transcript

Speaker 1:
[00:00] Thanks for listening to The Herd podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio on noon to 3 Eastern, 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. Find your local station for The Herd at foxsportsradio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR.

Speaker 2:
[00:20] Now let's get this party started.

Speaker 3:
[00:21] You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go.

Speaker 1:
[00:28] Draft Day. Fired up, baby. One of the best days of the year in sport. Thanks for making us part of your day. I will be glued butt in front of a TV tonight. Cannot wait. I love it. I love it so much. So, I'm listening to Jay Glazer earlier this week. And I text a lot, I call a lot, and he's hearing overwhelmingly what I'm hearing. Usually, you go into a draft and there's about 8, 10, 12 guys who are, I mean, everybody's like, that's a 10-year pro, that's a 6-time pro boulder. As Jay Glazer says, this year, that is not the case.

Speaker 2:
[01:15] It's not a deep draft. It's not a great draft. It's not something, there's like four players, you're like, yeah, these guys will be studs for a long time. It's Mendoza, it's Love, it's Vega, the guard from Penn State, it's Kaleb Downs. But even though it's not, God's like, hey, bona fide pro boulder for 10 years, for 15 years, game changer. It's not a ton of those.

Speaker 1:
[01:40] The only three players that I've heard that nobody has any criticism of, Mendoza, everybody likes. They don't all love him, but everybody likes him. There's not a lot you don't like. Smart, leader, tough, big arm. Everybody likes Fernando Mendoza. Everybody thinks Jeremiah Love is easily a home run back and the best back by a mile in this draft. And then everybody thinks Caleb Downs is, he may not have the measurables of some safety, but clean, smart. That's good. Those three guys, absolutely. But even, it's a weird draft because many of the premium players are not at premium positions. Running back, safety, interior offensive linemen. So they're great players, but do you draft an inside linebacker like Sonny Stiles? Do you draft them at four? Is he that valuable? And then you have the premium positions like Edgerusher, you got Reuben Bain and you're like, he's got short arms. Or you got David Bailey and you're like, you're not very good against the run. There's all sorts of rumors about trading up. Dallas should trade up. I don't buy it. I think they can get the best corner potentially and the best safety potentially, two absolute needs by not moving up. I don't think it's a move up draft. I do think Kansas City is sniffing around on Bailey if he didn't get drafted second. So I'm going to give you based on kind of common sense, tax calls, what I believe, and nobody's going 100% on their mock, there are no perfect brackets because you got about three can't misses and 12, I can't promise any things. So here is what I would say, the first round top half will potentially look like. Number one is the easy one. I'm going to go one for one for sure. That's Fernando Mendoza. Safest pick in the draft, position of need for the Raiders. Number two, I think David Bailey goes to the Jets because Aaron Glenn has to win now. He does not have time to develop a player. Bailey is a plug play edge rusher. And I think Aaron Glenn will pound the table for I need a guy week one that can get after the quarterback. I think the Cardinals take Arvel Reiss. That's who the GM and the Scouts want. The owner wants the running back. I think the guy with the highest ceiling, not named Mendoza in the draft. I think the front office, the coach, I think the Scouts are pounding the table for the kid that's the athletic freak. He goes number three. That's a bit of a break because four, I think the Titans get Cam Ward a star running back. By the way, Arvel Reiss, Tennessee would love him too. Sala would love him. Once he gets picked, he's going to take the Jamir Gibbs of this draft. Cam Ward finally gets some help in the backfield. I believe five is Caleb Downs, Jim Harbaugh's best player, Derwin James, John Harbaugh drafted Kyle Hamilton, arguably after Lamar Jackson, Baltimore's best player. He is the cleanest player in the draft. As Jay Glazer pointed out, and what I've heard, there's nothing bad to say about him. He got overshadowed this year by some athletic freaks, but I think John Harbaugh wants a center fielder like Kyle Hamilton for his defense, just like his brother, who he communicates with regularly, has Derwin James. Literally, Jim Harbaugh loves Derwin James. Number six, the Browns need offensive help. Let's go to tackle. Spencer Faneu, best pure tackle that can play right now. They've been rebuilding their old line in the off season, and give Shadour a little protection. Seven, the Commanders, I think they go to the offensive line. This is a wild card pick. Francis Maui Noah from Miami, he can go tackle, he can go guard. You have a quarterback that can't stay healthy. Then I think the Saints, they've already got Chris Alave. They go get another Buckeye. They get Carnell Tait at wide receiver. They think they found their quarterback last year. Tait is in a long line of first-round receivers from Ohio State that can all play. Is he great? I don't know. But physically, movement, routes, coachability, dynamic, now you're a young quarterback. This is what Ben Johnson did. Let's go get another receiver. Let's go get another tight end. I think the Saints in that division say, we got our quarterback. Let's get him another star at wide receiver. Then I think the Chiefs address a huge need. Ruben Bain. I think Kansas City will feel like they got a bit of a break. The second best edge rusher without moving up. There's some measurement issues, but they had three things to solve in the off season. Running back check, edge check. Now they can go second round and get their corner. I think number 10, the Giants. I've been preaching this for a month now. They get one of the players that Jay Glazer brought up that everybody loves. They've got an interior offensive line need. They get Benga, Yawane from Penn State, the Harbaaz. What did Jim do? Went and got Joe Olt, not the flashy receiver. John and Jim have the same football DNA. Build the O-line, get a tough guy at quarterback and a stud defensive captain, the Giants get their center fielder, they get their interior O-line solved. The Dolphins then at 11 have to feel great because the best corner in the draft with their new defensive coach, Mansoor Delane, who may be, you know, like the second or third best corner in most drafts because he doesn't have the great measurables, but a defensive coach landing the best corner at 11, SEC Football, Defensive Back Factory, LSU. Great pick for the Miami Dolphins. Where Sonny Stiles? The Cowboys get him at 12. Somebody is dropping in this draft, and I think it's Stiles. He's a very good player, but that stack linebacker position, and for the record, look what Jerry's done to the defensive front in the last year. Kenny Clark, Rashaun Gary, okay, Quinnen Williams, Jerry, he wants to get that front. He wants to get after quarterbacks. He'll deal with the secondary later. At 13, the Rams get Monroe Freeling from Georgia. The next best right tackle in the draft. He also has the highest ceiling. They don't need him. The Rams do not need Monroe Freeling to start year one. They don't. They've got their left tackle, and McClendon the right tackle they like don't love. But my feeling is with Matt Stafford over the next two years, this is one of the only positions of need for the Rams. Immediate no by next year, yes. The Ravens go get Mackay Lemon, the receiver out of USC. You know, Andrew's ages, Zay Flowers, they need another running make. They also got to get cheaper on offense, because you know they're going to pay Lamar Jackson. So they lost Isaiah. Likely, they need another play after catch, yard after catch playmaker, and they get it in Mackay Lemon. The Buccaneers, they're going to go get the safety from Toledo Emmanuel McNeil Warren, like Quinion Mitchell or Sauce Gardner. You didn't watch them play much in college. They are great small school stars. This is an unbelievable safety draft, and we've seen this, Quinion Mitchell, Sauce Gardner, small school, defensive backs, all shape sizes, all flavors, all conferences, and there's my top 15. So you could say yourself, whoa, Colin, whoa, Caleb Downs at five. I'm putting this all together. I look at the Harbaugh's and how they view safety and tough guys and smart guys, Caleb Downs fits. And I believe the second giant pick is to protect Jackson Dart. Now you're saying, where's the wide receiver from Arizona State? I, Hammy, Broken Collarbone, Tor ACL, that would scare me as a top 15 pick. If you can get him in the second half, he'll be one of the more explosive, second half players of the first round. But I don't buy all the rumors, the Cowboys are moving up, trading both first round picks to move up. I don't buy it. I don't think this draft is good enough. And I don't buy Arizona State's injury-plegged, I mean, it's a fair word, wide receiver in this draft. That feels too high risk when I've got Lemon and Carnell Tate. So that's where we are. Mock draft, first 15 picks, Jay Mack. Nobody's getting it right, no perfect brackets. But in terms of common sense, Dallas wants to make a splash, because that's Jerry Jones. If they get Sonny Stiles there, Jerry can claim, we won the draft. That's a good pick. Because I think Dallas moving up, and I think also Kansas City looks at this. And I think they'd like to get Bailey, but Brett Veats and the guys are saying, let's let it play out. And I think what's going to happen is you're going to have two guys at the top go, and it's a little too rich for Kansas City's taste to move up. And they're going to say to themselves, we're going to get Bain at nine. Now we saw running back in edge. All we need now, honestly, is a corner to replace Trent McDuffie. So that's my take on the first 15 pick.

Speaker 4:
[11:37] Yeah, I do think the Rams, I like that idea of Freeling, the offensive lineman, but I don't think they pass on Mackay Lemon, but there's been a lot of smoke around him. As another receiver, especially given the puka stuff and trying to trade Devante. Interesting, Jeremiah Love, 4, huh.

Speaker 1:
[11:54] I think Salah privately would love Reese as a defensive guy, but Robert did such a good job with the Niners smoking mirrors last year, missing all his top players. I think Robert, this is the second time Robert Salah has been given a head coaching job. And what was the problem with the first job?

Speaker 4:
[12:15] He was at the Jets.

Speaker 1:
[12:16] Well, yes, but they couldn't get quarterback quiet. You get old Aaron, and my take with him is, okay, Cam Ward's the guy. This is what, you know, I have to support my guy. And so I think, and I think if you're a Tennessee fan, what's interesting about my top 15, I think multiple teams will feel like a player felt, I think Salah's gonna be like, you gotta be kidding me. We got the best playmaker at four. And I think the Saints are gonna look at Carnell Tate or Crystal Lave, Carnell Tate, Ohio State. I think the Chiefs are gonna say, we got the edge rusher without moving up. I think the Cowboys are gonna yell, they stole the draft of Sonny Stiles' fires. How about a few of the Miami Dolphins, and you get the top corner at 11.

Speaker 4:
[13:04] Maybe. What if Sonny Stiles goes four? Robert Salah says, that's my middle linebacker to command my defense.

Speaker 1:
[13:11] Does it help Cam Ward?

Speaker 4:
[13:13] Not necessarily, but does Cam Ward need help? He's got Brian Dable. Brian, hey, you're the quarterback whisperer. You fixed Josh Allen with no running back.

Speaker 1:
[13:21] If you look at Salah in San Francisco, did he learn or not, when you have a young quarterback like Brock Purdy, you can't draft enough wide receivers. You can't have enough backs. I mean, I think Salah learned something, leaving the Jets is if you've got the quarterback and Cam Ward's it, you've got to support it. I think that's why Harbaugh with Jackson Dart, I'll go get my defensive center fielder. I'll get my Kyle Hamilton. I'll get my Derwin James, although he's not as imposing as Derwin James, may not be as good as Kyle Hamilton, but I'm going to get my center fielder, best player available on our board. The second pick, I'm helping Jackson Dart out. Now I got Andrew Thomas. Now I got a star interior lineman. I still think they should draft to tackle later because their left tackle struggles to stay healthy. But I think there's a lot of different teams in an average draft. The Saints are going to feel this way. The Titans are going to feel this way. I think the Chiefs, the Cowboys, the Dolphins are going to come out of this draft thinking, we ended up getting a need and a really good player. That's my take. All right, some thoughts on Fernando Mendoza that are just blow me away. And does the NBA have an officiating problem? Evan Booker thinks so. Next, The Herd.

Speaker 3:
[14:46] Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays and noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific, on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the iHeartRadio app. NFL fans, when the lights hit the stage, when the picks go down, we got you. Listen to the best NFL insider Jay Glazen, one of the best linebackers in LeVar Arrington, a man who's been in the war room, former Falcons GM Terry Fontenot, and Fox Sports host, Jenny Taft. April 23rd and 5pm Pacific. It's Draft Night Live, and it's brought to you by Express Pros and Webo. Your NFL draft coverage is on Fox Sports Radio.

Speaker 1:
[15:25] Fernando Mendoza, who I like a lot, is going to the Raiders. And we know that it becomes nitpick season once the college football season is over. To me, he had so many starts, so many big games, faced so many good teams. I think he's an easy comp. I saw him against Ohio State's defense, which has four NFL starters on the defensive side alone in the first round. I saw him against Miami's great defense. I saw him against Oregon on the road and Alabama's. I saw him against so many NFL players. He's an easy comp. But when I hear people compare him to NFL quarterbacks, I want to say stop. Just compare him to the last 17 college quarterbacks going in the first round. Here's the last 17 first round quarterbacks, five years. It's a five year sample, and we're going to put all of them up. Cam Ward, Jackson Dart, Caleb, Jaden Daniels, Drake, May Michael, Pennex, JJ McCarthy, Bo Nix, Bryce Young, CJ Stroud, Anthony Richardson, Kenny Pickett, Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, Trey Lance, Justin Fields, Mack Jones. There are exactly two of those guys I would absolutely draft ahead of Fernando Mendoza. Caleb Williams and Drake May. I think they're better prospects. Those guys I'd absolutely draft ahead of them. Three other guys I would strongly consider. Jaden Daniels if he can stay healthy, CJ Stroud who's regressing, but I love, love his ball, and Trevor Lawrence. When you put him in this class, he looks pretty good, doesn't he? Well, Bryce Young, he's a much bigger, stronger quarterback than Bryce Young. I mean, Mac Jones, Mac Jones isn't an athlete and doesn't have a big arm. Well, well, well, what about, what about JJ McCarthy? I don't know. You can say Cam Ward and Jackson Dart. I don't have enough information. He's a bigger, stronger quarterback than Cam Ward and Jackson Dart. He doesn't run as well as either, but his ball placement is better than both. So when you consider the last five years, when you nitpick him, people tell me, well, he's Matt Ryan. No, he's not. I could show you three pieces of video just from last year for Fernando Mendoza. Three piece of it. This Miami run. Do you remember one run in Matt Ryan's career that looked like that run? One in Matt Ryan's career. This run against Penn State. That does not look like Matt Ryan to me. It may not be Andrew Luck. It's not Matt Ryan. Here's another one. This doesn't look like Matt Ryan to me. Find me the NFL highlights that look like that. So you keep telling me, well, he's not very athletic. You told me that about Justin Herbert. You told me that about CJ Stroud. I keep hearing, I've said, I see more poor man's Andrew Luck. He's not Andrew Luck. But you keep telling me it's Matt Ryan. I'm showing you runs. Find me the one NFL career run that Matt Ryan.

Speaker 3:
[18:38] Look at this. That's not Matt Ryan.

Speaker 1:
[18:40] You can't find one in the NFL that looks like Matt Ryan. I've said, people say, well, he's not Andrew Luck. Well, that's like saying, I'd like to date women, but they've got to be at least Margot Robbie. Well, you're going to be lonely. If that's your standard, Margot Robbie or all you single good looking guys, you're going to be lonely the rest of your life. He's not as good as Justin Herbert. Justin Herbert, every GM in the league loves Justin Herbert. If you took out Josh Allen in the Holmes, there's an argument every GM would choose him first. You can't compare him to Justin Herbert, compare him to the last 17 first round quarterbacks. He's bigger, ball placement, more mature. He's stronger. This idea, he can't run. The Big Ten Conference last year was the best conference hands down in college football. And I got video of him running against Ohio State and running against then Miami and running against Alabama and running against all these Penn State. That doesn't, I'm sorry, find me the Matt Ryan highlights that looked like that. And that's not a knock at Matt Ryan. Matt Ryan's gonna get Hall of Fame votes. Matt Ryan's great and tremendous. Well, I don't think he looked like that. J. Mack with the news.

Speaker 5:
[20:02] No, no, no, no.

Speaker 1:
[20:03] Turn on the news.

Speaker 3:
[20:05] This is The Herdline News.

Speaker 4:
[20:07] Anytime we can get a Margot Robbie reference in the first half hour of the show. That's a dub. That was a good rant, by the way, Cowherd. Nicely done. I can tell you're fired up for draft day. We'll start with the NBA, though, because the Detroit Pistons bounced back in the second half last night. They were tied at halftime with Orlando, Colin. It was a little dicey. I don't think Detroit's fully out of the woods yet. Apparently, JB. Bickerstaff gave a fiery halftime speech, fired up the troops. They won a 30 to 3 run. Here's the sound.

Speaker 5:
[20:38] He really got on us in the locker room. There is no more of my bads. It's like they're out there hustling, getting offensive boards on us. And there's too many of them for us as a group. We know that's not our standard. So he was on us, but we obviously felt it as a group of we need to be better for each other.

Speaker 1:
[21:03] A 30 to 3 run.

Speaker 4:
[21:05] Yeah, Orlando just kind of rolled over, was like, we got our win. I will say some troubling signs for Detroit, OK? Colin, they shot 23% on threes at home.

Speaker 1:
[21:14] Well, they're not an offensive machine. They're painful to watch in the half court offense.

Speaker 4:
[21:19] And they shot 58% on free throws. I mean, again, this is, I think more about Orlando just had like a really awful eight minute stretch. And I think they go, game three is going to be the series. If Orlando wins game three, I'll give them the series.

Speaker 1:
[21:31] You can't.

Speaker 4:
[21:32] I haven't seen Detroit yet, man. This is two full games at home.

Speaker 1:
[21:35] Well, we said this, we know what they are. They're the opposite of the Lakers. They're hard to watch, but tough physical and defend. They're the opposite of the Lakers. The Lakers are fun to watch, shot creators, great passers. Lakers are a good watch with an offensive coach. Detroit's the opposite. Detroit's the better team, perhaps, because they're built for the playoffs. They're clutchy, grabby, but pistons all year have been a rough watch.

Speaker 4:
[22:01] Remember, role players usually play better at home in the playoffs. By the way, Desmond Bain has not had a good game yet, and Orlando Magic have been right there in this series. All right, let's move on to Wembenyama. We have a mild update on the concussed unicorn for the San Antonio Spurs. Reports say he did some light cardio work without his concussion symptoms worsening, and they are hopeful he can travel with the team to Portland. I don't know, Colin, you watch that video. I've seen this 50 times. I don't think he was knocked out cold, but many people seem to. If he was out cold, I don't see there's any way he should even travel.

Speaker 1:
[22:41] No, no, Shom's just reported he's going to Portland for sure.

Speaker 4:
[22:45] He's definitely going?

Speaker 1:
[22:46] Yeah.

Speaker 4:
[22:47] Oh my gosh. Okay.

Speaker 1:
[22:49] I watched the video. I mean, I've seen so many NFL concussions. It's hard. You see guys wobble. This was more like he stood up. He sat there for a while. I mean, concussions come in forms and different levels, and I don't know if he'll play in Game 3, but I would be surprised if he misses more than one game and even missing a game. We'll see.

Speaker 4:
[23:17] So it's going to be a layup line without him in the middle. That's the problem. Portland took advantage, eight inside, you know, Robert Williams, Denny's probably going to be 100%. You know, they could lose Game 3 and still win the series, but I'm with you. I would hold Wemba Nyama out. That place is going to be loud as hell. Portland hasn't hosted a playoff game in, what, like, a decade. I think it's going to be crazy in there. With the concussion, man, we need Wemba. Final story, Colin, let's go back to the NFL. Everybody is excited for the draft tonight, and there's a lot of chatter that Mike McCarthy is maybe looking at a quarterback at 21. McCarthy spoke to the team about the new leadership and at the OTAs.

Speaker 6:
[24:00] The buy-in is excellent. I think it's just like anything. There's three things that happen in these situations, and it's a yearly focus of mine. You have to make changes. There's things you're going to adjust, and then there's things you're going to emphasize. So the fortunate part for this program that's been established, there's a lot of positives to emphasize and build off of. There's things you clearly adjust that's normal, and then there's things that you change. And that'll always be my approach yearly basis. But yeah, I think the buying has been excellent.

Speaker 1:
[24:39] One of the things about the NFL that's great is that teams that can't win a Super Bowl or a championship, I'm fascinated by what the Steelers do tonight. I'm fascinated by what the Vikings do tonight. The Dolphins, I was just talking to a coach today, saying the Dolphins have the worst roster in the league. Now, I like their quarterback and their running back, but the worst roster in the league, they have four third round picks. I'm gonna be glued to the Miami Dolphins draft. They could get seven starters in this thing. I am so fired up to watch the Miami Dolphins draft and the New York Giants draft.

Speaker 4:
[25:15] The Dolphins and Giants, those are the teams you're fired up about?

Speaker 1:
[25:18] I would never in the NBA care about the 13th pick or the 12th pick. In the NFL, it's got me so fired up. Like Pittsburgh, what are they going to do? Are they going to draft the quarterback?

Speaker 4:
[25:30] No, they're not. Would you take Drew Aller in the third round or Ty Simpson in the first if you're Pittsburgh?

Speaker 1:
[25:38] Ty Simpson. I think Aller is a backup.

Speaker 4:
[25:43] So a year ago, we were hyping Drew Aller as a top 10 pick. You and I, every draft analyst, he had coming off a great year. He's starting, Penn State was loaded. And now, because he got hurt and only played a handful of games, he's a backup. Interesting. I think the overreaction, Colin, to this past season, with the exception of Mendoza, is a little overboard for some of these guys. Where's Nussmeyer? Where's Klubnik? Well, remember those guys, the hype for them last year?

Speaker 1:
[26:07] Klubnik doesn't have like a power arm. There's limitations. And Nussmeyer was banged up. He's a little hot and cold. Good player. The Nussmeyer is a good player. You know, so I mean, Nussmeyer, dad's a coach. I think Nussmeyer is going to go in the second round to somebody.

Speaker 4:
[26:21] He was benched, I think, twice last year. I know they were dealing with the Brian Kelly stuff, but how good could you be if you're benched twice? I don't know. I just don't know what to make of these quarterbacks. If you're asking me, the two guys I like, Sawyer Robertson from Baylor mid-round and Drew Aller third, fourth round. Those are my guys.

Speaker 1:
[26:41] J-Mac with the news.

Speaker 3:
[26:43] Well, that's the news.

Speaker 5:
[26:44] And thanks for stopping by.

Speaker 3:
[26:45] The Herdline News.

Speaker 1:
[26:47] Joel Klatt, Dave Wonstadt, Mike DeFebo, a Steele reporter at the end of the show. We're going to talk about what, I'm just so interested in what they're going to do. There's a lot of things going on. I was, this is going to sound crazy, but we would all admit this. Everybody would admit this, including people inside the NBA. David Stern, the late great David Stern used to say, and this was during like Jordan's heyday. Nobody watches the regular season. We are about the last seven weeks of basketball. That's when people watch, because football season gobbles up the attention, October, November, December, January, February. We are about the playoffs. And so let's just get out of the regular season discussion. We all know what this league is about. LeBron at 41 years old, through two games of this series as an underdog, is giving me 24 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds, shooting 49% from the floor and 43% from three. And running the show, running the point. If you're just talking, playoff performers right now in the NBA. And this is important. What are the three things that I'm gonna judge playoff performance? Number one, your production. Are you giving me 24, 10, 10, 49% fluff? So playoff production is number one. Number two is, do you elevate others? I made fun of Scoot Henderson the other night. Had like 30 points, like no assists. That was my knock on Kawhi forever. He never elevated anybody outside of Kawhi. So what is your personal production? Do you elevate others because rotation shrink? Can you make the other six, seven guys? And are you physically available? Is LeBron James not a top five player at 41 years old in the NBA? I would say Jokic one, SGA two, Ant three, Jalen Brown four. Well, what about Wembe? Place fewer minutes, may not be available tonight. First couple years, Wembe, we all kind of ask the same question. If he doesn't get hurt, he'll be, I never asked that with LeBron. Well, Colin, what about Luca? Once again, injuries, not available. Well, what about KD? Love him, but he plays in a silo, doesn't elevate others often. And what about Brunson? Defensive liability. LeBron at 41 is not a defensive liability. He may not give you his A plus every night, but he's not a liability. At 41 years old, if we're just talking playoffs, production, elevation of others, and availability. Jalen Brown, this year, didn't have Tatum. It's like, oh, that's okay. We'll be a top seed. We'll make a run for MVP. I would take Ant, Jalen Brown, Jokic, SGA in the playoffs. Right now with Wembe, I got one playoff win. And he's had a concussion. I don't think LeBron in my memory has ever had one in all those years. So again, what matters? I'm reading this. LeBron would be the first player in league history to average 23, eight and 10 while winning at least one playoff series at any age. Here's JJ Reddick on LeBron after game two.

Speaker 7:
[30:20] He's literally a Mack truck. That's why we call it the Mack truck lane. And he's, you know, you can get out of the way and he's going to dunk on you, you can foul him. And so some of those were were just him being his dynamic self in transition. But I thought he brought a level of physicality and he's done it throughout his career, that he's just really comfortable playing that way. And, you know, you see that whether it's, you know, him on a back down or him getting to the get into the basket or him drawn fouls, like he just you he forces you to match his physicality.

Speaker 1:
[30:56] I was in LeBron's presence a couple of years ago. It was a film that was being made. And and I've been around pro athletes my whole life. Usually you can see a basketball player. They're tall, they're long, they're skinny. When LeBron walks up, he looks like Miles Garrett. That's what LeBron looks like. You're like, I mean, Michael Jordan, there's a legendary picture of him standing next to Barry Bonds. Michael Jordan looks like he weighs 140 pounds. Like LeBron is different physically. I mean, part of this thing with LeBron is great DNA has worked his butt off. But when you see LeBron in person, he doesn't look like other basketball players. Usually if a guy is as big and thick as LeBron, they can't move. Yeah, Arvidis, Sabonis, Jokic, that's different. Like LeBron's played 294 playoff games. He's never missed one. I mean, Luka is closer to being a teenager than he is 35. He's out again. It's The Herd.

Speaker 3:
[32:04] Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays and noon eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. The NFL Draft is where it all starts.

Speaker 5:
[32:12] This is crazy, I can't believe it.

Speaker 3:
[32:14] From the picks to the breakdowns, we're covering all of it.

Speaker 6:
[32:18] Because in the NFL, I put myself in a position to be here.

Speaker 3:
[32:21] One pick can change everything. It's Draft Night Live. Join Jenny Taft, Jay Glazer, LeVar Arrington and former Falcons GM, Terry Bottenham. April 23rd at 5 p.m. Pacific. And it's brought to you by Express Pros in Weeble.

Speaker 1:
[32:36] That's what I'm doing for a man.

Speaker 3:
[32:37] On Fox Sports Radio.

Speaker 4:
[32:39] For the Big One Sunday, when the NASCAR Cup Series takes on the biggest, fastest, meanest track on the circuit, Talladega. Pre-race coverage begins at 1.30 Eastern with the green flag dropping at 3, only on Fox.

Speaker 1:
[32:56] So there's a lot of speculation. Will Ty Simpson get drafted in the first round? My take would be yes, and here's why. The Minnesota Vikings. Think about the Minnesota Vikings. They had a passer rating last year of 72. Only the Jets and the Browns were worse. Yet Minnesota, in the toughest division right now arguably in football, in fact record wise, it is the best division. They finished with a winning record and they beat the Lions twice. So in the last several years, the best division record wise, I think eight games better, is the NFC North. And they went four and two division with bad quarterback play. We love their offensive head coach. Brian Flores may be the best defensive coordinator. They have an excellent star receiver, elite left tackle, third best total defense, fourth and sack. They do everything well. The one thing they need in the draft is a safety and it's a great safety draft. They could draft two. Everything works for them, except quarterback. And to me, that's why Ty Simpson gets drafted, is that you can do everything right in this league. I mean, if you look at Minnesota, they're drafting 18th. Solid ownership, star weapons, great left tackle, offensive coach who's from the McVade tree. Brian Flory is an unbelievable defensive coordinator. They get to the quarterback, great total defense, beat the Lions twice who have one of the better rosters, and a solid head coach, and a very good quarterback. And yet, are they in quicksand at 18th? They're going to probably draft the safety from Oregon. That would be my guess, that's need, and he's the best safety, but it's a great safety draft. But that to me is why Ty Simpson gets drafted. It's like transportation in life. You can have a good job, but if you can't get to it, because your car keeps breaking down, you're not going to have the good job long. You just don't go cheap on transportation. Now, if you live in New York, Chicago, great train system, that's different, you're lucky. But most cities don't have that. And there are just certain things don't go cheap on, certain things can just unravel your life. Minnesota has every element of a conference championship team. The coach, the top coordinator, I mean, a lot of it is just, and that's nothing against JJ McCarthy, but I mean, the thing has been a three year, two year soap opera. It's Daniel Jones, it's Sam Darnold, Aaron Rodgers, that Kyler Murray. That's why I think everybody's like, is Kyler Murray going to work there? And I'm like, yeah. I mean, look what's surrounding him. They've got all the pieces. Here was yesterday, we brought on Todd McShea. He thinks the Rams at 13 will be interested in Ty Simpson.

Speaker 8:
[35:55] I know that there was a lot of interest and maybe some contact between Rams front office, Les Snead, Sean McVay and Ty Simpson's camp, let's say. That's the jumping off point. I know the Rams really like Ty Simpson. It runs counter to the modern day FM picks and it's all about 2027, all chips are in, but what it doesn't run counter to is they really like the guy. They've got an aging quarterback. This could be a little bit of a luxury pick. And I think Les Snead is going to be a wild card in this draft.

Speaker 1:
[36:30] Yeah, I don't know. J-Mac doesn't buy that at all. I think they're going to go get, if they can, there's three to four offensive tackles. Havenstein now, retiring, Stafford's age. You have to, like, I've said this, when you, like, the New York Giants have two picks. And so I don't think he's going to take a stack linebacker at five. I don't think the position has that much value. Safeties, Seattle, go look at the teams in the NFL right now with good safeties. They're good teams. And go look at teams that are good, but aren't as good as you think. A lot of times, like Buffalo, they lack a great safety. And so I think he's going to go best player safety, then offensive line. You start looking around this draft with the Rams. Think about the Ram. Quarterbacks old and doesn't move. Defenses set after McDuffie. They could draft a receiver, but there's an argument that Puka and Devontae Adams and those tight ends are arguably the best tight end wide receiver group in the league. Right tackle that doesn't immediately need to play, gets good coaching, feels like the move to me. So I don't think Ty Simpson, but it does make sense in that they've only got one other need, an absolute after the McDuffie signing, and that's right tackle. And, you know, right tackles, left tackles are usually first round, right tackles you can get second, third round, you still don't buy it though.

Speaker 4:
[37:55] Well, I'm curious, where are you on the whole draft for need versus best player available? Now, for like a Jets, they need a lot. Arizona needs a lot. But you get to like a Titans team, and it's like, you like this Jeremiah Love situation, is that a need? Their defense could not stop the run, they got dump trucked all season.

Speaker 1:
[38:14] So every first round, and this isn't one of them, it's a weaker draft, generally speaking, the feeling is the first 16 picks of the first round are just take the best guy available. Now, if you've already got Brock Bowers, you don't take a tight end. If you've already got Miles Garrett, maybe you don't need to rush in. But generally in the first 15 picks, you just take the best player available. But this draft, you may only have three of those guys. So then, need may usurp positional greatness. So like you could say in a draft where like Caleb Downs at Safety is, Kyle Hamilton was in a draft that was a really good draft. Okay? This is not that. So I think what you look at if you're the Giants, because the Giants, my argument is, they don't have as many needs as you think. They need a second weapon offensively. You can get that in any round. Any round, you can get wide receivers. They solve their tight end issue via the move Baltimore. So it's like they need a second weapon. They need an interior lineman. I would draft a tackle later. They've spent some money in the secondary, but I think every team in the league needs another corner. But they don't, the Giants don't, now that they have the coach and the quarterback and their left tackle and a star receiver, and they have a pretty good defensive front, and they need a defensive tackle now that Dexter Lawrence moved on, but it's not a good defensive tackle draft. And you're not, there's nobody, Clemson's got, Adisa won Ohio State, those guys are borderline second round talent.

Speaker 4:
[39:54] So I bring up the need versus best player because the Rams are fascinating at 13. Right, the wide receiver is not a true need. I mean, you've got Devontae and Puka, you arguably got a top three wide receiver duo. But Puka's had some issues. Devontae's getting older and they look to move off him. That's why the Mackay-Lemon makes sense, but I wouldn't fault them if they went with a swing tackle at 13. It's not sexy, but insurance for, as you said, lineman goes down. Trent Williams goes down. Niner season's cooked, right? They can't protect without Trent Williams. Rams, you don't want to lose a left tackle and then run the risk of being jeopardized because Stafford's no Fernando Mendoza on the run.

Speaker 1:
[40:34] Look at last year. We think John Snyder's as good at GM as the league has on draft day. And so for Seattle, they get Sam Darnold. So John Snyder believes, and Mike McDonald, okay, we've upgraded at quarterback. And they had two really big needs. They went with an interior offensive lineman, Zay Grable, in the first round.

Speaker 4:
[40:53] Huge hit.

Speaker 1:
[40:54] Well, not only a huge hit, but that was one of their real needs. They didn't, you know, they wanted Sam Darnold, who can get frenetic. We got a, Charles Cross, they liked him at left tackle. Their take was, we have a, we're very close to a Super Bowl winning roster. Schneider had a very, he went interior lineman. And then in the second round, he got a huge break because Nick O'Monwari was available. So think about the Super Bowl champ, interior lineman safety. Yeah. And they hit on both of them. That's what, by the way, Baltimore did years ago. Center and safety. And the bottom line is, when you get into the first round, if a guy in a weak draft, I don't understand the pushback on Caleb Downs going like five or six. He's literally, his measurables aren't huge. Troy Palamalu, people didn't think he was big enough. You can play or you can't, like Ruben Bain. Everybody in the league not named Cleveland is looking for an edge rusher. You know, I mean, like it's just a position that it is valuable. You pay it when you get it.

Speaker 4:
[42:00] So I predict the Saints will take Caleb Downs before he gets to Dallas.

Speaker 1:
[42:05] So who are your gut feeling? Giants five, who do they take?

Speaker 4:
[42:12] I think the Titans go Sonny Stiles, so I'll go Jeremiah Love to the Giants at five. And that would suck because Jeremiah Love, Malik Nabors, I mean, that's a good one-two punch.

Speaker 1:
[42:21] I do not believe love is lasting to five. There's not going to be many shocks in this draft. If Jeremiah Love goes to the Giants, start printing playoff tickets.

Speaker 4:
[42:34] Stop it, come on. A running back?

Speaker 1:
[42:38] Let me tell you something, Jamir Gibbs, you go look at the first round back to Saquon Barkley.

Speaker 4:
[42:42] The Lions were like a borderline finished product. Come on, weren't they? Weren't they like seven and nine? Like, didn't Giants rebuild?

Speaker 1:
[42:49] I'm going to tell you something. If the Giants get Jeremiah Love at five back flips, there are a lot of people. Urban Meyer said it yesterday. That's the best player in the draft.