NFL Free Agency First Impressions! Breaking Down the Latest Quarterback Moves, Trades, and More.

Summary

Podcast Summary: The McShay Show – "NFL Free Agency First Impressions! Breaking Down the Latest Quarterback Moves, Trades, and More"

Introduction

In this engaging episode of The McShay Show, long-time NFL Draft and College Football Analyst Todd McShay delves deep into the recent NFL free agency movements, focusing primarily on quarterback transfers, strategic trades, and their implications for the upcoming NFL Draft. Hosted by Todd McShay and featuring co-host Mitch, the discussion is rich with insights, expert analysis, and forward-thinking strategies that would be invaluable to NFL fans and draft enthusiasts alike.

Key Free Agency Moves

Todd McShay kicks off the conversation by highlighting significant free agency transactions that have reshaped several NFL teams:

• Gino Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders: McShay emphasizes Smith's underrated potential and how his move aligns with Raiders' long-term strategy.

  "I truly believe [Gino Smith] is one of the more underrated quarterbacks in the league." ([19:03])

• DK Metcalf to the Pittsburgh Steelers: The transfer marks a substantial shift in the receiver landscape, raising questions about Pittsburgh's quarterback situation.

  "DK Metcalf's exit and his move to Pittsburgh brings a lot of interesting dynamics to their wide receiver room." ([10:00])

• Miles Garrett Returns to Cleveland: Garrett's return bolsters Cleveland's defensive line, positioning them strongly for both the season and the draft.

  "With Miles Garrett back in Cleveland, the Browns' defensive front has become significantly more formidable." ([13:59])

• Patriots' Strategic Signings: The New England Patriots make several key acquisitions, including defending tackle Milton Williams, signaling their intent to reinforce their defensive capabilities.

  "A four-year deal with Milton Williams demonstrates New England's commitment to building a robust defensive line." ([83:17])

Organizational IQ and Draft Strategy

A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to analyzing the organizational intelligence ("Organizational IQ") of NFL teams as they navigate free agency and prepare for the draft. McShay and Mitch discuss how teams are balancing immediate needs with long-term drafting plans.

• Top 100 Rankings and Draft Board: Todd mentions the upcoming release of the Top 100 rankings, which will set the stage for further discussions on free agency and draft evaluations.

  "Just 45 days until the NFL draft meet. We’re releasing the Top 100 board on Thursday, which will set the foundation for our upcoming analyses." ([01:52])

• Green Bay Model Influence: John Schneider of the Seattle Seahawks is lauded for adopting and advancing the Green Bay organizational model, focusing heavily on draft picks and strategic free agent signings.

  "John Schneider has taken the Green Bay model and advanced it, emphasizing building through the draft and strategic free agent acquisitions." ([11:33])

Quarterback Market Dynamics

The episode delves into the complexities of the quarterback market, especially with high-profile moves and the emergence of new talents.

• Justin Fields and Aaron Rodgers Speculation: McShay speculates on potential quarterback acquisitions, including the possibility of Aaron Rodgers joining the Pittsburgh Steelers, and discusses the implications if Justin Fields remains with the Jets.

  "If Aaron Rodgers lands in Pittsburgh, it could redefine their quarterback strategy, blending his experience with their existing talent." ([52:40])

• Development vs. Immediate Success: The discussion contrasts teams looking to develop quarterbacks like Geno Smith in Las Vegas versus those seeking immediate success with veterans.

  "Geno Smith's move to the Raiders is a perfect opportunity to build a culture and develop a quarterback for the future." ([30:14])

Team-Specific Analyses

• Seattle Seahawks: With the departure of key players like Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf, the Seahawks face challenges in maintaining their competitive edge. McShay discusses potential draft picks to address their wide receiver and offensive line needs.

  "Seattle needs to focus on upgrading their wide receivers and offensive line to protect their quarterback and maintain competitiveness." ([22:04])

• Pittsburgh Steelers: The Steelers' acquisition of DK Metcalf and the potential addition of Aaron Rodgers place them in a strong position, though questions about their quarterback depth remain.

  "Pittsburgh's move for DK Metcalf enhances their receiver pool, but their quarterback situation still requires careful consideration." ([48:45])

• New England Patriots: The Patriots' strategic signings, including defensive tackle Milton Williams and cornerback Carlton Davis, indicate a focus on strengthening their defense while maintaining flexibility in other positions.

  "The Patriots are making smart, financially reasonable moves to bolster their defense without compromising other areas of the roster." ([85:39])

Draft Insights and Future Projections

McShay provides a forward-looking perspective on how these free agency moves will influence the NFL Draft, emphasizing the importance of strategic drafting based on team needs and future projections.

• Deep Draft Class Due to COVID and Transfer Portals: The current draft class is expected to be exceptionally deep, particularly in the middle rounds, due to factors like COVID-19 and the transfer portal's impact on player availability.

  "This year's draft class is extremely deep, especially in the second, third, and fourth rounds, making it a treasure trove for teams looking to bolster their rosters." ([15:20])

• Position Prioritization: Teams are prioritizing positions based on immediate needs and long-term potential, with a particular focus on quarterbacks, offensive linemen, and defensive edges.

  "Teams are focusing on protecting their quarterbacks by addressing offensive line weaknesses, ensuring long-term stability." ([28:10])

Notable Quotes

Throughout the episode, McShay and Mitch share several insightful quotes that encapsulate their analysis:

• "Geno's in Vegas. DK Metcalf's in Pittsburgh. Williams is new in New England. We're seeing a lot of strategic moves that align with each organization's long-term vision." ([04:39])

• "This year's draft class is loaded in the middle rounds, providing teams with ample opportunities to find hidden gems and build depth." ([15:20])

• "The Patriots' approach to free agency—focusing on second-tier free agents—sets them up to take advantage of the draft's best available talent." ([85:42])

Conclusion

Todd McShay and Mitch wrap up the episode by reiterating the significance of the recent free agency moves and their substantial impact on the NFL Draft landscape. They tease upcoming content, including the release of the Top 100 rankings and deep dives into specific positions, promising listeners more expert analysis in future episodes.

"Next Monday, we'll delve into more free agency fallout and continue our positional deep dives, ensuring you stay ahead of the curve as the draft approaches." ([84:35])

Listeners are encouraged to subscribe to The McShay Report for comprehensive draft coverage and exclusive content.

Final Thoughts

This episode of The McShay Show offers a thorough and nuanced exploration of the NFL's current free agency landscape, providing listeners with valuable insights into how these moves will shape the upcoming draft and the future of various teams. McShay's expertise, combined with Mitch's engaging commentary, makes for a compelling listen that caters to both casual fans and serious analysts.

Transcript

[Todd McShay]

It's the McShay show, presented by FanDuel. The NFL Draft is right around the corner and FanDuel is the best place to get in on all the action. The app is safe, secure and easy to use. FanDuel always has exclusive offers. When you win, you'll get paid instantly. And FanDuel has a lot of ways to bet the draft, with loads more coming between now and the first pick. So download the FanDuel Sportsbook app today and make every moment more during the NFL draft. Must be 21 and older and present in select states. Gambling problem. Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit RG D help.com this episode is brought to you by Noll. Every day is an opportunity to grow stronger, especially when you've got best in class award winning footwear backing you up. No Bull is a footwear brand for training and for daily life built to support you in your pursuit of physical, mental and emotional strength. And get this exclusive for the McShay show listeners. No bull is offering 30% off your order. Visit nollproject.com mcshay for 30% off your entire order. That's N O B U L L P R O j e c t.com backslash McShay for 30% off. Gino Smith to the Raiders, DK Metcalf to the Steelers. Miles Garrett's back in Cleveland. And the Patriots making a lot of moves too. As our guy Connor Nevin says, let's dig into the organizational IQ as it pertains to all these moves and the effects it will have on the NFL draft. Plus, I've got some interesting nuggets I want to go through with this year's linebackers class. And men, I'm sure you get some hot takes on something else too.

[Mitch]

Always.

[Todd McShay]

Just 45 days until the NFL draft met. You good?

[Mitch]

I'm good, man.

[Todd McShay]

Roll it. We're just coming on air right now. Just full transparency. It is 2:19pm Eastern Time on Monday and was getting ready to talk about maybe the Patriots could go Mason Graham, defensive tackle with that, with that number four overall pick and it just pops up on the screen. Milton Williams, the most coveted defensive tackle, interior defensive lineman and free agency signed by the New England Patriots. We got a lot to get to. I mean, I'm sitting here watching tape. I'm, I'm figuring out our board. We got a top 100 coming out on Thursday. Okay, follow with me here. Top 100 on Thursday. Today we're going to go through a lot of the free agent moves. We got to get into like, what the mindset is as, as Connor says, the organizational IQ really contextualize some of this stuff as it pertains to all this roster building and specifically what we, you know, spend a vast majority of our year doing. On the NFL draft Thursday, as I said, top 100, I'm going to release that top 100 board. I've already kind of leaked the top 32, some tweaks already being made there. So that's going to be a big one for us. It kind of sets the board for the next few weeks and it allows us to dig into free agency and also continue our draft evaluations. Then next week we're going to have a lot to get to. Free agency starts on Wednesday at 4pm Folks, the NFL New Year on next Monday, as our shows always. I'll remind everyone Monday afternoon, Thursday morning. Okay, so next Monday we'll get into all the free agency stuff and everything that mentioned. I are going through on our, our evaluations and keep you up to date on our process. As we promised when we started the show October 22, 2024, we're going to, for the first time in our careers, be able to, you know, talk to you, the audience and, and be able to explain our process. And we're going to keep walking you through where we are at every step. So next Monday, it's going to be where we are in the evaluations, what positions. We're still working on grinding away to try to get this, this draft book, if you will, done by the first week in April and then on Thursday, Mach 2.0. That's a big one, Mitch. We had to wait. I wanted to do it this week, but, like, that's because I'm stupid and I've always had good producers and people around me say, telling me, like, what fires to walk into and what fires to walk around. And so why, why, like, I could have literally done a mock draft last night and now all of a sudden, Gino Smith is.

[Mitch]

You would be pulling your hair out right now.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah, Gino's in, in Vegas. DK Metcalf's in Pittsburgh. Williams is new in New England. I would have had Mason, Mason Graham going there, right? So wisely. Connor and Dan and Tucker and, and the crew told me, hey, slow down, big fella, slow down.

[Mitch]

Let's.

[Todd McShay]

Let's release it next Thursday. That'll give us some time. That'll give us a full week of free agency. And at that point, yeah, that second tier and second wave of free agents comes through. But, but at that Point. We'll have a really good feel of where the. The biggest names have gone or are set to go. Thanks for joining us. We appreciate it. We appreciate the support. I always beg, Mitch. Why don't you beg this time?

[Mitch]

Listen, whatever it takes. If you like us, please hit the submit but the. The like button and the subscribe button. And if you don't but you want to take pity on us, please do the same.

[Todd McShay]

So that's well said.

[Mitch]

That was not the smoothest ever.

[Todd McShay]

No, it wasn't smooth, but it was well said. When you finally got it out, it was genuine. I appreciate it.

[Mitch]

We're in. That sales pitch.

[Todd McShay]

Where do you want to start? Let's start with next. Yeah, keep an eye on it. I don't have the TV on. I'm trying to focus. I'm trying to, you know, captain the ship a little bit. Let's start with Geno because I think there's. To me, Geno Smith leaving Seattle, going to. To Las Vegas. Pete Carroll and obviously Tom Brady with minority ownership, but. But a huge hand in all of this. Let's start with Gino there and we can work our way back to Seattle. We could talk about DK Metcalf. We could talk about Miles Garrett. We'll talk about the jets, what they're looking at at quarterback. We're going to talk about Pittsburgh, their new wide receiver room, what their quarterback situation and interests are. New England flurry of moves. Harold Landry, Morgan Moses, Milton Williams, Carlton Davis. That team's getting. Getting pretty good. And Tucker just told me right now. Oh, oh, Tucker, you son of a gun.

[Mitch]

We're just getting bombs.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah, two Tucker bombs. That's a new thing. Tucker bombs.

[Mitch]

Tucker bombs.

[Todd McShay]

Yes, two Tucker bombs right now. Darnold to Seattle is confirmed. And I. I wrote an entire article today about how I knew that that was the plan. If you. By the way, the McShay report. Appreciate your support. Google it, please. Just the McShay report. And you'll see we're doing. Some of them are free, some of them are paid. I get it. Yell at me all you want. Yell at Mensch. Here's the deal. A lot of people are signing up. A lot of people that I appreciate are. Are chipping in four bucks to get through this draft. A whole lot of people are chipping in 36 bucks doubling down to get through this year's draft, all of next season, our complete off season as we start start Preparing the top 150 for next year's draft and the entire 2026 draft. Choose as you may, you can subscribe and just get the free stuff. And today you got some gold. Because we talked about the, we talked about Gino the why. We talked about John Schneider the why. And I, I, I told you if you got it this morning at 9:00am I told you the Sam, that Sam Darnold's the, the why behind letting Gino go. So let's get into all this stuff now. But again, appreciate your, your support. Please just subscribe. Check it out for free, see if you like it. If you do, chip in four bucks and 36 for next year's draft. Google the McShay Report. All right, now I feel like we got a lot and also the other tuck bomb. Three years. Three years. 110 million for Milton Williams to New England. They've got money like they've got money just flowing out of Gillette Stadium right now.

[Mitch]

I wasn't sure they were going to spend it though. And they are. They're getting out of the gate.

[Todd McShay]

Man wanted to spend it. I was starting to worry for if you're a Patriots fan, are they going to be able to spend it on the right assets? Because it seems like some of the big, big names want warmer weather, better contender and we'll get to dk. If your thing was warm weather and contender, you're now going to a place arguably similar weather. Pittsburgh versus Foxborough, Massachusetts. And you're also going to a place. Yeah, they're more of a contender in Pittsburgh. There's no question about it. They don't have a quarterback. Yeah, we'll get to all that. Oh, three tuck bomb. We need some music. Maybe we'll put it in post. If you hear music, it means we didn't have it. When, when we tape this thing and it's going to go, go live in just a couple hours. Three years, 110 million for Sam. Darn. Let's go there.

[Mitch]

Okay.

[Todd McShay]

We'll get back. Let's go.

[Mitch]

Be like this today, right?

[Todd McShay]

It's just gonna be like that, this. And I love it. I love the energy, I love the feel. It reminds me of being on with like Mike and Mike years ago and like I'd be on with, with Greenie and Golic and, and Greenie was all like everything was so urgent because, because the news and the trickle down effects and I loved it. I love the feel and that's how it feels today. All right. Geno Smith, John Schneider. I've known John schneider for about 20 years now. Okay. Worked with Jim Nagy, our good friend who we work Worked with early in our careers. They started out in Green Bay. Okay. That's where they became friends. I met John through. Through Jim Nagy and have known him ever since. Have a great deal of respect. I could separate. I mean, we're not best of friends. I'm not like. It's not like Joe Douglas. I didn't go to college. I. I know John. I've studied John just like I study a lot of these other guys, the general managers in the NFL. And I have a great deal of respect for him because of his emphasis coming from that Green Bay, Green Bay organization, on building an organization, building a roster through the draft, plucking free agents where you need them. I think he's taken the Green Bay model and advanced it. Okay. I go back to. To what made Seattle that Super bowl run. They had the super bowl back in 2013. If you go back and look at it, I go back to when he came on in 2010, what he was able to build. If you go back and study 2010-2011-2012-2013. He had nine draft picks in 2010. Nine draft picks in 2011. Eleven, I think it was in 2012, and 10 in 2013. It was something like that.

[Mitch]

Wow.

[Todd McShay]

In his entire career there, and it's been now, you know, 15 years or so, decade and a half, he has only had one year where. Where he. Fewer than eight draft picks. Like most GMs, a believer in. In the currency, more picks is. Is usually better than the higher picks, you know, and so he. He built that organization and he built the super bowl championship with the NFL draft. Okay. And so what. What this. The moves he's made have signaled to me and it should be. It should be stated Geno Smith, they offered him a contract. I don't know the exact details. There's reports out there could have been a couple. Couple years, three years. My understanding is it was not even countered. Okay. I think Gino loves Seattle, did a lot of great things for. In. In Seattle, but Gino saw an opportunity to go work again with Pete Carroll. Tom Brady, I'm sure, had a say in all that. And we'll get to the Geno Smith Raiders aspect of it, but John Schneider did this after making an attempt to bring back Gino, who's vastly underrated as a quarterback. Right after making that attempt, it was okay, let's save $31 million on the cap. Let's free it up cap space and looking. Looking, you know, forward to the position. Geno's, I think, kind of criminally undervalued that is one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL. If you go by some like analytics or ranks, it's like around 30, I think just eyeball test and watching and studying. It's. It's in the bottom five in the NFL. And so to put up 4, 000 yards or 8, 000 yards, I should say the last two years combined and, and 41, 42 touchdowns and, and to have a better than two to one touchdown interception ratio with that offensive line is pretty damn good. Yeah, but, but Geno exits and we'll get back to Gino. Now you freed up 31 million. Now DK Metcalf exits, goes, goes to Pittsburgh and we'll get to that situation with the Steelers. I looked at this and said, all right, what's John up to? And I haven't talked to him about this, but what's John up to? Right.

[Mitch]

There's a lot of math involved right now because.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah, I know, but, but freeing up. Let's just put this. Freeing up a lot of money. And in return, you know, losing, losing. And, and they let Tyler Lockett go too.

[Mitch]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

Now you've lost two key pieces of two of your three receivers and your starting quarterback. So it's like if you're a Seahawks fan, you're like, holy, like the sky is falling. Are we totally rebuilding? And the answer is no. The answer is this. This is, this is smart roster management. And I think John's going back and I'll be interested when I talk to him. When I talk to him and just. I'll be interested to see what he's saying. I think John's going back and looking at this and saying, you know what, we built this thing from scratch back in 2010-2013. And I'm not looking at a three year rebuild, but it may take one year of winning, but you know, maybe it's 8, 9, 10 wins this year for the following year. Maybe that's what it requires. But I'm going to load up on draft picks and I'm going to do so in the middle rounds where this year's class because of COVID nil transfer portal. All three of those things. Like the perfect storm. You lived up in Gloucester for a while. Gloucester, Massachusetts. The perfect storm. Remember that storm growing up?

[Mitch]

Yeah, yeah.

[Todd McShay]

It was a monster because all. There were three different factors that created the perfect storm. Well, those three factors create the perfect storm for this year's draft class. Right. And while it's not great at the top, talk to any decision maker, anyone in the NFL. My goodness, it's deep. Remember talking to a couple of our guys in. In Mobile. What do they say about Ole Miss?

[Mitch]

Loaded.

[Todd McShay]

But. But also that Normally it's like 12, 13, 14 guys. Summer, right?

[Mitch]

Yeah, 45, 50 guys. Yeah. That they were going in and looking at.

[Todd McShay]

And 30 that they expected to be in this year's draft.

[Mitch]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

And so you're almost doubling the quantity. And so that. That's going to lead to a very deep class. It may not be the talent level at the top, but this year's classes is loaded rounds. 2, 3, 4, and I would say even into five. Well, so what has he done? He's added. He's got five picks now in the top 100, right?

[Mitch]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

Five picks, pick 18 overall in the first. Two picks in the second, 50 and 52. Two picks in the third, 82 and 92. So five picks in the top 92. Yes. And I, I believe it's nine picks overall. We can update that. But I believe it's nine picks overall. It's the same guy, John schneider, who drafted eight Pro Bowlers over his first three drafts. Remember those numbers, like nine, nine and. And 10 or 11 the next year. Loading up on draft picks. That's what he's doing. Again, I get. So. Okay, go ahead.

[Mitch]

You just spent. You spent all this money on Darnold and you already hit on it. No locket, no Metcalf, you got jsn. And then. I don't know. I don't really know. And so you're hoping that you're going to bring in these receivers and they're going to hit the ground running, which they could. You're going to get some good receivers in that range. If you want to take a receiver in the second round, I think they can get a pretty good receiver there. Then you got two. I mean, I. Sam Darnold had some weapons in Minnesota. Right. I'm pretty sure he had some guys to throw to, and I know he had that great year. And then the wheels kind of came off on the end.

[Todd McShay]

J.J. addison. Yeah.

[Mitch]

If I'm. Listen, I'm. I'm, you know, pessimistic Steve, or whatever you call me. I'm a little cynical. Yeah, cynical Steve. I'm a little nervous. If I'm a Seahawks fan, I think they have every right to be a little bit nervous. I mean, Minnesota, you know, I think they would have brought back Darnold for the right number and all that, but I, you know, the way that ended wasn't great. Now he's Going somewhere where I don't know what the weapons are. We'll see. Gre's gonna get some. And in, In Schneider we trust. I get all of that. But today I'm wondering what that fan base, how excited they are about Darnold. Now, I will say this, the same thing about what Schneider did with the draft. He also brought in a guy in Geno Smith who, you know is a former first round pick that a lot of people had kind of given up on. And Darnold's kind of had a similar path and a guy that, you know, had a rough start where he started and has kind of resurrected his career. And you're getting younger there. So they've shown that they can do this.

[Todd McShay]

That's the whole thing, though.

[Mitch]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get it, I get it. I'm still a little anxious.

[Todd McShay]

Yes. And, and again, like, I, I believe in Geno Smith. I'm, I'm in that, in the, the camp of Geno Smith. I truly, I think he is one of the more underrated quarterbacks in the league. I'm not saying he's top five, top seven in the league, but I'm saying he's. He's in the top 10 somewhere in that range. And I think most people would look at him like, yeah, he's middle of the pack. I think he's better than that.

[Mitch]

Right.

[Todd McShay]

Sam Darnold played like one of the top five, six quarterbacks in the league last year until the last couple weeks. And is that a factor? Yeah, and that's probably why I didn't get 45 million a year in this deal. He gets 36 just shy of 37 million per year. Okay, good for him. But here's, here's the deal, bud. If you're, if you're reloading, not, not rebuilding, not, you know, scrap metal and all that stuff, but if you're reloading with an eye, probably for 20, 26, you went from 34 years old to 27 years old.

[Mitch]

I love that part of it.

[Todd McShay]

Sam Darnold's been in the league forever. He's been with 95 different teams. He's only 27.

[Mitch]

I know. It's a good point because I'm not sure people realize that when they look at how he's bounced around. He's a young cat man for a quarterback with that much experience.

[Todd McShay]

And despite the last two games, he's coming off a year with a lot of confidence. He, he now, he now knows he's one of the guys. So he comes in here with a Fresh start. And he doesn't have the same wide receivers. Agreed. But now he's got his home. This is it for the long term. That was always, yeah, I'm, I'm here. I got one year to prove it. And then they just drafted J.J. mcCarthy. Right. So now he's got his home. I think the critical thing too is there was a plan A, and that was Sam Darnold when they let Gino go. Plan A was Sam Darnold. I know that.

[Mitch]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

And they just executed. And I wrote it this morning. It came out at 9am I wrote, actually wrote it last night with Dan. Dan was up real late last night. And I appreciate you, Dan. I know you're sitting right behind the wall right now, but like, and I'm sitting in, in my bedroom on a chair coming back from going down to the Cape and a bunch of stuff and getting back late at night and I'm like, we got to go through the Schneider stuff. We got like, this is what's happening. Okay. And so that was out there this morning. We put that out in the McShay Report this morning. And, and so plan A was executed. That's a right. Because plan B was maybe Aaron Rodgers or like a stopgap one year guy, which means you were back in the quarterback market. And I wrote about that too in the McShay report because it isn't going to be Cam Ward. It's probably not going to be Shador Sanders. So now we're talking about some of the second tier guys. Is Jackson Dart available? Is he a guy that you want? So it was. So plan B had multiple facets. It had two facets. Sam Darnold tears up any quarterback need you have.

[Mitch]

Yes.

[Todd McShay]

Remember they brought in Sam Howell. Right. So they got, they have a very competent backup. And now they've got their starter for the next minimum three years in Sam Darnold. So now it's like all systems go. So what it. So let's advance it.

[Mitch]

Okay.

[Todd McShay]

What, what do the Seahawks need? Wide receiver, obviously.

[Mitch]

Right.

[Todd McShay]

They pick at 18. Matthew golden would, would be a great addition.

[Mitch]

Would love to see that.

[Todd McShay]

And now you get, you got jsn, Jackson Smith in Jigba and, and Matthew golden. And who knows, Maybe it's Ted McMillan. Maybe they like him. Maybe John likes him more than I do. A little bit more.

[Mitch]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

Now you get an X to compliment jsn.

[Mitch]

Yep.

[Todd McShay]

But it doesn't have to be there because we just told you they've got one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL.

[Mitch]

Right.

[Todd McShay]

So so it could be Tyler Booker the guard from Alabama. It could be Kelvin Banks the tackle from Texas.

[Mitch]

Yep.

[Todd McShay]

Right.

[Mitch]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

Because. Because, because Abram Lucas and Charles Cross are free agents next year. So maybe it's. It's draft a tackle, kick him in the guard for a year, bump him up to tackle.

[Mitch]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

You know what I mean? So I think in 18 is kind of the sweet spot for this offensive line. Remember leagues, People I talked to in the league kept telling me Tyler Booker. Two things of Tyler Booker, the Alabama guard, highest character player in this draft. And he's going a lot higher than you think. I thought he was going to go, you know, mid first, kind of like that 15 to 23 range. So maybe he's not there anymore.

[Mitch]

Tucker bomb.

[Todd McShay]

Tucker. Oh no. What?

[Mitch]

Tucker bomb.

[Todd McShay]

I. What did I, what did I tell you? What did I tell you right before we came on?

[Mitch]

You have called all of these correctly so far.

[Todd McShay]

I told, I told you and Connor and Dan and, and Eduardo and everyone else who's on our call. And Tucker who's just dropping bombs today. Shefter better watch out. We get. We got a new sheriff in town. Meanwhile, he's just reporting everything he reads from Chef. Good.

[Mitch]

Chef, you reported.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah, but, but 30 million guaranteed. Justin Fields, two year deal. $40 million deal, but 30 guaranteed. Okay. I said before we came on. I have a source quarterback that I, I felt strongly that I said. I. What I said to the group before we came on was I, I don't know if they're going to get a deal done, but I know Justin Fields apparently is in Dubai and I also know that there actually is real interest there. So whether a deal gets done or not, Pittsburgh's still in play. But I can confirm that the jets that there's interest. Okay. Fascinating. It's moving fast.

[Mitch]

Fascinating.

[Todd McShay]

It's moving fast.

[Mitch]

Also kind of suggest that the. That these teams don't love the top of the quarterback market outside. I mean they may all love Cam Ward, but they might feel like we're not getting Cam Ward. So you know, and they might. And that clearly after Shador, because Shador might be gone by those time those guys picked anyways too. So they're going out and being aggressive about getting maybe.

[Todd McShay]

And maybe the love isn't there for Shador.

[Mitch]

Maybe. Listen, I. His tape. This, his tape in 2023 is better than his 2024 tape. And I keep going back to that. I really like the player I saw in 2023 a lot more than the player I saw in 2024 just gonna be upfront about that, so we'll see. It only takes one team. We say that all the time. But, you know, I don't know if.

[Todd McShay]

I completely agree with that. I. I will say this. I. I thought. Let's take. I. I think we're gonna have a quarterback discussion. I believe it starts next. Maybe next Monday. We're gonna do a series where we actually dive deep into all the positions and, And. And kind of go through what we're. What We've watched for 15 months now and how.

[Mitch]

Like.

[Todd McShay]

But. But I, I'll. I. The highs were really high this year. The lows. The lows were frustratingly low because you. Because there's some things where it's like. I thought we were past this. Okay. Regardless, I totally agree with that assessment. Man. This quarterback class is. We've known this for months. We've known this since the day that last year's draft wrapped up and we started looking ahead to this year's class. And then we knew even more so when Carson Beck didn't have the year that we expected him to have and when Garrett Nussmeier played great in moments, but. But it didn't sustain it and made the smart decision to go back to school. And now we're looking at Carson Beck and Nussmeier. Nussmeier potentially is QB1 next year. So, yeah, we've known this and we've seen the writing on the wall, but it is fascinating because remember The jets picket 7, the Raiders pick at 6. The Raiders are still in the QB rookie business. I agree, but without the urgency. Right. And again, we'll get to all this in a second. Let's finish up on Seattle. It's coming in fast. I love this. So I. I just mentioned some names. Tyler Booker. Guard Kelvin Banks. Texas tackle Matthew Golden. Texas wide receiver Teo McMillan. Arizona wide receiver, pick 18 for Seattle. Those are some spots, some players that I think that they could address with that pick. Day two, though. Remember I mentioned they've got four picks on day two. What was it? 50, 52, 82 and 92. I'll throw in some names for you.

[Mitch]

Okay.

[Todd McShay]

Offensive tackle Ursary Ariante.

[Mitch]

Yep.

[Todd McShay]

Ariante from Minnesota. William and Mary. William and Mary. Developmental prospect. A lot of athleticism. When you got two tackles that are up for free agency a year from now and have not played to the level that you expected with the draft picks you used on them. I think a developmental guy like Charles Grant from William and Mary on day two could be more than second round for me, but Yeah, I totally agree.

[Mitch]

Okay.

[Todd McShay]

I can't pronounce his name. Arizona guard Jonah Savanea Sabanea. Sacramento State guard Jackson Slater. I mean these are if you're casual fan like you're not going to know these names but all these guys are date. If you're a day two offensive lineman, there's obviously talent there. I think the best center in this year's class, Jared Wilson, they could legitimately, legitimately spend three of their those five picks in the top 100 on the offensive line. They need, they need upgraded guard, upgraded center and they need a contingency plan slash competition looking towards the future at offensive tackle. So that to me good.

[Mitch]

I don't see them doing. They're going to need another, they're going to need a tight end. I think they, they're going to need another pass catcher. I think they need to go out and get it.

[Todd McShay]

Oh yeah. Trey Harrison in round two. Jalen Royals from Utah State. Should he take two receivers in the.

[Mitch]

In. In. Yeah, you're gonna, you're probably, they're probably gonna take two receivers or receivers in.

[Todd McShay]

The draft and I can see them taking two receivers. I could see them taking two to three offensive linemen. This still leaves them with four or five other picks.

[Mitch]

If you got golden at 18 and you got Harris in the second. I am fired up, man. I am fired up about that receipt.

[Todd McShay]

All right, well let's switch over to Gino then. That's the plan though for Schneider and, and the big, the biggest key was to not have to be in the quarterback market for a second tier quarterback while you sat for a year with, with a, an Aaron Rodgers, you know, coming in and all the stuff that comes with Aaron and all the media hype and, and knowing like you're gambling on one year's one year with the Achilles first year back at 42 or whatever the age will be next year that he's going to be able to rekindle some of the, the magic.

[Mitch]

You're not ready to bring Russ back dangerous.

[Todd McShay]

So Geno Smith, Raiders. I already told you, vastly underrated. Why? Why though? Why is the question. My answer is it totally fits. Pete Carroll is not a spring chicken. Pete Carroll is not interested in some like three year rebuild. Pete Carroll is going to look at this year and this organization as we're going to build a culture. We're going to get our schemes in place and we need a quarterback who's going to be there and can win games for us. We're going to protect him better and we'll get to how they do that. We're going to protect him better than he was protected in Seattle. We don't have the weapons he had in Seattle, but we're going to try to, to upgrade that and we're going to be a damn good defensive football team. They were pretty good last year on defense. A little bit better than middle of the pack. Okay. And so let's, let's do some winning. Let's finally start winning again in Las Vegas with the Raiders. And then in 2026, let's actually make a run. I think that's kind of the mindset. I mean, they're super bowl or bus in 2025. I get it. That's always. It's everyone's mantra. But behind closed doors when they have these meetings for the Raiders, it's like we need to start winning. We need to build a culture. We need to know this is a destination. This is a place you come to win football.

[Mitch]

Yeah, it's a Seattle model. Right. You have a steady hand at quarterback who can, you know, runs, executes the offense at a high level, but is maybe not the best quarterback in the league. And then you have that great defense. It's the same. It's a Seattle model in my mind.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah.

[Mitch]

Defensive line with, with. They just paid.

[Todd McShay]

Why am I. Crosby.

[Mitch]

Yeah, they just paid Crosby what he should have been paid. He's unbelievable.

[Todd McShay]

What he deserved.

[Mitch]

Christian Wilkins last year. I mean that defensive line is legit, man. I mean they're going to build that defensive line. You know, they'll play that scheme. They'll get the right guys on the back end to play that scheme and then you have that steady handed quarterback.

[Todd McShay]

But unlike the Seattle situation where I just told you Schneider when Carol was in Seattle situation. Right. I'm saying unlike the current Seattle situation where we just walked through how Sam Darnold at 27 years old puts an end to any talk and thought process on needing to draft a quarterback in the first two days of this year's draft. Right, Right. That's not the deal for the Raiders. I don't see them at pick number six. And let's get into pick number six in a minute. I don't see them at pick number six having interest in a quarterback even if Shador is there.

[Mitch]

Okay. It makes sense to me. I think you, when you make, when you make this move, you basically said you're declaring you're making a different pick at 6 than quarterback.

[Todd McShay]

Yes and no. I don't know that you definitively are. If the guy that they're in love with is there. I think you would take him because. Because Gino's 34 and this is the factor in it. I truly believe Tom Brady is. Is on like one of his many things that he's doing post retirement broadcasting. Minority ownership with a heavy hand in it. Noble, by the way. Noble. The. He's a sponsor for Noble.

[Mitch]

Okay.

[Todd McShay]

They sent me some gear. They've sponsored a couple of our episodes.

[Mitch]

Nice.

[Todd McShay]

That's that hoodie I wore the other day. They sent me some sneaker. We need to get mention gear. Let's get the big fellas some Noble gear. It is no Bull. I love it. I never worn it before. I absolutely love it. But he's. He's. He's in. He's got the TB12 nutrition. He's part of that group. So he's doing a lot of different things obviously. But. But he's definitely one of his. I don't know, striking on the word. One of his missions with it. Yeah. Passion projects is the quarterback development. It drives him crazy and I think that comes from the broadcasting, from watching tape, seeing other places in the league, seeing some young quarterbacks get thrown in the fire who are not being developed properly. We can have a whole show on it and I'm sure we will in the off season. Now's not the time. He's committed to that. And so if you're going to go on all these different shows and, and wearing the no Bull T shirt and, and repping and sponsoring. But also with a. Utilizing the platform to drive that home, he's gonna. You gotta walk the walk too.

[Mitch]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

And so walking the walk is. We just brought in a 34 year old quarterback. This is a perfect opportunity. It's not going to be Shador. Let's just.

[Mitch]

It's not. Cam Ward's not going to be there. I mean is there a guy.

[Todd McShay]

Cam Ward's not going to be there at 6 and so is there a.

[Mitch]

Guy that you think they could be in love with at 6 that they would maybe take?

[Todd McShay]

No. No, no, no.

[Mitch]

Okay.

[Todd McShay]

I just want to get it out there. I. I believe through information I've gotten. I don't think that it's going to be the marriage between. And I thought for a while it might be because he was a mentor and he is a mentor, however that works. And maybe I'm dead wrong, but I just reading some of the tea leaves. I don't know that that Shador at 6 is, is going to be the answer. I don't think there's going to be a marriage there. We'll see what happens.

[Mitch]

But they still didn't get one.

[Todd McShay]

But it's kind of like when I told you I think Justin Fields is real to the jets and plan A is. Is Sam Darnold. So I'm pausing on this to let it soak in. I don't think Shador is going six to the Raiders. So advance that round two, right. They pick it what, 42. 40. The Raiders are at 40. No, sorry, 37. So the 37th overall pick, do they move back into the first to get a Jackson dart? Probably not, because they gotta. They want to start doing some winning. Is it Tyler Shuck there or the name that I was told when I was at the combine and it doesn't take a super sleuth to figure this out. Well, but like, it was kind of driven home, like, keep an eye on Will Howard. Raiders keep an eye on that. And it just makes sense. And these, these conversations I was having, they're not like earth shattering, but to hear it from people who are talking to people who. You know what I mean?

[Mitch]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

That. That thing's real. And it's in the way it was explained to me was again, I could have figured it out on my own and had my own theories on it, but the way it was driven home was go check out 2022 tape, 2023 tape at Kansas State for Will Howard, then watch 2024, then really watch the last like three, four games after Michigan.

[Mitch]

He had an unbelievable run in the playoff, man.

[Todd McShay]

So. So if I'm Chip Kelly, I'm like, hey, guys, in round three, or let's. Let's identify where it is that hot spot is because they might be higher on. On Will than some other teams. So if it's trademacking a late two, if it's staying home in the third round, wherever that is, if he's available. My understanding from talking to people in the league is look at what, look at what we were able to do with him in. In less than a year. And look, look at where he got anticipating throws. Yeah, he had. Yes. Best wide receivers in the country. Yes. Best supporting cast and football team in the country. No question about it. But he came a long way, he's mature, he's been through wars. And most of this was repeated to me over and over again. They trust him. Chip absolutely trusts this young man. And there's a relationship there. The verbiage is the same. So you pick up like running, you know.

[Mitch]

Right. Yeah. You hit the ground running, hit the Ground running makes it.

[Todd McShay]

So that's fascinating to me. So now, now we're not looking at that six pick we've got at the quarterback who's got at least two years left in them, maybe three or four. And we can develop a quarterback on the back end. And if Will comes in or Tyler Shuck or whoever it is, if you bring him in as a day two pick and you're not paying him any money and you don't feel like they've advanced far enough, then you, then you go draft one next year.

[Mitch]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

You know, but Brady's going to, I promise you this, Tom Brady is going to make sure this organization brings in a quarterback that it believes in and develops them behind Geno Smith. That's what this whole thing is all about. Let's do some winning now. Let's build for 20, 26. But in the meantime we're bringing in a quarterback to develop properly the way that Tom believes college quarterback should be developed to the NFL.

[Mitch]

So who they getting at six?

[Todd McShay]

Why don't you take us there? I've been talking too much.

[Mitch]

I, I think you had it in the, in the newsletter. Jaylen Walker, right? Did you have Jaylen Walker? Man, that makes.

[Todd McShay]

Talk about two guys. Two guys I put in this and I want to get your reactions to it. Ashton Jinty, if they don't go the veteran route with Anaji and I've heard some rumblings about that. Or with the J.K. dobbins. Ginty makes a ton of sense. We keep saying he's going the top 10, but where, where are we going to fit him in? That makes sense.

[Mitch]

I love Ash and Genti, man, I just don't.

[Todd McShay]

And Jalen Walker's the other one, so go, go where you want.

[Mitch]

I love Ash and Genti. I just. Man, that's early for any running back. Any running back, that's early for me. Whereas Jalen Walker is tailor made for a Pete Carroll scheme. He is tailor made to play that Leo that could play on the line, play off the line. Perfect fit. You put him opposite of Max Crosby and all of a sudden, I mean, watch out. And then Christian Wilkins on the inside. It's just what we talked about.

[Todd McShay]

What do you want to do, man? Cliff, you want to build.

[Mitch]

You have a steady guy, steady handed quarterback, that offense moves the ball, score some points and then you have that defense and you have guys that are closers and you have Crosby as a closer and then you could potentially have Jalen Walker in that same kind of man. I just keep thinking about it you're gonna. All the attention you're gonna have to give Max Crosby and then you're gonna go one on one with Jalen Walker on the other side.

[Todd McShay]

Just so people understand. Keep going. Sorry.

[Mitch]

It's all there.

[Todd McShay]

Well they. The defensive coordinator. They retain Patrick Graham. The Raiders did okay.

[Mitch]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

So he started. He got his feet wet with the Patriots. Did a lot of winning there. Okay. So. So hybrid defensive front three, four four three so people understand it's not. It's not the same scheme. The Legion of Boom is not the same scheme by any stretch with Pete's. But it. But Pete's and it and evolved over time where it was more kind of 3-443-Hybrid, but ultimately it was always a hybrid. It was. It was a 43 front but with that Leo who could play a hybrid role. Okay. And they different body types and different players and like Clemens and so like. But hybrid is important so you can be multiple and versatile and counter at different fronts and different personnel groupings. Right. And Jalen Walker is the epitome of that.

[Mitch]

They move in different ways but they're getting the end result is going to be the same about what they want to do in terms of fronts.

[Todd McShay]

Genti is more of a luxury pick and I don't know that they're in the luxury business right now. But I'll say this. Genti set the all time record of PFF for four missed force tackles.

[Mitch]

He's got a billion carries. I love Genti.

[Todd McShay]

His. Okay. His missed tackle, missed tackles force percentage was the highest of everyone in the country too. So if you want to play that game, I'll. I'll. You know that tick that tic tac. I'll play. I'll play it back with you. He's five eight and a half, 211 pounds, tightly packed. His contact balance is sensational.

[Mitch]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

His.

[Mitch]

His vision, his acceleration to Kamara for good reason, man. Like they are. They are not these big bats. God, they're tough to tackle.

[Todd McShay]

Catches the ball well. Tackle. He's not McCaffrey catching the ball. But. But he catches the ball really well. Exactly. Good. And pass pro. He can do it all.

[Mitch]

Yeah. Love the player. Love.

[Todd McShay]

Love the. Love the player. Don't know this is the time and the place for it but I. But I do think it will be in consideration depending on what they're looking for and who's on the board. I. I think to me Jalen Walker makes a lot of sense. But this is the first spot that Genti could come off the board. Reasonably, if it's not a trade, I believe. Right.

[Mitch]

Yeah. I mean, that's crazy we're saying that about a running back, but he's. He's that good of a prospect and they have that much of a need, so it does make some sense. Again, I wouldn't do it.

[Todd McShay]

Okay, let's look at some other things real quick. They need offensive line help. They need an upgrade. Armand Menboo, you're very high on. I'm high on him, too.

[Mitch]

This could be willing to go four, then I'm willing to go at six, so.

[Todd McShay]

Right, right. This would be the, I think, the second most reasonable spot. But Membo could theoretically go New England. We'll get to New England. A lot of moves today. And Tucker, Tucker's feeling himself now. Now he's. Now he's throwing some beast mode 2.0 with Genti and Pete Carroll. Okay, I like it. But the Raiders, like, if they bring in Memboo, if they draft member at number six, now, we get an immediate upgrade over a player they need to upgrade in DJ Glaze at right tackle. So that would make sense. So Jalen Walker, and then he's got.

[Mitch]

A pretty good edge and a pretty good running back.

[Todd McShay]

Genty would make sense. Member would make sense. And as you've said on this show before a couple times, you don't. You think there's. You're not saying it's not going to happen. You think there's a more. It's much more likely than just about everybody out there. The Travis Hunter's not going in the top five. You stand by that?

[Mitch]

I do, because we go through the scenarios. It's not that I don't think he's a top five player in this draft. I think it's the position. I think it's the way. I mean, look, corners I know go top five. We've seen this before. We've seen two corners go in the top five in classes. But I just think when you're trying to build. Build a roster, you start inside out and you're looking at these teams and what they need, and it's offensive lineman, it's quarterback, it's edge. I think it's going to push some of these offensive tackles higher than people think. And I think that you look at that situation, he falls out, he could fall out of the top five. It's nothing about the player. It's about the reality. It's not about my top 32 because he's definitely. He's a top three player in this draft.

[Todd McShay]

So what About Hunter. What about Hunter? If he's still available at 6 is where I'm going with this.

[Mitch]

I. I would.

[Todd McShay]

They need a corner. They need a wide receiver.

[Mitch]

You're taking the best available player, too.

[Todd McShay]

So now I'm upgrading both positions and. And hopefully, you know, probably corner a little bit more than wide receiver. Wide receiver may be, whatever it is, 20 to 40 snaps per game, maybe four to five, whatever the touches and snap amount is. But you are upgrading wide receiver with this quarterback you just brought in. And you're. You're upgrading corner, both positions of need.

[Mitch]

Don't hate it.

[Todd McShay]

They got options at 6, man. If Hunter's there, that's. That's legit. Jinty feels like a luxury, but it certainly could help. This could be a run run. First team geno play action, right.

[Mitch]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

Lean on the defense and Jalen Walker fits. It's. It would be a really unique chess piece for. For Graham, the defensive coordinator and Carol as they kind of merge all the. The. Their hybrid, you know, four, three. Leo, three. Four. Because he was with the Giants too. Graham was. Is a defensive.

[Mitch]

Chip Kelly had some pretty good backs at Ohio State. I mean, he might be interested in. In getting a guy like that.

[Todd McShay]

He loves running the football.

[Mitch]

So.

[Todd McShay]

So he loves running the football. We saw it.

[Mitch]

It's a good. It's a good spot.

[Todd McShay]

They had Trayvon. Trayvon Henderson. They went out and spent a million or 2 million or whatever the number was in. In college version of free agency, the transfer portal to go get Quinton Judkins. That's how important that position is to Chip and his offense. Right. So there's a lot to think about there. That six pick that could kind of be the swing pick in this draft. We know quarterbacks going one or two. Shador is going to be fascinating. Does he go three to the Giants or does he start to slide? We'll get to New England in a minute. Jacksonville, we feel good. Like they could really use Mason Graham.

[Mitch]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

If he's there at 5.

[Mitch]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

And then all of a sudden it gets real interesting because now we've got. We got really damn good football players and Jinty Walker, Membu, and potentially Travis Hunter still available. Mitch, I'm telling you, this is. I love this.

[Mitch]

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[Todd McShay]

I'm ready for my life to change. ABC Sundays American Idol is all new. Give it your all.

[Mitch]

Good luck.

[Todd McShay]

Come up the golden ticket.

[Mitch]

Let's hear it. This is a man's world. I've never seen anything like it.

[Todd McShay]

And a new chapter begins. Carrie Underwood joins Lionel Richie, Luke Bryant and Ryan Seacrest on American Idol News Sundays 8, 7 Central on ABC and stream on Hulu. All right, so that's that. So then, then we get the news at DK Met Metcalf is gone. And we already kind of talked about that from the, we talked a lot about that from the Seattle angle, but not the Pittsburgh angle.

[Mitch]

Right.

[Todd McShay]

Here's what's let's talk about it from the DK angle because I've told that.

[Mitch]

This is, this is heavily his mind right now.

[Todd McShay]

Agent driven. But also I just think it's hysterical. Right. And maybe the information was incorrect, but a lot of information coming out in the league was it was really important to him. It's not deal breaker but it's really important to him. Warm weather and contender. And so you started Houston. I, I, I heard that that was real but Houston went insigned. Christian Kirk, what that couldn't, couldn't go in that direction financially or however, however that played out.

[Mitch]

Then you heard the probably thinking I already got Nigo. I'm not going to invest in this much money. And, and you know, so it's Nico.

[Todd McShay]

And Christian Kirk and obviously now Tank Dell may be out the season.

[Mitch]

We'll see.

[Todd McShay]

But, but then so dk, so there's a lot of talk here in New England that DK is the guy. Vrabel has been very clear that it's critical for him to have a big physical x wide receiver for a multitude of reasons.

[Mitch]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

And DK seemed to be the target. And then all of a sudden news breaks. So New England was, was rumored to be. I'm telling you, a lot of people in the league thought because of the money, yeah, DK to New England. But then all this information started coming out about warm weather and, and contender.

[Mitch]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

And then he chooses Pittsburgh. I'll give you contender.

[Mitch]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

But you chose I would argue, I mean Pittsburgh's weather is no better, probably worse than New England.

[Mitch]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

And number two. Yeah, they're not a contender. They weren't a contender 24 hours ago. And they're still not a defined contender. But they may be a playoff contender this year if they keep making moves the way they are and if they draft well and you're going to Pittsburgh. They don't have a quarterback.

[Mitch]

Right.

[Todd McShay]

They don't have a quarter.

[Mitch]

What are you thinking?

[Todd McShay]

You got Drake May. You can, you know, anytime.

[Mitch]

Mike Tomlin. As long as Mike Tomlin's the head coach there, I think they're a contender. I just think.

[Todd McShay]

Oh, they absolutely are.

[Mitch]

I just think he's that good of a head coach.

[Todd McShay]

You know how I feel about Mike Tomlin.

[Mitch]

You need, but you need a quarterback, man. Like, that's, I mean, that's obvious, right? Like Mike Tomlin could be.

[Todd McShay]

So let's get into this ever grace the planet.

[Mitch]

And if he doesn't have a quarterback, I don't know what you're doing.

[Todd McShay]

You don't let Justin Fields go unless you got a plan and, and unless you've decided we like Justin, but we're not ready to commit our organization to the Justin Field show. You gave him an opportunity. Go ahead.

[Mitch]

Do they want to have him back? And it didn't. They weren't unable to get that deal done. I thought that was, that was the situation. Maybe I'm wrong.

[Todd McShay]

You're not wrong, but I think that they wanted him back at a certain number because maybe they weren't. If they were totally sold that, that that Fields was a guy, they would have stuck with him at quarterback last year. Yeah.

[Mitch]

If your Fields, you're like, hey, man, you guys, you know, yeah, I was great about it, but you guys went in another direction. Why, why would I stay here?

[Todd McShay]

I, I, I honestly, it's like, yeah, I'll have you back, but I want to date other people too.

[Mitch]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

And, and Justin's like, no, I'm, I'm monogamy bud. I'm into monogamy. And so now he, so now he goes to the jets but for Pittsburgh. And all these dominoes are falling, but they're all, they all correlate. Pittsburgh now has a very interesting wide receiver room. What do you mean? But a damn talented wide receiver room.

[Mitch]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

George, George Pickens and DK Metcalf. Now, I've heard talks that Pickens may, may not ultimately wind up being in Pittsburgh. I don't know if any of that's. It's not substantiated. We'll see. But if you got those two guys on the outside, we got to get bring in someone who can throw the football, I think it's gonna be Aaron Rodgers.

[Mitch]

Fascinating.

[Todd McShay]

I think Aaron Rodgers is going to Pittsburgh.

[Mitch]

What's the word? Mercurial. That whole team, man, it's a good thing Tomlin is there. If anyone's gonna steady, you know, like.

[Todd McShay]

They, they will never need Mike Tomlin and his, and his ability to, I don't want to say manage people, but manage situations and, and deal with, deal with stuff and, and the way he connects with players and the messaging and everything else. If that's the, if you got DK Pickins and Aaron Rogers, you better have a Mike Tomlin. Right? So that, that's going to be fascinating.

[Mitch]

Hard knocks this year, right? I think the hard knocks thing all got scrapped. And that would have been, I thought, I thought so because they tried to get Belichick in North Carolina and that fell through. And then now I think they're having a hard time finding a team after the Giants debacle. A lot going on there, but the off season, hard knocks, Tucker's on top of everything, man. No off season, hard knocks. I would love that. I mean, the best hard knocks ever. I mean, best hard knocks ever.

[Todd McShay]

So Pittsburgh now is fascinating because if it all would boil down to Aaron Rodgers, like, because you, you, you let Justin Fields go. And by let go, I mean if he absolutely was your guy, you would have played him all last season. And if you decided after the fact that he was still your guy, you would have paid him.

[Mitch]

Yep.

[Todd McShay]

And while I'm sure they were negotiating and I don't know the level to which that they wanted him, it makes sense. I, I like Justin Fields. Like, I'd give him a shot, but I'm not banking the whole thing on him. He's, he's had a lot of opportunities and he's never like, has he? I don't know.

[Mitch]

I, I always, I, I, I think Fields got kind of a raw deal after he showed some. Not a raw deal. It was a sit, it was a situation that it was, I thought he played well for periods down the stretch before the Bears went and got Caleb Williams and that was the, that was the move they had to make. That was the right move. They, I think, taking Caleb Williams over Justin Fields, but he wasn't like, you know, they had surrounded him with a great offensive line and a great run game in Chicago. And then he gets to Pittsburgh and he plays pretty well and they pull the rug out from under him there too. I don't know. I, I, I would love to see what happens if Justin Fields. I, I Think he needs more of a shot, to be honest with you. So I'm intrigued to see what happens with the Jets. Yeah. Know, I hope they. They that the deal is that this is your year, man. You, hell or high water, you. It's yours to figure it out or for you to drown. But that's. You know, I just want to see someone just put their complete faith in him because I feel like the. He did not have a great supporting cast in Chicago that organizationally we've talked about it. It was a mess.

[Todd McShay]

I agree.

[Mitch]

And then he goes to Pittsburgh and, you know, basically, I know I just talked up Tomlin. I still believe in Tomlin, but everything's falling apart and they don't go back to him. I just. I don't know.

[Todd McShay]

I look at the Steelers now, if they land Aaron Rodgers, it's only one year, man, and you can't even. You can't even count on it being one.

[Mitch]

Yeah, it has to be one year.

[Todd McShay]

Right. You can't count on him.

[Mitch]

Has to be.

[Todd McShay]

So cornerback is a need and I think will be addressed pretty early, but.

[Mitch]

Quarterbacks, and I think they can get a good one. Where they're picking 22, I think.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah. I mean, Travis Hunter is going to be off the board. Will Johnson will likely be off the board.

[Mitch]

Or 21. Sorry.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah, 21. They picked 21 and 52 in the first two rounds. Okay, so running backs, they need a running back, but you can get one in round three. Yeah, two if you have to, but round three, not a priority.

[Mitch]

With what they have going on.

[Todd McShay]

Their offensive line, they need to address, you.

[Mitch]

Know, are you targeting a quarterback at 52? Potentially. Right.

[Todd McShay]

I. I don't know what they're going to do. That's going to be interesting. No, honestly, I just.

[Mitch]

I think they should draft one.

[Todd McShay]

Because you're trying to win now. Right?

[Mitch]

I know, but you could still try to win now with an.

[Todd McShay]

I think it's one of those. If, if, if Tyler Shuck were to fall, maybe you pull the trigger. I don't know how aggressive they're going to be. Tucker with another bomb. Josh Sweat, Cardinals 4 years, 76 million.

[Mitch]

Interesting how he's got work. How he's got work to do in the draft now. I'm sure he doesn't mind.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah.

[Mitch]

Just sweating Williams today.

[Todd McShay]

He. He warned us. He said it's not going to be pretty easy, but. But he's prepared for this. That's what the last couple drafts have been to. Because this is good. That's. And guess what? He's going to draft another defensive lineman early, you know.

[Mitch]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

I'm not. I wouldn't be worried. I mean, yeah, you want him back, but that I, I think the writing was. We kind of knew that was going to happen, you know.

[Mitch]

Yeah. Can I give you a name to.

[Todd McShay]

Keep in mind for the Pittsburgh quarterback?

[Mitch]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah.

[Mitch]

Jaylen Milro. You watch Lamar Jackson tear your, your team up. I mean he's had some.

[Todd McShay]

I like that a lot actually.

[Mitch]

You watched Lamar Jackson do his thing, right. And you brought in a guy in Justin Fields who could move and you kind of.

[Todd McShay]

To me.

[Mitch]

Yeah. Think about it.

[Todd McShay]

I like that. I like that.

[Mitch]

Where Jaylen Milro ends up. That's. I would keep.

[Todd McShay]

It's going to be round two just because of his traits, I believe.

[Mitch]

I think so too.

[Todd McShay]

52 seems pretty reasonable. So you go get a corner or an offensive lineman with that first pick.

[Mitch]

Just keep it in mind. Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

They're secondaries where they need. They need help, but yeah. Okay. So now the Jets. Now the Jets.

[Mitch]

Yep. What do you got?

[Todd McShay]

How do we feel about Justin Fields? Because you like him, they coveted him. They're picking at seven.

[Mitch]

So I'm gonna, I'm gonna kind of talk out of both sides of my mouth a little bit here for a second because I'm just going to reference the Seattle situation and why I was concerned about them getting Darnold. I can be concerned about them getting Darnold and still think that's the right move. Right. So I can acknowledge that there should be some anxieties and some, some worries about Fields as your quarterback. I also think it's the best move they could have made if they weren't going to get Darnold. Now you're looking at a trickle down, right? Yeah. Yeah. Ideally you would have get Darnold or you can you trade for a Geno. Right. This is better than sitting there and hoping to get a quarterback at 7. Or in my mind, to be honest with you, giving up extra first round picks, which I think it would have taken or could have potentially have taken to move up and get two of the top. One of the top two quarterbacks that maybe you're not in love with. I think going after Fields is a good move. I just do. It's a two. It's two years.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah.

[Mitch]

You can draft a guy. You're not, you're not locked in long term to this. And again, I think Fields in flashes has been really good.

[Todd McShay]

So you got great, you got great running backs.

[Mitch]

Great running backs. You got Gary Wilson like you're Garrett.

[Todd McShay]

Wilson, offensive line, offensive line. They've, they've drafted. They need for Shanu to step up.

[Mitch]

They do.

[Todd McShay]

I think, I think he will. But they, they still could go offensive tackle. I think I, I got to see them up close. Like for as great as the draft picks were, as great as they are on the edge and corner and wide receiver, the, the, the in and Quinn. You got Quinn and Williams. But their interior of their D. They need another defensive tackle and they need. I, I, yeah. And I think linebacker and safety could be upgraded as well. So they're picking at seven. They're picking at seven there. So what's happened now is we've talked for a long time, bud, about maybe six teams in the, in the top 10. It started off at six teams in the top 10. Now New Orleans isn't going quarterback at night. Is, is my understanding. Okay.

[Mitch]

Okay.

[Todd McShay]

Now the Raiders are going to probably draft a quarterback, but it's, it probably is not going to be at 6. Now the jets, one of those teams. Right. A lot of talk about them trading up. When we're at the combine, there was discussion about them trying to trade up to get ahead of Cleveland. And I don't know if it was real or not, but I'm just saying that it was Cam. It could, if it was going to be a quarterback in the top 10, it was going to be Cam Ward. Could they get up there? Were they willing to give away what they needed to, to get up there to get Camborg? Now they're out of the market. So we said this, man, if it, if can't Cam Ward's going one or two.

[Mitch]

Right.

[Todd McShay]

And it doesn't sound like it's like, well, if Cam's gone at one, Cleveland's going Shador. I don't. Maybe they are pretty tight lipped. Outside of the Schefter bomb, Cleveland's pretty tight lipped. But if it ain't the Giants at three for Shador, and it very well could be. But if it's not there, as we said before, we're in for a very fascinating first night of the draft for Shador Sanders.

[Mitch]

Unfortunately, I, I hope he goes earlier. Yeah, it's going to be tough to watch if that happens, to be honest with you.

[Todd McShay]

And honestly, we talked about two teams in the top 10 that I, I had reports and talked to, not reports I talked to. The interviews didn't go as anticipated. Interviews with Shador were different than all the other interviews. The prevailing thought was, didn't get the sense that Shador cared all that much about what we thought of him. Perfectly, perfectly respectful. Nothing, you know, malicious, said no poor actions, no disrespect but didn't get the sense like when you're stacking interview after interview after interview and you're seeing how important this is to everybody else, didn't get that same vibe. And so now we've got three of those six that we've talked about for a long time. Not in the quarterback market. We talked about six teams in the top 10 need a quarterback. Three are by all intensive purposes out as far as drafting a quarterback in the top 10. Then there were three Tennessee at one, Cleveland at two, Giants at three.

[Mitch]

Right.

[Todd McShay]

Also interesting.

[Mitch]

And do we get a panics to Atlantic situation like I mentioned before where one of these teams comes out of nowhere and it's like shadows just. We are great on Shador, you know like Atlanta's great on Penix was so good that they said to themselves organizationally.

[Todd McShay]

But we know for a fact it's not New England and we. No, no, you're right and we almost know for a fact it's not Jacksonville. Okay. We know those two teams aren't going to be the Atlanta Pennix.

[Mitch]

I agree.

[Todd McShay]

So, so, so, so is it, it's not Carolina. They just, they started to get the juice out of the, the squeeze for Bryce Young. They believe he's the guy. They're all, they're all fired up.

[Mitch]

It may not be in the top 10. It might be, it could, it could.

[Todd McShay]

Still be nine and it's certainly not. It could still be nine with New Orleans kind of quiet and you know this guy.

[Mitch]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

But it's not the giants at 10 so it's gonna be interesting. But the jets, they address the need and they're going to make a little. They're going to try to move forward with Justin Fields. That's obvious. And they're not committed long term. It's not the, you know, the biggest deal in the world but it's a, it's a good deal. Two years, 30 million guaranteed for Justin Fields for the Jets. So now, now the attention is, is where the attention for them is that we mentioned they sit at seven. Mason Graham, is he still there? Probably not, but certainly would be nice. Yeah team him up with Quinnan and those edges. Right. So that's a possibility. Offensive tackle Membo, pull him out in opposite Fashanu if he's there. Yeah, if he's there. But, but also and if in the off chance Travis Hunter is still there.

[Mitch]

At seven one of those tight Ends could be. This could be the place for one of those tight ends to go, I think.

[Todd McShay]

Great point. That's a great point. That's where I think they wind up.

[Mitch]

Yeah. Could be one of those.

[Todd McShay]

I think. I think it's time.

[Mitch]

I think it's time all the Bowers talk to the jets last year.

[Todd McShay]

That was real. I promise you that. That was real.

[Mitch]

Yeah, it came down.

[Todd McShay]

It came down to. To, you know, Bowers and Fashanu.

[Mitch]

So obviously there's a lot of change and there's. There's been a lot of change, but still, I mean, those guys are super talented. I wouldn't surprise me if one of those tight ends went there.

[Todd McShay]

I totally agree. That would make a lot of sense. So good to talk through it. And then. So that covers. I mean, we didn't even get to Cleveland. We still have time. Hour and five minutes in.

[Mitch]

Let's go.

[Todd McShay]

I'll tell you one thing we're not getting new is my linebacker tape evaluation.

[Mitch]

Is right out the window.

[Todd McShay]

Table it. Table it. I do think we could get into your hot take in a second, but we'll see. And I don't like. I despise hot take. Something you're hot on. I like the whole culture of hot takes. Makes me throw up.

[Mitch]

I'm just trying to get likes.

[Todd McShay]

We don't have hot takes. We have stuff that we're hot on because of work that we've done, not because we sit down and decide we're gonna have some take because it's gonna get clicks and stuff. It's just not what we're in the business for. So I apologize for getting trapped in that Cleveland. I think it's a good place to kind of tie this all up before we get to New England. Cleveland extends miles. Garrett, if you want to read the McShay report. I go into a lot of detail about. About the why. And we don't need to get into that now, obviously. 14 sacks the last four. At least 14 sacks in four years. Is that right? Could, I think, first player in the NFL to ever do that four year span.

[Mitch]

Could his agent have played that any better? I mean, that it was a masterstroke to get him that contract. I'll never be in a Browns uniform again.

[Todd McShay]

40 million per season. 123.5, as I said. And I go into more detail. So check out the McShay report. Just Google it and you'll get. This is a free, free piece that we did on all. A lot of these moves. Not all of them were done by the time we posted. But a lot of these moves and what it means for Seattle, for the Raiders, for the, for the Browns and, and so on and so forth, you gotta, you gotta view edge as quarterback on the defense and, and while it's never going to raise to that level, it's the second most important position on the field.

[Mitch]

Right.

[Todd McShay]

And because edge can affect the other 10, not as much as quarterback can affect the other 10 on, on the offensive side of the ball, but there's no other position on the defensive side that can affect the other 10 the way that edge does. Cornerback would be number two. And kind of reverse reasonings why. Right. Take away a guy. Well, don't need to take away a guy as desperately. If we got running back staying in the chip, a tight end staying in the chip. Double teams shifting protections like always accounting for number 95, 14 sacks a year. It's almost guaranteed, right?

[Mitch]

Yep.

[Todd McShay]

And the pressures and, and the attention and all that stuff.

[Mitch]

So please run like a maniac too.

[Todd McShay]

Everything. Yeah, everything. So now you got the number two overall pick. And it was like for, for Andrew Barry, the general manager, it was always we got to get this done so that we. And then shift the focus was always on quarterback and what's next. But now it's like the tricky part is for Barry in this organization is you now have to find a way to land the quarterback of your future and do it on the cheap because you are so hamstrung by. By what has happened at your quarterback position in the decision that was made to pay desean Watson a gross amount of money. Okay.

[Mitch]

Yep.

[Todd McShay]

If, if Deshaun, this is a good football team, man. You got a damn good defense led by the guy you just paid all that money. You've got.

[Mitch]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

A pretty decent offensive line. You've got some talent. Okay. You've got some talent when you look across the board. Zedarius Smith to go with Miles Garrett. Okoronkwo. Shelby Harris. Huh.

[Mitch]

Oh, did they cut Sadarius? Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

J O K. Jeremiah Denzel Ward, is he coming back? Greg Newsome, like this team is talented. Now running back, what's going to happen with the future there with Ford and Chubb?

[Mitch]

I kind of like the receivers though, man. Cedric Tillman had a decent year last year as a third round guy. I like Cedric Tillman two years ago. Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

And you got obviously Amari Cooper and Jerry Judy. That's what I'm saying. This team, if you had gotten 50 to 70% of what you signed up for and you paid for Deshaun Watson, this team is like, it's. Is fighting with Kansas City and with Buffalo there. I'm telling you, I believe that. Okay, so now what do you do? Because you're not gonna have all this talent for very long, are you? Can you catch lightning in the bottle with Cam Ward? Okay.

[Mitch]

And do whatever you take. Go ahead. Sorry. I'm gonna say you do whatever you. It takes to get to the first overall pick and make sure you get Cam Ward, because right now I'm not sleeping thinking about what the Giants are offering. And I, you, you really. I. You don't want to give a lot up to move up one pick, and I get it. But it's now turning. It's turning.

[Todd McShay]

The evaluation process is ongoing, but the tape. The. There's no more tape to evaluate. And yes, you're going to have private workouts. Yes, you're going to have watch him throw live. Yes, you're going to bring him into your facility as. As all these teams that need a quarterback are going to do with Camborg. I'm talking Tennessee, Cleveland, and the Giants. Because he ain't going past three. Right. And he's pro, and he's almost certainly not going past two. Could go one.

[Mitch]

I don't think. Yeah, I don't think he's so, so.

[Todd McShay]

My point is, if you've. If you've decided as an organization, he's your guy. That's exactly where I was taking that. This. I'm not letting the Giants move up to one. I'm not. And, and, and, and just so you understand, Tennessee's not going to swap picks with you if they think he's the guy. So it starts with Tennessee, and I think it's very obvious they're. They're evaluating Cam versus Shador. I think that the short list that we talked about. Albert Brers. Albert Brer's article was fascinating. Like the process where these, these for the Tennessee Titans, where these people have been before the decision makers, what their processes have been in the past. Joe Burrow, obviously. So, like. And all those ties. It's a great read. Yep. What wasn't surprising in there is the four that were mentioned as the possibilities to go number one overall. I think of the four Shador you can cross off, I think it's Cam Ward if they're going quarterback, and then it's Travis Hunter or Abdul Carter. Well, now you've locked in your. Your edge if you're Cleveland. And so, so if Miles. If you had to deal Miles Garrett, there was an argument to be made. Well, we're staring at not the next Miles Garrett, but something that is a really good, young, cheap replacement. And Abdul Carter, that's no longer a factor. It's all quarterback or bust. And, and you can't do it in free agency. You can bring in Kirk Cousins and I. And I've told you this for a month now. I've told you this for a month.

[Mitch]

Yep.

[Todd McShay]

Kirk Cousins is the guy I think that they're going to bring in to bridge the gap. And so Cam Ward would have a year and maybe it's just six games, whatever it would be. And if you can get a Russell Wilson type deal for, for Kirk Cousins, then where you're paying him nothing and the Falcons are footing the bill, then you, then you make that move because you need a veteran there. You need someone who can help develop. And Kirk Cousins, he wouldn't be thrilled about it, but he's a really good human being and he'll pass on the knowledge and try to maintain that starting job for a year as he winds down his career. And I know Kirk doesn't want to hear that, but, like, that's where he is. And so the combination of Cam Ward and Kirk Cousins would cost you almost nothing, comparatively speaking. We're talking about Justin Fields, two years, 40 million, 30 guaranteed. We're talking Sam Darnold, three years, 110 million, 37 million a year coming off those, those two games that weren't awesome at the end of the year could have been in the. So to. To get 5 million a year or 7 million a year, whatever averages out to. In a five year guaranteed contract of 30. Close to 40 million for a, for a top two pick. No, for. For top two pick.

[Mitch]

Gotcha.

[Todd McShay]

And then, and then pennies on the dollar because Atlanta's foot in the bill. That's a cheap alternative as you move, as you try desperately to move past the quarterback spot. But you're quarterback away. So you've got to go. You, you've got to figure this out. Do we? And to your point, you started this and take it. If Tennessee's not taking Cam Ward and you're Andrew Barry, you better go. You better go. Get up. Get up to number one.

[Mitch]

Yeah. I think you start with here's our offer. And I don't even know what that market looks like. I have. And I don't want to put you on the spot either. Like, what's that going to look like? What exactly are they going to want? Because they know they're holding all the cards. Right. So what does that look like, but I think what you do, you start the conversation with, here's our offer. But you end that phone call with a very, you know, very clear statement of whatever the Giants are going to give you. Call us back, we'll top it. We will find a way to make it a better deal for you. And there's no, you know, Tennessee doesn't have to do that, but that's what I would say to them, like, let us know what. What their final offer is, and we'll make. We'll make it better for you. And people do this with free agents, too, right? Go test the market. The Patriots have done this with players. Go test the market, tell us what they're willing to offer, you come back, and if we can top it, we will. Let us know. So we have the final offer. We have the. The final go at it, whatever way you want to word it. I would. I mean, that's how I would end that conversation. Like, look, man, let's find a way to get this done. Here's where we're starting. If you don't like that we understand the Giants are willing to give more, then let us know, and we're going to come over the top of it.

[Todd McShay]

I think it would probably cost him a one next year, and I think so, too.

[Mitch]

And I think that's crazy.

[Todd McShay]

What do you mean?

[Mitch]

You're talking about giving to move up one spot and that, by the way.

[Todd McShay]

I think, yeah, but to go get the quarter, if you believe.

[Mitch]

Yeah, I would do it.

[Todd McShay]

All right.

[Mitch]

Yeah. No, I agree with you. I just think it's. This is what we're talking about. We're talking about giving up a first round pick to move up one spot in the draft. And I agree with you. And by the way, the more I watch Cam Moore, the more he grows to me. Do I still think he would have been the fourth quarterback at best taken last year? I do.

[Todd McShay]

It can be both.

[Mitch]

He's. Yeah, he's talented, man. I've ever shot on him. Yeah. Some of the tape, I'm like, dude, this is insane. Some of the throws he's making, like, I, I listen, I would do it.

[Todd McShay]

And you bring in cousin, you bring in cousins with Stefanski.

[Mitch]

Same plan.

[Todd McShay]

What's. If we got to win a few games early in the year while we're still developing Cam before we think he's ready, go get him.

[Mitch]

That would get came.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah. The only. The only fly in this ointment should be Tennessee's just staying at one and taking Camborg.

[Mitch]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

If it's not the case. And you're clean because think about it. It doesn't matter the amount of picks. You don't have money. So your only currency in this game to get a quarterback, if you're Andrew Barry, your only currency to get a quarterback is through the draft. You can't afford a veteran. You can't, you couldn't get in the Sam Darnold sweepstakes. You couldn't afford Justin Fields.

[Mitch]

Right.

[Todd McShay]

Because of desean Watson and what he has done to that organization. They're crippled financially. But what they have is that number two overall pick, and they have picks beyond that that are early in each round, and they have picks next year. That's the only way they can solve their quarterback problem.

[Mitch]

All right, let's. Let's flip the script. Do you take the deal if you're Tennessee?

[Todd McShay]

If I'm not taking Cam Ward? Absolutely. I move down one spot. I get the same exact player. I get a one next year.

[Mitch]

So all that matters if you're in love with Cam or you're Tennessee, you're. You're taking them.

[Todd McShay]

Yes. And if I. And if I'm in love with. If I'm Tennessee. Yes. Yes. That doesn't. Sorry, I. I didn't hear your question. The answer is yes, if Cam Ward's the guy when this is done, even if I have equal grades or maybe like a slight notch below. But like, if Cam Ward's the guy and we believe in him, you say one. Take him. Piece of cake.

[Mitch]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

I don't care how much you like Abdul Carter. I don't care how much. If you believe in him and believe that he's going to be the guy, throw out all those other grades and names. But if he's not, then I'll move down to two because I'm getting the exact same player, too, as I was getting one. I'm getting a first round pick next year and maybe a third or fourth this year.

[Mitch]

Yeah, I'm tempted by that.

[Todd McShay]

And again. And, and if the Giants want to give me more, I'll move down to three. If equally obsessed or have an equal, somewhat equal grade on Travis Hunter, Abdul Carter or maybe another player that we're not speculating. But if those are the four and Shador's out and Cam's out, I'm getting one of those two. So that's simple to me.

[Mitch]

Yeah. And then you're the Giants and you're one pick away. You're outside looking in. I mean, it's the brutal situation. It's been a rough Rough go for Giants fans and it. It may not be getting better anytime soon.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah, but what if they're in love with Shador?

[Mitch]

You're great. They go for it.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah. Rock and roll.

[Mitch]

Yeah. Hopefully that's the case.

[Todd McShay]

I could see Jackson dart or Tyler shuck with Brian Dable that early. No, I'm not saying that.

[Mitch]

You're talking about the top of the.

[Todd McShay]

Second or moving baby tree.

[Mitch]

Yeah, exactly.

[Todd McShay]

Or moving back in. I don't know. I talked to Brian occasionally and a great deal of respect for Brian. We have obviously not had that conversation by any. And he, you know, and that's Joe Shane and everything else. But I, I studying what, what Brian has done, what he's looking for. I could see both of those guys are mobile enough, have the arm. I just see it. I can see those guys with him and developing.

[Mitch]

I agree.

[Todd McShay]

All right. Last thing. Patriots fans miserable over DK Metcalf coming, not coming. I don't know. That's the worst situation in the world. I don't like.

[Mitch]

No.

[Todd McShay]

Quite honestly that the amount of money it would cost where they are in their development. I just. We're starting to see them spend good money. I woke up this morning and we saw that Devin Godshaw was out at defensive tackle and they. Yes, they've got Christian Barmore. Yes, they've got Keon White who they play outside and in. Former Georgia Tech draft pick. I always liked Keon White. I just, I, I was hopeful he was going to get to this point.

[Mitch]

Oh, man. Yeah. Good player.

[Todd McShay]

So I, I was thinking Mason Graham. We started the show off by talking about that. That was breaking news. Breaking news. Milton Williams signs a three year one. Oh, no, sorry. Three year.

[Mitch]

I got 26 million a year for four years.

[Todd McShay]

That's what I got, a four year. Sorry, I was looking.

[Mitch]

Okay.

[Todd McShay]

Tucker. Tucker's dropped so many bombs on the right side of my private chat here. I don't know which side's up. So four years for Milton Williams, the. The coveted interior defensive lineman and to get that kind of money with this interior defensive line class coming out in this year's draft tells you how coveted he was. And the Patriots had the money to do it, they capitalized on it. And that's their first, like, major addition. But in addition, even though they got rid of God Shaw, now with Williams, Barmore, Keon White, versatile role, they got some dudes on the interior. It's. I don't want to say it's an absolute, but it's pretty close to an absolute that Mason Graham's not going to be the pick at number four, which I had in my last mock draft. And I thought when Gotcha got cut, got clipped today, I was like, yeah. And bar more with the blood clots last year, expecting and hoping obviously. But like I can see that need starting to rise. Not the case. So now with New England they brought in Carlton Davis, cornerback to go opposite Christian Gonzalez. That's a damn good cornerback. And Carlton Davis will tackle your ass unlike the other guy.

[Mitch]

Right.

[Todd McShay]

So now they got, they've gotten more physical. They've got more physical along the interior. And I said this, I said this on my mock draft and that's why I thought Mason Graham was, was a strong possibility had they not made this move for Milton Williams like Brave Mike Vrabel. He played with a damn good defensive tackle and saw the effect that, that Vince Will Fork had.

[Mitch]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

Jeffrey Simmons in Tennessee, pretty good player. Yeah, he, you know, like those are those guys in the middle, they affect the quarterback. They free things up for linebackers and edges. So I knew that there was going to be a, a big move to get a, a difference maker. That's been made. So now Carlton Davis also just before we came on here, Morgan Moses, a right tackle.

[Mitch]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

34 years old.

[Mitch]

Yeah. He's getting up there in that range.

[Todd McShay]

So that's not long term. So now, now you're the, you're the Patriots. If you're a Patriots fan listening right now, regard. So what does this mean? We have the number four pick in the second round. We pick at 38 wide receivers. Absolutely. Still position of need. Right. I don't think interior defensive line is anymore. We just talked about that. Offensive tackle is still a position of need. Even with Morgan Moses.

[Mitch]

Absolutely.

[Todd McShay]

And I. Oh, and. And Harold Landry. We didn't mention that.

[Mitch]

Yeah. I love the better signings they got. I love the front, defensive front signings. Because one Landry played for Rabel in Tennessee, knows the scheme again, a guy is going to hit the ground running, knows exactly what's expected of them. They know how to use him. And then Williams versus Gotcha. Gotcha was like a big run stuffer, good player, big run stopper. That's not what New England's going to be. They're going to be a one gap aggressive defense. Milton Williams, that was a scheme.

[Todd McShay]

That was a scheme cut as much as it was.

[Mitch]

You get more talented, you get a better fit, you feel a need and you get rid of some money like it was.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah.

[Mitch]

I mean they've done, I mean for Patriots fans that have been frustrated for a little while now. They. Today's a good day. Today a good day.

[Todd McShay]

These are smart moves for, for exactly reasonable money.

[Mitch]

Resigning Austin Hooper on a one year deal. Smart. Bring back a depth tight end. They might still go get one, but now they have a guy in place where we, you know, we don't need to address this right now. If the right players there and we feel like we can get a playmaker, they'll go do it again. Smart moves.

[Todd McShay]

Like we always say, the good organizations at least bring in players in free agency and typically second tier for the most part. That second wave, that will free them up when they, when it comes to draft weekend to actually take the best player available and yet skewed by certain positions and, and positions of priority. And if you have a slightly bigger need and two guys with the same grade, you're going to go to that position. I get it. But ultimately you don't want to go into a draft and be like, damn, man, we gotta take this or else what are we, how are we gonna line up? Yeah, how are we going to protect our quarterback if we don't take a tackle? Well, they just got Morgan most.

[Mitch]

I think they kind of did that last year, to be honest with you. I think they didn't really have a plan on offensive tackle last year and it got messy fast. So.

[Todd McShay]

So now I'm asking you. Pat the Patriot. I see wide receiver. I see offensive tackle. Lesser need than it was yesterday, but still a need. I see edge. Lesser need than it was yesterday, but still a need. They're picking it four. Let's, let's assume it's for this exercise. Let's assume. I'm going to give you option. I'm going to give you option A and then you tell me who, who you would take it for. Then I'm going to give you option B in terms of the first three players. Let's go. Let's go. Abdul Carter one. Okay, this isn't a flash mock, but it's pretty damn close. We're gonna get through the top four. Let's go. Abdul Carter one. Let's go. Cam Ward two to Cleveland. And at three, the Giants take Shador Sanders. In this scenario.

[Mitch]

I'll explain why, but I'm gonna go Jaylen Walker. I think you still need that edge. I think you still, you get another guy there. I like, I want to say Membu. I really, I've said Membu before, but I want to be comfortable if I know men who could play left tackle or Morgan Moses can play left tackle because I believe Morgan Moses plays on the right, too. If I know Menu could play left tackle, I'm gonna take Memo because I just think that that's how valued that position is. But having those concerns, I'm gonna go a little safer and go Jaylen Walker and get another guy that can get after the quarterback.

[Todd McShay]

But it's either in that Hunter and just play him. Play him a lot at wide receiver. No. I'm just doing devil's advocate. But no nickel cornerback, which would free him up to play 50 or not 50 in the end of 30. Not over snap receiver, 35.

[Mitch]

Not over those two.

[Todd McShay]

Okay. All right. So you're taking Jalen Walker, the edge out of Georgia. Versatile guy for variable over Memboo, the offensive tackle.

[Mitch]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

I don't know how I could change this. It doesn't change. Well, here's.

[Mitch]

Here's what it does.

[Todd McShay]

If it goes Abdul, Cam Ward and Travis Hunter.

[Mitch]

Well, how about in this situation, the Giants trade to one.

[Todd McShay]

Yep.

[Mitch]

And they get Ward. The Browns take Sanders, and Tennessee decides to take Hunter. And all of a sudden, the New England Patriots land up dual Carter at 4.

[Todd McShay]

I can't. I. I hear you, but I feel. I. I can't imagine a world in which Abdul Carter is still on the board at number four. I can't.

[Mitch]

But again, start going through scenarios. You. We're looking at talent and ability. It's scenarios, man. Like, what are the scenarios here?

[Todd McShay]

What.

[Mitch]

You know, a lot of people I talk to have a hard time understanding how Travis Hunter is going to get, you know, pass pick two, and maybe that happens. Maybe he doesn't get past pick two, that's fine. But if two quarterbacks ended up going in the. If two quarterbacks go in the top three picks, it's. Someone's gonna fall.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah.

[Mitch]

If you either. If two go in the top four or in the top three, the Patriots get Hunter or. Or Carter. And that's unthinkable to some people.

[Todd McShay]

This has been a fun show, man. Like, I could do this. Not all day. I like to eat, move around a little bit. But I could spend. I could spend a couple more hours doing this. Yeah. Okay. Reminder Thursday, top 100. I'm back. Back to the tape sitting right next to me right here. The remote going. You know, trust the old used to be exos. Now it's catapult. I. I'm gonna lock down the top 100. It's going to be pretty close to what the top 100 will be in a month or so. But there's medical, there's some workout stuff. There's a lot of conversations about the character and all that. But top 100 is on Thursday. Next Monday we're going to do more of this because we'll have, we'll have had and, and, and by the way, on Thursday we're going to do more of this too because free agency will have started at 4 o'clock the night before, so there will be updated pieces falling and, you know, and, and trying to put it all together. Next Monday will be a lot of the, the fallout of it. And I think we get into either quarterbacks or running backs. We're going to start doing our, our series positional deep dives. Okay. I'll have a better name for it when, when we get there. And then next Thursday's Mach 2.0. My goodness, are there changes? And we just kind of previewed what it could be in the top four or five picks got all the way down to the kind of seven. But let's see what other dominoes fall. Let's see what information I'm getting. Got a bunch of calls to make over the weekend just to kind of catch up with some people and see what, what they're hearing. And then we'll have the mock draft coming out next Thursday. So we are like loaded with, with content and oh, by the way, we're trying to get like 400 plus evaluations done so we can print the book and be ready for our draft plans. And pretty soon we're going to be breaking news on where we're going to be, what we're going to be doing for the actual NFL draft. And I'm really excited about it. But we'll get to that in a little bit. Thank you for downloading. Subscribing. Liking Mensch is going to be my hype, our hype guy and, and, and begging work on it moving forward. But, but thank you. We'll be back on Thursday. So much more to get to with free agency and the top 100. So until then, have a great week. Must be 21 plus and present in select states for Kansas in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18 plus and present in D.C. gambling problem. Call 1-800- gambler or visit rg-help.com, call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org chat in Connecticut or visit MDG help.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit gambling helpline ma.org or call 1-800-327-5050 for 24. 7 support in Massachusetts or call 18778 hope NY or text hopeny in New York.