THE HERD – HOUR 3 – Dodgers Making Baseball Better, Is Dak Prescott A Tier 1 QB?

Summary

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The Herd with Colin Cowherd – Hour 3

Episode Theme:
Dodgers Making Baseball Better, Is Dak Prescott A Tier 1 QB?
Date: August 4, 2026
Host: Colin Cowherd with Rob Parker and Kelvin Washington
Guest: Mike Sando (The Athletic, NFL QB Tiers Analyst)

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Overview

This episode of The Herd focuses on the NFL Quarterback Tier rankings released by Mike Sando of The Athletic. The conversation explores how NFL executives, coaches, and analysts evaluate quarterbacks, with particular debate around Dak Prescott's rise, the scrutiny of young QBs like Caleb Williams and Bo Nix, and broader discussions about the effect of organizational context on quarterback performance. The episode also touches on outlooks for several teams (Rams, Lions, 49ers), playoff predictions, and a brief dive into the college football preseason poll.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Breaking Down the 2026 NFL QB Tiers

(02:54 – 13:07)

Dak Prescott’s Ranking – Is He Tier 1?

• Mike Sando details how his 13th annual NFL QB Tiers poll saw veteran Dak Prescott "move up five spots," surprising even Sando given Prescott's relatively unchanged performance profile. Prescott's jump is credited more to "context factors" like "cowboy dysfunction and vanity of the owner" (Cowherd, 04:16–07:27).

  Quote:

  • "How does Dak Prescott at this stage of his career move up, like, five spots?...What do we know about Dak Prescott that we didn't know already? Right. I mean, he's a good pro quarterback." — Mike Sando, (07:27)

Caleb Williams vs. Brock Purdy

• Caleb Williams and Brock Purdy tied at #11—yet, as Sando notes, the poll reflects both doubts and optimism about rookies versus proven production. Williams' athletic upside is contrasted with Purdy’s reliance on supporting cast and durability questions (Cowherd, 04:16–05:44).

  Quote:

  • "Caleb's rising fast...but there were a lot of doubts, even coming in...when you rely on your legs, that's just the way that it is. It's not as automatic as Joe Burrow dropping back, but he's obviously spectacular." — Mike Sando, (04:16)

Bo Nix Intrigue

• Rob Parker challenges the logic of Bo Nix languishing in Tier 3 (18th overall) despite late-game prowess and strong coaching, echoing skepticism rooted in NFL draft perceptions lingering beyond college (05:04–07:18).

  Quote:

  • "Those first impressions...they still don't love [him]. I mean, those first impressions because I think he's been a really good late game quarterback in big spots." — Rob Parker, (05:44)

Jalen Hurts at 17 – The Perception Gap

• Jalen Hurts at #17 surprised Parker and prompted questions about changing standards for quarterbacks: “that’s probably the one. I went wow.” (07:18)

Joe Burrow’s Place

• Despite missing playoffs three seasons, Burrow is ranked fourth due to his talent and the mitigating factor of Cincinnati’s defensive weaknesses (07:56–09:14).

2. Tier Analysis: What Holds a QB Back?

(09:14 – 13:07)

Malik Willis – The ‘Tier 4’ Case Study

• Sando outlines that Tier 4 can mean "not enough info" (for new starters like Malik Willis) or "backup/bridge" types (like Jacoby Brissett). Willis is seen as young and intriguing but “hard pressed to win a game” given his environment (10:06–10:58).

Sam Darnold’s Value

• Rob Parker expresses high personal faith in Darnold, arguing he deserves to tickle the top 10. Sando counters, placing him above some rookies, but notes strong defense inflates perceptions (“when your team wins with defense, QB looks better”) (11:09–12:17).

Context Matters: Defense Buoying QBs

• Sando cites the historical stat:
  • "When the opponent scores like fewer than 17 points, Tom Brady has the same record as Alex Smith...So Minnesota and Seattle are huge defensive winners." (12:18)

3. Roster Quality, Team Outlooks, & QB Context

(13:07 – 14:33)

Minnesota & Mechanisms of QB Success

• Both hosts and Sando agree: QBs on teams with solid defenses (like Darnold in MIN, or Bo Nix) get a “half-full glass” grading versus QBs struggling in bad franchises (Kyler Murray in ARI) (13:46–14:24).

4. NFL & College Football Team Storylines

(20:16 – 39:45, select highlights)

Rams’ Outlook

• Rams lauded for stellar defense (Miles Garrett, Trent McDuffie acquisitions) and McVay’s stability—only question mark is left tackle Alaric Jackson (21:01–21:45).

  Quote:

  • "There's nothing about the Rams outside of a concern at left tackle. And I think they're pretty deep." — Rob Parker, (21:45)

Lions’ Culture and Dan Campbell’s Impact

• Kelvin Washington and Rob Parker praise the culture change in Detroit under Dan Campbell and Penne Sewell's dominance, noting successful recent draft picks (23:22–25:36).

  Quote:

  • "He has lived up to five star high school, dominant Oregon, day one dominant in the NFL. He has been a home run." — Rob Parker about Penne Sewell, (24:05)

49ers Get Deebo Back

• Deebo Samuel returns, received enthusiastically by teammates and staff; seen as a key to physical, team-oriented offense and a motivator for the locker room (26:10–28:02).

Playoff Turnover Predictions

• Stats: “Last 36 years on average, there’s a minimum of four new playoff teams. Last decade the average is six new playoff teams.” Hosts and John Middlekauff each predict five new teams for the 2026 NFL playoffs (31:59–33:22).

College Football Preseason Poll Breakdown

• Robust discussion on Texas’s schedule strength, the challenges of the SEC, Ohio State’s talent exodus, and coaching narratives at USC and Penn State (34:48–39:45).

  Quote:

  • "No team in the last eight years that has been number one in the preseason poll has gone on to win a national championship." — Rob Parker, (35:09)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 02:54 — NFL QB Tiers breakdown, initial reactions
• 04:16 — Caleb Williams vs. Brock Purdy discussion
• 05:44 — Bo Nix’s ranking and evaluation
• 07:18 — Hurts at 17, Dak’s surprising rise
• 09:14 — Malik Willis, what Tier 4 means
• 11:09 — Sam Darnold placement; defense’s role
• 13:07 — Kyler Murray, context for QB winning records
• 20:16 — Rams outlook, roster strengths and weaknesses
• 23:22 — Detroit Lions’ culture and player development
• 26:10 — Deebo Samuel’s return to the 49ers
• 31:59 — Playoff turnover statistics and predictions
• 34:48 — College football preseason poll analysis

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Mike Sando on Dak’s reputation boost:

  • “How does Dak Prescott at this stage of his career move up, like, five spots?...What do we know about Dak Prescott that we didn't know already?" (07:27)

• On defense boosting QBs:

  • “When the opponent scores like fewer than 17 points, Tom Brady has the same record as Alex Smith.” — Sando, (12:18)

• On team context lifting QBs:

  • "You’re going to get much better results than if [QBs] look at Darnold…with the Jets or any of these other teams, it’s just difficult to succeed…" — Sando, (13:46)

• Penne Sewell as a franchise cornerstone:

  • “He has lived up to five star high school, dominant Oregon, day one dominant in the NFL. He has been a home run.” — Rob Parker, (24:05)

• On preseason poll futility:

  • “No team in the last eight years that has been number one in the preseason poll has gone on to win a national championship.” — Rob Parker, (35:09)

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Episode Takeaways

• Quarterback Evaluations Evolve: NFL QB perceptions can change suddenly, sometimes due to external factors (context, team ownership, narratives) as much as actual on-field improvements.

• Context is King: Defensive quality, coaching staff, and organizational stability often dictate a QB's "tier" as much as their raw ability—leading to perennial debates over how much to credit or blame the signal caller.

• College & Pro Parallels: Both collegiate and NFL landscapes are volatile—coaching, conference strength, and schedule can dramatically swing season and playoff expectations.

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This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in how the NFL’s internal power brokers view quarterbacks, the hidden levers behind success at the position, and the intersections of talent and circumstance across football at every level.

Transcript

[Colin Cowherd]

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[Kelvin Washington]

You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.

[Rob Parker]

Well, he does it every year. It gains in popularity. It's called the NFL Quarterback Tears the Athletics. Mike Sando, 50 executives and coaches ranked 35. Veteran quarterbacks, no rookies allowed. And you know, I, I said, you know, there I mostly agree. I think there's a couple guys. Jalen hurts at 17 a little lower than I would go. Dak at 7, a little higher. But I think people are giving Dak the benefit of the doubt around the league because he deals with some of the cowboy dysfunction and vanity of the owner. I really do. With that. Mike Sando, senior NFL writer for the Athletic, joins us. Pro Football hall of Fame selector. So this is interesting to me. So I've always said if I didn't do this for a living, I'd want to be a GM in the NFL. So I fashion myself sadly delusionally as somebody that thinks I'm pretty good at this stuff. Obviously I couldn't be. But here's my take. Brock Purdy and Caleb Williams are tied at 11. And my take is if I'm a GM, Brock gets hurt. Caleb never does. Brock has an unbelievable owner organization, hall of Famers all through the lineup. And it's not the same quarterback when Christian McCaffrey isn't available. Caleb Williams, run game or not, is something else. Were you surprised? It feels like to me that's not as much love for Purdy, is it? His doubt on Caleb Williams. That's how it feels to me. Yeah.

[Colin Cowherd]

First off, great to be here, Colin. I think some of this though, you got to remember is it's movement from past years. This is my 13th year of doing this. And so Caleb had a ways to go to rise up these. They're not really two ships passing on the night, but like Purdy just inched tiny bit and Caleb is doing this and we take a snapshot right now and I think if that snapshot, maybe Caleb's higher, you know, even by mid season, we'll see how he plays this year. But you know, Caleb's rising fast. But there were a lot of doubts, you know, even coming in, some doubts coming in. And there were doubts last season as well. And it's still a little bit of an inconsistent game because when you rely on your legs, that's just the way that it is. It's not as automatic as Joe Burrow dropping back to pass, but he's, he's obviously spectacular.

[Rob Parker]

You know it's interesting I said last year, I said you can't love Caleb Williams and not like Bo Nix because they're really the same. They're athletic, they're a little inconsistent, they're damn good in the fourth quarter and they both have brilliant offensive coaches. In fact, Bonix has the better offensive line but Bo Nix is 18th, he is tier three and it feels like to me there's a lot of guys that didn't like him out of Oregon and they're, they still don't love I mean those first impressions because I think he's been a really good late game quarterback in big spots. But boy, I look at your tears and I'm like there's a lot of doubters with him still.

[Colin Cowherd]

Why I think he got 17 more votes in Tier 2 this year than last. So I mean he's definitely rising. He's the top spot in tier three kind of on that borderline maybe in the neighborhood where Kirk Cousins was a few years ago, you know, respected. But I do believe when you come in and your past game is, is heavily schemed up right. The hardest thing you do is just drop back to pass when they know you're going to pass. But he's got, you know, a full complement of things that make it easier for the quarterback from, from the head coach and then you also have a top five defense and you probably have a top five offensive line. So there's other places some of the credit can go and is going. I think that can also happen like you said with some opinions of what people had in the draft. I think that's held back pretty some. I mean how long are you the last pick in the draft, right? There's reasons why you were. Those reasons still may exist to some degree physically but that's part of this as well. And Caleb Williams is helped by the fact that people would rather have him physically, right? I mean he's, he's more special probably than the Knicks is. So I just see it as if he does it again, he's going to creep up and inch up. But are people when they play Bo Nicks going when they play Denver are they like oh my God guys, we got Knicks this week. You know, it's probably, it's probably more like hey watch out for this quarterback because if you fall asleep he's going to run for first down and pretty soon in the fourth quarter especially this guy picks his spots, he knows how to do it, he can be dangerous. But we're not just like, like I said, we're not staying up all night.

[Rob Parker]

Hurts at 17 is interesting. That's probably the one. I went, wow. Is there anyone that surprised you either? Too high, too low.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah. Well, I think. How does Dak Prescott at this stage of his career move up, like, five spots? I mean, he's still in tier two, but I feel like that surprised me. He got almost as many tier one votes as he's gotten for his whole career, you know, and it's like a. It's like a dozen or something like that. But I'm just like, what do we know about Dak Prescott that we didn't know already? Right. I mean, he's a good pro quarterback.

[Rob Parker]

I think we're giving him credit because of Jerry and some dysfunction. I think he. I really do.

[Colin Cowherd]

Terrible defense. Yeah.

[Rob Parker]

Yeah. No, I think we give him credits like, offense is still taught me by Brian Shanahan. We were. We didn't think that was a great hire. He won with Jason. He won with McCarthy. He won with. I mean, I think some of it is like. I mean, it's amazing to me what an indictment this list is on the Bengals ownership. Joe Burrow is four, and he hasn't made the playoffs in three years. I mean, that. Were you surprised where Burrow lands?

[Colin Cowherd]

I thought Burrow could, at some point, you know, slip a little on the durability question. Now, I did this the last two seasons. He's played about the same number of snaps as Lamar or Dak or some of these other guys. He's not like, he missed all. He's missed about five games in the last two years. So I think if he. If he were to have a half a season played, would more of those creep in? He's just so dang good when he does play. I mean, I think you've said it. He could be. I think you said he could be the best player in the league on any given Sunday. Right. I mean, I. People believe that. And when you're that bad on defense and, you know, this guy's so good, you know, maybe that helped Dak a little bit, too. They're that bad on defense. Whereas if you're super great, like Darnold moves up, but only into the bottom of Tier 2, because everyone knows they're. They're so great on defense in Seattle and even special teams. Right. I mean, it's an easier game to win.

[Rob Parker]

I'll tell you a quarterback. I may be out of my mind, but I remember the show American Idol. Remember that show with Simon Cowell, and I used to always say I don't know anything about music. I can't sing a lick, I can't play an instrument. But all the years watching it, I could tell within 12 to 15 seconds. Hack Star or lounge singer, you don't have to see that much of anything to go wow. Or that's awful. And I know I've only got six starts with Malik Willis, but I'm, I mean accurate moves. I mean Jeff Halfley saw him for two, three years. That's the first thing he did. Got on the phone, brought him down. They gave him basically in the same class as Tua Geno Smith and Deshaun Watson. I kind of different. He's interesting.

[Colin Cowherd]

I do too. So that's just because tier 4 you can be one of two things you can be. Not enough info. That's kind of Malik Willis, we don't really know yet. He hasn't played enough and well enough long enough to just have everyone say you're a three already. See, Patrick Mahomes started out as a four after one start. Right. I mean I think people think he's going to be good. But you're a four till you play more. There's also the four. Like you've played enough and we know you're not going to probably be more than that. Jacoby Verset, nice. You know, backup or a solid bridge type of a quarterback. He can be a 4:2. So I think Malik is falling into the provisional. Not enough info, you know, for this was he I think is the very top of tier 4. So people are giving him a chance. I just. How do you project success for him when the organization is stripping everything back to the studs? I mean their receiver situation. I mean this guy's going to be hard pressed to win a game.

[Rob Parker]

Yeah. Outside of D line they're pretty thin. Okay, if you were a gm, where would you put Sam Darnold who was outrageously tied for 14th?

[Colin Cowherd]

Outrageously because you have him hired in that.

[Rob Parker]

Oh, I love Darnold.

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[Rob Parker]

I like. Yeah, I said before there's something there. I don't like New York football team draft picks at quarterback for years. Darnold's the one I always bought. I, I have him much closer to the top 10. Where would you put him? I would.

[Colin Cowherd]

I'm okay with where he's at because if you look at. I'm just looking to look here at my list. So like I'd put him above Jaden Daniels right now. Just because Daniels missed a. He needs to prove it more. Caleb Williams, I Mean, I can see why he's a little ahead of him. Brock Purdy's kind of done it for a few years. Right. Jordan loves. I mean, I guess you could put Darnold right there. You could, you could move him up a little bit. I'm sort of fine with where he's at. I feel like this is an interesting study. Now I tie this to Kyler Murray. Tyler slipped in this thing, but he's gonna win a lot more games because defensive component that Minnesota has provided. Minnesota went 9 and 8 last year. Who's even playing quarterback? Like when you're that good on defense, when you're, when you're a certain level of goodness on defense, everyone wins.

[Rob Parker]

Yeah.

[Colin Cowherd]

Before there was analytics and stuff, I did this study like 10 or you know, 15 years ago when the opponent scores like fewer than 17 points. Tom Brady has the same record as Alex Smith. Okay. That's just what happens. And so Minnesota and Seattle are huge defensive winners. The last Minnesota, Minnesota last two years with Brian Flores and Seattle last year with Mike McDonald. So almost any quarterback who's not bad is going to win. Yeah, he's going to win in that. Now Kyler Murray's coming from Arizona where it's the opposite, where his record's been distorted bad. And so he's somebody who, even though he fell in this like in a year from now, if he stays, you know, stays healthy and avoid some of those issues that he's had as a smaller quarterback, I mean he could easily suddenly have an 11 win season without necessarily even playing a lot differently.

[Rob Parker]

Yeah, well, it's also, I mean if you go to Kyler Murray in Arizona, they almost always had the fourth best roster. I mean, I can argue if you look at their offensive pieces in Minnesota, they, that's a, That's a top 10 offensive personnel group and also your coach. So between the defense with Brian Flores and The tall Sean McVeigh in Kevin O', Connell, you're not looking up. I mean Minnesota may finish fourth, but Minnesota, I think they had a winning record against the last couple of years against Green Bay, I think. I mean they like they're, they're, they're a really talented, well coached team.

[Colin Cowherd]

Absolutely. But, but when you're starting out with Bonix's defense or you know, the defense that Kyler is going to have or Darnold's defense, I mean you're, the glass is always going to look half full for the quarterback because they're going to win. They're going to be, you're going to get much better results than if those guys look at Darnold and you know, with the jets or any of these other teams, it's just difficult to succeed in some of those other situations. But these are just made to order. That's why, that's why Minnesota goes 9 and 8 last year. Like I said, they, they were probably terrible at quarterback. I can't even, I can't fathom they were 9 and 8.

[Rob Parker]

Senior NFL writer the Athletic selector Pro Football hall of Fame Mike sando. It's his 2026 NFL quarterback tears. And Mike, as always, I appreciate it.

[Colin Cowherd]

Thank you.

[Kelvin Washington]

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

[Rob Parker]

Hey, it's Rob Parker and Kelvin Washington from the Odd Couple on Fox Sports Radio. And in addition to hearing us live weeknights from 7 to 10pm Eastern on Fox Sports Radio, we are excited to announce brand new YouTube channel for the show.

[Kelvin Washington]

That's right, you can now watch the

[Rob Parker]

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[Kelvin Washington]

Again, YouTube.

[Rob Parker]

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[Rob Parker]

Yep, your top tier is Mahomes Allen, Stafford Burrow. Then it's in this order. Lamar Herbert, Prescott, Drake May Golf Love Jordan, Brock Purdy Caleb Jaden, Daniels, Baker Darnold, Trevor Lawrence, Jalen Hurts and then you go into tier three and it's Bo Nicks and Aaron Rodgers and CJ Stroud and Daniel Jones and Bryce Young and Kyler Murray Jackson, Dark Cam Ward, Tyler Shuck Tua, Kirk Cousins and then I Malik William, Malik Willis for Miami is not going to win a lot of games. That guy's talented. I know six starts, that's it. Maybe Green Bay helped a lot. I think he's really talented. And Shador Sanders, 35th. I think that's just, I think the whole vibe of him Maturity dad draft. Have you watched any of the John, have you watched any of the. The camp footage of Shador Sanders?

[Kelvin Washington]

So far I'm not super dialed in on what's going on in Berea, Ohio on a daily basis. I'll be honest with you. Someone asked me like, what's your. Someone recently DM me. Do you have any thoughts on week one Jets, Titans? Like that game's not exactly front of mind. There are certain teams, you know, Rams, Niners, Seattle Patriots. I. Let's, let's wait and let this play out a little bit before we dive into. I know you like the Browns to make the playoffs, Colin.

[Rob Parker]

I do, I do. Well, they didn't make my top five. They were six. But there's going to be a wow.

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[Rob Parker]

York Giants, but I just love the GM Andrew Barry and I like their last three drafts. I thought they had the best first five picks in this year's draft and I think Shador was underdraft. I mean, listen, if you're backups to Sean Watson, that's a decent backup. John Middlekop with the news.

[Kelvin Washington]

No, no, no, turn on the news. This is the Herd line news. Well, speaking of the teams, I'm paying attention to the Rams, they beefed up their defense, obviously brought it in. Miles Garrett. The rumors of Aaron Donald just will not die. Garrett did sit out practice yesterday, but we can't overreact. It's only early August after practice. Stafford called the session quote as high quality of a practice of football as I've been around Colin, I was once a part of a team labeled the Dream Team in Philadelphia. It didn't go well.

[Sponsor/Advertisement Voice]

Right.

[Kelvin Washington]

This feels a little different. I think it's safe to say the Rams floor, I mean, worst case scenario, 10, 11 wins and their ceiling is, I mean their number one seed.

[Rob Parker]

Their only question is left tackle.

[Kelvin Washington]

Where?

[Rob Parker]

Alaric Jackson's really good. Gotten a little trouble off the field, not criminal charges, so that's a break. He can play. He's undrafted left tackle, which is rare in the NFL. Most of your top left tackles. I don't know if he's a top left tackle, probably middle of the pack. But I mean, it's a workable schedule. They've got, you know, they've got very winnable games at home. The New York Giants early Arizona, early at home, Raiders. I mean, the schedule's kind of made to order. There's no, you know, they played the Seahawks twice, both late. Smart scheduling by Roger Goodell in the league. But I Mean, it's. There's nothing about the Rams outside of a concern at left tackle. And I think they're pretty. Pretty deep.

[Kelvin Washington]

I think one big difference for them. You know, the Niners saw a Leafs now Kyle's known Raheem Morris forever, but that's a new defensive coordinator, Seattle, Kubiak, Leafs. So they get a new. So that there's a little turnover at pretty big spots on those two franchises. On the opposite side of the ball as their head coach. Yeah, obviously McVeigh never going anywhere, but they've had Shula now for a couple years. Proven to be pretty good.

[Rob Parker]

The.

[Kelvin Washington]

The Stafford thing. A lot of. A lot of tread on those tires because he got so beat up in Detroit. You know, the scare this off season, McVeigh was like, some of you guys thought we were fudging the injury report a little bit with his back. He was legitimately hurt.

[Colin Cowherd]

You know what.

[Kelvin Washington]

So that's something to keep an eye on. But yeah, I mean, it's hard to. Hard not to be pretty bullish on this. On this team coming into the year.

[Rob Parker]

Yeah. And the real weakness if you watch them play Carolina twice is you could pick on their corners. So by getting. It's not just Miles Garrett because they already had a good pass rush. The Trent McDuffie acquisition is a game changer because, you know, you could watch Seattle move the ball up and down the field. They were below average at corner and that's where Carolina attacked them because they have big T. Mac, the other receiver,

[Kelvin Washington]

Brazil, they just drafted from. From Arkansas, I think.

[Rob Parker]

I think there were teams that weren't that great that were tough matchups on them. And I think by getting Trent McDuffie, that's over. They got somebody that can line up against JSN and be competitive. They did not last year. So the Garrett is just elevating what was already a good pass rush. They were a mess at corner under talented little small. McDuffie solved some stuff.

[Kelvin Washington]

Okay. To the. To the Detroit Lions, who, you know, I think I'm in agreement they should bounce back this year. They have just a core of young stud players. Penne Sewell, the just a superstar left tackle, spoke recently about the team's mindset and what is expected of them once the season starts because of the culture and the high standards that Dan Campbell has built in Detroit.

[Colin Cowherd]

I mean, in everything that you do,

[Kelvin Washington]

to the way it's taught, to the

[Colin Cowherd]

way it's done, how it's done, what, why everything, there's no gray area. It's either you do or you don't. And if you don't then you're not a Detroit lion boy.

[Rob Parker]

Sanu Panay Sewell was utterly dominant in college. He's been exactly that in the NFL. That was a pretty can't miss draft pick. He has lived up to five star high school dominant Oregon day one dominant in the NFL. He has been a home run.

[Kelvin Washington]

Yeah I mean he fits. When you think Dan Campbell you think guys like Panay Sewell and Amon Ross St. Brown just absolute war daddies. I don't think Dan can I call him the third Harbaugh brother? Not sure he even gets enough credit. You know I'm 40 years old, the overwhelming percentage of my life. The Lions were basically like the Sacramento Kings. An absolute laughing you remove Barry Sanders. I mean they had Matt Stafford who has put a Hall of Fame resume since coming to L. A but when he was there people like oh that seems shows you how bad they were. They couldn't even win with Matt Stafford. So what he has done there, their core group, Colin all under contract, even Jameer Gibbs right now is doing a hold in. He's under contract this year. Next year he's not going anywhere.

[Rob Parker]

There are very few teams in the league that have hit more home runs in the draft. Gibbs home run Amaran St. Brown, Penne Sewell, I mean they now corner has been a real problem for them. Yeah, you know everybody has, there's a. Everybody's got a position. They struggle with New England and Belichick for years could not draft wide receivers. But I will say in just in terms of overall talent when they get the quarter coordinator right they are really good offensively.

[Kelvin Washington]

Yeah. I remember Dan Campbell this year at the owner's meeting said we have everything we need. All the young guys under contract, all pro pro bowl level guys, they've. They've fallen Under like the 49ers, a lot of injuries the last couple years, you know in some key spots. Speaking of the 49ers, after one year in Washington, Deebo Samuel has returned to the 49ers where he spent the first six years of his of his NFL career. But his teammates are really excited about having him back. Here's Kyle jus check on, on what Deebo brings.

[Colin Cowherd]

Deebo's the best.

[Kelvin Washington]

He's such an incredible teammate, he's such a good friend. He's an incredible football player. So we're really happy to have him in the locker room just because he brings the best vibes and positivity. But we're also happy to have him on the field because he's still got juice and he still can go out there and make good plays. He came in. He looks like he's in phenomenal shape. His first day in pads, he's making an impact right away and just looked like the old Debo. So I can't say enough positive things about how exciting do we already have him?

[Rob Parker]

Well, he's a physical player. Use checks. A physical player. McAffrey's a hard runner. K's a physical player. Like Kyle Shanahan has a model, and that model is tough, physical guys at tight end, running back, wide receiver, so. And Debo was putting all that stuff on ig. He does look to be in incredible shape.

[Kelvin Washington]

Yeah, I can relate. You know, battle some weight issues, you know, and I think focus dialed in. I think they were really impressed this offseason. They have two wide former wide receivers. One on Instagram is falling off the deep end. The other guy, every single day was out working in 110 degree heat in Arizona where he was working out. The other thing is, Kyle currently has a concussion. So if you sign a wide receiver, someone that's going to be a part of his offense, it would have been difficult. Like, why didn't they sign Keenan Allen? Because you're kind of starting from scratch, and the head coaches in the concussion protocol, you get Debo, you don't need to teach them the offense. You don't need to teach him the standards. I do think it's. It's kind of a cool moment. You're gonna get a pretty motivated guy. I mean, this.

[Rob Parker]

Yes.

[Kelvin Washington]

He was on the street, basically, August 1st. Other teams around the league, the Chiefs, don't have any wide receivers. Not like they're giving him a call. So this is a guy that's kind of playing, I don't want to say for his NFL career, but does have

[Rob Parker]

a lot to prove.

[Kelvin Washington]

Colin, he had 72 catches last year. I know most of us didn't watch much.

[Rob Parker]

Washington, I mean, he was basically invisible because of Jaden Daniels. That's a. That's more than I thought.

[Kelvin Washington]

Yeah. So the 49ers don't need him to give 70. If he could give the Niners 55, 60 catches and, like you said, run over a couple guys here and there, you know, he's going to be motivated. That Australia game, whoever wins that Australia game, it's going to feel not like they're one and like they're two. And, oh, yeah, that game is. That's a big moment for the 49ers.

[Rob Parker]

John Middlecop of the News.

[Kelvin Washington]

Well, that's the News, and thanks for stopping by the Herd Lie News. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio FS1, and

[Rob Parker]

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[Kelvin Washington]

Network Sunday on Fox the stars of IndyCar are going full throttle as they look to chase down Alex Paloma in Portland. Sunday at 4 Eastern only on Fox.

[Rob Parker]

Last 36 years on average, there's a minimum of four new playoff teams. Last decade the average is six new playoff teams. So John and I split it in the middle. We each took five teams that did not make the playoffs last year to make it this year. Now we both like the Chiefs and we both like the Saints. He then liked the Cowboys, Bengals, Colts. I went Lions, Giants, Ravens. Here's Nick Wright on John and I both liking Kansas City to sneak back into the playoffs. We saw Patrick win a league MVP and set the NFL single season record for total yards with Mark Wesvaldez scantling as his number one receiver. He doesn't have to have Tyreek to be an MVP level player. He won it in 22. Patrick is the only starting quarterback in the league who's been a starter more than three years, who's never had a thousand yard rusher. I mean the Chiefs he's never had in his career a guy rushed for a thousand yards. I do worry about Kenneth Walker staying healthy because yards after contact he's great but he does, he doesn't necessarily run away from people. He'll run at people. So what was the one team, John, that you have going into the playoffs that you had to like? I went back and forth on the Giants but I'm, I'm pot committed so I just say I'm even though their division's better, is there one that you're concerned about?

[Kelvin Washington]

Yeah, I would say the Colts, you know, they went I'm not a huge Daniel Jones guy. He's coming off an Achilles, but they were so good early in that season and so much momentum. The other team that I think they would kind of replace would be the Jags. ETN was a huge part of their offense last year. He's gone. You know, I think sometimes it's like this in college, but definitely in the NFL, you get to fly a little. Like the Giants, they're going to fly a little under the radar this year. If they were to make the playoffs, that. That's done. Like the Chiefs, Bills, Rams, nine. Like certain teams don't get to fly. Like, they get every team's best shot. Like, what Saban did for 15 years is crazy. They got everyone's best game. I do think the Jags are going to get taken a little more seriously this year by every opponent because we're all human beings. If I'm Remember last year, the Denver Bronco, they played the Denver Broncos in Denver and they killed them.

[Rob Parker]

Yeah.

[Kelvin Washington]

I just think that we're at a point in time where some of these teams are going to treat the Jags like a playoff team.

[Rob Parker]

And I do think they'll come back

[Kelvin Washington]

to earth and that opens it up for the Colts a little bit.

[Rob Parker]

Yeah. This is a. It's such an interesting. It's such an interesting time of the year where you basically hold your breath right now for injuries. Most starters, we only have three weeks of preseason football. When is the hall of Fame game?

[Kelvin Washington]

I think it's Thursday. They just announced Carson Beck's going to start.

[Rob Parker]

Carson back. Yeah. I gotta tell you, we. We. The college coaches poll came out today and this just came out a couple of hours ago. The college coaches poll. Miami didn't get a lot of respect. Georgia's a little better than. I don't think Georgia's quite as good as everybody else thinks. I think it's Oregon's best team. No team in the last eight years that has been number one in the preseason poll has gone on to win a national championship. Julian Sands, good. I don't know if he's a Sunday quarterback. You know, my takeaway on this is it does. Think about this. So this is what I've been. I've been selling my stock on Texas. Think about this. They're ranked number four and. And they're very good. But there's two things about Texas, and I think this is fair. I like Sark. I like him a lot in big games. Remember that play in Georgia a couple times and you're like, they're not ready to play in big games. Sometimes Sark out thinks the room a little bit. They're a little loose on the details. Here's the other thing. Half of the schedule of Texas, these are 22 year old kids. Half of the schedule is against ranked teams. Ohio State, A and M, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, lsu, Tennessee, Missouri. You are not coming close to running the table. By the way, Oklahoma's quarterback mater as we talked about, really good. LSU's got that kid from Arizona State, Levitt, really good. Hypo at Tennessee's got him rolling. Ohio State could be the best team. I just think that schedule that for a college program, that's brutal.

[Kelvin Washington]

Couldn't you argue that Texas entire season hinges on, I think is it week two, they play Ohio State at home. If they don't win that game, think how many players Ohio State has lost these last two years. If they can't win that game in Austin, they would be, you know, one in one because their first game's a joke. They're. You're probably not making the playoffs at 9 and 3 maybe. But you know, they would have. They're going to lose an SEC game. So if you win that Ohio State game, it gives them a lot of margin for error in the SEC and it's. You get a great win. Do you lose that game?

[Rob Parker]

Well, think about this. It's. It's still only a 12 team playoff, right?

[Kelvin Washington]

Yeah.

[Rob Parker]

So you lose that game, just you start, you start looking at Indiana's schedule very favorable. You look at Oregon schedule pretty favorable. You start looking at the teams that could knock you out. Yeah. I mean it's the team, I think the team I think is underrated. I don't think people quite think Penn State's good because they had to wait so long to get a coach. But Campbell had a good transfer portal. I think he's obviously, I think he's a schematic upgrade over the guy he replaced. I think Penn State's going to be a little better than people think. It's also a tough place to play home. They got a lot of home games. I mean it does, it does feel like if you start, if you look at the top 19 teams, it is a lot of Big Ten, it is a lot of SEC and that's. We're getting now more of an NFL model. We have a, you know, two conferences. We have two conferences, thank God for Miami and Notre Dame that feel like they pulled away.

[Kelvin Washington]

What about the Lane Kiffin hype train going to lsu? Obviously, devastating season. I mean a lot of moving parts, but some big time transfers. That tackle from Colorado by all reports is in great shape. He's got a chance to be a top 15, 20 pick.

[Rob Parker]

What do you do if you're USC? You're on the hook a lot of years with Lincoln Riley. We have them 14. What if they lose three? They lose to Ohio State, they lose to Oregon, they lose at Indiana, but they win the rest of their games. What do you do?

[Kelvin Washington]

Well, wasn't part of the selling point with Lincoln Riley this offseason was a great high school recruiting class. Don't you got to give him a couple years to work with those guys? Yeah, like to me, isn't it about the next couple years? I, I think he's got two more years. I don't think he can go eight. I mean, can we get a nine and three season?

[Rob Parker]

Well, if you put up USC schedule. Okay, so they, they've made it easier out of conference. They get Oregon and Washington at home. So let's say they split those. Okay, so they're 1, 2, 3, 4. They're 5 and 1 going to Penn State. The Penn State game's a big one. They have not been a good Big ten road team, especially then you start looking okay now, now it's. It's October. Get a little chilly. Thank God Wisconsin's falling off. Maryland, ucla. We'll see. You can just say Ohio State. Indiana, if you go 02 there, you got one other misstep you because Ohio State's got better personnel and Indiana at home is a handful and that is again mid November Indiana weather. So if they go oh and two there, you get one more loss or you're out of the playoff. Oregon game early is huge.

[Kelvin Washington]

I think it's very important this year for Lincoln to have a program changing win. So to have an upset against Ohio State, have an upset against Oregon even if they go 9 and 3 to change the trajectory of the program.

[Rob Parker]

All right, little sourcing here. Getting text. I mean, not even in the football season. I'm getting guys dropping these bombs here. If you're spending time outside, it's important to know the potential risks of skin cancer non melanoma skin cancers or NMSCs, including basal cell carcinoma and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma are common in the US and can become advanced and harder to treat if left undetected. Our sponsor, Regeneron, is raising awareness about advanced NMSCs. Learn more and take the pledge to see a dermatologist annually at let'sget realabout skin cancer.com Foodies Unite.

[Angie Martinez]

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[Rob Parker]

Living with a rare autoimmune condition can bring a lot of uncertainty, but it can also create community. In season six of Untold Stories, Life with a severe Autoimmune condition, they go beyond MG and cidp as host Martine Hackett welcomes stories from other conditions like myositis and IgAN into the conversation. Untold Stories is produced by Ruby Studio in partnership with Argenics. Listen to Untold Stories Life with a severe autoimmune condition on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Angie Martinez]

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[Rob Parker]

Guaranteed Human.