Colin Cowherd Podcast - NFL Draft Combine, Mendoza A Lock To Raiders At #1, Eagles Drama, Chiefs Rebuild?

Summary

The Herd with Colin Cowherd

Colin Cowherd Podcast - NFL Draft Combine, Mendoza A Lock To Raiders At #1, Eagles Drama, Chiefs Rebuild?
Date: February 27, 2026
Host: Colin Cowherd
Guest: John Middlekauff (Former NFL scout, host of "3 and Out")

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Episode Overview

Colin Cowherd and John Middlekauff dive into the latest developments from the NFL Draft Combine, discuss front office strategies among top teams, address key rumors around top players and coaches, and provide insider observations on the shifting dynamics in front offices and locker rooms. The episode features candid insights on the state of the Chiefs, a deep dive on the Eagles’ internal issues, Fernando Mendoza’s lock-status as Raiders’ #1, and an assessment of league-wide trends in talent evaluation, trades, and draft combine relevance.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The NFL Combine Atmosphere ([03:22]–[04:36])

• Combine as Deal-Making Central: Middlekauff paints the combine as a non-stop series of meetings, late-night negotiations, and networking for NFL decision-makers.
• Quote:
  "Every NFL head coach, out to dinner, out to cocktails, out with each other, every GM, every assistant GM...the JW Marriott is ripping every night." —John Middlekauff ([03:44])

2. Seattle Seahawks: John Schneider’s Draft Success & Offseason Moves ([04:36]–[07:04])

• Schneider Lauded as Best Drafting GM: Both hosts agree that Seattle’s John Schneider has separated himself in the drafts, especially since Pete Carroll’s departure.
• Kenneth Walker’s Uncertain Future:
  "I personally would probably let Kenneth Walker walk. Unless it's a relatively...two years, $15 million or something. But when you start bidding for a running back..." —Colin Cowherd ([05:21])
• QB Confidence: Seahawks believe in their young QB’s character and leadership, comparing him favorably to top-level competitors.
• System Value: The new offensive system (Kubiak/Shanahan tree) can generate productive running backs, reducing reliance on top-dollar RBs.

3. Kansas City Chiefs: Transition and Difficult Decisions ([07:04]–[10:48])

• Chiefs Entering a New Era:
  • The team faces tough calls on stalwarts like Travis Kelsey and Chris Jones due to cap constraints.
  • "If you remove emotion, it's probably time to divorce Travis Kelsey...unless he would come back basically for no money." —Colin Cowherd ([08:24])
• Trade Candidates: Trent McDuffie, Chris Jones identified as possible offseason trade chips.
• The New NFL Business:
  • "You’re going to see some potential legendary players throughout the league on different teams. I mean that’s just, that’s just kind of the way it works." —Colin Cowherd ([10:35])

4. Quarterbacks in Flux: Resurrection and Branding ([10:48]–[15:03])

• Second Chances: Noting how offensive-minded coaches (from McVay or Shanahan’s tree) can rehabilitate "busted" QBs.
• Kyler Murray’s Image Problem:
  • "If Kyler truly wants to resurrect his career...the Ravens, the Chiefs...one of those teams would be like, hey, we’ll take you for the veteran minimum." —Colin Cowherd ([11:57])
• Lesson for Players: NFL values high-character QBs with professional approaches:
  "The quarterback room better be like your coaches, better be like your executives. Just high level professionals." —Colin Cowherd ([12:55])
• Locker Room Dynamics: Success correlates strongly with having "easy to deal with" coaches and players with high emotional intelligence.

5. Detroit Lions, Chicago Bears, and NFC North Outlook ([15:03]–[18:57])

• Ben Johnson’s Meteoric Rise:
  • Lions’ coach is authentic, balanced, focused, and "walking on cloud nine," yet unfazed by the spotlight ([15:40]).
• NFC North Depth: The division is highly competitive with minimal drop-off among the top teams.
• Ryan Poles & Bears: Early missteps (Chase Claypool trade) have given way to better moves; may have to move a key offensive piece for draft capital.

6. NFL Trades and GM Approaches: Evolution in Front Offices ([18:57]–[21:17])

• Trade Landscape Now Like MLB/NBA:
  "Now...all these GMs...they’re ready to trade. So there is just a lot of action." —Colin Cowherd ([19:02])
• Asset Market:" More interested GMs drive up the price of players (Max Crosby example).

7. Eagles’ Locker Room Drama: Jalen Hurts’ Leadership Shorts ([26:10]–[29:57])

• Notable Segment:
  "People were pointing to A.J. Brown. And some of it's on Jalen Hurts. He is not well liked in the locker room. He's not a galvanizer. He's not one of the guys." —John Middlekauff ([26:44])
• Locker Room Disconnect: Hurts described as being "polarizing" and not integrating with veteran leaders. This dynamic is contrasted with other top QBs who are widely embraced.
• Russell Wilson Comparison: "Richard Sherman group never embraced Russell Wilson...they never believed that...he's getting way more credit than he deserves." —Colin Cowherd ([28:32])
• Coaching Staff Gets High Marks: Sirianni has internal support ("They really like Sirianni in the building...Nick's good with people."—Colin Cowherd ([28:45]))

8. Quarterback Prospect Fernando Mendoza: Raiders’ Lock at #1 ([29:57]–[34:55])

• Mendoza Scouting and Fit:
  • "I think it's a 100% lock. Mendoza is the pick." —Colin Cowherd ([31:23])
  • Not as physically gifted as some recent QBs, but "accurate, smart, rhythm timing...mobile enough" for new Vegas offense.
  • "If this guy's a more athletic version of [Jared Goff], I'm very interested." —Colin Cowherd ([32:34])
• Importance of Character:
  • Chiefs "swear by Mahomes football character," and Mendoza’s personality is getting similar positive buzz.
  • "The person matters as much as the player." —Colin Cowherd ([33:31])
• Raiders’ Roster Plans: May hold onto Maxx Crosby if Mendoza is their guy, hoping for a swift competitive upgrade.

9. The Changing Relevance and Authenticity of the NFL Combine ([35:00]–[39:38])

• Opt-Outs and Agent Influence: Many prospects are skipping workouts; agents now drive the show as financial stakes grow.
• Combine Losing Significance:
  • Both hosts emphasize how combine interviews are now overly manufactured, offering little real insight ("It's like a first date...people say the right things, people dress perfect...but by the seventh or eighth date, you get a real feel for what a person is." —Colin Cowherd ([36:39]))
  • "I just don't watch it as much. It just doesn't matter." —Colin Cowherd ([37:06])
• Future of the Event:
  • "If I was a betting man...does it have over-under 10 years as currently constructed? I don't know." —Colin Cowherd ([39:17])

10. Insider Rumors & Notable Coaching Gossip ([39:38]–[42:54])

• Giants GM Joe Schoen’s Uncertain Status:
  • 50/50 shot at remaining post-draft; rumblings around front-office restructuring.
• Sean Payton Delegating Play-Calling in Denver:
  • "That opened a lot of eyes...What did Sean Payton do? Gave up play calling for this guy [Davis Webb]." —Colin Cowherd ([41:55])
  • "That’s a tough gig...that was one of the newsier things." ([42:12])
• Other Rumors:
  • George Paton’s future in Denver tied to Minnesota’s GM vacancy.
  • J.J. McCarthy, Tua Tagovailoa, and other QB carousel rumors circulating.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• John Middlekauff, on NFL Combine culture:
  "You have every NFL head coach out to dinner, out to cocktails...the JW Marriott is ripping every night." ([03:44])

• Colin Cowherd, on moving on from icons:
  "If you remove emotion, it's probably time to divorce Travis Kelsey..." ([08:24])

• On Jalen Hurts’ locker room standing:
  "He is not well liked in the locker room. He's not a galvanizer. He's not one of the guys." —John Middlekauff ([26:44])

• On Fernando Mendoza as Raiders’ lock:
  "I think it's a 100% lock. Mendoza is the pick." —Colin Cowherd ([31:23])

• On NFL Combine’s future:
  "If I was a betting man...does it have over-under 10 years as currently constructed? I don't know." —Colin Cowherd ([39:17])

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• NFL Combine Scene/Intro: [03:22]
• Seattle Seahawks GM & Roster Moves: [04:36]
• Chiefs Transition & Kelsey/Jones Moves: [07:04]
• QB Reclamation/Branding Issues (Kyler, others): [10:48]
• Lions/Bears/NFC North/Ben Johnson: [15:03]
• Trade Dynamics & GM Evolution: [18:57]
• Eagles Drama & Hurts Leadership: [26:10]
• Mendoza Evaluations & Raiders Draft: [29:57]
• Combine Authenticity/Decline: [35:00]
• Rumors & Coaching Movement: [39:38]

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Tone & Style

The conversation is fast-paced, opinionated, and direct—full of inside-baseball details, behind-the-scenes anecdotes, and informed speculation. Both Cowherd and Middlekauff offer confident, occasionally irreverent takes, but circle back to core principles: this is still, at its heart, a "people business," with character and fit mattering as much as pure talent.

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Transcript

[Colin Cowherd]

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the volume

[Colin Cowherd]

foreign.

[John Middlekauff]

I thought I'd bring in former NFL scout John Middlekopf, 3 and out, who spent a couple of days at the combine. And it's real deal making for the three days people are in, the executives are in Indianapolis. It is a lot of late nights, John, can you confirm that it's late nights and early mornings?

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, it was, it was a lot, Colin. These guys are letting it rip. You know, in fairness, it's not a normal life they lead, especially the coaches. The six months you get to the combine, which by all accounts is tamed down dramatically from where it was. I think three cell phones, it's, it's nothing too crazy, but I mean, it's, it's an event unlike. I mean, you have every NFL head coach out to dinner, out to cocktails, out with each other, every gm, every assistant gm. Think about all the coordinators now that used to be head coaches that are pretty famous. Walking around Indianapolis isn't exactly London. I mean, there's not that many places to go. So safe to say the JW Marriott is, is, is, is ripping every night. So I had to get out of there, Colin, because I couldn't last more than 48 hours.

[John Middlekauff]

Let's talk first. John Snyder. I saw you sat down with him, the Seattle gm. I think he's being now fairly regarded as maybe the best drafting GM in the league. There's a lot of different skills. There's free agency, there's trading. Howie Roseman is probably the most aggressive. I don't think you can deny that John Snyder is the best drafting gm. If you look at his track record really since Pete left and he completely, absolutely took over the entire draft. But he's got some tough decisions to make. Kenneth Walker is, you know, there's going to be a market for Kenneth Walker. Teams like Kansas City in the AFC need a running back, and it's a bad running back draft. But give me your kind of sense of, of how John's feeling and the kind of the crest he's kind of riding now.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, I think his personality feels the same whether he won the super bowl or whether you would see him when they would get bounced in the first round. Yeah, obviously he's pretty elated coming to this. To this combine. One thing he mentioned is he's. Because they just went. I mean, they were playing two weeks ago. He's behind on the draft. He spent all of his energy getting ready for free agency. They have a ton of money. I personally would probably let Kenneth Walker walk.

[John Middlekauff]

Yeah.

[Colin Cowherd]

Unless it's a relatively. I mean, two years, $15 million or something. But when you start bidding for a running back, they draft him in the second round. But up until the second half of this year, he's kind of had an underwhelming career. And you bring in Flurry from the Niners, who. The Kubiak Shanahan system. You can kind of find running backs. So I. My guess would be they're definitely not franchise tagging him. Like, whenever I see the jets are going to franchise tag Breece hall, it's like the jets are going to franchise tag a running back. Not even the jets would do that. Come on, guys. This is right. Let's. Let's use some common sense here. So Seattle's riding high. I got to meet Mike McDonald, talk to him. He's really, really impressive. I mean, they got. They got something pretty special going in Seattle because they have a ton of cap space. They have a ton of young players under contract. They're, I would say their confidence in Sam the person. I mean, you've talked about this. You know, clearly the player like, like most players not named John Elway or Peyton Manning aren't going to be great 99% of games. But I think they are all in on the human being. And I think what they learned down that stretch, that Thursday night game against the Rams, when he flipped it and then up until the Super Bowl, I think they're feeling pretty confident in their quarterback.

[John Middlekauff]

So a team that's, you know, the difference, John, between winning one super bowl and getting to five is having to move off players. I mean, the Chiefs moved off Tyreek Hill and returned to the Super Bowl. So Seattle's got to make those tough choices, and I think they will. But let's talk Kansas City and Brett Veach. Where offensive line needs help. They've got an early pick. They'll probably attack that running game. It's a weak running back class, so they may have to pay for that. You know, you. You saw Brett Veach the first half of Mahomes and Reed 1.0 is five Super Bowls and three trophies. That was the same for Brady in New England. But the difference is Brady in New England played in the division with a dysfunctional Jets, Dolphins and Bills. Well, Harbaugh, Herbert, Bo, Nick, Sean Payton, Mendoza should be pretty good. And now the league only allows John one buy. So New England and Brady for those years won their dysfunctional division. Got a buy, got two home games. You win a mirror in the Super Bowl. I mean, if there's an easy path, that was it. Kansas City's path is different. One by brutal division. And they got. They got holes to fill, a lot of them on offense. What do you gather from your combine visit?

[Colin Cowherd]

I think if you remove emotion, it's probably time to divorce Travis Kelsey. You know, I mean, unless he would come back basically for no money. And that's the NFL, right? It's like, well, he's one of the greatest players in the history of the league and he's, you know, one of the poster childs of this dynasty. And it's kind of what Belichick and Bill Walsh do. So that's going to be a tough decision as they negotiate with Travis Kelsey. I think Chris Jones could be a trade candidate. His cap number is huge. Yeah, yeah. It can be very hit or miss in games. Obviously his good is great, but he can also disappear for a Hall of fame player. Trent McDuffie is definitely a trade candidate. You know, a guy they drafted in the first round got a. These extensions for these DBs get enormous. So I think they got a lot of moving parts. You know, I saw Veech, he was a little under the weather. He just looked tired. You know, part of it is they have a cocktail at the end of the day because they're 18 hours of talking to agents and going back and forth. I mean, it's exhausting. These are really tough decisions. And I think the Chiefs, Belichick did this. They're kind of have to pivot beside Mahomes off the majority of those guys. Andy Reid said last year, Joe Tunney and he. Rees been coaching for like 45 years, said Joe Tunney is one of the favorite players he's ever coached in his career. They just traded him. Isn't that football? Isn't that the NFL? They couldn't afford to keep him with the cap. They didn't want to get rid of him. Like they downgraded by losing him. I think it's a little different with Kelsey. Obviously, the swift effect. He's so. He's so famous. He's relative to what he was. I mean, kind of a shell of himself.

[Podcast Advertiser Voice 1]

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[Colin Cowherd]

And so when you start asking for $15 million a year. Jason Light, same thing with Mike Evans. It's these emotional decisions of these Great hall of Fame players who you love their character and what they mean to your. That's, you know, Bill Walsh let Ronnie Lock go. You know, I mean it's, it's kind of is what it is like I think fans in football, wouldn't you say, understand it a little bit more. But still I do. Can be pretty eye opening when you see Mike Evans is signed with the Jags, Travis Kelsey is signed with the who knows, J.J. watts I with the Arizona Cardinals. Travis, you don't just automatically go to a good team because sometimes football, they offer you more money and you just go, well maybe they can turn around and that's where you go. So I would say you're going to see some potential legendary players throughout the league on different teams. I mean that's just, that's just kind of the way it works.

[John Middlekauff]

You know what's also interesting now is because there are so many good offensive coaches that you are seeing quarterbacks like Baker and Darnold have a second life if you can land your Liam Cohen. I mean Trevor Lawrence made a big leap this year and I think, you know these guys off the Sean McVeigh tree, the Kyle Shanahan tree, you know, they go places and they change the arc of quarterbacks careers. Sam Darnold bust to star to super bowl champion. I mean Baker Mayfield, you know, resurrected his dip. Kyler Murray and Tua are different. Tua can't stay healthy and is really limited physically. Kyler as a story out this week, he hasn't Talked to the GMs at the end of the season. So he's not terribly verbal. Their commission commitment issues, their health issues and even though we're in a league now where you do get second teams and second runs, you know, Arizona well, does Kyler have a market? I mean there's such bad pr.

[Colin Cowherd]

Someone told me this week that Kyler Murray and his camp, they want to go to Minnesota. Well, Aaron Rodgers wanted to go to Minnesota too. Most quarterbacks do. I can't imagine Kevin o' Connell wanting Kyler Murray. Kyler Murray is at the point if he truly wants to resurrect his career. He's made a ton of money at this point, right? Number one overall pick got this huge deal that is now an albatross. Makes him untradable if he gets cut, which he's going to, why not? Surely you know the Ravens, the chief, some of one of those type teams would be like, hey, we'll take you for the veteran minimum if Andy Reid calls or something. You would be crazy. Not to make a decision to go there and potentially maybe rehab your image. Because he does have a branding problem right now, I would say throughout the league, he's not viewed very highly as a player on or off the field. Not like bad like some of these guys to get in trouble, but just. Yeah, we don't want to deal with that. That's, I would say the number one thing you, you hear talking to these guys. Yeah, we got to deal with this with our defensive lineman. You've talked about this forever with wide. They do not want to deal with the quarterback room. I mean, the quarterback room better be like your coaches, better be like your executives. Just high level professionals. I never even think about you. I have to deal with immaturity in some other positions. Not the quarterback position. Imagine if you just go to Andy Reid for a year. You know, Kevin, Sam Darnold did this. Daniel Jones kind of did this when he got cut by the Giants and just rehab his image. And then by the end of the year, maybe you play, maybe you don't, but you have an Andy Reid type guy. And I'm just using him as example. You could do Sean Payton. You could use whoever would be interested, that's established and go, we love that guy. That was a great experience being around him. Then that changes the arc of the way the league thinks about you. Because being there, the league is one. It's like a high school. Everyone knows everybody and everybody talks to everybody. And you could probably play one degree of separation. You just put Mike Silver in the middle. He's. He knows they all know each other and all the information on what a guy is and isn't as a person. You know, one thing, one of my big takeaways is we can get in the draft. Why this pick makes it, why this free agency or, you know, guy didn't work. This, this is a people business. And the teams that are good have just really high level people right on the coaching staff. I mean, I hear some stories, Colin, about position coaches making millions of dollars that get title stripped in the middle of the season and throw a hissy fit and won't go to meetings. It's not just the players. These assistant coaches egos are enormous. Now you got a lot of personalities and the best teams are just. I hear stories about Kellen Moore or Kubiak and you're like, I see why these guys are having success. Just easy to deal with. High level guys get along high EQs, you know, and clearly, you know, the league has kind of been defined of you Need a few crazies on your team, but you better have a high character operation from a football character standpoint or you got no shot.

[John Middlekauff]

Speaking of a high level coach, Ben Johnson and Mike Vrabel turned it around in one year. I saw that you ran into Ben Johnson. I mean, he's got to be. They have a really interesting situation where they know exactly what they need. They need some help in the linebacker core. They're not fast enough and they need a rush end. But I mean, they've really. John, they could literally use every draft pick on defense. They don't have a hole offensively. Maybe another tackle in the building, but receiver, tight end, back, quarterback, interior, O line and really good. I mean, was Ben walking on cloud nine in a pretty, pretty good mood?

[Colin Cowherd]

Well, I use you because sometimes, you know, it's easy if you know the guy to start a conversation. When you don't, you gotta, you gotta come with a little material. So I had you in my back pocket. I dropped your name early. And he said that he'd seen you, he thought at a restaurant. And I said, ben, I can't believe you didn't go talk to him. You guys would have been breaking down offensive football. He started laughing and people like, I'd never see Ben Johnson smile. I'm like, well, I got that magic touch because I used you and love to link you up. The Bears, I talked to Ryan Poles, you know, they feel like they got a pretty good, those two guys. You know, Ryan had some bumps early, right? He did moves.

[John Middlekauff]

No, I've said that Chase Claypool thing didn't work, but receivers are a hard acquisition. It's just a tough position. Then he redeemed himself with a DJ Moore deal.

[Colin Cowherd]

And as a gm, you look way better with a good coach. I mean, you, you just do. So now you get a guy who, I mean, I think one thing you beat at this combine the, the status of Ben Johnson and Mike McDonald in 12 month span. Like if you would have been there last year to where they are this year, it just couldn't be any higher. The way they're thought of in terms of coaching on the field is extremely high. And I would expect DJ Moore is going to be a name that we're going to see over the next week because they're going to have to move an offensive piece. They don't have many draft picks, you know, to kind of retool this thing. And they let in one of their linebackers I saw seek a trade. The other thing is that division, you know, I Make fun of the Vikings because of their quarterback situation, as most people do. We talk about the Lions taking a big step back. Both those teams went nine and eight. I mean, both those teams, the Vikings and the Lions are pretty well established culture with really good players. Their floor is extremely high. And if the packers just can keep some guys healthy, clearly they're one of the best teams in the league. So that division from the Bear standpoint is really, really difficult. And the Bears, who have been atrocious, now we're going to get a first place schedule, it is going to be more challenging and they're going to sneak up on nobody. Which, when you see Ben, he's wired for that. Like, I don't think he's, he's not resting on his laurels. He is. You can just tell a lot by the way guys carry themselves, you know, the Harbaugh brothers or Vrabel, like they're so comfortable in their own skin. But some of these new guys, the newfound fame, like when my, when, when Ben Johnson walks in somewhere, he's really famous now. And to me he just carries himself like he looks the exact same as he carried himself a year ago. And I would say the same thing with Mike McDonald. Their personality, like this, the no ego. I was talking to him last night and just going, this guy won a Super bowl like three weeks ago. And you would, you would never know. If you brought some guy off the street that didn't know football, you just met this guy, you would have no clue that this guy is the super bowl champion and the, the toast of the town right now in the NFL. So I would feel pretty confident if I'm the Bears, but they do like there are a lot of. Because the cap is so big right now, there are so many options with trades. And I talked to Howie about this. When I first started working for Howie in 2010, he was on the forefront of the NFL forever. Wasn't that trade heavy, you know?

[John Middlekauff]

Oh God, no. Before the Jimmy Johnson trade, the Herschel Walker teams didn't trade.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, the historic trades stand out so much like the 80s and 90s because they didn't happen that much. How he was ready to trade like an NBA Major League Baseball gm, but the rest of the league wasn't. And then now you fast forward 15 plus years in the mid-2020s, all these GMs or the majority of them are kind of like him. They're ready to trade. So people are willing to, hey, you want this guy? You want to trade draft picks? You want to do this. So there is just a lot of action which I think stalls some deals because it gets so expensive. It's like a house. If you only have one guy bidding on the house, you know, you probably can dictate the terms a little bit. You got seven people waiting out on the, on the front of the street to buy the house. That that price is going to skyrocket. And I think that happens with some of these deals. I've been saying this about Max Crosby. Like Breer told me, he's like, I don't think they're going to get two ones. I'm like, well, he's under contract and there would be minimum 5 high level playoff teams who would be bidding on him. So, yeah, in theory, you'd be like a one and a two. Well, if five teams are bidding against each other, like, the reason McCaffrey went for a two, three and a four is because the Rams also wanted them. So the Niners had to put in a little bit more. That's the way it works. So that's where I think that historically, 20 years ago, yeah, Max Crosby probably just goes for a one. But now you have all these GMs that have lined up to wheel and deal, and that's cool, like you're there. This is a Wheeler in a dealer league. This is a, this is a league where, you know, these, the John Schneider types that you got to be great at identifying personnel. You got to be dynamic wheeling the deal. You got to be willing to make moves. It is much more, I would say, complicated. Now you got all the money, you got to lean on your salary cap guy. It's a pretty intense environment. When you're there, you just realize the pressure cooker of this thing. I mean, I'm watching Aaron Glenn do a press conference. I'm like, God, I wouldn't want to be that guy right now. He's got to be thinking like, get me out of here. I mean, this is. Even Veech. You know, you could just say there's just a weight to all this stuff. I mean, this is, this is a long, intense week because it lays the foundation for next week where that, you know, that tampering period, it's just full go. And these Drew Rosenhaus, these guys ready to do a deal and get moving.

[John Middlekauff]

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[John Middlekauff]

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[John Middlekauff]

You know, it's interesting. You talked to Howie and you know he wouldn't divulge anything on Jalen Hurts. But I was told during the summer by a source very close to the Eagles front office that people were pointing to A.J. brown. And some of it's on Jalen Hurts. He is not well liked in the locker room. He's not a galvanizer. He's not one of the guys. Now. Not everybody is. Brady was unique. Peyton Manning, Mahomes. Not every quarterback is. But over your course of 48, 72

[Colin Cowherd]

hours

[John Middlekauff]

where everybody's drinking, everybody's talking, everybody's. The rumors are fact and facts become rumors. What do you hear about Hertz? Because I've heard it this past summer. I also heard it from a different executive during the season and now you see it reported that he's just. Hertz is a different cat. Even the representation team, what do you hear?

[Colin Cowherd]

I would say if you went back three months and you just asked people that watched the NFL, they'd be like, oh, A.J. brown's a problem. He's a diva. Everyone hates him in Philly. Just a casual fan. That is not the vibe I got. He's emotional, right. But he represents, I think a lot of guys on their team what they want to say. He's just willing to say it. And I think Jalen is a pretty polarizing player in and out of the locker room. But he's also on an enormous contract. So he's, he's kind of a made man right now on their team in the sense that they can't really get rid of them. So it's not even an option. Like he's their starting quarterback. They are changing their offense to the Shanahan kind of operation with Sean Manion, who, you know, played at Oregon State, has a pro style background. Kevin o', Connell, I think they're going to ask Jalen hurts to play in this. Brock Purdy, Sam, like, I don't know. I don't really see it coming.

[John Middlekauff]

Yep, either do I.

[Colin Cowherd]

And, and I don't like they part. And part of the reason they would tell you, I think is because they want the, you know, it's a great running game system and they want Saquon to shot. They want to get back to where they were two years ago where they ran for 2,000 yards. I just think a lot of people go, well, Jalen been to two Super Bowls. He's been great in those Super Bowls. It's a little like Seattle. The Richard Sherman group never embraced Russell Wilson. They never believed.

[John Middlekauff]

They believe they were one of the guys.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, he wasn't one of the guys. And they never believed that. Like he's getting way more credit than he deserves. And I, I think, you know, when it comes to the Eagles, there's some of that and there's some of. He just doesn't ingratiate himself to the group of. The Eagles have a lot of high level guys. Like they have done a good job over the last couple years minus Jalen Carter of just elite character, you know, Devontae Smith to Jordan Davis. And obviously they had a core group of older guys like Lane Johnson and Kelsey and Fletcher Cox. If you can't get along with those guys, like, and have them really, really think highly of you, everyone's going to say, well, if the Eagles don't win this year, Sirianni's in trouble. And maybe that's true because I think they really like Sirianni in the building. Howie likes him. Jeffrey Lurie likes him. Like he's good with. Because Nick's good with people. Like when the, when, when no one's watching, when the lights, when they're working Monday through Friday, people like that guy a lot in the building. I don't think the same can say for Jalen Hurts, which is crazy because all the good quarterbacks, I would say one of their best traits is like extremely well liked by the group. Right. And I'm not even just talking the great hall of Famers. You just picked a random guys like, yeah, go to the Cowboys locker room, ask them about Dak Prescott. Well, go to the Niners locker room, ask him Jared Goff, Brock Pie. I mean, these guys are extremely well liked.

[John Middlekauff]

Like Kirk Cousins, conservative, religious, still really well liked. That could easily be a polarizing personality trait. You know, kind of conservative. People love Kirk Cousins. He's one of the guys. He's a very good supporting teammate. You know, obviously Mendoza is the best quarterback in this class and he's also going to go number one. I do think if I was Arizona, I talked about it, John on the air today that Arizona has such a stink in the building that the opposite of Kyler Murray is Fernando Mendoza. Big, strong, committed, humble, grateful. He's like, he'd be an air freshener in the Arizona Cardinals car because there's a stink in the building. And I do think they should call and give up three number ones for him. I mean, if first round picks matter that much, why are the jets and Giants awful and the Titans awful and the Browns awful? They're always drafting in the top seven or eight for years. And the Rams have only had one first round pick in the last nine drafts. So like it, it's. I would make that move. I don't think the Raiders will move off it. Did you hear anything about Mendoza that hasn't been printed? I mean, Cam Ward last year went number one. He was a zero star recruit. Fernando was a two star recruit. And I think both have a certain gratitude. You know, when you come up through the ranks and you're not Arch Manning or Peyton Manning, do You hear anything about Mendoza? Anything about the Raiders?

[Colin Cowherd]

Well, I think it's a 100% lock. Mendoza is the pick. One thing I struggle with is everyone compares him to previous drafts. You know he wouldn't have gone against above Caleb Drake May Jaden Daniels. He wouldn't go above Cam Ward last year had a more physical skill set. We're not playing like universal generic football. Every team has specific offenses and thing they ask the quarterback. They just hired Kubiak who just won a Super bowl with Sam Darnold who came from the 49ers where they had Brock Purdy and also coach Derek Carr where before some injuries the Saints were actually pretty good two years ago. They look for specific skill set with the quarterback and Fernando Mendoza checks the boxes. Accurate, smart, rhythm timing is one of the skill sets and is mobile enough so they're not looking for him to just sit back and throw the ball 50 times. Again, that's not how Kubiak is going to play. Right. So I know people struggle. Like I hear this Jared Goff, he's compared to Jared Goff, it's almost said like it's a negative thing. Yeah guys, Jared Goff is going to have a 15 year career. He's going to make $400 million, several

[John Middlekauff]

hall of Fame votes.

[Colin Cowherd]

He'll go. I mean there's a decent chance in the next couple of years they keep their core together, they win a couple of playoff games in a season and the Lions a good like he's a high level quarterback. Like that's. That is a compliment in my book. Right. He was in the NFC championship a couple years ago. He was starting quarterback on a Super bowl team. Like Jared Goff's career has been a raging success. So if this guy's a more athletic version of that, I'm very interested in that play. I just feel like he's kind of getting nitpicked. Like he's a mid prospect and I just don't buy it because this gets back to the character stuff. Like I know the Chiefs guys really well. They swear by Mahomes football character. Right now the buzz is like this guy's rehab is going great. He's attacking it. It's like he is not messing around. He's motivated, he's pissed off, he's got a chip on his shoulder and like that matters in this league. Like the Josh Allen, what he takes every offseason, how pissed off he is and how driven he is. Like that's got to matter. The person matters as much as the player. Obviously you have to have the requisite skill set, but all these guys do. So what defines Tom Brady was all the stuff that you can't quantify in pff. So Fernando Mendoza, he's goofy or whatever comes. None of that matters. Players, there's a million different types, personalities in the locker room. Unlike Twitter, where everyone hates each other, you go into most locker rooms beside the Eagles, everyone kind of gets along. You know, these are. These are young guys. They have a lot of common interests. It's just. It's an easygoing group. It's. It's not that polarizing in a locker room. Fernando Mendoza. You see the Indiana where they had a million transfer portal guys when they're winning national championships, everyone's galvanized around him and like defensive lineman, offensive lineman. So I, I think people are too low on Fernando Mendoza.

[John Middlekauff]

I think I'm the same way. I feel the same way.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, the rest of the draft kind of sucks. I think he's a really impressive prospect. Is he Elway or Luck? No. Is he. Do you feel very good about drafting him? Number one? I know the Raiders do. I know they feel very good about. Part of the reason they're kind of torn on Max is they go, well, what if we kind of rehab this offensive line? We already got Bowers. We're going to have a good run game. What if we could be more competitive next year? So I think that's where they're trying because I think he could be a huge upgrade over. I mean, let's face it, it's not all Geno's fault. The offense and they had a lot of issues going, but they were an offensive disaster last year.

[John Middlekauff]

Yeah. Okay.

[Colin Cowherd]

One thing, one thing Colin, is before is the combine. One thing I've consistently heard, I went out a couple nights ago with a couple GMS and some other executives and they were just floored that every meeting they go to with a guy that's going to get drafted in the first or second round just goes, yeah, I'm not working out. And it's one thing like Fernando Mendoza, no big deal. You played a month ago. You played 16 games. Like, you don't need to throw, but a guy will be going like the third round. It's like, yeah, I'm not going to run or do any activity. And I think a lot of these guys, one thing that you hear is with the money getting so big and the pressure from these, these agents, the power they have now and these guys in college, and we're seeing it with Darren Peterson, you know, in College basketball, but that's. This been happening in football for a while, that this combine could be in a little trouble in terms of like these get players just might stop going, let alone when they do go, they do nothing. And part of it is the league turned it in for to a made for TV event, right? And now the players are like, we're not doing it. So it's, it's kind of in a weird spot, right? So important for the, the press conferences, the medical and some of that. But I think the on the field work. The combine is coming down the home stretch. Colin.

[John Middlekauff]

Yeah, no, and you know, listen, I heard the story. I remember when Johnny Manziel aced the interviews at the combine, you know, because he's a good bullshitter. And it's like, and that's a, that's not a terrible quality for a salesperson. You know, he can talk the talk or a podcaster, you know, but he fooled people. You know, let's ride, let's go. And then he didn't want to watch film. I mean, literally, you know, they were testing him on what film he watched and how far into the film he watched, and they found he didn't even turn it on. And he acknowledged that later. So I think, I think that my problem has always been it's like a first date. When you go on a first date, people say the right things, people dress perfect, you know, the hygiene's great. By the seventh or eighth date, you get a real feel for what a person is. The problem with a combine, it's got a first date feel. People are in the best shape of their life. They've been prepped by their agents and consultants how to interview. And it's kind of inauthentic that you, you know, I was saying this the other day on FS1, by week six, even the fast guys aren't as fast. Everybody's dinged up. Everybody's got bad hips. You know, everybody's. Everybody's dealing with a second or third injury. The four, three guys are four or four guys. The four or five guys are four, six guys. Everybody's hurt. Even quarterbacks, kickers get dinged up. And so I think it's, I think the combat, like, I know that I watch less of it now than I did than I did five years ago. I just don't watch it as much. It just doesn't matter. I think the people who cover it do a good job. But I just, I, when I move off stuff, like I moved into baseball two years ago, like I moved Way back in the games were faster. The Yankees, the Dodgers, the Cubs, the Padres. The teams I liked were better. I've moved out. I moved off college football for several years because it became too regional. I'm now way back into baseball, way back into college football. I'm kind of out on the combine. I just. I just. I think it's an inauthentic exercise. Overly prepped.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah. And you use the dating analogy. These guys, the. You only have 20 minutes in a formal interview with the guys at the combine. And at this point in time, all these agents have a pretty good idea, depending on their client, what the questions are going to be veered around. And one thing I've heard is they're all so prepped and it just feels so fake where when you bring them to the facility and you get 30 of those where you're able to fly them out or go meet them or in their, you know, in their home or their college facility. If I spend five hours with you, it's hard to fake some stuff, right? If I only get you for 20 minutes, you could fake some stuff. If I get you all day, take you with my coordinator, take you with my PR guy, take you with my trainer, it's going to be hard for you. You're going to break character and we're going to get like. It's going to be really hard to fake. And that's where it's like. I think some of these teams, it was probably more genuine 20, 25 years ago. Now, I think with the 20 minutes you can get some con men because they're coached up on the outside by the. Because there's so much. I mean, there's. There's so much more money. If the difference of getting drafted 20th and 50th, you're talking millions of dollars. So there's just so much on the line. And yeah, I think the combine when it comes to. I think it's in a little trouble big picture. Like do I if I was a betting man. Does it have over under 10 years is currently constructed. I don't know.

[John Middlekauff]

Okay. Finally. Best rumor you heard doesn't have to be true. It could be four cocktails in. Did you hear anything? I mean, the JJ McCarthy thing people are talking about. Tua, did you hear any tasty rumors may not come to fruition, but you heard.

[Colin Cowherd]

That's a pretty good question. I'm trying to think. There's some pretty good coaching rumors. There was a lot of moving parts with some of these hires and these coaching rumors. You know, I Think Joe Shane. A lot of people go 50, 50. He survives after the draft. Wow. Giants GM John Harbaugh, he. But then I have other people telling me that there's rumors that he got an extension. I think he's one of the biggest mysteries right now in the NFL. I mean, the Giants historically have done things for one way and one way only. And then John Harbaugh said, if you want to hire me, you answer to me. John Harbaugh's developed like an operation, right? This Donna Ponte, she's a former executive, now runs the contract. She answers to John. That goes up that food chain. Joe Shane, just like every Giants gm, used to do everything. The training room, the cafeteria. They were kind of in charge the locker room. John Harbaugh is now in charge of all of that. And he's just in charge of keeping the scouts great and players who then he funnels to John. So that is something to keep an eye on, just that situation. I know there were some rumors about George Peyton, Sean's GM and Denver because Minnesota fired their guy. I heard they have a good relationship and George likes Denver. I heard that spot that it's no lock for him just to, like, jump ship and go back. Sean respects him to Minnesota. And I mean, I'm sure you saw the. The news yesterday of the Davis Webb now calling plays. I was with a couple coaches last night that said, understood, you want to keep this young hotshot. You like him a lot. That is an extremely tough. I don't think Davis Webb, he is calling Sean's playbook that Sean has been calling plays for 30 years. Who knows that playbook better than anybody. And then you're just going to get to call plays in. We are losing by 10 points to the Charger. That's a. That's a tough gig. Sean's an intense guy. You know, I. I think that that opened a lot of eyes around the league that, like, buckle up, young fella. That's going to be a difficult thing. You know, Sean's like, you call what? I mean, that's. It'd be like calling. Calling plays for Kyle or McVeigh when they're standing right next to you. The difference is Sean's way older, been doing it way longer. That's. That. That was a story I thought yesterday being talked a lot about, like, what. What did Sean Payton do? Gave up play calling for this guy. I don't think many people saw that coming. I definitely did. I thought that was one of the newsier things. It's a little inside baseball but you know, we talk a lot of coordinators, you and I do, so that was one of those that had people talking. And honestly, people like Davis Webb that like, I hope you realize what you're getting yourself into because this thing's going to be intense.

[John Middlekauff]

Yeah. And Sean's also one of the most outspoken coaches in. In the NFL or baseball or the NBA. Oh, yeah. I mean, he is. Wears all of his motions. He leads with his chin. John Middelkoff, good seeing you, buddy. Nice work.

[Colin Cowherd]

You too. Colin.

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[John Middlekauff]

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