The Ryen Russillo Podcast - The Annual Todd McShay–Daniel Jeremiah NFL Draft Fest!

Episode Date: April 15, 2025

Russillo is joined by Todd McShay and Daniel Jeremiah for their annual NFL Draft Fest (1:14)! They break down the top of the draft, which players are underrated, and their thoughts on the Nico Iamaleava situation. Plus, Life Advice with Ceruti (1:05:17)! Did I help or hurt a stranger with my random act of kindness? Check us out on YouTube for exclusive clips, livestreams, and more at https://www.youtube.com/@RyenRussilloPodcast. The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit www.rg-help.com to learn more about the resources and helplines available. Host: Ryen Russillo Guests: Todd McShay and Daniel Jeremiah Producers: Steve Ceruti, Kyle Crichton, Mike Wargon, and Jonathan Frias This episode is sponsored by State Farm®️. A State Farm agent can help you choose the coverage you need. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You're listening to the Ryan Risillo podcast presented by FanDuel, America's number one sportsbook, is the best place to bet on the NBA. Because not only does FanDuel have all of your favorite player props, but now you can even check out stats and recent performance trends right in the app before you make your picks. Just download the FanDuel sportsbook app today to get in on the action. The ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit rg-help.com to learn more about the resources and helplines available and listen to the end of the episode for additional details. Must be 21 plus and present in select states. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit rg-help.com. Today's podcast, it is our annual Todd McShane and Daniel Jeremiah Draft Fest.

We're going an hour deep. We're going to give them more room scenarios, the names they've heard with the teams in the first round. If this guy doesn't go in the first round, I love this pod. It's one of my favorite episodes of the year. And also we'll touch on the Nico Yamalya saga, which is no longer in Tennessee. And we've got life advice with Wargon today. So get ready.

I am excited. This is one of my favorite pods to do of the entire year. And we do it pretty regularly now as you get ready for the NFL draft not that far away from the NFL Network. It is Daniel Jeremiah, who joins us. And also a reminder, as an NFL Network analyst, he'll be part of the NFL Network coverage, live from the draft from Green Bay. That's April 24th through the 26th.

You can also check out his Move the Sticks podcast. And of course, my good friend Todd McShay from the McShay Show here at the Ringer. You can hear his pod numerous days throughout the week as they're ramping up the content and his newsletter, which I subscribed to this morning just to make sure I was getting all the latest Todd content. So good to see you guys.

Thanks for doing this. That's good to see you. Good to see you, Todd. How you doing, brother? Yeah, good to see you, DJ. It's been a minute. I'm doing well. How are you?

I'm doing great, man. You are absolutely crushing it, by the way. Not only the content, I don't know who you got working on this thing, but like the quality of, of, of videos that you guys are promoting what you guys are doing from a podcast standpoint is ridiculous. I don't know if there's an army of a thousand people working on this. My guy, Eduardo, I got to give him props. He's the best clip guy in the business. You got the best clips. It's not even close. I'm like, I'm going to step my clip game up, man. Incredible clips. I appreciate it. I agree. Uh, all right, let's go.

Let's go to the top, right? Um, where does the uncertainty start? How soon does it start in this draft? We'll start with you, DJ. Well, I think, uh, I feel pretty certain about one, um, that being locked in, I would say if you're going to put a percentage on it, it seems like everything's directing and trending towards Travis at two. I really think three is where the draft kind of starts and where the fun begins. I'm leaning at this point in time where we're recording this, that they're not going to go quarterback, that they're going to take Abdul Carter or they're going to trade and get out of there. That's not from inside the building.

That's just my observation on the whole thing. And that's where the fun starts. I agree. And obviously, the last minute, and a giant's brass flying out to Boulder, Colorado for the Shador Sanders private workout is his added some intrigue, right? It's interesting because I had a conversation with with the general manager this weekend and he because I was I don't want to say I was closing the book, but I was kind of like

are you Abdul Carter three Giants and then we'll see how this whole thing plays out and he's like, I've talked to some people like it's split. and then we'll see how this whole thing plays out. And he's like, I've talked to some people, like it's split. I wouldn't say split. There's, there's, it's a little bit contentious inside the Giants draft room. And there are some people that are pushing hard for Shador. I also wonder, too, you know, at this point in time with ownership, you know, we hear a lot of stories after the fact of ownership getting involved when it comes to the quarterback position and drafting that high. So that part's fascinating.

The other thing though, the conversations I'm having, I'm curious what you're hearing, DJ. It's like, I think everyone views it as, yeah, Cam Ward's going one, right? Titans, that thing's done. But then it's like, we kind of want our cake and eat it too. We're interested in these other quarterbacks, whether it's Shador Sanders, Jackson Dart, I think is more fits for like what New Orleans wants.

There's a lot of talk about Jalen Milrow early second, and now he's invited to the draft, and that adds some intrigue. Tyler Shuck is a name that keep hearing, talking to people in the league, really would like to get him in the second round, but maybe you never know if there's that one team that trades up. I'm fascinated to see because if Cleveland passes on quarterback, which we all expect

at two, and the Giants pass on on Shador at three and take Abdul Carter, now you've got Cleveland at 33, Giants at 34, the Saints at 40, all kind of sitting there waiting, trying to figure out when do you have to move up? I'm told that Chidor is a favorite of Mike Tomlin's and the Pittsburgh Steelers. So it's kind of that range of art. If they don't go in the top nine, then where do you have to trade up to go get that guy? Or do you sit back and wait? So all the conversations I'm having are about like, is there, you know, Atlanta at 15 only

has five picks. Minnesota at 24 only has four picks in the entire draft. Could they be teams that move out and for a team that's coming up? So that's fascinating for about a perspective to sit back and kind of watch and wait and say, if Shador doesn't go three, this draft is going to be a lot of fun on the first night. The, the, the GMs that you talked to during this time of the year that are super bummed are the GMs that are picking after the Pittsburgh Steelers at the bottom of round one, because the conversation is like, gosh, I'd love to get the heck out of here, but the teams that are coming back up for a quarterback have identified Pittsburgh as a potential landing

spot for quarterbacks. So if I'm picking behind Pittsburgh, I'm screwed because if they want to trade back up for a quarterback, they got to get to 20 and that's Denver. So it's, it's 20 or North. If you're going to bypass those guys at the top. And that's just the overall feeling Ryan on this, you know, on the quarterback class and on the draft, I would say, you know, to kind of put a bow on this little thing, like Cam Ward's in his own category, done lock number one, viewed as a first round pick in most drafts. Like he's that caliber of a player, however you stack him with previous drafts, like he's still, he's viewed as a first round pick in most drafts. Like he's that caliber of a player, however you stack him with previous drafts, like he's still, he's viewed as a first round guy.

I would say there's not universal acceptance of the rest of these quarterbacks as first round guys. And I'm telling you, there's a big difference. I've, I've been, I joined two organizations after drafts where they had two first round picks and I joined Baltimore after they took bowler, right? So Kyle bowler ends up being a monumental bust, but it took Terrell Suggs before they took bowler. So Suggs was the first person to speak at that press conference that worked out all right.

Cleveland takes Brady Quinn, but before they took Brady Quinn, who didn't work out, they took Joe Thomas hall of Famer. So to me, like there's a difference between introducing Abdul Carter and then asking Jackson Dart to come speak and that that's a different level of pressure on that kid and on your organization. Then, you know, we just took Chidora Sanders with the third pick. Is Campbell a reach in the four or five range tackle from LSU? Historically, yes, probably. Um, and this draft, uh, not for me. I mean, I think he's like nine, nine, third, eighth, ninth, probably. In this draft, not for me. I mean, I think he's like ninth or eighth, ninth, tenth player.

I don't have it right in front of me right now, but it's such a screaming need for New England and what they're playing with right now. And I think he's going to be at worst, at worst, he's going to be eight, 10 year starter somewhere along your offensive line. You know, if he has to kick in, he has to kick in. But on that one, I think the, I think the work ethic and tangibles, everything you hear out of LSU is worthy of that pick. The tape probably is not, but in this draft,

that's what we have. You know what's interesting, DJ is, and you know, it's the last thing anyone wants to talk about. When I talk to teams and this offensive line group is more so than in most years, there's, there's question marks, right? And whether it's age and immaturity or a past incident or whatever it is, let's just throw a blanket over. There are a handful of guys that we're talking about in the first round range with these offensive tackles that it's like, yeah, but you know, there's a little concern.

And so the cleanest of the guys I would say absolutely is Campbell. Campbell's one of the cleanest prospects in the entire draft. And then I would say Kelvin banks, Jr. whose tape wasn't great either that Georgia tape you can pull up. And there's a couple other games where it doesn't match up, but there's 42 starts and the good Lord only makes so many people that, that are that big, they can move like that, that have a little pop in their head. So, so I think you're going to see whether it's Campbell at four banks, junior from Texas going at like, I don't know, 10 or 11 Chicago, San Francisco. I think those guys will come off the board earlier than maybe the tape says, because history tells us, I think it's like 5.7 tackles go

in the first round the last three years. And it's like 1.3 or 1.7 in the second round. Like if you don't get that guy in the first round, there's a drought after that. And so I think teams are looking at it and the Patriots specifically trying to get some leadership in that offensive line room With their star quarterback trying to develop him and Drake may that like all right We maybe we don't get a superstar here But but we're gonna sleep really well Thursday night going into Friday the draft knowing that we got a guy that's gonna be ready To play and is gonna bring a lot of leadership to this organization

we've seen Genti basically everywhere in the top 10 and The more you dig into the guys that do this, like yourselves and everybody else, it's just like, look, this guy is so special. Like it's not just that he's the best running back in this class. We're talking about ranking him against the number one running backs and other, other drafts.

And so that feels, I don't know if it's a philosophical shift away from where we've been with running backs for a long time in this league, which I've totally understood and I've talked about it. But do you either, and Todd, I guess I'll start with you on this one. Is there any philosophical shift that you've had about position, about evaluation, about the way you talk about fit versus need and coaching? Is there anything, as you know, you've been doing this both of you guys a really long time, but I'm sure you evolve also as evaluators and something that you think of now

that you didn't think of years ago. I kind of, there's a couple of ways to look at it. First of all, talent always trumps trends, if you will. And 2017, we're in the midst of everyone spreading things out and pass happy offenses and, and the college game kind of trickling up with more tempo and all these different things. And the running back position being devalued yet like Leonard Fournette and Christian McCaffrey went in the top 10 and 30 running backs were drafted that year.

So it starts with the talent. And this is one of the most talented groups. I don't know about DJ, but that I've ever evaluated from top to bottom, especially when you get past like the Genties and the Omari and Hamptons and you look in, you're like, wait, I can get that guy in the third round. I can get an RJ Harvey or DJ Giddens or Dylan Sampson, like the third, fourth round. So I think that's the jumping off point. I do think in a league where everyone's complaining about all these two high shells and, and, and you have to, you know, you're taking away some of these great quarterbacks in the deep ball and all that stuff, there's a counter to it.

And a lot of people, not everybody, but a lot of people complained when Detroit took Jameer Gibbs that high in the first round. Not a premium position, running backs being devalued. What are they doing? Well, Brad Holmes, the general manager, he knew his personnel, knew his, his offensive coordinator and Ben Johnson and knew they needed to have a counter to what was going

on in the, in terms of defensive coverages and the schemes that were being played against his offensive attack. So I think Genting, no matter where we are in the NFL is a top 10 pick, no matter what era it is, no matter how, what emphasis it is on the passing game or run, he is a top 10 pick. No matter what era it is, no matter how, what emphasis it is on the passing game or run, he's a top 10 pick. I do think last year watching, you know, Saquon and watching Derek Henry and watching some of the impact of the running game and knowing what's going on defensively, we saw an emphasis, more of an emphasis on the running back position. I think this year it'll play out in the draft. There's going to be a lot of backs that go in the first three rounds.

Yeah. It's a good running back group. Um, with, with him specifically, I've always had kind of this philosophy on running backs. We've talked about it. I think Ryan, we may have even had this conversation earlier this year about like the Detroit thing with Ty was just mentioning what Jameer Gibbs. And I think to me, the importance is the order of operation. Like I, I've just kind of used the analogy of like, Hey, you got to do your shopping at the hardware store before you go to the toy store. Like Detroit built up the line of scrimmage. They had the offensive line. They had the key positions. They had the edge rusher on the defensive side of the ball. All the marquee guys, all the marquee spots filled.

Okay. Now you can drop the running back in and do it with a high resource. And I have no problem with that whatsoever. When you get in trouble is if you get the cart before the horse, no one, these running backs only have, you know, most of them six, like a six year, seven year max prime. And you've wasted three years on bad teams of those carries. Like I want all of your carries to matter. When, once I start the clock on the running back. So that's kind of been my philosophy there. But Gent is a player. He's my third player in this draft and people I've talked to teams and kind of said, like this kind of sums up this draft. It's a little different than years past.

Three of my top seven players are too tight ends and running back. Like that's so at some point in time, it's like, I get positional value. I would love to throw a bunch of tackles up there and a bunch of proven edge rushers and quarterbacks and stack those guys up at premium positions. They're not in this draft. And I think like you make big mistakes when you pass on a great player at a lesser position to take somebody just to fill a need. Like I think that's when you mess up, man. DJ, I went back and looked last year, right? And I think this is a big difference in the

two drafts, 2024 and 2025. I don't have the exact numbers in front of me, but I think it was 9% of the first round were non-premium position players. We're talking about premium, obviously quarterback, pass rusher, cornerbacks that cover the wide receivers and the wide receivers have become, and offensive tackles. So all the non-premium, like interior offensive line,

linebacker safety, tight ends, it was 91% of the first round was premium positions. And then only 17% in the second round was the non-premium positions. And then you got to the third round where everyone's comfortable taking those guys. 54% were the non-premium positions. This year's gonna be different, man.

We get two guards, Zabel and Booker, who are gonna probably go in the first round We've got the two tight ends maybe three with Mason Taylor the very end coming out of LSU We've got running backs, you know Like so it's gonna be really interesting this year how teams are gonna kind of have to throw that Premium picks on premium positions out the window because you just you got to chase the talent I've used the term for this real quick Ryan., it's just as a starters draft, not a stars draft. So you're literally, your goal was to leave this draft with three or four starters, like solid starters. You do that.

Like you did a good job. That's the goal. Yeah, I really liked that. I was listening to you and Buck on, on your move the sticks pod and kind of just go and look. Let's, let's figure out some ways that guys can contribute long-term here instead of trying to hit home runs on some of this stuff. So is there a position where you're looking at it, Todd, and you're thinking, okay, if you have a need at this spot, I think you better get your work done by this pick. Is there a position where the gap from like the fourth guy to the fifth guy is just massive and it's going to be teams regretting that they didn't get it done in the mid second round? I think offensive tackle, we kind of covered that, right? I think there's a

drop off when you get past the first five or so. Okay. And that's, and that's typical. What's interesting this year is like the edge class, we could have a record setting number of defensive linemen, interior and edge go in the first three rounds. I think the 26, I went back 30 years, 26 is the most we've had in a given class. I've got over 30 graded with grades in the top three rounds. So you would think, well, we don't have to get

our edge guy early, we can get it. But there's a big difference to me. And the interior is a little deeper and I don't feel like the drop off is as massive. There's six guys that are, that are edge defenders that are probably going to go in the first round. And if one, one doesn't, it might have to do with some, some character and some baggage type stuff. But we're talking about Abdul Carter, the two Georgia guys, right? Jalen Walker and Michael Williams, Mike Green, James Pierce, and Donovan Ezoraku.

I think that's all of them. But there's six guys that you feel really good about in the first round. And I know DJ, we've talked about this before. You kind of, when you go through this process, it's kind of this combo pick thing. Every general manager I've talked to, it's the combo package.

Okay, so if we take an edge here and we need a running back, what's the running back that's gonna be available? Well, maybe it's Quinchon Judkins or Trevion Henderson in round two. But if I go running back here with Gentie, and I still need to get an edge in round two, I get Gentie, that's wonderful. But now we're talking about like Nick Skorton

from Texas A&M or, you know, or Braden Swinson later in the first, so later in the second. So there's a big drop off. And I think a lot of teams right now, as they're putting together their boards and trying to kind of plan for the weekend, is if, all right, if we go with this non-premium position player in the first round, even though we have the grade that matches up,

what's the drop off at the other position that we're looking to attack? Yeah, I think it's a great point. I do think this is like the edge group, man, that is there. It's not cake and eat it too with this group, man. Like it is the most traits versus production edge group that I've ever seen. Like, and you will talk, I literally get off the phone with one defensive coordinator, turn around and talk to another GM or head coach. And it's like, they see it completely opposite in terms of these guys. So that cop of six guys, which those are the names, like those are going to go in all different orders. And then, but there, there are some teams who are more that prefer like the rugged edge guy that like score and their score and teams.

And then they see the upside with, with to a model from, uh, from Ohio state, like those early second round, some teams like that. And I, I like those guys. Again, it's gotta be the right defense, the right scheme, the right fit that those guys have a place. But to me, like the, I don't know how else to answer the question than to say, like, if, if you don't get on the, uh, if you don't go to the first concert on the tackle tour, there is no second concert. It's it man. Like they're gone.

And that's why if, if I'm going over my list and you said, tell me the one guy where you have him, where he's going to go much higher than you have him at greater as a player, Kelvin banks is going to go way ahead of where I have him. Like I have him in the 20s. And if he could go in the top 10, um, when it's all said and done. So I didn't think, I didn't think I saw a top 10 player on tape. Todd, you referenced the, the size, the athleticism. He's a great kid. He's played a lot of ball. Um, so he's, I've just accepted that fact, you know, and I went back and watched a little more and I'll move him up a little bit, maybe into the early twenties, but I couldn't, you know, and I went back and watched a little more and I'm moving up a little bit, maybe into the early twenties, but I couldn't, you know,

just for me, and that's the weird part, right? When you're doing this without a team to draft for and you're stacking these guys, like it's going to look different this year because some of these teams that you're going to see, you're going to see a need-based approach this year, maybe more so than any, I can remember. What separates like the edge guy where you go, this is why he's a first round grade as opposed to just insane production and then you have fourth round grades on him. Because I think as a college football fan, there's a lot of dudes on Saturday where it's like, oh, this guy's making plays left

right. And this is where I've used some of the NBA stuff like Walt Colleen Jr with Florida in the NCAA tournament to win Colleen Jr. with Florida in the NCAA tournament to win the national championship. He has this great SEC tournament run. He has unbelievable shot making in the NCAA tournament. And most of the year when I would look at it, which again was late, so I shouldn't say it was the entire year, it was like, oh, this guy's not even a first rounder. And I understand because it's not premier athleticism.

He's older as a prospect. There's just things that you use against somebody who yet is staring you right in the face on television going, how are there this many players ahead of him? So specific to the edge group, like what's the difference between a first and a fourth rounder, especially if the fourth rounder was like contributing to winning plays all season long? I've compiled a lot of notes over the years talking to offensive tackles about pass rushers. And the thing that they all typically say is, like, I don't care if you run a 4-3 off the edge. If you don't have power, then I can prepare for that 4-3.

And vice versa, if you're all power, but you don't threaten me with speed, then I'll just bow up and I'll get, you know, I'll get, I'll get in a good solid stance and I'll be ready for the bull rush. It's the guys that can do both and threaten with both the speed, quickness and power. The speed and quickness is one aspect of, of the game. And then the power being the other, the other thing is, and I go back like Bill Belichick, one of the first things I learned in scouting, he said I had a dinner with him and Gary Horton

and Scott Piolli, study the tape that's applicable. And I think anytime it doesn't take a super scout or a genius to figure out like, all right, there's five games where he's going up against offensive tackles, maybe it's two, but whatever that number is, find those games and see how much he threatened and how many problems, what kind of havoc he wreaked against those players, because it doesn't matter what he does against, you know, subpar guys that aren't going to play in the league. Focus on those games. That's

going to give you the answer to the test. And when you watch these guys and whether, you know, Mike Green is not a lot of applicable tape, you know, it's not, it doesn't because he's playing at Marshall and you have Ohio state and everyone says, well, the Simmon, well, he, he went up against Josh Simmons twice in that game. He had two matchups against them. So you gotta find, and I think that's why it was so important at the senior bowl, what he did in a couple of days of practice. So it stands out when you, when you start to stack and watch tape after tape of all of these guys, what the difference is. And typically it's the ability to to win both ways.

Is that the Vernon Goldston like counter because he had the tape. There was there was I mean, we could have a 10 minute discussion on Vernon Goldston and all that. But I remember the draft. Vernon Gholston would have to do a three point turn to get in your kitchen behind you. Yes. He was a little stiff. Yes, there you go. Right, but wasn't it the tape against Michigan

that got him drafted that high? Where they were looking at, it was Jake Long, right? Gosh, was that that year? That's a long time ago, man. Yeah. That's going in my way. I think I just remember, well, one I remember cause Todd would come by the studio and he would just be exasperated and be like, I just don't see it. I just don't see it.

So I'm giving you one. And then every time they would show his highlight tape, it was, I think he made two plays, uh, against Jake and that was pretty much it. And you were, yeah. Yeah. So anyway, three years, there's a lot, there's a lot more to go off of now too. And there's so much easier ways to sort stuff to where you can jam video. Whereas a lot of times back in those days we're watching, especially like if you're an area guy going in there, you're watching three, four games and moving

on to the next school, like now you can watch literally in a very convenient, efficient manner, every single pass rush of his, you know, going back years and just knock it all out. You get a, I think it's easier to scout now than it was back in the year. It's so much easier. A thousand percent on the, on the pass rush thing, which I love the topic. Um, a couple of different things I was thinking of why Todd was talking there. I was at a Padre game last week and you you guys know, I'm a huge Padre fan.

So I go up there and I visit with AJ Prellor who's done an unbelievable job, you know, building baseball teams. And we love talking about scouting. And so I just said, I said, you know, we're talking about pass rushers. I was talking with a defensive line coach the other day. And I said, well, you know, what would you rather have a wide repertoire or would you rather have a guy who can just be dominant in one aspect or another? Like he could just legit power, legit speed or what have you. And he said, look, in college, like you see a lot of guys who are real, uh, real, uh, technicians and they can win five

different ways against crappy college tackles, but they don't have one elite way of getting to the quarterback. And in the NFL, the only way to a quarterback is to possess an elite trait, whether that's with your speed, whether that's with your power. The guys that are technicians can get there, but it takes more time because they're going to have to accumulate the knowledge base and learning different tackles, learning tendencies, and then they can kind of think their way to the quarterback. But that's those guys don't transition right away. Leatu Latu last year was the pass rusher out of UCLA, did not have an immediate impact. Look at what Trey Hendrickson has become and he's developed a lot of these things, but he was kind of a technician. Now he's kind of learned other ways to get there. And it was probably year three or four when he started to explode.

So I'm talking to him about pitchers and I go, I go, AJ, like, how would you guys look at pitchers? Would you ever have a pitcher like a five pitch mix? You know, he said, no, give me Randy Johnson, fastball slider. That's, that's all that you need. The guy go, there's a bunch of guys like that who are dominating players with two pitches. So some of these college guys, I think they play the game the way they have to play it to beat college tackle like Donovan as a rock. That's the point. That's the one. So he's got to develop, he's got to shrink his arsenal and he's got to develop some power, which he hasn't shown

yet. And I think he will, but I think to me, like I like him shrink his arsenal and he's got to develop some power, which he hasn't shown yet. And I think he will, but I think to me, like, I like him, but I'll say when he gets picked, hey, be patient. Don't expect that this is going to like the world on fire, you know, year one, year two, this is going to be a little bit of a process for him. I'm going to bet on him. I like his length.

He's a, I like kind of compact guys with long arms. And I think he's really freaking smart. And he figured out how to beat college tackles, it's going to take him a minute to kind of shrink the arsenal and figure out how to beat NFL tackles. Yeah. I guess I, I keep thinking about Swinson at LSU and I know he's been around forever and that statistically this past year was off the charts, but he was

probably one of the most consistent edge guys I saw in, you know, now people are calling it the second best conference in college football, but, uh, you know, he's just not in that group. I mean, he's, he's outside. It's not like he's going in the fourth round, but, um, maybe it's, maybe it's the speed part of it. Cause he certainly has that. So I just always like thinking about edge guys that you fall in love with on

Saturday and then we get to this time of the year and you're like, wait, where the hell's that guy going? Right. You know, but by the way, real quick, Todd, how much have you enjoyed? I've enjoyed the heck out of realignment, man. Like getting a chance to see like the west coast, like USC and UCLA, Washington, Oregon, get to play against all the big 10 offense and defensive linemen. Like it's made that a heck of a lot easier. It has, it has. I do feel bad for our buddies who are area scouts though. Like just talking to them like, yeah, man, I used to go into Ole Miss and it's not, this is more NIL and transfer portal and all, you know, and so it, and honestly that part makes

it easier too, because we're like what they wind up transferring. If you're a great player, like 90% of the guys who are great players at small school level, obviously it's, it's kind of hard because every year you want to find those small school guys, but there's not many of them anymore. Cause they're all playing against the all graduated. They graduated football graduation, the highest level, but these poor scouts, man, like I was talking to one who was like, yeah, I used to go into Ole miss. And it was like 12, 14 players I'd have to do in the summer and get ready, you know, do all, and it's not just watching it.

It's the background checks and it's, you know, figuring out who they are as per the person and all that. And he's like, this year I had 30. Yeah. It's just like not sustained. It's insane. The number of players that each school has that you've got to evaluate. But yeah, that's a sitcom. That's a sitcom by the way, is inside. Like you could, I can just picture it. I obviously haven't been in there, but I can just picture it.

No one scouts as you do that you're going to sit in there and like, guys going to read his report. He's going to have a first round grade on him and Ryan, he's go, hold on. Is that the Smith that was in my area two years ago? That kid, that's the guy that you like. I didn't even realize he was at that school. The rare vote for realignment, which we have not done a lot of on this pod.

Let's stay with this though, because look, I think Harold Vanden Jr. is a really good example of this, a tight end from Bowling Green. I remember for whatever reason, I think it was because of the new offensive system at Penn State, like early on, I was like, all right, I wanna see what Aller looks like. And then all of a sudden you're just watching Fannin,

who it just felt like a dude. I mean, he had 11 for 137 in that game and it was Bowling Green would drop back. The quarterback was tough as hell too. And then it was like, just get it to Fanon. And Fanon's just like trying to beat dudes off of them the entire time. So you have Tate going up against one of the better teams

in college football this year. Is there a position where it's like, okay, this is tough for me to figure out or justify, like your tape's really good in your league and at your level, but I don't have enough crossover for you going up against better tackles or whatever, or can you just look at somebody like Fanon and be like the Penn State tape is enough?

I imagine it's different for different positions. He had another one against A&M too. So that, that like helped his cause when he was running away from everybody that texts A&M field, you're like, okay, like this guy, that's, that's enough for me, but to your question and Todd, I'll kick it, kick it to you, but like, it's just line of scrimmage to me. Like it's hard to evaluate a tackle who's going up against an accountant and a doctor, like it's just, it's hard.

So that, that to me, the line of scrimmage is tougher, the skill guys, and especially if you can get them in an all star setting and you know, that's a, that can be the answer to the test. The, like the senior bowl is, is the great equalizer for a lot of these guys though. Like honestly, I don't know that a lot of guys would have been drafted as high and I don't know that people would have had, would have understood that, oh, they're capable. And that's why it's so important. Like in the East West Shrine game, the senior bowl, look at like the offensive linemen are the toughest, right? Because like they're just

not going up against the dudes that someone from Michigan or, or, or Texas or Georgia or out, you know, like they're just not going up against those dudes. And like Kelvin Banks, it was like murderers row. Yeah. His tape every week, it was a new like first or second round defensive line. So, so you get a really good feel for these guys. But I will say this, like we've seen a lot of guys go through mobile Alabama, right? Like Toronto, Armstead, Ali Marpet, Cody Mock, uh, Dylan Ray Noons, uh, Quinn, Quinn Miners, like, and this year, and this year with, with Gray Zable, it gives you a confidence that, okay, all those guys have gone on to have good careers. It was small school, but they ha they, they handled their business in Mobile in that setting. And the same with, with, uh, Zable, but yeah, those are the toughest evaluations.

The guys in the trenches. We're coming down the stretch of the NBA season and the best place to get in on the action for all the best games is FanDuel, America's number one sports book. Because with FanDuel, there's so many ways for you to play. They've got all of your favorite bets from who will win the game, to player props,

for points, assists, rebounds, and so much more. Let's look at the board. So plan festivities begin tonight. So look, I kind of like. Four sides straight here. You know, I like Golden State. I like Orlando minus the five and a half, but I know it scares me a little bit when it's like you like all four games. You feel pretty good about it. So what I want to look at here was Miami and Chicago.

Chicago just beat Miami. The crazy thing is like Miami went through that awful stretch and. It looked like they were one of the worst teams in the league there for a little while, even though, you know, talent wise, that's not the case. And if you look at where Miami is in the last 15, which is just a very strange time of the year. Like I put stock into the fact that the Clippers have been 13 and two in their last 15, offensive rating is number one in the NBA, defensive rating is number three in the NBA after the Golden State game. It was number one before that when I did

the numbers on Sunday morning. So I think that's somewhat real. But at the same time, you look at the Thunder who went 13 to two in the last 15. And I don't even know that they attacked the last 15 games of the season, which again, I think is scary for the rest of the teams. So let's go back to net rating here. You know, Miami's fifth in the NBA and net rating and Chicago's seventh. Chicago's also 11 and four in the last 15 games. My guess is this number is based on just a lot more faith in Miami, even though the way they've played being like, all right, look, it's still a Miami Heat. They're gonna have pride

and the Chicago thing is offensively fueled, and it's certainly not defensive stuff, because if you look at the defensive numbers here for Chicago, they're actually not terrible. The last 15 games, again, the last 15, if you watched this league all season long, you don't really know what to make of what you're actually watching out there

and specific to the game. So let's get to an actual pick here because this breakdown's taking too long. I like Chicago minus one at home against the Heat. That's the official play. If you really want to boost it, you want to get wild. How about Chicago Bulls? But their defensive philosophy is let Tyler Hero go off.

He goes for 45 plus $10, wins you $1400. So, yeah, plus 14000 on that combo. If you really want to get dangerous. But yeah, I kind of just like Chicago, land the point in this one. Sounds good. Well, you can score an even bigger win because Fandual is giving you a profit boost for all of tonight's action. Just check the Fandual Sportsbook app to see how much you got or head over

to Fandual.com slash Ryan R.Y.E.N. For more info, make every moment more with Fandual official sports betting partner of the NBA, must be 21 and older and present in select states or 18 plus and present in DC. Opt-in required minimum, three leg parlay required. Bonus issued is non-retributable profit boost tokens. Restrictions apply including any token expiration and max wager amounts. See terms at sportsbook.fanDuel.com. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit rg-help.com. gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit rg-help.com. Okay. Let's play a little war room fallers.

So, you know, the drill, I'm going to give you a team. I'm going to give you the pick and then I'm going to give you. This is America's favorite game, by the way. Oh yeah. All right. So Cleveland goes- The show is always good for this stuff, right? That's fantastic.

Yeah. I don't know. I don't know if this is my best year, but maybe we'll do it again. You know, well, you guys are like, actually we're really busy. So this is all the time we're getting. So yeah, make it good. Okay. Cleveland 33rd pick. They went with Carter, uh, in the first round and Chidor is gone.

Milro Jackson and Shuck are all available. So just talk it out in the war room guys. Yeah. Todd, I'm, I think I'm going to take my swing with Jackson dart here. I just think his, his, I think his physicality, um, matches the division there. Um, I like the fact that he's rugged. I like the fact that he keeps getting better and better.

Chuck, the age doesn't bother me as much as the, uh, as the durability bothers me. So, and I know I, by the way, your take on, uh, I, my least favorite thing that people say during this time here, Oh, they're a bunch of freak injuries. I mean, you know, just, they don't, they don't count. They're just freak injuries. So those don't count towards your durability. Your, your thoughts. Um, I like Tyler Chuck a lot. I, if, if there's any, and yes, they're the three broken bones.

And so you can, you can chalk that up however you want. Some guys are more, more prone to having those kinds of injuries. But if you're, if you're banging the table for him, you're saying they're broken bones. It's not like, you know, some chronic Achilles or, you know, something that this that's typically going to be degenerative, right? When I talk to teams though, the thing with him and the maturity, what he's been through, all of that is the biggest question is I don't mind that he's 25. And I love the maturity. I love all those things. And I see the tools because he's bigger than all these other guys. He's faster on a straight line than all these other guys. He's, you know, he's got his arm stacks up,

all those things. It's one year of starting. So now I'm getting a 25 year old who's only had one full year starting in college. Where do I in the NFL get him more game reps? And we're seeing all these guys come in the league like Bo Nicks with 60 plus starts, Jaden Daniels with like 56 starts. like guys who were having success early on,

we've seen in recent years are taking advantage of the transfer portal and the extra years in college. So, uh, but to answer your question, I'm going with Jackson Dart here. And I think Jackson Dart, I really like him. His versus pressure clip reel, 161. Oh my gosh, there's a lot to like with him. It might take a minute, but I but I got a minute with him if I'm if I'm one of these teams. OK, Kansas City, the 31st pick had some fallers here. I think this is the Tyler Booker range, perhaps. Ted Aroma, McMillan still available and Amarian Hampton.

I'm going to goarion Hampton. I'm gonna go Amarion Hampton. I'll jump in on this one, DJ. I do, it's interesting talking to teams like as good as Hampton is, there's a gap. So I do think, I don't know that it will be, although I just talked to a team recently, they said that they wouldn't say they expected it, but it wouldn't be surprising if Hampton was still there,

start of the second night of the draft. So, but I just think that the Chiefs could use that, an explosive running back, someone who's a difference maker in the backfield with Mahomes. I could, I honestly, I could see a running back in the first two or three picks for the chiefs this year. I think it's like interior defensive line is a spot that they've got to address offensive line. Obviously they want to bolster and bring in competition in depth, but, uh, but I

could see running back in the first one of their first three picks this year. Yeah. I mean, I just go purely at that point in the draft. If there's not a tackle that I'm intrigued in, then I know they went out and got a tackle on free agency. Like I'm buying all the tackles. If I'm candid, I just go purely at that point in the draft. If there's not a tackle that I'm intrigued in, then I know they went out and got a tackle on free agency. Like I'm buying all the tackles if I'm Kansas City, because I've lost two Super Bowls because we stunk at those positions. So I'm just stacking up as much depth in, in, uh, as possible there at the tackle position. But faced with these three options, Hampton's

my 13th overall player. So you're talking about a ridiculous value here. And you know, with the offensive line does have issues. What does he give you? He gives you easy completions to out of the backfield and he's a complete back. He's not bad in past protection like that's there's there's a lot of value he provides other than just carrying the ball which he's really good at. Booker, I don't know where you guys have me like where do you have him right now? Because I know you probably have a lot. He's my 20th guy. He's my 20th guy. Right, Todd? 26. 26, okay.

I think the argument against Booker, at least here, is if there's one thing that you do really like with Kansas City, it's the interior guys. And they've invested so much in the interior guys. So then what are you doing, even if you're kind of like, man, we love Booker's tape, and he's like one of the cleanest prospects here. It would also, I guess I'm a little surprised

that I didn't hear more push for Tedarrowa if that just becomes an evaluation of overall guys here. Because I know, let's do this exercise because you've both done it. Give me the argument for McMillan and the argument against, especially if he's there a little bit later. Because there's, again, the mock,

I don't know how much I want to let that influence me. I mean, there's certain people I trust, other guys, I'm like, who the hell is this? Not that their work isn't good, but if I don't know how much I want to let that influence me. I mean, there's certain people I trust other guys. I'm like, who the hell is this? Not that their work isn't good, but if I don't know them, you know, you can see Teterow is high as like fourth overall pick and you're like, okay, well it doesn't, it seems like momentum wise, that's not where he is.

Even if again, he was probably one of my favorite players who are watching college football this year. So give me the in the room argument, the pros and cons for him. There's a lot of arguments right now going on about Tett Macmillan. And I think he could go as high as 12 to Dallas. I think that that's probably the jumping off point.

There's a lot more frustration with him. The pros are very obvious, right? It's the length, the height, you know, 6'4, two 19 acrobatic catches balls in the air. Um, I think people want him to be become, um, uh, the, the big time playmaker on the outside and that big time X, right? And, uh, Drake London is the comp that a lot of people want to give out. I thought Drake London was a little bit more of a dog though, coming. I thought that he more aggressive, more just attention to detail, wasn't a great route runner. Took him about a year, but now he's a thousand plus receiving yard receiver for the Falcons. So I look at the frustration that talking

to people in the league and I see it on tape. it's not finishing routes, it's lack of attention to detail, not doing the little things. When Jed Fish was there by all accounts, it was kind of foot on throat. We're going to be there and consistent consistently work. And this past year with the frustrating quarterback with a different program, uh, it was not the same guy in the building in practice and those sorts of things. So that's the kind of the, the back and forth that's going on in draft rooms with Ted. Yeah. I'll, I'll give you the two different things in the meeting room.

This like, I'm pretty sure that this conversation has taken place in different meeting rooms in the, in the pro and the comp. So here's the, here's the pro one. Gosh, he's big, he's smooth. He's rangy, he's got an unbelievable catch radius. I mean, you can see it from his volleyball background. Then the other room, it's yeah, everything he does, he doesn't have any urgency, doesn't attack the ball. Uh, he means a volleyball player. I mean, like that's, that's literally the two conversations, which are almost identical, but viewed through a different lens.

Yeah. No, I love, I love that. that. That's a really good example of this. Okay, let's, let's have a little bit more fun here. Cincinnati's 17th pick in the first round. We've had some followers. I don't know what's going on. Maybe McShay said on a tweet, but Tyler Warren's still on the board. Will Johnson's still on the board.

And Mikkel Williams still on the board for Cincinnati at 17. I don't know how it happened either, but you know, draft is a mystery i think we're gonna play a lot of 13 personnel uh if i'm doing that i know they've got tight ends but i just can't pass on that dude man and he's just like i love i there's guys who are built for divisions like that guy was put on planet earth to play in the afc north like i'll take him every day of the week. Yeah, I can't disagree.

Yeah, you'd love to get an edge there. But like it's just he's one of the best five football players in this draft. He's a difference maker. That entire offense ran through a tight end and that's rare to see at that high of a level. And quite honestly, like, you know, if he gets past seven, I'll be surprised. Yeah, with the New York Jets. And then I'd be know, if he gets past seven, I'll be surprised, yeah, with the New York Jets. And then I'd be really surprised if he got past 10. So if he's there, like, you don't even think about it.

You don't look at your position needs or anything else. You just, you walk that card in. Yeah, I mean, there's plenty of political jokes I could make about a tweet going in either direction, but I'm just not gonna do that to Tyler Warren. So let's leave it alone. All right, let's get a little dangerous here. Last one. Atlanta has been offered New Orleans ninth pick and a future first for Michael Pennings.

New Orleans is like, look, we had the highest grade on him. You guys nailed it. You have this weird Kirk Cousins thing. We'll give you give you ninth, maybe leave and give you a second, but we're going to give you a future first. So now Atlanta is on the board at nine. Should doors available? Jaylon Walker's available and let's say home home state will is still available. I just fell off the truck when you said that they just traded Pinnock.

So like, I don't know that I heard anything after that, Ryan. I think that one- And why does it matter that Shador's on the board now? Yeah, wait a minute. And I kind of screwed it up too. Oh no, no, no, no, no, it does. No, no, it does because you're saying- Shador's on the board, but Will Campbell now,

he's on the board, but again, he'd be going to Atlanta here, not New Orleans. So I misspoke. I made that one up on the fly. I think usually when you laugh before you tell us the story that that's usually, that's not gonna end great. It's not gonna end right.

Yeah, cause I was gonna do something where I was gonna say like, all right, and then this guy tweeted January 6th wasn't that bad. And so now he's available at the beginning of the second round. and say like, all right, and then this guy tweeted January 6th wasn't that bad. And so now he's available at the beginning of the second round. And then you're like, I don't know what to do now. Yeah, but I didn't want to attribute that.

I do enjoy your last minute revelation scenarios. Like it's you just trying to get like the tonsil 2.0, like what's gonna be the shock value that could change the entire draft. I like the thinking. Yeah, the tonsil 2.0, like what's going to be the shock value that could change the entire draft? I like the thinking. Yeah, the tonsil one, the tonsil one is still, that doesn't get enough credit for how absolutely insane that was. Dude, that was.

Because then if you're in the war room, you're kind of like, hey, we love this guy, we love the grade, and like, maybe he smoked a ton of weed, we don't really care. That's some of the weirdest television I've ever done. I can tell you that much. Yeah, that was awkward, man. I can't remember a moment that I wanted to be so far away from. Please don't come to me on this. Like I just, we were live. I couldn't get away from it. We were live trying to digest what was going on and we had the tweet with the

video, but we didn't, I don't think we had access to show it. So it's like, I think Rich Eisen was like, a video has emerged and like trying to describe what's going on. And I'm like, I think this guy's my number one or number two player, the entire draft. And I'm like, like, do you take him? I'm like, what's in that thing? I don't even know what was in that thing. All right. So I guess I, I kind of, well, I know, I mean, it's pretty straightforward. So now Atlanta just got rid of their first round quarterback from last year. Cause there was just like, look, the value coming in, even we like Pennex.

We're the ones who took them after we gave Kirk this big contract. So now we maybe play it out with Kirk. Chidora's available, Will Campbell's available. And I said, Walker, did you play with him? I said, yeah, I played with him. I played with him. Kirk this big contract. So now we maybe play it out with Kirk. Chidora's available, Will Campbell's available. And I said, walk out of Georgia. So you're just gonna double down on this thing, huh?

You're not walking away? You literally gave the get out of jail free card. We gave you a pass. Just cause this wasn't as straightforward as the other ones doesn't mean, you know. Yeah. So I'm in Atlanta and I just gave away Penix who showed some, some promise last year who absolutely would be the first or second pick in this draft. I think my opinion.

Yeah. To get a player in Chidor that we're talking about could, if he doesn't go to the giants at three fall to 21, who are the options again? So I get Chidor that we're talking about could if he doesn't go to the Giants at three, fall to 21. Who are the options again? So I get Chidor at nine. I'm Atlanta and I just made an epically bad decision. Did you? Yes. Okay. All right. I like Penix too. I don't know that anybody likes Penix as much as Chris Collinsworth did that Sunday night. Well, who's that against Washington? That was, like, you know when you really like a player and then- And then it makes you wanna not like him?

That's the thing. That broadcast, I was like, my God. Now granted, look, there's some nice throws in there, man. I mean, we all know why we, those of us that liked him coming out, was like, I don't, you know, I just get sick of even when I do it. So I can't get mad at anybody else for doing it.

But whenever we're talking about the quarterbacks, he's like, man, that guy throws the best ball. You're like, cool, cool. And meanwhile, Atlanta has, I think, five picks in the entire draft. So now we're down to like probably two picks in this entire draft. To move up to get Shador? No, no, they're getting picks. They're getting picks. That's the whole

point. Yeah. Oh, you know what? They're getting picks. I'm going to write this one up. You lost me a pet. You did. I'm with you, DJ. You lost me. And the best part about this whole thing is I cannot wait for the aggregators to somehow confuse this and say McShea is reporting that the Falcons are trading Michael Bennett. Right. And they're going, they're moving up for Shador. Okay. Right.

But just to cover for the aggregators here, you're not, not reporting that. Give me, give me a name with a team in the first round, Todd, you go first. Give me the, if you're like, Hey, of all the stuff, cause it just, there's always that guy every year. It's like, it's be like, Hey, of all the stuff. Cause it just, there's always that guy every year. It's like, it's just, everyone is saying this guy is going here. Um, everyone is saying, and correct me if I'm wrong, DJ, but everyone I've talked to everywhere I look, it's, it's Ashton Genti to the Raiders at six, right? Yeah, no, I've, I've heard that a bunch and a lot of it's with, you bring in an

older quarterback, you bring in an older coach and you know, they're trying to win this next year. This is not a team that's, you know, they want to turn this thing around and that's a, you know, it's a big piece for them. So I've heard that the other one I would say is, uh, the Houston Texans. It's going to be the law firm at Booker banks. Like they're, they're drafting an offensive alignment between those two guys, whoever's there.

Give me a name DJ. The NFL in three years is going to regret this guy did not go in the first round. Gosh. Well, we'll see how high this guy goes because I jumped on this bandwagon at the, at the, at the jump. Um, but to me, when I looked at today, Baron, I like, he said, he started, I was like my ninth player, I think it's like my 11th or 12th player out of Texas. And I, you say, okay, well then yeah, obviously he's going to go in the first round, but like,

dude, I thought branch would go in the first round. I thought Cooper would go in the first round and the league somehow punish these guys for being inside players. Um, you know, or, you know, moving to safety is going to be a nickel. Like what's the, like they're freaking great players, man. Just take them. So like that would be the one where I think, yeah, it'd be an upset if he didn't go in the first round.

But I feel like I've seen this episode before where I've seen a player of this caliber in this role slide when he shouldn't have. I'll give you a couple of pass catchers that I completely understand why they won't, but I could see, we look back at the end of their rookie year or after their second year and are like, man, maybe they should have, maybe they should have gone in the first. And I think Mason Taylor at the tight end position has a chance to go late first. You know, the Eagles in their situation, we got her. I think that's a possibility. I could,

he's just so safe. And I think there's more in his game than, than what we even saw. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. So, but Elijah Arroyo, he's had the injuries and the production was never great and they passed. They spread the ball around in Miami with cam more this past year. But my goodness, he has traits where I could look, I could see us after a year or two being like, how did six, four plus 251 pounds running the way he does the explosiveness, he's just become a weapon in the NFL. And another, like, I love a lot of slot guys, the smaller guys this year, Jalen Noll from Iowa State.

His route running is like a thing of beauty. There should be like music played to, when you're sitting watching tape, just like the crispness, the leverage, the stems, the in and out of breaks, competitiveness. He ran a 439, I think it was the combine. And in addition to so and I'm not saying he's lad McConkey, but I think, you know, Ladd wound up going late in the first.

I think Noel's going to probably be later, like mid to late second. And could I mean, talking to teams maybe could be their early third. But but I think those two players are going to wind up out wherever they get drafted. They have a really good chance to outplay their draft slot. I'm glad you brought up Baron DJ just because we had Bruce Feldman on who does a really cool version of the mock just because he talks to so many coaches, right? So you're getting the college coaches and putting together. It's not like it's 32 different names, but Baron, one SEC coach is saying, quote, his ability to adjust triggers elite footwork, but Baron, one SEC coach is saying,

quote, his ability to adjust triggers elite footwork, really clean, excellent open field tackle. I thought this guy was the best player on that team, talking about Baron, because you're right. And again, I don't want to be dismissive of the mock world, but Baron, it's almost like some guys I've seen that are legitimate places, as if they've completely

forgotten about him. So, you know, and then I think there's some of the guys that maybe I trust a little bit more that still have. You know, it's interesting too, like everyone kind of ignored you get to this time of year and I think college coaches are, it's all about recruiting, right? My guy's the best and here's, let me tell you a story about him in practice. And I get that because you, as a young player, high school kid, you want to see that your coach is going to promote you and, and, and, you know, help your, help your journey, if you will, to the NFL. Uh, but when, when you get to talk to some coaches off mic, if you will, um, and to hear like, or who were the problems? Like I remember day ball,

like that clip right with the giants in Like I remember Dable, like that clip, right? With the giants in their war room talking about Nick Saban. I talked to Nick and he used to work for Nick Saban. And the two guys that were problems, Jaden Daniels, Brock Bowers. We didn't have answers for those guys. Like I'm just telling, I got, I don't know what your board is. I don't know what you're considering.

But if you want to ask me who are the two problems that we had, it was Bowers and Daniels. And so I find that stuff fascinating too, because if a coach is willing to actually talk about like the game plan and how difficult it was to prepare for some of these guys, there's, there's some good information there. Yeah, this, this also is the time of year. Like you said, Todd, we're like the, the graphic that's already been made by your social media department about the number of first round picks you have at your school was in jeopardy because the

guy's dropping and you hear from the coach. It's like, I don't understand why he's not going in there. I'm like, I don't pick, I'm not picking here coach. I got no power here whatsoever. Yeah. That's why when I was looking at Michigan again, and I was going over it, you know, just getting ready for it and like, they could have four guys go in the top 15, 16 picks here. And you're like, if they had had one guy to throw a forward pass,

yeah, you know, cause you're just not going to have that kind of run of talent where half the first round is coming from one program. I know, look, clearly there's other programs that put a ton of first rounders in in the same exact year, but that stood out considering their problems on offense. All right. Last question then here, and it actually has to do with college football. It's the Nico Iamaleava saga here where, uh, if you don't know the full timeline, big NIL deal to get them to Tennessee from California.

I would say this first year probably was disappointing based on the hype. I feel like I watched them a lot, kept waiting for that breakout game. So you want to get back to the,, there was a really nice ball evaluation. It's like, OK, what about the rest of the stuff? Then apparently it was reported that Dan Lanning had heard that he was sniffing around for more money and that he told Tennessee that Tennessee's now said, all right, fine, go, go somewhere else. So now he's looking for a new home.

There's also another story that was reported that maybe some of the Tennessee guys were asking for more money ahead of the playoffs. So let me set it up this way because there's two parts that I want to get your thoughts on. I know that I've evolved in the way that I look at certain things with college football. The money part never bothered me and I'm glad that they're making money. I think there was a time when I believed that you should have to sit out a year because it would be chaotic. And now I look at it and going, it is chaotic, maybe more than anybody expect, but I don't have any issues with any of this stuff anymore. So when I look at the Nico story, you know, every, it feels like this is just a

free for all and everybody's, you know, again, looking out for yourself. So I can't necessarily have a problem with that. But then this kind of mercenary approach where it's like, man, even mercenaries have like some sort of code. So Nico's taken a ton of heat. If he played better, he would be criticized less. But there's probably, one, it's a state of college football question

that you guys can take it wherever you wanna go to, but then also what kind of evaluation element, and we're still talking about a younger player here, but he's draft eligible in a couple of years, how this will be looked at. Now granted, if he just plays a lot better than he did this past year, maybe people get past it. They blame the dad and all that kind of stuff. But, uh, Daniel, let's go with you first.

Yeah. First of all, it's a system issue more than the player issue. Like just, just set it up where these guys are locked in with contracts. Like you get the money, but you have to commit to us as we're committing to you. Like, however, I don't know all Like you get the money, but you have to commit to us as we're committing to you. Like, however, I don't know all the legalities of that, but figure out a formula in a system where we can have it just like we have it at the professional level, because this is professional football now.

The second thing is, and I posted something about this and it wasn't necessarily specifically about Nico. I don't know any of these guys' situations. I don't. And I'm always reluctant to be lobbing grenades from the sideline with partial information I just know I know of stories during this era Todd where I know where a prospect has told the NIL agent do not let it get out how much money I'm making because my

Family's going to come for all of it and that's aunts and uncles and parents and nephew Everybody is going after that. So I'm always reluctant when they're like, and people said like, oh, $2 million isn't enough. And I'm like, look, I don't know this kid from Adam, but in Southern California, $2 million, and you got a bunch of aunts and uncles and cousins and parents that you would have to prop up, that money's gone. So I don't begrudge anybody for trying to go get more money

that I don't know what situation they're in. To me, the system is what the heck's gotta be fixed. It absolutely is the system. And there's a lot to, I mean, we literally could do an hour on this, right? And I think we're in a unique position because the background checks, the information we get from scouts and personnel departments and former FBI agents and everything that they do to get all this information. And more so this year than ever, I'm getting stories about, like this guy, he made $4 million over the course of his career,

or two million, or six million, or whatever it is, and he's gonna be broke when he gets to the league. And it's the people he's surrounding himself with. And now that group of people, it's kind of always, and whether it's like, you know, the agent and like the agent's runner, all the stuff that we started to hear about, like they're going into their rookie year,

we're now hearing about it coming out of high school. Okay. And we're hearing more stories. Like recently I was just talking to a GM and he was saying, like, yeah, you know, we're just, we're like, he made all this money. Like dad spends half of it at the casinos. We've got, you know, he's got 10 people in a circle

and they've all got their hands. So like, big picture. I think we, I think all the rational people can agree on a couple of things. One is, it is a massive, multi-billion dollar industry. And these individuals are putting their, their, not livelihoods seems extreme, but they're putting a lot on the line

and they deserve to be paid, okay? Second part is the system, there needs to be a governing body. And I point to Nick Saban and maybe it's not Nick, but it's gotta be someone who actually just cares about college football, not about the politics of it, not just about putting a system in place where where the assistant coaches are gonna get so

run-down. Guys from college football, talking to like you know Jeff Halfley recently when he left Boston College, like I just want to coach ball again. Like everyone's having to do so many things that are not related to football. So we there's got to be some kind of CBA. There's gotta be some kind of salary cap. I also think this, and I know I'll take heat for this, there's gotta be some kind of system set in place where there's a trust setup. Because I know when I was 18, 19, 20, 21,

if you gave me all that money, and if I had a group of people that was trying to get that money from me, and I was trying to live this certain life like all of a sudden that money probably would have been gone and I would have appreciated it if if I was able to access that money later and it was protected so I don't know that all those things will happen but I'd like to see steps with the right people in place steps moving forward towards something that that caps it makes it reasonable, players still get paid a lot of money because they deserve it, but they're able to hold

on to that and that money means something to them when they get into their 20s and their 30s and life has much bigger decisions and there's some longevity to that money. And it's not just in the moment, mom and dad have their hands out, uncles and aunts and cousins and friends and all. It's the reports I'm getting from these background checks is scary and it's heading in a direction that no one wants to see it go. Good stuff on that.

You know how much I appreciate the hour I can get with you guys in a really busy part of the season. I'll tell you the real winner today is McShay's posture. You looking at his shoulders, Jeremiah? Look at the sky. No, what do we got here? He just looks widened out, like broadened up here.

I get excited. I get excited. So I'm like, you know. Hey, look, I got a video game chair. So I look like a 14 year old here, but they sent me this thing from the network. And it's not just like, yeah, it's got like the lower back thing

that it feels like literally is shoving me out of my office. Like it's just like pushing my lower lumbar, uh, trying to get you back in studio. Yeah. I'm like, I don't know. This is, this is supposed to be comfortable, right? Like, is that, how do these kids play video games in this thing all day long? I'm dying over here. I love it though.

Never stop evaluating. I know you guys still have some work to do. Uh, we're looking forward to Jeremiah's coverage on NFL Network Live from Green Bay for the entire draft and move the sticks. So subscribe with Ian Bucky Brooks to check out that pod on I Know McShay. It's got the McShay show going what?

Three, four, five days a week? I mean, you're just firing out. You're like new guy right now. DJ, you ready for this? Yes, sir. I called, I texted Rosillo and basically like, you know, the, the old town, the town, right? When it was like, we're going to hurt somebody. We're going to go do something. Right. And the response was like, whose car are we taking? Right.

I basically played that out on text. We're taking over Rosillo's pad on, on Saturday. We're going to, we're going to do a live stream Saturday in the draft. I, we had to find something different and fun. So we're going to go eat his food, drink his drink, his drinks, uh, storm his house. I'm going to try to get him. Is it a giant? Don't worry about it. It's too late.

I am worried about it. You already said yes. And I'm trying to get him to run us to an hour. I'm trying to get him to run a 40 yard. It's not an hour. So just hunker down big boy. I'll have you done and ready for the NBA playoffs that night. I know that's all you care about, but I want him to get them to run a 40 yard. It's not an hour. So just hunker down big boy. I'll have you done and ready for the NBA playoffs that night. I know that's all you care about, but I want him to get,

I want to get them to run a 40 yard dash. We haven't talked about that part. On the sand. Well, I want them to have a good time. So maybe I'm one of the side roads. I think you go on the sand because that eliminates any pressure for him to chase the time and get hurt. Then it's true. So that's, yeah, look, I'll just tell you going a sand adjusted 40 times. Yes. I think we have a squat rack so I can bench for you maybe depending on the day.

But if I do triceps two days ahead of that, then I'm not going to give you my best bench numbers. But, uh, when you guys said that I wouldn't run a sub six where I think Eisen that's kind of his range. No, I said a sub five. Yeah. Sub five. Cause when you said sub six, I'm Eisen that's kind of his range. Yeah. No, I said a sub five. Yeah. Sub five. Cause when you said sub six, I'm like, you guys can know sub five.

I would agree with that. Sub five. Yeah. I think like a five one at this point in our life. Five, five, one, five, an injury free five. One is a W it's a W. You know what's great for your body? Five five in the sand sprinting after not sprinting.

Cause we did this once at Van Pelt where it was just kind of a funny revelation. It was like, when's the last time you ran as fast as you possibly could? And when you get past a certain age, you're kind of like, yeah, when would that have been? When's the last time I was like, I'm just gonna run as fast as I possibly can.

I would be scared to death to run as fast as I could for 40 years. I did, I did a, uh, I did a five K this is like maybe like five years ago down. It was like a flat course down in Coronado Island. If you know San Diego, like literally I'm like, this will be, I just want to run the fastest five K that I can. And so they have a photographer and it was the most depressing thing I've ever seen. Where I thought that I was like my athletic young self and like striding it out and finishing in a full sprint.

The picture that they sent me is the most unathletic, most in pain, miserable human being you've ever seen in your life. And I was like, yeah, I don't need to be sprinting anymore. This is not good. What I think is happening and what is really happening are two totally different things. Yeah. Yeah. But now some people are listening to this right now and be like, why would these guys be judging other athletes? And it's like, because they understand regression, right?

They understand foot speed. They understand just getting this foot in the ground and then turning out of it. So I'm glad we had this time with you guys, despite where you're at right now, athletically, despite where we all are. Thanks again to Todd and Daniel Jeremiah. We'll talk to you soon.

See you, dude. See you, bud. This episode is brought to you by State Farm. Great teams need great coaches, and when it comes to insurance, your State Farm agent is there to help you find the right coverage for your home, car, and more. They're local and ready to assist when life hits you

with a full-core press. Get a game plan that helps you fit your life and talk to a State Farm agent today. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. State Farm Bloomington, Illinois coverage options are selected by the customer. Availability and eligibility vary by state. You want details? Buy. I drive a Ferrari. 355 Cabriolet. What's up? I have a ridiculous 355 Cabriolet. What's up? I have a ridiculous house in the South Fork. I have every toy you can possibly imagine.

And best of all kids, I am liquid. So, now you know what's possible. Let me tell you what's required. Life advice, the email address to life advice rr at gmail.com We have, you know, just we're plug and play right now. Kyle is off.

He said he would do life advice, but at the same time, like I don't think out of the gate with him being off, we should be asking him to work again. Wargon's always lingering, but we do have Sarutti with us post-Kid number two. So how many days in are we talking? She's a week today. Sleep has been, you know, not awesome.

Probably worse for my wife than me, but you know, not awesome, probably worse for my wife than me. But you know, it's kind of funny because a bunch of people said this and it's just true to live it is like the second one you just worry about so much less shit. You know, it's like, it's kind of like more chill like you got another kid but also like I'm just not worried about the same stuff I was worried about with the first one. You're like, yeah, it'll probably be fine. This is fine. We don't have to worry about it. We didn't have anything. She came about a month early. We didn't have really anything ready. We don't have to worry about it. We didn't have anything. She came about a month early.

We didn't have really anything ready. We didn't have a name when we first went to the hospital. So we're feeling good right now. We have a name, so that's good. I do like that though. The kid number two, I mean, you get to kid number five, like the kids driving a car, smoking cigarettes by eight and you're like, just let them live.

Raising the other kids. Yeah. It is incredible if you're from a bigger family, just the standard of concern about things. At least, I don't know, that's been my experience seeing stuff. All right, Wargon, I think the hey guys alert, I think we just bring them in.

Why wait, right? Let's do it. Yeah. Are you ready for this war gun? Hey guys. Yeah, I'm always ready. Always standing by. He's always ready.

Are you a Raiders fan? I am a Raiders fan. Unfortunately, yeah. It's been tough. Ashton Genties. Here we come. Yeah, I don't know if I like the Gentie pick, but neither here nor there. It's a very Raiders pick.

Yeah, it totally is. Well, yeah, but what about like Brady and you got Chip Kelly, Pete Carroll, like, you know, guys with three res. I forgot Chip was there. Chip. Yeah. See if we can get them on. Yeah. All right. Let's see here. I think we started out of the gates with a little worried. It may not be real, but it is so specific that we're gonna go with it. Okay.

Yeah, all right. Did I help a guy out with an act of kindness or I just took a little bit of a risk? I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.

I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.

I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. not be real, but it is so specific that we're gonna go with it. Yeah, let's give it a shot. Yeah, all right. Did I help a guy out with an act of kindness or did I do something weird? 62, 205, mid-30s basketball compass, pit Sam Young with all the pump fake and none of the athleticism.

Sam Young was an old, old soul, but incredible pump fake. I'm a day removed from doing something in the spur of the moment. I thought was an awesome gesture for a fellow guy, but after telling my wife and having her call me weird, I'm starting to question myself. I was grabbing food to go inside at Raising Canes. Shout out to Todd Grace, friend of the program. He was grabbing Raising Canes for dinner as I was walking or waiting for my food. Excuse me, as I was waiting for my food, I noticed a guy in his mid-20s, let's call him Greg. Greg is moving to Staten Island, sitting at a table nearby. He's a bit rough looking and by himself before an employee sits down and begins going through what

sounds like a job interview. I could tell Greg is a bit nervous with the way he's stumbling through his words as they exchange basic information. At this point, my food was ready and after grabbing it and making my way to the exit, I decided to help Greg out. As I passed the table, I leaned in and said, sorry for interrupting, but I just want to say this is one of the best guys I know. Greg's face immediately betrayed the fact that we had never met. But the interviewer's attention was on me, so I don't believe he noticed. The interviewer gave me a slight smile and nod,

and as I said, I'll let you get back to it, and left. What? This is fucking crazy. I left feeling excited that I might've just helped Greg land a job. I got home and gave my wife the rundown. She did not share my enthusiasm.

Amongst many other negative reasons, she said I could have put Greg in an awkward spot, having to lie about how he knows me. She also brought up that I have no idea about Greg's background. It could have fully endorsed a criminal as a great guy. Well, I think she's assuming a lot that Greg. Damn.

Greg just seemed shy. We don't know that. Now I'm questioning myself. Yeah, did I actually make Greg's situation worse? Did I betray the trust of a restaurant I regularly go to? If this were a lower end fast food place, would I even be thinking about it? I love the standard of raisinging Cane's is so high

that he's like, you know, don't wanna mess with their employee screening. So yeah, right. We're not gonna name other names like Danny Canell did about a sponsor. I guess, yeah, just trashing the French fries is one of our biggest sponsors. Like, what are you guys like those fries?

Those are trash fries. Like, what are you guys like those fries? Those are trash fries. Like thanks. Thanks, Danny. Coming up next on the fill in the blank hotline. I guess the gist is this. I guess the gist is this. Was this cool to do or should I file it away and not entertain again?

You know, it feels like one of those things that you screwed up once. I don't think you need to do it again. Here's the you didn't ruin this guy's life. You didn't ruin the raising Kane situation, but I don't know that this helps or hurts. It just kind of makes you look a little bit weird. I didn't really think about the putting him on the spot to have to explain who you are. But I think if the guy just says, hey, I have no idea who that person is, so they probably

just move on and nothing really matters. I don't think in the grand scheme of things, you screwed anything up really, but now you're gonna have to go back into that raising canes because you said you're kind of a regular and like, what if that guy recognizes you and he's working there? I mean, I guess you'll find out eventually

whether or not it worked out or not. Maybe you go in next time. He's like, Hey man, I really appreciate the, you know, the boost there. I ended up getting the gig or maybe he's like, what the hell was that? I don't wanna work with this guy. So I don't think there's any real harm here,

but you're kind of a weirdo by doing this. I'm gonna be honest. I just think this is fucking weird. Like what are you gaining from this if you're this guy? Something similar kind of happened to me with my ringer interview where I got on with the guy and he was like, I'll make this short because like we know each other so well like I'm gonna recommend

you for this job blah blah blah and I finished the call and I was like I've never met that guy before in my life but was it with me it might have been you yeah so that was yeah I'll tell you after you got in and it was like hey I know you're great blah blah blah and you exactly work together for so long. Yeah, exactly I'm much like one of those faces got the letter of recommendation from Rossello apparently, right? Yeah, I thought we worked together at ESPN and that's how you got in to ringer so now I'm wondering did I interview you Does the person still work here? They don't, no. That's why you're comfortable telling us this story.

Right. Okay. And you didn't correct the interviewer. No, why would I? No, you wouldn't, yeah. You just like laugh along, yeah. Yeah, because you're like, actually I don't know you.

Do you feel like you deserve? Do you think you deserve this job? I was already working part-time here. This was just for like the full-time position. So you be the judge. It's fair. He's put the work in. I think it's worked out all right. He's so likable, Wargon, that people are like, look, we've been through the mill together.

People want to know him. You know, people want to be associated with Wargon. I get it. I know. He's so freaked out by this. He swore, which doesn't happen a it. I know, he's so freaked out by this, he swore, which doesn't happen a lot. I kind of like our emailer. I don't know what there is about this, but it is weird.

And you're right, because Greg then has to say to the guy, if the interviewer raising canes is saying, hey, what the hell was that? How do you know that guy? And then is he gonna lie? Yeah, I know from the country club. Is he going to just go, I have no idea who that is? But then that weirdly connects the interviewer

and interviewee where they have a shared moment specific to them of like, yeah, that was really strange. And then it's an icebreaker. So maybe our email or helped out Greg in an indirect way. And even though his wife probably made a lot of good points, I think it's really funny. It tells me more about your personality that you came home to tell her to be like,

guess what I did today? But she already knows. Yeah. Yeah. My guess is you do some stuff like this. You probably talk to strangers in general a little bit, but like in the friendliest way possible. And your wife already knows what she signed up for,

so she can't be entirely shocked about this. There's one part of this that I don't know that you need to worry about. If Greg works there, doesn't work there. If Greg works there at Raising Canes, it doesn't work out. I imagine the turnover is a little bit quicker in the food service industry. I imagine you're still gonna be able to get your

chicken fingers from this day moving forward. Yeah. Your picture's not up on the wall, like do not serve. That's not happening. Right. Of all the places where you could go, like I think raising canes, it's still going to work out for you long term. So I wouldn't have any anxiety about going back there

and getting your chicken fingers after this move because I think they're still going to give you the chicken. I think it's fair. I think it is too. All right. Let's see. All right, we'll keep it simple here. Love triangle and a cat. 21 years old, 6'2", 190, no gym stats, player comp, Sam Perkins, also a DJ. Sam Perkins.

I have no idea if this email is a DJ. Long time listener, first time emailer. Sorry for the long email, but here we go. Sam Perkins, also a DJ. Sam Perkins, I have no idea if this emailer's a DJ. Long time listener, first time emailer. Sorry for the long email, but here we go. It's actually not that long. The people that write really long ones never apologize for how long they are.

Just stop. Stop awareness. No, there is a study, I'm not gonna do it, but there's something there about how often the person that apologizes for the length of the email, it's always the shortest one. And the people that write in books never apologize. I don't know if it's narcissism.

I don't know what it is. Is it? Okay. Uh, sorry for the long email, but here we go. My fiance is in her last year of college graduates in December. Uh, it has. Oh, okay. We needed a comma in their inner grad degree.

That's yeah. All right. No. My fiance is in her last year of college. Paws. Oh, graduates in December. Yeah, because I thought we were talking grad school.

So they're not grad engagement. Yeah. OK, yeah. Wow. Yeah. There we go. Two roommates. Um, one of which is closer than the other. We will call her Olivia. That's a nice name. Great job. It's popular one. Trust me. I got a lot of, a lot of name

knowledge these days. Oh yeah. Yeah. You know, cause you want to pick, you know, we want to pick kind of a unique name, but not one that everybody uses. And Olivia, I feel like it's been like in the top three for 10 straight years. Olivia. Were you guys checking stats? Oh yeah, it was on the baby name stuff, like looking around.

And Sophia is another popular one. I think Emmy, Emma, something like that is in there. There's a couple that are just always in the top five, but Olivia has been one for a long time. I'm not thrilled with what this generation has done with the names. Just as an aside. And look, my name, my parents decided to just make it different. So for whatever reason, people think I have to explain it on a daily basis.

So just a warning to some of you more creative namers out there, uh, you know, there's a line, There's a line. There's a line of what your son or daughter is going to deal with filling out paperwork or doing something over the phone or whatever. Just, do you wanna give them a name where every fucking day of their lives they're gonna have to explain it?

It's worth asking yourself that question when you're going through the process of naming somebody. But there's some names where I'm like, you're, you're starting to name kids after like inanimate objects and stuff. Cause you're showing how weird and you know, like I know you used to, you used to go to Coachella, but now it's kind of played out. You don't go now. Yeah. Well, if your kid doesn't like Coachella, you know, I'm just think there's going to be some names 20 years from now where or you should give some parents going, could have been a little more

traditional with a younger audience. It's swung back though to traditional now, like the grandma names are kind of back in, you know, Genevieve and Margaret Eleanor's daddy, Eleanor, Eloise, Doddy's not back. Doddy. Well, I don't know. I don't know. I mean, I don't know any Doddy's, but give it 10 years. You know, you never know. I was thinking about the other day. I've never, I haven't met a baby named Steve. I couldn't tell you the last time it was a Steve. I think Steve's out. Just hang out with a lot of babies.

No, but I don't, I don't know that they're like a bunch of Steve's in the, well, that's not true. Cause now, you know, I might, I might bring my daughter to daycare. There's no baby Steve's. None. Done. Bro, Mike, you're a good kid. I'm a good kid. I'm a good kid. I'm a know that they're like a bunch of Steve's in the, well, that's not true. Cause now, you know, I might, I might bring my daughter to daycare. There's no baby Steve's none done. Well, Mike, that's Mike, that's, I imagine the Mike run is over. That was a long run. You guys had.

Yeah, but I feel like Mike Michael is still in Ryan's definitely still in not your Ryan, but you know, the greater Ryan, the greater Ryan. Does that mean? Not, not with the E, you know, the greater Ryan, the greater Ryan. Does that mean? Not not with the E, you know, the E is, you know, I, what I don't understand is like we want to name our kids something, but we're just going to like throw in more vowels, not a different bowl, but there's a lot of X's. There's a lot of like E I G H's where the Saxon Saxon's

a perfect example. Jackson with an X like what what that's strange or like Amy with two E's, you know, or just throwing, just throwing unnecessary vowels and those, and we know what the name is, why do you have to spell it this way? So I, you know, I don't know. Yeah, look, every now and then I'll be watching something going, were they creative or do they not know how to spell? Well, but I know that I can say that I can say that.

You can't. You're part of the group. Yep. I'm allowed to have a moment where I go, did you guys just make up that name? I don't know what's going on there. All right. Let's get back to the anyway. Yep. Let's talk in names. We said we want to say this. Yeah. I don't want to say this. Yeah, I don't want to say this.

Oh, do you want to share it or no? Yeah, we call it, her name's Hallie. H-A-L-L-I-E, Hallie. That works. Yeah. We're gone. What would you name your son? Oof, I haven't thought about it at all.

Not Mike. I don't want to say this to you because your name's Mike, but I always felt like a lot of parents just like, I would just throw a mic on it. I was named after Michael Jordan. They just won that three Pete. I was born on the 23rd. So my dad figured, why not?

It's kind of sick. You're not a bulls fan though? Not a bulls fan. No. Okay. But they were going to name me Michael Jordan, but then Michael Jordan, my dad was like, I don't think he can live up to it So they named me Michael Jared

True story Wait you're dead Yeah, he literally thought that he's like don't think he can live up to it Like nah, I don't think these kids got it. Can't do it. Jordan was pretty good, man. I don't know I don't think these kids got it. Can't do it. Jordan was pretty good, man. I don't know. Dude, that's incredible.

I can't believe you were named after Michael Jordan. Willie Mays died. All right, let's get back to this. All right, so F fiancees in the last year graduate studies in December, as do roommates, one of which she is closer with than the other. We will call her Olivia. I did not live with them,

and their lease on their apartment ends in May, so they wanna get a new place to last them the rest of the school year after summer break. Because me and my fiance are getting married soon, probably this summer, that means I would have to go in on a house apartment with them there. There's only one problem. There's a stray cat that lives around the apartments and Olivia started to feed it food. This then became what I could imagine is his main source of food so he started to hang around

the door. Next thing you know she started letting the cat inside. At first it would just come in the walkway to eat the food out of Olivia's hand but now she's letting it all over the place. The cat is all over the couches, kitchen, and even the rooms, and all Olivia said about it was, quote, I sprayed the couch with tick repellent, end quote. And now there's another stray cat that started coming into the apartment. Olivia now wants to trap and keep trap,

is an interesting term. I think the cat is willing to be adopted in this scenario. Trap and keep one of them and take it with her to the new house apartment whenever we and keep one of them and take it with her to the new house apartment whenever we get into one of the following months. My fiance is not on board with this and neither am I. What do we say without sounding too mean?

Olivia is 100% on board with this and sees nothing wrong. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. She's currently playing with the couch, or excuse me. She's currently playing with the cat on the couch as I'm typing this. So we were getting a live, live look in. Sounds like you got a cat, brother. I don't know what to tell you.

Or a new roommate. Like what's the holdup? You don't want the cat, fiance doesn't want a cat. I guess for, look, you're younger, rent purposes alone. You're gonna be living with another person despite the fact that you're younger, rent purposes alone, you're going to be living with another person, despite the fact that you're getting married. And I'm not judging because I don't know the finances, but you're already asking for, I think, extra trouble when you're going, we're getting married this summer, and we're going to have a roommate. Some people it works. And then some people do this and they end up having, you know, some TV series about them and plenty of acreage outside. So I think with this, we could just call this a democracy and go,

hey, cool cat collection, but it's two to one end of discussion. Like what's, what's wrong with that? What's wrong with a good old house vote? Yeah. It's not like you're completely abandoning with a good old house vote? Yeah. It's not like you're completely abandoning the cat either. Just keep it outside. You can keep feeding it, but it just can't hang out on the couch with you guys.

That seems like a reasonable, again, this person's probably not reasonable if they're going to put up a huge fight about it. And then maybe that just, you know, now you have more motivation to get out of your current situation and, you know, live solo or a duo with your wife. Um, but yeah, I think you just say, we don't want this. Could you get the landlord involved? Like, is there a way to just be like, can you just make up something that like, you can't have pets that you forgot about to put in the original contract?

I don't know. Say you're electric or something. He's not excited about this cat either. Yeah. I mean, this honestly, I don't even really know like, have some sack on this one. I mean, I'm sorry to be such a, you know, Neanderthal about it, but you're worried about a conversation with somebody that's gonna be moving in,

in a new place with you and your wife this summer, and she's gonna tell you how it's gonna go with street cats. Didn't you tease this email as a love triangle? Yeah, the love of cats. OK, OK. And then my other question is, it might be in here, are you probably getting married in the summer? I feel like you are you are at this point.

Good point. See, see which way the cat boat goes to Yeah, right. It's two, one, and against him. And his wife betrays him. And she's like, actually, I'm kind of into these cats that could have diseases, but we do have tick repellent. So don't worry about it. Get over it. So the vote goes against him.

Next thing you know, engagement's off. It's off. Yeah. I have a cat. I don't think I'm ever gonna get another cat Just not cats don't do it for me. No, they're just not my wife wanted it. We got it as a present You know, I guess it could be worse I hate to take a shot at here could have five rabbits I'd probably be worse but The cat thing I litter box he wishes he had five

It's growing. Um, it just, I don't know, not a cat guy. I'm not a stray cat guy with my wife and another roommate guy. So it's too many variables. Right. And our emailers should aspire to reach the same point in life. So I don't, you just get it. This is a non-starter, man. This is a non-starter.

Put your foot down. Yeah. This is you, but your big point pants on your groom pants on your married man pants on eventually if you want to. Honestly, like your tailored, your wife, yeah, your tailored pants. Exactly. You're it sounds, your wife's not into. Exactly. Your it sounds your wife's not into this. It sounds like your future wife's not into this. So this seems like a total win for you to stand up and be like the hero in this situation.

So that's what I would do. Yeah. And then lock in that you're actually going to get married this summer. Yeah. Lock that in. You know, maybe she'll be like, let's move up the date. You handle the things thing so well. All right. That'll do it for our show today. Thanks to Wargon, which unbelievable. I can't wait every day, every day with you, man.

There's just a new angle and I love all of them. All right. So we will talk to you on Thursday. We'll do a ton of NBA stuff. I think we're going to save the ballot stuff because I got'll do a ton of NBA stuff. I'll probably, I think we're gonna save the ballot stuff because I got to do all my votes later today. I think it's just better if Bill and I go through it and save it for the Sunday thing, even though we'll have real playoff games,

but there's probably, I think, some value in just going back and forth with somebody else who also has a vote. So I got to do the ballot state and then I'll pick all the playoff series on Thursdays. So thanks to Saruti, thanks to WarGun, thanks to Kyle, thanks to Jonathan Frias. We are a Spotify video podcast on the app, so subscribe to the pod.

Super easy. Also subscribe to the YouTube page. You'll probably get something going there, NBA related fairly soon. So thanks as always for listening. Ryan Russo, the podcast ringer, Spotify. Hey guys. Must be 21 and older, present in select states for Kansas in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18 plus and present in DC gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit rg-help.com call 888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org forward slash chat in Connecticut or visit md gambling help dot org in Maryland hope is here

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