are pretty good in that division.

So is Houston. I think the Giants are a playoff team. And I don't think it's, I don't think it's that difficult. And I love Sala. But you've got to be fair with Robert. They don't have enough players. They need seven starters out of the draft. The New York Giants don't.

They need three. The Giants have to find a right tackle, another weapon on the perimeter, get a good corner or safety, and the Giants are good. I think the Giants between upgrading and also, in the Giants Division, here's a big plus. Philadelphia is noisy, and right now, that's a lot of questions in Philadelphia. Washington, it feels like the GM and the coaching staff.

Dan Quinn's on the hot seat. Jaden Daniels off an injury, struggled to stay healthy so far in the NFL. Dallas, they're just not close defensively. So I look at the Giants, and I look at the head coach, the quarterback, the defensive line, the rush, the left tackle. never forget the New York Giants did something last year that's weird there were four and 13 they led by 10 or more in five of their losses that's an NFL record most of the NFL the Titans were bad the Giants weren't they just couldn't seal wins and I think the Giants

are a playoff team leading by 10 points they blew five games leading entering the fourth they blew three games and they were awful in one score games And a lot of that is, they have rookie quarterback. You know, Scataboo got hurt, couldn't depend on the run game, couldn't milk the clock and a rookie quarterback. So, and I was looking this morning at the Giants, I think they'll make it eight straight years, if the Giants' opponents.

So they've got some tough road games. Seahawks, Rams, Lions, those are tough road games. They got some doubles at home. Commanders, Cardinals, Browns, Saints, Titans, Titans, the Giants, the Giants have nine wins on this schedule. Now, I don't think they're going to go to L.A. and Seattle and win. But you don't, well, none of us know, I mean, right now with C.J. Stroud and the Texans, I think the Lions knew O.C. is good.

You look at that schedule. I don't know. I think the Giants are an eight or nine win team. And I, and I'll say this, if, depending on how the drafts, goes. If they get like a Carnell tape and neighbors, they've got the kid from Baltimore, scataboo's back, I don't know. Used to be, you know, you think to yourself, you top of the draft, that's not the league, seven straight years. Here's John Harbaugh on meeting with the Giants players this week. It's just a bunch of people coming together to build something together

that is a team and plays like a team and plays like a team better than a team. any other team. If you do that, then you have a chance to be the best team. Because the best team is the team who plays the best. I might have said that in the meeting today. You know, and it was fun to be around the guys. It was fun to stand in front of the New York Giants today. All right. Coming up next, the NBA, do they know what to do with him? Because he's certainly good enough to make an impact. Dominant college player. That's around the corner. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd, Weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHard Radio app.

Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, name? Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to a podcast.

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, Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about, what we should call it. Well, 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 Podcast.

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 Smiley.

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. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice 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. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlic on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis. And I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs, and on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris.

Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on Clay. Jenchian win. I mean, she went down to three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lerna Rubakina is arguably the best player in the world right now, and I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving,

well, good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Coming up Sunday, NASCAR hits the last great Coliseum. The best of the best look to slow down Tyler Reddick's red hot season. As the Cup series hits the short track at Bristol Sunday at 3 Eastern with pre-race coverage, starting at two only on FS1.

You know, I'm not a gigantic believer in, you know, you draft basketball or football, but especially in basketball, I think you can spot talent really quickly. Now, there are guys that age differently, like some guys mature. A fascinating guy in the NBA draft is Michigan's Yaxel Lendebord. He didn't play basketball until his senior year in high school. school. So people go, well, he's old. No, people are worried about drafting old guys when they've been playing since they're

seven and they're dominating because they've got a beard with grace hair in it. This guy just didn't play until his last year of high school. Didn't really take the sport seriously. So to me, you're just getting a guy, yes, he's a little older,

but he's got so much room to grow. All you have to do is look at a shooting. He's just a way better shooter than the rest of his career. And, you know, so I, I'm looking at a 6-9-2-40 guy that can shoot that didn't pick up basketball till probably seven years after everybody else he's playing against picked up basketball. And here was Dusty May on him. The processing power is his strength. I don't know if I've ever been around someone that can learn things on the fly

and be able to change his move or his body contort. and based on something that he saw a month ago. And so that processing, his passing ability, his ability to see the floor, I think those are all really unique now. And he's a different athlete where when you watch him, he doesn't seem like a plus athlete. And then you see him make these athletic plays where it go underneath and dunk on three guys. And I just think he's so untapped because he's so new to the game.

Yeah. So I like him a lot. And I also think he's a really bright kid, size, shooting, skill, scheme fit. He's one of those guys that fits everywhere. I don't know. I guess this is the way I look at it. If I was a GM in the NFL, I do think because there's so much physicality and power in the sport, sometimes guys just, it takes them a long time to get strong enough.

I mean, you'll, I've talked to NFL players who go are like strong. And they're like, I wasn't strong enough at tackle. until like Thanksgiving of my second year in the NFL. And they were in college for four and five years. So there are slower developed players. And it is sometimes in football. You have all this tape. But some guys just, they don't, their bodies just don't get strong enough until

they're like 25, 24. Basketball's different. I always tell the story. My daughter, my daughter was a played a lot of basketball when she was young, like six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, you know, high school. and I remember going to a gym. It was a girls tournament. And I'm sitting there, and there's a bunch of guys that look like AEU coaches.

And I sit down and there's like eight courts. It's in Hartford, Connecticut. And I'm watching for three minutes. And the guy next to me, I'm like, who's that little girl over in the far court? He goes, that's the best player in the gym. I'm like, what grace is she in? He's like, seventh. Girls mature more rapidly than boys do.

And so he's like, oh, yeah, in basketball, you can tell. Six, seventh grade. I remember one time getting a call from a friend named Brian. Brian Berger worked for Nike, and he was watching Dwight Howard. And Dwight Howard was like 13 or 14 years old. He's like, yeah, that's the next great big in the NBA. I'm like, he's 14. It's like, now you can tell.

I think basketball's one of those that what's fascinating about Yaxel is he just didn't play the game. I mean, most of these kids, you know, they're Hoopers when they're 7, 8, 9 years old. He started late, late high school. So that, to me, and he's this good already? With that little basketball, it's like, wow. So that to me is what I, you know, late bloomer. I just feel like in football because it's power base, you do get late blooms physically. In basketball, I kind of feel like you know by 15 years old.

You got the Nikes and the sports apparel companies, they got attracted at 14. 15, 16 years old. They know who's going to be great. I think Yaxel's an outwire. He didn't play at all. And that happens also in football. Like Antonio Gates did not play college football. I mean, I'm not saying it doesn't happen in football. But I mean, Pascal Sey Occam is a prime example. He didn't play organized basketball until he was 17. And he's tremendous. But he's the rare basketball player that like you couldn't identify at 16. He didn't play. So I feel like is he going to be as good, Yaxel is good as Pascal Seacom? I don't know.

That would be, that's a big ask. But I don't know. It's to play that little of basketball and to be that good. And the last couple of years, he's just a different player from the perimeter. And he's just natural. Everything looks easy.

I always say that about Justin Herbert, John. Like there are certain guys I want, Fernando Mendoza, like the ball just comes out of his hand. He's very easily accurate. Then there's other guys. Sam Darnold's really got to work on it. He's really worked on his game. He's not effortlessly accurate.

Whereas I always feel like Mendoza, you watch certain guys, Herbert's one of them. He just comes out and the ball goes to the place he wants it to go to. I didn't have a chance to ask, but I saw some pictures online. Donald just got married last weekend. Where were you sitting? I didn't know he got married. Yeah, he just got married.

Good for Sam. What a year for that guy. A heck of a year. Josh and Allen standing right behind him. Josh Allen, he's one of the grooves, men looking at Sam Darnold, got a ring coming his way, and Josh's is back there.

Sam's really, well, I saw Sam in Wachill, Rhode Island. He was at Christian McCaffrey's wedding. Yeah. And he was no longer part of Carolina, but he was in Minnesota, and we were just talking about everybody like Sam. Sam's just like Beach Kid,

down to earth, could win this powerball lottery, which he kind of did in football, never changed. quality guy. Way to go, Sam. Michael Redd, former Milwaukee Bucklast out.

Hey guys, it's us and 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 to do podcasts. 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 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, S&L'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 Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Joey Dardano, and on my new podcast, Hope from a Hypocrite, I'll be changing lives, helping people in need with thoughtful solutions. Sike, I'm a comedian. I'm not qualified to give good advice. Join me and my comedian friends as we riff, rant, recommend some of the most legally dubious

advice known to me. This is Help from a Hypocrite, the worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to help from a hypocrite Wednesdays on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The story I've told myself can then shape my behavior, and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection. This Mental Health Awareness Month, tune into the podcast deeply well with Debbie Brown if you've been searching for a soft place to land while doing the work to become whole. This podcast is for you to hear more. Listen to deeply well with Debbie Brown. from the Black Effect Podcast Network

on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHeart podcast, guaranteed human.