Matt Hasselbeck (9:23)

Can I just say something before. Before you start. I always follow on Mondays. When Colin was right. When Colin was wrong, bro, you're like, right half. Like, more than half the time. Now it's like 90, right? I don't know. I'm sitting there, I'm like, hey, where are the wrongs? You know, I'm waiting, like, all right, here I go. He's right again. He's right again. When's it my turn?

Colin Cowherd (9:46)

It's hard to find wrongs. I'll be honest. We spend hours on it. The. So go to your combine experience, and certainly the world changes. How valuable was. Just tell people your experience.

Matt Hasselbeck (10:01)

I mean, listen, the combine is a dream come true for players, okay? Because you play college football in hopes of going to the NFL. My combine experience, you know, the NFL brings me in, and I kind of mentor some of the quarterbacks and wide receivers, which is hilarious because my combine experience is that I got uninvited to the combine. I'm the draft class of 1998. Peyton Manning, Ryan Leaf, pick 1, 2. And then me at 187. I got uninvited to combine. When Ryan Leaf came out early at Washington State, I was. I was basically disinvited to the combine. And. And I talked to my agent at the time and he was like, yeah, no sweat, man. We'll have a, we'll have a pro day. You know, they can come to Boston College and watch you work out there. And I was like, okay. Only one team showed up at that, you know, it was the quarterback coach for Andy Reid. So it took years for me to get to the combine, but I was not there as a college player. And I do think that gives me a different perspective because there is so much pressure that these kids on themselves to run a good 40 or to throw well that day, or hit a certain number on the 225 bench test or hit your vertical jump. And you know, while it matters, certainly I don't know that it's the be all, end all.

Colin Cowherd (11:07)

Yeah, the. There's a lot of business, it feels like to me, that gets done during combine week. Do you sense that?

Matt Hasselbeck (11:15)

100%. I mean, even, even when I was a free agent, like my agent would say to me, like, hey, I'm going to see all these guys at the combine. I mean, that's the thing. So, like, if you think that this is just the underwear Olympics and that's all that's going on there. No, every decision maker, agent, everybody, they're in Indianapolis and they're, you know, listen, they're not just having breakfast together, they're having drinks together. Deals get done. You know, where's Max Crosby going to go? Is he going to leave? I remember when the Tom Brady deal was, it was essentially talked about like, hey, he's ending up in Tampa. We're pretty sure of it. The whispers happen. And I think for me, as a, as a free agent going into different seasons or about to be a free agent, you know, your agent kind of reports back, hey, here's what I'm hearing. Here's where the musical chairs at the quarterback position or pass rusher or left tackle, here's the running back market. You know, we know what the market's going to be. So it's a big deal. It's not just about just the workouts that are happening.

Colin Cowherd (12:11)

Yeah, they have those 15 minute speed interviews. I think the Rams have said before, and maybe Jacksonville, they don't want to be swayed by the combine. When you talk to a young quarterback or a young athlete about the interview process or do you have certain messaging you lean into, I mean, I think

Matt Hasselbeck (12:29)

these guys are so prepped now by their agents and the pre, pre combine, like prep that goes into it. I really encourage you guys just to be themselves and to be authentic and give off a vibe. It's a little bit like walking into a bar or a restaurant. You know, if it's your vibe, being around an athlete. Sometimes he's like, is this the kind of guy we want in our room? Is this the kind of guy that our veterans are going to appreciate in our locker room? Is that the vibe he gives off? Is there energy there? Is there eye contact? Is there a firm handshake? You know, that kind of stuff. But list some guys, like a team might love you. I remember I had, I think I had Puka Nakua in my group, and everyone was acting like they didn't like him. Like no one was talking to him. I think he was kind of like, oh, man, all these other guys, you know, these tall, 6 foot 4 wide receivers getting all this attention, and he wasn't getting that much attention. I don't think it's because they didn't like him. I think the scouts were trying to play their cards, like, almost like hard to get. Almost like a junior high dance. Like, no, I don't like you. I do like you, but I don't want anyone to know I like you. Right. You know, because I want to grab you. And we're not going to grab you in the third round or fourth round maybe. You know, it's, there's a lot of, like, gamesmanship that goes into this thing. I mean, there's even guys, I've talked to scouts at the combine where they're saying, hey, I really love this receiver, but I hope he runs the worst 40 yard dash of his life so that we can get him in the third round. I'm like, what? You're rooting against him? And that's, that's just the nature of it. That's, that's, that's part of how the combine works.

Colin Cowherd (13:52)

Yeah, the, you know, we were talking about the JSN extension and I said, I think windows close very quickly in this league. And I mean, the Legion of boom. You remember that one in Seattle? I think I thought that thing was going to last five years and all of a sudden it's three, and you get one Super Bowl, a second visit and it's over. And then, you know, everybody wants to get paid. And so the Seahawks are probably going to move off Kenneth Walker, who I loved. But, you know, Data says be careful about the second contract. So JSN is eligible. Sam Darnold, by the way his cap hit, goes from 13 million to 38. So there's decisions to be made on this. I look at jsn, I didn't Used to think wide receivers were have to keep guys. I thought it was quarterback, left tackle, edge rusher, maybe a great corner. I, I think JSN is one of those receivers. He's not only productive, Matt, I think he's the right kind of productive. Give me your evaluation on what he is.

Matt Hasselbeck (14:53)

I'll just say having been in that Seahawks organization for a long time, there's like, who you are as a person, who you are as a teammate, who you are as a leader, how it fits together with both sides of the ball. I think it all matters who you are in the community. Also, when did we grab you? How long have we known you? Did you change along the way? Did you change for the better? Did you change for the worse? Are you high maintenance or low maintenance? All these things play into it. The input from the athletic training room, input from the strength and conditioning staff, staff, input from the equipment staff. They get all input from pr, you know, like it, all of it plays into it. It's not just about your stats. So I think JSN is a no brainer. You know, I sort of wonder sometimes why teams even wait around, you know, around the league. Sometimes you just wait too long, the price goes up. But I mean, I think when JSN came in, Devin Witherspoon came in, I think the Seahawks knew right away and they know what they have. And I think those are foundational pieces. And like you mentioned the super bowl window. That super bowl window stays open when everyone is unselfish and they, they don't change and they're hardworking and that's when the window stays open. When people are worried about who's getting the credit, that's when those windows shut way sooner than they're supposed to.

Colin Cowherd (16:07)

Yeah. Hey, finally, Fernando Mendoza. I read, I think it was in the Athletic. Somebody was, one of the guys said, you know, his superpower could be his dorkiness and that he's so genuinely optimistic. You tell me, in pro locker rooms, how do you think his personality will work?

Matt Hasselbeck (16:28)

Yeah, I think this is what works in a locker room. Okay. Excellence at your job. If you're able to be the best in the world at what you do, we respect that. The locker room respects that. The other thing is your work ethic and that's. We just respect that. Let's just. I don't care what locker, locker room you're in, we respect that you're giving it everything that you have. And then, you know, the other thing is just the authenticity. Don't be one guy over here and Another guy over there. Like, the authenticity, like those. Those three things. We can play with that. We can work with that. But if you. If you don't have those things, then I don't really. You know, you're not all about the team. You're maybe a little bit selfish. Like, whatever. Like, you know, get out of here. We got enough of that. So now I think. And I think that's one of the great things about the combine, you know, like, I'll be there. Not everyone will be throwing. Mendoza probably won't be throwing. I remember being at the combine with guys like Drake May and Jaden Daniels and Bo Nicks and some of these guys. Caleb Williams, they weren't throwing. It's okay. Like, there's still so much to evaluate about a quarterback, even at the combine when you're not throwing. And so with Fernando Mendoza, like, I would encourage him, and I've met him. He's great. He's everything that you said. But lean into who you actually are and just be authentic with that, and the locker room will love you. The fan base will love you. Just strive to be the best quarterback that you can be. All this other nonsense, like, it. It's not. That's not what it's about. It's not what it's about.

Colin Cowherd (17:50)

For the record, Boston's one of our great. Boston and the New England region is like, the centerpiece, along with Minnesota, of, like, college hockey, the Bruins, you know, Bobby or Esposito. Great history. Did you watch Team USA yesterday?

Matt Hasselbeck (18:06)

I mean, who didn't? It was really cool. And it's. You know, a lot of Boston college hockey players are playing, and, you know, it's. It's just incredible to see what. What USA Hockey has developed into. You know, like, we. We. It's kind of like a we're here to stay kind of thing. And the pride that people take in it is really cool when you think about it, too, because you're playing against some of your best friends that might be your teammates, your line mates, and you're just laying it on the line, you know? Like, I just. I think. I don't know. I'd like to see some gold teeth, though. That's what I want. I don't want to see, like, fake white teeth. I want to see fake gold teeth as, like, a little bit of an extra, you know? Yeah, we did that. But it's. It's super fun to see, and I think the Olympics are just something really cool. I think we all grew up on it. That's why you See, all these football players, like, dying to get into the LA28 Olympics with flag football. They just, they want to do open opening ceremonies, they want to have the medals. It's, it's for a football player. That was the one thing you never, ever thought you could ever be a part of was the Olympics. It was like the one thing. And so you felt like you had to go to a different sport to do it. I remember Herschel Walker did bobsledding. You know, that's what you thought in your head. So it's pretty cool. We're just big fans now.

Colin Cowherd (19:14)

Yeah. Great seeing my man.

Matt Hasselbeck (19:16)

Yeah, thank you, Colin.

Colin Cowherd (19:17)

All right, Matt Hasselbeck. Yeah, it was, you know, it is really interesting about what has happened and there's been a lot of theories on this. Why can't Canadian teams win the Stanley cup final? They haven't won since 93 Montreal Canadiens. I mean, that's, that's remarkable. Well, first of all, there's a lot, you know, there's a lot of teams down here in the States. I always think the media is a little naive on this stuff because I read a story years ago, they had like six reasons why Canadian teams can't win. And the one that feels so obvious and I think the media sometimes is naive about this is what are hockey players rich? A lot of good looking rich guys. What do they like? A lot of times, companionship. And so a lot of them want to come down to the States. They want to live in warmer weather, better tax rate, a lot of beautiful young people. They make a lot of money. They got to keep more of their money. The weather's better. They're not hounded as much. Being in like a home country. If it's Canada, they can kind of hide because we have so many college and pro athletic stars. They can hide. It's kind of simple. And they go to their agents. Hey, don't say this publicly, but I'd rather play in the States than play in my, you know, than play in Canada, play in Ottawa. I'd rather play down in Florida or Dallas. It feels, I don't know, it feels obvious to me that if you were young, you were rich, you'd want to keep more of your money. You'd want to be, you know, the seasons through the winter. You'd like a little warmer weather. That's what it feels like to me. But there's a lot of different theories on it. They've gotten close. They've gotten to the Stanley cup final. They're trying to break through though. Hasn't happened since the 93 Montreal Canadiens. One more herd. The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the iHeartRadio app. Search heard to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Fox Sports Radio is taking over YouTube and you can be a part of it. Just go to YouTube and search Fox Sports Radio. Hit that subscribe button and smash that notification bell and catch all the videos from your favorite shows. Two pros and a cup of Joe. Dan Patrick, Colin Cowherd, Stu Gotz and company Live, Covino and Rich, the Odd couple with Rob Parker and Kelvin Washington, the Jason Smith show with Mike Harmon and the Ben Maller show. Fox sports radio on YouTube. Subscribe hit that thumbs up icon and comment away. You know, it's just funny the mindset of our neighbors to the north Canada and ours is very different. You know when we lost Argentina and Manu Ginobili, remember we lost Argentina in the Olympics. I mean we sell we were furious. We were incredulous. We sent out Delta Force, Navy Seals. We're going to solve this mystery. We went nut next time we played Argentina in the Olympics we won by 30 like we we did Canada, their sports hockey, they lose and the prime minister comes out yesterday and goes we should be very proud of our silver medal. It's like it's hockey, it's Canada. You were favored. What do you mean? What do you mean? You should be proud of a silver. Get out of here. You couldn't see that that would, that message would just not work in the States. And maybe we're overly relentless and obnoxious and hyper competitive. But you know, they, they lost yesterday. I mean the coach wasn't happy. He said it with a smile on his face. But here was John Cooper, the coach after they lost an OT overtime's overtime. You take four players off the ice. Now hockey is not hockey anymore. There's a reason over time and shootouts are in play, it's all TV driven and you know, to end games. So there's not, you know, a long time.

Matt Hasselbeck (23:08)

There's a reason it's not in the

Colin Cowherd (23:09)

Stanley cup finals or playoffs because you know, it gets ended in five.

Matt Hasselbeck (23:15)

But it's still skilled players out there

Colin Cowherd (23:17)

making skilled plays and the US team has some skilled players. So we lose to Argentina, we create the redeem team and the average margin of victory in the Next Olympics was 28 points. We were pissed. And we were going to make sure everybody knew we were not happy. There was going to be a new precedent and that is us Clobbering your country in basketball because we feel like, you know, Naismith basketball. Basketball's us now, right now. Many of the great players in the world are European, and that should bother us, but it's the Olympic basketball. Like, no, no, no. Buck stops here. Let's send in the Delta Force. We're getting this thing fixed. And Canada's prime minister is like, you should be very proud of the silver. And I'm like, I don't know, maybe. Maybe say that in a couple months. I don't know. It feels, you know, it's a little nice. Sometimes losing creates anger and is kind of the jet fuel you need. And I know I'm not banging on Canada. I mean, they got enough issues going on right now. You know, Katy Perry's dating the former prime minister. I mean, they got all sorts of stuff going on here. You don't think I keep up to that stuff? I'm on Katy Perry, Reddit board, blogs half of my life. Here's J. Mac with the news. No, no, no, Turn on the news. This is the herd line news.

Chris Broussard (24:46)

Hour one, he mentions tariffs. Hour two, Katy Perry. I don't know what's in store for hour three. I'm excited.

Colin Cowherd (24:52)

Getting very affectionate. I'm like, you're the pr. You're dating an iconic pop star. What's going on?

Chris Broussard (24:58)

Also, I mean, I'm just trying to think of what would be a parallel for that hockey, where they go down to three on three. What's like a parallel for basketball? Football? I can't even think of one. Well, it is kind of goofy when you think about it, right?

Colin Cowherd (25:11)

It's just, listen, Canada's great and they're very good in hockey, but when I saw the tweet from their prime minister, I'm like, it wouldn't play here. Like, we lose to Argentina. And it was like, oh, okay, this is not going to work at all. I mean, the next six months, we're going to build the Redeem team. Let's change the construct of the entire Olympic basketball movement. People got fired and it's like, listen, Argentina had Manu Ginobili. They had a really good team. A lot of times these international basketball teams, they play together with our guys, so they. They know the international rules better. They have better chemistry than we do. And I mean, Spain, Greece, Lithuania. I mean, through the course of my life, there have been great international basketball teams.

Chris Broussard (25:56)

If we lose to Wemby in the Olympics, we'll just go to. We'll play two on two Cooper flag and Anthony Edwards will beat everybody by a mile. All right, let's go to the Chiefs. Colin, let's start with Kansas City coming off the missed playoffs. Yes. Somebody here on the show called it. I forgot it was so long ago. But they're trying to reload and now there's a report and again these are just reports. It's the off season. Travis Etn has legitimate interest in joining Mahomes and Reed in KC. I'm gonna go ahead and call BS on this. Let's be real. Etn wants money. He's 27. He's not gonna get paid at the top of the market. He's a good player coming off a good season. Yeah, but he's down the pecking order. Remember at the. At the deadline the Chiefs reportedly wanted Breece hall where they were trying to get him from the Jets. He's a free agent as well.

Colin Cowherd (26:41)

Yeah, Running backs have some leverage this offseason. It's a very poor running back class. There's one great player, Jeremiah Love at Notre Dame who I think is very Jameer Gibbs, like explosive day. One can. I mean is. Is literally a playmaking big home run running back. Outside of that, it's a pretty weak running back class. And so I think a lot that's why the Dallas Cowboys signed Devonte Williams. Kenneth Walker is going to have a real market. Travis ATN would have a real market. We thought running backs were losing all their leverage. I think now next year is a better running back market. Right now if you need a running back, you've got leverage.

Chris Broussard (27:22)

Yeah, I like the kid Price also out of Notre Dame. I think he's probably a second round pick. Late second. But listen, ETN Breeze hall, you mentioned Kenneth Walker. Interesting market because we're not that far removed from Saquon Barkley going to the from Giants Eagles and being a massive factor. And think about it, Colin Charbonnet goes down. If they had some run of the mill backup, he ain't being MVP of the Super Bowl. It matters to have Kenneth Walker back there as a. You need two running backs now in the league and the Chiefs have none. We would agree, right. Pacheco, he had his moment. He took a lot of hits.

Colin Cowherd (27:53)

I mean they needed. They need an edge rusher, an offensive tackle and a running back. They're pretty set after that, but they have three specific needs and Brett Veach has to hit on all of them.

Chris Broussard (28:02)

Secondary not great. Chiefs probably missing the playoffs again. But we'll do that another day. Let's move on to the NFC column. Let's go to the Detroit Lions. Ben Johnson moved on, the offense regressed, they fired the OC and now Detroit has hired Drew Pet Singh as the offensive coordinator. After the hire, Ben Johnson spoke highly of him, saying it's a match made in heaven. Apparently, Johnson was at Pet Zing's wedding. They go way back to Boston College. This is your typical off season story. Hey, new oc, let's get fired up.

Colin Cowherd (28:35)

I actually think I one of my takeaways on the second half of last year is why was Arizona's defense so bad and why was their offense with Jacoby Brissette so powerful? Some of it is they have good skill players, but I actually think. I'm not saying he's Ben Johnson. I this was one of my favorite coordinator hires of the coaching cycle. I thought Mike McDaniel to the Chargers was great. I thought this was great. I think Brian Dabel to Tennessee and Cam Ward is exceptional.

Chris Broussard (29:03)

Yeah.

Colin Cowherd (29:04)

So I think this guy's going to hit. I think he's going to be really, really good.

Chris Broussard (29:07)

I mean, listen, I don't know what we said the Lions super bowl window had closed. I think I said that. Do you think there's a world where they get back in the mix? The NFC is completely different than we thought it was two seasons ago.

Colin Cowherd (29:18)

Well, I think Chicago now for the next, for the foreseeable future is going to be the best team because they still have two years not paying Caleb anything. The roster offensively is loaded. They have to spend their draft capital, the Bears do, on their defense. But you know, the window for Detroit now you're going to have to start paying a lot of these guys. You're already paying your golf and your Panay Sewell I think has a new contract, but you've got some guys here you're going to have to step up and make and make really hard decisions. And I listen here, a great example of the NFL. Here come the Lions, unbelievable story. Here's their window. And a year later you're like, yeah, I think the Bears are the best team in division. Like that's the NFL.

Chris Broussard (29:58)

Well, Colin, for being real, Green Bay is going to get Micah Parsons back.

Matt Hasselbeck (30:02)

Okay.

Chris Broussard (30:03)

Next season when he was healthy. Remember that game they went into Denver? They're beating Denver handily. And at that point, at that point, the packers were like the best or second or third best team in the nfc. I still think the packers go to next season ahead of the Lions. Are you with me or no?

Colin Cowherd (30:17)

I think the Bears should be favored to win. The Bears?

Chris Broussard (30:19)

Yeah, Bears but then who's second?

Colin Cowherd (30:22)

I would, I would. I think the Lions will be really good. I think this guy's got. I think the Lions and the packers will buy it. Probably go Bears, Lions, Packers. And Minnesota right now doesn't know what going on.

Chris Broussard (30:34)

Pulling up the, Pulling up the rear. All right, final story. We're going back to the NBA. Great day in the NBA Sunday. Just outstanding. Except for the Lakers, who, you know, let's remember the Lakers are great. Friday night against the Clippers, amazing win. Luka and Reeves are awesome. Fast forward to Sunday. They weren't great. Austin Reeves got locked up. Lakers did not look great. LeBron looked not great. And they lost. They lost badly. After the game, James Worthy, big game James, remember former finals mvp?

Colin Cowherd (31:03)

Oh, yeah.

Chris Broussard (31:04)

Let's just say he took some shots at the Lakers after the Pat Riley reveal of the statue.

Colin Cowherd (31:11)

This game to me wasn't about, you know, stats and, you know, rebounds and all that. All that is we the norm. No heart weak. No heart week. This afternoon was weak. It's the Boston Celtics. Okay, no, Tatum, you're at home. You, you're, you're in fifth place. You, you're trying to move up. You show. No, really, you know, to me, no respect for the uniform. All right, so this, this goes to something I've said about Luca. So obviously the Lakers did well in the Luca trade. They got their next young star. LeBron, I think not publicly, but privately had grown frustrated with Anthony Davis's, you know, inconsistency in terms of being in shape and being committed. And then, by the way, AD went to Dallas and the beginning of this year looked completely out of shape. Well, he just got a different problem where AD was all time great defensively, but you always wondered if he's in shape and how committed he was. Luke is all time great offensively and I don't think is in great shape and certainly isn't committed on the defensive end. This is what I've said about Carmelo Anthony and, and these, and these players who are great, but they're James Harden, they're not really committed on the defensive end. That spreads like a virus through the locker room. Lukas spends so much energy and time on officiating, none on defense. And I think what, what happens is when you're a defensive first organization, the spurs right now, okc, Boston, those teams play, they, they are not always hitting their threes. The Celtics have bad shooting nights because they're so three ball reliant. But the Celtics and OKC and the spurs played great defense nightly. And that you can always bring your defense because defense is effort. Unless you're at the end of an east coast road trip, as a West coast team, you're tired. And so when I watched the Lakers yesterday, my take is this is a little bit what you get with Luka. You get these weird halves where, like, look at the Lakers this year. They have been in their losses. In 19 of their 22 losses, they've been blown out. So anytime they get a little turbulence, they just don't have the metal. That's just not what a Luka team is. And he is, without question, because of LeBron's age and Austin Reaves limitations. He's the centerpiece of the Lakers culture. And I don't think it's going to be a great culture with him, though he's remarkably talented.

Chris Broussard (33:44)

Colin, you know, I'm a Luka guy, okay? The love for Luka when they win is off the charts. As soon as there's a loss. Well, you can't win a championship with Luka. That's starting to become a narrative. Can you win with a guy who doesn't play defense and is never really in shape? Like, that's starting to be a thing. And I think that is goofy. And come on, Colin, let's be real, okay? He's been with the Lakers for 12 months. That's it, okay? And they're in this weird zone where they don't know what is going to happen with LeBron. They don't know LeBron's future, so they can't really build yet. He's barely been there. He's been there a year with the Lakers.

Colin Cowherd (34:19)

That's it.

Chris Broussard (34:19)

Half of last season, half of this season. They're never healthy. The LeBron stuff, I just think we're going to get the last laugh in about a year when the Lakers fix the roster.

Colin Cowherd (34:27)

Remember this? When LeBron joined D. Wade, Chris Bosh, and they threw the heels together, it took about 16, 17 games and they were good.

Chris Broussard (34:39)

But they didn't win the title the first year they lost in the playoffs. Remember the Dallas.

Colin Cowherd (34:42)

They were good. It took them 15 games and they were an elite.

Chris Broussard (34:46)

That was LeBron Prime. Wade Prime Bosh prime Luka prime.

Colin Cowherd (34:50)

Austin Reeves prime.

Chris Broussard (34:52)

Austin Reaves is not in the same. Same class as those guys.

Colin Cowherd (34:54)

Come on, you're. You're telling me what a great player he is daily when he gets shut down, when he plays a good defensive team like Minnesota last year or Boston. That's my point. You think he's elite? I think he's the fourth best starter on a championship team or the third best starter on a team that can win a playoff series. You think he's second best player on a championship team? And I don't think, I mean the, the Celtics, the T wolf, the really good teams are going to hunt him down and abuse him defensively. That's what they're going to do. That's what they did.

Chris Broussard (35:25)

So the Mavs with Luka and Kyrie Irving got to the finals against Boston. Now they didn't win the championship, but they got to the finals. They were hunting Kyrie, hunting Luka. It's fine. You could do that. You just need a rim protector like Lively or Gafford. The Lakers have none of that right now. Ayton Rough one Sunday for DeAndre J.

Colin Cowherd (35:42)

Mac with the News.

Chris Broussard (35:44)

Well, that's the news and thanks for stopping by.

Colin Cowherd (35:46)

The Herd lie news raised Raiders trading the number one pick. It's out there. Thoughts on that coming up. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays At noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and

Chris Broussard (36:02)

the iHeartRadio app, the fastest racing on earth returns to Fox. Alex Palo Joseph Newgarden and Pato O' Ward lead the way as the 2026 IndyCar season launches in St. Petersburg Sunday at noon Eastern live on Fox.

Colin Cowherd (36:20)

So this is hard to wrap your brain around, but the last number one pick in the NFL draft at quarterback, the last number one pick at quarterback to win a Super bowl with the team that drafted him is Peyton Manning in the late 90s. So there are people that look at the Raiders and think what a God awful mess. Trade out of the number one pick with Fernando Mendoza. He's not an Elway level Caleb Williams, you know, Andrew Luck level talent and then get Ty Simpson somewhere between the 8th and the 15th pick. But to me it doesn't matter if Mendoza wins a Super bowl ever or even regularly wins his division. The Raiders haven't won a playoff game in 23 years and the last time they did, they've only had two winning seasons since then. They're an unstable mess. They just need stabilization. If I could sign up right now. If you were a Raider fan and you said the first three years he goes 8 and 9, 9 and 8 and 10 and 7. You should take it now. Different franchises have different realities. You are not the Patriots or the Eagles or the Rams. You're not one of the poorest owners. 23 years without a playoff win. It's like if you've, if you're a parent and nobody in your family's ever gone to college. Don't worry about Harvard. Just try to get somebody to college. Break the chain. Get somebody into college. If you can't even be above 500 on an average of once a decade, it's not about Super Bowls. Raise the floor. Forget about the ceiling. And I know you're out there. Hey, Raider fans, we, we can bring back the glory. How about bring back 500? How about bring back a winning November? So I, I mean, when you're in a division with Andy Reid and Jim Harbaugh, Sean Payton, you're just looking for viability. I would sign up for 8, 9, 9 and 8 and 10 and 7 today. And I think they have a good left tackle, a good running back, a star tight end, and a couple of decent receivers. There's no way in a million years I'm trading out of that pick. And I listen a lot of the people talk about, you know, Mendoza's a little stiff. He's not a great athlete. His comp is Jared Goff. I think it's more Matt Ryan, but. But six of this half dozen of the other former Raider, Tom Telesco on the Raiders and Mendoza likely being the number one pick. I'm there like, you can't offer me enough. Like, I'm taking Mendoza fully knowing that we need a lot of other help around them that we'd have to build on the fly.

Matt Hasselbeck (39:10)

They've got plenty of cap space this year.

Colin Cowherd (39:12)

They have.

Matt Hasselbeck (39:12)

I think they have a good amount of draft picks.

Colin Cowherd (39:14)

They had a good amount of draft picks last year.

Matt Hasselbeck (39:15)

I think they had 10 last year.

Colin Cowherd (39:16)

They got a good amount this year. And you start using your.

Matt Hasselbeck (39:19)

Allocate your resources the best you can to put around Mendoza, but, you know,

Colin Cowherd (39:23)

get them there and away you go. For the record, not only are the Raiders bad since 2003, they have the worst point differential in the NFL by 400 points. I mean, Jet fan Jason is laughing at the Raiders.

Chris Broussard (39:42)

So.

Colin Cowherd (39:43)

And again, you're talking about Harbaugh, Sean Payton, Andy Reid, Mahomes, Herbert, Bo, Nixon. To me, I would sign up for 8, 9, 9 and 8 right now if you said first two years. He stabilizes it, he raises the floor. You can watch them on a weekly basis. I mean, you know, Pete Carroll didn't work Antonio Pierce. To his credit, they played their butt off with Antonio Pierce. They weren't very good offensively. But I like, to me, once you get the quarterback right in the NFL, everything else kind of falls into place. If you just didn't have to worry about quarterback for the next 12 years. Like you can just concentrate on other units. It feels like the raiders have been worried about quarterback last five years. And it's just, you know, you're reaching on Geno and you're overpaying for Geno and you're. It just doesn't work. I can't wait to watch the kid play. I think it's going to be a really interesting player.

Chris Broussard (40:41)

So, Colin, I know we've talked about it. So when I was a young guy, I wanted to be a lawyer, right. So I would have to argue both sides to enhance my point. I tried for the last couple weeks to figure out what is the other side. If you don't take Mendoza. And I'm just curious because nobody's. There's not going to be a big haul to trade up for him. We've established that. Nobody's doing that. Nobody's giving up three ones or even two. So what do you do if you don't take Mendoza?

Colin Cowherd (41:05)

1.

Chris Broussard (41:05)

Let me hear a logical explanation.

Colin Cowherd (41:06)

Oh, I do think somebody would give up a couple of ones for him. I think there are. He's an interesting prospect. Where.

Chris Broussard (41:14)

Yeah, that's interesting. Not slam dunk, which.

Colin Cowherd (41:16)

No, he's got a slam dunk, but I see. I tend to lean more. He is a slam dunk. I don't worry about him. I worry about the Raiders messing it up. But I think he's really good. I think he's got the kind of grateful humility size. He is by far and away the most accurate thrower in this draft. And it's not close.

Chris Broussard (41:35)

Okay, what if Kubiak says to the front office, guys, I just watched Sam Darnold, former top five picks after a few years, recalibrate. We won a Super bowl. I can do that with Kyler Murray.

Colin Cowherd (41:47)

Oh, God, no.

Chris Broussard (41:48)

I can do that with Malik Willis, who was not a top five pick

Colin Cowherd (41:51)

opposite of Fernando Mendoza. If you like Mendoza, you're totally turned off by Kyler, who is small. You question his commitment. He's not the most humble guy. I like Kyler Murray, but, I mean, he is the opposite of what people see in Fernando Mendoza. Very grateful. Unbelievable size and accuracy and humility. Not super athletic. I think he's better than people give him credit for. I think he's a really special player. Hour three, coming up on a Monday. The herd think Verizon is expensive. Think again. Anyone can bring their AT&T or T mobile to a Verizon store today and we'll give you a better deal. So Bring us your bill. Walk in running pogo sticking teleport.

Chris Broussard (42:40)

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Colin Cowherd (42:41)

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Chris Broussard (42:52)

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Colin Cowherd (42:55)

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Chris Broussard (42:57)

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Colin Cowherd (42:59)

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Matt Hasselbeck (43:28)

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