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- [00:00]
Colin Cowherd
Banking with Capital One helps you keep more money in your wallet with no fees or minimums on checking accounts and no overdraft fees. Just ask the Capital One Bank Guy. It's pretty much all he talks about in a good way. He'd also tell you that this podcast.
- [00:15]
Jason McIntyre
Is his favorite podcast too. Oh, really? Thanks Capital One Bank Guy. What's in your wallet?
- [00:21]
Colin Cowherd
Terms apply. See CapitalOne.com Bank Capital One NA Member.
- [00:27]
Jeremy Hobson
FDIC we live in a divided country and our media couldn't be more polarizing. That's why we started the Middle with Jeremy Hobson. It's about bringing voices not from the extremes, but from the vast middle into the national conversation. Each week we hear from ordinary Americans from all over the country. And when you subscribe to the Middle, you also get an episode each week called One Thing Trump did that focuses on just one item from the avalanche of news. Listen to the Middle with Jeremy Hobson on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [00:58]
Greg Rosenthal
What's up everyone? It's Greg Rosenthal and I'm teaming up with the King of Spring, Daniel Jeremiah. He requires me to say that we're going to be bringing you 40s and free agents, the only podcast you'll need this NFL draft season. From DJs, mock drafts to my top 101 free agents, we'll have it covered for you with all new episodes every Thursday, keeping you up to date as we head to the NFL Draft. Listen to 40s and free agents on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [01:27]
Colin Cowherd
Thanks for listening to the Best of the Herd podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio and noon to 3 Eastern, 9am to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the herd@foxsportsradio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR.
- [01:47]
Jason McIntyre
This is the Best of the Herd with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio. Welcome to the Herd on a beautiful Thursday out here in Los Angeles. Me Jason McIntyre still in for Colin Coward. Now, I haven't talked to him in a couple days. I don't know if he's scuba diving, parasailing. I don't know what he's doing in a clear blue water area that I'm not allowed to reveal, but I'm joined by Alex Curry. Alex is so fired up for today's show. Oh my gosh, last night was magical.
- [02:22]
Alex Curry
Like that was what happened.
- [02:23]
Jason McIntyre
Did you have a hot Date last night.
- [02:25]
Rick Bucher
Night?
- [02:25]
Jason McIntyre
What? What are you talking about?
- [02:26]
Colin Cowherd
No.
- [02:27]
Jason McIntyre
Oh, Luca. D. I don't know.
- [02:29]
Alex Curry
Like, Luca. Like, I felt like that was his official arrival to the Lakers. Like, best game we saw the tears, which was. I started crying. I was like, oh, no you didn't. Happening. I cry when I see other people cry. I cry at everything. Like I'm a very emotional human.
- [02:45]
Jason McIntyre
I actually vomit when I see other people vomiting, which is similar. Yeah, it's not great, but. No, it's not.
- [02:50]
Alex Curry
Let's not start.
- [02:52]
Jason McIntyre
Let's not start the show with vomit. Let's start with the tears, cuz the tears were flowing. And then the points were last night in Dallas for Luca Doncic. My man. You know, this is real. Honestly, guys, I'm not like a star struck individual, but I did run into Steph Curry a couple years ago. I was like, steph, I got to get a photo. You know, there's only a handful of athletes I do that for, and Luka Doncic is right there at the top. I am so in awe of this guy. To watch him crying pregame back in Dallas last night, sitting on the bench, and then he comes in and just starts dropping threes. Folks, it was a phenomenal event last night in Dallas. You don't see this often. And I'm so happy for Luka Doncic. You guys know I'm a Laker fan, obviously, but watching him watch that tribute video. And ps, there was a lot of skinny Luca in that tribute video. He has put on some weight. No doubt about it. We'll get to Nico Harrison and why he traded him shortly. But then Luca just comes out. Look at him cooking. Step back 3ad. How you like that? It was a master class from Luca. 45 points. His, I guess you'd say his best game as a Laker. It's only game 27, folks. That's like one third of a regular season with the Lakers. Luca was cooking all night. Lakers get the win. And I believe last night's game was pretty much a blueprint for what we'll see in the playoffs. Luca early set the tone. He's fresh. Nobody can guard him.
- [04:10]
Colin Cowherd
I'm sorry.
- [04:11]
Jason McIntyre
Even though he's heavier than he used to be, nobody can guard Luka Doncic. And then, you know, Luka gets his rest. LeBron comes in late as the closer. 14 for LeBron in the fourth. Lakers inch closer to that coveted third seed. And if you look at what Luca did in the first half, he had 31 points. The Mav starters had 35. Luca was phenomenal. And after the game, here's Luca talking about the tribute video and his return to Dallas. So many emotions when I was watching that video, I was like, there's no way I'm playing this game. But, you know, all my teammates have my back.
- [04:46]
Greg Rosenthal
They were really supporting me.
- [04:47]
Jason McIntyre
So I really appreciate that, folks. It was an event like we haven't seen before in sports, okay? Most of these guys who leave their franchises do it willingly, voluntarily. I want out. LeBron departs Cleveland from Miami. I'm taking my talents to South Beach. Well, when he went back to Cleveland, the vibe was hostile. The environment was tense. It was like, oh, this could get ugly. Let's not anybody do anything stupid. And it was just like, not a great atmosphere, okay? And then Kevin Durant, right, starts his career in Seattle, and then Oklahoma City, and then he decides, I'm out. I don't want to be here anymore. And it was a smart move by LeBron to go to Miami. We agree. It was a smart move by Kevin Durant to leave OKC for Golden State. Many of you disagree. I think that was a genius move by Kevin Durant. I totally agree with it. I've defended it for years. But when KD went back to Oklahoma City, he was met with venom, bile, anger, all the cupcake nonsense started by his frenemy Russell Westbrook. Folks, this is something we haven't seen before. Luca was met with an applause the second he walked into the arena. You saw Lakers Luka jerseys on Mavs fans. It was a crazy setting. And again, I mean, I can't even think of anything across any sport where we've seen this before. And for Luca to thrive in that environment after crying, I will say I loved that. J.J. redick had them give the take foul late in the game with about 90 seconds left just so they could sub out Luca. And then it was a round of applause, right? Every whole arena, standing ovation for Luca. He gets to the bench, and LeBron is leading the. Luca. Luca, like Austin, Reeves, LeBron, the whole bench, they're fired up, standing up, and the arena's backing Luca. This is Dallas. It was just a scene. We haven't seen that before. I don't know that we'll see one of those again. And we'll get to why shortly. But I want to hear. I want you to hear JJ Redick talk about everything that encompassed Luca going home. This is great. The. The moment with the tribute video and him sitting by himself and getting to actually live that and live in the moment and allowing himself to Be vulnerable and his teammates support. Some of his teammates got emotional, some of the coaches got emotional. It was a beautiful moment. Thought the video was great, but I think just his ability to then go perform, lights turn on, he's teary eyed still as we walk out on the court for the tip ball, to have the emotional resolve to then go put on that kind of performance, it's, it's superhuman. That's a great way. JJ Redick is so good by the way, as a Lakers coach. Love him. And I saw interesting stat from espn. Last night was the first time Dirk Nowitzki attended a Dallas home game since the trade. Okay. He went to Luca's first game with the Lakers. Okay. He's now. This is his first game at a Dallas, at the arena since they dealt Luka. What does that tell you? And this is the other angle I want to get to. I talked earlier this week about I'm a risk taker by nature. Whether it's moving my family across the country, quitting my job to start a website. You know, obviously I like gambling. I enjoy going to Vegas. I don't know what word I would use to describe my sports gambling habits. I like prolific but you know, not every season is winning. I'm a risk taker and I think a lot of people in this industry are. You kind of got to, you put yourself out there. I'm on national TV talking about how I love Steph Curry and Luka Doncic. Like, this isn't normal behavior. Nor is what Nico Harrison did in Dallas, trading Luka Doncic. Now we drilled down on this in the morning meeting trying to figure out like a, can they rebound from this and be like, where do you go from here if you're Nico Harrison? And. And I started thinking about it. I, I was going to have my morning donut, but it didn't show up in the dressing room this morning. I don't know, I guess they forgot it. You know, I've been needing some sugar energy to get fired up for the show. Cowherd's on magnesium. I've been using donuts. And I just wonder if Nico Harrison has such a bad spot right now for himself. There were fire Nico chants throughout the arena last night. It's like, luca, Luca, we love you, Nico Harrison. Fire Nico and that people. And then they have the video of him in the tunnel just standing there stone faced, like, oh my gosh, what am I going to do to dig out of this hole? I don't know that they can get out of it and stop with the. Hey, Kyrie's gonna come back from the acl, maybe by the All Star break next year. It's gonna be fine, folks. They've got Kyrie and AD as their. As their. Like, their nucleus. Those are two guys who are often injured. They've played together for 25 minutes. That's it on the court since the trade. And I. I started to have this moment of clarity, and I'm like, wait a minute, wait a minute. Nico Harrison has been a big swing guy. He took a big swing for Kyrie, and it worked when he was opposite Luka Doncic. Then the next year, he goes out and gets PJ Washington and. And Daniel Gafford, and everybody's like, I don't know about those guys. They haven't done anything. Those swings worked. Dallas got to the finals. Then he took a swing he didn't need to. Shipping Luca to the Lakers. Lakers fans, by the way, haven't been this excited about a star coming to town since Pau Gasol was gifted to them. Didn't we get the Statue of Liberty from, like, Paris or something? Gosh, I probably butchered that, but it felt like that's what their teams are just handing the Lakers stars. Here's Pau Gasol, here's Luka Doncic, and I don't know if Nico has any way out of this. If this morning, I'm sure he's looking at some of the videos. I'm sure he could say I'm not paying attention. There's a video of Mark Cuban when the fire Nico chants are happening. Fans near Mark Cuban have a camera on him, and Mark Cuban's just like, what have. What have I. What. What has happened since I left this organization as the owner? I mean, he looked like a emperor of Rome who had, like, stepped down, and now Rome's got this new emperor, and it's just not going good at all. I mean, they were in the finals less than a year ago. And I keep coming back to this. When you are a big swing guy by nature, and now your last swing is starting to be compared to the Babe Ruth trade, which is, you know, over the last hundred years and change in sports, considered the worst trade ever. Okay? I think the Red Sox were cursed for, like, a hundred years. You have to sort of wonder, how does he get out of this? And it's not going to just be, oh, Kyrie's coming back. And I started to look at the salary cap and the draft picks. Dallas does have three draft picks in the first round this year. They're obviously not going to be great picks, but you start to wonder who was Kyrie's guy who followed him to Brooklyn. Kevin Durant. And I wonder if Mr. Big Swing, Nico Harrison. Hey, man, we got to do something. Do you make a move in this off season for Kevin Durant? Now, you could be compounding your mistake. You know us investors, we love compound interest. Nico Harrison is the gambler who's down big and decides, hey, can I get the. The car? My. The title to my car. Let me toss that in there. Here's my watch. And he's just trying desperately to dig out of a hole. I wonder if he makes a big swing here and goes after, say, a Kevin Durant. Hey, kd, you just want to hoop. We got kyrie, we got A.D. can you come on down? We'll give up everything not bolted down and all the draft picks give us Kevin Durant. They. They need to do something because at this point, this has to be a franchise low for the Mavs since, you know, the Roy Tarpley days back in the 80s, that was a mess. I won't even get into it, but I. I've. I've always been a Luka Doncic fan. And to see him cry on the bench because they traded him. It's very clear, people, he did not want to go. I'm not saying he didn't want to go to the Lakers, but he loved it in Dallas. He was Mr. Dallas. There's videos of him with the cowboy hat on. Howdy, partner. Like he had embraced his new city. They loved him. And then one guy or the owner, some debate as to who was driving force, but it was pretty clear, like, hey, let's get rid of Luca. And I, and I get it. On some level, he does. Does look heavier than he did in his first three years when he was cooking everybody in the league. But folks, historically, this is going to go down as one of the biggest screw ups in NBA history. I mean, you could deny it all you want. If Luca's able to stay healthy, he's on track to be a top 10 player all time. That's just a fact. If you look at the numbers, he is on track to be a top 10 player all time. Now, obviously. Will the titles come with them? We'll see. I think they're going to the finals this year. I think the lakers with Luca, LeBron, Austin Reaves, they're looking at the number three seed. And I'm sure you guys saw what else happened around the league last night. Golden State warriors lose at the Buzzer and now in the play, in. It's almost like the stars are aligning for Luca and the Lakers. So, Alex, you cried last night as Luca.
- [13:59]
Alex Curry
I'm an emotional person. And you. When you followed that whole trade situation and you saw how heartbroken Luca was and shocked Luca was with the trade situation, you could tell how much it meant to him. And when you see, like, a big guy, an athlete who is all the media around him, allow himself to get that emotional, how do you not get emotional? And it's just it again, like you were just talking about. It's not Nico. It's the ownership. I have, like, a way more conspiracy theory, like, idea to this whole trade situation. Like, it's not like you don't just. It's not his weight. It's. It's not like his play. He's one of the greatest, like, futures and players right now in the NBA. Like, I think it's ownership, and they own casinos and they want to build a casino complex, and you're not going to be able to do that. Dallas isn't letting them do it right now. It's not working out. So you can't, like, threaten to move the team or try to get what you want. If you have a championship team and one of the best players in the NBA on your team, Like, I follow the money like that. That's where my eye is here. Like, it's. They're not trying to win.
- [15:04]
Jason McIntyre
Yeah.
- [15:04]
Alex Curry
Like, it was trying to do the opposite situation. But just to go off the Luca situation, there was a really cool stat I saw last night, and he's only the second player with a 45 point game for and against the same team in the NBA season since Wilt. Wilt Chamberlain.
- [15:20]
Jason McIntyre
Yeah.
- [15:20]
Alex Curry
Only other. Only other player to do that.
- [15:22]
Jason McIntyre
The staff just notified me. We have sound of the fire. Nico. Chance and I get fired up for Chance. Guys, I don't mind leading a chance on the sideline for my daughter's volleyball team. Here's the fire Nico chants from last night.
- [15:54]
Alex Curry
Dude, that is insane.
- [15:55]
Jason McIntyre
Do you know how awkward that is when everyone around you knows, oh, man, I'm standing next to the dude. It's not his. 25,000 people are yelling fire.
- [16:05]
Alex Curry
Taking the blame. He was the one who had to make the call and make the move. But there's some debate over that comes from ownership. And you heard Mark Cuban, like, when he was asked about it years ago, he's like, you'll find me getting a divorce from my wife before I trade. Luke. I don't like it.
- [16:19]
Jason McIntyre
I mean, I get it.
- [16:20]
Alex Curry
That's why it's like an ownership this.
- [16:22]
Jason McIntyre
Morning who think the owner was behind it.
- [16:24]
Alex Curry
Yes.
- [16:25]
Jason McIntyre
Know that the owner's smart enough. He's just a money guy. Nico, which is love. Kyrie loves. AD has known them for years.
- [16:31]
Alex Curry
I don't think he's a money guy. They own casinos. They are one of the richest owners.
- [16:36]
Jason McIntyre
They're going to be down. American figures, Alex. Based on according to an ESPN story, their merch is down. The ticket sales are down.
- [16:43]
Alex Curry
They want a casino complex. That's the biggest thing that they want.
- [16:46]
Jason McIntyre
The sponsors are the matter.
- [16:48]
Alex Curry
Like, that's like chump change, chump change for them.
- [16:51]
Jason McIntyre
Gosh, this is bad.
- [16:51]
Alex Curry
They want to move locations.
- [16:53]
Jason McIntyre
Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the iHeartradio.
- [17:03]
Jeremy Hobson
We live in a divided country.
- [17:05]
Jason McIntyre
I am a lifelong Republican with all.
- [17:07]
Jeremy Hobson
Kinds of different people.
- [17:09]
Alex Curry
You know, I'm a mother, I'm a grandmother.
- [17:11]
Jeremy Hobson
That's why we started the Middle with Jeremy Hobson. It's about bringing voices not from the extremes, but from the vast middle into the national conversation.
- [17:19]
Jason McIntyre
Anna, I'm calling from Las Vegas.
- [17:22]
Jeremy Hobson
Each week we bring together an all star panel. Mark Cuban, so great to have you on the Middle.
- [17:27]
Rick Bucher
Thanks for having me, Jeremy.
- [17:28]
Jeremy Hobson
Neil DeGrasse Tyson, welcome to the Middle.
- [17:30]
Jason McIntyre
Thanks for having me.
- [17:30]
Jeremy Hobson
And hear from ordinary Americans from all over the country on the most important issues.
- [17:35]
Jason McIntyre
Hi, my name is Venkat. I'm calling you from Atlanta, Georgia.
- [17:39]
Jeremy Hobson
And when you subscribe to the Middle, you also get an episode each week called One Thing Trump did that focuses on just one item from the avalanche of news.
- [17:47]
Jason McIntyre
We should be examining what our government spends its money on and are these jobs necessary? And what are we doing here?
- [17:53]
Colin Cowherd
But that doesn't seem to be what.
- [17:54]
Jason McIntyre
We'Re doing this situation.
- [17:55]
Jeremy Hobson
Listen to the Middle with Jeremy Hobson on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [18:01]
Greg Rosenthal
What's up, everyone? It's Greg Rosenthal, and I'm teaming up with the King of spring, Daniel Jeremiah. He requires me to say that we're going to be bringing you 40s and free agents, the only podcast you'll need this NFL draft season. From DJs, mock drafts to my top 101, free agents will have it covered for you with all new episodes every Thursday keeping you up to date as we head to the NFL Draft. Listen to 40s and free agents on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or Wherever you get your podcast back here on.
- [18:31]
Jason McIntyre
The Herd, joined by the great Rick Buer, Fox Sports NBA analyst he's been covering the league for. Since Michael Jordan was a factor. That's how long it's been, Rick. I've never seen a night.
- [18:44]
Rick Bucher
It's always good to start the show with shade.
- [18:47]
Jason McIntyre
I got to throw some shade up, mj. Not you, of course. I've never seen a night like that before. Luca crying that drops 45. They want to fire the GM. I mean, part of me wants to ask, do you have Nico's number? Can we call him up?
- [18:59]
Rick Bucher
I do.
- [19:00]
Jason McIntyre
He's such a coward. He doesn't want to meet the media. I talked to him once and now he's like, just standing down.
- [19:06]
Rick Bucher
I'm not going to pile on Nico 1 because ownership didn't want to pay the 345 million and he had to be the guy that did the dirty work. And, you know, I'm not saying that he didn't on some level agree with the move, but. And it remains to be seen, you know, as dramatic as last night was, as impactful as it was, I will say this, it was, it will go down in history as one of the most heart tugging moments in sports history. Because the trembling lip and the. I mean, that was it. The close up and the trembling lip and the tears made you realize how much Luca loved being a Dallas Maverick. And to have a great player like that, who's that tied to a franchise, that's. That's what people will not forget. And that's what made it so powerful. I don't even know that he had to have a great game, but the fact that he then had 45 and did all the Luca magic things that he does, that's, that's what. Just that, that buried it for you.
- [20:13]
Jason McIntyre
Yeah. By the way, how was Anthony Davis last night for the Mavs, huh? How's that trade working out for Dallas?
- [20:19]
Rick Bucher
Why, why do you say that with such gleam?
- [20:21]
Jason McIntyre
I like AD but you know, he, him and Klay Thompson have to be like, what do we do to deserve this?
- [20:26]
Rick Bucher
No, well, yeah, well, you, you need Kyrie Irving to play the role. I mean, essentially, it's the warriors without Steph Curry. And then you'd be looking at, you know, Jimmy Butler going, what? What did I do to deserve this? This isn't what I signed up for. So I think that's, that's part of it. And look, the change between Luka and Anthony Davis, the thing that always bothered me and still bothers me is that we're rewriting this now with, with him and the Lakers, that he, you know, he just never became the player that LeBron needed him to be for LeBron to go win another championship.
- [21:01]
Jason McIntyre
That's out there.
- [21:02]
Rick Bucher
That's being said. Like saying that that's the suggestion is. Is that he was holding LeBron back offensively. And now you see what, what LeBron is still capable of doing, Right? Well, of course, because Luka is a playmaker. Anthony Davis, you know, this, this whole we're going to play through AD and all that. He's. LeBron's going to take a step back and AD is going to take a step forward. That offensively, that was never going to work. You were asking adb, AD to be something that he's never been. He is a defensive backbone, and he's a great stretch four. He can do a great offensive rebounder. But don't ask him to, like, orchestrate your offense, because he's never done that.
- [21:43]
Jason McIntyre
It's weird. I don't know who said it. It might have been Broussard. Yeah, but like this. People were saying that Kyrie was the best wingman ever for LeBron or most skilled player, maybe. And I'm just like, LeBron's never been with a playmaker like this. Kyrie and Wade were scorers.
- [21:58]
Rick Bucher
Yeah.
- [21:59]
Jason McIntyre
You know, Luka basically just carried the first half. Luka do everything. And what happens late, LeBron 14 points in the fourth because he looks fresh as a daisy and he can attack the rim and get every rebound.
- [22:07]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah.
- [22:07]
Rick Bucher
And he's not. I mean, he's playing off the ball. He's playing off of all the attention that Luka is creating. He gets to be the number two now and take advantage of that. And you got LeBron James, even at 40, as your number two. You're in pretty good shape. I mean, look, he's been around forever. He's just, he's really smart. I, I will say this. I. He deserves tremendous credit. I never, I, I didn't know if LeBron could play off the ball as well as he has, but his ability to move off the ball, his ability, ability to catch and shoot, it's. It's been very impressive.
- [22:43]
Jason McIntyre
Yeah. You know, Luka, Doncic has almost become a polarizing figure. The way he yells at refs. He was ejected from the OKC game, and I kind of.
- [22:52]
Rick Bucher
Did you see him last night?
- [22:53]
Jason McIntyre
They rescinded the tech last night, by the way. Did you see that right before the game? I know that second technical.
- [22:57]
Rick Bucher
Did you see him during the game last night, he did not say a peep. Oh, yes, like, when he did approach the referees, it was, he was almost.
- [23:07]
Jason McIntyre
Like whispering, timid, like, oh, it was.
- [23:09]
Rick Bucher
Yeah, that, like I, this is, this is the thing. Look, there's a lot of, a lot of the reasons that the Dallas Mavericks decided we didn't want to, we don't want to invest in him in the, in the, for the long term. We're legitimate chronic injuries, never in shape, like gains weight in the off season, like all of those things. And, and I, and I understand that you go to the finals against Boston and you're harping on the referees and you're not being able to defend at a high level and you're conditioning, whether that was because of injury or whatever, all of those cost you a championship. And you come back and you're not demonstrably a different player. You're doing all the same things. You're not in shape, you get injured again, you're still harping on the referees. So if you lose a championship because of those things and you don't change, it's like, well, is he ever going to change? But here's the thing. Now that he's had this, oh, I'm expendable or I've, I don't rule the roost. Like, all of this may inspire him to change, but I don't know if it ever would have happened if he had stayed in a Dallas Maverick uniform.
- [24:22]
Jason McIntyre
That's fair to. I totally get that.
- [24:24]
Rick Bucher
But Rick, I am nothing.
- [24:26]
Jason McIntyre
All those negatives. I am nothing but all that negative stuff you just said. Yeah, and he still took them to the finals last year. So it's like, oh, he's overweight and he's okay. He still got them to the Finals.
- [24:37]
Rick Bucher
But they're not paying him for what he did. They're paying him the 345 million for what he's going to do over the next five years. And that's why, as look the visuals last night, I'm almost ready to say, no matter what happens, it's a bad trade because of what we saw last night. But that said, the true measure of just how bad this trade was is going to be determined over the next five years. Not last night.
- [25:07]
Jason McIntyre
Well, it's always a great selling point. Hey, give us five years. Hey, you know these tariffs that we're going to implement, it's a long term play. Just be patient, dude. Trust. The process has been going for what, a decade now? This stuff, you can't sell that to NBA fans. Hey, no, you can't.
- [25:23]
Rick Bucher
No, you can't.
- [25:23]
Jason McIntyre
No, I want answers now. I want to get back to the championship now.
- [25:27]
Rick Bucher
I get that. I get. Well, and they were hoping that Kyrie, a healthy Kyrie and AD and all the other pieces, they'd be able to. They'd be able to get that done. Look, I'm not. I'm not defending it. I'm just explaining the logic behind it. And you can't forecast injuries. And I know what you're going to say. Well, with Kyrie and A.D. you can.
- [25:46]
Jason McIntyre
Yeah.
- [25:47]
Rick Bucher
Okay, so.
- [25:48]
Jason McIntyre
Okay, so let's sell me. If you're with the Mavericks front office, you know, your boys with Nico and. And this governor clown. Go ahead, sell me. I'm a fan. Hey, Patience. Give me a. Give us a few years.
- [25:59]
Rick Bucher
Go ahead.
- [25:59]
Jason McIntyre
Let me. Let me hear it. Let's hear this. I. I just don't think anything is going to placate.
- [26:04]
Jeremy Hobson
No, you can't.
- [26:05]
Rick Bucher
You're right. You're right, you're right. But again, it's. It's. I'm not trying to. The. The. The deed is done.
- [26:12]
Jason McIntyre
Yeah, the deed.
- [26:12]
Rick Bucher
I can't sell you on anything at this point. I. I would just. I'd point to a Joel Embiid. I'd point to a Zion Williamson. I would say, look, there are teams that had players not as good as Luca, but what does it matter if the guy's injured and not available and they load up on him? And then now where are you stuck? You're stuck in purgatory. Okay, so that's.
- [26:37]
Jason McIntyre
That's Giant, Embiid. You're right. Out of shape. Constantly. Never took a team to the finals. Lucas. Games played. 70s, 66, 65, 66. That's not like chop liver. That would still qualify him for all NBA. He's not missing a full season. I mean, Zion is a mess. I'm sure you saw the latest story.
- [26:54]
Rick Bucher
Look, I'm not making a straight line comparison again to what they've done as opposed to what you're looking at going in the future. Lucas, 25, 26 years old. So there's two ways to look at that. One, he's 25 and 26 years old, and he's had the same calf injury three times within a year.
- [27:12]
Jason McIntyre
Not great.
- [27:12]
Rick Bucher
And missed and missed games. Right. The flip side is he's 25, 26 years old. You know what? He's going to mature. He's going to like. He's going to get his act together, and you don't want to miss out when he Gets his act together.
- [27:24]
Jason McIntyre
When did you get your act together? Because I know I didn't until I was like, mid-30s. It took me a little while. Right?
- [27:29]
Rick Bucher
I'm right there with you. Late 20s, early 30s. But the shelf life, you know, we've got a little more Runway than an NBA player.
- [27:39]
Jason McIntyre
All right, so you were on Monday, but we did not cover it. Mike Malone, fired in this NBA season, has been crazy. Between the Luca trade, firing the Memphis coach, and now firing the Nuggets coach, it sounds like the GM and the coach hated each other. I'm reading Cold War.
- [27:55]
Rick Bucher
Oh, yeah. No, there's no question. The problem that Michael Malone had was, as a GM texted me the morning it happened. I said, like, what's going on? Taylor Jenkins and now Mike Malone, he goes, when you don't get along with people and you're losing, you put yourself in harm's way. And Mike Malone, in spite of being there for 10 years, never really cultivated any. Nobody had his back. He didn't cultivate relationships. So he and Calvin Booth, completely at odds from almost the start. And that worked against Mike because the guys that were. That were Mike advocates in the locker room. Bruce Brown, I'm told, was a Mike Malone guy. KCP was a Mike Malone guy. Like, all those guys got moved along. And what happens is your ratio changes. You may have some guys in there that aren't feeling him, but as long as you have enough of them that are. That are backing the coach, then you can kind of work through that. But when it becomes. The ratio becomes so unbalanced. Now it's now. Now you got a quorum in there that are. That are chirping about the coach. That's. And then you start losing. Yeah, that's a problem.
- [29:11]
Jason McIntyre
Some big words here. Quorum, educating the audience. So Nuggets last night, first game without Malone.
- [29:16]
Rick Bucher
I was a writer before.
- [29:17]
Jason McIntyre
Oh, that's right. I forgot. You're a big time writer. Russell Westbrook. Fewest minutes he's played in months.
- [29:23]
Rick Bucher
Yeah.
- [29:24]
Jason McIntyre
And Jalen Pickett started and played pretty damn good. Like, seven people listening to the show know who Jalen Pickett is. It seems like the old versus young guys was a bit of an issue there. Malone doesn't trust the young guys like the veterans, which I get, you know.
- [29:38]
Rick Bucher
Yeah. No, no, no, no. I mean, look, Mike's an old school coach.
- [29:42]
Jason McIntyre
Yeah.
- [29:42]
Rick Bucher
And you have a team that's in transition, and it works with a guy like Jokic. You know, for those people out there that are like, well, they wouldn't have fired they wouldn't have fired Mike without, you know, Jokic's approval. And as Jokic said, they came to him and told him what they were going to do. They didn't ask him. Right. Because Jokic grew up in Serbia. Like over there, the coach is king. It's not player empowerment over there. The organization, the coach, they run the show. And you are fortunate that you're a player. And so that's his mindset here. He wasn't about to walk into Josh Kroenke's office and say, hey, it's either me or him. That's just not in the DNA of any European player.
- [30:25]
Jason McIntyre
So we got about a minute left. Warriors lose at the buzzer last night. Listen, last week not just lost, lost.
- [30:32]
Rick Bucher
To a former Warrior that they moved out in order to bring KD in.
- [30:37]
Jason McIntyre
So beat Memphis last week, Curry goes off, beat the Lakers, beat the Nuggets and everybody's championing Golden State as the team all of a sudden now they lose to the Rockets and the Spurs. Do we know if this team's dangerous? Rick?
- [30:51]
Rick Bucher
Well, they just, they have to have all hands on deck. And 37 year old Steph Curry being as essential as he is is is a little troubling. They don't have a margin for error. But I would also say this for everybody out there that is taking all these games, whether it's the Lakers in OKC or it's the warriors losing to the spurs or whatever, let's not lose sight of what they've done over the course of the year for the last few games of the regular season.
- [31:21]
Jason McIntyre
That's a great point. Rick Bucher, Fox Sports NBA Analyst Always fun stuff, always got good info.
- [31:27]
Rick Bucher
We make a good quorum here.
- [31:30]
Jason McIntyre
I feel like I'm smarter. Just Rick Bucher sits on the sofa generally.
- [31:33]
Rick Bucher
Jay, you are.
- [31:35]
Alex Curry
When I come on, end it on a good note.
- [31:37]
Rick Bucher
Yep.
- [31:38]
Jason McIntyre
Coming up next, which NBA players are under the most pressure this postseason? I'll tell you that. Next, be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific.
- [31:48]
Rick Bucher
Hey, it's Steve Covino. And I'm Rich Davis. And together we're Covino and Rich on Fox Sports Radio. You can catch us weekdays from 5 to 7pm Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. And of course, the iHeartRadio app. Why should you listen to Covino and Rich? We talk about everything, life, sports, relationships, what's going on in the world. We have a lot of fun talking about the stories behind the stories in the world of sports and pop Culture stories that, well, other shows don't seem to have the time to discuss. And the fact that we've been friends for the last 20 years and still work together, I mean, that says something, right? So check us out. We like to get you involved too. Take your phone calls, chop it up, as they say. I'd say the most interactive show on Fox Sports Radio, maybe the most interactive show on planet Earth. Be sure to check out Covino and Rich live on Fox Sports radio and the iHeartradio app from 5 to 7pm Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific. And if you miss any of the live show, just search Covino and Rich wherever you get your podcast. And of course, on social media, that's Covino and Rich.
- [32:44]
Jason McIntyre
Very excited. We got a NFL draft guy coming up in five minutes, folks. Some of the notes they just gave me. Holy cow. My guy, Jalen Milroe received a second or third round grade. I vehemently disagree, but I'm clearly in the minority. And Wait, wait. Just wait for this Kyler Murray discussion later, okay? I just. I'll just leave it at that. Alex, how we doing?
- [33:06]
Alex Curry
We're doing great. Happy Masters weekend, by the way. Haven't talked about that yet. That's a big deal. Oh, yeah, Masters.
- [33:13]
Jason McIntyre
Yeah. I don't.
- [33:14]
Alex Curry
Are you not a big golf fan?
- [33:16]
Jason McIntyre
I'm wearing down. This is some heavy lifting over here. I'm worried. I don't even know if I'll watch golf today.
- [33:22]
Alex Curry
You just need the updates. It was so cute. They had like, family day yesterday and all the kids out on the chorus, like, dressed in the. The caddy outfits. Yeah, it's adorable.
- [33:30]
Jason McIntyre
It's fun.
- [33:31]
Alex Curry
All right, special time of year.
- [33:33]
Jason McIntyre
Let me start this hour with the five players under the most pressure in these upcoming NBA playoffs. Okay, now this list, it was a difficult one to make because I had some guys in here in the staff, like, whoa, no way, no way. J. Mack. And. Well, let's start. We'll count down. We'll go five to one. Number five. I think Jimmy Butler is under a fair amount of pressure in these playoffs. Forces his way out of Miami, where he took the heat to the finals twice. Okay. Initially, didn't want to go to Golden State. Then they ponied up big money and he's like, all right, I'll check it out. Initially, they're awesome. And Butler's kind of finding his footing. Remember, this is a locker room where he's usually an alpha, and they already have one in Draymond Green. So how does Butler fit in? He has to step up when Curry is held in check. They don't have a number two guys. Podzemski ain't hitting eight threes ever again in a game like he did against the Lakers. I think Jimmy Butler, who you guys know, I'm a big fan of Butler. He's under a lot of pressure in these NBA playoffs. Number four, Ja Morant. Boy, just when you think Ja Morant has cleaned up his act. Okay, so last week he points at the warriors bench with a gun thing toward Buddy Heel. And then they're told him don't do it. He does it again. And then he pretends to lobber grenade after they told him, please don't do that anymore. It's like, bro, what are you doing? John Morant got them into the playoffs several years, then he's been hurt, then he's got the off court issues. Somebody pitched me the idea that John Morant wants out of Memphis and he's starting to like make noise. Was he involved in getting their coach fired recently? I don't know. I don't know what's happening in Memphis, but maybe John Morant's not long for that city. I think he's under a lot of pressure to at least win a series with the Grizzlies. Next up, and this is a divisive topic. Jayson Tatum at number three. Okay, Cowherd would have him number one. Obviously you know that I'm a Tatum guy. I know his trainer a little bit. I'm a big Tatum fan. Before I get to the negatives, I'm going to remind everybody he's going to finish fourth in MVP voting. He's going to be first team all NBA. And in the playoffs last year he led them in the playoffs in points, rebounds and assists. And in the Finals he led them in points, rebounds and assists. So why is he under pressure? Jay? Well, there is the situation that happened in the Olympics last year where Jason Tatum, the all NBA guy who's a perennial top five MVP candidate, kind of got benched. And then in the Finals he didn't win Finals mvp. And if you want to draw a parallel, Steph Curry, when they won their first title, did not win the MVP. It went to Andre Iguodala for his defense on LeBron, which is a little suspicious because Curry still had a pretty damn good series. So then they lose the next year, then Curry gets kd. KD is the Finals mvp. And then you have this whole like, is Steph Curry really the best player? Like I didn't love that topic then. He won his finals MVP and everybody backed off. He's a top 10 player all time. Listen, Tatum is still a young guy. He's the best player on that team. No disrespect to jb, but there is some pressure for him to act and show that he is an elite top five guy in this league, which I think he is. Next up. Oh, Carl Anthony Towns, my main man. You guys know I'm a big Knicks fan. They're not going to run Brunson out of town if the Knicks lose to the Celtics in the second round. Bridges ain't going anywhere. They love OG Anunoby. There will be a fall guy if the Knicks fall apart. Now, if they get swept, it could just be Thibodeau. But I have to worry about Karl Anthony Towns who lands in New York. Couldn't defend. This chair that I'm looking at here in the studio. Can score a lot, but when you don't defend. He was benched in the playoffs last year by the Timberwolves because he can't guard anybody. So Carl Anthony Town's number two and obviously at number one, Shea Gilgis, Alexander. He's gonna win the mvp. I don't think he should. He's a great player. We know that. He gets to the line, he's Mr. Free Throw Merchant. But folks, you can't win the MVP. You can't talk all the trash and dance around like OKC's been doing all season. You win 65 plus games and then you shrink in the playoffs. We'll see what the path looks like. But I'm just saying it right now. You're not blaming J Dub if they don't deliver, you're not blaming Chet Holmgren. This is going to be on the mvp. And historically, guys who win the MVP don't deliver in the postseason. Sga. Without a doubt under the most pressure of any player in the upcoming NBA playoffs. By the way, Trey Young just missed the list for me. All right, let's get to our guest. He is the Athletics NFL draft analyst. He just released the Beast, his annual draft guide, Dane Brugler. Dane, how you doing, man?
- [38:17]
Colin Cowherd
I'm good. How are you, Jason?
- [38:18]
Jason McIntyre
I'm excellent. I'm fired up because holy cow, you got some hot. Now, I don't know if they're hot takes cause you watch way more film than anybody, but let's start at the top. Cam Ward almost certainly will go one to Tennessee, but do you believe he's the best player in this draft?
- [38:34]
Rick Bucher
Best player?
- [38:36]
Colin Cowherd
Not necessarily. But you can understand why the Titans have come to the conclusion that this is their best route to go. Because if it's not Cam Ward, what is their avenue to a quarterback? And so with the improvements that Cam Ward has made year over year, because let's remember he was a Wing T quarterback in high school. What he did at Incarnate Word and then Washington State, and in this past year at Miami, he got better year over year. 56.1% of his completions this year were over 10 yards. He has the arm, he has the elusiveness in the pocket so he can create time for himself, go make plays down the field. So a lot of what you want in an NFL quarterback, Cam Ward offers, and he's still just 22 years old. So you think about, by the time he's 24, 25, if he continues to grow at this trajectory, I think you're feeling pretty positive about the return on investment by taking him number one. Because if he didn't go number one, I promise you, he would go number two to Cleveland or number three to the Giants. So you can understand where the Titans come to the conclusion that Cam Ward is their guy.
- [39:37]
Jason McIntyre
Yeah, I agree with most of that. I guess the one thing I'm struggling with him, whether it's the frame, the, the, the fleet of foot in the pocket, the, the art where he's releasing the football, I don't have a great NFL comp for him. Who does he remind you of as an NFL quarterback?
- [39:54]
Colin Cowherd
He reminds me of a taller, not as fast version of, of Kyler Murray because you see all the different arm angles. You see him win in structure, but also out. Out of the pocket. His ability to create and move is a big part of that. But, you know, he, when you're, we were talking about quarterbacks in the, in the NFL draft, it's almost like you're making a bet, right? I mean, you're making a bet that this guy can be a top 15 quarterback in the NFL. And I think for most teams, they see Cam Ward as a guy that can be maybe a top 12, top 14 quarterback, because that's what you're looking for. The goal shouldn't be to find the next Patrick Mahomes. The goal should be, hey, let's find a guy that's going to help us compete and let it help us get to the playoffs. Because once you get in the playoffs, anything is possible. And I think a lot of teams believe Cam Ward could be that guy.
- [40:41]
Jason McIntyre
So the Browns are at 2, and about two minutes ago, you were like, hey, if Cam Ward fell to two, perfect fit for the Browns. So let me ask you, Brown's quarterback solution situation is murky. I know there's Kirk Cousins possibly waiting in the wings, but why wouldn't they just go get Shadour Sanders? Isn't Stefanski such a good offensive mind that whoever he gets is going to work?
- [41:05]
Colin Cowherd
And that's going to be the big question. Where does Shador land? Is it number two to the Browns, number three to the Giants, or does he fall? And look, my evaluation of Shador has been pretty consistent since the season. I think he's a late one, early two. I think for whatever reason it's become you have to love or hate Shador and it's okay to just like him. And that's where I'm at with him, where I think he can be an NFL starter. He's smart, he's tough, he's poised, he's accurate. Maybe not as accurate as 74% completions would lead you to believe. 28% of those completions are screen passes. So that's a big part of what inflated that completion percentage. But I just, I wonder about the way he likes to play. Does he have the physical traits to get away with that in the NFL? The offensive line was bad, there's no question about it at Colorado. But there are a lot of times where he is running himself into sacks and he's not making the right decision from the pocket. And so there's things about his profile that really, I think you can start in the NFL, but is he really going to uplift everybody around me and carry a franchise? That's, that's my hang up where, okay, I like him, I think he can start. But am I taking him top five overall? Because it's not just about. If you miss on him as a top five pick, it's okay. You're passing on Travis Hunter, Abdul Carter, one of these guys in the top five. So I wouldn't be surprised if we're talking mid first round, maybe even in the 20s, and Shador Sanders is still available.
- [42:31]
Jason McIntyre
So last year you had Penix as your 52nd best player, Bo Nix as 44th, and you have Sanders Shedeur at 34. Those two guys went top 10. Is there a world where Sanders still goes top 10 or you think that that ship has sailed?
- [42:45]
Colin Cowherd
Oh, no, there's certainly a possibility because again, he can be an NFL starter and we know there's plenty of teams out there desperate for quarterbacks. And you know it's always tough when you do it year to year like that because last year's draft was a much better draft in terms of overall talent. So in this class, those two guys, Penix, Bo Nix, they would have been a little bit higher. Higher than even Shador is in this year's draft. And so you know that that's kind of messes with the rankings a little bit. But you know, I understand why a team is going to look at Shador and say, you know what, maybe he's not check every box for us. But hey, we need a starter. He could, let's roll the dice on him. And so the Browns at 2, the Giants at 3, the Saints at 9. If I have to make a bet today, I say he gets through those three spots and he's outside the top 10. But you know, we'll have to see what draft day comes.
- [43:38]
Jason McIntyre
How much of this has to do with Dion and all the noise that and the chatter that's been around him and Shador all season? I mean Dan, I gotta be honest, I haven't heard anything about Cam Ward's parents. I don't know who they are. You know, I don't know much about him at all. I feel like Shadour is just in our face all the time and so is Dion.
- [43:55]
Colin Cowherd
That's why I have the beast.
- [43:57]
Rick Bucher
Right?
- [43:57]
Colin Cowherd
So you can look up, it tells you exactly what Cam Ward's parents do for a living and all about his background and all of that. But yeah, you know, it's, it's obviously unique, right? How many quarterback prospects have we talked about where you know, a dad is a high profile athlete and coach like, like Dion is? I don't, at the end of the day I don't think it's going to matter all that much. I think, you know, there's been a lot talked about and said about Shador and you know, maybe he's too brash for some teams. Maybe he doesn't fit with, you know, the culture they're trying to build. At the end of the day, teams want winners, teams. And you think about what happened at Colorado the last two years, they were 1 in 11 in 2022. And then the last two years with Dion and Shador there they went 13 and 11. So above 500, that's not easy to do. And so at the end of the day, the NFL, they want winners. And I think that will trump everything. And so when you look at Shador, I don't think the Dion things really going to factor in.
- [44:55]
Jason McIntyre
Interesting. One last level on Dion. So I thought I had read that Shador's offensive coordinator was his dad, like in high school. And then they go to college and they were together and then they go to Colorado and they're together. I believe he's been under the thumb of his dad for something like the last five or six years of football. Maybe going back to youth football, you would know. Does that matter? Because as a GM saying, man, if I draft this guy, I know his dad wants his job in two years.
- [45:23]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, you know, it's, I think Deon is happy with where he's at in Colorado now. If Shador is drafted by the Giants and things don't go great this year and they clean house, you can bet all we're going to hear about is Dion to the Giants. But, you know, I think if you're a gm, you need to be doing what you think is best. You need to be doing. You can't really be thinking about, all right, what's 20, 25 and 26 and 27? Just draft the best quarterback. And if you believe that Shador, then I think you have to do it. I just think when you, when we keep it to the field and on the field, I think there are enough question marks with him that I think teams are going to look at it and say, look, let's, let's get Travis Hunter, let's get Abdul Carter, let's get Will Campbell, our left tackle. And you know, let's look at our other quarterback options because this is a real. This is the first year since 2008 we don't have a third year junior at the quarterback position. It's just a really unique quarterback class. We've got two juniors, two underclassmen. But Jaylen Milro, Quinn, yours are both four year guys. So this is just all around a really unique class.
- [46:26]
Jason McIntyre
All right, Dane, let me ask you about Jaylen Milro. So he's had his highs, obviously. That Georgia game, he looked phenomenal. And his lows. The Oklahoma game just burned the tape. A lot of questions comparing him to Anthony Richardson, which is not a good thing. I don't know. Is it crazy to say? I remember college Lamar at Louisville and I'm just, Jalen looks similar to him. It could just be that they're skinny, tall, fast dudes. I don't know what, do you like Melro or not?
- [46:57]
Colin Cowherd
I mean, I do like him. I would love to draft him on day two and develop him, but what's the, what's the price tag going to be? Do I have to draft him in the top 40 in order to get him? That might Be a little bit too early for me. But he's an exciting player. So I think you can understand why a team would come to the conclusion that, hey, let's bet on a guy that has 4, 3 speed. He's a decent sized player. I mean he is thick. He's 215 pounds at just over 6 foot. So he has almost like a running back build to him and he has a really strong arm and you set it up perfectly. You watch the Georgia game, you watch the Wisconsin game and it's like, okay, I'm all in, let's work with this guy. But then you watch Michigan, you watch Oklahoma and it's like, okay, his feel from the pocket needs a lot of work. And you know, it's funny you bring up Lamar because this year for, for, for Milroe, 12 of his rushing touchdowns were 10 plus yards. That's the most by a quarterback over the last 25 years. The only one that came close was lamar back in 2017. He had 11. So Jalen Milroe, explosive athlete with his legs and he's also explosive with his arm. He had 16 passing touchdowns this year. They averaged 33.6 yards per touchdown. So this guy, explosive with his, with his legs, explosive through the, through the air and he's a winner. He was 21 and 6 and his 27 starts at Alabama, he won the academic Heisman. The comp that I keep coming back to is Jalen Hurts. You know, one of the few second round picks that has actually panned out, Jalen Miller was kind of like a rocket fueled version of, Of Jalen Hurts. Where we have to remember Hertz coming out of college was a little bit raw and it's going to take time and there were a lot of bumps along the, on, on the, along the road with, with the Eagles before he became the Jalen Milro we're talking about now as a Super bowl champion. So with Milroe, if a team can be patient with him, they might have something in two, three years. But what's that price tag going to be where you have to draft him? That that's kind of where teams are split on Jalen Milroe.
- [49:01]
Jason McIntyre
So the one I keep coming back to is when the packers had Rogers, who had won, I think, think two MVPs and they went and got Jordan Love, and I'm sure you remember Jordan Love coming out interception prone. But some of the traits were there and the packers took him and Rogers was ticked off. Can you see a scenario where say the Rams who have had to Deal with Matthew Stafford, contract squabbles the last two off seasons. And the Rams say, you know what, let's just get our guy Milroe, McVeigh, whoever McVeigh touches turns to gold, he resurrects careers. Can you see a scenario where Milro sneaks into the first round?
- [49:34]
Colin Cowherd
I think it's possible. If I'm a betting guy, I would say there's a better chance he goes round two. But sure, you could see an avenue where he goes round one. Right now, the over under on quarterbacks in the first round is two and a half. I'm taking the over on that. And it's not necessarily Melro, but Jackson Dart from Ole Miss. There are a lot of Tyler Schuck fans around the NFL. The quarterback from Louisville, seventh year senior, he's going to be 26 year old rookie teams really like Tyler Schuck. And so there's a chance all five of these quarterbacks talking about Cam Ward, Shador Sanders, Jackson Dart, Tyler Schuck and Jalen Milro. There's a good chance all five of those are off the board in the top 50 to 60 picks. But how many will sneak into the first round? I, I think you, you know, the Steelers are a possibility, the Rams are a possibility. And then we have to talk about the Browns and the Giants. If they pass at 2 and 3, we could easily see them move up from those early picks in the second round into that late first to get one of these guys. I think that if I had a bet right now, two weeks from the draft, I think that's probably the most likely outcome.
- [50:35]
Jason McIntyre
Interesting. Well, we could close out on Jackson Dart and you know, us college football fans, we see, okay, system. Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss. That's Matt Corral, you know, white guy who's, who's good. I don't know about this Jackson Dart hype now. I just remember watching the season and I was like, okay, he's good. Tyler Schuck, by the way. I don't remember anything impressive from him during the season. But again, you're watching the tape and every single snap. Are you really that high on Dart.
- [51:04]
Colin Cowherd
And Chuck, the two guys that I would love to draft on day two, kind of like Melro, but we know in the NFL and with the draft there's a quarterback bump, there's a quarterback tax where you have to draft them 20, 25 picks earlier than probably you want to just because there's so many other teams competing for these playoffs or for the, for these quarterbacks. And you know, Exactly. We're talking about that Ole Miss offense. I came away more impressed with Lane Kiffin and the way he sets up his offense and calls the plays than I did with the quarterback. And that's not really a knock on Jackson Dart. It's just it's such a scheme or quarterback friendly scheme that it really makes things easy for him. 53% of his snaps were play action. A lot of screens, a lot of one read, okay, it's not there, boom. I'm gonna take off and use my legs and get six yards. And you know what, that works at the college level. But he's going to be asked to do so much more at the NFL level than he was asked to do in college. And so I think he has the physical traits for it. And teams and his teammates as well rave about the intangibles, the competitiveness with Jackson Dart. So I think that those intangibles will help him throughout the process. But at the end of the day, does he have what it, how long is it going to take before he can get on the field? I think it's going to take some development time. And then with Tyler Schuck, yeah, I mean he's 26 year old rookie, seventh year senior, not ideal. This past year at Louisville was the first time in those seven years he played more than eight games because of injuries. But he's 6 4, 230 pounds, a twitchy arm, he has a really explosive down the field and you know, he was actually the number two recruit for Oregon way back in the day behind Penny Sewell. So he's been in college football a long time. But if not for the age and the medical concerns, we'd be talking about Tyler Schuck as a top 25 pick.
- [52:49]
Jason McIntyre
Smells like Brandon Whedon. I don't know if you remember that name from back in the day. Last one I forgot. Abdul Carter. So there was a report that came out and I know as we get close to the draft, you get a lot of negative stuff about his work habits at Penn State. And then you couple that with the, with the injury and the surgery and you're like, is there a world where Abdul Carter maybe slides to say 5 as opposed to 2 or 3?
- [53:13]
Colin Cowherd
That sounds like the team at 5. Really hoping that happens. I'd be, I'd be pretty shocked. I think there's a good chance we see Cam Ward go one, Travis Hunter go two to the Browns and then Abdul Carter three to the Giants. Abdul Carter, actually, I believe in New York today, meeting with the Giants who don't really have a need at pass rush. You know, they paid Burns last year. They still have Kayvon Thibodeau. But when you're drafting that high, you want to draft players, not positions. You want the impact guys. And so with Abdul Carter watching him, what he did against Notre Dame in the playoff game with a bum shoulder and still they couldn't block him. Yeah, that's the type of guy you want to go after. And so I think that if the, if the Patriots sitting there at 4 and Abdul Carter still on the board, they will be ecstatic. I just don't think he gets out of the top three when it's all said and done.
- [54:02]
Jason McIntyre
Sounds about right. Dane Brugler, the Beast. You got to check that out. He's dominating over the athletic. Great stuff, Dane. Thanks for great 15 minutes of NFL draft stuff. Love it.
- [54:12]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, anytime. Thanks, Jason.
- [54:13]
Jason McIntyre
No problem. Coming up next, the Joker speaks. Alex will tell us what the three time MVP said about his head coach getting fired. That's next year on the herd.
- [54:22]
Jeremy Hobson
Spring is here and you can now get almost anything you need for your sunny days delivered with Uber Eats. What do we mean by almost? Well, you can't get a well groomed lawn delivered, but you can get a chicken parmesan delivered. A cabana, that's a no. But a banana, that's a yes.
- [54:36]
Jason McIntyre
A nice tan? Sorry, nope.
- [54:37]
Jeremy Hobson
But a box fan?
- [54:38]
Jason McIntyre
Happily, yes.
- [54:39]
Jeremy Hobson
A day of sunshine?
- [54:41]
Jason McIntyre
No.
- [54:41]
Jeremy Hobson
A box of fine wines? Yes. Uber Eats can definitely get you that. Get almost, almost anything delivered with Uber Eats. Order now. Alcohol in select markets. Product availability may vary by Regency app. For details, we live in a divided country, and our media couldn't be more polarizing. That's why we started the Middle with Jeremy Hobson. It's about bringing voices, not from the extremes, but but from the vast middle into the national conversation. Each week we hear from ordinary Americans from all over the country. And when you subscribe to the Middle, you also get an episode each week called One Thing Trump did that focuses on just one item from the avalanche of news. Listen to the Middle with Jeremy Hobson on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [55:23]
Greg Rosenthal
What's up, everyone? It's Greg Rosenthal and I'm teaming up with the King of Spring, Daniel Jeremiah. He requires me to say that we're going to be bringing you 40s and free agents. The only podcast you'll need this NFL draft season. From DJs mock drafts to my top 101 free agents will have it covered for you with all new episodes every Thursday, keeping you up to date as we head to the NFL Draft. Listen to 40s and free agents on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.