The Ringer NFL Show - Trades That We Want to See in the First Round of the NFL Draft!

Episode Date: April 11, 2026

Sheil and The Ringer’s own Austin Gayle shine a light on the status of some of the teams around the league heading into the 2026 draft, and postulate fake trades that they feel would bolster the glaring needs within their rosters.(00:53) Trades That We Want to See in the 1st Round of the NFL Draft!(4:17) New York Jets(10:51) New Orleans Saints(15:39) Kansas City Chiefs(22:25) Dallas Cowboys(26:39) Philadelphia Eagles(37:08) Will a team trade for Maxx Crosby during the draft?(44:19) Houston Texans(48:21) Arizona Cardinals(55:04) Chicago BearsThe Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit www.rg-help.com to learn more about the resources and helplines available.Host: Sheil KapadiaGuest: Austin GayleProducer: Chris SuttonVideo Editor: Stefano SanchezProduction Supervision: Conor Nevins and Arjuna Ramgopowell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the Ringer NFL show. I'm your host, Shield Capadia, and we've got a good old-fashioned fake trade episode. I was just going through the entire first round all day looking at who could move up, who could move back? What are the pivot points in the first round of the NFL draft? Could some of these trades involve some veterans who might be on the market? So we came up with a bunch of scenarios. Our guest today is the Ringer's Austin Gale.

I threw a bunch his way. He threw a few my way, and we're going to go over, do the, these trades actually makes sense. So let's take a break. We come back. We get to those trades with Austin Gale. We are back on the Ringer NFL show. Shield Capati here with my friend Austin, Gail.

We're doing some fake trades. What's better than fake trades? We do it earlier in the offseason with players, Austin. But now we're doing it for the first round of the NFL draft. We've done the mock stuff. We did big questions with Deonté. But where are the pivot points in the first round? Where could we see some movement?

I've got a list of a. bunch of fake trades I've been working on all day that I'm going to throw your way. And then you've got a couple for me. What's better than this, honestly? Nothing, really. I was doing some research, last minute prep for this pod. And I ran into an, I don't know who wrote it, but it was an article that was like a mock draft with trades for every pick. You know, this is that point in the draft where everyone's looking for that next. Like, how do I make a mock draft, but just different than the other thousand that came out this morning? I like an all trades mock. But I do think it was Jordan Schultz on Twitter who was like, I think there could be a lot of trades or I'm hearing there

could be some trades in the first half, like edge or corner. We'll see. I think everyone says that every year that there's going to be a ton of trades. There's only really one quarterback that a lot of teams are. Every team is kind of an avarming with Fernando Mendoza. We'll see where Simpson goes. But I don't know. It'll be interesting to see who trades up in this class, right?

Because there's only so many blue chippers. Everyone's talked about how this class really isn't that good, not good to compare to last year. It's definitely not good compared to next year. So maybe there are trades. But I can also see teams staying put knowing that it's kind of an average crop of guys after you get through the blue chips. we're almost to my favorite point in draft coverage, which is GMX is fielding calls or working the phones

about a possible trade in the first round. I mean, you could literally just put that out for every GM in the entire first round, and you're probably going to be right. That is sort of their jobs, is to be working the phones a little bit. All right, Austin, you mentioned it. This is a weird draft because there's one quarterback

who we know is going to get taken in the first round, and we know he's going to get taken first overall until unless something totally wild happens, but we are not expecting that. So the draft really starts at number two. And I'm going right there with the first fake trade. I mean, you know, you had the Jets for a while. It was like Arvel Reese, that's the guy.

And now you're reading the reporting a little bit. And it's like, I don't know about Arvel Reese. Is he more of an offball linebacker than an edge? Are the Jets sold on his pass rush ability? If not, would they go ahead and take David Bailey? Well, maybe they make a trade here. Austin. And the Jets say, you know what?

we've been stockpiling picks for this year and for next year. Everyone knows we're looking ahead to 2027. We don't really have a different grade on the top five players in this draft. Does anyone want to come up and take a player? And the Tennessee Titans give them a call, Austin here. You know, they're on the clock. And the Titans say, we want to move up to two because we love David Bailey. We know he might not totally fit whatever scheme you're going to be running with Aaron

Glenn. but in terms of Robert Sala, pin your ears back and go get after the quarterback, which is what we're trying to do, team him up with Jeffrey Simmons there. This is our type of player. And so here's what we're going to do. We want to move up to number two. And the Jets say, okay, wow, we thought you might be interested in a running back, Jeremiah Love. And you know what Titans GM Mike Borganzi says?

He says, well, you actually have a running back that you're having a bit of a contract issue with in Breeze Hall, Austin, where you franchise tagged him. but you haven't been able to come to a long-term arrangement. So they're working, they're thinking about, all right, how can we make this work? And here's what it ends up being. The Jets trade number two and Breeze Hall to the Titans for number four, a 2027 first and a fourth round pick.

So this is not that different from, remember that Travis Hunter trade last year, Jaguars move up to get Travis Hunter. That was actually for more than this, because I feel like Travis Hunter was in a different class of progress. than a guy like David Bailey is. So I'm actually making the Titans give up way less, not way less, but less than the Jaguars gave up in that trade. So what do you think?

Who says no to that one? Jets trade number two in Breeshall for number four, a 2027 first and a fourth round pick. I mean, I absolutely despise it for the Titans. That's like horrible. The Titans' 2027 first could be another top five pick. Like you're going to give up a 2027 first to go get David Bailey, who might not even be the third best at Drusher in this class when it's all said and done.

Like, no one knows where these guys are going to end up. I think people think Ravelle Reese is better. People really like, obviously, Ruben Bain out of Miami. You can see, I've seen people hyping up his teammate, Romella Haight. Like, I think going up for David Bailey to get Brees Hall and giving up a 2027 first is just like malpractice for the Titans. Now, I think if it's the Jets, kind of a slam dunk. You're getting because they're going to have to pay Breece Hall. So you're getting Brees.

You're going to have to pay him top tier running back money because you just traded essentially a 2027 first for him. And then you're getting, just like, I don't think David, I don't think a lot of the prospects in this class are like surefire guys. I think Arvel Reese isn't sure fire because you don't know, it's like the league is split on even what position he'll play. Ruben Bayne obviously has the outlier arm length. I think with Bailey, like people are still wanting to see another year of production. I don't know.

I worry about this trade for the Titans and I think it would be kind of a disaster class for them. All right, Austin. I'm realizing the is challenge we're going to have with this exercise, is that you are probably, you and I are probably a lot. in that we would almost never make a trade like the Jaguars made last year for Travis. Can we talk about that one? Did you see that now they're removing him

to like full-time corner? Like they thought they were getting two players. Like you can, I think one of the things with the draft, talking about like my draft rules, is like don't be overconfident in your own evaluation. This would be to me an over, like the Titans being way overconfident

on who they think David Bailey is going to be and overconfident on the kind of production they're going to get from Breece Hall on this new. I think that, again, I think this is like a sign of overconfidence that just doesn't actually work out. When you go back to the Jags trade last year and their young GM Gladstone being like, we're getting two players, we're getting the show Hey, Otani of the NFL, like definitionally overconfidence. And now that you kind of see where that's airing out.

When you think about the sport of football, Austin, you think about limitations. A year later, James, I don't know, man. You came from, I was looking at that trade today and I was like, holy cow, I know I was critical of it. I don't think I went far enough. They went from five to two, and they gave up the 36th overall pick, and then at 2027 first. So that trade, I just gave you, I didn't even include the second round pick. I was like, no way, that would be way too crazy. And I tried to get there.

But yeah, you and I are never probably going to be like, oh, yeah, the team should give up a future first for a non-quarterback. So we have to suspend, you know, our beliefs there a little bit, get in the heads of some of these GMs and say, all right, well, would they do it? So the thought process from the Titans would be Borganzi's feeling the heat. He's feeling the pressure to win games this year. He's getting his new coach a pass rusher. I'm probably with you. I don't think the Titans actually do that.

He could stay put and get his coach a pass rusher. He could go, he could stay put and get sunny styles. Like, I think that if the Titans want to give Sala another defensive player, like I think they're going to have their pick of a lot of really talented guys. Even Bailey could fall to four, right? I think some of the stuff where, like, I think there's been reports that a lot of people in the Jets building really like David Bailey.

I'm not fully buying that. And I think if there are reservations, we've talked about this on this pod before, trusting Aaron Glenn to figure out a prospect that no one really can decide on what position he plays scares me because I don't think he's long term for New York. And what about what he's done in New York has shown you any confidence that he can solve that problem.

So I think if there are concerns, maybe that's there. But I don't know. I think it's a little rich. Now, if the Jets did come down to four and they still get a defensive player, like that would work out, I think, very well for New York. I think Jets fans would be jumping up and down on draft night. I'm glad you mentioned the Aaron Glenn thing. Can we get something straight here?

Like I'm hearing and reading a lot of cover like Aaron Glenn is switching defenses and Aaron Glenn once. They're not picking a player that's to fit Aaron Glenn. They, you know, it's so divided there and not like divided in a, you know, it's very clear that the GM is making moves for 2027 and he's got ownership here. And Aaron Glenn, they're like, all right, so, you know, we'll see what you can do. But you might not be here by Thanksgiving. So I don't think Derek Mugi is going to take, make this pick. Like, all right, let me make sure I get someone who fits Aaron Glenn's scheme. Like that will not even factor into the equation.

They're like, who is the best player we can get for 20, 27 and beyond? So, yeah, anytime you see anything that's like Aaron Glenn's preferences, I don't think they care what Aaron Glenn wants in this pick, not trying to be harsh there, but I think that's the reality there with the Jets. I will say this. I mean, I think they're in a good spot to trade if they're able to trade down. I think it would make sense because when you look at it for the Jets, right now, they've got four top 50 picks in this draft.

And they've got three first round picks in next year's draft. Like in terms of a model for, hey, blow it up and do a complete rebuild, these are the resources and it doesn't mean it's going to work out. I know if you're a Jets fan listing, you're like, please, we've been through this before I get it. But in terms of having those resources to at least have a chance to rebuild, they're actually in a nice spot to do that. And I think maybe they could add to that if they can find someone to trade up.

But I'm probably with you that the Titans don't make a deal like that here. All right, that was the first one. Yeah, I definitely don't think that they're making picks with kind of Aaron Glenn in mind. I think some of it is like kind of like make sure he doesn't like make this player worse. Now, I think there is maybe part of this conversation with Bailey versus Reese is like, is Bailey a 2026 decision, whereas Reese is more of a 2027 decision. And if there are quote unquote people in the Jets building,

building that want Bailey? Maybe that's kind of Glenn's camp saying like we want a guy that we know what position he's going to play right away and help this defense quicker. Save our jobs. The GM and other people. Yeah, GM and others are like, we're not really thinking that way. We're thinking about 2027 and they're rightfully so. All right. Austin

was a yes for the Jets and a no for the Titans on that one. I trade number two, Austin. We get to the sixth overall pick. The Cleveland Browns are up. Carnell tapes on the board. But Andrew Barry gets a call from Mickey Loomis and the Saints at number eight.

And Mickey says, Andrew, you know, I'm always up for trading up. You know, I'm always up for trading up for an Ohio state player. We want to move up two spots. We're going to give you 42, so their second round pick. And we're going to give you Spencer Rattler, you know, because you're just, Cleveland, you're just throwing darts at quarterbacks left. This is just another dart throw. We're not telling you he's Joe Montana, but you know what?

You want someone who's just another guy in that quarterback room, and maybe he can give you something there. We will give you that. So Saints move up two spots from 8 to 6. They include 42 overall, which is their second round pick, and Spencer Rattler to the Cleveland Browns, Austin. Come on. This is a winner.

I'll let this one pass because my nickname for that man in the general manager of the Saints is Madman Mickey, because when he likes his guy, he goes up and gets his guy. He's a trade-up fiend. And I think the Browns obviously, Anna Lickly-minded, an opportunity to trade back

at a quarterback and a top 50 pick, just two spots when I think they're deciding between a handful of offensive linemen in this spot that could be looking at receiver. I think it makes sense for the Cleveland, especially.

And like, would I make it if I were the Saints GM? No, but would Bickie make it probably. And I think a lot of people are starting to get this feel that like Tate, even though they've been bucketed

in this draft class, is like kind of that top three with Tyson, McCoy Lemon. and then Tate, I think the more I've talked these guys out and looked at the tape and looked at what other people are feeling, I do think there might be at least some distance between what Tate is as a prospect versus Lemon and Tyson. Tyson for a lot of the injury stuff. I don't know, like the softness is like interesting speculation. And with Lemon, it's like a size thing

and you're trying to figure out like the interview stuff. Like with Tate, I do feel there is some of that gap, right? So maybe a team, if there is a team trading up for a receiver, I'd feel a lot more confident trading up for a guy like Tate than, you know, being overconfident in my Tyson evaluation or Lemon or whatever it is, depending on where they fall. Yeah, I am interested to see how early Tate goes because you can really make a case for him with a bunch of these teams picking in the top 10. You mentioned it with Mickey Loomis and, you know, Tate seems like a saint-y type player. Maybe they're looking at it saying we're at eight, but the commanders are at seven. Where the commanders take Cardinal Tate at number seven. I think that certainly would be an option

there. And then from the Brown's perspective, you know, like I said, with Rattel I will say this, looking at just the numbers with Rattler versus Tyler Shug. I don't know if you've done this exercise or not, Austin, but it's kind of wild. They are talked about very differently. EPA per play, Rattler was 29th last year, Shuck was 27, and Rattler was significantly better in success rate last year. Yet Rattlers kind of looked like, looked at like a bum. And I don't think they got Shug, they hit on their, you know, on their quarterback. They're good to go going forward.

I don't know if you had a, if you've grinded some Saints quarterback film this offseason, you may have had better things to do. But that was something just as I was doing that trade where I was like, you know what? Rattler certainly, if nothing else, can be like a decent backup for you. And if he has to start for like three weeks, you know, you're not going to be the worst quarterback in the NFL. You can function. No, no, I'm not selling my Spencer Rattler stock. If anything, I'm buying more.

You have stock. I'm a proud member of the Rat Pack. I'm a big fan of the rat in general. He was responsible for one of the best games ever. when Spencer Rattler went against James Winston. Like, that's the football I root for. But, I mean, I do think that there's still enough with what we saw in New Orleans that, like, he's worth the flyer, like, kind of what you're saying. And even if it's, like, competing for a backup job or he's one of these guys that we're talking about when, like, oh, my gosh, like eight starting quarterbacks have gone down by week 10.

Like, I think he's one of these guys that should be getting reps. And going to, I think, another place now that, like, everyone in New Orleans is believing in Shuck. And I think some of that, too, is like, we drafted this guy. We thought he could be something. We've seen it early. And now the people responsible for. bringing him in or I think are very excited by the prospect of him and what he can do doing for. And with Rattler, it's kind of like that meme where you're kind of dropping Woody on the ground.

Like, I'm kind of done with this. I think other people will be willing to pick up, pick up Rattler, whether it's like Rams, I think Packer. I mean, there's a handful of teams where I'm like, okay, better coach or a different coach, I can see him being in a situation and actually getting better. There you go. In Chuck, you have Olive, you have Tate, offensive line isn't bad. You know, you can tell you added ETN.

In the offseason, you got Keller. ACHN. It's ACHN. ACHN, sorry. You're right, H-N. E-Cha-Cha. I just feel like it's crazy that we're going to go from E-TN to A-Chann. I like it, too.

There you go. All right. So, Saints fans, I think would be excited about that if you were able to get Carnell Tate here. All right. Next one I got here, we are going to the seventh overall pick. Wow, that report you read about a lot of trades in the first round, Austin. You're making it happen. Yeah, it is actually happening here because it's the seventh pick and the commanders are up here.

and the commanders come into this draft with just one top 50 pick with two picks in the top 100. So Adam Peters, they're looking at this going, man, can we get some more draft capital here? Because we kind of tried to go a little bit all inish with Jaden Daniels in his second season. That didn't work out. And now we realize we got to build the roster up a little bit. And Ruben Bain Jr. is still on the board. So he doesn't go top five. He's still available at seven.

and the Kansas City Chiefs come a calling to Adam Peters and the Washington commanders. And they say, hey, we want to move up from nine to seven. We need to improve our pass rush. Ruben Bain Jr. The comps you see with Ruben Bain Jr., Brandon Graham, I think our friend Nate Tice had Trent and Cole. Those are two players that Andy redrafted in Philadelphia. And so they said, we want to get Ruben Bain Jr. to add to our pass rush with Chris Jones and George Carloftus. we will give you the 40th overall pick.

So our second round pick. So we were trying to move up two spots, nine to seven. You get the ninth overall pick. You add the 40th overall pick. We move up to seven and we take Ruben Bain Jr. Awesome. Come on. Good one.

What do you think? I don't think I'm doing it if I'm KC. You don't like a Bain Jr. I like Bain a lot. I like Bain a lot. Field Yates of ESPN recently reported that there's a chance he falls out of the second half of the first round with teams kind of having different. opinions on the Outlier Arm length.

And I like him a lot. I think he has a higher floor than even like the Outlier Arm length gives. I think he can play inside outside. I think he's just like a, he just plays the game as I want to play the game where you just like never take a snap off. He's just going, going, going. But I don't know. Like moving up two spots, giving up 40 when this is this is going to be a hard cap situation

in Casey for a while now with like all the money that they have invested in, you know, homes, but also like they brought Kelsey back and they have, I feel like their cap situation is a bigger priority than kind of moving up two spots to kind of. of bring in this guy. Whereas I think if they stay put at nine, I think they could have a chance at Bain there. I think they could have a chance at Mancer-Delaine, the corner from LSU,

Caleb Downs and safety from Ohio State. I think, again, like, it comes back to the top where it's like, oh, people are expecting trades in the first half. These blue-chip prospects that we're chasing, there is, like, this similar tier of player. And when you have these teams making up small moves, like from five to two or six to eight or whatever it is,

I think that oftentimes I'm deciding on the side of, you know, kind of like, hey, probably stay put. If you're taking a defensive player after Arval Reese, Sunny Stiles, kind of. It's like, okay to stay put and just kind of take the guy you really like in that spot. All right. So Austin says, Chiefs stay patient. And the Chiefs do have the two first round picks.

It doesn't mean you just, you don't throw away your other draft capital. But they are kind of in position here that if they wanted to be aggressive, they could be aggressive. They've still got that other first round. Or you end up with Rubin Bain here and then maybe you get a wide receiver with your second pick in the first round. That could be a nice haul there for the Chiefs. But Bain is certainly a player that if what, you know, some of the reports you're alluding to are true.

If he starts to slip a little bit, I do think there will be teams that are like, no, we like this guy. And we didn't think he was going to be available when we picked, but let's go ahead. And maybe it doesn't take as much because that's the thing. When you look at like first round trade value and, you know, I try to go back to the last three years and be like, well, this is what this team gave up. It's just, it changes year to year. It really changes on who's the quarterback you're trading, you know, are you trading for a quarterback? who's the prospect you're trading for? Because sometimes the team will be like,

all right, we'll take a little bit less because this is the best offer possible, and we are realistic about it. We don't just have to stick to this chart or stick to precedent here. So that could be something to keep an eye on here where maybe the cost to trade up in this draft is not as high as it has been in previous drafts

just because of what you're saying about kind of the caliber of prospects that might be available here and the questions about them in the first round. All right. Kansas City Chiefs, very interesting team to keep an eye on with those two first round picks, a Patrick Mahomes team with two first round picks, including a top 10 one, man, they've got to nail this draft for sure.

This could be a draft where if they're winning Super Bowls in three years, we're all looking at it going, oh, man, that 20-26 draft where they had three picks in the top 40, they nailed that, and that was really kind of the building blocks for what they're doing here. All right. I mean, even if they hit two of those three, right, which is why I think part of the reason why I kind of want to keep that other top 40 pick. You hit two of the three and you get another McDuffie, obviously that's kind of like the peak outcome, but like another McDuffie caliber

player on a rookie contract that becomes a asset for you to trade if you get to that place, but also just someone who's like providing more value than their contract, which they desperately need. That's kind of where I think they have to look at with this draft. Like let's go get guys that can win right now, play right now and kind of like, I think over, you know, kind of, you know, kind of just like overplay their value on these contracts because they need young, cheap players. It's going to be, you know, with these teams that like, not over-invest, but invest a ton of capital and quarterback, you're going to need, obviously, like, cheap players on these rookie deals.

And it's a big reason why I think we always, like with these, with this Super Bowl era for the Chiefs, like, obviously Mahomes is like the first, second, third, fourth, fifth name people bring up. But you think about how they've drafted and just the value that they've gotten on rookie contract players in that time, I think is a big reason why, too, that Chiefs dynasty, like, or mini-dynast, whatever it is, like, actually propel through. It was like they were hitting on a lot of picks, specifically on defense and getting value over what they were spending in a big way.

See, I'm split on that because it's all so hard for me to say, well, were they hitting on picks or did they have specific coaches who were getting stuff out of guys? Now, obviously, it's going to be a little bit of both. But, you know, like, I think that's so hitting on, though. Like, you dropped a leggeria's seed in the fourth round, and your defensive coordinator knows how to turn them in to, like, a legit start. Like, that's a hit, right?

Same with, like, the Brian Cook, Trent McDuffy. Corloft is arguably a hit. Chris Jones has been a massive hit for them. I think Drew Tranquil was his hit for them. They figured, I don't think they drafted him, though, but I think they figured out how to, I think Spagnola specifically has figured out how to maximize a lot of that defensive talent where they need help, I think is offense, right?

It's like the guys that they've drafted, Clyde Edwards-Layer, I don't think they're getting what they expected out of Xavier Worthy. Like, they need to hit on some offensive skill player picks to, I think, really take this to the next level because you're running out now. No Tyrakeel, no Travis Kelsey soon. He's going to need some more weapons. All right, let's take a break. We come back.

More trades? I may have some player, maybe a little. least one player trade mixed in here. Is there going to be a Ty Simpson trade in this fake trade exercise? We've got some more to get to when we come back. All right, we are back here on the Ringer NFL show. Now, this one might be the most like unlikely to happen because it involves the team that you're wearing their hat right now, the Cincinnati Bengals. And they kind of don't make trades. I was reading the story. In the athletic, it was like, what did it say here? Or they've made one trade during the draft in the last three years and zero zero trades in the last two years not even

like a sixth round pick swap or anything like that so this is not a team that makes a lot of trades during the draft but you know what this is a podcast so we're allowed to say that the bengals are going to make a trade here now the most obvious pairing the one you see everywhere austin is bengals at number 10 Caleb downs safety makes all the sense in the the world. But what if Jerry Jones comes to call it and says, you know what? We have two first round picks, 12 and 20. We have, where I'm looking at our draft board, we have Caleb Downs as the last player in this top tier of guy we believe it can be like a multi-time all pro. And so we want to make a deal with you, Cincinnati. We will give you 12 and 20, both our first round picks for 10 and 41.

So you're moving down two spots in the first round, but then you're moving up 21 spots from 41 to 20 because that's how much conviction we have in Caleb Downs. That's the player we want because we feel like, you know what, we're going to be a pretty good football team this year with our offense set up the way it is, our new defensive coordinator. We just are like two difference makers away on defense.

And we feel so strongly that Caleb Downs is one of those players. What do you think, Austin? I think I really like it for the bank. I think coming down and getting another first round pick and moving that much, you know, that further up into the second round. But I guess though, but passing up on downs and then I'm trying to think of who they get at 12 and 20. Oh, let me see. I feel like I went over this. Here's who I had them taking.

I don't know if you love either of these players, but Keldrick Falk at 12 and then they can have their choice of kind of a defensive back at 20. I went with Avion Terrell. But if they want, you know, one of the safety from Toledo, Emmanuel McLeod Warren, if they want him, if they want someone else or another cornerback that they like. So I have them getting a D-Linman and a corner instead of Caleb Downs. Yeah, I mean, if they get Emmanuel McNeil Warren, the Toledo safety at 20, or McNeil, yeah, at 20 and then at 12, they're able to get like a Keldrick fall. I think I like it. And I think that's, I think they need volume on defense in Cincinnati more than they kind of need one-star player. And for Dallas, I like the overconfidence of Jerry and him coming up.

I think I can get by this. I like I'd have to see how it works out in the draft value tracker. Like how much value are they giving up versus getting in return, kind of going down those 20 spots? But if it lines up, I think I can start to get on board. See, I feel like I did that one. And then I'm like, I wonder if I'm the Bengals, if I would just be like, I'd rather I'd just have down.

Yeah. And their next pick would be at 41. And maybe they're getting, you know, just like not that caliber of defense. defensive back. Yeah. I don't know. That's kind of where I landed with that.

Now, again, to your, I have the same role you, you know, that I don't want to be overconfident at all. No, I know Caleb Downs is going to be amazing. But I do think most teams would have it projected on a different tier than maybe the other players who might be available. So let's see. Maybe the Bengals. Maybe we called it.

You know, everyone's saying they never make a trade. They don't trade. But this is the year. They say, we've heard those narratives. And when Jerry calls, we listen. Certainly the Cowboys aren't interesting. one of the most interesting teams in the first round because even if they stay put and just take like two defensive players,

we might be looking at them differently. They have the ammo to move up if they move up and now they get a stud and we're like, wow, that guy's going to really make a difference in the first round. They have that optionality where it's going to be really interesting to see what they do. And it could impact sort of how we view them going into 2026 here. Austin. All right.

This next one, I already know you're not going to like it, But you know what? I'm going with because I know this is another trade up. And this is the Philadelphia Eagles where most people would say the Eagles are a sharp organization. You know, they're a model franchise. And for the draft, if you're analytically sound, you never trade up. Guess what team trades up or tries to trade up pretty much every single year? It's the Eagles. It's how he rose.

And even last year for Jahad Campbell, if you remember the reporting, they were trying to trade up with the chargers to get Jihad Campbell. and off-ball linebacker, they end up not having to do that. And then they just make a small trade up there in the first round and land him. But if you look at all these, you know, Jordan Davis, Jill and Carter, they're trading up almost every single year in the first round. Devante Smith, we're trying to. So Kenyon Sadiq, Austin, he starts falling a little bit,

and he's available at 17. The Detroit Lions are on the board. and the Eagles are saying, you know what, the Vikings are up next. We could kind of see Kevin O'Connell being like, oh, man, the things I can do with Kenyon Sadiq, and the Eagles are looking at it going, we have Dallas got it on a one-year deal. We don't have a plan for tight end here going forward. We have Sadiq ranked really highly. What would we have to give up?

And they go back and they look at the different trays of the previous years. And they look at 2024, the Vikings moved up for Dallas Turner and identified. a critical move up, 23 to 17. So we're going to do similar compensation here. Eagles are going to give up a third round pick, 68 overall, and then they're going to give up a fourth next year, and they're going to say we want Kenyon Sadiq to be one of our major weapons on offense. We might trade A.J. Brown in June.

We need to build those top three pass catchers that every offense needs to have, and we believe Sadiq can be that guy. What do you think? So they only give up a third and a fourth to go up about six spots and they get Sadiq. Yeah. So the Vikings, when they did this, I believe they gave up, I believe it was a third and another third, but their third was not, I think it was a different, not, it wasn't as high as 68 for the Eagle. So yeah, it ends up being a similar comp to what the Vikings did in 2024 in that Dallas turner trade.

I think I'm just not, maybe the compensation is fine. I'm just like not there with Sadiq, especially if like I'm now thinking about him as I'm giving up three picks to go get Sadiq who honestly, if like gun to my head, when is Sadiq going to be at his best on his second contract or on his first? Every day of the week, I'm saying his second contract. He feels like the prototypical tight end that everyone can buy into because of all the traits of the tools. He didn't have the production college. He didn't command targets in college yet. but man, what this player could be, he's young. Like, he screams to me, like, exactly the kind of player where his rookie contract

is a little bit of a disappointment. And then he starts to hit his, maybe not his athletic prime, but his, like, his NFL caliber prime on that second contract. Kind of like Evan Ingram, kind of like where I think Pitts could be, I don't know. I think trading future capital or any kind of draft capital to go up and get Sadiq kind of scares me when, like, I think that the Eagles would be smarter trading up for one of the receivers if they fall to this spot or kind of even staying put,

looking at trenches, looking at edge, looking at the secondary. I don't know. I don't think Sadiq's the kind of guy that I'm ultimately just giving up that kind of capital for. See, when you do this exercise and you try to map out the trade-ups, I end up being with you. I'm like, I wouldn't do this if I were trading up. But then you look at previous drafts and you're like, well, this is what the teams did. So, like, I'm trying to do. The Vikings training up for Dallas Turner was a disaster.

The Falcons training up for Gillen-Bron Thomas Jr. It was terrible. I mean, the Jaggs training up for Hunter was terrible. They haven't Brian Thomas Jr. They're trying to get out of that Brian Thomas Jr. thing now. Like I think that oftentimes when you do trade up for players, you miss. And like you end up missing. It's not just about missing on the player.

It's like you miss on that capital that never was that player. Right. Like I think, um, I don't know. And it's not, I don't think it's as simple as anymore of like training up for a not quarterback. I think it's like the confidence in your projection is a piece. The player and the positional value is a part of it. And then also like obviously it's like, does he come in and immediately fill this need?

Is he coming in on a rookie contract and being that player? I would still expect Dallas Godder kind of right away to have more targets than Sadiq in year one or something you're kind of roping in hoping by year two, year three you're starting to get. So I don't know. I think it's tough for a Sadiq type of player who I feel like is still like I think a lot of people will call him a project. Tight end has been tricky because for years there, I was just pointing to tight ends taken in the first round and specifically the top 10. And I'm just like, this is a disaster. Like it's not working. And then you had the Brock Bowers thing.

And then you had Colston Loveland last year. and you were like, oh, Tyler Warren, you're like, maybe this is changing a little bit, but is that a small sample? Are those guys outliers? Are they a different class of prospect than Sadiq? All those things are entirely possible. And so maybe you're right about that, that it would be wise to be a little bit hesitant there with the titan. I was just trying to figure out who, you know, who are the Eagles going to try to trade up for?

And I was like, huh, this point in the draft, but maybe it's a receiver. Like you said, maybe we're not thinking about that, but maybe there's a receiver they have in a different tier. than the guys that would be available to them at 23. Maybe it is someone like Jordan Tyson, and they say, we're confident in the medicals here. They've gone after guys in recent years who have had medical issues

and other teams take them off their board, even with Jehadd Campbell last year. And they're like, no, we're confident, this guy's going to be good. So maybe it's another player I'm not thinking about. Also playing with kind of a long leash, right? Like they have, Howie's got mistakes to burn, you know,

in terms of where anyone's starting to kind of question things. it just happened while we started recording but the Eagles traded for TV on Wix and while we're on the Eagles Really? Yeah, everyone's talking about is AJ Brown going to get traded and we're talking about draft day trades A lot of the reporting has been that he's going to get traded

after June 1st because there's some dead money that hits or whatever. Do you think you get traded on draft night? I think that the, and this is what a lot of people reporting as well is that the Eagles are kind of operating SCPs already not on the team and I think this Wix trade is a piece of that. They signed Hollywood Brown. Do you think he gets traded on draft night? and I guess what are the odds of that?

And then do you think he ultimately gets traded after June 1st before the season? I think he gets traded in June. Yeah, I would say, and this isn't like, I don't know this, but I would say if I had to guess that they have parameters in place, probably with the Patriots. Maybe there's a mystery team we don't know about. But part of like GMing is like your trust with other GMs and other teams in the NFL and Howie Roseman's been around so long that I feel like they can have that conversation

that, hey, we know it's not 100%, but barring something crazy, like Devante Smith having an injury in the offseason or, you know, one of these great wide receivers unexpectedly falling to you, the Patriots at 31. We're both on the same page that here are the trade terms. We'll wait until June to execute it. We both won't, you know, leak it to the media because we know you're not allowed to project June 1st trades into the future.

You can't be like, all right, this has been agreed to, but we're going to execute it on June 1st. You're not allowed to do that. So I think they're just keeping it quiet and saying June 1st, this will happen. Maybe I'll be wrong, but I'm still operating under the idea that AJ Brown, I'll believe it when I see it, that he, you know, is in an Eagles uniform. He's playing for the Eagles in week one. Yeah, yeah. I think I'm with you. I think I'm like 90 plus percent. Sure, he's on another team. I think the Patriots being that likely one. Can I throw a

couple trades at you? What did the Eagles give up for Wix first? Is that out there? I don't know. I haven't seen the reporting on one day given out for WICS. But I mean, he's getting a one year, $12.5 million extension. I can't imagine the capital is significant. It's going to be some day-free swap stuff probably. Really getting a $12.5 million extension, Dantavian Wix. Okay. That's interesting. I liked Wix coming out of Virginia while on the draft. I think he's a separator. I think the problem has been his hands. And I think that's a lot of the frustration with Packers fans when you bring up Wix. He has really inconsistent drop issues. And that plagues guys that just like constantly get open.

That can be like a real bad Achilles still to have, even if you do get constantly open. But I don't know, $12 and a half million. I'm wondering what the compensation has been. I don't think it's going to be significant. And if the Eagles are already kind of preparing for life without AJ Brown, I like this idea of taking a handful of Darth Rose, Hollywood Brown, Dantavion Wicks, maybe you're looking at someone in the draft. I think that's smart. And they're kind of starting fresh.

I don't know. We haven't talked a ton about the Jalen Hertz hit piece that came out a couple of weeks ago. But like one of my reads out of it was I think that the Eagles feel almost more committed to Sean Mannion and what he's going to kind of bring and change with this offense than they do necessarily even to Hertz. And I think giving him a handful of flavors at receiver and not like this diva that's going to command targets no matter what win or lose. I think probably is the right fit for Mannion, who is a very green coach and going to be a brand new play caller, kind of getting an opportunity to run at how he wants with a handful of options and no like real, real pressure to focus it to certain guys.

Yeah, we'll see. If you come in, Stoutland's gone, no A.J. Brown. All right, run the show. How does it look? Oh, it's a hard thing to do. Yeah, it's hard. But, yeah, no, they obviously, like basically their season next year is going to go. However, Sean Mannion gets it to go.

And so the Packers real quick, so they lose Dobbs, and now they trade Wicks here in the offseason. So that's a little bit interesting. They're doing a little reshaping, too, on the offensive side of the ball. All right, go ahead. You want to, you're up. You have some fake trades too. I don't want to monopolize it. So what do you got?

Give me one to chew on here. Do you want some more Max Crosby fan fiction? or do you want mystery player that I think could get moved that I want to move? Let's do the Max Crosby 1. Then we take a break. We keep the audience on the edge of their seat. And then we come back and we get to your mystery player. Let's do that.

I think two spots where they're going to be on the clock. And now it's not 10 minutes a pick. It's eight minutes a pick now. I don't know if you saw that. They're going to make this draft feeling really quick. Was that just announced? I saw that today. Did we know that before?

We didn't know that, right? I don't know if we knew that. But I think it's, we might have known. that like weeks ago, but it's starting to kind of like, starting to find everything now. I feel for Danny Kelly, our NFL draft analyst who does the draft raids every year, getting 10 minutes to write

those. Now he's got eight minutes. It's going to be a high tie for my boy. But I think there's going to be some teams with those eight minutes that are like, hmm, do we want to take the player that's fallen to us here? Or do we want to call the Raiders about Max Crosby? And I think the first spot where I'm feeling that is at 13 with the Rams. You know, a team that we know

is an F them picks kind of teen, right? And I think at 13, if the receiver they wanted isn't there. And they couldn't get a trade-up done to go get Tate or go get whoever. And they're sitting there and the Raiders who just traded Max Crosby for the 14th overall pick

and a 2027 first. It's the Rams there at 13, maybe offering a 2027 first where there's more confidence, probably from the Rams and the Raiders that that pick is going to be somewhere between like pick 26 and 32 and 27 because the Rams are kind of going all in. They just rebuilt secondary. So you're getting a very, probably a late

2027 first and the 13th overall pick for Max Crosby, part of me feels like that could be in play. Part of me feels like that's like that first spot. And then this other one I have, and I think where it really heats up is the Lions at 17. And if they weren't able to go get Monroe Freeling or the tackle they think is going to help solve that offensive line and they're sitting there and like, wait, this did not pan out as we expected.

Do they just go get Max Crosby and say, hey, it's unacceptable for our defense to be kind of middle of the pack and pressure rate. We need to be better there. We need someone to compliment Aiden Hutchinson. I think their projected starter right now is DJ Wanham, opposite of Hutchinson. that's just not going to work. I think at 13 for the Rams, 17 for the Lions,

that two firsts is going to get brought up again. And maybe it's a conditional first in 2027. But I think there's going to be teams looking at this draft crowd and saying, oh, my gosh, the guys that we wanted aren't there, do we just call the Raiders about Crosby and kind of go throw out those two firsts again? So you think that the Raiders, now that you are a Raiders, you actually think that they can still get two first round picks for Max Crosby? I think so.

I think that you can. I think that like there could be. there could be like a conditional first where like he has to have a certain amount of sacks. But I think a lot of the concern and the Raven said this too is that it's the longevity of his knee, which I think everyone at 29, 30 years old with multiple knee surgeries, everyone should be concerned about the longevity of his knee. But I don't think people are worried about 2026, 27. Crosby, I don't think even the Ravens were worried about that. So I think it has to be a team that is saying, yo, our window is shrinking, right?

With how long is the Jared Gough experience going to go? He turns 32, I think, this year in Detroit. They've already now are cycling through offensive play callers after Ben Johnson left. Like there's pressure, I think, in Detroit to figure out what this immediate future looks like. And with the Rams, we know they're going all in. We know that whoever they pick at 13 probably isn't going to be as valuable to their team in 2026, then Max Crosby. And do they have to give up 2027? Capital, sure.

Is it matching what the Raiders got? Sure. Kind of. But a late 2027 first and 13 for a player that you know, I think right away is going to do what they need right now, which is you got probably one good Stafford season left. If that, I don't know. I think those teams are going to be the kinds of. ones that are thinking about it, even if you're matching the price point that Baltimore spent,

and there should be this haircut, right? But I think there's different opinions on Crosby's knee, and I think the speculation that there's like long-term concerns and stuff, I don't know. I think a lot of other teams, when the rubber hits the road and you're looking at this draft class, you're saying, what can I do to help the team right now? I think Crosby's going to be a name that comes up. A trade with conditions with him makes all the sense in the world. If you're like, we're giving up our first this year and then whatever it is, maybe it's a,

can you do a third that could turn into a second or a first? I don't know if you've ever seen that before. Probably. I think you can do anything. If Kirk Cousins can make all the money he has in the NFL, I think you could do it. And there's a homework clause in Connery's contract in Arizona. I think there's a lot that can be done in those. Yeah, usually, you know, it's just one round and then if it meets conditions, goes to the next job.

But why do we have to stop there? Maybe it's a third, but it turns into a second if he has 10 sacks. It turns into a first if he's a first team all pro, or if your team gets to the Super Bowl or whatever. Or maybe you look down the road and you say, If you're really concerned about his contract, we'll take a 2028 pick. You know, maybe you do that. You say, how about a 2028 second that turns into a first if one of these things happens over the next two years with Max Crosby?

You could do that as well. So I do think there's a way to get creative with Crosby. And especially as going through this exercise and looking at the prospects available, I couldn't help but just get into like, if I'm this team, I would rather just make a big play for Max Crosby. Honestly. you know, pick one of these players. And I know that's not always the smart thing to do,

but it feels like maybe there's an opportunity there. And when you mentioned the Rams, he really, that fit I hadn't thought of, but that has a, would really have a force multiplier effect, I think, on that? Because that is a talented defensive front. There are games where you're like, well, they're not exactly taking over the game,

but I like all these players. But now you had Crosby, and now you've got all the other guys, you've got verse and you've got Young and you've got Turner and you've got Fist. Now it's like, oh my gosh, this could be actually, a top three defensive line in the NFL.

You already addressed cornerback this offseason. So, yeah, Rams could give new meaning to their F-Dick thing. If not only did they make the McDuffey trade, if now they make a Crosby trade as well there. So I like that one a lot. All right, we take a break. We come back, the mystery player. Then Austin Tees.

And I've got a player trade here, which might be my favorite of all the projected trades I've given. you, Austin. So we'll do all that when we come back. All right, we're back here on the ring of NFL show. Are at Austin, who is this mystery player? Now, it would be really funny if it was like a player, the level of Dantean Wicks after I just built it up and made people know. Okay, it's a little bit bigger. All right, go ahead. I did initially include Anthony Richardson Jr. to the Packers, but then I reread your Slack saying just first round stuff and that would be like a six and seven round swap. I do think, I do think Anthony Richardson to the Packers go and like,

What Lafleur was able to do with three Malik Willis starts and turn him into whatever the dolphins paid him? I imagine three starts with Anthony Richardson what could possibly happen there. Cannon arm, really fast, with athletic, there's something there. But the real player that I think could move first round capital potentially is Devon Aachen, the Miami Dolphins running back, where I know. So you don't believe what the dolphins are saying about him being a foundational piece.

Oh, you do? Okay. I do. Because you know how you really rack up trade value is you tell people that you're not trading him and that he's a foundational piece. It's what the Raiders did. Max Crosby, everyone felt he was going to get traded. When they asked SpyTek at the combine, is he going to be a Raider in 2026?

He's like, yeah, he is. It's like, okay, well, you lie, right? It's like, you just lie straight to them to make sure. Because if he's like, I don't know, maybe Devon A. Chan isn't a piece. It's hard to pay running backs. That just does, what does that do for you? It does nothing for you. But I think there's reports now that he's not going to voluntary minicamp or OTAs or whatever

it is, and he wants a new contract. There's been reporting that he's going to reset the running back market. if the dolphins pay Malik Willis and then give Devon Achan top of the running back market money while essentially dismantling the rest of the roster they have like over $180 million dedicated to players who aren't on their team.

They traded away Jalen Waddle. I will be kind of completely dumbfounded by what they're doing. I would not understand the Malik Willis contract. I would not understand the Devon Aichan contract if it does happen. So I do think they should be shopping him and committing publicly that he's a foundational piece

but also taking calls. And one team that I like, I think this would maybe be stupid by them because I don't think they have an offensive line ready for it, but I think they need more fireworks. The Houston Texans who are picking at 28 in the first round, and they're sitting there at 28, they're looking for a weapon, maybe they want to add along the offensive line,

and I think there are going to be some tackles there or even like Emmanuel Pregnone of Oregon where it makes sense, but do they just get flashy, do they get sexy? And they say, we're going to go get Devon A-chan. Yes, they brought in David Montgomery, but an A-chan Montgomery combination, right, where we're going to need to figure out the offensive line as we go. Just just giving up, 28th overall for H.N. Move you. And who says no? To remind you, the last big running back

trade that we really had was the McCaffrey one, who was only 26 years old on a four-year, $64 million deal. And I think the Niners gave up a second, third, fifth, and fourth. And he had been injured a bunch, yeah. Yes, yes. It's easy to forget now. He was an unknown. At that time, it was like, we don't know if we're ever going to see the same guy again. Of course, we did. But wow. So this would be different, right? LaShawn McCoy was 26 years old when they got traded straight up for Kiko Alonzo. And then McCaffrey was the 2, 3, 4, 5. A. Chan, who is 24 years old, is going to require this big payday coming off just his first

thousand-yard season. He's 190 pounds. He's 5'8 foot 8. I don't know. Maybe 28th overall does get it done, or that even could be too rich. A first round pick for a running back in the year 2026, Austin. I mean, that would be. Maybe it's a bad call.

Well, no, no, because as you were describing it, like, it's not like the craziest thing for the Texans to do. Now, I wouldn't do it if I were the Texans. I'm just not giving up a first round pick for a running back who I then have to pay at the top of the market. I would not want to get in that business. But I don't know that they would feel the same way. If I'm the dolphins, I'm doing it. If I can get a first round pick for him, a very fun player, great player to watch.

It was terrific last year. He had over 1,800 yards from scrimmage is a home run threat. Anytime he touches the ball, I love watching him play. But you are right that if you're blowing it up with Jalen Waddle and you're just, you're kind of in that Jets mode a little bit of just like, we are resetting this entire thing. I mean, they've got 11 picks in this track.

Now, three are in the top 50. They've got seven picks in the top 100, which I believe is the most of any team. So if you're just like, let's take as many dart throws as we can, premium positions, let's rebuild this thing.

All right, maybe we don't have the quarterback. Maybe we do. We're taking a flyer on them for two years, but let's at least build up the rest of the roster with good young players so that two years from now, if it's not Malik Willis, now we can be in the market

for a good veteran quarterback and maybe we actually have a good team. So I do like that one. I would do it if I were the dolphins. I would not do it if I were the Texans, but I don't think you're crazy to propose it. I like it because it's not a name we've talked about because I was falling for John Eric Sullivan

just telling me that you can't trade. Tavon H. Come on. You're crazy. The best players in the league are the guys you should not trade, but they end up kind of needing to. I just think it's hard to look at their cap situation. And then, you know, if A-chan is holding out right now

and they do come to a contract agreement for the season, this is going to be a team that is paying Malik Willis, you know, over $20 million per year. And then also traded away Jalen Waddle has $180 million committed to players that aren't on the roster. Oh, and they just paid Devon A-Chant a record-breaking contract, a running back. No wide receivers, no cornerbacks. Yeah.

You know, I don't think you'd call him like an injury concern. He has had injuries in his career and he's 5'8 190 pounds. Right. Like that to me just doesn't feel like, you know, everyone's talking about the Packer Way in Miami now because they have the GM and obviously the head coach. I don't think it's going in the right direction to say, hey, you know what?

We are going to commit a shitload of resource to the running back position, even though we don't really feel like we are in a place to compete defensively or even just like roster overall. Yeah. Yeah. At this point in where they are as a franchise, I don't know that that would make a lot of sense, but we'll see what happens there. All right.

I have two more for you, Austin. Okay. Sweet. I had to throw a Ty Simpson one in there, really, because I just want your take on the Ty Simpson discourse. And whether you think it's reasonable, whether you think it's wild, whether you think the draft should just start three weeks earlier every season. But the team I was looking at, and this has been a popular one, is the Arizona Cardinals. Because you always have to look at which GM's trying to save their jobs here. It's Montaacin-Fort feeling pressure.

Is he really going to go into a season where his job might be on the line with Gardner-Mars? Minchu and Jacoby percent, or is he going to want to show ownership that, no, we actually do have a plan here at quarterback. So I've got the Cardinals trading back into the first round from 34 to 22 and making a trade with the Los Angeles Chargers, because the Chargers, Austin, only have five picks in this draft, one in the top 50. And so they maybe could use a little more draft capital. And so the Cardinals say, we want to move up from 34 to 22.

we're going to do a very similar trade to the Jackson Dart trade from a year ago. We're going to give you a third this year, number 65 overall, and we're going to give you a 2027 fourth because we want to get back up in the first round ahead of the Cleveland Browns there because maybe they'd be interested in Ty Simpson. And we're going to take Ty Simpson at 22. So Cardinals go from 34 to 22, give up a third this year, and a 2027 fourth to the Chargers. What do you think? first of all, I think that Ty Simpson is probably worth that, right?

I think that it's been, you know, a lot of the conversation about Ty Simpson versus Fernando Fernando Mendoza, you know, and, you know, Ty Simpson was the projected number one overall pick the first nine weeks of the season over the second half. Simpson suffered all these injuries, his play completely collapsed, and Fernando Mendoza rose to one of the most accomplished college football seasons in history of the sport. And I think that's where like a lot of this is split. But I think a lot of the second half of that season, you can kind of chalk up to injuries and you can buy that self in.

I think the reason to feel like Mendoza's the obvious decision at one over Simpson and why Simpson probably isn't worth a top 10 or top 20 pick potentially is because you have such a small sample size to evaluate what he's done. Think about how much our opinions change in the NFL on quarterbacks with darn old. And like the college level, like it can go from Garrett Nussmeyers, the future nobun overall pick. So like I don't even know if he's going to be there in round three or round four. Like he might just be like a day two, day three pick. And I think when you were evaluating Simpson, yes, it is easy to say the first eight to nine weeks

of the season, he looked at like this. But like, we've only seen eight to nine weeks. And we know our opinions on quarterbacks can change in two games. It can change in a half. And you just haven't seen a lot from Simpson or enough from Simpson to be really confident at all in your evaluation of him. And I think the other piece of it is he's got, you know, a little bit, he's like, his size isn't what you want. The arm challenge isn't there. Like, mobility's good, but it's not great. You're not betting on like a big toolsy player going up and going and getting him. So for me, why I like Simpson and why he probably is worth it is because I think he is really that other quarterback worth betting on after Mendoza.

and there is stuff from the first part of that season where you really want to buy into that hype. And if it's only giving up a third and a future fourth, I think that's fine. You get the fifth year option, which you're probably going to need if you're developing him probably has a backup out of the gate and then getting to see what he is two or three years down the road.

So I do think a team does come up for Simpson in the first round. If I had to predict what it's going to happen, I think some team does come up. I don't know necessarily if it's the Cardinals, though, right? Because you mentioned the GM, Monty Austin for is he kind of GMing for his job. A trade-up for Simpson, I think, is an ownership decision, right? He's not going to go to ownership, but this is our plan. I think it's more of like, hey, are you guys thinking about 2027?

And you don't want us to kind of start spending this capital on a quarterback now and you're fine with Minchum and Berset? Or like, could we? Like maybe he's asked about that, but I wouldn't be surprised if ownership is kind of shutting that down and they're looking at the 2027 class. Whereas I think other teams that really like Simpson as a prospect know that he probably needs to be a backup right away, whereas Arizona, they're going to have a quarterback competition the whole way through.

That is where it starts to make more sense for me, where it's like a team like the Rams or whoever already has this capable start that they feel like they're moving on from. maybe it's the Steelers, right, to go up and get him and then kind of wait on him and develop him over time. You know, it will be one of the biggest stories in the first round, especially because of the conversation around him, like you alluded to. I'm still sticking to. I don't think anyone takes him in the first round because of the small sample. I think, you know, day two, first 10 picks. I think that's probably where he ends up going. But I could be wrong. I was looking at this. You mentioned, like you mentioned the Steelers. Maybe it's a team like the Cardinals, whoever.

maybe there is a team that will get back in there and try to draft him. I'm just not convinced that that small sample, you know, that has just been the trickiest thing with quarterback evaluation is just, that's been the one thing to not really get too confident on a very small sample with a quarterback that is burned teams time and again. So we'll see what happens there. But to your point, the Jackson Dart trade last year, that's why you couldn't really rip that because it was like they're not giving.

This isn't like giving up three first round picks, you know, to move up to the top five for a quarterback. like if you're giving up a third round pick or something and it's a quarterback you like, I think you could almost always justify taking that type of flyer because, you know, the upside is so great that if he hits, you're going to be like, man, that was a fantastic trade. And if he doesn't hit, you can kind of live with it. So it always is, in my opinion, he's okay when the risk isn't that bad for a quarterback like Ty Simpson. And I feel like with Jackson Dart, I think it was like McShay.

I remember Tom McShay here at the Ringer was one of the first people to kind of like, I think he could go in the first round, right? Whereas, and that was kind of the conversation about him as a prospect, then he ends up going in the first round. Where Simpson, the first nine weeks of the season, same guy, Tom McShay, is like, this is the best player in the draft. This is, he's going to go number one overall. And then the injuries happen and things fall off and things change.

So, like, I think that the key difference there is, if you're going to go up and kind of take the flyer on this guy, it's not even that you're like, it's just, if you flipped Simpson's season, say he started the year, really hurt, didn't look great, really concerned. And then the second half of the season, he looks like just to completely, they go on a run in the college football playoff.

People are really excited. His best football is played when everyone's watching. I think you're talking probably about Simpson as a top 10 pick. It's like a lot of this is like recency bias. What is the last thing that you've seen? And like I think if he was ending the season on a high, people start to feel like you're starting to, like, Miss Trubisky didn't have a ton of starts.

Anthony Richardson didn't have a ton of starts. But they finished kind of hot and people were excited. And I think with Simpson, because if it's that flip-flop, it's just easier for people to kind of say, ah, well, the last thing, I got the ick watching him the last few weeks of the season. It wasn't good. I also think, you know, Bama

still has very blue blood. And when you think about college football, Bama might be even the first school you think of. I think not a lot of people realize how bad their running game was last year. Like they could not run the football, which is not something you even expect from Alabama. Like a lot of this was on Simpson to be great and above and kind of what people expected. So I don't know. I think Simpson, like every discussion now, it's gotten too polarizing where it's like he's the best quarterback in the draft. Or I don't think anyone should draft him.

I think it's actually somewhere in the middle where he's probably worth the fifth year option. If you can get the right capital call up and go get him. But if you wait till day two, like I think that's okay too. I don't think he should be a guy that's sliding past like pick 40. Somewhere between 20 and 40, I would say. Yeah, he ends up going there. All right, my last one might be my favorite one here, Austin. Let's go.

The Chicago Bears, I thought they were going to be a team you mentioned with Max Crosby. They were not. If there is a Crosby trade on the table, I think they are a team to keep an eye on. But I have them going for another defensive player because they've got the 25th pick. They trade 25 to the Giants for DHS. Dexter Lawrence and a fourth pick 105 there. So I said earlier this week, I wasn't really buying the Dexter Lawrence trade request. I think he just wants a new deal.

I think the Giants will end up giving him a new deal. But you never know. I'm not, you know, like some of these drafters, I'm not overconfident in my ability to predict what's going to happen with Dexter Lawrence. So the bears get an impactful, disruptive front seven player. They pay Dexter Lawrence. He didn't have a great year last year, but give me a break. He's not like he's 35. he's still going to be a good player.

And the Giants say, you know what? We don't want to pay him that kind of money. Let's go ahead and take that 25th overall pick and let's get a player on a rookie contract. Austin, what do you think? Bears trade 25 for Dexter Lawrence and a fourth. Who says no? I think it's interesting.

I don't know if I'm at. You love Dexter Lawrence, by the way. I love Dexter Lawrence. I'm a big Dexter Lawrence guy. Yeah. I still like question if he's going to turn 29 this year. year. Coming off a down year, but I think talking to High Fitz, who's like a big Giants fan, it sounds like it was more

like effort stuff and something that like isn't, like, it's not like he's on a decline. So I don't think like you're, I'm there yet either. And like Max Crosby's 29. Um, trading a first round pick for him though, it feels like a pretty decent investment. You are getting the fourth back. I think I'm feeling it out and honestly just turning on more Lawrence tape, right? I think if I get this call and I'm Chicago, I'm going to say, okay, let me actually rewatch the entire 2026 season, Dexter Lawrence tape and figure out where I'm at with.

him right now and then I feel like come back to you because I don't know I feel like the first initially when I saw Lawrence that's my best one you can't decide you got to go to the tape so there you go I think it is I think it is because like Lawrence when I initially saw the trade was like okay like day two something right like what did Leonard Williams get traded for was he like a third round pick or something I was like a second or and now like maybe Dexter Lawrence is better than that but he's 29 years old he's wanting a new contract like I think like I start to really feel good about a Dexter Lawrence trade if I know I'm giving up day two capital first round capital feels like a lot and And for a player that is, again, 29,

and maybe he isn't on a decline yet, but these things change quickly. As soon as you turn 30, things start to sour, I don't know. And especially, like, I think as soon as they call me, right, I'm going to say, okay, thank you. Let me think about it. I'm going to go watch the tape. I'm going to call the Raiders and be like, okay,

we're thinking about moving first round pick, 25. And the Raiders aren't going to give a fourth back and maybe it's not too first, but do you start to talk about and say, we'll give you 25 and a 2027 second with conditions or a 2027 third and, like, start to really shop it out because if you're ultimately going to move that pick for Lawrence, I think even figuring out like A.J. Brown, like, hey, let's start shopping around here.

If Lawrence is someone we're considering moving for that 25th overall pick, let's see who else is out there. Is it, you know, is A.E. Chan, is it Lawrence? Some of these guys, I don't know. I think it's like, it's not one that I'm like immediately saying yes to, but maybe that's a good thing. All right. I can just picture.

Sometimes, you know, we said before. True. I just picture the guy in the jersey. I'm like, yeah, I could picture just Bears fans being out of their minds. Oh, my God. Dexter Lars, he's amazing. How did the Giants trade? And he's given full effort next year.

They're on a contending team. They're going crazy there. He's kind of the centerpiece of that defensive line. Of course, multiplayer. Yeah, absolutely. Make everyone else better there. So we'll see again. I think probably John Harbaugh is like,

I would like to keep our good players and let's find a way to pay Dexter Lawrence. Even if it's not exactly what he wants, we can find a compromise there with guaranteed money or whatever. I think that's the most likely outcome. But who knows, maybe I'll be wrong and they'll go in a different direction. All right, Austin. Fun exercise. A lot of the pivot points, a lot of the major players here in the first.

round. Let's hope that some of those reports are right and we get a lot of trades here in the 2026 NFL draft. All right, thanks to Austin. Gail for joining me today. Thank you to Christopher Sutton for producing Stefano Sanchez on video and additional production supervision by Connor Nevins and Arjuna Ram Gapal. I'm Sheila Kapati. We will talk to you next time on the ring NFL show. 21 plus and present in select states for Kansas in affiliation with Kansas Star casino or 18 plus and present in D.C., Kentucky or Wyoming. Gambling problem. Call 1-800-Gamblinghambler or 1-800-Mai Reset. Call 1-88-7-8-8-8-7-7-7. Or visit cccpgobgat-org in Connecticut or visit MDGamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit Gamblinghelpline-M-A.org or call 800-3-2-7-50 for 24-7-7-7-1-Massachusetts.

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