The Herd with Colin Cowherd - THE HERD - Hour 2 - News coming from the NFL combine, who may move up in the draft, Albert Breer

Episode Date: February 25, 2026

Colin talks to NFL reporter Albert Breer about the NFL Combine, teams that may move up in the draft, players who might fall, and more He discusses the fandom of basketball stars vs football starsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go. It's hour two. You know, I was going to introduce some new technology today at this time. I was very, very excited for it. We tested it yesterday. We tested it before the show. And there's just a little bug we got to get out of it.

And just a tiny little bug that I got to get out of this new futuristic technology. which I'm going to present. So that's where we are. I was saying to start last hour, the Laker game last night was great. Lakers played Orlando. Lakers, LeBron was great in the first quarter. Austin Reeves was really had a great night,

tough shot making. Luca didn't shoot particularly well. But, you know, the thing with Luca is, you know, he's got the, he's a little bit of a tech stock. He's going to outperform the market, but there's a lot of volatility. This constant haranguing with the,

officials, it's exhausting. It just never ends. And it would be one thing if he was a consistently great defensive player, but he's not. He's a liability. So when he's barking at the officials, he's just adding, you know, to the element of his game that is a huge liability, which is getting back on defense and squaring people up and making them uncomfortable. Zach Lowe recently on the ringer exhausted by Luca having another 13 plus technical foul season. Here's Zach.

The whining is back at just peak slash Nadir Dallas levels. It's every f*** play. Just play man. Not everything is a foul. And it's almost like, are you playing to draw a foul?

Or are you playing basketball? Like which one are you doing? Are you playing one-on-one and like with the refs or are you playing a game? It's every single possession now. It's completely out of control. It's back to Dallas levels. It's just unwatchable.

And I'm not saying, I mean, Magic Johnson complained to the refs a lot. So did Michael Jordan. But LeBron's always been about a four to five technical guy. I think LeBron had one technical year that he was like 10. That's big for LeBron. He's not a big complainer. I mean, he says it kind of walking away. He's not real confrontational.

as a player with teammates, with coaches, with officials. Lucas, 13 plus, it's growing. And it's troubling because he spends a lot of time arguing and talking to the refs, and he's not a good defensive player. So it's like, bro, you've got to get back. This has never been a faster game, and you've never aged more quickly. So it's like it's a problem. And nobody disputes the Lakers are going to be in business with him for the next seven,

eight years. But I would say that he's had 99, Lucas had 99 techs in 8. years. LeBron's had 76 and 23 years, and LeBron's a much better defender and gets back. So it's a problem. And it's irritating. And, you know, that's where we are. Really, really entertaining game. But I do think this week, the new Dodger owners took former Laker exec, Lon Rosen from the Dodgers and inserted him into the Lakers. And I think what's going to happen, and I think it's fairly obvious. They're going to move off LeBron. They should because LeBron and Luca

don't really work together. You think they would, but they both need the ball. Neither defends now at a high level. And LeBron, you know, it just it does it, it should work. It sounds like it would. If LeBron was in his prime, Luca and LeBron would still not be an ideal fit, but it would

work more efficiently than it does now. LeBron's way past his prime. That's why so many are LeBron's best quarters are the first quarter. I mean, this year, he's had six or seven first quarters where he's the best guy on the floor and it takes luca a while to heat up and with that albert brayer at the nfl combine it officially starts tomorrow but then meeting all week the 18th that albert brer is covered so there's a lot you know i'm it's changed the rams now like

won't go the jaguar said we're not going to go and i guess the the the feeling is i would take it is that because players now train for the combine, they come in in perfect shape. They've never been stronger or healthier. And the truth is, in the NFL season by October, nobody's running a 4-3. Everybody's kind of banged up. And it's kind of survival and attrition. That's my takeaway. Does it feel like in your 18th combine, though, that now it's more of a deal-making exercise that it is a, hey, let's find some scoop on a player exercise. eyes. Yeah, I'd say things have definitely changed. Like, the first thing is, and I think this is like another effect of COVID, that everything has done so remotely across the country now in so many

different businesses that you're seeing that effect. There was a Rams impact here. And I think the Rams impact was like they felt like sometimes these 15-minute interviews can be deceiving and can change their view of a player in an undue way, because that player has been trained to interview and knock the 15-minute interview out of the park. And so why are you throwing seven or eight months of research out the window based on a 15-minute talk with somebody? So that's a factor too. And then, yeah, I think there is that element of this is kind of a convention for all NFL people. So all the agents are here. The cap guys are here. And there is a lot of that setting up for free agency. Now, I'd say it was a little more intense, maybe 15 years ago,

because there was a point when free agency would start right after the combine. So you have deals getting done here. Now there's a little separation, but I do think like markets are set here, right? Trade markets are set. The financial market for free agency is set. A lot of agents and teams are going to leave here knowing, you know, what a guy like Kenneth Walker might make on the free agent market. So that's another function of having people here as well. But you're certainly right. There are fewer head coaches here. There are fewer assistant coaches here, which is kind of a shame. because it does do feel like it takes the you know trade show

big trade show convention feel of the whole thing for the league out of it a little bit if I had to guess of a team that would move up it would be the Kansas City Chiefs to get Jeremiah love who I think they can't run the football and Brett Veach has discussed that that we have to be better at running the football

I don't care if you're Mahomes I don't care if you're Herbert everybody's better with a good solid run game period Brady was as well what do you hear about Kansas City love. It's such a natural fit. It's a weak running back draft. He's a Jamir Gibbs type home run hitting running back. Kind of a can't miss guy. You hearing anything on that? Well, what happens to the chiefs go and Kenneth Walker? I mean, if something like that could happen, like, you know, there are some backs that are going to be out there. Breeze Hall, it looks like he's going to be tagged. But if Bruce Hall

weren't tagged, that'd be an option too. And I think one thing Brett Feach is really good at is looking at this stuff globally. So it's like, and I think this is the way. And I think this is the way that he's going to view it. I want to do more around Patrick Mahomes. Whether Kelsey's back or not this year, we need to put more premier talent around him. So, like, how do you look at it? Do you look at it like we're better off getting a running back in the top 10 and then a receiver free agency based on what's available or we better off doing it the other way around? And so you'd be talking about, like, let's just say Alec Pierce, which again, a lot of this is going to ride on who gets tagged and who doesn't get tagged.

But if Alec Pierce were to become available, then would it be Alec Pierce and Jeremiah Love versus, say, Kenneth Walker and Carnell Tate? You know, so I think you have to look at it that way, and a lot of the opportunity that's going to be available to them, and free agency is going to be dictated again, does Breece Hall get tagged, does Kenneth Walker get tagged, does Alec Pierce get tagged?

Like, there are some good names out there right now. Are those names still going to be available a couple of weeks from now? I think that could dictate what Brett Veach decides to do inside the top 10 because, you know, obviously there's an opportunity there for the chiefs that they don't expect to have very often over the next decade where they are drafting that high. So Mac Jones, we got into this discussion about 20 minutes ago and I said, you've got to be very careful about Mac Jones. Matt Schaub was a pro bowler.

Kyle Shanahan leaves him. He goes six and 10. Matt Ryan's the MVP. His touchdowns are almost cut in half when Shanahan leaves the following year. Garoppolo gets to a super. Super Bowl flops when he's by himself and the Raiders. Mack Jones is an interesting player, but his passerating his career was mid-80s, which is kind of Case Keenham.

Last year it was 97, which is Tom Brady's career passerating. So it's buyer beware with him. I do think if he went to like a Minnesota with Kevin O'Connell, I'm like, oh, that could work. But I think you have to be very careful because he's been pretty mid until that eight-start moment last year. You think he's going to get moved? I think teams will call.

And here's the thing that's different about him. And people have to remember this. You're not just trading the player or you're trading the contract, right? So Kyler Murray and Tua Tugabaloa are complicated by their contract situations. For Tua, it's $54 million lump sum this year. Obviously, if the dolphins were going to trade them, they would have to pay down a lot of that to facilitate a trade. Otherwise, he gets cut. Maybe he's available for the minimum.

Kyler's same thing. It's even more complicated with Kyler because he's got 36 guaranteed this year and 18 guaranteed next year. So how do you resolve that to make him attractive to another team? That would be a question. You look at Mack, Mac's much more easily tradable. He's on the books for less than $5 million next year, Colin. It was brilliant of the Niners to get the second year on that contract. And they learned their lesson for not doing a two-year deal a couple of years ago with Sam Darnold where they let him go to the Vikings for nothing. And so I think the Niners are an a great position here where it's either we have our Brock Purdy insurance at a very affordable rate or if you want to come to us and make us an offer, we're more than willing to talk.

And so like the price tag goes up based on the fact that the financial number is down, right? And I do think like a team like Minnesota where there's some scheme, you know, familiarity there from Back Jones going from Kyle Shanahan to Kevin O'Connell, I look at it like that's a high-end bridge. You know, so you put him in a competition with J.J. McCarthy for right now. If he plays well, maybe you do a bridge deal with him, and he gets you to the next guy if McCarthy doesn't work out. So I think Minnesota is going to kick tires on a lot of reclamation projects.

They're the one that I think most teams, most quarterbacks, given their druthers, would want to go to. It's the best situation for a quarterback. And they have investigated a lot of those sorts of options after really hitting it big with Darnold a couple of years ago. And so I think Mac Jones is going to be on the radar the same way Kyler and Tua would be on their radar if certain things break a certain way with their contract situations. So there is a John Spitech, the Las Vegas Raiders GM said, I'll take calls.

Is there a scenario to you that Mendoza, Fernando Mendoza, they can move off him? It's not a great quarterback draft, but I said this before. If your scouting department thinks Ty Simpson is a late first early. second pick. And you can get a two moving down, another two, because the Raiders already have, multiple fours, multiple fives. I can see the Raiders, I mean, I can't see him doing it, but somebody comes up and says, I'll give you two and a one, and any chance Mendoza's not going to the Raiders. I would be stunned if he didn't go number one, right? I think it's highly unlikely that he goes anywhere but Vegas. I think it's an incredibly,

high likelihood that he winds up in Vegas. Now, things can change, right? And I mean, I can give you like 10 or 11 names for next year's class where some teams are already looking at it and saying, okay, like what happens with, and you know the names, right, Colin? Like, I mean, it's, it's Arch Manning, it's C.J. Carr, it's Julian Sayan. It's Trinidad Jambliss. It's Brendan Sorsby at Texas Tech. It's Nico Ayamalia at UCLA. I mean, you can go on. And there are so many names for next year. So, like, if the Raiders are offered something that is just completely off the charts, and you say if you're John SpyTech, if you're Tom Brady, if you're Clint Kubiak, this is something we can rebuild our entire roster with. And there's a great quarterback class coming next year.

And if we aren't very good this year, because maybe we aren't in a position to pull ourselves off the map that quickly, like, if we're going to be in the top five next year anyway, does it make more sense for us to take a historic offer, if that's out there for you, then just sit there and take Mendoza. I could see that scenario playing out, but it would take something really off the charts, I think to get them to move.

Like, I think they're of a mind right now to sit there and take Mendoza. Not impossible that they trade, though. Yeah, the other thing is, Albert, that the Raiders already have a lot of picks, and I've been told this by GMs, you don't want 14 picks. You don't want your roster to be that young. You know, a lot of times when you make a big trade or a move, you like a player, a veteran player presence to come with some of the picks.

So the Raiders, Jets, Cardinals, Titans, Giants are your top five. Combine starts officially tomorrow. What if I said to you, player buzz is, because Fernando's not throwing the ball, Mendoza's not throwing. Is there a player buzz for any particular player? Yeah, there are a few. So, like, there are a couple obvious ones. Arbel Reese from Ohio State is an athletic freak. If he works out, I'd expect it to show.

It sounds like he's just going to do the position drills, but even that, I think he'll show like the sort of athletic potential he has. Jeremiah, I love another one at Notre Dame. If he winds up working out as somebody who's expected to be way off the charts, the one name I would give you that I think is a little more under the radar. And I think everyone is going to want to pay attention to this one. Kenyon, Sadiq, the tight end from Oregon. He's not ideal size-wise.

He's built a little bit like Shannon Shark, right? About 6'3, 240 pounds. My understanding is if he decides to run, he could run in the four-thrises, and he could jump 40 inches. Those are numbers, Colin, that would be good for a 5'860-pound receiver. And he is 6'3 and 240 pounds. So Sadiq is one to watch. There are some of the big men, too.

Like Caleb Lomu, the other tackle at Utah is one. Caden Proctor, who was once a super duper recruit for Alabama is another. So there's some of the big men too. But, you know, I give you the obvious ones, the Reese, the loves. I give you some of the big men. But I think the guy who could really be the talk of Indy in a few days could be Kenyon Sadie. Good stuff. Albert Brewer, as always, at the Combine.

Appreciate it, bud. All right, thanks, Colin. morning quarterback Albert Breer starts tomorrow 18th combine he's covered um did you notice what he said when i asked him about the chiefs and jeremiah love he says what about kenneth walker of the seahawks well that would solve their running back issue i mean it's it's uh walker's not a receiver but are they going to throw out of the backfield much they're going to have Travis kelsey they've got a collection of wide receivers who are talented but can't get their personal acts together sometimes.

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On YouTube. Subscribe. 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, name? Huge news.

We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts. 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. 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, 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 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. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kier Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own

experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking trip, fine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough.

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And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now.

Last night, a blown call changed the 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. 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 Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. By the way, one of ESPN's better analysts, I don't talk about the other place, but he pointed out today, his initials are BW. He said, when Luca LeBron and Austin Reeves play together, they're not a good team. When it's just Reeves and Luca, the Lakers are an excellent team. Oh, apparently BW is watching our show. I mean, the funny thing about the NBA, who was I telling this the other day, too?

Oh, Jason Tymth at the volume. Fans wear their favorite stars in basketball. You don't wear cleats if you love Brady. You don't go around in shoulder pads. You don't wear spikes or batting gloves if you're a fan of O'Connie. but if you're a fan of an NBA player, you may buy his shoes or as apparel, gun show at the beach with JMAQ.

And so that makes it harder for basketball fans to relinquish an opinion, to move off their fandom. You wear your favorite NBA player. You know, or it's similar international soccer. If you go over to Brazil, you're going to see all these, Like every guy, a young man is wearing jerseys.

They can move merchandise, clothes, and aren't even athletic apparel. And so you have this just incredible tribal fandom of our basketball stars. I mean, there's still people arguing for John Morant. And over the last three years, he's a worst player every year. But they wear jaw, they love jaw. It's a YouTube watching league. And so it's very hard for people.

BW is acknowledging, and what we've been saying on this show is, we're a year into LeBron Luca and Reeves. We're a year into it. It doesn't work. And it's funny because when LeBron was in Miami with a Hedels, that was a completely flawed roster. They had no sign they were a size. They were a poor rebounding team, and they didn't have a great point,

Mario Chalmers. But Bosch was excellent. Also, you could move him away from the, basket, pulling Biggs along with him, opening up the lane for D. Wade and LeBron to score at the basket. And Wade and LeBron are high functioning, high IQ, high EQ, super athletic guys. And they just made it work. Like, LeBron and D. Wade really weren't, neither one's a pure shooter. But they made it work because they're smart guys. They loved each other. They complimented each other. And they were great athletes. And they both were committed on the defensive end. They really

he de-weighted entire career was on the floor, battling every possession. But Luca needs the ball and is a liability sometimes on the other end. And LeBron needs the ball. And Austin needs the ball. But Austin, because he's never been a star in this league and he's undrafted, is much more willing to alter his game, much more willing to do that. And so I think the numbers are pretty, well, I watch what you watch. when Reeves and Luca are on the floor, their net ratings better.

When it's all three, one of them standing around, and none are great defenders. So here was LeBron on Luca passing up the game winning shot last night. I thought we had a good opportunity. Loua came off clean, and I think he felt off balance. But we executed. We didn't get the shot that we wanted. We did execute it. What's going on?

He's not calling him out, but he's stating pretty decisively the truth. J-Mack with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. All right. Let's go to Lamar Jackson and the Ravens, Colin. Some interesting numbers here.

They, uh, the stat guys have looked at apparently Lamar Russ for 600 fewer yards, compared to the year prior. Now, he did miss four games, but it's clear even when he came back from injury, he was not 100% running less, right? So new head coach Jesse Minter, here's what he said about how he wants LeBron to play in his new offense. I don't know that he needs to run more.

I actually think there's times where he can run less. If you build an offense that takes advantage of the under center, the downhill run game, now that opens up a lot of boots and play action and plays. And then, you know, the great quarterbacks have that ability on the key play. Yes. To execute the second play. So the first play is maybe not there. It's not the perfect play call.

Now he can take advantage of that with his athleticism, his skill set. That's what he's always been able to do. So first time head coach says Lamar Jackson, please run less. Interesting. Well, I think the bigger issue is their center who's excellent is getting a deal. we negotiated and Lamar Jackson wants a new deal so you're going to have top of the market quarterback top of the market center so something's going to have to give like I said when John Harbaugh got let it go sometimes you know this in life you don't get the job you don't you don't

go you don't go or you're relieved of your duties and you're like man that's painful and then you'll wake up and you're like John Harbaugh's like well Jackson, free for the next three years. And Scataboo is free. And Neighbors is free. And Abdul Carter is free. The Giants are in a space that John Harbaugh was going to be financially trapped in Baltimore.

And he's not in New York. He's got all sorts of freedom. So it's one of those where you look and you feel bad for John Harbaugh, and I'm like, no, the Giants thing, the Giants thing, when you don't have to pay your quarterback for three years, man, do you have a lot of options as a GM and a head coach. And John Harbaugh, like his brother, Jim, is pretty damn good at personnel. He's one of those head coaches.

He knows personnel. So it's interesting. I love that point you made about Harbaal, maybe getting lucky. So you remember the website that I started way back in the day. I had a job offer two years in from ESPN the magazine before it was done. And I nearly stopped doing the website to go work for a magazine. Yeah, a lot of people do. And by the way, it was back.

better that you didn't get it. Thousand percent. I think you're right. I think Harbaugh kind of, I don't know if dodged a bullet. Is that too strong in Baltimore? The Ravens are so well-owned and so smart. I'm not going to insinuate he was trapped. But Jesse Minter is going to figure this out.

You've got to navigate some cap issues because Linderbaum, the center is great. Can't lose him. Can't lose. He's great. Arguably the second best center to Creed Humphrey in the league. He's great. And then Lamar Jackson wins 76% of his games. And they're both due.

The bag. Well, they've also got several other veteran players who are, you know, Kyle Hamilton now is moving into his prime. Well, they've got like six pro bowlers. They need a new quarterback. Marlon Humphrey's kind of done. I will say Minter, they don't have a lot of talent on that defense, but he can work magic with not great talent as we start with the charges. He's outstanding. I also, the wide receiver room, what's going on there?

What are we doing with Derek Henry, who kind of struggled a lot at times last season? I think the Ravens have a lot of questions. I currently don't have them as a playoff team. I'm the same way. And I love the organization. I love it. I don't have them as a playoff team. I think they have too many things to navigate financially.

All right. Here's a team we both have as a playoff team. That's the Denver Broncos. They should bounce back strong. Once again, Bo Nick's still on the rookie deal. Who knows? Bo Nicks could have been in the Super Bowl if he didn't suffer that fluke injury

on like the second and last play of the game. Anyways, the big news out of Denver, you alluded to this earlier, is Sean Payton is giving up play calling duties and handing the baton. to a 31-year-old named Davis Webb, who you may remember as a backup quarterback just a few years ago. Here's Peyton.

With regards to play calling, it's something that, you know, I think he'll be really good at it. And I know that's like, man, are you going to give up play calling? And I would only do that if I felt like it would help our team. I'll still be involved with what we do offensively, just like what we do defensively. but I do think he has a gift. I think he's real sharp.

I'm glad he's on our staff. Yeah, and if you don't let him do that, he's going to leave. So I think Sean Payton is, you've got to do this sometimes. You know, it's like Sean McBade's lost really good people. Sometimes you have to, you got to trust him. And my take is Sean Payton likes control. Even in the draft, he likes to say he would not do this if he didn't think David Webb was really special.

He didn't have to do this. He's choosing to do this. Colin, he was tight with Lombardi. They were tight forever, man. Yeah, but a lot of times you can be tight with a coach, but you don't necessarily the fit is good. A lot of times you work with people, and are they as good as the guy across the street?

Maybe not, but you like the personality, you like the fit, you trust them. and I think Sean Payton really like Lombardi and trusted him and they work well together and he was more than competent. But to relinquish the play calling duties, that's next level. And I also think Davis Webb has a reputation and the kind of aspirational growth. Like if you don't do this, he's going to move on. And then Sean is stuck calling plays for the rest of his career.

I just hope you don't Lombardi me at some point. Fortunately, I'm more Ben Johnson than Lombardi. That's obvious. All right, let's go to the final story, Kyle, Kansas City Chiefs. Missed the playoffs for the first time in the Mahomes era, and everybody's linking them to a running back to kind of bolster a meek offense. So we heard Jeremiah Love, we heard Travis E.T.N. I think somebody, was it Breer today floating Kenneth Walker?

Yeah. Here's GM Brett Veach talking about the run game. And we've talked about it, and coach has done an amazing job with his staff, cracking on that schemey, Val. But I think being more explosive in the running game and really taking advantage of those Interior 3 to kind of impose your will on an opposing team's defense. But the running game takes a lot of pressure off everybody. So I think if we can be more explosive and more effective in the running game,

I think obviously we take a lot of pressure off, Pat, especially coming back early in the season with the injury. I think they're going to go, I think they're going to move up to get loves. You know, it's funny. I was looking at the mock drafts this morning. Everybody's got their mock draft, I'm sure. I haven't put one out yet. I'm waiting for the combine to end. Yeah.

It's a love looks like he's going to go. have the ninth pick and Love looks like he's I mean you have to look so the Raiders aren't taking him the Jets aren't taking him Arizona's not taking him I doubt that Tennessee's taking him there's a lot of good offensive tackles and edge rushers that are going to gobble up the

first seven or eight or nine picks giants don't need to running back they got Scataboo so Kansas City is I could see them moving up a spot if they worried about the Saints but Jeremiah Love changes their run game Trading up for a running back? Trading up for a running back Colin

We got one spot you give up a fourth round pick. Okay. Scenario. So I'm looking at the Chiefs offensive line. They have the young kid Simmons out of Ohio State who had the major injury in college, missed a bunch of games last year. But he is talented and good when he played. But he missed a bunch of games as a rookie.

So the right tackle was the worst position on the offensive line. Juan Taylor terrible. So let's say something happens to the left tackle during the season. You're now up the San Diego. You're up the Chargers Creek. You've got to shuffle the deck on it. I think the Chiefs have to look. offensive line at 9.

You absolutely cannot go into next season with Simmons, Taylor, and question mark. That's not enough. Remember the Super Bowl against the bucks, Colin, where Brady had no tackle. Oh, sorry, not Brady. Mahomes had no tackles and got annihilated. This is the big problem. Mahomes is coming off an injury. Is he going to be running as much?

I know everybody loves love. Loves love. To the Chiefs, I would look offensive tackle at 9. I think that's got to be the move. Well, in the history of the last 30 years of the draft, last 50 years, you can get running back talent to your point everywhere. The great offensive tackles are almost universally first round or early second. Like, if you look at the 30th, 30 best left tackles in league history, it's like 28 are first round picks. Running backs come in all shapes and sizes.

Now, it's not a good running back class and love is exceptional. He's like, like, it's not a great quarterback. class, I think Mendoza's elite. It's not a good running back class. I think love is elite. This class has depth at tackle, edge rusher, a corner, but it doesn't have it at running back.

So to your point, that's like Albert Breer said, they may go after Kenneth Walker and not worry about the draft. And you see how teams, when they lose, a Trent Williams goes down for four games. 49ers are screwed. Eagles lose Lane Johnson for a few games. It's a major issue. Offensive line, like let's not underestimate it.

Plus, the free agent market for running backs is not terrible. I'd say the free agent market is actually better for running backs. I know the chiefs have no money because they're broke, but we'll see what happens with Kelsey. And it sounds like they're moving off Mike Dana, if they didn't already on the defensive line. They got some more moves to make. Yeah.

J-Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The HARD Line News. J-Mack will love our guest next hour. Jeff Goodman's coming in. It's a massive draft, and the three top players are all. elite talent. This draft was very good. We've talked about that. The NIL, not that it saved college basketball,

but the ratings are up significantly over the last three years. There was about a 20-year cycle in college basketball. Now, the Florida Gators with Billy Donovan had back-to-back championships. They had four NBA guys, but there was a big gap in college basketball. It felt like 15 years where, I mean, you may have one NBA guy in a team, a second guy is a second rounder. college basketball wasn't very good at low scoring games i mean butler's making it you know to the final four you're like not very good the look since the yukon huskies won that title a few years ago and had like stephan castle seven guys that were going to make the nbaa college basketball the nil 20 guys are coming from overseas the nil's buying the best european kids and another 20 guys are

staying another year in college. This past draft, excellent, upcoming draft sensational, Jeff Goodman, final hour to talk about that. And how did Michigan get this good? Michigan looks like a complete. It's like their offensive line. It's just power and size. How did Michigan get this good?

We'll talk about that with Jeff Goodman last hour. It's the hurt. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd, weekdays, and noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific 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? 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 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 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 Smigel. Michael 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. 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 Slic Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast.

Learn the hard way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark.

Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it, and we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes a ball. wins and losses.

Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real

conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free, our heart radio app. Search, learn the hard way, and listen now. We got to Huge top 10 showdown on Fox College Hoops as Yaxel Lendiborg and number three, Michigan, look to keep their dominant season rolling against freshman phenom, Keaton Wagler,

and number 10, Illinois. Friday night, 8 Eastern, only on Fox. We were talking about this earlier. The athletic did a story. They went back to the last 22 or 23 years, and they had a bunch of criteria on what a successful coach is based on regular season wins, playoff wins, Super Bowl appearances.

And of the 160 coaches hired over a 22, 23-year period, according to the athletic, these are the ones that I kind of judged as gold level and silver level. And these are all great coaches. There were only of 164, you know, kind of gold jacket hires. Belichick, Andy Reid, Sean McVey,

and Tom Coughlin. Belichick, Coughlin, Andy Reed, had been head coaches before. McVeigh was this wonderkin out of Washington who just they wouldn't let leave the building. And then there's the Silver Tier, which is Pete Carroll, Tony Dungey. They had been head coaches before.

But, you know, John Harbaugh, Mike McCarthy and Sean Payton, and Tomlin had not. So it doesn't matter if it's, you don't necessarily have to be a head coach before to have worked. I do think it helps potentially. But that's only 10 of 160 coaches. Now, there were other.

coaches that succeeded Mike March or John Fox had some success. I'm not, I'm not saying, you know, there were another semi-successful coaches, but nobody's looking to hire a semi-success coach. You want to get one of these two left. The gold tier guys, the gold jacket guys, or guys that you're going to, you know, silver tier guys, you know, I think it's fair to say that Mike McCarthy in Pittsburgh and Sean Payton in Denver, those are really good hires. Mike McCarthy's probably going to win some games in Pittsburgh. I think Sean Payton's the better coach and has succeeded very quickly in Denver. But yeah, I mean, it's, and for the record, you know who I'm not including in this,

yet is Kyle Shanahan, who I think will end up in one of these two tiers, but he has, he has had several losing seasons and missed the playoff several times, so he's not at that level. And again, there are coaches like Kyle Shanahan, who I think are excellent. Speaking of Shanahan, there was a story today about teams going out and getting getting Mac Jones, the backup to Brock Purdy, who was sensational. I mean, he really was. He had a passer rating of, you know, high 90s, 70% completion rate. I think he surprised all.

We all thought his career was dead. I mean, be honest, you did too. And basically, Kyle Shanahan, he did it to Matt Ryan, Matt Schaubb, Jimmy Garoppolo, takes him to a level that everybody's surprised. And I asked Albert Breer from the Combine on the potential Mac Jones' interest around the league. There's got to be some, right? Max, much more easily tradable. He's on the books for less than $5 million next year, Colin. It was brilliant of the Niners to get the second year on that contract, and they learned

their lesson for not doing a two-year deal a couple of years ago with Sam Darnold, where they let him go to the Vikings for nothing. And so I think the Niners are in a great position here, where it's either we have our Brock Purdy insurance at a very affordable rate, or if you want to come to us and make us an offer, we're more than will. going to talk. Yeah. So I just think, I think Minnesota's the fit, but they got a JJ McCarthy issue. So that's where we stand.

The other thing to talk about it at the combine is that it's sort of changed. And I think it's fascinating why it's changed. It's always been kind of an interesting watch to me. They call it the underwear Olympics. but why the Rams said, no, we're not going to go. And Jacksonville, similarly this week said, you know, we're not going to send our GM or our coach, is the concern is, and I think it's valid, is that people go and train in Arizona. And then they train with their agents for the interview.

So everything's a little synthetic. Nobody's really, once you go to camp and once you start the season, everybody's banged up. I mean, even the fast guys aren't as fast. And the moderately fast guys are slower because they're all dinged up. And so a lot of the NFL season is pain tolerance, playing hurt, attrition, being a good teammate. It's not just, hey, you look good in the hotel lobby. And a little bit of the combine is prepared interviews, everybody's slick and sleek and in great shape and healthy. And that's not really like to me, what do I?

need to learn from Fernando Mendoza, honestly. What in the world do I need to learn? I thought it was interesting that Albert Breer said, you know, listen, it's a great quarterback class next year. Are the Raiders necessarily going to take Fernando Mendoza? Albert Breer would only say, Fernando Mendoza will go number one. But ask yourself, what if you're the Raider, now I wouldn't move off it, but what if you're the Raiders GM? And you know, next year, years class. Remember, there is a feeling, and it's an overwhelming feeling from the executives I have texted, that Mendoza is not Caleb Williams, he is not Drake May, he is not Andrew Luck, he's not Trevor Lawrence. Now, he could end up being very, very good. He's not

that caliber. He's a little stiff. He's not a great athlete. He, and nobody knew who he was at Cal. He wasn't tearing the world up. We knew who Andrew Luck was when he was a freshman at Stanford. We knew who Trevor Lawrence was as a freshman at Clemson. We knew who Caleb Williams was as a freshman in Oklahoma. They like jumped off the TV. That's not Fernando Mendoza. I would acknowledge that. That's not who he's not Elway.

He's not Trevor Lawrence. He's not Caleb. He's not Drake May as a talentor. I don't think he's nearly as talented as Justin Herbert. I think he's more in the, you know, he's more in the Matt Ryan class. I interviewed Matt Ryan when I used to work at the other place out of Boston College. He was a little thin, super smart, totally driven. You could tell he was going to succeed,

but he didn't blow you away in terms of size and arm and mobility. I think that's what Fernando Mendoz is. But let's say you're the GM of the Raiders. And somebody calls you and says, we'll give you two number ones. And you're, I mean, go look at the draft board, and you only have to move down four spots or five spots. And you're like, all right. well, then I have two ones the next year.

I have two ones the following year. I mean, let's say Arizona calls at number three. And Arizona says, we'll give you the next two years. We'll give you number one pick. And you're the Raiders and like, I moved down to three? Okay. And next year there's like six quarterbacks. And, I mean, we're in a division with a better L.A. Charger team, a better Denver team.

And a better Chiefs team. even with Mendoza, if we could win nine wins, you'd be overwhelmingly happy. So my take is, well, that, that, that, that is, I think you take that phone calls. John Spitech, the GM said, we're taking calls. So again, you wouldn't do that with Trevor Lawrence. You wouldn't do it with Peyton Manning, John Elway, Andrew Luck, Caleb Williams, or Drake May. You wouldn't do it. But I, you know, listen, the GM's acknowledging, I'm taking calls on it.

What I worry about with the Raiders is they already have so many picks this year. I don't have it off the top of my head. I think they have a first, second, a third, three fourths, two fives, multiple. They have so many picks. I think they have 10 or 11 picks. The worry about getting more picks is, good God, we're going to be a young football team. You don't want to be that young in a division with great coaching and great rosters surrounding you. You don't want to have 13 picks.

You don't. What you need is more good players. that's why I would re-sign Max Crosby because you have so many picks. You're going to have so much cheap labor after this draft. If you hit on seven or 80 or 10 draft picks, you can easily afford Max Crosby because you're not paying anybody else. But I think taking a call is interesting. Okay, so what's your game plan at quarterback if you do trade out of number one?

I would trade down again and get Ty Simpson at 12. Let me vomit at my mouth as we go to commercial bread. Oh, my gosh. Whoa, whoa, whoa. 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. Nice. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first 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. 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. Winning on Clay is an art. The rallies are relentless. And at the French Open, only the toughest survive. I'd know. I competed there for decades. Join me, Renee Stubbs, on the Renee Stubbs'

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And I actually can win on any surface. 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. 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

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