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- [00:00]
Colin Cowherd
You can count on T Mobile to help keep you connected from big cities to small towns on America's largest 5G network. Switch the T Mobile keep your phone and they'll pay it off up to 800 bucks per line via prepaid card. Learn more@t mobile.com heap and switch up to four lines via virtual prepaid card. Allow 15 days qualifying unlock device, credit service port in 90 plus days with device and eligible carrier and timely redemption card. Has no cash access and expires in six months. Virgin Voyages isn't your average cruise. It's a masterclass in luxury all in Voyage pricing includes over $1,000 in value, Wi fi, tips, entertainment, even specialty dining. No hidden fees, no surprises. The cabins are next level private terraces, virgin red hammocks, unbeatable sea views. Add in the adult only factor. No kids. That's right, just relaxation. It's no surprise they're award winning. And the destinations Caribbean this winter, Iceland, North America and the Mediterranean in 2025 and 2026. Virgin Voyages is where luxury meets travel. Book it and see what you've been missing. Learn more@virginvoyages.com or contact your travel advisor.
- [01:24]
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- [01:55]
Greg Rosenthal
What's up everyone? It's Greg Rosenthal and I'm teaming up with the King of Spring, Daniel Jeremiah. He requires me to say that we're going to be bringing you 40s and free agents, the only podcast you'll need this NFL draft season. From DJs, mock drafts to my top 101, free agents will have it covered for you with all new episodes every Thursday keeping you up to date as we head to the NFL Draft. Listen to 40s and free agents starting on March 6th on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.
- [02:25]
Colin Cowherd
Thanks for listening to the Herd podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio and noon to 3 Eastern, 9am to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the herd@foxsportsradio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR.
- [02:45]
Jeff Schwartz
Now, let's get this party started.
- [02:47]
Colin Cowherd
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go live in Los Angeles. Our number two. It is the Herd on a Thursday. J. Mac. I have been very excited. So I wait, J. Mac. I wait until all the coaching hires are done, the staffs are filled. I wait until all the free agency of note is done. We still have Aaron Rodgers, but by the way, Russell Wilson, Kirk Cousins, Aaron Rodgers are not changing my opinion. Aaron to the Steelers. Russell to the Steelers is probably a game. I mean, I don't think it's that big of a difference. I also think there's only one college player that will translate to big wins, which is Cam Ward. If he goes to Tennessee, that's a different ball game. He's going to win games. This is not a draft where you're going to change outcomes. You can get better in unit. I mean, Travis Hunter to New England is worth half a win if he's a dynamic player. But Cam Ward's going to win you games.
- [03:49]
Jason McIntyre
But nobody thought Bo Nicks was going to take the Broncos to the playoffs like Shador Sanders could have a big impact in the right situation.
- [03:56]
Colin Cowherd
Maybe, but the Giants don't have a formidable. We don't think Shador is Jaden. He doesn't move like him. So what about Shador in Cleveland?
- [04:04]
Jason McIntyre
I don't think seven, eight, nine wins.
- [04:07]
Colin Cowherd
No, I think Stefanski. I'd say seven, maybe.
- [04:12]
Jason McIntyre
You know, I have Darnold and the Vikings winning.
- [04:15]
Colin Cowherd
I'm not saying there's not surprises, but I'm just saying on average, I think Cam Warden is the one guy in the draft that can change outcomes. Could. Could take four losses to three wins because of, you know, I mean, from Will Levis to Cam Ward, it's not like you're going from, you know, Peyton Manning's last year to Andrew Luck. Both great. You're going from one of the worst to Nobody's got NFL film on Cam Ward. You're just guessing. And I think that's where rookie quarterbacks like Bo Nix ran more at Denver than Oregon. Like, you watch them and you're like, I mean, I watched him twice live. I'm like, I didn't feel like he ran as much at Oregon as he did with Denver. So you're kind of guessing at some point with rookie quarterbacks. So here we go. I'm going to start today, nfc, tomorrow, afc. Now you got to have four minimum total down to the Lot of free agent losses for the Eagles. They still have the deepest roster. I'll pick them over the Commanders, but I think the Commanders Laramie Tunsil, Debo Samuel is a win now acquisition. They kept guys like Zach Ertz so I think that's a very close competition. I'll take the better roster to win. Dallas third not active in free agency, still got to pay Micah up against the cap Dak Prescott off a second lower body injury. Giants it doesn't matter. It really matter. If Aaron goes there, Russell Wilson goes there. I think there's going to be so much pressure on the organization to win now. I'll pick The Giants for 4th NFC north this is the toughest division for me in football. The Lions have the best roster, I'll pick them one. The Vikings have the worst roster. I'll pick them four. But and yes, Chicago's got a tough road schedule, no question. But they literally went and got Pro Bowlers on their interior O line and again if they can get a running back with their first pick the coaching upgraded Chicago from what they were to what they are. Is going to be like the quarterback upgrade from Will Levis to Cam Ward. Like it's going to change outcomes. I have Chicago second. Here's Green Bay's tough for me because we I've got to be totally honest about this. I really fell for Jordan Love but last year against playoff teams dude completed 60% of his throws with a passer rating at 81 and was 2 and 6 in the building at the end of the year. I watched the way they coached him. I think they lost some confidence in him. So I think Bears packers is down to the final week of the year to figure out who gets into the playoffs. NFC South I believe in Michael Penix. I don't like him not having Grady Jarrett, but I I and I don't like him losing Drew Dahlman the center. The Bucks are getting old. They're bringing back the entire offense. Sometimes that's good, sometimes it's not. I like the trajectory of Atlanta and I'm a big Micha Pennock fan. Carolina will be better, but an average roster. Saints up against the cap, kind of rigid there. I just don't like their direction. NFC west so I have the Rams winning it. I have no problem with that. Devonte Adams, one of the smartest acquisitions that will work. Their defense could be the best in the league this year if they can get a corner in the draft somewhere. Great coaching. Okay Seahawks Niners. I would love to watch the draft. Niners have 12 picks. Seattle's got to upgrade on the offensive line. But if you look at Seattle schedule, NFC South, AFC south, that Seahawks schedule is screaming 10, 11 wins. Niners, meanwhile, 12 draft picks with a very complicated offensive system means I think they could be kind of trying to figure out what the heck they are till Thanksgiving. That is a lot of new players on the roster and they lost really good players. Seahawks, Niners, like Bears, Packers, I think play down to the final weekend to see who gets into the playoffs. Arizona, no massive upgrades are what they are. So my division winners, Eagles, Lions, Falcons, Rams. Falcons are a new playoff team. Wild card commanders, Bears, Seahawks, both squeak in. So I have three new playoff teams, the Falcons, the Bears and the Seahawks. You got to have four new ones every year, minimum closer to six. So I don't think, you know, listen, Atlanta, before Kirk Cousins fell apart, they beat Tampa twice. I don't think I've taken a big swing here. I like panics a lot. There you go. Let's bring in Jeff Schwartz, played in the NFL eight years. Dominant lineman, three year starter, right tackle, Oregon. So give me something you like about that and something you strongly disagree with Jeff.
- [09:11]
Jeff Schwartz
Who's going to protect Sam Darnold? Like, that's my question in Seattle, right? Where last year with the Vikings he had everything. Offensive line now some issues in the middle, but good tackles. He had great wide receivers, good tight end, good running back, good play caller. Now in Seattle, offensive line in question, one wide receiver right now. I just think we're high on Darnold because we like the story last year. I just don't know if he's going to play very well in Seattle. Another thing is I think the Panthers are going to be good. They showed in the last season. They're close, right? You sort of have to lose close games before you start winning close games. That happen a lot at the end of the season. I like their acquisitions. The south is just meh right there. It's a good division, not great. So Panthers I think can contend for a wild card spot. But I do like Michael Penix with Atlanta. He's a good football player. I saw that up front for many years watching that Oregon Washington rivalry. They're going to be better than people think. Penix will inject some life into that offense.
- [10:07]
Colin Cowherd
All right, Jeff schwartz, offensive line, eight years. All Pac 12 when he was at Oregon. I want to talk Shador Sanders. So my take is Cam Ward's. Cam Ward's a better talent. I like Shadour. He has something in common with Brock Purdy, no offensive line of note in college. Maybe one great skill person, Travis Hunter or I think Bree hall was like with Brock Purdy if I recall. But my takeaway is there is value for Josh Allen Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Jared Goff, Shador Sanders, Brock Purdy. Not being surrounded with all Americans and five star players for that reason. I like Shadour. He got beat up, played from behind, no run game. I like him. Do you?
- [10:55]
Jeff Schwartz
I like him. I mean look, you're right about the grit. He got beat up for two years and every time he got hit he got back up, got back in the huddle and kept playing. You're right. No run game, wasn't much support offensively. The offensive structure, not great there. Right. And there's intangibles there. He's accurate, he's good in the pocket. I mentioned the grit already. Right now the question is holding the ball too long and taking those sacks. Those translate to the NFL. So let's put him in a better offense. Let's start with that. The offense he'll play in the NFL will be better. The CAR offense was a wreck formationally. It was boring. They didn't have to throw the ball downfield very much. So if you put them in a pro offense behind a better offensive line, those things, the accuracy, the toughness, the pocket mobility, those should shine. The questions I think again, is he going to be like Caleb Williams who held the ball a bunch in college at usc, got sacked a bunch in college and then we saw last season, didn't play behind a great offensive line. I get that scheme issues in Chicago as well. But sacked a lot and held onto the ball a little bit too much. So can you get that out of Shedeur's game with a better team, a better offense and better things around him?
- [11:59]
Colin Cowherd
Okay, let's go to a teammate, Travis Hunter. Urban Meyer says, never quite seen anything like it. Generationally I'd let him play both sides. You three year starter in college, played in the NFL. Do you think players will buy into let the kids start at corner and wide receiver.
- [12:15]
Jeff Schwartz
I think it's too much. Colin. Travis Hunter is incredible. I didn't really buy the argument that he shouldn't get the Heisman. That was kind of interesting to me. If you watch him play, I mean, incredible athlete, gets the ball every time. You see right here on the screen, like catch the ball, gone number one, corner two, like he's, he's incredible. The question is this is, you know you have basically two playbooks, right? You have a defensive playbook that's this big. And they're on their own iPads now. It's a little bit different. But an offensive playbook this big, how do you do both at the same time? Right? You practice one day with the wide receivers and one day with the corners. I think it's easier to be a full time corner and then say, hey, Travis, here is 10 plays on offense. Can you run them on Friday at practice or maybe you stay after for 5, 10 minutes on Thursday? Just we have this package of plays for you, which is really at Colorado. He didn't move a lot on offense, Colin. He kind of stayed on one side of the ball. He ran a couple things. He wasn't a guy that did a ton on offense. He's just that good. And we got the ball in his hands. It was incredible. So that's how I would play it. I would say, look, you're a corner and then we'll give you 10, 15 plays on offense. You have to spend a lot of time in, you know, in that offensive meeting room because you have to get ready to play corner in the NFL.
- [13:22]
Colin Cowherd
So when in your years in the NFL we talk about free agency and I think free agency, like for instance, I like what the Bears did. But offensive line is a chemistry unit position. So it, it's going to take a while. And by the way, Joe Tunney is not going to take a lot of pre season snaps. Drew Dolman's not going to take a lot of preseason snaps. So the combination of offensive line is a cohesion unit that takes time. And the fact that nobody play old O linemen are not going to. They just don't play those guys on the O line. So I think the Bears could be really good. Is it possible though that the Bears are going to take until Thanksgiving to get that O line, right?
- [14:05]
Jeff Schwartz
It's not just that, Colin. It takes eight to 10 weeks, maybe a little bit longer for a new coordinator to instill, you know, the, basically the offensive defense of what they want their team to be. I think a great example last year is Vic Fangio in Philly, right? First couple of weeks, first six weeks, eight weeks, it was like, what's this defense? All of a sudden they figure things out and boom, they were as good as they were obviously the rest of season on the offensive side of the ball, the same thing is true, right? You're going to run different plays each week. You have to figure out what you're good at. You might go into seasons, hey, I've always run outside zone. Let's try outside zone. Then boom, week eight, it's like, that's not really good. Let's run something else. So it just takes time. You need to be able to work your protections around every different look you might see. You might see it once a game. And so by the week 8, 9, 10, you know what you're good at, you know what you're bad at, and you grow together. And then by, to your point, by Thanksgiving, you start feeling better about your offense. The Bears goal this year is very simple. Right. Is you need to end this season knowing Caleb Williams is your franchise quarterback.
- [15:01]
Colin Cowherd
Yes.
- [15:01]
Jeff Schwartz
And that includes growth from quarter to quarter. Right. Like in week eight, he should look better than week four and week 12, he should look better than week eight. And so that's the goal this season, is to build. And they have done that so far. An offensive line around him, wide receivers around him to make sure the end of the season he's your bonafide franchise guy. If he's not, then they'll find someone else. So that's the goal this year and it might take a little bit of time to see that with all the new parts.
- [15:23]
Colin Cowherd
So what I said I would have torn down the Niners last year. I thought they waited too long. I also thought they were a little too permissive on contracts. Whereas the Rams would go to Stafford and say this is the number. Deal with it. They were a little ice cream for breakfast dad for the last several years in negotiation and it caught him giving Deebo and Brandon Iuk big money. I wouldn't have done it. I said this. I think I have to watch their draft. But 12 draft picks, Jeff is a lot. And the NFL is highly complicated. One of the reasons I like Seattle is that they're going to bring back outside of the receivers mostly the same guys. With the injection of maybe three starters, San Francisco let go of so many good players. They need six guys to play a lot that are like young kids. Tell me when you were in the NFL you were a three year starter in college. Smart guys, you move in, but 12 new players. That's what worries me about the rebuild. Like it is sudden.
- [16:23]
Jeff Schwartz
Well, I think part of the problem, Colin, is, and you mentioned it, they need a lot of guys because they've actually missed on the draft the last three or four years. Go, go look at their draft picks. Not a lot of guys starting for them right now or not a lot of guys impactful football players. Now some of those draft picks were traded away for Trey Lance, which obviously is a problem. You Love to have those picks back. I think someone's for the Trent Williams deal as well. They just haven't drafted well for three or four years. They're a very top heavy team, and when the top is gone and they've lost some of those guys, you look at the rest of the team and where are those guys at? Where's the next crop of players to take over for the veterans, what the best teams do? So, yeah, they might have 12 draft picks, but the last three or four years, they haven't proven to hit on those draft picks. And so I got to see that this season. You know, the influx of guys, obviously, is great. You need that at some point, but you need those young guys to become superstars, to become, you know, the core of your team right now. If you're a Niner fan, list it off. Who is the core of your team on a rookie contract right now? Brock Purdy. I, I, I. Give me those guys. You don't have enough of those guys. So, yeah, it's great to have draft picks, but they got to start hitting on these guys.
- [17:26]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, you know, it, it. I was saying this earlier that just. We all know everybody. When you go to a doctor. I've been to 10 doctors in my life. Three or four. Great. Three or four. Okay. And a couple aren't good. When you, when you step on a plane, most of the pilots are very capable. Sully Sullenberger is more than capable. There are a lot of average pilots out there. And in the NFL, you forget that some of these coordinators are great and a lot of them aren't. So I said, Philadelphia is a great example. Great coordinators. Both leave, hire two new ones did not work, I feel like. But they got it right the next time. Detroit's fascinating to me. They lose Ben Johnson. What are the chances your next coordinator is as good as Ben Johnson? They lose Aaron Glenn. What are the chances your next coordinator is as good as Aaron Glenn? Tell the audience. In your years in the NFL, did you know immediately if your team missed on a position or coordinator? Did you know immediately?
- [18:33]
Jeff Schwartz
Well, I think you don't know until you play games. Now, there are certain times I play with coaches that I thought immediately, like, this guy doesn't know what he's doing. And you typically end up maybe being right. But that's also when you're an older player. Right. You've been around enough coaches, you know what they feel like. But I think it's worth giving them the benefit. I just mentioned with the bears, it takes eight to 10 to 12 weeks to feel good. It'd be. You know, I think it'd be wrong to just go into a season thinking your coordinator is not good. But I've certainly played coordinators I didn't think were good and ended up being right about it. But look, it's not our job to complain about that, right? Our jobs go play on Sunday. So even if we didn't trust the guy, we didn't think the play calls were good. You got to go out and execute, and obviously it shows. And wins and losses, you know, the end of the season whether or not that worked out. But you can tell early on whether guys are cut out for it. But it's more than just like calling plays, right? It's the leadership. It's communication. It's making adjustments. And the best coordinators, what they do now, this is better than ever before in my opinion, in the NFL is they tailor their scheme, what they're good at as coaches, to what the players are good at, right? And you can feel that early. Is a coach willing to maybe do something different, something out of their comfort zone to make the players play better that you can feel early on. Now, again, coaches have the ability to adapt and change, and there's plenty of examples of that happening, but you can sort of feel those things early, right? You know, communication, adjustments, willingness to work with players on certain things. Maybe you bring in a free agent that doesn't quite do what you do, but you paid him anyways, and he's got to be able to perform. Are you willing to adapt what you do, change what you do? Not your core principles exactly, but just maybe change enough to make that veteran player happy and play well. So those are things players can pick up pretty early.
- [20:10]
Colin Cowherd
One more college question I want to go back. Cam Ward, to me, is the one guy in the draft that will change outcomes. And I think about this all the time. It's not just that he's talented, but Tennessee right now is kind of untalented at quarterback. So the difference, the swing could be like seven points, eight points from what you are to what you could be. Because I think Cam's a field goal difference because he's so spectacular, nobody has NFL film on him. It's a weak division. You're kind of guessing till Thanksgiving. I think Cam ward is the 1 player in this draft that could change outcomes. I think Tennessee is actually going to be one of the surprise teams. You watch. You watch them a ton. At Washington State. You watched him. You watched him at Miami. What do you make of him as a prospect.
- [20:58]
Jeff Schwartz
Well, I think you're right about the supreme talent he's got. Like, you see that all over the field. He has. He has a better arm than Sanders. He can. He can run the ball really well, as we know, as you see right here. You have to take those bad decisions out of the. Out of his, you know, out of his game. You know, the Cal game, you showed he just had an atrocious interception middle second quarter, like those have got to go. So if you can get him to just be able to play within himself and use his physical traits. I want to bring up something too that I think is important here. He has not played a lot of quarterback in sort of a quote unquote, pro style, right? So he didn't play quarterback. He didn't throw the ball in high school. He goes to incarnate word plays at run and shoot. And they actually play like two seasons in one calendar year because of COVID Goes to Washington State, plays in a run and shoot again, and he goes to Miami and plays really his first time in what would be more of a normal offense. Right, Colin? So he hasn't really had a lot of quarterback reps in what would simulate what he might see in the NFL. So there's a lot of rawness to his game that a coach can mold because he's very talented, he's got a great arm. Just, can you avoid those negative plays, right? Can you avoid, you know, just take what's there. Take, take the seven yard throw, take the eight yard throw. If there's pressure, can you see it? Can you get rid of the ball? So physically it's all there. It's a matter of harnessing and taking, maybe taking away the bad plays to highlight the good plays.
- [22:15]
Colin Cowherd
Jeff Schwartz, he's on first things first as well today as always. He know, man, nobody watches more college football and it should be noted, bets on it than Jeff Schwartz. Good seeing you.
- [22:25]
Jeff Schwartz
Yes, take care. Thank you.
- [22:27]
Colin Cowherd
All right, tomorrow, by the way, I've got. I've got my AFC picks tomorrow. Got a couple of new playoff teams. J. Mac, you'll be excited for that. You guys do not like Seattle any.
- [22:41]
Jason McIntyre
Anyone green in the AFC for tomorrow? Going to the playoffs, A green team.
- [22:46]
Colin Cowherd
Perhaps a green team.
- [22:48]
Jason McIntyre
A team that wears green jerseys in the afc. Yeah, that one of us roots for.
- [22:55]
Colin Cowherd
Oh, oh.
- [22:55]
Jason McIntyre
Oh, gosh. Hey, we need to get him some magnesium on the set, please.
- [23:00]
Colin Cowherd
That put me to sleep, buddy. One more herd. The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, within the IHEARTRADIO app Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like.
- [23:12]
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- [23:44]
Jeremy Hobson
We live in a divided country.
- [23:45]
Colin Cowherd
I am a lifelong Republican with all.
- [23:48]
Jeremy Hobson
Kinds of different people.
- [23:49]
Colin Cowherd
You know, I'm a mother, I'm a grandmother.
- [23:52]
Jeremy Hobson
That's why we started the Middle with Jeremy Hobson. It's about bringing voices not from the extremes, but from the vast middle into the national conversation.
- [24:00]
Jason McIntyre
Anna, I'm calling from Las Vegas.
- [24:02]
Jeremy Hobson
Each week we bring together an all star panel. Mark Cuban, so great to have you on the Middle.
- [24:07]
Jeff Schwartz
Thanks for having me, Jeremy.
- [24:08]
Jeremy Hobson
Neil Degrasse Tyson, welcome to the Middle.
- [24:10]
Jeff Schwartz
Thanks for having me.
- [24:11]
Jeremy Hobson
And hear from ordinary Americans from all over the country on the most important issues.
- [24:16]
Jason McIntyre
Hi, my name is Venkat.
- [24:18]
Colin Cowherd
I'm calling you from Atlanta, Georgia.
- [24:19]
Jeremy Hobson
And when you subscribe to the Middle, you also get an episode each week called One Thing Trump did that focuses on just one item from the avalanche of news.
- [24:28]
Colin Cowherd
We should be examining what our government spends its money on and are these jobs necessary and what are we doing here? But that doesn't seem to be what we're doing in this situation.
- [24:36]
Jeremy Hobson
Listen to the Middle with Jeremy Hobson on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [24:42]
Colin Cowherd
Lot of people pushing back on my Chicago Bear and Seattle Seahawk optimism. I will say it again. You have to find four teams minimum that made the playoffs, didn't make it last year, that do this year. Well, the AFC is a much more predictable conference because you have more great quarterbacks. So your changes are going to come in the nfc. That's why last year everybody had a much harder time predicting the NFC than the afc. Josh Allen's going to make the playoffs. Mahomes is going to make the playoffs. Lamar Jackson is going to make the playoffs. C.J. stroud's probably going to make the playoffs. Outside of Philadelphia, you're sure about anything. I mean, you say what you want about Detroit. Say what you want about Detroit. Penne Sewell goes down Golf doesn't have protection. Now I'm saying you have to have a majority of your changes in the nfc. How many years in a row? Lamar, Josh Mahomes, and by the way, now that Herbert has Jim Harbaugh, he's probably going to make the playoffs. Five in the next six years. That's a pretty safe bet. By the way, Bo Nixon, Denver, they're going to be good every year. CJ Stroud, they're going to be good. Doesn't mean they'll win the division, but they're going to be in the playoff race. So the AFC tomorrow, pretty standard nfc, you better have three or four changes. You're not being realistic. So again, Eagles, Lions, Rams feel like the only obvious thing. And the commanders making it either as a playoff wild card team or division winner. But you gotta have in the nfc you better find new teams. So Atlanta I think has, I think Bennett has a chance to be the best quarterback in that division. And I think they've got nice weapons. Her schedule's easy. Bears and Seahawks, do they have questions? Yes, but I think between the O line improvement for the Bears and the coaching upgrade and it's year two, I think the Bears again, I think it goes last weekend with Green Bay and Seattle. I like Darnold, but the other thing is look at the production. San Francisco loses and then they have 12 draft picks and they've been a pretty average drafting team.
- [26:53]
Jason McIntyre
Do you remember in, you know, middle school where the teacher would be like, colin, you didn't show your work. I need to see how you got the answer. I'm going to deduct points. I need to see your work. How you have Seattle ahead of San Francisco. San Fran has the better coaching staff, the better quarterback. Well, the better offensive line like San Francisco's better at almost.
- [27:10]
Colin Cowherd
Seattle's got the better general manager.
- [27:14]
Jason McIntyre
Seattle, former Fox guy John Lynn's probably not happy.
- [27:17]
Colin Cowherd
No, I mean, but Seattle, John Snyder has hit on a lot of quarterbacks. By the way, Darnold's contract is totally team friendly. Brock Purdy's probably won't be. Here's the other thing. Trent Williams hasn't played a full schedule. Go look. It's got to be like eight years.
- [27:33]
Jason McIntyre
Yes.
- [27:34]
Colin Cowherd
Okay, so all of a sudden Brock Purdy missing his left tackle. Oh, by the way, the backup left tackle. Kansas City acquired him. So they have to hit on a left tackle in this draft and it's not a great left tackle draft.
- [27:46]
Jason McIntyre
Have you heard the chatter from the Niners fan base? There are rumors that San Fran Wants Tyler Warren, the Penn State tight end because they want to go more heavy sets. Two tight end, like what Buffalo pivot.
- [27:57]
Colin Cowherd
Oh, so they're going to give up draft picks to get there. They had 12 of them.
- [28:00]
Jason McIntyre
Well, I, I don't know that they. Maybe Warren's there at 12, I don't know. But Kittle and Warren, two tight end sets similar to what Buffalo did going Knox.
- [28:09]
Colin Cowherd
I would have no problem giving up six draft picks to get Warren because he's one of the only seven guarantees in the draft. And you only. You only hit on about 40, 50% of your picks anyway. And this is a weak draft. So to me, if I'm San Francisco, if I have to give up picks to get Warren, I would have let.
- [28:27]
Jason McIntyre
I'm gonna push back a little bit on Schneider over Lynch. Schneider, historically, sure, but like last five years you've been saying the Niners are the best roster in the league that's put together by Lynch. Like, well, they.
- [28:39]
Colin Cowherd
They acquired Trent Williams from another team, Christian McCaffrey from another team.
- [28:44]
Jason McIntyre
That's part of the GM work. Drafting Brandon Aiuk, you know, like, come on. Brock Purdy, dead last pick in the draft.
- [28:50]
Colin Cowherd
I like Seattle as a drafting operation like Seattle.
- [28:53]
Jason McIntyre
Because you grew up there.
- [28:53]
Jeff Schwartz
Let's be real.
- [28:54]
Colin Cowherd
That's not true. That is. Is that true? Ryan, You've been with me for years. Am I a Seahawks homer?
- [28:59]
Jason McIntyre
Not a homer. But that's why you like him. In this scenario, there. There's no way I will guarantee you the Niners have at least two more wins on the win total than Seattle. It'll be like 10 versus 8.
- [29:11]
Colin Cowherd
Oh boy.
- [29:12]
Jason McIntyre
@ least.
- [29:13]
Colin Cowherd
Okay. All right. JMAC with the news.
- [29:18]
Jeff Schwartz
No, no, no, no.
- [29:19]
Colin Cowherd
Heard on the news. This is the Herd line.
- [29:22]
Jason McIntyre
Are we start keeping some stuff confidential?
- [29:26]
Colin Cowherd
Okay.
- [29:26]
Jason McIntyre
The masses know what's going on. I did get a Hall pass for Friday night. Anyways, Matt Stafford is officially back with the Rams. Everybody's fired up. And then of course, because everybody does it. He went on the New Heights podcast with the Kelsey Bros. Stafford talked about how much longer he expects to play. I'm going to be here at least another year. Hopefully some after that. We worked something out last year at the 11th hour to figure out right before training camp with the understanding that we're going to readdress it if I want to play again next year. Stafford called it a little nerve wracking there for a little bit because he didn't know if he was going to stay with the Rams. And this could be round three next off Season.
- [30:08]
Colin Cowherd
Well, what my understanding is they believe they have a Super bowl roster. If they can get a corner, maybe upgrade. They upgraded at wide receiver so they feel good. They may go out and get a tight end. They need a corner, they need an inside linebacker. This is a Super bowl roster with a couple of tweaks, mostly at corner.
- [30:28]
Jason McIntyre
Top five roster in the league.
- [30:32]
Colin Cowherd
Real close. I would say that defense is a top three roster and they and it's young. So if you notice, last year, second half of the season, the defense was better than the first half. So this, it's like Kansas City's defense. You knew it was good and rangy and then all of a sudden you looked up and you're like, oh, that's the best defense in the league.
- [30:48]
Jason McIntyre
The problem is defense isn't predictive year over year because of so many. Like the jets, remember went into last year, oh, great defense. And they got just embarrassed all season like they were good. It'll probably be a top half of the league, top 15, 16 defense. But let, all right, let's go to the Niners. Colin. They have been letting a lot of key players go in free agency. That being said, one NFL analyst, we're not going to name him because this is, I thought this was crazy. One NFL analyst believes it's time for San Francisco to Entertain Trading Christian McAffrey. This guy clearly doesn't know how markets work. You don't sell low. Christian McAffrey's coming off injuries, a terrible season. You don't trade him now, I, I, I don't understand this take, but Christian McAffrey's still in his prime, still arguably the best.
- [31:38]
Colin Cowherd
Well, the other thing is they don't win without Christian McCaffrey. Not just Brock Pie. Kyle Shanahan doesn't win without him. So what they should do is actually in the strongest running back draft in a decade is draft another running back can give McAffrey 14 touches a game and not 22.
- [31:56]
Jason McIntyre
Get Henderson from Ohio State.
- [31:58]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, and by the way, I don't want to trade him at all. I love him, but you can't. You have to give him a break. I, I am a believer now. Even with Saquan Barkley. Philadelphia, I go get nerve back. I think we've moved into a two back tier that you just have two running backs at your disposal. You can't rely Adrien Peterson or Zeke in his front. Look how fast Zeke aged. You become a workhorse, it just wears you out. Saquon Barkley in New York got hurt several times. He was A workhorse.
- [32:27]
Jason McIntyre
So we're now pro load management, are we?
- [32:29]
Colin Cowherd
No, no, no, it's not load management. You play every game. The takeaway is though, stop giving Christian McCaffrey 21 touches, give him 16. That load management is I have a headache, I'm not going to suit up. This is, I think the running back position because it's the last position you can hit from any angle and there's no FL flag. And I think defenders are stronger and faster and the hits are more violent even with new regulations, is that you should have. I'm Philadelphia. One of the things I do, it's an insurance policy. I draft in this draft another running back because I want Saquon to play for the entirety of the contract and I don't want him carrying the ball as much as he did sometimes.
- [33:08]
Jason McIntyre
Great topic because yes, as a gm you want that. You know what you want as a coach? I want to win friggin games so I keep my job. And if I'm only giving McCaffrey 16 touches in a 24:23 game, I might end up losing that. I don't want to cap on McCaffrey touches. I want more touches for the best running back or second best running back, whatever in the league. So it's a tough situation to say that that's why this whole sit out, rest a game makes sense as opposed to let's limit touches. We're seeing Thibodeau unable to do this. In the NBA it's tough when you've got your stars and you're there to win games. Colin.
- [33:43]
Colin Cowherd
Well, in the NBA it is not a week to week league like the NFL. If you go, Dave Wanstadt has a great line. You can lose games. You can't lose a locker room. If you lose a third straight game, even if you're Sean McDermott, you will lose. There'll be guys in the locker room that start talking. In the NBA, the Celtics could have a bad road trip. Everybody gets Jaylen Brown's hurt. Porzingis has a weird, you know, everybody gets that. But in the NFL, you, it's a different. You can lose a locker room. Unless you're like, maybe, I mean like even Belichick. You know, I, I remember the Boston media, but take Philadelphia, they love Nick Ceriani. They wanted to run him out of town a year ago.
- [34:27]
Jason McIntyre
Less than that.
- [34:30]
Colin Cowherd
I mean, we went into the playoffs thinking if they got one and done, would they fire it because he was so goofy.
- [34:34]
Jason McIntyre
Yeah, I remember that Final story. Colin is Kirk Cousins. Remember we, we've been on this. So he met with owner Arthur Blank last week request a trade so he could be a starter. Since that meeting, Cousins and the Falcons, apparently they're gonna stay together. I don't stay together for the kids. Maybe. I, I don't know. This doesn't make any sense. He's due a 10 million dollar bonus if he's on the roster soon. He's expected to have 27 and a half million fully guaranteed money next season to be the backup. I think this is horrible mismanagement by the Falcons. Their hope is hey, if Joe Bob over here gets hurt on another team, we trade Kirk Cousins.
- [35:14]
Colin Cowherd
Ask yourself. I don't because I think they're going to move him by the trade deadline. So my take on this is Aaron Rodgers is going to go somewhere. Russell's going to go somewhere. That's still going to leave a team or two without a quarterback. And you know and I know somebody's going to get hurt in preseason. Some quarterback's going to get hurt in September. You just. Kirk Cousins will get purchased by somebody before the trade deadline.
- [35:36]
Jason McIntyre
But the problem with the deadline is the Falcons have been paid to have somebody sitting on their a bench and now you need another injury so you can recoup some kind of draft pick. This is just horrible mismanagement. I thought you love getting off with. It's not working. Move on. Well, this isn't working. He's a backup. They get 27 and a half million. Why don't you just move him?
- [35:57]
Colin Cowherd
Dump him down if you, you. It's dead money if you cut him. I don't want that money. You can win with dead.
- [36:02]
Jason McIntyre
Money goes on with dead.
- [36:04]
Colin Cowherd
Well, again, it's not ideal. If they weren't they'd be a better roster. You saw you, you just like hey Pennant.
- [36:11]
Jason McIntyre
Pennant starts owing to, I don't know guys, maybe he's not all that he was cracked up to be. We got, we got 27 mil here on the bench, Cousins. Then you got controversy.
- [36:21]
Colin Cowherd
Well, that's a very negative way to look at Michael Pennant in that division. You going to start 0 and 2.
- [36:27]
Jason McIntyre
I haven't seen. The schedule is not out.
- [36:29]
Colin Cowherd
It's Atlanta. They'll have an easy schedule. What else? Everybody in that division has an easy schedule. Ooh, rough road game in Carolina. J News. Well, that's the news and thanks for stopping by the Herd lie news. Paul Pierce joining us last hour and yeah, did you see the, the Cooper Flag injury?
- [36:54]
Jason McIntyre
I did.
- [36:54]
Colin Cowherd
The Cooper flag is going to be the number one pick in the Draft. It's a very domestic draft. This is fascinating. He leads Duke in scoring, rebounding, steals, blocks, assists and minutes. He's on pace to become the first freshman in Division 1 history to lead his team in every major statistical category. He got hurt yesterday, so.
- [37:13]
Jason McIntyre
No, he got hurt like an hour ago.
- [37:15]
Colin Cowherd
Yesterday, was it. Oh, you guys showed me that video. It was an hour ago.
- [37:18]
Jason McIntyre
It was an hour ago. Yeah.
- [37:19]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah. That's a bummer because he is a. He is a great. You know, he's a little Jason Tatum. He's kind of good at everything. He's got a little Scotty Pippen. I think he's a better offensive player than Scotty Pippen, but he's got a little Jason Tatum. He does everything well, can score in transition. He can. He can use his body down low. He's a really good player.
- [37:37]
Jason McIntyre
They helped him off the court. They put him in a wheelchair. Paul Pierce maybe can address that. Listen, it sounds like he's going to be held out for the ACC tournament. And, you know, well, Duke's a one seed, period. They're a one. And they're probably going to play in Raleigh, which would be the first game next Friday.
- [37:54]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah.
- [37:54]
Jason McIntyre
So maybe in a week. The ankle's better, but it did not look good at all.
- [37:59]
Colin Cowherd
I'm hopeful.
- [37:59]
Jason McIntyre
We need Cooper flag in the NCAA tournament.
- [38:01]
Colin Cowherd
Come on.
- [38:01]
Jason McIntyre
He's the biggest.
- [38:02]
Colin Cowherd
Well, I will tell you it in. Because I start now watching college basketball. Basketball. We could potentially have a Tom Izzo, Rick Patino, Cooper flag, and maybe like an Auburn in the tournament. Like, it could be a fascinating tournament. And this draft is not an international draft at the top. It's Rutger. Guys, Duke guys, Auburn guys. So it's. I mean, we could have Bruce Pearl, Patino, Tom Izzo, Duke. I mean, there's a lot of shire. Well, in college basketball, generally, the coach is the star. Like, if Pitino's in the Final Four, that's a story.
- [38:35]
Jason McIntyre
Yeah.
- [38:35]
Colin Cowherd
If Izzo gets there again now, I don't think Michigan State can score its way. I mean, their leading score is 13 a game. Like, they just don't have enough.
- [38:42]
Jason McIntyre
Jason Richardson's younger brother.
- [38:44]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, son, I'm sorry, they don't have any shooters. I mean, it's, it's. It's. Tom Izzo's great, but it's. The offense is very, very limited. All right, live in la, it's the Herd. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. FS1 and the iHeartRadio app. Hey, it's Steve Covino and I'm Rich Davis and together we're Covino and Rich on Fox Sports Radio. You can catch us weekdays from 5 to 7pm Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. And of course, the iHeartRadio app. Why should you listen to Covino and Rich? We talk about everything, life, sports, relationships, what's going on in the world. We have a lot of fun talking about the stories behind the stories in the world of sports and pop culture, stories that, well, other shows don't seem to have the time to discuss. And the fact that we've been friends for the last 20 years and still work together, I mean, that says something, right? So check us out. We like to get you involved, too. Take your phone calls, chop it up, as they say. I'd say the most interactive show on Fox Sports Radio, maybe the most interactive show on planet Earth. Be sure to check out Covino and Rich live on Fox Sports radio and the iHeartradio app from 5 to 7pm Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific. And if you miss any of the live show, just search Kobe Noandrich wherever you get your podcast. And of course, on social media, that's Kavino and Rich with AMEX Gold.
- [39:58]
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- [40:03]
Jeremy Hobson
So party of two, right this way.
- [40:05]
American Express Ad
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- [40:14]
Jeremy Hobson
We live in a divided country.
- [40:15]
Colin Cowherd
I am a lifelong Republican with all.
- [40:18]
Jeremy Hobson
Kinds of different people.
- [40:19]
Colin Cowherd
You know, I'm a mother, I'm a grandmother.
- [40:22]
Jeremy Hobson
That's why we started the Middle with Jeremy Hobson. It's about bringing voices not from the extremes, but from the vast middle into the national conversation.
- [40:30]
Jason McIntyre
Anna, I'm calling from Las Vegas.
- [40:33]
Jeremy Hobson
Each week we bring together an all star panel. Mark Cuban, so great to have you on the Middle.
- [40:37]
Jeff Schwartz
Thanks for having me.
- [40:38]
Jeremy Hobson
Jeremy, Neil Degrasse Tyson, welcome to the Middle.
- [40:40]
Jeff Schwartz
Thanks for having me.
- [40:41]
Jeremy Hobson
And hear from ordinary Americans from all over the country on the most important issues.
- [40:46]
Jason McIntyre
Hi, my name is Venkat.
- [40:48]
Colin Cowherd
I'm calling you from Atlanta, Georgia.
- [40:50]
Jeremy Hobson
And when you subscribe to the Middle, you also get an episode each week called One Thing Trump did that focuses on just one item from the avalanche of news.
- [40:58]
Colin Cowherd
We should be examining what our government spends its money on and are these jobs necessary and what are we doing here? But that doesn't seem to be what we're doing in this situation.
- [41:06]
Jeremy Hobson
Listen to the Middle with Jeremy Hobson on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [41:13]
Jason McIntyre
Live from the Tokyo Dome, the greatest show in baseball makes his triumphant return home as Shohei Ohtani and the reigning champion Dodgers open the regular season against the Cubs. The Tokyo series, Tuesday at 6am Eastern live on Fox.
- [41:31]
Colin Cowherd
You know, if it didn't disrupt our schedule, I would go to that, that would be fun. I, I know somebody, I know a couple that's going from la. It's going to those games. How much fun is that?
- [41:42]
Jason McIntyre
I would love to check out Tokyo.
- [41:44]
Colin Cowherd
It'd be great. The. You know, it's funny, I was thinking about this, so right now I don't want to bore you with this, but when the regional sports networks were sold by Fox, they went into the tank. The minute Fox, the greatest move, the greatest exit of a business model ever. We sold the regional networks and they just evaporated. It really hurt the bottom end teams, the smaller market teams, the Rays, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Baltimore. So the gap in Major league baseball has never been greater between the haves and have nots. Now you could say that's not good for baseball. Maybe it's not. It's great for TV networks that have baseball. I've been saying this. I don't get ESPN moving off baseball. It may not be good for the sport, but what we want as a television network or what leagues want is the stars in the right places. So right now in baseball, the stars are in New York. Both teams, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Atlanta. Chicago just got Kyle Tucker, another Southern California team. Houston's always got talent. So the big markets have never been, the gaps never been bigger between big markets and Oakland, that's great for TV networks. I mean, if Cooper Flag went to Chicago in the NBA, if you went to Chicago and he's a really good player and then Chicago, you know, they got some money because their best player is a kid and they buy a couple all star level players and make some trades. The Knicks would be good, the Celtics would be good, the Lakers would be good. Chicago would be good. That's what in San Francisco, Golden State would be good. Television networks don't care about anything because a television network doesn't have to be loyal to a league. It's got to be loyal. It's got to have about four to six teams that are really good. So if you take out the NFL, where market size and brand doesn't matter right now, baseball is in an incredible. I get Bryce Harper in sports, crazy Philly, big market. Aaron Judge in New York Soto in New York. Basically an all star team with Freddie Freeman, Mookie Bet, Shohei Ohtani and an all star staff for the Dodgers down the road. I got Machado, Tatis, Atlanta's got Acuna, Tucker goes to Chicago. Like you look at the Dodgers roster and I'm not, I'm not. I am not joking when I say this. That is potentially. I don't even think potentially. If Suzaki's as good as advertised. From Japan, Blake Snell, Tyler Glassnow, Yamamoto, Dustin Mate, Shohei Otani is now pitching. This could be has the makings of the best baseball team ever. And that's not me, folks. You're looking at like eight all stars, three on the staff minimum. So it's. That is good for networks. Like, I don't. If you were ever going to move into baseball, it would be now la. Both New York teams, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Cubs, all going to be really interesting. What are you doing? That's when you want in. It's like I said, look at the NBA ratings since Jimmy Butler joined Steph Curry And Luka joined LeBron. The the world. It's so good for the Knicks to be good. It's so important for the Lakers, warriors and Knicks to be captivating and they all are. I don't think the Knicks can win a title, but they're a great watch. So much fun to watch. Second thing is differing opinions. So I asked Urban Meyer about Travis Hunter of Colorado, who's going to play corner and wide receiver in the NFL. That could be problematic. Here's what Urban Meyer said about a kid that, I mean, if I wasn't for quarterbacks, could be the number one pick. I would never say this other than that guy. I'd play him both ways. I would trade him. I mean he. I've never seen Colin on 160th play of the game, he's blocking guys 25, 30 yards downfield.
- [45:32]
Jeff Schwartz
And he.
- [45:33]
Colin Cowherd
At the end of the game, he's a strong. I know it's college and I get that I'm gonna. I'm sure some people say OD's college, it's called.
- [45:39]
Jeff Schwartz
I get that.
- [45:40]
Colin Cowherd
But I in my lifetime, I've not seen a guy do that. Yeah. Now, Jeff Schwartz, who spent eight years in the NFL, he doesn't like the idea of being playing both ways.
- [45:53]
Jeff Schwartz
You have basically two playbooks, right? You have a defensive playbook that's this big and they're on their iPads now. It's a little bit different. But an offensive playbook this big. How do you do both at the same time. Right. You practice one day with wide receivers and one day with the corners. I think it's easier to be a full time corner and then say, hey, Travis, here is 10 plays on offense. Can you run them on Friday at practice or maybe you stay after for five, 10 minutes? That's how I would play it. I would say, look, you're a corner, and then we'll give you 10, 15 plays on offense. You don't have to spend a lot of time in, you know, in that offensive meeting room because you have to get ready to play corner in the NFL.
- [46:27]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah. I think Travis Hunter will be great at whatever his primary responsibility is. Receiver, corner. He'll be great. I do think it's tricky. I think most quarterbacks do not want their receivers occasionally showing up for practice like they want him there. I mean, Brady in the off season would vacation with his receivers. That's Mark Sanchez would bring guys out to Southern California. That's the way quarterbacks work. I think cornerback is a lot of twitchiness and instinct. I'd rather he go to offense, get him 75 minimum 80 touches and then occasionally some spots. Defense. This is Nikki Glaser from the Nikki Glaser podcast. On a more serious note, I'm still thinking about that commercial with Tom Brady and Snoop Dogg hating on each other. Because when you listen to the reasons for hating someone or something, you realize just how stupid they really are. There is too much hate in this country and it's gotta stop. So join us at iHeart in standing up to it. If you see hate, speak up, call it out, and you can learn more by following OTs. Upwithhate.
- [47:29]
Greg Rosenthal
What's up, everyone? It's Greg Rosenthal, and I'm teaming up with the king of spring, Daniel Jeremiah. He requires me to say that we're going to be bringing you 40s and free agents, the only podcast you'll need this NFL draft season. From DJs, mock drafts to my top 101 free agents, we'll have it covered for you with all new episodes every Thursday, keeping you up to date as we head to the NFL Draft. Listen to 40s and free agents starting on March 6th on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [48:00]
Jeremy Hobson
We live in a divided country, and our media couldn't be more polarizing. That's why we started the Middle with Jeremy Hobson. It's about bringing voices not from the extremes, but from the vast middle into the national conversation. Each week, we hear from ordinary Americans from all over the country. And when you subscribe to the Middle, you also get an episode each week called One Thing Trump did that focuses on just one item from the avalanche of news. Listen to the Middle with Jeremy Hobson on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [48:30]
Colin Cowherd
What's up everyone? Julie Swerbinks here, along with former NHL player Nate Thompson. We're doing a new podcast together.
- [48:36]
Jeff Schwartz
Here we go.
- [48:38]
Colin Cowherd
The name Energy Line with Nate and jsb.
- [48:41]
Jeff Schwartz
Each week we'll get together and talk about hockey life. All topics are fair game, right?
- [48:46]
Colin Cowherd
Exactly. And you'll never know who will drop by to join us.
- [48:50]
Jeff Schwartz
Julie is pretty well connected. She has text threads going that you wouldn't believe.
- [48:55]
Colin Cowherd
Listen to Energy Line with Nate and jsb on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.