← The Herd with Colin Cowherd
The Herd with Colin Cowherd
Colin Cowherd Podcast - NFL Free Agency Reaction: Malik Willis-Dolphins, Mike Evans-49ers, Walker-Chiefs
00:41:31
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- [00:00]
Colin Cowherd
This is an iHeart podcast.
- [00:02]
Chris Brockman
Guaranteed human.
- [00:05]
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- [01:04]
Chris Brockman
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- [01:20]
Lavar Arrington
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- [01:53]
Chris Brockman
Support for the show comes from public, so it kind of feels like there's two types of investing platforms. You got the old school brokerages that look like they were designed in like 1995. Then you have those other platforms, the ones that feel less like investing and more like a casino. Public is neither. It's the investing platform for people who actually take this stuff seriously. You know, people who are serious about building their wealth. Because on public you can build a portfolio of stocks and options and bonds and crypto without all the bugs or the confetti. Retirement accounts? Yep. High yield cash. Of course. They even have direct indexing. Honestly, this is what investing platform should look like. Modern design, simple to use, and customer support that actually cares. Go to public.com/cowherd and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. The that's public.com Calhurt ad paid for
- [02:45]
Colin Cowherd
by Public Holdings Brokerage services by public investing member FINRA SIPC advisory services by public advisors SEC registered advisor crypto services by ZeroHash. All investing involves risk of loss. See complete disclosures@public.com disclosures the volume today's
- [03:05]
Chris Brockman
show is brought to you by our presenting sponsor, American Beverage. If you think about some of the most iconic drinks in the country, the ones you grab at a barbecue, the ones you raise to celebrate your team, that have been part of your story for decades, Coke, Dr. Pepper, Pepsi, there's something people don't always think about. The companies behind those brands are still making their drinks right here in the US While there's a lot of talk about bringing manufacturing back, America's beverage companies never left. There are American companies making American products with American workers in America's hometown. So 275,000 men and women across all 50 states. Real jobs, good paying jobs. The kind of jobs you can raise a family on. So more than 100 years, those brands have been part of everyday lives and they're still here, still investing, still operating and communities around the country. So if you care about strong local economies and companies that walk the walk, check out the good work and what they're doing@wedeliverica.org. Well, the day didn't start well. I backed out. I had Monday off because the World Baseball Classic. I backed out of the garage. The door wasn't all the way open and I rammed it with Anne's car. So that was just not good for me. That was not. And we're going on vacation Saturday. So I got to make amends really quickly.
- [04:23]
Colin Cowherd
Did the garage door follow you or did the car get the worst of it or what happened there?
- [04:28]
Chris Brockman
Yeah, well, the garage door stopped working and the car got dinged up. So it was terrible. So I said, all right, I'll go walk the dogs and watch some NFL free agency. So I've made peace with it. Ann had to go with her sister downtown Chicago, so she had to cool off. All right, let's start with this. Okay? I know he only has six starts. NFL Free Agency Malik Willis, 22 million a year, three year deal with the Dolphins. He is not Tua. Stop saying that. He's a real athlete with a better arm. He's got a much better arm than Tua and he's really athletic. I know he's young. I like him. John, I've said this for Years. I don't know anything about music other than I like it. I can watch these musical shows. I can tell in 30 seconds if somebody has lounge act or you could sign them to a record deal. And I don't know anything about music. I know a little about football. When I watch that kid's escapability arm. He's got, I mean, he's got again, it's the, it's Green Bay. So he was well coached. But there were Packer fans saying they thought he was as good or better than Jordan Love. I think the Dolphins went and found a very interesting player at quarterback.
- [05:50]
Colin Cowherd
Well, the other thing is the people that just signed him know him.
- [05:52]
Novartis Ad Voice
You.
- [05:53]
Chris Brockman
It's.
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Colin Cowherd
And it's not the offensive coach, the defensive coordinator. That went against him forever. Because you know, in the NFL when you're the backup quarterback, you run the, you know, you run the scout team, you service the defense. So Jeff Halfley had a front row seat for two years and the general manager who was the right hand guy for Gudiken. Same thing, right? From an evaluation standpoint, do you remember a guy improving this much this fast? Because remember with Tennessee he was pretty bad. Like he was unplayable. And then last year when he had to play, he was basically just a running quarterback when the floor remember because he got hurt in week one in Brazil. Loved it. And then he had to play and they started winning, like, okay, there's at least something there. I gave Leflore a lot of credit this year. To me with his arm was fantastic because he proved two things. One, he could come out of the bullpen. So he played in a game when Love got hurt against the Bears that he was not planning on playing. And then, let's face it, Love was kind of hit or miss this year in that game. He was fantastic in the cold weather, which is a big knock on TUA and a big knock on the Miami Dolphins. Can't play in cold weather. Well, why is that the case? Usually when you have a pea shooter arm, what doesn't pierce the cold in the wind? Weak arm strength. Look at the great quarterbacks. You know, historically in that region. Big Ben, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Breeze played in a dome. Rivers played in Southern California. Eli Manning, huge arm. Where do you play? New York. You know, Donovan McNabb, Michael Vick, Patrick Mahomes. Cold weather quarterbacks burrow somewhat of an outlier. Not a great arm, but he's just, he's like Montana, just a great player. So it kind of translates. But I'm with you I not only like it, I think it's an incredible story of just improvement. Clearly he was always a high character, interesting human, but the play was really raw when Tennessee drafted him. But LaFleur deserves a lot of credit because that offensive staff improving the player deserves a lot of credit. Incredible story. I'm with you. I think no brainer for him. Miami to me is more interesting than going to than Arizona. So I like picking the spot and you know, the guys know you and believe in you. So it wouldn't shock me at all if he. I don't think he becomes like a top 78 quarterback but has just a solid career like what we saw last year. There is no disputing he was a really good player in limited action. Really good.
- [08:08]
Chris Brockman
Yeah. And it should be noted that Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield, you know, we've seen this before. There's more good offensive coaches, there's more sophisticated schemes. If you're a hardworking kid, you're not gobbling up, you know, too much cap space. Although they have to pay TUA offer two years. So I think we both like it. All right, here's another one. Mike Evans to the 49ers. So he is a big red zone target. They have been hit and miss on receivers. I thought they over played their hand on Debo. He was good, briefly got hurt, moved him. Iuk's a disaster. Ricky Pearsall, solid, not great, but you know, late first round pick, Mike Evans, red zone guy, Kittle McCaffrey, Trent Williams, it's again older player picks up the playbook with Kyle Shanahan quickley a playmaker. It feels like Kyle Shanahan doesn't have a ton of patience with young players. He likes guys. I mean it feels like to me he likes veteran players. So. Mike Evans to the Niners again this gives Brock Purdy another weapon. Feels like it works to me.
- [09:17]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, fits their kind of mold. High character, high level guy, very productive. You know, fred Warner, Christian McCaffrey like that type human slash player. Ricky Pierce all is a good player, just can't stay on the field. And Juwan Jennings is going to get a lot of money. So the IUK thing blew up in their face. Yeah, I mean they have a major question mark at the wide receiver position. And the other thing is the Rams are loading up on their defensive backfield. So I think the 49ers had to do something offensively because you saw in those last couple games against Seattle, obviously KD went down in the second game, but they just had no Firepower. And the one thing you have to do. The Rams prove this. If you have some firepower. This is not 1987. The rules are on your side as an offensive coach. But they were rolling out practice squad level guys. So you get Mike Evans, a future hall of Famer. Love that move. Doesn't shock me at all. I mean, the 49ers at this point in time haven't been that active the last couple of years in free agency. But that's. That's a Kyle Shanahan type guy for sure.
- [10:21]
Chris Brockman
Yeah, I mean, it's. Listen that the entire team gets nicked up. I mean, there's been stories about some. Right next to their practice facility.
- [10:28]
Colin Cowherd
Substation.
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Chris Brockman
There's a substation which weakens tissues. I don't know if it's true, but. But to me, he feels so 49ers. All right, let me throw another one at you. We talked about this yesterday. Tyler Lindebaum. I'm not sure why Baltimore didn't sign him. Probably because they have a Lamar contract. Renegotiation coming up. Renegotiation coming up. Max Crosby's expensive. Kyle Hamilton. Outside of Creed Humphrey of the Chiefs, there's an argument Tyler Linderbaum is the best center in football. I thought they were going to resign him. He was a first round pick out of Iowa. Tough, smart, durable, doesn't miss a lot of starts. I love. This is an A plus move to me by the Raiders because this is what Ben Johnson did with the Bears. You know, they went drafted JPJ out of Oregon last year. He's more of a guard. He was a center in college. He's more of a guard. Then they bring in a Pro bowl center for Fernando Mendoza. Now their offense, basically, they'll probably. They have so many picks. They'll probably get a receiver in the second or third round. They'll also probably draft a right tackle. Fourth, fifth round. I love this. To me, this is my favorite signing so far in free agency.
- [11:42]
Colin Cowherd
Well, look at all the good teams, right? The Ravens for the last four years have had one of the best centers. The Chiefs have one of the best centers. The Bills just paid their center. Like, I mean, center kind of matters, especially when you have a young quarterback. And I think if you're a Raider fan, you look at it go. We essentially traded max Crosby for two first round picks, one being 14 and a center who's one of the better centers in the league. I just looked. He hasn't missed a snap really in the last two years. So this is a very durable Classic like Midwest Center. Right. The other thing is, I would say this for the Raven standpoint. He was banged up last year, but the previous two years, when you factor in the center obviously was an excellent player and likely who accounted for 11 touchdowns in 23 and 24, was very productive in their two playoff or their two playoff runs those two years. Like he's not Kelsey or Kittle or anything, but he was a unique player for them and made huge plays. Even the play that led to the missed field goal against Pittsburgh on that Sunday night game. Who made the crazy catch? Isaiah Likely. How many teams have a six, six guy? I mean he kind of plays like a little Darren Waller basketball player, elite athlete. You just, you don't need to be that accurate. Just throw him a 50, 50 ball because it's not a 50, 50 ball. So there are some injury concerns. He's not the most durable player. He is a unique player though. So you tell me the Ravens on offense with this 29 year old aging quarterback, new offensive coordinator lose their, you know, kind of just stalwart guy at center. And this unique chess piece with Likely, you know, Henry still got something in the tank, but he's a little older. Zay Flowers isn't exactly Jerry Rice. Good player, but I mean their offense has some question marks, assuming their defense will improve, which it will, but I don't know, that's, that's to me something to keep an eye on with the Ravens who are clearly trying. You know, we talked about this last night, right? Super bowl or bust, I mean, making it to the Super Bowl. They're in this little couple year window now of them and the Bills. There's no. Well, we made the playoffs. That's not really their standard in their organization. Now.
- [13:49]
Chris Brockman
Rashawn Gary to Dallas Rusher off the edge. I mean, listen, Quinn and Williams, Kenny Clark and the trade for Micah Parsons, Rashawn Gary, it allows them to go get a corner and maybe a Caleb Downs in the draft in the first round. I mean, that's what it feels like to me is that they're, they're going to buy, you know, they're going to spend money defensively up front. They don't want to wait for developing players. Jerry Jones is getting older, Dax getting older. So they're going to go buy veteran players up front, which they have, and then they're going to draft on the back end. I still think they're going to draft defensive players with their picks in the first round.
- [14:22]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, I think clearly there's going to be a good defensive back there with their first pick which is what is it? 13. Like they're going to get Caleb Downs. Definitely there's a chance he's there when
- [14:33]
Chris Brockman
you factor in one of the two best corners. Yeah.
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Colin Cowherd
So they're going to get and I think at pick 20 gives them a little leeway of just they can take a great player. Right. Who doesn't have to be a position of need. Say this about the Cowboys. They've. They've drafted pretty well, especially in the first round from Zach Martin. You know, Zeke was really good. Obviously CD Lamb, like Tyler Smith has
- [14:53]
Chris Brockman
become a good player.
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Colin Cowherd
Tyler, all their offensive linemen have become, you know, starters for their team. So I one thing you'd say about Jerry in the front office operation, Jerry's not the guy breaking down seven games on every player right now. He's the guy front and center when the press conference comes. But they have a really good scouting staff. So I, I think the Cowboys, I was just texting somebody. I think the Giants, this NFC east, you know, the Eagles, they lose Jalen Phillips, their pass rush when they won the Super Bowl a couple years ago was like historically great. I think they had four guys get double digit sacks. Well since then Brandon Graham retired, came back, probably retire again. Fletcher Cox is gone. Obviously sweat is now on the Cardinals. They have this Jalen Carter situation who is an elite talent but they are very uncomfortable paying him 40, 45 million dollars. That's so it's like now you look at the Giants who have some stability. The Cowboys offensively have been fantastic. Schottenheimer proved like he's a pretty good offensive play call if their defense is just solid, they're going to be a pretty interesting team. So you got to have the Giants and the Cowboys like that division is going to be to me dramatically more competitive than I would say it's been over the last 10 years when it's basically just been the Eagles or those couple years with McCarthy when the Cowboys were pretty loaded. But now the commanders. I think commanders still have a lot of question marks. I think they clearly wanted Linderbaum, but what did the Raiders have? No state income tax could offer a huge amount of money. You just have a fresh slate here come you get to be the team captain. So the commanders had cut their center. He's now on the Chargers. I'm sure they wanted Linder Bomb. They don't have that. Their roster is kind of old to begin with. So the Eagles just got a lot of moving parts now. They still got a lot of talents and Talent in the NFL matters, but, man, I. There's just that that division to me has gotten a lot more interesting in the last couple months.
- [16:41]
Chris Brockman
I would say Kenneth Walker from Seattle to Kansas City, again, he's great after contact gets dinged up, but they have no juice. They're losing backs to free agency. They have no juice in the backfield. I also thought this made sense because they don't have a ton of draft picks, but it allows them. Now, their first pick could be the right tackle, Fano from Utah. They need a corner for McDuffie. They need an edge rusher. They have three big needs now with Kenneth Walker. They'll probably draft another running back later in the draft. It's not a good running back draft. So, I mean, to me, Kenneth Walker is more valuable. This sounds weird to say as a Super bowl mvp, but I think because of Charbonnet with the Seahawks as a backup, they have another couple backs in Seattle that are, you know, spot players. They don't play a ton of. But I think Kenneth Walker to the Chiefs feels incredibly valuable. And with Seattle, not that he was disposable, but they have such a stacked roster. It feels like if they. If they drafted another running back in the fourth round, one of the. A Penn State running back in the third round, you're like, they're fine. I think Kansas City had to do this.
- [17:46]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, I don't think they had a choice either. I think it's pretty clear to them, too. I don't think they would have taken Jeremiah Love. But at this point in time, you're weighing all your options. I think they understand that that wasn't even going to be an option at pick nine. So you go, quote, unquote, overpay. I mean, they gave him a substantial amount of money. Three years, $45 million, almost guaranteed them 30. Remember a couple years ago, that was essentially what Howie Roseman gave Saquon Barkley. So these running backs, they've been on zoom calls, always bitching and moaning. They don't get any money. Like, business has been a lot better the last couple years. You know, the money has gravitated toward them. Listen, the Chiefs, they weren't going to let Baltimore and Buffalo have all the fun like Andy Reid. They don't plan on. I know a lot of people talk about this. I'll just have an off year and they ain't mailing anything in. Their game plan is Mahomes starting week one. They plan on winning. They get a plug and play running back. Now, one thing that he's going to have to prove he can do. Andy likes throwing the ball to the back, right? Shady McCoy, Brian Westbrook, Jamal Charles, when he first got the.
- [18:47]
Chris Brockman
Walker does.
- [18:48]
Colin Cowherd
So it's like now, now, could they maybe want to adapt a little bit to take some pressure? Who they bring back? Eric B. Enemy. What's he, a running back guy, right? So maybe they want to take a little pressure off coming off an injury, right? Coming off an ACL, they're not going to want him to throw 40, 50 times a game like he did earlier in his career. So could they maybe try to lean on Kenneth Walker a little bit more? Now? That would be very opposite of Andy's history. But listen, what do you talented people in any industry do? They adapt. They change. Andy's changed how many times? His offense. His offense now, ask anyone, is dramatically different than it was 10 years ago, 20 years ago. So what if you tell everyone? I don't think many people in the league would believe you. They're a rushing team this year, right? They got a good guard, they got a good center. They got a young stud left tackle like you said. What if they draft a right tackle? And if they go, you know what, why don't we do some Kyle Shanahan and just run the ball, take a little pressure off our quarterback, build up our young defense with our stud coordinator. So what if the Chiefs are their game plan this, this year is to be one of the better rushing teams. Look at, you know, the Bills with. With Cook. Now, Cook's a better player than Walker, but what if the Chiefs are about to throw a little curveball here and become a running offense?
- [20:01]
Chris Brockman
Do you think Travis Kelsey signs with them or somebody else?
- [20:04]
Colin Cowherd
Well, I thought he was going to go to the Giants and then they signed. Likely that's not happening. I mean, by all accounts, maybe there just is a tie that I undervalue a little bit. This is a unique player with a unique connection to Andy and the Chiefs. And for the right price. I mean, at this point in time, he's. He's so wealthy on and off the field that maybe he's just cool with like, hey, man, I. I understand I'm not a $15 million a year player anymore. Could we go like 5 and incentivize that up if I give you 10 touchdowns? But this is where I want to be. These are my people, which, which I value. I think I do understand from a player standpoint of seeing some, you know, Kobe Bryant types like, this is the only franchise I ever played with. Even though historically that's not really how the NFL works. So I am a little surprised if it does, if it does work out. But I think the reason that we haven't seen it yet is the Chiefs aren't just going to. Well, Travis, here's the check. You fill it in like those days are kind of over because he wasn't great last year, Colin. I mean, the drops. He definitely looked his age. Right. I think you got to be very careful. And Andy has been over the course of his career of kind of, you know, separating the emotional connection to the human in the past.
- [21:16]
Chris Brockman
Right.
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Colin Cowherd
But this might just be a really tough one given that. I mean, Andy says I might owe some Super Bowls to this guy. Right. I mean, he's. So I do listen, we're all human beings. So I. This is probably really tough internally for Veech and Andy. This is most players, they'd say, hey, see you, Godspeed, good luck, get what you can. Because this is, this is a little abnormal to what good teams do in the NFL. Right. But maybe there is just a connection that unless you really in that building with these guys every day that I even undervalue from the outside.
- [21:51]
Chris Brockman
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- [23:01]
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- [24:01]
Chris Brockman
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- [28:05]
Colin Cowherd
I'm with you on Pittman. Like you have followed him since usc feels like a mature version of juju. Just that physical nature. I had a scout in kind of a personnel executive last year that thought he regressed a little bit look at it. In 22 and 23 he was 99 catches, 109 catches. I mean, he had become a big time player and then last year he was banged up. But also you saw the emergence of Tyler Warren. They draft him. Alec Pierce shot like a rocket ship. Obviously Jonathan Taylor's an excellent guy and he, I don't want to say phased out because he was still productive in the games he played, but it was like, we don't need. We're going to go with Pierce's speed and Tyler Warren now again for the Steelers. You don't have a quarterback, so I get building up your team, but who's throwing these two guys the ball?
- [28:56]
Chris Brockman
Does this tell us that Aaron Rodgers is coming back? Because Aaron doesn't like dealing. Brady didn't either. Aaron doesn't like young receivers. That's not Aaron's jam. So is this telling you that behind the scenes Aaron said, I'll come back. So they get him. DK Metcalf, Michael Pittman, Friarmouth feels like a veteran now and, and all of a sudden you're like, okay, that, that's an offense that Aaron can navigate.
- [29:18]
Colin Cowherd
And the big tight end that broke his leg last late in the season from Washington, they have some real pieces now. Their running back position is a major question mark. I think Gainwell went to the Bucks. I saw the kid they drafted from Iowa in the third round was a disaster.
- [29:32]
Chris Brockman
Right.
- [29:34]
Colin Cowherd
So to me that position is going to be key for them. Maybe they could draft the backup from Notre Dame or something and get, you know, real running back. But if you don't have a quarterback, I don't care if you got Jerry Rice and Randy Moss out there because Pitman and DK are, that's. You got a real onewide receiver now where it ranks in the league. But those are real NFL veteran wide receivers.
- [29:53]
Chris Brockman
Physical wide receivers win some big games
- [29:56]
Colin Cowherd
with in the cold. But to me it's, it just comes down to the quarterback position. So does Aaron come back with McCarthy? Is that what you feel that like if you were a betting man, would you say Aaron Rodgers back this, this?
- [30:08]
Chris Brockman
I, I would because I think he, he said twice been quoted saying, I had a great time and I will defend Aaron Rodgers. You know, I think he's been prickly and moody and I've got, I had three different packers at one point say, you never knew what kind of moody was showing up with. I think that's pretty clear. I thought he was excellent last year. He got dinged by PFF because he didn't Throw the ball down the field. Well, they didn't have downfield receivers and I mean to me they're a, they're a tight end. I mean Pittman, DK Washington, Friarmouth, Jalen Warren, I mean kind of a power team. So. And Aaron, by the way, they were atrocious in the red zone before Aaron. They were pretty good in the red zone last year. They cut down on interceptions, they cut down on penalties. So I mean, I thought Aaron played the hand he was dealt. It was not a very good receiving core late in the year. DK Metcalf misses two games because of the incident with a Lions fan. I mean they had nobody to throw to. So I think, I think. But Pittman tells me, a veteran receiver tells me that there's a better than 50% chance that Aaron has told them, listen, I'm going to come back. So there and there and Aaron's watching all this and if you're Aaron watching this and you're pretty sure you're coming back, does this motivate you to come back? That's a pretty good signing.
- [31:24]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, definitely. I listen if he does, I have he. Not that I didn't respect to me he's one of the greatest players I've ever watched. But to play through a broken hand like he did last year was on a team that was pretty average. Right. And if you look at the course of the last couple of years, the torn Achilles, the broken hand, like age is kind of catching up to him. So if he does come back after dealing with some of these injuries on a team that, I mean, ultimately what's the Steelers ceiling next year? It's kind of the same thing. Maybe compete to be a 9, 10 win team. You just got to say the guy just loves playing football because he's not doing it for the money at this point in time.
- [31:59]
Chris Brockman
That's right.
- [31:59]
Colin Cowherd
And he is. And it's not like he's got, well, he's playing on the KD warriors, right. Or the Steinbrenner Yankees. Like this isn't. He doesn't have the best team even in his own division. So and if, if Joe Burrow just stays on the field like it is going to be difficult for them to be second in the division. So I, yeah, I mean I, I, I think McCarthy is better than he gets credit for. The branding on him is just atrocious. Right. I mean we've talked about this. His resume next to John Harbaugh is essentially the same thing.
- [32:26]
Chris Brockman
One guy, he and Mike Tomlin are very similar. The difference Is the league's an offensive league and he has an offensive touch and Tomlin's a defensive guy. They're both, they're both motivators, they're both well liked by players. One's an offensive guy. And if, if I'm, I'm trying to split it up on who I like more. I thought Tomlin's time, I thought that he was, I mean their offense was a wreck for seven years. Aaron actually healed a lot of the wounds. So I think, I don't think McCarthy's, he's more than capable. And go look at Cooper Rush and Dak, both highly productive. Okay. So, you know, one of the things that jumps out to me between Mike Evan to the Niners, Rashawn Gary to Dallas, Demario Davis, who's like is older player, goes back to the jets, very, very good player, two year deal, 22 million bucks. I think he's a tremendous player, but he's an older player. Michael Pittman an older player. Is he regressing? You know, Kenneth Walker had injuries. Kansas City rolls the dice. Maybe it's because the gambling money and the TV money, people just have more lettuce to play with. But some of these signings are older players, regressing players, injured players. I mean, Linda Bomb to me, to the Raiders, that is an A plus signing. Malik Willis could be, but we don't know. Alec Pierce, I think they spent too much money. But again, he's in house. Chris loves him. With Daniel Jones, Warren, Jonathan Taylor, I mean, not many teams in the league can say back tight end, number one receiver are better than the Colts. I guess my kind of takeaway on this free agent period is a lot of GMs. If you liked a guy, even if he was older, out of his prime, a little dinged up, a lot of GMs just went for it. It's aggressive GMing.
- [34:22]
Colin Cowherd
Well, the money has dramatically changed a short period of time. I would just say in the last five years with the cap space. So the old even you said Alex Pierce, 29 million, that's like the old 16 million. Linder Bob the center, he the highest paid center before him, he got 27 a year, was like 17, 18 million dollars. So when you factor in the flush of new cap space, the flush of money to these owners, part of the reason NFL free agency, even in its early kind of iterations, back in the 90s and early 2000s, half the owners didn't have cash on hand, let alone so even the cap space. So like Jerry and Eddie DeBartolo you know the packers when they signed Reggie White, like there would be the occasional here and there but up until the last 10 years, if the Bengals want they could break someone off. So I look at the Raiders. His I part of the reason jamarcus Russell didn't play for like the first four games his rookie season is because Al didn't have the money to give him a signing bonus. That is not 1987, that's like 2007. Colin. So in a 20 year span you got the Raiders, hey center. 60 million guaranteed. I I'm sure his bonus is like 30 or 40 million dollars. No problem. Here you go. They just got rid of Geno Smith so they're taking a hit. They just gave him a ton of money. So you have teams that didn't have money now that have money and then you have teams like I also think it is difficult for some of these GMs like John Schneider. They say he has a bunch of money. He's probably looking around going like I have a hard time paying premiums for non premium players because ultimately in free agency you are paying a a premium on top of the rate. So if a guy is a normally for you, if you, if you were giving him extension after a couple years on your team, he costs let's say $15 million. That guy on the open market becomes $24 million. So now if you get it right, look at the, look at last year with the Patriots. They signed Milton Williams and people like, God, they gave him $25 million.
- [36:22]
Chris Brockman
He was fantastic.
- [36:24]
Colin Cowherd
He's never even played 50% of the snaps. And then a year later you feel good about it. But there are a lot of Milton Williams types. I would imagine Linderbaum will be the same thing. Did the Raiders overpay? Of course they did. They've made the playoffs twice in 23 years. You think people just want to come to play for them? Yeah, this guy's coming from the Raven. So yeah, sometimes you have to overpay. You just better overpay. You don't even Milton Williams doesn't need to be Reggie White or Aaron Donald, but if he is a borderline Pro Bowler full time starter for four years, you're go, yeah, I overpaid a little. Who cares? So I think that's what you got to be. That's why the Alec Pierce deal. I thought Daniel Jones was going to derail them and lose Alec Pierce, which would have been a problem. So Chris Bauer goes, yeah, I have to give him a little bit more than I'm comfortable With I know this guy. I think he's ascending player and we feel comfortable already with him in the building. Right. I think they're way less comfortable with the Daniel Jones situation. And like, is this going to work? He's coming off the Achilles. How much eventually we're going to have to give him than they are giving Alex Pierce. Probably more money than you would want. But the receivers, I would have a hard time. Colin. It's what Justin Jefferson, Jamar Chase, CD Lamb, a guy that's a. No doubt about it, hall of Fame talent. But that next tier of. I saw with the Niners with. With Brandon Iuk, it's like you have to give these guys just a large sum of money and they are just not near the number one tier. So as long as you feel Alex Pierce can keep maintaining and being explosive player, you can live with it. But if you get it wrong, given the amount of money you're paying at wide receiver, it could blow up in your face pretty quick.
- [37:57]
Chris Brockman
Let me throw another Raider move. This is very under the radar. Between Tyler Linderbaum getting moving off Max Crosby, number one pick Fernando Mendoza, this signing will not get a lot of play. But the Raiders signed former Viking receiver Jalen Naylor, who I actually think is. I think he's a really interesting like number two or three receiver. Now they have Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison in Minnesota, so they're going to move off him. I thought Jalen Naylor was a nice player. I don't, I don't have. Do you have the numbers in front of you of what he's done? But the Vikings, Patriots and Broncos were all interested in him.
- [38:36]
Colin Cowherd
He hasn't been the most productive player because like you said, he's played there. So he's got 28, 29 balls the last two years, but so basically in
- [38:44]
Chris Brockman
60, by the way, that's what J.J. mcCarthy this year.
- [38:47]
Colin Cowherd
So 57 catches. Colin, he has 10 touchdowns the last two years. So he's. He's. I felt like that when you watch the Vikings explosive plays. Here's the other thing. Average yards per catch. His rookie year he only caught nine catches, but he averaged 20 yards of catch last couple of years. Basically 15 yards of catch. Explosive speed guy, right. So maybe he's. He'll get more targets right with the Raiders. But even if he gives you 45, 50 catches with Fernando, you give him a deep threat. I'm with Brock Bowers, Genti.
- [39:18]
Chris Brockman
How about this? Sean Payton wanted him. Josh McDaniels in New England wanted him. And Clint Kubiak for the Raiders got him. Those are pretty smart offensive guys. They all liked him.
- [39:28]
Colin Cowherd
Ran a 45 at the combine. Feels like he plays a lot faster than that.
- [39:33]
Chris Brockman
Yeah, Yeah.
- [39:34]
Colin Cowherd
I would have guessed like a high four. Three guy. Low four four guy.
- [39:37]
Chris Brockman
So that could be. You know, there's going to be free agent signings that we. That don't get any play to me, I got to tell you, John Spytek with the Raiders. This is the first time in 20 years I've been excited about the Raiders and they have a boatload of picks.
- [39:57]
Colin Cowherd
If they, if they nail that 14th pick and just get, you know, a future core, you know, their version of
- [40:04]
Chris Brockman
Patrick, you know what I can.
- [40:06]
Colin Cowherd
They could really change the franchise.
- [40:09]
Chris Brockman
They could literally get Fernando Mendoza and the 14th pick is interesting. They could move off that and get Omar Cooper, Fernando Mendoza's favorite receiver, who's viewed as a late first round receiver. They could move down and still get. I mean, how great would that be? You can tell, you can tell right now the Raiders are trying to make. And this is what the Bears did in Ben Johnson. They're trying to make Fernando Mendoza super comfortable. Right. They, they want that interior line to be good. They're going to draft another receiver. Boy, I, I really like what the Raiders are doing. Geez.
- [40:44]
Colin Cowherd
I just, I think, I think you could get, I think you could get Cooper. I, I talked to a lot of different coaches and personnel people at the top line about him. He's an interesting guy. You know, you could ask one guy like I, I think he ends up in the late 20s. You could ask another guy that think he's like the 50th pick. If you were comfortable with doing that. I think you could take them in the beginning of the second round because you draft really high to me, 14th pick. I do think it's going to be harder this year to trade with some of these picks because the draft is viewed as not a lot of impact. Guys. Yeah. So I would try to get Cooper if that's who I was going to take in the second go round than I would in the first round.
- [41:23]
Chris Brockman
So, John, if you're a Bears fan, as they clean up their defense, here's some more good news. They play the NFC south, which is a bit of a mess, and the AFC East. So they're going to get the jets, they're going to get, you know, Falcons, Saints, Carolina, Tampa. So if you look at the Bears schedule, you look at the Bears elevation, free agency of defense, I'll stick with it. It feels like a top five or six team going into next year.
- [41:57]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, I mean I. Seattle and the Rams are going to be really good, but I would say the rest of the rest of the nfc. A lot of question marks with the Eagles that they were one of the top seeds. A lot of question marks internally in that division. So, you know, the NFC South, I might like. The Saints, they signed etn. They got this young quarterback who they like. Tampa's going to go through kind of, you know, Mike Evans was kind of important for Baker Mayfield. So I mean you remove. That's that kind of matters now. That's part of the NFL. Who they draft last year, the Ohio State wide receiver. Like you got to let guys go. Usually guys don't stay forever. 49ers, they signed Mike Evans, but they're going to have older players coming off injuries. I think they're going to be solid. But you saw them in the Bears this year playing a game that was like 75 to 71 of the career games of the year. So I, yeah, I'm very. Their coach is a star. It just comes down to, you know, if Caleb can just make an incremental improvement, like at this point in time, they don't need him to take some huge jump. Right. They just need maybe a 5%, 7% improvement on basic things. Hit a wheel route instead of overthrowing it. Because that's the difference of punting and keeping a drive alive that maybe leads to a field goal. And instead of having to come back, we have a six point lead in the fourth quarter instead of down three. So yeah, I'm really, really high on the Bears. I'm with you polls. He's being a GM's hard, you know, and being a GM for a dysfunctional franchise is really difficult. Being a GM when your coach isn't good is very difficult. Being a GM when your owner's a little cheap can be difficult. Over the last course of what, 18ish months, especially once Ben's got there. They have been. They feel very on the same page and rowing in the right direction, which is kind of the NFL where whatever the jets are, the Bears feel somewhat on the opposite end of the spectrum. And that's the Raiders used to kind of be by the Jets. They feel like they're heading toward the other smart teams. So things change. It's hiring the right people, giving them the resources to do the right things. I watched the press conference when Halfley and the GM was hired. One thing Halfley said over and over, Steven Ross, he said he just kept looking me in the eye and said, you will not lose for lack of resources here. You will not lose because of the checkbook. We might make the wrong moves, you coach poorly or sign the wrong guy, but you will not ever lose because my owner wouldn't give the signing bonus. And now more and more of those owners, if you get the Howie Roseman or Less Sneed or John Schneider in that role, you're basically guaranteed to be a double digit win team every year, right? If you got the right GM with an owner cutting the checks.
- [44:37]
Chris Brockman
My takeaway today is Malik Willis for the Dolphins. He is a totally different player. He may be smaller than ideal height, but he's an electric athlete with a really good arm and wildly dynamic, off script. And, and as you said, you can inject him into games he's not even scheduled to play. I think Malik, some people are saying, oh, it feels, you know, a little undersized guy. That's not Malik Willis. He is not tua. If he had a comp, I'd argue. I don't even know what his comp. It's a bigger Kyler Murray where he throws a beautiful ball. Kyler's got a good arm. Kyler moves. But Malik is really engaged. They loved him in Green Bay. And your point on Hafley who watched him, coached against him for two years and the assistant GM now in Miami. I think that's the best point today made in the last 35 minutes is guys that knew him went all in on Malik Willist from Green Bay to Miami.
- [45:37]
Colin Cowherd
I'll give you a comp. To me, he's like a 201617 big arm Dak Prescott. Because remember, Dak could move back then and Dak, Dak could really move, remember? And coming out of Mississippi State. So that to me it's some of the Malik Willis highlights on keepers watching. I was like, damn, this guy. You forget because we get so removed from the football season. To me, his accuracy, honestly, there are some parallels to Dak Prescott. I never in a million years I watched Dak Prescott in Mississippi State. Cause remember Dan Mullen was there. They were really good. I never thought he'd be a good NFL quarterback. Some guys improve. That's the thing about the NFL. Not everyone's just ready to go. This, this is, you know, in the NBA you kind of know like the three guys are going to get drafted really high, they're going to be stars or high level guys in the NFL. How many times is like this fourth rounder, the sixth rounder, all of a sudden ten years later it's Richard Sherman or Jason Kelsey or George Kittle. It happens with quarterbacks too. And now we're on this quarterback renaissance of we have some high picks that resurrect their career but we have seen over the course of the last more in my lifetime of these mid round picks from Dak to Russell Wilson to Kirk Cousins go on to make hundreds of millions of dollars in lead playoff teams year after year. So to me, Malik Willis kind of fits that high character. Smart now, he's an accurate passer. We know he can move, he's good. The other thing is like, well what kind of offense he ran?
- [46:57]
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- [46:57]
Colin Cowherd
He ran the Shanahan offense, you know, in high hybrid version for himself in Green Bay. So it's not like he's running some rinky dink high school offense. Like this year when he was thrown into that game against the Bears, he just ran the Jordan Love offense and did excellent. I remember watching thinking is this really happening? He looks fantastic. He looked so good in that game coming out of the bullpen.
- [47:18]
Chris Brockman
Oh, I mean Packer fans were all like, we're paying the wrong quarterback.
- [47:23]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah,
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Chris Brockman
the volume.
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Colin Cowherd
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Chris Brockman
Get almost anything you need delivered with UberEats what do you mean by almost? Well, you can't get a well groomed lawn delivered, but you can get chicken parm delivered. A Little escape? No. Delicious bowl of grapes? Yeah. An afternoon stroll? Sorry, no. A burrito bowl? Happily, yes. How about the clear skies? Can't deliver that, but French fries? Yeah. Get almost almost anything delivered with Uber Eats. Order now. Alcohol in select markets. Product availability may vary by region. C app for details this is Chelsea
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Chelsea Handler
Handler from Dear Chelsea. After the Big Game. Like most people, I kept thinking about the commercials, and there was one that stayed with me. It was from the Blue Square Alliance Against Hate, and it wasn't loud or flashy. It showed a Jewish kid being targeted at school and another student who chose not to ignore it. As someone who is Jewish, that moment felt very real to me. Not dramatic, just familiar. And what struck me was how clearly it showed that hate doesn't always announce itself, but the impact is still huge. If you saw the Blue Square spot during the Big Game, it's worth thinking about. And if you want to show support, sharing the Blue Square is one small way to do that.
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Colin Cowherd
This is an iHeart podcast.
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Chris Brockman
Guaranteed Human.