The Herd with Colin Cowherd - THE HERD - Hour 3 - NFL insider Ian Rapoport stops by The Herd

Episode Date: April 16, 2026

NFL insider Ian Rapoport joins the show and tells J-Mac where he believes Eagles WR AJ Brown will play next season as rumors about his future in Philadelphia continue to swirlSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas.

We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We'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. Tired and sick.

Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you. 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 Acapella 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 ice. Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's

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

Multi-million dollar house, Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, a billion dollar fraud. But how long can this alliance last? Tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in noon to 3 Eastern, 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the herd at Fox SportsRedio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeart

Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Welcome back. We've got a great guest coming in now. Stu Holden, former U.S. men's national team midfielder. He is a Fox Sports soccer analyst. You're going to hear him calling all the big World Cup games. I just talked to Stu here.

Very exciting to see Stu Holden. Listen, if you're a soccer fan, you know, he's a legend. Everybody loves his announcing as well, Stu. Great to have you on. Jay Mack, what's up, man? I'm pumped to be on. We're loving. We're counting down the days, baby, to that.

World Cup. I make sure when I'm hosting, I'm like, listen, we got to get Stu or Lollas or Donner. We got to get the heavy hitters in here. So let's just dive right in. Listen, soccer fans in America, a little disappointed now. I think it's safe to say we're not in good form at the moment. But I don't know, maybe you're seeing something different. Look, trying to judge the U.S. Neds national team right now is really difficult because really how this team is going to be looked back on many, many years from now will be based on their performance in the World Cup. So we've had these highs and lows about how we feel and based on results in different friendlies, but that's what they've been. They've been friendlies. These are not really high stakes matches.

The high stakes matches are going to start June 12th of the U.S. when they kick off their tournament against Paraguay and SoFi Stadium. So to your point there, we hired Mauricio Pochitino, big name Argentine manager that has coached some of the biggest names and clubs in Europe to come and to try to pull together this team and have them do something special. I saw some good signs, though, Jason, the last, I don't know, I wouldn't say six months of seeing some of the good results. We beat Uruguay 5 to 1 in a friendly, but then we came up against Belgium and Portugal, and we got our, you know what's kicked and humbled a little bit. And I think actually a pretty healthy reminder of, hey, this is the bar we're searching for. Like, getting out of the group is not something that U.S. teams in the past have ever struggled with. Typically, we get out of the group and struggle in that first knockout match.

The goal for this team on home soil is to try to do something better than that and goes one step further and make this country believe and inspired and get to a quarterfinal or a semi-final. So I'm not feeling as optimistic as I was after seeing us play against those really top teams. So let me ask. So in your playing days, obviously the friendlies are like just that friendlies. But when you win, hey, nice job. We killed him, 5'1. And then when you lose, it's like the sky is falling. So from a player perspective, I don't know, I guess talk us through the mindset of a friendly versus okay, it's go time.

Look, man, you've been around sports in many different ways, right? When we think about a scrimmage versus an actual game, youth soccer, amateur soccer, pro soccer, like it doesn't have the same stakes. I felt that as a player. Look, you're representing your national team. You're playing in an important game, but nothing can recreate what you feel when you're in that moment. and it's life or death. Your tournament stake is on the line.

You do things. You play in a different way. You compete in a different way. So I don't worry about this team being able to switch that on come June 12. I think my concern for this team, though, is, look, when you play in knockout games and when you're hosting a World Cup, you don't have to qualify. You automatically get a bit into the tournament. This U.S. team didn't have to go through the qualification process that I went through in 2009

to get to the 2010 World Cup. You're going on the road playing against Panama, Mexico. Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras, tough environments. It toughens you up a little bit. It changes your mentality. So that's something this team isn't going to have. But, you know, Crime Me a River, man. You're getting a host of World Cup here in the United States

where you're going to have a predominantly U.S.-backed crowd. Like, that's something I would have dreamed and loved to be a part of. So this team doesn't get a pass for that. You have to figure out a way as a professional athlete to be able to compete at the highest level at any given moment. Let's go to Pulisic, great player, but he's on the street. struggle bus right now and there are questions. Does he fit with Pochitino? Like, is it, is it a good marriage? I don't know. Obviously, you're plugged in on the ground level. I don't

know what you can say about their relationship. But again, soccer fans, there are expectations here. Hey, last time we hosted a World Cup, we did awesome. We made a huge run. And nobody feels like that's coming based on recent results and Pulisic kind of struggling. You're absolutely right. Look, Polisic is our messy. It's not hyperbole in what he means to this team and what he's capable of in different moments. I'm not saying he's messy. I'm saying he's our messy. And look, he broke onto the scene at such a young age. He's carried the hopes and the responsibility and the pressure of being our star player and scoring goals in some big moments. He scored the big goal to the U.S. against Iran in the last World Cup in the 2022 World Cup to the U.S. to get them that

win and get them to the next round. This will be some thing that he has not experienced in his career. The pressure of being the main figure, the star, the face of the team, and a home world cup, when as we know in this country, look, we're not the number one sport. We're competing continuously with basketball, NFL, NHL, baseball. We want people to love and care about our sport, and this is our moment to shine, and show people that we've come a long way in this country. Polistics, a top 100 player in the world. Some of the best players in the world play over in Europe in the biggest leagues in Champions League.

He's won the Champions League. He plays for A.C. Milan in Italy, he's on a cold streak right now, though. And we, in order to go far in this tournament, we need Policic, we need McKinney, we need Chris Richards. Our star players can't take games off. And that's going to be the deciding factor of our team being amateur, mediocre, or the same as what we've done in the past, or doing something special. If these guys play at the highest level, I think we can do something special. All right. I don't want to nitpick the defense.

I'm not going to get too granular, but I got to ask. Like, you know, Fox comes to us. It's like, hey, who's your guy? And I'm like, my guy's desk. I saw him at the last four cup. He's amazing. He's hurt, Jay Mack.

I'm like, oh, what's going on with Tim Rine? Talk to me about the defense because, Stu, again, these last two friendlies they had, they got shredded. It was like, I was embarrassed for us at point of moments. So here's my biggest takeaway from the last two friendlies. I think we've had an unrealistic feeling. And when I say we,

I think this is, Maricio Pocitino has been going through a process since he took over as a coach of stylistically how he'd like to play and how we can play at times, which is attacking. And we have probably the most talented generation we've had in many, many years and guys that are playing at some of the biggest clubs. So inherently you think, okay, now we can we can go toe to toe. We can open up the game. We can attack. We can play sexy soccer. What we were reminded of and what I was reminded of is that if we want to play against the best teams in the world, You can't allow them that time and space.

We aren't good enough yet to play in the same style as Argentina or Spain or England or Belgium or Portugal and expect to win. That's where when you're talking about the defense, we have to be just, I think, shades of some of the teams of the past and just have this mentality that I don't think we have right now, which is we're not going to lose the game. Okay? We're going to compete. We're going to roll our sleeves up. We're going to get tough. We're going to show that American grit and toughness. and we're going to be hard to beat.

And then if we're in the game, yeah, sure, then let's allow our creative players to have some moments and go and win a game. And maybe we might get two or three shots in that game. But you know what? We've got guys that can execute and score those goals. But you know what? We're darned as well not going to lose the game.

And I just think that is the way that we have to approach once we get to the knockout stages of a tournament and be a team that people don't want to play against. I like that. All right, let's go macro, big picture. everybody, including myself, a little shocked that Ronaldo and Messi, everybody thought like, oh, that was their last World Cup. They're back.

Messi's still in top form. He's out here getting coaches fired or so I hear. I'm just curious, your thoughts on Messi and Ronaldo heading into this World Cup, you know, two of the greatest players to ever lace them up. Yeah, my first thought is I want to drink and eat whatever these guys are drinking and eating. I want their rehab routine. They're the same age as me.

I've been broadcasting now for 11 years. So I think that says a lot more about them. me. Look, these guys are timeless. It's like LeBron James right now watching him roll back the clock with the Lakers and the way he's playing and just able to stay healthy and fit and available. It's a skill that I think we sometimes underestimate and don't talk about enough of just how hard it is to compete at that level, not day by day. Look, these guys have been doing it for 20 plus years. I was in Qatar and we were saying, look, this is Bernaldo's last World Cup. This is Messi's his last chance to win a World Cup. Well, he did.

now he's going to play again this summer. These guys are both over 40 years old. They're phenomenal. They're still such important parts of their teams. But they've also found ways and their coaches and their teammates have found ways to still allow them to do the things that make them special, which is, look, the best players in the world in any sport, they produce the unexpected that is actually expected of them at such a high level.

That's what Rinaldo and Messi will be. But Messi played every minute, basically, of the last World Cup. I don't think you're going to see the same messy that plays every single minute. He might be rested here or there, but he's still going to be messy. And he can still do messy things. And that's things that other players just can't do. These guys are the best of the best. This, I feel pretty confident saying this will be their last World Cup.

So if you get a chance to go to one of the stadiums and when Argentina is playing in Dallas or Kansas City, try to get a ticket. It's going to be a must see TV. All right, we can wrap up. Let's just throw some teams out there. You know, we'll have a lot of gamblers watching the show. people want to get invested in the World Cup. I mean, I don't want to say it's wide open.

I don't see Argentina going back to back. A lot of love for Spain, obviously, with Jamal. Any thoughts on who can win it? Obviously, we'll leave the U.S. out of this discussion. Although, I think they got a shot at the semifinals. We got a dream, J.M. We've got a dream. Everybody references the miracle in ice and all that stuff.

Here's a stat for you. Only eight teams, eight nations in the history of the World Cup, have ever won the World Cup. So what that tells us in the tournament, the first edition was in 1930. It's every four years since. There's been quite a few World Cups, only eight nations of one. A lot of teams get close, and then they don't win. It ends up being a Spain and Argentina, Germany and England.

I'm going to go with France. Look, France have been in two straight finals. That in itself is such a great accomplishment. They could feel two teams. I'm not joking here. They could feel two teams that could get to a semi-final. They have such an insane amount of talent. But my two favorites, I would say, are Spain and France.

Argentina to defend the title, Messi's a little bit older. That team, what's their motivation like in the same moment? Look, it's a World Cup, but I don't think they've had enough young blood that can push that older group and keep it fresh. So England will be around the semis. I don't see them winning it in North America. The conditions will be a factor. This is a warm, hot tournament that's going to be all across the country, travel. If you want to make money, I know there's some of the favorites.

I think France is your bet. And my dark course, here's your dark course. You want to try to make a little bit of money would be Portugal. Not much of a dark court. But I get it. Yeah, they're not one of the favorites. They got a lot of talent. Gosh, I could talk soccer with Stu holding all day.

Great stuff, Stu. As always, hope to have you back here before the craziness starts. Rosters come out in about five weeks. Is that accurate for you? I know, man. I got to start prepping already. 48 teams this year, 104 games. It's my head's spinning already, man.

Next time we'll drill down on the forwards because I hear the cut lines. looking tough. It's very difficult. Stu Holden. Great stuff, Stu. Thanks. Thanks, James. All right. Yes, as you could tell, I'm a soccer guy. I love nerding out on soccer. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, F.S.1 and the Iheart radio app. Hey, it's Rob Parker and Kelvin Washington from the odd couple on Fox Sports Radio. And in addition to hearing us live weekn nights from 7 to 10 p.m. Eastern on Fox Sports Radio,

we are excited to announce brand new YouTube channel for the show. That's right. You can now watch the Odd Couple live on YouTube every day. All you got to do, search Odd Couple FSR on YouTube. Again, YouTube, just search Odd Couple FSR. Check us out on YouTube and subscribe. Hey, it's us to Jonas Brothers, and guess what?

We have some big news. What's the news, huge news? We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast. 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 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. Oh, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band. Before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes.

I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letter help make you funnier. This week, my guest, S&L's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel,

help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happens. That's where SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athletes themselves.

Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer-beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicelife Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis.

And I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs. And on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris. every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on Clay. Jen she went. I mean, she went down in three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay.

Listen, Lena Rubakina is arguably the best player in the world right now, and I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs Tennis Podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports.

All right, let's go to Rachel Nichols with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the Herdline News. All right, Jason, the sporting news conducted a poll of executives, both former and present, media members, and players about who the best player in the NBA is. And there was no confusion about the results.

66% of the people picked Nicola Yokic. Next, you've got SGA at 18%. Wembe got 15%. That's a huge difference. So if Yokic is the best player in the world, right? If you're the best player in the league, you're the best player in the world. What do you make of that, especially with the MVP voting coming up?

I hate to sandbag you MVP voter, but I believe last time we did this show, you were leaning toward SGA. Oh, Rachel. I don't know. But if the best player is Yokic, how is SGA the MVP? Well, look, I have been saying for years that they need to separate this award. The NFL does it, right?

They have an MVP, but he's the best player. But you also have an offensive player of the year and the defensive player over the year. And they're like, oh, those guys had the best stats. You know, they were the best in terms of their peers that year. They're different things. These are different things. and I've said for years that the NBA needs to modernize these awards. I say it so often, Jason, that the last time Kevin Wilds and I worked together,

he actually got me a drum, a physical drum, because he said I bang the drum too hard for a separation of the MVP. But this is just another example of it. I think you can't argue about who's had the best season versus best. How do you quantify best season? Sorry, I'll ask that. How do you quantify best season? Look, there's a bunch of factors and it's still, you know, a scramble.

MVP is never like a clear set of this, this, this, this, right? But best season has to do a lot more with, you know, what stats you put up, how available were you for your team, how clutch were you for your team, which is a stat that we take into account, you know, how consistent you were for your team, all those kinds of things. And also winning, right? So, you know, we give SGA a little bit of an edge because they were able to maintain that number one overall. spot even though the spurs were gunning for it. So I don't know if that's going to be the deciding factor in players and voters voting, but it's a complicated stew and they should separate the awards. Totally agree. There you go. Derek Henry, dude, he has been an ageless wonder. I want to try to stats from last year. He rushed for nearly 1,600 yards and 16 touchdowns this season.

But we do know we also had four fumbles. Some of them are costly. And going into next season, Jason, he's going to be 32 years old, and here is another great stat. Since 1970, there have only been five running backs, 32 or older, who have made more than 250 carries. Look, Henry had 307 this past year, and the question is, is he going to do what barely anyone in NFL history has done and keep up this level of production? Or, I don't know, do you think the Ravens will be in the market for a running back alternative at the draft? Listening to that, I will, I'll offer a hot take. Henry, you know, as you said, 32, probably doesn't make 250 carries, regresses, doesn't have a great season.

Ravens missed the playoffs, and instead of everybody blaming Lamar, they say, oh, Derek Henry broke down, that's why we missed. It's always blamed someone else besides Lamar for some wacky reason. I get it. People love him. He's awesome. Fun to watch. But he never... Lamar taken strays? He's not even in this part of the segment. Well, I just got a text from John Harbaugh. Jay Matt, can you see?

No, he did. I don't know John Harbaugh. But it's weird. Like, Ravens missed the playoffs. Let's fire John Harbaugh. Ravens lose to the Chiefs. Well, you know, Dave Flowers was a had a fumble. Ravens lose to the bills.

Well, you know, what's his name? Mark Andrews, drop the pass. It's always someone else. Just putting that out there. Look, we got to go back to this award ballot thing for one minute, Jason. First of all, my email inbox update, I just want you to be privy to what's going on in my email. The NBA just sent out a second email reminding voters that it's only the regular season that counts. And this relates to the Cooper Flag con canipal debate. And not just

him, just Draymond Green make it on to an all defensive team, that kind of stuff. But this is the biggest thing, right? Con Canipal obviously benched in the fourth quarter and overtime of the playing game. Down the stretch, he's had some rough shooting. Cooper Flagg, there's been a real rush for his candidacy again. But he didn't play in a playing game. So he didn't. didn't have the chance to play well, but he also didn't have the chance to play bad. What do you think? Who would you vote for? Oh, Cooper Flag, come on. I know Khan was good, and he was instrumental in helping the team,

but it's not a team award, it's an individual award. Khan was instrumental in helping the team. Cooper Flagg was extraordinary. I don't even, I think there's a no-brainer. And by the way, Con Cinnipple would struggle to defend in my men's league, okay? Did you see him down the stretch? He's like, who am I guarding on the switches? He was like totally lost.

Cooper Flag ain't getting lost. lost. I thought he was a historic rookie on par with, like, LeBron. Look at these numbers since the All-Star break. I mean, he's putting up numbers with Luca and Denny Avdia, who's the flavor of the week. I don't know how Palo Banerro made that list. But yeah, to me, it's Cooper. I know the media loves con can't Cinnipple and the, what do they call it? What's the Hornet Stick name?

So they have some fun. But a city. Yeah, there you go. It's catchy. And the Mads were a, you know, five alarm blaze. firing their GM. I don't know. I go Cooper Flagg.

Why don't you announce your pick here, Rach? Well, I want to let you know. You think this is a no-brainer. I think this is going to be the closest of all of the voting. I think this is going to be Mate Turner on dime in terms of just a few voters.

Because you have Con Canipal, who I agree with you on some of these points, he led the NBA, not just his team, not just all rookies. He led the NBA in three-point shooting. He was instrumental to a team

that has overachieved, you know, according to preseason predictions. And Cooper Flag didn't do that. Now, Cooper Flag has been exceptional. And he has shown more of an all-around game. It's going to be very, very close. Last quick thing. So Connoeppel did that as a number two to Lamello ball,

playing off the ball. Cooper Flag as a one, as a teenager, rant point, defending the best player. Like, he did everything. I don't know. I just feel like he's getting shafted. I'm a Cooper Flagg guy. I remember I said over one and a half MVP's for his career.

I was mocked. And now it's looking like J. Mack was on to something anyways. I'm excited to find out what the half an MVP trophy looks like. Maybe it's because they finally split the MVP like I've been asking for. There you go. There you go. Rachel with the news. Well, that's the news.

And thanks for stopping by. The Hurdline News. All right. Coming up, one of the most hardworking men in NFL media. Yes, Ian Rappaport coming on, breaking down the draft. A.J. Brown trade rumors. He's got it all. That's next. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the IHeart Radio app.

Hey, it's 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 it. 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. We were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down?

Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, Hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad Hey Jonas and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast.

But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert 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 Acapella with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind.

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 athletes 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 Slica Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis. And I know firsthand because I competed there

myself. I'm Renee Stubbs. And on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris. Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on clay. Jen she win. I mean, she went down in three to Roebuckina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lina Rubakina is arguably the best player in the world right now. And I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, good luck.

Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Back here on the herd, our next guest is a legit celebrity. So I went to Chargers camp last year with my kids and I see him walking by. I'm like, Rappaport, what up? He's like, oh, hey, what's up?

Jay comes over, introducing my kids. And people behind me are like, Ian, can I get your autograph? Can you sign this? Let's welcome in NFL Network's senior reporter Ian Rappaport. I mean, the guy's a big deal. Thanks for taking the time, Ian.

I know you're a huge celebrity. You got a lot going on. Thank you. I appreciate you have me. I don't know about the celebrity part, but I do have a lot going on. So if there's a call that I have to take, I will unapologetically take it.

You could just do it live on air. I mean, come on. I could. Maybe. So Ian's going to be doing the NFL, sorry, NFL draft network covering the draft a week from today. Him and Daniel Jeremiah, great crew, very excited for it. Ian, you get started.

I'm sure you got breaking news for me. What do you got? No, no. I don't have breaking news, but I would say that like this is the best time of year for me because every GM calls me back. because they all want to know the gossip, they want to know what's going on,

you want to bounce ideas off each other. Like, you know, in free agency, it's like everyone's busy and here, it's like, yeah, I got you, I'll call it. Because, like, you know, it's a rare time when the information sort of goes both ways, and it's fun. I mean, the draft is literally the best.

I cannot wait. Are we past smokescreen season? Is that in the rearview mirror? I never really know if there's much smokescreen stuff. Like, I know that gets talked about a lot, but, like, I never feel that. And the only thing that I will feel, because, like, I think teams are aware of it now, so there's not a lot of lying.

What there is is sort of omission. Like, you'll be talking to a GM and he'll say, oh, you know, here are kind of the tackles we're thinking about. Here's the edge guys. And then they'll take a receiver and they'll be like later, like, oh, you didn't ask me. And you're like, I see what you did there. So, like, I think that's probably what you get more is teams. Like, I'll just tell my example from this last year is like, I knew for sure the Panthers were taking an offensive or defensive tackle in the top 10,

eight, I believe it was. And so in my head, like, that's what I've talked to the team about. Like, I'm good on that. And then I see Tetero and McMillan at an event the night before the draft. And, you know, he's talking about where he might go. And I think at that point, he was sort of a draft curiosity. And he goes, you know, I've been throwing with Bryce Young. And I'm like, you have?

He's like, yeah, we kind of kept it quiet, but like, we've been throwing. I was like, what is going on here that I didn't know about? I'm like, I think they might take this guy. And they did. It was pretty cool. But that can happen. This is why we have you on the show. All right.

So who is Mr. Tate throwing with the Ohio State wide receiver? Do you know, is there a quarterback that he's throwing with? What about Jordan Tyson? And any first round surprises that you're here, even rumors or scuttle butt, we love that stuff. Yeah, I mean, I would say both those guys, Tyson and, you know, Tate, I expect to go early. I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if one is a top 10 pick. I wouldn't be, honestly, wouldn't be surprised at both are top 10 picks. You know, there's not a ton of truly, truly high-end receivers. You know, I'd say probably three or so in the top 16, because your jets take 16,

maybe they take one. And then there's another that is, I think, going to be taken pretty high. So you got, you got Tyson, you got Lemon, you got Tate. Concepcion is the name that people really like more than I even realize. So like, I would not be surprised at all if he's a mid-first round pick now, whereas I probably didn't think that three or four days ago. But that's kind of the thing you get is you start to hear, you know, people will say, like, oh, this guy's rising on boards. He's really not. He's just rising in the consciousness of those of us who talk about it. I remember when I would go to Indy for the Combine and talk to you, it was usually people talk about players, and it's really the players

they're not talking about who they love. Maybe Concepcion kind of falls into that category. Yeah, I think there is some of that where you're like hoping there's a little bit of a secret. You know, like, I always love to ask teams like who's kind of your like sleeper or like your crush, right? Because teams

will get like a fourth or fifth round guy and they're like, God, I just hope this guy is there. That's how I learned who Taysam Hill was like 10 years ago. Because a quarterback coach was like, have you seen this kid out of BYU who's never on the field? And I was like, I don't even know who that is. And it was Taysam Hill.

Yeah. But that's kind of how you learn is like, I know, beg, listen, listen, I'll tell you this, but you got to keep it quiet. I can do that. So that's always the fun one. All right. Ty Simpson, the Alabama quarterback,

I saw his over, under is 24 and a half, which I think it's going to surprise a lot of people who think the Jets is not happening. At 16 or the Steelers maybe. While we're on the Steelers and Ty Simpson, I'm curious, Will Howard, Aaron Rogers, toss that in there. But where do you see Ty,

Simpson falling. We had Warren Sharp on. He's saying, hey, maybe second round. I don't, I don't see Simpson going first round, but that's just me. Yeah, I mean, first of all, I can never be sure how good those. I actually don't even look at the odds unless people bring them up. And it seems to me like, honestly, kind of random. To me, I would say, you know, in most years, Ty Simpson probably is a second rounder. There's only one of the quarterback going to go in the first round, obviously, Fernando Mendoza. So if you were to say, like, is Ty Simpson a first rounder?

The question is like, how badly does someone want? Like, let's say it's the Jets. Let's say the Cardinals. There's not a lot of teams that like need a potential franchise guy. Those are among the two teams. Both those pick early, early in the second round. So in a little bit of a game of chicken, does someone go, all right, I don't feel like I need to trade up for Ty Simpson, but I'm just going to give a fourth rounder because like, just go get your guy. Just go get them if you can.

So, you know, there are definitely scenarios where he goes late in one because someone says, I just don't want to sleep on. I don't want to wait. I would just like to get my guy. And then you asked about the Steelers. It doesn't seem like there's been a firm decision by Aaron Rogers. I mean, I'm sort of where I was this whole way, which is like he probably plays for the Steelers. It's just no one has been told that.

And until they do, it's going to be an open question. Interesting because, you know, when he and Mike McCarthy paired up last time, it was very ugly at the end. Have people forgotten about that? Is that water under the bridge? Well, I think, you know, things have a way of kind of coming together. I mean, it was, it was a little weird at the end. A little?

Well, yeah, I mean, it was There were reports they didn't talk for months. Yeah, I mean, that's a long time ago, though. Okay. And I would also say this, like, if they come back together, both will need each other. And, you know, Rogers is a different dude.

That was a long time ago. Like, I really, you know, I really don't think it would be a problem for both of them to come together and be like, this is the best situation for both of us. Jackson Dart was a mild surprise late first round last year. Tyler Shuck, going ahead of Shador was a bit of a surprise. What if Drew Aller was the second quarterback off the board? Would that stun you? That would surprise me, yes.

Now, I mean, the traits, the attributes, I mean, that part would not be a surprise. I mean, he looks like a quarterback. I just, I haven't found so much. that loves him like that. But again, like, this is a weird draft. And if someone's going to keep something a secret, that's one thing they would keep a secret. You know, like, if you're going to take Drew Aller in like the 20s, it'll, you know, explode our brains.

But like, talent-wise, you wouldn't say that's crazy. It's just you haven't fully seen it. I mean, that's, look, that's a dart throw, but that is a massive, massive dart throw for somebody. But Ian, a year ago at this time, it was like Drew Aller, Cade Clubnik, all those guys were thought top 10. Nussmeier. Nussmeier. And then we have like a 10, 12, 15 game sample size. And it's like, no, thank you. Nothing shocking me after the Shador thing last year.

Yeah, that was surreal, man. I mean, that was truly surreal for that to go all the way for all the way to Saturday. But, I mean, that's one interesting thing. It's like people talk about the quarterback class next year. And like, I expected to be a really good one. Yeah. But like, you just don't know because as we learn this year, I mean, you got to let them play before you really decide.

Since you brought up next year, I said earlier, if Arch Manning were in this draft, he would go one ahead of Mendoza. Would you agree or disagree? It's very speculative, but enjoy. It is speculative. And I guess the true answer is I don't know. I mean, I'd like to see a lot more from Arch Manning. But there's a couple interesting things here. First of all, there's some good quarterbacks in college football.

Like, Brendan Sorsby is going to be really good. We don't know for sure that it's going to be Arch number one. I mean, you know, I'd like to see both those guys play a full, and there's some other ones too, but I'd like to see both those guys play a full season before I say like one is going to be number one and one is and both are really talented. That's going to be fun to watch. Here's the other interesting thing about Arch. Are we sure that he's coming out next year? Oh, stop it. Come on.

Listen, are we sure? He comes from a family that values the college experience and values starts in college before coming to the NFL. He's rich anyway. He doesn't need the money. He's rich from himself and from his family. Would I be, like, stunned if Arch Manning finished out his college eligibility? I don't think I would. I mean, seriously, like, there's no reason for him to rush anything.

Plus, I would say this, and I don't think this is going on to limb. I imagine being a superstar athlete at the University of Texas is quite fun. Says the guy with the Mississippi State T-shirt on. Okay. Where did you get that, DECPrescott? No, baseball, national champions. Oh, baseball, yes, obviously. All right, Ian, we can wrap up with this.

AJ Brown. What roster will he be on on June 2nd, 2026? June 2nd, obviously, you know. Post-J. 1 is a very big date in the AJ Brown sweepstakes, if that's what you want to call it. I mean, look, I think most people believe that there's an eventual trade to the Patriots. It has not been done yet. I don't believe it's been done yet. And I don't know for sure, for sure that's going to happen because life is weird,

and that's two months from now, or however money months it is. But that's probably the most likely scenario. And I think if that's the case, I think that probably makes sense for all sides. If they can, you know, agree on a price. Well, did that change because they just added Wix? Is that why you're going there? No, I've always thought that. And I mean, I just, it's hard to do a deal.

I've always thought this deal, if it happens, would be around June just because, you know, it's a $20 million cap hit instead of a $40 million cap hit. And if you're the Philadelphia Eagles, you'd rather have a $20, 2027 draft pick than a 2026 draft pick. So not Hallie Roseman's first rodeo. Now, the price is interesting because the Patriots would also like to have those draftics too. Yeah. We'll see if they end up, you know, coming to a deal.

All right. Ian Rappaport, NFL Network senior reporter. He's great. Watch him on the NFL draft for NFL Network next week. Ian, great stuff. I mean, you just broke news on AJ Brown. Everybody's going to run to their screens and go, no. All right, buddy. Enjoy the weekend.

Thanks. Thanks, man. Thanks for having me. All right. Ian Rappaport. I mean, I said he broke news, but the way he framed that, guys, it sounds like it's a done deal. Rachel, I don't know. It sounded like it's a done deal, no? I mean, we've been talking about it for months.

Makes the most sense, right? We'll just have to see if it actually happens. Howie has been so consistent. You don't trade great players. Yeah. But this feels a little different than last year. Great show, folks. Amazing guests.

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