Hour 2 - NFL predictions

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Herd with Colin Cowherd – Hour 2: NFL Predictions

Release Date: April 9, 2025
Host: Jason McIntyre (Guest Host in Place of Colin Cowherd)
Guests: Eddie House (NBA Analyst), Will Blackman (Former Cowboys Coach)
Platform: iHeartPodcasts and The Volume

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1. Introduction

In the second hour of "The Herd with Colin Cowherd," Jason McIntyre steps in as the host, diving deep into NFL predictions for the upcoming season. The episode primarily focuses on over/under betting opportunities across various NFL teams, with insights from notable guests Eddie House and Will Blackman. The discussion is enriched with analytical perspectives, personal anecdotes, and engaging banter, making it a comprehensive listen for NFL enthusiasts.

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2. NFL Over/Under Predictions

Jason McIntyre kicks off the segment by addressing Colin Cowherd's initial predictions and presents his own over/under opinions on four NFL teams. He emphasizes the importance of drilling down into team specifics and schedules to make informed betting choices.

a. Atlanta Falcons – Over 7.5 Wins

• Rationale:
  McIntyre highlights the Falcons' improved offense led by quarterback Michael Penix and the running game featuring Bijan Robinson. He anticipates the Falcons securing over seven and a half wins, citing their favorable schedule and offseason acquisitions.

• Quote:
  “They have the good run game with Bijan Robinson. I think they'll probably get him another weapon in the draft.” [04:00]

b. Detroit Lions – Under 10.5 Wins

• Rationale:
  Despite Jared Goff's presence and an improved defense under Aaron Glenn, McIntyre foresees the Lions struggling due to a challenging schedule against teams with winning records. He underscores the impact of losing Ben Johnson, the former offensive coordinator, which could lead to a regression in their offensive performance.

• Quote:
  “They have to play one team that had a winning record and that was the Vikings. Their road games are easy. It's a gauntlet.” [07:30]

c. Seattle Seahawks – Under 7.5 Wins

• Rationale:
  McIntyre expresses skepticism about the Seahawks' offensive capabilities, despite a competitive team dynamic. He points to Geno Smith and Tyler Lockett struggling to overcome offensive inefficiencies and the uncertainty surrounding new quarterback Sam Darnold.

• Quote:
  “I just don't see eight wins. So I went under seven and a half.” [10:00]

d. Washington Commanders – Under 9.5 Wins

• Rationale:
  Citing the team's exceptional performance in the previous season and potential regression, McIntyre predicts the Commanders will secure fewer than nine and a half wins. He draws parallels to the Houston Texans' initial success followed by a downturn, attributing it to factors like rookie quarterback struggles and sophomore slumps.

• Quote:
  “I see a little regression from Daniels. They won like three games at the buzzer. They had a very fortunate charm run last year.” [12:00]

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3. Guest Insights and Side Discussions

Midway through the episode, Eddie House joins the conversation, introducing NBA-related topics that, while slightly tangential, provide a broader sports perspective.

a. NBA Coaching and Team Dynamics

Eddie House engages in a discussion about NBA coaching decisions, drawing comparisons to football's coaching dynamics. The conversation touches upon the challenges of managing star players and maintaining team chemistry.

• Quote:
  “It's gonna blow up in my face. Last time I went against the Seahawks I had to shave the insignia in the side of my head. Won't be doing that again.” [03:08]

b. Knicks Performance and Coaching Strategies

The dialogue shifts to the New York Knicks, where Eddie critiques the team's depth and rotation strategies under coach Tom Thibodeau, speculating on potential coaching changes.

• Quote:
  “I don't think they're deep enough. That's the problem when you look at who they play against.” [08:24]

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4. NFL Players Under Pressure

Transitioning back to NFL-focused content, the discussion highlights players and coaches facing significant pressure in the 2025 season, referencing rankings by Fox Sports’ Eric Williams.

a. Top Players and Coaches on the Hot Seat

• Brock Purdy (49ers Quarterback):
  McIntyre considers Purdy as the top player under scrutiny, debating whether his performance merits his current standing or if he should be rated higher given his potential trajectory.

• JJ McCarthy (Vikings Quarterback):
  Ranking at 8th, McCarthy returns from a knee injury, with expectations mounted on his recovery and performance.

• Sam Darnold (Seahawks Quarterback):
  Positioned at number 10, discussions revolve around Darnold's adaptation to the Seahawks' system and his ability to replicate past successes.

• Ben Johnson (Bears Head Coach):
  As the highest-ranked coach under pressure, Johnson's ability to develop Caleb Williams into a formidable NFL quarterback is under the microscope.

• Quote:
  “Ben Johnson is a franchise make or break hire for the Bears. Can he turn Caleb Williams into the NFL quarterback?” [28:00]

b. Derrick Henry and Bryce Young

The conversation also touches upon running back Derrick Henry and quarterback Bryce Young, examining their performance expectations and the pressure to meet team and fan expectations.

• Quote:
  “Bryce Young probably should be on there, but overall that's a strong list.” [29:53]

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5. Draft Speculations and Quarterback Evaluations

Jason McIntyre delves into quarterback evaluations, specifically focusing on Jalen Milro's potential in the NFL Draft. He compares Milro's combine performance to legends like Michael Vick and Lamar Jackson, discussing his strengths and areas needing improvement.

a. Jalen Milro's NFL Prospects

• Strengths:
  Milro's exceptional speed and ability to escape pressure mirror attributes of successful dual-threat quarterbacks.

• Areas for Improvement:
  His propensity for interceptions and difficulty reading defenses pose significant concerns for NFL scalability.

• Quote:
  “The only quarterbacks in the history of the combine who have run faster combine or pro day than Jaylen Melro are Michael Vick and Lamar Jackson.” [44:00]

b. Potential Landing Spots

McIntyre speculates on possible teams interested in Milro, including the Cleveland Browns and Los Angeles Rams, analyzing how each franchise's coaching staff could influence Milro's development.

• Quote:
  “If Milro lands with the Rams, he adds a dimension, whether it's play action, scrambling that we haven't seen with McVay.” [45:00]

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6. Conclusion and Final Thoughts

As the episode wraps up, McIntyre reiterates the unpredictability of NFL drafts and the importance of cautious optimism when evaluating draft prospects. The discussion underscores the complexity of quarterback evaluations and the strategic considerations teams must balance in their draft decisions.

• Closing Quote:
  “The draft does big ratings and it's a huge tent pole event for the NFL in the off season.” [43:30]

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Jason McIntyre on Falcons' Potential:
  “They have the good run game with Bijan Robinson. I think they'll probably get him another weapon in the draft.” [04:00]

• Eddie House on Coaching Decisions:
  “I don't think you can fire your head coach with three games left in the regular season when you're in a playoff position.” [25:08]

• McIntyre on Jalen Milro's Combine Performance:
  “The only quarterbacks in the history of the combine who have run faster combine or pro day than Jaylen Melro are Michael Vick and Lamar Jackson.” [44:00]

• Discussion on Coaching Management:
  “You just have to let it out for another couple months and then do something after the season.” [27:50]

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Key Takeaways

• Strategic Betting: McIntyre provides informed over/under predictions based on team performance, schedules, and offseason changes, offering valuable insights for bettors.

• Player and Coach Pressures: The episode highlights the immense pressures facing NFL players and coaches, emphasizing the fine line between success and heightened scrutiny.

• Draft Complexity: The intricacies of evaluating quarterback prospects are dissected, illustrating the challenges teams face in securing the right talent for long-term success.

• Guest Perspectives: Eddie House's NBA insights, while secondary to the main NFL discourse, enrich the conversation with a multifaceted sports analysis.

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For listeners seeking in-depth NFL analysis intertwined with broader sports perspectives, this episode of "The Herd with Colin Cowherd" serves as a compelling exploration of the upcoming season's predictions and the multitude of factors influencing team performances and player evaluations.

Transcript

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[Jeremy Hobson]

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[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 gonna 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 to the NFL Draft. Listen to 40s and free agents on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Steve Covino]

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 [e-mail] or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR.

[Alex Curry]

Now let's get this party started.

[Jason McIntyre]

You're listening to Fox Sports rad hour number two here on the Herd. Jason McIntyre in for Colin Cowherd on a lovely Wednesday got Eddie House, NBA champ. He challenged me to a three point shooting contest during the commercial break. I declined. Just for the record, I declined Alex. I was like, nah, I'll pass on that one. Eddie.

[Alex Curry]

Why?

[Jason McIntyre]

I knew Eddie House when he was dropping 61 at Arizona.

[Eddie House]

Okay, why did you decline?

[Jason McIntyre]

Well, he put a big money figure on it.

[Eddie House]

Rise to the challenge.

[Jason McIntyre]

He put a big money figure on it.

[Eddie House]

Okay. I thought you were a betting man and you like the rich.

[Jason McIntyre]

I love to gamble and I love to gamble on myself.

[Eddie House]

Exactly.

[Jason McIntyre]

But not against an NBA champion. That's, that's all. I'll leave it at that. But by the way, I'm trying to get Eddie House to come out here to LA and we'll get in a pickup game with Paul Pierce and throw him off the court because Paul Pierce loves to do a little. They all do.

[Eddie House]

I love it.

[Jason McIntyre]

Part of the game, guy. Final hour. Will Blackman, former Cowboys coach. Can we call him that? I don't know. But first I want to get started here. I looked at the NFL over unders. Okay. Cowherd did his last week and I've identified four opportunities to bet on for the upcoming season. Now we'll have someone come on final hour and dispute my picks. He's. He's a really sharp better. But let me get started with 4 NFL over unders I absolutely love. Let's get started. Are you ready for this? Michael Penix and the Atlanta Falcons, I really like them this year. I know everybody loves Tampa Bay and everybody thinks Tampa Bay is a team. Keep an eye on the Atlanta Falcons. Over seven and a half wins. Penix. Not only was he with the team last year, but a full off season. They've got the good run game with Bijan Robinson. I think they'll probably get him another weapon in the draft. Pitts is sticking around at tight end. And I looked at the schedule, guys. They play the NFC west and the AFC east, right? And you're like, oh that, that's not that easy. Well then you drill down a little further. There's only two potential cold weather games for the dome. Falcons at the jets at the Patriots also. Those teams are not good. Everything kind of sort of lines up on the road outside the division. They have to play one team that had a winning record and that was the Vikings. Their road games are easy. There's a world. Now I know we were a little early last year on the Falcons we were like oh this is a 12 win team. Didn't quite happen. It was the Cousins regression. Penix didn't take over till it was too late. The Falcons nearly made the playoffs. Remember that game against Washington late in the season they needed it didn't quite happen. So I'm on the Falcons over seven and a half wins. Next up an under Detroit Lions. I'm so sorry. I got some buddies who are Lions fans. They were loving last year's ride. Jared Goff lives kind of sort of near me. I saw him on the beach with his wife recently. We had the exact same dog. I like golf. I told him to go on the show. He knows Cowherd's a fan. It doesn't look great for multiple reasons. Number one, Aaron Glenn, defensive coordinator was phenomenal and they didn't have a ton of defensive talent outside of Hutch and the young safety from Alabama. Then they lose Ben Johnson. I, I know we love Dan Campbell but guys, Ben Johnson was really the brains behind that offense and I think there will clearly be a step back. Everybody would agree with that. But then it's how far is the step back and again this is unbelievable but if you look at their schedule, it is definitely going to be one of the four or five toughest schedules in the league. These are their non division road games and there's a similarity between all these teams. The Lions play at Washington, at Philly, at Cincy, at Baltimore, at KC and at the Rams. What do all those teams have in common? They all had winning records last year. I'm just telling you that's an absolute gauntlet. Now Washington will be outdoors, Philly is outdoors, Cincy's outdoors, Baltimore's outdoors, KC Last year I think the Lions had one or two outdoor games maybe all season. If these fall in November, December, we'll see how it goes for the Lions. But I'm taking the under 10 and a half for Detroit. Next up Seattle Seahawks. Going under on the Seahawks as well. This could blow up in my face. Last time I went against the Seahawks I had to shave the insignia in the side of my head. Won't be doing that again, that's for sure. I just too much, too much loss on the offensive side of the ball. Geno Smith, Lockett Metcalf. I just think that's going to be very difficult to overcome all the newness you got Sam Darnold. We'll see. Cooper cup happy for him. We'll see. I, I, I don't love this SEO team. I don't Think the coach is a problem. I like him a lot. They'll be competitive. I just don't see seven or eight. I don't see eight wins. So I went under seven and a half and the final one. And I apologies to all my people in D.C. because I got a lot of friends there, kind of grew up in that area. I'm going under on the Commanders. Under on the Washington Commanders. Nine and a half wins. I know they blew away everybody. Oh my gosh. How good was their. They went to the NFC championship. How are they going to regress? Well, you guys remember the Houston Texans first year shock? Everybody was stroud make a playoff run. Oh my gosh. They were the most. I think one of the most popular AFC super bowl picks this past season. They regressed. You get a year on tape on the rookie quarterbacks. There's the sophomore slump. I think those things are real. I mean, some of these things are kind of real. Like the team that loses the super bowl usually doesn't get back to the playoffs or the Super Bowl. That's like a real thing. I don't know how that works, but it always seems to happen. I see a little regression from Daniels. I think they won like three games at the buzzer. They, they had a very fortunate charm run last year. They're going to be good. But under nine and a half on the Commanders. Pick those apart, please. All right, let's welcome in my main man, Eddie House, FOX Sports NBA analyst. He is a Celtics TV analyst as well. Eddie, how's life, my man?

[Alex Curry]

It's good. Hey, man, don't, don't forget the Emmy award winner as well. Man, you gotta throw that in there too.

[Jason McIntyre]

Jeez, Eddie, how award winner. So I, I gotta ask you, man. You know, I'm a Knicks guy. I love their moves this past offseason. Why can't they beat any of the good teams, bro? Oh, geez, Eddie.

[Alex Curry]

The Knicks stink. No, they don't stink. I'm not, I'm not gonna say that, but I just don't think they're deep enough. You know, that's, that's the, the problem when you look at who they play against. And the, the really, really good teams, the upper echelons of the NBA, they're just not deep enough. Like last night was a perfect example of it. They leaned heavily on two guys. Carl Anthony Towns came out on fire in the first half. He played well. Javen Brunson there trying to put the ball in his hands and he's very capable. But when you start looking at their bench and their rotation. And the way that Tibbs plays his rotation doesn't allow for that rotational group to get any kind of steady or good feeling about themselves. And so I think that that's the reason why the. The. The Knicks won't. Won't really go that far. And I thought last night, see, that's a hack right there. They were hacking last night, and the refs allowed them to do that. And I like the fact that we were able to play through it and still find a way to get a.

[Jason McIntyre]

W. I like how he tosses the we in there. Let me. Let me ask you. Like I said, I should have put.

[Alex Curry]

My rings on so you could. I should have put my rings on so you can see why I say we.

[Jason McIntyre]

We're good. We're good. Let me ask. Is Thibodeau in trouble? I. I think they could run him off and bring him alone.

[Alex Curry]

That's a possibility, especially because I think you got you as Knicks fans, right? You guys. You guys think that he runs the guys into the ground, right? Like, there is no rotation. It's a short rotation, and then it gets shorter when it goes to the playoffs. And so that could be in question. You know, that. That could definitely be something that could possibly happen. I don't like how the Denver Nuggets handled that, but I'm not running the different Nuggets, and I'm not part of that. That team or anything like that. But Mike Malone has done nothing but win. He's the winningest coach in Denver Nugget history. They went to the championship. And to fire a guy like right now, when you're fourth and you could end up being in the play in. Because the way that the west is right now, but the. The way that it happened, you know, that's. That, that, that, that. That. That reeks of something going on within that locker room that they just didn't like him or they didn't like his voice started to be redundant, and they just were like, we don't want to hear this no more because, you know, they ran that by joke. Yoker. Well, you know, I mean, they ran that by a joke.

[Jason McIntyre]

You know, they did not. But I. I mean, it's. Right. Like, do you think the Lakers ran the Luca trade by LeBron?

[Alex Curry]

Well, I mean, Luca got traded for Anthony Davis. Anthony Davis is represented by Rich Paul. Yeah, I think that there had to be some kind of discussion there.

[Jason McIntyre]

So are you.

[Alex Curry]

And everybody's just keeping quiet.

[Jason McIntyre]

You should ask your superstar, hey, what do you think of this move.

[Alex Curry]

Well, if you're. If you're in good standing with that coach, unless the superstar comes up and saying, hey, man, we got to get rid of him. You know, and if he comes down, if they come down and run it and ask, say, hey, because we've seen this before where a superstar has ran a coach out of a job, you know, with Mike Brown, I would say that that's one of.

[Jason McIntyre]

One of them.

[Alex Curry]

You know, that's the most recent one that I could look at. But also, we could look at LeBron James running David Black out of town right after you win the finals. And so there's no way that they don't run that by Jokic or Gordon or Jamal Murray. And the thing was, none of them said, no, we want to keep him. This is our guy. They're looking forward to the Adelman. They. They probably feel more comfortable with him. He probably relates better with them because they're younger. And the other thing is this is that Adelman, if he's anything like his dad, I played with him in Sacramento. He. He'll turn out. He'll turn out to be a really good coach.

[Jason McIntyre]

Do you think there's any world where Jokic gets traded or asks for a trade?

[Alex Curry]

Well, he can always ask for a trade, but I don't think if I was a Denver Nuggets, I would never trade that. I mean, you have the best player in. In the world. You know what I mean? So there's no way that I would ever trade that. You always want to have the best player, because if it gets to a game seven, you could trust that. Best players going to show up.

[Jason McIntyre]

Yeah. All right, let's go to the Lakers. Everybody's favorite team to hate. I'm sure you have some deep thoughts on Luka Doncic, who likes to complain. And, Eddie, you were a bit of a yapper, if memory. No, I'm just kidding. But what do you make of all this Luca controversy, the ejection last night? You have to admit that was. That was kind of bogus, right?

[Alex Curry]

Yes, bogus. But that was his reputation. You know what I mean? He has a reputation of complaining to the refs. He has a reputation of talking to people in the stands. And he even said himself, he said, if they gonna talk, I'm gonna talk back. Ain't nothing wrong with that. But once you have a technical, once you get one technical, you have to be careful on how you move forward for the rest of the game, because you can't cost your team. They were making a great run. They were looking like they were going to maybe win this basketball game. And once he went out, and it's not just because he went out, because they still had LeBron out there, they still had Austin Reeves out there. They. They got out, rebounded, they got points in the paint they got killed on. They turned the ball over 19 times and gave up. I want to say, was it 29 points off of 19 turnovers. So they had some problems after that, you know what I mean? That. That you could look at and say, hey, man, you know, they could have been better, but they're definitely a better team with Luka on the floor than they're not. And it's. It's his reputation, you know what I mean? It's his reputation. So he's going to have to figure that part out.

[Jason McIntyre]

You can't eject guys in a one point game in the fourth quarter on reputation, Eddie. Come on. That's wrong.

[Alex Curry]

Yeah, you could. You, you know, because if. If you think that I'm talking to you, right? If you believe that I'm talking to you, you're gonna feel like you talking like. Like I'm talking to you. Like, man, damn, we got a problem. And then I say something. But I was like, no, I was talking to the dude behind you over there.

[Jason McIntyre]

Five rolls back, you could see the guy, he's wearing a number 8 jersey in the corner. So I don't. Okay, so isn't that on the referee to be like, turn around and at least see? He wanted to hear none of it. He instantly said, you're out.

[Alex Curry]

You said, time out. You said, turn around and look in the crowd. That's what the referee supposed to do. The referee is officiating the basketball game. What his job is, is to watch what's happening on the floor, not to be looking at what's happening in the crowd. You know what I mean? So we can't blame that on the ref. We just blame that on the reputation that Luca has. Do I think that that was a cool, you know, ejection? No, I don't. I don't. I don't feel that it was warranted. But just because of his reputation, These are the type of things that happen. Think about Rasheed Wallace. Rashid Wallace could throw his hand in the air like this, he get a technical foul.

[Jason McIntyre]

That's not a bad comparison. But let me ask. So we now saw two games with Luca and LeBron against the Thunder, and the Lakers dismembered them Sunday by a billion. And then last night, it was toe to toe in the fourth quarter in okc. Eddie, Lakers and Thunder in a seven game series, who you got?

[Alex Curry]

Man, that's a tough one right there. I was talking about that earlier today. When I think about it, it's going to go, it will go seven games. To me it will be a seven game series and it's just about who's going to be able to get the st. Who's other guys. It's not about the star players because I think Jalen Williams and Shay, they gonna get their money. I think Luca and LeBron gonna get their money. Now who are the other guys that are going to be able to step up? When you walk into a locker room and it's. The cameras are different, you know what I mean? Like the energy in the building, as soon as you come into the building off the bus, everything is different. Who's going to shrink in that moment and who is relishing in that moment and who wants to thrive in that moment. It's going to come down to that. So I think it'll be a seven game series and which I, I mean I, I feel like it's a, a coin flip.

[Jason McIntyre]

So. You know, Eddie, I, I kind of tried to make the case that the NBA loves villains and the Curry KD warriors were villains. Everybody hated them because they were stacked. Everybody hated LeBron and Wade because they were the heels. I think Luka and LeBron are kind of on that level when it comes to hate. People don't hate your Celtics. People don't hate the Thunder or the Cavs. They're not actively rooting against them. I feel like right now the vibe and energy is man, Luca and LeBron, there's some whiny complainers, I'm rooting against them. Would you, would you agree with that?

[Alex Curry]

Well, if, if that's how somebody feels, you know that's how they feel. But I don't, I don't believe that. I don't believe that the Lakers are the villains. The Lakers are getting all of the shine. You talk about the Lakers all the time. So how are you a villain when we always talking about them, right? We talking about a team that's doing this, that and the third. I really believe, to be honest with you, that this right here, the Boston Celtics basketball organization, they are the villains because guess what, Jason Tatum, what happened at the Olympics, what happened with Jaylen Brown, you know what I mean? What I could go on and on. Jason Tatum doesn't get, he's a superstar that doesn't get any kind of calls. I mean I watch him get mugged every sing and he doesn't get a call. And so I'm not going to sit here and. And play. Pity for the Lakers because at the end of the day, you know, it's. That's purple and fool's gold.

[Jason McIntyre]

Oh, geez. How long you been sitting on that one? That's not bad. Purple and fool's go. Okay, I like it. We'll wrap up with this. The Suns, I guess, are going to get eliminated from the playoffs officially tonight with another loss. Kevin Durant, they tried to trade him. You know, Kurt, KD is going to be on the move. Who is going to hire this guy to make one last push so maybe Durant can get a final ring. Where you got him going this offseason?

[Alex Curry]

You know, OKC has a lot of. Has a lot, a lot of resources over there, and they have some players over there that they could kind of maneuver. OKC wouldn't be a bad place. I don't think he's going to be the only guy that's on the move. I think Buddenholzer is probably on a hot seat as well. You know what I mean? Just. I watched the Suns. I called the Suns game when we, when we played them in Phoenix, and then I watched it again when we played them out here. And they don't give any effort. There's no effort out there. And you know, that's usually a direct reflection of how your coach is coaching at one point at a time. So I think that that's. He's not going to be the only guy on the move. But I definitely believe Kevin Durant is gone. The coach is possibly going to be gone, and I wouldn't be surprised if he reunited with okc. They got so many resources, they got so many draft picks, first round, second rounds, and they got players that they could also put in there. So I think that is probably the most attractive place.

[Jason McIntyre]

I don't hate that. Take. Let me ask you, would OKC accept him like the fans, remember, he left them and it was ugly.

[Alex Curry]

They.

[Jason McIntyre]

They were. They were hating on him big time. Russell west was cupcakes. Will they gladly say, hey, you're 37, 37 in September, but we'll take you on, even though we had to lose whoever they got to give up to get him.

[Alex Curry]

Let me ask you this. You ever had a girlfriend that you liked back in the day that fired you? I never had that. I never got fired for no girl, but you probably did. So have you ever had one that fired you that you Wish that would come back. And if she came back, you would be with open arms. And that's the same situation.

[Jason McIntyre]

Cold blooded. Yes, I've been dumped by a girl before. You've never been dumped. That's a lie. There's no way.

[Alex Curry]

No, that's. No. You crazy. I ain't never been dumped by no. You crazy, man. What's wrong with you, man?

[Jason McIntyre]

My man, Eddie House. Great stuff as usual. You get. We got to get you out here to la, man. I need to hang with Eddie House. You instantly just get over points. Just hanging in his orbit. Eddie. Great stuff is holl at me. Yeah. Congrats on the Celtics championship. They're gonna win it again. All right. Eddie House, he brought Alex.

[Eddie House]

He's lying.

[Jason McIntyre]

I know he's lying.

[Eddie House]

What do you mean?

[Jason McIntyre]

Everybody's been dumped by a girl. Any guy who says that. Come on, that's gotta be.

[Eddie House]

No, he has a different.

[Jason McIntyre]

Have you ever been dumped by a girl?

[Eddie House]

Oh, yeah, of course. Cheated on. I've been everything like that.

[Jason McIntyre]

That's a bridge too far for me. But anyways, that's a good topic. By Eddie House.

[Eddie House]

No, that. He was great.

[Jason McIntyre]

I'm asking staff here. I see some guys looking at me sideways in the studio. If you haven't been dumped, I think you're lying. Anyways, coming up next, Alex Curry is going to tell us which NFL players are under the most pressure this season. That's next.

[Steve Covino]

One more herd.

[Jason McIntyre]

The herd streams 24 hours a day.

[Alex Curry]

Seven days a week within the iHeartRadio app search herd to listen live or on demand, whenever you'd like.

[Steve Covino]

Banking with Capital One helps you keep more money in your wallet with no fees or minimums on checking accounts and no overdraft fees. Just ask the Capital One bank guy. It's pretty much all he talks about. In a good way. He'd also tell you that this podcast is his favorite podcast too. Oh, really? Thanks. Capital One Bank Guy, what's in your wallet? Terms apply. See capitalone.com bank capital1na member FDIC.

[Rich Davis]

Spring is here and you can now get almost anything you need for your sunny days delivered with Uber Eats. What do we mean by almost? Well, you can't get a well groomed lawn delivered, but you can get a chicken parmesan delivered. A cabana, that's a no. But a banana, that's a yes. A nice tan. Sorry, nope. But a box fan? Happily, yes. A day of sunshine? No. A box of fine wines. Yes. Uber Eats can definitely get you that. Get almost. Almost anything delivered with Uber eats Order now. Alcohol in select markets. Product availability may vary by Regency app. For details.

[Jeremy Hobson]

We live in a divided country.

[Jason McIntyre]

I am a lifelong Republican with all.

[Jeremy Hobson]

Kinds of different people.

[Eddie House]

You know, I'm a mother. I'm a grandmother.

[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.

[Eddie House]

Anna, I'm calling from Las Vegas.

[Jeremy Hobson]

Each week we bring together an all star panel. Mark Cuban, so great to have you on the Middle.

[Rich Davis]

Thanks for having me.

[Jason McIntyre]

Jeremy.

[Jeremy Hobson]

Neil Degrasse Tyson, welcome to the Middle.

[Alex Curry]

Thanks for having me.

[Jeremy Hobson]

And hear from ordinary Americans from all over the country on the most important issues.

[Jason McIntyre]

Hi, my name is Venkat. I'm calling you from Atlanta, Georgia.

[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.

[Alex Curry]

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.

[Rich Davis]

We'Re doing in this situation.

[Jeremy Hobson]

Listen to the Middle with Jeremy Hobson on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Greg Rosenthal]

What's up, everyone? It's Greg Rosenthal, and I'm teaming up with the King of spring, Daniel Jeremiah. He requires me to say that we're going to be bringing you 40s and free agents, the only podcast you'll need this NFL draft season. From DJs mock drafts to my top 101 free agents, we'll have it covered for you with all new episodes every Thursday keeping you up to date as we head to the NFL Draft. Listen to 40s and free agents on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Jason McIntyre]

Back here on the Herd. Spirited hour and a half in the books. Let's go to Alex Curry with the news.

[Alex Curry]

No, no, turn on the news. This is the Herd line news.

[Eddie House]

Well, J. Mac, we were both shocked by the news of Michael Malone's firing, but more reports have come out and reportedly a former Nuggets gm, Calvin Booth, wanted to play the younger guys he drafted, like Jalen Pickett and Peyton Watson, where Malone preferred to play veteran Gu Russell Westbrook. More minutes. Now this. They're both gone. So regardless of this disagreement between your coach and gm, I still don't think you fire your head coach with three games left in the regular season when you're in a playoff position and a good position like you're still not in the play. In, like, you're. You're solid in a playoff spot right now. And with everything we're hearing, like, let the G. GM Go now and then hold a minute and make your decision on your head coach after the season's over.

[Jason McIntyre]

You know, Malone is an ornery individual, and I just. He's a little prickly to deal with. Again, successful.

[Eddie House]

Okay.

[Jason McIntyre]

But aren't. Aren't all the successful people in the world a little difficult to deal with?

[Eddie House]

Don't you want a leader that knows what he wants and he's won you a championship just a couple years ago. He's been with the organization for a decade.

[Jason McIntyre]

It seems like Malone wanted to play Westbrook a lot.

[Eddie House]

Yeah.

[Jason McIntyre]

Didn't want to play the young guys because he trusts veterans more than he does Christian Brown, Peyton Watson. Yeah, that's a tough one, though. The GM it was. You've seen Moneyball, obviously. Remember, Billy Beane wants to play certain guys.

[Eddie House]

Yeah.

[Jason McIntyre]

And the coach is like, no, I don't trust them. I'm going with my guys. So what does he have to do? He has to move on from the players.

[Eddie House]

Yeah.

[Jason McIntyre]

Get them out. So then the coach is forced to play his dudes. And it actually worked.

[Eddie House]

It's crazy because I went down a rabbit hole on this yesterday, just kind of watching different, like, Denver reporters and see what, like, they were hearing and whatnot. Live Moods posted something where she was hearing that apparently they were so divided that, like, the team was getting divided, players were getting divided, anyone within the organization was getting divided, and you picked a side, and if you were on another side, you didn't talk to someone on the other side. Does that make sense?

[Jason McIntyre]

Yeah. So I guess that would mean if you fired the gm, Half the team would have lost their guy.

[Eddie House]

Yeah.

[Jason McIntyre]

And they would. Yeah.

[Eddie House]

So then maybe it's collateral damage. Like, Malone just was collateral damage. Like, this is. This has gotten so bad in house and so bad within our organization. Like, I don't know if we can continue to go with one because our. Everyone is so divided.

[Jason McIntyre]

I mean, I think he was. Malone was saying, nobody wants to watch film. He kind of bashed his players, which is potentially a motivational tactic. I'm not against that. Yeah, it was a tough one. And the interesting. The second order effect is what if Jokic doesn't like the new coach because he loved Malone. And remember, Jokic was pro Westbrook. So Malone was pro Westbrook. Jokic was pro Malone, pro Westbrook.

[Eddie House]

Yeah.

[Jason McIntyre]

I guess there's a world where Jokic could be unhappy with this.

[Eddie House]

How much. How much do you think that they asked?

[Jason McIntyre]

Yeah. Eddie Howe said they asked him. I don't.

[Eddie House]

I don't know.

[Jason McIntyre]

It was so sudden that nobody was expecting it. I can't imagine that they asked.

[Eddie House]

It just still doesn't feel right. It just. It doesn't. Like your coach is so important, especially at this point in the season with a couple games left, you're in a playoff spot. Like, just.

[Jason McIntyre]

Yeah. Can you imagine?

[Eddie House]

This is wild. You just literally blew up the team. You blew up the team.

[Jason McIntyre]

What if they fired McVay on the, like week 16?

[Eddie House]

That wouldn't happen. I just.

[Alex Curry]

I agree.

[Eddie House]

If you're in a playoff spot, that's like, that's unheard of. Like, you tough it out. Like, I don't care if it's the players complaining. You are getting paid millions of dollars to play a game. Suck it up. This is your leader. Like, figure it out for another couple months and then, and then, like, do something after the season. Yeah, it's still just. It's wildly ridiculous move that they made. Okay. Moving to football. Fox Sports Eric Williams ranked the top 10 players and coaches under the most pressure in the 2025 season. New Seahawk Sam Darnold makes the list at number 10. JJ McCarthy ranks 8th as he returns from his knee injury. And first on the list was 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy. I think a few people need to be a little higher. The new faces and new places, I think, have a lot to prove. Sam Darnold I think should be a little higher. Can he be the same player that he was last year under, you know, kind of the quarterback guru? And Kevin O'Connell, like, was he that good or was he just a product of the Vikings system? I think there's going to be a lot of pressure there. And then I think Ben Johnson has a lot of pressure on him, too. He's never been a head coach. This was a franchise kind of make or break hire for the Bears. I mean, he was definitely the hottest name and best option on the market. And they got, they got the guy. Right. But can he, can he turn Caleb Williams into the NFL quarterback? And the high expectations that everyone had to him coming in, he already is making huge moves getting a protection. He said he was going to restructure o line. He's done that. He's doing everything that he said he was going to do right out of the gates. But I, I think, yeah, Ben Johnson is a little higher. Should be a little higher on that list. What about you? What stands out to you.

[Jason McIntyre]

I'll go off the board.

[Eddie House]

Okay.

[Jason McIntyre]

How is Bryce Young not on that list? Because he's looking at an extension. I mean he hasn't found it yet. He's got some work to do. Bryce Young probably should be on there, but overall that's a, that's a strong list.

[Eddie House]

It's a strong list.

[Jason McIntyre]

Puka at 4. Is that a little too rich or is that coming off his I might retire at 30 comments?

[Eddie House]

Maybe because he's now QB1. Like wide receiver. Yeah, yeah, sorry. Yeah. Wide receiver.

[Jason McIntyre]

One two bears on the list.

[Eddie House]

He's like Cooper cup was his like brother.

[Jason McIntyre]

7. What? He's not even in the league.

[Eddie House]

He will be. I mean he's not. I feel like he would have retired.

[Jason McIntyre]

What's your confidence level? He'll be in the league, Alex.

[Eddie House]

I don't think he would be drawing it out this long.

[Jason McIntyre]

I need a number if, if he's.

[Eddie House]

Going to be in the league. I would say 85%, 90% he's going to be playing next year.

[Jason McIntyre]

High confidence.

[Eddie House]

It's high. Yeah. I don't, it doesn't feel like he's going to retire yet. I think he's going to give it one more shot and there's definitely going to be an opportunity for him. But it's, I like your take that it's going to be after the draft just to kind of see what happens, see who takes the quarterback. See if he wants to be in a quarterback room where, I don't know, there is a possibility where he's not the starter halfway through the season, you know, which would be interesting.

[Jason McIntyre]

McCarthy's a good one. I think that's, that's a, that's strong. Dabel for sure is the coach on the hottest seat heading into the season.

[Eddie House]

But Aaron Jones was very confident talking about jj.

[Jason McIntyre]

Oh yeah.

[Eddie House]

Like very confident. And it's interesting because Vikings have kind of been wishy washy on their he's our guy. But we're keeping the door open for the possibility to bring in another quarterback.

[Jason McIntyre]

Why would you say that?

[Eddie House]

I don't know, but they've been doing that.

[Jason McIntyre]

So other names.

[Eddie House]

Interesting.

[Jason McIntyre]

What's that? Trevor Lawrence. I, I, I'm not as low on it. A lot of people are out on Trevor Lawrence. Yeah, it sounds like you're in that group.

[Eddie House]

Yeah, I don't really have a lot of expectations for him. So that's why I don't think there's a lot of pressure. It's just there hasn't been much group. Like I think Once he has an incredible standout season. It's also tough when you're with a franchise like the guys.

[Jason McIntyre]

Liam Cohen. Liam Cohen. Fixed Baker Mayfield.

[Eddie House]

Okay.

[Jason McIntyre]

I, I, I, I, I'm in on Trevor Lawrence, but I'm, I'm on an island there.

[Eddie House]

No, you're not.

[Jason McIntyre]

Not a lot of people like him.

[Eddie House]

Now, Alex, how many years has he been in the league now?

[Jason McIntyre]

Too many to. To not win this enough game.

[Eddie House]

That's what I'm saying.

[Jason McIntyre]

Four or five.

[Eddie House]

And was one of the highest paid certain players in the league. It's just, it's tough.

[Jason McIntyre]

Supporting cast is largely. But I, I don't want to hammer anybody. Sorry, Jax.

[Eddie House]

Okay, let's move on to Deion Sanders, who had previously said it's going to be an Eli situation if one of his sons or Travis Hunter didn't go to the right NFL teams. But he's now walking that back. Coach prime said, I've talked to all the parties of the teams that fit that description. I'm not going in that direction right now because I know who they are. Some of those teams probably won't pick my sons anyway, so, you know, you don't have to get ruffled up over something that ain't gonna happen. No way. I'm just curious where the Browns sit in Dion's standards, because your son or Travis Hunter will likely go second overall to that team. Would he steer them away from the Browns? Like, what's his feeling? Like, what are the teams. Does he come out and said the teams that he would steer away, or you just kind of. Everyone just kind of has a feeling of which franchises we're. So he would push him away.

[Jason McIntyre]

I wonder if he feels he's not worried about it because he already knows where he's going.

[Eddie House]

Who? Which one?

[Jason McIntyre]

Both. Is that possible?

[Eddie House]

I mean, I mean, not really. Because, like, you, if you're not number one overall, if you don't have the first overall pick, you are the only person who knows exactly who you're getting and where you're going. That's it. Because anything else can happen. Like, you don't know what happens ahead of you. You can have these mock drafts and have these ideas and people can say they want you, but one pick can literally send a domino effect affecting every other possible landing spot for these. These players.

[Jason McIntyre]

It just. The way he's talking now versus how he was before on this topic has shifted so radically.

[Eddie House]

I know.

[Jason McIntyre]

Has an idea. Hey, man, this team's gonna draft him. Let's keep it quiet. I mean, we're Two weeks out, you pretty much know, listen in and this is different than a draft. But no.

[Eddie House]

But like, no interested party if they drop to him.

[Jason McIntyre]

Sports media.

[Eddie House]

Yeah.

[Jason McIntyre]

You hear about stuff six months before it happens.

[Eddie House]

Yes.

[Jason McIntyre]

It's not really out there, but you hear and then like six months later it happens.

[Eddie House]

Yeah.

[Jason McIntyre]

I get the vibe in the draft that the Browns already have their decision. I don't think you all of a sudden show up on draft day. All right, what are we gonna do?

[Eddie House]

Well, it's gonna be one of the.

[Jason McIntyre]

Kevin Posner movie where he's in the draft room doing all this.

[Eddie House]

That's gonna be one of his guys, Bryson, one of my sons, or Travis Hunter. The Browns have to be taking. You think they're gonna be taking Travis or.

[Jason McIntyre]

Or Hunter?

[Eddie House]

Yeah, same. So I think if they're taking one of his guys. So that's why I'm like, what does Dion think about then? Maybe he thinks there's. He believes. He believes in the Browns even though they haven't had quarterback success in decades.

[Jason McIntyre]

I mean, Stefanski's a really good coach. The owner's the one who. It's kind of squirrely. Yeah. Alex Curry with the news.

[Alex Curry]

Well, that's the news.

[Jason McIntyre]

And thanks for stopping by the herd lie news. All right, we're gonna go back to the NFL draft. There's one quarterback who I believe is a first rounder, but nobody else seems to think that we got some news on him next.

[Alex Curry]

Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific, on Fox Sports Radio. FS1 and iHeartRadio app.

[Steve Covino]

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 won't 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 Kofi Noanrich wherever you get. Podcast and of course on social media, that's Covino and Rich. Banking with Capital One helps you keep more money in your wallet with no fees or minimums on checking accounts and no overdraft fees. Just ask the Capital One bank guy. It's pretty much all he talks about in a good way. He'd also tell you that this podcast is his favorite podcast too. Oh, really? Thanks. Capital One Bank Guy. What's in your wallet? Terms apply. See capitalone.com bank Capital One NA member.

[Rich Davis]

FDIC Spring is here and you can now get almost anything you need for your sunny days delivered with Uber Eats. What do we mean by almost? Well, you can't get a well groomed lawn delivered, but you can get a chicken parmesan delivered. A cabana, that's a no. But a banana, that's a yes. A nice tan? Sorry, nope. But a box fan? Happily, yes. A day of sunshine? No. A box of fine wines? Yes. Uber Eats can definitely get you that. Get almost, almost anything delivered with Uber Eats. Order now. Alcohol in select markets. Product availability may vary by Regency app for details.

[Jeremy Hobson]

We live in a divided country.

[Jason McIntyre]

I am a lifelong Republican with all.

[Jeremy Hobson]

Kinds of different people.

[Eddie House]

You know, I'm a mother, I'm a grandmother.

[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.

[Eddie House]

Anna, I'm calling from Las Vegas.

[Jeremy Hobson]

Each week we bring an all star panel. Mark Cuban. So great to have you on the Middle.

[Rich Davis]

Thanks for having me.

[Jason McIntyre]

Jeremy.

[Jeremy Hobson]

Neil Degrasse Tyson. Welcome to the Middle.

[Alex Curry]

Thanks for having me.

[Jeremy Hobson]

And hear from ordinary Americans from all over the country on the most important issues.

[Jason McIntyre]

Hi, my name is Venkat. I'm calling you from Atlanta, Georgia.

[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.

[Alex Curry]

We should be examining what our government spends its money on and are these jobs necessary? And what are we doing here?

[Rich Davis]

But that doesn't seem to be what we're doing in this situation.

[Jeremy Hobson]

Listen to the Middle with Jeremy Hobson on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Greg Rosenthal]

What's up, everyone? It's Greg Rosenthal and I'm teaming up with the king of spring, Daniel Jeremiah. He requires me to say that we're going to be bringing you 40s and free agents, the only podcast you'll need this NFL draft season. From DJs mock drafts to my top 101 free agents will have it covered for you with all new episodes every Thursday keeping you up to date as we head to the NFL Draft. Listen to 40s and free agents on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Eddie House]

Friday, two time defending UFL champion Stallions are back in Birmingham kicking off their home opener against the Arlington Renegades. Fox UFL Friday kicks off at 8:00pm Eastern.

[Jason McIntyre]

All right, back here on the Herd, fascinated by this Jalen stuff. Honestly, like sometimes you just latch onto a story and you're like, I'm kind of obsessed. And this Jalen Melro situation with the NFL draft folks, I've seen him as a first round, right, potential player and then you see other guys. I think the Bleacher Report has him as like the 77th prospect in the draft. And day three, it's like, what do you guys see? And, and this goes back to what we talked about Monday. Nobody knows anything when it comes to the NFL draft. Absolutely nothing. Don't believe anything you hear. What's the saying? Believe half of what you hear and none of what you see. Or maybe I mixed that up. But I'm just telling you when it comes to the draft, it gets wacky. This is why the draft does big ratings and it's a huge tent pole event for the NFL in the off season. So let's drill down on the Millrose situation. He was at Alabama, had a really, really good year. And then last year in 2024, he regressed. Well, what happened? Nick Saban was out, OC was out. And they brought in the guy From Washington, Caitlin DeBoer, who's an offensive mastermind. But first year, kind of rocky. Now he was throwing to some young receivers. Remember the kid Ryan Williams, I believe was 17 when the season started. Like there was a lot of newness. So I'm going to give Millenn something of a pass. Okay. However, and I'm not Mr. 40 guy when it comes to quarterbacks, but this is undeniable. The only quarterbacks in the history of the combine who have run faster combine or pro day than Jaylen Melro are Michael Vick and Lamar Jackson. I think that says something. Now when I squint, I look closely, I can see the makings in Noro of Louisville, Lamar Jackson. Now when I said that at the Morning meeting, a couple guys laughed because listen, LaMar Jackson's a two time MVP. You can't unsee that. And then remember him at Louisville again, Lamar Jackson had amazing game. Louisville, Clemson, it was a Saturday night, I'm sure some of you die hards remember this. And Lamar basically was unstoppable. Now if memory serves, they lost that game. But Lamar was absolutely electric. And you're like, that guy's an NFL player. But it wasn't always the throws. It was the elusiveness in the pocket, the scrambling, just making chicken salad out of chicken. You know what he did, had a habit of that. However, the passing kind of sort of matters. Now this is an interesting number I just found. So he threw 11 interceptions last year. Again, Kaylin DeBoer, new coach 10 of the 11 interceptions were on throws, 15 air yards or less. So the close in stuff, I'm not talking total check down, but the close in throws that you got to make. And there are issues with some of his, his, his reads in the intermediary and you know, one of the big criticisms of Justin Fields coming out of Ohio State was he's got slow eyes, he doesn't read the defense quickly. There's some of that with Jaylen Milroe, but Milro is so fast he can escape and just make plays happen. Now again, if you watch the Oklahoma tape where he was awful, Jaylen Morrow does not look like an NFL quarterback at all. He was on the road late in the season, he was really, really bad. But go watch the tape in the first half against Georgia, oh my gosh. And even in the second half he made some great plays. You watch that and you're like, that's an NFL quarterback, that's a first round pick. So the swings are massive. Now some of the, you know, advanced stats guys have looked at the college numbers of Jalen Hurts when he was at Alabama and Oklahoma, Lamar at Louisville and Jaylen Melro. And wouldn't you know it, but Melrose passing EPA numbers at Alabama were better than Lamar at Louisville and Hertz at both stops. So there are some numbers that say he was, he was a good passing quarterback in college. Now he wasn't consistent. And the other problem is he takes way too many sacks, which leads to processing questions. So I guess my point is I don't think he's Anthony Richardson, which is what some people are comparing him to. I think he's somewhere between Lamar at Louisville and Anthony Richardson at Florida. Can he read defenses quick enough and make the passes or is he just like a running Quarterback who's going to tuck and run every single time. So here are the teams he's been linked to. Private workout with the Saints, private workout with the Browns and it looks like interviews with the jets and Steelers. Nobody seems to think he's going to the jets or Browns that early. Could it be the Saints at nine if Shador goes to? Maybe. But this is something that I haven't heard a lot of guys talk about. Who was the OC at Alabama when Jalen Melroe had his best season? You have to go back to 20, 23. Melrose was great. That's when he was looking like a first rounder. His OC was Tommy Reese, former Notre Dame guy. You guys know where Tommy Reese is now? Take a look at the Browns coaching staff. He's the offensive coordinator in Cleveland. So if anybody knows Jalen Milroe really, really well, it's Tommy Reese. He spent a year with him at Alabama. So could the Browns say we're taking Travis Hunter and then at 33 we could grab Melro? I think that's got to be in play. Or do they now we got to get Shador, we got to trade up for Shador or take him at 2. So the Jayla Mulro stuff is interesting, but I will, I guess I'll cap it with this. If you look at him accepting the green room invite, this is not a Will Levis situation where, hey man, I'm happy to be there. I'm going to show up with my influencer girlfriend, we're going to go viral. This isn't, this is not a Will Levis. He's a very smart, level headed individual, strong family, smart family. I think this is a Milroe situation where he goes first round, guys. And the last thing I'm going to add is Jordan Schultz joined the show on Monday and he talked about drafting a quarterback every year. That's what the smart teams do when.

[Alex Curry]

It comes to evaluating quarterbacks. 5050 at best. The best solution to it, whether it's Shador, Jackson, Dart, any of these guys, is to get multiple quarterbacks. You go back to what Philly did when they had Carson Wentz, they grapped Jalen hurts Washington. When they had RG3, they got Kirk Cousins and even now if you think about Dallas, they have Dak Prescott, they just got Joe Milton. That is actually ironic because Elliott Wolf, who's the de facto GM in New England, his dad is Ron Wolf, he drafted Red Favre and obviously his, his theory was let me get a quarterback, a new quarterback Every year, basically as a backup. This is the quarterback business. The right move is to get as many of these guys as possible, acquire as much talent at the hardest position to evaluate, not only in football, but in all of pro sports.

[Jason McIntyre]

It is extremely difficult to find quarterbacks. Ask anybody from that Covid draft. So this is another. There's so many, like, layers to this quarterback situation when it comes to the draft. Do you guys remember the Green Bay packers had an aging Aaron Rodgers who had won, I think two MVPs in recent years, and they went and drafted Jordan Love, one of these boom bus prospects in the first round. Why first round? Because you get that extra year, you get them for five years locked up. Aaron Rodgers hated it. He's like, I need a weapon. We need to get over the hump and get back to the Super Bowl. But the packers said, yeah, we, we know you like that, but this is what's best for us. Mike Mayock FORMER ANNOUNCER I think he was in the Raiders front office. He came out and said, there's an interesting team for Jalen Melro and that's the LA Rams. And interestingly, if you looked at that packers situation, aging star quarterback in Aaron Rodgers, aging star quarterback in Matt Stafford. What's happened the last two off seasons with Stafford in L. A? Hey man, I could use a little more scratch. Can you trade me? I need more money. And like, again, I'm pro. Stafford, I think he's great. I think the Rams are a very good team. They went toe to toe with the Eagles. I think Stafford's an awesome quarterback, but if you're doing what's best for the franchise, just like how the Green Bay packers drafted Jordan Love when they had aging end of his primary Rodgers. Couldn't you argue the Rams should look at drafting Jalen Milro to sit for a year or two, I don't know, and then replace Matt Stafford with the Rams. Like, McVeigh is a great coach. If anybody's going to get your guy ready, you know, you want, you want Melro to go to like a McVeigh, a Shanahan, a Kevin O'Connell, a Stefanski in Cleveland. Smart offensive minds who can do great things. And I think there's a world where if Milroe lands with the Rams, he adds a dimension, whether it's play action, scrambling that we haven't seen with McVay. Remember, he's had pocket, golf, pocket Stafford, Milrose, that next level guy that Shanahan wanted. Shanahan and McVeigh obviously very close. Shanahan thought he had it in Trey. Lance found out pretty quickly. Not my guy. Not for me. And he went back to Brock Purdy, so. Man, I can't believe I just did like 8 minutes on Jayla Milro. That shows how much I like this guy as a quarterback in the NFL. Coming up next final hour, do we have a new most hated team in the NBA? And super bowl champ Will Blackman joining us in studio.

[Rich Davis]

Spring is here, and you can now get almost anything you need for your sunny days delivered with Uber Eats. What do we mean by almost? Well, you can't get a well groomed lawn delivered, but you can get a chicken parmesan delivered. A cabana? That's a no. But a banana? That's a yes. A nice tan? Sorry, nope. But a box fan? Happily, yes. A day of sunshine? No. A box of fine wines? Yes. Uber Eats can definitely get you that. Get almost. Almost anything delivered with Uber Eats. Order now. Alcohol in select markets. Product availability may vary by Regency app. For details.

[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.

[Greg Rosenthal]

What's up, everyone? It's Greg Rosenthal, and I'm teaming up with the King of Spring, Daniel Jeremiah. He requires me to say that we're going to be bringing you 40s and free agents, the only podcast you'll need this NFL draft season. From DJs, mock drafts to my top 101 free agents will have it covered for you with all new episodes every Thursday keeping you up to date as we head to the NFL Draft. Listen to 40s and free agents on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.