NFL Cover Zero: Going to the Draft? Saints safety Justin Reid

Summary

NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin

Episode: "Going to the Draft? Saints safety Justin Reid"

Date: April 9, 2026
Host: iHeartPodcasts

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Episode Overview

This off-season episode features Matt Jones and Drew Franklin (with guest co-host Billy Rutledge) discussing the NFL Draft buzz, player traditions around draft day, and an in-depth, wide-ranging interview with New Orleans Saints safety Justin Reid. Reid reflects on his transition to the Saints, lessons from his Super Bowl-winning years with the Chiefs, the magnetic rise of Saints QB Tyler Shuck, Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift’s pop-culture impact, Andy Reid’s leadership charm, NFL locker room chess tours, and the unique culture and fanbase of New Orleans.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

NFL Draft Traditions, Absences, and Player Decisions

Timestamps: 01:08–08:56

• Hosts lament missing the draft in Pittsburgh due to family commitments, reminiscing about the electric atmosphere when they attended in Nashville.
• They discuss trends of first-round picks—like projected #1 Fernando Mendoza—opting to skip in-person draft events for private celebrations (03:13).

  "I'd like the number one overall pick to be there and shake the hand of Goodell… that’s just not his style though." – Billy Rutledge (03:13)

• Reflection on the memorable, quirky moments from the “COVID draft” with picks at home, and anxieties of prospects like Kentucky’s Will Levis waiting with cameras rolling (03:34–07:49).

  "Some want to avoid being in that green room for too long, of course… his girlfriend became famous by the end of the night, how much they showed them in the green room." – Billy Rutledge (07:37)

• Draft philosophy talk: skepticism about top-five teams picking running backs (Jeremiah Love), the financial stakes, and how franchises easily overthink picks (05:17–05:50).

Interview: Justin Reid – Saints Safety & Two-Time Super Bowl Champion

Timestamps: 10:11–21:44

On Joining the Saints and Youthful Momentum

• The season’s turning point came unexpectedly quick; QB Tyler Shuck energized the offense and brought charisma to the team. (11:17–12:07)
• Reid on returning close to home (Baton Rouge) and the meaningful “full circle” moment with the Saints (11:02).

  "It’s full circle for me to come back and play for the team I grew up watching... Tyler just comes in and grabs the reins, this kid is just a stud." – Justin Reid (11:02)

On Tyler Shuck’s Impact and Locker Room Culture

• Tyler Shuck receives high praise for leadership, playmaking, and magnetic personality:

  "If you ever sit in a room with him, he’s just like a really charismatic kid… he’s absolutely 100% invited to the cookout." – Justin Reid (11:47–12:02)

Chiefs Dynasty: Culture, Andy Reid, & Super Bowl Highs

• Inside the Chiefs’ “selfless” culture:

  "The thing that made the Chiefs special is nobody cared who got the credit… it was about, hey, did we win or did we lose?" – Justin Reid (12:41)

• On Andy Reid’s leadership and legendary status:

  "He’s like your old, wise grandfather… him being disappointed in you is just the worst thing ever." – Justin Reid (16:11)

• Super Bowl feelings:

  "Everything’s better the second time you do it… the first time, you don’t know what to expect. The second one… you immediately had that rush of feeling." – Justin Reid (15:13–15:25)

The Taylor Swift Effect

• Insight into the Taylor Swift–Travis Kelce phenomenon:

  "You introduced an entirely different demographic… I know a bunch of dads out there like, 'I’m watching a football game with my daughter now.'" – Justin Reid (13:54)

Personal Life: Fatherhood & Advice

• Reid shares tips with Drew (expecting a daughter soon): pre-plan sleep habits and cherish rapid growth (14:29–15:07).

  "Just enjoy it, bro… you don’t recognize how fast they grow up until you look at an old picture or somebody else has a baby." – Justin Reid (14:38)

Chess Mastery in the NFL Locker Room

• Back-to-back winner of NFL's Blitz Champs chess tournament; credits chess with building camaraderie and competitive edge (16:55–18:46).

  "I had a chessboard in my locker, and guys would just come up, we play games… Every Saturday between practice and getting on the buses, round robin on the board." – Justin Reid (17:26–17:38)

• Learned from teammates, hired Grandmaster James Canty as a coach (18:46–18:52).
• Locker-room rivalry:

  "Who was the worst? Probably Mecole Hardman… I know he’s gonna hate me saying that!" – Justin Reid (17:46)

New Orleans Football & Community

• On the Saints’ critical role in Louisiana:

  "It’s God and football… the football team has a visceral impact on the entire life of the city, the entire life of the state… when both teams are winning, people are happier, the sun’s shining a little bit brighter… the crime rate goes down." – Justin Reid (19:30–20:06)

• Family presence at home games: Reid rotates extended relatives in his suite, integrating family without sacrificing focus (20:24).

NOLA Food and Lifestyle

• Endorses Doris Metropolitan Steakhouse and king cake season, embracing regional culture (21:10–21:34).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Tyler Shuck:

  "He's absolutely 100% invited to the cookout… he's certified stamped." – Justin Reid (12:00–12:04)

• On Andy Reid:

  "He’s like your old, wise grandfather… him being disappointed to you is just the worst thing ever." – Justin Reid (16:11–16:33)

• On Taylor Swift fans & football:

  "Regardless of the reason, they’re still watching football, getting to learn a little bit. That’s just the coolest thing." – Justin Reid (13:54)

• On chess culture in the Chiefs:

  "I had a chessboard in my locker… every Saturday between when practice ended and before we got on the buses, we just round robin on the board chess games." – Justin Reid (17:26)

• On New Orleans football:

  "If LSU and the Saints both lose, it’s a doom and gloom day in the state of Louisiana… literally, the crime rate goes down." – Justin Reid (19:30–20:06)

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Important Timestamps

• Draft discussion & player absences: 01:08–08:56
• Justin Reid interview start: 10:11
• On joining Saints & Tyler Shuck: 11:02–12:07
• Chiefs culture & Andy Reid: 12:41–16:33
• Super Bowl feelings: 15:13–15:25
• Taylor Swift/Kelce effect: 13:40–14:23
• Chess in NFL locker rooms: 16:55–18:52
• New Orleans football/family/culture: 19:22–21:34

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Final Thoughts

The episode blends lighthearted discussion about NFL Draft rituals, the pressures on young prospects, and the unique ways football is celebrated. Justin Reid’s interview brings authenticity and depth—sharing not just locker room stories and tactical insights, but reflections on leadership, family, and community. Whether you're a Saints fan, a Chiefs admirer, or just love behind-the-scenes NFL stories, this episode offers an engaging, humanizing glimpse into both pro football and life beyond the gridiron.

Transcript

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[Matt Jones]

Cover 0 with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin is a production of the NFL and iHeart podcast.

[Drew Franklin]

Welcome in to a new episode of NFL cover 0 off season edition. Although there's never really an off season in the NFL, today, Drew Franklin here with Billy Rutledge bringing you another episode with more from that trip to San Francisco. Got a little bit left from that Billy. We're not done. Few more weeks of it and and

[Billy Rutledge]

I've snuck in my Super Bowl T shirt that I've got on today, my draft Kings hat from the super bowl party. So I'm still very much living in that moment. Drew but excited to share another interview with everybody today.

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah, good to talk with you again today. Last week we had Erik kendricks from the 49ers became a big star for them as they battled injuries. Today we have our interview with Justin Reed. Played for the Saints, talked a lot about the emergence of Tyler Schuck. Saints having a decent year, but I think what their expectations were going in the year. He was also a chief. Got to hear a little bit about if he thinks he might get invited to important wedding this summer. But he was a fun conversation before that though. Billy, it is kind of busy time in the NFL even though there's not sports being played. We're counting down to the draft. There was a moment where we thought we'd be going to the draft. I'm part of the problem with me not being able to go with a baby coming and you and Matt aren't able to make it now. Does it bum you out that you won't be making the trip to Pittsburgh?

[Billy Rutledge]

It does. One of the coolest experiences I had was Nashville for the draft. That was just a sea of people, a fun multi day event and you know they've taken it to different cities since. Right. So it's really become an event. So was looking forward to Pittsburgh and what the pickle stuff that you got into last Picklesburg, Pittsburgh. So, you know, there's a lot of cool stuff that I was looking forward to. I have a wedding shower that weekend, so it doesn't really work for me either.

[Drew Franklin]

Drew, you're all this family stuff we

[Billy Rutledge]

have expecting much more important things. So we're rooting for you and wishing you nothing but the best coming up here.

[Drew Franklin]

Well, weddings a big deal too. I'm glad you all are having that. That'll be a fun time. But we won't be in Pittsburgh. But there's still a lot to talk about, including another that's not going to Pittsburgh.

[Billy Rutledge]

Who's that?

[Drew Franklin]

What's up with your boy? Fernando Mendoza is not going to go. I mean, locked in is the number one pick. Looks like he's going to have his own private family party elsewhere. Probably back in Miami. But you know, it's a big deal when you're in that first round, especially pick one to go up on stage and shake the commission's hand. Get the little. Get the little side hug with Goodell and it's looking like he might sit it out as well.

[Billy Rutledge]

Yeah, I'm a little disappointed, honestly. I'd like the number one overall pick to be there and shake the hand of Goodell and do the pictures and everything. That's just not his style though, I guess.

[Drew Franklin]

Drew.

[Billy Rutledge]

I mean, he's going to be. Be a little bit more under the radar, less pop and circumstance. You know, it doesn't always work, but at the same time he's trying to do his own thing. I did like the COVID draft, though. Do you remember the code draft?

[Drew Franklin]

So much to take away from where

[Billy Rutledge]

it was like, you know, you had CD Lamb stealing his phone back from his girlfriend. You. I mean, you had the. The moment the Titans draft picks. Mom was shoving the girlfriend off of him to get out of the camera shot. Going into the home kind of gives you even more storylines a lot of times. Um, but so maybe we get something there from Mendoza was that the year

[Drew Franklin]

was a Joe Burrow Covid year with his like his parents curtains, they were getting roasted. You got to see everybody's houses.

[Billy Rutledge]

Yeah.

[Drew Franklin]

You know, all of us went through that. You get on Zoom and co workers and like, oh, that's where you live. But it was weird to see it for NFL stars that were used to seeing in the green room and on the stage.

[Billy Rutledge]

Some people want to get a little bit more camera attention than maybe they deserve. But that is A maybe a wrinkle we'll get with Mendoza here, but man, is he going one overall, Is that kind of been consistent?

[Drew Franklin]

Seems to be the case. You know, he's got, if he goes to the, to the Raiders got some competition.

[Podcast Advertiser]

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[Drew Franklin]

Kurt Cousins, the best agent in sports, just keeps getting Kirk Cousins paid. But it looks like that's going to be the plan. To have a veteran rookie situation with those two have similar personalities, kind of

[Billy Rutledge]

seems like, yeah, well, throw out the window like if he deserves that money. I think this is good for Mendoza. If he goes 1 overall, like just this. The expectation of these rookie quarterbacks to come in and be the starter and take a team to the playoffs is, is unrealistic. A lot of times you see a lot of the greats had a year behind another.

[Drew Franklin]

Right.

[Billy Rutledge]

So I mean, I think of Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers as two that weren't thrust into that limelight immediately. So it's, it doesn't always work right. So. But this sets him up for success and hopefully Kirk can, you know, teach him a couple of tricks to how to stay healthy in the league because that's maybe the most important thing.

[Podcast Advertiser]

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[Drew Franklin]

My Titans at 4, they're considering Jeremiah Love from Notre Dame.

[Billy Rutledge]

Don't do it.

[Drew Franklin]

I know. I mean, I love Jeremiah Love. My wife's Notre Dame fan. Watch him a lot. Made a lot of money betting on him on some touchdowns, scoring throughout his Notre Dame career. But a running back at top five, like the guaranteed money, he would be like paid more than Saquon. He'd like be the highest paid running back having never taken a snap. I mean, as much as I'd love to have that guy on our team at top five running back, I don't know about that one now.

[Billy Rutledge]

I didn't realize he'd be paid more than Saquon. That's.

[Drew Franklin]

That was kind of like a guarantee. It wasn't the overall contract, but like his, his guaranteed money would be a lot more than a lot of. A lot of the names we know.

[Billy Rutledge]

Well, I just, I think you have a pick that high, you've got to go past rusher alignment. And as a team like the Titans who are just trying to build back, seems like pass rusher would be, you know, jump off the page need for Tennessee here. But you know, GMs overthink it all the time. Right. So we very well could see a running back taken by the Titans.

[Drew Franklin]

Are you someone that sits and watches the draft last year? I'll admit I watched maybe every minute, including when I went to mow my yard. I had YouTube TV playing. I just listened to it within my pocket instead of music.

[Billy Rutledge]

Even, like rounds two through seven.

[Drew Franklin]

Normally, I'll admit, in years past, normally I just lock into the two primetime nights, but it was like Saturday afternoon at 4, and I'm like, people I don't even know are getting taken off the board. Part of it. Shador had dropped and a couple Kentucky guys I was watching, so I had a little reason behind it. But I was locked in last year, and I love watching it. Certainly the first and second rounds.

[Billy Rutledge]

No, I am definitely locked in for the first round. I watched the entire thing 30 minutes beforehand and even maybe some analysis afterwards. After that. I'm okay with seeing, like, where guys went online. Like, I'm not, I don't have to be completely locked in. But like, like you said, like, Shadur falling last year was a huge storyline. You know, the, the NFL Network or whoever's doing draft coverage, they do get into some good stories during that time too. So it's, it's good, you know, good human nature parts in those, in those other days. But the first day, there's nothing like that first day. And the energy of the crowd there, for sure.

[Drew Franklin]

Of course, I love it. I, I, I get why some guys are starting to have their own parties like Shador that year. I mean, he had all kinds of marketing, branded things everywhere, all over the house. And you want to be with your family, but I love watching them all in the green room. Max Harrison from Kentucky became a star with his role back there. Just bouncing around and congratulating all the guys picked before him. It's just, it's part of it. And I hope we don't get too far away where they're all at home.

[Billy Rutledge]

Well, and some want to avoid being in that green room for too long, of course. Right. I mean, Will Levis was our guy from Kentucky, and, you know, his girlfriend became famous by the end of the night, how much they showed them in the green room.

[Drew Franklin]

So that was so hard to watch.

[Billy Rutledge]

Oh, it was brutal because his family's all around him. Right. And, you know, that happens, you know, quite more often than we think. I was a Geno. Smith didn't get picked to the second round back in the day, and he had to go through all that. So, you know, maybe Mendoza is trying to avoid that, but he's going one Drew, so that, that's not even an issue there. So maybe that's part of the thing.

[Drew Franklin]

It is bad, man. It's like one person in their they're vacuuming around him. I think Lamar was one of those fell really.

[Billy Rutledge]

Ravens traded back up to 32 to pick him. So yeah, he got saved by, by the bell.

[Drew Franklin]

You see him, they're like taking stuff down and putting the food away. I'm like, can you all just leave it staged until this one person gets picked? It gets awkward, but it's always fun to watch the draft. I hate that we're not able to go. Maybe next year. But it is a fun time of the year for NFL fans. And our guest on the show Today, he was third round pick 2018 out of stand for Justin Reed, a two time Super bowl champion as you'll learn in this interview was with the Saints last year. We had a great time talking to him and it is up next in our series of our NFL cover zero interviews from the Super Bowl.

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[Matt Jones]

All right here with Justin Reed of the New Orleans Saints. Played for the Texans, played for the Chiefs. Swagged out in a Louis Vuitton jacket with a turtleneck. Know I had my grandmother once told me it takes a special man to wear a turtleneck. I never really felt like I was that guy. But you, I think are able to do it.

[Justin Reed]

You just have, you know, just, just a pinch of, of fearlessness. You know what I mean? Just a pinch of fearlessness. You just got to go for it.

[Matt Jones]

You just, you need a little, you need a glass of wine, maybe a pipe.

[Justin Reed]

Yeah, exactly. Yeah, one of those old school ones.

[Matt Jones]

An old school pipe. I, I, I think it would work you commercial. So you've been going around doing these interviews. The Saints had some life at the end of the year last year, found found some things down the stretch. You feel like you're on an upward swing going into next season?

[Justin Reed]

Yeah, absolutely. There's so much momentum going into the next season. And when I first signed with the Saints, there's a couple of reasons that I did it. One was it's full circle moment for me to come back and play for the team that I grew up watching. But you knew that there was going to be some great.

[Matt Jones]

Are you from New Orleans?

[Justin Reed]

I'm from Baton Rouge.

[Matt Jones]

Okay, gotcha.

[Justin Reed]

Yeah. But you knew there was going to be some growing pains coming back and signing with the team. And I honestly expected it to take longer than it did for things to start to turn around. Just because, you know, it takes a while for things to develop and chemistry to build. A new culture to be built, new coaching staff, a bunch of new young players. But then Tyler just comes in and grabs the reins and then this kid is just a stud.

[Matt Jones]

So what is it about him? You know, we're Kentucky fans.

[Justin Reed]

Have you, have you hung out with him?

[Matt Jones]

No. He went to Louisville. I booed him multiple times. They are arrival.

[Justin Reed]

Yeah. But if you ever sit in a room with them, he's just like a really charismatic kid. And there's something about him to where he's got just enough seasoning to him to where it's like he's funny, witty.

[Matt Jones]

I mean, is he invited the cookout?

[Justin Reed]

Yeah, he's absolutely 100% invited to the cookout.

[Matt Jones]

Is he? So he has some season stamped.

[Justin Reed]

Stamped. Certified stamped.

[Matt Jones]

Okay.

[Justin Reed]

Yeah. But he, he's a cool dude. And you know, he, he's fearless when he throws the ball, he makes the running plays when he needs to. And offense just had a little bit more energy and juice behind it whenever he was on the field. So that created some momentum, ended the season winning like what, five of the last six? Something like that. And we just got to ride that momentum going into this coming year.

[Drew Franklin]

Still got a ways to go with the Saints to get there, but with the Chiefs, that was a winning culture, a championship culture. What's that experience like being here, being a part of this? I know you're here talking to us now, but you, you've lived this already.

[Justin Reed]

Yeah, I mean, it was. I mean, what, what an incredible three years. I mean, three in a row is absolute insanity. But it was fun playing for that organization just because of the consistency. The culture was set. The expectations. Excuse me. The expectations were high. The standards were even. Higher. And it's just about going in and executing like it was a selfless team. The thing that made the Chiefs special is nobody cared who got the credit. Like, we didn't care who got stats. Nobody cared who had the most touchdowns. It was about, hey, did we win or did we lose? And at the end of the day, if we're all buying into what it takes to win, that's when you have a good team. And that's what the two teams that are playing right now both equally have. And, you know, you don't need that to show up.

[Matt Jones]

Are you going to get invited to the wedding? Travis and Taylor? Taylor.

[Justin Reed]

I hope so. So, I mean, so that'd be. That'd be a fun wedding.

[Matt Jones]

I mean, you get that. You get that inside.

[Justin Reed]

You tell forever.

[Matt Jones]

I mean, I feel like I did

[Justin Reed]

go to Simone Biles wedding. I went to Simone Biles and Jonathan Owens wedding, was a good friend of mine. So that would be a fun one.

[Matt Jones]

Wait, I mean, you were there when the whole Taylor phenomenon started. Could you feel. I mean, you already had a ton of attention because of your success and Patrick Mahomes, et cetera. But that was another whole level. I mean, there were.

[Justin Reed]

You introduced an entirely different demographic than professional football. I mean, I thought it was awesome. Maybe people got sick of the commercials. I'm on the field, I didn't see any of them. You know what I mean? But just seeing how many people poured into. I have a daughter now. Like, how many girls were down watching football? You know, regardless of the reason, they're still watching football, getting the load a little bit. I know a bunch of dads out there is like, I'm watching a football game with my daughter now. She wants to watch Taylor Swift, but hey, she's interested into the game. That's just the coolest thing.

[Drew Franklin]

I have my first girl coming in two months. We're counting down. You got any tips for a future girl, dad here? I mean, the moment approaching.

[Justin Reed]

Yeah. You know what? I thought that I didn't need a sleep trainer and I paid the price for that. My daughter didn't sleep through the night until 10 months. Okay.

[Drew Franklin]

For me.

[Justin Reed]

Yeah. So have a plan for that. We used to just take shifts and I'm an early bird, so I take the early morning shift and my partner would take late night shift. But just have a plan for that. And then, man, honestly, just enjoy it, bro. Because it's cliche, but it just goes by so quick, man. Like you don't even recognize how fast they grow up and get Big. Until you look at a old picture or somebody else has a baby and you have them next to each other, and it's like, wow, where the time go.

[Drew Franklin]

All right. Appreciate that.

[Billy Rutledge]

So winning multiple Super Bowls, I mean, was it as good the second time as it was the first?

[Justin Reed]

Even better the second time.

[Billy Rutledge]

Even better. The second.

[Justin Reed]

Even better the second time. I feel like everything's better the second time you do it, like, in order of what's the best times to ever do it. Second time is the best. First time is the second best interest.

[Matt Jones]

Why is that?

[Justin Reed]

Because, like, the first time, you don't know what to expect. And, like, that newness is also exciting and that it's a new experience. You don't know, like, what's going to happen next. You kind of like, eyes wide open, okay, like, what do I do next? Where do I go? How does this go? But then once you experience that the first time and you know what it feels like, and you're just itching to get back to that feeling because now you're expecting, like, I know what it feels like whenever that clock hits zero and you're now another champion. Like, the first time, it took, like, a week for it to really hit. Like, you know, you celebrated, but it took a week before you were like, oh, yeah, I'm a champion. The second one, as soon as the clock hit zero, you immediately had that Russia feeling. You're back on top of the mountain. So incredible.

[Matt Jones]

It seems like Andy Reid is one of the few people in sports universally beloved. Why is that the case? What makes him so great?

[Justin Reed]

He's like your grandfather, man. He's like your. Your. Your old, wise grandfather that you. You hate to disappoint. Like, he. When he looks at you and. And he has a face of, like, disappointment that hurt. Like, it crushes you. Like, it legit crushes you. Like, bro, like, please yell at me or something. Like, please cuss me out. Something.

[Matt Jones]

Don't be sad at me. You know what I mean?

[Justin Reed]

Like, but him being disappointed to you is just the worst thing ever. And he has very high standards. He runs a type ship. But guys just want to. Want to play hard for him, man. Like, guys know what it takes to win. He knows what it takes to win. He allows guys to show their personality. He doesn't hold you back from that. And he's like, have fun. When we're on the field, it's time to work. But when we're off the field, let your personality show and have some fun.

[Matt Jones]

I learned a fun fact. You're the champion. You beat what, Kyler Murray, I think, in the finals. Am I right?

[Justin Reed]

Yeah, yeah. I'm the back to back champion, actually.

[Matt Jones]

Oh, you've gone back to back?

[Justin Reed]

Back to back, Yeah. I was winning Super Bowls and chess competitions.

[Matt Jones]

You know what I mean?

[Justin Reed]

Back to back. But that's. That's a cool thing, the NFL. I think we're in Blitz Champs four. So it was the fourth year of them doing it. My teammate Drew Tranquil actually introduced it to me. He won Blitz champs, too. And we used to play in the locker room. Like, I had a chessboard in my locker, and guys would just come up, we play games in the locker room. And he invited me to do his competition and.

[Matt Jones]

Wait a minute, hang on. You all had a chessboard in the chief's locker room?

[Justin Reed]

It was a tradition. Every Saturday. Every Saturday between when practice ended and before we got on the buses, we just round robin on the board chess games.

[Matt Jones]

It's like speed chess.

[Justin Reed]

Yeah, we had like three minute games.

[Matt Jones]

Wow.

[Drew Franklin]

Incredible stuff.

[Matt Jones]

I had no idea. And so who was the worst?

[Justin Reed]

Who is the worst? Let's see. Probably Nicole Hartman.

[Matt Jones]

Oh, okay.

[Justin Reed]

Yeah. And I know he's. I know he's gonna hate me saying that. He's gonna get on Twitter right now

[Matt Jones]

and say he wasn't the worst because

[Justin Reed]

he beat me one time. He beat me one time. He's gonna grill me on that.

[Matt Jones]

So how did you get into chess? I mean, that takes a certain kind of mind to think about the world like that.

[Justin Reed]

Yeah. So two parts. The first part is, is I had a teammate, Philip Gaines, when I played for the Houston Texans. We used to call him Grandmaster Phil because he would be in his locker playing the chess app on his phone, like, just all the time.

[Billy Rutledge]

Right.

[Justin Reed]

So I wanted to, like, relate to my teammates. So I tried to play him. He killed me. Oh, my God, he put me in such a blender. You know what I mean? Then after that, I'm competitive, so I wanted to learn. So that was the same time the Queen's Gamut came out on Netflix. This is like the same time period. So I was like, okay, they played the Sicilian defense in that movie. So I learned the Sicilian defense, and that's what I still play today. And then I hired a Grandmaster to also be a coach for me just to make sure that.

[Matt Jones]

Wait, you hired a Grandmaster to teach you?

[Justin Reed]

Yeah. Hell, yeah. Yeah. James Canty, Shout out to you. GM Canty.

[Matt Jones]

Shout out to James Canty. Wow. That is. Now that is a very unique story. So, like, you say you're not. You're obviously the best in the NFL. Do you ever, like, walk down, you know, New York City and Manhattan and just play those old guys sitting in

[Justin Reed]

the park on Bourbon street in New Orleans? There's a guy sitting on the corner. Oh, there is a guy sitting on the corner with a chessboard out.

[Matt Jones]

Have you ever challenged him?

[Justin Reed]

Yeah, I've walked by him twice. I was, I was on the move, but I talked to him on the way. I was like, hey, I'm going to come back and play you, bro. I'm going to come back and play you.

[Matt Jones]

Well, let me ask you about New Orleans playing in that city, because I think a lot of people not in New Orleans don't realize just how rabid that fan base can be.

[Justin Reed]

And what an important, serious, what an

[Matt Jones]

important role that team has to that.

[Justin Reed]

No, it's serious. It's serious. It's, it's, it's God and football. Like, seriously, like, the football team has a visceral impact on, like, the entire life of the city. The entire life of the state, actually. Like, if LSU and the Saints both lose, it's a doom and gloom day in the state of Louisiana, you know what I mean? Like, with that, with both teams are winning, people are happier, the sun's shining a little bit brighter, people are more friendly, you know what I mean? Literally, the crime rate goes down, you know what I mean?

[Matt Jones]

Literally.

[Justin Reed]

Literally. It is a fact, you know what I mean? So, like, so somebody should just run

[Matt Jones]

for office and go, I'm gonna make the Saints in LSU win and everything will be.

[Justin Reed]

You would win some votes. I guarantee you'll win some votes.

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah, a lot more people asking for tickets now that you're back home. I know you're excited to see them, but. But it's a little harder on game day, distributing out.

[Justin Reed]

Yeah. You know, but I'm at a place in my life to where I kind of welcome it, you know what I mean? Like, if I was a young player, I still am a young guy, but if I was like wet behind the years, rookie or something, it might have been more of a distraction. But I got a suite for my family. I have about 20, 30 come to all the home games and I like have my immediate family and then I'll rotate external family. So everybody gets an experience.

[Matt Jones]

You know, one time I accidentally ended up in the suite for the SEC tournament in New Orleans. The, the no Limit suite at the Superdome. Different experience there. But you know what? It was a good time.

[Justin Reed]

Yeah. I mean, New Orleans has so Much personality, man. Like the, the people, the fans. I mean, it's colorful, it's funny. They'll let you know how you feel. They let you know how they feel.

[Matt Jones]

You like Cajun food?

[Justin Reed]

Absolutely.

[Matt Jones]

What's your favorite?

[Justin Reed]

Shout out doors? Metropolitan. Doris. Metropolitan is a Cajun. It's a steakhouse with New Orleans flavor, a twist to it with the seafood and the seasonings that they use. It's one of my favorites to go to. And then of course, this is a technically occasion, but king cake season, that's right around the corner. I've been there getting some king cake.

[Matt Jones]

I love it. Well, I look forward to. You need to take Tyler up there and his seasoning to the steakhouse. Yeah. And thank you very much for your time, Justin Marie.

[Justin Reed]

Absolutely appreciate you guys.

[Matt Jones]

Appreciate it.

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[Drew Franklin]

Com all right, that was our interview with Justin Reed. Another fun one. We have one more left coming up for you all. I have to admit the next one, Orlando Brown Jr. From the Bengals, might have been my favorite. We talked football, but we talked a lot of not football things which I like to do, especially just what it's like being burrows lineman behind the scenes.

[Billy Rutledge]

Well, you love the fossil talk too. You go with Orlando Brown Jr. Which we'll play next week. But you know, Justin Reed talks about playing chess and then Orlando Brown Jr. He got into like the piano playing he's doing. So I mean that's cover zero, right? Talking about everything but skyline chili.

[Drew Franklin]

Also he goes from Burrow Mr. Cool to Joe Flacco just shows up in the building in mid season. So really fun. One coming up. I've been looking forward to this one the most. It'll be next week. Orlando Brown Jr. But thanks for listening to this one today with Justin Reed and all the ones before this. We have a fun time doing this and we appreciate all of you listening to Cover Zero. This is Drew and Billy signing off. Until next week.

[Justin Reed]

Foreign.

[Matt Jones]

Cover 0 with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin is a production of the NFL and iHeart podcast. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.

[Podcast Advertiser]

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