The Herd with Colin Cowherd - THE HERD - Hour 2 - NFL teams on the up and down, Nick Wright

Episode Date: February 10, 2026

He looks ahead to the 2026 NFL season and gives you the 5 teams he’s Up on and the 5 teams he’s Down on. Nick Wright from First Things First joins the show to react to Colin’s 5 Up & 5 Down and why the Lakers have missed their opportunity to win a championship with LeBron James and Luka DoncicSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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USC, big presence in the Super Bowl. Sam Darnel, I tell you. Feeling really good. Don't want to be obnoxious. Man of the people. J. Mack, I don't want to get over my skis on here, but life is good. So I'm going to get the Nick Wright in five minutes, but I thought it's the way too early, five up, five days. I love this idea.

Okay, so five teams, and it's not just going to be record. You are going to feel differently about these teams positively next year. And then five teams, and some of the teams that I have going down are teams that will be good, but I don't think they'll be as special. So we're going to play five up, five down. Let's start glass half full. I'm going to tell why I'm at my core. Of course.

First of all, five up. The New York Giant is the easiest pick on the board. I like their roster. Top 10 O-line, top 10 D-line, I think 11, according to PFF. They were one in seven in one-score games. Jackson Dart now gets an elite coach and a culture center. They have the number five overall pick. They can trade down and accumulate more picks.

Their lines are good enough. They got to get a right tackle, a tight end, probably another weapon, Scataboo, Jackson, DART, 4 and 13 Giants are my pick to double their win total. They'll look different by mid-September. The commanders, same division. They get Jaden Daniels back.

They were 5 and 12. I don't know if they're going to win 10 games, but they have a lot of cap space. They're the oldest team in the NFL. The commanders are going to be a different-looking team. Again, 7-1-score games. They won only two. Dan Quinn is solid, if not exceptional.

Cap space, lost a lot of close games. They get their quarterback back. Just don't forget how gifted he was as a rookie. The third team is the Detroit Lions at 9 and 8. They're going to get back into the 12-win territory. I love, I was surprised it didn't get more positive feedback, the hire of Arizona's offensive coordinator, Drew Petzing. didn't anybody else watch Arizona this year and go,

how the hell are they scoring all these points with Jacoby Brissette? He's clever, maybe not Ben Johnson, but their stars are locked up. Goff is still in his prime. Amaran St. Brown, Panezol, Hutchison, Gibbs on a rookie deal. We're not a very good team in close games. Dan Campbell had to take over the offense.

This is still an elite front office that drafts well and acquires well. They're going to get their mojo. back, they struggled at OC, 9 and 8 to probably an 11 or a 12-win team. The Chargers, now they were 11 and 6, and they may only go 12 and 5. They will feel different. Mike McDaniel, probably the best coordinator higher in the sport. They get both offensive tackles back and both are way above average. Third most cap space.

They have drafted well with Jim Harbaugh. Again, they have been a defensive first team that survives offensively that we're not considering a Super Bowl team. Next year, there'll be an offensive-led team that won't be as good defensively, but you will feel very early in the season. Oh, this team could win the Super Bowl. Whether they do or not, they'll have a totally different field. And finally, an easy one, the Kansas City Chiefs. Two years ago, they won every close game. Last year, they lost every close game, one in nine.

you know, you're going to get in the middle somewhere around there. Also, their offensive tackle position when Josh Simmons wasn't playing, and he's really talented, was a mess, he's back, Mahomes is healthy. Travis Kelsey, I argued for him to return one more year. Listen, you just have to be honest about it. When you're drafting at the bottom of rounds, it's really hard. GMs will tell you, after about the 18th pick, you wish you could just have more second and third round picks. they're going to be fine. They're going to improve 6 and 11.

My guess becomes 11 and 6. Here's 5 down. Houston, 12, and 5. They have dominated their division the last two years, 10 and 2. That's not happening again. That's not happening again. Tennessee is going to be much better. Jacksonville is really good.

They've also been 5 and 9 the last couple of years against teams. that make the playoffs. I love C.J. Stroud. I think he throws the prettiest ball on some Sundays in the league. He has regressed to an 89 passerating guy who turns the ball over way too much. They will be good as long as D'Amico Ryan's is the coach. But I don't think they feel the same. I don't think offensively they've got the right rhythm.

12 and 5 to me becomes like, what? 9 and 8, 10 and 7, but you never feel like they're a Super Bowl team. I would say the Patriots. Okay, 14 and 3 is not happening. AFC is going to be much better. The Chiefs will be better. The charges will be better. Cincinnati, Baltimore, Jacksonville's only getting better in Liam Cohen's second year.

They're not going 14 and 3. My guess, they're closer than 10, 11 wins. Also, it's the Dan Marino thing. They got to solve their offensive line. Dan Marino with Don Shulah never got back to a Super Bowl. It was a really bad year. I mean, they got, let's be honest. If Bo Nix plays, they probably don't make the Super Bowl.

They were completely overwhelmed by Seattle. It wasn't necessarily close. I love Vrable. Drake May's good. But you start looking at the AFC. There's just too many good quarterbacks. There's too many good coaches. There's too many good coordinators.

They take a step back. 49ers, who I love, 12 and 5. George Kittle, probably not available until midseason. Robert Sala had an unbelievable year as defensive coordinator. Bosa, aging, getting hurt more often. What are they going to do at Receiver? Brandon New Ayuk's gone. Joanne Jennings is a free agent.

What are they going to do? Christian McCaffrey comes off a 450 touch season, and he is now 30. So, again, they did it with smoking mirrors last year. They'll be fine. I don't think they're a 12-and-5 team. Cowboys, 7-9-1. I think they unravel. They're a mess.

Jerry Jones is a businessman. How can you be this big of a mess? They're $29 million over the cap. They want to pay George Pickens. That's going to cost you $29 million. Worst defense in the NFL. They're spending an NFL high $70 million on their interior defensive line and an NFL low $6 million on their edge rushers.

How are they this big of a mess? Stop trying to get discounts, hire a real GM, pay big money for a coach, 7, 9 and 1, they're going down. And finally, Philadelphia at 11 and 6, how many coordinator changes can you make? You just had a top offensive line coach say, I'm out. You've got some older offensive linemen who are getting banged up increasingly

and may decide at some point, I'm out. I think they've been doing it a little bit just on Howie Roseman's roster. But I don't feel Siriani's an elite coach. I don't care about the record. and I think the book's in on Jalen Hertz, not beloved in the locker room. I've got that sourced.

I also, I think he struggles throwing the ball down the field. I said it yesterday. You don't want to give Sam Darnold any credit. Donald sits in that pocket, doesn't turn it over in the last month and throws the ball right into the heart of the defense. I'm sorry, on the market. I think GMs take Donald over Jalen Hertz.

So Giants, commanders, lion, Chargers, chiefs up, down, Texans, Patriots, Niners, Cowboys, Eagles. I also think Tennessee should be better, but I'm not ready to commit just yet. With that, Nick Wright joins us live. First things first. Anything jump out to you? Any big whiff by me? Well, so I have a question, but first an observation.

Overall, I think it's a great list. It is, it did make me smile that all the teams you have trending up are teams that miss the playoffs or dealt with massive injury, except for, of course, the 11-wind chargers that all we got to do is move on from Anthony Lynn and Justin Herbert will show you who we... Oh, never mind. Brandon Staley is the prop. Darn it.

Jim Harbar will fix... That ain't it. No, it was all Greg Roman's fault. Now, Mike McDaniel will fix it. You Harbaugh... I mean, you Herbert guys are just something else. Like I'm starting to think maybe you grease Sam Monson's palms, so he voted for Herbert for MVP. You might be the man behind the mirror in that.

I am, but otherwise I think it's a really good collection. My question is this, because I was surprised, I don't necessarily think it's wrong. I was surprised you didn't have Baltimore or Cincinnati on trending up. So tell me. Okay, so Baltimore, Lamar wants a new contract. okay, I'm sorry, but I'm concerned too. Yeah, and we just saw it with Josh Allen.

No pro bowlers on defense. I think even Brett Veets and the Chiefs. When the quarterback's a big quarterback hit, you're not going to have a running get. You're going to have a hole. And I believe the NFL's not about being great everywhere. You can't be terrible anywhere. If you're terrible at left tackle,

New England chiefs this year when Simmons is hurt. It's just impossible. The coaching's too good. And by the way, I like New England and I like the Texans. But the AFC, let's be fair, had a down year. It's going to be noticeably healthier and better next year. Well, and I don't know if you, so I think Patriots right now,

and I know we'll talk about the Super Bowl, but I think the Patriots are probably worse than a coin flip to get back to the playoffs next year. And it's not because they were frauds. It's not, I like Drake May, I love Brable. But to go from literally the softest schedule in the NFL this century. Century. And the second softest in 50 years to next year, they have their road games, Colin.

They, of course, have their divisional road games, which Buffalo is one of them. And their other road games are Detroit, the Chargers, the Chiefs, Chicago. Seattle and Jacksonville. So they play six non-divisional road games, four against playoff teams, and the two non-playoff teams are the Lions and the Chiefs. So like that schedule, snapback effect on it. And so I think the Patriots, while they could be in the mix for years to come, could have a reality check next season.

Yeah. What do we do with Sam Darnold now? Where do we classify? I said yesterday. You skip work and go to the parade. I mean, that's what you do. I said yesterday. Y'all forced me to love Brock Purdy.

If Purdy and Darnold are on the market, everybody's taken, every GM's taken Darnold. Bigger, stronger, better arm, didn't have a turnover for a month against the NFC playoffs of the Patriots. What do we do with Sam now? I'll let you take it because people don't think I'm objective on that. Well, listen, you don't, this is,

I mean, people can say you're not objective. this is the one, I shouldn't say the one, but this is one thing that you can say everyone was wrong but me, Colin Cowherd. Like you get to take a victory lap on this, buddy. You never, you never relented in believing this was possible and no one else thought it was possible. So I will give you full credit on that because you deserve it. Now, where he falls in the quarterback hierarchy is this. Yesterday, I thought you did an interesting thing about. just comparing him within the NFC, because the AFC is kind of stacked with the quarterbacks, and the NFC is stacked with the great teams.

Exactly right. That's just how it has fallen. So Stafford's better than him. I understand they won. Stafford's better than him, but Stafford's old. So if you were to say, if the question is, hey, NFC quarterbacks you want for the next three to five years, Stafford's out of it

And then it becomes like would I rather have Darnold or hurts I would rather have Darnold Would I rather have Darnold or Purdy? I would rather have Darnold. Dack is a question. I think Dack has shown more but Dack has never had anything close

to the NFC championship game Darnold just had and he's older. So then it becomes Darnold against the younger guys Darnold or Gough. That's a coin flip to me. And then the younger guys, Caleb, Jaden, Jordan Love, who's about his age, but feels youngs didn't play much. Like, so those are all debates. It's remarkable that those are debates, but you hit on, I think, the most important point. He led the league in turnovers.

And then, in week 18, with the one seat on the line, didn't turn it over. First playoff game, didn't turn it over. Going bar for bar with... at Stafford in the NFC championship game, which, if that was the real Super Bowl, he was the MVP of that game. And then he did what Drake May wasn't able to do in the Super Bowl, avoid the disaster. And he had three or four times in the Super Bowl, Colin, where I was like, oh, he's going to get sacked. And he escaped it just enough to get the ball off, which is all that team needed.

It felt to me, Colin, like Mike Brable's game plan was. Danald's going to give it to us. That's right. We just have to avoid disaster, be concerned on offense. Darnold will give it to us. The very first throw of the game, I thought he gave it to him. The very first throw, I thought it was big six. I was like, oh, no.

But it got through, and he never made a mistake, like a big mistake the rest of the way. You know, it's funny. We had a resurgence of defensive coaches, and I do think it's funny. Liam Cohen got more votes for coach of the year than Mike McDonald because we can see offense. We can see Shanahan's motion. We can see Liam Cohen's elevation of Trevor Lawrence. And Liam was on last week, brilliant guy.

We can see McVeigh's offense. You can't really see what a defensive coach does. You're like, well, you know, they draft well. And RG3 was on the show on yesterday and talked about that. Is that we tend, I mean, there's Mike McDaniel in Miami for two years. was the talk of the league because it was like, oh my God, it's clever. Mike McDonald's like, well, I mean, he's not McVey or Shanahan, but he's a heck of a coach. And I wonder if we have take out Andy Reid, take out Andy Reid.

And you said all these great young coaches, has McVan and Shanahan, have they met their equal in Seattle? Well, so that's, I think it's a great question because the Mike McDonald's, what his defenses have done, since he's been with Seattle, 11 games against young quarterbacks, those young quarterbacks are 1 in 10, averaging less than 16 points a game. Crazy. If you take his time in,

he's two years in Baltimore and then to Seattle, where he's running defenses, quarterbacks in their first game, first time seeing his defense, 10 and 33, again averaging less than, 16 points per game. I think there are a couple things

that are working against Mike McDonald from like a PR perspective. One is what you're alluding to. Offense seem like the nerds who cover football of which I'm kind of one, lean offense, the analytics lean

offense. It's eye candy. It's eye candy. Right. A guy like, you mentioned McVeigh and Shanahan. I'll go a level lower. Up until 15 days ago, Kevin O'Connell was considered far above Mike McDonnell on the coaching hierarchy because he's the quarterback whisperer guy, Kevin O'Connell. But Kevin O'Connell had a team that had Sam Darnold last year, and they got clocked in their first playoff game. They didn't build it out like

this. So I think that has worked against him. And the other thing that I think honestly has worked against him is East Coast versus West Coast publicity bias. Like, I think if he were the coach of Washington and he would have more, Washington commanders rather than Washington State, I just think the fact that Seattle plays a lot of those 405 Eastern games, they're not like a front of the marquee team. He rode a little more in anonymity as opposed to Vrable, who obviously, was a celebrity player, you know, a famous player, I should say. But the fact that he's on the East Coast with the Patriots,

while McDonald's on the West Coast with the Seahawks, I mean, I think Grable's a great coach. But the level of the PR machine for one versus the other going into the Super Bowl was a little too much. Like I had to read three articles, Colin. They're like, guess what Brable did the practice before the Super Bowl? You're not going to believe it. Middle of practice, he called his players. off the field for an extended

halftime and even played bad bunny on the speakers. It's innovation we've never seen. I'm like, guys, he didn't invent practicing for the long halftime. But Brable, who's an excellent coach in Boston, famous guy, got a lot, a lot of

cred leading up to the Super Bowl. McDonald, not so much. The, there's so much here. I want to ask this Laker question, because we've got a lot of football, and I see the clock. So the NBA makes it hard to trade. The NFL does not.

And because of that, like Darren Peterson plays for Kansas, draft him. I don't care that he's not available much. You draft him. He's a 3-&D player. It's a 3-N-D league. I don't care that he misses games. He was sick.

People get sick. He has cramps. He looks like Kobe. draft him. I don't care. Christian McCaffrey missed a Sun Bowl. People freaked out. It was one of the best college backs I've ever seen.

Draft Christian McCaffrey. So we were saying this with a lot of, Lakers. I was reading the L.A. Times this week, as I'm prone to do. I love the newspaper industry. Of course, you even pantomimed. You were reading out on your phone. You, the all the broad sheets. You were on, you're in Chicago, on the L train, reading a physical Los Angeles Times bumping into people. I get it. I love it. You painted the picture. And Laker fans in the letters to the editor, they all know the problem. Like every letter was, we're atrocious defensively. We're all offensively. said Laker fans know the problem.

I don't think they know the wrecking ball they need. I said, I think J.J. Reddick's good and Luke is excellent. I would move everybody. OKC, Detroit, San Antonio. Elite defense is three best teams in the league.

LeBron came out last night and to his credit said, you know, the difference is they can play hard for 48 minutes. We can't do that. When you look at the Lakers and LeBron, how do you part gracefully, Bronny, LeBron. How do you make that whole thing work?

So it's gracious. You bring the wrecking ball in. Are this going to be one of those clunky, awful? That's nowhere to treat a star exit. No, I don't think that'll be it. Because LeBron's, his contracts up after this year, he'll be a free agent, and I think he'll leave. LeBron has finished every contract he's ever had.

He's honored every contract he's never had. He's never been traded, never demanded a trade. and I think he'll finish his time with the Lakers. But I think the Lakers story is of this last half decade is that of massive missed opportunity because the Lakers, now at this deadline, they made a marginal move trading for Luke Conard. But from the championship until the Luka trade,

they just stood pat every year at the deadline. They never tried. They always were more worried about max cap space down the road when this is no longer calling a max cap space league because no great players hit free agency great players used to if they wanted to change teams let their contracts expire now they're like team that i don't want to be on can i have that extension oh we signed it i'd like to be traded please so max cap space is not that useful because what what is useful is either trade assets or going for it when you have great players and i think the

Warriors made the mistake of this two timeline nonsense and threw away the last few years of Stephs Prime. And I think the Lakers threw away the last couple years previously when LeBron was still a top three player in the league. Then they got Luca and they still didn't accelerate. They're like, no, we're going to wait, we're going to wait. Man, there is a very real chance that the best teammate Luca Donchich ever has in his Lakers career is LeBron James last year. And the second best one might be Austin Reeves this year

to not try to fix what is obviously a fatal flaw of the roster, which is we have no defenders, is baffling. And for them to be, and it's not even about LeBron. They are in back-to-back years, Colin, punting on a chance to win the title with Prime Lucanacic. You have Prime Lucanacacian And you're like, this year's not the time. And honestly, if we don't pull off a Janus Heist, next year's probably not the time either. It's baffling. Hopefully the Dodgers folks that are taking it over have a more clicking or ticking time clock than Rob Belinkas had. But yeah, they're not a championship level team because they got to score 135 to win against good teams.

You're not going to win three rounds that way, let alone four. All right, buddy. You did a great job yesterday. You're going to have good shows all week. Oh, thanks. And we'll get to the Chiefs next week. I didn't want to burden you with that when I wanted a Lakers take. Listen, I thought it was, it's nice for the whole NFL to see how the Chiefs have been carrying the AFC this decade. You see these Super Bowls when the Chiefs aren't in them? You see these AFC playoffs when the Chiefs aren't in them? A lot of Stidham Macers. Stidham, Drake, May, 10, 7. Everybody missed Kansas City a little bit. It's, fine year off be back next year see you soon buddy

all right Nick Wright first things first yeah the it was a it was a clunky AFC playoffs the NFCs were unbelievable

I was talking to my buddy in New York who is a Seahawk devoted Seahawk fan and I'm like six most cap space best defense young coach darnled team friendly deal

they've got the first second and third round picks they have about two to three needs. They'll answer all those. I'm not saying, I'm just saying Seattle is going to be really good next year and the year after. Then you don't know.

You can't project three years out in pro football. You can project 24 months. That's fair. But if they lose one of two, Walker or Shaheed, and what if they lose two of two? They lose both those guys. Shaheed, you can lose.

I mean, he, that punt return against the Rams, essentially saved their season down 16 with eight minutes left in the game. Walker's, very, very important. Charbonnet will be back. But also, I think this Kubiak lost, Colin, I don't want to draw a direct parallel to what happened with Jared Goff and Ben Johnson. But we saw when you lose your offensive coordinator, that offense sagged in Detroit.

We predicted that. Okay. Goff was still fine. The problem you went from the best offensive coordinator and it dropped down. to an in-house guy. So Clint Kubiak, I don't think is Ben Johnson. I think he's good. So you're not that high.

And my gut is John Snyder and Mike McDaniel, they don't choose guy down the hall. Now, they may. They may. There's cheddar they're going to go in-house for that. I don't love that. But my take is Ben Johnson was the best O-C for three years. Clint Kubiak is a really good O.C.

And the guy who replaced Ben Johnson, it didn't work by mid-season, Campbell took it over. If you hire a guy that's not Clint Kubiak but is capable, it's a really good roster and a really good GM. I mean, last year, Super Bowl team was Philly, led by their GM. This year, Super Bowl is Seattle. Oh, yeah, Philly lost their O.C. Kellynne Moore goes to the Saints.

Yeah. New O.C., total disaster. But still double-digit wins. And it was a disaster. But the division was a joke. Washington fell off a cliff. Wow. I mean, you're almost selling me on the opposite of Seattle.

They're going to go to nine wins. That division is brutal. No, no. Sales going to be good. Good. Slinging Sammy D. is coming back. Live in L.A. It's third. One more herd?

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Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. 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?

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You're lucky I'm not an alcoholic. You are. I'm not a killer. I love this team and I'm really trying to be a figure in their lives that they can rely on. Oh. Oh. Listen to soccer moms on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, actress, mother, lover, and a Gen X woman walking through

life one hot flash and hormonal crying jag at a time. You ladies know what I mean. I'll bet you a paramedipausal chin here you do. So let's talk about it. Join me on my new podcast. How hard can it be with Deanna Maria Riva, where I call on my Gen X squads from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate midlife's most fantastic BS. All of a sudden, I'd had hanginess happening on my own. I was like, What the hell is that? I was married when I had her, so I didn't even consider how empty that Ness was going to be. Mood swings, night sweats, fupas, sex drive. Wait, what sex?

Dating at 45. How hard can it be getting naked at 50 with the new guy? That one's kind of hard. Well, that's lighting. They say we can't polish a turd, but we're sure going to try. So let's get blunt with laughs, tears, or tears of laughter, and dive into it, unfiltered and unbothered and ask, how hard can it be? I cannot believe I'm about to say. Just say this out loud in public.

Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Diana Maria Riva as part of My Cultura Podcast Network available on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Yeah, I don't understand why the NBA, we don't like tanking. Let's be honest. Five to seven teams every year are tanking.

And everybody understands it and you can't stop it. It's like, okay, just, I mean, I'm not saying you have to go and full embrace it, but don't change any rules. to avoid tanking. Bottom line, don't you want the bad teams to get good? Let them. I don't like a team being the second worst in the league and then drafting nine.

It's like reward them. Give them a player. Guess what if you do that, they won't be tanking in three years. But it feels like it's the same teams over and over and over it. They don't win the ping pong ball lottery. You know, you have to tank again. Seems to me. J-Mack with the news.

No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. You know who had a good Super Bowl, Colin? Cooper Cup. Haven't talked much about him. He was everywhere 61 yards at 12 targets. Pretty good game from Cooper Cup.

Afterward, Mike McDonald, he may have gone overboard on Cooper Cup's career and legacy. Take a listen. Cooper is an absolute force multiplier. An absolute stud of a person, stud of a teammate. This should cement him in the Hall of Fame, in my opinion. I mean, Super Bowl MVP. two-time champion, all-time great teammate. Man.

I think the other thing that with Coop is like he just, the way he's helped our program and how we build what we do from day to day is not talked about enough. You know, he's got a great perspective. I'd be an idiot not to listen to him, you know. Sometimes we don't do what he wants, but definitely listen to him. You know, it's very interesting why he had a big game.

So if you're Seattle and preparing for a New England Vrable team, aren't you thinking, oh, they're going to take away JSM? You go into a game knowing that's the Vrable Belichick mantra. Make teams play left-handed. So Seattle said, we're going to stack it for Cooper Cup. He's going to be more open. So Seattle's game plan was like, okay, JSN's great, but we know what they're going to do. They're going to be all over JSN.

and they were. And so, again, the game plan by McDonald, I thought was superior than the New England game plan, which is Seattle was like, no, we're going to target, we're going to target our number two guy, because we know what you're going to do. And Cooper Cup ended up, this is one of the biggest completions of the game.

So, you know, in Seattle also, very much early is like, we're taking field goals. We're not going to play into your game and go for it on fourth down. We're taking the points. and just bleed you. Three nothing, six nothing, nine nothing. So Seattle went into this game clearly knowing we're not going to,

we know what everybody thinks you're going to do to us, and we're going to counteract it. And I thought Seattle had a very smart game plan. That's Kubiak. Institutional knowledge walking out the door into, where's he going? Raiders. Yeah, yeah, Raiders. So listen, I like McDonald a lot.

I like Cooper Cup a lot. What a great story. I think he went to the same college as you, right? Eastern Washington, something like that. It's largely understood as the Princeton of the Palouse. Yes, I've heard that somewhere before, I think, from you. I just don't like when McDonald goes overboard and says cement him as a Hall of Famer. Can't we just say, like, one of the better receivers of his generation?

Well, he's... I did a drill down, Colin, during the commercial break. You know how many 1,000-yard receiving seasons Cooper Cup has in his career? Three. Two. And one amazing season. I think he's a very good player. I don't know if he's...

I don't need a hall to fame. I don't like that. I mean, he's had a lot of injuries. Yeah. But I just, I don't like when guys go over. Put too much pressure. Like, if I recall, like year three to year seven, he had like a four-year stretch where he was just a monster.

Year three, he was really good. He was, you know, 1,100 yards, 10 touchdowns. I think that was with golf when they went to the Super Bowl. Then when they get Stafford, he had another monster year. But I understand the Force multiplier in the locker room. I think you told, was it the New York Post? Did you tell them that about me when I joined the Staff Force Multipler? I don't recall that question.

And I get it. Cooper Cup's work ethic and all that stuff. They love him. He's a great guy. But let's just, let's pump the brakes on. Hall of fame for Cooper Cup. And I like him a lot. All right, let's move on to NFL draft season, Colin. The Combine's coming up here in, what, two weeks? Yep. Joel Clatt has released Mock Draft 1.0.

And as you will find out, when you look at a lot of these mock drafts, there's no surprise at the top. Everybody in their mom has Mendoza going one to the Raiders. Yeah. Two, there is some question. Ruben Bain gets a lot of love, but Clat has Arvel Reese, the great linebacker from Ohio State. He played a lot of middle linebacker, then came off the edge this season. Great player, I would take an offensive lineman or an edge rusher over an outside lineback.

I don't know. We just saw a Super Bowl where the defense dominated. I know. Ruben Bain would be hard for me not to take. I like Bain a lot. There's a lot of chatter about his short arms. Arm length could struggle with these elite left tackles. By the way, I don't want to see the Giants take a receiver.

Take Spencer Fano from you. Get your right tackle fix for Jackson Dart who was in the blue tent. Yeah, I don't understand that. Carnell Tate's great. You don't need another receiver. Get Jackson Dart and Scataboo a wall in front. And not to knock the wide receivers, but if you look at like the last like 10 years, the first receiver usually is not the best one.

And that happens because you get more value when the guy drops. Now, I don't know about Mackay Lemon. You know him a lot? I know him a lot. You think he goes eight? That's a little rich for my blood. can tell you, I can tell you there are teams that like him when you get into the 11, 12, 13, 14.

Yes, I would agree with that. He is considered a can't miss. Not a superstar, absolute. I would say the comp is a little Amaran St. Brown, but, you know, and Amaran's been great, that doesn't drop it, route tree, what's really happened. Carnell Tate's more of a physical specimen. Mackay Lemons just incredibly. Open and dependable, strong hands, no drops.

Very good after the catch, but not a burner. Was it the Illinois game? He was just unguarded. I forget what it was. He was so good. He didn't have off games at USC. Yeah, he's exceptional. The Jeremiah loves stuff is going to be interesting.

A lot of people are saying, Chiefs, that doesn't make sense. Oh, it does to me. They have so many needs, Colin. Are you kidding me? Oh, I think. What line is he going to run behind? I think he is exceptional. The last time they took a number of running back first round was Clyde, Edward

to Lairaird. Yeah, but that was bottom of the first. Still, it didn't really work out. Running back that high question. And then finally, Caleb Downs, there is some, I got to be careful here. There's a lot of love for what happened in the Super Bowl with Ammanwari, the safety for the Seahawks.

Yes. And there's a couple other safeties around the league who are being moved around like chess pieces, hugely valuable. I think Caleb Downs is a little low at 12 to the Cowboys. If you can get Caleb Downs at 12. I think he's going to go higher than that. That's, I think it's four would be 12. Now, is this your, oh, this is Clas. No, this is Joel Clats. This is Joe Clatt.

I'm going to tell you something. Platt's got a lot of big ten guys in there. This is a really, really good draft. Yeah, very good job. If those are the top 12 players, there are some, David Bailey at Texas Tech is unblockable. Now, there is some off-field stuff about Bailey that's starting to bubble up. We'll see. I like him a lot. I'm not taking shots. But obviously, draft season is going to be fun. Very good offensive tackle and edge rusher draft. And as you saw this season, that's massive. Final StoryCon, let's go to the NBA. Ooh, Lakers going to be very spicy here this offseason and may not be good for Rob Polinka. There is a report, and I know there's a lot of reports out there, but this one indicates that if L.A. doesn't make a deep playoff run, Rob Polinka's job will likely be on, quote, life support, despite him trading for Luca Donchis last year.

Now, some of that has to do with this Dodgers' new ownership situation. You know how it goes. New front office. They want their guys. and they could have a new GM targeted. Polinka could be in trouble. The problem with Rob Polenka, I walk in as the Dodger guy,

and I look at the league, and I do analytics, and it is a 3-and-D league, and you don't have any elite defenders and not enough shooters. I got nothing against Rob Polinka, who can be a little thin-skinned. Like, Rob, you don't have what the league is.

This is a fantasy offense. It's difficult to find those guys when you're a handicapped by the LeBron contract. I'm not, again, I'm not saying it's all on Rob. What I'm saying is, go look at OKC. That's what you want to be. You need, and I'm not, and I said, people don't understand the wrecking ball. The Lakers need about five more B plus up players.

Like a McAil Bridges. They need, but I mean, not first round picks for McHill Bridges. Not one, they need two McAil Bridges. They need a better rim protector. Yeah. at least two more three-point shooters. And despite all that, they're fifth in the west. They're not, they are a regular season team.

That's also true. And they are so built for now. Check in April, May, when people start defending. They went into the Minnesota series. A lot of, oh, you were one of them. This could be interesting. It was a complete mismatch. Because once you play a team over and over and over,

then they can hunt your weaknesses. Lakers have a lot of weaknesses. Reddick's first postseason, I'm going to excuse it away. I'll just say this. Palinka better go into that meeting with ownership, armed with a lot of stats and an offseason game plan. Or Colin, you know how these Dodgers guys operate. I think he could be ushered out quite quickly

if he doesn't come with a great offseason game plan. And there's a lot of good free agents out there. I think the Lakers are in good shape. I think a Clippers fan on staff put this together. The Lakers under Palinka, we have their history here. I don't know if we're going to show. it, but from 2017 to 2025, let's just say a lot of first round exits for Polinka in Los Angeles. Not great.

Jay Mack for the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lye News. Todd McShay last hour. We're going to go back into that draft. It is a really good draft with a star quarterback at the top. It's The Herd.

Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. On Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the I-Harm. Hard 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... We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. 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. And, 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 Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. The story I've told myself about love or relationships 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 and explore the journey of healing, self-discovery and returning to yourself. We explore higher consciousness, emotional well-being and the practices that help you. you find clarity, peace, and self-mastery in a world that can feel overwhelming. The world is becoming lonelier.

We're not becoming more social and connected. We're becoming more individualized, but we actually meet people in connection. 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 IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, I'm Jared Adano. You might know me as that loud guy who yells out,

help on the internet. Help! Somebody, please! But there's so much more to me than that. I'm an actor. I'm a comedian. And recently, I've become quite the helper myself. And on my new podcast, Hope from a Hippocrite,

I'll be changing lives, helping people in need with my sage advice and 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 man. If I'm calling you, even if you're on your phone, let it ring twice. One ring is too scary. Cream of chicken suit. Hey, cream.

Cream a chicken suit. This is Help from a Hypocrite, the worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to Help from Hypocrat as part of the Mike Coutura Podcast Network available on the IFR Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm CJ Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defining the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows. Without Luca and Austin Reeves,

I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense.

And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers while he got the ball, like, after you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out.

real quick. Get your ass up and down the court and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, actress, mother, lover, and a Gen X woman walking through life one hot flash and hormonal crying jag at a time. You ladies know what I mean. I'll bet you a perimen apostle chin here you do. So let's talk about it. Join me on my new podcast. How hard can it be with Deanna Maria Riva, where I call on my Gen X squads from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate midlife's most fantastic BS. All of a sudden, I'd had hanginess happening on my own.

I was like, what the hell is that? I was married when I had her, so I didn't even consider how empty that nest was going to be. Mood swings, night sweats, fupas, sex drive. Wait, what sex? Dating at 45. How can it be getting naked at 50 with the new guy? That one's kind of hard. Well, that's lighting.

They say we can't polish a turd, but we're sure going to try. So let's get blunt with laughs, tears or tears of laughter, and dive into it unfiltered and unbothered and ask, How Hard Can It Be? I cannot believe I'm about to say this out loud in public. Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Diana Maria Riva as part of My Cultura Podcast Network available on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

The Great American Race returns with back-to-back champion, William Byron, looking for a historic three-beat. It doesn't get me. bigger than this. It's the 68th running of the Daytona 500 Sunday at 2.30 Eastern with pre-race coverage starting at 1230 only on Fox. Todd McShay last hour. We called it five up and five down. Five teams in the league we think are trending up will be noticeably better teams. It won't all be just record. And then five teams, and many teams I like, I feel like they'll pull back. The five up teams, the Giants is the easiest call in the league.

I also think the Chargers and Lions, big hits at offensive coordinator, will empower the teams. I like both front offices. Kansas City is not going six and 11 again. And I think Jaden Daniels is healthy, and if he's healthy, he's a very good quarterback. I like the Texans and the Patriots and the 49ers. I really do. But we got a question about C.J. Stroud, and they have not been good outside of their division. the Texans have dominated their division.

Jacksonville could be better. I think Tennessee is going to be one of the, you got to keep your eye on Tennessee. My guess is they're much better. New England, again, I like New England and the Niners, but they got lucky to some degree. Didn't have to face Bow Nicks, bad weather, you know, they were a limited offense

with a great defense, bad weather, maybe played into it a little bit. I mean, they played a charge. team that had the 32nd ranked O line. I could see the Patriots being a 10-win team, an 11-win team, and playing road games against Patrick Mahomes or a Josh Allen. Niners, I think, are well-run, but they've missed on enough draft picks that they have holes in their roster. And I think Seattle and the Rams are stacked.

I think it's unbelievable. One of the coaching jobs of the year, I said, I was. was giving coach of the year to Kyle Shanahan. That's who I gave coach of the year to at 12 and 5. They did not have 12 and 5 personnel. Shanahan and Sala were remarkable, and now Sala just walk out the door. Bosa, he's getting older, getting dinged up, and I don't know what they're going to do at wide receiver, and McCaffrey's coming off a 450 touch season.

Cowboys, Eagles, I think Dallas unravels, and I think Philadelphia is just, it's musical chairs with coordinators. Is there one that you adamantly disarmamently disqualification? agree with? I largely agree with your trending up. I don't know about the commanders, though. Not sure. Dan Quinn had to basically gut his coaching staff, old roster.

I would swap out the commanders and put in the Cincinnati Bengals who get Joe Burrow, hopefully for a full season, and you know they're going to eclipse six wins. On the trending downside, I'm surprised you didn't have the Pittsburgh Steelers on there. I mean, we've talked about them a lot. I think Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rogers. Whoa, is it going to be Rogers or Will Howard? No, so I'm waiting for that. Okay.

So I think they could be a 10-win team. I think Mike McCarthy wins with B plus quarterbacks. So just, again, I know we don't talk Houston Texans a lot on this show. Why are they trending down? Remember, Nico Collins missed the playoffs game. They are last year, 10 and 2 in division, five and nine against playoff teams. They're just, I mean, I'm the C.J. Stroud defender. He had not the same quarterback.

That's fair. They started 0-1-3. They had Stroud had a couple concussions. Nico Collins in and out, but they got the quarterback on the rookie deal, and that defense is all coming back. How long are they going to have that quarterback on the rookie? They have big decisions to make. I think they got one more year before Demiko Ryans is on the hot seat. Again, I can like, I like San Francisco, but 12 and 5 was shockingly effective. Got a couple big off-season decisions.

Joanne Jennings is a sneaky big one for them. I like him a lot. I don't even think it's sneaky. That's a big decision. Hour three. 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 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. 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.

What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast, Point Game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was part of you. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow.

Then after that game seven, Marquis come up to you, he's like, you know I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. Your husband is not who you think he is. Your body is not what you thought it was. Your identity is formed by a secret history.

I'm Danny Shapiro, and these are just a few of the stunning stories I'll be exploring on the 14th season of Family Secrets. He kind of shoved me out of the way and said, move. And he went out the front door and he jumped in a car and drove off, and that was the last time I saw him. Listen to Season 14 of Family Secrets on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On paper, the three hosts of the Nick Dick and Poll show are geniuses.

We can explain how AI works, data centers, but there are certain things that we don't necessarily understand. Better version of Play Stupid Games, Win Stupid Prizes. Yes. Which, by the way, wasn't Taylor Swift who said that for the first time. I actually thought it was. I got that wrong. But hey, no one's perfect. We're pretty close, though.

Listen to the Nick Dick and Poll Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed human.