
Loading summary
Shopify Advertiser
This athletic podcast is sponsored by Shopify. Now when you think about companies like Skims or Allbirds, they are selling through the roof. Sure, you think about a great product, a cool brand, a brilliant marketing. But often the overlooked secret is actually the businesses behind the business, which makes buying and selling simple. And for millions of businesses, that business is Shopify. Because nobody, nobody does selling better than Shopify. It's the home of the number one checkout on the planet and the not so secret secret. With Shop Pay, it boosts conversions by up to 50%. So if you're into growing your business, your commerce platform better be ready to sell while your customers are scrolling or strolling on the web or in your store, in their feed and everywhere in between. Businesses that sell sell more on Shopify. So upgrade your business to get the same checkouts used by Skims and Allbirds. Sign up right now for your $1 per month trial@shopify.com theathletic all in lowercase and with no spaces. Upgrade your selling today@shopify.com that's shopify.com theathletic.
BetMGM Advertiser
As you've probably heard by now, we've teamed up with BetMGM. This season we'll be using BetMGM lines to make all of our picks and we'll have special offers for our listeners each week. If you haven't signed up for BetMGM yet, use bonus code TheAthletic and you'll get a one year subscription to the Athletic plus up to a fifteen hundred dollar first bet offer on your first wager with BetMGM. Here's how it works. Download the BetMGM app and sign up using bonus code TheAthlet Athletic make your first deposit of at least ten dollars. Place your first bet on any game and claim your voucher for a one year subscription to the Athletic. See betmgm.com for terms. U.S. promotional offers not available in D.C. mississippi, New York, Nevada, Ontario or Puerto Rico. Gambling problem call 1-800- gambler available in the U.S. call 877-8-HOPE NY or text hopeny 467-369 In New York, call 1-800- NEXT STEP in Arizona, 1-800-327-5050 In Massachusetts, 1, 800, bets off in Iowa, 1-800-270-7117 for confidential help in Michigan, 1, 800-981-0023 in Puerto Rico. First bet offer for new customers only in partnership Crossing Casino and Hotel. Don't forget if you haven't signed up for bedmgm yet, use bonus code theathletic and you'll get a one year subscription to the Athletic plus up to a fifteen hundred dollar first bet offer on your first wager.
Chase Daniel
Fellas, you know Degree Cool Rush deodorant, right? Well, last year they changed the formula and guys were mad about it. One dude even started a petition. So guess what? Degree heard us, admitted they messed up and brought the original Cool Rush scent back exactly how it was. And it's in Walmart other stores now for under $4. So grab some and remember why its cool, crisp and fresh scent made it the number one men's antiperspin for the last decade. Degree Cool Rush is back and it smells like victory for all of us. I tell you, I'm writing a story for the Athletic. No leadership story.
Diana Rossini
That's fabulous. Who thought of that?
Chase Daniel
Jinx and jinx. I'm not a very good writer, so we'll see how it goes.
Diana Rossini
Just saying, you will be great.
Chase Daniel
Give it some love when it comes out.
Diana Rossini
It's hard at first, but then like as you start to do it, you're like, oh, I could do this. You're really smart. Like, if I could write, you can write. Welcome back to Scoop City. I'm the athletic senior NFL insider Diana Rossini.
Chase Daniel
And I'm Chase Daniel. Played 14 years in the NFL.
Diana Rossini
I got some pop in my step or some jump in my step here today. I love Masters.
Chase Daniel
Pep in your step, first of all. And you yelled your, your intro. You yelled your name.
Diana Rossini
I know, I'm sorry for those listening. I did not mean to yell at you.
Chase Daniel
You did. You're excited.
Diana Rossini
But what better way to start the show than getting the phrase wrong? Because it's just, it just works.
Chase Daniel
Totally got it wrong.
Diana Rossini
That's what we do here. I love Masters week. I think sometimes when you just cover one sport, it's probably like how, you know, you talk to baseball players want to be football players and football players, you know, want to be basketball players. Like, I think when you cover football all year round, these other sports just seem so fun. And I just, I'm, I'm so pumped to just watch and, you know, follow along in the app.
Chase Daniel
It's just I'm dressed for the occasion today. I'm playing another round of golf. Vacation Chase. Full, full effect.
Diana Rossini
We love it.
Chase Daniel
See me, I'll be in Hawaii as well. So that's good.
Diana Rossini
What a life.
Chase Daniel
Whatever. I work 250 days out of the year on TV. I'm allowed to take two weeks off.
Diana Rossini
You are. No, no, no guilt here. I'm not judging. I will be doing that at some point in May or June, I hope. God knows I need some sun. Be a friend. Tell a friend. Make sure you subscribe here on YouTube if you are watching. Thanks for hanging out. Leave some comments Chase is on vacation, but he'll still react and respond to your comments because he can't help himself and he loves it. Also, make sure you subscribe to our Scoop City newsletter. Um, so basically we know how busy you are. This is the best newsletter in football. And I'm not just saying that because.
Jacob Robinson
I'm part of it.
Diana Rossini
I'm saying it because there's so much work that is poured into this newsletter and it's such an easy read. It's everything you need to know about the NFL. It's a mix of news, stats and just kind of trends that are happening. I just always find myself getting smarter after I read through them and we're done putting it together. So it's definitely something you want to check out. My newsletter partner, Jacob Robinson carries a big weight of this and he does such a good job of finding, finding fun facts. So we're going to talk about that like even yesterday's newsletter. I don't know if you saw it, Chase. It was over the past 25 years, the first quarterback drafted has become the best player 40% of the time, right? So he looked back in 2000, right? Started with Chad Pennington, picked at 18, picked well before the great Tom Brady at number 199. And only 10 times did the first quarterback drafted become the best passer in the class.
Chase Daniel
The draft is a crapshoot. 40% of the time is such a low hit rate.
Diana Rossini
It's so funny. I read that stat to Kevin this morning over breakfast. That's all he said. He goes, bottom line, you don't know. I'm like, I know teams don't know.
Chase Daniel
Teams are billion dollar industries and they don't know.
Diana Rossini
But that's what's crazy. Like even you look at last year, first quarterback drafted Caleb Williams, who had the better season. Jaden Daniels, Bryce Young, CJ Strap.
Chase Daniel
Cj, Right.
Diana Rossini
First quarterback drafted, Kenny Pickett. Best quarterback that year.
Chase Daniel
That was a 20, 22 class. That class was not good.
Diana Rossini
Sure.
Dane Brugler
At all.
Diana Rossini
21 Trevor Lawrence, 20 Joe Burrow, 19 Kyler Murray. All make sense.
Chase Daniel
Those three.
Diana Rossini
Yeah, right. But let's go back to 2018. Baker Mayfield. But who is the better quarterback?
Chase Daniel
Class, right?
Diana Rossini
Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen. Right. It's just, it's really wild when you take a look at it and you see over the last 25 years or so on how it just. You don't know if your team is going to get it right. So it makes me think of Cam Ward. So I figured in today's show, I know we've talked about it a lot, but we have to continue to talk about the top of the draft here because there is so much intrigue around the league. And I can tell you that is a fact because I have teams asking me what are the Browns doing, what are the Giants doing? Because no one can figure out at this point, it's kind of assumed that Camborg is going to go one to Tennessee. So I want to talk about that. And if you have not seen it, and I hope you've already read it, but if you haven't, the Beast, written by our NFL draft writer, our national one Dame Brugler. He does a complete year's worth of work to come together with this draft book of everything you need to know about every player that you're going to see, you know, in two weeks.
Chase Daniel
So he's gonna join the show, truly, because he's like, well, lucky for him.
Diana Rossini
He gets to join Scoop City. He's not sleeping at all right now. So we are gonna dive into all the quarterbacks, find out what he knows, what he sees, what he's predicting. And I'm always interested in which player is most intriguing to him. Like we know the names. You study so much of it. But he's spending all his time. There's got to be someone out there that I want to learn more about.
Chase Daniel
So I figured Texas A and M Commerce defensive end.
Diana Rossini
Correct. One of those guys give me some detail that's going to pump me up, you know, on draft weekend. So we'll have that. And finally, I know I mentioned the masters and you know, they had the champions dinner with Scotty Scheffler. His. His choice of food was. Was awesome. Spicy chili and everyone was talking about how hot it was and it just had me thinking for us. You know, I love to cook. You love to.
Chase Daniel
That is correct.
Diana Rossini
I want to talk about what meal we would make and maybe do a little bit more master stuff, cuz I can't help myself. But let's get right to it. Here's what I'm hearing r the week. All right, so I want to start with the top of the draft here and just kind of breeze through these first three picks just to give you the latest of what I know, starting with Tennessee, obviously with the number one overall pick. And I've been sharing with you on the show that Tennessee has really taken their time. Granted, they've done tons of work and they made it very apparent after they canceled that Shador Sanders workout in Colorado last week that they've made up their mind. They wanted to save the time of Shador's camp. They wanted to save their own time. Look, we. We love the kid, but we know who we're going to get married to here. We're not going to lose your time and lead you on. So, you know Cam Ward, all signs point to it. I haven't found anyone in football right now that has said to me, oh, be careful. They may be just all this to. To see if New York will come up and make some historic trade to get up there. And I think that's what it would take. I think if. If anything, if it would ever get to that point, it would have to be something we've almost never seen before in terms of trying to move up.
Chase Daniel
When do you think they make that decision? Like. Like, when. When do you think Titans will in Callahan and the GM be like, we are stuck at one. Will they ever do that? Or will it be like, oh, we're open. We're open. Just the entry for your.
Diana Rossini
Yeah, for you.
Chase Daniel
What do you think?
Diana Rossini
I think the morning of. They'll probably shut it down.
Chase Daniel
What happened to the days of like, hey, number one pick. We know we're going to go ahead and say it two days before those. That happened a couple times.
Diana Rossini
We got to sell this, man. We got to. We have to. And this is the problem with this draft.
Chase Daniel
Anyone?
Diana Rossini
Right? And we're going to talk about this coming up here in a few minutes where this draft as a whole just doesn't have the. The electricity that it normally does. And. And I think Tennessee's probably doing a good job for the league here of trying not to hand too much. But I think internally, it's. It's just. Everyone knows it's like, this is what we're doing. I'm sure their social team has already put together Tik Toks, you know, that would be creative to play into. Cam.
Chase Daniel
It's like. It's like the commissioner saying to tell NFL insiders like you to not tip picks because you guys know before we do remember that it's sort of like that, like, you know, it's Cam Ward. What are you doing? Just tell them. Tell the world.
Diana Rossini
Yeah, it is funny. Like, you get your texts like from people in the war rooms of telling you because they all know what it's usually like. I'd say 15 to 20 seconds, maybe even more about what teams are going to do and we'll know. But yeah, I, I actually understand the night of the draft not to tip like I get that. And let's, let's enjoy this moment. Sometimes I don't. I don't even like knowing, but I guess I have to. Sometimes I have to know. It's my job. All right, so let, let's just forget Tennessee. We'll talk about them later. We don't even need to talk about them anymore. We know the situation with Kenward. So let's just get to, to Cleveland now. Right? So you know that Jimmy Haslam the along with pretty much every important person that has to do with Cleveland met with Abdul Carter, right? They, they, they made the effort to sit with him, take him to dinner, get to know him. Kevin Stefansky was not there. Kevin Stefansky went to Jackson darts workout. Right. So to me that tells me that if they're going to go quarterback, they'd be. They're going to do something, you know, outside of that top pick and they feel good about per. Picking this best player available, whether that's Abdul Carter or Travis Hunter out of Colorado. I think most around the league think that's what Cleveland's going to do now. It's. They're going to go best player.
Chase Daniel
You don't need quarterback. You, you traded for Kenny Pickett. You go get Kirk Cousins, have Atlanta pay something. I mean, this is just me talking.
Diana Rossini
You know, but like you're talking, but.
Chase Daniel
It'S two guys go get two guys that can do that. And then for me, and we're going to go back and we're going to talk about this a lot more continually until the draft. It's like with the next quarterbacks available, Shador Sanders and Jackson Dart, these guys aren't franchise decade, decade players that you're going to literally have run your franchise for the next 10 years at least right now. So if you're unsure of them, take the best player available. I'm not so sure they wouldn't take Travis Hunter like impair him offensively with, with a quarterback like that, like Abdul Carter makes a lot of sense because I think positional value of a defensive end game wrecking a freaking game alongside Miles Garrett makes a lot of sense for Cleveland, but they continually go defense. Maybe it's an offense. Maybe they need a little bit of juice outside. Maybe you play them at receiver and you get 20 snaps on the inside. So it, in my opinion, they really can't go wrong. It's what they view positional value, like which one do you view more? Most teams would say DNA, but I get why you would go with the Travis Hunter who can play both ways.
Diana Rossini
Yeah, and Travis Hunter too, from, from the way it was described to me by some general managers around the league who've obviously worked a lot on, on him and what he's able to do, have, have shared that he's just a cleaner player than, than many others and it would make a lot of sense and be smart. Look, I think it's a win, win for Cleveland either way. But like you said, it's just going to come down to what they value and what they think that they need. So that brings us to the New York Giants chase. I get asked by more people in football about the New York Giants than anything else right now because they're a bit of a wild card of what are they going to do. Right. So let's take one argument to this, right? You're Brian Dabel, your Joe Shane. You got to make the playoffs this year to keep your job. You know, are you willing to hang your hat on the ability of Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston and Red Shirt a quarterback or perhaps get a best player available quarterback situation? Those are actually probably two different scenarios, but let's just say best player available is that the best. Are you willing to take that gamble on putting your future on the back of Russell Wilson, on the back of James Winston?
Chase Daniel
Yeah, I think, I think that they're telling the world that they think that Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston are better than QB 2, 3 or 4 right now. And number three, it's a tough pick in this draft. Like you're, you're going to get either Travis Hunter or Abdul Carter. That's who I probably think you should take. If there's a quarterback that you had in the first round graded that high, that's around the 20s or the 25s. Trade back up. So you're not just married to him. But I just don't know if they can take a quarter if that quarterback is going to be good enough early enough to make a playoff run because that's what Brian Dabo and Joe Shane need. They need somebody and maybe that's somebody Russell Wilson. Maybe they, they feel more comfortable with Russell Wilson than a Jackson Dart or Shador Sanders. And if that's the case, we'll be able to tell. That's telling you a lot. They'll, they'd rather take a Russell Wilson, be like, hey, we can get the most out of you. We Only had so many wins, you know, Russell sort of fizzled down the stretch. Do I think Russ can do some good things in Dable's offense? Yeah. But I do think that if they do draft a quarterback he has to play. I don't think there's like, oh, we're going to play Russell six games out of the year. You're starting the rookie from the start and you're hoping you can have hope.
Diana Rossini
There is layers to this. You're right. But if you have to make playoffs in a division with the super bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, the Dallas Cowboys, the Washington Commanders with that quarterback and you're pitting your hopes on Russell Wilson as a quarterback, as a recycled qb, Denver moved on from Pittsburgh was said to see you later. We don't want you back. And James Winston, who I think can do great things for your team and score you touchdowns, but he can also score touchdowns for the other team and look, he's a great locker room guy. It all comes together. But if, if that is what you think you can do, I just think that's going to be risky. Yet on the other side of it, to your point, you don't want to take a quarterback and red shirt them and have him sit. That doesn't make sense. Brian De Wil has no investment in that. How is that going to help him?
Chase Daniel
Well, and that's what I've said all along is I do think if they are going to draft a quarterback he has to start right away and he has to show hope. Maybe it's seven to eight wins with a rookie then that saves Brian Dabel's job or that saved J. Joe Shane's job. They're just in a peculiar situation because there's really no right way to go about this that are going to get them out of where they're at to where they want to be because of the division they're in because the NFC General's getting better. It's almost like they would have been better just to start over from scratch, but they're not. They're giving them another year. And that's another thing too. Say you draft Shador, maybe not at three save Shador slides at 15, you trade back up or whatever it is. If Shador goes and plays and plays behind that offensive line and and plays with not a great team and gets some psychological damage done to him. He's the quarterback of the future for the Giants. What about the next head coach and next GM that comes in? They are going to have to deal with that now. It happens a Lot. But a new. A new head coach, a new offensive play caller, a new regime for a second year which would be going into quarterback. That's a lot for a rookie quarterback to deal with.
Diana Rossini
I've been taking a little poll around football in the last week or so. I've been basically asking any head coach or GM that I can get in touch with and ask them to put themselves in the shoes of Brian Deebol and Joe Shane to try to find out what they would do. And it's unbelievable how many different answers I've been getting. Right. Because look at us even having. I. I don't know what the answer is either. You don't either. We, we think it's to go with Russell and Jamis, but we understand the risks that come with that. Get best player available, you know, get a Travis Hunter, make him a receiver. Right. Pair them up with Malik neighbors. I, I get it. Do you go Abdul Carter. You know, and it's a Giants team. Allah. What was that? 20 2007, right. Michael Strahan.
Chase Daniel
Yeah.
Diana Rossini
You build a team like that again, this. They've done that before.
Chase Daniel
They need offense, Diana. They need offense. If the Browns take Travis Hunter, the Giants, I mean no one's going to want to trade up. But like I trade back. I would trade back. Like I like taking a dual Carter does not get you any closer to the goal that you need is that's to win nine to 10 games without getting fired.
Diana Rossini
Yeah, I, and I think this is why I can't get enough of this conversation because we just don't know. We do. It goes back to how we started the show with these quarterbacks when we.
Chase Daniel
They don't know. The team doesn't know. They have no idea what they're going to do. You think they do. But then all of a sudden stuff changes in the draft night and I, I just want to. I want to. I want hard knocks in on. On draft night for them just showing the owner's reaction.
Diana Rossini
The last place the Giants are going to be is allowing the hard knocks in on their draft. But you're right if. You are so right. If there is a war room in football that I'd love to see full 24 hours all by taught it's 100% the New York Giants because I have no idea what they're going to do and I don't think anyone in football does. I think and I wonder if they do like I want to see how they talk.
Chase Daniel
No way they know right now because you.
Diana Rossini
There's too many factors right there's too much, there's so much at play. It's, it is stressful. I'm stressed for them and I have no skin in the game here. So when we talk about these three teams and we're obviously challenged with trying to figure out what the best situation is, because I think bottom line, what we're trying to also point out is what we've been saying. And I don't think this is a new thought or idea of people that have been following along on the show, but also been listening to others talk about this upcoming draft. It's not filled with a lot of headliners. We don't have Blockbuster that we are going to, to discuss and teams are going to be trading up to try to get to, you know. So the topic of draft trades to me is, is so interesting because I love to see who maneuvers. The Texans always do this, where they make a lot of moves over those days and they get creative is supply and demand. You know, where's the cutoff a team sees for a level of player, yet the Eagles are. Howie is always working phones, trying to move up, move down, you know, and every team has a different trade chart and, and some will literally want the trade to match up to the penny. Some are, some are a little looser about it.
Chase Daniel
Yeah, everyone wants to win the trade too. Everyone wants to win it instead of make the team better.
Diana Rossini
You're, you're, you're, you're, you're, you're misspeaking. The great teams don't care. The bad teams worry about that.
Chase Daniel
Howie's always, always wins a trade.
Diana Rossini
How he's got good PR out there.
Chase Daniel
Yes, he does.
Diana Rossini
So, you know, we, we, we talk about players involving first round picks since 2020. Right. Just taking a look at this, right? Bryce Young, we know. Rogers to the Jets, Sean Payton to Denver, Bradley Chubb to Miami, A.J. brown to Philly. That was a huge one. I remember breaking that story. I was nervous. I was, I was at ESPN at the time and my hand was. Because I just knew what, I knew what that meant for Tennessee and I knew it meant for Philly and was such a slam dunk for them. And obviously look at them now. What super bowl chips. Thanks. In a large part because of A.J. brown, Russell to Denver, Carson, Wentz to Indy, Stafford to the Rams, Diggs to Buffalo. Like there, there have been a lot of really juicy first round trades up involving, you know, players and picks.
Chase Daniel
Tyree killed in Miami. Remember that one?
Diana Rossini
Oh, man, do you remember everyone saying that Kansas, they want the next year Oh, I was. I remember being on set with Teddy Brusky and I love that guy. He's so good. He's so smart, and he was crushing me. He's like, you don't understand what he does to Mahal. He gives him so much opportunity.
Chase Daniel
Everyone said that.
Diana Rossini
Yeah, Patrick figured it out. So, look, I, I don't think this is. I just. Based on talking to teams over the last week or so, I don't. I'm not predicting a lot of movement up at all. Yeah, you know, I, I'm seeing more. If anything, everyone's trying to get out.
Chase Daniel
And, and I mean, we've talked about it on the show. People have talked about it. This draft class, just in general, we talked a lot about the, the quarterback class not being super great this year. Right. Super top heavy. I see, I think you see more in the middle round picks. But overall, in general, this draft class, there's not, like you were saying, there's not a lot of headliners. And let me take you inside the team. If you're a team and you're drafting 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, you think you want to draft a guy you might reach on a draft grade, but what about the people? And then you're like, okay, let me trade back. But then the people trading up at 20 through 32, they're like, actually, why would I give up a ton of draft picks in the future to move up to someone that we're not sure is going to be a starter? That's the problem with this draft class. And I don't, I don't know if you're going to see a ton of trades in the first round like that, where you got to, you got to give up a lot of value, a lot of equity in these draft picks to move up to that spot in the early, like, you know, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 range. So I think that's what teams are dealing with. They probably think they can get the same player at 25 as they can at 8, because this draft class in general is not great.
Diana Rossini
4, 5, 6, 7, you can get the same player at 20. I think a lot of GMs are looking at this and feeling that way. So we'll see how this comes together. And this isn't a knock on this group. It's just, it's okay to just say this isn't the strongest class. This is just the reality of what we're talking about. All right, quickly. So last show we talked about how OTAs, at least phase one for these first time head coaches with these new teams has gone down this week. And so you're seeing these coaches speak to the team for the first time on social media. So, yeah. The New England Patriots captured Mike Vrabel addressing his team for the first time. Let's take a listen to his messaging to his new team.
Mike Vrabel
One is to respect the team. Okay. Respect the football team and the people that are here. Okay. The second one is, okay, I'd like you to have. When we're in a meeting, okay, I know what the style may be. Just pull your hood down in a meeting. That's all I ask. Okay. I just ask that when we're in a meeting, okay, that we just pull our hoods down and we go from there. Be on time. Okay? We just talked about time. Be on time. And if I can't be on time, Christian, what's the easiest thing to do? You would just call, right? You would. That's called communicate. Okay? All you got to do is say, hey, something came up. Okay. I'm going to be a little bit late now. After about four or five times, that starts wearing off. Okay. This is just a once in a while. All it is is a respect thing. Okay. And what my goal was that I told everybody in the building And I told Mr. Kraft, I told the coaches it was to build a program that you guys and the coaches and the staff wanted to be a part of, that they wanted to protect. When you care about something, do you protect it? Yep. And that you were proud of it. That I'm proud to be a New England patriot. I'm proud of the way that we do things. I'm proud of the way we prepare. I'm proud of the way we practice. Okay. And I'm proud of my teammates for the effort in which they play. So that was my goal, okay. To get started.
Dane Brugler
Started.
Mike Vrabel
And then that's gonna. You're gonna eventually believe in that and then start to trust it.
Chase Daniel
I love it. I love it. Look, people are freaking out, and this went viral. First of all, how in the world did we get three minutes of unfiltered access to a team meeting? I don't really know where that clip came from, but I love it. And it's exactly what many head coaches I've been with do. They set the culture from day one. This is the first time Braves was able to get in front of the entire team and talk. And it's very simple. Like, people are like, oh, my gosh, he's so. No. This is what every NFL coach does. Leave your phone in the Locker room. Respect everyone around you, including the janitor staff, including everything else. Hoods down. I can't tell you how many coaches hate when you're like this and you're just, like, slumped in your chair. Sean Payton hated. Andy Reid was like, abs, this is how. And this is how some guys are. They're not taking notes. Just sit up, take the hood off. Okay. Hat forward. Okay. I wear my hat backward. But, like, all this random stuff, like, it's the simple little things. Be on time, Diana. This is just day one stuff. And people are like, oh, look at his. Like, yeah, it's great. Was that not the case before with New England? Like, I don't get it.
Diana Rossini
See, I don't. I don't think that was the case. I think this is a completely new brand of football in New England now, which is why I think it got so much reaction. I also think the reaction was coming from people of, are you kidding me? These are the things that you have to tell professional players. Yes, that is the truth. It's crazy that people don't get how difficult it is sometimes to manage this many people. Everyone's got stuff going on in their lives. It's. They're. They're not just all football all the time. So there definitely needs to be boundaries set. And, you know, I've spoken to tons of head coaches before they do this first team meeting, and there are some coach, you know, who are newer at it, and they're nervous about it. They're getting their thoughts. They're talking to their former coaches that they've learned from and trying to come up with a message that's original to them, that's going to set a standard of what they're looking for for you as a player. When you, like, you know, you obviously heard Andy do it, you've heard Sean do it. What's it like sitting there? It's the first day team meeting, and you're hearing your coach for the first time. Like, what's kind of going through the.
Dane Brugler
Mind of the players?
Chase Daniel
I've been. I've been lucky enough to be a part of four of these. Like. Like, when I'm. When I'm actually talking, like, hire a new coach, you come in, it's a new regime. Andy Reid, 2013. Andy Reid maybe said five minutes worth of stuff. It was like, look, here's how we're going to do things. It was very, very serious. It was like. And we're like, okay, because we went 2. They went 2 and 14. In 2012, I believe the Chiefs did. So you're like, okay, so you do that. And then I was a part of the Philadelphia Eagles when Doug Peterson went from the Chiefs, and I tell you what, it was identical to what Andy Reid said in 2013. Guess what? I was a part of this again. In Matt Nagy's scheme, who was with Andy Reid. It was the exact same thing. And it was, like, to a T, because I write notes, like, my notebooks.
Diana Rossini
I've seen your notes.
Chase Daniel
Amazing. And I went back and checked my 2013 notes when Matt Nagy did in 2018. Identical. And then I was a part of it with Brandon Staley. There's definitely a nervous energy for these head coaches, and sometimes the worst thing to do is get up there and just talk. Like, it's short. Sweet, too. This is your first time. First impressions are a lot. The biggest thing with these coaches and what we notice as players is you got to get up and own the room. Like, you got to take full accountability. You got to take full credit. We can see right through you. If you're not yourself or if you're scared, you're like, how are you scared? It's just 53 of the. The of the guys that you're supposed to lead. So the best ones I've been a part of and I've been a part of mostly good ones, they just get up there. They own the room. They could care less what you think. This is my way. This is how we're doing it. Yes, you're going to have some input, but, yeah, you do have to manage 53. Really? 90 in the off season. 90 NFL players.
Diana Rossini
Yeah. And I thought Mike Vrables was. He's done this before. Right. I didn't sense nerves or.
Chase Daniel
No, he was really chill. You could tell he's. He's. He was. He was cool.
Diana Rossini
He was like.
Dane Brugler
He was cool.
Diana Rossini
For him, this is how we're gonna do this. And you're gonna. You're gonna respect this. And I can tell you, if I'm a New England Patriot, I am not showing up late like that.
Chase Daniel
I will say the funny thing about, like, the cell phones, because they're darcelle. He's like, don't cough. I've been in the League 27. That happens all the time.
Diana Rossini
So what is it? The photo.
Chase Daniel
And if the cell phone goes off and, you know, all the receivers sit together, cell phone goes off, they'll, like, silence it. But all. So everyone just, like, looks like, what is this coughing attack? To not hear the phone. And you can hear the phone. It's stupid. Don't do it. Looks like your phone just went off. All right, before we go, what are you hearing? We can't. We can't do a show without talking about Aaron Rodgers. What do you. Is that Aaron Rodgers right there? What are you hearing about Aaron?
Diana Rossini
Look, this is. I don't have anything firm for you to give you an update. He could be a stealer by the time this is released. He could be a stealer by the time training camp starts. I don't even have a timeline at this point. I talked to some people in Pittsburgh who just tell me it's a matter of time. I've spoken to other people in Pittsburgh who are like, we have no idea. His name is not even being said around the building yet because it's just. We're just waiting.
Chase Daniel
So what about the Vikings?
Diana Rossini
The Vikings are. Are letting the world know that they're done with him, that it's going to be all J.J. mcCarthy. They seem like they want this to be very purposed at this point to let everyone know that they're shutting the door on this. Let's see though, right? Like, let's just see what happens if, you know, OTAs go through and training camp and, and if Aaron's still available. You know, I think it's a long shot, but I, I just want to know what's going through Aaron's head at this point.
Chase Daniel
You know, retirement. That's what I was going to ask. Is retirement a thing?
Diana Rossini
Yeah, to. It's. It was a thing five years ago. It's always a thing. I just think it for him, he probably wants a certain setup in a certain situation. And I'm not, I'm not sure if that's Pittsburgh yet. I. I don't know. You know, so we will see. We'll stay on top of it. Anything new we will add. I'll even throw it in the comments if I have something new to update.
Chase Daniel
No, you won't. You have way less time than I do.
Diana Rossini
I message the other day. It was. It was misspelling, but I wrote in the comments. I was excited. I read through them.
Chase Daniel
You didn't respond to the comment. You commented on our own video. You're supposed to respond.
Diana Rossini
No one asked me any question.
Chase Daniel
Reply. Well, whatever.
Diana Rossini
All right. Coming up on Scoob City, we are going to have Dane Brugler join the show to talk all things draft. Coming up, the Beast. If you have not checked it out, go over to the Athletic right now before Dane joins the show. Rip through it real quick. And Dana is also going to break it down with us and really pinpoint to us what we need to know about this upcoming draft class. We'll be right back.
Dane Brugler
Pro baller Lonzo ball for Buzzballs. Ready to go. Cocktails. Take 12.
Chase Daniel
Buzzballs just dropped their biggest blue balls.
Dane Brugler
Script says Biggie's blue balls. Lonzo take 13.
Chase Daniel
Blue balls just dropped their biggest buzz balls. Ugh.
Dane Brugler
Let's try a vocal exercise.
Chase Daniel
Buzz balls, Biggies. Blue balls. Buzz balls. Biggies.
Jacob Robinson
Blue balls.
Chase Daniel
Big balls just drop this season with Buzzball. Please read responsibly.
BetMGM Advertiser
Buzzball's available in spirit, wine and malt, 15% Alco, Bavo and Buzzballs, LLC. Carrollton, Texas.
Jacob Robinson
This episode is brought to you by Chevy Silverado. When it's time for you to ditch the blacktop and head off road, do.
Chase Daniel
It in a truck that says no to nothing.
Jacob Robinson
The Chevy Silverado Trail boss get the rugged capability of its Z71 suspension and.
Diana Rossini
2 inch factory lift, plus impressive torque.
Jacob Robinson
And towing capacity thanks to an available Duramax 3 liter turbo diesel engine. Where other trucks call it quits, you'll just be getting started. Visit chevy.com to learn more. Nordstrom brings you the season's most wanted brands. Skims, Mango Free People, and Princess polly, all under $100. From trending sneakers to beauty must haves, we've curated the styles you'll wear on repeat this spring. Free shipping, free returns, and in store pickup make it easier than ever. Shop now in stores and@nordstrom.com.
Diana Rossini
All right, Jennings, scoop city now. Dane Brugler, our national NFL draft expert, specialist, writer, reporter, basically everything. If you haven't checked out the Beast, make sure you do it. It's the most comprehensive draft guide in the industry. Everybody reads this thing. And I'm not even exaggerating, Dane, because I talk to so many people in football and they all check it out. Coaches, GMs, owners, agents, players, other people in the media. So first, just congratulations for getting to a point where you don't have to worry about it anymore, baby. It went to print. It's done. What was that like the morning it came out when it's officially over for you?
Dane Brugler
Yeah. Well, it's definitely a feeling of relief, but it is also a feeling of okay, because there are some years where you hit send and your phone's blowing up and it's like, okay, are these gonna be good texts or. Sometimes some agents aren't too happy about this or that, you know, but thankfully this year it's been almost entirely positive. Yeah, I mean, the best compliment I can get is when I get a text from a team, from a scout or a director or someone says, hey, I didn't know about this from this player that until I read it in the Beast. I'm like, all right, that's awesome. That's cool. Because that's the purpose of the Beast is to try to be as comprehensive as possible for fans, for. For anybody that's interested in the draft at all. And so yesterday was pretty cool to see people get their hands on it, dive in, and really, you know, just let all the information wash over them.
Diana Rossini
Well, let's stay there then. Because you did so much work on so many different players. Is there a player that intrigued you personally before we really get into all the other fun football stuff?
Dane Brugler
Oh, sure. I mean, there's a ton of them in this class. Like, in terms of, like, the best stories, like, there's a Georgia defensive lineman who has narcolepsy and he has at times had to fight falling asleep during meetings and has to fight falling asleep during games when they go late. Like, things like that are just fascinating to me. And then I think the best backstory is Siobhan Revelle, the corner from East Carolina, who, coming into the year we thought very well could be a top 20 pick in the draft. But you look at his background, and after I got done talking to him, I was just kind of blown away by the adversities he's had to overcome. He's 6 2, 200 pounds, a really fast athlete. The athleticism's off the chart, but you go back to high school, a lot of injuries. He wasn't able to qualify academically to go to college, to go to Division 1 college. So he goes the juco route. And then all of a sudden it's Covid. So that season's canceled. He's working at Amazon and an overnight fulfillment center. And so he worked a 10pm or a 6pm to 4am shift that next day. After that, we got off at 4am A couple hours later, he's in the car with his dad going to East Carolina for a tryout. And his dad actually sent me the video of him running his 40 yard dash. And there's a coach chasing him down after the 40 to show him what it said on the stopwatch. And ECU was able to give him a scholarship. He has this amazing 2023 season where he's on the NFL radar. And I mean, Alabama wanted him. Penn State, Ohio State, everybody wanted him. But he stated ECU and wanted to stay loyal to that staff and he gets an. Has an ACL injury in September and it's like, oh my gosh, like, what else can this guy take but the mental toughness? I mean, this guy has it. And so I, I don't know that he's going to get into the first round because of that injury, but good chance he ends up going somewhere in those top 50 picks.
Diana Rossini
Yeah, now I know why my Amazon deliveries get here so quickly, because they're also really fast, naturally. No, that's. That is an incredible story and I think that's why so many people love the draft. He's finding out a little than just the top dog. So just before we get into specifics of the quarterbacks, just as a whole, how are you describing this draft class?
Dane Brugler
Yeah, and often drafts are categorized by the quarterbacks. Right. And it's coming off of last year's draft where we had six in the top 12. This year's class, I think is closer to that 2022 group where, you know, Kenny Pickett went 20th and that was the only quarterback in the first 73 pick. Now, I, it's not going to be quite that drastic this year, but we very well might only have one quarterback in the first 15 picks. It's very possible. And so we feel pretty good. Cam Ward's going to go number one to the Titans. I think at the combine it became pretty clear Cam Ward's gonna be the number one pick. It was just a matter of, okay, do the Titans with first year general manager Mike Borgonzi, do they stay and stick and pick, or are they going to take a trade with the Giants or whoever else looking to get up to number one? Seems pretty clear they are ready to go that route. Go with Cam Ward. But the Browns at 2, Giants at 3. Both these teams need a quarterback, theoretically, but is there one worth taking in the top three? And Shador Sanders, there's plenty of Jackson dart love, but. And then even looking at the Saints at number nine, they're possibly in the quarterback market, but all signs are kind of pointing to none of those teams drafting a quarterback, at least where we are now, two weeks out, you know better than anybody, so much can change in a day, let alone two weeks. So, okay, the Steelers in the 20s are, or maybe the Giants or Browns trading up from the early second round into that late first to get them. So the quarterbacks are always kind of the driving force of the draft. This year it won't be any different. It'll just look different than especially what we saw last year.
Diana Rossini
Well, that's what it is. I think we're all just thinking about how electric last year was and so many talented quarterbacks. And it makes you just wonder in this group outside Cab Ward, who could realistically start day one? Just based on your collection of information and the conversations that you've had throughout the NFL, outside of Cam Ward, who do you think could get the ball Week 1 if they get drafted?
Dane Brugler
I mean, I think Shador could do it. I think the big question with Shador is just what's his ceiling? You know, I think he has what it takes to be a starter in this league, but the physical traits are average. You know, he likes to drift in the pocket. You don't like that he played in the Big 12, which doesn't play a lot of defense. But then you throw in his three toughest opponents, Kansas State, Nebraska, byu, and all three were rough games for Shador. And it's like, okay, I just, I wish I felt better about the ceiling that he brings. And so that's kind of the question for teams looking for someone that can start pretty quickly. I think Tyler Schuck from Louisville is that guy and there's a lot of love around the league for Tyler Schuck and what he can be at the next level. He's a unique player because he's a seventh year senior, will be a 26 year old rookie and that's not ideal. I think people are going to bring up Brandon Wheaton and you know those types of guys. But you know, he was injured a lot and so the medicals play a factor in his evaluation as well. But 6, 4, 230 pounds, really twitchy arm, a power arm and he's a good athlete, so he moves around well. So a lot of things point to him being a. The type of traits and tools that teams like to gamble on. Just the age and just those, the medical factors will kind of mess things up a little bit with just how early he is drafted. But I mean, he's going to go probably somewhere in the top 50. It's just a matter of can he. Does he sneak into the first round? The Browns at 33, the Seahawks, you know, with one of those two second rounders they have. It's really interesting.
Diana Rossini
Is there a quarterback that's picked up steam in the last week or two that you're like, oh, okay, I didn't see this one coming, but here he is.
Dane Brugler
Well, when, when I reported last weekend that Jaylen Milro got a combine invite, I that caught me off guard a little bit. Cause I like Jalen Milroe, but more as a top 60, top 75 guy. But I mean, I confirmed it with a source in the NFL. I confirmed it with a, with Jalen's representation and they both confirmed it for me. So it's like, okay, there's obviously he's. He got an invite and I was told he accepted. So. So usually, you know, we've seen Malik Willis, he was at the draft and fell a little bit. Matt Corral, same thing. Will Levis was at the draft with Milroe. He's not really expected to be a top 20 pick. And so, you know, it'll be interesting to see how early that he will go because he. And you watch a Wisconsin tape, you watch a Georgia tape, you see the tools, you see how exciting he is as an athlete, as a guy with an arm that can, can test any inch on the field. And he's a really explosive player, but consistency from the pocket is just, he's not there yet. And you watch Oklahoma tape, the Michigan tape, you see how just raw he is with his feel in the pocket, some of the tools and just the lack of consistency. So where does a team feel comfortable rolling the dice on a guy like that who. It's going to take time. He's not going to be ready to play from day one. And you know, we've, we. The Raiders have done a lot of work on him. Him. The Browns have done a lot of work on him, which is interesting because Tommy Reese is now in Cleveland, who was his off office according to Alabama last year or 2023. So, you know, it's a lot of trying to connect the dots and figure out where these guys are headed.
Diana Rossini
I know, it's funny how much we actually rely on that. It's not that hard. Like people think you have all this intel. It's like actually no, they. We just looked at the roster and the coaching staff and boom, there you go. You have some answers because it's definitely helpful and beneficial. As much intel as an organization feels like they can get to just have some confidence leading into the big night, you know, and Travis Hunter's been described to me by a lot of GMs in football right now as just the cleanest player in the draft. And obviously there's been so much debate about, you know, which side of the ball and which position he would play. But just from your knowledge of the player and also this league, I'll flip it on you. You know, which coach, which organization do you think could probably get the most out of Travis, this based on the teams that are, that are going to probably pick at the top here, where would you like to see him go?
Dane Brugler
Yeah, and it's interesting the differing opinions throughout the league about how to best maximize this type of talent. You know, I think there is a certain group of teams that think hey, he should be a full time corner because we think his, the ceiling is highest there. He could be a top three corner in this league. That's how teams view Travis Hunter. And then also it's easier theoretically to have a full time corner and then you mix in 25ish plays a game, give them 8 to 10 touches on offense and you know, really try to maximize that. But there's other teams and I think the Browns are one of them who they just need offense so badly that it's like we're going to make them a full time offensive player because we know how he can impact the scoreboard, how explosive he is, the ball instincts are tremendous. So it's, it's a little tricky and we've never really seen a player like this. Champ Bailey was a little bit of a two way player, Charles Woodson back in the day, but really not to this level where teams are fully bought in that hey, he can play both ways. How we manage it and not just on game day, but during the week in meetings and practice time, how we do, how we just disperse. This workload on this player is really, it's kind of the wild card that every team looks at it a little bit differently. But I think you're absolutely right. Teams and the way they talk about him as an athlete, as a football player, and then also his mental commitment because it's not just that he's a good athlete to play both ways, but the mental grind. To understand what to do, you have to know both playbooks. You have to know the routes to run, the cadence. You have to. On defense, you have to understand what coverages you're playing, the communication. So it's not easy to do that and it only get tougher in the NFL. But if anyone can do it, teams believe it's Travis Hunter.
Diana Rossini
Chase and I have had a really long conversation today about what the Giants should do because we, we do not know. Like look, we, we go back, we actually change our opinion probably by the minute because we look at their situation, we look at their roster with Jamis, Winston, Russell Wilson and, and we, Chase and I both agree like that that is a tough duo to attach yourself to in order to make the playoffs. Knowing your job is on the line. But at the same time, are you going to be able to get a quarterback that you think is going to be ready? And I do think there was a time where the Giants were in on Shador Sanders. I think they, they really had, you know, positive analysis of him, but I don't.
Dane Brugler
They did more work than anybody. Right.
Diana Rossini
I felt like Joe Shane lived in Colorado. Every video I saw of Joe was, was in Colorado. Yet here we are a few weeks out and I just don't feel as strongly. And again, it can change. I just, it just doesn't feel like that. How, how do you see the Giants in terms of what they should be doing here, knowing, you know, the players that are available to them at this point?
Dane Brugler
Yeah, it's a tough spot and I feel for, for Joe a little bit just because last year with the, you know, this, the fifth pick or six pick, they wanted to trade up and they tried to go get a Drake May or Jaden, one of those guys. And obviously you don't blame those top three teams for not budging. And then this year they were even worse, but not worse enough to get one of those get that first pick. So, you know, you're in a position where so much will depend on your relationship with ownership and, and being just managing expectations. And I think that you have to communicate with ownership that, listen, we don't love our quarterback options this off season. It's not just about just go out and draft the best guy that's available at our pick. It's not quite that simple. Let's add Jameis Winston, let's add Russell Wilson, and then we'll go with best player available, which might be Abdul Carter, even though Pastor Rush isn't necessarily a glaring need. You know what they did with Burns last year. Kayvon Thibodeau's still there, but I think you in the top three, you draft players, not positions. And I think if you have a chance to come away with an impact guy like Abdul Carter, that to me makes the most sense for the Giants. But then, okay, what's our. We still want to get a quarterback. So Jax, they've done a lot of work on Jackson Dart, who theoretically you don't want playing in year one. You want to develop him and bring him along at his own pace. That's the kind of, that's the player I'm looking at for the Giants. So they go Abdul Carter three. And then whether they trade up in the late first round or stay put in that early third and Hope Dart falls to them, to me that makes the most sense of trying to maneuver through a not so ideal situation, of trying to figure out the quarterback position.
Diana Rossini
Yeah, it's definitely not crystal clear for them. And, and I think they're still discussing it. I'm trying to figure out what it is that, that they want to do here, but obviously if they get Abdul Carter, it'll make it. It does make you think of the super bowl years, at least with the way that Giants defense look. That's the only, I think, silver lining in, in that and any.
Dane Brugler
They just saw the Eagles win a Super bowl with a lot of pass rush.
Diana Rossini
They muscle up in that position and, and, and it works, unfortunately. They got to play that Eagles team, so then they need a lot of help on offense still, so. All right, my final question for you. My buddy Chase can't be here, but he obviously is a Mizzou alum, so how are you grading Luther Burden in stock right now? The Beast projects him as your WR3, but is he closer to the player we saw in 2023 or the one we had, a subpar 2024?
Dane Brugler
Yeah, I know, and that's a good way to set it up because in 2023, he had over 1200 yards, nine touchdowns. He was an All American. And then this year he was still good, but that production was cut in half. And so which, and it's not like he lost his quarterback. Quarterback was still there. The offense was largely intact. So, okay, what, what do we make of something like that? And I, you know, I think with Burden, he's not as polished as, say, Emeka Buka from Ohio State or some of these other receivers, but I think he has more impact potential. He has more upside, especially. The best thing about Luther Burden is what he does with the ball in his hands. And so, you know, you get you. Whether it's a crosser, whether it's, you know, these different underneath routes designed to give him catch and run opportunities. But he also showed on tape that he can win downfield. So I think he's just, he's a guy that's dangerous with the ball in his hands. He can win vertically. He's almost like a running back after the catch. So I think somewhere in that late first, early second, as long as you feel good about the person, the character, and say, okay, he's really going to maximize this talent that he has, I think you're going to get a really good player. And so this, this receiver class is not last year. We don't have Malik neighbors. We don't even. I don't even. I think we have a Brian Thomas, in my opinion. But there's still some good receivers in this class with McMillan from Arizona, Matthew Gold in Texas, a Buka from Ohio State, and then Luther Burden, who is maybe a little bit unpolished compared to these other guys, but I think he has more impact potential which will appeal to a lot of these teams.
Diana Rossini
Chase is smiling. Complete the sentence. On the Monday after the draft. Dane is doing this, taking a deep.
Dane Brugler
Breath and hoping people don't beat up my 20s, 26, early mock draft. Too much.
Diana Rossini
You put that out the Monday after the draft.
Dane Brugler
That's right. It is. It's. And look, it's more of a watch list. Like, here are 32 guys. Like, look, you know. But hey, it's one of the most viewed things I do all year, so I'll keep doing it because people can't get enough of this.
Diana Rossini
Yes. Thank you. Thank you to the lunatics out there. We love you. Because if it wasn't for you, Dana, I would not have jobs. Thank you so much. Make sure you check out the Beast over on the Athletic. Subscribe to the Athletic if you don't already. People try to snag his stuff. Those aggregators. Don't let them snag it. Go purchase it. Check it out. If you are a subscriber, of course, it is for free. Still to come here on Scoop City, the Masters. It's Masters week. I take lots of naps. Chase goes out and pretends he's playing the Masters. He's not a very good golfer, but he tries. When we come back, we're gonna talk about what our ideal champions dinner would be. What would yours be? What would be your. Your dream meal? If you could give us anything, what would it be? Be?
Dane Brugler
So I'm walking the master. So it's got to be clean. It's got to be easy, right? So I guess I don't. Maybe a burger, like a good burger.
Diana Rossini
You'd give a burger that's actually classic, like a burger.
Dane Brugler
I'm thinking of a handheld, but it's not too messy.
Diana Rossini
It's the champions dinner. So you sit, you get.
Dane Brugler
Oh, the. Okay, okay.
Diana Rossini
Right. Right before the master start.
Dane Brugler
Then it's got to be a ribeye.
Diana Rossini
Then it's got to be, you know, I like it.
Dane Brugler
Give. Give me medium rare. Yeah, yeah.
Diana Rossini
Me stain. We have to have dinner together. Medium rare steaks. Let's go.
Chase Daniel
All right.
Diana Rossini
We'll be right back.
Chase Daniel
24 chefs, 24 culinary showdowns for 24 hours straight.
Jacob Robinson
Which chef will out Cook outpace, outlast the competition.
Chase Daniel
No chef escapes the clock.
Jacob Robinson
All new 24 and 24.
Chase Daniel
Last chef standing Sunday night at eight.
Jacob Robinson
See it first on Food Network Stream.
Chase Daniel
Next day on Max.
Jacob Robinson
There are people out there all across the country pushing boundaries to grow the game of golf. Like champion speed golfer Lauren Kupp, who plays faster than anyone else. And Will Lowry, whose work in the golf community inspires more kids kids to get into the game. As a champion partner of the Masters, bank of America supports everyone determined to find out what's possible in golf and in life. What would you like the power to do? Bank of America bank of America NA Member FDIC Copyright 2025 bank of America Corporation. All rights reserved. This episode is brought to you by State Farm. You might say all kinds of stuff when things go wrong, but these are the words you really need to remember. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is the there they've got options to fit your unique insurance needs, meaning you can talk to your agent to choose the coverage you need. Have coverage options to protect the things you value most. File a claim right on the State Farm mobile app, and even reach a real person when you need to talk to someone. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.
Diana Rossini
All right, back here on Scoop City, let's wrap this up with some Masters excitement. I know this is a football show, but we're little golf dorks and I know you've actually been to the Masters before, which is tell. Well, tell me about this.
Chase Daniel
It's amazing. It. It's one of the coolest events that I've probably ever been to. And you know what made it even more. What even made it better is so 2020 Covid happened, right? Pandemic shut down the world. I. I believe in 2021. I got to go back and check. It's. It seem 2021 or 2022. There was the first year they allowed people back on the course. Well, they only allowed like 20% of the normal capacity. That was the Masters I went to. So I could go up to a rope and just stand there like I'm talking. Like you see as many people as you take 80% less than that. And then it was. It was a one of a kind experience. You know, a lot of people don't understand. So obviously it's hard to tell on the broadcast, which they do a great job with the broadcast. It is very undulated, which means the course goes up and down. It is very difficult course to actually walk and these guys do it four days in a row. But it's very hilly. Like, like 18 and 10. Like, it's. It looks flat on TV, but it's not. And it's cool because there's different, like, little areas. Amen's Corner. You can go and set up and you can see, like, three different tee shots and a. In an approach shot. So you just find these little places on the golf course, and then you find the food carts, because that's the biggest thing for me is the food carts. And then you find the apparel. You go and you shop. I spent at least 2500 $3000. And you send it all back because it wasn't for me. It's like, if you get into the Masters, you have parents and dads and kids and all this stuff, and they're like, give me this and give me that. Give me that. So it's like one of the coolest. You can try to find a garden gnome. That's what I was trying to find. I couldn't find it, so I missed.
Diana Rossini
Out on an opportunity. My neighbor Toby texted me yesterday, was like, hey, I'm at the Masters. Let me know if you want anything. And I was like, a garden gnome.
Chase Daniel
It's very difficult to find.
Diana Rossini
All right, I'm going to text him after the show and ask him for a garden gnome. But also, I should probably just ask for, like, a T shirt too, right? How dumb am I?
Chase Daniel
Yeah, I should have worn this. I. I have. I bought like three or four polos and I bought three or four T shirts. I bought, like, a master's glove. I don't know. I. I don't even know where the half the stuff is, but it was cool when I bought it.
Diana Rossini
Yeah. So you mentioned the food, right? So it's ridiculously cheap there. Their menu is ridiculous. The egg salad is a dollar fifty. Their pork barbecue is three bucks. Their sodas are dollar two. Wine, six bucks. I'd be hammered. These prices are so cheap. Cheap blueberry muffin. $2. So if I gave you 10 bucks. Yeah, I'm spending a lot of money here. 10 bucks, actually.
Chase Daniel
It's not difficult.
Diana Rossini
What would you get?
Chase Daniel
Yeah, so, George, peach ice cream sandwich. Thousand percent. That's the one I'm starting with. That is the hardest thing. They sell out quite a bit. That's three bucks. Okay. I'm also getting an egg salad and a pimento cheese because I hot take. I think the egg salad sandwich is better, even though the pimento cheese, no crust. That's what they're known for. So that's six bucks. So I got four Bucks. The savory tomato pie is new this year, so it's a very limited edition. So I'm gonna go that. That's three bucks. I have a dollar left. Can I get anything for a dollar? No.
Diana Rossini
Give a tip.
Chase Daniel
But I'll give a tip. There you go. That's what I got. I got nine bucks. So egg salad, pimento cheese. The savory tomato pie looks amazing. And then Georgia peach ice cream for sure.
Diana Rossini
Yeah, I think I'm gonna copy the Georgia peach ice cream sandwich. That sounds delicious. Delicious. So that's three. I. I am not an egg salad person. I'm not a pimento cheese person. I think I'd go, you have to.
Chase Daniel
Get a pimento cheese.
Diana Rossini
Really?
Chase Daniel
Pork barbecue. What. What is that?
Diana Rossini
I mean, it's not like I ordered a peanut butter jelly. Sounds good too, though.
Chase Daniel
Or apple slices.
Diana Rossini
I would so get that. Like, take an apple slice of peanut butter.
Chase Daniel
You're at six bucks right now. You have four left left.
Diana Rossini
After you.
Chase Daniel
Pork barbecue.
Diana Rossini
Okay.
Chase Daniel
The breakfast sandwich is pretty good too. Not gonna lie.
Diana Rossini
I would probably ask for two more dollars and get a white wine. Have some fun out there.
Chase Daniel
You can take a dollar of mine, so you only need a dollar a.
Diana Rossini
That's so sweet. Yeah. So together. Together, we. We were able to make this work. So Scotty Scheffler had his champions dinner. He did tortilla soup and a Texas style chili, which. Tell me about that. I mean, you probably know everything about that.
Chase Daniel
It's just heavy beans, heavy meat. Heavy. Just like, lots of.
Diana Rossini
Oh, delicious.
Chase Daniel
Bomb stuff.
Dane Brugler
Yeah.
Diana Rossini
Bob, I've never heard that before.
Chase Daniel
You ever heard? Yes, for sure.
Diana Rossini
But I. I saw some of the. The golfers or say how spicy it was, like their mouths were on fire, which. Not sure if you want to experience that before you have to go play some golf.
Chase Daniel
But I want to go play the Masters, so I want to play Augusta. It's impossible. It'll probably never happen. I've had a couple teammates like Drew Brees and Alex Smith have gotten a chance to play it. They said it's amazing, you know, did you know that? It's like, I don't know the exact number. It's not super expensive to join, to be a member. It's just impossible to join. But I'm pretty sure, like, the initiation fee is like 20 grand or like something like crazy. Comparatively speaking, it's very, very, very, very little.
Diana Rossini
If you're not in the golf world and you hear 20k to join, you're like, that's a lot.
Chase Daniel
But compare there's some clubs in here in San Diego are in. 250,000 to join. I'm like, are you doing that?
Diana Rossini
Easy.
Dane Brugler
Palm Springs.
Chase Daniel
We just are at. There's, like, clubs that are, like, 500 grand. I'm like, what am I giving you 500 grand for? So I can shoot 100 on your golf course.
Diana Rossini
No, I know. No way. And we know Chase is not going to overspend on any shot.
Chase Daniel
No shot.
Diana Rossini
No shot. So if you were going to make a meal, if you had to pick the meal. So let's say you won it last year, and you get to come up with what's on the menu for the Champions dinner. I feel like there's so many directions you can go, and it must be, like, hard to figure out what it is.
Chase Daniel
I'm going Tex Mex. I'm going Tex Mex from Texas. Love that. I'm gonna go with, like. It's called a Mambo Taxi from Mikasina. It's like a frozen slushy margarita that'll put you on your butt. A couple of those. Feeling good?
Diana Rossini
Amazing.
Chase Daniel
Yep. And then my. I don't know. The appetizer. My main course appetizer would be some type of chicken fajitas with, like, a poblano cream sauce with, like, homemade flour tortillas. The appetizer, I don't know. Dessert, some type of cobbler down south, maybe a peach cobbler with vanilla bean homemade ice cream, a little caramel sauce on top. The appetizer, some type of raw fish. Maybe, like, a seafood bar. Maybe, like, you know, those, like, seafood towers.
Diana Rossini
Breakfast. You sound hungry.
Chase Daniel
I'm hungry. I am hungry. But you know those seafood towers? You get those steakhouses where they have, like, claws and, like, that's probably. That's probably where I would go.
Diana Rossini
The first time I ever had dinner with Sean Payton. He ordered that seafood tower. It was at the Combines, and I was so nervous, and I was there with a few reporters because I had never met him before, and. And he looks at me, he goes, you don't talk a lot, huh? Which, I mean, you talk a lot. Talk about a bad read by him. And so I said, no, that's not it. I'm just allergic to seafood. And he's like, what a.
Chase Daniel
What a loss, Sean.
Diana Rossini
I'm like. I'm like, just kidding. But his whole face was like, oh.
Chase Daniel
I was just like, that's a good one.
Diana Rossini
And then ever since then, like, we always hit it all, because he always laughed about that. He's like, remember when he told Me you're allergic to. So for me, okay, I'm gonna go appetizers, probably an antipast which you call charcuterie.
Chase Daniel
Surprise, surprise.
Diana Rossini
So just like a. Just a big, like just pass around with breads, olive oil. For my main course, I would do linguine clams. So like a garlic wine sauce over like a spaghetti with a little bit of parmesan cheese on. Oh. So I will make.
Chase Daniel
I've never had it.
Diana Rossini
I promise I will make it. It is amazing. We eat it all the time. For dinner, I would have friendlies ship the Reese's Pieces Sundays in as the dessert because everyone loves a Reese's piece of sundae.
Chase Daniel
You and this friendlies, man.
Diana Rossini
I love it. Had it the other day. I'm gonna be £500 if I don't stop. I hope. I hope the one by me goes out of business too, because. Because I am keeping that roof on that store.
Chase Daniel
What do you do? Serve white wine with the linguine and clams?
Diana Rossini
Oh, yeah. Do a little white wine. Oh, yeah, you're right. Good cocktail idea. I would do white wine with the linguine clams, but definitely a cappuccino with the dessert, with the sundae afterwards, and then maybe a dessert wine to just wrap it up at the end.
Dane Brugler
A little port.
Chase Daniel
A little port wine. I like it.
Diana Rossini
A little port wine. And why not shots of fireball before we go to bed. Oh, my God.
Chase Daniel
Okay, that's where you lost me. It was a really good meal until that.
Diana Rossini
That right? But is it that that right there is me in a nutshell. So I'm never going to win the Masters. That menu will never appear anywhere. Although the first golfer that has any of those biggest fan over here, if that ever becomes a thing, so, so much fun. I can't wait to watch. Can't wait to take naps and. And just have it on in my hat. We have all the TVs on in the house with it just playing all weekend long. It's great. Look, we're getting close to the draft, my friend. So next week we'll juice this thing up, we'll get some more intel, more information, and we'll see if we. If we can learn more about Cleveland, learn more about. About New York, because as. As we get closer here, we'll find out more info. You enjoy your golf. Try to go out there and. And pretend you're playing Augusta even though you know it's not that close to it.
Chase Daniel
But that's set them straight.
Diana Rossini
All right, guys, we'll see you next time.
Chase Daniel
Bye, guys. Tag me next time.
Diana Rossini
Sa.
Scoop City: Have the Browns or Giants Fallen in Love with Travis Hunter & Dane Brugler Breaks Down 2025 NFL Draft
Released on April 11, 2025
Hosts:
In this episode of Scoop City: A Show About the NFL, hosts Diana Rossini and Chase Daniel delve deep into the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft, focusing on whether the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants have set their sights on standout prospect Travis Hunter. Additionally, they welcome draft expert Dane Brugler to provide an in-depth analysis of the draft landscape.
Chase kicks off the show with exciting news about Degree Cool Rush deodorant returning to its original formula, eliciting supportive comments from Diana. This light-hearted exchange sets a relaxed tone for the episode.
Chase Daniel [02:14]: "Degree Cool Rush is back and it smells like victory for all of us."
Diana Rossini [03:01]: "Just saying, you will be great."
Diana opens the discussion by highlighting the unpredictable nature of the NFL Draft, emphasizing that even billion-dollar teams often misjudge their top quarterback picks.
Diana Rossini [05:49]: "The draft is a crapshoot. 40% of the time is such a low hit rate."
Chase concurs, noting the complexities and uncertainties teams face in selecting franchise-defining players.
Chase Daniel [05:53]: "Teams are billion dollar industries and they don't know."
The conversation pivots to the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants, both of whom are under scrutiny regarding their quarterback selections and whether they should prioritize Travis Hunter or opt for the best available talent.
Cleveland Browns: With a recent trade for Kenny Pickett and discussions around Shador Sanders and Jackson Dart, the Browns are at a crossroads. Diana suggests that the Browns might benefit more from selecting Abdul Carter, a defensive end with high impact potential, rather than investing further in quarterback prospects that may not provide immediate returns.
Chase Daniel [12:23]: "They don't need quarterback. You, you traded for Kenny Pickett. You go get Kirk Cousins, have Atlanta pay something."
Diana Rossini [12:32]: "But if you're unsure of him, take the best player available."
New York Giants: The Giants face immense pressure to make the playoffs to retain Head Coach Brian Daboll and GM Joe Judge. Diana and Chase debate whether the Giants should continue relying on veterans Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston or take a gamble on a rookie quarterback like Shador Sanders or Jackson Dart. The consensus leans towards selecting the best available player to bolster their defense rather than risking another uncertain quarterback pick.
Diana Rossini [16:02]: "They have no idea if your team is going to get it right."
Chase Daniel [16:50]: "I do think if they are going to draft a quarterback he has to start right away and he has to show hope."
Dane Brugler, the esteemed NFL draft writer behind "The Beast," joins the conversation to provide expert analysis on the draft class. He emphasizes the unpredictable quarterback landscape and the rarity of finding a top-tier QB in the early rounds.
Dane Brugler [35:11]: "The Beast is the most comprehensive draft guide in the industry. Everybody reads this thing."
Dane highlights standout players like Cam Ward, projected to be the number one pick by the Tennessee Titans, and discusses the implications of such selections on team strategies.
Dane Brugler [38:37]: "Cam Ward's going to go number one to the Titans."
Travis Hunter: Widely regarded as the cleanest player in the draft, Hunter's versatility as a cornerback and a potential offensive weapon makes him a coveted asset. Teams are divided on whether to maximize his defensive capabilities or leverage his offensive skills to impact the scoreboard.
Dane Brugler [44:04]: "Teams believe it's Travis Hunter."
Shador Sanders and Jackson Dart: While Shields Sanders is seen as a solid quarterback prospect, his ceiling remains a question mark. Jackson Dart, though talented, is perceived as a developmental project rather than an immediate starter.
Dane Brugler [40:32]: "Shador could do it. What's his ceiling?"
The episode features a segment on New England Patriots' Head Coach Mike Vrabel, showcasing his approach to setting team culture through disciplined and respectful communication.
Mike Vrabel [25:13]: "Respect the team... Be on time. Communicate."
Chase appreciates Vrabel's straightforward and impactful message, drawing parallels to his experiences with other successful coaches.
Chase Daniel [26:37]: "What every NFL coach does is set the culture from day one."
While primarily an NFL-focused show, Diana and Chase share their experiences from the Masters golf tournament, blending sports narratives and personal anecdotes. They discuss the atmosphere, culinary delights, and the challenges of managing professional sports schedules alongside personal interests.
Chase Daniel [55:12]: "It's one of the coolest events that I've probably ever been to."
As the episode wraps up, Diana and Chase reflect on the complexities of the upcoming draft, the strategies of key teams like the Browns and Giants, and the invaluable insights provided by Dane Brugler. They also tease future discussions, including deeper dives into team strategies and the Masters tournament.
Dane Brugler [51:33]: "This receiver class is not last year. There are still some good receivers in this class."
Diana Rossini [64:50]: "We just don't know. We do, we think it's to go with Russell and Jameis, but we understand the risks that come with that."
Listeners are encouraged to engage with The Beast and subscribe to Scoop City for ongoing coverage and expert analysis.
This episode of Scoop City offers a comprehensive exploration of the 2025 NFL Draft, dissecting team strategies, player potentials, and the overarching unpredictability that defines NFL offseason activities. With expert insights from Dane Brugler and engaging discussions between Diana and Chase, listeners gain a nuanced understanding of what to expect in the upcoming draft and beyond.